FM22 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CHALLENGE

[Klippybo]

NOVEMBER

Lineup - Maignan, Calabria (Mbabu), Tomori, Gvardiol, Hernandez, Bennacer (Tonali*), Merino, Saelemaekers (Rodrygo), Diaz, Leao, Belotti

Very nice. I dont know how Tonali got man of the match though as he came on for the final 15min and scored a cracker of a free-kick and that was it!

--

UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Maignan, Calabria (Mbabu), Tomori, Gvardiol, Hernandez, Bennacer, Kessie (Merino), Saelemaekers, Diaz, Leao (Ontiveros), Belotti*

A comprehensive victory which secures our place in the knockout round with 2 games still to play. Belotti got his hat-trick after he missed a penalty but converted the rebound fortunately.

--

Lineup - Maignan, Calabria, Tomori*, Merino, Gvardiol (Pellegrini), Tonali, Bennacer, Saelemaekers, Diaz (Roberto Firmino), Leao (Rodrygo), Belotti

We were very poor here but got the win thanks to a freak goal from Saelemaekers as he headed home from outside of the box!

--

SCOTLAND

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 1

Lineup - Kelly, Ramsay, Welsh, McTominay, Tierney (Bryan), McGinn (Robertson), Gilmour, Christie (Fraser), Turnbull, Gauld, Adams

Meh. We arent going to win the group and we arent going to get relegated so these are just friendlies in effect now. Finlay Robertson of Dundee made his international debut here.

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UEFA Nations League Division A Group 1

Lineup - Kelly, Ramsay, McKenna, McTominay (Souttar), Tierney, McGinn, Gilmour, Christie (Armstrong), Ferguson, Gauld (Fraser), Adams

Meh.

--

So there I was happily chugging along at AC Milan with 11 wins out of 11 i n the league and everything is going along perfectly. We have even qualified for the Champions League group stage so I am happy yes? Well yes but I have left them.......................

I HAVE MOVED OVER TO THE DARK SIDE!!!!!

I hate Man Utd as you may already know. The job became available in the summer just weeks after I had arrived in Milan so I didnt go in for it but here we are in November and the job became available as they are languishing in 11th place in the league so Tommy Tuchel got the bullet. I went in for it just for a nosey and they duly offered me the job and I had a tough decision to make.

Stay loyal with AC Milan and see how long this good run lasts?

Or jump ship and have a better chance at winning the Champions League?

So after looking at Man Utds squad and being offered £70m to strengthen it I took the chance. It is a huge risk. If we do win the Champions League this season it means I have managed them for almost the least possible time but if we dont I will have another year in **** at least! Also I may have burned my bridges with AC Milan but hopefully they will take me back one day!

Here is Man Utds squad........

Littered with talent!!!! I even have 3 great left backs!!!!! Frankie De Jong is a great addition to the squad and we have so much attacking talent that I feel that under my tutorship and with a few additions that I have a great chance at winning the Champions League!​

 

[Klippybo]

THE FIRST TWO WEEKS IN MANCHESTER

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Solet, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong, Pogba, Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford (Yusuf Demir), Greenwood*

An entertaining first game in charge. Mason Greenwood had 1 goal to his name this season and he managed to grab a hat-trick here while Bruno Fernandes scored via a free-kick. I brought in Dean Henderson in from the cold for his 1st appearance of the season while Jadon Sancho had only 1 sub appearance in the league to his name so far and he assisted a goal.

--

UEFA Champions League Group D

Lineup - Henderson, Wan-Bissaka (Chalk), Nelsson, Maguire, Shaw, Ilic, Hannibal (Berg), Kulusevski*, Goncalves, Yusuf Demir (Shoretire), Calvert-Lewin

I changed almost the entire starting XI here to see what they could do and they did well! Kulusevski scored twice and had a goal disallowed while 15y/o newgen Chris Chalk came off the bench to become the clubs youngest ever player. He is valued at £32m!!!!!

--

SUMMARY

So I took over the club in a weird situation. Languishing in mid table they have really struggled but they had only lost twice in the league but only won 3! They did have 4 wins out of 4 in the Champions League group stage and have already qualified so on the continent things were going well but I feel the 5-2-2-1 formation that Tuchel was using was just not working and some of his team selections were baffling at best.

I appointed some new staff with Nicky **** returning to the club to be the new director of football while Eddie Howe has also joined my backroom staff!!

As I looked through the reserves and U18s there is a load of talent there including an Argentinian winger valued at £75m as well as a decent looking Scot plus some known names such as Mengi, Hannibal and Shoretire.

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PREMIER LEAGUE

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[Klippybo]

DECEMBER

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet*, Varane, Mendes, De Jong, Pogba, Kulusevski (Yusuf Demir), Fernandes, Sancho (Calvert-Lewin), Greenwood (Goncalves)

Our 3rd away game in a row and our 3rd away win in a row. We werent great though but Kulusevski got the goal just as I was about to take him off (which I did) and Calvert-Lewin had a goal disallowed.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Solet, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong, Pogba, Kulusevski, Fernandes, Sancho (Calvert-Lewin), Greenwood*

My first game at Old Trafford! Leicester came into the game 3rd in the table but we came through with a victory. Greenwood scored again but he did miss a hat load of chances.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Maguire, Varane, Mendes, De Jong (Hannibal), Ilic, Sancho, Fernandes*, Rashford, Greenwood (Calvert-Lewin)

The one thing that is hard to find in my formation is a goalscoring AMC and it looks like I have inherited one here with Bruno Fernandes. He scored another free-kick here.

--

UEFA Champions League Group D

Lineup - Henderson, Wan-Bissaka, Nelsson, Maguire, Shaw*, Ilic, Berg (Morgan), Kulusevski, Goncalves, Rashford, Calvert-Lewin

This win secures the 6 out of 6 record for the group stage. Cant take too much credit for that but my backups did a fine job.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet, Varane, Mendes, De Jong, Pogba (Ilic), Sancho (Goncalves), Fernandes (Kulusevski), Rashford, Greenwood*

Get in!!!

This was our (hate saying our at Man Utd lol) first real test since I came to the club and we passed it with flying colours! Mason Greenwood scored twice and we were barely troubled in truth.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot*, Solet, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong, Pogba, Sancho (Kulusevski), Fernandes, Rashford, Greenwood (Calvert-Lewin)

Thats 6 wins in a row in the league (8 overall) and we have kept a clean sheet in our last 5 so we are the form team now in the league. No league title will be coming our way but the overturn in form is quite impressive.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Solet, Varane, Shaw, De Jong, Ilic, Sancho*, Fernandes, Rashford (Yusuf Demir), Greenwood (Calvert-Lewin)

We drop points for the first time with me in charge. We fell behind to a Marcus Edwards goal (he looks like a player) but thankfully levelled with Sancho scoring his first goal of the season.

--

Carabao Cup Quarter-Final

Lineup - Henderson, Wan-Bissaka, Solet (Nianzou), Varane, Shaw*, De Jong, Pogba (Ilic), Kulusevski (Goncalves), Fernandes, Sancho, Greenwood

Derby day joy!!!! We beat Man City for the 2nd time this month as we go into the semi-finals. Greenwood put us ahead before Fernandes scored a free-kick and then they dominated and pulled a goal back but Pedro Goncalves scored on the break as he somehow scored from the tightest of angles.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet (Nianzou), Nelsson (Mengi), Angelino, Ilic, Pogba, Kulusevski*, Goncalves, Calvert-Lewin, Greenwood (Yusuf Demir)

Bournemouth are rock bottom and you can see why here as even though I was forced to rest a load of players we still turned them over 5-0. Man Utd signed Calvert-Lewin in the summer for £99m and this was his first league start.

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SUMMARY

We had to fit in 9 games this month which is some going and we emerged unbeaten! We won 6 out of 7 of our league games with the away victory over Man City being the highlight and we also dumped them out of the Carabao Cup by beating them 3-1 at their own patch. We are very much in the race for a Champions League spot which is what the board wanted from me but my old club Liverpool will run away with the league title.

In the Champions League we won the last group game and have been drawn against Borussia Dortmund in the next round who are currently looking for a new manager.

As for my old club AC Milan - they lost their first league game without me at home to Cagliari but have been unbeaten since then and won their Champions League group.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
DEJAN KULUSEVSKI

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PREMIER LEAGUE

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[Klippybo]

JANUARY

Lineup - Henderson, Wan-Bissaka, Solet, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong (Ilic), Pogba, Kulusevski, Fernandes (Goncalves), Sancho*, Greenwood

Kulusevski seems to score every time I play him yet I dont see him as part of my first choice XI strangely enough.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong, Ilaix Moriba, Kulusevski, Fernandes*, Sancho (Rashford), Greenwood (Calvert-Lewin)

Not bad. Bruno Fernandes was the main man behind the victory as he scored twice and assisted another. I gave my new £88m signing, Ilaix Moriba, his debut here.

--

Carabao Cup Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Solet, Maguire, Mendes, De Jong (Ilic), Ilaix Moriba, Kulusevski, Fernandes*, Rashford (Sancho), Greenwood

Another Bruno Fernandes masterclass here as he won another MOM award. Jadon Sancho scored just moments after coming off the bench.

--

FA Cup 3rd Round

Lineup - Henderson, Wan-Bissaka, Nianzou (Nelsson), Maguire, Shaw, Ilic, Pogba, Kulusevski (Maldonado), Goncalves, Yusuf Demir, Calvert-Lewin*

I rested a load of players for this game and they got the win as expected and will get another chance to impress in our next game!

--

Carabao Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Henderson, Wan-Bissaka, Nianzou (Nelsson), Maguire, Shaw*, Ilic, Pogba, Kulusevski (Maldonado), Goncalves, Yusuf Demir, Calvert-Lewin

We book our place in the final with this win with my backups. Calvert-Lewin and Pogba again got the goals and we will play WBA in the final so we have a great chance of victory.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet, Varane, Mendes, De Jong, Pogba, Sancho, Fernandes (Goncalves), Rashford (Yusuf Demir), Greenwood*

Mason Greenwood had went 5 league games without a goal but he scored a hat-trick here which was pleasing.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet, Varane (Nianzou), Mendes, De Jong, Pogba, Sancho, Fernandes*, Rashford, Greenwood

Another 6 goal haul!!!!! It could have been more as Bruno Fernandes missed a first half penalty which denied him his hat-trick.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Solet, Varane, Mendes, De Jong, Pogba (Ilic), Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford (Calvert-Lewin), Greenwood*

6 GOALS AGAIN!!!!

We are on fire at the moment as we thrash my beloved Newcastle. Greenwood scored 4, De Jong scored a screamer and Bruno Fernandes missed another penalty.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet, Varane, Mendes*, De Jong, Pogba, Sancho (Kulusevski), Fernandes (Goncalves), Rashford, Greenwood (Calvert-Lewin)

No 6 goal haul here but it is a big win nonetheless. Nuno Mendes netted the only goal of the game and we move up to 2nd place in the table.

--

SUMMARY

We were on fire this month!!! Not only did we win every match but in one run of 3 matches we scored 6 goals in each game which is just bonkers! Along with Liverpool we seem to be the most in form team in Europe which bodes well for the Champions League - if we dont draw them that is! Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes are tearing the opposition defences apart but to be fair the whole team is doing well as my backups got plenty of game time too.

In the transfer window I let several players go. De Gea went to Wolves on loan and I sold another keeper, Justin Bijlow, to Shakhtar for £17m. Hannibal went to Leicester for £22m and Harry Maguire is off to PSG for £29m. Angelino signed for Juventus £19m and Patrik Berg joined Norwich for £10.5m while I also loaned out Shola Shoretire!

Incoming was just 2 players. I splashed out £88m on Ilaix Moriba from RB Leipzig. The young midfielder is one of the best players in his position and will be Paul Pogba's successor but when I signed him he buggered off to the African Nations Cup straight away!

Then on deadline day I needed an emergency backup keeper so chucked £10m at Burnley for Nick Pope.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
BRUNO FERNANDES

--

PREMIER LEAGUE

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[Klippybo]

FEBRUARY

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Solet (Nianzou), Varane, Mendes, Ilic, Pogba*, Sancho, Fernandes (Kulusevski), Rashford, Greenwood

We were back in amongst the goals here. Dejan Kulusevski scored a delightful goal as he lobbed the keeper from 25 yards and the keeper didnt look that far off his line!

--

FA Cup 4th Round

Lineup - Henderson, Wan-Bissaka (Chalk), Nelsson, Nianzou (Mengi), Shaw, Ilic, Ilaix Moriba*, Kulusevski, Goncalves (Buchan), Yusuf Demir, Calvert-Lewin

I put out my backups here - not a bad backup side!!!! Ilaix Moriba isnt a backup but has only played one game for us since signing so I slung him in and he duly scored the only goal of the game!

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Nianzou, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong, Ilaix Moriba*, Sancho (Kulusevski), Fernandes, Rashford, Greenwood

We will play WBA in the Carabao Cup final and if we perform like we did here we will have no problems as we won this match very easily. Moriba scored again and got the MOM award but I am more pleased to see that Rashford scored a brace.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Solet, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong, Ilaix Moriba, Sancho*, Fernandes (Yusuf Demir), Rashford, Greenwood

Ilaix Moriba seems to be a goal machine! Thats now 3 goals in 4 games which is not bad for a CM.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg

Lineup - Henderson*, Wan-Bissaka, Solet, Varane, Mendes, De Jong (Pogba), Ilaix Moriba, Sancho, Fernandes (Yusuf Demir), Rashford, Greenwood (Calvert-Lewin)

Marcus Rashford scored the only goal of the game as we take a narrow lead in to the 2nd leg. Dortmund have some amazing players going forward but not so much in the defensive areas.

--

SUMMARY

5 games, 5 wins, 13 goals scored and 0 conceded!!!! I am still unbeaten as manager of Man Utd and I really do hate to say this but I am enjoying it just as much as I enjoyed my season with Liverpool. Uuuuuggggghhhhh. If anyone goes out I have just as good a player to come in and alongside the Scousers we are the top 2 sides in the world as I have mentioned already.

Off the field we have had a takeover!!!!! Former Barcelona and Portugal keeper Vitor Baia is the new head honcho and he has immediately taken out a £524m loan which will cost the club nearly £2m a month to pay back!!!!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ILAIX MORIBA

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PREMIER LEAGUE

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[Klippybo]

MARCH

Carabao Cup Final

Lineup - Henderson, Wan-Bissaka, Solet, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong, Ilaix Moriba (Pogba), Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford (Calvert-Lewin), Greenwood*

Nothing to see here. Just a 7-0 cup final win lol.

--

FA Cup 5th Round

Lineup - Henderson, Wan-Bissaka, Solet*, Varane, Mendes, De Jong (Ilic), Ilaix Moriba (Pogba), Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford (Calvert-Lewin), Greenwood

We go into the quarter-finals with a tremendous win over Chelsea. Its not often that we fall behind but we did so here but we immediately levelled thanks to a Fernandes penalty and then late on Ilaix Moriba scored a fantastic goal to win it for us late on.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Wan-Bissaka, Solet, Varane, Mendes, De Jong (Ilic), Pogba, Sancho (Kulusevski), Fernandes (Goncalves), Rashford, Greenwood

My first defeat as Man Utd manager. Looking at the times of the goals it would seem like we collapsed but in truth we scored against the run of play and in truth they absolutely battered us. Played us off the park. Somebody better take care of them in the Champions League for us!!!!! My own fault for building such a good side!!!!

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet, Varane, Mendes, De Jong, Pogba, Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford, Greenwood*

I forgot to make subs here. Or rather I went to make subs and forgot to confirm them. Idiot. Greenwood is on fire at the moment and got another hat-trick here.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Solet, Nelsson (Nianzou), Mendes, De Jong, Pogba, Sancho (Kulusevski), Fernandes, Rashford, Greenwood*

We go into the quarter-finals with a comfortable win here. Mason Greenwood only had 1 goal in about 15 games when I arrived - he now has 30!!!!!!

--

FA Cup Quarter-Final

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet, Nelsson, Mendes*, De Jong, Ilaix Moriba (Pogba), Sancho (Kulusevski), Fernandes, Rashford, Greenwood (Calvert-Lewin)

Not one of our greatest performances but we got the job done to reach the semis.

--

SUMMARY

Undoubtedly the highlight of this month was our 7-0 win in the Carabao Cup final match against West Brom where we just ran riot. It was an unbelievable performance for a final tie and I cant ever remember winning a final by such a wide margin before!!!!

We did progress in the Champions League as we beat Dortmund over 2 legs and will face Inter Milan in the next round. My old club AC Milan go up against Liverpool and we will play the winner of that tie if we go through so that should be interesting!!!!!

I did lose my first match in charge of the club as Liverpool beat us 2-1 with 2 late goals. They have been irresistible all season and that defeat means that they are now 15pts clear of us although we have a pointless game in hand.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MASON GREENWOOD

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PREMIER LEAGUE

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SCOTLAND

Friendly

Lineup - Kelly, Welsh, Souttar, McKenna, Patterson, Mowatt, F.Robertson, Armstrong, Ferguson, Fraser, McBurnie*

I went with my backup XI here as many of them havent had a chance to show me what they can do and they did well enough by winning the game. This is my 7th game in charge of my country and only my 2nd win which is understandable given our previous opponents.

--

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group H

Lineup - Kelly, Ramsay, McTominay (Souttar), Tierney, A.Robertson, McGinn, Gilmour, Christie, Turnbull, Gauld* (Fraser), Adams (McBurnie)

A good start to our qualifying campaign. We scored 3 first half goals and it was game over although in the 2nd half both Ryan Gauld and Scott McTominay went off injured. As you can see I have managed to get Andy Robertson to come out of international retirement so that is a huge boost.
​

 

[Klippybo]

APRIL

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong (Pogba), Ilaix Moriba, Sancho (Kulusevski), Fernandes*, Rashford, Greenwood

Leicester have an outside chance of getting into the Champions League and they gave us a good game here but we just managed to come out on top.

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Solet, Nianzou, Mendes, Pogba, Ilaix Moriba, Sancho (Kulusevski), Fernandes, Rashford (Calvert-Lewin), Greenwood

Meh. Inter scored a late equaliser much to my annoyance but we are still favourites to go through. Paul Pogba scored a goal from 35 yards to put us in front.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet, Nianzou, Shaw*, Ilic, Pogba, Sancho (Maldonado), Goncalves (Kulusevski), Rashford, Calvert-Lewin (Yusuf Demir)

I rested a load of players for the upcoming Champions League tie but we still got the win with my 2 scorers - Nianzou and Shaw - getting their first goals of the season.

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Nianzou (Shaw), Varane*, Mendes, De Jong, Ilaix Moriba, Sancho, Fernandes (Kulusevski), Rashford (Calvert-Lewin), Greenwood

Dejan Kulusevski scored with the last kick of the game to send us through but we should have had it won beforehand as we absolutely battered them.

--

FA Cup Semi-Final

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Nianzou, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong, Ilaix Moriba (Pogba), Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford (Calvert-Lewin), Greenwood*

4 goals for Mason Greenwood as he tore Norwich apart to take us to the FA Cup final. I sold Berg to Norwich when I arrived so when he equalised I was beginning to think he was going to come back and haunt us but it was not to be.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Solet, Varane, Mendes, De Jong, Ilaix Moriba, Sancho (Kulusevski), Fernandes*, Rashford, Greenwood

Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood put on a show here as they both scored twice with Fernandes scoring with a brilliantly curled effort into the far top corner from 25 yards.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Wan-Bissaka (Chalk), Nianzou, Nelsson (Mengi), Shaw*, Ilic, Pogba, Maldonado, Kulusevski, Yusuf Demir, Calvert-Lewin

WOW!!!!

I rested all my first choice outfield players here and was expecting a defeat but we blew Man City away with 3 goals in the first 8min!!!!! If Man City had won we would have moved down to 3rd place but now 2nd place is all but assured.

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UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Solet, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong, Ilaix Moriba (Pogba), Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford, Greenwood*

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!

What a result. We absolutely smashed Liverpool here. We were 4-1 up at half-time and I expected Liverpool to fight back in the 2nd half but we just continued to attack and ended up with 7 goals. Greenwood smashed in a hat-trick and even Varane scored!!!!!

Surely we are in the final now.

--

SUMMARY

Forget about all the other results - even my backups putting 4 past Man City - our 7-1 win in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final was the moment of this save so far. Liverpool are a hugely talented team that I moulded and are the holders of the competition but we smashed them to bits to all but book our place in the final.

I thought our 7-0 win over WBA in the Carabao Cup final would be hard to beat but this semi tie is far more impressive!!!!

We aint catching them in the league though lol.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MASON GREENWOOD

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PREMIER LEAGUE

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[Klippybo]

MAY

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet, Varane, Mendes, De Jong, Ilaix Moriba (Pogba), Sancho, Fernandes (Yusuf Demir), Rashford, Greenwood (Calvert-Lewin)

From the dream performance against Liverpool to a terrible performance here. We were lucky that the scoreline was so narrow given how poor we were. This result confirms Liverpool as champions.

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UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Henderson, Wan-Bissaka (Chalk), Nianzou, Nelsson, Shaw, Ilic, Pogba, Kulusevski (Kelleher), Goncalves (Buchan), Yusuf Demir, Calvert-Lewin

Meh. I played my backups here and as expected we got battered but only by 2 goals so I am content with that and can now look forward to the final where I will come up against Bayern Munich again!!

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet, Varane (Nianzou), Mendes, De Jong, Pogba, Sancho*, Fernandes (Kulusevski), Rashford (Yusuf Demir), Greenwood

Absolutely not good enough. I expected to batter Fulham here and secure 2nd place so I can rest my first choice players for the remaining 2 league fixtures and while we are all but secure in 2nd I am enraged that we couldnt beat lowly Fulham who have now secured their safety in the league with this point.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot, Solet, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong (Ilic), Pogba, Sancho*, Kulusevski, Rashford, Greenwood (Calvert-Lewin)

Thank god they had a man sent-off!!! We were terrible in the first half and even just after the break with them down to 10 men they created one or two chances but thankfully they were also generous enough to gift us a penalty and we secured the win late on to clinch 2nd place.

--

Lineup - Henderson, Wan-Bissaka (Mengi), Nianzou, Nelsson, Shaw*, Ilic, Pogba (Julien), Kulusevski, Goncalves (Buchan), Yusuf Demir, Calvert-Lewin

Meh. Despite fielding my backups we deserved to win this game however we dropped 2pts when they equalised late on.

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FA Cup Final

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Solet, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong, Moriba (Pogba), Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford (Calvert-Lewin*), Greenwood

While I am naturally happy at winning the cup I would have preferred to have lost and not to have gone into extra-time! We dominated throughout and when they equalised I was livid. Sure we got the winner through Calvert-Lewin but my players were so tired at the end.

--

UEFA Champions League Final

Lineup - Henderson, Dalot (Wan-Bissaka), Solet, Varane, Mendes (Shaw), De Jong, Moriba, Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford, Greenwood*

WHAT THE **** JUST HAPPENED!!!!!!

To win the final is one thing but to smash Bayern, Mbappe and all, 5-0 with all the goals coming in the first 22min is another thing altogether!

I am free of Manchester lol.

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SUMMARY

Apart from the 2 cup finals this was actually a very poor month as we struggled throughout. We just got over the line in the league to finish 2nd but only won 1 out of our last 4 and then in the FA Cup despite dominating throughout we only beat Arsenal 2-1 in extra-time.

However in the Champions League final we blew Bayern Munich away with 5 goals in the opening 22min to claim my 3rd Champions League title - all of which coming from the 3 easy English clubs to manage it.

Methinks I will be learning different languages soon!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JADON SANCHO

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PREMIER LEAGUE

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[Klippybo]

SEASON REVIEW

Well that was a different kind of season!!! It started out with me managing AC Milan and Scotland but in November despite having won all of our league matches I ditched AC Milan for the then midtable Manchester United!

What followed was a remarkable run of form as we surged into 2nd place in the league, did the domestic cup double and most importantly we won the Champions League by smashing Bayern Munich 5-0 in the final.

I inherited such a talented squad that it just needed moulding a bit and in the end I only signed 1 player to play and that was Ilaix Moriba who cost £88m and he was fantastic for us. Greenwood who had 1 goal before I arrived ended up with 44 while Bruno Fernandes got 25 and 5 others got into double figures.

The league was never likely to be won as Liverpool cruised to the title but in the Carabao Cup we defeat WBA 7-0 in the final and then in the FA Cup we beat Arsenal 2-1 after extra time to claim that.

However it was in the Champions League where some of our best performances were. After edging out Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan we faced the mighty Liverpool and miraculously won 7-1 in the first leg!!!!!! That had us into the final and after we scored an incredible 5 goals in the opening 22 min it was game over.

So that is Man Utd done with.

As for AC Milan. They didnt win anything in the end unfortunately.

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PREMIER LEAGUE

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SQUAD

My Player of the Season - Mason Greenwood
My Young Player of the Season - Ilaix Moriba
Donkey of the Season - Yusuf Demir

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SCOTLAND

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group H

Lineup - Kelly, Ramsay, McTominay, Tierney, A.Robertson, McGinn, Gilmour, Christie (Fraser), Turnbull*, Gauld, Adams (McBurnie)

I would have naturally have preferred a wider winning margin but 2-0 was comfortable enough in the end.

--

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group H

Lineup - Kelly, Ramsay (Patterson), McTominay (McKenna), Tierney, A.Robertson, McGinn, Gilmour (McCormick), Christie, Turnbull, Gauld*, Adams

Much better!!!!
​

 

[Klippybo]

10 AUGUST 2025

Its safe to say that this summer didnt exactly go to plan! When I left Man Utd the Real Madrid job was available so I was quite excited about going there but despite winning 3 Champions League titles in 4 seasons I wasnt even given an interview and they appointed Zinedine Zidane. Strange I thought but it is Real and Zidane. THen Man Utd appointed Valverde who was at Borussia Dortmund and although they are only in the Europa League I was eager to get that job as they still have Bellingham and Moukoko in their ranks - NOT EVEN AN INTERVIEW AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crazy.

So here I am fuming and wondering what is happening. Dortmund appoint a new manager which opens up a position for me but when I declared an interest I was only seen as an outsider for the job but I got it nonetheless................

I AM BACK AT FC PORTO!!!!!!!!

Having won the treble with them in a brief 6 month spell in 2022-23 they welcomed me back with open arms. My replacement at Porto got the Dortmund job despite not winning anything with Porto in my absence!!!!! I will be using the club as a stepping stone again but after recent experiences maybe I will be here longer than I think?

Here is the squad that I inherit..........

Its very much weaker than the one I left but at least the likes of Vitinha and Diaz have stuck around and I am overjoyed that they recently signed Calvin Ramsay from Chelsea!!!! I have been given a transfer budget of around £50m to bolster the ranks and obviously I will be selling players on top of that.

One thing however. The club has played 2 fixtures already as they have won the Supertaca and have the first leg lead in the Champions League play-offs but it isnt a given that we will be in the group stages.

​

 

[Klippybo]

AUGUST

UEFA Champions League League Path 3rd Qualifying Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay*, Leite, Vegas (Cardoso), Guerreiro (Vidal), Grujic, Vitinha, Vieira, Otavio, Diaz, Toni Martinez (Medeiros)

We see the job through. Luis Diaz put us ahead and although they equalised we go through 4-2 on aggregate.

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli (Braganca), Vieira, Otavio, Diaz*, Gabriel Barbosa (Medeiros)

We were 2-0 up and cruising here and then Gabriel Barbosa sent a penalty wide (despite having a stat of 20 for penalty taking) which gave Braga hope and they managed to get back to level terms but thankfully Gabigol wasnt to be denied as he scored a stoppage time winner. Gabriel Barbosa, Daniel Braganca and Yacine Adli all made their debuts here.

--

UEFA Champions League League Path Playoff 1st Leg

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas (Cardoso), Guerreiro (Vidal), Vitinha, Grujic, Vieira, Adli, Diaz, Toni Martinez*

Fantastic!!!! We blew Genk apart here and have all but secured our place in the group stages. Toni Martinez scoring 4 goals gives me mixed feelings as I have accepted a huge offer to sell him on and use the money to build my side further!

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha (Braganca), Adli, Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz*, Gabriel Barbosa (Toni Martinez)

I am disappointed that we didnt manage to win this game as we created enough chances to do so and had a last minute goal disallowed. Arthur Henrique made his debut for us here.

--

UEFA Champions League League Path Playoff 2nd Leg

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro (Vidal), Vitinha*, Adli (Grujic), Vieira (Medeiros), Otavio, Diaz, Gabriel Barbosa

We went 2-0 down here somehow as we battered them throughout but thankfully we fought back to level the score.

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay*, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli (Braganca), Vieira, Otavio, Diaz, Gabriel Barbosa

A decent enough win but I am disappointed that we didnt score more goals.

--

SUMMARY

I have so many transfers to tell you that I aint going to go through the results but I will tell you that we have been drawn against Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen and Club Brugge in the Champions League.

So to transfers. The main outgoing deal was that of Toni Martinez. Despite scoring 9 goals in 5 appearances this season I couldnt turn down Spurs offer as it allowed me to strengthen the whole squad which was majorly required and they paid £66m for him. Unfortunately Famalicao got £13m of that!!!

On deadline day Marko Grujic joined Brentford for £21m which was key as it allowed me to sign both his replacement and a much better player for a targeted position.

Simon Kjaer went to Trabzonspor on a free to get him off the wage bill, Mohamed Fares went to Crystal Palace for £5.25m and 31y/o midfielder Hernani left the club also - more on that later...........

So to players in...........

My first signing was Yacine Adli. He was transfer listed by Lazio and was available for just £5.5m so it was a no brainer to bring him in as he is a fantastic player - especially for that price!

Then I bought my new striker. Gabriel Barbosa joined us from PSG for £25m. I rate him far more highly than Toni Martinez so to sign him for less than half his price is some coup and I expect big things from Gabigol.

My other initial signing was actually one from one of our domestic rivals as I paid £7.5m to bring Daniel Braganca to the club. He will be a backup CM but he looks like a decent player and is at a decent age.

Then came the Hernani sale as mentioned above. The 31y/o midfielder was valued at £5m and I listed him as he was not part of my plans and I received several offers but Palmeiras offered me a part-exchange deal for a straight swap with a player of theirs on my shortlist. Introducing Arthur Henrique!!!! He is a 19y/o AM who is valued at between £25-30m and I dont have a clue why they gave me him. I was all set to pay £10.25m for him anyway so I am over the moon with this deal.

I brought in another long term shortlisted player in the shape of Luciano Fontana. The Argentinian right back will be backup to Calvin Ramsay and he looks like a great prospect. I paid £5m for him.

5 more to go............................................................

Heading into transfer deadline day I needed a RW, LW and 2 strikers. With the Toni Martinez money coming in I brought in one of the best newgens that I have spotted to fill the LW slot - Lennert Coppens. I paid £25.5m to Anderlecht for him and while that is a lot for a player who will be backup to Luis Diaz I felt that the price for the 18y/o winger was the cheapest that he will ever go for.

Then came deadline day and I needed to bring in a RW and 2 strikers with only £15m to spend!!!!!!!

My first signing was my 3rd choice striker. Daniel Cardoso comes in on loan from Monaco. He is Portuguese, a teenager and for basically free he will provide good cover.

Then I brought in my new backup RW and it is a player who is no stranger to Portuguese football as I paid £2m to RB Salzburg to bring in Ecuadorian winger Gonzalo Plata. The former Sporting Lisbon player was a bargain and considering he knows the league, is a decent age and has blistering pace I think it is a good deal.

Then I got thrown a curveball!!!! Brentford all of a sudden came in for Grujic so instead of trying to find a ST for £10m I all of a sudden had to find a CM and a ST for £25m!!!!!!

The midfielder I went for was actually a player I had in my first spell at FC Porto. I had to be a bit clever with the finances so I paid £10m up front and £5m in installments. The man in question is Romario Baro. He aint a world beater but as a backup CM and as a homegrown player I cant have any complaints.

So finally my striker. I had agreed to sign another striker for £8m but then the Grujic deal came in and so I went hunting and then all of a sudden on deadline day Chelsea transfer listed Matias Arezo (who I signed for them) for £14m. I had actually bid £20m for him before I signed Gabriel Barbosa which they rejected so to get him so cheaply is a fantastic deal.

My squad is well and truly overhauled!!!!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
LUIS DIAZ

--

PRIMEIRA LIGA

​

 

[Klippybo]

SEPTEMBER

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas*, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli, Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz (Coppens), Gabriel Barbosa (Arezo)

Sebastian Vegas would have been the last player in the side that I would have expected to score twice in a game but he did it here! Arezo and Coppens came off the bench to make their debuts.

--

UEFA Champions League Group H

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay (Fontana), Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli, Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz (Coppens), Gabriel Barbosa*

What a match!!!! This was a thriller as both sides went at it and neither deserved to lose but thankfully it was them who did lose as Gabriel Barbosa scored a late penalty to complete his hat-trick and give us all 3pts.

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha (Braganca), Adli (Baro), Vieira*, Otavio, Coppens, Gabriel Barbosa

Another win. Gabriel Barbosa scored a lovely goal as he chipped their keeper from 25 yards and the ball went in off the bar.

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay (Fontana), Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli (Baro), Vieira (Plata), Otavio, Coppens*, Gabriel Barbosa

What a first half we had here!!!! We smashed in all 7 goals in the first 45min with Lennert Coppens grabbing 4 of the goals. Infuriatingly we didnt add to the scoreline in the 2nd half.

--

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro (Vidal), Vitinha, Adli (Baro), Vieira*, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Coppens, Gabriel Barbosa

Not bad. Fabio Vieira scored a screamer here as he smashed in a thunderbolt from 25 yards.

--

SUMMARY

We played some thrilling football this month none more so than in our 4-3 victory against Barcelona in the Champions League. Barcelona may not be the team of superstars that they have been but for us to go to the Nou Camp and score 4 goals is quite something. As was our our first half performance away to Vizela as we smashed in 7 goals in the opening 45min!!!!!

Luis Diaz suffered an injury during the month so it was pleasing to see his replacement Lennert Coppens do so well. Calvin Ramsay is also out injured at the moment.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
FABIO VIEIRA

--

PRIMEIRA LIGA

--

SCOTLAND

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group H

Lineup - Kelly, Ramsay, Souttar, Tierney, A.Robertson, McGinn (F.Robertson), Gilmour, Fraser, Turnbull (Ferguson), Gauld, Adams (McBurnie)

On one hand this is a great result but on the other hand I am livid that we threw away a 2 goal lead in the last 10 minutes.

--

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group H

Lineup - Kelly, Ramsay, Souttar (Welsh), Tierney, A.Roberson, McGinn (F.Robertson), Gilmour*, Fraser (Dembele), Turnbull, Gauld, McBurnie

We are looking good at the top of the group! Spain have a game in hand but we have a 6 goal difference advantage!​

 

[Klippybo]

OCTOBER

UEFA Champions League Group H

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Leite*, Vargas, Guerreiro (Vidal), Vitinha, Adli (Baro), Vieira (Arthur Henrique), Otavio, Coppens, Gabriel Barbosa

Although this looks like a decent 2-0 win - which it is - we were actually on the back foot fo rmost of this match and defended exceptionally well.

--

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Leite, Vargas, Guerreiro, Vitinha (Braganca), Adli, Vieira, Otavio, Diaz, Gabriel Barbosa*

Going forward we were decent here as Otavio and Gabigol scored 2 each but defensively we were poor.

--

Taca de Portugal 3rd Round

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Vinhas, F.Cardoso (Umtiti), Guerreiro (D.Cardoso), Braganca, Baro (Goncalves), Plato, Arthur Henrique, Coppens, Arezo*

I put out my backups here and they smashed in 7 goals. Arezo scored a hat-trick in his first start for the club while Gonzalo Plata and Daniel Cardoso also got their first goals for the club.

--

UEFA Champions League Group H

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Leite, Vegas (F.Cardoso), Guerreiro, Vitinha (Baro), Adli, Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz, Gabriel Barbosa*

A tremendous performance. We fell behind in the 2nd minute but were soon ahead. Gabigol scored 4 goals in a tremendous individual performance and Luis Diaz also grabbed a couple of goals.

--

Lineup - Costa, Fontana*, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro (F.Cardoso), Vitinha, Adli, Vieira (Plata), Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz, Gabriel Barbosa

2 goals in a 5min spell in the first half gives us a fine victory away from home against one of our biggest rivals. We are looking unstoppable at the minute domestically!! I have to say though that Raphael Guerreiro has been absolutely shocking so far.

--

Taca de Liga 3rd Phase Group A

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Leite, F.Cardoso, Guerreiro, Vitinha (Baro), Adli (Braganca), Vieira*, Alpoim, Diaz (Coppens), D.Cardoso

In this competition you have to start 2 U21 Portuguese players so that is why Alpoim (a debut) and Daniel Cardoso got a start. In the end that didnt hamper us as we thumped Braga and scored 5 goals in the first half with Daniel Cardoso claiming 2 of them. Fabio Vieira assisted 3 of the goals.

--

SUMMARY

Another very successful month with some thrilling football being played. There wasnt much league games as we had 4 cup games during the month but we won them all. In the league we beat Academica and Sporting while we scored 7 in our Portuguese Cup tie and 5 in our League Cup tie against Braga.

In the Champions League we edged out Bayer Leverkusen before thrashing Club Brugge 6-1 and we naturally top the group by 3pts over the German side.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
GABRIEL BARBOSA

--

PRIMEIRA LIGA

--

SCOTLAND

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group H

Lineup - Kelly, Patterson (Ralston), Souttar, Tierney, A.Robertson (McIntyre), McGinn, Gilmour (F.Robertson*), Christie, Turnbull (Ferguson), Gauld (Fraser), Adams (McBurnie)

Wow!!!!! I didnt expect to go to Mexico and thump them! We had an early goal disallowed but took the lead thanks to a brilliant goal from Ryan Christie. Things then went quiet but when Finlay Robertson came on he assisted 2 late goals to really add some gloss onto the scoreline.

--

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group H

Lineup - Kelly, Patterson, Souttar, Tierney, A.Robertson, McGinn, F.Robertson, Christie (Fraser), Turnbull (Ferguson), Gauld, Adams (McBurnie*)

Once again my subs excel! Lewis Ferguson put us in front from the penalty spot before Ollie McBurnie struck twice.​

 

[Klippybo]

NOVEMBER

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Leite*, Vegas, Guerreiro (Vinhas), Vitinha, Braganca (Arthur Henrique), Vieira, Otavio, Diaz (Coppens), Gabriel Barbosa

Not one of our better performances but we get the win and a clean sheet so I cant complain too much. I feel sorry for Matias Arezo as he is good enough to start but with Gabigol scoring every match he cant get into the team!

--

UEFA Champions League Group H

Lineup - Costa, Fontana*, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro (F.Cardoso), Vitinha (Braganca), Adli, Vieira, Otavio, Diaz, Gabriel Barbosa (Arezo)

Another 2-0 victory and this one secures our place into the knockout stages. Leverkusen have also qualified so Barcelona are eliminated!

--

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Leite, F.Cardoso (Vinhas), Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli, Vieira, Otavio*, Diaz (Coppens), Gabriel Barbosa (Arezo)

What a crazy match this was!!!! We went 2-0 down early doors but pulled a goal back when Otavio scored from distance. We got an equaliser and I immediately put on Coppens and Arezo and that changed the game entirely and the madness happened. Within a couple of minutes they combined to get the winner and then they both had goals disallowed except Arezo had 2 chalked off!!!! Then they had a goal disallowed and we were given a late penalty which Fabio Vieira blazed wide.

--

Taca de Portugal 4th Round

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Vinhas, F.Cardoso, Guerreiro, Braganca, Baro, Plata (Medeiros), Arthur Henrique (Alpoim), Coppens*, Arezo (D.Cardoso)

I gave my backups a run out and they did well enough with 4 goals being scored. All 4 goalscorers scored in the last round!

--

UEFA Champions League Group H

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro*, Vitinha (Braganca), Adli (Baro), Vieira (Plata), Arthur Henrique, Coppens, Arezo

We make it 5 wins out of 5 with this victory. Matias Arezo scored the only goal of the game as he met a Guerreiro corner. I played a few backup players since we were already through and now we are confirmed as group winners.

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro (F.Cardoso), Vitinha, Adli (Baro), Vieira, Otavio, Diaz*, Gabriel Barbosa (Arezo)

Arouca are the surprise package of the season and lie in 3rd place and showed why here as we drop 2pts to them.

--

SUMMARY

We actually dropped some points this month as Arouca held us to a draw but we still end the month top of the table by a point with a game in hand. My backups actually got some decent game time this month which was nice and it was good to give Matias Arezo more game time.

I released Samuel Umtiti this month. He was too old and too **** and was on a huge contract which was my own fault because it was me who signed him in my first spell at the club!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MATIAS AREZO

--

PRIMEIRA LIGA

--

SCOTLAND

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group H

Lineup - Kelly, Patterson*, Souttar, Tierney, A.Robertson, McGinn, Gilmour (F.Robertson), Christie, Turnbull (Ferguson), Gauld, Adams (Shankland)

If we won here we would have all but qualified for the World Cup but now it goes down to the final round of matches. We are top of the group ahead of Spain by just +1 of a goal difference.

--

UEFA World Cup Qualifiers Group H

Lineup - Kelly, Patterson, Souttar (Welsh), Tierney, A.Robertson, McGinn, Gilmour, Christie*, Turnbull, Gauld (Fraser), Adams (Shankland)

We qualify for the World Cup!!!!

We did what we had to do as we won the game thanks to a Ryan Christie double but the football gods were against us as Spain scored 3 times in the last 10min to win the group by a solitary goal. Our 2nd place finish however is good enough for qualification as we had the best record for a 2nd placed side.

​

 

[Klippybo]

DECEMBER

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite (F.Cardoso), Vegas, Guerreiro*, Vitinha, Adli, Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz, Gabriel Barbosa (Arezo)

Famalicao have just appointed Andre Villas-Boas as their new manager and they proved to be tough opponents and we had to rely on a penalty to get the win.

--

UEFA Champions League Group H

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay (Fontana), Leite, Vegas (F.Cardoso), Guerreiro, Baro, Adli (Braganca), Vieira, Arthur Henrique, Coppens, Arezo*

We make it 6 wins out of 6 with a fine victory over Barcelona. Arezo struck twice but it was the goal from Romario Baro that took my breath away as he scored with a thunderbolt from 30 yards.

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay (Fontana), Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro (F.Cardoso), Vitinha, Adli, Vieira, Otavio, Diaz*, Gabriel Barbosa (Arezo)

3 first half goals gave us the win here and all were tap ins!

--

Taca da Liga 3rd Phase Group A

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, F.Cardoso, Vinhas, Antas, Braganca, Baro (Pedro), Plata, Arthur Henrique (Medeiros), DIaz*, D.Cardoso (Arezo)

I put out a side filled with backup players and despite dominating we only won by a single goal and my goalscorer was my one first pick outfield player in Luis Diaz! Antas and Pedro made their debuts here.

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha (Baro), Adli, Vieira, Otavio, Diaz*, Gabriel Barbosa (Arezo)

Very nice. Portimonense are currently 3rd in the table but we wiped the floor with them here. Luis Diaz scored a hat-trick while Vitinha scored an absolute beauty from 20 yards.

--

Taca de Portugal 5th Round

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro (F.Cardoso), Vitinha, Adli, Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz*, Gabriel Barbosa (Arezo)

Sporting's manager jumped ship to join Everton just days before this game so we took advantage of that with a decent win here. Luis Diaz and Fabio Vieira both scored and assisted a goal each.

--

Lineup - Costa, Fontana*, Vinhas, F.Cardoso, Vegas, Braganca, Baro, Plata (Medeiros), Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Coppens, Gabriel Barbosa (D.Cardoso)

I am delighted with this result as I was without several first team players due to fitness issues but we got the win thanks to a headed goal from Lennert Coppens.

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite*, F.Cardoso, Vegas, Vitinha, Adli, Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz (Coppens), Gabriel Barbosa (Arezo)

We end 2025 with a decent win here. Leite nodded us in front before Coppens scored with his first touch after coming off the bench and Fabio Vieira converted a late penalty.

--

SUMMARY

We end the calendar year still unbeaten in all competitions this season!!! With the sheer amount of games the performance levels did drop slightly but we still won every match! All 5 league games were won and we are 6pts clear of Benfica with a game in hand although we go away to them next.

We won in both domestic cup competitions and in the Champions League we got a terrific 3-1 win at home to Barcelona to finish the group with a 100% record but we have been drawn against Bayern Munich in the next round which infuriates me as Bayer Leverkusen got Lazio!!!!!

In the World Cup my Scotland side have been drawn against Senegal and New Zealand so I expect us to go through there.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
LUIS DIAZ

--

PRIMEIRA LIGA

 

[Klippybo]

JANUARY

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Victor Matheus, F.Cardoso, Vegas, Vitinha (Mukhamedov), Baro, Vieira, Otavio, Diaz (Coppens), Gabriel Barbosa (Arezo)

Our first defeat of the season. My excuses are that I was forced into putting out a makeshift defence and my other players were shattered so it was no surprise to see us concede a goal near the end. We did probably deserve to get a draw though.

--

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Leite (F.Cardoso), Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli (Baro), Vieira, Otavio, Diaz*, Gabirel Barbosa

We respond to our first defeat of the season by easily beating lowly Estoril. Luis Diaz grabbed a hat-trick while Gabriel Barbosa ended his recent goal drought.

--

Taca de Portugal Quarter-Final

Lineup - Costa, Fontana (Tavares), Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli, Vieira, Otavio, Diaz (Coppens), Arezo*

I gave Matias Arezo a rare start here and he paid me back with a hat-trick and a disallowed goal! He now has 11 for the season with 7 coming in this competition.

--

Lineup - Costa, Fontana (Tavares), Leite, Victor Matheus, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli*, Vieira (Gabriel Barbosa), Otavio, Diaz (Coppens), Arezo

With just 3 goals in his last 9 league games (2 being penalties) I decided to keep Gabriel Barbosa on the bench and give Arezo a chance and he repaid me with a goal. Adli scored a screamer here.

--

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Leite, Vegas (Victor Matheus), Guerreiro, Vitinha (Baro), Adli, Vieira (Gabriel Barbosa), Otavio, Diaz, Arezo*

Another 3 goals for Arezo as my Uruguayan striker is on top form. He now has 15 for the season, Diaz has 22 and Gabigol has 25!!!!

--

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Leite, Vegas*, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli, Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz (Coppens), Arezo (Gabriel Barbosa)

The last time we played Vizela we won 7-0 and we should have done that again here but all we had to show for our efforts was a Fabio Vieira penalty although Leite had one disallowed.

--

Taca da Liga Semi-Final

Lineup - Costa, Fontana, Victor Matheus, Vegas, Guerreiro (Tavares), Baro, Adli, Gabriel Barbosa*, Alpoim (Arthur Henrique), Diaz (Coppens), D.Cardoso

Our first victory against Benfica this season under my tutelage. We huffed and puffed but couldnt break them down even though they played almost the entirety of the 2nd half with 10 men but we scored twice in the last two minutes through Gabigol and we reach the final.

--

Taca da Liga Final

Lineup - Costa, Fontana*, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha (Baro), Adli, Vieira, Alpoim (Arthur Henrique), Diaz (Coppens), D.Cardoso

We win the league cup! It was never in doubt to be fair and our 2nd goal was comical as their defender cleared the ball on the left hand side touchline but it was charged down and the ball looped high into their penalty area where Daniel Cardoso was waiting to volley in. Barmy!

--

SUMMARY

January is always a hectic month with several fixtures crammed in and also with the transfer window being re-opened there is never a dull moment. It didnt get off to the best of starts though as we lost to Benfica for our first defeat of the season in our first fixture but we bounced back by winning all the rest and we claimed the Portuguese League Cup in the process!

Regarding transfers I received huge bids for Vieira, Vitinha and Diaz but if we are to get anywhere I need to keep them. In the end the only first teamer I sold was Gonzalo Plata to Sao Paulo for £1.7m (£2.3m) but even then he wont leave until March!!!

My first team squad was strengthened by 3 players. Victor Matheus returned from a loan spell in Brazil and tbh I didnt realise I had him so he is now in my first team squad lol. I then picked up a huge bargain by paying just £375,000 to bring in Belarus midfielder Igor Mukhamedov. The 19y/o is a terrific prospect and he is a potential starter.

I wanted a left back so brought in Nuno Tavares from Southampton for £7m. He is a decent enough player, Portuguese and had a loan spell at the club before as I signed him before I jumped ship in my last spell at the club.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MATIAS AREZO

--

PRIMEIRA LIGA

​

 

[Klippybo]

FEBRUARY

Lineup - Costa, Fontana (Ramsay), Leite, Victor Matheus, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli, Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz*, Arezo (Gabriel Barbosa)

4 of my 5 midfielders scored here as we trounced Vitoria Guimaraes.

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, F.Cardoso, Victor Matheus, Tavares (Vidal), Mukhamedov, Baro (Braganca), Gabriel Barbosa, Otavio, Coppens, Arezo*

I was forced to field a weakened side here but we still rattled in 5 goals with Gabigol and Arezo helping themselves with 2 goals each. Coppens would have had a brace but one got disallowed.

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay*, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli (Mukhamedov), Vieira (Gabriel Barbosa), Arthur Henrique, Diaz (Coppens), Arezo

We were awful in the first half here but came to life in the 2nd half with 3 goals. Arthur Henrique made his first league start for the club and got the scoring underway with a fine goal before Arezo helped himself to a couple.

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay*, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro (Victor Matheus), Vitinha (Baro), Adli, Vieira, Otavio, Diaz, Arezo (Gabriel Barbosa)

Another MOM award for Calvin Ramsay! My Scottish full back assisted the first goal and scored a free-kick for the 2nd.

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Victor Matheus, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli (Baro), Vieira, Otavio, Diaz*, Gabriel Barbosa (D.Cardoso)

We were a goal up but went down to 10 men here when Otavio got sent-off so to emerge from the game as 3-1 winners is very pleasing, especially against one of our biggest rivals! This result secures our place in next seasons Champions League and as a result I have been given my transfer budget for next season - £20m.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro (Victor Matheus), Vitinha, Adli (Baro), Vieira, Otavio, Diaz, Gabriel Barbosa (Arezo)

While I fully expected us to get beat I certainly expected us to put up a bit of a fight but we were pathetic here and didnt even get a shot on target. Not a single player even came close to getting pass marks so poor was our performance.

--

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha (Mukhamedov), Baro (Tavares), Vieira*, Arthur Henrique, Diaz, Arezo (Gabriel Barbosa)

A wonderful performance. Fabio Vieira was unplayable as he put us in front from the penalty spot before assisting 3 of our other goals. Arthur Henrique scored with a fine finish and Guerreiro scored direct from a free-kick.

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SUMMARY

Domestically we reigned supreme as ever this month which is nothing new but as you know this save is all about the Champions League and our 3-0 defeat against Bayern Munich all but means there will be no fairy tale story this season.

It does make me assess the squad and figure out where I need to strengthen to be contenders however and in my first XI I think that Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vitinha, Vieira, Diaz and Gabigol/Arezo can take us where I want us to be so there is still lots of work to be done!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
FABIO VIEIRA

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PRIMEIRA LIGA

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[Klippybo]

MARCH

Taca de Portugal Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay (Fontana), Victor Matheus, Vegas, Guerreiro, Mukhamedov*, Adli (Braganca), Gabriel Barbosa, Otavio, Diaz (Coppens), Arezo

This should be good enough to see us into the final. We scored 3 goals early on and although Estoril pulled a goal back I cant see them overturning the score in the 2nd leg.

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Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Victor Matheus (F.Cardoso), Vegas*, Tavares, Vitinha, Adli (Mukhamedov), Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz, Arezo

We played poorly here including when they went down to 10 men and in the end we only had a 4th minute goal from Matias Arezo to show for our efforts.

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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli, Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz (Coppens), Arezo (Gabriel Barbosa*)

Superb!!! Alas we fell one goal short but this match shows that we can compete against Europe's best and with a few additions we can really make an impact.

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Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas, Tavares, Vitinha (Mukhamedov), Adli, Vieira (Arezo), Otavio*, Diaz, Gabriel Barbosa

Gabigol was reinstated to the first XI and he repaid me with another 2 goals here to take his tally up to 35 for the season.

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SUMMARY

Just the 4 games this month and the highlight was obviously the 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League but alas despite that result we were eliminated from the competition due to our shocking performance in the 2nd leg.

Domestically we keep going on and we are only a few points away from clinching the title which hasnt been won since I was last at the club! Our efforts are now concentrated on the Portuguese Cup now as the league will take care of itself.

The youth intake was decent enough but nobody to shout out to the rooftops about!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
GABRIEL BARBOSA

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PRIMEIRA LIGA

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SCOTLAND

Friendly

Lineup - Clark, Ramsay (Patterson), McTominay, Tierney (McKenna), A.Robertson (McIntyre), F.Robertson, Gilmour, Christie (Fraser), Turnbull (Ferguson), Gauld, Adams* (Smith)

A comfortable victory against the minnows of Malta. Che Adams got a hat-trick before being subbed at half time and I put on newgen Jack Smith for his international debut and he scored a goal to get off the mark as did Finlay Robertson. Ryan Fraser scored with a header!!!!

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Friendly

Lineup - Clark, Ramsay (Patterson), McTominay*, Tierney (McKenna), A.Robertson (McIntyre), F.Robertson, Gilmour, Christie (Fraser), Ferguson (McCormick), Gauld, Adams (Smith)

I am delighted with this win as Sweden are a decent side. To be fair they were the better side but we were ruthless and got first half goals from Ryan Gauld and Che Adams. Calvin Ramsay and Ryan Christie were both forced off with injuries but neither are too serious.​

 

[Klippybo]

APRIL

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay (Fontana), Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro, Vitinha, Adli (Mukhamedov), Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz, Gabriel Barbosa*

Gabigol requested a transfer a couple of days before this match as apparently he hasnt been starting enough! He scored a hat-trick here to take him up to 38 goals for the season and surely if you have that amount of goals you have started enough games???????

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Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro (F.Cardoso), Vitinha (Baro), Adli, Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz, Gabriel Barbosa*

CHAMPIONS!!!!!!

Arouca are one of only 2 teams to have taken points off us this season and they were seconds away from doing so again here but thankfully Gabigol scored with a header to complete his hat-trick and clich the title for us.

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Taca de Portugal Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay (Fontana), Leite, Vegas, Tavares, Baro, Adli, Vieira, Arthur Henrique, Coppens, Arezo*

Matias Arezo scored a hat-trick here to take him up to 25 goals for the season and 11 goals in this competition alone!

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SUMMARY

3 games played, 3 games won and 3 hat-tricks scored! A pretty perfect month. Gabriel Barbosa scored 2 hat-tricks in succession in the league as we wrapped up the title and then in the 2nd leg of our cup semi Matias Arezo got a treble to put us through into the final where we will face Arouca.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
GABRIEL BARBOSA

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PRIMEIRA LIGA

​

 

[Klippybo]

MAY

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay, Leite, Vegas (Victor Matheus), Tavares, Mukhamedov, Baro, Vieira, Otavio, Diaz*, Gabriel Barbosa (Arezo)

Despite having nothing to play for we put on a show here. Luis Diaz scored a superb hat-trick to take him past the 30 goal mark for the season while Mukhamedov got his first goal for the club. We have now gone past the 100 goal tally for the league and are averaging more than 3 goals a game.

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Lineup - Costa, Ramsay (Fontana), Leite, Vegas, Tavares, Mukhamedov (Braganca), Baro, Vieira*, Arthur Henrique, Coppens, Arezo

A nice way to end the league campaign. Fabio Vieira scored a hat-trick to take him past the 20 goal mark for the season so I now have 4 players that have done that this season so far.

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Taca de Portugal Final

Lineup - Costa, Ramsay*, Leite, Vegas, Guerreiro (Victor Matheus), Vitinha, Adli, Vieira, Otavio (Arthur Henrique), Diaz, Gabriel Barbosa (Arezo)

Calvin Ramsay scored the winning goal for me for Chelsea in the 2022 FA Cup final and he got the winning goal here in the Portuguese version. It was fitting that Arezo scored as he had 11 goals in the competition already!

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SUMMARY

Our league campaign ended in fine style as we smashed 7 goals past Famalicao and then 5 past Gil Vicente as we ended the campaign 14pts clear of Benfica and we rattled in 109 goals in the process plus we had the best defence by 6 goals!!!!

In the Portuguese Cup final we defeated Arouca 2-0 thanks to goals from Ramsay and Arezo and that completed the domestic quadruple - with 3 trophies won by yours truly.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
CALVIN RAMSAY

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PRIMEIRA LIGA

​