Reviving Deportivo La Coruña
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Hi, I have been a silent follower, Must say amazing work
Thanks!
MrWisdoman
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Awesome Work Keep it coming man
Awesome Work Keep it coming man
Thanks, mate!
September 2017 - Our first Champions League game in years!
This was a very strong month. We had a few poor results, but two results in particular completely wiped the frowns off our faces. Firstly, we have some news to report on Baptistão:
View attachment 197564
Leo's great form for us had culminated in him opting for Spain over Brazil, much like Diego Costa did. And on his first game he scored four goals! Really happy for him. That's another fully capped international in our squad. Here's to a few more!
Now, I know you're all dying to see how we did in our first CL game and against Barcelona so here are the results:
View attachment 197565
A quick glance will tell you that, despite a couple of blips, we had an immense month. Starting at home to Eibar...
View attachment 197563
This was a frustrating game. We certainly had the sufficient amount of shots to win it, but nothing was happening from open play whatsoever. Alas, our goal came from a calmly struck Jonjo Shelvey penalty (won by Baptistão) to spare our blushes against an equally poor Eibar. Not the greatest way to start the month. As you can see, we made three first-half substitutions. All injuries, all out for 4 weeks:
Considering the key men that suffered the injuries (our star right-back and first choice wingers), I still cannot believe how well we played this month.
I was mightily impressed with our regen, Samson, who made his club debut at centre-back aged 16 and did not look out of place whatsoever. He also broke a record:
I played him to keep Arribas fit for Dynamo. He has now been loaned out, but I can see him coming good for the club in the following seasons.
Dynamo Kyiv, we meet again...
Dynamo defeated us twice last season... and returned the favour yet again. Iturbe continued to destroy us and we were left powerless to their dominance. Borges' volley from range, following a short pass from Laure, was the only memorable thing of a very poor night in our first CL game. One to forget for sure.
Barcelona away...
This was an epic result. Despite Barcelona's constant hassling of our defence, we stood our ground and only allowed a Lionel Messi free-kick to hurt us. From open play, we were great - even beating Barcelona in possession! Shelvey's lovely long-ranger was laid off beautifully by Baptistão after a mazy run. To go to the Camp Nou and get a point is something only very few teams can do every season. With just three shots on target, we managed to draw. This turned our month around.
Almeria away...
Far from perfect, but we'll take the three points and our first clean-sheet of the month! It was a very tight game with both sides defending quite well. All that was needed was a Baptistão tap-in after Shelvey's low cross for us to run away with the points. Other than that, this was a largely uneventful match.
Levante at home...
If I was clutching at straws, I'd say "two clean-sheets in a row!" but let's be honest: this is a terrible result. At home to a side that did not once trouble us, with 17 shots at goal, is very disappointing. We should have won and are falling into the same trap of drawing far too regularly. Sure, it keeps us unbeaten, but we've had two draws this month at home that should have been wins. Admittedly, Laure's sending off hurt our chances of winning. But my decision to rest San Emeterio would come to our benefit in the final game of the month...
Roma away...
We just went away to one of the best teams in Italy, in our first season of the Champions League, and defeated them WITH a clean-sheet to boot. Wow! I'm still shocked by this result. Our defensive performance was flawless. Fabricio made some great saves and the entire defence worked as a unit to keep Roma at bay. At the other end, Baptistão's powerful header from a Fabián corner was enough to send us home happy. This result has given us huge hopes of qualification. Fingers crossed, eh? Baptistão keeps scoring/assisting important goals. What a signing he has turned out to be.
League tables:
We remain unbeaten in six games, still third in the league.
Champions League:
If the group ends like this, it will be a huge underdog story.
Shelvey scored two hugely important goals, assisted another and had an overall fantastic month. I love how determined he is to produce when we need someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck. He has certainly gone down well with the fans and myself.
Next month, MORE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE! Forza Depor!
This was a very strong month. We had a few poor results, but two results in particular completely wiped the frowns off our faces. Firstly, we have some news to report on Baptistão:
View attachment 197564
Leo's great form for us had culminated in him opting for Spain over Brazil, much like Diego Costa did. And on his first game he scored four goals! Really happy for him. That's another fully capped international in our squad. Here's to a few more!
Now, I know you're all dying to see how we did in our first CL game and against Barcelona so here are the results:
View attachment 197565
A quick glance will tell you that, despite a couple of blips, we had an immense month. Starting at home to Eibar...
View attachment 197563
This was a frustrating game. We certainly had the sufficient amount of shots to win it, but nothing was happening from open play whatsoever. Alas, our goal came from a calmly struck Jonjo Shelvey penalty (won by Baptistão) to spare our blushes against an equally poor Eibar. Not the greatest way to start the month. As you can see, we made three first-half substitutions. All injuries, all out for 4 weeks:
Considering the key men that suffered the injuries (our star right-back and first choice wingers), I still cannot believe how well we played this month.
I was mightily impressed with our regen, Samson, who made his club debut at centre-back aged 16 and did not look out of place whatsoever. He also broke a record:
I played him to keep Arribas fit for Dynamo. He has now been loaned out, but I can see him coming good for the club in the following seasons.
Dynamo Kyiv, we meet again...
Dynamo defeated us twice last season... and returned the favour yet again. Iturbe continued to destroy us and we were left powerless to their dominance. Borges' volley from range, following a short pass from Laure, was the only memorable thing of a very poor night in our first CL game. One to forget for sure.
Barcelona away...
This was an epic result. Despite Barcelona's constant hassling of our defence, we stood our ground and only allowed a Lionel Messi free-kick to hurt us. From open play, we were great - even beating Barcelona in possession! Shelvey's lovely long-ranger was laid off beautifully by Baptistão after a mazy run. To go to the Camp Nou and get a point is something only very few teams can do every season. With just three shots on target, we managed to draw. This turned our month around.
Almeria away...
Far from perfect, but we'll take the three points and our first clean-sheet of the month! It was a very tight game with both sides defending quite well. All that was needed was a Baptistão tap-in after Shelvey's low cross for us to run away with the points. Other than that, this was a largely uneventful match.
Levante at home...
If I was clutching at straws, I'd say "two clean-sheets in a row!" but let's be honest: this is a terrible result. At home to a side that did not once trouble us, with 17 shots at goal, is very disappointing. We should have won and are falling into the same trap of drawing far too regularly. Sure, it keeps us unbeaten, but we've had two draws this month at home that should have been wins. Admittedly, Laure's sending off hurt our chances of winning. But my decision to rest San Emeterio would come to our benefit in the final game of the month...
Roma away...
We just went away to one of the best teams in Italy, in our first season of the Champions League, and defeated them WITH a clean-sheet to boot. Wow! I'm still shocked by this result. Our defensive performance was flawless. Fabricio made some great saves and the entire defence worked as a unit to keep Roma at bay. At the other end, Baptistão's powerful header from a Fabián corner was enough to send us home happy. This result has given us huge hopes of qualification. Fingers crossed, eh? Baptistão keeps scoring/assisting important goals. What a signing he has turned out to be.
League tables:
We remain unbeaten in six games, still third in the league.
Champions League:
If the group ends like this, it will be a huge underdog story.
Shelvey scored two hugely important goals, assisted another and had an overall fantastic month. I love how determined he is to produce when we need someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck. He has certainly gone down well with the fans and myself.
Next month, MORE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE! Forza Depor!
October 2017 - Rotation is hurting us
This was another strong month where we avoided defeat in most places. We're still struggling to, at times, convert petty draws into wins. It's hard when you're constantly rotating, though. Here are this month's results:
View attachment 197304
As you can see, we remain unbeaten in the league but suffered another loss in Europe. Starting with the big derby, let's look at Celta away...
This point belongs to Baptistão and Baptistão alone. He was ballsy all game, opening the scoring in the 7th minute and then rescuing a draw in the final minute. His performance was crucial to making it 5 games unbeaten vs Celta since my arrival. This was the toughest they've been but we still avoided defeat. All four goals were headers. Austin scored two, leaping above a poor Insua, inside 30 minutes of the first-half. Baptistão prospered from a Labyad cross and then a textbook San Emeterio one to preserve our unbeaten run. Far from perfect, but we'll take the draw.
Granada at home...
This was one of our poorest performances of the season, yet somehow we ran away with 3 points. Labyad's simple tap-in was enough to bury a Granada side that relentlessly attacked us after Laure was stupidly sent off in the 18th minute for a horror tackle. Not much else to say about this game, although the defensive performance was top notch once again.
We found out who we'll be playing in the Copa del Rey:
Sporting Lisbon at home...
Despite rotating, this was so close to being back-to-back Champions League wins. Mora's 87th minute goal denied what was a strong all-round performance; I can't fault my players at all. Labyad scored again - this time against his former team - to put us in a lead that we defended for 72 minutes. A very disappointing end result, but it's another point toward our CL dream.
Sporting Gijon away...
We rotated again and suffered a draw. I suppose I can't complain - a club of our stature shouldn't be competing on so many fronts: at least not for now. Baptistão scored late again to deny us from losing. It was ANOTHER header following Lucas' cross. We struggled to create because of the rotation in midfield and attack.
Villarreal home...
Long-term readers of this series will know that Villarreal are our bogey team. Even if we beat them, it isn't without struggles. They're tough to contain. But we did a great job here, conceding only once and gaining 3 points. Baptistão scored against his former club early on with a nice volley after San Emeterio's cross. Mosquera then scored his second goal for the club(!) from a long-range laid-off free-kick. It was something i had never seen on FM. I'll try to upload the video in my end of season recap if it wins goal of the season! Despite Ideye's goal for Villarreal, we defended very well and prevented them chances inside our box. Arribas was flawless.
Cordoba away...
This is what happens when your fixture list congests and your players start to get tired toward the end of games. Despite our explosive start where Lucas scored from a tight angle and Arribas a header, we were pegged back twice and rendered useless due to a lack of energy. We attacked very little and were comfortable to move the ball around slowly. Our lethargy hurt us and we dropped points against a newly-promoted side. Awful result.
Sporting away...
It was always going to be tough away at Sporting, but we didn't even put up a fight. They rolled us over with consummate ease and no positives can be taken from this horrendous performance. Our attack was laughable. If not for Fabricio's strong saves, we could have lost by six easily.
We've dropped down to 4th in the league and 3rd in the CL. Still trying to find a balance. If we lose vs Dynamo, we're out of the CL. Next month will be huge.
There were no real consistent or standout performances this month, so Baptistão takes the award purely for his important late goals early in the month. Not much else to say.
Next month, find out if we get knocked out of the Champions League and if we can turn around our fortunes in the league. 'Til then! Forza Depor!
This was another strong month where we avoided defeat in most places. We're still struggling to, at times, convert petty draws into wins. It's hard when you're constantly rotating, though. Here are this month's results:
View attachment 197304
As you can see, we remain unbeaten in the league but suffered another loss in Europe. Starting with the big derby, let's look at Celta away...
This point belongs to Baptistão and Baptistão alone. He was ballsy all game, opening the scoring in the 7th minute and then rescuing a draw in the final minute. His performance was crucial to making it 5 games unbeaten vs Celta since my arrival. This was the toughest they've been but we still avoided defeat. All four goals were headers. Austin scored two, leaping above a poor Insua, inside 30 minutes of the first-half. Baptistão prospered from a Labyad cross and then a textbook San Emeterio one to preserve our unbeaten run. Far from perfect, but we'll take the draw.
Granada at home...
This was one of our poorest performances of the season, yet somehow we ran away with 3 points. Labyad's simple tap-in was enough to bury a Granada side that relentlessly attacked us after Laure was stupidly sent off in the 18th minute for a horror tackle. Not much else to say about this game, although the defensive performance was top notch once again.
We found out who we'll be playing in the Copa del Rey:
Sporting Lisbon at home...
Despite rotating, this was so close to being back-to-back Champions League wins. Mora's 87th minute goal denied what was a strong all-round performance; I can't fault my players at all. Labyad scored again - this time against his former team - to put us in a lead that we defended for 72 minutes. A very disappointing end result, but it's another point toward our CL dream.
Sporting Gijon away...
We rotated again and suffered a draw. I suppose I can't complain - a club of our stature shouldn't be competing on so many fronts: at least not for now. Baptistão scored late again to deny us from losing. It was ANOTHER header following Lucas' cross. We struggled to create because of the rotation in midfield and attack.
Villarreal home...
Long-term readers of this series will know that Villarreal are our bogey team. Even if we beat them, it isn't without struggles. They're tough to contain. But we did a great job here, conceding only once and gaining 3 points. Baptistão scored against his former club early on with a nice volley after San Emeterio's cross. Mosquera then scored his second goal for the club(!) from a long-range laid-off free-kick. It was something i had never seen on FM. I'll try to upload the video in my end of season recap if it wins goal of the season! Despite Ideye's goal for Villarreal, we defended very well and prevented them chances inside our box. Arribas was flawless.
Cordoba away...
This is what happens when your fixture list congests and your players start to get tired toward the end of games. Despite our explosive start where Lucas scored from a tight angle and Arribas a header, we were pegged back twice and rendered useless due to a lack of energy. We attacked very little and were comfortable to move the ball around slowly. Our lethargy hurt us and we dropped points against a newly-promoted side. Awful result.
Sporting away...
It was always going to be tough away at Sporting, but we didn't even put up a fight. They rolled us over with consummate ease and no positives can be taken from this horrendous performance. Our attack was laughable. If not for Fabricio's strong saves, we could have lost by six easily.
We've dropped down to 4th in the league and 3rd in the CL. Still trying to find a balance. If we lose vs Dynamo, we're out of the CL. Next month will be huge.
There were no real consistent or standout performances this month, so Baptistão takes the award purely for his important late goals early in the month. Not much else to say.
Next month, find out if we get knocked out of the Champions League and if we can turn around our fortunes in the league. 'Til then! Forza Depor!
As I said at the start of the season, my target is to finish top 6!
November 2017 - Do we go through the group stages?
We experienced another unbeaten month, which is great. Performances were really good and we started to convert those pesky draws into wins. Results below:
View attachment 196937
Was that draw vs Dynamo Kyiv enough? We'll find out later on. Let's start with Rayo at home!
Our biggest win - and the most convincing one - of the season. Without Lucas and Baptistão, we still dominated in attack and that is a huge positive for us: it means rotation in attack can sometimes be a good thing. San Emeterio's cross was headed in by Borré, and then our Colombian striker latched onto a gorgeous through ball from Corredera to make it 2-0 before half-time. Borré turned provider in the second-half, squaring the ball for Labyad to tap in with ease. Insua ended the rout with a fine header from a Fabián corner. A great 3 points!
Shelvey out for 5-6 weeks. Our most important midfielder this season. Just have to hope that we cope well without him. A good chance for Mosquera/Dominguez to step up and show me their worth.
Real Sociedad away...
View attachment 196933
That pesky Antonio Luna sending off really prevented us from turning this even game around. Despite Real Sociedad's early goal, we continued to attack with belief of turning the game around. Lucas scored a stunning free-kick to breathe life into the side. Luna's second yellow left us powerless to Real Sociedad's overrunning of our midfield. In the end, a draw was a very good point.
Dynamo Kyiv away...
Argh, this one seriously hurt. Dynamo had more chances + shots on target, but this was the best I had seen us defend for ages. Everyone was perfect in defence. Unfortunately, a wonder goal from Junior Moraes cancelled out Borges' long range strike and... knocked us out of the Champions League. I think our time in the CL was (overall) quite positive. We played extremely well vs Sporting, Roma and in this game. We still have one more left, but are mathematically incapable of qualifying - we can still get a Europa League spot though.
If we draw against Roma, we will cement a Europa League spot. I'd be very happy with that.
Espanyol at home...
Ok, this was an insane game where Espanyol were wildly clinical and we were simply too powerful for them in attack. The game swung back-to-back and it was exciting (if a bit scary, too). 2-0 down after 29 minutes, 2-2 at half-time courtesy of headers from Saúl and Baptistão (assisted by San Emeterio and Lucas). Then we found ourselves 3-2 up after Labyad tapped in another San Emeterio cross, only to be pegged back 3-3 12 minutes later. Fabián followed up with a fine finish across the goalkeeper after Mosquera's long ball. That goal was enough for us to change the mentality of the game and defend a 4-3 lead. An electrifying 3 points and strong way to bounce back from CL disappointment.
Ebro away...
We rotated heavily, but not too much. I didn't want us to give Ebro even a chance of getting anything from this game. To their credit, they defended extremely well and we struggled to break them down several times. Corredera's long range strike after Dominguez's lay-off was something special. Left-back, Luna, scored his first Depor goal 20 minutes before time despite Laure's sending off. It was a positive way to end a game that was looking like a cheap 1-0 win against a side considerably smaller than us. Overall, 2-0 win away from home. We should decimate them at the Riazor.
League table:
Back up to third, still unbeaten: 7W 7D. It's looking eerily similar to last season!
Corredera was perfect in Shelvey's absence. He kept us ticking in midfield, scored some goals and assisted too. I can't get over how good he has become. Two years ago, he was just a kid in the academy who I took a plunge on. Now, he's one of our most important players and still only 21!
Next month we play Roma to secure Europa League status, the 2nd leg of our Copa del Rey tie and Real Madrid. It should be fun! 'Til then! Forza Depor!
We experienced another unbeaten month, which is great. Performances were really good and we started to convert those pesky draws into wins. Results below:
View attachment 196937
Was that draw vs Dynamo Kyiv enough? We'll find out later on. Let's start with Rayo at home!
Our biggest win - and the most convincing one - of the season. Without Lucas and Baptistão, we still dominated in attack and that is a huge positive for us: it means rotation in attack can sometimes be a good thing. San Emeterio's cross was headed in by Borré, and then our Colombian striker latched onto a gorgeous through ball from Corredera to make it 2-0 before half-time. Borré turned provider in the second-half, squaring the ball for Labyad to tap in with ease. Insua ended the rout with a fine header from a Fabián corner. A great 3 points!
Shelvey out for 5-6 weeks. Our most important midfielder this season. Just have to hope that we cope well without him. A good chance for Mosquera/Dominguez to step up and show me their worth.
Real Sociedad away...
View attachment 196933
That pesky Antonio Luna sending off really prevented us from turning this even game around. Despite Real Sociedad's early goal, we continued to attack with belief of turning the game around. Lucas scored a stunning free-kick to breathe life into the side. Luna's second yellow left us powerless to Real Sociedad's overrunning of our midfield. In the end, a draw was a very good point.
Dynamo Kyiv away...
Argh, this one seriously hurt. Dynamo had more chances + shots on target, but this was the best I had seen us defend for ages. Everyone was perfect in defence. Unfortunately, a wonder goal from Junior Moraes cancelled out Borges' long range strike and... knocked us out of the Champions League. I think our time in the CL was (overall) quite positive. We played extremely well vs Sporting, Roma and in this game. We still have one more left, but are mathematically incapable of qualifying - we can still get a Europa League spot though.
If we draw against Roma, we will cement a Europa League spot. I'd be very happy with that.
Espanyol at home...
Ok, this was an insane game where Espanyol were wildly clinical and we were simply too powerful for them in attack. The game swung back-to-back and it was exciting (if a bit scary, too). 2-0 down after 29 minutes, 2-2 at half-time courtesy of headers from Saúl and Baptistão (assisted by San Emeterio and Lucas). Then we found ourselves 3-2 up after Labyad tapped in another San Emeterio cross, only to be pegged back 3-3 12 minutes later. Fabián followed up with a fine finish across the goalkeeper after Mosquera's long ball. That goal was enough for us to change the mentality of the game and defend a 4-3 lead. An electrifying 3 points and strong way to bounce back from CL disappointment.
Ebro away...
We rotated heavily, but not too much. I didn't want us to give Ebro even a chance of getting anything from this game. To their credit, they defended extremely well and we struggled to break them down several times. Corredera's long range strike after Dominguez's lay-off was something special. Left-back, Luna, scored his first Depor goal 20 minutes before time despite Laure's sending off. It was a positive way to end a game that was looking like a cheap 1-0 win against a side considerably smaller than us. Overall, 2-0 win away from home. We should decimate them at the Riazor.
League table:
Back up to third, still unbeaten: 7W 7D. It's looking eerily similar to last season!
Corredera was perfect in Shelvey's absence. He kept us ticking in midfield, scored some goals and assisted too. I can't get over how good he has become. Two years ago, he was just a kid in the academy who I took a plunge on. Now, he's one of our most important players and still only 21!
Next month we play Roma to secure Europa League status, the 2nd leg of our Copa del Rey tie and Real Madrid. It should be fun! 'Til then! Forza Depor!
DreamTempest
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Very nice progress! And poor Rayo always struggling
As for Depor well I passionately support anything Galician (including Celta (6) ). I hope your Depor game starts an era of galician domination on La Liga.
As for Depor well I passionately support anything Galician (including Celta (6) ). I hope your Depor game starts an era of galician domination on La Liga.
Very nice progress! And poor Rayo always struggling
As for Depor well I passionately support anything Galician (including Celta (6) ). I hope your Depor game starts an era of galician domination on La Liga.
Let's hope so! Us Gallegos are doing well this season in real life: Depor, Celta, Lugo & Pontevedra all having good seasons!
December 2017 - securing Europa League football?
We had a very, very strong month once again. We won some big games! Results here:
View attachment 196686
As you can see, we beat Roma once again which secures Europa League football. We knocked two past Ebro again to go through to the 5th round of the Copa. In the league, we suffered our first loss which was wildly disappointing but we made up for it with two smashing wins. Let's take a look at that loss first:
View attachment 196685
We shout ourselves in the foot against Valencia. It was a very tight and evenly-contested game, as you can see by the stats. We struggled to break them down and create chances due to San Emeterio's suspension (we had to start Laure). Due to this, they opened the scoring in the 27th minute. We kept knocking and knocking until, 19 minutes from time, substitutes Saúl and Baptistão linked up to equalise. It would have been a good point, but Laure foolishly got sent off with 10 minutes to go. Valencia piled on the pressure with substitutes and proceeded to score in the 90th minute. Our first loss of the season and it's completely down to us.
Roma at home...
To finish 3rd in our first CL season - with teams like Roma, Sporting and Dynamo - is a positive thing. We're still growing. Two wins against Roma is a highlight, though. Saúl's volley credited our dominance with a goal. A strong way to bounce back and secure European football. Roma failed to score against us in 180 minutes! Here's who we drew in the Europa League:
Argh, this one will be tough. We've been getting some stupidly tough ties in recent seasons. I'm not expecting much, but we will work our socks off to progress to the next round.
More money?
Woohoo... what an increase...
Sevilla away...
This was crazy. We were super clinical and couldn't help but engage in a back-to-back encounter of explosive attacking! 1-0 up, 2-1 down, 3-2 up... and then it ends 4-3 to us. Have to credit the players for their strong mentality to bounce back several times. Labyad was superb, assisting twice and scoring. Baptistão kept up his great record with ANOTHER header. Borges covered for Shelvey with a good penalty and our captain, Lucas, put the game beyond Sevilla with a tight-angled finish. A rollercoaster performance, but we'll take the 3 points.
Ebro at home...
Another 2-0 win against Ebro after rotating *fairly* heavily. We weren't anything good and it was quite a tepid performance, but Borré's brace was enough to down the Segunda B side. They missed a penalty, too, with Matt Ingram making a strong save. In other news, Shelvey is back! Off we go to the next round where we will play...
It's like the footballing Gods don't want us to win anything! If we somehow do go through, we could face Celta which would be amazing. Let's keep the faith...!
Betis at home...
Another WILD encounter. Betis were very strong in front of goal and caused us a tough evening. It shouldn't have been this difficult. Labyad kept up his fine form by opening the scoring, prospering from a cutthroat Corredera pass. Rochina equalised for Betis a few minutes later, only to have his goal deemed irrelevant when Corredera played another strong pass to Lucas for 2-1. Borges missed a penalty to cement our lead early on. Lucas would then score with a nice finish after Borges' pass, which gave us a cushion for error when Rochina scored. Betis failed to break us down further. A dodgy, erratic 3 points but they're ours. We don't care how the come.
Atleti at home...
Another tight game, but we had better control over this one. Labyad just keeps on impressing, especially with a stunning free-kick to equalise the game after Koke's early goal. San Emeterio and Baptistão linked up for a textbook combination whereby the right-back crosses the ball beautifully and the striker glides a header across the goalkeeper. It always pays off. Labyad secured the 3 points and 3-1 with a simple tap-in from a San Emeterio whipped cross. Despite Atleti's last charge for an equaliser - via Carrillo's goal - we just shut up shop and kept them out. Our first win vs Atleti in my 3-year tenure at the club!
League tables...
View attachment 196675
Still third - shame about losing our unbeaten run. Barça are now the only side to have not yet suffered a defeat. We're only 9 points off top, which is crazy!
8 points in this group is a good feat, I'd say. Off to Europa we go!
Our Moroccan maverick was something else this month. He scored important goals that contributed to multiple victories. He is a very special player and it's hard to believe that he doesn't belong to us. As much as I loved Taarabt last season, this guy just seems a cut above with his productivity.
Next month, tune in to see if we made some signings in the January window and how those Copa legs vs Barcelona pan out. It should be an insane month. Forza Depor!
We had a very, very strong month once again. We won some big games! Results here:
View attachment 196686
As you can see, we beat Roma once again which secures Europa League football. We knocked two past Ebro again to go through to the 5th round of the Copa. In the league, we suffered our first loss which was wildly disappointing but we made up for it with two smashing wins. Let's take a look at that loss first:
We shout ourselves in the foot against Valencia. It was a very tight and evenly-contested game, as you can see by the stats. We struggled to break them down and create chances due to San Emeterio's suspension (we had to start Laure). Due to this, they opened the scoring in the 27th minute. We kept knocking and knocking until, 19 minutes from time, substitutes Saúl and Baptistão linked up to equalise. It would have been a good point, but Laure foolishly got sent off with 10 minutes to go. Valencia piled on the pressure with substitutes and proceeded to score in the 90th minute. Our first loss of the season and it's completely down to us.
Roma at home...
To finish 3rd in our first CL season - with teams like Roma, Sporting and Dynamo - is a positive thing. We're still growing. Two wins against Roma is a highlight, though. Saúl's volley credited our dominance with a goal. A strong way to bounce back and secure European football. Roma failed to score against us in 180 minutes! Here's who we drew in the Europa League:
Argh, this one will be tough. We've been getting some stupidly tough ties in recent seasons. I'm not expecting much, but we will work our socks off to progress to the next round.
More money?
Woohoo... what an increase...
Sevilla away...
This was crazy. We were super clinical and couldn't help but engage in a back-to-back encounter of explosive attacking! 1-0 up, 2-1 down, 3-2 up... and then it ends 4-3 to us. Have to credit the players for their strong mentality to bounce back several times. Labyad was superb, assisting twice and scoring. Baptistão kept up his great record with ANOTHER header. Borges covered for Shelvey with a good penalty and our captain, Lucas, put the game beyond Sevilla with a tight-angled finish. A rollercoaster performance, but we'll take the 3 points.
Ebro at home...
Another 2-0 win against Ebro after rotating *fairly* heavily. We weren't anything good and it was quite a tepid performance, but Borré's brace was enough to down the Segunda B side. They missed a penalty, too, with Matt Ingram making a strong save. In other news, Shelvey is back! Off we go to the next round where we will play...
It's like the footballing Gods don't want us to win anything! If we somehow do go through, we could face Celta which would be amazing. Let's keep the faith...!
Betis at home...
Another WILD encounter. Betis were very strong in front of goal and caused us a tough evening. It shouldn't have been this difficult. Labyad kept up his fine form by opening the scoring, prospering from a cutthroat Corredera pass. Rochina equalised for Betis a few minutes later, only to have his goal deemed irrelevant when Corredera played another strong pass to Lucas for 2-1. Borges missed a penalty to cement our lead early on. Lucas would then score with a nice finish after Borges' pass, which gave us a cushion for error when Rochina scored. Betis failed to break us down further. A dodgy, erratic 3 points but they're ours. We don't care how the come.
Atleti at home...
Another tight game, but we had better control over this one. Labyad just keeps on impressing, especially with a stunning free-kick to equalise the game after Koke's early goal. San Emeterio and Baptistão linked up for a textbook combination whereby the right-back crosses the ball beautifully and the striker glides a header across the goalkeeper. It always pays off. Labyad secured the 3 points and 3-1 with a simple tap-in from a San Emeterio whipped cross. Despite Atleti's last charge for an equaliser - via Carrillo's goal - we just shut up shop and kept them out. Our first win vs Atleti in my 3-year tenure at the club!
League tables...
View attachment 196675
Still third - shame about losing our unbeaten run. Barça are now the only side to have not yet suffered a defeat. We're only 9 points off top, which is crazy!
8 points in this group is a good feat, I'd say. Off to Europa we go!
Our Moroccan maverick was something else this month. He scored important goals that contributed to multiple victories. He is a very special player and it's hard to believe that he doesn't belong to us. As much as I loved Taarabt last season, this guy just seems a cut above with his productivity.
Next month, tune in to see if we made some signings in the January window and how those Copa legs vs Barcelona pan out. It should be an insane month. Forza Depor!
January 2018 - Copa del Rey success?
As it is January, before we jump into the results, I'd like to show off two new signings. These guys were both signed on a free, meaning the join in the summer. Let's start off with the first guy:
Laure has been an utter liability this season and, aged 32, he is not getting any better. It forces San Emeterio to play every single game and he is often super tired to play back-to-back. I decided to sign Roberto Correa on a 3-year deal. He's happy to play back up and only wanted 9k-a-week. His stats far exceed Laure's:
He's a fairly decent player. I can't complain, especially because of how cheap we snapped him up. He will give San Emeterio a good rest every now and then next season. A necessary signing.
Our next signing joins after the realisation that Sidnei just isn't good enough anymore. We've had him on loan for three seasons and he's just not our level anymore. Again, it makes resting Insua/Arribas very tough plus he's getting on. Once he returns to Benfica, this guy will be taking his place:
Vergara was a perfect signing. Happy to play rotation, only 23 years of age, free agent and on 9k too. He is very talented:
It wouldn't surprise me if Vergara had a run of games next season where he shines as our brightest defender. He certainly has the ability and quality to do so.
We made some renewals:
He's been our best midfielder for two years running and thoroughly deserves a wage rise. At just 21, it's staggering how quickly he's become one of our finest players. And he's a product of the academy! Still only earning 13k but with a nice release clause of 7.25m.
Lastly, before we jump into the results:
Deivid was our first ever signing with me as manager and he's quietly gone about his business in that defensive-midfield role. He wasn't asking for many wages + his contract was expiring in 6 months. It was a no-brainer to extend his contract: he's our most accurate passer, our only natural anchor + he can cover at CB if needs be. A more important player than stats will ever show.
Now, onto the results:
View attachment 196273
As you can see, we played some big boys this month and didn't have the greatest of results all-round. Without spoiling much, let's dive into the first game: Barcelona away in the 1st leg of the Copa.
What. A. Result. Every time Barcelona hit us, we hit them back at twice the speed. This was end-to-end and we were by far the more clinical side. Lucas just loves playing against the big sides. His two goals were expertly taken chances courtesy of a Baptistão lay-off and San Emeterio low cross. Labyad latched onto a Corredera through ball to score his goal, while Baptistão decided to score his goal from a header. Guess who crossed it? San Emeterio, yes. Fabián also profited from Corredera's generosity to finalise the rout. Unreal performance!
Real Madrid away...
Hard to ask the boys to repeat the magnificent performance we had vs Barcelona here. It was asking too much and we were rightly thumped. Had to rotate a tad bit for the 2nd leg, too. It was unfortunate to have played Real Madrid on this particular day as, without a Copa to concentrate on, I think we could have challenged them a lot more.
Barcelona 2nd leg at home...
An own-goal and late goal dump us out of the tournament after our heroics in the first leg. I thought we were going to do it. Even at 2-0 down, I was already looking to defend the away goal lead. Messi's late goal killed us. The most annoying thing was that we had the chances to score just one goal. That's all we needed. One goal. Oh well, it gives us a chance to focus on the Europa League and La Liga, right...?
Malaga at home...
Far from convincing, but can't blame these guys. The previous result was disheartening. I'm just delighted we could get the three points. Jonjo Shelvey's rocket long-ranger was enough to win us the game with 30 minutes to play. Little else happened in the game.
Athletic away...
We're struggling to cope with low fitness and that is showing through performance levels. We just struggle to do much in second halves. This game was more of the same. Lucas' early goal was cut out by Williams' in the 30th minute and that pretty much wrapped things up. It was tight, both sides defend well, and the game ended up evenly contested in midfield. A poor result, but at least we didn't lose.
Eibar away...
Pretty much the same story as in the previous game. Very few clear-cut chances created either way, but we defended quite well and avoided defeat. This month has been one to forget as a whole.
League table:
As suspected, we drop down to 4th place after suffering our 2nd loss of the season in the league + two disappointing draws. I'm sure this rut won't continue.
Next month, we play Porto in the Europa League and attempt to balance that with league football. Will we plummet down the table or rise once again? Forza Depor!
As it is January, before we jump into the results, I'd like to show off two new signings. These guys were both signed on a free, meaning the join in the summer. Let's start off with the first guy:
Laure has been an utter liability this season and, aged 32, he is not getting any better. It forces San Emeterio to play every single game and he is often super tired to play back-to-back. I decided to sign Roberto Correa on a 3-year deal. He's happy to play back up and only wanted 9k-a-week. His stats far exceed Laure's:
He's a fairly decent player. I can't complain, especially because of how cheap we snapped him up. He will give San Emeterio a good rest every now and then next season. A necessary signing.
Our next signing joins after the realisation that Sidnei just isn't good enough anymore. We've had him on loan for three seasons and he's just not our level anymore. Again, it makes resting Insua/Arribas very tough plus he's getting on. Once he returns to Benfica, this guy will be taking his place:
Vergara was a perfect signing. Happy to play rotation, only 23 years of age, free agent and on 9k too. He is very talented:
It wouldn't surprise me if Vergara had a run of games next season where he shines as our brightest defender. He certainly has the ability and quality to do so.
We made some renewals:
He's been our best midfielder for two years running and thoroughly deserves a wage rise. At just 21, it's staggering how quickly he's become one of our finest players. And he's a product of the academy! Still only earning 13k but with a nice release clause of 7.25m.
Lastly, before we jump into the results:
Deivid was our first ever signing with me as manager and he's quietly gone about his business in that defensive-midfield role. He wasn't asking for many wages + his contract was expiring in 6 months. It was a no-brainer to extend his contract: he's our most accurate passer, our only natural anchor + he can cover at CB if needs be. A more important player than stats will ever show.
Now, onto the results:
View attachment 196273
As you can see, we played some big boys this month and didn't have the greatest of results all-round. Without spoiling much, let's dive into the first game: Barcelona away in the 1st leg of the Copa.
What. A. Result. Every time Barcelona hit us, we hit them back at twice the speed. This was end-to-end and we were by far the more clinical side. Lucas just loves playing against the big sides. His two goals were expertly taken chances courtesy of a Baptistão lay-off and San Emeterio low cross. Labyad latched onto a Corredera through ball to score his goal, while Baptistão decided to score his goal from a header. Guess who crossed it? San Emeterio, yes. Fabián also profited from Corredera's generosity to finalise the rout. Unreal performance!
Real Madrid away...
Hard to ask the boys to repeat the magnificent performance we had vs Barcelona here. It was asking too much and we were rightly thumped. Had to rotate a tad bit for the 2nd leg, too. It was unfortunate to have played Real Madrid on this particular day as, without a Copa to concentrate on, I think we could have challenged them a lot more.
Barcelona 2nd leg at home...
An own-goal and late goal dump us out of the tournament after our heroics in the first leg. I thought we were going to do it. Even at 2-0 down, I was already looking to defend the away goal lead. Messi's late goal killed us. The most annoying thing was that we had the chances to score just one goal. That's all we needed. One goal. Oh well, it gives us a chance to focus on the Europa League and La Liga, right...?
Malaga at home...
Far from convincing, but can't blame these guys. The previous result was disheartening. I'm just delighted we could get the three points. Jonjo Shelvey's rocket long-ranger was enough to win us the game with 30 minutes to play. Little else happened in the game.
Athletic away...
We're struggling to cope with low fitness and that is showing through performance levels. We just struggle to do much in second halves. This game was more of the same. Lucas' early goal was cut out by Williams' in the 30th minute and that pretty much wrapped things up. It was tight, both sides defend well, and the game ended up evenly contested in midfield. A poor result, but at least we didn't lose.
Eibar away...
Pretty much the same story as in the previous game. Very few clear-cut chances created either way, but we defended quite well and avoided defeat. This month has been one to forget as a whole.
League table:
As suspected, we drop down to 4th place after suffering our 2nd loss of the season in the league + two disappointing draws. I'm sure this rut won't continue.
Next month, we play Porto in the Europa League and attempt to balance that with league football. Will we plummet down the table or rise once again? Forza Depor!
February 2018 - Barça, Celta & two Europa legs. How do we get on?!
This month was utterly, utterly perfect. After last month's shambolic results and performance, this was just insane. Before we look at the results, someone has signed a new contract:
View attachment 196002
Fabri has been a constant since my first game in charge. He makes impeccable saves, has yet to commit an error and is just extremely dependable. He's 30, enjoying his twilight years and deserved a 4-year extension. He's quickly becoming a cult hero for the fans, too.
The results...
Yeah, I'm still shocked at the results we produced this month. We played 7 times in 28 days and never once faltered. Without spoiling much, let's dive into the first game:
This was unreal. To smash 3 past Barcelona is good enough, but to not concede? Wow. We were flawless from defence all the way to attack. We rendered them useless courtesy of Arribas & Insua's defensive solidity. In attack, everyone who scored also assisted. Shelvey opened the scoring with ANOTHER penalty (he's yet to miss one) - he then turned provider in the 71st minute for a Baptistão header. Our talismanic forward then played a gorgeous through ball to captain Lucas who buried Barcelona seconds before the final whistle. 3-0. Easy 3 points.
Levante away...
This was an insane game because we were quite poor all-round. Despite Lucas' early goal, we were pegged back on the stroke of half-time. 11 minutes into the second-half and we found ourselves down to ten, courtesy of San Emeterio's stupid two-footed tackle. I was expecting us to either collapse or suffer another draw, but up stepped Lucas to put us ahead again. Fabián put the game beyond Levante two minutes later with a nicely timed run and finish. Borré ended the second-half resurgence with a goal of his own. Levante's 89th minute strike was thus a mere consolation. Back-to-back 3 points in the toughest of ways.
Porto away...
This was always going to be tough. Porto are the reigning champions of Portugal, top of their league by 8 points and on a crazy unbeaten streak domestically. We had to go to Estadio do Dragão and hope for a miracle. Despite no away goal, a 0-0 draw is a result I'm very happy with. We defended well and, while our attacking was non-existent, our goal was to frustrate them and take a result home that we can work with. Our plan worked!
Almeria at home...
A good result considering the rotation that was done. We needed our best players to be kept fresh for the 2nd leg, so there was some heavy changes here. To still come out with three points considering that is great. Having said that, it took Lucas coming off the bench for us to finally break the deadlock. 3 minutes on the pitch and our captain had already scored a stunning free-kick to put us ahead. He then turned provider for Borges 6 minutes later for the Costa Rican to seal the 3 points. Lucas' determination is flawless. He's always scoring when we need him to most - the perfect captain.
Porto at home...
We. F**king did it, boys! We beat the reigning champions of Portugal and knocked them out of the Europa League. When we went 1-0 down early on, I was bracing myself for a thumping. Porto started off in an electric manner, exploding down the wings and looking to create chances. But we weathered the storm throughout the entire half and then produced our turnaround with 22 minutes to play. Saúl pulled us back in the game with a powerful finish following Corredera's long-ball... but we were still on the verge of exiting due to away goals. Up steps substitute Rafael Borre who, 5 minutes into his cameo, meets a deadly Labyad cross (also on as a sub) with an easy header to put us in the lead. Once that goal flew in, we contained and sat deep for the final 20 minutes and comfortably saw off the game. What an impeccable result and off to the next round we go!
Our opponents for the next round:
Fener will be very tough, especially after just beating Lazio 7-0 on aggregate. The away game will be tricky. But I think we can do it!
Celta at home...
Six games played against Celta and I have never once lost to them. I love this derby with all my heart and it's so much fun seeing us thump them, even when we have to be rotating. This performance was poor, though. We created little and kept losing out in the midfield battle. But all it took was resolute defending to eventually open up a window of goals for us. Fabián kept up his fine goal scoring form with a strike from a tight angle with 22 minutes to go. I had considered sitting back after that, but I could sense something more from my boys. Shelvey, 3 minutes after coming on, scores a phenomenal long-range goal to seal the 3 points. See you next season, Celta! Thanks for the 3 points! AGAIN!
Granada away...
Constant rotation was bound to hurt us. 3 games in 6 days. We had to falter somewhere, but I'm glad it was here and not against Porto/Celta. This one was disappointing because Granada equalised so late on. We didn't play particularly well, but did enough to just about edge the 3 points. Fabián and Labyad scored courtesy of crosses from our two prodigal full-backs to make it 2-1 before half-time, but Remy's 87th minute equaliser took away all of that hard work. A sour way to end the month, but we can't really complain after all of the prestigious results we amassed!
League table:
4th, level on points with 3rd and 2nd. The next few months balancing Europe and the league should be very interesting.
Lucas was just so integral to our successes this month. He scored hugely important goals and was a constant threat in the opposition's defence. Even though he's almost 30, he is still producing as though he is in his twilight years. I will mourn the day he decides to retire/rescinds his contract. He has quickly become a legend in my tenure. Three years of the utmost consistency... here's to three more!
Wow, what a perfect month! We beat Barcelona, Celta and Porto while still remaining consistent against the smaller sides (bar Granada). Next month we take on Fenerbahçe twice, so tune in to see how we get on. 'Til then! Forza Depor!
This month was utterly, utterly perfect. After last month's shambolic results and performance, this was just insane. Before we look at the results, someone has signed a new contract:
View attachment 196002
The results...
Yeah, I'm still shocked at the results we produced this month. We played 7 times in 28 days and never once faltered. Without spoiling much, let's dive into the first game:
This was unreal. To smash 3 past Barcelona is good enough, but to not concede? Wow. We were flawless from defence all the way to attack. We rendered them useless courtesy of Arribas & Insua's defensive solidity. In attack, everyone who scored also assisted. Shelvey opened the scoring with ANOTHER penalty (he's yet to miss one) - he then turned provider in the 71st minute for a Baptistão header. Our talismanic forward then played a gorgeous through ball to captain Lucas who buried Barcelona seconds before the final whistle. 3-0. Easy 3 points.
Levante away...
This was an insane game because we were quite poor all-round. Despite Lucas' early goal, we were pegged back on the stroke of half-time. 11 minutes into the second-half and we found ourselves down to ten, courtesy of San Emeterio's stupid two-footed tackle. I was expecting us to either collapse or suffer another draw, but up stepped Lucas to put us ahead again. Fabián put the game beyond Levante two minutes later with a nicely timed run and finish. Borré ended the second-half resurgence with a goal of his own. Levante's 89th minute strike was thus a mere consolation. Back-to-back 3 points in the toughest of ways.
Porto away...
This was always going to be tough. Porto are the reigning champions of Portugal, top of their league by 8 points and on a crazy unbeaten streak domestically. We had to go to Estadio do Dragão and hope for a miracle. Despite no away goal, a 0-0 draw is a result I'm very happy with. We defended well and, while our attacking was non-existent, our goal was to frustrate them and take a result home that we can work with. Our plan worked!
Almeria at home...
A good result considering the rotation that was done. We needed our best players to be kept fresh for the 2nd leg, so there was some heavy changes here. To still come out with three points considering that is great. Having said that, it took Lucas coming off the bench for us to finally break the deadlock. 3 minutes on the pitch and our captain had already scored a stunning free-kick to put us ahead. He then turned provider for Borges 6 minutes later for the Costa Rican to seal the 3 points. Lucas' determination is flawless. He's always scoring when we need him to most - the perfect captain.
Porto at home...
We. F**king did it, boys! We beat the reigning champions of Portugal and knocked them out of the Europa League. When we went 1-0 down early on, I was bracing myself for a thumping. Porto started off in an electric manner, exploding down the wings and looking to create chances. But we weathered the storm throughout the entire half and then produced our turnaround with 22 minutes to play. Saúl pulled us back in the game with a powerful finish following Corredera's long-ball... but we were still on the verge of exiting due to away goals. Up steps substitute Rafael Borre who, 5 minutes into his cameo, meets a deadly Labyad cross (also on as a sub) with an easy header to put us in the lead. Once that goal flew in, we contained and sat deep for the final 20 minutes and comfortably saw off the game. What an impeccable result and off to the next round we go!
Our opponents for the next round:
Fener will be very tough, especially after just beating Lazio 7-0 on aggregate. The away game will be tricky. But I think we can do it!
Celta at home...
Six games played against Celta and I have never once lost to them. I love this derby with all my heart and it's so much fun seeing us thump them, even when we have to be rotating. This performance was poor, though. We created little and kept losing out in the midfield battle. But all it took was resolute defending to eventually open up a window of goals for us. Fabián kept up his fine goal scoring form with a strike from a tight angle with 22 minutes to go. I had considered sitting back after that, but I could sense something more from my boys. Shelvey, 3 minutes after coming on, scores a phenomenal long-range goal to seal the 3 points. See you next season, Celta! Thanks for the 3 points! AGAIN!
Granada away...
Constant rotation was bound to hurt us. 3 games in 6 days. We had to falter somewhere, but I'm glad it was here and not against Porto/Celta. This one was disappointing because Granada equalised so late on. We didn't play particularly well, but did enough to just about edge the 3 points. Fabián and Labyad scored courtesy of crosses from our two prodigal full-backs to make it 2-1 before half-time, but Remy's 87th minute equaliser took away all of that hard work. A sour way to end the month, but we can't really complain after all of the prestigious results we amassed!
League table:
4th, level on points with 3rd and 2nd. The next few months balancing Europe and the league should be very interesting.
Lucas was just so integral to our successes this month. He scored hugely important goals and was a constant threat in the opposition's defence. Even though he's almost 30, he is still producing as though he is in his twilight years. I will mourn the day he decides to retire/rescinds his contract. He has quickly become a legend in my tenure. Three years of the utmost consistency... here's to three more!
Wow, what a perfect month! We beat Barcelona, Celta and Porto while still remaining consistent against the smaller sides (bar Granada). Next month we take on Fenerbahçe twice, so tune in to see how we get on. 'Til then! Forza Depor!
March 2018 - our hunt for European success
View attachment 195650
A poor month in the league, but we have accepted that seeking European success will come at a cost domestically. We are constantly forced to rotate.
Villarreal away...
It took a last-gasp Rafael Borré tap-in to salvage a point against our bogey side, Villarreal. Their goalkeeper was immense and prevented almost everything that tested him. Luckily, Fabián's relentless crossing paid off in the end. Far from a perfect result, but a draw is always better than a loss. Plus, who doesn't love late equalisers?
Fenerbahçe away...
Fener were never going to be a walk in the park, but I was taken aback by just how explosive they were from the 1st minute. We were 3-1 up at half-time, despite conceding first, courtesy of a textbook Shelvey penalty and two easy headed goals from Baptistão. Yet we collapsed in the 2nd half, conceding three times and failing to resist their relentless attacking. The positive was that we scored three away goals, the negative is that we should have held onto our two goal lead. A disappointing result but not the end of the world, especially away from home.
Lucas renews!
Lucas deserved a three year extension. He has consistently hit double digits in goals and assists every season, plus he leads by example all the time. He'll be at the club at least until the age of 32. Ideally, I want him to retire here.
Our latest gem regen:
Mendez looks fairly good and could turn into a handy player for us as we look to shift Bicho onto another club. Bicho is poor, rarely does much when he gets an opportunity and has a contract almost running out here. Mendez should faze him out.
Sporting at home...
Always to be expected after a rampant Europa League game. We created little, but did hit most of our shots on target. Defensively, we repelled Sporting. We just couldn't fight back for possession as the stamina around the side was a tad low. Another point against a side we should be beating.
Fener at home...
WE TURN IT AROUND IN THE DYING EMBERS OF THE TIE! WHAT A PHENOMENAL RESULT AND PERFORMANCE! After conceding four in the first-leg, we looked to defend more rigidly and score on the counter. We tired Fener and then pounced in the final minutes of the game. Captain Lucas put in a beautiful cross for substitute Fabián to smash emphatically past Khune and ensure our progression in the tournament. The skipper then wrapped things up with a nicely timed finish to give us the outright victory on the night and on aggregate. Off to the quarter-finals we go!
I am very happy with this draw. We know Sevilla very well and often pluck good results from them. This should be a tight encounter but one that could definitely see us reach the semi-finals. I'm starting to dream about European success!
Cordoba at home...
Right back down to earth we come and in the cruelest of fashions. A 92nd minute equaliser denies us an important 3 points. Three pesky draws back-to-back. I suppose this was a taste of our own medicine considering our three late goals this month. It was annoying to see our good defensive work killed off so late on, especially after Corredera gave us the lead with a stunning long-range strike! Our regen made his club debut aged 15, played the full 90 and performed quite well. He had a good chance to score, too.
Rayo away...
A much-needed three points and a heavy weight has lifted off our chests in the league. We couldn't afford a winless month and, thankfully, this game saw us put our poor rut to bed. The game was tight, with both sides aimlessly shooting and tussling for possession in the middle third. Luckily, substitute Rafael Borré nodded in a Saúl cross LATE ON yet again to deliver us the three points. Borré always steps up. A strong way to end a good month overall.
League table:
Right back down to 4th and only one point ahead of 5th! We could seriously plummet down the table in an attempt to seek European success. It may be a worthy sacrifice. My target was always for us to finish in the top six this season. Having said that, we will push for CL qualification.
Corredera is just effortlessly efficient and creative. He was integral to our best and biggest results this month, coming big with assists and goals when we needed them the most. To think he went from being this OK kid in the academy to our best and most consistent midfielder is something quite unfathomable. I cannot wait to monitor his possession even further as the years go by.
Next month, we face off against Sevilla and other opposition if we qualify for the semi-finals. In the league, we will try to convert those petulant draws into wins to secure a top 4 finish. 'Til then! Forza Depor!
View attachment 195650
A poor month in the league, but we have accepted that seeking European success will come at a cost domestically. We are constantly forced to rotate.
Villarreal away...
It took a last-gasp Rafael Borré tap-in to salvage a point against our bogey side, Villarreal. Their goalkeeper was immense and prevented almost everything that tested him. Luckily, Fabián's relentless crossing paid off in the end. Far from a perfect result, but a draw is always better than a loss. Plus, who doesn't love late equalisers?
Fenerbahçe away...
Fener were never going to be a walk in the park, but I was taken aback by just how explosive they were from the 1st minute. We were 3-1 up at half-time, despite conceding first, courtesy of a textbook Shelvey penalty and two easy headed goals from Baptistão. Yet we collapsed in the 2nd half, conceding three times and failing to resist their relentless attacking. The positive was that we scored three away goals, the negative is that we should have held onto our two goal lead. A disappointing result but not the end of the world, especially away from home.
Lucas renews!
Lucas deserved a three year extension. He has consistently hit double digits in goals and assists every season, plus he leads by example all the time. He'll be at the club at least until the age of 32. Ideally, I want him to retire here.
Our latest gem regen:
Mendez looks fairly good and could turn into a handy player for us as we look to shift Bicho onto another club. Bicho is poor, rarely does much when he gets an opportunity and has a contract almost running out here. Mendez should faze him out.
Sporting at home...
Always to be expected after a rampant Europa League game. We created little, but did hit most of our shots on target. Defensively, we repelled Sporting. We just couldn't fight back for possession as the stamina around the side was a tad low. Another point against a side we should be beating.
Fener at home...
WE TURN IT AROUND IN THE DYING EMBERS OF THE TIE! WHAT A PHENOMENAL RESULT AND PERFORMANCE! After conceding four in the first-leg, we looked to defend more rigidly and score on the counter. We tired Fener and then pounced in the final minutes of the game. Captain Lucas put in a beautiful cross for substitute Fabián to smash emphatically past Khune and ensure our progression in the tournament. The skipper then wrapped things up with a nicely timed finish to give us the outright victory on the night and on aggregate. Off to the quarter-finals we go!
I am very happy with this draw. We know Sevilla very well and often pluck good results from them. This should be a tight encounter but one that could definitely see us reach the semi-finals. I'm starting to dream about European success!
Cordoba at home...
Right back down to earth we come and in the cruelest of fashions. A 92nd minute equaliser denies us an important 3 points. Three pesky draws back-to-back. I suppose this was a taste of our own medicine considering our three late goals this month. It was annoying to see our good defensive work killed off so late on, especially after Corredera gave us the lead with a stunning long-range strike! Our regen made his club debut aged 15, played the full 90 and performed quite well. He had a good chance to score, too.
Rayo away...
A much-needed three points and a heavy weight has lifted off our chests in the league. We couldn't afford a winless month and, thankfully, this game saw us put our poor rut to bed. The game was tight, with both sides aimlessly shooting and tussling for possession in the middle third. Luckily, substitute Rafael Borré nodded in a Saúl cross LATE ON yet again to deliver us the three points. Borré always steps up. A strong way to end a good month overall.
League table:
Right back down to 4th and only one point ahead of 5th! We could seriously plummet down the table in an attempt to seek European success. It may be a worthy sacrifice. My target was always for us to finish in the top six this season. Having said that, we will push for CL qualification.
Corredera is just effortlessly efficient and creative. He was integral to our best and biggest results this month, coming big with assists and goals when we needed them the most. To think he went from being this OK kid in the academy to our best and most consistent midfielder is something quite unfathomable. I cannot wait to monitor his possession even further as the years go by.
Next month, we face off against Sevilla and other opposition if we qualify for the semi-finals. In the league, we will try to convert those petulant draws into wins to secure a top 4 finish. 'Til then! Forza Depor!
TheAverageOne
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One of the most interesting stories, I remember loving Deportivo La Coruna when I was a kid, just because of how cool the name sounded and of course Diego Tristian. Hope you finally get some decent transfer budget next season so you can make the next step to start challenging for the title.
Thanks, man! I love how universal we were at one point. Tristán was Godly!
April 2018 - Balancing the latter stages of Europe with La Liga
View attachment 194747
Our best month ever? I think so. I won't even bother spoiling the events. Let's dive straight into the 1st leg vs Sevilla:
What a rampant, explosive and dominant performance. One of the best 90 minutes of football we have had since I took over. Still can't quite believe it! Leo Baptistão's two nicely timed finishes in the first-half put the game beyond Sevilla, but what we then did to them in 17 2nd half minutes was out of this world. Baptistão nodded in a San Emeterio cross to wrap up his hat-trick before the prodigal right-back struck from range to score his 2nd career goal and put us 4-0 ahead. Borré killed things off with a strong finish after replacing a tired Baptistão. What an unreal game! Baptistão is flawless.
Espanyol away...
Rotating after that phenomenal win was always going to bring some issues to the side, but running away with 3 points in this was excellent. We pushed 3 past them, with Luna assisting twice, but they pulled two back in the final 21 minutes. We were forced to sit back as they swarmed us with superior fitness and stamina levels. Luckily, we were able to hold onto the magic we produced in the 2nd half. 3 very important points to prove we can balance the two tournaments.
Sevilla away, 2nd leg...
We were never going to relinquish a five-goal lead, but the way we humiliated Sevilla in this game was great. They attacked relentlessly from the opening minute, which allowed us to exploit their high line with Fabián scoring in the 3rd minute. From there on out, we sat back and defended - playing comfortably and slowly in possession. While the back-four were great in rendering Sevilla useless, it was Fabricio who stole the show. His 2nd clean-sheet of the month, making EIGHT saves in this match including a point blank double save. Off we go to the semi-finals of the Europa League!
We draw...
This will be tough. Monaco have an impeccable and talented squad with heaps of money, too. Their star player, Cavaleiro, used to play for us as well so that should be interesting. Not expecting fireworks as I still can't process how the **** we got here!
Real Sociedad at home...
A disappointing result, but such is the life of rotating! In all fairness, we played very well but came up against a strong goalkeeper in Kivrak. It took a Jonjo Shelvey penalty (still yet to miss one) to rescue a point with two minutes left of normal time. We should have scored more, but it was not to be.
Valencia at home...
And now we're on the receiving end of a late goal! A few months ago, Musa also scored in the 90th minute to inflict our first loss of the season and now he does so to deny us a win. We were extremely poor all game, though, and it was just a matter of time. Our only shot on target was our goal, courtesy of the ever-present Lucas. Another draw, but I'm starting to disregard them in our push for European glory!
Betis away...
Clean-sheet #3 for Fabri. It's all too easy for the guy. The one save he had to make all game was another wonderful one from point blank range. Whenever called upon, he is always decisive. Fabián opened the scoring in what would prove to be a tight game, nodding in Luna's cross. It then took a Bruno own-goal to put us 2-0 up and beyond Betis. My favourite moment happened 10 minutes later when, after one minute of being on the pitch, our 15-year-old regen Méndez scored his first goal for the club becoming our youngest every goal scorer! It was a beautiful moment. I really want to get him playing regularly so a season-long loan next year is most definitely the motive.
AS Monaco away, 1st leg...
What. A. Result. I don't know what is more mind blowing: not conceding against THAT attack, or beating them away from home. 1-0 win and Fabri man-of-the-match with his 4th clean-sheet of the month. He stopped everything that came his way, including a handful of close-range strikes. Baptistão continued his fine form in Europe, tapping a pass from Shelvey into an open net. An away goal, a clean-sheet and victory against Monaco. This fills us with hope for next month!
Sevilla at home (in the league)...
3rd time playing Sevilla this month and yet again they failed to score against us. Fabri will be laughing with 5 clean-sheets under his belt in such an important month. Borré's late goal was enough to upend victory on Sevilla for a 3rd time this month. We were ruthless against them.
League table...
2nd in the league with two games left to play. To have achieved this while balancing European progress is something quite insane! So proud of this squad.
At 30 years of age, Fabri is enjoying his best vein of form. He was crucial in guiding us to the semi-finals of the Europa League as well as various wins domestically this month. Dreading the day that he needs replacing but, for now, all is good!
Next month, find out if we made the Europa League final and secured a top 3 finish in La Liga! It will be tight but, whatever happens, I am insanely proud of these guys. Forza Depor!
View attachment 194747
Our best month ever? I think so. I won't even bother spoiling the events. Let's dive straight into the 1st leg vs Sevilla:
What a rampant, explosive and dominant performance. One of the best 90 minutes of football we have had since I took over. Still can't quite believe it! Leo Baptistão's two nicely timed finishes in the first-half put the game beyond Sevilla, but what we then did to them in 17 2nd half minutes was out of this world. Baptistão nodded in a San Emeterio cross to wrap up his hat-trick before the prodigal right-back struck from range to score his 2nd career goal and put us 4-0 ahead. Borré killed things off with a strong finish after replacing a tired Baptistão. What an unreal game! Baptistão is flawless.
Espanyol away...
Rotating after that phenomenal win was always going to bring some issues to the side, but running away with 3 points in this was excellent. We pushed 3 past them, with Luna assisting twice, but they pulled two back in the final 21 minutes. We were forced to sit back as they swarmed us with superior fitness and stamina levels. Luckily, we were able to hold onto the magic we produced in the 2nd half. 3 very important points to prove we can balance the two tournaments.
Sevilla away, 2nd leg...
We were never going to relinquish a five-goal lead, but the way we humiliated Sevilla in this game was great. They attacked relentlessly from the opening minute, which allowed us to exploit their high line with Fabián scoring in the 3rd minute. From there on out, we sat back and defended - playing comfortably and slowly in possession. While the back-four were great in rendering Sevilla useless, it was Fabricio who stole the show. His 2nd clean-sheet of the month, making EIGHT saves in this match including a point blank double save. Off we go to the semi-finals of the Europa League!
We draw...
This will be tough. Monaco have an impeccable and talented squad with heaps of money, too. Their star player, Cavaleiro, used to play for us as well so that should be interesting. Not expecting fireworks as I still can't process how the **** we got here!
Real Sociedad at home...
A disappointing result, but such is the life of rotating! In all fairness, we played very well but came up against a strong goalkeeper in Kivrak. It took a Jonjo Shelvey penalty (still yet to miss one) to rescue a point with two minutes left of normal time. We should have scored more, but it was not to be.
Valencia at home...
And now we're on the receiving end of a late goal! A few months ago, Musa also scored in the 90th minute to inflict our first loss of the season and now he does so to deny us a win. We were extremely poor all game, though, and it was just a matter of time. Our only shot on target was our goal, courtesy of the ever-present Lucas. Another draw, but I'm starting to disregard them in our push for European glory!
Betis away...
Clean-sheet #3 for Fabri. It's all too easy for the guy. The one save he had to make all game was another wonderful one from point blank range. Whenever called upon, he is always decisive. Fabián opened the scoring in what would prove to be a tight game, nodding in Luna's cross. It then took a Bruno own-goal to put us 2-0 up and beyond Betis. My favourite moment happened 10 minutes later when, after one minute of being on the pitch, our 15-year-old regen Méndez scored his first goal for the club becoming our youngest every goal scorer! It was a beautiful moment. I really want to get him playing regularly so a season-long loan next year is most definitely the motive.
AS Monaco away, 1st leg...
What. A. Result. I don't know what is more mind blowing: not conceding against THAT attack, or beating them away from home. 1-0 win and Fabri man-of-the-match with his 4th clean-sheet of the month. He stopped everything that came his way, including a handful of close-range strikes. Baptistão continued his fine form in Europe, tapping a pass from Shelvey into an open net. An away goal, a clean-sheet and victory against Monaco. This fills us with hope for next month!
Sevilla at home (in the league)...
3rd time playing Sevilla this month and yet again they failed to score against us. Fabri will be laughing with 5 clean-sheets under his belt in such an important month. Borré's late goal was enough to upend victory on Sevilla for a 3rd time this month. We were ruthless against them.
League table...
2nd in the league with two games left to play. To have achieved this while balancing European progress is something quite insane! So proud of this squad.
At 30 years of age, Fabri is enjoying his best vein of form. He was crucial in guiding us to the semi-finals of the Europa League as well as various wins domestically this month. Dreading the day that he needs replacing but, for now, all is good!
Next month, find out if we made the Europa League final and secured a top 3 finish in La Liga! It will be tight but, whatever happens, I am insanely proud of these guys. Forza Depor!
PatrickLFC
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Absolutely on fire! One of my favourite stories at the moment, so glad to see it's still going strong!