The Saviour - Kick starting a Career?

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So how does that leave our squad looking?

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I am very happy to be honest, much happier than I was last season. We have real depth and options now which I felt we were a little bit lacking at times. We also have tactical options, we can play Sane and Mane as wingers and tell them to hit the target man with Rondon, or we can play Kagawa/Correa/Arnold/Gomez and try and work our way in to the box patiently.

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Tactically I am going to stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation that we ended last season with and give it a chance to work. I reckon the quality of player that we now have is enough to control games in the Bundesliga and this formation offers a nice balance and created different attacking paths.

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This is what I have come up with, and is probably going to be the side we put out for our first game of the season. The keys to this formation are the two holding midfielders in the middle. They need to cover a lot of ground and sniff out counter attacks, while also looking to restart counter attacks from any balls they do intercept. Rodriguez is going to be given licence to get forward from the lift with the player in front of him cutting inside to create space. The right winger, probably Mane or Sane will be all about running at and committing defenders, creating space for the central attacking mid and the striker to run in to.
 
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Pre-Season

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Really happy. Plenty of goals scored, four clean sheets kept, all of our major attacking players in and around the goals (Gomez x 5, Correa x 3, Rondon x2, Unal x 3, Mane x 2) and a 9-0 win to finish off the pre-season in style. All the signs are pointing towards a promising campaign, but it is so hard to judge from pre-season results alone.


Players to Watch


Sadio Mane

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An absolute live wire and one of the first names on the team sheet, Sadio Mane is in my opinion our key player. Able to create something out of nothing and torture defenders, he has 2 goals and 4 assists in pre-season. If he can translate this form into the league, we should be laughing.

Ricardo Rodriguez

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Mr Consistent, this lad is world class. One of the finest left backs in the world, he has free reign to gallop down the left hand side and put crosses in. Although he has a very attacking mindset, he is actually good enough and fit enough to put in a defensive effort as well and at the same time.

Shinji Kagawa

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The final spot on my ones to watch list was a toss up between Kagawa, Correa and Rondon but in the end I want for Kagawa. He has so much quality, is good with both feet and has two goals and an assist from his two pre-season appearances. He is going to have a tough time displacing Max Arnold (one of our best players last year) from the first team, maybe he can challenge Correa for a more creative spot on the left hand side? If he fits in well, we have ourselves an absolute bargain and a monster of a player. If he fails to settle? he could be anonymous.
 
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1st Round
FC Erzgebirge Aue Vs Wolfsburg
18th August, 2018.

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Team News

We line up as expected for the first game of the season, Kagawa gets a chance to prove his worth in the middle of the park while there are also debuts for Ospina, Denayer, Kessie, Correa and Rondon.

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It wasn't glamorous, but its a job well done. A win and a clean sheet can never be a bad thing as we move into the 2nd round of what is effectively the German Cup. Jason Denayer picked up man of the match on his debut, underlying his value to us, however a poor debut from Kagawa got worse when his replacement, Max Arnold scored a beauty of a goal.
 
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Bruma Leaves

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Jeffrey Bruma has left the club on transfer deadline day, causing a bit of a last minute panic. He was unsettled and wanted a move to a bigger club. I was going to force him to stay until Juventus came in with a £15.75 million bid and a promise of 25% of any profit they make on him. While the kid is good, he isnt good enough to justify turning that down, so the scramble to find a new centre back was on.

Rojo Joins

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Our trend of bringing Premier League players to the Bundesliga continues as we snap up Marcos Rojo for just £3.4 million. Yes his wages of almost £100k a week are steep, but he has huge quality, pace, power, decent technical skills, only 28 years old and most importantly experience. He is a very welcome addition to the squad and in my opinion, an upgrade on Bruma.
 
Man, what a good transfer window! can't wait to see what this season brings
 
Some very good signings there mate. You certainly have an eye for a bargain!
 
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Wolfsburg Vs Augsburg
1st September, 2018.

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Team News

Mario Gomez and Max Arnold both come in to the side following impressive substitute performances, with Kagawa and Rondon dropping to the bench. Marcos Rojo also makes his debut, replacing the sold Bruma. David Ospina will start the season with the gloves as our permanent goalkeeper.


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A very satisfying start to the season as we pick apart Augsburg with precision to claim our first three points of the season and get off to a winning start. A goal and an assist for Mario Gomez justified his selection while Mane also got off the mark and Witsel banged home a penalty. It took us a little longer than I would have liked to have wrapped the match up, but we never really looked in any trouble as you can see from the shot count.
 
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I hate International football. This is a complete disaster for us as our main midfield combination are both sidelined. We can probably cope without Witsel for a couple of weeks, but Kessie missing half the season is a massive blow, especially after his strong start to the season. A lot of pressure on Ajer and Gerhardt now to step up with Arnold dropping deeper also a possibility.

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And things get even worse. What the **** is going on? Another key player struck down, for a month this time. Can we label this a crisis yet?
 
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FC Ingolstadt Vs Wolfsburg
15th September, 2018.

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Team News

A major reshuffle following our poor luck with injuries. Leroy Sane and Kristoffer Ajer both get their debuts for the club, with Max Arnold dropping deeper into the centre of midfield and Correa playing more central ahead of him.

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Gutted with this one. Throwing away a two goal lead against lesser opposition is never a good thing, but there are encouraging signs still there. Mane makes it two goals and two assist in his first two bundesliga games, while creatively we are playing some lovely football. Not looking quite so confident at the back however. Far from a crisis yet, new players will always need time to gel, partnerships dont happen overnight and I'm sure Rojo and Denayer will be excellent.
 
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Borussia Monchengladbach Vs Wolfsburg
22nd September, 2018.

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Team News

A slight change in tactic enforced on us as I move the playmaking position out on to the left hand wing, giving Arnold in the centre more licence to get into the box and play off of Gomez rather than sitting in the hole. Gerhardt comes in for his first start of the season sitting alongside Ajer.

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What a match, and what a win! I honestly thought this one had gotten away from us, but the brilliance of Sadio Mane clawed it back! We were dreadful in the opening quarter of an hour and could have been 4-0 down, but we hung on in there and Mane wove his magic, smashing in a hatrick before Mario Gomez struck in the last minute of the game to seal three more massive points!
 
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Wolfsburg Vs Hoffenheim
26th September, 2018.

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Team News

Unchanged for the match today. While our defence has been extremely leaky, they need time to gel and form partnerships which wont happen if I simply chop and change them around.


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Only a point this time around against a decent Hoffenheim side, which on reflection we were lucky to get. Not so good today but at least Sadio Mane kept up his hot streak to earn us a point. 6 goals in 4 games for him!

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FC Nurnberg Vs Wolfsburg
29th September, 2018.

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Team News

Axel Witsel returns to the heart of midfield after his injury lay off and partners Ajer. Otherwise it is unchanged again, although there is a slight change in role for Correa as he becomes an inside forward to try and get himself on the ball more and hopefully increase his goal threat.

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Agony. It was our turn to conceded a last minute goal this time to deny us what would have been a hard fought win. When your in form, you really are in form and Sadio Mane could do no wrong. A simply cross from the right hand side looped over the goalkeeper and in for his first before he coolly slotted home a 2nd. Ajer got sent off for a stupid two footed tackle and it showed as we buckled under the pressure of the extra man.

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Start of Season Review

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A decent if not spectacular start to the season as we go undefeated. Sadio Mane has pretty much spared our blushes so far, but we can take the momentum and the positives that we have shown so far and press on!

Table

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Its Dortmund again who make the flying start to the season, while Bayern are stuttering slightly. I am quite happy with our 5th place, although we really should have punished some of the teams we have faced, things are only going to get harder from here.

Player of the Month

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I'm sure your not surprised, Sadio Mane has probably been the finest player in the world over the last month. 5 games, 8 goals, 2 assists, 8.34 average rating. The man is an absolute hero, we are all praying that he stays injury free.

October Fixtures

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A tougher month ahead as we have to make the visit to Leipzig and welcome Leverkusen and 2nd place Mainz. We will know a lot more about our European chances after these games.
 
3 injuries to your midfield is horrible! Hopefully you have enough depth to move people around and cover the gap!

Love the new skin btw, your own making?
 
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