He's almost made me not miss Woodrow.....almost.
He's done excellently last season as well with Woodrow sitting out due to injuries. He's just picking up from where he left off.
The rise of Fulham
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He's almost made me not miss Woodrow.....almost.
He's done excellently last season as well with Woodrow sitting out due to injuries. He's just picking up from where he left off.
Intl. Break News
After 3 games in the Premier League, some of my players left to join their national teams for the international matches.
For those playing in friendlies, I told the respective management to play them only for 45 minutes. In the past, several managers have broken their promise in this regard and I'm always worried about players returning back injured or extremely tired.
I instructed my physios to keep an eye on the players and I went to Florence, Italy with my family. There was a 4 day period during the break when every time I got an e-mail, I cringed.
Injury after injury hit the players. At one point, I started praying before opening my inbox.
First off, Welsh winger George Williams twisted his knee that'd keep him out for 2 weeks. Within a few hours, I got notified that Sweden international Alex Kacaniklic suffered a slipped disc and will be out for 2 and a half months. Fkn ****! Both my wide players on the left are out.
Then, it was Amorebieta, followed by Staylidis and finally the club vice-captain Baselli. Absolutely gutted. So many injuries in just one intl. break. I should think twice about allowing the players to take part in friendlies in the future.
View attachment 266320
After 3 games in the Premier League, some of my players left to join their national teams for the international matches.
For those playing in friendlies, I told the respective management to play them only for 45 minutes. In the past, several managers have broken their promise in this regard and I'm always worried about players returning back injured or extremely tired.
I instructed my physios to keep an eye on the players and I went to Florence, Italy with my family. There was a 4 day period during the break when every time I got an e-mail, I cringed.
Injury after injury hit the players. At one point, I started praying before opening my inbox.
First off, Welsh winger George Williams twisted his knee that'd keep him out for 2 weeks. Within a few hours, I got notified that Sweden international Alex Kacaniklic suffered a slipped disc and will be out for 2 and a half months. Fkn ****! Both my wide players on the left are out.
Then, it was Amorebieta, followed by Staylidis and finally the club vice-captain Baselli. Absolutely gutted. So many injuries in just one intl. break. I should think twice about allowing the players to take part in friendlies in the future.
View attachment 266320
Media predicted this game to be a close one but we won it easily. Crystal Palace resorted to a risky playstyle of pressing us high up the pitch and paid the price. Within 32 minutes, we went 4-0 up.
Roberts produced two moments of brilliance to score his brace - he skipped past a defender at close range for the first and used his raw pace and acceleration to leave two players in his wake as he got his second.
Artur and Jiminez scored from narrow angles from either side to score two more. We could've had 1-2 more in the first half as Palace didn't have any answer to our excellence. Palace did much better in the second half, defensively. We didn't score any more but neither did they. Great win!
Here's Roberts' first goal. A very nice dribble and finish.
[video=dailymotion;x2rbe4k]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2rbe4k_fm-15-roberts-goal-vs-crystal-palace_videogames[/video]
There was a lot of build-up to this game. Temur Ketsbaia and I went at each other before the game in the managerial mindgames. I told the media that I knew everything about Ketsbaia and the way his sides play (Ketsbaia has managed Man City in the past).
And I actually did counter his style. We had answers to everything Juve had and opened the scoring when Jiminez converted a penalty which Artur won. However, it must have been a red card for Monteleone and I was fuming at the touch line.
Pogba equalized for Juve with a header from a corner. He pushed Baselli in the process and the referee though it was not a foul. It looked like a foul to me, but oh well. And then Juve had a huge stroke of luck.
Pogba shot from 20 yards and it was saved by Bettinelli, but the ball deflected off his hand, to the post, off our defender and fell to Vidal who had the net wide open. Very unlucky to concede a late goal after an impressive performance.
We lost the first game in our group - not the ideal start but it's nice to get the toughest game of the group out of the way early on.
Roberts produced two moments of brilliance to score his brace - he skipped past a defender at close range for the first and used his raw pace and acceleration to leave two players in his wake as he got his second.
Artur and Jiminez scored from narrow angles from either side to score two more. We could've had 1-2 more in the first half as Palace didn't have any answer to our excellence. Palace did much better in the second half, defensively. We didn't score any more but neither did they. Great win!
Here's Roberts' first goal. A very nice dribble and finish.
[video=dailymotion;x2rbe4k]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2rbe4k_fm-15-roberts-goal-vs-crystal-palace_videogames[/video]
There was a lot of build-up to this game. Temur Ketsbaia and I went at each other before the game in the managerial mindgames. I told the media that I knew everything about Ketsbaia and the way his sides play (Ketsbaia has managed Man City in the past).
And I actually did counter his style. We had answers to everything Juve had and opened the scoring when Jiminez converted a penalty which Artur won. However, it must have been a red card for Monteleone and I was fuming at the touch line.
Pogba equalized for Juve with a header from a corner. He pushed Baselli in the process and the referee though it was not a foul. It looked like a foul to me, but oh well. And then Juve had a huge stroke of luck.
Pogba shot from 20 yards and it was saved by Bettinelli, but the ball deflected off his hand, to the post, off our defender and fell to Vidal who had the net wide open. Very unlucky to concede a late goal after an impressive performance.
We lost the first game in our group - not the ideal start but it's nice to get the toughest game of the group out of the way early on.
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Back to England....
While an away victory is quite nice, I am a bit disappointed to concede the second goal - yes, I am being a bit too harsh considering that they scored literally in the last kick of the game.
Rondon gave The Hammers the lead as he latched onto a through ball from their midfield. Roberts gave away the ball cheaply that led to their attack. Cheap mistake by Pat - not too pleased with the way he squandered possession. Jimenez equalized when he headed home a beauty of a cross from Stafylidis. What a cross that was - absolutely magical.
Roberts and Artur scored our second and third respectively. Roberts' goal was a lovely counter attack. He won the ball in midfield to start toe counter and finished it off in style. He made up for that mistake in the first half. Artur scored from a nice build-up play on our left.
Towards the end, Bettinelli came out to clear a ball at the right edge of our box but he kicked it straight to Bradley, who scored from 30 yards. It was a poor clearance from the experienced keeper - he should've just kicked it into the stands. Oh well, 3 points are all that matters, I guess.
Here's Roberts' goal - a lovely move between the three attackers:
[video=dailymotion;x2rcnno]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2rcnno_fm-15-roberts-goal-fulham-3-2-west-ham_videogames[/video]
View attachment 266216As I said in the season preview, I fielded a bunch of reserves and youngsters for this game. View attachment 266214Bryan Ruiz, who is retiring at the end of this season got on the scoresheet.
18 yr old Steven McLean also got a start on the left wing. Balanta, Baselli, Jimenez, Roberts and Kranevitter were among the key names rested. The starting line-up is shown to the right. Not much to say about the game, except that Pedro was magical. He scored two great goals and set-up both Ruiz and Artur. He used all his experience at Barcelona to get past players and find space in the final third.
However, one thing made me chuckle during the game. Swansea got a free kick from 25 yards in the first half and Obita took it in a bizzare fashion. Worth seeing - quite a weird way to take a free kick.
[video=dailymotion;x2rcand]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2rcand_fm-15-obita-audacious-freekick-attempt_videogames[/video]
While an away victory is quite nice, I am a bit disappointed to concede the second goal - yes, I am being a bit too harsh considering that they scored literally in the last kick of the game.
Rondon gave The Hammers the lead as he latched onto a through ball from their midfield. Roberts gave away the ball cheaply that led to their attack. Cheap mistake by Pat - not too pleased with the way he squandered possession. Jimenez equalized when he headed home a beauty of a cross from Stafylidis. What a cross that was - absolutely magical.
Roberts and Artur scored our second and third respectively. Roberts' goal was a lovely counter attack. He won the ball in midfield to start toe counter and finished it off in style. He made up for that mistake in the first half. Artur scored from a nice build-up play on our left.
Towards the end, Bettinelli came out to clear a ball at the right edge of our box but he kicked it straight to Bradley, who scored from 30 yards. It was a poor clearance from the experienced keeper - he should've just kicked it into the stands. Oh well, 3 points are all that matters, I guess.
Here's Roberts' goal - a lovely move between the three attackers:
[video=dailymotion;x2rcnno]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2rcnno_fm-15-roberts-goal-fulham-3-2-west-ham_videogames[/video]
View attachment 266216As I said in the season preview, I fielded a bunch of reserves and youngsters for this game. View attachment 266214Bryan Ruiz, who is retiring at the end of this season got on the scoresheet.
18 yr old Steven McLean also got a start on the left wing. Balanta, Baselli, Jimenez, Roberts and Kranevitter were among the key names rested. The starting line-up is shown to the right. Not much to say about the game, except that Pedro was magical. He scored two great goals and set-up both Ruiz and Artur. He used all his experience at Barcelona to get past players and find space in the final third.
However, one thing made me chuckle during the game. Swansea got a free kick from 25 yards in the first half and Obita took it in a bizzare fashion. Worth seeing - quite a weird way to take a free kick.
[video=dailymotion;x2rcand]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2rcand_fm-15-obita-audacious-freekick-attempt_videogames[/video]
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We faced Swansea for the second time in two games, but this time in the View attachment 266029Premier League. It was a very comfortable victory.
Baselli gave us the perfect start with a goal by rifling in a freekick after just 20 seconds. Swansea were hardly in the game for the first 10 mins and matters worsened for them when Roberts scored our second with a shot off the outside of his boot from the edge of the area. Great assist by Nabay, and a lovely finish.
We could've been 3-0 up in the first half but Baselli missed a penalty in the 36th minute. If only Woodrow was available, if only. We did go 3-0 up but the goal came in the last minute of added time at the end of the game. Swansea switched off towards the end and a long ball by Nabay sent Artur through on goal. The Brazilian striker kept his composure and finished the move. A very simple win - as simple as they came.
After our loss to Juventus in the opening game, we had to win this. And the players did exactly that. Given that its a home game, we started very offensively pushing the Ukranian side back immediately.
Jiminez won a penalty for us in the 26th minute, which Baselli put away wiView attachment 266010th composure. The players were playing with real confidence and Shakhtar found it difficult to cope. When Stafylidis played through Artur inside their box, the Brazilian pulled it back unselfishly for Jiminez to score. Very good play by Artur. 2-0 up in the first half; it was all too easy. Soon after the hour mark, Artur made it 3-0 after an initial Kranevitter shot was parried away by their GK into the striker's path.
With 3 points guaranteed, the lads switched off a little bit and wonderkid Douglas made us pay. A long clearance by Shakhtar defense beat our defense and Douglas latched onto it and scored. 3-1 is still a very comfortable victory and we open our account in the Champions League.
Baselli gave us the perfect start with a goal by rifling in a freekick after just 20 seconds. Swansea were hardly in the game for the first 10 mins and matters worsened for them when Roberts scored our second with a shot off the outside of his boot from the edge of the area. Great assist by Nabay, and a lovely finish.
We could've been 3-0 up in the first half but Baselli missed a penalty in the 36th minute. If only Woodrow was available, if only. We did go 3-0 up but the goal came in the last minute of added time at the end of the game. Swansea switched off towards the end and a long ball by Nabay sent Artur through on goal. The Brazilian striker kept his composure and finished the move. A very simple win - as simple as they came.
After our loss to Juventus in the opening game, we had to win this. And the players did exactly that. Given that its a home game, we started very offensively pushing the Ukranian side back immediately.
Jiminez won a penalty for us in the 26th minute, which Baselli put away wiView attachment 266010th composure. The players were playing with real confidence and Shakhtar found it difficult to cope. When Stafylidis played through Artur inside their box, the Brazilian pulled it back unselfishly for Jiminez to score. Very good play by Artur. 2-0 up in the first half; it was all too easy. Soon after the hour mark, Artur made it 3-0 after an initial Kranevitter shot was parried away by their GK into the striker's path.
With 3 points guaranteed, the lads switched off a little bit and wonderkid Douglas made us pay. A long clearance by Shakhtar defense beat our defense and Douglas latched onto it and scored. 3-1 is still a very comfortable victory and we open our account in the Champions League.
September 2020 Round-Up
Premier League: We're at the top currently, 2 points ahead of Chelsea. After drawing our first game, we've been rather good racking up 5 wins in a row. A couple of big wins and cleansheets helped our goal difference. Chelsea are generally ahead of us in GD but I want to try a maintain a healthy GD.
We haven't yet played Liverpool, Man United or Chelsea. Those will be the key games to test our credentials to defend the title.
Champions League: Win against Shakhtar was very important. I was aiming for 3 home wins after the Juventus loss and I think we're off to a decent start. Ideally, I'd like to finish at the top and avoid any giant clubs in the first knockout round. View attachment 265996
League Cup: The reserves and youngsters impressed me in the Swansea game and they'll be getting their chances again in the next game against Aston Villa. It's a home game and I think we can win it if we perform to our potential.
Premier League: We're at the top currently, 2 points ahead of Chelsea. After drawing our first game, we've been rather good racking up 5 wins in a row. A couple of big wins and cleansheets helped our goal difference. Chelsea are generally ahead of us in GD but I want to try a maintain a healthy GD.
We haven't yet played Liverpool, Man United or Chelsea. Those will be the key games to test our credentials to defend the title.
Champions League: Win against Shakhtar was very important. I was aiming for 3 home wins after the Juventus loss and I think we're off to a decent start. Ideally, I'd like to finish at the top and avoid any giant clubs in the first knockout round. View attachment 265996
League Cup: The reserves and youngsters impressed me in the Swansea game and they'll be getting their chances again in the next game against Aston Villa. It's a home game and I think we can win it if we perform to our potential.
September Awards
For our great performances in the month of September, Pat Roberts and I picked up awards.
I won the manager of the month and Roberts won the player of the month. But the good news doesn't end there.
The second and third spots in the Player of the month contest went to Artur and Raul Jimenez - both Fulham players. All our three attackers got recognition, which is fantastic from a manager's point of view.View attachment 265995
View attachment 265994
For our great performances in the month of September, Pat Roberts and I picked up awards.
I won the manager of the month and Roberts won the player of the month. But the good news doesn't end there.
The second and third spots in the Player of the month contest went to Artur and Raul Jimenez - both Fulham players. All our three attackers got recognition, which is fantastic from a manager's point of view.View attachment 265995
View attachment 265994
Keeping the run going....
We were overwhelming favourites for this game and it was a rather comfortable win. There were a few nervy moments when it was 1-0 but once we took a 2-goal lead, Cardiff never had a chance.
Roberts continued his magnificent form and justified his player of the month award. He made a 40 yard run with excellent pace and ball control before setting up Baselli, who made a run into the box. The lovely cross by Pat was volleyed home by Baselli to make it 1-0. Cardiff threatened us a few times with the score at 1-0 and had their only shot on target just after restart.
For some reason, I was nervous on the touchline as Cardiff were slowly starting to push us back into our own half but Roberts first time shot from a tight angle found the net to make it 2-0. A through ball by Vilhena found a completely unmarked Roberts inside the box, who made it look easy. Once we went 2-0 up, Cardiff didn't have a way back.
This has arguably been my best start to the League. 7 wins and 1 draw in 8 games is really fantastic. Cauley Woodrow played his first game in the Premier League this season and he showed signs of rustiness. He was not very effective in the first half and it took 65 minutes for us to break the deadlock despite our dominance.
The fans were chanting "Shoot, shoot, shoot" everytime we had the ball near the opposition box. After careful possession football in the opening hour, the players got a bit frustrated and resorted to long shots. After three consecutive shots were blocked by the Hull defense, the rebound fell to Jimenez who blasted it home. There was a bit of luck involved, but it's nothing more than we deserved.
There were times last season where we lost our lead or lost the game in the final 10 minutes. I was worried about suffering the same fate this game (and this was despite our dominance) and actually switched to a slightly more careful playstyle. Thankfully, Jimenez scored in the 83rd minute to put the game beyond Hull. Roberts did brilliantly and dribbled past two players to set-up Jimenez for his second.
Another clean sheet. A great start to the season!
We were overwhelming favourites for this game and it was a rather comfortable win. There were a few nervy moments when it was 1-0 but once we took a 2-goal lead, Cardiff never had a chance.
Roberts continued his magnificent form and justified his player of the month award. He made a 40 yard run with excellent pace and ball control before setting up Baselli, who made a run into the box. The lovely cross by Pat was volleyed home by Baselli to make it 1-0. Cardiff threatened us a few times with the score at 1-0 and had their only shot on target just after restart.
For some reason, I was nervous on the touchline as Cardiff were slowly starting to push us back into our own half but Roberts first time shot from a tight angle found the net to make it 2-0. A through ball by Vilhena found a completely unmarked Roberts inside the box, who made it look easy. Once we went 2-0 up, Cardiff didn't have a way back.
This has arguably been my best start to the League. 7 wins and 1 draw in 8 games is really fantastic. Cauley Woodrow played his first game in the Premier League this season and he showed signs of rustiness. He was not very effective in the first half and it took 65 minutes for us to break the deadlock despite our dominance.
The fans were chanting "Shoot, shoot, shoot" everytime we had the ball near the opposition box. After careful possession football in the opening hour, the players got a bit frustrated and resorted to long shots. After three consecutive shots were blocked by the Hull defense, the rebound fell to Jimenez who blasted it home. There was a bit of luck involved, but it's nothing more than we deserved.
There were times last season where we lost our lead or lost the game in the final 10 minutes. I was worried about suffering the same fate this game (and this was despite our dominance) and actually switched to a slightly more careful playstyle. Thankfully, Jimenez scored in the 83rd minute to put the game beyond Hull. Roberts did brilliantly and dribbled past two players to set-up Jimenez for his second.
Another clean sheet. A great start to the season!
This is really great news. I know that a few of my players represent the national team but to have 10 of them spread across three squad is amazing.
Here are the 10 players:
SENIOR SQUAD: Cauley Woodrow (ST), Dan Burn (DC), Marcus Bettinelli (GK), Patrick Roberts (AMR)
U21 SQUAD: Andy Preece (GK), Steven McLean (AMC), Aidan Phillips (DC), Mike Roper (DL), Murray Norton (AMC)
U19 SQUAD: John Simpson (DR)
The italicized names are out on loan presently. Norton is at Blackburn and Simpson is at Cheltenham.
Here are the 10 players:
SENIOR SQUAD: Cauley Woodrow (ST), Dan Burn (DC), Marcus Bettinelli (GK), Patrick Roberts (AMR)
U21 SQUAD: Andy Preece (GK), Steven McLean (AMC), Aidan Phillips (DC), Mike Roper (DL), Murray Norton (AMC)
U19 SQUAD: John Simpson (DR)
The italicized names are out on loan presently. Norton is at Blackburn and Simpson is at Cheltenham.
View attachment 2657532-0 again! Woodrow started for the second game in a row and he got his first goal of the season. Just like the Hull game, we dominated the first half but had nothing to show for at half time. Steaua's defending wasn't the best and it certainly helped our cause.
Soon after restart, Woodrow gave us the lead with a thunderbolt from the edge of the area. Welcome back, Woodrow. How I missed his powerful shots. 7 mins later, 17 year old Marios Adamou (playing his first game for Fulham, btw) put in a lovely cross from the right flank and it proved too good for Steaua defense. Their defense couldn't clear it and it took a deflection of Razvan Popa and went in for an own goal.
The away side's best chances came towards the end of the game but Bettinelli pulled off 2 incredible saves to keep his clean sheet. Marcus Bettinelli hasn't conceded in 288 minutes.
View attachment 265752
Soon after restart, Woodrow gave us the lead with a thunderbolt from the edge of the area. Welcome back, Woodrow. How I missed his powerful shots. 7 mins later, 17 year old Marios Adamou (playing his first game for Fulham, btw) put in a lovely cross from the right flank and it proved too good for Steaua defense. Their defense couldn't clear it and it took a deflection of Razvan Popa and went in for an own goal.
The away side's best chances came towards the end of the game but Bettinelli pulled off 2 incredible saves to keep his clean sheet. Marcus Bettinelli hasn't conceded in 288 minutes.
View attachment 265752
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! This was a tough game - Tottenham are a tough team to beat, home or away. But our performance on the day could've blown away most teams. 56% possession, 26 shots at goal and 11 on target as opposed to 5 and 3 respectively of theirs .
However, it wasn't all good. After just 3 mins, Woodrow challenged for an aerial ball and injured himself. He had to be taken out on a stretcher. Poor fellow can't catch a break. In the 31st minute, Jimenez opened the scoring with an easy tap-in after Artur did all the work on the left hand side and fed him. We went into the break 1-0, when I learnt that Woodrow's injury situation was bad. ****!
Artur did brilliantly to keep hold of the ball again after Spurs cleared a corner, and drilled a low cross across goal for Roberts to score. 2-0 up and Tottenham didn't even have a shot on target. And then, Balanta got involved in a tussle with Schurrle and picked up an injury. Second injury of the evening for us.
Soon after the injury incident, a Roper cross was well controlled by Jimenez inside their box and the striker smashed it home for his 10th league goal of the season. Spurs created a few chances in the end but I was never worried. Bettinelli and our defense have been brilliant off late and they continued to impress!
LEAGUE TABLE:
View attachment 265724
4 points clear at the top and we are unbeaten till now. More importantly, we haven't conceded a single goal at home so far, which is very pleasing.
However, it wasn't all good. After just 3 mins, Woodrow challenged for an aerial ball and injured himself. He had to be taken out on a stretcher. Poor fellow can't catch a break. In the 31st minute, Jimenez opened the scoring with an easy tap-in after Artur did all the work on the left hand side and fed him. We went into the break 1-0, when I learnt that Woodrow's injury situation was bad. ****!
Artur did brilliantly to keep hold of the ball again after Spurs cleared a corner, and drilled a low cross across goal for Roberts to score. 2-0 up and Tottenham didn't even have a shot on target. And then, Balanta got involved in a tussle with Schurrle and picked up an injury. Second injury of the evening for us.
Soon after the injury incident, a Roper cross was well controlled by Jimenez inside their box and the striker smashed it home for his 10th league goal of the season. Spurs created a few chances in the end but I was never worried. Bettinelli and our defense have been brilliant off late and they continued to impress!
LEAGUE TABLE:
View attachment 265724
4 points clear at the top and we are unbeaten till now. More importantly, we haven't conceded a single goal at home so far, which is very pleasing.
I've read all 76 pages over the last few weeks and wanted to save my comments so that I wouldn't ruin anything for myself. But you have done an absolutely outstanding job here mate. Especially with the youth players coming through something I've personally struggled with given all the real players I want to sign. But now that is something I'm definitely working towards.
Just wanted to to wish you the best of luck with the rest of the season and I hope you do realise your CL dreams this year. I can also definitely say that I will be commenting much more regularly. I rate this story on my top 5 on this site for sure.
One last east note in regards to Messi. His value drops tremendously and I have no idea why. Barca almost let me have him for 3mil but he still wants wages upwards of 400k per week.
Just wanted to to wish you the best of luck with the rest of the season and I hope you do realise your CL dreams this year. I can also definitely say that I will be commenting much more regularly. I rate this story on my top 5 on this site for sure.
One last east note in regards to Messi. His value drops tremendously and I have no idea why. Barca almost let me have him for 3mil but he still wants wages upwards of 400k per week.
Thanks a lot. I'm glad you enjoyed the story.
CL trophy is my main focus this season. Let's hope this is the season where dreams come true.
xJamieWilliams
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Very nice start mate!
If you win the Champions League are you off?
If you win the Champions League are you off?
Tough choice...
I certainly would like a new challenge but the prospect of defending the CL title and winning the Club World Cup seems very attractive. I really am undecided at the moment.
