FLYING HIGH - A BLUEBIRD'S STORY

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FM Lect

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"To win a title, even just to win one game, you must first have the players, the philosophy and the facilites to make a team. This may seem untrue on days of defeat and darkness, but in the end, we will flourish." - FM Lect
A story of Cardiff City...
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Note

Season 1 and 2 have already been played. The updates for these seasons will not be as in depth as the seasons following.

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Season 1
(All SS in this update have been taken in 2014, gametime)
(Please ignore any spelling and grammar mistakes, I will try to correct as many as possible before posting)

"Finances are the stumbling block to prevent all progression. Mostly unmanageable, always unpredictable"

Season Aim

The main aim going into the first season was to solidify. Looking at the squad, all that was needed was a few backup players, particularly in defense. Based on this, I selected the safer 'Top Half Finish' option. If a respectable league position could be attained, along with a decent cup run to garner some much needed finance, then a push for promotion would be an order for next season.

Transfers
(SS of attributes will be available in updates for season 3 onwards)

View attachment 295718

There was not much transfer activity in terms of signings in the first season, however the departure of some much needed dead wood brought in a decent amount of money.

In

Eric Lichaj - Aston Villa - Loan

Eric Lichaj was signed to plug the gap at backup for both right back and left back. With only having 2 full backs at the club in Kevin McNaughton and Andrew Taylor, Lichaj was needed in case of injury. If Lichaj was good enough, then the possibility of a full signing would be there at the end of the season.

Tal Ben Haim - Free Transfer

Tal Ben Haim was signed in order to provide further backup in defense. Despite his age (30) Ben Haim can still do a decent job at CB for the next 2-3 seasons. Ben Haim is also very versatile, allowing him to comfortably provide cover at LB and RB too.

League Table

View attachment 295714

Our league season ended with eventual disappointment. We had been trying to break into the playoffs for must of the season however, a poor last 2 months of the season caused a slip from 8th to 12th place. In the end, we met our target providing a good platform to build on.

FA and Capital One Cup's

Our FA and Capital One Cup campaigns again met, but did not ecxeed expectation. We exited in the 3rd round in both to Chelsea and Leicester respectively. I was not disappointed, as we gave a respectable showing in the Capital One, and came against a considerably stronger opponent in the FA.

Season Summary

In all, we made a productive, but not scintillating start to our Cardiff career. Steady results and encouraging performances pave the way for a promotion push in Season 2. One concern however is the dramatic decline in finances with only regular cash injections from our rich Malaysian owners keeping us afloat.

Player of the Season

View attachment 295723

My player of the season is also uncoincidentally, the fans player of the season in game. CB Matthew Connolly proves a worth winner of the award after a season of game winning performances. Consistent strong clearing headers and incredible last ditch tackles were a regular feature and were the main factor behind the award. Enduring 45 out of 46 league games with a rating of 7.34 makes him a worthy award winner.

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The adventure continues...
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Season 2
(All SS in this update have been taken in 2014, gametime)

"Triumph takes patience, wait and you shall be rewarded."

Season Aim

Our aim at the beginning of season 2 was to build on our average start and push on towards the playoff places. If we could scrape a 5th of 6th place finish then we would have a good opportunity to grab a place in the Premier League, also giving us a much needed financial boost. Going into the season we were not expecting to climb any tree's in the cup competitions so to speak, but we would play a strong side to get through as many rounds as possible, non the less.

Transfers
(SS of attributes will be available in updates for season 3 onwards)

View attachment 296250

In the second season we again could not have much activity due to financial insecurity, however we did manage to grab back a player from last season, and snap up 3 youngsters. We also allowed some players to depart who had been away on loan the previous season, or were no longer needed.

In

Stephan Hagar - Free Transfer

Stephan Hagar was snapped up due to his age and potential. The 18 year old Austrian CB has a potential of 4 stars according to scout David Hamilton. During the transfer window Hagar was sent on loan to League 1 Walsall to gain some first team experience.

Eric Lichaj - Aston Villa - Loan

We brought Full Back Eric Lichaj back for a second season at the club. I was hoping to seal Lichaj on a permanent deal after a solid first season but our financial situation did not permit.

Oliver Markoutz - Free Transfer

We brought in a second Austrian youngster in the first of 2 January signings. Markoutz, an 18 year old winger, was brought in to provide a replacement for Craig Bellamy, who announced his retirement at the end of the season. Markoutz was said to have a 3 and a half star potential when brought to the club, but was quickly demoted to 3 stars.

Joshua King - Free Transfer

Our final signing, a 21 year old Norwegian, was brought in due to his 3 and a half star potential. However, much like Markoutz, King has now been said to have only 2 and a half stars of potential. If King does not reach a good enough level, then we can easily sell him for a large profit.

League Table

View attachment 296251


Our league season finished in eventual disappointment despite meeting expectations. Our 7th place finish was hard earned and well deserved but losing out on a play-off spot by the margin of goal difference was hard to take. Throughout the season we were lurking on the edge of the playoffs and going into the last day, we we in 5th, 1 point ahead of Millwall and 2 ahead of Everton. Unfortunately we lost 3-2 to Peterborough whilst Millwall drew and Everton won condemning us to 7th spot.

FA and Capital One Cup's

Our FA and Capital One Cup campaigns ended in defeat in both 4th round ties to Notts County and Wolves respectively. I was satisfied with our performances in both competitions, particularly our 3-1 win over Arsenal in the 3rd round of the FA. I was not expecting to pull off any upsets in the competition, so to beat our parent club Arsenal, is particularly special.

Season Summary

In all, I am satisfied with our performance over the cause of the season. I believe that our performance in the league merited a place in the playoffs, but it was not to be. Our financial position deteriorated further over the cause of the season, but the departure of our highest wage earner Craig Bellamy, will benefit us massively.

Player of the Season

View attachment 296247

For the second season in a row, I have chosen Matthew Connolly as my player of the season. Yet again, Connolly has provided outstanding, game winning performances over the course of the season with a rating of 7.30 in 42 games.

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Onwards and upwards...
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One thing I want to know - How the f*** did Everton go down
 
Anthems said:
One thing I want to know - How the f*** did Everton go down
Click to expand...

No idea. I was surprised too. They sold Jagielka and Fellani before they came down. They still have Jelavic. Reading eventually beat them in the play-off final.
 

Note

Now that we have finished our quick updates for season 1 and 2, we will post in a new, more in detail format. From now on, we will have updates on the 1st of November, outlining pre-season and the start of the campagn. The update after that will be on the 1st of February, outlining the 3 months of fixtures and the January transfers. The final update of the season will be the end of season update, showing the last fixtures of the season and reviewing the season. I hope you enjoy the format and season 3 November update will be up tomorrow.
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Hurry up and get in the Premier League :p
I look forward to seeing you play Swansea.
 
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