Patrick Vieira - from Midfielder to Manager

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So deadline day approached and I just wanted the day to come and go! I was happy with my recruits and didn't want to spend anymore of my budget in case I needed it for January.

I also didn't really want anyone to leave either with the size of the squad you need for match-days in Italy. I wanted to just turn my phone off and shut myself away for the day but my chairman told me of a couple of offers we've received ...

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First up we received 2 loan offers from fellow Serie A sides wanting to take goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnrumma for the rest of the season.

Both Genoa and Spezia made the offer with Genoa wanting him as cover and Spezia as a first teamer.

Both offers were rejected though I want Donnarumma in our own first team. He's played the first 2 games and has done okay, making one real error but other than that was impressive.

​
Offers rejected!




We then received an offer from my old club, Newcastle ...

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They had offered £9.75 million for forward, Jeremy Menez, with £8.25 million being paid up-front.

I only see Menez playing a part off the bench this season but I still decided to reject the offer as I wouldn't have time to replace him. He's also a decent player and happy to be played as a rotation.​

Offer rejected

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The transfer deadline day also brought to end the first month of the season ...

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2 wins from 2 games is about as good as it gets!

2 totally different games with the first one being end to end and the second being a very good defensive display. In truth we were expected to win both games pretty comfortably but we have some much tougher games coming up, especially in October which is when we play some of the really big boys in the league.
​

After only 2 games played we can't really look into the league table too much but 2 wins from 2 games is pleasing enough.

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Team of the month.

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Despite us winning both the opening games, we still only had one player make it into the team of the month for August. Luca Antonelli claimed the left back slot after a goal and an assist in the first two games, he also recorded an average rating of 8.4.

Davide Zappacosta can count himself really unlucky not to make the side though. He misses out as Nenad Tomovic pips him by scoring 5 goals already from right back ... pretty impressive.​
 
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Our next game saw us take on 10th place Palermo who currently have one win and one defeat from their opening 2 games of the season.

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This will probably be our first real test of the season as the first two games should both have been comfortable wins given the opposition. Palermo only finished mid-table last season but still have dangerous players who can do us damage.

Victor Ibaro being their main threat, they also have Lacina Traore but thankfully he missed out today due to injury.

We meanwhile just make the one change as Onazi makes his return from suspension to cover Nigel De Jong who is suspended himself.
​

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A great win here as we make it 3 wins from 3.

Ogenyi Onazi made amends of his sending off on the opening day by opening the scoring after just 10 minutes. A Ljajic free-kick was only cleared as far as the edge of the area where Onazi smashed it into the roof of the net to open the scoring.

Davide Zappacosta then continued his good form by doubling our lead just before the hour mark. He took the ball past the full back on the inside and finished past the 'keeper at the near post.

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Palermo got one back 5 minutes later though and Donnarumma made his first mistake of the season. The goal has been given to Achraf Lazaar but really it should be an own goal. Lazaar had a shot towards the near post which hit the post itself and cannoned off Donnarumma and slowly rolled over the line to give Palermo a lifeline.

They had a few chances late on but we defended well to keep them out. Donnarumma made up for his earlier mistake with a fine save late on to keep us infront.
​

MAN OF THE MATCH - Davide Zappacosta

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Davide Zappacosta once again wins man of the match. A very good overall performance and a goal capping it off. He's already matched his goal return from last season.​
 
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Another very winnable game here against the team bottom of the league, and who also only finished 16th last season.

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They set up with a pretty standard 4-5-1 with their main danger men appearing to be ex Liverpool player Ryan Babel and ex Stoke midfielder, Marko Arnautovic who they signed on a free transfer in the summer.

We line up with the same side that has served us so well so far this season.

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Ljajic opened the scoring in the opening 5 minutes with a really well taken freekick from about 30 yards out which gave the 'keeper no chance.

Ryan Babel then levelled less than 15 minutes later. Our defending for this goal was absolutely shambolic, it brought back memories from the opening day of the season when we conceded 3 against Atlanta. Mangala was all over the place here as both center backs went to close down Liviu Antal out wide, he then played in Babel in the middle of the box who was completely unmarked and tucked away with ease.

We got back on track with Bacca scoring our second. Antonelli played a cross which Zappacosta met and fired in at goal, the 'keeper saved and parried it to Bacca who couldn't miss with an open goal.

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Ayoze Perez then made it 3 and scored his first goal since the opening day of the season. Ljajic whipped in the corner and Perez headed home well with a good run on his marker.

This made it 3-1 and really put the game beyond Verona who offered very little.
​

MAN OF THE MATCH - DAVIDE ZAPPACOSTA

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This makes it 3 in a row now for the right back!

Once again, Zappacosta wins man of the match with another impressive display. He set up with Bacca goal with a good effort on goal which was well saved. He was a constant threat and equally as solid at the back.​
 
Love these type of saves. I retired as Manuel Pablo and managed Deportivo on the previous FM. It was an absolute blast.
 
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The next game of the month is against Genoa who are doing well at the minute and are 7th in the league after a disappointing season last year where they finished in the bottom half.

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Genoa set up with a 3-4-3 formation which looks to be set ridiculously deep. This will make it really difficult for runners in behind and will probably make them pretty hard to break down as well.

We meanwhile went with the same team who beat Verona comfortably last time around.
​

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What a rollercoaster game!

We got the win which is all that matters but I'm getting increasingly concerned about the amount of sending off's were getting, thankfully Genoa look to have this problem as they were reduced to 9 men late on.

Zappacosta opened the scoring just after the 10th minute, sadly for us he opened the scoring by netting in the wrong goal. A cross came in from Perotti and Zappacosta headed brilliant into the top corner, he must have thought he was attacking and not defending for a minute.

Zappacosta quickly made amends as he set up Carlos Bacca 2 minutes later. Zappacosta ran to the byline and cut the ball back for Bacca to score from 6 yards out.

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The Genoa showed a bit of magic from Panagiotis Tachtsidis as the ball bounced towards him from 2 yards out, he smashed the ball on the half volley into the top corner. A great goal.

Geonoa were then recued to 10 men when Tomas Rincon was shown a second yellow, there didn't look to be too much in the challenge but it certainly helped our chances.

We levelled up the numbers though Ogenyi Onazi was shown his second red card in just 4 games this season. It was just a careless tackle, it was even in a dangerous position or anything.

It wasn't until the 80th minute though when we eventually drew level. Substitute N'baye Niang scoring his first of the season as he connected an Ayoze Perez cross which he volleyed into the back of the net.

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At Newcastle this is probably the kind of game we'd be now settling for a draw in, but that's what cost us last season so I decided to really go for the winner.

And boy did it work, Ayoze Perez with a late winner. Anotonelli putting in a cross towards the far post which Perez heads in. I'm so glad we got the winner here because we were so open and so attacking, if we hadn't have scored here then we'd have probably lost the game.

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Any chance Genoa had of getting back in the game were reduced when they went down to 9 men, Tachtsidis, who earlier scored a worldy, was shown his second yellow for a frustrated tackle on Perez.
​

MAN OF THE MATCH - DAVIDE ZAPPACOSTA

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Goals - 0
Assists - 1
Average rating - 8.3

Despite his own goal he still played very well and got yet another assist, that's his 6th of the season and 5th man of the match award.​
 
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The next game saw us take on Roma at home, our first real test of the season. Roma aren't doing brilliantly this season but did finish 4th last year.

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Roma set up with a 4-5-1 formation with Edin Dzeko leading the line.

Meanwhile we stuck with our 4-4-2 diamond formation with Nigel De Jong coming in for the suspended Onazi after he was sent off in the last game.
​

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Really pleased with this win!

It wasn't our best performance of the season by any means but we've done well to claim all 3 points and a clean sheet in the process.

The first half was pretty uneventful with Roma probably having the better bit of play and created more chances.

The second half started much the same, that was until Antonelli broke free on the left and was brought down in the area by Ramiro. Adem Ljajic stepped up and slotted away to put us 1-0.

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We still created very little after this but was given another guilt edge chance when we were awarded another penalty, for some reason though Carlos Bacca decided to take this one which was saved well by the 'keeper.

Just as I thought were going to keep it 11 v 11, Davide Zappacosta was shown his second yellow with 15 minutes to go. The amount of players we're getting sent off now is crazy! I've changed our tactics so we all ease off on the tackling but nothing is working.

Anyway, we still stuck it out well and defended for our lives late on.
​


MAN OF THE MATCH - LUCA ANTONELLI

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Goals - 0
Assists - 1
Average rating - 7.8

A good performance with the bright point being him winning the match winning penalty which Ljajic tucked away.​
 
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The final game of the month was another tricky game, this time a trip to face Napoli as 2nd play 3rd.

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We line up with the same formation but the real trouble we had was both full backs, Zappacosta and Antonelli, were both suspended. Filling the right back slot was straight forward enough as Ignazio Abate comes in and should look at home there.

The left back slot though was more difficult without a like for like replacement in the squad. I decided to go for Alessio Romagnoli to shift from center back to left back and Francesco Acerbi comes in at center back.

Napoli meanwhile go with a 4-5-1 come 4-3-3 formation with Gabriel Barbosa leading the line. He looks a good player, Barbosa but he's only scored one goal in 7 league games this season. Not really something we should have to fear.

Malcom and Callejon could also be dangermen for Napoli after a decent start to the season.
​

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Jose Callejon proved to be one of the dangermen as he opened the scoring after just 8 minutes. A long throw came in from Ghoulam which Jovanovic headed from the near post which found Callerjon at the far post who headed home to make it 1-0.

Our performance after going 1-0 down just wasn't acceptable, we were so poor and really deserved nothing from the game ... which is exactly what we got.

The only positive for us was the form of goalkeeper, Donnarumma, who really kept the score down to 1. If it wasn't for him it could easily have been 3 or 4.
​

MAN OF THE MATCH - NENAD TOMOVIC

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Goals - 0
Assists - 0
Average rating - 8.0

In a poor performance from us the only bright spark was the performance of Gianluigi Donnarumma who really kept the scoreline respectable.​
 
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The defeat against Napoli, our first of the season, brought with it the end of the month.

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On the whole I think we should be pretty happy with this month, the only disappointment being the shocking performance and defeat against Napoli.

Still, I would have taken 12 points at the start of the month!
​

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So, at the end of September and 7 games into the season, we find ourselves in 2nd place and level on points with Juventus, although they do have a game in hand.

The most pleasing part is that we're already 6 clear of Napoli in 3rd, if only we'd beaten them in the last game.

Team of the month

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Zappacosta makes the 11 after another impressive month by scoring one and assisting two.​



The other bit of news we received right at the end of the month was some injury news ...

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Thiagi Maia returning to full training after missing the first part of the season.

I had big hopes for the lad before the season started so I can't wait for him to get back playing and in the side.​
 
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Today's the big challenge, can we compete with the best in the division. 7 wins from 7 games for Juventus and 6 straight Serie A titles just shows how dominant they are.

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This is how both sides line up ...

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I was disappointed to see Mesut Ozil injured for this game as I was interested to see how he'd perform.

We line up with a similar system today only our midfield 3 has a holding role which will mean trying to contain Talisca.

There's quality everywhere in the Juventus side, the main threat though is Mario Mandzukic who already has 10 goals this season.
​

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This makes it 2 defeats in a row in a very tough trip to the Juventus stadium. The opening goal was something special as a cross came in from the right for Petar Stojanovic volley home almost Van Basten like.

We then equalised just after the half hour mark when Ayoze Perez struck the ball from the edge of the box which was deflected in and wrong footed Buffon.

We weren't on level terms for long though as Juve equalised 2 minutes later when Stokanovic scored his second. Another good strike, this time from the edge of the box which was low into the corner. If I'm being critical, Donnarumma should have done more I think.

Lucas Pratto then made it 3-1 just a few minutes later as he ghosted in between the two central defenders and finished well.

we weren't finished there though as Ayoze Perez got one back just before half time. His goal was made by a brilliant cross from Zappacosta which Perez couldn't miss from inside the 6 yard box.

We huffed and puffed in the second half without really creating much. Juventus managed the game very well and kept the ball from us.


MAN OF THE MATCH - Petar Stojanovic

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2 world class goals meant this wasn't a difficult decision.​
 
Bravo !!

I really like your thread , have read it so far , hope you 're having success in Milan and give the back pride they deserved !

By the way , I'm Learning English with the most exciting way of all ! Thank you for that |)
 
papinades said:
I really like your thread , have read it so far , hope you 're having success in Milan and give the back pride they deserved !

By the way , I'm Learning English with the most exciting way of all ! Thank you for that |)
Click to expand...

Thanks mate, I'll try haha :)
 
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Another fairly tought game against a decent side who have been struggling this season and find themselves in the bottom half.

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We now have a real problem at left back with Antonelli now sidelined for 3 weeks. Romagnoli came in at left back for the Juventus game but I'm concerned that that weakens us centrally too much. Also, I really want our full backs to push forward which Romagnoli isn't really capable of doing. So, in the end I decided to push both the full backs into midfield and play Kenedy on the left side with his main intension being watching the runners. Zappacosta also moved further forward which he's more than capable of doing.

Udinese line up with a 4-4-1-1 formation and look to have set up for the draw. Fortunately for us their main threat this season, Wilfried Zaha, is injured for this game.
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This was probably our best performance of the season! A really really good win.

We started off slowly and I actually gave the lads a bit of a bollockingat half time but they really showed me in the second half.

With about 15 minutes to go I really pushed everyone forward and brought on Bernard and Niang to go 3 up front and push forward both the wingers.

It really worked as we took the lead 2 minutes later on the 77th minute when Ayoze Perez put in a low cross for Carlos Bacca to slot home from just a couple of yards out. Bacca then doubled the lead himself after Bernard put in a fantastic cross which gave the defenders no chance, again he finished from just a few yards out.

Bernard then capped off his brilliant display with one of the best goals we've scored this season. He picked up the ball on the right hand side of the edge of the box and just smashed it into the top right far corner which gave the 'keeper no chance and made it 3-0.

It was our best performance of the season, if I was being hyper critical though, 6 shots on target from 26 attempts isn't good enough. We'll have to improve this to beat the better sides.
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MAN OF THE MATCH - CARLOS BACCA

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He's now got 5 goals this season and is tied with Perez as top scorer. I have to mention the sub performance of Bernard who really made the difference for me today and pushed for a start in the next game.​
 
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An easier game next against a Spezia side who are challenging for relegation after being promoted last season from Serie B.

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We line up with the same system that beat Udinese last time out However both Nigel De Jong and Srdjan Mijailovic were suspended for the game which meant Jose Mauri and Andrea Bertolcaai came in for the pair. I resisted from starting Bernard after an impressive sub appearance last time out simply because it would be too attacking to start with him in his favoured position.

I don't know a lot about this Spezia side who were only promoted from Serie B last season. They aren't doing badly are in 13th in the league before kick off but have lost 3 in a row before today.
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We got away with one today, we were so poor in the first half with hardly anything created. Spezia were there for the taking and only recorded 1 shot on target all game!

We didn't look dangerous until the half an hour though when Bernard, Menez and Niang came on as we really went for the win. This made us suspect to the counter but Spezia were so poor that they weren't a threat.

The opener came with just over 10 minutes to go, it's gone down as an own goal but Jeremy Menez deserves the credit for it. It was hit effort which hit the post and then cannoned back of the 'keeper and into the back of the net.

Carlos Bacca then carried on his good form to double our lead. Bernard became creator again as his brilliant cross finished right on Bacca's head and into the top corner.
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MAN OF THE MATCH - ANDREA BERTOLACCI

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His first start due to the suspensions to De Jong and Mijailovic, really pushing to start next time around.​
 
Looking good man keep up ! Will you try to bring El Shaarawy back ? He is one of my favorite players !! I also like your tactic. I am sick of using tactics with four defenders and I support anyone who does the same!
 
kolas79 said:
Looking good man keep up ! Will you try to bring El Shaarawy back ? He is one of my favorite players !! I also like your tactic. I am sick of using tactics with four defenders and I support anyone who does the same!
Click to expand...

Thanks mate :) Id love to bring El Shaarawy back but I doubt it's possible. He's just moved to Madrid for nearly £40 million!!

I'm the same mate, i love attacking full backs which we seem to have here anyway :)
 
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