Everton F.C. - Can the Toffees Break the Top 6?

December 1st 2019
'Can we break the top 6 this season?'

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Everton celebrate following a goal for Richarlison


Matchday 14 - Manchester United vs Everton
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A terrible start to the month as we are completely dismantled by Manchester United. From the get go we never looked able to compete with a side better than us and despite only being behind by 1 at half time, an attempt to get back in the game completely backfired as went on to lose the match 4-0.


Matchday 15 - Everton vs West Ham

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We recovered with a big win ourselves over West Ham, winning 3-0. It was a great victory highlighted by Moise Kean scoring his first goal for us in 5 league games. Jefferson Lerma scored his first club goal and Andre Gomes continued some fine form with a goal from the penalty spot. Great result!

Matchday 16 - Bournemouth vs Everton
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Following a recovery, it proves only brief as we are beaten by Bournemouth in the end after a tight game. We went 2-0 down before managing to claw it back, only for The Cherries to get themselves a late winner. It was an unfortunate defeat in a very even game, but unfortunately it sees us drop back down the table following a rise earlier on in the day.

Matchday 17 - Everton vs Norwich
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Back to winning ways against struggling Norwich and a double from Gylfi Sigurdsson got us over the line in a deserved victory. Finishing let us down on a few occasions today and it really should've been a bigger win. Thankfully, though, we do get the win and can climb back up the table.


Matchday 18 - Tottenham vs Everton

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A very late undeserved equaliser from Tom Davies got us a very respectable point against Tottenham! Jordan Pickford went absolutely mental for us today, making incredible save after incredible save!!! He saved a penalty from Harry Kane as well and was basically our only player bar Davies today and we FM'd Spurs by scoring in stoppage time to earn a point!

Matchday 19 - Everton vs Sheffield United
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A crazy game against Sheffield United as we win 5-3 but it was topsy turvy and anything could've happened in the end. Moise Kean got himself a double and Gylfi Sigurdsson has been scoring lately and he got himself a hat-trick in this one! After going behind, we turned it around well before they got back into it. Despite a leaky defence, our attack was electric today and it resulted in the win.


Matchday 20 - Arsenal vs Everton

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A stunning win against Arsenal to finish the month!!! Moise Kean single handedly turned around the match with a double as we down The Gunners spectacularly. A close game but I think we just about edged it in the end and deserved the win. Our best win of the season so far! Get in!!!

Injury Update
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Gylfi Sigurdsson was getting into full flight this month but suffered an injury which keeps him out for the next month or so! Unlucky, this happened with Iwobi earlier and hopefully we don't have to deal with our best form players always being the ones to get injured.

League Table
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We sit 5th in the table!!! We've been in fine form and despite slip ups every now and again, we are sitting in a great position at the halfway point. Burnley have finally won a game at the bottom of the table but still struggle while Liverpool are still in first. The January window will see us make a total of 0 signings and sales I'm fairly confident. I'm happy with the squad, have no money to improve and there isn't anyone I want to sell.

 
If only Keane could do that in real life! I'd have made even more money out of him on Football Index if he had!
 
If only Keane could do that in real life! I'd have made even more money out of him on Football Index if he had!
I'm sure he'll come good eventually but for now I'd imagine you'd be losing your money!
 
I'm sure he'll come good eventually but for now I'd imagine you'd be losing your money!
Thankfully I got in very early on him (£0.62 a share) and sold at over £2 so made good money ???

Thankfully he hit the ground running on your save!?
 
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January 1st 2020
'Promising Signs but slip-ups still prominent'

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In real life, Carlo Ancelotti has been handed the reigns at Everton following Duncan Ferguson's spell as interim.

Matchday 21 - Crystal Palace vs Everton
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We start off with a scintillating 6-2 victory over Crystal Palace. We were spearheaded by a Moise Kean hat-trick today and he put in yet another great performance. Similarly, Andre Gomes and Alex Iwobi continued their fine form with goals as well. A really convincing victory today and a great way to kick off January.

Matchday 22 - Everton vs Newcastle
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However, we were brought right back down to earth with a home loss to Newcastle. It was an end-to-end game but in the end they just about edged. Defensively we were suspect and that was the main reason as to why we conceded; Seamus Coleman was had on toast several times by Allan Saint-Maximin who scored the winner just after the hour mark.

Matchday 23 - Everton vs Southampton
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Back to winning ways as a double for Alex Iwobi got us three points here against Southampton. The Saints were 1st in the table for a decent amount of time at the beginning of the season and while they still remain top half, they have fallen off the tracks a fair amount and it was highlighted as they hardly threatened our goal today.

Matchday 24 - Sheffield United vs Everton
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We laboured to a goalless stalemate against Sheffield United and these inconsistencies and 'slip-ups' are affecting our run towards the Top 6. It was a poor game for the fans to watch as well, with both sides barely having a sniff.

FA Cup 3rd Round - Everton vs Portsmouth
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We kick off our FA Cup campaign with a trashing of Portsmouth. Seeing as our fixture list wasn't too heavy and I'm aiming for an FA Cup so I played a full team today and we completely dismantled them, especially after they had a player sent off. A routine win and our quality shined through today.

FA Cup 4th Round - Preston vs Everton
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Preston held us to penalties in the Carabao Cup earlier before we prevailed, and they've forced a replay again with us here as we draw 0-0 in the game. I'll be hoping for us to beat them again as it would be extremely disappointing for myself and the board if we were to go out already.

Injury Update
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A break from injuries for once as only Bernard is out for just a day.

League Table
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We're still flying high and remain 5th in the table. As I was saying earlier, now Southampton have completely dropped out of the Top 10 but because of their amazing start are still doing fine. At the other end, it's quite tight at the bottom and aside from Burnley most sides could still survive or go down. At the top end, it's looking like Liverpool will get to win the league just like in real life.


January Transfers
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I didn't show the summer deal - my apologies. Here are the January deals though, and not really any major business at all here. The biggest move was for Franco Vazquez who went to Arsenal from Sevilla and their rivals from London, Spurs, made a solid deal for Josef Martinez.

Young Player of the Month
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Following a hat-trick against Crystal Palace, there was no alternative but for Moise Kean to win the Young Player of the Month award!


 
February 2020
'Our best month yet?'

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In Duncan Ferguson's final match as interim manager, Everton endured a frustrating 0-0 draw with Arsenal

Matchday 25 - Chelsea vs Everton
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We'd lost narrowly to Chelsea earlier in the season, so it was nice to see us hold them and get a respectable point. The fixture list is difficult again this month, with City and Spurs coming up too. A good start just like at the beginning of the season. Moise Kean scored yet again and we hold our position in the table.

Matchday 26 - Everton vs Manchester City
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We frustrated Manchester City on opening day by holding them to a draw, and the same happened again as we scored an 89th minute equaliser after going ahead earlier. It was a good performance and I'd say this time we deserved the point rather than the previous encounter between the sides. Andre Gomes scored yet another banger which got us the result today.

Matchday 27 - Everton vs Tottenham
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Tottenham are struggling this season, but I still expected a close fought game which we might've even lost. Not beyond my wildest dreams did I think we would thrash them 3-0 and keep a clean sheet! A stunning result and I'd go so far as to say that it's our best win so far in the season - all in the first half as well!

Matchday 28 - Norwich vs Everton
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A solid win against Norwich although it wasn't routine as they threatened us a few times. Thankfully, our defence stood strong and we caught them on the counter late on to seal the game with a penalty. Richarlison played up top today in Kean's absence and scored after 2 minutes which was certainly better than he's done in some of his recent performances which have been slightly disappointing.

Player of the Month
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Moise Kean bettered his last month by not only retaining his Young Player of the Month award but winning the general Player of the Month for the entire league. It just highlights how good he's been - he's only 20 and he's already got a massive trophy cabinet filled with personal awards.

Injury Update
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Unfortunately the young wonderkid was injured against Spurs and will be out for the next 2-4 weeks. Richarlison moves up top and Traore comes in on the right. Hopefully it won't effect as too much. Midfielders Davies and Lerma will return soon, however.

Monthly Manager Performance Summary
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The board are now delighted with how I'm doing which is great to see - the squad is in high spirits and so am I!

League Table
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We sit 4th!!! We could drop with Wolves and Arsenal yet to play but it's extremely tight and we could finish in a really good position this season!

Cheers all for this year on FM Base and Merry Christmas!
 
March 2020
'Inconsistency prominent again'

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FA Cup Review
I wanted to kick off this post by announcing that our FA Cup run ended at the quarterfinals. We won the replay against Preston 1-0 before beating Brentford on penalties on the next round but just like in the Carabao Cup, it was Manchester United who eliminated us, this time they were 1-0 victors in a close game. I have to say that I'm really disappointed with our performances in cup competitions this season. Firstly in the Carabao Cup, we only beat Rochdale 1-0, went to penalties against Preston and rode our luck against United before being eliminated on penalties ourselves. In the FA Cup, aside from a 4-0 win over Portsmouth, we needed a replay to narrowly beat Preston and then penalties against to get past Brentford before United narrowly eliminated us again. Whether it be complacency or just a lack of desire or purely not performing I don't know but I'm upset with how we play in these games and hopefully we can improve it for next year.

Matchday 29 - Everton vs Bournemouth
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We more or less fail to continue our good form with a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth. They equalised with what proved the last kick of the game and it was unfortunate but in the end it was a very open game which probably deserved to finish level. A great goal from Bertrand Traore today, though, as he curled the ball in from about 25 yards out to complete a turnaround before the late goal.


Matchday 30 - West Ham vs Everton

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We beat West Ham 3-0 earlier in the season, but we came nowhere near doing the same again here. From start to finish we were dominated today, notably Felipe Anderson, who provided the assist for the only goal, absolutely dazzled our defence to bits and they were unlucky not to have more. Some of the worst football I've seen us play this season, we had no out ball and not what we needed after a draw to Bournemouth.

Youth Intake
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One 'positive' of the game was that immediately after, we had our annual youth intake and Jon McIntyre looks a right old prospect from the youth system. A 16 year old midfielder, he has immense potential and the perfect position as well. An all round central midfielder in an area where we really needed depth. Great stuff!

Matchday 31 - Wolves vs Everton
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We end the month on a high as we record our second win over Wolves this season. Luckily we got a 90th minute goal because they went on to score in the 95th minute but we got the win and we didn't play at our best again, but the difference was that we took our chances today. A vital win in a bad patch of form.


Monthly Manager Performance Summary

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The board are behind me and still very happy with the job I'm doing (as I am too!). They also have not criticisms of me and over the whole season I think that's an outstanding record. Really happy to have done so well this season!

League Table
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We are 5th! We are doing incredibly well this season and I'm delighted with our position. We are closing in on a Top 6 spot which I didn't imagine would happen this season. Liverpool are just about champions and need only a couple more wins to secure the title. Unlucky to see our rivals win but it takes nothing away from our performances.

 
April 2020
'Draws preventing a Top 4 tilt'

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Dominic Calvert-Lewin celebrates following scoring the winner in a 1-0 win over Burnley, being manager Carlo Ancelotti's first game.


Matchday 32 - Aston Villa vs Everton
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We kick off with a disappointing result despite a comeback from 2-0 down to earn a point. It was a disastrous start as we conceded 2 fairly quickly and needed a double, with 2 goals late in each half to comeback into the game. It wasn't a great result but at least we avoided defeat.


Matchday 33 - Everton vs Brighton
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Another poor result as we fail to beat Brighton who even went down to 10 men and it was a very poor result after the Villa draw as well. We really should've capitalised on there red card with major chances and it was not good enough on the finishing front for a win.


Matchday 34 - Everton vs Manchester United
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We made up with poor results with a great win over United! After going behind I thought it would be another thrashing from United following poor performances against them previously but Moise Kean came up with a brace to win the game for us. A great result following some poor results earlier.


Matchday 35 - Liverpool vs Everton
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It was never easy against the newly crowned Champions and they edged us with a 1-0 victory. A poor performance and they deserved to win; probably by more as well. I wasn't really expecting all that much from the game and the players didn't really deliver if I'm honest.


Everton Youth Teams
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In a nice little youth development here, our U18's managed to win the U18 Premier League after finishing level on points with two other sides but prevailing on goal difference. Very nice to that they had success, but the same cannot be said for our U23's side, who were relegated after a poor season.


League Table
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We remain 6th and West Ham have a game in hand with 3 fixtures left. Top 4 is beyond us at this point I'd say but holding on to a Top 6 is all that matters to complete a fantastic first season. Brighton are the first team to be confirmed relegated, while, as I said earlier, Liverpool have been confirmed as league champions and are 19 points clear at the top as of now.






 
May 2020
'Finishing the First Season'

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Carlo Ancelotti continues to have an effect as manager as his side won again against Newcastle

Matchday 36 - Everton vs Burnley
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Burnley are set to finish last or thereabouts so I was happy to get a win against them. We looked a little bit nervy until Gylfi Sigurdsson rattled home a second goal late on. A win I expected and one that we got so I'll take it.

Matchday 37 - Leicester vs Everton
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A good win here against Leicester who are having a poor season but recently beat Liverpool. It was a similar performance to the Burnley game as both sides played well but we edged with with the superior finishing. Alex Iwobi is showing a clinical streak as he's recently had a few composed finishes and clinically finished low and hard 1-on-1 today which had us on a victory course.


Matchday 38 - Everton vs Watford

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Watford are also getting relegated this season but had recently drawn to both Tottenham and Manchester City. However, they also hadn't won in 11 games and in our final game Gylfi Sigurdsson scored a stunning free-kick to cap off a great season. A great month to end the season and we secured a 5th placed finish in the division.

Europa League
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The successful end propelled us to Europa League qualification! It'll be great to compete in European competition and we ended up coming close to the Top 4.

League Table
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The final league table. 5th place!!! An amazing season which I'll review in depth next post. Liverpool romped the league and once they wrapped up the title they took their foot of the gas so its looks closer than what it was, even though the gap still remains at 13 points. It was poor seasons for Chelsea, Leicester and Tottenham while Norwich overachieved. Watford, Brighton and Burnley were all relegated to the Championship.
 
Season Review 2019/20
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Everton U23's lift the Premier League 2 trophy after winning


Competition Winners
Premier League: Liverpool
FA Cup: Liverpool
Carabao Cup: Bournemouth
EFL Championship: Leeds United
Champions League: Real Madrid

Europa Leagu
e: Arsenal

Season Review
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A very successful season as we finished 5th in the league. Both cup eliminations and our moment to forget were caused by Manchester United but we even beat them at the end of the season. We didn't lose to any team both times this season and I think that is an amazing achievement from the lads which showed that we do it against anyone in the league.


Season Awards
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Moise Kean wins the major awards for the team and had an absolute blinder of a season, especially for someone just 19 years of age. He ripped it up for us this year and I only hope he can continue next season. We had a really good squad this year with adequate depth which means I only really need to add to that in the window rather than make major improvements in all areas.


Golden Boot
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Moise Kean's amazing first season is highlighted as he picks up the Golden Boot award for the most goals in the league!


Team of the Year
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And again, Moise Kean was selected for the Team of the Year for his exploits!


Squad Dynamics
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The team is in high spirits following our success. They're happy amongst each other and are happy with me as manager; what more could I ask for?

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Our team was quite brilliant this year, it has to be said! Starting from the back, GK Jordan Pickford was immense between the sticks, highlighted by one of the best individual goalkeeper performances I've ever seen in the 1-1 draw against Tottenham. He didn't give anyone else a sniff at taking his spot and had an amazing year. For the defence, Djibril Sidibe was OK, but Seamus Coleman was much better once he came into the side. In a young team, he added valuable experience and know-how as he rediscovered some of his best form. Mason Holgate was on of my favourites because he wasn't pipped to even play that much this year but has now cemented himself as our best centre-back. New signing Thilo Kehrer had a good year, but Yerry Mina had a poor year and hopefully he can recover from it. At left back, Lucas Digne was always one of our best players and showed it again with a fabulous season.

In midfield, Andre Gomes was our best player of the entire team and was consistently brilliant. Gylfi Sigurdsson came good in the second half of the year and started adding more goals to his game, and Jefferson Lerma had a solid first season while Tom Davies progressed his game. It was just as well I spent big money to bring in Lerma, because my other options, Fabian Delph and Jean-Philippe Gbamin had terrible years as they failed to perform to expectations.

In attack was one of our best, yet also worst areas. Alex Iwobi, Moise Kean and Bertrand Traore were a great front three. You already know how well Kean did and Alex Iwobi was also a mainstay in the starting line-up. However, i was really disappointed with someone who I thought would be one of our best players; Richarlison. He underperformed and was replaced by Traore, who did a much better job. Bernard was also poor as back-up to iwobi, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin got ample chances but failed to find the back of the net.

My Player of the Season: Andre Gomes
My Young Player of the Year: Moise Kean
Needs Improvement: Richarlison
Most Disappointing Player: Dominic Calvert-Lewin


Summer Plans
The summer will be an interesting one. The board have given me a budget of 67m which I'm very happy with. I'm not interested in Djibril Sidibe as a permanent signing, so another right back to provide back up and eventually replace the aging Seamus Coleman is one of my main priorities. Second is a new RW as an upgrade as no one was particularly great in that role, even Traore was a little inconsistent for my liking. A backup striker for Kean to provide competition is also on my wishlist as I need someone who can replace him when he's injured, which he was 3 times across the year.
 
2nd August 2020
'Season 2 is here'

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Everton start off 2020 with a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City

Development Centre
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This year we've got some more prospects to add to our ranks. Following the youth intake, we've got a few new names, notably Jon McIntyre and many from last season remain as our top prospects this season. Hopefully that they keep developing and become first team players in the coming seasons.

Pre-Season
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Pre-Season was solid enough - there was nothing too notable but we didn't lose and got a respectable draw against Ajax and a good win against Istanbul Basaksehir.

Club Vision
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I was very surprised by the high expectations this season regarding the Europa League. The board want me to reach the semi-final which I think is a bit over the top all things considered! They want me to qualify for Euro Cup II, which is a new tournament inducted this year. Hopefully I can live up to their expectations and achieve what they want!

Player Outgoings
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We sold a number of players who came back from loan last year or were hardly used. We loaned out basically all of our youngsters as well. The most expensive sale was Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who in just under 20 appearances last season had a grand total of 0 goals and 0 assists. His value and potential suffered as a result so I moved him on so that it didn't get even worse. Newcastle also bought Fabian Delph off us so I'm very grateful for them to buying what were possibly our worst two players last season. Mo Besic, Morgan Schneiderlin and Yannick Bolasie all had been out on loan last year while Jonas Lossl didn't make a single appearance so I had no problem moving them on.

Player Incomings

Adama Traore - Wolves - 21m (Rising to 25m in instalments)
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Our first signing fills the RW spot which no one has yet be able to make their own. Adama Traore had a great year last time out for Wolves and he's exactly the kind of dynamic and explosive player which could fit our system. I'm hoping he fires from the get go and he provided a number of assists last year so hopefully he can continue doing so for the likes of Kean and a new striker who we've brought in.

Patrick Cutrone - Wolves - 25m (Rising to 31m)
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That new striker is another player from Wolves - the Italian Patrick Cutrone. I've always found this guy to be a bit of a beast in the past few FM's and he's a great addition following a successful outing in which he netted over a goal per game for the club in the Europa League. He will provide stern competition for Kean and we have a nice little Italian duo now up top.

Kyle Walker-Peters - Tottenham - 37.5m (Rising to 45m)
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You may look at the price tag which we paid for the player here but Kyle Walker-Peters had an immense year last season, playing in almost every game for Spurs and he will slot in to our starting line-up to become our new right back. He also got a bunch of assists last year and while it is risky, he's young and I'm super excited to see how he can perform for us.

Nicolo Zaniolo - AS Roma - 41m (Rising to 47.5m)
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Another expensive deal here but in my opinion completely worth it! We've nabbed a fantastic talent in Nicolo Zaniolo and we're lining up future replacements in key areas. He will play as deputy to Gylfi Sigurdsson for now, but as he gets older, Zaniolo is only getting better and we've splashed the cash on a fine player with a few to replacing the Icelandic playmaker.

Granit Xhaka - Arsenal - Loan
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I was particularly pleased with a cheap loan deal to bring in Granit Xhaka. He might not be the best all the time, but you have to admit that he can be a class player and I'm happy that Arsenal have sent him here to us. We lacked just a bit of depth following departures in midfield so I'm really pleased with the signing here. He's a great acquisition for a club such as ours and he'll likely start for us early doors.
 
8th August 2020
'An indifferent start'

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Central defender Mason Holgate is set to have another big year this season.

Matchday 1 - Everton vs Leicester
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A decent result to start off the new season. Adama Traore scored on his debut which was an added bonus before we conceded a relatively late equaliser to see the match out for a draw. It was a solid performance and the only disappointment was Moise Kean not really putting in much of a shift, but I won't make judgements after 1 match.


Matchday 2 - Southampton vs Everton

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Horrible. Possibly our worst result of the series just 2 games into our second season. Southampton are potentially favoured to struggle this season so to lose 3-0 and concede goals due to simple defending done wrong is really poor to see. The first was both of our central defenders, Kehrer and Holgate, missing the ball in the air and Valery heading home. It just went downhill as we barely threatened their goal.

Matchday 3 - Everton vs Liverpool
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We followed up our worst performance of the save with what is by miles our best! I gave first starts to Patrick Cutrone, Granit Xhaka and Nicolo Zaniolo and I would never have expected all of them to score and for us to thrash the reigning champions and our fierce rivals 5-1!!! If I don't seem excited, it's because this hasn't quite transmitted through yet! I genuinely cannot believe we've pulled this off, especially after the terrible performance last week. The new signings are shining through and I love it!

Matchday 4 - Manchester City vs Everton
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I played the same lineup as we did against Liverpool and we gave Manchester City a massive run for their money today, especially after taking the lead. If we hadn't had two men sent off I think we could've gotten at least a point, which I think we deserved at the very least. A spirited effort but all things considered I don't think it's an upsetting result.

Europa League
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I like our Europa League group. I think we can progress in 2nd or maybe even 1st if we can put in good performances. I do appreciate our opposition but think we can progress if we perform to our standards. It'll be great experience and will be tough to balance with league football, but I think the lads are more than capable of doing well in the tournament.

League Table
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Not the best start but we beat Liverpool 5-1 so I'm happy with it even though we lost 3-0 to Southampton. Chelsea and Manchester City are looking like the best teams this year early doors but I don't think it means all that much yet. At the other end the relegation zone contains three teams without wins so far.
 
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