The Battle of the Midlands - WBA
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Pre-Season and Transfers
Slory and Brunt have impressed during pre-season
Most of the clubs friendlies had been set up prior to me arriving at the club so most of them where against weaker opposition. We had a total of seven friendlies and throughout them I changed the tactics and had a look at all my playing staff.
We had a very could pre-season winning all seven matches and not conceding a goal. Although the friendlies where against poor opposition I am still very pleased with the results and not to concede a goal for seven games at any level is great.
There where a couple of players that impressed me during pre-season including winger Slory who had a great pre-season, Scotland midfielder Dorrans and last of all the young striker Chris Wood who will have a bright bright future ahead of him.
Throughout the friendlies I employed all different types of systems and tactics but the one that I found work the best and which I will be using as my main tactic during the season was a simple 4-5-1 formation with Philosophy set to balanced and the Strategy set to control.
As I was given a 2.2 Million transfer Kitty I had quite a bit of money to spend for this division and the areas I highlighted that need strengthen was a centre back, def midfielder and a striker. My transfers are shown below.
Overall I am delighted with my transfers as I managed to strengthen all the areas I thought needed addressed an also managed to add a bit more quality.
First I managed to persuade Sir Alex to let young centre back Craig Cathcart join on a season long long. Craig should be pushing for a first team place an I fully expect hi to nail one down.
I then added to very promising midfielder youngsters in Marco Verratti and Sergi and I feel that both players will have very bright futures at the club. Verratti joined at a bargain 240k while Sergi joined on a Free.
I then addressed the defensive midfield problem and managed to sign Rasmus Lindgren from Ajax for a fee off 1.6 Million. rasmus is a tough tackling midfielder and should sit in front of the back four nicely.
I then managed to pull some what of a coup by persuading Zola to let Jack Collison join us for a season long loan. Jack is a great talent and I am hoping he will be a key player for us this year.
David Goodwillie was the most expensive of my transfers and the striker joined from Dundee Utd for 1.7 Million. I am expecting a lot from David even no he is only young and I feel he will be able to lead the line for the team this season.
Overall I am delighted with my signings and I think they can all play a part in helping get this club back to the Premier League.
David Goodwillie
After getting a good few player in I also had to let some go to balance the books and trim the squad size.
The only player to be sold was experienced midfielder Filipe Teixeira who joined Southampton for 800k. I didn't think Filipe would feature much this season and he was getting to stage where he only had a few more years left and wanted to play so I decided to let him go.
I also let two player go on loan to gain experience. Reuben Reid joined feeder club Port Vale while Dwayne Samuels joined Rotherham.
After a very good pre-season and some good additions to the squad I think we are in good shape to meet our exceptions and get promoted this year. We start the season with a very though game at home to Championship Giants Newcastle in a weeks time.
(How do people rate my transfers? Will they be a hit or a flop? Thanks for following
)
Slory and Brunt have impressed during pre-season
Most of the clubs friendlies had been set up prior to me arriving at the club so most of them where against weaker opposition. We had a total of seven friendlies and throughout them I changed the tactics and had a look at all my playing staff.
We had a very could pre-season winning all seven matches and not conceding a goal. Although the friendlies where against poor opposition I am still very pleased with the results and not to concede a goal for seven games at any level is great.
There where a couple of players that impressed me during pre-season including winger Slory who had a great pre-season, Scotland midfielder Dorrans and last of all the young striker Chris Wood who will have a bright bright future ahead of him.
Throughout the friendlies I employed all different types of systems and tactics but the one that I found work the best and which I will be using as my main tactic during the season was a simple 4-5-1 formation with Philosophy set to balanced and the Strategy set to control.
As I was given a 2.2 Million transfer Kitty I had quite a bit of money to spend for this division and the areas I highlighted that need strengthen was a centre back, def midfielder and a striker. My transfers are shown below.
Overall I am delighted with my transfers as I managed to strengthen all the areas I thought needed addressed an also managed to add a bit more quality.
First I managed to persuade Sir Alex to let young centre back Craig Cathcart join on a season long long. Craig should be pushing for a first team place an I fully expect hi to nail one down.
I then added to very promising midfielder youngsters in Marco Verratti and Sergi and I feel that both players will have very bright futures at the club. Verratti joined at a bargain 240k while Sergi joined on a Free.
I then addressed the defensive midfield problem and managed to sign Rasmus Lindgren from Ajax for a fee off 1.6 Million. rasmus is a tough tackling midfielder and should sit in front of the back four nicely.
I then managed to pull some what of a coup by persuading Zola to let Jack Collison join us for a season long loan. Jack is a great talent and I am hoping he will be a key player for us this year.
David Goodwillie was the most expensive of my transfers and the striker joined from Dundee Utd for 1.7 Million. I am expecting a lot from David even no he is only young and I feel he will be able to lead the line for the team this season.
Overall I am delighted with my signings and I think they can all play a part in helping get this club back to the Premier League.
David Goodwillie
After getting a good few player in I also had to let some go to balance the books and trim the squad size.
The only player to be sold was experienced midfielder Filipe Teixeira who joined Southampton for 800k. I didn't think Filipe would feature much this season and he was getting to stage where he only had a few more years left and wanted to play so I decided to let him go.
I also let two player go on loan to gain experience. Reuben Reid joined feeder club Port Vale while Dwayne Samuels joined Rotherham.
After a very good pre-season and some good additions to the squad I think we are in good shape to meet our exceptions and get promoted this year. We start the season with a very though game at home to Championship Giants Newcastle in a weeks time.
(How do people rate my transfers? Will they be a hit or a flop? Thanks for following
)
Last edited:
Yay! A Baggies story! I'll definately follow this.
The transfers are decent, in my opinion. Teixiera was never going to be anything special after his bad injury in real life and I think that is reflected in the game because when I've played with Albion, he just ended up surplus to requirements. Reid is average, too, but I suggest you keep an eye on him at Port Vale to see how he does. Samuels has never played a league match at the Albion so I haven't seen him in reality, and I have only ever played him once or twice in the game.
You've added alot of backup to your squad in Verratti and Sergi, which is good, but I don't think they'll force Super Graham Dorrans out of the team any time soon, and you seem to be happy with Slory and Brunt so...
Goodwillie is decent at this level and could partner Wood and/or *** nicely if given the right role.
Pleased to see you win every game and not concede in pre-season - perhaps ****-Up Carson isn't so bad afterall, ey?
Good luck with the rest of this, mate
The transfers are decent, in my opinion. Teixiera was never going to be anything special after his bad injury in real life and I think that is reflected in the game because when I've played with Albion, he just ended up surplus to requirements. Reid is average, too, but I suggest you keep an eye on him at Port Vale to see how he does. Samuels has never played a league match at the Albion so I haven't seen him in reality, and I have only ever played him once or twice in the game.
You've added alot of backup to your squad in Verratti and Sergi, which is good, but I don't think they'll force Super Graham Dorrans out of the team any time soon, and you seem to be happy with Slory and Brunt so...
Goodwillie is decent at this level and could partner Wood and/or *** nicely if given the right role.
Pleased to see you win every game and not concede in pre-season - perhaps ****-Up Carson isn't so bad afterall, ey?
Good luck with the rest of this, mate
Daniel Carter
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Hi dude, I will be following this as you know how much I enjoyed the brizzle one. Hope you can still follow my Swansea City one, although thinking of ending it soon!
The Rossoneri Glover
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Ill be following. I like the layout, its nice and easy to read. I must say though that WBA are one of my most hated teams <)
August Update
Our first month was a very busy one with seven games including five league games and two league cup matches.
A very good first month for the club which was nearly perfect until the blip away to Sheff Utd which we where unlucky lose. We had two great home wins against Newcastle and Ipswich as well as two great away wins at Peterborough and Forest.
We are also through to the League Cup third round after a very impressive 6-1 win over Bournemouth and a solid home win against Bristol Rovers which seen Goodwillie come of the bench to score his first goal for the club .
Our good run of form see's us take top spot in the table after the month of August which is great
We had a lot of good performances this month but the one that stands out above them all is the opening day win against Championship giants Newcastle. We scored the winner in the 7th minute of injury time which was great So the match against Newcastle wins the Performance of the Month award.
View attachment 100352
There where also one or two players that stood out this month but none more so than young Italian midfielder Marco Verratti who managed to score four goals in his first month at the club For this reson he wins the Player of the Month award.
We managed to score 15 goals in seven games which is a great return and among them there where some real beauties. However my Goal of the Month award goes to Chris Brunt for his strike against Bournemouth after a great counter attack and a rocket of a shot into the corner of the net.
Overall it was a very satisfying first month in charge with a great run of results apart from the Sheff Utd game. We are delighted to be sitting at te top of table and hope we can continue our form into the next month. All the new signings seem to have settled in well which is encouraging as well.
View attachment 100354
(Thanks to all those following and commenting)
Our first month was a very busy one with seven games including five league games and two league cup matches.
A very good first month for the club which was nearly perfect until the blip away to Sheff Utd which we where unlucky lose. We had two great home wins against Newcastle and Ipswich as well as two great away wins at Peterborough and Forest.
We are also through to the League Cup third round after a very impressive 6-1 win over Bournemouth and a solid home win against Bristol Rovers which seen Goodwillie come of the bench to score his first goal for the club .
Our good run of form see's us take top spot in the table after the month of August which is great
We had a lot of good performances this month but the one that stands out above them all is the opening day win against Championship giants Newcastle. We scored the winner in the 7th minute of injury time which was great
So the match against Newcastle wins the Performance of the Month award.View attachment 100352
There where also one or two players that stood out this month but none more so than young Italian midfielder Marco Verratti who managed to score four goals in his first month at the club
For this reson he wins the Player of the Month award.
We managed to score 15 goals in seven games which is a great return and among them there where some real beauties. However my Goal of the Month award goes to Chris Brunt for his strike against Bournemouth after a great counter attack and a rocket of a shot into the corner of the net.
Overall it was a very satisfying first month in charge with a great run of results apart from the Sheff Utd game. We are delighted to be sitting at te top of table and hope we can continue our form into the next month. All the new signings seem to have settled in well which is encouraging as well.
View attachment 100354
(Thanks to all those following and commenting
)
DanWalsallFC
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Great start to your WBA career
How do you add posts without it just editing into the last one by the way?
How do you add posts without it just editing into the last one by the way?
Great start to your WBA career
How do you add posts without it just editing into the last one by the way?
Cheers thanks for commenting
You just have to add a title to the new post you are writing for example every time I am writing a new update I put te title of my story in the title box. Hope that helps.
SwineFluGotYou
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Love reading the story Burkeyoa.
September Update
This month we had six fixtures, five in the Championship and one in the third round of the cup against Portsmouth.
Another good month for the club as we managed to go unbeaten and only dropping for points with two draws against Doncaster and Middlesbrough. we had three good wins and an superb result against Portsmouth in the cup beating them 2-0 on the south coast.
The four points dropped see's us slip down a place behind forest only on goal difference. We are delighted that we have got off to a good start and hope to keep it going.
After an unbeaten month there is a couple contenders for the Performance of the Month award but the win against Portsmouth in the cup just pips the rest of our result to the award. We went down to Portsmouth as underdogs and played the Premier League team off the park
View attachment 100479
This month there was really some stand out performances from certain players. Goodwillie and Slory played some terrific but the Player of the Month award goes to Chris Brunt. Chris was exceptional this month scoring three goals and setting up many others as he tore defenses apart.
Chris Brunt also picks up this months Goal of the Month award after a stunning free kick against Middlesbrough. Chris scored two free kicks against Middlesbrough an either would have been worthy of the award but we gave it to his first effort.
Overall it was another great month for the club with no defeats. We our at the right end of the table and through to the next round of the cup. Our new signings are also looking great value with Goodwillie starting to find the net. All in all life is rosy at the Hawthorns at the minute
(Thanks to everyone that is following)
This month we had six fixtures, five in the Championship and one in the third round of the cup against Portsmouth.
Another good month for the club as we managed to go unbeaten and only dropping for points with two draws against Doncaster and Middlesbrough. we had three good wins and an superb result against Portsmouth in the cup beating them 2-0 on the south coast.
The four points dropped see's us slip down a place behind forest only on goal difference. We are delighted that we have got off to a good start and hope to keep it going.
After an unbeaten month there is a couple contenders for the Performance of the Month award but the win against Portsmouth in the cup just pips the rest of our result to the award. We went down to Portsmouth as underdogs and played the Premier League team off the park
View attachment 100479
This month there was really some stand out performances from certain players. Goodwillie and Slory played some terrific but the Player of the Month award goes to Chris Brunt. Chris was exceptional this month scoring three goals and setting up many others as he tore defenses apart.
Chris Brunt also picks up this months Goal of the Month award after a stunning free kick against Middlesbrough. Chris scored two free kicks against Middlesbrough an either would have been worthy of the award but we gave it to his first effort.
Overall it was another great month for the club with no defeats. We our at the right end of the table and through to the next round of the cup. Our new signings are also looking great value with Goodwillie starting to find the net. All in all life is rosy at the Hawthorns at the minute
(Thanks to everyone that is following)
SwineFluGotYou
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Great update love the style of update.
stokecityfc
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As coincidence, would have it i've started a WBA game as well
I'm playing good football but with mixed results, like you, i beat Newcastle on the opening day but then I got hammered by Forest. My signings have been Baptiste from Blackpool, Mattock (left back i forget where from), Bridcutt from Chelsea's reserves and in the past week i've signed Miram Diouf on a ****** expensive loan deal from Man U- i wasn't sure about him but he scored a hat-trick on his debut against Plymouth in a 4-0 win! I've also sold Luke Moore to Bolton
I'm playing good football but with mixed results, like you, i beat Newcastle on the opening day but then I got hammered by Forest. My signings have been Baptiste from Blackpool, Mattock (left back i forget where from), Bridcutt from Chelsea's reserves and in the past week i've signed Miram Diouf on a ****** expensive loan deal from Man U- i wasn't sure about him but he scored a hat-trick on his debut against Plymouth in a 4-0 win! I've also sold Luke Moore to Bolton
Daniel Carter
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I like this story, keep it up. also, hope you don't mind, but im stuck what to do next with my swansea story regarding a contract offer from another club, take a read. click my signature!
keep it up..
keep it up..
Didn't work !!!
Unless it's something to do with having a post count of at least -?- to stop new members creating multiple accounts and spamming?
mcsmokey_2k9
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This is a good story so far
I was thinking of signing Goodwillie for Rangers but i dont know if hes good enough, How is he doing for you ?
Oh and im following.
I was thinking of signing Goodwillie for Rangers but i dont know if hes good enough, How is he doing for you ?
Oh and im following.