Gone Travelling

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As June progressed more managers got sacked and therefore more opportunities arose. I applied for 3 more jobs in Europe, each a little different with what was required and what level the teams would be playing at. First up was PAOK in Greece. They had a finished 3rd in the league 5 points off 1st and would be in the Europa League next season. They had a strong squad for Greece and with only 3 players 30 or over a team that could improve given that they had a large number of young players. They had offered me the job and wanted a league title and to continue the theme of signing young players for the first team and would give me £9m to do so.

Next up was Roma. They were a bigger name in a bigger, tougher league. They had just finished 6th a massive 25 points behind the league winners and would also be in the Europa League next season. The main difference here was that they were a team in transition with a number of older players (30+) on big wages who were no longer cutting it but who may be difficult to move on. I had a bit of money to spend, £11m in fact but fell that may not be enough to attract they type of player required. There were no targets set, oh and they had offered me the job and were going to pay me £18k per week 3 times what PAOK had on offer.

The final team was Benfica. They had the most rounded team with good young talents and a number of experienced players who weren't too old (over 25 but under 30). They had finished 3rd and would be in the Champions League and needed the least amount of work. The only thing was that they hadn't even offered me a interview never mind the job.

I couldn't decide as each job appealed for different reasons and of course I could stay at Newells. I was going to need to sleep on this.

So guys what do you think? Big bucks and big names at Roma? A youth project at PAOK? A crack at the Champions League with Benfica? Or maybe stay and defend the Copa Libertadores, attempt to win the Copa Argentina, not to mention the Recoppa with Newells?
 
Sammuthegreat said:
Benfica every day of the week. Best youth system in Football Manager every year.
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If all 3 job offers were on the table I think Benfica would be my choice but with no offer from them and the other 2 already told n the table and delayed they may miss out as I'd be worried about not getting the job
 
Ralph2211 said:
Yeah 3 good teams just not sure on the best course for my career
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I'd probably go with a couple of seasons at PAOK. Couple of league titles as a minimum then move up the ladder. Show Lennon you can do it anywhere at any level
 
I'd agree with PAOK as your next best bet. Definitely more likely to get some success there, and revitalising an old squad with £11m to spend at Roma sounds pretty impossible - especially seeing as selling any of the old guard will probably cause riots since they'll undoubtedly be important figures in the dressing room and fan favourites.
 
Sammuthegreat said:
I'd agree with PAOK as your next best bet. Definitely more likely to get some success there, and revitalising an old squad with £11m to spend at Roma sounds pretty impossible - especially seeing as selling any of the old guard will probably cause riots since they'll undoubtedly be important figures in the dressing room and fan favourites.
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Hadn't even considered dynamics was just thinking no one would want a 33 year old who is earning £100k a week who wasn't that good anymore.
 
I had spent the night with all the options going through my head and therefore very little sleeping. The first decision I made was that I was going to leave Newells, I had won the league and Copa Libertadores so didn't really have anywhere to take them. I had then discounted Benfica as they hadn't offered me an interview. So that left Roma and PAOK. Roma was the obvious choice: Big team, big reputation and big league. They did require major surgery in my opinion and whilst the board had said there were no targets I'm sure that would change. It felt like a pit of a poison chalice as I would need to get rid of the older high earning players, but they would be the team leaders so this would effect the dressing room and perhaps performances. I decided that Roma may be a step too far at this stage and that a team in one of the top 4 leagues in Europe may be the next step rather than this one.

That left PAOK, and if I'm honest I was excited by them. Lots of very promising young players who if they kept improving I had no doubt could see us being the best in Greece and maybe even move up a bit in the European pecking order.

Welcome to PAOK Salonika.

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Season 1

So first day on the job and I had all the usual things too attend to, meet the chairman, backroom staff, players and press. I had hoped to get to see a training session but with all the meetings that looked like it would have to wait until tomorrow. The chat with the Chairman and backroom staff went ok, everyone enthusiastic about the new season and what we wanted to achieve. I was however concerned that all the chat had been about how was leaving, and which clubs were linked to which players rather than who we needed to push on or which positions we needed to strengthen, I would soon find out why.
Off to meet the players then and when I arrived I did the usual of introducing myself and outlining what I wanted from them and what I thought we could achieve. All of this seemed to go down well and I finished with the classic my door is always open line, little did I know they would take it literally and form a queue outside my office. First up were a couple of players wanting to leave as they weren't getting enough football, next up were those who wanted to join bigger clubs and then finally those who just wanted more chances in the first team. I had no luck convincing any of those who wanted to leave to stay despite my best efforts but they were generally told they would only leave if we got a good enough offer which didn't please most of them and in some cases caused a bit of a stir with a few of the other players, most of whom came around to my way of thinking when I said I had no intentions of weakening the team to please one player.
With that all dealt with I logged into my emails and was greeted with a bid from Liverpool of £25m for my start striker, not happening or at least not yet. I say not yet as going through my mails I would soon discover that we were massively over spending on wages to the tune of just over £8m per year, That wasn't in the glossy brochure!

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This changed things (and is the reason its taken me so long to get an update)as I would have to get the wages under control first and foremost before doing anything. Luckily there was plenty of interest in our players and a few in the squad who were earning big dough depite being old, back up or just plain rubbish. Also a few of my key players may have to go to balance the books. My scouts were sent to South America and Eastern Europe to find me good cheap players to fill the holes that would no doubt appear in the squad.
 
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Key Players

These are the players who I will be looking to this season*

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The Polish stopper has all the attributes to be a top keeper. He will be stepping up this season to become first choice and I have no doubts he can handle the pressure. Has been attracting interest from France, Spain and England and has handed in a transfer request, which I've turned down. Will only leave if he starts causing problems in the dressing room.

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The young Austrian will be the rock in the centre of defense. Quick, strong and will all the attributes you would expect in a centre half. Could maybe do with improving positioning but at the age of 23 he still has some room to improve. Another who has been attracting a lot of attention, but so far has not let it effect him.

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Another youngster who I hope can be the heartbeat of the team. Just a really good all rounder with very few weak areas. There was a deal in place for him to leave before I joined but thankfully that fell through due to the change in manager.

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The experienced head in the middle of the park. I'm hoping he can form a good partnership with Galindo were he does the dirty work whilst the youngster takes all the credit and creates the chances. The only one of my key players who hasn't had multiple bids.

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The Brazilian wideman is one of our best players. Will be playing as an inside forward so I will be looking for him to create and score plenty this season.Good pace, dribbling, crossing and finishing makes him a player who can change games. Oh and he can hit a free kick too.

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Our star man and the one I hope will be scoring the goals this season, which is the reason I turned down the offer from Liverpool. Solid all round though it was 17 composure and 16 off the ball that stood out for me. Another player who saw a move fall through due to a change in manager and boy am I glad it did.

* These are the key players as of the end of pre-season. The transfer window is still open and so some of them may not be here by the time it closes.
 
It was strange taking over a new team at the start of the season as I had usually gone in half way through and had to try and turn things around. The main benefit of this was that i got to shape the squad before the season starts, and given the wage overspend there was going to be a bigger turnaround than I had thought would be required. We have a very talented young squad so there was no shortage of interest in our players, in fact this is probably the longest transfer window I have ever played with countless offers for almost every one of our 1st team, so getting the finances back in the black shouldn't be too difficult.

Outs:

The outs fell into either players who were on high wages and weren't starters or players were the offer was too good to turn down.

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Along with the youngsters going on loan for first team experience, we had seven leave on a permanent basis bring in a record transfer total for the club of £50m and breaking the Greek transfer record with the £16m received for Schapp.

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This deal was agreed before I joined but unlike the others wasn't cancelled when I joined, which is a shame as I think the lad had some potential and I probably would have kept him as back up. But just over half a million in the bank and a few quid off the wage budget.

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Hector was a big player last season and one of the team leaders, however at 35 he was declining, was earning almost £50k per week and was in the final year of his contract. I felt he had to go mainly to get him off the wage bill, but also so I could bring in someone younger and hopefully on less money.

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Was last seasons 1st choice between the sticks, but for me not as good as the Polish guy who was going to be my number 1, so with the fact that he was set to lose his place and he was on over £30k per week moving him on seemed like a good idea, especially since the 3rd choice keeper, who isn't much worse and younger, was complaining about more 1st team chances.

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The final player who I felt needed to go due to high wages. Much like Jonas Hector, he was no longer first choice was getting on and in the final year of his contract. Through in a wage of over £40k per week and that was just too high for a rotation option. £5m was maybe a little low but again its money in the kitty.

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Of all the players in the squad when I arrived the young Centre back was the one I wanted to keep, however Dortmund activated his release clause so my hands were tied. Luckily I know of a decent young centre back plying his trade elsewhere.

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Schapp was due to be my back up striker but £16m was a bid that I couldn't turn down, his £40k wages will also be a bonus.

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The Pole was set to be 1st choice keeper, until his head was turned by bids from Crystal Palace and Valencia. He started kicking up a fuss and handed in a transfer request, which I rejected. This situation is one of the reasons I get annoyed with dynamics as half the squad were ****** off that I would sell him whilst the other half thought I was right not to. Then when I did sell him, the half that were ****** off that I hadn't sold him didn't suddenly become happy but the half that didn't want him sold were now ****** off. Can't do right for doing wrong with dynamics!
 
With so many outs we needed to replace the players who had left and if possible with players who were as good but ideally on half the wages, so no pressure then!

Ins:

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So 3 of the 10 ins were brought in by my Director of Football and will be in the u20s as they have a bit of potential, so I won't cover Lista, Foukas and Efraimidis.

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Our midfield was in my opinion very 1 dimensional in that they were more defensive minded, and more of regaining possession than hurting the opposition once we had it. Consumi joins on a free from Inter and will hopefully be able to pull the strings in midfield and help drive the team forward.

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Mori, much like Consumi, was brought in to add guile to the midfield. He will probably be fighting it out with Consumi for the start, though as both can play further forward in the number 10 role both could even feature. At £3.6m from Roma a decent addition to the squad.

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Probably the signing I'm most excited about, but the one we will probably see least of. I do intend to get him some game time this season if possible otherwise a season in the u20s beckons. A great young striker who if we are being harsh needs to improve his dribbling and could do with a bit of work on determination but otherwise he looks really good. This season may be too soon for the step up but I expect him to make a big impact in the near future.

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With Jonas Hector leaving we needed a left back and Grimaldi is our man. Decent defensively he does need a bit of work on the offensive side of things but at 22 there is room for him to grow. £2.8m and another joining from Inter, looks to me like a good buy.

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With losing our star centre back we needed a replacement, and so I returned to Newell's to bring in Orons a player who had served me well in Argentina. £6.25m rising to £8.25m is a bit on the expensive side but I feel at 20 Orons will get better and better and it could turn out to be a absolute steal.

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When Schapp left we were a little light up front so Jovic was the man brought in to fill the gap. Again young enough that he can still improve but already a decent addition to the squad. Quick, composed and can finish, he could cause a few problems for defenses especially late on with his speed. Will start as back up, but with Europa League will get plenty of game time.

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Tim appeared on a scout report just a the right time. With my first choice keeper leaving I needed someone to fill his gloves and Tim was my man. He probably isn't as good as the Polish guy but there isn't too much in it and at 22 will hopefully improve further. Plus at around a tenth of what we received for the other keeper and on a fifth of the wages the bank balance won't complain either.

Overall I'm happy with the transfers. There was definitely more movement than I had anticipated but what with people complaining about wanting to leave, release fees and having to cut the wage budget I don't feel like I had too much choice. Not 100% sure we are stronger now but don't think we are any weaker on the pitch but I am certain we are in a stronger place financially at the end of August than we were when I joined.
 
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Ok then with the transfers all out of the way lets get onto some actual football. We had a busy pre-season program with 7 games against a variety of quality of opposition. I was keen to work on the new formation and look at any changes or tweeks that would be needed. That said I also wanted to win and try and build up a bit of momentum going into the new season.

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A very pleasing pre-season with only the 1 draw. Fitness and building tactical familiarity were the main aims so to avoid defeat the whole of pre-season was pleasing. I had started what i had deemed as my strongest 11 on 3 occasions, St Gallen, Boavista and Kortrijk and we had won comfortably on each occasion, so onward with confidence high to the new season.
 
I do like a good financial reshuffle. It's insane how bad the AI managers are at building a balanced squad within wage budgets - probably the most realistic aspect of Football Manager, heh
 
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We would have a busy first couple of months with League games in August and September, whilst September would see kick off our Europa League and Greek Cup campaigns. We would have 2 league games in each month and I would like to think that by the end of September we would still have a 100% record as all four games are winnable.

The group stage draw for both cups had been a little unkind to us as you can see below:

Greek Cup:

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Drawing another of the "Big 4" wasn't ideal but i'd expect to win 2 of the 3 games and therefore qualify for the next round.

Europa League:

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We were second seeds, so to end up with both Valencia (1st seeds) and Bordeaux (3rd seeds) seems a little harsh, especially when I looked at a few of the other groups. The board expect us to get out of the group which is by no means guaranteed.

Anyway onto the games.

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A 100% record just as I had hoped and only 1 goal conceded is very pleasing given the number of changes to our defensive unit. All games that we had dominated and in most cases not be caused any issues by the opposition. Douglas Pote and Ze Tavares have been in the goals and we currently sit top of the Super League by 2 points. October could be a very different story though with games against 2 of the Big 4 to come.

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Just the one game in the cup group stage so far and one that I expected us to win, so much so that I made 9 changes to the team.

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Well that kind of backfired. 2-0 down at half time we brought on a couple of the big boys and we got back in the game in the 54th minute. However a defeat looked on the cards until sub Pote got another goal and spared our blushes with an injury time equaliser. It does put a bit more pressure on us in the other 2 games to ensure we qualify for the 2nd round.

View attachment 67196So we start the group stage with on paper the most difficult game, away to Valencia. We have a full strength team but even then I'm not confident. Before a ball is kicked I'd take a draw all day long.

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A very even game that could easily have gone Valencias way if they hadn't missed a 7th minute penalty. Both side had a few chances but it fell to Jovic to score his first goal for the club coming off the bench with 20 minutes to go and slotting home the winner with 4 minutes left on the clock. This gives me confidence going into the other games and I'm now more hopeful of getting out of the group than I was before kick off.
 
Sammuthegreat said:
I do like a good financial reshuffle. It's insane how bad the AI managers are at building a balanced squad within wage budgets - probably the most realistic aspect of Football Manager, heh
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I do like the financial side of things and pride myself on making the club profitable and run within budget. Kind of sad but I do enjoy it. What I don't understand is how he managed to go so far over and then not win the league!
 
TheBattman said:
glad you've gone PAOK and looks like a good summer!
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They were the first job I had applied for and when I looked at the teams they exited me most due to all the young players they had. I honestly think a few seasons and we could be a really good Champions League side, assuming I can keep the team together and have another couple of good windows.
 
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October was set to be a busy month with six matches in total across three different competitions. In the league we would face our biggest challenge to date with the visit of Olympiakos before travelling to Panathinaikos. Our final league game this month would see us tackle Giannina at home. This would be the month were we would see how real our challenge of the title was, I'd like to win both our home games and anything beyond that would be a bonus. We would also be in action in the Europa League were we would face two home games against APOEL and Bordeaux. I'd expect to beat APOEL but the Bordeaux game could go either way. Finally this month we would also face our second Greek Cup group game. After dropping points in the first game we couldn't afford any slip ups against Kavala, a semi-pro outfit from the National B division.

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A very pleasing month in the league. Victory over Olympiakos in a game we totally dominated. 3-0 up at half time, we added a fourth just after and took our foot off the gas and even rested a couple of our bug players. They did pull one back just after the hour but offered very little in an attacking sense and we cruised to victory. Panathinaikos was a different story. An even game that neither team wanted to lose. We went 1 up with a 13th minute goal from left winger Jaworski only for them to equaliser just before the half hour mark. The 2nd half was a cagey affair with both teams cancelling each other out, a draw was probably the right result. Giannina was a game that we controlled from start to finish, were they never managed a shot on target. 2-0 up at half time Ze Tavares completed his hat-trick from the kick off of the second half. Jaworski added a fourth in the 76th minute and the game was done.

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Just the one game in the cup, but what a game! Goals galore and (spoiler alert) not for the first time this month. 8-0 up at half time including an 18 minute hat-trick for Jaworski, ably back up with 2 for back up striker Jovic, 2 for attacking midfielder Pereira and one for Ze Tavares, who would complete his own hat-trick in the 2nd half. The good news is that this means we can afford to lose against AEK and unless there is a massive goal swing we will progress to the 2nd round.

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2 games this month in the Europa League, one I expected to win 1 that I really wasn't sure how it would go.

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We started the month at home to APOEL and boy what a start it was. 10-0 (this was the first time I had scored double figures in a competitive game on this years FM) and the lads really put down a marker. We were out of the blocks quickly and a first half hat-trick for centre midfielder Nelson Silva was followed by another hat-trick for Ze Tavares, who is scoring for fun so far this season. The 3 playing just behind the attacker also got themselves on the scoresheet with Jaworski and Pereira grabbing a goal apeice and a brace for the other winger Mihelcic rounding off the scoring. The win over Bordeaux seemed quite dull in comparison with us dominating and going 2 up before they got a consolation around the hour mark. Top of the group with 3 wins from 3 if we can get one more win that'll be us into the knockout stages.
 
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