Gonzalo Flores - Does great player equal great manager?

[bcfc1]

After taking a break after my previous story, I have come up with a new story that will hopefully bring me a bigger challenge and give the story a narrative that will keep me engaged in it for the long term.

For anyone who has read some of my previous stories, you may know that one of my most successful players in FM history is an Argentinian winger called Gonzalo Flores. I signed him as a free transfer from a Mexican side when he was just 19 and by the time that he retired at 37 he had broken pretty much every record that a player could. He not only broke club records but he also broke Lionel Messi’s record for the number of World Player of the Year awards by winning it 9 times, 7 of those were in a row as well.

I have decided to create a manager based on Gonzalo Flores and I will try to turn the greatest player in the game into the greatest manager in the game. I have put together a big list of targets to try and achieve over the course of this story and once you have looked at them, you will see that I have planned this to be a very long term save.

​

League	Achieved
Argentina
England
Spain
Germany
France
Italy
USA
China

I would have also liked to add the Qatar and Japan leagues as well to have all the big money leagues but they aren’t available on the game and I am not one for all the additional databases that are online.

​

Continental	Achieved
Copa Sudamericana
Copa Libertadores
Europa League
Champions League
Club World Cup

International	Achieved
Copa America
European Championship
World Cup
Confederations Cup

Hall of Fame	Achieved
Enter Argentina hall of fame
Top Argentina hall of fame
Enter Worldwide hall of fame
Top Worldwide hall of fame

Personal	Achieved
Manage 100 games	Oct 2020
Manage 500 games
Manage 1000 games
Manage 2000 games
Get the Birmingham City job
Get the Argentina job
Become Birmingham City’s longest serving manager (Trevor Francis 290 matches)
Become Argentina’s longest serving manager (Guillermo Stabile 127 matches)

I will be starting unemployed and will be hoping to start off in either the lower leagues of England, as this is where Gonzalo finished his career, or in his native Argentina.

I have also set myself just one rule which is that I can not stay at a club for longer than 3 full seasons, except for Birmingham City if I ever get the job. For Birmingham City, I will have to leave the club and the end of the season after I break Trevor Francis’ record. I am hoping that this rule will mean that I jump around clubs more often and not get too settled as that is when I usually find a save gets to easy.

If you have any other rules that you think will make this more interesting/challenging then let me know and I will incorporate them into the save.​

 

[bcfc1]

Gonzalo Flores takes his first steps into management


Months after announcing that he is looking to go into management, Gonzalo Flores has got his first job as he takes the reins at Championship side Stoke City. After a disappointing start to the season under Nathan Jones, Stoke were left sitting in 18th​ place and they decided to make a change. After a positive interview, it was announced on 26th​ November 2018 that Gonzalo Flores is the new manager of Stoke City on a 2 year deal.

Whenever I take over a new club I will give a brief overview of the club and also my plans for the 3 seasons that I will have at that club.

Stoke City

Founded – 1863

Stadium – Bet365 Stadium

Capacity – 30,089

Nickname – The Potters

Current League – Sky Bet Championship

Trophy Cabinet

3 year plan

Year 1 – Maintain safety in the Championship
Year 2 – Challenge for promotion
Year 3 – Earn promotion or retain Prem status if promoted in season 2

If I can stick to this 3 year plan for Stoke then I hope to leave the club with a bigger reputation than I currently have and be able to move on to a bigger club afterwards.​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

The fact that my laptop screen has stopped working and has to go off for repair through work means I'm looking for a new save to start on my home PC! I really like what you've done with this and might try something similar if you don't mind

 

[bcfc1]

The fact that my laptop screen has stopped working and has to go off for repair through work means I'm looking for a new save to start on my home PC! I really like what you've done with this and might try something similar if you don't mind

I don't mind at all. I saw a version of it online myself where people were doing it for famous footballers who have become managers (Lampard, Gerrard etc) and I decided to alter it for my own player and change some of the targets to make it a more Worldwide and long term challenge.

If you do it as a story on here then I will definitely be following it. If not then let me know on this thread how it goes.

 

[BigBeast077]

After having read the introduction I was so excited that I would be reading your thread for hours because it seemed very interesting. Unfortunately, I didn't realise that you had only started the save yesterday

Cant wait for the next part though!

 

[bcfc1]

After having read the introduction I was so excited that I would be reading your thread for hours because it seemed very interesting. Unfortunately, I didn't realise that you had only started the save yesterday

Cant wait for the next part though!

I am hoping to get pretty regular updates going on this now that I have my club so there should be something for you to read through pretty soon.

 

[bcfc1]

Squad and Tactics

Goalkeepers

There is a very clear first and second choice here. Jack Butland is one of the best keepers in the league if not the best. Adam Federici is a pretty strong backup option as well. He would start for most teams in the league if they didn't have a Jack Butland.

Full Backs

Bauer and Tymon will be the starting full backs although I will be looking to develop Edwards to hopefully become a starting full back as well. Schlupp will be a very good option to rotate with the young Josh Tymon throughout a heavy season.

Centre Backs

I plan on starting with a Batth and Martins Indi partnership although Shawcross will be pushing for regular game time. I am not too fussed about Williams as he is an older player and only on loan. I will look to cancel that loan in January if I can get a cheaper option into the club.

Central Midfielders

The club is definitely heavily stacked here. Woods and Etebo look to be the stars of the midfield while I will be looking at someone like Bojan to bring some talent and skill to the midfield. Fletcher and Adam both bring plenty of experience to the midfield that will hopefully help us break down stubborn defences or hold on to precious leads. While his natural position is LM, I see Clucas as more of a CM and I will look to rotate him with Joe Allen on the left side of the midfield.

Strikers

The club is heavily stacked here as well. Sam Vokes is a class above the rest at the moment and will the main focal point of the attack. It will be up to Afobe or Berahino to play with him as I plan on using a 2 man strick force.

Tactics

With the plethora of central midfielders and strikers I have decided to start with a 442 narrow diamond tactic. This will allow me to get a lot of the midfielders into team and the 2 up top I wanted as well. The club are also very light on wide men with Clucas and Diouf being the only real options so it also means I don't need to play any wingers.

​

 

[bcfc1]

December

Stoke 1 (Vokes 60)
Derby 0

Butland, Bauer (Edwards), Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon, Woods, Etebo, Allen, Bojan, Vokes (Fletcher), Afobe

This game was actually at the end of November but as it was my only game in November I decided to just add it to the December update. The fact that Butland was MOTM should give you some idea of how this game went. They battered us and they missed a penalty as well before Vokes headed us the vital goal to win 3 points in my first match in charge.

Reading 3 (Miazga 45+2, Barrow 64, Baker 90+4)
Stoke 3 (Afobe 16, Vokes 17, Etebo 47)
Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon (Schlupp), Woods, Etebo, Allen, Bojan (Shenton), Vokes, Afobe

What a disappointing result. To be leading this game both 2-0 and 3-1 and then to leave with just one point is really annoying. Their late equalizer was a great free kick that Butland could do nothing about though as it was smashed in by Baker.

Stoke 3 (Vokes 47, Bojan 54, Allen 90+1)
Ipswich 0

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon, Woods, Etebo, Allen, Bojan, Vokes, Afobe

A great result here. This is the first game that we have really dominated and I hope to see it continue in future games.

Aston Villa 0
Stoke 1 (Etebo 71)

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon, Woods (Adam), Etebo, Allen (Clucas), Bojan, Vokes, Berahino (Afobe)

I am so happy we have a keeper of such high quality. Villa were the dominant team here but they just couldn’t beat Butland in goal. Any chance of success with this club will have to be built around him and I hope to be able to keep him here for the time I have at the club.

Stoke 2 (Etebo 39, Afobe 69)
Millwall 0

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon, Woods, Etebo, Allen (Clucas), Bojan (Shenton), Vokes, Afobe

Etebo delivered another goal here and this time earned himself the MOTM award. He and Woods have both been very good in midfield so far while Allen and Bojan have been a bit more reserved.

Birmingham 1 (Jukiewicz 41pen)
Stoke 3 (Shenton 35, Vokes 59, Afobe 85)

This is a bittersweet victory. Birmingham have been doing really well this season and were in the playoff positions although this result has now dropped them out of it. I am hoping that they are still able to push for playoff place by the end of the season.

Bolton 1 (Oztumer 67)
Stoke 2 (Matthews 25og, Berahino 44)

Butland, Edwards, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon, Adam, Etebo, Clucas, Bojan (Shenton), Vokes (Afobe), Berahino
With this game coming just 3 days after the Birmingham game, I decided to rotate the squad a little and thankfully we still came out with the 3 points. Bolton put us under a lot of pressure towards the end of the game to try and get an equalizer but we were able to hold on.

Summary

It has been a very strong start to my time with Stoke and the squad is clearly good enough to challenge at the top of this league. With our form so far we are giving ourselves a very good chance of pushing back into promotion contention for this season. The down point so far is that due to not playing under Nathan Jones and then not playing under me either, I have quite a few players who are unhappy and want to leave including Federici, Shawcross, McClean, Diouf and Berahino. None of them are starters for me so I have agreed to let them go for the right deal but it will mean I need to sort out some replacements for them to give me options in the squad. It could be a busy January transfer window here.

Player of the Month
Bruno Martins Indi

Really solid performances from Martins Indi as he gave us strength at the back and was also able to play the ball around to start up a lot of attacks.

League Table

Up Next - January




​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Great start there mate! You'll be in them playoff spots before long if you keep this up!

 

[bcfc1]

Great start there mate! You'll be in them playoff spots before long if you keep this up!

It has been a big success so far. The tactic has been a big success so far. Playing 2 up top has been really effective. We sometimes lose the battle to control the game but we look like a threat all the time whether it is by passing the ball through the middle or on the counter.

 

[bcfc1]

January

Stoke 2 (Etebo 13, Afobe 35)
Bristol City 2 (Pack 14, Eliasson 37)

Butland, Bauer (Edwards), Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon Woods, Etebo, Allen (Clucas), Shenton, Vokes (Berahino), Afobe

We were far to open at the back here. They pegged us back quickly after we scored both times. Etebo delivered another great performance and he is quickly becoming the star man in midfield.

Norwich 4 (Aarons 22, Cantwell 28, Maina 40, 45+2)
Stoke 2 (Berahino 31, Fletcher 65)

Butland, Edwards, Williams, Martins Indi, Schlupp, Adam, Etebo (Fletcher), Clucas, Shenton, Afobe, Berahino

There won’t be any cup run for us this year as we are knocked out by the league leaders Norwich. I rotated the squad a little here as the league is more important than any cup and we weren’t able to match them in the first half as they ran riot against us.

Brentford 0
Stoke 2 (Afobe 7, Vokes 84)

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymons (Schlupp), Woods, Etebo (Adam), Allen, Shenton (Bojan), Vokes, Afobe

It is nice to get back to winning ways here as the strikers delivered the goals and we were able to keep a clean sheet at the other end as well which was the more pleasing thing as we have struggled to keep teams out in most games.

Stoke 3 (Tymon 15, Afobe 45, Bojan 87)
Leeds 0

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon, Woods, Etebo (Shenton), Allen, Grealish, Vokes (Bojan), Afobe

This is the best result of the career so far. I went into this game fully expecting to lose the game as Leeds are doing really well in the league but we got an early goal and then from there we just kept threatening them on the counter.

Stoke 2 (Afobe 5, Vokes 88)
Preston 2 (Storey 87, Johnson 90+4pen)

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Ampadu, Tymon (Schlupp), Woods, Etebo, Allen (Clucas), Grealish, Vokes, Afobe

This game all kicked off in the last 5/10 minutes of the game. After they equalized and then we took the lead again, they were then given a very late penalty that gave them a point.

Summary

The month may have started poorly with a draw and a loss but we got stronger as the month went on and we have finished the month in a strong position. We are currently in 3rd​ place we should now have some real aspirations of getting promoted in our first season. I have taken a risk with our transfers to try and push for promotion this season and I will talk about them next.

Transfers Out

It has been a real month of change as we look to push for promotion this season. In terms of players out we had 5 players leave for a total of £11 million. The first to leave was Ryan Shawcross who joined Swansea for £3mil. He wasn’t happy and wanted to go so I was happy to get some money in for him and to get rid of him from the wage bill. He is also joined by Saido Berahino who joined Swansea as well for £6mil which could go up £7.5mil depending on goals and appearances.
We also sold Adam Federici, Mame Biram Diouf and James McClean for a total of £1.7mil. None of them were close to the first team so I was happy to get their wages out of the club, especially Diouf as he was the clubs highest earner on £65k before leaving.

Transfers In

I brought in 4 players that I hope will help us get promoted this season and also be a part of the squad next year regardless of what division we end up in. The first 2 signings were Ethan Ampadu and Ben Woodburn on loans from Chelsea and Liverpool respectively. They may be youngsters but they are of great quality and can step straight into the first team when needed.

The next signing was the biggest as we signed Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for £14.75 million. As much as it pains me to say it, Grealish is possibly the best player in the Championship and to be able to sign him before he goes off to a Premier League team should give us a good chance of achieving promotion. I haven’t been impressed with Bojan in the no.10 role so I am hoping to see Grealish deliver from that position.

The final signing came in on deadline day as I signed Neal Maupay from Brentford in a deal that could reach up to £10 million. Maupay is seen as one of the best strikers in the league so to sign him and be able to rotate him with Vokes, Afobe and Woodburn should give us a great choice of strikers for the rest of the season.

Player of the Month
Benik Afobe

Benik has delivered important goals this month and has made sure that I don't just drop him for Maupay but that I rotate more between the strikers.

League Table

Up Next - February​

 

[WeArePalace]

Some great Championship level signings who can make it in the Premier League as well. The squad looks very strong and promotion is looking very possible, best of luck! Very good story so far as well.

 

[bcfc1]

February


Hull 2 (Pugh 4, Martin 43)
Stoke 1 (Shenton 82)

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Ampadu, Tymon, Woods, Etebo (Woodburn), Allen (Shenton), Grealish, Vokes (Maupay), Afobe

Such a disappointing result here. Hull were rooted to the bottom of the table before this result. To beat some of the teams in and around playoffs has seen us sky rocket up the table but this result makes me remember that this team isn’t perfect.

Stoke 1 (Vokes 86)
West Brom 0

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon, Woods, Etebo (Adam), Allen, Grealish, Maupay (Vokes), Afobe

This is a much better result and it was against much harder opposition. It was a very balanced game but we stole the points at the end of the game from a deep cross from Bauer being powered in by Vokes.

Wigan 0
Stoke 3 (Woodburn 15, Vokes 17, 74)

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon (Schlupp), Woods (Adam), Etebo, Shenton, Grealish (Clucas), Vokes, Woodburn

This was a very impressive performance with a starting XI that I had rotated due to the fact that this game came only 3 days after the West Brom game. I was impressed with Woodburn up top but especially impressed with Shenton who seems to be a real talent in midfield.

Ipswich 0
Stoke 2 (Vokes 61, 78)

Butland, Bauer, Ampadu, Martins Indi (Batth), Tymon (Schlupp), Woods, Etebo, Allen, Grealish, Vokes, Afobe

Vokes delivers 2 goals for two games in a row. I don’t usually play with target men but he is really delivering the goals for us. I also have to mention Bauer who has been providing him with a lot of assists. I thought that Bauer would end up being the more conservative full back but after this game he currently has 10 assists which is double Tymon’s 5.

Stoke 3 (Grealish 10, Vokes 45+1, Afobe 66)
Aston Villa 1 (Abraham 58)

Butland, Bauer, Ampadu, Martins Indi, Tymon, Woods, Etebo (Shenton), Allen, Grealish, Vokes (Maupay), Afobe

What a time for Grealish to step up and get his first goal for club. While he has been an upgrade to Bojan in that position, he hasn’t been great himself but he delivered his first goal for his new club against his old club to help us get 3 vital points.

Summary

Just like last month, this month started poorly but was very strong after that. The Hull loss was a big shock but we have been consistently better since then. There is still plenty of the season to go but we are in a really strong position and look almost certain for playoffs while we are now focused on trying to go up automatically.

Player of the Month
Moritz Bauer

It was very close between Bauer and Vokes but Bauer has been very consistent in every game, even the loss to Hull which swung it his way. RB was a position I thought I might have to improve on in the summer but Bauer is definitely changing my mind about that.

League Table

Up Next - March​

 

[bcfc1]

Some great Championship level signings who can make it in the Premier League as well. The squad looks very strong and promotion is looking very possible, best of luck! Very good story so far as well.

I am pleased with the signings and with how they have done so far. Maupay hasn't played as much as I would have liked but he has picked up a slight injury. The squad is strong in a lot of positions and if we do get promoted then we would be able to afford to keep people such as Wimmer, Imbula, Ndiaye and Ince when they come back from their loans in the summer which will boaster the squad in some important positions.

 

[bcfc1]

March


Stoke 2 (Vokes 66, Batth 90)
Notts Forest 1 (Soudani 71)

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon, Woods, Otebo (Clucas), Shenton, Grealish (Woodburn), Vokes (Ampadu), Maupay

This was a tight win with a late goal from Batth securing the points. Both goals here were headers from set pieces which I am hoping is something that will still provide us goals if we were to get promoted.

QPR 1 (Manning 68)
Stoke 4 (Tymon 24, Maupay 41, 45+2, Grealish 90+1)

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon (Schlupp), Woods, Etebo, Shenton (Adam), Grealish, Vokes (Bojan), Maupay

Maupay finally delivers some goals here. He has struggled with injuries and the fact that Afobe and especially Vokes have been great but he stepped up here with 2 goals and a MOTM performance. I am hoping he can now become a threat up top for us.

Derby 0
Stoke 1 (Afobe 32)

Butland, Bauer, Ampadu, Martins Indi, Schlupp, Adam, Etebo, Allen (Shenton), Bojan, Woodburn (Vokes), Afobe

I didn’t realise that this game was just 2 days after the QPR game so I had to rotate the team a lot and in the end we were lucky to get away with the 3 points. We had to be strong at the back at times as they put us under a lot of pressure but the defence were able to keep a clean sheet.

Stoke 3 (Vokes 4, 24, 31pen)
Sheff Wed 1 (Onomah 26)

Butland, Bauer, Batth Martins Indi, Tymon (Clucas), Adam, Etebo, Allen, Grealish (Bojan), Vokes, Afobe

Vokes put in a finishing masterclass to grab us the 3 points. He has shown that he is definitely too good for the Championship and I look forward to seeing how he will do in the Premier League if we can get our place there confirmed by staying in the automatic places. The only downside of this game was that Grealish got injured which will possibly see him miss the remainder of the season.

Summary

In terms of the results it has been a perfect month with 4 wins in 4 but the injury to Grealish in the last game is a disappointment and I hope it won’t affect us next month where we have a very schedule and will need to try and rotate the squad well. Next month will give us the chance to confirm both our playoff and possibly our automatic promotion place and with only 2 points in it, we can’t give up the chase on Norwich to actually try and win the entire league.

Player of the Month
Sam Vokes

It could only be Vokes this month as he delivered 4 goals in 4 games and has been vital to our push towards the top of the table.

League Table

Up Next - April​

 

[bcfc1]

April

Stoke 1 (Bojan 65)
Reading 2 (Bodvarsson 29, 90+1)

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon, Woods, Etebo (Adam), Shenton, Bojan, Vokes, Maupay (Woodburn)

Another poor start to a month here. Shenton’s sending off didn’t help us but we were never really at the races. It looks as though our chances of catching Norwich are slipping away.

Blackburn 1 (Armstrong 89)
Stoke 1 (Bojan 17pen)

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon, Woods, Etebo, Allen (Fletcher), Bojan, Vokes (Maupay), Afobe

Another late goal costs us some valuable points here. We are really beginning to throw away any chance of winning the title but we do still look safe for second.

Swansea 1 (Trybull 90)
Stoke 3 (Adam 31, Afobe 59, Woodburn 89)

Butland, Edwards, Batth, Ampadu, Martins Indi, Adam, Clucas, Allen, Shenton, Woodburn, Afobe

It is nice to get back to winning ways here. I rotated the squad a lot here as the games in April are coming thick and fast and after the last 2 results I thought we needed a change. I was impressed with Adam in the holding role and he will be missed when he leaves in the summer.

Stoke 1 (Vokes 59)
Rotherham 0

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Ampadu Tymon (Edwards), Woods, Etebo, Allen (Fletcher), Bojan, Vokes, Woodburn (Maupay)

Another win here brings us a step closer to promotion. This result actually confirmed that we will finish with at least a playoff place but we are now aiming for a top 2 place finish to give us automatic promotion.

Middlesbrough 1 (Van La Parra 80)
Stoke 3 (Bojan 11, Batth 15, 40)

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon, Woods, Etebo, Allen, Bojan, Vokes, Maupay

This was a very nice win as Middlesbrough are around the playoffs and trying to push for one of those places. This win has also put us on the cusp of automatic promotion.

Stoke 2 (Etebo 35, Bojan 70pen)
Norwich 1 (Hernandez 45+4)

Butland, Edwards, Batth, Martins Indi, Schlupp (Tymon), Woods, Etebo. Allen, Bojan, Vokes, Maupay

PROMOTION. There are so many things to say here. Firstly we have confirmed an automatic promotion place and will be in the Premier League next season. We also beat Norwich which meant we have now caught them up and are now actually 1st​ in the table. If we can win one of our final two games of the season then we will win the title.

Millwall 2 (Bradshaw 70, Mutch 90+2)
Stoke 2 (Afobe 41, 60)

Butland, Edwards, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon (Ampadu), Woods, Etebo, Allen (Shenton), Bojan, Vokes (Woodburn), Afobe

We were so close to winning the title but a last minute equalizer means that the season will go down to the final game of the season. We have usually done so well when teams are pushing for an equalizer but here we collapsed and they actually had another chance to win it after that.

Summary

This was a weird month as we lost 1 and drew 2 which would normally mean it is a poor month but Norwich were even worse and lost 3 in a row and we are now top of the table and with one game to go we have to be favourites to win the title. There is only one game next month but it will be our first chance to win some silverware.

Player of the Month
Danny Batth

In a month where we have had to rotate a lot, Batth was the most consistent player as he put in consistent performances in all of his games.

League Table

Up Next - May
​

 

[bcfc1]

May/End of Season Post

Stoke 2 (Maupay 66, 84)
Sheff Utd 1 (Dowell 45+1)

Butland, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Tymon, Woods, Etebo, Allen, Grealish, Vokes, Maupay

CHAMPIONS!!!!! It has been an incredible season and this was a great game to win the title. We were dominating the game before we conceded just before half time. Maupay hasn’t been the most consistent since joining but he really delivered here and makes sure that my first season in charge has ended on the highest possible high.

End of season Review

It has been a great first season in charge as we far surpassed all targets that I set. We have been so consistent in the league and only lost 2 games after I took over. The signings in January have generally done well, especially Grealish, although I was slightly disappointed with Neal Maupay who didn’t deliver as much as I thought he would do.

Final League Table

Squad Overview

Goalkeepers – Butland was the clear option here and there is no plan to change that over the summer. I will need a backup to him though as Federici left in January and my other back up (Haugaard) has agreed to leave the club already.

Defence – The full backs were outstanding and I am planning on giving them a chance to show their talents in the Premier League. I was also pleased with Batth and Martins Indi but I may look to improve this position as there back up was Ampadu who will be going back to Chelsea.

Midfield – The starting midfield of Woods, Etebo, Allen and Grealish worked well and Shenton and Bojan both did well when called upon. We also had Adam and Fletcher providing some depth and while Adam did well when played, they will both be leaving the club over the summer.

Forwards – Vokes was the star of the show here. He finished with 25 goals and was the top goalscorer in the Championship. Afobe delivered 13 goals as well which was a good return and Maupay and Woodburn provided good backup options.

Player of the Season – Sam Vokes

Young Player of the Season – Josh Tymon

Top Goalscorer – Sam Vokes (25)

Top Assister – Moritz Bauer (11)

Highest Average Rating – Josh Tymon (7.29)

Transfer Plans

I have been given just over £40 million to spend and that will mostly get spent on a new CB and improving the depth in midfield. If I can stretch the money far enough then I may look to bring in a new RB to challenge Bauer but that is not the biggest concern of the window.

Up Next – Pre-Season

​

 

[bcfc1]

Pre-Season

It has been a very busy few days both in and out of the game which is the reason that this post has taken a while to get done. Anyway, onto the pre-season post and it has been a big change to try and get ready for first season in the Premier League. The squad had some players who were capable of playing in the prem but some positions did need changes and we also had a slight change to our tactics as well.

Transfers Out

We had plenty of players leave during the summer and I will give a quick rundown of them. The big thing to talk about is the fact that we had 3 players all leave for Guangzhou. Joe Allen, Bojan and Erik Pieters all left for China in deals worth £10mil, £8.75mil and £5mil respectively. I was fine with both Bojan and Pieters leaving as there was no need for them in squad, Allen was a slightly harder one to agree to but in the end it was good money for a player who probably wouldn’t have been a starter this season.

We also sold Geoff Cameron to Sheff Utd for £750k and Tom Ince to Norwich in a deal worth up to £8.75mil. Both were out on loan season and there was no real position for them to come back to so I moved them both out for the best deals possible. We then had both Charlie Adam and Darren Fletcher leave the club as their contract ended, and then plenty of youngsters went out on loan including Tom Edwards and Julien Ngoy.

Transfers In

Now to the interesting stuff. Altogether I only had 5 players come in which doesn’t seem like a lot for a promoted team but, because we had people such as Wimmer, Ndiaye and Imbula return from loans, the squad is actually very different to what it was last season.

The first signing was to bring in John Souttar from Hearts for £9 million. I was looking to improve my CB’s and Souttar looks to be a very good player who could partner Wimmer at the back. This should then leave both Batth and Martins Indi to provide good depth in a position where I can imagine we will end up with plenty of yellow and red cards during the season.

The other defensive signing was Joakim Maehle who I signed from KRC Genk for £11 million. For those who followed my KRC Genk story, they will know that Maehle was an outstanding RB for me and provided plenty of assists from that position. He was eventually sold to RB Leipzig so he clearly has some talent and I am hoping he can show that for me.

I made two signings for the DM position and they are Oriel Busquets and Maxime Gonalons. They were signed for £7.25 million and £11.75 million respectively. Last season, I was playing Woods there who is not a natural DM and his backup was Adam who left in the summer so big changes was needed here. I had plenty of names on my shortlist including Sam Fields, Filippo Melegoni and Mohamed Elneny but in the end I have gone for these two. I am hoping Gonalons will provide some experience while Busquets brings more youthful energy. Gonalons will probably be the starter but Busquets will be pushing him all the way.

The final signing was a loan signing as I brought in Tammy Abrahams from Chelsea. He had a good season the Championship where he scored 15 goals and I am hoping he can turn that into Premier League goals as well. To be honest, I was looking at much bigger names than this but I could get deals done for players such as Divock Origi, Javier Hernandez and Kasper Dolberg so had to settle for Abraham who will challenge Afobe and Maupay to partner Vokes up top.

Tactics

As I said earlier, I have changed the tactic slightly. I wasn’t impressed with Bojan or Grealish in the AM position last season and as we are likely to control games even less this season, I have decided to drop the AM into CM to create a flat 3 in front of a DM so the tactic is now a 4132. I am hoping this will provide a little more strength in midfield and also those 3 will be runners who get forward to support the front 2 with late runs into the box.

Squad

I like to have roughly 22 players so 2 players for each position and this is how the squad looks so far.

There will be plenty of rotation and chances for those in the second squad to impress to try and push into the first squad.

Up Next - August​

 

[bcfc1]

August

Brighton 0
Stoke 1 (Vokes 74pen)
Butland, Maehle, Souttar, Wimmer, Tymon, Gonalons, Grealish, Ndiaye (Etebo), Imbula, Vokes, Afobe (Abraham)

A really nice start to the season here as we snuck a 1-0 win away from home. The ambition for this season will be to be strong at home and sneak some results away from home and that is exactly what happened here. The fact that Butland was MOTM shows that we had to be strong at the back.

Stoke 4 (Imbula 27, Vokes 56, Afobe 68, Woods 90+2)
Fulham 0

Butland, Maehle, Souttar, Wimmer, Tymon, Gonalons, Grealish (Woods), Ndiaye (Etebo), Imbula, Vokes, Afobe

What a result here. We were so ruthless in front of goal. One of our weaker points last season was that we seemed to consistently concede goals so I am pleased to start the season with two clean sheets. The only downside is the fact that Grealish picked up an injury and is out for a month.

Norwich 1 (Cantwell 24)
Stoke 0

Butland, Maehle, Souttar (Batth), Wimmer, Tymon, Gonalons (Abraham), Woods, Ndiaye, Imbula (Shenton), Vokes, Afobe

This is a disappointing result as we lost to a fellow promoted team and a team that we will probably end up battling with to stay up in the league. We peppered their goal with shots but lacked the quality to score any.

Stoke 0
Shrewsbury 1 (Gilliead 90)

Bursik, Bauer, Batth, Martins Indi, Clucas, Busquets, Verlinden, Etebo, Shenton, Abraham, Maupay

And the cup run is over before it even starts. I rotated the starting team but we should still have the quality to have beaten Shrewsbury. We had shot after shot and then eventually got caught with a last minute counter attack. The only positive I can take is that we can now completely focus the league.

Stoke 3 (Woods 16, Vokes 18, 37)
Everton 1 (Bernard 78)

Butland, Maehle, Souttar, Wimmer, Tymon, Gonalons, Woods, Ndiaye (Etebo), Imbula (Shenton), Vokes, Afobe (Abraham)

What a great result here. Everton are the best team we have faced so far and we caught them with two quick goals. We continued to dominate and the game was over at half time. The scored one but never really looked like getting back into the game.

Summary

Overall I have been pleased with the start to the season, even it does come with a loss to Shrewsbury. We have quickly settled to the league and picking up points. The main target for this season will be to stay up and we have started in a strong way to get there.

Player of the Month
Sam Vokes

4 goals in 4 games has to be recognized as Vokes is delivering in the Premier League just like he was in the Championship last season.

League Table

Up Next - September​

 

[bcfc1]

September

Birmingham 1 (Adams 54)
Stoke 3 (Maehle 37, Afobe 74, Maupay 81)

Butland, Maehle, Souttar, Wimmer, Tymon, Gonalons, Grealish, Ndiaye (Etebo), Imbula (Clucas), Abraham (Maupay), Afobe

This was a very good result which keeps us going well in the league. Maehle had a very good game with a good strike for his own goal and an assist for Afobe’s goal.

Stoke 0
Man City 0

Butland, Maehle, Souttar, Wimmer, Tymon, Gonalons, Woods (Etebo), Ndiaye, Imbula (Clucas), Vokes (Abraham), Afobe

This is possibly our best result so far this season. Man City are the current holders of the league and we were able to hold them at home. We were on the back foot for 90 minutes and never really threatened but it was a good game to show that we can defend well and block teams out when we need to.

Watford 0
Stoke 3 (Ndiaye 10, Abraham 33, Vokes 42)

Butland, Maehle, Souttar, Wimmer, Tymon, Gonalons, Grealish, Ndiaye, Imbula, Vokes, Abraham

This brings a short but strong month to an end. I was unsure on whether our slightly new tactic would work but it has had a very successful start to the season. Maehle had another good game as he kept a clean sheet at the back and provided 2 assists for Ndiaye and Vokes.

Summary

It has been a strong month for us as we continue to show that have the quality to compete at this level. I was shocked with how well we did last season and the team are surpassing this with how well they are doing this season. The draw against Man City is in my opinion the most impressive as I went into the game completely expecting to leave with a 3 or 4-0 loss so to keep a clean sheet was amazing.

Player of the Month
Joakim Maehle

4 assists this month for the RB shows that we has been a good signing. The full backs are vital in terms of providing the team width and they have both done this really well with Maehle really standing out this month.

League Table

Up Next - October​