Revolutionising the Red Devils - The Total Football Academy

[Colbyx]

Manchester United

History
Founded 1878

3 x European Champions
20 x English Premier League
1 x Club World Championship
1 x European Winners Cup
1 x European Super Cup
1 x Intercontinental Cup
12 x English FA Cup
2 x English Championship Cup
21 x English Community Shield

The Mission

- Get United playing 'Total Football'
- Develop the Youth System to rival European clubs
- Remain competitive within the Premier League without spending excess cash
- Place emphasis on playing homegrown youth prospects
-All tactics, set pieces, formations will be created by myself
-Use of the editor is banned and I will be playing on 20.4
-No save scumming

What do I mean by Total Football Academy?

I intend to develop Manchester United into the Masia of the UK through developing exciting youth prospects who are encouraged to play 'total football'. Total football being the concept of Johan Cryuff that essentially means any player can take over any role within the team at a given moment allowing for complete fluidity and creative freedom. Instead of having 11 of the best players in the position, you have the 11 best players in all positions who are capable of interchanging at any given moment.

Expectations
Play entertaining football
Develop players using the club's youth system
Increase commercial revenue
Work within wage budget

Short term
Qualify for the Champions League (4th or higher)
Reach FA Cup Semi-Final (Minimum)
Europa League Final (Minimum)
Carabao Cup (Not Important)

Long Term
Become recognised as the 'best of the rest'
Become the most reputable team in England
Become the most reputable team in the World
Win the Premier League by 2022/23 (within four years)

Finances

The club is still paying off loan debt therefore being frugal in the transfer market and on wages will be fundamental to the sustainability of the club.

Season Preview

Transfers In

Some essential improvement coming in with the likes of Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes and Wan Bissaka coming in. Although clear overspend made in order to attempt to short-term make us competitive. Shout out to Hannibal Mejbri who looks to be a quality option in midfield.

Transfers Out

Some real questionable transfers here with Lukaku being sold for less than he was purchased for, alongside Ander Herrera being allowed to run his contract down. Matteo Darmian really struggled to get into the side yet another financial loss made by the club. The loss of an ageing Ashley Young who'd be pushed into a full back position will free up the wage budget and opportunities for our youth.

Promising Youth Prospects

Hannibal Mejbri
He looks a real talent able to come into the first team squad on rotation and do a job. He will be phased in to a more creative role to develop his existing talent. Also worth noting he's 6'2.

Tahith Chong
Up and coming winger who is somewhat behind first team level but will get games this season and slowly worked into the squad.

Angel Gomes
A solid attacking midfielder who is only behind an ageing Juan Mata. I will look to play him through the centre due to his creativity and flair.

Team Report

Positives
Second Youngest Squad in the Premier League (behind Southampton)
Second Tallest Squad in the Premier League (behind Crystal Palace)
15+ on Finishing, Pace and Accelerations on our forwards
Good rotational options in the squad with each position having multiple options
Team will only continue to mature

Negatives
Lowest Heading in the Premier League
Low Tackling Stat in Midfield 8.36 on Average
Poor Leadership in the Squad
Worst Marking in the Premier League
Second Worst Long Shots in the Premier League
Second Highest Wage Average in the Premier League (behind Man City)

Key Areas of Improvement
Defensively both in midfield and the back line
Aerially need to do better both winning headers and headed goals given our height advantage in the league
Transfers should match the long-term philosophy of the club

Immediate issues
Changing the transfer ethos of the club
Alexis Sanchez is costing the club a lot of money (£400k) with another 3 years left on his contract
Paul Pogba naturally wants to move to a 'bigger club' with a greater chance of winning the Champions League
Luke Shaw is injury prone and doesn't appear to have much further development in him
Nemanja Matic's contract expires next year and Juan Mata a year after
Eric Bailly is out for 6 to 7 months with torn knee ligaments
Odion Ighalo is out for 6 weeks - 3 months with hamstring strain

Moving forward
We won't be spending in Summer or January unless we are forced by injuries or exceptional offers for our players. I trust the squad we have to place 4th or higher.
Everyone within the squad will be given minutes to impress over my first season and decisions on who to sell/keep will be made from that.



​

 

[Colbyx]

Preseason 2019/20

All in all reasonably pleased with the results. The new tactics are yet to have been mastered and we managed to pick up a win away from home at Bayern, whilst drawing with a full strength Lyon and Milan respectively. Judging by our results we look difficult to break down defensively but rather inconsistent at scoring goals. Hopefully that changes as the tactic becomes more familiar.


Tactics

​

As mentioned in the introduction we will be looking to play exciting football and I think this tactic captures that. All of our CBs will be expecting to contribute to attacking play either through direct play making, or through chipping in with set pieces. Our back line isn't as strong as we'd like it to be, however with 7 players behind the ball out of position hopefully we can look to build open some solid pre-season results.

Our midfielders will stretch the play out wide, which will help with the vulnerabilities on our flanks and everyone will be responsible in contributing both offensively and defensively.

Our secondary tactic aims at bringing in the high quality we have at right back and left back. Both tactics are high possession and high fluidity looking to carve open our opponents (and or frustrate them through lack of possession).

Team News

Tahith Chong and Angel Gomes extend their contracts until 2023
31 year-old Nemanja Matic moves to Wolves on a season-long loan
Bruno Fernandes will miss his Premier League debut due to injury

Opening Fixtures

Ideally we want to be bringing home maximum points from this run of fixtures, although the Leicester Away fixture could be tricky. 10pts or above from the opening five fixtures would put us in a good spot for securing champions league football.​

 

[Colbyx]

August 2019

Manchester United v Southampton

Old Trafford
10th August 2019

With the exception of our possession which is still a work in progress due to the new tactic and makeshift team, both the performance and result was pleasing against a goalkeeper who was playing out of his mind.

Man of the Match: Anthony Martial


Leicester v Manchester United

17th August 2019
King Power Stadium

A very even game rescued by a late cameo appearance form Jesse Lingard. Much happier with our possession.


Man of the Match: Fred


Manchester United v Brighton

21st August 2019
Old Trafford

A very poor performance from a weak Brighton side. Happy with the goals and the points but little can be taken away from this game. A nice Harry Maguire hattrick and trio of assists from Pogba will buff our goal difference moving forward.


Man of the Match: Harry Maguire


Manchester United v Newcastle

24th August 2019
Old Trafford

A very pleasing performance with over 7/10th of possession. A huge gulf between chances across the board. Unlucky not to score more.


Man of the Match: Scott McTomminay


West Ham United v Manchester United

31st August 2019
The London Stadium

A tricky game in which we dominated. We are having issues with getting the ball in the back of the net clearly. Defensively we look very solid but offensively we lack the final product.

League Standings (as of 31st August 2019)

August 2019
Player of the Month
Paul Pogba

Average Rating: 7.4
Games Played: 5
Goals Scored: 1
Assists: 1
Key Passes: 17
89% Pass Accuracy

Europa League Draw

The current order is the way I expect the table to finish after game week 6. A few slippery fixtures particularly Saint-Etienne and Slavia Prague Away. Ultimately we need to be progressing and I will be fielding a strong side until our progression is confirmed.

Carabao Cup Draw

The cup isn't desired by the board and therefore I will be using the Carabao Cup for rotational players including fielding youth. Good for Shrewbury to draw an away draw at Old Trafford which will be good for their finances.

September's Fixtures

A tricky month follows as a wake up call to our early season form. Three away fixtures in the Premier League followed by arguably our hardest opponent in the Europe League at home.​

 

[Colbyx]

September 2019

Norwich v Manchester United

14th September 2019
Carrow Road

Man of the Match: Paul Pogba

Pogba set the tone from the first minute. From then on we were mostly in control against a Norwich side who could hold the ball, but looked very vulnerable when they lost it.

Manchester United v Saint-Etienne

18th September 2019
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Paul Pogba

Unfortunate not to have scored more but Pogba was the difference as he had been in many of the games so far. Anthony Martial joins the long term injury list and will be out until late October.

Chelsea v Manchester United

21st September 2019
Stamford Bridge

Man of the Match: Marcus Rashford

Surprisingly Marcus Rashford's first goals for us this season competitively. Came at a good time and happy to get a result against Chelsea away from home. The downside is that Bruno Fernandes is out until mid-October.

Manchester United v Shrewbury Town

25th September 2019
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Tahith Chong

As expected poor Shrewbury Town a bit outclassed even with a majority of youth on the pitch. Fantastic for Chong to get a hattrick.

Bournemouth v Manchester United

28th September 2019
Dean Court

Man of the Match: Steven Cook (Bournemouth)

A clumsy trailing leg from Maguire went to VAR and Bournemouth got the decision. Their counter attacking football proved tough for us to break down and they got the result which sees them high flying in 5th.

League Standings (after 8 games played)

September 2019
Player of the Month
Paul Pogba

Average Rating: 7.4
Games Played: 4
Goals Scored: 2
Assists: 1
Key Passes: 9
89% Pass Accuracy​

 

[Jedd95]

Good start so far mate, shame about Bournemouth result but they are always a bogey team for me!!!

 

[Colbyx]

October 2019

Slavia Prague v Manchester United

2nd October 2019
Eden Stadium

Man of the Match: Daniel James

Our toughest game in Europe so far. The team were pragmatic in their defence and even after the goals refused to be broken down. They put up a solid fight throughout.



Manchester United v Sheffield United

5th October 2019
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Odion Ighalo

Sheffield United fell apart just before half-time. From then on the goals rained. Offered very little resistance, or offence throughout the 90 minutes.


Manchester United v Everton

19th October 2019
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Paul Pogba

One of our easiest games so far. Everton who were missing Richarlison through injury didn't turn up. It could've easily have been more goals.

Manchester United v LASK Linz

23rd October 2019
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Fred

Another tough game in Europe from another resilient side who away from home offered a real contest. We will need to be in the market for players who can break down these tough sides with clinical passing.


Manchester United v Crystal Palace

26th October 2019
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Marcus Rashford

Brandon Williams got himself sent off early on for a silly tackle, which rallied us. Arguably we looked better a man down and completely outclassed Crystal Palace in every position on the day.

Manchester United v Charlton Athletic
Carabao Cup

30th October 2019
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Bruno Fernandes

A silly red card gave us an easy victory. Which sees us through into the Quarter Finals of the competition.


October 2019
Player of the Month
Paul Pogba

Average Rating: 7.8
Games Played: 5
Goals Scored: 2
Assists: 4
Key Passes: 19
90% Pass Accuracy

Three back-to-back-to-back Player of the Month performances from Paul Pogba who is leading the club on both goals and assists this season.

League Standings (after 11 games played)

Europa League Standings

November Fixtures

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[Colbyx]

November 2019
Manchester United v Wolverhampton

2nd November 2019
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Daniel James

I was expecting a much tougher game and fielded a very strong side. Despite their possession, Wolves got absolutely rolled over. Their late goal was a consolation through a defensive mistake.

LASK Linz v Manchester United

6th November 2019
Plainmoor

Man of the Match: Bruno Fernandes

A reasonably forgettable match, happy for Fernandes scoring goals for the club consistently.

Liverpool v Manchester United

9th November 2019
Anfield

Man of the Match: Roberto Firmino

No content. This has been our biggest loss in terms of performance. They were relentless on us from minute one. We offered little going forward and were pinned inside our own half for a majority of the game.

Burnley v Manchester United

23rd November
Turf Moor

Man of the Match: Luke Shaw

A tight game with chances either side. Paul Pogba put one away just after half-time to separate the two sides.

Saint-Etienne v Manchester United

27th November 2019
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard

Man of the Match: Daniel James

Domination without end product. Clear indication of the lack of creativity in midfield when Fernandes and Pogba aren't playing or firing.

Arsenal v Manchester United

30th November
The Emirates

Man of the Match: Mesut Özil

We got robbed a little by a referee decision. Granit Xhaka who was already on a yellow card, gave away a foul on the edge of his penalty box. It was so close it went to VAR. For whatever reason he wasn't sent off, and Mesut Özil went on to play out of his mind.

November 2019
Player of the Month
Daniel James

Average Rating: 7.8
Games Played: 2
Goals: 3
Chances Created: 5
​

 

[Colbyx]

December 2019
Manchester United v Aston Villa

4th December 2019
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Andreas Pereira

Not much to say about this one. Easy sweep. Jack Grealish got sent off but the game was over long before then. Great to see Andreas getting himself on the scoresheet.

Manchester United v Watford

7th December 2019
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Odion Ighalo

Another easy victory. Watford offered little besides a single counter attack with a shot on target.

Manchester United v Slavia Prague

11th November 2019
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: James Garner

With our position in the Europa League confirmed I opted to play youth who in turn rewarded me with both a win and goals. James Garner played phenomenally.

Tottenham v Manchester United

14th December 2019
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Man of the Match: Giovani Lo Celso (Spurs)

Very close game that was decided by Rashford push during a corner. A penalty was given and Lo Celso dispatched it past De Gea.

Manchester United v Chelsea
Carabao Cup

18th December 2019
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Bruno Fernandes

Despite their possession, we had control offensively for a large majority of the match. Nice to get a win against top four competition which had been absent until now.

Manchester United v Manchester City

21st December 2019
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Harry Maguire

The Manchester Derby somewhat decided by a 50/50 tackle from Cancelo on Luke Shaw who was injured in the process. Harry Maguire was the difference.

Sheffield United v Manchester United

28th December 2019
Bramall Lane

Man of the Match: Andreas Pereira

A lot closer than the stats suggest. Billy Sharp very lucky to be on the pitch for his dissent. Could've easily been a draw. Lucky to get all three points here.

December 2019
Player of the Month
Andreas Pereira

Average Rating: 8.4
Goals: 3
Assists: 1
Key Passes: 11
Pass Accuracy: 94%
​

 

[Saibot1891]

Looks nice.
Really important win agains Manchester City

 

[Colbyx]

January 2020

Everton v Manchester United

1st January 2020
Goodison Park

Man of the Match: Jordan Pickford (Everton)

A man of the match performance from Jordan Pickford kept us out. Bruno Fernandes was unlucky not to pick them apart with 7 key passes in this match alone.

Manchester United v Nottingham Forest
FA Cup 3rd Round

4th January 2020
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: James Garner

Nottingham Forest came to park the bus at Old Trafford and they got the replay they wanted.


Manchester United v Manchester City
Carabao Cup Semi Final First Leg

8th January 2020
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Brandon Williams

A huge performance from our squad. I decided to field a full team squad despite the Caraboa Cup not taking precedent in our ambitions.

Manchester United v Chelsea

11th January 2020
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Bruno Fernandes

A very tight game which Chelsea probably should have edged. Very lucky to be coming away with the three points.

Nottingham Forest v Manchester United
FA Cup 3rd Round Replay

15th January 2020
City Ground

Man of the Match: Anthony Martial

With Nottingham Forest at home, they came out to play football. We came back from 2-0 down to score 4 in the second half completing a fantastic comeback.

Manchester City v Manchester United

18th January 2020
The Etihad Stadium

Man of the Match: Raheem Sterling (Man City)

Despite the possession being halved. This wasn't a close match up. Man City had too much for us.

Manchester United v Bournemouth

22nd January
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Paul Pogba

A nice fixture to bounce back in the Premier League and somewhat getting revenge over Bournemouth for pinching a 1-0 earlier in the season.

Luton Town v Manchester United

25th January 2020
Kenilworth Road

Man of the Match: Angel Gomes

We rotated our squad against Luton Town giving a few of our fringe members a (somewhat) competitive game.

Manchester City v Manchester United

29th January 2020
The Etihad Stadium

Man of the Match: Aymeric Laporte (Man City)

Man City bouncing back from us hammering them in the cup with two victories against us within a matter of weeks. Thankfully this tie was dead and buried in the first leg and sees us book our place at Wembley for the final.

The first knock out round draws us against Vitória S.C. who are currently sitting 7th in the Portguese Premier League.

The FA Cup hasn't done us any favours and drawn us a tough opponent reasonably early on. Thankfully it's a home tie yet we'll need to be on form to get past Spurs.

And last but not least we'll play Arsenal at the end of the month for the Carabao Cup. Fingers crossed we get a bit of silverware on the first season.

February's Fixtures

Transfer Round Up

As I mentioned in my first post, I'm intending on changing the transfer policy at United and therefore have only made one signing.

Koki Takahashi will be joining us for pre-season 2020.
He cost us £750k which is relatively low risk given his attributes. He doesn't have the ideal stats for playing his preferred position so I will likely be playing him down the right hand side as a rotational right back or retraining him as a central midfielder. I think he is a phenomenal young player and with the right tutoring can not only contribute towards our goals but actually lead Japan to some success.

His personality is a little bit of a concern but hopefully with some mentoring he may become a more professional player. Regardless if things don't work out financially I feel this is a good deal for the club.

Elsewhere:
Raphael Guerreiro moves from Dortmund to Liverpool for 58m
Thomas Partey moves from Atletico Madrid to Man City for 41m
Alex Telles moves from Porto to Spurs for 26m
Aleksandar Kolorov moves from Roma to Liverpool for 6.25m

Manager Movements
David Moyes sacked and replaced by Kevin Nolan (caretaker) (West Ham)
Dean Smith sacked and replaced by Javi Gracia (Aston Villa)
Ralph Hasenhüttl sacked and replaced by Michael Laudrup (Southampton)
Steve Bruce sacked and replaced by Steven Gerrard (Newcastle)
Nigel Pearson sacked and replaced by Luciano Spalletti (Watford)

​

 

[Colbyx]

February 2020

Manchester United v Leicester Football Club

1st February 2020
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Bruno Fernandes

Fixture congestion now playing a part for all teams and having strength in depth really helping us pick up some results.

Southampton Football Club v Manchester United

5th February 2020
St Mary's Stadium

Man of the Match: Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba the difference in another game which could have easily been a draw.

IF Elsborg v Manchester United (Friendly)

8th February 2020
Boras Arena

Man of the Match: Andres Pereira

A friendly to keep our fitness levels up during the international break.

Vitória S.C. v Manchester United
Europa League 1st Knock Out Round Leg 1

19th February 2020
Estádio D. Afonso Henrique

Man of the Match: Paul Pogba

Given the amount of fixtures we have to play between now and the end of the season I wanted to kill this game off as soon as possible and therefore fielded a full strength squad.

Watford v Manchester United

22nd February
Vicarage Road

Man of the Match: Bruno Fernandes

Danny Welbeck coming back to haunt his previous club, but thankfully we had too much for them throughout the 90 minutes.

Manchester United v Vitória S.C.

26th February 2020
Old Trafford

Man of the Match: Mason Greenwood

A youth heavy side comes out victorious at home with an easy 3-1 victory. Mason Greenwood with a surge of goals as of late.


Arsenal v Manchester United
Carabao Cup Final

29th February 2020
Wembley Stadium

Man of the Match: Mason Greenwood

Did I say something about Mason Greenwood? Champions of the Cup we didn't want or aim for. We'll take it. Silverware is silverware and beating Arsenal to bring it home will be all the sweeter for United fans around the world.

February 2020
Player of the Month
Mason Greenwood

Games Played: 3
Goals Scored: 4
Average Rating: 7.8
77% Shot Accuracy


​

 

[Colbyx]

End of the 2019/2020 Season

To avoid the cluster of posts I'll now be updating season by season now that we are through Season 1.

March 2020

A win on penalties sees us through the FA Cup 5th Round against Spurs.
We pick up a narrow win, followed by a draw at home vs. Arsenal in the Europa League meaning we need to get a result at the Emirates.
Aston Villa give us a shock with a 3-2 win over us at Villa Park.
Marcus Rashford scores a critical AWAY goal at the Emirates and we knock Arsenal out of the Europa League.
Ighalo comes back to haunt Watford in the FA Cup Quarter Final.

April 2020

Comparatively a much easier month, the key fixtures being our 4-1 comprehensive victory over Spurs at Old Trafford.
We also get progress to the Semi-Finals of the Europa League by dispatching Feyenoord, and the FA Cup Final by beating Brentford.
We will face Liverpool in the FA Cup final at the end of the season.

May 2020

The season finally caught up with us and we suffered 3 losses and a draw in our final month of the Premier League.
Our only win in the Premier League was a 2-0 over Norwich.

Premier League Final Standings 2019/20 Season

Jamie Vardy playing out of his mind having scored 27 goals in 35 games for Leicester helping them finish 5th.
Likewise Callum Wilson chipping in with 20 goals for Bournemouth helping them finish 4th.
Pogba finished 2 assists behind Fernandes which is understandable seeing as Bruno is on corner duty.

Premier League Golden Glove

Somehow Ederson gets it ahead of David De Gea who played the same amount of games, conceded less and had a higher average rating as well as 20 clean sheets. Likewise De Gea finished 2nd in the Premier League and Ederson finished 3rd respectively.

Ederson's Statistics for the Season

De Gea's Statistics for the Season

It seems like Ederson was given the benefit for his ability to play more successful passes. Despite him having made 2 mistakes in the Premier League leading to goals, whereas De Gea only made one.


Premier League Team of the Year 2019/2020

The only dubious decision here is the inclusion of Aaron Wan-Bissaka who finished with 7.10 rating in the Premier League.
Whilst he didn't perform particularly poorly, he wasn't sensational either. With 1 goal and 3 assists in 25 games I would've much preferred to have seen someone who had a larger impact on our season within the Team of the Year like Bruno Fernandes/Scott McTomminay


Cup Finals
The 2019/2020 FA Cup Final
Liverpool v Manchester United
23rd May 2020
Wembley

Team Line Ups
Liverpool

Manchester United

Man of the Match: Mohammed Salah (Liverpool)

Fantastic to get the win over Liverpool. Our first of the season and I appreciate it's by penalties but in a cup final it's that much sweeter.
Also great to see our homegrown talent stepping up and taking those penalties, with a majority squad that started at Manchester United.

Europa League 2019/2010 Final
Sevilla v Manchester United
27th May 2020
Energa Gdansk


Team Line Ups

Sevilla

Manchester United

Very happy to get a win over Sevilla who are prolific in this title holding the title 5 times. Our squad was somewhat deflated after going into extra time and penalties against Liverpool but pulled through with a solid second half defensive performance.

Man of the Match: Bruno Fernandes


Squad Review

Defence

Our key performers this season in defence have been Harry Maguire, Diogo Dalot, Axel Tuanzebe and Brandon Williams.

I had reservations about Luke Shaw prior to starting the season and producing only 2 assists in 20 games with a 6.9 is too poor for this side.

I will be looking to sell Luke Shaw this transfer window.

Chris Smalling will be returning to us, and despite his height and his ability he doesn't fit our playing system. He doesn't have the ability to play at right-back for us and doesn't possess the passing ability to play CB for us.

Much like Luke Shaw, Chris Smalling will be placed on the transfer list.

The same can be said for Marcos Rojo who whilst could do a job for us at left back I cannot justify him on £110k per week to be rotational left back.

With one year left on his contract. I will attempt to make some money from Marcos Rojo.

Whilst possibly one of our better ball playing defenders prior to our newest recruits. Phil Jones has informed me has achieved everything at the club and wants to move on.

Teden Mengi looks like a solid replacement through our youth ranks to step up into a rotational role. Whilst his position is less than desired I certainly think he can slot in and help fill out the numbers for us.

Midfield

Nemanja Matic is off to China this Summer on a free having spent a season at Wolves. Technically and mentally gifted but just lacks the mobility we need in midfield.
We wish him the best of course.

Juan Mata in a similar vein to Matic. Whilst he is extremely gifted he has struggled to have the impact in the games. I loaned him out to Everton where he got a 1 goal and 4 assist return in 15 games.

I really like Mata as a player but I think his time has come to be moved on.

The anomaly that is Jesse Lingard who has had an incredibly poor season. In his defence I have been mostly playing him on the right hand side where he can't cut in and hurt teams. Overall I think I will stick with him due to his wage demands not being too significant (yet) and needing strength of depth on the right hand side.

Attack

A poor season in Italy won't have done anything to assist the market value of Alexis Sanchez who I need to offload as soon as possible.

Oghalo has had a good season for us and scored goals. He'd be a rotational option at best although I don't feel like paying his £99k per week for his services.

Not sure what happened to Rashford this season but with a 10 goal and 9 assist return over 47 games he really needs to step up next season.

A slow start and a 5 week injury lay off but Martial hit 21 goals and 5 assists making him our highest scorer this season.​

 

[Colbyx]

Season 2021/22

Premier League Final Standings

An improvement of 2 points over the season which is a positive. We could've pushed Liverpool more had Paul Pogba not been unsettled for the majority of the season.

Champions League Final

We were knocked out by Real Madrid in the Quarter Finals, but Liverpool make it 3 in 3.

FA Cup Final

Carabao Cup Final

We do a double over our rivals and maintain both cups going into next season beating Pep Guardiola's Spurs twice at Wembley for silverware.

Transfers In

Jude Bellingham comes in from a relegated Birmingham City side as a 16 year old capable of doing a job for us in midfield.
Edinson Cavani comes in on a free transfer from PSG looking to emulate Odion Ighalo by chipping in goals for us and offering us something else up top.
Kristoff Ajer is our key signing of this season who is a 6'5 ball playing centre back.

Transfers Out

As I spoke about previously our priorities at present is our youth and fixing our finances and our transfers moving forward.


Rivals

Liverpool
Manager: Jurgen Klopp

The 'other' Red team are back-to-back-to-back winners of the Champions League, and holding onto their key players has been a real key to their success. It will take a real effort to knock them off their perch domestically and on the continent.

Manchester City
Manager: Thomas Tuchel

With a 3rd finish followed by a 4th finish, Manchester City are under performing. Their squad is aging with the likes of Fernandinho retiring, David Silva already retired and Sergio Aguero likely with one season left in him at the top. Their recruitment on this game as usual has been sporadic which hasn't contributed towards any success.

Chelsea
Manager: Ernesto Valverde

Chelsea have fallen on desperate times reflected in their transfer budgets. Finishing 8th in the Premier League and then 7th. Yet having the capability to drop 320m per season needs to be respected.

Arsenal
Manager: Mikel Arteta

Kudos to Mikel Arteta who guided Arsenal into 3rd last season. They don't appear to have the financial gunpower of their London City rivals yet performance on the pitch seems much improved. Interesting that Nicolas Pépe survived just one season with the Gunners.

Tottenham
Manager: Pep Guardiola

Spurs finished 5th last season, but did make both Cup Finals where they lost to us. They largely held onto their key players like Kane, Son, Alli and would expect Pep to get them fighting in due time.

Newcastle
Manager: Eddie Howe

I wouldn't normally put Newcastle on here however after their sale of the club they dropped £376m in the Summer alone attracting players much above their standing in the Premier League. If they continue to do this, I can see them easily breaking the top 6.

Season Preview

Total Football Academy

Under 18s
Robbie Murray

Garry Duffy

Paul Itodo

Ryan Hill

Charlie Wellens

Under 21s
Tahith Chong

Angel Gomes

Brandon Williams

Mason Greenwood

James Garner

​

 

[markmanager]

Interesting.....i presume Newcastle got their take over then? The problem is the A.I. never seems to buy the right players.