[INSERT WITTY TITLE HERE] - A Journeyman Save

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NOVEMBER
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This month is a lot easier than last time out, we should get some more points

BUNDESLIGA
Hoffenheim 2-0 FC Ingolstadt
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Murphy, Voss, Mance, Arnason, Wittek, Fels (Young 66), Wilson, Trifunovic (Govedarica 66), Delaney, Plesec, Hiemeleers
A decent first half that was taken apart as Hoffenheim took the lead within a minute of the restart. Very disappointing.

BUNDESLIGA
FC Ingolstadt 2-2 Hamburger SV
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Murphy, Karadeniz, Mance, Arnason, Wittek, Fels (Young 76), Wilson, Trifunovic, Adlberger, Plesec (Spörl 61), Hiemeleers
OH ROBIN ADLBERGER! The wee man has saved me once more as he bagged a key goal late on to bag us a much-needed point

BUNDESLIGA
Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-0 FC Ingolstadt
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Murphy, Karadeniz, Mance, Arnason, Wittek, Fels, Wilson (Young 61), Trifunovic, Delaney (Adlberger 61), Plesec, Hiemeleers
Back-to-back league draws are welcome as we attempt to regain some structure. We need points.

BUNDESLIGA
FC Ingolstadt 0-1 Augsburg
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Murphy, Karadeniz, Mance, Arnason, Wittek, Fels (Young 72), Wilson, Trifunovic, Delaney (Adlberger 72), Plesec, Hiemeleers
We battered them...

LEAGUE TABLE
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*Sigh*​
 
DECEMBER
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5 games worth of festive fun with Ingolstadt

BUNDESLIGA
FC Schalke 1-0 FC Ingolstadt
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Murphy, Voss, Haines, Arnason, Cufta, Fels (Young 62), Baumgartlinger, Trifunovic (Plesec 82), Delaney (Adlberger 62), Spörl, Ivanov
A spirited performance from a team ravaged by injuries and suspensions which deserved at least a point which was cruelly stolen from us by Breel Embolo

BUNDESLIGA
FC Ingolstadt 0-0 FSV Mainz
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Murphy, Karadeniz, Mance, Arnason, Wittek, Fels (Young 76), Wilson, Trifunovic, Delaney (Ivanov 60), Plesec, Hiemeleers
The stats would suggest an Ingolstadt victory but our attackers would say otherwise as they spurned chance after chance against a poor Mainz side

BUNDESLIGA
VfB Stuttgart 2-0 FC Ingolstadt
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Murphy, Karadeniz, Mance, Haines, Wittek, Fels, Wilson, Trifunovic, Delaney (Adlberger 61), Plesec, Hiemeleers (Ivanov 61)
Our slow start really cost us here as we found ourselves 2-0 down before we could even react. Poor.

BUNDESLIGA
FC Ingolstadt 4-0 FC Köln
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Murphy, Karadeniz, Mance, van der Plas, Wittek, Young, Wilson, Fels (Ermen 54), Delaney (Plesec 73), Adlberger, Hiemeleers
We changed tactic to the 4-3-2-1 I used at Royal Mouscron-Peruwelz and St Patrick's Athletic and boy did it work! 4 goals and 4 different goalscorers including right-back Hyussein Karadeniz who bagged a sumptuous volley late on

BUNDESLIGA
Red Bull Leipzig 1-4 FC Ingolstadt
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Murphy, Karadeniz (Voss 70), Mance, van der Plas, Wittek, Young, Wilson (Baumgartlinger 63), Fels, Delaney, Adlberger, Hiemeleers (Ivanov 63)
The tactic works away from home as well! We smashed Leipzig for four with Hiemeleers' 12 minutes hat-trick setting us on our way to a famous win

LEAGUE TABLE
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Looking good as we end December just 8 points off Europe​
 
JANUARY TRANSFERS
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Some business was done

CARLOS MAFARE - INDEPENDIENTE DEL VALLE - €150,000
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A decent player already who would have been good enough for our first team last season. Bags of potential which I hope to unlock

DRAGAN MILOSAVLJEVIC - TORONTO - FREE TRANSFER
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We needed more depth at centre back and when I saw this guy's contract was coming to an end I had to pick him up. Young and with 95 league games of experience (mainly MLS, but 27 games in 2.Bundesliga) as well as 25 caps for his country

DAVIT SIORDIA - FENERBAHCE - €1.3M
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We only had one left back and I've brought in this lad to address that issue. Wittek's contract is running out at the end of the season and Siordia's performances will dictate if Wittek gets a new one

CHARLES ABDULRAHMAN - ENYIMBA - €300,000
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We desperately needed cover in the attacking midfield area with only Delaney and Adlberger being able to play there, hopefully Abdulrahman can help out there

TRAUSTI MAR ATLASON - KNATTSPYRNUDELID REYKJAVIK - €150,000
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If this career has proven anything its that I do love a good Icelander and this is another one. A solid young player full of potential, I like that

JORDAN ROSSITER - BURNLEY - LOAN
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Now that we've gone with 3 central midfielders we need more players who can operate in the middle and Jordan Rossiter fits this bill perfectly. Experienced and cheap, Rossiter could really help us in the run in

MATEUS - GREMIO - €2M
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Mateus is a manager's dream. Young, balanced and can both attack and defend in the middle of the park. He'll be a bit art player this season but I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the Starting XI next season​
 
I'm quite far ahead so I'll be dong an end of season update instead of monthly ones for the remainder of the current season :)
 
END OF SEASON 2024/25
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The end of my first season rubbing shoulders with the big boys, how did it go?

RESULTS
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Yeah, we kind of bottled it a bit. Nothing seemed to work and that put n end to any European ambitions of ours

LEAGUE TABLE
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7th is a respectable finish but it could have been so much better had we not bottled it

AWARDS & STATS
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The league acknowledged my brilliance

EXPANSION PLANS
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Bigger stadium=More people to see my brilliance

BUDGET
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Torn and conflicted

Ingolstadt is a great place, it really is. There's great food, great people and some fantastic views and its become an awesome home for me over the past two and a half years. The people here have really taken to me and my German is improving by the day, I could really see myself settling here

Truth be told, the only place I've really felt comfortable in Dublin, and that was only for a little while. We were successful and that meant my name and picture appeared in the paper and on TV a fair bit. I was a bit of a local celebrity in Dublin, along with stars like Tony O'Neill and Kevin Morgan. That combined with our age made nights out in Dublin immense fun
But back then I was 24, I am now 29 and going out every night feels a bit weird, also Ingolstadt is hardly Dublin. But there's some great scenic areas here, I mean, its Bavaria, the place is essentially one big f*cking postcard and as a man who enjoys cycling, that is a very big plus

We also have a good, young, vibrant team who play exciting football and have a real chance of progression into the Europa League or maybe even the Champions League. We are also expanding the stadium and seem set for the coming seasons, this is a club with potential, and I'm at the helm

And yet, AND YET. I'm considering leaving.

My stock has risen considerably over the past couple of years, having proven that I can do it on the continent in both Belgium and Germany and the clubs taking interest in me have grown in stature, I'm not lucky to get a second tier job anymore, I'm in the big leagues now boys

And one of those teams in the big leagues have come calling. They have history, founded in 1948, play in a 28,000 seater stadium, will be playing Europa League football next seasan and are secure financially and they've offered me the job. What do I do?
 
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HAWKINS REJECTS MALAGA
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The fans of FC Ingolstadt can seep easy tonight with the knowledge that their manager Matthew Hawkins is going nowhere

In an interview with this very newspaper Hawkins announced his intention to "Continue the project until his completion" and signalled his intentions to "Win something big for this club and their fans"

The 29 year old announced his full commitment to the club and its future as well as his commitment to working with and developing the club's young stars like Marc Fels and Rouven Hiemeleers

He did, however, admit some temptation to leaving the club, stating:

"I have to admit, I was tempted. Malaga are a big club and Spain is a country I've always wanted to manage in. European football was tough to turn down and the financial package was tempting, however I have a commitment to this club and its fans which I wish to see through until the end"
​
 
1st of July 2025The first of July has become an important day in all of my club's calendars, because that's when a whole load of fresh meat arrive to be pored over

And this year, I haven't disappointed, bringing in five whole players to attempt to improve the team. Yes, 5!


RONALD GRANADOS - CARACAS - €200,000
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I enjoy signing young players and, as such, I've dived into the young player market once again, bringing in an 18 year old Venezuelan with bags and bags of potential. Already decent, he could go out on loan or offer some cover, we'll see

GREG MILLAR - VFL OSNABRÜCK - FREE TRANSFER
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Another youngster, this one an Australian who already has experience in German football, he's not great now but could be and hopefully could become a real top, top player

JIM ESAJAS - PARIS-SAINT GERMAIN - FREE TRANSFER
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I've given Paul Spörl chance after chance, but unfortunately he's proven to me that he's **** time and again, so we've brought in this guy to actually be the successor of Torsten Becker and he came in for free!

DIRK BECKHOF - VFL BOCHUM - €1.4M
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This kid's 17 and is already good enough to provide cover in the Bundesliga! He's a good finisher and has a good first touch and is more than good enough to cover for Hiemeleers this season

BRETT D'SOUZA - FFA COE - FREE TRANSFER
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Another young Aussie! D'Souza will be one of the Wizards of Oz along with Greg Millar. Unlike Millar, D'Souza is good enough to play in the first team and in the first team he will play!​
 
How long did it take to decide to stay with Ingolstadt? I thought you would be off for sure!
 
Brave to stay I would say. Malaga seems like a good big step up. Gotta go with your gut though
 
naterr said:
How long did it take to decide to stay with Ingolstadt? I thought you would be off for sure!
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I delayed the Malaga offer about three times! It took a lot of time for me to decide but I'm pretty happy with my decision
 
EnglishYeti said:
Brave to stay I would say. Malaga seems like a good big step up. Gotta go with your gut though
Click to expand...
I thought it would be a big step up, but then I looked at their squad and apart from one or two, almost everyone of their players were older and worse than the player I have at Ingolstadt
 
SUMMER TRANSFERS (Vol 2)
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Not all of our deals were done on the first of July, I like to string some deals throughout the summer and keep the fans happy, I'mm a people pleaser

PETER BEHRENZ - FREIBURG - €2.6M
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One of my first acts as Ingolstadt manager was selling this bloke to Schalke for €5.5m, he then went to Freiburg a year later for €9.25m (we got a few million out of that, through sell on clauses) but he really missed home and came back to Bavaria to bang in some goals from the subs bench. He's scored 19 goals in 45 appearances in his career and has cost €19.15m so far

ROBERT LEMOS - CRUZEIRO - €6M
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We really needed a centre back who could defend and I think we've found one. Only 22 years old and with 20 caps for Ecuador, he's already made 85 professional appearances and can use both feet. Yes BOTH!

STEVEN BACHE - HERTHA BERLIN - €900,000
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Sauer really isn't good enough to be the backup in the Bundesliga, Voss needs game time out on loan so I've brought in this fella to offer competition for Huseyin Karadeniz

DONNY VAN DE BEEK - EVERTON - €3.4M
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Our midfield was kind of our undoing last season as we didn't really have enough strength in depth, with Peter Young (a poor 2.Bundesliga player) being the main backup to the main midfielders, so we brought in van de Beek

DAMIR BISKUP - OLYMPIAKOS - €1M
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See above

MATEJ GOLOB - ARSENAL - €4.5M
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See above (x2)

THE OUTS
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Seem good additions there, looking forward to seeing how they fit in
 
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