Taking Southampton North!

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English Premier League - Game 3 - West Ham United (Home)


Tadic and Jurcik receive their first starts of the season as we look to continue our fine start to the season. The draw has favoured us early, with the other contenders already having played a tough match or two - for instance, Arsenal edged Liverpool 1-0 earlier today, having drawn with Chelsea last week - whilst we’ve faced much easier sides so far. West Ham are a level above our previous opponents but hopefully we can keep things rolling. Enner Valencia always seems to score against us so hopefully we can keep him quiet.

In the 17th minute Asensio opened the scoring in style, with a thunderbolt from the edge of the area giving Maric no chance whatsoever!

Two minutes later it was back to square one though, as Obiang controlled a corner and floated it to Reid, whose header was brilliantly saved by Dragowski, but he tucked away the rebound.

In the 48th minute Ward-Prowse’s through ball for Sindelar was intercepted by Reid, but Sindelar nicked it off his toes and he was away! He made the finish look easy.

Doebel and Wanyama replaced Tadic and Clasie in the 71st minute.

In the 78th minute Asensio was inches away from a spectacular second, as his free kick thundered off the crossbar!

Lovell replaced Süle a minute later.

And in the 87th minute Asensio did pick up a second, with a sensational glancing header from a Jurcik cross securing the result for us!

It was the trio of Asensio (9.0), Sindelar (8.9) and Jurcik (9.0) that won us the match today, as we keep our 100% record and return to the top of the league. Sindelar has now scored in 4 consecutive matches, dating back to last season. Asensio added another brace to continue his fine run of form to start the season.

POM: Marco Asensio (9.0, 2G, 0A)
 

English Premier League - Game 4 - Sheffield Wednesday (Away)


Nishimura is back, and slots straight into the side to face Sheffield Wednesday. Rodriguez in for Tadic and Wanyama for Clasie are the only other changes to the side that beat West Ham last week. Hopefully former keeper Fraser Forster doesn’t hurt us today!

In just the second minute Forster was called into action, making a diving save to deny Nishimura’s cracking long range effort, with Rodriguez sending the rebound whistling high.

Some extraordinary passing between Dimarco, Rodriguez and Ward-Prowse in the 14th minute allowed the Italian to chip the ball in to Sindelar. The post denied the striker!

Sindelar was blocked twice in quick succession in the 39th minute, both from Nishimura passes.

In the 42nd minute a corner resulted in a penalty box scramble, and eventually Rodriguez bundled it home for our long-awaited opener! The commentator said it was his first for the club, but he actually scored two years ago in the Europa League - how could I forget that spectacular bicycle kick?

In the 49th minute Sindelar doubled our lead with a superb goal. He showed great agility to dart between Thompson and Angella to pick up Rodriguez’s header, and he raced forwards. With three defenders converging, he laid it back to Gitschier and raced into space to receive the return pass, which he dispatched for his third goal this season in as many games!

Forster was alert to deny him a second in the 59th minute from a long range effort.

Gitschier made it three in the 70th minute with a sublime run and finish to cap off a lovely flowing move. Cracking passes from Asensio and Rodriguez to set that one up.

As I was waiting for a break in play for Balic to replace Ward-Prowse, the captain had obviously got tired of waiting, and fouled Powell in the box to give up a penalty. The substitution went through, and Rhodes stepped up. Goal.

Doebel and Cahill replaced Rodriguez and Süle in the 84th minute.

Forster denied Sindelar after Gitschier picked him out with a brilliant pass and he skipped through the defence two minutes later.

Gitschier then hit the post after Balic passed to him from the cleared corner. Forster turned his second effort behind.

Another very comfortable victory takes us to 4 from 4. Gitschier and Rodriguez did the damage today with a goal and assist apiece. Liverpool were stunned 1-0 at Anfield by Blackburn, whilst Chelsea lost to City earlier in the day. Things are shaping nicely for us.


POM: Moritz Gitschier (9.0, 1G, 1A)
 

Kyle Walker assisted all 5 goals in Burnley’s rout of Fulham! Surely some kind of record?? Safe to say he’s now top of the league assist charts with 6 - second place has 3!

A clean sweep of the awards, as we even have players in all three podium places for the Young Player of the Month. Fontaine has also picked up at Aberdeen where Jacobsen left off.
 

Injury News...


The customary international injury sees us lose Vietto for 5 weeks.

On the other end of the spectrum though, Gitschier finally made his full debut for Germany, and got on the scoresheet as well. He then scored again and was named Man of the Match in his second appearance for his nation. What a player this guy is turning into!

Andersson, on loan at Ipswich, made his Sweden debut and scored too! He’s got a tough job to get into the Ipswich side ahead of Rooney and Destro. They signed Rooney after I agreed to loan him to them, so now I’m slightly annoyed.
 

English Premier League - Game 5 - Derby County (Home)


Liverpool edged City earlier today in yet another early season clash of contenders. It is quite extraordinary how often they’ve played one another early, but I guess that means they will all have pretty easy run ins at the end of the season. It’s therefore important that we stay ahead of the curve. Some rotation is enforced by internationals. Ward-Prowse fills in at right back and Cahill in central defence alongside Süle. Asensio drops into central midfield and Doebel starts in an unfamiliar right wing position - I’m training him to play there. Augustinsson and Jacobsen are back from injury and on the bench.

It was Derby who hit the lead in the 30th minute though, with a low Ince cross on the counter finding Weimann for a back post tap in.

Rodriguez was denied by a ridiculous reflex save from Szczesny in the 35th minute.

Persson replaced Sindelar in the 55th minute.

Jacobsen replaced Doebel in the 61st minute.

And a minute later we had our equaliser, as Linus Persson picked out the bottom corner after receiving a pass from Gitschier and swivelling to fire home! The commentator also thought this was his first goal for us, but I haven’t forgotten his dramatic equaliser on his debut in the League Cup a couple of years ago!

Just four minutes later Persson had a second! Once more, Gitschier threaded the ball through to him, and the youngster produced another quality finish!

In the 76th minute Rodriguez made it three with an emphatic volley into the roof of the net after Jacobsen skinned his man down the right and whipped in a cross!

Jurcik replaced Ward-Prowse in the 82nd minute.

What a turnaround that was! The match was beginning to get away from us, but the injections of Persson and Jacobsen sparked us into life! I’m absolutely delighted for the young pair of Scandinavians. Jacobsen justified my decision to introduce him rather than Tadic from the bench. Gitschier also deserves a mention for creating both of Persson’s goals to continue his own sensational form. Rodriguez also got on the scoresheet for the second game in a row. Fantastic spirit on display from my young side today. We’re already 4 points clear at the top of the league, though Everton can slash it to 2 if they win their game in hand. Gitschier and Asensio sit atop the league average rating chart too.


POM: Moritz Gitschier (8.8, 0G, 2A)
 

UEFA Champions League Group Stage - Game 1 - FC København (Home)


Rotation for our opening Champions League clash with FC København. We beat them in the Europa League Quarter Finals two seasons ago, with 3-2 and 2-2 scorelines seeing us progress. I like to think we’re a stronger side now than we were back then, and so hopefully we can pick up a win today. Augustinsson is back from injury for his first appearance this season, and Jack Butland makes his debut in goals. Persson gets the chance to lead the line.

Rochet managed to smother Jacobsen’s 6th minute effort from Nishimura’s short cross, and the rebound fell to Gitschier, but Oldrup Jensen threw himself in front to deflect it wide.

For the third time in two games Gitschier turned provider for Persson, whose 21st minute clinical finish was too good for Rochet.

In the 34th minute Tadic’s corner for Laporte was controlled and passed back out to Nishimura, who sent the ball to Balic outside the top of the box. The Croatian picked out the top right corner from range! Lovely strike!

In the 66th minute Kasper Kusk pulled off something similar for København, firing into the top left corner and leaving Butland with no chance.

Prins and Muller replaced Gitschier and Balic in the 69th minute.

Doebel was on for Tadic in the 73rd.

Persson was denied at close range in the 79th after an excellent pass from Prins.

Doebel produced a critical block in the 86th minute after some pinball in the box saw Butland way out of position, but the German winger saved the day.

From the corner they won another, and Prins was adjudged to have fouled Kike, and a penalty was given! What a way to throw away the game - or not! Jack Butland had other ideas, and made himself the hero by saving Cornelius’ spot kick! Fantastic stuff!

And that was all she wrote! We got away with the three points in the end, having done our best to throw two of them away. Butland came up big though, which was a fantastic vindication of his signing. Gitschier was once more outstanding, as was Nishimura, and Tadic, Persson and Larsson were also very good, along with Augustinsson on his injury return. Balic stole the match ball though with his spectacular goal. Somehow Roma couldn’t beat Maccabi in Italy, so we’re already top of the group.


POM: Andrija Balic (9.0, 1G, 0A)
 

English Premier League - Game 6 - Tottenham Hotspur FC (Away)


Our first big challenge in the league this season comes in the form of Tottenham. With another big club dropping points today (sadly, Liverpool lost to Chelsea), we can stretch our lead even further! We’re in a very strong position, but a loss to Spurs could see us drawn back into the pack. Chambers is back from injury but only fit enough for the bench.

Kalas presented Keita with a tap in in just the second minute, and he put it away, but Kalas himself had been a mile offside in the build up, and fortunately the linesman was alert to it.

A minute later Keita was presented a chance by a not-offside Çalhanoglu, but Dragowski plucked his shot out of the air with ease.

Sindelar unfortunately picked up an injury and was replaced by Persson in the 26th minute.

Dragowski made a fantastic diving save to deny Keita in the 37th after a loose ball fell to him just outside the area.

10 seconds later he made another brilliant double save from a long range Sambu effort and Lamela’s followup! Incredible stuff from the keeper!

In the 47th minute we took advantage of those saves by taking the lead, Gitschier’s deflected shot finding the back of the net after the German had picked out Nishimura with a cross-field ball, and made his way back into the box to meet the fullback’s pass.

In the 52nd minute we had another, as Laporte’s looping header from Asensio’s free kick found the top left corner via the underside of the bar!

Asensio himself then joined the party in the 63rd minute with a low volley from Rodriguez’s dinked pass, after excellent buildup play down the left involving Gitschier and Dimarco. Scintillating stuff from the boys!

Doebel and Chambers replaced Rodriguez and Nishimura in the 76th minute.

Dragowski denied Lamela from close range in the 86th minute to preserve the clean sheet.

A minute later he pulled off another excellent save to deny Alderweireld from a corner!

You have to feel sorry for Tottenham today, as absolutely nothing was getting by Dragowski in that form! At the other end of the pitch my attacking midfield trio were in electric form, winning the match between them in the space of 16 second half minutes. I don’t think we were three goals better than Spurs, but we were clinical, and we’ll take it. Dario Rodriguez is really coming into his own on that left wing, which is great to see!


POM: Dario Rodriguez (9.0, 0G, 1A)
 

Capital One Cup - Third Round - Everton FC (Home)


A rotated lineup to face Everton in the League Cup. We have the toughest match of any of the big sides, though Spurs went out on penalties to Crystal Palace. We should have enough to get past the Merseysiders today.

In the 13th minute Jacobsen lofted a ball forwards to Persson, who brought it down and drilled a low shot goalwards. Ederson managed to push it aside, but it was barely in the field of play, and Doebel got their first to nail it into the roof from the sharpest of angles! Crazy finish, and a first Saints goal for the German!

In the 20th minute Doebel passed to Persson, who did brilliantly to get through the defence and get a shot off, but Ederson’s fingertips knocked it onto the post and away!

Just two minutes later though and Doebel had his second! Jacobsen’s incredible run down the right ended in a low cross, which was semi-cleared to Balic, who chipped it across to Doebel, with the German volleying in off the post!

In the 30th minute Tadic chipped a ball forwards for Persson, who’d beaten the offside trap, and there was no way the team’s most clinical finisher wasn’t scoring one on one. 3 nil.

In the 49th minute Persson had his brace too, with a close range header from a floating Chambers cross.

In the 55th minute Jurcik rose to head goalwards from a Balic free kick, and Ederson only succeeded in knocking it in off the back of Ings for an own goal.

In the 59th minute Ederson was able to deny Persson a hat trick after Tadic picked the striker out with another great ball.

Griffiths pulled one back two minutes later as Cahill’s poor clearance allowed a low cross to be drilled in by Deulofeu for a close range tap in.

Kranjcar did get his debut in the 64th minute as I looked to rest Persson for the weekend league fixture.

Larsson replaced Balic and Prins was on for Tadic in the 73rd minute.

Prins split the defence for Kranjcar in the 81st minute, but he was a fraction offside, and Ederson made the save regardless.

An emphatic win that dismissed any suggestions of an easy draw. We continue our flawless start to the season thanks to braces from Sven Doebel and Linus Persson. The Swede has been on fire so far this season and has already begun to repay my faith in him, whilst I’m delighted that Doebel is off the mark now too. Superb performances across the board though really, as Everton were outshot 21-3. All the other big sides went through, including United on penalties.


POM: Sven Doebel (9.3, 2G, 0A)
 
RNG sure has blessed you with the Champions League's draw ^^

New season and the first thing I noticed is that the squad suffered a massive exodus this summer, at first I though that this year you'd suffer due to that (by looking at the reinforcements I pretty much imagined that the team's level would drop this year but it would drastically increase in short to mid term since most of them are young prospects), but it seems that I was wrong as your team is literally demolishing anything on its path so far.

Keep this momentum going for as long as you can ^^

.P.S.: However I'm most surprised to see Burnley's season start, dang it... they're on fire.
 
Zlatan Lumic said:
RNG sure has blessed you with the Champions League's draw ^^

New season and the first thing I noticed is that the squad suffered a massive exodus this summer, at first I though that this year you'd suffer due to that (by looking at the reinforcements I pretty much imagined that the team's level would drop this year but it would drastically increase in short to mid term since most of them are young prospects), but it seems that I was wrong as your team is literally demolishing anything on its path so far.

Keep this momentum going for as long as you can ^^

.P.S.: However I'm most surprised to see Burnley's season start, dang it... they're on fire.
Click to expand...

Yeah can't complain about that!

You're not the only one surprised, I myself thought the same thing! I figured there'd be an adjustment period but then the youngsters would begin to flourish from the increased game time but nope, they've just flown out of the blocks and haven't looked back! Quite incredible really.

Burnley have done really well so far actually, we play them next so it will be an interesting litmus test for them
 

English Premier League - Game 7 - Burnley FC (Home)


We face Burnley in the league today, who incredibly sit third, equal on points with second placed Man United, who are our next league opponents. We can’t take them lightly. It’s back to our regular starters for today, who I’m expecting will keep our run going. Jurcik is in for Süle, as the German is one card from a suspension. Burnley look to be parking the bus.

And so it proved as we dominated the ball but didn’t get a real chance until the 22nd minute, when Asensio’s header from Dimarco’s cross rattled the bar!

3 minutes later Dimarco whipped in another cross for Asensio, but this one was low, and the Spaniard turned it home to open the scoring!

Doebel was introduced for Rodriguez in the 62nd minute.

Within a minute he was involved, bringing down Asensio’s fantastic pass, but his shot was turned wide by Heaton.

Chalobah produced a great block on Persson from the resultant corner, and Lascelles touched Gitschier’s effort 10 seconds later wide too.

In the 65th minute Wanyama received Asensio’s free kick and picked out the back post run of Dimarco brilliantly, and the Italian fullback slotted home his second of the campaign! Ludwig who?

Chambers replaced Nishimura in the 71st minute.

In the 79th minute Dimarco didn’t cross, but passed inside to Doebel, who then whipped his own cross to the back post for an Asensio tap in.

In the 83rd minute Jurcik hacked Berisha in the bottom corner of the box to give away an unnecessary penalty. Obita converted a consolation goal.

Kranjcar replaced Persson in the 85th.

Too easy today, as the only blemish on another great performance was Jurcik’s brain explosion and the resultant penalty. Other than that, we were excellent. Dimarco has been simply outstanding since joining the club, and Augustinsson faces a real battle to reclaim his starting berth. Asensio’s brace takes his season tally to 7, and he remains top of our scoring charts. We’re absolutely cruising in the league right now.


POM: Marco Asensio (9.0, 2G, 0A)
 

Asensio and I both hold onto our August awards, making it back to back wins after another perfect month in September. Gitschier and Dimarco are once more in the top 3 for the Young Player of the Month, though they are pipped to the award.

A number of youngsters have been starring elsewhere too, including Fontaine once more.
 
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