Ernie Allan Takes On 'The Dutch Challenge'

[FM_TNSSO]

Great 2nd place finish, a decent Euro's with Iceland could see your stock rise even higher!

Cheers mate. It will be tough to get out of the group but if we can manage that, it should definitely increase my profile on the international stage in a big way! In an ideal world, I will overachieve with Iceland, the Holland manager will fail miserably, then get sacked and I can take his job!

Good finish in the league and always nice to do well with a TV deal on the line. Hopefully the CL qualifying goes well

The TV deal could make a huge difference over the next couple of years! Even if we don't qualify for the Champs League, we should at least go into the Europa group stages and get some more money from that too!

 

[FM_TNSSO]

June 2020

June 2020

Wednesday 3rd June 2020
International Friendly
Iceland vs Nigeria
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Kristinsson, Eyjolfsson, Ingason, Fjoluson, Johannesson, Gunnarsson, Traustason (Skulason 45), G.Sigurdsson, Bjarnason (Porarinsson 45), Bodvarsson, Sigurdarson (Finnbogason 45)

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Nigeria were the better side overall here, but we weathered the storms well when they had periods of strong attacking play, and despite going 1-0 down, we turned the game around and made it 3 wins from 3 under my management! Very impressed with the lads here as we could have easily crumbled at 1-0 down, but we stayed strong and proved ourselves to not be pushovers again!



Willem II will receive over £7 million in prize money for finishing 2nd in the league this past season! That leaves the club’s finances looking very pretty at £5.8 million in credit!

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The Dutch golden boot award is announced and I’m proud to have players occupuing 2nd and 3rd place. Although pipped to the post by an Ajax player, both Erdin Demir and Nicolos Zaniolo can be extremely proud of their performances this season!

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Henk Veerman had a good season with us for his first at the club and 16 league goals was enough for him to finish 3rd in the Eredivisie top goalscorer stats.

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Nicolo Zaniolo is also rewarded for his fine form this year with a runner up award in the young player of the season!

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And finally, I am delighted to win my first Manager of the Year award! It means even more that this is voted for by my fellow managers in the Eredivisie and I’m pleased to be recognised by them for my achievements so far.

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Sunday 7th June 2020
International Friendly
Iceland vs Turkey
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Halldorsson, Eyjolfsson (H.Sigurdsson 50), Ingason, Fjoluson (Magnusson 50), Traustason, Gunnarsson (Bjarnason 50), Skulason, G.Sigurdsson (Sigurjonsson 50), Porarinsson, Bodvarsson (Kjartansson 50), Finnbogason

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A very good win over Turkey was the perfect way to warm up for the European Championship! We were really good and played the counter attacking game perfectly in this game. Turkey had a lot more of the ball but we shut them out and limited them to the amount of chances they could create, breaking with pace and intensity which they just couldn’t deal with! Unbelievably, that’s 4 wins from 4 since I took over!



Just before the Euro’s kick off, I have some good transfer news from back in Holland. I have managed to convince striker Cedric Teuchert to stay on with us for another season long loan from Gelsenkirchen. Cedric played 35 games in all competitions for us last season and scored 12 goals. I think he could come on a bit more for that experience this season and push past the 15 goal mark.

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Saturday 13th June 2020
European Championship Group E
Iceland vs Spain
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Kristinsson, Eyjolfsson, Ingason, Fjoluson (Magnusson 71), Johannesson, Gunnarsson, Skulason, G.Sigurdsson, Bjarnason (Porarinsson 71), Bodvarsson, Finnbogason (Kjartansson 71)

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A very respectable performance against one of the top national sides in the world. We could have even nicked an equalizer at the end but it just wasn’t our day! However, we have every reason to believe that we can get results against Scotland and Serbia if we play like we did here!



In between my European games, I am still keeping an eye on the transfer market to build on my Willem II squad for next season and have managed to snap up a young striker for a bargain price. I am delighted to welcome 18 year old South African, Sifiso Liau to the club! Liau will join us on July 1st for a fee of £165,000 and with some excellent stats already, I’m confident he could have a big future ahead of him!

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Back home in Holland, the European competition rankings are announced and the Eredivisie continues to grow in stature as it enters the top 10 competitions in Europe.

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And when the European club rankings are announced, I’m pleased to see we’ve risen a massive 30 places in the rankings and move inside the top 200!

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Holland are also on the rise to 9th in the European nation coefficients, which means our qualifying teams for the European competitions get better too! From next season, the winners of the Eredivisie will enter the Champions League at the group stage with no requirement to qualify. It also means 2nd place will enter at the third qualifying phase rather than the 2nd. Our qualification for the Europa League will remain the same.

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Wednesday 17th June 2020
European Championship Group E
Scotland vs Iceland
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Kristinsson, Eyjolfsson, Ingason, Fjoluson, Traustason, Gunnarsson, Skulason, G.Sigurdsson (Gudmundssen 60), Bjarnason (Porarinsson 45), Sigurdarson, Finnbogason (Kjartansson 60)

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With this game being played at Hampden Park, effectively Scotland had the home advantage. And with a stadium full of fans behind them, they were certainly the better side for the first 60 minutes and led 1-0 at the hour mark. However, 2 goals in quick succession put us in prime position to nick the win, but a late equalizer from the Scots made it level! Just as both sides were pushing forward trying desperately to get a winner, it was us that were awarded a 95th minute penalty! But, Bjorn Sigurdarson bottled it and missed the crucial spot kick that would have put us in an excellent position to qualify! Now we’ll have to get a win against Serbia and hope Spain give Scotland a good hiding in the process.



Monday 22nd June 2020
European Championship Group E
Serbia vs Iceland
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Kristinsson, Eyjolfsson, Ingason, Magnusson (Fjoluson 78), Johannesson, Palsson, Traustason, G.Sigurdsson, Bjarnason, Kjartansson (Sigurdarson 45), Finnbogason (Gunnarsson 90)

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This was a tense, nervy affair, with both sides knowing that a win would put them through to the 2nd round if Spain beat Scotland in the other game. Within 20 minutes, we were 1-0 up and Spain were also winning 2-0 and things were looking good! Spain added a 3rd mid way through the 2nd half and it looked like all we’d have to do is hold on to guarantee our spot in the next round. And we did just that…..if there’s one thing my Iceland team have shown me since I took over, it’s that they have a good resilience about them and they showed that again here as we shut Serbia out to keep that all important clean sheet!



There’s the confirmation of the final group, with Spain topping it with an expected 3 wins from 3. And yes, it’s us that finished runners up with a draw against Scotland and that all important win against the Serbs!

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With no disrespect intended to Georgia, we could have had much worse draws for the 2nd round than this! We genuinely have a fantastic opportunity to progress to the Quarter Finals here! However, we certainly can’t underestimate this Georgian side that finished top of a group that included Germany, Sweden and Poland!

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Tuesday 30th June 2020
European Championship 2nd Round
Iceland vs Georgia
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Kristinsson, Eyjolfsson, Ingason, Magnusson (Sent off 35), Traustason, Palsson (Fjoluson 35), Skulason, G.Sigurdsson, Bjarnason, Bodvarsson (Sigurdarson 61), Finnbogason

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The first half hour of this game was the best we’ve played in the whole tournament so far and we were 1-0 up and in complete control! Then, on 35 minutes, centre back Magnusson was sent off for a professional foul, bringing down the Georgian striker when he was clean through on goal. To be honest, he probably sacrificed himself to save a goal. But it did then leave us nearly an hour to play with 10 men and inevitably, Georgia ramped up the pressure and very early in the 2nd half they were level! Now I wasn’t prepared to sit down and play for a draw as I thought extra time would be the worst thing for us with 10 men, so I went all out attack to try to get the win! The introduction of Sigurdarson on 61 minutes looked like an inspired decision as he put us back in front only minutes later! But Georgia again drew level with 20 minutes remaining and it was anyone’s game! 14 minutes left, and we were back in front through an unlikely source as Ari Skulason gets himself into the box from the left wing back role and heads home to make it 3-2! There was only one question now, could we hold on to the lead this time? And the answer was a resounding yes! Not only did we hold on, but we added a 4th on the break in the 90th minute to secure our place in the quarter final!



We’ve drawn Switzerland in the quarter final. Switzerland qualified from their group as one of the best 3rd placed teams, finishing behind Belgium and Bosnia & Herzegovina in group C. In the 2nd round, they overcame Denmark with a 2-0 win!

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[Brane_Orsou]

Great results against Serbia and then Georgia, lets hope their defence is like their cheese and your team find all the holes!

 

[FM_TNSSO]

July 2020

July 2020

Saturday 4th​ July 2020
European Championship Quarter FinalSwitzerland vs Iceland
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Kristinsson, Eyjolfsson, Ingason, Fjoluson, Traustason, Palsson, Skulason, G.Sigurdsson, Porarinsson, Sigurdarson, Finnbogason

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A valiant effort from the lads but to no avail as we crash out of the competition to Switzerland. Again, there is no shame in this defeat with Switzerland currently ranked over 40 places above us in the world (16th​). We created some good chances but our strikers didn’t have the best day in front of goal and a late, late winner from the Swiss was enough to nick the game 1-0! Disappointing stuff, but I can’t knock this Iceland team who have done me proud during this competition!



Back home to Holland I go and the first thing that happens is the Dutch club rankings are released and we’ve moved up one place domestically on last year to 11th​, overtaking ADO Den Haag. PSV’s Europa League win has seen them jump above Ajax into top spot, despite Ajax winning 3 league titles in a row!

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New signing Sifiso Liau is going to miss majority of pre season through injury. I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come with the youngster.

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The fixture list for the upcoming season is released and we’ll have a mixed bag to start. We have a winnable opening day fixture against De Graafschap, before taking on reigning champions Ajax on matchday 2. Our games against the big teams this season seem to be nicely spread, meaning we don’t have any ridiculously tough runs (at first glance).

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We’ll receive nearly £2.5 million this season in TV rights. That’s a £700,000 rise on last year.

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The draw for the Best Placed Second Qualifying Phase for this season’s Champions League takes place and we’ve been drawn against Austrian outfit, Red Bull Salzburg.

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Jeremy Grimm came to me with his homesickness again, so being that he is 33 years old and will only be on the fringe of the first 11 this season anyway, I decided to put him up for transfer. He has his wish and will return to France to join AC Ajaccio for a minimal fee.

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In the meantime, I was busy adding some experience to my side. 35 year old Polish wing back, Lukasz Piszczek joins us on a free transfer after being released by Dynamo Kiev at the end of last season. Best known for his 9 years at Borussia Dortmund where he was a first team regular, Piszczek will push Fernando Lewis for his spot in the team and will act as a senior figure to offer guidance to some of our youngsters!

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The European Championship 2020 comes to an end, and it’s France who beat holders Portugal in the final, Antoine Griezmann scoring both goals in a 2-0 win. My Iceland team can be extremely proud of themselves as we are classed as the overachievers of the tournament after reaching the Quarter Final stage. Holland also made the quarter finals where they were knocked out by Belgium!

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Iceland Player of the Tournament
Ogmundur Kristinsson

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Kristinsson may seem like an odd choice for my player of the tournament as you’d normally expect to see a player that had a couple of really outstanding games and won big matches with big performances. However, I think the consistency shown throughout the tournament from our goalkeeper (who let’s remember is only rated as 2 star ability by my assistant), was a major part of our success and a huge contributor to our progression in the competition.



Back to domestic news and Giliano Wijnaldum has left the club on a free transfer to join Toronto FC. Wijnaldum has figured in my team throughout my team here, although he has never really established himself as a first team regular. He was keen to get more football and I was happy to let him go.

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I’ve added a new centre back to the squad for the upcoming season in the form of Sebastiano Luperto, who joins us on loan from Napoli. At 23 years old, he already has some decent experience under his belt, having played 88 league matches already (predominantly for Empoli and Pro Vercelli on loan). He will also be a welcome addition to play alongside fellow Italian Marco Chiosa who has gone from strength to strength since signing for us.

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Following our good showing in the European Championship, Iceland have moved up to 38th​ in the world rankings now! Since I’ve been at the helm of the national side, we’ve played 9 games and moved up about 55 places in the world rankings!

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With Lukasz Piszczek joining the club, I had no requirement for Damil Dankerlui this season. However, I didn’t want to lose him altogether (with Piszczek being 35 years old and only here on a 1 year deal initially), so I’ve allowed him to join Roda JC on loan for the season where he should be a first team regular and hopefully improve for when he returns to the club.

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Before we started our Champions League Qualification campaign, we had three friendlies to warm up a little. A couple of games where we rotated the squad against lower league opposition in Holland before getting a lesson from Liverpool…..to be expected I guess, but the game brought in a sell out crowd and boosted the finances by about £80k.

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Wednesday 22nd​ July 2020
Champions League - Best Placed 2nd​ Qualifying Phase 1st​ Leg
Willem II vs FC RB Salzburg
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Montoro, Peters, Chiosa (Luperto 90), Lewis (Piszczek 63), Heerkens, Demir, Crowley, van Ooijen (Colkett 63), Veerman, Teuchert

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An early goal in both halves gave us a good advantage in the first leg and we were looking good for a solid 2-0 win in the home tie. From the moment the 2nd​ goal went in, the main thing for us to think about was keeping that all important clean sheet, but there was a sense of urgency about Salzburg as they pushed forward frantically searching for an away goal. But I’m pleased to say our defence were more than a match for them and shut them out well, to hold our 2 goal advantage going to Austria.



The gate receipts from the home game against Salzburg sets a new record for the club!

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I forked out £450,000 to bring a new defensive midfielder to the club. 28 year old Slovenian international, Blaz Vrhovec, has joined the club from Slovenian side, Maribor. With Jeremy Grimm leaving the club, Blaz will be the main competition for Freek Heerkens defensive midfield role in the team. It immediately looks like a great signing, as Vrhovec’s value is already £1.7 million!

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I was hoping to bring in a permanent player as a backup left wing back to Demir, after Wijnaldum left the club this Summer. However, there hasn’t really been anyone available within my budget. So I opted to bring Jay Dasilva back from Chelsea on loan for another year.

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Wednesday 29th​ July 2020
Champions League – Best Placed 2nd​ Qualifying Phase 2nd​ Leg
FC RB Salzburg vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Montoro, Peters (Luperto 57), Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens, Demir, Crowley (Colkett 73), van Ooijen, Veerman, Teuchert (Sol 57)

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I kept the same lineup that had beaten Salzburg in the 1st​ leg a week ago, in the hope they could get the job done again in Austria. We made it to half time at 0-0….how, I don’t know as both sides mustered up 19 chances in the first half! We knew Salzburg were likely to throw the kitchen sink at us in the 2nd​ half, so I opted for a counter mentality in the hope we could nick the first goal of the game with them throwing so many men forward, and put it to bed before they could really get going. But it was Salzburg who scored first, but it was late on in the 84th​ minute! In fact, it was too late and for Salzburg there wasn’t enough time to find that crucial second goal and it is us who progress with a 2-1 aggregate win!



So we were in the draw for the Best Placed 3rd​ Qualifying Phase of the Champions League and we were given a tough tie against Dynamo Kyiv. However, it could have been a lot worse as Napoli were one of our four potential opponents, and I really wouldn’t have fancied that one!

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Looking ahead, August will see the start of the Eredivisie competition and our opening game will now be flanked by the Dynamo Kyiv matches in search of Champions League qualification. After that’s out the way, we have an early season meeting with champions Ajax! Them Kyiv games have given the whole outlook of the start of the season a completely different perspective.

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[Brane_Orsou]

Interesting start to the season! Well done getting past RB, Kyiv won't be easy but fingers crossed

 

[Klippybo]

Doing well!!!

Can you clear your inbox as tried to send you a message

 

[dporter8999]

great performances with both club and country! Also, good spots with the transfers, managing to improve the squad with players on smaller fees!

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Doing well!!!

Can you clear your inbox as tried to send you a message

Sorry mate. All done

 

[FM_TNSSO]

August 2020

August 2020

Wednesday 5th​ August 2020
Champions League – Best Placed 3rd​ Qualifying Phase 1st​ Leg
Dynamo Kyiv vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Montoro, Peters, Chiosa, Lewis, Heerkens (Vrhovec 62), Demir, Crowley (Colkett 62, van Ooijen, Veerman, Teuchert (Liau 66)

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Despite Kyiv having more possession and more shots, I have to say I think we were unlucky to lose this game. The better quality chances actually came our way and we could have easily been in front when they scored their late, late winner! However, it’s not all doom and gloom as we scored a massive away goal that could be huge! A 1-0 win at home will be enough…..it will be tough, but it will be enough!



Both Blaz Vrhovec and Sifiso Liau came off the bench in Ukraine to make their debuts for the club. Both gave decent accounts of themselves although neither could have a significant impact on the match.

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Just before the domestic competitions kick off, the board send me a reminder of their expectations for the upcoming season. We’ve already met the Champions League expectations, so we’re good there! As far as Eredivisie goes, they only expect a top half finish again, despite us finishing as runners up last season! In the Dutch Cup, we’re looking at a Quarter Final at least.

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It’s that time of year to look at the Eredivisie season preview again. Our odds have been slashed once again as this year we are only 40-1 with the bookies to lift the title and predicted a 7th​ placed finish! We still don’t have any players that get in the media dream eleven which is made up of four players from Ajax, three from Feyenoord, three from PSV and dos Santos Souza from AZ Alkmaar. Two of our players do make the key players list though and it’s two of the new signings in Blaz Vrhovec and 18 year old striker Sifiso Liau.

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More than 1,500 extra season tickets have been sold this year! If we can bring in some decent money over the next couple of seasons, we may need to look into buying our current (to expand) or building a new stadium.

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Sunday 9th​ August 2020
De Graafschap vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Montoro, Chiosa, Luperto, Lewis, Heerkens (Vrhovec 71), Demir, Crowley (Colkett 73), van Ooijen, Veerman, Liau (Teuchert 71)

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We fell behind on the opening day of the season but a league debut goal from Sifiso Liau got us back on level terms and justified my decision to start him over Cedric Teuchert. Marco Chiosa then had us in front with minutes of the first half remaining. We didn’t start the second half the best and had to weather the storm for the first 20 minutes, but then we came back into the game and looked comfortably for majority of the remainder of the game. We were holding on a little bit in the final minutes as they threw men forward but got the job done and open the season with a win.



22 year old defensive midfielder, Bartlomiej Urbanski is a player who has been here throughout my time at Willem II, but one that has really struggled to break through into my team. It was time to move him on for the good of his own career and he has left the club to join Jagiellonia for just over £100k.

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Wednesday 12th​ August 2020
Champions League – Best Placed 3rd​ Qualifying Phase 2nd​ Leg
Willem II vs Dynamo Kyiv
Formation: 3-3-2-2 (Changed to 3-2-2-3 on 77 minutes)
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Peters, Chiosa, Luperto, Piszczek, Heerkens (Sol 77), Demir, Colkett, van Ooijen, Veerman, Teuchert (Liau 61)

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Considering they were the favourites, Kyiv came with a surprisingly defensive tactic which looked like they were happy to sit back and defend their first leg advantage. It was a dangerous tactic considering we only needed a 1-0 win to progress. However, for 90 minutes it worked and we really struggled to break them down and create many chances at all. But in the 91st​ minute, it was pure elation for our fans, for our bench, for our players on the pitch, as Henk Veerman ran onto a ball over the top from Charlie Colkett and slotted underneath the onrushing keeper to score the goal that would see us through and knock Kyiv out!



So the win over Dynamo Kyiv leaves just one hurdle remaining before we make the group stage. We are in the draw for the Best Placed Playoff and we’ll play Sporting Lisbon from Portugal. Another really tough tie against a side that are regulars in the group stage of the competition! Although, saying that, nobody expected us to turn Kyiv over!?

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Saturday 15th​ August 2020
Willem II vs Ajax
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Chiosa, Luperto, Piszczek, Heerkens, Dasilva (Demir 69), Colkett, van Ooijen, Veerman (Sol 54), Liau (Teuchert 54)

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That first goal that gave us the lead on 73 minutes was all about the subs! Teuchert scored it after the assist from Demir at left wing back….the combined beautifully to give us a lead that didn’t look out of place against the champions. And only 5 minutes later, the pair combined again and we were 2-0 up and in control! We saw the game out expertly from there and recorded a big win! Ajax, consequently, have lost both their opening games of the season and sit in the bottom 3 after this result.



Tuesday 18th​ August 2020
Champions League – Best Placed Playoff 1st​ Leg
Willem II vs Sporting Lisbon
Formation: 3-3-2-2 (Changed to 3-2-2-3 on 62 minutes)
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Chiosa (Peters 62), Luperto, Lewis (Piszczek 77), Vrhovec, Demir, Crowley, van Ooijen (Sol 62), Veerman, Teuchert

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I can’t help but feel that we missed our opportunity to progress here. Sporting were down to ten men inside the opening 3 minutes and with an extra man advantage for virtually the whole game I’d have really expected us to go on and win the game. However, it was Sporting who took the lead, rather luckily through an own goal. We pushed and pushed and dominated the whole game but could only find an equalizer in stoppage time and we have it all to do in the away leg now!



Saturday 22nd​ August 2020
Roda JC vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Chiosa, Luperto, Lewis, Vrhovec, Demir, Crowley (Colkett 72), van Ooijen, Veerman (Sol 72), Liau

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In all honesty, we were not good enough here! But we managed to grind out a cheeky 1-0 with a single goal from our 18 year old starlet Sifiso Liau, making our record in the league 3 wins from 3!



Wednesday 26th​ August 2020
Champions League – Best Placed Playoff 2nd​ Leg
Sporting Lisbon vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Chiosa (Peters 56), Luperto, Piszczek, Vrhovec, Demir (Lewis 56), Colkett (Crowley 56), van Ooijen, Veerman, Liau

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It was Sporting who took the early lead in this one but it didn’t really change anything as we needed to score a goal no matter what! And within a minute of going behind, we were level!! 11 minutes in and it was first mission accomplished….which I really wasn’t expecting to be fair! However, that was about as good as it got for us as Sporting showed their class and there was no shock on the cards as they went on to win the game pretty comfortably. We matched them for possession and chances created, but their quality going forward is exceptional and it proved to be the difference today.



Despite losing to Sporting on aggregate though, we still managed to bag over £2.5 million for participating just at this early level of the competition!

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And another boost to the finances as we are to receive another £2 million for playing in the Europa League Group Stage, which is our consolation prize for being knocked out at the final qualification stage for the Champions League.

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With the bank balance now standing at nearly £11 million, I asked the board for a bit more in the transfer kitty as I used most of what was left to balance the books with the wage budget. I was hoping they might put 4 or 5 million my way, but I’ll have to make do with £1.5 million.

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As 4th​ seeds for the Europa League draw, it was never likely to be kind, but I actually think we’ve been handed a really tough group as all 3 sides we will face could beat us. I was hoping we’d get a group where there would be one side that we could almost guarantee 6 points from, but I don’t think we’ve got it here!

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The cup draws are coming thick and fast and this time it’s the Dutch Cup. We’ve been handed a home tie against lower league side, Achilles ’29.

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Sunday 30th​ August 2020
PEC Zwolle vs Willem II
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Lachman, Chiosa, Luperto, Lewis, Vrhovec, Demir (Dasilva 56), Crowley, van Ooijen (Colkett 81), Veerman, Teuchert (Sol 74)

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This was an incredibly boring game with very little action. Dan Crowley had our best chance of the game and should of put us in front on 84 minutes, when he was clean through on goal but shot straight at the keeper! We were punished for that miss, minutes later, as Zwolle scored the only goal of the game to win it and nick all 3 points.



A massive blow as we lose Erdin Demir for 3 months after he broke his ankle and had to come off against PEC Zwolle.

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Transfer deadline day and I was determined to spend my money and make a marquee signing for the club. I was on the hunt for a centre back as last year, two of my main back three were the aging Peters at 33 years old, and Montoro who is only rated 2 stars by my assistant. So after a lot of searching, I finally signed a centre back from one of our Eredivisie rivals, AZ Alkmaar. Even better than that, he is Dutch….please welcome Burak Arabaci. He will definitely strengthen us in the centre back position, with great stats for tackling, heading and positioning. He isn’t the slowest either and has the ability to play a decent pass as well. A good buy for £1.3 million I think, especially as his value is immediately £2.1 million.

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The transfer window comes to a close and it’s Ajax that spend big, forking out over £23 million on new players! They actually recorded all three of the biggest signings in the window, the most significant probably being that of Thomas Buitink from Vitesse. The striker has played 3 games this season for Vitesse and scored 3 goals, bagged 2 assists and has an average match rating of 8.40. If he continues that form for Ajax, he’s going to be one to watch this season!

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Three wins from our opening four games is a decent enough start and leaves us sitting 5th​ at the end of August. The only team to beat us, PEC Zwolle, top the league with the only 100% record.

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Player of the Month
Sifiso Liau

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Nobody pulled together an amazing string of performances this month, but Sifiso Liau did well in the games he played in and scored 3 big goals for the club. At the ripe age of 18, he looks to have a big future ahead of him.



September will be an interesting month with our first Europa League game and the 1st​ round of the Dutch Cup in and around 2 league games against Heerenveen and PSV who have both had good starts.

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I’ve got a couple of games coming up next month with Iceland as well. We will take on Slovakia and Holland in the first two games of the European League.

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[FM_TNSSO]

September 2020

September 2020

Friday 4th​ September 2020
European International League Division B, Group 4
Iceland vs Slovakia
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Kristinsson, Eyjolfsson, Ingason, Fjoluson, Johannesson, Palsson, Traustason, G.Sigurdsson, Bjarnason, Sigurdarson, Finnbogason

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Our first game back, following the European Championships ends in a comfortable 2-0 win for my Iceland team over a very poor Slovakia! They were awful and we completely dominated throughout and were good value for the victory!



Monday 7th​ September 2020
European International League Division B, Group 4Holland vs Iceland
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Kristinsson, Eyjolfsson, Ingason, Fjoluson, Traustason, Palsson, Skulason, G.Sigurdsson, Porarinsson (Bjarnason 45), Sigurdarson (Kjartansson 80), Finnbogason (Gudmundsson 45)

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For the first time, I took on the nation that I one day hope to manage. And although we suffered defeat, the result probably flattered us to be fair as Holland had over 20 shots on goal with a number of really good chances, but they only managed to put one away. On the day, it was enough to secure the win as we struggled to create anything in their half.



After two games, here’s the group table in the European International League.

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Sunday 13th​ September 2020
Willem II vs sc Heerenveen
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Arabaci, Chiosa, Luperto, Lewis, Vrhovec, Dasilva, Crowley, van Ooijen, Veerman, Teuchert

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We were poor. Nothing else to say!



Burak Arabaci made his debut at centre back against Heerenveen and didn’t shine in the slightest. My biggest signing for the club so far, was hugely disappointing and will have to step up on that performance if he is to keep his place in my team!

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With our team performances being disappointing over the past few games, I was keen to have a look at a different formation and try something new out……maybe something not so defensive as I felt we have better players than when I took over here and don’t need to sit back so much. I came up with a 4-1-2-3 narrow formation. Most of the play will be focused through the middle of the pitch through our two most creative players in the team, who will both act as playmakers. Once they get the ball, their job is to get it to the strikers as quick as possible and create the chances. 3 strikers up front should offer plenty of options for their passes. The formation doesn’t offer the greatest width I know, but the left and right back have instructions to hit early crosses from deep, as I don’t want them getting too far forward and leaving the two centre backs exposed. Also, I’ve got my centre backs pumping the ball forward to the strikers rather than trying to play it out of defence….this should allow us to score some goals on the counter as well! Let’s give it a whirl.

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Thursday 17th​ September 2020
Europa League Group H
Willem II vs SK Rapid Wien
Formation: 4-1-2-3 Narrow
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Piszczek, Arabaci, Chiosa, Dasilva, Vrhovec, Colkett, Crowley, Teuchert (Sol 75), Veerman, Liau (Van der Venne 65)

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Our first taste of Europa League formation and our first try with the new formation. Now the formation did work as we were dominant and created 17 chances at the Wien goal….however, our strikers did not do their job and couldn’t find the back of the net and they squandered some real good chances too! Promising performance with the new lineup, but a disappointing result in possibly the most winnable game in our group!



17 year old striker, Patrick Van der Venne, was handed his professional debut against Wien in the Europa League as we searched for a goal in the latter stages. He played the final 25 minutes of the game and although he couldn’t find the back of the net, he looked lively and gave a good account of himself.

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Tuesday 22nd​ September 2020
Dutch Cup 1st​ Round
Willem II vs Achilles ‘29
Formation: 4-1-2-3 Narrow
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Piszczek (Lewis 57), Arabaci, Chiosa, Dasilva, Vrhovec (Heerkens 30), Colkett (van Ooijen 45), Crowley, Teuchert, Veerman, Sol

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Comfortable would be an understatement as we easily dispatched of our lower league opposition in the 1st​ round of the Dutch Cup.



We’ll play Helmond in the 2nd​ round, the same team we beat in round 2 a couple of seasons ago.

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Sunday 27th​ September 2020
Willem II vs PSV
Formation: 4-1-2-3 Narrow
Lineup: Wellenreuther, Piszczek, Arabaci, Chiosa, Dasilva, Vrhovec (Heerkens 60), Colkett, Crowley, Teuchert (Swijgbergen 60), Sol, Liau

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PSV were good but not good enough for a 3-0 win I don’t think and the result was a little unfair on my lads who didn’t play badly, they were just undone by a better side. However, this result does now leave us on a real **** run of form with 3 straight losses in the league!



Trying to play 3 up front with a lack of strikers, is benefitting my youngsters as I give another debut to 20 year old Zep Swijgbergen. He came on for the last half hour, but had little impact on the game.

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Our poor league form this month has seen us drop all the way down to 10th​ in the table and closer to the bottom 3 than the top of the table. We really need to pick up our form quickly!

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In the Europa League, we sit 2nd​ in our group after just one game played and the table doesn’t really tell us anything at this stage.

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Player of the Month
Jay Dasilva

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When the whole team plays pretty poorly, it’s always tough to find a player of the month. Jay Dasilva was the best of a bad bunch this month.



October is going to be a really busy month and will certainly shape our chances of progression in the Europa League with 3 group games coming up in the next 4 ½ weeks. As well as a busy European schedule, we’ll also play 3 league games as we try desperately to get some points on the board and propel ourselves back into the top half.

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In amongst all them domestic games, there will also be an international break and I’ll manage Iceland to two games. A friendly against Costa Rica, before we take on Slovakia again in the European League.

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​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Hi guys, I've hit a really **** run of form and dropped down into a relegation battle, which I have to say is a huge step backwards and has destroyed my motivation for this save at the moment. Because of the nature of the save and the challenges I set myself, I cannot move clubs which is what I really want to do right now (as I've built my reputation up enough that I could almost bag any job I like in Holland), which has kind of ruined it for me at the moment in a way, as I've always liked the idea on my previous saves of moving clubs to better myself and keep things interesting.

I'm not deleting this save and I'm sure I'll come back to it at some point, but for now I need to get my teeth sunk into something now to reignite my love for the game. I'll be back, but for now, please look out for my next story...

 

[Brane_Orsou]

No problem mate, I can't stomach a save where I can't move around if I want to either

 

[Raaritsgozilla]

Understandable, you should only play while it is fun for you. When the fun stops, stop.

It was fun while it lasted!