Linecoigne's FIFA World League - a Chairman game

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Pre Season Update

After what has been classed as a fantastic season for Corinthians after managing to escape the drop and consolidating their position in the most elite league it was ultimately always going to be a busy summer transfer window for the club. With TV revenue coming into the club they had a little bit more firepower this season round and have invested wisely i some of Europe's finest talents.

Santi Cazorla - Arsenal - £8million
The cultured midfielder brings a wealth or European footballing experience to Corinthians after playing in the Barclays Premier League and the Liga BBVA. At £8million this seems like a bargain for one of the most consistent midfielders of recent times. His age is a bit older than the average age of the current squad but hopefully he will be a calming head as the season gets underway.

Lucas Moura - PSG - LOAN
Another experienced European joins the revolution that Ronaldo is currently overseeing at Corinthians. This may only be a loan deal but with the club seemingly lacking in quality wide players Lucas Moura will add a new dimension as well as a turn of pace when needed to bolster attacking option in the final third.

Andrea Barzagli - Juventus - £1million
Experienced Europeans seemed to be the theme for Ronaldo and Corinthians this transfer window with the Brazilian chairman choosing Defence as his next area that needed strengthening and with Italians being known for their great defenders Ronaldo will be hoping that Barzagli can certainly become a defensive rock at the heart of the backline and for only £1million the transfer kitty hasn't exactly been blown out of the water on Barzagli.

Phil Jones - Man Utd - £8million
The second £8million man for Corinthians and also the second Centre Back. After being tipped to be a world class defender when he first came onto the scene at Blackburn the defender has been somewhat criticized of late for lacklustre performances hopefully at Corinthians he will be able to find a foothold and reproduce the performances that made him one of the most highly sought after youngsters in the BPL.


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Zlatan Lumic said:
Not the most active transfer window in Rhine's eastern bank, but we managed to snap one heck of a bargain and a good loan deal.
I got a little question though, if I have to do a post introducing my signings... Do I have to do it for the ones I actively signed as a chairman or also must I cover the ones done by the AI? (By the time I joined Leverkusen the AI had already done some movements).
Click to expand...
That's totally up to you! but I think usually people just announce their own transfers, not the AI's :)
 
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August/September update

Matchday 1

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A couple of big names were already playing against each other as Premiership holders Arsenal beat Chelsea 3-1 at the Emirates whilst the all-German clash between Leverkusen and Dortmund ended with an away victory for Leverkusen. Valencia scored a late equaliser to get a point against Barcelona whilst new signing Morata proved his mark already for Atletico as he scored twice to give the Spanish side all 3 points against Inter. The two new signings for Manchester United fully delivered against Juventus as the Red Devils won 2-1 and Manchester City also managed to get a 3-1 win against fellow English side Tottenham at the Etihad. A big game between PSG and Bayern ended with Robben scoring against his old club but the away side still got the 2-1 away win as Real Madrid lost their first game of the season to Sevilla. Finally, last season's relegation avoiders Corinthians managed a draw against Benfica as Lucas Moura and Jackson Martinez both scored on their debuts.
Matchday 2

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A less exciting week in matchday 2 this season as the biggest match was between Atletico and Juventus as well as Manchester United and Arsenal. The Gunners couldn't try to replicate their amazing unbeaten run from last season as Higuain scored yet again to give the Red Devils the win. Juventus crushed Atletico at the Vicente Calderon and Bayern drew with Benfica in a tense game. Messi was the hero for Barcelona as they got a narrow 2-1 win over Corinthians whilst Chelsea turned around from their first defeat in matchday 1 to win against fellow English side Manchester City. Leverkusen couldn't hold on to a 2-goal lead and drew with PSG whilst Dortmund beat Sevilla away from home. Real Madrid also got an away win at White Hart Lane despite a nice comeback from Tottenham but it wasn't enough for Spurs to get at least a point from the game. Valencia also drew with Inter in what was one of the least entertaining games of the matchday.

August awards

View attachment 152354The players of the month

View attachment 152353The young players of the month

View attachment 152352The managers of the month

View attachment 152351The team of the month

September update

Matchday 3

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A couple of teams had to play some games in hand in what is quite an odd schedule for September with Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG all playing in European competitions this season. Leverkusen were crushed away from home against Benfica as Leno scored TWO OWN GOALS. Manchester United and Chelsea drew in what was the first 0-0 draw of the season and Juventus just about beat Valencia at home. Dortmund continued their good run since their promotion with a win against fellow promoted team Tottenham. In the games later on, Real Madrid lost at home to Manchester City whilst PSG did the same against Sevilla. Inter beat Corinthians easily whilst the big clash between Bayern and Barcelona ended in a Catalan victory. Arsenal and Atletico also cancelled each other out as Tevez scored twice but McCarthy got sent off late on in the game.

Arsenal are definitely not having the best start to the season as the current holders of the Premiership lost yet again, this time against Valencia. Benfica also continued their good run with a win against Sevilla and Dortmund impressed as they won at the Etihad. Tottenham also managed a very impressive win against PSG who are having a pretty horrendous start to their season. Leverkusen almost got a draw against Barcelona but Suarez had other ideas and scored the winner in the 12th minute. Real Madrid's bad form continued as they drew with Chelsea despite going 1-0 up and Juventus won 2-1 against Corinthians as the Brazilian side scored a goal late on to try and come back in the game. Another draw for Atletico as Manchester United scored a late equaliser despite playing with 10 men and Bayern got a very narrow win against Inter, thanks to Lewandowski.
Matchday 5

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And here comes the end of September as after a month and a half in season 2 of the World League Premiership, the surprise package has been Borussia Dortmund! The German side sit at the top alongside Barcelona, with Manchester United also doing well. The latter got a 2-1 win against Valencia as Kroos scored his first goal for the club whilst Dortmund won against Real Madrid and Barcelona beat Sevilla. PSG sit all the way at the bottom of the league with yet another loss, this time against Manchester City. Bayern won against Juventus and Tottenham also got a good win against Benfica, courtesy of Paco Alcacer and Dele Alli. Leverkusen could have gotten a win against Inter but missed out as they drew 1-1 and Atletico got an emphatic win against Chelsea as former Atletico striker Griezmann scored against his old club but it wasn't enough to give his NEW club a point. Arsenal also beat Corinthians to make the Brazilian side yet again the relegation favourites this season.

September awards

View attachment 152345The players of the month

View attachment 152344The young players of the month

View attachment 152343The managers of the month

View attachment 152342The team of the month

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And after 5 games in the league this season, the league table looks like this:

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The biggest surprises as of right now are seeing Atletico down in 8th, Dortmund up in 2nd and Real Madrid and PSG in 16th and 17th respectively. The two giants were definitely not expected to be fighting for safety but as of right now that's exactly what they're doing, which is worrying for both their managers. Manchester United have also been doing well so far and Juventus are still doing pretty well despite not performing as well as last season.

 
A poor start, but we have somewhat pulled it back. Lets hope we keep this run going
 
Would have been unbeaten if it wasn't for Tottenham!! Martinez is a good signing.
 
Not the worst start, but not the best either! I guess it will end up hurting not to be able to replace my central line! + Morata getting injured :p

Btw: Could you remove Tevez's unhappyness because of a lack of continental football? As the qualification for that seems broken :)
 
Znik said:
Not the worst start, but not the best either! I guess it will end up hurting not to be able to replace my central line! + Morata getting injured :p

Btw: Could you remove Tevez's unhappyness because of a lack of continental football? As the qualification for that seems broken :)
Click to expand...
Will do :)
 
Not the best start so far... But definitely far from being the worst either considering that we're a newly promoted team and our squad lacks both the depth and quality of other teams (for the time being, I hope to fix that if we survive).

.P.S.: I'll be covering both the league start and the transfer window in my next post (kinda fitting since my transfers were made in August).
 
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Meet the Team​

Manager

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Andre Villas-Boas is in my opinion one of the brightest young talents in football management today. With previous spells at Chelsea, Tottenham and most recently Zenit, AVB already brings huge experience even at such a young age. His preferred formation of 4-2-3-1 wide allows some of our best player to play in their preferred positions and we have ever confidence he can lead us to titles.

Goalkeepers

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(David De Gea, Victor Valdes, Sergio Romero)

David De Gea needs no introduction. Probably the best goalkeeper in the world (arguably bar Manuel Neuer) he provides huge stability in between the sticks. Victor Valdes has a wealth of experience to serve as backup keeper while Sergio Romero completes the line up.

Full Backs

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(Luke Shaw, Hector Bellerin, Juan Bernat, Fabinho)

A very strong area of the team, filled with youth and flair. Luke Shaw will take the first team slot at left back with new signing Hector Bellerin (Straight swap for Anthony Martial) filling in at right back. As cover, Juan Bernat will fight with Shaw for left back, while new signing Fabinho (£18 mil) will cover for Bellerin.

Centre Backs

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(Sergio Ramos, Alessio Romagnoli, John Stones, Chris Smalling)

The defensive side of our game is certainly looking very strong with Sergio Ramos (£15 mil + Rojo + Januzaj) joining from Real Madrid to marshal the back line. Romagnoli (£18.25 mil) and Stones (£19.5 mil) were both signed by Villas-Boas for very reasonable prices, while Chris Smalling stays for some stability to our squad.

Central Midfield

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(Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos, N'Golo Kante, Ander Herrera)

Schneiderlin, Herrera and Schweinsteiger stay with the club to supply some consistency within our squad, but Toni Kroos becomes our record transfer signing (£70 mil) from Real Madrid, while N'Golo Kante joins from Leicester (£35 mil) to provide competition and steel to the midfield.

Attacking Midfield

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(Juan Mata, Memphis Depay, Gareth Bale, Arda Turan, Iker Muniain, Carlos Vela, Hakim Ziyech)

It is in attacking midfield where the flair and depth of talent becomes noticeable. Juan Mata and Memphis Depay retain their places in the squad, and most likely the team, while new arrivals Gareth Bale (£45 mil), Carlos Vela (£28.5 mil) and Arda Turan (£9 mil) will be pushing hard for first team places. Iker Muniain was unhappy at Athletic Bilbao so took the option of signing on for first team competition here (£17.5 mil) while youngster Hakim Ziyech will look to make progress under the guidance of the likes of Mata and Bale.

Strikers

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(Gonzalo Higuain, Romelu Lukaku, Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford)

Yet more wonderful depth in the striking department with Gonzalo Higuain joining (£40 mil) to become our new leading man. Romelu Lukaku joins (£26 mil) to give us a different option while Wayne Rooney brings experience and leadership in the dressing room. Young Rashford might also get a runout this year after impressing in the academy.
 
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August & September Review​

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A massive thumbs up for Andre Villas-Boas as his reign at Old Trafford begins as we go unbeaten in the first couple of months. Some of our new additions like Kroos, Bale and Higuain are settling in nicely and our defence is holding up beautifully having not conceded more than a single goal in any one match. In the words of Brendan Rodgers, we obviously have some Character as well as following a couple of disappointing draws, we didn't give up when the Valencia match looked to be going the same way as Kroos stepped up to net the points.

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This leaves us nicely in third place in the table. At the beginning of the year our ambitions were to be the top English side in the league ad finish in the top 6 (to possibly give us a crack at Europe? I dont know, the save is screwed). So far so good.

Key Players​


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John Stones has been magnificent since joining. 6 games played and an average rating of 8.03 shows just what a class act this lad is. Luke Shaw might have pipped him onto the list but he picked up a 6-8 week injury so John gets the nod.

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Toni Kroos has been another inspired signing and is controlling our matches from the defensive midfield position that AVB likes to play. 6 appearances, a goal to his name, a pass completion ratio of over 90% and an average rating of 7.80 shows how well he is fitting in.

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Juan Mata is a little magician sitting in that role behind the striker. 5 appearances so far this season, two goals and an assists with an average rating of 7.64. Impressive stuff from the Spaniard, long may this form continue.
 
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August - September review

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An absolutely terrible start for us this season. We didn't start too well last year either but this is just abysmal. Not one single win in 5 games, 4 losses and 1 draw?! What kind of a record is that! Thank God for the Euro Cup and the World League Cup because this is just ridiculous. Thankfully, 3 players have really stepped up and made sure that the situation doesn't get even worse for us...

Ruben Neves - 4 games, 7.47 average rating

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A great start to the season for our little Portuguese wonderkid and hopefully he'll keep up the good work! He really will have to continue doing that otherwise we might just not get out of the relegation zone... I'm still hoping he'll perform better in the league though as that seems to be his only weakness right now.

Arjen Robben - 7 games, 7.46 average rating

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And to think I almost sold this Dutch baldie! He's been our most consistent player considering the amount of games he's played and now I can just hope for it to continue and hopefully he'll be the one getting us out of this ****** relegation zone. I mean come on we finished 7th last year, surely we deserve better than that!

Thiago Silva - 7 games, 7.41 average rating

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And once again, just like last year, he's pretty much our best player. The stats don't really support that but he's so solid at the back considering how many goals we've been conceding so it's very satisfying to see him do well and become a club legend as every matchday goes by. Honestly though, he can't just be the only one working hard so we need to do better.

Laurent Blanc's future

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Not sure if he'll stay or not as of right now. He's a great manager and in real life I really do like him but right now, it's just not working. If results don't pick up in October and November, I don't think we'll be able to keep him. There are still some very good managers out there and who knows who will be sacked by the end of November. Anyway, I'm still keeping faith in him, he knows a lot about football so he should turn it around right?
My team of the month

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MitchT94 said:
would any of you be up for doing a network game??
Click to expand...

I'd be interested. Problem is a lot of people live in other parts of the world and therefore timezones are difficult. Plus the more people in a game the harder it is to get everybody on at once.
 
SaintMotbot said:
I'd be interested. Problem is a lot of people live in other parts of the world and therefore timezones are difficult. Plus the more people in a game the harder it is to get everybody on at once.
Click to expand...

that is true well maybe if we had 3-4 people it could work would just depend on who would be interested in playing.
 
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