Fantastic read as per usual! I swear you could manage any side and still find the game so easy! For free agents if there wages are too high then take them in on trial then after a few days their wage demands should fall.
This was revenge for the surprise defeat via them at the end of last season.
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UEFA Champions League Group A Celtic 0 Eibar 2 (Yanguas 26, Dzerlek 44)
I took a chance and played my backups and youngsters and they did brilliantly.
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Sevilla 2 (Ibarbo 6, Guilavogui 81)
Eibar 2 (Keko 1, Moller Daehli 5)
I am naturally disappointed at throwing away 2pts after a perfect start but I would have taken a point before kick-off.
We fell behind early doors but came back well to win easily.
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Cordoba 2 (Oriol 6, Billiat 16) Eibar 2 (Keko 3, Ruben Garcia 35)
Both sides had goals disallowed here and neither side was able to kill each other off. A fair result.
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UEFA Champions League Group A Eibar 0 Arsenal 0
The Gunners of Spain took on the Gunners of England and it ended in an entertaining nil nil draw.
An unbeaten month with 3 wins and 3 draws so it wasnt too bad. Ruben Garcia has refound his form but Guidetti has struggled this season so far. As for the 4 deadline day signings they havent done too much although Dzerlek has caused the opposition problems when he was called upon.
SPAIN
FIFA World Cup Quals Group 1 Norway 0 Spain 3 (Isco 29, Llorente 38, Pique 72)
Lineup - De Gea, Azpilicueta, Pique*, Ramos, Alba, Busquets (Thiago), Fabregas (Koke), Pedro, Silva (Jese), Isco, Llorente
A tough introduction to international management but we got through it with the victory.
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FIFA World Cup Quals Group 1 Spain 3 (Jese 26, Suso 46, Ramos 66) Kazakhstan 0
Lineup - De Gea, Azpilicueta (Carvajal), Pique, Ramos, Alba, Busquets (Roberto), Thiago (Herrera), Jese*, Silva, Suso, Llorente
I was missing the likes of Bartra, Fabregas, Isco and Mata amongst others here. Suso and Herrera made their debuts.
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SD EIBAR BEAT REAL SOCIEDAD 1-0 TONIGHT IN THEIR FIRST EVER LIGA BBVA GAME THANKS TO A GREAT FREE KICK FROM JAVI LARA
Our first victory over Barcelona!!!! After drawing so many games I wasnt confident going into this game but we performed brilliantly and Clement Grenier was magnificent.
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UEFA Champions League Group A Dinamo Moscow 2 (Popov 5pen, Chipciu 60) Eibar 2 (Dzerlek 26, Milina 80pen)
I am content with a point but young striker, Dzerlek, had a winning goal disallowed.
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Valencia 1 (Dzeko 14pen) Eibar 3 (Ruben Garcia 4, 86, Vadillo 37)
Another huge win and great performance as Valencia were 4pts ahead of us going into the match.
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Deportivo La Coruna 2 (Rusescu 13, Sarabia 53) Eibar 4 (Ruben Garcia 11, 59, Keko 33, Cosic 37)
Another good away victory. Rusescu scored and assisted against us here but we were always in control. Ruben Garcia is in an amazing run of form.
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Eibar 1 (Ruben Garcia 53) Almeria 0
Almeria are rock bottom with only 2pts so I was disappointed not to win by more.
This month was great. We got some nice wins, a couple of half decent draws but also two magnificent wins as we beat Valencia away and Barcelona at home to really put us into contention.
Ruben Garcia has been immense this season. He has already scored more than last season and has really clicked into gear - maybe its because he wants a spot in my Spain team too!!!!
John Guidetti though has been awful as 3 goals in 15 games suggest. God knows where I would be without Ruben Garcia's goals!!!!
Some of you may like to know that Slovenia, with my young talents Klevze and Dzelek, lost 1-0 to San Marino in the qualifiers.........
FIFA World Cup Quals Group 1 Austria 1 (Ivanschitz 24) Spain 5 (Fabregas 6, Isco 26, Diego Costa 36, 40, Jese 75)
Lineup - Asenjo, Azpilicueta, Pique, Ramos, Alba, Busquets (Illarramendi), Fabregas, Pedro (Jese), Silva (Bernat), Isco, Diego Costa*
A good result and performance.
NOVEMBER
UEFA Champions League Group A Eibar 3 (Douglas og6, Klevze 52, Dzerlek 58) Dinamo Moscow 2 (Smolov 13, 18pen)
Dzerlek continues to impress every time I play him. With Guidetti not performing it is only a matter of time before he gets a run in the side.
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Atletico Madrid 2 (Siqueira 39pen, Griezmann 45) Eibar 0
We drop down the table a bit here with this defeat - we just didnt turn up at all.
Ruben Garcia scored another screamer here with a ferocious volley from the edge of the box.
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UEFA Champions League Group A Eibar 2 (Dzerlek 34, Larsen 62) Celtic 0
This win secures qualification. The total age of my 2 goalscorers was 33!!!
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Real Sociedad 2 (De la Bella 2, Ayew 23) Eibar 2 (Ayew og48, Vadillo 72)
I am pleased with the fact that we battled back to get a point but I was not happy at the first half performance.
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UEFA Champions League Group A Arsenal 3 (Wilshere 7, Giroud 12, 44) Eibar 1 (Guidetti 50)
This month wasnt so good and performances dropped a little both as a collective and individually which is a worry and our league position at the end of the month is a worrying 6th place. That said, we are only 5pts off 1st place and this at the moment is looking like to be the tightest title race for a while.
Copa del Rey 4th Round 1st Leg Granada 0 Eibar 2 (Ruben Garcia 23, Moller Daehli 45)
This win should pretty much secure our path into the next round. I have no idea why the draw wasnt seeded as usual though.
A perfect month as we won all 4 games pretty easily. We progressed in the Copa del Rey and will play the only non-league side left in the tournament in the 5th round while in the Champions League Manchester City await.
JANUARY
Copa del Rey 5th Round 1st Leg Marino 0 Eibar 4 (Klevze 13, 50, Suarez 76, 78)
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Levante 2 (Pallardo 24, Keirrison 90) Eibar 2 (Moller Daehli 38, Dzerlek 60)
This is a disappointing result but it could have been worse as they had a goal disallowed just before they equalised.
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Copa del Rey 5th Round 2nd Leg Eibar 4 (Milina 46, Larsen 74, Suarez 78, Telletxea 83) Marino 1 (Victor 63) (Eibar win 8-1 on aggregate)
Keko set up all 4 goals for us here.
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Eibar 3 (Ekiza 44, 82, Keko 71) Espanyol 1 (Alamo 29)
A decent win I suppose. Keko continues to make an impact whenever he plays as he came off the bench to score the decisive goal.
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Copa del Rey QF 1st Leg Sevilla 1 (Moreno 57) Eibar 4 (Yanguas 37, Dzerlek 63, Cosic 70, Klevze 81)
A stunning victory this, especially if you consider we were without a few key players such as Ruben Garcia, Vadillo, Grenier and Ocampos!!!!
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Osasuna 1 (Guerrero 32) Eibar 1 (Dzerlek 22)
I feel cheated here. Ewandro was taken down when clean through on goal in the last minute and their defender duly got sent-off but instead of a penalty we got a free-kick which was taken seemingly just over the line of the 18 yard box!!!!!
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Copa del Rey QF 2nd Leg Eibar 2 (Gabriel Paulista og23, Keko 33) Sevilla 0 (Eibar win 6-1 on aggregate)
I am pleased that my under strength side managed to win this one.
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Eibar 1 (Guidetti 88) Real Madrid 3 (Rodriguez 37, Benzema 43, Ronaldo 45)
Thats our 4th meeting against Real Madrid this season and our 4th defeat. At least we won the 2nd half!
Performance wise this month was not too bad as we got some great results in the cup, and so-so in the league which leaves us lying in 5th place which is a worry but I am confident we can finish 3rd.
One player left the club in January as Konstantin Vassiljev went out on loan but I made one decent signing and one brilliant signing...............
Ewandro was signed on a pre-contract deal from Sao Paulo so he arrives on a free transfer. I agreed the deal during Guidetti's dry spell (not that it has ended) but before Dzerlek's good spell and he has had his moments and should do well - I hope!!! View attachment 340524
The player I am extremely excited about is Lucas Ocampos. I signed him from AS Monaco for $800,000 which is an absolute bargain. I could have signed him on a pre-contract deal but wanted him immediately and upon signing him his value shot up to $9.5m!!!!!! View attachment 340522
It has taken me a time to realise it but while I am used to achieving greatness so quickly the steady progression in this save is fulfilling. My first XI cost less than $20m but would sell for nearly 5 times as much so I am improving the squad slowly but surely.
Copa del Rey SF 1st Leg Eibar 2 (Patric 38, Milina 52pen) Elche 1 (Pedro 81)
I took a bit of a risk here in fielding my backup players but I was confident that they would get a result and they did.
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Eibar 3 (Ocampos 2, 58, 63pen) Granada 1 (Borja 64)
Ocampos fired in his first goals for the club here. I will have to decide who to drop for him soon when Ruben Garcia returns from injury..........
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Copa del Rey SF 2nd Leg Elche 4 (Angel 42, 59, 64, Bueno 63) Eibar 5 (Grenier 31, Ewandro 34, Victor Ruiz 38, Klevze 45, Dos Santos 87) (Eibar win 7-5 on aggregate)
This was a crazy match in which my old striker, Angel, scored a hat-trick against us.
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Numancia 2 (Vazquez 22, Moreno y Fabianesi 67) Eibar 5 (Vadillo 6, Moller Daehli 32, 64, 90, Tejera 83)
A decent win as Moller Daehli finally found his scoring boots. Milina had a goal disallowed.
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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg Eibar 0 Manchester City 1 (Kompany 52)
Not too bad - we are still in the tie but I doubt we will go through. Both sides had a goal disallowed.
We did well this month and scored quite a few goals despite me still not being able to decide who is my best striker midway through the season!!!!
In the league we are currently in 2nd place but a bit off the leaders Real Madrid and in the Champions League we are 1-0 down to Man City after the first leg. We have made it to the Copa del Rey final though and we will have to beat Barcelona in the final if we are to retain the cup.
MARCH
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Ibai Gomez 5, Escudero og6, De Marcos 75) Eibar 1 (Ocampos 22)
Our nightmare start and Cosic's red card was the reasons for defeat here but I dont mind getting beat by them!!!!
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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg Manchester City 1 (Isco 64) Eibar 1 (Moller Daehli 90) (Manchester City win 2-1 on aggregate)
A good performance and to be honest we are unlucky not to go through over the 2 legs.
This wasnt such a good month as we were knocked out of the Champions League and lost to Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao in the league to end any sort of hopes we had of winning the title.
The youth intake was ok. 3 players were signed on but nobody to shout about unfortunately.
FIFA World Cup Quals Group 1 Spain 2 (Isco 18, Jese 75) Norway 1 (De Lanlay 69)
Lineup - De Gea, Azpilicueta (Bartra), Pique, Ramos*, Bernat, Alba, Javi Martinez, Thiago, Ruben Garcia, Mata (Jese), Isco, Diego Costa (Llorente)
I was a bit biased I admit in giving Ruben Garcia his debut but hey ho. Llorente missed a penalty which was hit so wide it almost went out of the stadium!!!
A great win as we blitzed them right from the start and were insatiable in front of goal. Grenier got 3 assists and Ruben Garcia got 2.
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Real Betis 2 (Cedrick 26, Jona 68) Eibar 3 (Cosic 1, Guidetti 39, Ocampos 61)
Plenty of goals at the moment!!!! Cosic scoring 2 in 2 is rare!!!
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Eibar 5 (Ocampos 27, 31, 45, 89, Ruben Garcia 88) Atletico Madrid 6 (Martinez 9, 35, 85, Mandzukic 14, Griezmann 52, Iborra 54)
This was a crazy game and no doubt that the sending-off of Victor Ruiz made us lose the game.
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Eibar 3 (Ocampos 32, Moller Daehli 65, Ruben Garcia 82) Real Sociedad 2 (Canales 24, Ayew 75)
A tough derby match but we came out on top in the end. They had a man sent-off with 5min to go.
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Elche 0 Eibar 3 (Moller Daehli 5, Dzerlek 56, Ocampos 60pen)
Real drew and Barca lost so we close in on them again here. An unlikely title win is not going to happen though!!!
Goals galore this month as we hit Almeria for 6 and put 5 past Atletico Madrid and still lost!!!! Not to worry though as 3rd place is pretty much secured and there is a slim chance that we can actually split the big two for the first time.
Lucas Ocampos was on fire this month and now has 13 goals in 17 games for me which makes him my 2nd top scorer behind Ruben Garcia in the league!
A great victory this considering we were down to 10 men early on.
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Eibar 4 (Vadillo 8, Keko 24, Suarez 30, Ewandro 31) Levante 1 (Keirrison 85)
I rested my first team for the upcoming cup final and my youngsters and backups beat newly relegated Levante easily. We reached the 100 goal mark here too.
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Copa del Rey Final Barcelona 3 (Suarez 71, 90, Neymar 84) Eibar 4 (Dzerlek 19, 59, Moller Daehli 42, Grenier 68)
WE RETAIN THE CUP!!!!!
With 10min to go we were 4-1 up and thrashing them but we conceded two late goals to give them hope. A great result though.
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Espanyol 2 (Matheus Alves 8, Alamo 29) Eibar 5 (Dzerlek 35, Jonas Gutierrez og45, Moller Daehli 54, 63, Cosic 90)
An entertaining end to the season!!!! Cosic's goal was a beauty.
The final month of the season was amazing as we scored 17 goals in 4 games and picked up the Copa del Rey to boot!!!!
Despite winning our remaining games we still finished 3rd in the table but the big two know that their are a new club on their tails...........
The Copa del Rey final was great. We surged into a 4-1 lead and it was amazing and although we conceded 2 late goals it was still a momentous moment and our 2nd win over Barca was secure.
On one hand you could say that we havent progressed as we finished 3rd for the 3rd time in a row, won the cup for the 2nd season in a row and did worse in the Champions League. However I think that this season we have taken big strides!
In the league we finished 6pts behind the champions, Real Madrid, but we scored 105 goals which was 19 more than the champions but we conceded 60 which was more than double of Real Madrid!!! We were always going to finish 3rd and not compete with the top two but the arrival of Lucas Ocampos changed that and upon his arrival we scored far more goals as his pace and creativity added an extra edge to our play and we ended the season on top form.
We easily won the Copa del Rey as we won every game and beat Barcelona 4-3 in the final which was far more one sided than the scoreline suggests.
In Europe we didnt pull up any trees but performed admirably against Arsenal and Manchester City who disposed of us in the 1st knockout round.
Player wise my youngsters have come on leaps and bounds as Yanguas, Cosic, Dzerlek and Moller Daehli excelled whille the more experienced Grenier, Ekiza, Ruben Garcia and Victor Ruiz were great also. The main disappointment was John Guidetti who really struggled and his lack of form probably cost us the title as I was always chopping and changing the striker during the season.
Spanish Young Player of the Year - S.Dzerlek Liga BBVA Player of the Year - M.Moller Daehli Liga BBVA Top Spanish Scorer - Ruben Garcia Liga BBVA Team of the Year - B.Ekiza, Ruben Garcia, M.Moller Daehli UEFA European Golden Boy - M.Moller Daehli
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SUMMER PLANS
Money is going to be tight as I was just told that my transfer budget for the summer would be $1.8m!!!!!! The lack of match day revenue due to our tiny stadium is really hitting us hard and I will do well to significantly strengthen my squad.
I am tempted to sell Grenier or Ocampos for a huge profit but I am trying to build a championship winning side and those two are key players in that.
As ever I went into the summer hoping to strengthen the squad to get closer to the level of Real and Barca and while I think I have done that with the players I have brought in, the balance of the squad may be wrong.
All will now be explained............
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PLAYERS IN
Defence is where I needed to strengthen most so as you would expect I did not sign any defenders for the first team!!! I did bring in this young lad though and loaned him out straight away. View attachment 339763
My biggest spend on a player was the $3.6m I gave Barcelona for their attacking midfielder Rafinha. I just cannot resist a good AM and although I didnt need him I couldnt say no at that price. View attachment 339762
My best signing however, without a doubt, was Gabriel Barbosa who arrived from Atletico Madrid for a bargain $3.5m. We own 60% of the player and the 20y/o wonderkid will be a massive star for us. View attachment 339761
Finally, Marco Benassi joined us from Inter Milan on a free transfer. To get a player of his quality in on a free is great but once again I didnt really need him!!! View attachment 339760
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PLAYERS OUT
I received $8m from Atletico Madrid for John Guidetti (91/44) which was great considering I got him on a free a couple of summers ago. Mauro Dos Santos (72/8) left to join Osasuna for $2.4m while Jaka Zvipelj and Roberto Rosales joined Real Betis for a total of $2.9m.
Constant Djakpa went to Cluj for $600k and I released Vassiljev, I.Flano, M.Flano, and Jonatan Valle.
Out on loan to get experience (and to cut my wage bill) is Ewandro, Klevze, Boudzoumou, Larsen and Blazej.
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SUMMARY
So as you can see I sold 3 defenders and brought none in!!! I have registered my squad for the league and I had 4 non-eu players so that is why Ewandro went out on loan so I am short up front too.
I am still paying too much wages and need to offer Moller Daehli (Barca bid $25m for him during the summer and his release clause is $27m) and Ocampos (release clause is $7.75m) new contracts so I am in the process of selling my keeper, Frederik Ronnow, for a cut price $1m.
To be fair I had planned to sell Keko, Tejera and Suarez but I got no offers for them!!!!!
Here is my starting XI
Ortola
Escudero - Ekiza - Victor Ruiz - Patric
Cosic - Grenier
Ruben Garcia (LW) - Moller Daehli - Ocampos (RW)
Gabriel Barbosa
Promoted from the U19s to add some depth to the squad is Christensen, Kerr and Telletxea while if Ronnow departs a decent prospect in goal will also get promoted.
A fantastic start to the season as we blew Numancia away.
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Spanish Super Cup 1st Leg Eibar 3 (Moller Daehli 9, 14, Ruben Garcia 75pen) Real Madrid 4 (Djordjevic 37, Rodriguez 45, Wanyama 55, Knoche 81)
This is disappointing as we were 2-0 up and cruising.
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Eibar 4 (Ocampos 29, 44, Yanguas 65, Gabriel Barbosa 73) Espanyol 0
We scored 2 with 10 men here after Victor Ruiz got sent-off. Gabriel Barbosa picked up a goal on his debut.
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Spanish Super Cup 2nd Leg Real Madrid 4 (Djordjevic 8, Rodriguez 48pen, 89, Ronaldo 90) Eibar 3 (Gabriel Barbosa 2, Ocampos 21, Ekiza 67) (Real Madrid win 8-6 on aggregate)
Escudero's sending-off possibly cost us the cup here.
An entertaining start to the season as we got two big wins in the league and lost out twice to Real Madrid, both games being 7 goal thrillers.
There was more transfer activity. Keko had a move to Sevilla fall through after they completed the signing of Denis Suarez from us for $5.5m. That is a $5m profit for us although his value did rocket up to $12.5m!!!!
Frederik Ronnow left to join Cluj for $1m after he made 171 appearances for us and Danish winger Jesper Christensen was loaned out to Reims and Keko joined Villarreal on loan.
Incoming was Kyle Naughton and Giuseppe Rossi who were brought in on free transfers and will provide cover for the full backs and striker respectively. View attachment 339749View attachment 339744
I also signed a French wonderkid on loan from Manchester City. Anas Abdellaoui will provide cover for my centre backs. View attachment 339748
I recalled Belgian winger, Boudzoumou, to the club and he will be in my first team squad.
In the Champions League we have been put in a group with Manchester United, Wolfsburg and Legia Warsaw.
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UEFA Champions League Group E Eibar 3 (Ocampos 36pen, Ruben Garcia 43, Rafinha 90) VfL Wolfsburg 1 (Remy 16)
I rested a couple of players here and we did well. Rafinha scored his first goal for the club. Man Utd drew with Legia in the other game.
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Villarreal 1 (Filipe Luis 26) Eibar 3 (Grenier 27, Victor Ruiz 85, Moller Daehli 89)
5 wins out of 5 in the league now............
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Real Madrid 3 (Djordjevic 32, Fabregas 66, Ronaldo 87) Eibar 1 (Grenier 15)
Our 100% record in the league is over as we succumb to a superior Real Madrid side.
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Eibar 1 (Telletxea 78)
Sporting Gijon 0
Rossi had a goal disallowed but his replacement won the game for us.
Not finding it too easy as I havent won the title yet and the stadium is still as big as a baby tomato which impacts the clubs finances.
Either I win the Champions League and Liga BBVA in one season soon or I will have to do a fire sale and replace my stars who were bought on the cheap with more bargain buys.
That or a rich businessman takes over the club....................l
UEFA Champions League Group E Manchester United 4 (Candreva 18, Rooney 22, Van Persie 36, Powell 47) Eibar 2 (Boudzoumou 8, Ruben Garcia 55)
I was missing several players here so a win was always going to be unlikely.
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Eibar 4 (Ruben Garcia 29, 57, Dzerlek 45, Moller Daehli 73) Malaga 0
A great performance and result. Mats Moller Daehli was fantastic and was involved in all 4 goals.
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Valencia 0 Eibar 2 (Ocampos 22, Grenier 32)
A huge win that makes me think that a title challenge is on the cards.
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UEFA Champions League Group E Eibar 3 (Boudzoumou 30, Abdellaoui 47, Rafinha 79) Legia Warsaw 2 (Jutkiewicz 43pen, Vilhjalmsson 63)
I fielded a backup side here and they just about managed to win thankfully.
This was a great win as we put in some really impressive performances - especially away from home - and only Man Utd were able to beat us but there were reasons behind that defeat.
Next month will be just as tough as we will face up against Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao.
FIFA World Cup Quals Group 1 Moldova 0 Spain 4 (Ruben Garcia 16, Pedro 19, Isco 34, Llorente 76)
Lineup - De Gea, Azpilicueta, Pique, Ramos, Alba, Busquets (Javi Martinez), Fabregas, Pedro (Mata), Ruben Garcia*, Isco, Diego Costa (Llorente)
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FIFA World Cup Quals Group 1 Greece 1 (Samaras 16) Spain 3 (Isco 14, Ruben Garcia 41, Diego Costa 49)
Lineup - De Gea, Carvajal, Pique, Ramos, Bernat, Javi Martinez, Fabregas (Thiago), Pedro, Ruben Garcia, Isco*, Diego Costa
This win finishes off the qualification campaign in which we won every match.