Fenerbahce managed to eke out a win against bitter rivals Galatasaray at the Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium. A potentially serious injury sustained by 19-year-old left-back Daniel Oriyasin late on marred the occasion.
The Intercontinental Derby is renowned as one of the world’s most bitter sports rivalries and tonight was no different. The game was strewn with errant challenges from the beginning; players leaving their foot in to outrageous acts of violence - the latter being how the London-born Turkish full-back was hurt.
In the 34th minute Oriyasin was breaking with speed down the left flank as the Yellow Canaries tried to hit Galatasaray on the counter attack. He knocked the ball beyond Felipe Melo and was around 40 yards from goal when he was clattered from the side by Semih Kaya.
In what looks to be a season ending injury; the young man was audibly moaning in agony as he was carried off the field via. a stretcher. Oriyasin was beginning to break through at Fenerbahce this season: this was his 8th start of the campaign.
Ten minutes from time Dirk Kuyt managed to squeeze an effort past Fernando Muslera at his near post to give Fenerbahce the win. The Dutchman cut inside from the left wing before firing in a low and precise effort to the keepers right.
Kuyt dedicated his winner to the young full back and wished him all the best in making a full recovery.
Fenerbahce’s Failures Continue: Istanbul Club Lose Yet Another Coach 29/5/17
Daniel Oriyasin, 21, has left his post as the assistant manager for Fenerbahce’s u18s amongst controversy with the board.
Fenerbahce have refused to cover the costs of the coaching courses that Oriyasin would need to grow into a bigger role: whether that be at the club or somewhere else, and with word of interest from bigger clubs around Europe’s aspirations to sign the former left-back to their coaching departments spreading it seems the Istanbul outfit are set to miss out.
“I am glad to just be able to get out of there to be honest,” Oriyasin said: “I know I’m still young but I feel like I’m ready to begin my managerial career.”
A source from the club who has asked to be left unknown remarked that they don’t believe Oriyasin will be able to find work easily, citing the lack of available spots on the already crowded European managerial merry-go-round.
When quizzed on his feelings on dropping down the divisions or managing abroad Oriyasin eagerly pointed out that this is what he wanted to do. “As someone who has an undying love for the game I’m always open to other footballing cultures, if the right opportunity were to present itself then I would jump on it."
Fenerbahce look in disarray in the build up to the 2017/18 Super Lig campaign following up a disappointing 3rd place finish in the campaign just gone.
Two months after leaving Fenerbahce I’d had enough of being in London. Finding any job that seemed worthwhile was impossible. I was getting nowhere with the clubs I was reaching out to and every so often I’d get a random letter asking me to coach a Sunday League side or to help out with training for local youth teams.
I was reaching out to all of my contacts from my days with Fenerbahce and exhausting all my options trying to find a job I could sink my teeth into.
Maybe I wasn’t good enough. Maybe Fenerbahce were right to not back me. Maybe I should have just accepted my place as an assistant manager for a youth team.
As the doubt was really starting to press my mind I got a call from Moussa Sow. I had played alongside the African forward with Fenerbahce before my injury. We’d always gotten on but we were far from close. “Daniel,” he boomed when I answered the phone - he sounded excited, “so great to hear from you. Listen, I have some good news…”
((((I am kinda unsure with how I wanna write this story, I think just using news article things will get stale so I'll also be using this first person narrative too to keep things interesting - let me know what you think I should do!)))
ASEC Mimosas have announced that 21-year-old Daniel Oriyasin is taking over as head coach of the club.
Daniel Oriyasin is a former Fenerbahce full-back who saw his career ended in an Intercontinental Derby in 2015. He has since coached and done some scouting work for Fenerbahce’s youth sides. Oriyasin left the club in May after disputes over the future of the club and his contract.
ASEC Mimosas are one of the largest clubs in the Ivory Coast and are renowned for their exceptional youth development. Their alumni include players like: Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure, Didier Zokora, Jean Seri, Emmanuel Eboue and Salomon Kalou amongst others.
There have been questions over the appointment with Oriyasin’s lack of experience and age being the biggest sticking points. How the 22-year-old will adapt to a new continent is another mystery. ASEC are favourites for the Ligue 1 title this year at 6-1 so why they’d appoint a project type manager remains to be seen.
This type of leap is something that our young English managers should look to do. Oriyasin, who was born in London, couldn’t hold back his support for coaches to make the move. “Well clearly I’ve only just started in the job but it’s something you have to do if you’re a coach. I could fail here but I’ll never be kept up at night wondering what might have been.”
Hey guys and welcome to my first FM story since 2011. I tried a pentagon challenge on FM16 and had success in Africa but I lost my passion for the save. I’ve decided to try reboot it and to share my experience with the FM community. I have lost my love for the beautiful game in the past 18 months (supporting Arsenal will do that to you) and to try keep my writing relatively sharp, hopefully fall back in love with football and lastly conquer the toughest challenge I could think of!
I decided I’d start off in Africa just like my last attempt at the Pentagon. These are the leagues I loaded. I have a few heavyweight European divisions up because hopefully if we produce any young starlets that we can sell them on for a healthy profit.
Because I only ended up playing about five seasons on FM17 I gave myself some decent stats to play with. I wrote about my avatar suffering a career-ending injury to add drama as well as explain away his professional player status. I honestly didn’t mean to give myself a Continental Pro License but I’m already midway through pre-season and don’t really have the time to start over.
With the database I used to add all these African leagues there was a drawback: a LOT of jobs were available right off the bat. These are the ones I decided to pursue early on:
Kano Pillars and Wikki Tourists belong to Nigeria’s Premier Division and both just have incredible names. Managing either of them would’ve been a dream come true just for that alone. They have decent squads but neither are favoured to make a push domestically anytime soon. ASEC are a team I managed in the aforementioned FM16 save and the draw to them was really strong. Al-Ahly are an Egyptian outfit who would be a really cool start to the series. However, in the end we went for…
I was totally chuffed to get the ASEC job because, despite my qualifications, I didn’t think they’d take me on. I am determined to win the continent’s premier trophy with this team!
ASEC have an incredibly rich tapestry littered with trophies. 25 league titles in particular is a magnificent achievement. As favourites this season we have to ensure we pick up the 26th otherwise this season will be a failure. We aren’t qualified for the CAF Champions League this season. I’m not sure if that’s a bug or not but hopefully we can fly through the season.
Next up I’ll do a squad review, get into the tactics we’ll be playing and hopefully get started into our first pre-season.
1x CAF Champions League 25x Ligue 1 1x CAF Super Cup 18x Coupe de Cote d’Ivoire 15x Coupe Houpouet-Boigny
PERSONNEL
KEY PLAYERS:
GOALKEEPERS:
We have an interesting cast in goal for us. Cisse looks great with most of his core attributes being around 13. He will provide a stable base for us moving forward. Zongo at first glance seems a god-tier back-up but alas it’s not meant to be. With only four spots for foreign players in the squad; second choice goalie is probably not where I’d like to spend one of those spots. If we can ship him out then that’ll be the goal. If this takes place 20-year-old Bakary Bamba will come into the fray as deputy.
DEFENDERS:
The thing that first jumps from the list of defenders for me is their age. A number of our key players in this third of the pitch are (or are soon turning) 30. I don’t plan on overhauling the entire squad early on and may proceed with these players to start the season. Koulilbaly is better suited to being a center-back but I can see him playing on the left quite a lot for us. Koanda is probably the most likely to be shipped out due to his foreigner status despite his obvious talent.
MIDFIELDERS:
Fonsinho is going to be a star. If we manage to hold onto him for two years I’ll be really happy with this. I hope if we have to let him go it’ll be for a healthy wad of cash. Our midfield as a whole is in a lot better shape age wise. A lot of players are in their early twenties and will hopefully mature as the club grown into a force throughout the continent. Moyabi Kone will help keep things ticking and be the heartbeat of our team from the middle of the park while Dosso and Kouassi provide some young verve on the opposite flank to Fonsinho. ***** Braciano is a super talented kid who will receive minutes as often as I can give them to him. Depode was transfer listed before I arrived at the club and I may in fact move off of him due to our log jam on the right flank.
STRIKERS:
Our forwards provide half of our foreign player allowance and this is something I’d like to look at. Oussale and Agbegniadan provide a good partnership at the tip of the attack but I feel like neither are good enough to justify a foreign spot in the squad. We are stacked with young talent like the aforementioned Dosso along with Poe, an advanced forward with great technical ability and movement. Between these two if we sell the foreign forwards we should still be able to compete domestically. Yohore and Sow are both poaches and aged 17. I’m unsure which one will gain favour and get more game time than the other but I’m planning on giving them equal opportunities from the start.
TACTICS
In my last Pentagon attempt I mentioned I also managed ASEC. I am planning on taking some of the principle I introduced back then and recycling them for his attempt. In FM16 I favoured a high-tempo with extra pressing. Closing down the opposition goalkeeper was key to our playstyle as we had a very physically dominating team meaning we could easily mop up long balls. We mixed up our game going forward with the situation deciding our approach. We could pass the ball around but we were devastating when we would launch it over the opposition’s defence. Attacking down the flanks helped us create a dangerous line of chances. Our widemen were versatile and crossed the ball in all sorts of ways.
We lined up in a 3-4-1-2 formation. This was crafted around having two forwards in the one side; piling on the pressure on the defence. Our #10 would work the channels and help to create mismatches against full-backs and had liberty to fire from range when open. Our wing-backs grafted and grafted and grafted. Stamina is essential for this position as they covered every blade of grass on their flank. One central midfielder would control the game while the other was a destroyer. These roles complement each other pretty well leading in my opinion. Three at the back was to deal with any opposition who played with two strikers against us and usually ensures there will be at least one short option for the goalkeeper.
I tried my best to recreate this tactic for my squad but it had one major weak point: Fonsinho doesn’t fit in naturally. I am tempted to work him into becoming a #10 but for now we will play in a 4-3-3. I am not married to the idea but it will get the most out of some of our star players. With us being likely to only have young options up front; not playing multiple forwards might benefit us in the near term.
Adama Diakite is a very interesting player; having played his entire career to this point for Italian youth sides. Diakite, 24, provides a versatile forward option and is a fantastic bench piece. Didier Zokora is the one you may all be familiar with. He’s an ASEC alum and is incredible at this level - he hasn’t lost his legs entirely at aged 37. Tanoh should be incredible for us. He’s a 29 year old forward with Finishing, First Touch, Heading, Decisions, Off the Ball and Acceleration all being a 14 to go along with Dribbling, Anticipation and Composure all at 13. Namory Kone (see below) is an anomaly. An unattached regen with 4 Star potential, a central midfielder who could possibly impact our team from the jump. Sylvain Komenan was only signed as all our goalkeepers were on international duty/injured in pre-season. A mistake for sure but I panicked, I’ll hold my hands up. Serge Konan is another ex-ASEC guy rotting in Free Agency. I decided to pick him up as a back-up due to his midfield versatility.
OUTS:
Yannick Pognongo has an incredible name but he was with our affiliate B team and really wasn’t gonna get near the side with him taking up a Foreign player slot. He was off the first offer I received. Katalay Mpumbu is an interesting forward but his biggest drawback was his Foreign player status. Selling him at this price means we made a £9k profit in the window which is pretty impressive considering we really improved the squad (I also just realised I’m still using sterling as my currency but I may change that, to euros I guess I’m unsure!)
It turns out the Ivory Coast has a different style for the way they lay out their season. Before the league campaign takes place all clubs in Ligue 1 take place in a four round tournament. I’m unsure how the framing of the tournament bracket gets decided but I’m excited for another chance at silverware.
FIRST ROUND
Our first competitive game in charge of ASEC seemed doomed from the start. We were taking on FC Moossou, a very solid team in the Coupe de la Ligue. and to go with it we were left without a handful of key players due to them being away on International duty.
This game started very glumly and we went down within ten minutes. We started with the 3 at the back formation but conceded 2 clear cut chances right off the bat. Once we went down I switched to the back 4 and things fixed themselves. We struggled to create before Koulilbaly nodded home from a corner on 34 minutes. Diaby gave us the lead with a great finish at the near post five minutes into the second half. We had the better of the game from then on and new signing Tanoh sealed the win 2 minutes from time.
QUARTER FINAL
Our second fixture was the Quarter Final of the Coupe. It was a tense, nail biting affair where we really appeared toothless. We had 16 shots for the game but only 3 of these attempts hit the target. Gagnoa were awesome defensively and harried us all game to the point we were flustered. Tanoh was really struggling as a lone front man for us so he was replaced by Oussale but the substitute missed our best chance of the game; rattling the post with a close range header. Didier Zokora converted the key penalty for us as we ran out 5-3 winners after the shootout.
SEMI FINAL
We took on AS Tanda in the cup’s semi-finals. We were pegged as slight underdogs by the bookies so I knew this would be tough. An away draw was my biggest worry; I felt confident of beating anybody at home. 16 minutes in and Tanda whipped in a corner to the edge of the box where Kevin Zougala met the ball on the volley. The ball nestled into the upper corner of the near post. Not 4 minutes later and things were level again. Nougbele played a diagonal ball over the defence to Tanoh on the counter-attack and our new forward nestled the ball into Tanda’s net. Straight from their kick-off we stole the ball back and it ended up in Tanoh earning us a penalty. He stood up to take it and expertly tucked it away to the keeper’s right. Fonsinho limped off in the 24th minute with _______.Didier Zokora left us in the lurches in the 38th minute getting sent off for a shocking, unwarranted challenge just outside of the center circle. Tanoh completed his hat-trick on the brink of half time; Nougbele again creating from wide right. Another red card left us with nine men in the 55th minute. Kone received a stupid unnecessary challenge when the ball was going out for our throw-in.
FINAL
The final was hosted at our home ground similarly to the 2012 UCL final between Bayern and Chelsea taking place at the Allianz (just on a much less grand scale). I hoped we could channel this and feed off it better than Munich did on that occasion. The first highlight wasn’t until the beginning of the second period of extra time where Diarrassouba skied over a good opportunity around 13 yards out after a whipped free-kick. In the 110th minute we finally broke the deadlock through Herve Oussale. I initially intended to sell the Burkinabe international but due to no interest I think I might keep him around the squad. A deserved victory I’d say after having 18 shots to our opponent’s 7.
With one trophy already in the bag from my first opportunity at silverware I was eager to collect another piece to add to the cabinet. It wouldn’t be so easy as to just turn up and receive it and especially so with us having to take on our arch rivals in Africa Sports. There was clearly no love lost between myself and Norbert Sakara who immediately came for me. Clearly he’s not a fan of a 22-year-old coach coming in.
The game had a really nice atmosphere and was end to end early on. Jean Poe had the best opportunity early on and seen a looping header rebound off the crossbar in the 19th minute. We were all over them at this stage with 57% possession and having 9 shots to our opponents 1 so hitting the bar was gutting. It didn’t stop us though as less than a minute later Nougbele collects the ball on the right, beats his man and whips in a ball of real quality that Diakite manages to free himself to collect it. A quarter of an hour after and Diakite got his second after the opposition keeper spilled a cross into his path. On the brink of half-time Poe left the goal rattling for a second time; this time with a spectacular bicycle kick attempt from 22 yards. Zoumana Kone got Africa Sports into the game just before the hour mark when Akkassou miscontrolled the ball in our area. N’Gouan won us a penalty in the 81st minute after a clever free-kick routine switched the play and left him all alone on the left flank. Diakite stepped up looking to seal his hat-trick and blasted the ball between the keeper’s arms high to his right. Nougbele twisted his ankle in a collision with Africa’s Richard Kouakou on 50 minutes and his twisted his ankle; leaving him sidelined for 3-4 weeks.
Saraka clearly wasn’t happy with just sending digs in the pre-game claiming we were lucky to beat his side despite clearly dominating the match. Do I smell a managerial rivalry brewing this early?
I'm expecting some real gems at ASEC thanks to their really good youth facilities so our team should hopefully improve through a few of these! I feel kinda cheap starting out as a powerhouse but I'd be struggling at a second division side for years most likely, aha. I'll try at a less established club next continent! Thanks for the feedback bud, I really appreciate it.
I've never been much good at journeyman saves so I'm hoping I do better this time, haha. Yeah the African leagues are really fun from my experience too!
First league game of the season we got an away draw at ASI Abengourou. International call-ups made sure we were still missing three starters: Cisse, Koanda and Fonsinho. Diakite rattles the near post after some marvelous play by Fabius Dosso on 27 minutes. After having his finishing criticised at half time; Tanoh converted a Diaby cross at the near post not one minute after the restart. One minute later: Zokora sent off for another terrible two footed lunge made entirely unnecessarily. He hasn’t even gone the two weeks since he was last fined and he’s about to pick up another. We have a chance to seal the win in the 83rd after a peach of a ball by Akassou but Tanoh is denied by Akisse.
Second game: bore 0-0 draw. We hosted SO Armee but nothing happened.
Our third fixture seen us travelling to San Pedro. The coaching staff had pointed out that Diakite was contributing to a large percentage of our broken down possessions so he was benched. Ruffin N’Gouan was selected to play in his place on the left since we are still missing players to international duty. This is kinda frustrating I’m unsure as to if this actually happens or the database is flawed; I hope this doesn’t impact us moving forward too much. N’Gouan actually put us 1-0 up; converting at the back stick after a magnificent cross from Nougbele which came after a lovely one-two with Tanoh in the 9th minute. Akassou, moved to right back for this game, floated in a lofted cross which was met by Tanoh which left the net bulging on 32 minutes. We were pegged back after disappointing defending meaning we were caught out by a simple ball over the top. We simply fell asleep; this was their first shot on target. We sealed things after Diarrassouba headed home a corner late on.
After this game we had our players return from international duty. This looked a real positive for us as we would be getting some much needed reinforcements. Despite this; Fonsinho contrived to injure himself within two days. He’s still only played one game for me thus far. A few days later and Didier Zokora tore a muscle in his back lifting weights meaning he’ll be on the shelf for 3 months. This hurt as he’s probably the best player at the club and he’s barely played due to suspension to this point.
Next up was a rematch against Africa Sports and I was looking forward to another clash with Sakara. Our scouting department pointed out their frailty defending the flanks - they allowed a large number of their goals conceded to come from crosses. They set themselves up in a narrow 4-4-2 diamond. As a team who likes to play wide and really exploit the flanks to stretch the defence this was an ideal match-up for us. Tanoh was released one-on-one within 3 minutes but seen his effort clawed wide. Our big signing made a really intelligent to the near post and seen the resulting header skim the crossbar on its way over a couple of minutes later. Things were starting to look tight for us as we weren’t creating any big chances but Tanoh managed to give us the lead in the 58th minute with a header similar to the one that hit the woodwork earlier on; the only difference being this one hit the back of the net. Straight from the kick-off we won the ball back through Nougbele who continued to deliver a peach of a cross for Tanoh to nod home a second. Africa Sports were left completely shellshocked and we continued to capitalise. Nougbele converted a nice cut back from Tanoh to put us 3 to the good. This was a really good sign for us as Tanoh was on a hat-trick but put the team first rather than being blinded by personal stats. We added insult to injury when Nougbele also completed his brace ten minutes from time thanks to an N’Gouan cross.
Wow, revenge is sweet. I’m actually sad to see him go as he added a little spice to the mix. I hope someone steps up to challenge me through the press.
Next game was away at USC Bassam. In the 14th minute Diarrassouba rattled the bar from the edge of the area, bizarrely the ball went straight up and landed back on the bar again before bouncing out. Kone put us 1-0 up in the 53rd minute but the linesman controversially ruled it out for offside. We still had a chance to wrap up the 3 points in stoppage time when Tanoh raced through one-on-one but he saw his effort stopped by the keeper.
We took on our toughest test yet in our next tie. AFAD Djekanou had won 5-from-5 to this point and regardless of the score they’d stay top after this game. This was a great chance for us to close the gap and almost wholly eradicate their cushion over us. They missed a massive chance early on with Fofana heading over from the near post. We took the lead after 34 mnutes with Nougbele collecting another assist. He received the ball deep, beat his man and lofted a beatiful through ball over the defence to Tanoh who managed to squeeze the ball beyond the keeper’s reach. A real moment of magic that proved to be decisive as we shut up shop from then on and killed the game.
Williamsville was our next destination as we took on WAC in a really tight affair. Diakite got on the end of a Nougbele cross but was expertly denied by the keeper. The same occured four minutes later but mirrored as Fonsinho this time created the chance on his return. In the 89th minute Fonsinho danced through the defence cutting in from the left on to his weaker right foot. He wasn’t fully comfortbale taking the chance and gave Dante a chance to save as a result. With just two minutes added on we looked to be heading to a bore draw. The referee allowed play to continue more than double the allotted time and we made the most of this with Ange Gloudoueu hit the net in the 5th minute of injury time. Paul Koulilbaly pulled his hamstring late on and will miss 2-4 weeks.
Kangoute requested a chance in the first team and I’ve decided to oblige as he’s a decent player and won’t hurt us much. Team spirit is very important and he’s a relatively important part of the locker room so I decided to try and pacify him. Despite this he picked up a knock and would miss 2-4 days. Amara Diaby did his hernia and will miss 3-4 weeks. I’m upset by this as he was really starting to come into his own as a box-to-box midfielder lately.
AS Tanda were the next visitors to Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny (which I’ve only realised the Ivorian Community Shield is named after). We fell behind on 27 minutes to a marvelous team goal by Tanda. The move lasted at least 10 passes and ended with a wonderful cushioned finish beyond Cisse. We roared back into the game and equalised a few minutes later. Gloudoueu headed home after a nice touch from Kone. Fonsinho got the ball on the left flank before darting through the defenders on the left and whipped in a ball from the byline which Tanoh nodded beyonf the keeper. In stoppage time we had an opportunity to seal the win when Fonsinho fizzed in a cross of real quality but it was misjudged by Tanoh allowing Tanda to counter. They created a one-on-one with Cisse and opted to square it but Cisse managed to get his finger tips to the resulting **** sending the ball off the post and out for a corner. Namory Kone made his debut in this game. We go top of the league for the first time this season thanks to this result.
We took on Moossou in a rematch from our first game in charge of the club. We created a good chance in the 8th minute when Fonsinho headed over a tanoh cross at the back stick. Tanoh netted half an hour later after a nice ball from Kone after a wonderful Fonsinho hockey assist. Two minutes later Nougbele whipped a ball in to Tanoh who nodded back to Nougbele who ran onto it and firing in at the near post. Moyabi Kone scored his first for the club 20 minutes from time after a creative assist by Branciano; he cushioned the ball with his chest guiding the ball into Kone’s path. Serge Aka twisted his ankle in this fixture and will miss 5-6 weeks. Our midfield is going through an injury crisis with aruably our first choice trio out: Amara Diaby will be back in 9-12 days while Didier Zokora will still be missing for 3-7 weeks with his torn back muscle.
As we are wrapping up 2017 I have to say I’m really with the way things have gone so far. I have had doubts about our formation but the 3 at the back experiment just worked out so awfully in the limited time I’ve trialled it. 7 wins and 2 draws in 9 games is something we can really take pride in. I’d love an unbeaten season to start things off but I really don’t think we have the squad for it right now - especially with our injuries. I’m really excited for our youth intake as we should get some quality pieces to build around moving forward in our pursuit of continental glory.
I started off the new year with the first proper look at the books and boy we are not in a great place. Our youth scouting budget had run out (I wasn’t completely sure how it worked when I first started playing) and I had to try to get some funds to replenish them. Immediately offers began coming in for a lot of our talent and I resigned myself to selling on a lot of guys. I noted when I first started just how old a number of our key players are and with most of their contracts expiring at the end of the season anyway I felt selling was a good option.
OUTS:
This may look extreme but I felt like a massive exodus was needed when the club finances were taken into account. Without being able to fund scouting assignments on youth products means that we would just not be able to compete in the CAF Champions League. With our unbeaten start to the year we may be sacrificing some near-term success but for the health of the club moving forward this might just be how we have to operate. Hopefully we can develop a few gems in the near term and hopefully break the £1m mark with a sale in the next 18 months. I also just learned that regens don’t come in until October which breaks my heart! We’re not getting any rookies for our first year!
Jacob Depode has all the attributes required for a really good winger in this league. I had really high hopes for him when I took over but our log jam on the right wing meant he only received very limited minutes. He was more of a natural right midfielder and wasn’t adapting to being pushed forward as well as I’d hoped. He was on £210 p/w with us and I thought Fabius Dosso and Jean Eric Kouassi provided options with more potential and on significantly cheaper deals.
I feel really bad for this one. I signed Sylvain Komenan as a last resort after both Abdul Karim Cisse and Baba Zongo were still on international duty while our only on-the-books goalkeeper picked up an injury at the beginning of the Coupe de la Ligue. Maybe a trial would have been better but he wouldn’t have been eligible if Bamba wasn’t able to play. He managed to receive £16k for him though.
Paul Koulilbalyis a really interesting player. He’s equally capable playing on the left or the heart of the defence but lacks the cutting edge that Akassou provides for us. Standing at only 5’11 he’s not really cut out for being a center-back without having someone really dominant alongside him. Beijing Rehne must really have been enjoying our great defence this season as they swooped for three of our guys in the space of two days and another a week later. They essentially signed our entire first choice back line. £17.5k isn’t a lot for someone of this quality but we needed to bring some money in the door.
This one really hurt the club. The 32-year-old captain was disappointed when I turned down an offer for him from China. Christian Angbandji really wanted to play in a better league and earn more money so I couldn’t say no - especially with his contract expiring and the pending decline. We picked up £26.5k but I immediately heard of Didier Zokora’s outrage that we’d sold one of our leaders. I asked him to understand and he came around so it was a disaster avoided.
Beihing Rehne completed their swoop of the club - or so it seemed - when they splashed £65k on Ange Gloudoueu. He was easily our best defender so far this season and it pained me to see him go. Ange was a man for the big occasion and scored two clutch winners for us to help us lead the pack in Ligue 1. Aged 31 though and it would be the best offer we’d see for him. I feel like we can replace him for cheaper than that and the club really needs the money. I was surprised he wasn’t capped during January’s African Championship of Nations (not to be confused with the African Cup of Nations) which seen a number of our players run out for their national side for the first time.
Herve Oussale is someone I had marked as someone who would leave from the start. He’s a good but not outstanding striker who would take up a Foreign squad slot. He scored what proved to be the winner off the bench in the Coupe Houphouet-Boigny in October and I felt like giving him a chance when nobody wanted him but my assistant didn’t include him in his proposed squad to register. We let him go on a free because he was on around £325 p/w which was really high for someone who doesn’t play. Letting him go to Tanda might be a mistake.
Moyabi Konewas the first player who really kicked up a fuss wanting to leave. I was expecting this to be Fonsinho but the winger has been injured quite a bit so I’m glad we’re managing to hold onto him. Kone is a talented playmaker with great technique and he helped us implement a creative style of play and was beginning to come into his own thanks to other midfielders suffering injuries. The squad were angry with me for not giving him what he wants at first but logic prevailed as I pointed out we’d miss him.
Burkina Faso international Souleymane Koanda was a really interesting fit for us. He’s an incredibly pacy option to have at the back and he has the decision making to be able to recover from most mistakes he’d make. Due to him being on international duty a lot and other players performing really well he only made 2 league appearances for us and 5 overall. Picking up £30k for a Foreign player who wasn’t necessarily going to be vital for us going forward is something I was totally okay with. The last of our players, for now, to pack their bags for Beijing.
Armand Niamke really just didn’t fit for us. The athletic midfielder was only comfortable playing as a central midfielder with an attacking duty. I felt like as he’s accomplished playing on the left of midfield he’d be ideal as a wing-back/winger hybrid for us on that flank. He was earning in excess of £200 p/w and didn’t play a minute of league football for us so letting him go was an easy decision.
Baba Zongo was getting nowhere near our first-team and I wasn’t wasting a Foreign spot on him. Nobody wanted the keeper permanently so we loaned him out to Gagnoa who were insistent on only paying for 30% of his wages. I just thought I’d let him go but I should’ve held out for more.
Newly capped Ruffin N’Gouan decided he’d outgrown his ASEC nest despite just signing a new contract. His international player status helped blow up his transfer value so I made sure to jump on the opportunity to get rid. He’s a versatile player along the left flank but only made 2 league starts for us and 4 of his overall 8 appearances this year were off the bench. At 27 he could’ve helped us moving forward but for the meat of £100k meant the offer was too good to refuse.
Our last sale was Komlan Agbegniadan for a meagre £7.5k. This sees really low when you see how talented he is and how well adjusted some his stats are for positional success it looks like we got fleeced. His mental side of his game really lets his down and considering we couldn’t ship him out for free in the prior window I feel good getting him off the books. He didn’t make a place in our squad so I don’t see him a big miss.
INS:
Our new signing add up to fewer members in our first team squad and this is something I’m totally okay with. We only have two full-time center-backs in the squad for now and it’s something I was debating with for a while. I was contemplating signing Mor Diouf to help this issue but he wanted £575 p/w to get involved with us. His signing on fee (£1.2k) proved enough to put me off the signing. I feel we’re in an okay place and should hopefully still get some Ligue 1 success,
Emmanuel Eboue. Wow. With Angbandji moving on and us in desperate need of a new right-back I couldn’t help but spot this guy still without a club. Eboue used to bring joy to my heart with his dancing at the Emirates and when I couldn’t find a younger option of the same quality I jumped at the chance to sign the veteran. At 34-years-old the Ivoran international has lost a step but his technical quality means he should be one of the best players in the league. His mental attributes are really well rounded and he could give a huge boost to our team. He’s immediately stepped in as one of the club’s most influential players in the dressing room. Here’s hoping we can keep Eboue around for our pursuit of the CAF Champions League.
With the mass exodus at center-back one of my primary aims was to get a center-back. The market for free agent defenders of quality was really shallow and Jean N’Guessan was the only player that would make a meaningful impact for us. He’ll immediately come in as a starter for us and while his Dribbling, Free Kick Taking and Long Shots attributes are 1 I’m hoping he can overcome these limitations playing as a center-back with his entire responsibility being defensive. How he was available is beyond me, he’s a great pick-up that may have started regardless of if I hadn’t sold anyone.
We brought in Ali Keita to ease the loss of N’Gouan and Koulilbaly on the left side of our back four. I’d say that he’s a marginally better player then Akassou but he’ll need to earn his spot in the side. His physical attributes are really impressive and I’m not disappointed in the mental area of his game either.
Twenty appearances at u20 level for the Ivorian national side shows how talented this central midfielder is. Yancoub Meite has been out of the game since leaving FC Le Mont in Switzerland in 2016 but his attributes suggest he can be a star for us. He provides Amara Diaby with some significant competition as our box-to-box midfielder and I’m excited to see what he can do for us. He’s been a bit of a journeyman playing for 6 clubs in France and Switzerland before coming to us.
I mentioned earlier that I was worried about Fonsinho wanting out if he hits a good run of form so this was an absolute steal. His value is ridiculously low for someone with his raw talent. Lungelo Msomi is a South African winger who approaches us asking for us to sign him as a free agent so when the scout came back with a possible 5* potential player I had to snap him up. Signed to £150 until the end of the 2020/21 season this is a real bargain of a contract.
Habib Maiga welcome to the team! Our first player of this save with a face and it feels good. The 22-year-old is a great option at the base of our midfield three and with Zokora’s unreliability to go two games without getting injured or suspended I’m glad we managed to pick up a more than capable replacement. On loan from Saint Etienne: he’ll provide a lot of value and a touch of class from deep midfield. His physical attributes are disappointing but a great addition.
Along with the signing we made ourselves; our Director of Football made a move to sign 18-year-old defensive midfielder Sebastien Dakoi from Tigres on a free at the end of the season. I’m really excited to get him into the mix as he provides some real quality technically and has some good physical tools. I’m hoping he can mature a lot as to become the type of player his talent suggests he could he needs to tend to the mental aspects of his game and tidy that up. He’s outside our scouting range so I’m completely unaware to what his potential is like but I’ve got a good feeling about him.
Tanoh gets let loose on the left flank and cuts back for Diaby to finish in the 6th minute. Straight from kick-off we’re pegged back as we fall asleep and Diane pokes it home after a Dion cross. Kangoute got up from a corner in the 67th minute but our effort was clawed away. We give away a massive chance 10 minutes from time from a corner but we have the crossbar to thank for not being on our way to the first loss of our season. Diane gets free a few moments later and converts past Cisse. There were heavy calls for an offside but we just about played him on in all honesty. We were put away in the 89th minute after Diane again got loose in the box to convert a header; completing his hat-trick. We had a chance to make the scoreline more tolerable in the dying embers of stoppage time but Msomi missed an absolute sitter after another Tanoh ball in from the left. Thankfully our biggest rivals for the title, AFAD Djekanou, also failed to get a point in their trip to Gagnoa meaning we stay top of Ligue 1.
Dead bottom Bouake were our next visitors and we had to make sure we got back on track. Things were getting off to a lackluster start until Tanoh was hauled down in the box in the 23rd minute. Emmanuel Eboue stepped up to take the penalty and blasted home his first goal in an ASEC jersey since the 2001/02 season. We don’t create anything substantial until the 55th minute where a kick-out from Cisse is wonderfully taken down in full stride by Tanoh who cut inside before seeing his strike tipped wide for a corner. From the resulting ball in Diakite flicks the ball to Tanoh who sees his shot charged down before a goalmouth scramble also secures our lead. We finally got the second to relieve the pressure when Diakite again flicked on from a corner and no-nonsense center-back Kangoute blasted in at the far post. Fonsinho’s lack of goals has been troubling me and he almost got his first of the season but headed over at the back post to start stoppage time.
A tough fixture away at d’Abidjan where we also faced former ASEC forward Katalay Mpumpu. We immediately had to switch to a more counter-attacking style as we were conceding a lot of possession and I felt a slightly more defensive approach would have been beneficial. Nougbele lofted in a ball of real quality towards the back stick and Fonsinho heads over a near identical chance from the last game in the 18th minute. We fail to clear 10 minutes later where Yancoub Meite, on his first start, slices his header away leading to Eboue clattering into Lakpa in the area resulting in a penalty. Cisse is rooted to the spot as the ball trickles beyond him into the net. Mpumou of course haunts us converting a header from the near post on the 53rd minute. In the 70th minute we were really toyed with as d’Abidjan really scored the best goal I’ve seen on FM18 to date. A really nice move on the edge of the area where they were passing the ball around in a mesmerizing fashion before Lakpa unleashed a stunning effort from 23 metres. We had a chance to get on the scoresheet 10 minutes later but Sow was caught in two minds between shooting and crossing and ended up doing neither as the ball rolled into the keepers gloves. They broke immediately and an acrobatic save from Cisse spared us even more blushes. Zokora gave Sow the ball on the edge of the area and the youngster beats his man before having his shot deflected beyond the keeper for his first professional ASEC goal.
Stade d’Abidjan went top on Goal Difference after winning this game and AFAD Djekanou have the opportunity to make the league a four-way-tie on 26 points along with ourselves and Gagnoa if they win their game in hand.
This really wasn’t a good month for us and I may have underestimated the effect moving on from so many major players mid-season would have on us. The players we’ve brought in have been really below par so far and that’s a really worrying sign. Eboue is making too many errors, N’Guessan has been poor, Keita was ok against Bouake but struggled against d’Abidjan, Meite has not been good and the rest have barely played.
If there were ever a time to switch to our 3 at the back system then this is probably it. We failed to create many opportunities in the last few games and I feel like 2 strikers along with someone behind them might give the defence a lot more to think about. Diaby can move to his preferred position of right midfield, Didier Zokora can move into the back 3 and we can finally try out Fonsinho behind the striker where hopefully he can make more of an impact.
This was really not what we needed right now. One of our most important players goes down for the rest of the season. We only had Bakary Bamba in our squad to be a goalkeeper so we were gonna have a greyed out option on the bench. I really didn’t like how much pressure the young keeper was going to face.
Second hosted third when Gagnoa made the trip to us to begin March. We started in our 3-4-2-1 and it appeared to be working with us dominating the ball and restricting Gagnoa to not even have an attempt on goal within the first half. Tanoh immediately began working the left channel and finding pockets of space and with his ability to cross the ball this year this looked a real positive. A counter-attack lead by Lungelo Msomi on the left flank made it’s way to Diaby on the right and he exploited the space by driving into the area and whipping the ball to Tanoh at the far post to give us a well earned goal in the 39th. Less than 5 minutes into the second half and from our own corner we are immediately countered on and a single ball over the top allows Dali to get in and squeeze past the deputising Bamba in goal. I take the blame for this goal as I didn’t double check our routines for set pieces leaving only one man back. With a quarter of an hour left to play: a corner rebounded to Nougbele eight yards from goal but the substitute fizzed his shot well wide of the goal. In the final minute of regulation time we took the lead after Tanoh raced onto a magnificent ball from Nougbele on the flank and floated it to Diakite at the far post who nodded home.
In the build up to this game Fabius Dosso began kicking up a fuss at not getting enough game time so I opted to play him alongside Tanoh. His flair and ability to dribble could always prove to be a difference maker so I hoped he could really make his mark. For the second straight game we conceded from the first shot we give up as Romeo headed home after a wonderful bit of play on the flank by his strike partner: Diomande in the 15th minute. Less than 5 minutes later: some stellar play on the left between Fonsinho, Branciano and Diakite created a great opportunity for Tanoh but the Ivorian forward steered wide. Diakite found Tanoh again, this time on 35 minutes, and the ball was squeezed past the keeper to level the score. Tanoh doubled his tally a few minutes after the restart following a great move that began with Diaby stealing the ball back - or so I thought! The linesman had his flag up. We were having the best of the game and Sylla over committed on the edge of the box leading to his second yellow. Dosso dispossessed a defender and got the ball back but he scuffed his shot into the keepers hands. Yancoub Meite rattled the crossbar from 25 yards out with a volley on the hour mark and seen his rebound land at the feet of Dosso who tucked the ball home for his 1st of the season. A great move seen Tanoh getting his second; for real this time. Yancoub Meite made the last pass in a tight space to put it on a plate for our top scorer. Tanoh completed his hat-trick late on after a nice cross from Fonsinho.
Another big injury for us denying us our primary defensive option on the left flank. Keita will struggle to rebuild form and fitness before his contract expires so it’s doubtful we’ll see him mich more in an ASEC jersey.
We hit the ground running and ***** Branciano gave us a lead in the opening few minutes. A Meite attempt was blocked and fell into Branciano’s path and he tucked it home from the edge of the area. We robbed them immediately from kick-off through Tanoh and the forward lashed over from the edge of the box. Early in the second half we gave up a massive opportunity but Loba miscued his header. We managed to hold out in a not very eventful tie.
We took on the team with the best away record in the division next. Fonsinho dribbled past three defenders and pulled his strike wide in the 25th minute. Some nice pressing from Branciano won us the ball back on the left byline and he released Tanoh running in from the left but the forward blazed his strike high and wide. Another attack down the left lead to a sitter for Sow at the back post but the youngster heads over the games best chance. Sow then splits the defence marvelously with a through ball to Tanoh but the Ivorian international still finishes wildly. We finally take the lead in the 78th minute thanks to Diaby finding Diakite at the far post. The woodwork saved San Pedro in the dying minutes of the game when Nougbele unleashed a strike off the crossbar from outside the area.
A successful month sees us move three points clear at the top of the table. With only ten games to go this season; we should look to consolidate this lead in the next few weeks. A number of the teams around us are taking points off each other so I doubt we’re going to have to be perfect through the end of the year to lift the trophy.
The month gets off to a bad start when Amara Diaby picks up an injury that could keep him out for a majority of the month.
Derby day. For the first time since switching to our three at the back system we are threatened more than we are threatening our opponents. Africa Sports received a free-kick on the edge of the area and drilled it straight into Bakary Bamba; but the deputy keeper spills the ball and Privat puts us 1-0 behind. Early in the second half we fail to clear on several occasions and on the third attempt Privat gets free but this time Bamba holds on. We get a penalty in the 63rd minute when Diakite is brought down after some lovely play by Fonsinho, Meite, Nougbele and Tanoh. Diakite stood tall from the spot and sent the keeper the wrong way to level things. Kone wriggled free from our defence and was denied by Bamba not long after.
Our brightest spot for the past few weeks got injured too. We couldn't get much unluckier.
Inside the opening move of the game Jean Poe crossed from the byline but the ball immediately went out f. Fonsinho whipped in a ball of real quality and Kangoute nodded home on 7 minutes. We’ve had real success from attacking at set pieces all season and I really hope this continues. Poe got in behind and finished at the near post from a tight angle in the 19th. Dosso, who was playing on the right flank, found Fonsinho with some magnificent play leading to a cross but the left winger headed wide. Dosso continued his nice play out wide into the second half and early on he found Poe who converted his second.
First travelled to second when we made the trip to face Djekanou. This fixture would undoubtedly be our biggest challenge for the 3-4-1-2 yet. Inside of 5 minutes Poe got loose in the box but wasn’t able to convert beyond Tahourou. Tanoh headed wide at the near post less than 2 minutes later. We were having the best of the game and Dosso missed another good chance on the half hour mark. The game was stagnating for us in the second-half and it seemed we were really missing Diakite’s creativity at the #10. When the game was starting to look bleak for us ***** Branciano scored a cracking volley from 25 yards off the underside of the bar in the 69th minute - our first from outside the box. Sow wrapped things up for us 15 minutes from time with a nice header via a Fonsinho cross.
Diakite marked his return with a goal when he converted our first real chance of note in the game. Nougbele continued to garner assists for the year after a nice move playing Diakite in at the right hand side of the 6 yard box. On the stroke of half-time another free-flowing attack ends in a goal - this time Tanoh nets at the far post. We ice the game in the 72nd minute when Amara Diaby played an Alex Song-esque ball over the top to Diakite - who volleyed home spectacularly.
After a disappointing February we are finally starting to pull away at the top of the table. Some of our performances haven’t been very impressive to this point: we aren’t creating too many great chances but I’m hoping this will improve as the personnel does. We’ve had a few bright sparks this season where Fabius Dosso is looking lively on the right wing is probably the brightest. Poe has been decent too; when he’s not being complacent and unmotivated. Sow has scored a few goals for us and I think him staying is the ideal option long term. He can mature into a great little poacher.
Only four games coming up in March means we’ll be fully prepared for each fixture. Sewe FC is the key game here as they currently occupy 2nd. Away ties at Tanda (10th), Moossou (7th) and Bouake (14th) might be tricky too. I’m looking to take at least 8 points from these fixtures as it’s a relatively tough run with the away games.
Herve Oussale hosted us for what he hoped would turn out to be a revenge game. Less than 5 minutes in the game Dosso picked out Tanoh perfectly with a whipped cross from deep on the byline. Tanoh headed beyond the keeper to give us the lead. N’Guessan had a big chance from a corner but seen his header fly beyond the far post a few minutes later. Nougbele’s immaculate crossing continued when he found a wide open Dosso in the area in the 18th minute. Oussale wriggled free in the area but couldn’t convert a drilled cross 10 minutes from the half. Straight from kick-off Oussale sloppily gave the ball away at the edge of our area. We broke immediately and Dosso missed a simple opportunity from close range at the end of it. Dosso fizzed a cross along the 6 yard box in the 54th minute but Tanoh completely skied the easy opportunity. Oussale pulled one back 15 minutes from time after a break from a free-kick. Zokora hesitated in stepping up to intercept and his lack of pace let us down as our defence collapsed. We managed to hold out for the win but Fonsinho and Nougbele picked up knocks in this game.
Moossou had been in great form coming into this game and currently occupied 5th. Fonsinho and Nougbele sat this one out after picking up knocks against Tanda. Diaby seen his header bounce off the woodwork early on after a floated Branciano cross from the left. Diaby whipped it in from the right and Tanoh blazed over from 6 yards in the 14th minute. Meite came close to putting us up but seen his effort from the edge of the area tipped over. N’Guessan limped off in the 38th minute. Early in the second half Dosso sets up Tanoh by nicely squaring the ball across the area and our top scorer makes no mistake this time. Yancoub Meite sealed the 3 points with a thunderous effort from inside the area that left the keeper with no chance.
In the build-up to our pivotal title deciding game against Sewe an old foe came out of the woodwork to try and jinx our title challenge. He went on to say he is holding out hope until it's mathematically impossible that Tanda could win the league despite being one place outside of the relegation zone. Bizarre.
We took on Sewe in a game where a win would give us the title. Things almost got off to a great start when Nougbele’s cross is punched out to Amara Diaby on the edge of the area and his volley attempt zips over the bar. Didier Zokora scored his first of the season after a wonderful free-kick cross from Dosso was met by Kangoute and the ASEC icon headed in at the far post. Just before the half we had a chance to ice the game but Dosso headed over from close range. Bamba had a moment of madness early in the second when he came to collect a long ball but totally misjudged it. The ball looped flew over him and harmlessly bounced out for a goalkick. Dosso almost scored a magical goal from the corner of the area; he drove a shot into the foot of the goal before it bounced out. Diakite hits the post as well not 12 seconds later. Fonsinho lost his head in the 77th when he picked up his second yellow throwing the game into disarray. We held out for the win and we are league champions in my first season!
An incredible first season at the club means we are now qualified for the CAF Champions League. This is a big step for us and while I don't expect us to lift the trophy this upcoming season I hope we can go deep and lay the groundwork for future bids to lift the trophy.
We wrapped up the league title with three wins from three. Two of our best goals of the entire season came in the last two match-days so I wanted to integrate them into this post for you guys to see.
Bakary Bamba picked up an injury before the last game of the season and with Cisse already out we had to play an outfield player in goal for the last day of the season. Somehow we managed to keep a clean sheet with Yancoub Meite playing between the sticks.
We ran away 14 points clear at the top of the table when all was said and done. I'm glad we've taken home our first league title and I'm really looking forward to the next few years with this club.
I was chuffed to bits when our youth intake came through in mid-April. I put off writing a post about it at first because I was unable to register any of these guys to my squad due to registration rules. Our assistant informed me that this crop of players could turn into “a Golden Generation.” While I don’t want to get THAT carried away with the high expectations I am still really optimistic with the players we got. Not one worthwhile striker though; which is a shame. We might have to look for our Tanoh replacement in the transfer market.
I was thoroughly impressed with our candidates when they absolutely annihilated our current u18 side. While all of the players we had were greyed out; with the exception of Namory Kone.
The real gem of the crop, Adama Fofana, is a versatile option on the left side. He’s capable of playing every position on that flank but is only natural as a left-back. I’m immediately going to begin training him to play on the left of midfield so he can really thrive in our system. A wholly different option to Fonsinho but he’ll definitely be in the squad rotation next season.
***** Diomande is an absolute monster. 6’4 at 15 years of age with a mammoth 13 jumping reach. He’s gonna be a massive threat from set pieces. He won’t be getting anywhere with his 1 in Technique and Dribbling but we don’t need that from him. I’m real excited for this guys career. Another who’ll be in the first team squad next year.
Ousmane Dosso is a nice option for us. He’s a natural right midfielder and he has the pace needed to cause problems at this level. 18 Flair is something special and I’m excited to watch what he’s able to create despite his 6 in Passing and Vision. I can see his elite athleticism attracting attention early so he might be an early sell. I would like to keep him around though - he has star potential.
A real rock solid option and a long-term replacement for Didier Zokora; Serge Sogodogo is a nicely, well-rounded piece for us moving forward. He’ll certainly be a reliable player for us long term. He won’t be someone who’ll stand out too much so I’m hoping we’re able to hold on to him.
Aboubacar Kone is someone I was begging to be just a little bit better. If he can improve his Passing and Vision he could grow into a good first-team player for us. As a #10 he might be able to add some verve to our attack but he’s some way off a starting role.
I can see why these guys are tipped to be a Golden Generation for us moving forward. We have some other very interesting players in our youth ranks but these are the five that project to be the best players at their respective peaks. To match with our homegrown talent; I began scouting through all the players that were available and I found two gems. You guys are gonna have to wait til the transfer window to see ‘em!
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