Fabio Terzi - A Manager's Story

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Haha - see what offers come your way I always say mate. If anything tickles your fancy then go for it, otherwise stay :)
 
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April 2017

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Match Day 32

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A solid result here with a clean sheet too! Benzia scores again, I can't wait to see how he develops during this save (wherever I am managing, I'll keep an eye on him!)

Match Day 33

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A late winner grabbed us another win! Of course it came from Benzia!

Match Day 34

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We've maintained our unbeaten month so I'm not too upset about this draw.

Match Day 35

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We haven't lost to Monaco this season (I'm pretty sure?..) so that's always a good thing! Ba equalised a minute after Martial gave them the lead.

League Standings

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With three games to go, we can finish as high as 7th or as low as 12th. So we've had a great season!​
 
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May 2017

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Match Day 36

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Kenia has been superb this season, but tends to slip under the radar. A brace from him today, including a last minute equaliser sees us go 5 games without a defeat.

Match Day 37

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Never stood too much of a chance against record breaking PSG! Disappointing to lose at home though.

Match Day 38

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Not a good way to end the season, but it didn't matter too much as we couldn't finish anywhere other than 10th going into the match!

Final League Table

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Interestingly, Bordeaux managed to survive despite being in the bottom three for long periods! We finish in 10th, which is very respectable. Unfortunately we couldn't turn our negative goal difference into a positive one, but the acquisition of Benzia in January really gave our team a goal scoring boost, and I don't think we could have finished where we did without him. PSG totally ran away with the league, so kudos to them!

Top Scorers

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Most Assists

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Most Clean Sheets

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Highest Average Rating

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No Strasbourg players feature sadly!

End of Season Squad Overview

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So surely our star performer is Benzia! He notched 14 goals in half a season, so it would be reasonable to suggest he could get 28 in a full season with no injuries! Ba was outstanding too, along with Nirvana at CM. Kenia did very well also, contributing to goals and assists. There is a good amount of youth in the squad so it can only get better, one would hope.

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Now for my (Fabio Terzi) future.. I'm unsure as to whether to stay or not. I've enjoyed my time here but it seems the story is going stale. Basically what I'm saying is, if there is a job opening that takes my fancy over the summer, I'll go for it, to liven the story up again, but I wouldn't mind staying. Thanks for reading!​
 
Right I've got tonight free so the first update with Watford will be up later :)
 
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A New Club; A New Start

My first chance to manage in England, and we're at newly promoted, play-off winners Watford! I'm really excited to see what I can do with the club. They've got a solid basis for a good squad already, and with a couple of signings we should be in shape for a decent season. I'm not expecting to finish 10th as I did with Strasbourg, as the Premier League is much more competitive, but the main aim is to beat the drop. Let's get into pre-season!

Pre-Season 2017/2018

Transfers In

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I tried not to spend too much as I didn't want to disrupt the harmony of a promoted squad, but there were some areas that really needed improving. Last season Watford played with three centre backs and 2 wing backs, but I'm going to adopt a 4-3-1-2 formation this season as I feel it will be more stable. That meant we needed to sign normal full backs, so Barragán and Mings came in to fill that void. Capoue was released by Spurs and will provide us some Premier League experience and grit in the middle of our midfield trio. Joe Gomez (who recently signed for Liverpool IRL!) had quite a low release clause at £6,250,000 so I brought him in. With two ageing centre backs in Angella and Ekstrand he will provide the long term solution. Maxim is also signed to add more quality to the attacking midfield area, and Enrique Gil is a youngster with good promise.

Transfers Out

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Not too many noticeable outs, but Paredes going to Lanciano and Cathcart going to Udinese are the headline departures. Paredes, despite being decent, is getting on a bit, so to get nearly £3,000,000 for him was, I feel, a good deal. Cathcart isn't really a premier league defender, and Joe Gomez is much better and younger. Other than that, lots of unneeded players were released and a few youngsters went out on loan.

Pre Season Fixtures

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Pre season started off with LOADS of goals, including EIGHT against Lokeren. We played well, focusing our play through the middle and using the pace of Ighalo and Deeney to penetrate the defence. Despite our good start to the friendly schedule, we suffered two defeats, which I can only hope won't damage our early season form, with our first Premier League fixture being a tough one; Everton at Goodison Park.

Board Expectations

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The board isn't exactly ambitious this season, with Premier League survival the main focus. I'm aiming for somewhere around 15th, but so long as we finish above the bottom three, I'll be pleased. Also, a cup run would be nice in either the FA Cup or the Capital One Cup.

Strongest XI

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This will be the line-up I field whenever possible. So long as we don't have injuries (as we do going into the league campaign!) this will be our strongest squad. There is likely to be rotation though, as you may know from my time at Strasbourg I like to swap players round a lot. Similar to Rafa Benitez when he was at Liverpool in fact! Likely rotation includes Gomez/Ekstrand, Barragán/Juanfran, Maxim/Forestieri and we have plenty of central midfielders too.

Squad

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Overall, I'm relatively happy with the squad, and I believe we have good enough players to survive. Unfortunately we are entering the season with seven injuries already, so we are a bit light in squad depth at the moment. We've got a good mix of experience and youth so I think we have a good balance!

Let's get into the season! Thanks for reading, and see you for the August Review!​
 
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August 2017

Here we go, our first competitive matches in charge of Watford. The boys have been training really well and they are showing great fight and tenacity, which is what you need, especially in the Premier League.

After training a few days before the season opener, club captain Troy Deeney wanted to speak to me.. Obviously I feared the worst.

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TD: "Gaffer, can I talk to you for a minute?"

FB: "Certainly Troy. Everything alright?"

TD: "I just wanted to talk to you about the transfer interest in me.. I know clubs like Spurs, Southampton and Everton have me on their radar, but I wanted to tell you I've no interest in leaving."

FB: "That's brilliant news, you're a very important player here, so the fans will be extremely pleased."

TD: "I'm the captain, and captains don't abandon their ship. I'm staying boss! See you tomorrow."

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Great news going into the season!

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Fixtures

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Match Day 1 - Everton vs Watford

View attachment 251361A great result against a good side. I was gutted when Everton took the early lead through Baines' penalty, but we stuck at it, and Troy Deeney celebrated his commitment to the club with a late equaliser, to seal an opening day point at Goodison Park. Other players that impressed included Man of the Match, Ighalo.

Match Day 2 - Watford vs Arsenal

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Once again, we played very well indeed, and on another day perhaps we could have taken all three points! Both our front men once again scored one each as we led for most of the second half. Deeney's injury thankful wasn't anything to worry about.

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2nd Round - Rotherham vs Watford

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The second string side managed a comfortable victory against League 1 outfit Rotherham. The result never looked in any doubt as 19 year old striker Folivi put us in front after just 36 seconds. From there we dominated, but failed to breakthrough again until the final seconds when Chris Martin rounded off a lovely move with an emphatic finish.

August Fixtures Overview

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We've enjoyed a stable start to the Premier League campaign with 2 points from 2 difficult games. A strong cup performance sees us advance to the third round, so all in all, a good start to the season.
League Table

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Unbeaten in our first two matches, we sit in 12th place with 2 points from a possible 6.

Player of the Month

Troy Deeney

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Our captain has 2 goals in 2 games so far, and has simply played very well.​
 
Great start mate - points like those against Arsenal and Everton could prove invaluable at the end of the season!
 
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September 2017

After our impressive start to the season, I'm hoping we can maintain our solid form, especially at home, as Vicarage Road needs to be a fortress for us this season.

Fixtures

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Match Day 3 - Newcastle United vs Watford

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Ighalo's brace ensured our first win in the Premier League, and a priceless win at that! St James' Park is always a difficult stadium to come and get even a draw, so a win here is incredible, and the lads showed real character which will be very important this season.

Match Day 4 - Watford vs Bournemouth

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This was honestly the dullest football match I have ever seen in my life. Neither side took more than 5 shots, and both goalkeepers only had to make one save each. Still, a clean sheet is always a good thing, and it could come in handy if we need a low goal difference later on in the season.

Match Day 5 - Watford vs Southampton

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The Saints took the same route from the south coast to face us at Vicarage Road, and it was a much more thrilling encounter. Four first half goals saw us go behind and then take the lead before eventually the game settled and became more tense in the second half. Mario Balotelli, now at Southampton, was very dangerous but we held firm to retain a solid point.

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3rd Round - West Bromwich Albion vs Watford

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Our first defeat of the season, and it rankles a bit. Brown Ideye tore us to shreds with a hat-trick, before Bacuna restored some of our pride with a 90th minute consolation. I would have liked to have reached at least the 4th round, but it wasn't to be.

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Match Day 6 - Leicester City vs Watford

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Unfortunately, our poor result in the cup carried on into the league game against the Foxes, as we conceded an early goal and then couldn't find a way back into the game. It's important now that we bounce back, although it's going to be very tricky as our next match is against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

September Fixtures Overview

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Our form slightly depleted towards the end of the month, so here's hoping for a better October.

League Table

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After 6 games we are sat smack down in the middle of the table. My concern so far is that we have already drawn four, so we need to try and convert single points into three.

Player of the Month

Leandro Bacuna

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The Dutch utility player has been in fine form for us in a mixed month. He grabbed two goals and an assist and has been rock solid in the heart of our midfield. His energy and commitment to the team cause is wonderful to watch!​
 
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It's probably the biggest game of our season so far, and it's going to be extremely tough. We aren't fancied to get anything out of this game at all, but we're going to try our best and perhaps pull off the biggest upset of the season so far!

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We went with our strongest line-up, but comparing it to Utd, well... just take a look. Di Maria, Berardi, Falcao, Mata, De Gea, Vertonghen, Martinez.. a strong squad indeed. Plus, if they fail, the likes of Rooney, Moutinho and Rondon are on the bench!

Ighalo is in good form, as is Deeney, so if anyone is going to score for us, it will be one of those two! Zucilini is back after an injury and Maxim is starting to settle. Let's go!




​
 
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We played so well! When Vertonghen got himself a second yellow card in the closing stages of the game I thought we could ****** a late equaliser, but FM being FM and "Overload" being useless, the match sped straight though to stoppage time and ended. I'm livid!

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As you can see, the result is totally unjust but we will have to take it on the chin and move on. We played so well, Gomez in particular. Mata's first half goal was a lucky break really, as a misplaced pass deflected into his path and someone of Juan Mata's quality isn't going to miss a sitter like that.

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Also, that makes it three defeats in a row (in all competitions) which I really wanted to avoid this season! We need to step up again to avoid getting into a relegation dog fight!

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That being said, we've got some winnable games throughout the remainder of the calender year. With the exception of Liverpool, Spurs, City and Chelsea we could potential win quite a few.​
 
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