Sevilla FC - Rise of Los Nervionenses!

[AW190]

View attachment 1059509

September Review

First up in September, Valencia away
Starting XI: Rulli,Tremoulinas, Carrico, Fontas, Mariano, Onazi, Banega, Konoplyanka, Zahavi,Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 144635

And another loss, second season syndrome well and truly kicking in now.

Next up we start our CL campaign; can it provide some much needed respite?
First, the odds:
View attachment 144634
66-1?!?! We're the champions of Spain ffs!

Our first game is a nice easy one away at Man City
StartingXI: Rulli, Grimaldo, TK, Fontas, Coke, Iborra, Fernandez, Konoplyanka, Curro,Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 144633

We acquitted ourselves better in this game, but still fell short... More performances like that and the results should come.

But... it's Barcelona next.
StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, TK, Fontas, Coke, Iborra, Onazi, Banega, Konoplyanka,Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 144632
Goalscorers:TK (1), Gameiro (2), Vitolo (3)

Well, that was out of the blue!!! What a win!!! Hope this can kickstart our campaign now.

Next up, Eibar. A perfect chance to gain some momentum.
StartingXI: Rulli, Grimaldo, TK, Morel, Mariano, Onazi, Banega, Fernandez, Konoplyanka,Reyes, Llorente
View attachment 144631
Goalscorers:Llorente (1), OG, Konoplyanka (1)

Solid win, starting to climb up the table now

INJURY NEWS:
View attachment 144630
Just a minor injury

Away at Espanyol now
StartingXI: Rico, Grimaldo, Morel, Carrico, Mariano, Onazi, Banega, Curro, Zahavi,Reyes, Alonso
View attachment 144629
Goalscorer:Zahavi (2)

Admittedly I did rotate heavily in preparation for our next Champions League game so I'm not too disappointed by this result.

Our next champions league game, and one we need to win at home to Wolfsburg
StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Fontas, TK, Mariano, Iborra, Fernandez, Banega,Konoplyanka, Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 144628
Goalscorers:Fernandez (1), Gameiro (4), OG

Well, not too shabby. Defensively, work to do but we look like we're beginning to get our attacking edge back.

INJURY NEWS:
View attachment 144627
Not too long again, and coincides with the imminent return of Sarabia.

Champions League Standings
View attachment 144625
City fail to beat Olympiakos, meaning the group is still quite tight at this early stage. With a double header against Olympiakos to come, we should be able to give ourselves a good chance of qualifying.

La Liga Standings
View attachment 144626
With our form finally picking up, we start heading up the table and find ourselves in 7th place now. Some winnable games next month, hopefully we can pull ourselves up into the Champions League places at least.

Next Update - October

N.B. I know I said the exams are over, but I'm still getting distracted by the Euros Will try and get updates out where possible!



​

 

[AW190]

Yess Second season, interesting that you've hardly made signings its gonna be hard. Still think you can do it!!

Thanks for the faith mate, there wasn't really much out there that looked all that good for the limitations I set so it's more about giving youngsters a chance this season!

 

[Khalaf]

First Season with Arsenal i won Champions League and Premier League winning comfortbaly nearly every game, i had a great pre season all 5-0 wins then the season starts and im stuggling with 1-0 wins , weird how the tactics become weaker in second season i had to change it.

 

[dave8721]

great 1st season. good luck the rest of the 2nd.

 

[AW190]

First Season with Arsenal i won Champions League and Premier League winning comfortbaly nearly every game, i had a great pre season all 5-0 wins then the season starts and im stuggling with 1-0 wins , weird how the tactics become weaker in second season i had to change it.

That's to do with the fact that the AI are able to adapt to it, so you need to change it. Doesn't explain our struggles so much, as I rotate between 3 tactics and slightly tweak them every month to try and stop the AI countering it...

great 1st season. good luck the rest of the 2nd.

Cheers mate!

 

[AW190]

Guess who's back..?

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View attachment 1061607
October Review

The first half of the month is international duty, although there's just enough time to squeeze in a trip to Deportivo beforehand.
Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Fontas, Carrico, Coke, Onazi, Banega, Fernandez, Reyes, Vitolo, Llorente
View attachment 142772
Goalscorers: Llorente (4), Vitolo (4)

Well... that was something!

INJURY NEWS:
View attachment 142771
Llorente suffers a minor injury during the game, but with the international break now upon us, he will be fine for the return of the league.

Which is good news because...
View attachment 142770
We have a major problem. Llorente is now our only out and out striker with first team experience. We do have a promising youth striker who will likely get some game time

Meet Pablo Alonso:
View attachment 142765
I set Monchi up to find some good youth and snap them up. This guy is all he found over the summer (and then I forgot to SS his arrival xD). Looks decent enough, now to see if he's up to scratch.

Copa del Rey draw, less about what minnow we get, more about the route to final
View attachment 142769
The route to the trophy isn't as easy this year, as we will most likely play Real Sociedad, Espanyol, Real Madrid and then Atleti/Barca/Valencia in the final. Doable, just about.

Back to the league, and a trip to San Sebastian to take on Real Sociedad
Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Fontas, TK, Coke, Iborra, Curro, Fernandez, Konoplanka, Vitolo, Llorente
View attachment 142768

Zzzz


CL football now, and a trip to Greece to take on 4th seeds Olympiakos
Starting XI: Rulli, Grimaldo, Carrico, TK, Mariano, Onazi, Banega, Fernandez, Sarabia, Reyes, Llorente
View attachment 142767
Goalscorer: Reyes [1]

Disappointing we couldn't hold on to the lead. Again.


We go again, as Atleti come to town.
Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Fontas, Carrico, Coke, Onazi, Banega, Fernandez, Konoplanka, Vitolo, Llorente
View attachment 142762
Goalscorers: OG, Onazi [1]

Good solid win, nice to keep a clean sheet as well

Next up are minnows Girona
Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Rami, TK, Coke, Fontas, Iborra, Fernandez, Zahavi, Reyes, Alonso
View attachment 142761
Goalscorers: Rami [1], Fernandez [2], Reyes [2]

Solid win, on to the next.

Which is the lovely trip to Vigo to take on Celta
Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Fontas, TK, Coke, Iborra, Curro, Fernandez, Konoplanka, Vitolo, Llorente
...
...
...
...
...
...

Guess who got too immersed into the save and forgot to take the SS of this match? Yeh, again

It finished 1-1, with Onazi's 2nd goal of the campaign cancelled out by a late, late Jonny goal for Celta. Tough to take, even if I could sense it coming.

Even worse was to come though:
View attachment 142760
We now have no recognised senior centre forward for almost all of November. I will rotate between Alonso and Zahavi (who can play competently as a striker, but more as a Götze/Fabregas style False 9). Alonso is unregistered for the CL campaign so those game will have Zahavi up front.

Also:
View attachment 142759
Not so major, not such a worry.


League Table:
View attachment 142758
Getting there... but Malaga top?! :'(

Champions League standings:
View attachment 142757
Tight. Need to make the most of the home games now.

Next Update - November​
​

 

[AW190]

View attachment 1064379

November Review

First up, the return game with Olympiakos
StartingXI: Rico, Grimaldo, Rami, Fontas, Mariano, Iborra, Fernandez, Banega, Curro,Sarabia, Zahavi
View attachment 140314
Goalscorers:Grimaldo (1), Zahavi (3)

So. Annoying. Why can't we beat them? This is a massive blow to our chances...

And talking of blows:
View attachment 140313
View attachment 140312

We lose 2 backup players for a bit as well! Not the best of games!

A chance to get over that, as we welcome Villarreal to Seville.

Starting XI: Rulli,Tremoulinas, Fontas, Carrico, Coke, Iborra, Banega, Fernandez, Konoplyanka,Vitolo, Alonso
View attachment 140311
Goalscorers:Konoplyanka (2)

And another game we should have won... really lacking a cutting edge without either striker.


After the international break (which our players survived this time), it was time to welcome Granada in an attempt to get back on track

StartingXI: Rico, TK, Fontas, Rami, Coke, Iborra, Fernandez, Krohn-Delhi, Sarabia,Reyes, Alonso
View attachment 140310
Goalscorers:Alonso (2)

He scored! Twice! Both good finishes as well, at a time I was considering taking him off!

DISCIPLINE:
View attachment 140309
TK got himself sent off, which didn't help

RECORD BREAKER:
View attachment 140308
Let's hope they won't be his only goals!

Next up, the visit of Man City in a must win game if we want a favourable draw in the next round.
StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Rami, Fontas, Coke, Onazi, Fernandez, Banega,Konoplyanka, Vitolo, Zahavi
View attachment 140307

... Or not. We now need a result at Wolfsburg to qualify.

A chance to get over the disappointment with a trip to basement team Zaragoza.
StartingXI: Rico, Tremoulinas, Rami, Morel, Mariano, Onazi, Iborra, Sarabia,Krohn-Delhi, Reyes, Alonso
View attachment 140306
Goalscorer: Reyes(3)

A rotated team sees us through. Currently used 25 players in La Liga so far, the most of anyone.

The last game for the month is the do or die clash in Wolfsburg

Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Fontas, Rami, Mariano, Onazi, Banega, Konoplyanka, Zahavi, Vitolo, Llorente
View attachment 140300
Goalscorers: Zahavi (4), Konoplyanka (3), Llorente (5)

It was do or die and we rose to the challenge! We qualify for the knockout stages of Europe's main club competition for only the 4th time in their history!

Champions League Final Standings
View attachment 140296
Confirmation of our 2nd place finish. We will face one of: Bayern Munich, Shakhtar Donetsk, PSG, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund or Marseille.

La Liga Standings
View attachment 140302
Pretty close at the top with just 6 points between the top 5; we're right in the mix again, which is where we wanted to be at the start. In our current form there's no reason why we can't continue to climb in an attempt to defend our crown.

Next Update - December


​

 

[AW190]

View attachment 1065234

December Review

First game this month is a fairly easy one, away to Albacete.

StartingXI: Rulli, TK, Fontas, Carrico, Mariano, Banega, Onazi, Konoplyanka, Zahavi,Sarabia, Alonso
View attachment 139542
Goalscorer: Alonso (3)

A narrow win, but still a win. Good to see Alonso net again.

Next up, cup action and the away leg is first.

StartingXI: Rico, Grimaldo, Rami, TK, Coke, Iborra, Fernandez, Curro, Krohn-Delhi,Sarabia, Llorente
View attachment 139541
Goalscorer: Llorente [6]

We were wasteful, we still have to try in the second leg now!

First semi-tough game this month, away at rivals Real Betis

Starting XI: Rulli,Tremoulinas, Carrico, Fontas, Mariano, Onazi. Banega, Konoplyanka, Zahavi,Sarabia, Llorente
View attachment 139540
Goalscorers: Sarabia (2), Carrico (1)

Best win so far. They never really threatened.

Quick break from the action for the CL draw:
View attachment 139539
SHAKHTAR!

A good draw for us, I wanted them or Marseille. We have a good chance of matching the clubs best ever run in the CL (QF's in 1957/58 - lost 10-2 on aggregate to Real Madrid).

Back to the action and a return leg of the cup

StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Fontas, Carrico, Mariano, Iborra, Onazi, Banega,Konoplyanka, Sarabia, Gameiro
View attachment 139538
Goalscorers:Konoplyanka (4), Iborra (2)

Gameiro made his long awaited return from injury here, and got an assist to his name as we battered Burgos. Iborra the surprise name with the brace.

There was a minor injury sustained in that game though:
View attachment 139537

Onazi won't play again before the winter break

DRAW:
View attachment 139536
MALAGA!

Our arch rivals in the cup, with them performing well in the league it should be a cracking couple of matches!

Final match before the winter break is Bilbao at home

StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, TK, Rami, Mariano, Iborra, Fernandez, Banega,Konoplyanka, Vitolo, Alonso
View attachment 139535
Goalscorers:TK (1), Alonso (4)

A solid win, albeit we were very nervous at the end. Nice to see Alonso scoring again! A well taken finish as well, showing a lot of calmness in front of goal.

However, there was one piece of bad news from that game:
View attachment 139534
Fernandez might not play again this season. I'll keep an eye on how his attributes drop - if it's too much I may have to sell him in the summer.

Another injury, this time during the winter break
View attachment 139528

Oh, and then someone decided it was a good idea for our winter break to end in the same year! So Malaga pay us a visit on New Years Eve.

Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Carrico, Fontas, Mariano, Onazi, Banega, Konoplanka, Zahavi, Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 139523
Goalscorers: Zahavi (5), Banega (2)

A solid win to round off 2016.

La Liga Table
View attachment 139515

Realistically only a 3 horse race now

---

Mid Season Report and Player Stats

Positives

• Development of Pablo Alonso. Could be a star if he keeps it up
• Still fighting at the top of the league, retaining our title might not be as impossible as first thought.
• Grinding out 1-0 wins when not playing well
• Playing more possession based football, like I prefer with a high pressing game
• Goals coming from all over the pitch
• Improved financial performance
• Qualification from CL group

Negatives

• Poor performances in Copa Del Rey
• Lack of a reliable goalscorer
• Injuries
• Despite not conceding all that often, look shaky at the back still
• Performances in big games
• Discipline issues

Player Stats
View attachment 139520
View attachment 139519

Top Scorer: Fernando Llorente
Most Assists: Eugene Konoplyanka
Highest Avg Rating: Mariano
Best Player (My Opinion): Eugene Konoplyanka
Best Young Player (U23, My Opinion): Pablo Alonso

---

World Awards

View attachment 139516
Um... what?

View attachment 139517
Normal


View attachment 139518
Um... did you forget some guys?

---

Transfer Window Plans

Realistically not going to do much, depends on what bids come in I suppose. I will probably look to sign a CM on loan to replace Fernandez for the rest of the season.

Players Wanted
Vitolo - Manchester United
Vicente Iborra - Chelsea
Daniel Carrico - Sporting Lisbon
Adil Rami - Swansea City
Ever Banega - Chelsea
Kevin Gameiro - Roma
Benoit Tremoulinas - Arsenal
Coke - Marseille


Next Update - January Review + Transfer Window​
​

 

[AW190]

View attachment 1066653

January Transfer Window + Review

January Transfers
First move was a loan move for a youngster:
View attachment 138123
Some well earned first team football for him.

We then need a replacement for him, so I go looking to the youth team.
Welcome to the first team squad, Paco Herrador!
View attachment 138122

View attachment 138119

And then for the CM loan I was looking for:
View attachment 138121

View attachment 138118

MAJOR TRANSFERS
View attachment 138120

---

January Review

First up, we host rivals Malaga in the Copa del Rey
StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Carrico, Fontas, Mariano, Banega, Iborra, Onazi,Konoplyanka, Sarabia, Gameiro
View attachment 138135
Goalscorer: Sarabia [5]

A good result thanks to Sarabia's hattrick

Next up, we host Rayo Vallecano
StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Carrico, Morel, Mariano, Banega, Iborra, Onazi,Konoplyanka, Sarabia, Alonso
View attachment 138124
(Yeah, forgot to SS again )
Goalscorers:Iborra (2), Onazi (3), Sarabia (6)

Another good result


Next up, the return leg against Malaga
StartingXI: Rico, Grimaldo, Fontas, Rami, Coke, Banega, Krohn-Delhi, Vitolo, Sarabia,Reyes, Llorente
View attachment 138134
Goalscorers:Vitolo (5), Reyes (4)

Annoying to not get the win, but we're through

To face:
View attachment 138133
ESPANYOL

Not bad, but it will get a lot tougher after this (almost certainly Real Madrid)

Back to the league, and Levante away
StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Fontas, Rami, Mariano, Boateng, Iborra, Konoplyanka,Zahavi, Sarabia, Gameiro
View attachment 138132
Goalscorer: Fontas [2]

Hmmm... rotation beginning to affect us?

Onto the Copa del Rey and the away leg is first
StartingXI: Rico, Grimaldo, Fontas, Rami, Coke, Iborra, Banega, Sarabia, Zahavi,Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 138131
Goalscorers:Gameiro (6), Reyes (5)

Not too bad I guess, we've got the away goals. At a price:
View attachment 138130


And next? Real Madrid.
StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Fontas, Carrico, Mariano, Iborra, Banega, Zahavi,Konoplyanka, Sarabia, Gameiro
View attachment 138129
Goalscorer:Konoplyanka (5)

That's 4 defeats in 4 games to them, the one big team we can't seem to stop. This also gives them a clear gap at the top of the table...

No time to dwell on that, as Espanyol come to town for the return leg of the CdR
StartingXI: Rico, Grimaldo, TK, Rami, Coke, Iborra, Boateng, Krohn-Delhi, Curro, Reyes,Llorente
View attachment 138128
Goalscorers:Grimaldo (2), Llorente (6)

A win, good for one half but terrible for the other half.
We will face:
View attachment 138127
Ah.
REAL MADRID.
That's us out.

And before the next game, this popped up:
View attachment 138126
Just over a season and a half and I've made it to 100 already! Although, the next game is a milestone and we all know what that normally means...

Valencia are the team to face us
StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Fontas, Carrico, Mariano, Iborra, Banega, Krohn-Delhi,Konoplyanka, Sarabia, Gameiro
View attachment 138125

As expected.


La Liga Standings
View attachment 138117

Well... It will be a major shock if Real Madrid don't win the title now. But, Barcelona are slipping up as much as us, so we have a good chance of holding them off for 2nd place.

Next Update - February​
​

 

[AW190]

View attachment 1067590

February Review

Our start to February is horrible, and we begin with the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi final against Real Madrid

StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Carrico, Fontas, Mariano, Banega, Onazi, Konoplyanka,Zahavi, Sarabia, Gameiro
View attachment 137282
Goalscorers:Onazi [4], Konoplyanka [7]

What a time for us to finally get a first win against them! However, the away goal means we're definitely not safe yet.


Sandwiched between the two legs we have the small matter of a trip to the Nou Camp. Great.

StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Fontas, Rami, Mariano, Banega, Boateng, Konoplyanka,Zahavi, Reyes, Gameiro
View attachment 137281
Goalscorer:Zahavi [6]

Despite putting up a good fight, the clinicalness of Suarez sees Barcelona take an important 3 points.

No chance to be down about it, as we have a lead to defend at the Bernabeu

StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Fontas, TK, Mariano, Onazi, Iborra, Konoplyanka,Zahavi, Sarabia, Gameiro
View attachment 137280

It wasn't pretty at all - indeed, we didn't even manage a shot on target! But, we managed to restrict Real to mainly long range shots, and looked fairly comfortable throughout. Back-to-back finals for us, we won't find out who we play until the end of the month when Barca have their second leg against Valencia.

Back to the league, and the easiest game for us by far this month as Espanyol visit us.

StartingXI: Rico, Grimaldo, Rami, TK, Coke, Boateng, Iborra, Krohn-Delhi, Reyes,Sarabia, Alonso
View attachment 137279
Goalscorers:Alonso [5], Sarabia [7], Iborra [4]

This game was played very much with the next one in mind, but we barely broke sweat as we strolled to a 3-0 victory.

And with that, the Champions League made a return. Shakhtar are in town.

StartingXI: Rulli, Grimaldo, TK, Carrico, Mariano, Fontas, Iborra, Onazi, Konoplyanka,Sarabia, Gameiro
View attachment 137278
Goalscorer: Grimaldo [3]

Such a frustrating game! We should have won this 3 or 4-0! Still, Shakhtar were poor enough for me to guess that 1 goal in Ukraine will see us through.

Back to the league though, and a trip to Eibar.

StartingXI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, TK, Herrador, Coke, Boateng, Banega, Konoplyanka,Zahavi, Sarabia, Alonso
View attachment 137277
Goalscorer:Sarabia [8], Alonso [6]

We dominated from start to finish, but contrived to miss 2 penalties as we only won 2-0!

And in this game:
View attachment 137276
He didn't have much to do, but did it well.

Also, in injury news:
View attachment 137275
Will give a chance to Reyes and Vitolo to get some game time.

And we finally find out who we will get in the Copa del Rey final:
View attachment 137274
The other half of El Clasico!

And finally, we play Deportivo in the league.

Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Rami, Fontas, Mariano, Banega, Onazi, Konoplyanka, Zahavi, Vitolo, Llorente
View attachment 137273
Goalscorers: Llorente [8], Banega [3], Konoplyanka [8]

An entertaining win to round out the month

La Liga Standings
View attachment 137272
Well... Real have got it wrapped up really. We have a solid chance of second with the slight lead over Barca.

Next Update - Youth Intake​
​

 

[AW190]

View attachment 1068212
Youth Intake 2016/17

Here we go, got a decent one (Herrador) last year, can we get another one this year?
View attachment 136705

So, like last time we have two decent players really, the rest aren't good enough. Without further ado, here are the two good ones!

Alfonso Cruz (ST)
View attachment 136704
So, another class striker coming through the ranks! However, this guy is almost the complete opposite to Alonso - more like Giroud, whereas Alonso is very much in the Vardy mould.

Marcos Gómez (RB)
View attachment 136703
A solid RB, but I don't think he will quite be good enough to be the starting RB for us in the future. A good rotational option though.

Next Update - March Review​
​

 

[lewie100]

Cruz looks like he could be promising in the future!

2nd is a great position to be in, even after your title win, I'm sure Leicester would take 2nd this season!

 

[AW190]

Cruz looks like he could be promising in the future!

2nd is a great position to be in, even after your title win, I'm sure Leicester would take 2nd this season!

I'd have to agree with you there - him, Alonso and Herrador look very promising for the future!
Of course I'm happy with 2nd if we get it, but the gap to Real looks like it needs some fresh faces for it to get smaller!

 

[AW190]

View attachment 1068313

March Review

The first game this month is a trip to Madrid to face Atletico
Starting XI: Rico, Grimaldo, TK, Herrador, Coke, Iborra, Boateng, Konoplyanka, Krohn-Delhi, Reyes, Llorente
View attachment 136617
Goalscorer: Gameiro [7]

I made the mistake of rotating too much in preparation for the CL game and it showed against tough opposition. Need to not let this affect us too much

And on we go, a long trip to Ukraine for the return leg in the CL.
Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, TK, Fontas, Mariano, Banega, Iborra, Konoplyanka, Zahavi, Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 136616
Goalscorers: Vitolo [6], Gameiro [8]

Just about, we weren't at our best for most of the game but we are through - wwhich is all that matters!
And we will face:
View attachment 136615
BAYERN MUNICH

I personally don't think that they're as strong as they are IRL, but there were still easier teams we could've had.

Back to the league, and what should be an easy game at Girona.
Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Fontas, Carrico, Mariano, Onazi, Banega, Konoplyanka, Zahavi, Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 136614
Goalscorers: Gameiro [9], Zahavi [8], Onazi [5]

Comfrotable, as expected.
Next up, Real Sociedad

Starting XI: Rico, Grimaldo, Rami, Herrador, Coke, Boateng, Iborra, Curro, Krohn-Delhi, Reyes, Alonso
View attachment 136613
Goalscorer: Alonso [7]

Hmm, could have been better but I had rotated a lot. Alonso scoring again, him and Cruz could be a real force in the future!

Next up, Celta Vigo at home. Could be tough...
Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, TK, Carrico, Mariano, Iborra, Banega, Konoplyanka, Zahavi, Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 136612
Goalscorers: TK [3], Konoplyanka [9], Gameiro [11], Vitolo [7]

... Maybe not Great win!

International break for the second half of the month, can we get through unscathed?
Of course not:
View attachment 136611
Not too long, but will give Rico some game time - he's been really good actually, no sign of him complaining thankfully.

Time for one more game at the back end of the month, an actual challenge away at Villarreal.
Starting XI: Rico, Grimaldo, TK, Carrico, Mariano, Iborra, Onazi, Konoplyanka, Zahavi, Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 136610
Goalscorer: Gameiro [13]

Another great result, Iborra and Onazi worked brilliantly as a double pivot in midfield to prevent Villarreal getting a foothold in the game - might use them against Bayern.

La Liga Standings
View attachment 136609
Real on the brink of the title, the top 4 look pretty sorted now - just the small matter of sorting out who finishes where to deal with now.

Next Update - April Review, and some early transfer business
​

 

[AW190]

View attachment 1068435

April Review

We start this monthwith what should be a straightforward game at home against bottom of the leagueZaragoza

Starting XI: Rico,Tremoulinas, Carrico, Herrador, Mariano, Onazi, Banega, Konoplyanka, Zahavi,Vitolo, Alonso
View attachment 136502
Goalscorers: Zahavi[10], Herrador [1], OG

As easy as expected.

Next up is anotherfairly easy game away at Granada. It's just before the Bayern game so it willbe a weakened side.

Starting XI: Rico,Tremoulinas, Fontas, Herrador, Mariano, Boateng, Onazi, Konoplyanka, Zahavi,Reyes, Llorente
View attachment 136501
Goalscorer: Zahavi[11]

Oh come on! Weweren't even that much weaker! Looks like we're in for a fun game againstBayern :/

Onto that game, andit's the away leg first

Starting XI: Rulli,Tremoulinas, Carrico, TK, Mariano, Banega, Onazi, Konoplyanka, Zahavi, Vitolo,Gameiro
View attachment 136500
Goalscorers:Konoplyanka [10], Vitolo [8]

What. A. Result.
Need to be carefulthough, they are capable of overturning that. But a very solid platform for thehome leg!

However, one of theplayers did pick up a slight knock:
View attachment 136499
He will be touch andgo for the second leg.

And now for thatearly transfer business....
View attachment 136498
Not a bad player fora free transfer Will be a direct replacement for Reyes, who will leave atthe end of the season.

Sandwiched inbetweenthe two legs is a game against relegation threatened Albacete.

Starting XI: Rico,Grimaldo, Herrador, Rami, Coke, Boateng, Banega, Curro, Krohn-Delhi, Sarabia,Alonso
View attachment 136497
Goalscorer:Krohn-Delhi [1]

Absolutelyappalling.

Bayern are in townnow, we have a lead to protect.

Starting XI: Rulli,Tremoulinas, TK, Carrico, Mariano, Iborra, Banega, Zahavi, Konoplyanka, Vitolo,Gameiro
View attachment 136495
Goalscorers: Vitolo[9], Konoplyanka [11]

We've done it! We'vegone toe to toe with Bayern Munich over two legs and come out comfortablewinners!

However, as in the first leg we do suffer a minor injury from that result:
View attachment 136494
He'll be back for the Semi Final, no need to worry.

Speaking of the semi final, it's time for the draw. We were the only team to knock out their more illustrious opponents (Wolfsburg, Leverkusen and Porto all failed in their matches) meaning we will have a tough ask to get through no matter who we get.
And we got:
View attachment 136493
REAL MADRID

Yay. 1 win in 6 games against them, this will take it to 8 games in 2 seasons against them! However, let's take a positive - we haven't lost to them in a knockout competition yet

Anyway, back to the league and we need to sort our form out. Hopefully playing close to full strength again will help with that.
Bilbao are the opposition.

Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Carrico, TK, Mariano, Onazi, Banega, Konoplyanka, Boateng, Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 136492
Goalscorer: Gameiro [15]

There we go. Comfortable, Gameiro even missed a penalty so that he didn't get a hattrick...

Final game of the month is a local derby - Betis come across town to lose

Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, Carrico, TK, Mariano, Iborra, Banega, Krohn-Delhi, Konoplyanka, Reyes, Gameiro
View attachment 136490
Goalscorers: Konoplyanka [13], Krohn-Delhi [2]

Well... talk about leaving it late! We were 2-1 down until the 83rd minute when Krohn-Delhi converted a penalty, but not before the ref wasted no time in showing Didier Degard a second yellow for his reaction to the penalty! Of course the guy who gave away the penalty was already on a yellow as well, no red for him... We then pushed and pushed but decided to leave it to the 4th minute of stoppage time to score the winner. Drama much.

Oh, and this result meant:
View attachment 136489
View attachment 136488
Finally get that CL spot secured for next season, budget isn't too bad but I had planned on selling a few backup players who haven't impressed me much anyway.

La Liga Standings
View attachment 136487
So, Real Madrid did finally win that title and their form has pretty much fallen off a cliff since then. Our own drop off in form was punished by Barcelona as they overtake into 2nd with hardly any time left to catch them. Oh, and they have already relegated Albacete and Zaragoza in their last two games. So we're pretty much looking at 3rd, which is still good tbh!

Next Update - End of Season Review​


​

 

[AW190]

This will most likely be the last update before I go on holiday (back on 6th August)
So let's make it a good one!

---

View attachment 1068529
End of Season Review - May, June, Awards, Random Stuff and Transfer Window Plans

So the first game ofMay is the first leg of the CL semi final away to Real Madrid, an away goalwill be key here.

Starting XI: Rulli,Tremoulinas, Carrico, TK, Mariano, Banega, Onazi, Konoplyanka, Zahavi, Vitolo,Gameiro
View attachment 136409
Goalscorers: Gameiro[16], Konoplyanka [14]

Well... What thehell is happening here?!

Back to the league,and we need maximum points on the off chance that Barcelona mess up. Ourpenultimate game is at Rayo Vallecano

Starting XI: Rulli,Grimaldo, TK, Fontas, Coke, Onazi, Iborra, Sarabia, Boateng, Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 136408
Goalscorers: Vitolo[10], Gameiro [18]

A good solidvictory, holding up our part of the deal.

However, the victorycame at a big cost, with two players suffering long term injuries.
View attachment 136407
View attachment 136406
At least theyweren't regular first teamers I guess...

Back home at lastfor the return leg against Real Madrid.

Starting XI: Rulli,Tremoulinas, TK, Carrico, Mariano, Onazi, Banega, Konoplyanka, Zahavi, Vitolo,Gameiro
View attachment 136405
Goalscorer: Vitolo[11]

:O We're in theChampions League final!

And we will play:
View attachment 136404
BARCELONA
Exactly the same endroute as the Copa del Rey - knock out Real in the semi's, face Barca in thefinal

Oh, andconveniently...

FINAL ALERT
Time for the CopaDel Rey final. We lost last year, but this year we play Barca. Can we get ourhands on the trophy?

Here's the startingXI for the big game:
Rulli, TK, Fontas,Carrico, Coke, Iborra, Banega, Konoplyanka, Zahavi, Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 136403
Goalscorers: Gameiro[19], Zahavi [12], Iborra [5], Konoplyanka [15]

Wow. Where do Istart? Messi gets a hattrick and still loses! Can't be many times that'shappened

View attachment 136402


Next up, the end ofthe league season. At Malaga.

Starting XI: Rulli,Tremoulinas, TK, Carrico, Mariano, Onazi, Banega, Konoplyanka, Zahavi, Vitolo,Gameiro
View attachment 136400
Goalscorer: Zahavi[13]

And that's a win towrap up the season. We did our part, did Barca fall apart?

La Liga FinalStandings:
View attachment 136399
Yes. They did XD
A draw againstAlbacete enough to fall below us.

Also, I got this message shortly after the game:
View attachment 136401
His contract was running out, but I thought he would keep on playing. He's been good when called upon and the fans love him. I'll see if he wants to stay on as staff.

---

Before we cover the small matter of the Champions League final (!) lets see who won the awards for the La Liga Season.

Player of the Year - Eugene Konoplyanka (Sevilla)
View attachment 136393

Take that big clubs! He's been excellent both seasons I've been here and thoroughly deserves this.

Team of the Season:
View attachment 136394

Of course he then can't get in the Starting XI for Team of the Season... but still, Tremoulinas does

Spanish Player's Golden Boot - Roberto Soldado (Villarreal)
View attachment 136395

Yeh, that guy from Spurs...

Manager of the Year - Unai Emery (Real Madrid)
View attachment 136396

The ex-Sevilla manager pips the current one to Manager of the Year, for winning the league.

Goalkeeper of the Year - Keylor Navas (Real Madrid)
View attachment 136397

Well he conceded the least in the league, so I guess he deserves it. Good to see Rulli get second though

Golden Boot - Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
View attachment 136398

Oh, he is still playing Him and Ronaldo have been wayyy too quiet over these two seasons :/

Well, I say quiet...
View attachment 136392

Ronaldo takes Best Player in Europe with 23 goals and 5 assists. Before the CL final (no spoilers ) Konoplyanka had 15 goals and 25 assists. Go figure. (He's also now worth £37.5m!)

---

Also before the CL final (oh the suspense!) I'll show the league tables for the rest of Europe

First up - Barclays Premier League
Champions - Manchester City
Relegated - Leicester City, Charlton Athletic, Hull City/Tigers
View attachment 136386

However...
View attachment 136383

That's bound to go down well

Bundesliga
Champions - Bayern Munich
Relegated - Augsburg, Paderborn, Hannover
View attachment 136391

Eredivisie
Champions - Feyenoord Rotterdam
Relegated - De Graafschaap
View attachment 136390

Also, Ajax did badly!

Primeira Liga
Champions - Sporting Lisbon
Relegated - Uniao Madeira, Penafiel
View attachment 136389

Ligue 1
Champions - PSG
Relegated - Montpellier, Bastia, Guignamp
View attachment 136388

Serie A
Champions - Juventus
Relegated - Atalanta, Genoa, Empoli
View attachment 136387

---

And finally, let's get to the Champions League final. Our first ever. Barcelona again. Let's go.

Starting XI: Rulli, Tremoulinas, TK, Carrico, Mariano, Onazi, Banega, Konoplyanka, Zahavi, Vitolo, Gameiro
View attachment 136376
Goalscorers: Gameiro [21], Vitolo [12]

Another 7-goal thriller! This time we end up on the losing side, but I'm not complaining - both teams played some absolutely mesmeric football at times. This season we really have proved that we can mix it with the best.

---

End of Season Squad Stats

View attachment 136364
View attachment 136363

---

Final thing - Transfer Plans

Now firstly, I think that the first two seasons have been a little bit too unrealistic, so I will be making some changes to the rules.

I will now accept all offers of £30m+ up front, and negotiate staggered deals equalling £30m to £30m up front.
I can now make a loss of £15m max on transfers overall (from £25m originally).
The squad will be 2 players for each position, plus 3 youth team players to get some game time during the season (i.e. Herrador, Alonso and someone else)

Now, a lot of the players are wanted, so here's the lowdown

Vitolo - Man United
Vicente Iborra - Chelsea
Daniel Carrico - Sporting Lisbon
TK - Real Madrid
Ever Banega - Chelsea
Kevin Gameiro - Roma
Benoit Tremoulinas - Arsenal
Coke - Celta Vigo, Roma, Marseille
Fernando Llorente - Liverpool
Michael Krohn-Delhi - Sparta Prague, Celtic / End of Contract

That's a lot...
As for us, I'm targeting a backup CM mainly. And I know who I want - Joshua Kimmich.
The rest will be decided by departures.

Anyway, that's it for the mega End of Season Update. There won't be any more before my holiday, so see you guys in August!


​

 

[AW190]

I'm back!!!

---

View attachment 1071253Pre-Season Update Part 1

I have currently played to the 1st of July, so this update will cover anything and everything up until then.

First up, we have the Sevilla FC End of Season Awards for the 2016/17 season:
View attachment 133958
Konoplyanka cleans up, taking Player and Goal of the Season. The goal also came 2nd in the Champions League goal of the tournament award, so it was something special - a sweetly struck volley from 25 yards straight into the top corner.

This also meant an update to the Overall Best XI since I took over:
View attachment 133959
10 of the starting XI are still at the club, although not all of them are still starters...

And then, the season review:
View attachment 133957
So... the picture of the season? Never quite good enough :/

And now onto the first pieces of transfer news:
View attachment 133956
We've got our man!
I think £4.9m for him is a steal. An absolute steal.

And then 2 outbound moves:
View attachment 133955
View attachment 133954

Neither played all that much, so not much surprise I let them leave.
Dani Olmo/Mati Fernandez will replace Krohn-Delhi, but I will likely sign another striker to support Gameiro and Alonso.

And then comes the money fun!
View attachment 133946
We're no Monaco...

Next up, another transfer deal...
View attachment 133945
Didn't see this one coming as much as the others... But he rarely plays and it was an offer of his value so... I took it and ran

Rankings Update time...
View attachment 133944
View attachment 133943
La Liga stays number 1! The bigger news however, is us shooting up the rankings! With our last 4 seasons consisting of 3 Europa League wins and a Champions League final, our coefficient has risen dramatically - so much so that a repeat performance would see us rise to 3rd next season!

Oh, and then we have the traditional FM idea of moving the World Cup:
View attachment 133942
Canada earn the right in this save.

Rich List Update:
View attachment 133941
P$G top? What a surprise... We stay around the top 20 with the careful financial management we employ.


Finally, we arrive at the 1st of July and the official opening of the transfer window. With it come the departures of Reyes (currently offered a contract to become a member of staff), Llorente and Krohn-Delhi. Also, we finalise the following signings:
View attachment 133940

Joshua Kimmich - C(D)M
View attachment 133939
Not too bad, still plenty of room to grow. Some excellent mentals to work with, the technicals will only improve with training and playing time.

Hirving Lozano - LW/RW
View attachment 133938
Well... Paid £32.5m less than the game reckoned he's worth
Already a star for the team at just 21!

Next Update - The rest of Pre-Season and August Review

​

 

[AW190]

View attachment 1071502

MEGA UPDATE

Part 1 - Transfers
Outs first
View attachment 133732
In the end, I decided that it would be good for Dani to get another season of first team football under his belt. Belenenses are a solid side in Portugal, and are in the Europa League this season which will help as well.

View attachment 133731
After a couple of pre-season games, I realised that Fernandez just wasn't able to play at the same level anymore. So with reluctance, I shipped him out as well.

View attachment 133729
I made this decision to ensure that Herrador gets more game time to aid his development. He will be 4th choice now, so will get a solid number of games.


Onto the ins now
View attachment 133734
First up, a new backup CAM. Good all rounder, and counts as a HG player at Sevilla

View attachment 133728

View attachment 133733
This one is due to my hand being forced a bit. As you will see later in the update, Rico suffered a pretty bad injury ruling him out of the first half of the season, and for me Areola is the best fit as a backup. I just loaned him until the end of the season by accident - will cancel in January provided Rico is back.

View attachment 133727

View attachment 133730
With Coke leaving in the last update, I needed a new RB to fight with Mariano. It was a choice between Iván or Villarreal's Mario. Price wise, Iván was much more reasonable.

View attachment 133726

Biggest Transfers Elsewhere
View attachment 133696
View attachment 133698
View attachment 133697
Some big deals here, with Madrid spending big again to land Reus and Martial, PSG taking in Coutinho and Manolas while Florenzi and Griezmann are also involved in big money moves. Some surprise deals as well, with Leverkusen signing Gundogan, and Everton nearly doubling their transfer record to sign Pastore.

---

Part 2 - Pre-Season

First up, staff news:
View attachment 133725
Just a small role to start with, as his coaching attributes aren't brilliant. Hopefully he gains some experience with the youngsters and can eventually be promoted to work with the first team.

Next up, the season expectations:
View attachment 133724
I feel they're quite fair, I mean I only have to focus on 2 competitions

One other piece of 'transfer news':
View attachment 133723
This is good on two fronts - 1, his RC is bumped up to £34m and 2, he chose us over Barca (who had activated his original £21m RC)

Also, here we have the injury I mentioned earlier for Rico:
View attachment 133722
Not good.

And finally, the La Liga odds:
View attachment 133721
Still 3rd, as the media still think Barca are only suffering a blip of bad form. A 2 season long blip...

But anyway, here are the pre-season results:
View attachment 133699
Not too bad, but for the most part it was pretty easy opposition...

---

Part 3 - August Review

Supercopa de EspañaLeg 1 - Real Madrid (Home)

Lineups:
View attachment 133703
No real surprisesfor us, pretty close to first choice team I think. Real find no room in thestarting XI for new Galacticos Martial or Reus, but still a very strong team.

Result:
View attachment 133711
Goalscorers:Konoplyanka [1], Zahavi [2]

An excellent win forus, looked in control throughout thanks to the blistering start we had. Itwould take a monumental f*ck-up to lose the trophy now.

The second leg isjust a few days later, so I will most likely rotate to see who deserves achance in the season opener.

Supercope de EspañaLeg 2 - Real Madrid (Away)

Lineups:
View attachment 133702
Only 3 playersremain for us, as I do indeed explore the squad. Real change it round a bit aswell, and decide to start their newest Galacticos.

Result:
View attachment 133710

Reminiscent of theCL semi final last season, all the hard work in the first leg then park the busalmost in the second. It worked though, best defensive performance by a mile -attacking not so much...

Before the start ofthe La Liga season, we get the season ticket news:
View attachment 133709
Sold out for thethird season running! So with that in mind, I went to the board:
View attachment 133708
And they agreed to astadium expansion! The capacity (subject to approval) will increase to justover 50,000 - an increase of 5,000 from the current capacity.

La Liga Matchday 1 -Real Betis (Away)

Lineups:
View attachment 133701
Banega hasn't fullrecovered from the Supercopa, so Iborra takes his place. Iván gets the nodahead of Mariano.

Result:
View attachment 133707
Goalscorers: Onazi[1], Konoplyanka [3]

An easy win, onceagain owing a lot to the 2 early goals.

Now, the ChampionsLeague Group Stage Draw, we are second seeds due to not winning the league.
Best Scenario:Sporting Lisbon, Olympiakos, Sparta Prague
Worst Scenario:Juventus, Man Utd, Wolfsburg

View attachment 133706
Not too badactually, we should comfortably take 2nd and be able to fight City for 1st

La Liga Matchday 2- Villarreal (Home)

Lineups:
View attachment 133700
Standard.

Result:
View attachment 133705
Just one of thosegames... We had all of the ball without ever really looking like doing anythingwith it


La Liga Standings
View attachment 133695
1 win, 1 loss. Bang in the middle. More to judge after September.

Next Update - September​
​

 

[Copland]

Unreal mate, loving every post! You not had any big offers for Gameiro yet?

 

[AW190]

Unreal mate, loving every post! You not had any big offers for Gameiro yet?

Cheers mate, only had one offer for him - £21m (£17m up front) from Juventus, so nowhere near where I would be forced to accept thankfully