''Started from the bottom now we here'' [FM14] Journeyman Save

[ollieconnolly]

Season Two - End of Season Update


Fixtures

An up and down end to the season with once again no draws. We had a lopsided run of away matches and at some famous grounds. We played well in most of the games but as you can see we failed to keep a clean sheet in any games, I attribute it once again to playing with high pressure and when high-level PL sides break the contain they can be extremely ruthless. But all in all an amazing season one for 'pool fans for the ages. I've loved my time at Blackpool but it's more than likely time to move on with some bigger jobs around the world looking like they'll come available.


League Table

Unbelievable that we finished 12th with 49 points. finishing 17th with 40 points was the dream and we smashed that, a great, great season.


League Stats

Team Stats

Player of the Season

Faris was a true sensation this year. He's grown as a player ever since I took the job and developed into one of the best midfielders in the league in his first Premier League year. Hogan Emphraim was also spectacular and got serious nomination for the award but I had to just edge it to Faris who was the heart of the team.​

 

[ollieconnolly]

Around the World


Serie A

Bundesliga

La Liga

Eridivise

With surprisingly few firings around the world -- was expecting Liverpool to fire Rodgers -- and after the only job offer being from Aston Villa who were just relegated to the Championship I've decided to stay at Blackpool for at least the summer. But my time at the seaside is up and after keeping them up I'll be moving on at some point in the near future.

 

[ollieconnolly]

I've been given a transfer budget of ?8m but the wage budget was so small that I had to adjust it to get us out of the red. Now the budget is just ?4m. Not a happy bunny!

 

[ollieconnolly]

So I've decided to end my time with Blackpool. It comes with a heavy heart but I simply wasn't supported by the board and in my opinion had out grown the club. I started the off-season and signed a couple of younger players on loan but became increasingly frustrated when players like Yaya Sanogo were turning us down and we were unable to afford Sebastian Coates' wages. I was also annoyed at having to use monthly instalments to even agree fees with some teams that would have crippled the club in the future. In the end it was time to leave and I'm looking forward to my next challenge and wishing blackpool the best and thank them for my first managerial opportunity.​

 

[ollieconnolly]

[size=+4]Unemployed![/size]


So it's December... and still no job. It's not for the want of trying, I interviewed and was unsuccessful for a Schalke job I really wanted. I was then thankfully offered a job with PSV Eindhoven.

The job was a nice step up. But as it came my dream Liverpool job opened up. I applied and was interviewed -- was the favourite for the job -- I delayed the PSV offer but they wanted a response before the LFC conclusion. I turned it down. Then...

I was devastated. No Liverpool job and no PSV job. So I'm unemployed half-way through year three! Here's hoping a nice job opens up soon.​

 

[ollieconnolly]

[size=+2]Pastures New[/size]

So I've finally got a new job. With a few months left in the season I've taken the Wolfsburg job till the end of the season. I don't know if I'll pen a long-term deal, I'm going to re-survey the landscape at the end of the season, but it's a well run club with a stack of cash (?28m transfer budget) and great room to grow. I'm really excited by the challenge.

There's only nine games to go and still a chance to jump up a congested table. Lets have fun and give it a go!

 

[ollieconnolly]

Season Three - Thirty Game Update


Fixtures

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! What a great start to life in Germany. Outside of Bayern tearing us a new one we've a perfect start. Not a single goal conceded in our wins and some terrific play in games against opponents around us. The squad seems to have taken to my tactic extremely quickly and with just four games left we might be able to finish 6th/7th.


League Table

League Stats

Team Stats

Player of the Update

Scepovic has been terrific in leading our line, attack and whole club. He's been truly excellent.


Transfer


I've wrapped up a deal worth ?8m to bring in the transfer listed Mohammed Salah. I'm still unsure whether I'll be here or not next year but Salah is a really good player who represented good value so it was an excellent deal all round.​

 

[ollieconnolly]

Oliver Connolly today signed a new contract with VfL Wolfsburg that will keep him at the club for another three years and says he wants to be judged solely on championships.


Connolly who joined Wolfsburg with just eight games to go at the end of last season was courted for some big jobs including; Arsenal, Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund all of whom had their coach retire or resign. But Connolly will remain with the former German champions after Die Zeit can exclusively reveal that he was overlooked for all of the positions mentioned.


Wolfsburg had hired the 35-year old Englishman to a two month contract with the hopes that they could convince him to stay long-term during his short stint. Wolfsburg Director of Football, Klaus Allofs, who is set to leave for a new challenge in June said it was ‘important’ for him to leave a long lasting legacy at the club. ‘Ollie was the best man for the job. I brought him in with the intention of convincing him to stay long-term and I’m proud to have been successful in that endeavour. It was important for me to leave a solid foundation as I move on and in Ollie I think there’s a chance for a golden age for our club and fans.’


The former Blackpool boss was announced as signing a multi-year deal on Thursday and immediately said he simply wanted to be judged on Championships. ‘Just championships’ he responded to reporters. ‘We are aiming to win the league every year. There’s Bayern and Dortmund and outside of that? A huge void. We don’t just want to be competing for that space we want to smash through it and win titles. If you aim for Europe and fail where are you? 5th or 6th. If you aim for the title and fall just short you end up in Europe. We’re coming back day one with a philosophy we whole heartedly believe in and a winning mentality. I expect us to compete from year one and to be the last team celebrating after thirty four games.’


It’s a bold prediction from the ambitious manager who’s received numerous plaudits for his play-style and all round football philosophy. A title remains a long way away but it’s a great sentiment for Die Wolfe fans to hear after laying dormant for close to eight years.

 

[ollieconnolly]

So a new long-term deal with Wolfsburg. I was turned down for some huge jobs after Wenger, Cappello and Hiddink all retired/resigned Wolfsburg offered me a ?38m transfer kitty in a really fluid league where I can realistically win the title in three years. I was thinking of waiting till after the European Championships to see what vacancies opened up but the offer was too good to turn down and in reality im not deserving of one of those big time jobs yet. Time to get to work on improving this already extremely talented squad.​

 

[ollieconnolly]

 

[ollieconnolly]

[size=+3]Wolfsburg Splash the Cash As Connolly Evolves Team[/size]

Lots of money spent as we look to secure multiple years of championship contention. I was able to wrap up the deal for Cesc Fabregas as well as bring in lots of pace and power both in midfield and at the back. At the time of the photo we moved ?20m back out but since then I've been able to move another ?10m and counting.


Luciano Vietto - Vietto is an incredibly talented player who can play of the striker or in behind him. He's going to be an excellent transition forward and I genuinely believe he'll take the league by storm in year one. I got him for the short outlay of ?5m after looking at who had one-year left on their contract. Incredible value for an incredibly gifted player.


Mohammed Salah - Salah's a prototypical inside forward who I brought in as the first signing of our new era. At just 24 I don't think he's in anyway maxed out his potential and he'll also be an immediate contributor.


Christian Tello - My affiliation with signing former/current Barcelona and Barcelona 'B' prospects continue! I've always and remain a huge Tello fan and it's fantastic to bring him in. He's a matchup and counter attacking nightmare for the opposition and as always brings the teamwork and worth ethic that we need with our full press system.


Dorin Rotariu - A staggering prospect who I had to give up a huge fee to go and get. A versatile player who could grow into any type of player we want him to be I'm extremely excited to see him grow and progress.


Tiago Llori - A terrific young defender from Liverpool who originally hails from Portugal. He's great on the ball and brings all the attributes we look for to the table. At ?1.6m he was one of the best value pick ups of the off-season.


Luuk De Jong - De Jong is a well known commodity but everything we're looking for in our forward. A player who can move fluidly into the channels as well as drop back and look for forward runners ahead of him. He's going to be a gem.


Semih Kaya - Kaya originally comes from Galatasary but was signed by soon to be fired manager David Moyes. I like his combination of pace and power and think he has great resale value if he doesn't fit the bill in the next twelve months.


Cesc Fabregas - Our biggest name off-season addition. Cesc Fabregas, in the prime of his career, running the fulcrum system. It couldn't be more perfect. A footballing artist who we got for ?10m. Well worth the gamble. His wages are a base 100k but are really 155k a week with me having to put his appearance and unused sub fees up to 55k to drop his ludicrous wage demands. Once in a while you get that player that makes you so eager to get the season under way. Cesc is that guy.


Lorenzo Crisetig - Crisetig is a hard-working midfielder who'll be our third or fourth guy at the DM position. He can move forward and is more creative than his stats suggest. A great rotation guy.


Joel Matip - Another extraordinary value pick up. A season long loan worth 19k a week to us. No negatives to this move.​

 

[ollieconnolly]

Season Four - Ten Game Update


Fixtures

A decent start to the year. There's lots of new talent to bed into the squad. Going forward we've been scintillating playing the most beautiful football we've played so far during my career. But defensively we are an atrocity. I've looked to tweak the tactic but we've continued to struggle and have kept just one clean sheet in the league. it's been a struggle and having to overcome defensive woes is not the way we're designed to set-up. I'm going to continue to try and alter the tactic and hopefully things will improve over the course of the next ten games.


League Table

With all the new signings I'm happy to be sat at 5th in the table. But I'm stunned by Schalke's early season form. 10 for 10 and already 12 points clear. They more than likely can't keep this sort of pace up but its showed me just how difficult brining a title to Die Wolfe will be.


League Stats

Teams Stats

Player of the Update - Luuk De Jong

Luuk's been incredible in the early part of the season scoring all types of goals; solo efforts to bail us out, flowing team moves and set pieces. He's everything I'm looking for in my deep-lying transition forward. I'm excited to see what he's going to produce the rest of the year.​

 

[ollieconnolly]

[size=+4]Keller: Connolly's A Fraud[/size]

Schalke boss Jens Keller has called Wolfsburg boss, Oliver Connolly, a 'fraud' following the teams stuttering start. Keller's side have started the season perfectly with ten wins in ten games giving them a thirty points and atop the league table with a towering presence.


Connolly and Wolfsburg, who spent a vast amount of money this off season, came into the season with 'Championship expectations' have not got off to the best of starts this campaign with eighteen points through their first ten games. Speaking to Bundesliga.com yesterday Keller said; 'They came into the season shouting about how they'd be champions and I've seen nothing. In all honesty I think they're frauds, they sold themselves as willing and ready to compete and they're so far behind right now I can't help but look back at them and think their mouths are bigger than their stomachs for the fight.'


The comments elicited no response from Connolly's camp when we reached out to him; 'I'm not dignifying that with a response' he said.


What we do know is that with all the signings Die Wolfe made this summer it will take some time to see their true product and Keller's comments serve only to inspire them.

 

[banger93]

Great story

 

[b3v5k1]

Nice story, like the new transfers and Cesc is a bargain, even on 155k a week. Will be following this.