The Challenge of a lifetime-ish//Wolves

[Bowen91]

So, it's been a **** of a long time since I've posted on here, and whilst in lockdown I've had a lot of time on my hands, and a **** of a lot of FM. So I was inspired by Youtuber Dr.Benjy's GloryHunter challenge (which I'd highly recommend you'd check out!), so I thought I'd give my own a go, so thanks for the idea and time fill! I enjoy the higher levels of the game rather than lower level management - Judge as you will! - And with my lack of PC/Youtubing skills, I thought I'd bring it to the forefront here!

So, what happens here? Well, we've got 20 years to win the league titles and main cup competitions in Europe's 'elite', Germany, Spain, England, Italy and France; as well as gaining success with the Europa and Champions League and then trying to move onto international success by winning a World Cup and the Euros in that time as well.

So teams? Well, there's no real limit in where I am and what I'll do, but I need to be competitive in competitions at all times, but it also relies on what jobs are available at certain times which might make things more challenging, as well as the demanding board expectations. So it's all well and good going for the best teams, but the best teams are likely going to keep hold of managers, or jobs won't be available at the same time as me looking to move on, so that's a challenge in itself.

Here we are then (subject to approval) on my story. As you can see per the title, Wolves probably gives it away, but you're not joining me at the start of my journey, in fact, you're joining me in October 2020. Why wolves? Well, this is how we got there on my short journey so far. As per my inspiration for my own personal challenge, the struggles on the stream I watched inspired me to start in Germany, and there I decided to start with Leipzig. A team that has an incredible talent in Timo Werner, and for someone who doesn't watch a lot of football abroad, a lot of names I didn't really recognise. For now, a long story short. I was successful with Leipzig, which whilst they're in the their own right challengers, I still classed them definitely behind Dortmund and Bayern, however with the attraction of Champions League football, I thought it was a good way to get a good feel of me as a manager, and where a unfamiliar team was at and where I needed to improve. As I said, I was successful, and I ended up with the League and Cup double immediately.

So then the question was, do I look to build on what I've achieved thus far with Leipzig and make a real crack at the Champions league with them, or do I find myself a new challenge? I decided to hold on to the job however I was applying for others, Sevilla and Valencia were the most tasteful available until I was unsuccessful at Sevilla, and the successful candidate opened up at my current home... Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Following from this opening post, I will do a season 1 review of Leipzig, highlights, graphics, screenies to make it less wordy and get everybody caught up on my journey, then we'll assess why my thinking was behind taking the Wolves position immediately after my thinking here on out and get on the same pathway so we can take this incredible and (hopefully) highly successful career together!

I'm off to bed to try and sleep this god awful toothache away!

Hope everyone enjoys!

 

[Bowen91]

Season 1 Review!

So here we go, my successes with Leipzig. What Im going to cover here is certain aspects such as Transfer Windows; how the league table ended up looking; A brief look on the formation that I went with and why; big results and slightly surprising results and ongoings, So here we go! I will break this up a little bit so it doesn't turn into an essay because I can ramble on somewhat!

Transfer Activity

As you can see here, there wasn't a lot going off generally. Going into the season I didn't really know how it was going to pan out, so I addressed a couple of gaps in the summer transfer window and then added slightly more in the winter to enable the success. Here I'll just cover certain transfers as it is a review.

Ins:- Van Drongelen - So I decided on my formation (which I'll cover later) and needed a little more depth on the left hand side on defence, and with a view for the future added him on loan for the season, with a 5 mill deal for the following summer. As he was in a young age, he was very much a squad player, but definitely one for the future.

Haberer:- This transfer again was something I was more looking towards a second season with Leipzig, scout reports were good and he was available to sign on a free, he had a fairly good scoring record for Freiburg at that point also so sign him up I did, however I was given the option to bring him in immediately which for 1.9mill, seemed a no brainer, as my back up strikers weren't doing anything in order to support Timo Werner.

Outs:- Kampl:- Wasn't really fitting into my team set-up and opportunities were becoming more and more limited for him, and when he featured, he wasn't really cutting it as I'd have expected on who I thought would be one of the more affective players in this team. Felt like I got a good price for him and opened up opportunities to make other signings.

Sabitzer:- Again, just wasn't fitting in and fell out of favour with me. By having quite a narrow formation, and lack of opportunities unfront with Schick and Lookman supporting Werner pretty much on rotation, he again just wasn't needed. I wasn't able to get him to move permanently but a move to Lazio got him off the wage bill.

Looking for the future, I did decide to bring in wonderkid Emanuel Vignato for 15mill and then other bodies for growth and depth for the potential second season, but obviously that wasn't to be. I also felt rather bad in authorising the sale of Ibrahima Konate to Arsenal for 63 million before I left.

 

[Bowen91]

Formations

After assessing the team and seeing a very average transfer budget I decided on a 5-3-2 wing back formation. Building a team around Werner was the key for me to get the most out of him, in which he truely delivered. But going on past saves with Werner, whenever he's been a loan striker, he's struggled so for me it was key to having someone by his side as some support and by having Schick's services for the year, I thought that would be the key, even if Schick wasn't as profilic as I'd have liked.

League Performance

So here's how the league ended up going. For me it was always going to be dortmund and Bayern and to finish above them both was a brilliant achievement.

I was quite surprised that it was a 7 point margain, but after dominating for the large part of the season I did fall behind Bayern by 3 points with about 10/12 games to go so to clinch it with 2 games to spare was awesome! Dortmund did well to recover as they were mid-table at the winter break and with sacking their manager and bringing in Allegri, their fortunes soon changed quite significantly. Bremen and Berlin were very much the surprises for me when it came to relegation, I expected probably any of the 4 who finished above the relegation zone to be the ones who went down!

 

[Bowen91]

German Cup

As I've said, I won the double. I felt like I had a easy run all the way through the cup. Here's an outlook of the fixtures and results in the German Cup.

I managed to avoid all the big boys here, but the later we got into the competion, the more worried I got. Holstein Kiel really gave me a good scare, and it took a 78th minute goal from Angelino for me to get through to them. The final again was a challenge as I went behind just after half time but after a quick response from Nordi Mukiele and a 118th minute winner from Konate sealed my second trophy in my debut season!

Champions League
So I didn't know what to expect going into the Champions League and man the group stages were full of Drama. My Draw? Well, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Krasnador. Just looking at that, I thought okay, this is going to be tough, but it's highly likely I'm going to drop out and go into the Europa League, but that wasn't the case at all.

Second in that group was a real sense of achievement for me! Going into gameday 6 I had to hope that Juventus beat Atletico and luckily I had Krasnador at home, who as you can see, weren't really competitive in the group. I would say that was the key for me in progessing, but really it was my home form where I took 7 points out of 9 with a win on gameday 2 against Juventus; a 3-1 win with goals from Werner, Orban and Konate and then a 1-1 draw against Atletico on gameday 4 thanks to a Upamecano goal! That could have been a win but Carrasco got them back into it with 10 to go!

My journey went to the Quarter-Final stage after overcoming Valencia in the first knockout round with a 1-1 draw at home (Haidara) and a 1-0 win away from home in the second leg (Mukiele) however I was then drawn against Real Madrid, so although confidence was high because of my domestic successes, I wasn't optimistic. A 3-2 loss at home was very disappointing, especially as I went into the break 2 up thanks to Haberer and Angelino and then took a pasting at the Bernebau 3-0 to go out on aggregate 6-2. Liverpool were the eventual winners in the competition.

 

[Bowen91]

Key Games
Having opening with 3 wins in 3 without conceding a goal, my first real challenge was against title favourites Bayern and then this happened.

Disappointing to concede so late after my clean start, but I feel this was a real good statement maker!

My first loss came to a away trip to Leverkusen which I went down 2-0 with Angelino getting dismissed on the stroke of half time. Bookings were clearly a problem here.

February and March was where it felt most rocky for me.

Whilst it doesn't look that bad, the loss against my closest rivals Bayern and 3 successive league draws before a loss away at Mainz left my title challenge in doubt.

To my remaining 7 league games there, the team really pushed on and won 6 and drawing 1 and infact, the worst result in my final run was actually the result that clinched me the league title. a 2-2 draw against a resurgent Dortmund side.

 

[Bowen91]

My Key Players

Peter Gulacsi:- In any normal save, I'd have probably looked to replace him with someone better but me being a Liverpool fan and having knowledge of him, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and he repayed me well with 49 appearances in all competitions condeding 38 and 25 clean sheets, with 19 of those being in the bundesliga! A average rating of 6.83 in the league and overall didn't do his performances justice.

Lukas Klostermann:-

His stats say it all, despite a few injuries, the assists he provided from his wing back positions were part of why I had a successful season!

Nordi Mukiele:-
Mukiele and the next key player has a reason whilst there isn't a screen shot of their stats, so for now you're going to have to take my word for it. A rock solid player I didn't know a lot about going into this save and came up big at the right times throughout the season. If I could give a most consistent player award, I'd give it to him as I'm not one who's overly about defense first! Pitching in with 6 goals from CB really helped the cause and a 7.18 average rating across all competitions and only conceded 27 fouls all season says to me that he was dominant in his position.

Christopher Nkunku:-
Again another player I didn't really know much about going into this but he was instrumental from the middle of the park by getting 5 goals and providing 11 from his position. His average rating was 7.31 and slightly higher in the league by achieving a 7.54

And finally of course:-
Timo Werner

I
I think this says all that needs to be said really! 33 goals in 45 appearances, he really was the driving force and the linchpin on the way to the domestic double. I also signed him to a contract extension early doors to eliminate his release clause, which was only negotiated to a higher one than he currently had. As I'm slightly ahead now, I can report that Werner is in fact still at the club despite his brilliant season!

 

[Bowen91]

So here we are at my current team Wolverhampton Wanderers!

After my instant success in Germany, it was time to move on, and after trying to get myself a job in Spain which was unsuccessful this job became available with Nuno Santo moving onto Valencia (A job in which I put myself in the running for). He left the club in 7th position, and the thing that drawn me to the club is them securing a place in the Europa League for the 20/21 season with a 7th placed finish. My thinking is that IRL I believe they'll be the team to potentially do some consistent damage into the 'Big 6' and having a Europa League to go for, I thought if I can get that trophy under my belt early on into my challenge it'll be a great success. With me getting Germany complete in 1 season allows me more time to achieve everything else, and I can turn Wolves into a project of actually attempting to win the Premier League, so I'm thinking I'll be here for the next 3 years, but who knows what the future holds!

Club Vision and My Personal Goals
So as most know, the club have some incredible talent right now and their enthesis on signing high profile players are evident to all as well as signing Portuguese players! But here's a better look at what the board want.

For me personally, I'd like to make a real good go at the Europa League. Whilst I'm not expecting to win it, anything is possible so that'll be one of my priorities this season for sure. Domestically, I want to go far and possibly even winning the FA Cup this season! We're still a while away from that at the moment so not at the forefront of my mind. In the league, I think a top 6 finish is a realistic possibility. Europe one way or another is certainly something that I expect this season, and will be highly disappointed if I don't secure that!

 

[Bowen91]

Summer Transfer Window
Oh I went big, really big this summer! 300 million pound spent near enough and a net spend of +90 million!

Key Ins:-
Jesus Vallejo - Knows the club and offers more depth at Centre Back. Bargain at 5.5mill.
Jack Butland - Offers depth and competition inbetween in the sticks, needed to boost English numbers too for registration rules. Could become key in a FA Cup run I may make.
Christopher Nkunku & Nordi Mukiele - Instrumental pieces in my double season with Leipzig, but after the seasons they had, they could help me go far!
Max Aarons - May have paid over the odds for him however I believe he's going to become one of the best RBs for years to come. Definitely paid for his passport though. Luke Shaw - European experience and with Jonny going to spurs, I needed some talented cover there. Could have a resurgence before he gets past his peak.

Key Outs:-
Ruben Neves:- I think it was inevitable, player is a top talent but it's very hard to turn down 83mill for him. However he pretty much paid for the 3 who followed me from Leipzig.
Jonny:- A utility player along the back line again wanted to move to a big team and again at a club like Wolves, it's hard to turn down. 39mill for him and lead to the deadline day signings of Aarons and Shaw.
Diogo Jota:- Again another guy who has simply just outgrown the club and wanted to move on. I could have got more but with a late bid and attempts at a direct replacement, it was a tough ask. A player like that I simply couldn't afford to have on my books and not performing. Probably downgraded on him with his replacement in Tsygankov, however, deal for deal alone, it was a profit.

Overview
I think it was always going to be tough to keep hold of Jota and Neves, however I'm a firm believer in not having players around who just don't want to be here. I think just beefing numbers up in the squad is key with the extra competition this season, and the pieces I have added will bring success to the club. Matt Doherty is out the club already come January after becoming completely unsettled by first not matching his new contract demands, and then felt threatened when I bought Aarons in, so Ive managed to con Brighton into buying him for 25mill. My only disappointment is not bringing in another striker, however due to the Doherty deal, I still have 35 mill in the bank for January, so look for a deal or 2 there. I think that'll be the only business that'll be done unless something changes in the first half of the season.

 

[Bowen91]

Lets get you up to date to where I am currently and where you'll join me live at October 2020!

League:-
6th position after 6 games (4-0-2)

@everton 1-0L (Sigurdsson Pen)
Patricio;Doherty,Mukiele,Boly,Jonny;Aranguiz,Nkunku,Coady(Gibbs-White),Traore(Lookman),Jota(Neto);Jiminez

Vs Brentford 3-2w (Jota2, Traore; Pinnock,Dervisoglu)
Patricio;Doherty,Mukiele,Boly,Vinagre;Aranguiz,Nkunku,Coady(Samaris),Traore,Jota;Jiminez(Neto)

@Watford 3-1w (Jiminez2, Jota; Deuloufeu)
Patricio; Doherty,Mukiele,Boly,Vinagre;Aranguiz,Nkunku,Coady(Gibbs-White),Traore(Lookman),Jota;Jiminez

Vs Norwich 2-1L (Aranguiz; Pedro, Buendia) Coady Sent Off '45
Patricio; Doherty,Mukiele,Boly(Vallejo)Vinagre;Aranguiz,Nkunku,Coady,Traore(Neto),Lookman,Jiminez

Best result and performance of the season so far.

Vs Aston Villa 2-0w (Jiminez2)
Patricio;Aarons,Mukiele(Vallejo),Boly,Vinagre;Aranquiz,Nkunku,Coady(Mola),Traore,Tsygankov;Jiminez(Neto)

Europa League
Went into the competition at the group stage and Im in group J alonside Sevilla, Sparta Prague and FC Cluj

Vs FC Cluj 3-0w (Jiminez2,Vinagre)
Patricio;Aarons,Mukiele,Boly,Vinagre;Aranguiz,Nkunku(Gibbs-White),Coady,Traore(Tsygankov),Lookman(Neto);Jiminez

League Cup
Far from one of my priorities this year, but an early chance to secure a European Spot for next season!

Vs Aston Villa 1-0l (Musacchio)
Butland;Mukiele,White,Boly,Vallejo;Nkuknu(Traore),Mola,Aranguiz,Podence;Gibbs-White(Eze)Jiminez(Neto)

Overall a solid start, but games I dropped were also disappointing.

So if you're ready for this, nows where my story continues... and its LIVE!

 

[Bowen91]

October complete! with 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats. Very disappointing.

However 2 points from a possible 12 from this month leaves me sitting in 9th currently.

@ West Ham 1-1d (Nkunku) - A Goal on the stroke of half time put me in the lead and actually we looked pretty good until a Declan Rice equalizer in the 82nd minute meant we only took 1 point rather than 3.

Vs Leicester 1-1d (Lookman) - A absolute stunning goal from Harvey Barnes put Leicester ahead after 16, but a first Wolves goal from Ademola Lookman 6 minutes later earnt us that point. Not a lot else of note really happened and a point was definitely fair for this one, and left me 5 unbeaten at this point in the league!

@ Man City 4-1l (Jiminez) - The start to a tough end to the month saw us go down in defeat, a defensive mistake saw Jiminez get his 10th of the season after a mistake from Erik Garcia. I think the scoreline was a bit harsh on us, but City did deserve the win nevertheless.

@ Tottenham 1-0l - Our final game on the final day of the month ended in defeat with the goal coming from a Bergwijn free kick. Felt a bit hard done to by not getting anything from this game but we didn't do enough either. I think a draw would have been more than fair here!

Europa League
Our 2 wins of the month both came in this competition which leaves me top of the table with 3 wins from 3 at the half way point.

A brilliant result away from home against sevilla in a game in which I wasn't expecting to win. Tactically I got everything right and played on the counter for the large majority of the game, and they just didn't have any answers for me!

Vs Sparta Prague 3-0w (Jiminez x2, Samaris) - A game which I was expecting to win, we came out the blocks quick and got the job done early in the game in which we dominated for the full 90 where the 3 goals came in 8 first half minutes. The team definitely took the foot off the gas after that, but was still professional enough to see the game out without too much worry.

 

[Bowen91]

Sorry for the delay on the story for a couple of days, but here we are at the end of November! I certainly hope you're enjoying my story so far, and hopefully I'll have updates on a daily basis from here on out!

We'll start with the europa league this time as that's where I started November, and I qualified for the knockout rounds after 4 wins from 4 after beating Sparta Prague 1-0 away from home! Jiminez with his 11th of the season.

Gameday 5 saw us go to FC Cluj and we maintained our Europa League momentum with a convincing 4-0 win away from home. Gibbs-White got a rare start for me in this one, who repaid my decision and opened the scoring in the 13th minute. The route continued thanks to other goals coming from Traore, Jiminez and Tsygankov. We face Sevilla at home to see whether we can remain unbeaten in the group stages. 5 clean sheets as well is another positive here.

Premier League
A shorter Premier League schedule with the last lot of internationals of the year meant only 3 league games this month and we opened at home to Newcastle, and what a brilliant team performance it was!

A very dominant performance indeed and a first goal for Baro who was very impressive. He's had to wait for his chance since joining us in the summer and has already started repaying some of the money we spent on him.

Then we went away to Fulham following this, and it was very much a case of Jekyll and Hyde from these two games where I just wasn't at the races where my inconsistent league form continues and I left Craven Cottage on the end of a 2-1 defeat thanks to a Mitrovic brace. Our goal came from Lookman in this one.

To end the month saw a home game against Burnley and again the domination was at the forefront, but not a strong scoreline, with only a 2-0 win this time thanks to a Jiminez double. Westwood did get sent off for Burnley after 2 yellows in between the goals.

The disappointing result against Fulham leaves me 8th currently but in the mix with the teams above, but if I had a win against them, I could be sitting 6th right now, including being above Chelsea.

We enter a busy Decmeber with a tough home game against Man Utd who're currently sitting in 2nd behind their unbeaten city rivals!

I'm already preparing for improvements come the January transfer window as I'm in talks in bringing Ryan Gravenbirch to the club for roughly 23 million pounds. He was made available by his club and the opportunity was too good to ignore to try and bring him to the midlands. I've also been drawn away against Arsenal in the FA Cup 3rd round.