I started out with nothing and I still got most of it left

[Edd1920]

December 2029
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Some enforced changes - Thomsen for Jenkins and Valenzuela for Mustafa; and some rotational - Ak for Ceyhun, Dizdarovic for Berkay, Eroglu for Guler and Meric for Eboko come in as I make preparations for the Champions League game against Basel. We have plenty of chances, but it takes a defensive error to give Kanak a tap in from a fumbled free-kick. We’ll see if it was worth it with the next game. ​

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A bit of a war of attrition there and hard going for both team who missed the chance to take the 3 points. Both teams had enough clear cut chances to win the game but in the end, for us, the point is enough for us to somehow finish the group stage in second with just 2 wins. A touch fortunate to be progressing. ​

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[TD]Altinordu currently sit bottom of the league so it follows that we can barely muster an attack or barely threaten throughout the game…although thanks to other results, we still stay top - albeit jointly on points. [/TD]
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[TD]A second string team is put in for the cup group opener against 1st​ Division Kayseri. The youngsters open the scoring before 3 goal of the season contenders in succession. Mustafa smashes in a volley from 25 yards from a cleared corner, Berkay dribbles through 4 players before calmly slotting home from the edge of the box and Dizdarevic curls in a 30 yard freekick.[/TD]
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[TD]Berardi hadn’t scored before today and nets twice from virtually identical free kicks flicked on to the far post. Ceyhun was taken off injured after opening the scoring and even after chasing the game we couldn’t force an impact on the result. We’re making a bit of a hash of our supposed title defence.

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Ceyhun’s 4-5 week lay-off with a sprained ankle is a blow. Ak is a pretty decent back up choice but I guess we’ll see now whether he’s good enough to regularly lead the line.


View attachment 75466 - well, that should be interesting.


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[TD]A tough game against the team in second place awaits although Thomsen makes it look easy in the first half. Ak has a great game, with both assists, before getting injured. Berkay moves to play up top. Another convincing win in the group stage of the cup. Ak misses 8-9 weeks with a dislocated shoulder leaving me without a natural striker until Ceyhun regains his fitness.[/TD]
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Berkay leads the line in the absence of either Ak or Ceyhun and Ekobo retains the keeper position as the best performing of the three of them at the moment. Guler’s delightful chipped finish is quickly cancelled out by sloppy defending which allows a free one-on-one. Another Berkay free-kick seals a good win. Takes us top for the time being, but it’s close up there. ​

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Ekobo, brought in on a free transfer in the summer, hasn’t been at his best, but is the best keeper we have. Given we have Suarez, Ekobo, Meric and Baker in the squad, that’s 2 quality keepers too many.

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Some rotation is put in place for the cup game against the team from the league below. We made much harder work of that than we should have done, but an Ali header powered in from the corner seals the win and another 3 points for the group stage. ​

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The final game of a very busy month brings 6th​ placed Osmanlispor to Istanbul. Just for fun, Meric has a go in goal. Dizdarevic, who has had a sustained run in the AMC position has yet to properly impress but he gets another chance. Meric makes an outstanding double stop just after half time to keep us in it, although it was a good header from a free-kick that consigned us to the defeat in the end.
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[Edd1920]

January 2030

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The transfer window opens and immediately 6 U-21 players come in, having been scouted and signed in November last year. All go on the development list and most will, I guess, go on loan to get some first team experience. Other than these guys, I’m anticipating a quiet January, although we’ll see.

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[TD]The early goal for them was a bit of a kick up the backside and it jump started something of a fight back with the teenager Eroglu and Berkay taking centre stage. 4 wins out of 4 for the cup group stages and progress to the knockout round guaranteed.[/TD]
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The away trip to Trabzonspor was a potential banana-skin and it proved to be the case and,after having, enough chances to win the game succumbed to a sucker punch as the game drew to a close. One of the positives of the game was at least a return to the first team of Ceyhun who managed a 15 minute cameo at the end. ​

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Ceyhun is excellent on his full return to the first team and leads the team to another fine cup victory as we manage 4 goals in the competition for the third time. ​

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​​View attachment 75349 - I know the board are a demanding lot, but this is surely taking the ****. On the plus side, hopefully this is just media hot air as my position is still listed as stable in the job centre.

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[TD]The sending off hurt us but even after that we had enough chances to win the game as both Jenkins and Guler missed good opportunites to seal the victory against a pretty good side who made the most of their chances. The top 8 teams are seperated by just 6 points so there’s very little room for error or maneuver up there.[/TD]
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[TD]Both teams have already quaified so this is something of a dead rubber but a good opportunity to give some of the lesser used players - not that there are any - some game time. A commanding first half, inspired by the onloan Dizdarevic, followed by a dire second. [/TD]
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It’s games like these were I’m grateful for players like Ceyhun who seemingly can create something out of nothiing. Unlike our last performance we dominated possession, chances and basically didn’t give them even a faint whiff of a chance of a comeback. ​

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[Edd1920]

February 2030

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The transfer window shuts with no paid for incoming business in the January transfer window - mostly because the board are apparantly too busy paying off their £110m debt to give me any money. To be fair, I didn’t’ exactly make the most of the money they did give me in the summer, so perhaps they’re still thinking about that. A number of youngsters with potential are signed to bulk up the U-18s and to, hopefully, increase in value in time.

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[TD]Despite being unhappy, its Berkay who is the creative and clinical force in the team with a fine freekick and an assist for Ceyhun in quick succession just after halftime. Even the late sending off of LB Valenzuela doesn’t put the result in doubt and ensures progression to the quarter final.
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[TD]The only changes are the return of Eboko to the No1 position and Mustafa comes in for the suspended Valenzuela. A fit and firing Ceyhun makes such a difference to the ability of this team to score as he and Guler give us the goals to seal the victory. An extra defensive midfielder brought on helps to see the game out.[/TD]
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[TD]Again, Gala old boy Enes comes back to haunt his old team. After conceding two goals in the first half an hour, drastic tactical changes are made which pays instant dividends and the sending off helped us out. In the end, Jenkins and Guler make it a comfortable victory but it was a rocky opening to the game. It’s so tight at the top that any dropped points make a difference. [/TD]
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[TD]The first leg of the cup quarter final sees us travel to Sivasspor. The wide players; Guler and Jenkins do the hard work in the first half. Ak makes his return from injury in the second half and gets 30 valuable minutes under his belt. Pereira pulls one back to set up a slightly nervy finale, but the boys hold on to record a valuable first leg win. [/TD]
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I make some changes and move to a counter attacking mentality and a couple of player role changes to try and counter the
main attacking threat for what is a crucial away game. What we lose in a bit of creativity and flair, we more than make up with discipline and structure and the team fight to a deserved, but narrow, victory. ​

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[TD]First choice keeper Ekobo is injured as a result of a hernia, although back-up Meric is a pretty good substitute and a couple of other changes are made. I wasn’t expected to get through the group stages, and we only scraped through, so anything now is a bonus - I’m just hoping it’s not going to be embarrassing. Ceyhun, probably the only of my squad who would get anywhere near this Arsenal team, scores a scrappy opener and then a very fine second from the edge of the box. Gulmez comes an as a defensive reinforcement with 20 minutes left. [/TD]
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[TD]Wholesale changes are made for the league game although we struggle. Somewhat reluctantly, I have to bring Ceyhun on as we can’t make the breakthrough and he makes an instant difference and duly records his 23rd​ and 24th​ of the season. Ceyhun has now scored 20+ goals for 5 consecutive seasons. We were lucky. [/TD]
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[Edd1920]

March 2030

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First vs second in a crunch game and a strong team is selected. Jenkins scores a fine goal after a sumptuous through ball from Berkay. With 20 minutes remaining, the fullbacks are reigned in and Gulmez comes on to reinforce the central midfield. A fine victory against potential title contenders. ​

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A 2-1 lead is taken into the second leg of the quarter final and a couple of changes are made, including allowing Ak a rare start. A dominant performance eventually translates into goals as Ak scores a first and Balchen a second in quick succession as the game looks like it’s drawing to goal-less conclusion. A good win that ensures progression to the semi’s. ​

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[TD]The tough away champions league game against Arsenal is up next so a couple of key players are given a rest. There’s a considerable gap in the league between the two teams although this doesn’t come across in the performance as the game peters out to an uninspiring draw.
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Right…Arsenal…Champions League with a spot in the quarter finals at stake. Probably the biggest match of my tenure at Galatasaray, if not my career. An extra DM is bought in and the fullbacks are reigned in to try and contain them. We have an awful 90 minutes and concede 2 being totally outplayed. By the time extra-time comes in, it’s do or die and some other changes are made - Ceyhun scores a fine goal, but Leschuk takes over in extra time and scores 2 absolute world class goals to consign us to the defeat. Gutted after such a fine first leg, but it shows us how far the gulf in class is.​

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3 clear cut chances, hit the woodwork twice and Jenkins put away probably the most difficult of the chances that fell his way. Not a terribly convincing win, but 3 points and a pretty good response to the disappointment of the Arsenal game. Fenerbahce do us a favour in the same set of matches by holding second placed Osmanlispor to a draw. ​

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[TD]An utterly dominant display in which we restricted Rizespor to just one off target shot. Berkay does the damage for us, although he was rather gifted the penalty. That clean sheet means it’s 4 in a row in the league and Berkay takes his season’s total to 11, matching last season. For the first time this season, we have breathing space at the top.
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[Edd1920]

April 2030

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Another request to the board for a new contract falls on deaf ears and they won’t be offering me a new on in the short term, despite them being pleased with the management of the team. I think this rather seals my decision about my future at the club and I’ll be seeing my contract out and looking to progress in the next set of leagues; Belgium, Russia or Ukraine. Galatasaray have an impressive national rating, so I’d like something equivalent to that, however, these jobs are likely to be in short supply, so we’ll see.

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Another win, another clean sheet, another Ceyhun goal, another very good performance. ​

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We had more than enough chances to put this tie to bed, but the forward line, and unusually Ceyhun, were guilty of missing a number of good chances. A delightful Jenkins cross made it’s way to the back post leaving an easy tap-in for Ceyhun to give us the narrow lead going into the second leg. ​

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[TD]A couple of changes are made, but none that should cause the implosion that was the first half. Not sure what happened there after our great run of form recently, but we just didn’t turn up. Some changes are made at half time and Ceyhun pulls one back just into the second half although the second half follows the same pattern. An unexpected performance and result. [/TD]
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A home game against the bottom team should be a foregone conclusion, however an early missed penalty and then an own goal means a disappointing first half. Some changes are made at halftime which seems to pay off we score 3 in the second half. A very late goal, thankfully, doesn’t cause real concern. ​

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Ceyhun’s 29th​ of the season means he breaks his own goalscoring record for goals in a season.

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[TD]The final game of the month sees us travel to possession-hungry Genclerbirligi who sit only second to us in the possession table. A very entertaining game with loads of chances. Jenkins springs the offside trap early to tap in a on-on-one although we can’t finish any of the many chances we subsequently have. Their keeper; Emre Can shows why he’s so highly rated and on my transfer target list with a string of fine saves to deny us the full 3 points.[/TD]
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[Edd1920]

May - June 2030

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[TD]We take a narrow lead into the semi-final second leg and I’m grateful that their strikers seem to be off the boil as they miss a number of good chances. The game wears on and they go to a more aggresssive formation which I counter with a change of tactics, leading to a fine Eroglu breakaway goal that proves enough to confirm the win and progression to the final.[/TD]
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This was very much the Ceyhun show. His first was all about Guler’s assist as he ran through 3 defenders before putting the ball in an area from which Ceyhun couldn’t miss. Guler provided a second assist, a fine 1-2 and Dizdarevic puts a fine through ball for his hat-trick who then comes off to a standing ovation. The game is done by this point, but we look toothless after he goes off. ​

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Absolutely battered them, hit the woodwork, clear cut chances, restricted them to 1 shot and 35% possession and somehow couldn’t make the breakthrough. Erkans late ending off didn’t really impact the game but overall, a very frustrating 90 minutes. ​

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That win guarantees Champions League football and a transfer budget of £14m of which I immediately ***** £10.75m on Turkish wonderkid Altipmark.

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[TD]Another vital game and again, first vs second with the added incentive that a win for us will guarantee the league title. Jenkins misses out due to international duty and Erkan is suspended. With Yasar also injured, we start without a natural right back. A very even first half with few chances. Ceyhun does what he does best and finishes a fine flowing move to record the victory and guarantee consecutive title wins. [/TD]
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And that’s a nice way to sign off as manager at this club.

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The final league game of the season with nothing riding on it a number of changes are made. As is the way, having loaned Bah to Basaksehir, he pops up from a corner to open the scoring for them. Ceyhun, who else, draws us level from a fine Dizdarevic pass. Despite this, and looking like we might kick on to take the win, we get pegged back again and can’t really get back into the game. ​

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Unsurprisingly, Ceyhun wins the league’s top goalscorer award with 21 and I’m delighted to be handed the manager of the year award.

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THE CUP FINAL. We’ve faced Gaziantespor on four occasions this season and won all of them. Ceyhun opens the scoring within 30 seconds and we dominate the first half and should have scored more. Jenkins provides a second early in the second half and a good defensive display sees the game out and we record a deserved victory and cup win. ​

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Ceyhun is far and away the top scorer and the focal attacking point of the team and his 35 goals reflects that. It’s pleasing to see that the starting 3 behind him; Jenkins, Berkay and Guler all get into double figures as well. Guler and Berkay are the creative forces. None of the keepers performed particularly well, but Ekobo is the best of the lot and fullbacks Mustafa and Erkan were high in the stats.

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The board finally come to me with the offer of a new contract, but it’s too little too late and I’ll be moving on despite the successes for a new challenge. I’d quite like to stay and see if I can get them to compete in Europe but the financial restraints and the club debts make it very difficult to push the club to the next level in the foreseeable future.

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The Anderlecht job is available and I apply, accept and we’re off to Belgium.

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[kolas79]

Good luck in your career my friend ! Anderlecht is always packed with Belgians wonderkids so if you manage to keep them as much as you can in the team perhaps you will manage something big !

 

[Edd1920]

Good luck in your career my friend ! Anderlecht is always packed with Belgians wonderkids so if you manage to keep them as much as you can in the team perhaps you will manage something big !

Yeah, they've got some very good U-21 prospects in the reserve team - looking forward to seeing what I can get out of them.

 

[Edd1920]

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June - 2030

Anderlecht are the current league holders and they’re predicted to finish first again. They have a well balanced looking squad with top youth and excellent training facilities so there’s a route for the kids into the first team. The wage budget is small, at just £460,00 (a third of that at Galatasary), and the top earner is just £26,500. I suspect that trying to attract quality is going to be very difficult so expecting the good things to come from the youth system. The first thing I do is to improve the backroom staff as improved assistant manager, head of youth development and chief scout comes in.

Anderlecht Squad: Anderlecht reserves:

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The majority of the players are wanted and my most valuable player; striker Gavin Hoek is being courted by Athletico Madrid, although there have been no concrete offers yet. His goalscoring record is impressive over the last 4 seasons so I’m reluctant to let him go - even for a massive amount.

One of the variants of the formations will be tested to see how it plays. On the plus side, selling the wide players should free up a lot of cash to help bring in the right players. I can also look to retrain a few players to make it worth while. The players, at the moment, fit the second version as we have no natural SS in the squad, but it might be something I look at depending on how it plays.

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I’m also hoping to pick up some quality once the contracts have expired at the end of the month.

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The pressure is on and with such high stakes, perhaps not the right club to be experimenting with an untried formation and tactic although it’s not exactly complicated.​

 

[Edd1920]

July 2030
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The friendlies were something of a mixed bag, but they did help to confirm neither of the initial 4-1-2-3 formations were suitable, or at least not with the players I currently have. 3 AMs left me with no focal attacking point and the players in the SS role just kept running into defenders and losing possession - mostly because I was trying to shoehorn strikers into that role, who are not gifted with dribbling. Even with the central striker of 3 in a support role, they were not dropping deep enough and leaving too much of a gap so as a compromise, I’ve gone with a diamond 4-1-2-1-2. This is also helpful because it means I don’t have to buy anyone.

Speaking of buying…

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…everyone before Catalano had left the club before I got here. Advanced Playmaker Cruz, from Barcelona is the standout player to come in. He was transfer listed and even at £9m is something of a bargain. Astolfi and Chafai, a French U21 International, come in as rotation options but will get game-time. Belgian U21 keeper also Amrani comes in as back up.

Only one game this month, but it’s an important one as we beat Club Brugge in the season’s opener, the Super Cup. Post provides the only moment of quality for us as he bangs in a 25 yard free-kick. Nothing else happens and we eventually scrape a penalty win.

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As the goalscorer in the only serious game this month, unsurprisingly Post ends the month as the top player. I’m sure Hoek and Acquah will improve in time.

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[Edd1920]

August 2030

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Lokeren - well that was a disappointing league debut. Hoek gets his season up and running in terms of goals, but overall, nothing to be happy about there. Having tinkered with the tactics at half time to allow some more creative freedom going forward, it also left us exposed at the back which aided their goal.

Genk - I’ll take the three points, and the winning goal was a long time coming, but again, another unconvincing performance. Lots of passes, lots of possession but very little in terms of a cutting edge and that looks like it’s the thing to work on.

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The 18year old Italian poacher signs as a great prospect and goes straight into the first team to rotate with Toussaint. Acquah, the oldest of the front 4, and the player who offers least, is now free to go as he is largely surplus to requirements.

Mechelen - the tempo is increased, the players are instructed to exploit the flanks and to roam from position in an attempt to unsettle them. Ferrari starts and plays well as do Genghini and Astolfi as they shut down the midfield. Hoek is still our only goalscorer.

Acquah leaves for a fee of £4.4m.

Brugge - Brugge sit second currently. Cruz is given the RPM role as I think he can do a similar job to the one that Sanches did for me at Midtjylland. Boulanger is outstanding in defence and even gets to the other end to score a goal. We let ourselves down with the concession of a penalty and this was far from a fluent performance - I’m still finding my feet with this group.

View attachment 74242 - just ouch. Barcelona are the current holders having won the competition in consecutive seasons and Chelsea have made the quarter finals in 6 of the last 7 season.

The transfer window closes and no further serious business takes place - a number of players go out on loan for development purposes.

Post leads the way with a goal, assist and man of the match award. Hoek is still the main goal threat, although he isn’t being particularly well supported by either Toussaint or Ferrari at the moment. Slightly surprised to see the fullbacks with as good rating as they have, although Soares is good going forward.

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[Edd1920]

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September 2030

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Having bigged up LB Soares’ performances up last month, he now declares his intention to leave the club on a Bosman at the end of the season which is just plain rude. The search is now on for a replacement as we have no natural player to step up from the reserves.

Westerlo - Schreuder comes in for Soares and despite going down to 10 men after just 24 minutes, Hoek produces a moment of brilliance to give us the lead which we hold on to despite serious pressure late in the second half which, in part, explains Scasny’s MoM award.

Celtic - at home and, in theory, the easiest game of the group. Despite dominating, we allow Celtic to take the lead just before half-time. Toussaint finally gets his goal as he taps in an easy chance after good work from Cruz.

Zulte Waregem - Toussaint retains his place and 17 year old Moors makes his debut but neither have any impact whatsoever and that is a shockingly poor result.

Virton - a cup game, change of formation and an opportunity for the fringe players to play, although it’s something of a struggle as Ferrari tucks away a neat finish in the first half to record his first goal - disappointingly we couldn’t push on after that and only record the single goal. The most important thing is to progress.

OHL - the bottom team, and another change of formation to a christmas tree 4-3-2-1 to deal with injuries in the squad. We’re restored to full strength after the cup game. A horrible first half, in which we conceded a stupid goal necessitates several changes at halftime. Yildiz is on penalty duty and duly dispatches his just after haltime. Boulanger finally seals the win with fulltime looming. Again, another thoroughly unconvincing win, but 3 points.

Cruz’s upturn in form seems to coincide with his change to a roaming playmaker role. At the other end, 17 year old Moors has struggled but is only a back-up option although he sits high in the tackles per game stat, along with the other fullbacks. Hoek is still the only player really making in impact in the goals scored column.

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[Edd1920]

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October 2030
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Chelsea - they don’t have many weaknesses, but the one they did have was relatively slow defenders so the plan was to get Hoek to play on the shoulder and use his pace to get in behind. Unfortunately, the players who were meant to be giving him the service were crowded out first, in the middle of the pitch and then secondly, on the flanks. There were some good things - but the result was not one of them.

KV Hortrijk - First Cruz, then Chafai when he came on controlled the game in the middle, just ticking possession over. Hoek scored a screamer from 25 yards, then Ferrari beat the offside trap to slide in a one-on-one. The wing-backs are instructed to stay wider to offer another option and help see the game out.

Barcelona - We were undone by the one piece of world-class skill in the game as Meghni dribbles through 4 defenders before laying the ball on a plate for Valenzuela to finish from 6 yards. Despite the result, that was a pretty hard-fought game and it was just that one moment that made the difference.

Standard - I stick with the formation that held up against Barca and we record a deserved win, although the scoreline doesn’t do the performance justice. Hoek gets another, but the key players were the fullbacks, with Messan a particular threat.

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We were a bit fortunate that Scasny saved the penalty conceded by Terbeshi, but that was a very good performance that takes us top of the league. Post & Genghini were dominant, won their tackles and headers and just kept the play ticking over without doing anything special.

Antwerp - A couple of players fail late fitness tests so Chafai, Moors and Toussaint come in but its an unfortunate Boulanger OG that prevents us from taking the 3 points. Toussaint scores, btu wastes countless opportunities as he shoots from 40 yards instead of playing the simple ball and the 2 defensive midfielders leave lots of space for the opposition to exploit as they both close down the same players and the ball - both need tweaking to be better.

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[Edd1920]

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November 2030
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After the last game, the two defensive roles in the middle of the pitch are changed to straightforward central midfielders. What was the Shadow-Striker role has been changed to a Trequartista, which is something of a gamble, but it’s worth the experiment.

Charleroi - A massive game against Barcelona is just around the corner, so it’s tempting to ring the personnel changes but only a couple are made in the end. It was a poacher and trequartista that led me to glory with Galatasaray and it looks like it could be the same here as Chafai gets his first of the season and Toussaint continues his good form from the AMC position with a goal and an assist.

This formation is causing some problems with my AMC roles as I only have 2 of them. A scour around the free transfer market brings Saint-Maximin to my attention. He was released by Man City for not being good enough but he looks like he can do a job for me.

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Barcelona - Unsurprisingly, we’re massive underdogs as we sit without a win so far in the Champions League campaign. Maximin is thrown in at the deep end as he makes his debut. One of my more experienced campaigners; Messan has a shocker as he gives away a penalty and a short backpass is intercepted in the space of 3 minutes. The goal at the death is no less than they deserved.

Oostende - Hoek is given a rest as he’s been poor recently, but Ferrari’s chance to deputise only lasts 3 minutes as he’s brought off with an injury early on. Saint-Maximin retains his place and Moors, the young right back, starts. Hoek scores after coming on from another Cruz assist which is cancelled out by a worldy of a free-kick which flies into the top corner. I don’t quite know how we didn’t win that.

Ferrari suffers a torn achilles and misses 4-5 months.

Celtic - The wooden spoon game, neither team have won in the group yet. In truth we didn’t deserve to get anything out of this and Hoek’s goal was one of only 3 attempts on target. The gulf between our own league games and the step up in class to the European competition is evident….and painful.

Not that much to take pleasure from this month, but Cruz’s move to roaming playmaker and Toussaint to Trequartista has paid off with good performances and goals. Saint-Maximin hasn’t started his Anderlecht career as I would have hoped but Boulanger is leading the defence at the moment. ​

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[Edd1920]

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December 2030

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AA Gent - Mensah returns from injury and is cleared to play 45 minutes, so he starts for Saint-Maximin. An utterly uneventful, but solid, first half prompts a change of tactics, playing wider and looking to exploit the flanks which pays off as Saint-Maximin provides an assist from the wide position for Toussaint to notch his fourth of the season. The result helps to open a bit of a gap at the top of the league.

Chelsea - the changes implemented at halftime against Gent are retained against Chelsea in the final group game, with only pride to play for. Toussaint and Hoek combine again to secure the victory. The additional width created by Messan and Soares in the wingback positions caused all sorts of problems as we finally pick up a Champions League win which, I think, means progression to the knockout round of the European Cup.

Eupen - Bore draw - fustratingly, nothing to see here other than a load of yellow cards. Our inability to score more than one, or any, goal is proving a challenge at the moment.

Lierse - A cup game allows me to ring the changes and a number, though not all, of the fringe players are brought in as Toussaint scores the solitary goal in an unremarkable win.

Mouscron - we’re in desperate need of a decent, coherent, fluent win but it’s hampered by coming so soon after the extended cup game and a number of injuries, meaning replacements are in short supply. However, we do play well - Genghini misses a penalty but the rebound falls kindly, Hoek gets his goal and Terbeshi heads in late on. The possession hungry tactics were tweaked to get the ball forward quicker and to unsettle the opposition, which appears to have paid off.

Finishing third, courtesy of that last game win against Chelsea means progression to the knock-out stages of the UEFA cup and, whilst it’s not an easy draw, there were definitely tougher potential games.

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STVV - Another Toussaint goal, thankfully taking some of the burden off Hoek and a slightly fortunate own goal towards the ends ensures progression to the semi-finals.

Mensah signs a new contract to extend his stay for another couple of years.

Lokeren - Saint-Maximin announces himself with an outstanding goal and an assist for Hoek. Not exactly comfortable, but another vital 3 points in the league which puts us firmly in the driving seat, although there’s plenty of the season left to play yet.

Mechelen - The final game of the month, year and before the winter’s break sees Mechelen come to town. Hoek gets an easy goal, Schreuder provides an assist for Mensah that he can’t miss and Maximin scores a glorious third and his second PoM in 2 games. 16 year old striker Chaveau comes on for his second appearance in as many games to give Hoek a slight rest as Ferrari remains injured. A confident win which was a world away from the streaky 1-0 wins at the beginning of the month.

Schreuder, Cruz and Saint-Maximin all had very good months, with Maximin in particular showing what he can do as he contributed with both goals and assists. My 4 defensive central midfielders; Genghini, Post (first choice) and Astolfi and De Decker all do the same sort of job; just ticking the play over but it’s not really reflected in the ratings here. If the opportunity to bring in a better midfielder, particularly ones with better tackling stats, I will take it.

17 year old Moors and 16 year old Chaveau are only really here as back-up, or for the experience this season so I'm not expecting much from them.

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[Edd1920]

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January 2031
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The transfer window opens and it could be busy. Athletic Madrid declare their interest in CB Terbeshi, rated at £15.5m. For that amount of money, it would not be the worst decision to let him go with adequate back-up in the reserves. 19 year old Ghanaian midfielder Samuel Boakye comes in for a fee of £8m. It’s a lot, but he’ll be in the team for some time and has some serious potential.

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And then, just as things are starting to look good and building the squad, Genoa make an approach which I wasn’t expecting…

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…which I reject, although it does cause me to take a look at the other possible jobs available….

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...one of which is Roma, as their manager is under serious threat. Even having only been here a relativity short time, Roma would be too tempting to pass up the opportunity to apply if Alvini can’t turn it round.

Genk - Boakye is on international duty so can’t play, but Saint-Maximin makes the breakthrough late in a first half which we dominated. The second half was chalk, to the first half’s cheese, and it was like a different team came out at half-time as we conceded 3 without reply. Not quite sure what happened there.

Zulte Waregem - Toussaint has Cruz’s hard work to thank for his opener, before Hoek scores after a comedy of defensive errors. A good win that, partly, goes some way to wiping the Genk game from the memory.

OHL - a few changes are made to rotate the team and, hopefully, some fitness. An early goal helps us on his way, with Schreuder’s first of the season then a Post free-kick gives us a good base to build from. Pauwels, starting for Saint-Maximin tucks away a penalty to complete another nice result.

Boakye’s international performances and injuries mean he hasn’t featured for the team yet this term. Pauwels or Mensah could leave and, if good offers came in for either of Terbeshi or Bilek, then they could go as well as the youth academy has produced players who could step into their shoes. ​

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[Edd1920]

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February 2031​

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Roma’s manager seems to have turned things around there, so it no longer looks like that job is going to become available anytime soon.

The transfer window closes and, despite a number of players subject to transfer interest, only Wuytens, loans and a reserve player leave. Boakye is the sole incoming business, although Soares, my LB has declared his intention to leave at the end of the season so I will be looking to replace him.

KV Kortrijk - Amrani makes a rare start, Pauwels keeps his place and Astolfi comes in as well. It looked like this game was going to grind down to a goal-less draw until Maximin turned up with slightly more than 10 minutes left after making increasingly aggressive changes to try to force the win.

Standard - Moors has to play for the suspended Messan and a couple of other changes are made. In theory Standard should be one of our competitors for the title, but a less than stellar season so far, sees them sitting in fourth place. Soares provides 3 assists, Moors is outstanding and the fact that Toussaint and Maximin are taking the goalscoring burden off Hoek is the icing on the cake.

Both Toussaint and Genghini sign new long-term contracts which is good business, particularly Toussaint.

Antwerp - An unchanged team and Maximin and Hoek do the business in a relatively routine win.

Brugge - A number of changes are now needed as Toussaint, Cruz and Soares are lacking in full match fitness. Hoek does the business from 2 wide assists as we defeat the team in second place and consolidate the position at the top with a 13 point lead. That’s 1 goal conceded in the last 6 games with some outstanding performances along the way.

Charleroi - I have plenty of points in hand at the top of the league, so the entire first 11 are changed in preparation for the upcoming Ajax game. This means that Chaveau gets the chance to make his first start and lead the line and, finally, Boakye is in the line-up. It’s he who scores the equaliser with a clinical finish on his debut. We had enough chances to win the game, but couldn’t force the winner.

Ajax - back to full strength and we’ll see whether the Charleroi gamble has paid off. A very narrow win, with Cruz the game-winner in the end. We had enough chances to win the game and Ajax ran their luck a little bit, so it’s a bit disappointing to score just the one goal.

Oostende - only a couple of changes are made, so it’s a strong line-up. Boakye scores his second in as many games as we record a comfortable victory, in what was a potentially banana skin of a tie. Saint-Maximin provides 2 assists as he continues to prove what a find on a free transfer he was.

That win takes us, as the title holders, a ridiculous 13 points clear and, really, I’ve done very little to this team. It would appear we’re somewhere between being too good for this league, and not quite good enough to compete in Europe, although the next game will go some way to determining whether that’s the case or not.

Ajax - It’s a massive gamble to play defensively and rely on the first leg win, but a fine rearguard action pays off and to add to the positives, Toussaint even grabs a goal in very, very late injury time. Not a way of playing I’m particularly familiar with, and we’re not going to win the competition but progress is made and we’re through to the next round.

There are some very beatable teams left in the draw, so with a bit of luck…

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…another Dutch team, another home game first, but an eminently winnable game.

Saint-Maximin has been outstanding this month, as has Boakye who has scored in both the games he has appeared in. At the other end of the pitch Scasny kept 6 clean sheets this month and back-up keeper Amrani kept a clean sheet as well. Hoek is clearly the out and out goalscorer, but it’s good to see 15 different goalscorers and 12 different players providing assists.

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[kolas79]

Love to see that one more is still continuing his save in FM2017 and his story as well ha ha !! I am three years behind you my friend and I hope that both of us keep up !

 

[Edd1920]

Love to see that one more is still continuing his save in FM2017 and his story as well ha ha !! I am three years behind you my friend and I hope that both of us keep up !

I'm here for the duration, still got 2 sets of leagues to manage in before we can get to the big boys!

 

[Edd1920]

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March 2031

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23 year old Belgian International keeper John Ebem signs on a free transfer, giving us some very good strength in depth. My first choice keeper Scasny is currently wanted by a number of teams and valued at £7m which would be a great deal for a 32 year old.

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AA Gent - a few players are lacking some match fitness, so some changes are made. All 3 goals were in the last 10 minutes in a game we could and should have won, not helped by the fact that Hoek was off his game and neither Pauwels or Boakye were able to provide any meaningful service to the front man. Only Toussaint, after his introduction, was able to provide any real moment of quality and that was the goal.

Westerlo - a win is needed after the Gent game although it’s a pretty dire first half. Some halftime changes are made and Saint-Maximin doesn’t take long to score from 25 yards at the beginning of the second half. Boakye, on for a disappointing Toussaint, finishes a fine move at the death. Another clean sheet for young keeper Amrani and Chaveau, who started, had enough chances to get his Anderlecht career underway.

Eupen - the perfect example of what happens when you don’t put away the (many, many…) chances you have. They only had one shot on target and the result was even worse when you consider Eupen played more than an hour with 10 men.

Feyenoord - a very similar opposition to us and the first leg at home. Another win where we should have scored more than just the one. Post fires in a fantastic free-kick from 25 yards but we failed to kick on after that goal. A tough second leg awaits.

Mouscron - 3 games in 5 days, with this being the least important of the lot, means wholesale changes and it was a gamble that backfired in spectacular style as the team sitting in 14th​ place spanks us.

That final league games means the league is split into 2 parts and, as the points are halved, our lead is reduced to just the 5 points.

Brugge - the first leg of the cup semi final is away and some key players are brought back although it doesn’t make much of a difference. A slightly more defensive outlook pays off as we prevent Brugge from scoring, but equally, can’t grab ourselves an away goal either.

Feyenoord - the second leg and we go on with a narrow 1 goal lead. A couple of tactical tweaks are made to attempt to make the most of the goal we have. Despite being our main goal threat, we struggle to get Hoek involved at all until he creates a bit of magic to provide the assist for Toussaint. The addition of Mensah for a disappointing Saint-Maximin pays off as he provides two assists for Hoek to round off the win and complete an outstanding second half.

A much tougher challenge awaits…

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Brugge - A goal-less first leg means that a win is needed in this home leg, with the risk of away goals. We concede from a free-kick midway through the first half, I make immediate changes, though it doesn’t pay off and we spend the rest of the game playing catch up with the players taking increasingly desperate pot-shots. That was disappointing as, and I say it to the press, that was a winnable competition.

Ferrari is returning to fitness and he is a much better option than the youngster Chaveau who needs gametime, probably in a lower league. Schreuder continues to impress as do first choice centre-backs Terbeshi and Boulanger. Post has contributed with assists and goals (mostly direct freekicks) as has Mensah as back up to Maximin.

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