The UEFA Champions League Challenge

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END OF SEASON POST

Its hard to say if this season was better or worse than last season. We won the league by a load more, points and scored a load more goals however we got 1 less point and lost more games. We also didnt win the Scottish Cup and got knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage but on the other hand we did then go onto win the Europa League!!!!

Domestically we romped the league, winning it by 18pts, but it could have been by so much more as we chucked in a few performances and results although we did thrash Rangers 5-0 once. Such are the levels that I am expecting it seems a tad harsh that I am disappointed with our efforts. We did win the Betfred Cup by beating Aberdeen 4-2 however in the Scottish Cup we were dumped out in the quarter-finals by Rangers.

We were involved in Europe right until the end of the season. In the Champions League we put in a decent showing in our group but ultimately we finished 3rd behind Inter Milan and PSG. That put us into the Europa League and we were successful there. There were some really big sides in it but they all got eliminated while we just got on with it and eliminated Cukaricki, Lazio, Hamburg and Real Betis before we faced Leeds in the final and we thrashed them 6-2 with Billy McMahon netting 5 goals.

My young side is continuing to develop and we are getting stronger - we just need a couple of players to give us a bit of extra quality. Winning the Europa League means we will be seeded in the top group which hopefully will help us.

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SPL
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SQUAD
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Goalkeepers - Callum Smart played every game this season as the wonderkid continues to improve. Spurs bid £57m for him during the season so it shows that his form is getting recognised elsewhere and we have to keep him if we are going to win the Champions League anytime soon.

Defenders - Matthew Hill was my RB and the 18y/o did very well and I gave him his first Scotland cap too. On the other side we had Makelele and he was decent enough while Malitoli came in on loan and played on either side and got regular appearances. In the middle Deronjic was excellent as expected but it was the performances of Rodrigo Wlodawski that really shone through as he was superb all season and won several awards.

Midfielders - Lopez and De **** continued their partnership and did well with Lopez actually managing to score some goals this term. Stuart Gray emerged to be a regular player too and his versatility helped him a lot and he is now also part of the Scotland set up. At AMC Agudelo had a disappointing season but that was in part due to the arrival of Daler Hojiev who came in from Spartak Moscow and immediatley lifted the side with 15 goals and 13 assists. Gerson Rios was an expensive signing in January but he immediately got injured so hasnt made an impact yet.

On the LW my club record signing, Francois Andre, had a great debut season for us as he scored 23 and also assisted 16 and he can only get better. Sean Atkins was in on loan before getting recalled in January as his backup so I ended up bringing in yet another teenager in the shape of Piedra.

Over on the other side Vuk Andrejic was superb with 17 goals and and 17 assists and that is even more impressive when you consider the fact that I brought in Mehmedovic in on loan in January and he took his place towards the end of the season!!!

Forwards
- I paid £14.5m for Billy McMahon in the summer and the teenager had a great season. He was named as the European Golden Boy and scored 5 goals in the Europa League final to take his tally for goals up to 32 for the season and he also missed a couple of months through injury!!!! Kieran Shearer was brought in as backup and he got a fair few amount of games and he ended up with 15 goals but he can do better.

My Player of the Season - Rodrigo Wlodawski
My Young Player of the Season - Billy McMahon
Must Do Better - John Agudelo
Donkey of the Season - Grant Kerr

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SUMMER PLANS

I have no transfers lined up nor anyone really up for sale. No doubt the vultures will be circling around some of my young starlets and I wont be tempted to sell unless we are offered ridiculous money. Naturally my on loan players - Malitoli and Mehmedovic - will need to be replaced.​
 
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PRE-SEASON POST


I have actually had a very quiet pre-season with not much happening due to Scotland not being involved in the World Cup (won by Germany) and my Celtic squad being largely settled but I have tinkered a little bit as we enter my 15th season in management.

I have only brought in 3 players at a cost of £46m and sold 2 for exactly half that but I did miss out on a few targets admittedly. I basically needed a RW, LB and CM and thats exactly what I got..................

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PLAYERS OUT

The big departure was that of Jacky Lopez who joined Brighton for £15.5m. He is a decent player and probably worth double that but I wanted to bring in a more attacking midfield player in his position and with his contract due to expire I thought it was the right time to sell.

The other player to depart was Lewis Neilson who joined Udinese for £7.5m. At 31y/o he wasnt going to get any better and that fee represents a small profit. I didnt need him anymore for registration rules either.

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PLAYERS IN

Just the 3 as I said. My first arrival was Cammy MacDonald from Dundee United for £6m. He will be my new backup LB and the 20y/o Scotland international can still improve so I am happy with his signing.
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Then I brought in the replacement for Lopez. I have to say that you have got to remember that Gerson Rios has barely kicked a ball for me so he is like a new signing but I had this new signing on my shortlist for a while. I paid Dinamo £25m to bring in Borna Stipic. He is only 18y/o and is surely a future world class player and he will compete for that MC slot.
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My final signing was of Alun Jones from Spurs for £14.75m. He will be my new backup RW and is a very good technical player. I just wish he could be a tad quicker and could cross the ball better! After I signed him I noticed that he actually had 2 years on loan at Celtic before I arrived at the club and as a result we are one of his favourite clubs so that is an unexpected bonus!!!!
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SQUAD AND AIMS FOR THE SEASON


The back 4 stays the same although Stuart Gray will probably be my backup RB now as well as CM. One of my first signings at the club, Jan Komarek, has now got a work permit and after being out on loan he has replaced Neilson in the squad. Valencia are after my Czech wonderkid but they can do one lol.

Its a fight between Rios and Stipic to partner De **** in midfield while my attacking midfield 3 will be Andrejic, Hojiev and Andre and obviously McMahon will lead the line up front and I hope he doesnt suffer a bad injury this time!

A domestic treble is always the aim but I would like us to progress further in the Champions League. Having won the Europa League and doing well against big sides in recent years I feel like we can put together a decent run. I set myself a target of 5 years to win the Champions League with Celtic and we are on track but I am getting kinda impatient!!! lol.

 
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AUGUST

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Lineup
- Smart, Gray, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios*, De **** (Stipic), Andrejic, Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, Shearer (McMahon)

Billy McMahon was not fully match fit so had to sit on the bench yet he came off it to score twice to win us the match. He also had a goal disallowed, as did Hojiev so this could have been so much more comfortable. Gerson Rios had a great match as he scored a screamer and got an assist.

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Lineup - Smart, Gray, Wlodawski (Komarek), Deronjic, Makelele, Rios (Stipic), De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre (Shearer), McMahon*

Another double for Billy McMahon as his strong start to the season continues. Komarek came off the bench to make his debut while De **** got sent-off so Stipic will get his first start in our next league fixture.

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UEFA European Super Cup
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Lineup
- Smart, Gray, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De ****, Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre (Shearer), McMahon

Dont be fooled by the narrow scoreline - they thrashed us here and if it wasnt for Callum Smart they probably would have scored 9 or 10!!!! Dortmund are the best team in Europe no doubt and it reinforces the point that we are miles off them which is pretty sobering.

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Betfred Cup 2nd Round
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Lineup
- Smart, Gray (Oliver), Kerr, Komarek, MacDonald, Stipic, Dingwall, Jones, Agudelo (Ecrepont), Piedra*, Shearer (Bradley)

I put my faith in my backups and they did the job - just!!!

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Lineup - Smart, Gray, Wlodawski, Dragonjic, Makelele (Komarek), Rios (Hill), Stipic, Jones, Hojiev, Andre (Piedra), McMahon*

A fantastic result and performance as Billy McMahon helped us destroy Motherwell with 4 goals. Piedra got a 5th and Alun Jones fired in a free-kick for the 6th.


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SUMMARY

Billy McMahon has certainly kicked us off this month as 8 goals in 3 league games show! My young striker is certainly getting all the plaudits but on deadline day Liverpool came calling and offered me £36m for him which I naturally rejected but he is now unhappy. He isnt the only one! De **** has requested a transfer (rejected £29m for him) and also Agudelo but he is unhappy because he is out of the team.

I had plenty of other transfer offers. Fulham went in for Makelele several times and ended up offering £32m. Sheffield United offered me £20m for Matthew Hill, Leicester offered £25m for Wlodawski and my 3rd choice keeper, Alan, refused to go out on loan and then when Betis offered me £17m the board rejected it!!!!

Anywho we have started the season well domestically but we lost the European Super Cup but that was no surprise. In the Champions League we have been given a decent draw as we will play Inter Milan again, Besiktas and Zenit St. Petersburg.
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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
BILLY MCMAHON
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SPL
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SEPTEMBER

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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (Komarek), Rios, De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev*, Andre (Shearer), McMahon

Just the one goal for McMahon here - tsk tsk lol.

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Lineup - Smart, Gray, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios*, De **** (Stipic), Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, McMahon

A fine away victory as we put 4 goals past Dundee United. Francois Andre has had a poor start to the season but he popped up with 2 goals here and McMahon got his customary goal.

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UEFA Champions League Group G
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Lineup
- Smart, Gray, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios*, De **** (Stipic), Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev, Andre, McMahon (Shearer)

Well now!!!! We rock up at the San Siro and put in a great performance to defeat Inter Milan as we won 2-0. Inter probably deserved something from the game but we defended well and hit them on the break twice through Rios and Stipic. A great result and really sets us up for qualification from the group!

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Lineup - Smart, Gray, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios (Stipic), De ****, Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev, Andre, Shearer (Agudelo)

Absolutely pathetic. To go from beating Inter Milan 2-0 away from home to drawing 0-0 against this ***** is just simply not on. Sure we were missing McMahon. Sure we had a goal disallowed through Rios. Sure we should have scored 4 or 5 but I cannot accept this result. Especially against their ***** of a manager!!!!!

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Betfred Cup Quarter-Final
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Lineup - Smart, Gray, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, McMahon*

Wonderful however I would rather have traded one of those goals and put it into our last match!!!

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Lineup - Smart, Gray, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De ****, Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev, Andre (Piedra), McMahon*

We were struggling to break down Hearts here but once they had a man sent-off we immediately scored twice through McMahon to take his tally of goals to the season so far up to 15.


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SUMMARY

I should be delighted with how this month went as we picked up some great results, most notably the 2-0 away win over Inter Milan in the Champions League and the 6-1 demolition of Dundee United in the Betfred Cup however the 0-0 draw with Hamilton really ****** me off!!

Hey ho I suppose I should just look at the posititves lol.

The addition of Gerson Rios in midfield has certainly made us more attacking as he seems to be controlling the play a bit more and thats taking the shine of Hojiev a bit but it is still early in the season. Billy McMahon is still scoring for fun and is now in talks over extending his contract which would be a huge boost.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
GERSON RIOS
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SPL
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SCOTLAND

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 2
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Lineup
- Smart, Malitoli (Craigie), Gebbie, Dunn, Hickey, Gray, Munro (Dingwall), Byrne (McLaughlin), Devlin, D.Kerr, McMahon

Meh. We are in the top group of the Nations League so times will be tough. We took the lead here though early on but we werent able to hold on unfortunately.

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UEFA Nations League Division A Group 2
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Lineup
- Smart*, Malitoli, Gebbie, Dunn, Hickey, Gray (Dingwall), Munro (Waterston), Byrne, Crawford, D.Kerr (Cunningham), McMahon

If we are to avoid relegation from the top league then it was imperative that we didnt lose this match and so it proved to be. David Kerr scored his 2nd goal in just his 3rd cap while Peter Crawford got his first goal for us. Aberdeen midfielder Jack Waterston made his debut here. Billy McMahon was actually eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland - phew!!!!
 
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OCTOBER

UEFA Champions League Group G
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev*, Andre, McMahon (Agudelo)

Nice and easy. It was important not to take full advantage of the Inter result and really stamp our authority on the group so I am pleased that we strolled to victory here. Billy McMahon picked up an injury though and will be out for a couple of weeks but that will mainly affect my Scotland side.


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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios (Gray), De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev*, Andre (Piedra), Shearer (Stipic)

Ross County got taken over by a tycoon in the summer and spent a little bit of cash as a result so when they took the lead against the run of play and with us not having McMahon then I was a tad worried but it sparked us into life and we ended up winning easily.


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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De **** (Stipic), Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev*, Andre, McMahon (Shearer)

Daler Hojiev is on fire at the moment - I should have noticed his decline in form sooner!!! He scored a hat-trick here and Billy McMahon returned from injury and scored one too.


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UEFA Champions League Group G
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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios (Stipic), De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev (Agudelo), Piedra, McMahon*

A five star performance and 5 goals scored. Billy McMahon scored a hat-trick while Piedra scored twice and also had a goal disallowed. Inter drew with Besiktas so we have nearly won the group already!!!


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Lineup - Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Stipic, De **** (Dingwall), Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre (Piedra), McMahon*

The goals continue to come for us as we bag another 5 with McMahon scoring back to back hat-tricks!


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SUMMARY

We are on top form just now. I remember saying at the end of my first season here that we needed to be winning our domestic matches comfortably for us to be able to compete on the bigger stage and we are definitely at that level now. If you take out our 0-0 draw with Hamilton, in the league in our matches we have scored 4, 3, 6, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4 and 5!!!

Billy McMahon and Daler Hojiev were the standout players this month and they are my 2 key players in the side in truth and if they continue to perform like they have been it can only mean good things.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
DALER HOJIEV
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SPL
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SCOTLAND

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 2
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Craigie), Neilson, Dunn, Hickey, Gray, Munro, Byrne, Crawford (Devlin), D.Kerr, Shearer (McKenzie)

Meh. We were never likely to get a result here and I am just pleased that we kept it respectable. Rangers striker Ben McKenzie made his international debut here.


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UEFA Nations League Division A Group 2
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (McKenzie), Neilson, Dunn, MacDonald, Gray, Dingwall, Byrne, Crawford (Waterston), D.Kerr, Shearer (Devlin)

Same as above lol. Unfortunately for us Belgium lost to the Republic of Ireland so we have to beat them next month to avoid relegation now!
 
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NOVEMBER

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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios (Stipic), De ****, Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, McMahon*

Billy McMahon rescued us here with his stoppage time equaliser here. We were pretty poor tbh and gifted them the lead with a penalty in the first half. They actually had a goal disallowed on the 82nd minute so I am pretty happy that we escaped with a point.


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Betfred Cup Semi-Final
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (MacDonald), Rios, De ****, Andrejic*, Hojiev (Agudelo), Piedra, McMahon

Vuk Andrejic has had a fairly quiet start to the season but he burst into life here as he banged in a hat-trick to fire us into the final.


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UEFA Champions League Group G
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Lineup
- Smart, Gray, Kerr, Komarek, MacDonald*, Stipic, Dingwall (Oliver), Jones (Bradley), Agudelo (Ecrepont), Piedra, Shearer

We win the group!!!

Besiktas beat Inter Milan so we are 7pts clear with 2 games to go so I am delighted with that naturally. I played my backups here as several 1st team players needed a rest and they were superb. We only won by one goal but it could have been 4 or 5 in all honesty.

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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (MacDonald), Rios*, De ****, Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev, Andre, McMahon

A good win but this game means that Billy McMahon has failed to score in the league for the first time this season such has been his form! He did have a goal disallowed mind you.


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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic*, Makelele, Rios, De **** (Gray), Andrejic, Hojiev, McMahon, Shearer (Bradley)

Despite having McMahon playing on the left wing we still managed to get 5 goals here against Aberdeen with my 2 CBs contributing 3 of the goals!


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UEFA Champions League Group G
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Lineup
- Smart, Gray, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (MacDonald), Rios, Stipic (Dingwall), Andrejic (Jones), Agudelo, Piedra, Shearer*

We were a class apart here as we totally outplayed the leaders of Serie A. We limited them to just 1 shot such was our dominance and scored 3 goals ourselves. A fantastic result considering I rested several players!!!!!


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SUMMARY

Another strong month as we have put a string of good results together although we did miss a chance to extend our lead in the table as we drew the first Old Firm match of the season. After that though we did well and won both league matches, both Champions League matches and our Betfred Cup semi-final!

Our 3-0 win over Inter Milan was the big highlight however and makes me think that for the first time we can compete with the big boys in Europe.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
DRAGO DERONJIC
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SPL
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SCOTLAND

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 2
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Neilson, Dunn, Hickey (MacDonald), Gray, Dingwall, Byrne (McLaughlin), Crawford (Ecrepont), D.Kerr, McMahon

A crazy match. We were 3-0 up at half-time and then Billy McMahon had a hat-trick goal disallowed. Everything was fine. Then they had a goal disallowed and then in stoppage time we conceded an incredible 3 goals but fortunately their last one was also disallowed and we hung on to win 3-2. This result relegates Ireland to Division B for the next competition.

Ken Ecrepont came off the bench to win his 1st cap here.


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UEFA Nations League Division A Group 2
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Lineup
- Smart, Craigie, Neilson, Dunn, Hickey, Gray, Munro*, Byrne (McLaughlin), Crawford (Devlin), D.Kerr (Cunningham), McMahon

A good point as we come back from 2-0 down to rescue a point. With us being in the top division it is quite hard to pick up points as apart from maybe 5 standout players (Smart, Hill, Byrne, Crawford and McMahon) the quality isnt really there.

 
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DECEMBER

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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De **** (Stipic), Andrejic, Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre (Piedra), McMahon

Pathetic. We just didnt turn up and were lucky to escape with a point tbh.


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UEFA Champions League Group G
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Lineup - Smart, Oliver, Kerr, Komarek, MacDonald, Stipic*, Gray, Jones, Agudelo (Ecrepont), Piedra, Shearer (Bradley)

I played my backups here and they put in a good performance to win 3-0 with the goal of the game coming from Kieran Shearer as he thundered one in from 25 yards. This win actually means Inter Milan qualified so we may have been better off losing here lol.


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Betfred Cup Final
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios*, De **** (Stipic), Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre (Piedra), McMahon (Shearer)

Not the best of finals but we win the competition for the 4th time running (3 under my stewardship). A Hojiev penalty was enough for us to get our hands on the trophy and he also had a late goal disallowed.


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Lineup - Smart, Hill*, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De ****, Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, McMahon (Shearer)

Not the greatest of games but a win is a win. Billy McMahon is struggling for goals now and hasnt scored in his last 4 league games now which is a worry.


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Lineup - Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Komarek, Makelele, Rios, De **** (Stipic), Andrejic, Hojiev*, Andre (Piedra), McMahon

Still no goals for McMahon but plenty for Hojiev as he scored a hat-trick including 2 goals direct from a free-kick.


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Lineup - Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De ****, Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, McMahon*

Its the end of the goal drought for McMahon as he scored twice to help us to victory. We should have scored 6 or 7 in all honesty and they scored with their only shot on goal which was quite annoying. Vuk Andrejic got injured and will be out for just over a month but the winter break will take up some of that.


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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (Komarek), Rios, De **** (Gray), Jones, Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, McMahon*

Very nice. McMahon's hat-trick takes him up to 30 goals for the season which is not bad lol. We raced into a 4 goal lead and then Hojiev missed a penalty and after that there was no more goals which was slightly disappointing.


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Lineup - Finlayson, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De ****, Jones, Hojiev, Andre*, McMahon

Considering Francois Andre scored 23 goals last season his tally so far this term isnt up to scratch but he grabbed a hat-trick here to give his total a boost. This match sees the end of 2034.


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SUMMARY

This month couldnt have gone much better (if you ignore the Motherwell result lol). After the 0-0 draw with Motherwell we started banging in the goals again in the league as St.Mirren and Ross County were hit for 4 and we ended the year by smashing 6 past Morton. All this means we have opened up a 6pt gap with a game in hand over Rangers which is quite impressive.

We won the Betfred Cup by beating Ross County but that final was definitely forgettable as it was dull and boring lol.

In the Champions League my backups defeated Besiktas 3-0 which meant that we ended the group with a 100% record and we have been given a winnable draw for the knockout rounds as we will play FC Porto.

I think I will be dealing with some bids in January! Dingwall is already leaving but here are my players who are wanted.......

Hill (Brighton, Atletico Madrid)
Wlodawski (Barcelona)
Gray (Sporting Lisbon, Guangzhou)
Makelele (Newcastle, Jiangsu, Mallorca)
Komarek - 27 CLUBS!!!!
De **** (Estoril)
Rios (Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid)
Andre (Real Betis)
Agudelo (WBA)
Piedra - 11 CLUBS!!!
Shearer (Guangzhou)
McMahon (Brighton, Man Utd, AC Milan)

I have no doubt that I have the most exciting young team in world football. We are playing very well, have experience in winning trophies so it is only natural that there are clubs circling around my players.

More news! Billy McMahon not only won the Kopa Trophy but he also retained the European Golden Boy - 49 goals in 42 games will have helped lol.

Finally some Scotland news. I have managed to get Billy Gilmour (33y/o) to reconsider his international retirement and our qualifying group for the Euros look like this....
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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
DALER HOJIEV
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SPL
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JANUARY

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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De **** (Ecrepont), Jones, Agudelo, Andre (Piedra), McMahon*

This is the 2nd time this season that Billy McMahon has scored 4 goals in a game and it is 5th hat-trick of the season!

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Scottish Cup 4th Round
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Komarek, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De ****, Jones, Hojiev, Andre (Piedra), McMahon*

This is the 3rd time this season that Billy McMahon has scored 4 goals this season lol.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios (Stipic), De ****, Jones, Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, McMahon (Shearer*)

Kieran Shearer has a lot of making up to do (I will explain below) and he makes a step towards that here as he scored the winner with the last kick of the ball. We had 2 goals disallowed earlier and Rangers also had an effort ruled out. This win takes us 9pts clear with a game in hand.


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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De ****, Jones (Andrejic), Hojiev*, Andre (Piedra), McMahon

Fantastic. We trounce Hibs and it is now 8 wins in a row in the league. Daler Hojiev was the inspiration behind the win as he converted a penalty and assisted 2 goals while Andrejic returned from injury.

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Lineup - Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic (Komarek), Makelele, Rios, De ****, Andrejic*, Hojiev, Andre (Piedra), McMahon

Not the best of performances but we got the desired result thanks to a goal from Andrejic. Francois Andre got injured here and will be out for around a month.


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SUMMARY

2035 began in the same way as 2034 ended with us scoring loads of goals and getting good results in the process. Crucially we beat Rangers in the Old Firm fixture with Kieran Shearer scoring the 94th minute winner. Billy McMahon was in great form as he scored 4 goals in both of our opening 2 fixtures and a brace in our victory over Hibs.

Speaking of Kieran Shearer - he can **** right off!!!! A Chinese club bid an astronomical £61m for him which I naturally jumped at as I thought I could use that money to seriously strengthen my side but the ***** rejected the contract!!!! Makelele also rejected a move to China which would have given me £45m so that was also a blow. I rejected dozens of other offers for my players but a couple did move on.

Fraser Dingwall left to join Jeonbuk for £11m (£13.75m). He was unhappy and as he was a backup player I happily let him leave. My wonderkid 3rd choice keeper, Alan, went out on loan as did Ken Ecrepont.

Incoming was Shay Foster from Liverpool for £3m. He had been out of contract for a while and looked like a decent player. I think I gave him his debut when I was manager of Liverpool and he comes in as a backup midfield player to cover for the departures of Dingwall and Ecrepont.
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--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
BILLY MCMAHON
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--

SPL
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FEBRUARY

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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios*, De ****, Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev (Agudelo), Piedra (Shearer), McMahon

--

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Lineup - Smart, Gray (Oliver), Wlodawski (Komarek), Deronjic, Makelele, Rios*, De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev, Piedra, McMahon

We got a shock here as we fell behind in the 1st minute but thankfully we recovered to win fairly comfortably.


--

Scottish Cup 5th Round
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Lineup
- Smart, Gray (Oliver), Kerr, Komarek, MacDonald, Stipic*, Foster, Jones, Agudelo, Piedra (Hutchinson), Shearer (Bradley)

Out came my backups and they managed to get us through although it wasnt entirely convincing. Shay Foster made his debut here.


--

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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic*, Makelele, Rios, De **** (Stipic), Andrejic, Hojiev (Agudelo), Piedra (Shearer), McMahon

An easy win but it should have been by a lot more such was our dominance and given the fact they played over an hour with 10 men. Billy McMahon also missed a late penalty.


--

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Lineup
- Smart, Hill*, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De **** (Foster), Andrejic, Agudelo (Stipic), Piedra, McMahon (Shearer)

Matthew Hill scored his first goal of the season and he also got an assist in a fine individual performance. Piedra also impressed as he scored twice and he is really developing into a top notch player.


--

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Lineup - Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski (Komarek), Deronjic, MacDonald, Rios, De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev, Piedra (Andre), McMahon*

Billy McMahon scored twice to take his tally to 44 for the season. Hojiev converted a penalty and then he duly missed one to take him up to 20 goals for the season. Gerson Rios then added a 4th with a goal of the season contender from 35 yards.


--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg
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Lineup - Smart, Gray (Hill), Wlodawski, Deronjic, MacDonald, Rios (Stipic), De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev, Andre*, McMahon (Shearer)

Not a bad result. We took the lead through Francois Andre but they soon levelled and thats how things stayed. We have got to be confident of getting the job done at home in the 2nd leg.


--

SUMMARY

We are still unbeaten in the league this season and almost in all competitions as only Borussia Dortmund have managed to get one over on us. We won all 5 league fixtures but that was no surprise as we had 4 home games on the bounce and as such our lead at the top is now 11pts and we have a game in hand.

In the cups we have been drawn at home to Rangers in the Scottish Cup so we will be looking to avenge our defeat in last years Scottish Cup to them at the same stage. In the Champions League we drew 1-1 away to FC Porto so I am fairly confident that we will get through there.

I actually think that we are close to where we want to get to. I feel as though we have a starting XI that is good enough to win against anyone with maybe 1 position needing strengthened.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
GERSON RIOS
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--

SPL
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MARCH

Scottish Cup Quarter-Final
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic, MacDonald, Rios, De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre (Piedra), McMahon*

Derby day joy as we put 4 goals past Rangers to knock them out of this years Scottish Cup. It took us a while to get going though as we fell behind twice but McMahon drew us level on both occasions then late on Andrejic put us ahead and Piedra sealed things.


--

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, MacDonald, Rios (Stipic), De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev*, Andre (Piedra), McMahon (Shearer)

We were abysmal here and never performed at all. Hojiev rescued us with a late equaliser and then he went off injured and will be out for a month which is a blow. This result means our run of 14 league wins comes to the end and it also secures qualification for next seasons Champions League and as a result I have been given a transfer budget of just £5m. Not happy!


--

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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, MacDonald (Makelele), Stipic*, De **** (Gray), Andrejic, Rios, Andre, McMahon

Morton never stood a chance from the moment that they had Duffy sent-off in the 5th minute. We ended up smashing 6 past them with McMahon grabbing a hat-trick and Andrejic scoring twice. Gerson Rios played at AMC with Hojiev being out and he repaid me with a goal and Stipic, who came into the side, somehow won the MOM award despite McMahon netting 3!!! He did assist 3 goals mind you.


--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (MacDonald), Stipic, De ****, Andrejic, Rios (Agudelo), Andre (Piedra*), McMahon

Wonderful. Our 2nd half performance was a joy to behold and surely the rest of Europe have sat up and taken notice of us now as we smashed 5 goals past Porto. Piedra came off the bench and he scored twice and got the MOM award while Gerson Rios got injured annoyingly. McMahon has now reached the 50 goal mark for the season.


--

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Stipic (Gray), De ****, Andrejic, Rios (Agudelo), Andre*, McMahon (Shearer)

We huffed and puffed but were pretty unconvincing in truth. Francois Andre rescued us with a fine finish thankfully.


--

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Lineup - Smart, Hill (Oliver), Kerr, Komarek, Makelele, Foster, Gray (Hutchinson), Bradley (Jones), Piedra, Shearer, McMahon

I was without all of my non Scottish internationalists for this game so I am quite glad that we managed to get a point and maintain our unbeaten league campaign.


--

SUMMARY

We had a fair time of it this month. In the league we put in some stonking performances but also had 2 draws but no matter - we have a 13pt lead at the top of the table.

As ever it is the Champions League where our aims are and we put in a terrific performance to thrash FC Porto 5-0 to send us into the Champions League quarter-finals. We will play Real Madrid in the next round and while I dont quite think that we are up to their level.

I fear however that one or two of my big players may have to be sold in the summer. I have only been given £5m to spend in the summer and while I have undoubtedly the best young side in Europe who can only get better I feel we need just 1 maybe 2 players to get us over the line. Lots of thinking ahead!!!!

The youth intake was ****!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
VUK ANDREJIC
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--

SPL
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--

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SCOTLAND

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group C
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Gebbie, Neilson, Hickey, Gray, Dingwall (Ecrepont), Byrne (McLaughlin), Crawford, D.Kerr*, McMahon

A fine start to our qualifying campaign as we get 3 goals and 3 points. McMahon should have had a hat-trick though as he missed a penalty.
 
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APRIL

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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios (Stipic), De ****, Andrejic, Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, McMahon*

CHAMPIONS!!!!!!

What a way to be crowned champions as we go to our fiercest rivals and thump them 5-2. Andrejic and McMahon grabbed 2 goals apiece and Francois Andre netted the other. We have won the title before heading into the split so I can rest players for the upcoming matches but that will only happen if we beat Real Madrid lol.

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De **** (Stipic), Andrejic*, Hojiev, Andre (Piedra), McMahon

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sensational!!! We rock up at the Bernabeu and defeat the mighty Real Madrid 2-1 as we put in a terrific performance. Sure they may have had an off day but we also missed some decent chances so this result was entirely deserved. I fancy us to beat anyone at home but the tie is not over yet for sure!!!!!

--

Scottish Cup Semi-Final
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Wlodawski (Komarek), Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De **** (Gray), Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev, Andre, McMahon*

For 70min we were superb. We scored 4 goals with McMahon scoring yet another hat-trick and Andrejic scored yet again to continue his top form recently but then after that we fell apart as we let Hearts score 3 goals and we were clinging on towards the end.


--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg
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Lineup
- Smart*, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios (Stipic), De ****, Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev (Agudelo), Piedra, McMahon

Into the semis we go!!!! This was an even match and although they did create a few chances we werent in any real trouble. McMahon even had a goal disallowed!


--

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios (Stipic), De *****, Jones, Hojiev (Agudelo), Andre, McMahon (Shearer)

--

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Lineup - Smart, Gray (Oliver), Kerr, Komarek, MacDonald, Stipic, Foster, Jones*, Agudelo (Bradley), Piedra (Hutchinson), Shearer

This game came to life in the final 15min as 4 goals were shared. Our unbeaten run in the league was seriously in danger when they went 2-1 up in the 91st minute but Kieran Shearer popped up with an equaliser 2min later.


--

SUMMARY

When the big games arrived this month we performed!!! We kicked the month off by winning the title after defeating Rangers 5-2 away and then we followed that up with an unbelievable 2-1 away victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League!!!

Confidence was high and Hearts were swept aside in the Scottish Cup semis to set up a final with St.Mirren.

Then came the all important 2nd leg with Real Madrid and we managed to get a 0-0 draw which saw us through on aggregate but unfortunately for us we have drawn the holders of the competition and the best club side in the world, Borussia Dortmund, in the semis. While I am always confident of playing anyone at Celtic Park this tie may be too much for us.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
VUK ANDREJIC
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--

SPL
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MAY

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg
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Lineup
- Smart*, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De **** (Gray), Jones, Hojiev (Stipic), Andre, McMahon

GET IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We get a tremendous victory here as we beat the best side in Europe by 2 goals to nil. They were all over us in the first half and Callum Smart made several important saves but then just after the hour mark they conceded a penalty and had a man sent-off and Hojiev took full advantage of that as he converted the penalty. We were on top thereafter and Francois Andre scored a 2nd to put us in a position where we can taste the final.

--

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Lineup
- Smart, Gray, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Stipic (Oliver), Foster, Jones, Rios, Andre (Piedra), McMahon (Shearer*)

Fantastic. We really are in top form just now and to comfortably beat Rangers 3-0 days after defeating the best team in Europe shows that. Jones put us in front and Shearer came off the bench to score twice while he also had a goal disallowed as did McMahon so it could have been even more.


--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele (MacDonald), Stipic, De **** (Gray), Jones, Rios, Andre, McMahon

WE REACH THE FINAL!!!!!!!!!!

We got lucky in the first leg I admit and Dortmund showed their quality here by scoring 4 goals past us but we got a goal through Andre and that changed the fixture completely. They had to chase for a goal and we took advantage of that when Rios scored and although they scored another we managed to hold on to reach the final.

We will play Bayern Munich in the final and they are currently 12pts behind Dortmund in the Bundesliga so we go into the game with nothing to fear!

Winning this game means we qualify for the Club World Cup.


--

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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De **** (Gray), Jones (Andrejic), Hojiev, Andre (Piedra), McMahon*

We are one game away from being undefeated in the league campaign after this victory. It wasnt pretty but we got the job done.


--

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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Gray), Wlodawski, Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De ****, Jones (Andrejic), Hojiev, Andre (Piedra), McMahon*

A fine way to finish off the league campaign as Billy McMahon scored a hat-trick to take him up to an astonishing 60 goals for the season!


--

Scottish Cup Final
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Lineup
- Smart, Hil (Oliver), Wlodawski, Deronjic, MacDonald (Komarek), Stipic*, Gray, Jones, Rios, Piedra, Shearer (Bradley)

The domestic treble is won!!!

Despite this being a huge game as a cup final I felt that I had to rest some of my key players for the upcoming match and in the end it didnt do us any harm as we won easily enough.


--

UEFA Champions League Final
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Gray), Komarek (Wlodawski), Deronjic, Makelele, Rios, De **** (Stipic), Andrejic (Jones), Hojiev, Andre, McMahon

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We win the Champions League by beating Bayern Munich here. We fell behind early on when Binz scored but we kept things tight and eventually drew level when Hojiev scored just after the break. The game was even and it went into extra-time and we got the winner when Francois Andre netted with 8min left.

--

SUMMARY

WE WON THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Naturally I am overjoyed by our achievement but perversely I am quite saddened as I thought next year would be our year given the natural development of my squad.

We got lucky though. We beat Dortmund 2-0 but only after they gave away a penalty and had a man sent-off and in the 2nd leg we may have lost 4-2 but it was enough to take us through on away goals. We then went into the final against Bayern Munich who finished well short of Dortmund in the league and this was a much more tight affair but in the end we came out on top. We fell behind early doors but we levelled in the 2nd half and then in extra-time we got the winner through Andre.

This means I have completed the Celtic leg of the challenge in my 3rd year in charge and I have got to be honest I am actually quite saddened as I have built the best young squad in Europe but needs must so I must resign.

End of season post to follow,

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
BILLY MCMAHON

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END OF SEASON POST

I am over the moon with the season that we had. Unbeaten in domestic football and only 2 defeats on the continent goes to show how strong a side we have here as we won every competition going apart from the European Super Cup. I knew we were onto something special quite early on this season but in all honesty I thought it would take us one more year to really upset the apple cart in Europe so I am delighted to have done it so soon.

In the league we went unbeaten and won the title by an incredible 19pts. We almost had a goal difference of +100 too which goes to show our dominance. Rangers were actually keeping pace with us for a good while but alas we stormed ahead after Christmas. We won the Betfred Cup easily enough and in the Scottish Cup it was always going to be ours after Rangers were defeated in the quarter-finals.

On the continent we lost to Borussia Dortmund in the European Super Cup (1 of only 2 defeats all season) and then in the Champions League we won our group by winning all 6 matches without conceding a goal. We then faced Porto and after drawing 1-1 away we thumped them 5-0 at home to go through. Then came the game changer against Real Madrid. We beat them 2-0 away and then managed to shut them out in the 2nd leg and we were in the semis knowing that we can compete against the very best!!!!

Dortmund were up next and we got lucky. We won 2-0 at home thanks to them having a man sent-off and gifting us a penalty so we went into the 2nd leg determined to make our luck count. A 4-2 defeat ensued but we got the away goals and all of a sudden we were in the final! Bayern Munich were our opponents and I knew we could beat them as they were a weaker side than Dortmund and we duly did. We won 2-1 after extra-time with goals from Hojiev and Andre. WE DID IT!!!!!

--

SPL
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--

SQUAD
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Goalkeepers - Callum Smart played every game bar one as he had another excellent season. He is one of a handful of players who I would take with me anywhere but at least I have him for Scotland! Simon Finlayson was his backup and played in the one match that Smart missed.

Defenders - Matthew Hill was my RB and it is incredible - he is still only 19y/o - yet he has been my first choice RB for 3 seasons now! Like Smart I will be sad to leave him behind but he will be in my Scotland side. Makelele was my LB and he was solid while in the middle it was again a partnership of Deronjic and Wlodawski and they were really good.

My backups hardly had a look in tbh!

Midfielders
- I had a great group of midfielders and the game changer was Gerson Rios. He replaced Lopez in the side and immediately added a more attacking threat to the team as he dictated the play with 8 goals and 23 assists. De **** alongside him was solid enough while my big summer signing, Borna Stipic, is a future world class player as the teenager really impressed me and tbh I was going to start him as first choice next season.

Daler Hojiev was my AMC and he had a standout season with 24 goals and 19 assists. Most of his goals were penalties but he still missed a couple. Agudelo was his backup but despite having great stats the Colombian wonderkid was shocking tbh. Andrejic was my RW and he did well with Jones as his backup and on the LW I had Francois Andre and Norberto Piedra and both had great seasons although Andre didnt score as much as last season.

Forwards - BILLY MCMAHON!!!!!!!!!!!! What a season my young striker had. 41 goals in the league, 60 overall - he was just immense and to put up those numbers considering he had a couple of little barren spells is quite astonishing. Kieran Shearer was his main backup and got into double figures while Billy Bradley hardly featured.

My Player of the Season - Billy McMahon
My Young Player of the Season - Matthew Hill
Must Do Better - Alun Jones
Donkey of the Season - John Agudelo

--

SUMMER PLANS

There is no future destination available so it will just be managing Scotland for just now and I hope that doesnt hinder any future applications. I feel quite sad that my time at Celtic is over as I really had a top quality side built for success with so many young players and I will keep an eye on all of them. I loved managing the likes of Smart, Hill, Hojiev, Andre and McMahon and I am just thankful that I can still play with them as Scotland manager!!! Whoever takes over better look after them!!!!

Mind you if I get a decent job with decent money to spend I may look to bring some of them with me! lol.

--

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SCOTLAND

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group C
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Lineup - Smart, Hill, Gebbie*, Dunn, Hickey, Gray (Ecrepont), Munro, Byrne, Crawford (Devlin), D.Kerr (Cunningham), McMahon

This was arguably the hardest fixture that we had in the group so I am delighted with this result. Ken Ecrepont got his first goal for his country and that sealed it. We are in control of the group now having beaten both of our main competitors in our first 2 games of qualifying.


--

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group C
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Gebbie, Dunn (G.Kerr), Hickey (MacDonald), Gray, Munro (Ecrepont), Byrne, Crawford, D.Kerr, McMahon*

Easy. Andorra actually have a couple of decent players but we took them apart here. Billy McMahon banged in a hat-trick while Peter Crawford got off the mark for his country too. When will my next game as manager be I wonder? lol
 
heh fella going to start this needing something new to do starting at barca as well......
 
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SCOTLAND

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group C
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Gebbie*, Dunn, Hickey, Gray, Munro (Ecrepont), Byrne, Crawford (Devlin), D.Kerr, McMahon

This was a topsy-turvy affair which thankfully we came out on top of. Goal of the game goes to Aaron Hickey as he blasted a powerful effort into the net from 25 yards to make the score 2-2.


--

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group C
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Gebbie, Dunn, Hickey, Gray, Dingwall, Byrne (Ecrepont), Crawford, D.Kerr (Cunningham), McMahon (Shearer*)

Montenegro proved to be stiffer competition than I expected here but once again we come out on top of another 5 goal thriller. Kieran Shearer struck the winning goal in stoppage time and we already have a 6pt lead at the top of the group.


--

The summer is over and there hasnt been one job available for me to go to. I did chuck in an application for both Liverpool and PSG and I got interviewed but no job offers which is a bit of a worry but I wouldnt have accepted them anyway. Celtic appointed Marco Silva as my replacement and he immediately decided to sell some of my favourite players. Matthew Hill has moved to Spurs for a ridiculously cheap £17.5m. Brighton signed not only Billy McMahon but also Borna Stipic for £38m and £28m respectively while Kieran Shearer and Jan Komarek left for hardly anything. IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next up - the October qualifiers.​
 
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SCOTLAND

Friendly
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Lineup
- Smart (Munro), Hill, Gebbie, Neilson, Hickey, Gray (Ecrepont), Dingwall, Byrne* (McLaughlin), Crawford (Devlin), D.Kerr (Cunningham), McMahon

Nice. Lewis Neilson won his 50th cap here but this victory came at a cost as both John Byrne and Billy McMahon picked up injuries which will see them miss the Republic of Ireland match.


--

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group C
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill, Gebbie, Neilson, Hickey (MacDonald), Gray, Dingwall, McLaughlin (Fergusson), Crawford, D.Kerr (Cunningham), Shearer*

We qualify for the Euros!!! We only needed a point to get there but a Kieran Shearer double was enough for us to win the game. We go into the final 2 qualifiers with no pressure on us other than to try and win the group with a 100% record.


--

JOB UPDATE

Nothing lol.​
 
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SCOTLAND

UEFA European Championsip Qualifiers Group C
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Gebbie (Aitken), G.Kerr, Hickey, Dingwall, Munro (Ecrepont), Byrne*, Crawford, D.Kerr, McMahon

We were shocked into life here when we fell behind after 33min but thankfully we are ahead at half-time! We ended up with 5 goals plus we had a goal disallowed so in the end it was comfortable. This is our 8th win on the bounce and therefor has broken the record for most consecutive wins.


--

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group C
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Gebbie, G.Kerr, Hickey, Gray, Munro (Dingwall), Byrne*, Crawford, D.Kerr (MacLean), McMahon

We end the group with a win and I am happy with that as it means we finish the group with 8 wins out of 8. Callum MacLean made his debut here.

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-

JOB UPDATE


I got offered a job at a future destination!!!! Unfortunately it was the job as manager of Steaua Bucharest in Romania and they are the worst club available to me to manage so I have rejected the offer. I kinda envisage that they will be the last team that I will go in this save as it would take at least 10 seasons to get them to challenge for the Champions League so that doesnt appeal to me at the moment.

As a reminder the list of clubs that I can manage for this challenge that I havent won the Champions League with yet are..........

Bayern Munich
Inter Milan
Chelsea
Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest
FC Porto
Benfica
Ajax
PSV
Feyenoord
Marseille
Red Star Belgrade
Steaua Bucharest

The top 3 would be a good chance to be done in just 1 season but all the rest would take 2-3 seasons at least like the Celtic job.

So that is 2035 over (unless I get a new job in December) so I will see you in 2036!!!!!
 
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SCOTLAND

Friendly
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Lineup
- Smart (Munro), Hill (Malitoli), Gebbie, G.Kerr, Hickey, R.Byrne (Ecrepont), Munro*, J.Byrne (McLaughlin), Crawford, D.Kerr (MacLean), McMahon (Shearer)

Fraser Munro left Rangers to sign for Juventus in the January transfer window and it was he who scored the only goal of the game here. We also had a goal disallowed but we dominated the game so much we really should have scored more. Richard Byrne of Rangers made his international debut here while Aaron Hickey earned his 124th cap which is the new record for Scotland.


--

Friendly

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Lineup
- Munro (Smart), Hill (Malitoli), Gebbie (Aitken), G.Kerr, Hickey, R.Byrne, Munro (Dingwall), J.Byrne, Crawford, D.Kerr (MacLean), McMahon (Shearer)

I gave Leicester keeper, Will Munro, a start here as it was his 100th cap. We won this very easily and the goals were spread out among the team. Richard Byrne got the best one with an effort from distance.

--

JOB UPDATE

So here we are at the March international friendlies and I am still out of a job but I have had plenty of offers both from future destinations and others!

Firstly Nottingham Forest became available and offered me the post but they were struggling in the Championship and I didnt fancy having a season in a half down there! Aston Villa were next but I cant stand them and am quite happy to put them off until later. I felt dirty managing them before for the half season that I did anyways lol. So I said no to them.

Then 3 jobs did come up that I was interested in and my favourite of the 3 - FC Porto - didnt even interview me because of the fact that my sides dont make the most out of set pieces!!!!!

Red Star Belgrade had their manager poached and on the basis that they have produced some of the best regens in this save I was tempted but would have rather have started at the beginning of the season and that was also the reason why I rejected Marseille.

Schalke and Brighton also got in contact with me but they were obviously no go's so I am still relatively unemployed!

I decided to take the chance that a better job will come up at the end of the season or during the summer after the Euros and if that doesnt happen I wont be so fussy next time!!!

 
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SCOTLAND

Friendly
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Lineup
- Smart, Hill (Malitoli), Gebbie, G.Kerr, Hickey, Gray, Munro, J.Byrne (McLaughlin), Crawford (Devlin), D.Kerr, McMahon (Shearer)

Having won our last 11 international fixtures I am pretty disappointed not to win this one as we dominated the match throughout. As it was we needed a late penalty from David Kerr to ****** a draw. Unfortunately John Byrne picked up an injury and he will be out for a couple of weeks.


--

Friendly
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Lineu
p - Smart, Hill, Gebbie*, G.Kerr, Hickey (MacDonald), Gray, Munro, McLaughlin, Crawford (Devlin), D.Kerr (Maclean), McMahon (Shearer)

Thats better!!!! Munro and Gray got the goals and tbh we were never really troubled. Turkey are ranked 14th in the world while we are 25th so I expected a much tougher game here.


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SQUAD FOR THE 2036 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS


Goalkeepers
NAMECLUBVALUEAGEPOSCAPSGOALS
Will MUNROLeicester City£33m31GK1000
Craig RITCHIELeeds United£15.25m22GK00
Callum SMARTCeltic£22.5m21GK240

Defenders
NAMECLUBVALUEAGEPOSCAPSGOALS
Jon AITKENCardiff City£7.5m27DC31
Declan DUNNStoke City£6.5m28DLC450
Graeme GEBBIECrystal Palace£27m30DC763
Aaron HICKEYSIPG£3.2m33DRL1274
Matthew HILLTottenham Hotspur£33.5m20DR170
Grant KERRCeltic£11.25m24DC150
Cammy MACDONALDCeltic£9m22DL90
Enock MALITOLIEstoril£17.5m26DRL401


Midfielders
NAMECLUBVALUEAGEPOSCAPSGOALS
Richard BYRNERangers£10m20MC21
Peter CRAWFORDLiverpool£38.5m20AMC193
Ross DEVLINNewcastle United£25m27AMC/ST309
Harvey DINGWALLJeonbuk£4.4m27MC164
Stuart GRAYCeltic£16.5m21DR/MC212
Callum MACLEANRangers£6.25m18AML40
Cieran MCLAUGHLINLevante£18m28AMR482
Fraser MUNROJuventus£33.5m20M/AMC186


Forwards
NAMECLUBVALUEAGEPOSCAPSGOALS
John BYRNEMiddlesbrough£36m27AMR/ST9345
David KERRBorussia Monchengladbach£25m23AML/ST208
Billy MCMAHONBrighton & Hove Albion£54m21ST2221
Kieran SHEARERReal Zaragoza£22.5m27ST3119
 
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