Gary Neville, Out of the Studio and into the Mestalla!

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Valencia vs Club Brugge
(Champions Cup Best Placed Playoff Leg One)

And finally here it is, the first competitive game of Gary Nevilles Valencia career! Hopefully we can put our poor pre-season behind us and get of to a winning start, because the Champions League is where we want to be. We have been drawn against Club Brugge and while we are the favourites Club Brugge have a lot of European experience and are not to be underestimated.

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I decided to stick with the 4-4-2 formation, and have named a strong lineup. We have no Feghouli, so Mina will fill in, but rather than that it is basically what I see as our 1st choice XI. But would it be strong enough?

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In a word...Yes! In a performance much better than anything pre-season we blew Club Brugge away! Our gameplan worked perfectly, we conceded the majority of the possession but dominated the shots on goal.

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Bar our keeper, who had nothing to do, every single player performed brilliantly. Even without a playmaker role Parejo ran the midfield, and if Negredo and Alcacer are linking up like this in their first competitive game together I'm very excited about what they can do in the coming months.

Yes we may have been the favourites, but I'm over the moon about our start, Gary Neville will sleep well tonight!
 
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Rayo vs Valencia
(LIGA BBVA)

After such an excellent first game in our Champions League qualifier I couldn't wait for kick-of in our first league game!

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No changes to the starting XI, how could I? I have also went with the same formation but would it work as well away as it had at home midweek?

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The answer this time is No, not really but do I care? We got the win! And while in honesty Rayo were the better side for most of the match I am extremely pleased that my team is already displaying the battling qualities I value so highly! And you're in the wrong game if you can't enjoy a comeback topped of with a 93rd minute winner!

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Alcacer grabs his second man of the match in a row and looks like being a very important player for us, his confidence must be sky high after his 93rd minute winner! Parejo and Negredo were disappointing compared to their midweek exploits but I am delighted with the impact of Bakkali who came on for Negredo to score the equaliser. I deployed Bakkali as a false 9, and after previously been unsure on what position and role I could use this talented youngster in to make the most of his potential, it is an option I may experiment with again.
 
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Club Brugge vs Valencia
(Champions Cup Best Placed Playoff Leg Two)

Leading 5-0 from the first leg I was confident in our progression to the Champions League but I did make a point of warning my team against complacency anyway.

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I have however decided to give some squad players their chance and have made 9 changes. Negredo is the only outfield player to keep his place because as mentioned in my squad analysis we are short on options up front, and he only played 60 minutes in our previous game. With Alcacer deserving a rest and Bakkali having made an impact as a False 9 in the previous game he partners Negredo and starts this game in the same role. I am also pleased to welcome Feghouli back into the fold as he returns from his injury.

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No 5 goal demolition this time, it was a very even game, but the team did what was needed and progressed to the group stages.

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No real standout performers, Negredo got back amongst the goals and Bakkali bagged another, but neither were exceptional in their overall play. Alcacer was brought on as we searched for a winner but he was unable to match the standards set in his previous 2 games.

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Delighted to play in the group stages, I am also quite content with our draw. While we have avoided the traditional 'Big Guns' there is no doubt that Portuguese side SLB and Roma will provide us with a tough challenge.
 
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Valencia vs Deportivo
(LIGA BBVA)

Onto our first home league game of the season. Deportivo lost their first league fixture 4-0 to Real Sociedad and were propping up the table as a result, so I am aiming for another 3 points.

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Basically the same team I sent out in our first league game but Feghouli keeps his place from midweek as we continue to build up his fitness.

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Another win in the bag! I am unsure how to feel about this particular result. On the plus side my team again showed their battling qualities, twice coming from behind, and played some great football in the final thirty minutes. Despite this I am concerned that we let one of the worst teams in the league have 22 shots. I am happy to concede possession for the time being, but I dread to think what a team such as Barcelona would have done if we had gifted them so many chances. Overall happy with the win but the defensive side of my tactic may need some tinkering.

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No doubt who the star of the show was here, a brilliant hattrick from the Beast! In fact his brilliance partially hid the fact that most of his teammates played fairly poorly, improvement is needed as we cant rely on Negredo to score 3 goals every game.
 
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August Review

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A great first month, we qualified for the Champions league with ease and have 2 wins out of 2 in the League.

Player of The Month

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After the first two games it looked like Alcacer had this award sewn up but a stunning hattrick by his strike partner in the final game made this an easy decision. 5 goals and 2 assists in only 4 games I hope the Beast can keep this form up!

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Third in the league and with 6 goals scored in 2 games it has been a great start. Jamie Carragher once said "Nobody grows up wanting to be a Gary Neville" but with 5 teams in the League still to pick up a point I reckon there's a few managers in the league that wish they were Gary Neville tonight!
 
England U21 Duty

We arrive at the first International break, and I admit that I'm finding it hard to balance two jobs already and have very much neglected the U21s as I have been focused on Valencia. We will play two qualifiers for the U21 European Championships in this break and I have went with My assistant Steve Holland's suggested squad, only making adjustments to replace players called up by the main England team.

Iceland U21s vs England U21s

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Having not analysed my squad fully, I decided to keep things simple. A 4-2-3-1 with an inside forward on the left and a winger on the right to suit the many talented right footed wide players in my squad.

The full backs picked themselves as Walker Peters and Targett were the only two dedicated fullbacks in the squad, my other options preferring to play centrally. Targett will act as a wing back to provide width when my inside forward cuts inside. Cooper and Blackett were picked as my centre backs as both had been playing regular football, for Reading and Celtic respectively, and playing well.

In central midfield I decided to play both my players in defensive roles to balance the teams more attacking players. Chabolah was an automatic pick being the U21 captain. To partner him I had the choice of his teammate from Chelsea youth Loftus-Cheek, Leeds Lewis Cook or Dele Alli of Spurs. Cook had been playing the most regular football but was slightly tired so I opted for Alli. He looks like an excellent player for the future though some tinkering may be required to find his best role. In front of them I chose Jack Grealish, as out of my attacking midfield options I felt he would be most comfortable centrally.

Right wing was a toss up between Nathan Redmond and Demarai Gray of Birmingham, Redmond was eventually chosen on the basis of having more experience at this level. Liverpool's Jordan Ibe looks like one of the star prospects so was chosen to play the inside forward role and the lone striker just had to be James Wilson. Despite struggling to get into Manchester United's first team Wilson screams quality and is somebody I have scouted for my Valencia team.

The tactic was kept simple, until I get to know my players better. Standard mentality, flexible team shape, no individual team or player instructions. Would it work?

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Yes! Justifying our pre match favourites status we cruised home and proved sometimes with younger players its best just to keep things simple. As well as more possession we dominated the chances and the match in general.

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The undoubted star of the show was James Wilson with a superb hat trick. I will certainly be sending my Valencia scouts to have another look at him! Ibe was the other stand out performer and it was great to see my 2 star players live up to their billing, but credit must go to the full team.

England U21s vs Sweden U21s

Our second qualifier was at home, but this time to Sweden U21s who I was expecting a sterner test from, having won their first qualifier themselves.

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One change to the team Lewis Cook in for Jack Grealish. Jack had played very well in the previous game, but I was keen to see what Alli could bring playing further forward having looked very comfortable there in the second half of the Iceland game. I also wanted to see what Cook could bring to the table, having rested him in the previous game. No changes were made to the tactic itself, again keeping things simple.

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And again it worked! Perhaps not quite as dominant as against Iceland it took us until midway through the second half to get our second goal but we were comfortably the better side.

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Our two stars again lived up to their billing. Ibe grabbed a goal and MOTM while Wilson provided two assists as well as getting on the scoresheet again. His first assist was especially impressive, a spectacular long crossfield ball to set Ibe up for the first goal. I didn't know he had it in his locker!

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Special mention must also go to Jack Grealish. Having being dropped despite playing well in the previous game he came on to grab a goal and an assist and it was undoubtedly his introduction that helped us power home to victory. Could we have a third attacking superstar in our team?

Very pleased with how the first International break went then. 6 points and 2 clean sheets we look to have some very exciting prospects in Grealish, Ibe and Wilson and I look forward to working with them again in the near future. For now though, its back to club duties!
 
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Unfortunately my computer crashed and I had to replay the England U21 games. For the purposes of the story I will be keeping the narrative above, because luckily when I replayed the 2 games the results were quite similar winning the Iceland game 4-1 and the Sweden game 3-0. The only difference was that while many of the team, including Ibe and Grealish, did not play quite as well James Wilson played even better notching an incredible 7 goals.

Will Wilson be the first England U21 player to join Gary at Valencia?
 
Good start here mate! Keep it going.

I remember when Feghouli was a wonderkid, he's 25 now!
 
Average Joe said:
Good start here mate! Keep it going.

I remember when Feghouli was a wonderkid, he's 25 now!
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Thanks! Same as Piatti, i remember him being a wonderkid and now he's 26! Some unfortunate Feghouli news in tonights update :(
 
Real Sporting v Valencia
(LIGA BBVA)

I enjoyed the international break but I was keen to get back to club life with Valencia and ensure that the break hadn't ruined our momentum.

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A couple of my players came back exhausted from the international break so Vezo and Cancelo come into the side, other than it is a full strength team. No changes to the tactic, I see no reason to tinker too much while it remains a winning formula.

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Alcacer gave us the lead within the first 2 minutes and I was hoping we would go on and dominate but it was not to be. Mustafi then scored an own goal within 2 minutes of the restart and for about 60 seconds I worried that it was going to be one of those days, but luckily we regained the lead almost immediately and that was to be the last goal. On a side-note, impressive that Real Sporting fielded an all Spanish XI.

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No real standout performers but pleased to see our wingers play well and it is also a god sign that our strikers remain amongst the goals even when they're not at the top of their game.
 
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Valencia vs SLB
(Champions Cup Group G)

Now onto a game I've really been looking forward to, our first game in the Champions League proper! SLB are rated by the media as our biggest challengers in this group, but if we our to meet our ambitions and qualify for the next round it is important that we win our home games, so I'm optimistic of a good result.

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Abdennour and Feghouli return to the team in what I would currently call my first choice XI, showing just how serious I am taking this competition.

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This match followed the same story as the last, an early goal by Alcacer before the opposition drew level through an own goal from one of my centre backs. This time however instead of regaining the lead we conceded again and fell behind. We battled on and had the majority of chances but struggled to find an equaliser. Just as I was beginning to lose hope the team once again showed they do not know when they are beaten, Feghouli finally pulling us level in the 87th minute. At this point I would have perhaps settled for a point but my team kept going and just like in the Rayo game earlier in the season Alcacer popped up with a winner in the 92nd minute! Cue mad celebrations on the touchline from myself and my staff, what a comeback!!

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No doubt that the star of the show was Alcacer, King of the late winners, but special praise must also be reserved for our two wingers and it is pleasing to see our tactic working so well in this respect. Feghouli in particular had his best game under my reign. At the other end of the scale Abdennour clearly let his own goal affect him and was so poor I had no choice but to sub him at HT. He may want to thank Alcacer and his team mates for their second half performance which diverted my anger from his poor performance.
 
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Valencia vs Real Betis
(LIGA BBVA)

With morale high following our superb comeback in the Champions Cup we return to League action looking to continue our winning streak.

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Our defence remains the same with Abdennour given a chance to redeem himself. Further up field though I have made a few changes deciding to give Feghouli, Piatti and Alcacer a rest after their mid week exploits, bearing in mind our busy schedule ahead. This also led to a slight tactical change, Negredo moving forward into the advanced forward role and Bakkali coming into the team in the False 9 role in which he had performed well in when given the chance. Would I regret resting our star players from the previous game?

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What a performance! Yet again we scored an early goal but this time we stormed into a 4 goal lead. Betis then grabbed once back, but then in what had been a fiercely competitive game Betis midfielder Petros let his team mates down by getting himself sent of in the 78th minute. At this point Betis crumbled, and we went on to score another three, Negredo not only completing his hattrick but adding a 4th with a truly delicious lob.

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An excellent team performance! Abdennour definitely redeemed himself, his centre back partner Mustafi performed even better and Rodrigo and Bakkali came into the team and performed brilliantly. Negredo however was absolutely unplayable scoring four and setting up another in a perfect performance, perhaps he should be used as an advanced forward permanently.

Extremely happy with my team then, however as you may have noticed in the summary above there was one unfortunate event that overshadowed my teams excellence...

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A horrific injury to one of my teams star players and his season is basically over before its really started. In my initial team analysis I had identified the importance of pace and quality on the wings and had identified Feghouli as the player I would look to bring this to my team so I am devastated to lose him for such a long period of time. Right midfield was also a position where I had noted we lacked real quality backup so this really is a huge blow to the team. All we can do is rally together, work hard and do our best to keep our good run going until January at which point right midfield will be my first priority to strengthen.

We wish you a speedy recovery Sofiane!

 
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Andre Gomes was a beast in FM14, can you show me a screenshot of him? Excellent team to pick, good luck mate!
 
Good luck with the story as a red I hope Gary takes over Spain.
 
Average Joe said:
No mate i refreshed the page and still not coming up for me either
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When I'm editing the post the pictures show but when I click post reply they don't display instead showing as attachments? Does anybody know why this could be or how I can fix it?
 
razielioux said:
Andre Gomes was a beast in FM14, can you show me a screenshot of him? Excellent team to pick, good luck mate!
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Yeah I'll post a screenshot later for you, he has just recently returned from a long term injury so haven't used him much yet. Thanks mate, enjoying managing them so far!
 
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