After a day or two away from the computer I have finally completed pre-season and got the squad looking more like how I want it. We had quite a few players return from their loans so the squad bulked out quite a bit and it was a busy summer in terms of getting bodies out of the club.
Transfers Out
I’ll go through the players leaving in chronological order. The first to leave was Danny Vukovic who left for Sparta Prague for £275k. Jackers has stepped up to be number one and I have a few youngsters who can be backups so I am happy to see Vukovic leave and his wages to go.
The next to go was Sebastien Dewaest who went to Cardiff for £6mil. With Udoukhai joining in January, Dewaest had dropped to 4th choice so to get offered such a high fee for him I am very pleased with.
We then sold 2 strikers with Zinho Gano and Marcus Ingvartsen both leaving to join Girona and Jeonbuk respectively. Gano was a deal agreed during last season and he has left for £1.9mil. I wasn’t planning to sell Ingvartsen but Jeonbuk came in with a bid worth up to £10mil so I jumped at the chance to make that much money off of my backup striker.
The rest of my sales were all players who were out on loan last season as we sold Jakub Brabec, Ibrahima Seck, Nikos Karelis, Bojan Nastic, Manuel Benson Hedilazio and Dante Vanzeir all left the club for a combined total of £7.5mil. None of these guys were involved with the team last year so they won’t be the biggest losses while they do trim the wage budget nicely and bring in some needed funds.
Transfer In
I’ve only signed 2 players so far and they are both forward players. The first signing was Aaron Leya Iseka from Toulouse for £300k. After the sales of Gano and Ingvartsen, we were need of a striker to rotate with Samatta and once Iseka was available I moved quickly to bring him in. He is probably most well known for being Michy Batshuayi’s younger brother but I am hoping he can bring some needed goals when he is called on.
The second signing was Siebe Schrijvers from Club Brugge for £2.4mil. I wasn’t in desperate need for another attacking player but when he became available for such a low fee I decided to bring him in. He is very versatile and can cover us up top, on the wings or in midfield.
The squad hasn’t changed too much this summer as we haven’t had any big sales yet. Gaetan Coucke comes in to be the backup keeper behind Jackers. No real change to the defense or midfield with no starters leaving or coming in. The front line has changed slightly though. Edon Zhegrova has come back from his loan and I will look to him to replace Trossard, and of course Leya Iseka and Schrijvers will push for places in the team.
A slow but steady start to the season with a 1-0 win against the newly promoted Lommel SK. I am hoping to put this result down to the fact that they were an unknown quantity and that some of the team were not match fit.
3 goals in a game is more like it. When we went behind I started to worry that we had lost something since last season but Heynen pulled out a great couple of goals and then Samatta added the icing.
Uronen gets back into the swing of things with 2 assists in his MOTM performance. It was good to see a debut goal for new signing Bakkali as well, I am expecting big things from him this season.
Another good performance from Heynen here. He is taking up the challenge of replacing Pozuelo amazingly. To get the MOTM when Samatta scored two goals just shows how well he played.
A really disappointing end to the month here as we just couldn’t break down their defence. We dominated the game but lacked any creativity to get a goal.
Summary
It was almost a perfect start to the season here until the disappointing draw at the end. I am still getting everyone to match fitness though so I am hoping to see us improve still when we are all match fit. In the Champions League, we got extremely lucky with our group and will play Napoli, Marseille and Lokomotiv Moscow. For a Champions League group where we were the 4th seed, I am really pleased with this group and I hope to see us gain some points and maybe even take 3rd place from Lokomotiv Moscow.
Transfers Out
We had one more player leave us as Joseph Paintsil went out on loan to AEK Athens for the season. I wasn’t planning on letting him go out but when I got some more signings come in, I made sure to move him out to get him more regular game time.
Transfer In
We made two big signings in the latter days of the transfer window and the both play the same position. The first one to come in was Theo Bongonda from Zulte Waregem for £2.1mil. I have been watching him since I started this save and once he became available for such a low price I moved quickly before he went somewhere else.
Just a day or two after bringing in Bongonda, Zakaria Bakkali was transfer listed by Anderlecht. I was unsure on whether to move for him but his quality is just too good to pass up. He comes in for a £6mil which is a new club record but I think he is worth it and if he shows his quality for us then I can see him moving on for more than double that easily.
It has been one **** of a week at work which is the reason for the lack of updates but I am hoping to get September up tonight then get back into the game.
This was a really tight game really but we were tight at the back and Malinovskyi got the vital goal to bring us the 3 points.
Lokomotiv Moscow 0 KRC Genk 1 (Bongonda 57)
I rotated the squad quite a bit here and we still ran out with the 3 points. If we can do that when away from home as well then I am confident of getting another 3 points when we play them at home later on in the group stages.
Club Brugge 1 (Openda 39) KRC Genk 2 (Ndongala 11, Openda 33og)
Another game against one of the big teams in the league and we come away with the 3 points. The game was all about Openda though as he scored at both ends and also got sent off later on in the game.
I was expecting more here to be honest but we dominated the game and made sure that we got through to the next round of the cup. They didn’t have a shot on target for the whole which just shows the domination we had in this match.
KRC Genk 0
AA Gent 0
Gent are our biggest challengers at this early stage of the season so we had to make sure we didn’t lose it here and did so by keeping a clean sheet. We did also have a couple of injuries before this game including both Uronen and Borges which meant I was left with playing a CB at LB.
Summary
A strong start to the season continues with the real highlight being our win in our first Champions League game which sets us up well for the rest of the group. It wasn’t the biggest month for goals with 5 in 5 but we did only concede once which was in a game we won anyway. Making sure we score more will need to be the focus for the future. Player of the Month
Jhon Lucumi
An incredible win here as we take a really strong position in our group. It was a very nervy last 15 minutes after Ocampos got one back but we held on to give us 6 points from 6 and a really strong chance of qualifying from our group. The next 2 games are both against Napoli so that will be a massive challenge for us.
A really good result here with Malinovskyi delivering a great hat-trick. He has been a great player for me since the start and I am surprised I still have him to be honest as there has always been interest in him from much bigger teams.
KRC Genk 3 (Ndongala 27, 28, Heynen 90+2) Napoli 0
AMAZING!!!!! I never expected anything from this, even with it being a home game, but we came away with a deserved victory. Both of Ndongala’s goals were almost identical with a cross from Uronen being nodded in at the far post from the right winger. Heynen added some gloss to the game with a late counter attack goal.
We were very lucky here to get a late penalty to steal the points. We dominated the game without really threatening. It was maybe a hangover from the Napoli game but I expect a much better performance next time out.
A much better performance here as we get a very good win against the team that finished 2nd last season. They are struggling more this season but I am still pleased with the result. It also means we have kept 4 clean sheets in a row.
Summary
A perfect month with 5 wins in 5. The Champions League results were the real shining light, especially the Napoli game. It has given me a lot of faith in this team and maybe we can do really well this season in Europe. We are not going to win the Champions League but if we can get through to the knockout stages then that will bring in a lot of money for the club and improved our reputation a lot.
This is the result of the season. It was a real battle here. We went behind then battled back to take the lead. They equalized late on and I was worried about losing it before Zebli got a really late winner to all but confirm the fact that we are going through to the knockout stages.
A really strong performance here. Samatta scores a penalty for the third game in a row which is a weird record. A lot of the teams in the league are now just not a challenge. It is just a matter of when we will score not if.
Injuries were a real issue here. Bakkali got injured for 3 weeks during the week and then Bongonda got injured during the game so we down to our 3rd choice left winger which is either Zhegrova or Schrijvers.
A really poor way to finish the month. We had a perfect record in our group until this game and this result now means there is a chance we won’t finish top of our group. Marseille are 2nd and only 2 points behind us and they are also our final game of the group. We also miss out on the money for winning group games which is around £2.4mil per game. That money has helped balance our books during these first few months of the season.
Summary
Overall it has been a good month although it started and ended with games we should have won but didn’t. The result against Napoli is the clear highlight although they have been pretty poor in our group and only have 4 points from 5 games. We are guaranteed to go through to the knockout round but whether we go through as group winners or second depends on our game against Marseille.
A nice solid result here. We have a really busy month ahead so I will need to keep rotating the squad a lot so it was good to see that players like Leya Iseka can step up and provide a goal when needed.
A really good result here sees us through to the semi final of the Belgian cup. Malinovskyi provided 2 goals and an assist in a great solo performance.
We struggled against Lommel in our first game of the season and we struggled here as well. They had a couple of chances after their goal as well to equalize. This is one of our first real disappointing performances.
Such a frustrating result. We were seconds away from a draw and finishing top of our group but Balotelli got a very late goal to ****** the top position away from us. We did have a little bit of luck though with the fact that we drew Dortmund while OM drew Real Madrid who somehow finished 2nd in their group to Arsenal.
We don’t seem to be blowing the smaller teams away anymore. We are dominating games and had over 30 shots in this game but we still had to hold on at the end.
Gent are a good team in the league and have been a bigger challenge to us then teams like Anderlecht and Standard but even with our rotation this month we were able to beat them.
This is one of the strongest teams I have been able to put out this month and I was expecting this to be a bigger score. Bakkali has been a consistent threat down the left all season but he has struggled with injuries. I hope this is the end of his injury issues.
We were much more lethal in front of goal here with us making a quick start and then following through with it for the rest of the game. The fact that we conceded 2 is disappointing but had no effect on the result.
Summary
A really solid month in the league which seems to be pretty common now. We also got through to the semi final of the cup as we try and retain both domestic pieces of silverware. I was disappointed with the loss to Marseille but we have a decent draw against Dortmund which will be a very hard game but is a much better tie than some of the other teams in the competition.
Just to remind everyone, this is the transfer policy that I must adhere to.
Transfers in
- Only one foreign signing per season. (A foreign players counts as a player that is not Belgian and not playing in Belgium).
- All fees will be paid up front to not take advantage of fees over 48 months.
- Preferably no loan deals but I will be more flexible on this one. Transfers out
- For players over 21, I must accept any offer that is double their club value.
- For players 21 and under, I must accept any offer that is 3 times their club value.
- Players that are unhappy must be moved on in the next available window, even if offers are not 2/3 times their value.
In terms of players coming in, I’m not really looking too hard at anyone and so any possible signings will probably be youngsters to go into the youth system. Obviously this could change depending on any potential sales.
It is a mixed start to the new year here as we got a pretty comfortable win but we have also lost Samatta for 6 weeks after picking up an injury early on in the game. It will now be up to Leya Iseka and Schrijvers to step up and lead the line for the next month or 2.
A pretty comfortable win for our first leg of the semi-final of the cup means we are in a good position to make the final again. We were poor in the first half but we turned it all around in the second with Fiolic really stepping up to provide 2 goals and an assist.
You may notice that we played the exact same team as the game before and that is because I was too trigger happy with the space bar. Thankfully we were still able to win the game with a really quick start. He may not often get the MOTM award but Malinovskyi has been great for us in the middle. He is involved in almost all of our attacks in some way and he gets back to support the defense as well.
KRC Genk 2 (Berge 19, Malinovskyi 79pen)
Club Brugge 0
Club Brugge are probably our biggest challenge in the league so this was a big result for us. This game also brought a debut for youngster Ronald Singh who looks to have a very bright future. He looks to be a great right winger and is already attracting attention from teams like Liverpool and Juventus. I’m just hoping the don’t bid for him anytime soon as he is still only work £150k so a bid of £450k or more would have to be accepted.
Summary
It has been a strong start to the second half of the season which sees us continue to dominate the league and put ourselves in a strong position to get back into the Belgian Cup final. While being a smaller month, February brings 8 games including our second leg against Zulte Waregem and the first leg of our first knockout game against Borussia Dortmund which will be at home.
Transfers
Just like last January, all the interesting stuff happened on transfer deadline day. We had two first team regulars leave and brought in one superstar. The first deal that went through was the sale of Dieumerci Ndongala to Jeonbuk who left in a deal worth up to £8 million. Ndongala had been a consistent threat on the right wing but is now 28 and, as I wanted to bring through Singh, it seemed like the right time to let Ndongala go.
The second sale was a hard one to take as we let Bryan Heynen leave to Salzburg for £28 million. He had scored 8 goals this season from CM and had been dominating games for us so when teams came sniffing I put a high price on him. Unfortunately, Salzburg had just sold a player to Chelsea for £40 million so they had money to burn and agreed to pay £28 million for Heynen which is more than double his £13 million valuation and we have to say goodbye to him.
The final transfer is one coming in and it was a big one. After Heynen left I was desperate for another CM to come and replace him. A quick look at Belgian players and I found a deal which I think is definitely worth it. Youri Tielemans comes in from AS Monaco for £17 million. He wasn’t getting any game time at Monaco and was transfer listed so I moved quickly to bring him in. Any wage structure I had at the club has quickly gone though as he is on almost double my next highest earner. I am hoping he fits into the space left by Heynen but it will take a bit of time to get him match fit first so expect him to come in and out of the team for the first month or two.
Gent are a decent team in the league so to come through this game with 3 points and a clean sheet is good to see. I haven’t given the defense a lot of credit recently but they deserve it as they are tight at the back and control possession well for us to set up attack after attack.
What a game this was. There were some incredible goals in this game from Fiolic curling one into the far corner to probably the best goal of the game being Spahiu’s late equalizer for them being a 30 yard volley that looped over Coucke.
This is the result of the season. After they scored very early on I was scared about getting a hammering but we hit back pretty quickly and Malinovskyi’s late goal gives us a real chance of qualifying. A mention has to go to young Ronald Singh who at just 16 years old delivered 2 assists in a MOTM performance.
We must have had some kind of hangover from the Dortmund game as nothing really happened here. I remember starting the second half and then there wasn’t a single chance for either team before the game finished.
This result sees us go through to the final of the Belgian Cup. It was also a chance to bring Samatta back into the team for his first appearance since the first game in January. I’m hoping he can come back and provide a more consistent goal scorer that Schrijvers and Leya Iseka have struggled to be.
We got a little lucky here to be honest with us having to equalize twice to get a point from the game. It also means we just about hold onto our unbeaten run as we are still unbeaten in the league since the start of last season.
A quick start gave us the points here. After being 2-0 up after just 5 minutes, I am disappointed we couldn’t go on and get a bigger score line.
Summary
We drew 3 out of 6 league games this month which is disappointing but the main focus has to be on the Champions League where we are in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals. Next month brings only 3 games including the second leg against Borussia Dortmund which will be a big moment to see if we can go away and hold on to a precious 2 goal lead.
I couldn't believe he was even interested let alone that we could agree a deal. He already looks to be a level above a lot of other players though. I can see us struggling to hold onto him any longer then 12/18 months but I'm hoping to make a big profit on him when he does eventually leave.
This result may just trump the first leg. To beat them at home was special but to then beat them away from home as well is incredible. Singh was the MOTM in the first leg and he did the same here with a goal and an assist. He is quickly turning into a star. We have been drawn against Juventus in the quarter-finals which will be a daunting challenge.
Malinovskyi delivered with two goals here which actually takes him to be our top goal scorer for the season in all competitions. He has been great for us and delivers consistently with goals from getting into the box late and also from scoring a few free kicks which he did here with his first goal being a free kick and the second being a close header after running into the box.
A nice end to the month here with a second clean sheet and scoring a lot of goals again. I am always pleased to see a defender win MOTM as they rarely do so. I thought Seigers may not be able to deliver like Maehle did at the start of the first season but if anything he has been better as he gives us more defensive structure as well as goals and assists.
Summary
This was a short month due to the league now breaking into the Championship group but it has been a very successful one. In the league we played 2, won 2, scored 7 and conceded none which is a great return and sees us finish the normal season unbeaten yet again. In the Champions League we got another victory against Dortmund which sees us through to the quarter-finals which is ridiculous and we will face the might of Juventus which if we aren’t careful could be a demoralizing result.
Unfortunately I have to post to say that this is the end of the road for this story. The lack of competition in the league has made the challenge feel quite easy and with us progressing at a very quick rate in Europe, I don't see it being long before we met the ultimate goal of winning the Champions League.
I have finished the season and although we ended up losing to Juventus in the Champions League, we pushed them all the way and only went out due to a late Douglas Costa goal. In the league we won the league again comfortably and remained unbeaten to achieve a record of 80 league games played and 80 games unbeaten.
I felt that this would be a challenge that would take me a while to achieve just domestic dominance let alone in Europe but we are the best team in Belgium by far and can challenge teams like Juventus already. The final nail in the coffin was the fact that I was able to go out and buy the best players from teams like Anderlecht, Standard, and Club Brugge so that they would never become a threat to me either.
I will be looking for a new challenge that hopefully interests me but also brings an interesting challenge. I already have an idea but I am happy to take on anybody else's ideas so feel free to post on here any ideas that you have.
Sad to see this end but I feel your pain as I think most of us have experienced a challenge that has turned out far too easy this year. I think the way to go is drop right down the leagues and give yourself a long term goal of needing multiple promotions to reach the top....this way it will keep you interested for longer. My current Hartlepool save is one I've enjoyed more than any other on FM19.
Similarly to what TNSSO said we pretty much have all experienced a save being too easy. I've also dropped into the lower divisions and it's more interesting and prevents the save being too easy more often. Great save though mate and I thoroughly enjoyed it - good luck on your next one - if it's as good it'll still be great!
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