The Wanderer - FM 17

[burkeyoa]

Oxford Season 5

The transfer window is now open and it looks like have totally messed up the Boga situation. For a start he is now wanted by 78 clubs!

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Secondly Wolfsburg have been able to offer him a contract to join them on a free in the Summer! I hadn't even considered that possibility. There are a number of actual offers in for him but with his preferred destination it seems he will be off to Germany in the summer for free!

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The only positive if he does sign for Wolfsburg is that he will be here til the end of the season and hopefully leave the club on a high.

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League wise we have been absolutely smashing it with 3 massive wins including an incredible 8-0 win over high flying title challengers Rochdale.

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The league table makes for good reading if you are a Oxford fan. The 3 consecutive wins have put us 4 points clear at the top of League 1 after 27 games. Things are looking good at Oxford.

Next up we have the big FA Cup tie away to Manchester City. One we are all relishing to see if we can mix it with one of the best in Europe.​

 

[burkeyoa]

Oxford Season 5

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We gave a good account of ourselves against what was a very strong Man City side. The game was also played in front of 61,000 and provided us with a much need financial boost.

In other breaking news our captain John Lundstrum has just had his release clause meet! We had been trying for months to get him to sign a new deal but he wasn't interested following the relegation. So it looks like he is off!

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We have also got confirmation that Boga will be leaving at the end of the season on a free transfer to Wolfsburg. After completing the free transfer Wolfsburg offered to buy him then for 160k, but we feel that his importance in the promotion push is worth a lot more.

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[burkeyoa]

Oxford Season 5

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Our worst run of form in a long time here at Oxford as nothing seemed to go our way in some very tight games. We will need to turn this around quickly if we are to keep our promotion bid on track. The news of the offers for Boga and Lundstrum may have got to the players and we it is now we need our big players to step up.

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The poor run has seen us slip to 4th in the table but still only 2 points of the top. We have some massive games coming up and we have some new signings coming in that we hope will give us that lift again.

Transfers Out:
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As you can see the big news is that our Captain John Lundstrum has left to join Wolves after his relegation release clause was meet. A big blow to the squad to lose its captain after such a great start to the season. A couple of other young players who had been wanted by teams above us also forced a move away from the club.

Transfers In:
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We had some money available after the Lundstrum sale and we managed to put it to good use and get a few players through the door before the window closed. Firstly we went back to old club shamrock rovers and took highly talented Anthony O'Donovan across the water as a direct replacement for Bennett who left to join Rotherham. The bulk of the funds made available where spent on 2 young Swedish players who where being chased by the worlds top clubs at the time. So it was a great coup for this club to be able to bring in both Anderson and Ekman. Anderson who is a defensive minded midfielder comes in to try an replace Lundstrum and Ekman who players as a forward comes in with a massive reputation after being wanted by both Barcelona and Real Madrid .​

 

[burkeyoa]

Oxford Season 5

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A fantastic run of form in the league as we bounce back from our poor run. The new men have all settled very well into the team and we are looking good

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Back on top of the pile with 7 games to go. We are 2 points ahead of Forest in 2nd and 4 points clear of 3rd place Peterborough and promotion is well and truly in our hands.

But will we be here to see the job through?

That's right we have been offered two interviews at big Championship clubs. We have attended both the interviews at Norwich and Fulham as we await to hear back from the clubs. Norwich are still in the hunt for the playoffs while Fulham are in a relegation battle.

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[burkeyoa]

Fulham Season 5

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That's right we are now the new manager of Fulham. We where rejected by Norwich after the interview and then a few days later approached by Fulham and the opportunity was to too big to turn down. The fan base, the city, the facilities, the budgets, the players, the youth recruitment everything about this club seemed a step up from Oxford. Now the only thing is Fulham are involved in a relegation fight in the Championship and my CV definitively doesn't need another relegation from the Championship on it. Coupled with the fact Oxford are odds on to make a return to the English 2nd tier this season. However after looking over the playing staff here at Fulham I felt they have more than enough about them to beat the drop so the decision was a no brainier.

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Fulham have spent all of this save in the English Championship without ever really threatening to get out of the League bar one play-off season.

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This season has proved to be a disaster for the London club as preseason hopes of a playoff push where soon forgotten as the club went on a horrible run and find themselves deep in the middle of a relegation battle with 8 games to go.

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My sole aim for the rest of this season is to beat the drop. Having previously failed at this challenge with Oxford when brought in towards the end of the season i am hoping to use my experiences to keep Fulham in this division. When looking at the the schedule it was much to my surprise that given the clubs league form they have navigated their way to the FA Cup Semi Final where we will head to Wembely to take on Bournemouth. The main focus will undoubtedly be the league but the FA Cup tie will obviously be a massive occasion for this club and its fans.

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[Sammuthegreat]

Just read this all. Awesome stuff! Looking forward to seeing how you get on with Fulham; that's a kind draw for the FA Cup semi, to be sure. Fingers crossed you're on your way to Wembley!

 

[burkeyoa]

Fulham Season 5

Just played my first game in charge of Fulham at home to Ipswich. Craven Cottage is a very wonderful unique stadium and one I hope to become a fortress.

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Nearly a full attendance at Craven Cottage as the fans pile in to see this new look Fulham side and it would be fair to say they left disappointment. It was a poor game in truth with very little chances created. We had only been in the job a matter of days prior to the game and with more time to get to know my squad we will hopefully see better results.

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After the game we where greeted with news that the team has now failed to win in 17 league games. Something that actually shocked me bit as I didn't realise how bad the form has been and highlighted just how big this challenge will be.
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