One City, One Club, One Love - A Newcastle United Story

[Brane_Orsou]

**** - forgot to update that!!!

When I was offered a paltry £30m (about his current value eek) I offered him out for nearer £50m but nobody was interested. He was contracted until 2023 but had a year option so I ****** him off even further by triggering that clause and then after a while he took back his transfer request!

Haahaa, nice one! May as well annoy him whilst he is already pi$$ed at you. Glad he is back on side now as you've got a decent squad on the go

 

[Klippybo]

VIDEO - Newcastle 2-1 Blackburn - FA Cup 2012 - Ben Arfa amazing goal


MARCH

FA Cup 5th Round

Lineup - Onana, Yedlin, Lejeune, Luperto, Dummett, Hayden, M.Longstaff, Dembele, Ivanusec*, Pavon, Morelos

We march into the quarter-finals here. Alfredo Morelos fired in a double while Ivanusec as ever showed he shouldn't be tagged as one of my backups lol.

--

Lineup - Onana, Hayden, Schar, Lejeune, Dummett, S.Longstaff, Shelvey, Saint-Maximin (Dembele), Olmo (Ivanusec), Almiron (Lee Kang-In), Silva*

Silva scored 2 here as we beat Leicester who are remarkably still in the bottom 3. Spurs are on a sticky wicket too - surely not? Hayden played as an emergency right back here as Yedlin and Mbabu were unavailable.

--

Lineup - Onana, Yedlin, Schar, Lejeune, Willems (Dummett), S.Longstaff, Shelvey, Saint-Maximin (Dembele), Olmo (Ivanusec), Almiron, Silva

Meh. We gave it a good go but Liverpool were just too good and showed why they are above us in the table. Our league challenge is officially over lol.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Schar, Lascelles, Willems (Dummett), S.Longstaff, Shelvey, Dembele (Lee Kang-In), Olmo, Almiron, Silva (Morelos)

We march into the quarter-finals but I admit that I was ******** myself at 2-0 down but we somehow turned it around. Olmo pulled a goal back, Silva levelled against his old club despite picking up a knock and Morelos came off the bench to pinch the winner.

--

FA Cup Quarter-Final

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Schar, Lascelles, Willems (Dummett), S.Longstaff, Shelvey (Hayden), Dembele*, Ivanusec, Almiron (Lee Kang-In), Silva

We do it again against Man City!! We certainly have worked out how to play against them and this time we swot them aside to reach the FA Cup semis.

--

SUMMARY

We are coming to the end of the season and everything is hotting up very nicely. We only had 2 league games and although we find ourselves in 5th place we have 2 games in hand and I am still confident of getting a Champions League spot.

Obviously our escapades in the Carabao Cup were the highlight of the month as we beat Man City 3-1 to retain the Carabao Cup while we then went on to beat them 2-0 in the FA Cup to set up a semi-final against WBA - once again we get a kind draw.....

…..well sort of. After beating Porto in the Champions League we have been drawn against Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The youth intake was pretty poor - nothing to crow about.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
FABIO SILVA

--

PREMIER LEAGUE

​

 

[JamesScott2908]

Some tremendous signings! Fabio Silva has been a bit of a revelation hasn't he! Looks like a Champions League spot is on the cards for a 2nd year running! Congrats on the cup win too!

Just to reminisce the Spurs 7-1 game was the first ever game I went to!

 

[Klippybo]

Some tremendous signings! Fabio Silva has been a bit of a revelation hasn't he! Looks like a Champions League spot is on the cards for a 2nd year running! Congrats on the cup win too!

Just to reminisce the Spurs 7-1 game was the first ever game I went to!

I think I was at an Aberdeen game that day and heard the final score when we got back into the bus!

Fabio Silva has been unbelievable - far better than Morelos. He is my first "franchise" player I think. Bozenik has been great. Certainly a bargain.

 

[Klippybo]

VIDEO - Newcastle 3-2 Barcelona, 1997 - Asprilla hat-trick

APRIL

Lineup - Onana, Hayden, Lejeune, Dummett, Willems, S.Longstaff (M.Longstaff), Shelvey (Ivanusec), Dembele (Pavon), Olmo, Almiron, Silva

A poor result and disappointing performance but considering we were without half a dozen defenders and Allan Saint-Maximin I am content with a draw.

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Schar, Lascelles, Willems (Dummett), S.Longstaff, Shelvey, Saint-Maximin, Olmo, Pavon (Lee Kang-In), Silva (Morelos)

Although we lost 3-1 I am extremely happy with our performance as we were actually the better side with more shots on goal and possession - at the Nou Camp! Fabio Silva missed a penalty at 1-1 which could have completely thrown the result a different way.

--

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Lejeune, Lascelles, Willems*, S.Longstaff, Shelvey, Saint-Maximin, Olmo, Almiron (Lee Kang-In), Silva

It was about this time last year that our form dipped and performances weren't up to scratch and we just stumbled over the line. This performance is a bit of a warning to that as we just scraped past the bottom side.

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Onana*, Mbabu, Schar, Lascelles, Willems, S.Longstaff (Ivanusec), Shelvey, Saint-Maximin (Pavon), Olmo, Almiron, Silva (Morelos)

We gave it a good go but it was not to be. We actually played much better in the 1st leg at the Nou Camp.

--

FA Cup Semi-Final

Lineup - Onana, Hayden, Lejeune*, Lascelles, Dummett, Ivanusec, M.Longstaff (Ferguson), Dembele, Lee Kang-In, Pavon (Cherki), Morelos

Having seen my backups defeat the likes of Olympiakos and Zenit I took a huge risk to rest my majority of first teamers in this cup semi and it just paid off thanks to Cherki's cross going straight in. Hey ho we are in the final lol.

--

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Schar, Lascelles, Dummett, S.Longstaff (Ivanusec), Shelvey, Saint-Maximin (Pavon), Olmo, Almiron, Silva

A good point. This was arguably our trickiest game in our run in so to avoid defeat is especially pleasing. We will meet again in the FA Cup final.

--

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Schar, Lascelles, Dummett, S.Longstaff (Hayden), Shelvey, Saint-Maximin, Olmo, Almiron (Pavon), Silva (Morelos)

This was a tight game but I was ****** off by the nature of how we drew considering we conceded in stoppage time. 1 win in 5 league games does not look good when we need to string a few results together.

--

Lineup - Onana, Yedlin, Schar, Lascelles, Dummett, S.Longstaff, Shelvey*, Saint-Maximin (Pavon), Olmo, Almiron, Silva (Morelos)

This was one of those games where you just know it isnt going to end well so you give up but then you equalise with about 10min to go and you go all for it and lo and behold we got the winner. Paul Dummett scored an absolute beauty and Pavon scored the winner 5min into injury time.

--

SUMMARY

Despite not being at our best this month we did ok. In the league we drew 3 games but picked up a couple of wins which sees us lie in 3rd place - 3pts clear of 5th place but with a vital game in hand. Our remaining fixtures aren't too bad either so I am very confident of returning to the Champions League next season.

Our albeit limited dream in the Champions League this season was ended by Barcelona after a 3-1 defeat on aggregate. Fabio Silva's missed penalty in the first leg proved to be crucial and left me to thinking what might have been.

In the FA Cup we sneaked past WBA to reach the final where we will play Man Utd to try and complete a cup double.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JONJO SHELVEY

--

PREMIER LEAGUE

​

 

[Klippybo]

VIDEO - Brighton 1-2 Newcastle - Diame crazy goal


MAY

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Schar, Lascelles, Dummett, S.Longstaff, Shelvey, Saint-Maximin, Olmo (Ivanusec), Pavon, Silva*

A good win but not as comfortable as it should have been considering we scored 4 goals. Silva netted a double to go past the 30 goal mark for the season - an incredible achievement for a 17y/o summer signing.

--

Lineup - Onana, Yedlin, Schar, Lascelles (Luperto), Dummett, S.Longstaff, Shelvey, Saint-Maximin, Olmo (Lee Kang-In), Almiron, Silva*

Back to back 4-2 wins. This win secures Champions League qualification and they have given me an initial budget of £60m (not great). Oh and Fabio Silva scored a hat-trick lol. On a serious note I am delighted that we won after being 2-0 down.

--

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Schar, Lascelles, Dummett, S.Longstaff (Hayden), Shelvey, Saint-Maximin, Olmo*, Lee Kang-In, Silva

Our 3rd successive 4 goal haul in the league!!! It also wraps up 3rd place so I can rest my players for the cup final on the final day.

--

Lineup - Onana*, Yedlin, Lejeune, Luperto, Dummett, Hayden (Ferguson), M.Longstaff, Pavon (Garre), Ivanusec, Lee Kang-In (Cherki), Morelos

Meh - I decided to rest my 1st team for the upcoming cup final and my backups played out a boring 0-0 draw.

--

FA Cup Final

Lineup - Onana, Yedlin (Hayden), Schar, Lejeune, Willems, S.Longstaff, Shelvey (Ivanusec), Saint-Maximin, Olmo, Almiron (Pavon), Silva*

WE DO THE CUP DOUBLE!!!!

If ever a game was to sum up our season it is this one as we were great attacking with Fabio Silva notching up a hat-trick to take his tally for the season up to 38 yet our defence always let Man Utd in and tbh they were a tad unfortunate but I don't care!

--

SUMMARY

We had an excellent end to the season as we lifted the FA Cup to complete the domestic cup double. Fabio Silva was in inspired form and got 2 hat-tricks and I just realised that he scored a hat-trick in both of the cup finals!!!

We secured 3rd place in the league which is a small improvement but we are still miles away points wise from the title. The money I spent last summer was seriously required but it has had an effect on this years budget as I only have about £60m to spend so I will have to box clever.

End of season post to come.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
FABIO SILVA

​

 

[Klippybo]

END OF SEASON POST

Season number 2 is done with and it was a great season as we finished 3rd in the league, won both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup and made it to the Champions League quarter-finals - not bad!!

We continued being the nemesis of Man City as we beat them in the league and both cups and also beat Man Utd, Arsenal and Bayern Munich during the season. Liverpool are the ones to match however as they seem a class apart but having said that we fared well against Barcelona.

With my transfer budget being quite limited I will have to scout about for bargains and maybe just look to add maybe 2 players for the first team rather than bringing in a heap of players.

--

FINAL PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE

I suppose the main story here is that Leicester got relegated. Maybe I will be able to pinch a player or two off them if the price is right. Wolves and Arsenal have sacked their managers while I have signed a new contract.

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

Goalkeepers - Andre Onana was signed and he played in every single match and was superb in truth. Just a shame that Freddie Woodman is sitting on the bench but needs must lol.

Defenders - Kevin Mbabu was the shining light of our defence as he performed brilliantly. Everyone did not too bad but none of my CBs scored in the league which is a disappointment. Paul Dummett played far more than expected and along with Yedlin have been offered new contracts.

Midfielders - Jonjo Shelvey had a quiet season but a brilliant one as his AVR was incredible. Sean Longstaff did well alongside him while Isaac Hayden got a fair few games and even played at RB a few times. Luka Ivanusec is a big favourite of mine and was very impressive and was a snip at just under £15m. On the wings Almiron was a disappointment as he only scored 4 goals but on the other wing Allan Saint-Maximin had another great season and fired in 17 goals. Dani Olmo played in the No. 10 role and was excellent in the 2nd half of the season and got 14 goals while the likes of Lee Kang-In, Pavon and Dembele all featured regularly.

Forwards - What can you say about Fabio Silva? He was immense and the 18y/o ended up with 38 goals for the season. Morelos scored just as much goals as last season despite hardly playing and I found a real bargain of FM20 in the shape of Robert Bozenik who was amazing when he played but his opportunites were limited.

My Player of the Season - Jonjo Shelvey
My Young Player of the Season - Fabio Silva
Must Do Better - Miguel Almiron
Donkey of the Year - Benjamin Garre

--

PLANS FOR THE SUMMER

As I said above. If I can bring in a couple of quality players in and maybe bring in some youngsters for the U23 I will be happy. Defence is certainly an area that we will have to strengthen.


​

 

[Brane_Orsou]

Another good season, I think you're right to not be looking to make big changes in the summer, midfield and attack seems settled with plenty of goals. Hopefully another defender can sure things up a bit and can do even better next season

 

[Klippybo]

Another good season, I think you're right to not be looking to make big changes in the summer, midfield and attack seems settled with plenty of goals. Hopefully another defender can sure things up a bit and can do even better next season

Errr - that was the plan lol. All will be revealed in my pre-season post

 

[Brane_Orsou]

Errr - that was the plan lol. All will be revealed in my pre-season post

Cue the duff duff drums of eastenders!

 

[Klippybo]

PRE-SEASON POST

So the plan was simple - sign 2 maybe 3 players tops to strengthen the side and build up the youth and reserve teams. What happened? I have 4 new players that will be in my first XI and a couple of others to bulk up the squad. I loaned out a few U23 players but did manage to bring in a couple and that was that. I ended up spending £85m and raked in £114m.

At time of writing it is the day of the Community Shield so there is still a week to go in the transfer window but I have no money left to spend. It didn't help that I had to give many of my players new contracts and they all got hefty pay rises so that drained the budget.

Off the field I added club legend Andrew Cole and Scottish coach Ian Cathro to my coaching team.

So here goes my transfer dealings...

--

PLAYERS OUT

So there you go - Dummett, Hayden, Schar, Lejeune, Luperto and Shelvey are all gone. Lejeune and Luperto were always going to be sold while the others were sold due to incomings. The Shelvey deal was great although somehow he rejected a move to Real Madrid in order to sign for his boyhood favourites.

Another strange rejection was Isaac Hayden rejecting a £29m move to Ajax but fortunately Burnley quickly came in with £25m so that wasnt too bad.

I decided to loan out Lewis Ferguson back to Aberdeen to help his development. He is developing ok but needs games so that was all good while Marcos Paulo rejoined Galatasaray on loan.

Rejected offers were Guangzhou bidding £31m for Miguel Almiron and Juventus offered me £70m for Fabio Silva but I was never going to accept that. Southampton were after my South Korean wonderkid - Lee Kang-In - and offered £20m but although I was tempted I decided to keep him despite having 5 wingers for 2 positions in the first team squad (St.Max, Almiron, Dembele, LKI and Pavon).

--

PLAYERS IN

My most expensive signing was that of Ben Chilwell who came in from Leicester City for £33.5m. He will be my new left back and although Jetro Willems hasn't done anything wrong (and just had his contract renewed) Chilwell is a considerable upgrade and at 24 and being English he should be a mainstay for years to come.

My first signing was Ezequiel Palacios from River Plate as he signed for £5.5m which is an absolute bargain (although not in wages). I had agreed to sign him earlier but he couldn't get a work permit but he is starting for Argentina now and he got a permit this time and he will be part of my new CM pairing and hopefully he will create just as much chances as the departing Jonjo Shelvey did.

His new partner will be Sandro Tonali who I did not expect to sign at all but when West Ham had a £21m bid accepted I thought it was too good a deal to turn down. A CM pairing of Tonali and Palacios looks like a world class partnership and at a combined age of 43 they will be together for several years I hope. It was the signing of Tonali that made me sell Shelvey.

With me selling 3 CBs I had to replace them and this was where my DoF came into play as he recommended 2 of my signings. Firstly the Serbian Radovan Pankov was brought in for a cheap £2.2m and I thought he would be my "Luperto" signing of last year but all my coaches say he is my best CB!!!

Next up was Cesar Montes and this signing came about when I asked my DoF for a ball playing CB and Montes was 3rd on the list. He is 24y/o and only cost me £8m so that was perfect with my limited transfer budget and he has room to develop.

Finally I brought in Eric Bailly for £11.5m and made sure Man Utd covered 50k of his wages. He is actually rated as my poorest CB but if I can keep him fit and give him some games hopefully we can emerge with a profit.

I wont give screenshots for these players signed for the reserves - Gibson, Ojrzynski, Gribbin and Kovar as they are just fodder for the U23 side lol.

I had 1 deal already lined up and that was for Dirk Proper who joined from N.E.C Nijmegen on a pre-contract deal. Cheap deal where I cant really lose really and he will be with my U23s as will Louis Munteanu who looks a decent prospect and offers extra cover as a striker.

--

HOPES FOR THE SEASON

Same as last season - Champions League spot and win a trophy - any trophy lol. To get closer to top spot pointwise would be a bonus too!
​

 

[MidKnightDreary]

Just binge-read the story, an excellent start, keep it up!

 

[Klippybo]

VIDEO - Newcastle 4-1 Everton - 1998/99 FA Cup Quarter-Final


AUGUST

FA Community Shield

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Pankov, Lascelles, Chilwell, Tonali (S.Longstaff), Palacios, Saint-Maximin (Dembele), Olmo (Ivanusec), Almiron, Silva

Well that's the trophy for the season taken care of! How we won this I don't know as at half time Liverpool had 26 shots to our 4 and by the end of the match 41 to our 9! After a hectic first 10min or so it was all about keeping them out and then on a rare foray forward Sean Longstaff fired in from the edge of the area to take the game to penalties.

It was a horrendous shoot-out as Liverpool missed 4 penalties to our 3 and it was down to Miguel Almiron to fire in the winning penalty.

--

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Pankov, Lascelles, Chilwell (Willems), Tonali (S.Longstaff), Palacios, Saint-Maximin, Olmo, Almiron (Pavon), Silva*

If our 1st 2 games of the season are anything to go by then we will be in for a rollercoaster ride. We were pretty poor in truth and got a lucky 1st goal to equalise, then we fell behind and I made a triple substitution and that changed the whole match as we stepped up several gears to bang in another 3 goals to seemingly win comfortably.

--

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Pankov, Lascelles, Chilwell, Tonali (S.Longstaff), Palacios, Saint-Maximin, Olmo (Ivanusec), Almiron*, Silva (Morelos)

When it comes to us and Man City there is only one winnner as they just cant beat us. They outshot us 22 to 12 but we still managed to get the win. Miguel Almiron scored twice - half of last seasons tally!

--

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Pankov, Lascelles, Chilwell (Willems), Tonali, Palacios, Saint-Maximin (Pavon), Olmo (Ivanusec), Almiron, Silva

From being Man City's bogey team we came up against our own here and they did a number on us again! We had 61% of possession but it didn't lead to a goal unfortunately.

--

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Pankov, Lascelles, Chilwell, Tonali (M.Longstaff), Palacios, Saint-Maximin, Olmo*, Almiron (Pavon), Silva

A fantastic performance as we rattle in 5 goals past Everton who have some great players. The best goal was Olmo's 2nd as he volleyed in from the edge of the area.

--

SUMMARY

So much to say!!! Firstly we won the Community Shield luckily by beating Liverpool on penalties after a 2-2 draw and then we went onto the league campaign. We were poor against Norwich but won 4-2. We weren't much better against Man City but won 3-2. We were far better against Arsenal but lost and then we blew Everton away 5-0 which sees us end the month top of the table which is I think the first time we have been there lol.

My new signings have struggled in truth apart from Palacios. Tonali has been hoop but has received his first Italy (Lascelles and Olmo have also been called up for their first time) call up while Chilwell also disappointed apart from the Everton game. Montes broke his hand so has been injured which gave Pankov a chance to shine and he has done alright.

Annoyingly the board increased my percentage of transfer income to 80% which was infuriating having worked all summer with a 40% cut but having said that we ended last season before the prize money etc £6m in debt and we currently have over £100m so they know best lol.

In the cup draws we have Birmingham in the Carabao Cup and we have been given a kind Champions League draw again, again drawing Bayern Munich but also Celtic and Shakhtar Donetsk.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
FABIO SILVA

--

PREMIER LEAGUE

Manager Moves

Fatih Terim is the new Wolves manager
Vladimir Weiss is the new Arsenal manager

Transfers

​

 

[Klippybo]

Just binge-read the story, an excellent start, keep it up!

Cheers - hope it didn't take too long lol

 

[MidKnightDreary]

Sorry, the same Vladmir Weiss that coaches the Georgian national team? What happened, Arsenal?

 

[Brane_Orsou]

Great start mate and was shocked to see the outgoings but some cracking replacements!

Nice to see Lewis Gibson and Ian Cathro back at the Toon as well

 

[razwy_20]

Can you post a screenshot with your finances?

 

[Mr_Grieves]

I also signed Dirk Proper at the end of season 2, well i may do #Spoileralert

 

[Klippybo]

VIDEO - Newcastle v Celtic 2006 - Alan Shearer testimonial


SEPTEMBER

Lineup - Onana, Mbabu, Pankov, Lascelles, Chilwell, Tonali, Palacios, Saint-Maximin, Olmo (Yedlin*), Almiron (Pavon), Silva

This was a hard fought win. We fell behind but quickly levelled through St.Max and went ahead when Silva converted a penalty which he won. Then Mbabu got sent-off so I sacrificed Olmo for Yedlin and he immediately fired in a stunner and ended up with the MOM award. They pulled one back but we hung on.

--

UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Onana, Yedlin, Pankov, Lascelles (Montes), Willems, S.Longstaff, M.Longstaff, Dembele (Lee Kang-In), Ivanusec, Pavon, Morelos (Bozenik)

Out came my backups and they did the job. Ivanusec missed a 2nd half penalty but he scored the winner also so I will let him off. Montes made his debut. I am even more confident in my backups this season as they largely could play in my starting XI.

--

Lineup - Onana, Yedlin, Pankov (Montes), Lascelles, Chilwell, Tonali, Palacios, Saint-Maximin (Pavon), Olmo, Almiron, Silva*

Very nice. Palacios got his first goal for the club while DeAndre Yedlin really impressed yet again.

--

Carabao Cup 3rd Round

Lineup - Onana, Yedlin*, Montes, Pankov, Willems, S.Longstaff, M.Longstaff (Proper), Dembele, Ivanusec, Pavon (Lee Kang-In), Morelos (Bozenik)

We kick-off our 2nd defence of the Carabao Cup with an easy win here. We really should have scored 5 or 6 but hey ho. Yedlin got an assist and the MOM award - he is on fire!!!

--

Lineup - Onana, Yedlin, Montes (Pankov), Lascelles*, Chilwell, Tonali, Palacios, Saint-Maximin, Olmo, Almiron (Pavon), Silva (Morelos)

The highlight of this match was Dani Olmo's goal as he fired in a free-kick from 30 yards to add a bit of gloss to the scoreline.

--

UEFA Champions League Group F

Lineup - Onana, Yedlin (Mbabu), Montes, Pankov, Willems, S.Longstaff, Palacios (M.Longstaff), Dembele, Ivanusec, Pavon, Morelos (Bozenik)

I would normally be upset at dropping 2pts against Celtic but Shakhtar drew with Bayern so we got away with it. Ivanusec scored twice while Dembele netted against his old club. I suppose at being 3-1 down and we didn't lose the match I have to be pleased.

--

SUMMARY

We had an unbeaten September and even opened up a 2pt gap at the top of the table - is a proper title challenge on the cards? If the usual suspects continue to struggle there may be as Wolves and Norwich are in the top 4!!!

I got to rotate my squad a fair bit this month with the first teamers playing in the league and the backups playing in the cups so that was good. We progressed in the Carabao Cup and once again have been given a great draw for the next round - away to League 2 side AFC Fylde!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
DEANDRE YEDLIN

--

PREMIER LEAGUE

​

 

[Klippybo]

Can you post a screenshot with your finances?

That ok for you?

Sorry, the same Vladmir Weiss that coaches the Georgian national team? What happened, Arsenal?

My bogey team (along with Liverpool) - he has amazing stats and it seems that takes over reputation lol.