Who!? The Rhys Burnett Story

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Safc-mad-scotty said:
How are you finding Correa so far? Just signed him to replace Hazard on my Berlin save, big shoes to fill as Hazard was averaging 7.7 during the first half of the season.
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You might face them same problem I have then - the problem on this save for me is that Boga was amazing last season. I'm still looking over them as players trying to identify what made Boga so great in my system but it is that I am naturally going to compare them which isn't fair to Correa.

He has been playing well and chiming in with some nice goals here and there. He is playing better then Gedoz (e regen) my other winger so I shouldn't be complaining at all as he has more than justified his price tag but he isn't turning games on their head on a regular basis like Boga did for me last season so it kind of feels like he hasn't been as good.

As I said it is unfair as he really is holding his own.
 
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Season 8 – November Roundup​





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Game 16 – CSKA (a)​


Prior to our first game I got the good news that my transfer budget had been increased by 8 million pounds. I guess the increased gate receipts from the CL fixtures have really pleased the Board. I will need to put it to good use though as we still seem to lack the extra quality needed to take it fully to the big sides.

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And here was no exception. Again we were more than CSKA’s match both in terms of possession and the quality and quantity of chances created but it was they who scored the late goal to really put the nail in the coffin of our knockout stage qualification chances. I was really disappointed to see new signing Fosu-Mensah being the culprit for their goal again. He had given away the penalty in the first leg and here misjudged an easy header to allow Strandberg in behind. He was brought in to be a stabilizing influence at the back… We also had some injuries in this one too as first Iheanacho and then Correa was forced from the field.

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Thankfully Correa’s injury was limited to a dead leg. Iheanacho, not so lucky. He had complained of a severe headache after a head clash in the first half. At the time our fears centered around a possible concussion but worse was to follow. An MRI of his head revealed a fractured skull. At first there was also concerns that the meninges might be ruptured and leaking brain fluid but thankfully they were still intact or else he could have been out much longer – or worse. As things stand though we will now be without our main spearhead for at least a couple of months whilst his skull heals – it certainly reinforces at times though that there are more important things than football.

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Game 17 – Bayern (a)

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More big news before our huge game with Bayern. It was brought to my attention that this game would mark my 300 in management. I look back to my days at Gravesend, scouring for a job, sitting by the phone waiting for that **** agent to call and now look at me. About to manage at the Allianz Arena against one of the biggest clubs in the world! There’s been plenty of ups and downs too, Stenhousemuir was definitely a bit of a down although I still maintain with proper support there I would have done good things. Carlisle, FC Oss and South Africa were much happier stops though and my time at Frankfurt has been wonderful. I must admit though that I am starting to really think about my future here.

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I have really increased my profile getting Frankfurt into the Champions League and am regularly being linked with job openings are large clubs. The problem I face with Frankfurt is that it feels like there is a glass ceiling to what I can achieve. With Bayern being so dominant I can’t see a future, yet at least, in which the Frankfurt board allows me to spend at the level to truly compete with them. The end of this season will mark effectively my 4th year in charge of Frankfurt so if I do decide to leave at the end of the season I will leave the club knowing it has improved immensely. I won’t consider leaving for just anyone though – it will have to be for someone massive that gives me a better chance to win titles then I currently have here.


To the game at hand though and just to reinforce my belief that we are still a long way for properly battling Bayern for the title we were belted. Like a petulant child Bayern bent us over their knee and spanked away. I went in the offseason with a desire to strengthen my defence by bringing in Fosu-Mensah and Garcia on loan from Madrid but they were powerless to resist Bayern’s two pronged strikeforce of Calleri and Lewandowski. We were somewhat threatening going forward but defensively we were a shambles. I’m having a hard time deciding where to throw the increased transfer budget in January off the back of performances like this…

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Game 18 – Hoffenheim (h)

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Poor Hoffenheim. No disrespect but this could have easily been 10. Lucas Garcia, who’d had a game to forget against Bayern, played exceptionally well here and was really unlucky not to pick up a hat trick. Gedoz had picked up a knock against Bayern so we actually started Ross Barkley out at right wing and he enjoyed the ability to play a little higher up the pitch and picked himself up a goal with a stinging left foot drive. That it was only the 2ne best goal of the game was testament to Garcia’s 2nd effort. Picking the ball up just on the edge of the area before taking a touch back on the angle and turned and thumped it home with a shot reminiscent of Didier Drogba’s amazing half volley on the turn against Liverpool in 2006. Great stuff.

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Game 19 – Lyon (a)

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No. no, no. We played so well against Lyon at home earlier this season but this was a performance to forget. We came to Stade de Gerland knowing that to keep any chance of knockout stage qualification alive we needed to win here so we had started with an offensive mindset. At half time the game was only 1 nil so we asked the guys for more. Unfortunately in pushing on to try and win the game we opened ourselves up at the back and Lyon made us pay - scoring another 3 goals before we finally got on the board in the 90 minute. A really disappointing day, our naivety on the European stage has been on full display this season.

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Game 20 – Borussia Monchengladbach (a)​


We really dominated here against BMG in what was a good reply from the guys after the Lyon debacle midweek. Barkley was by the far the best player on the pitch and we are starting to see the best of him again as he now seems fully recovered from the broken leg sustained at the end of last season. That we won this relatively comfortably after being reduced to 10 men just after the break is also testament to the lads. Vega needs to learn when to keep his head – he second yellow came for a needless foul just outside THEIR 18 yard box. He got off with just a warning this time but any future instances of this and he will be lighter in the wallet. Monchengladbach did get one back late but from there we managed to tighten up at the back and were reasonably comfortable, evidence by the fact that we actually scored first when reduced to 10 and could even have snatched a couple more on the break late.

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After this game an agent’s offer came across my desk. Usually I don’t pay these much mind but I saw today it was touting Florian Thauvin. He had recently been battling away in the French 2nd division but had been on my radar when I was at Oss so I decided to take a closer look. I have had some troubles with Kakuta recently as he has been unhappy with game time. The problem is that he simply isn’t up to the standard if we want to be pushing for Champions League qualification in the league and as such has been given the green light to find another club. Thauvin looks like he can come in and provide quality backup to both the right wing and left wing spots.

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That is, he would if could actually play. 1st day, 1st **** day and he’s picked up a hernia. I wanted to go full Guardiola and blame the clubs medical staff for not picking it up in the physical but I held my tongue. I hadn’t even had the press conference to unveil him yet!! Well son, you’re picking up 25k a week for the next month or so to sit on your *** so when you get back I expect ****** big things!!!

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Tables Roundup​


Bayern are looking like they are going to win this in a canter. Schalke are actually also unbeaten but it is difficult to see how anyone is going to beat Bayern on current form. We’ve solidified in second thanks to some decent form in the league, Bayern game excluded, this month and are now 5 points clear of Dortmund in 4th.

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With just the one game remaining we can’t even qualify for the Euro Cup. I will be putting out a first choice 11 against Manchester United though as our guys may never again get the chance to play such a storied club. Interestingly they are on the outside looking in when it comes to knockout round qualification.

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CantGetEnoughOfJelavic said:
Europe was never gonna be easy, Bayern are also a class above!
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Cheers mate. My problem is that i think I have, when fully fit, one or two quality guys, then 2 to 3 more good players but the rest are average at best Bundesliga players.

Against most teams our formation/style can overcome the disparity in talent but against the Bayerns of the world we are coming up well short.
 
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Season 8 – December Roundup ​





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Game 21 – Hertha Berlin (a)​


Godammit!!!! Just when he was getting back to form our best player Barkley is now out another 2 months with a stress fracture in his back! That will make it something like 8 out of the last 10 and a half months that he has been on the treatment table…

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Our depth is really starting to be tested now. Stendera moved out to right wing as Gedoz is still laid up, Sauter moved into the more attacking CM position and in came Rossiter to graft beside him for this one against Hertha. We ended up playing an ok game. Fosu-Mensah again proved he can be a threat from set pieces when he scored late on in the first. The points weren’t secured though until Correa scored a contender for goal of the season – it was certainly one of the cheekiest! Picking up the ball on the edge of the area he spotted the Hertha keeper slight off his line and proceeded to **** it over him into the far corner, nice. Much better performance all round today.

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Game 22 – Manchester United (h)​


This certainly wasn’t the cakewalk that Manchester had at Old Trafford but they still deserved their win. They scored two quick ones early and then were content to soak up pressure and counter. We did get one back through Garcia early on but couldn’t find an equalizer and as we chased the game more and more towards the end Marcilla scored after Insaurralde played him onside instead of stepping up…

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The result ended our European adventure for season 2021/22. United ended up pipping Lyon to the 2nd qualifying spot. CSKA were the real surprise packets in this group although in truth they were the side I felt we should have beaten twice. Fine margins at this level – we just need a bit more quality.

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Game 23 – Koln (h)

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We are really starting to suffer from a lack of goals this season. This one should never have been close. We should have smashed them on the balance of play today but alas, our poor goalscoring form allowed them to play the away game thy wanted, stealing a goal and then shutting up shop.

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We need to do a lot better than this and boy did I let the guys know it! Not good enough!

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Game 24 – Hamburg (a)

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This game and the last one against Koln exemplify what is stopping this side from challenging Bayern. We can’t keep dominating games but not getting the full 3 points. Garcia has had an extended run in the first team with Iheanacho out but all he has done is proven to me that he isn’t up to the standard required. We need some more quality!!

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With that in mind and us entering the winter break I used the time off from training to being scouring for someone I could find that would immediately improve us. Whilst 9 million sounds like a decent transfer budget in reality it means I am scouring the cast offs from the really big sides for someone who has fallen through the cracks.


Thankfully I found such a person. Jack Grealish had secured a dream big money move to Manchester City 3 years ago but had found the going tough at a club with so much competition for playing time. Man City was asking considerably more for him than I had available but I need to start shooting for the moon and adding real quality so I set about negotiating them down.

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It took almost a week but we finally got our man at a price we can manage. He will join up at the beginning of next month and hopefully add a bit more class to the side. I am also considering a formation change. The 4-3-3 (4-1-2-2-1) has served us well and we will always have it in the back pocket but I am thinking of using the January friendlies to revert to the 4-2-3-1 that won us promotion to the Bundesliga. Watch this space.










Table Roundup​


With effectively half the season gone I’m not quite sure how but we are sitting nicely in 3rd spot. Dortmund must be very disappointed with how far off the pace they are right now. Also we have a nice 11 point gap to 5th placed Leverkusen and Hertha so, at a minimum, we should qualify for the Champions League again next season. When I look at the state of the club it is interesting to note that we are now considered ‘rich’. One would think that a ‘rich’ club in the Champions League would allow their manager a bit more than 15 million a year total in transfer budget. I still intend to see out the season with Frankfurt but I admit I am keeping a lazy eye on the jobs available.

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Mate, Barkley with a stress fracture in the back? Thats rough!

Then the "easy beats" of your CL group turn out to be not so easy? ******!

Nice signing in Grealish though, sure you will sort your problems in front of goal out soon, still plenty of time to push Bayern!
 
Lippo255 said:
Mate, Barkley with a stress fracture in the back? Thats rough!

Then the "easy beats" of your CL group turn out to be not so easy? ******!

Nice signing in Grealish though, sure you will sort your problems in front of goal out soon, still plenty of time to push Bayern!
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Yeah starting to understand why Arsenal let Barkley walk on a free. I dont think we are much chance at all of catching Bayern - they are a class above. 3rd place isnt too bad though with this squad.
 
Is there any one team on your save at the moment that you would love to join? I can think of one or two that would enhance the Luis Garcia storyline, but it's just luck as to whether they become available or not.
 
Godfish93 said:
Is there any one team on your save at the moment that you would love to join? I can think of one or two that would enhance the Luis Garcia storyline, but it's just luck as to whether they become available or not.
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In terms of the story I think one of the three big London sides would make sense seeing as he is from Gravesend.

Other than that I would also leave now for an established 'big name' side in either Italy, Spain or France.
 
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January Roundup​




As soon as the transfer window opened we welcomed Jack Grealish into the fold. If you want an example of the lack of ambition shown by the Frankfurt Board look no further than the fact the an 8.5 million pound transfer represents the club record... It's great that we've made it this far spending peanuts but if we are to truly compete with the big boys and bring in real quality we need to spend a little more than that!!

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One area that I did manage to get the Board to loosen the purse strings was infrastructure investment. We are going spend around 2.5 million over the next nine or so months to improve the training facilities. This sort of investment is critical in attracting the kind of talent we need to battle Bayern.

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Friendlies - whatever. Don't care about the result but I was able to get my new signings some game time to gel with the squad and also used them to implement the 4-2-3-1 that we will be moving too for the foreseeable future.

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Game 25 - Freiberg (h)​

Prior to this game I got the great news that both Iheanacho and Barkley had resumed training. We are going to need both these guys in the run in. Amazingly minutes later got called down to the weights room. Apparently as he wasn't allowed to run whilst recovering from a broken skull Iheanacho has spent a lot of time at home lifting wieghts. He'd come in on his first day and tried to show off doing a deadlift and tweaked his back. Now he has another 4 weeks on the sidelines - boofhead!! I was thinking about looking for a new striker this offseason but, if I'm still around, this has really cemented that I will for me...

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The game though was much better. We started well and were 2 up early. They did keep things tight from there until substitute Sauter went on a 20 metre run before slotting home - wonderful goal at a time we needed it.

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Game 26 - Schalke
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Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. We started off poorly here and were made to pay early by Dolling. The Bayern youth product isn't exactly known for his heading prowess but he scored two with the head today. The big turning point here today was the last seven minutes. Until then it looked like Schalke's day but first Lucas Silva pounced on a wayward back pass and rounded the Schalke keeper to even things up and then we stayed on the offensive and were rewarded 3 minutes from time when Correa reacted quickest to a rebound from a Gedoz free kick and turned home from a very tight angle to cue the celebrations in our technical area. Luis Enrique, a player I had always admired when I was younger took me aside after the match and was very complimentary - telling me that either they or us need to knock Bayern off for the good of German football.

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Game 27 - Wolfsburg
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On only 3 days rest we then had Wolfsburg at the Commerzbank - in came Thauvin for his Frankfurt debut and also Grealish got the start in place of Gedoz. Those too combined to nearly give us the lead in the 3rd minute when Grealish got on the end of a slide rule pass from Thauvin but could only hit the crossbar. We continued to pummel Wolfsburg and had shot after shot after shot but couldn't find the breakthrough. After the euphoria mid week against Schalke this draw was a let down...

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Table Roundup​

Despite our great result against Schalke we still sit 3rd behind them and Bayern. I really, really, don't want to see Bayern win it all again but it is looking very likely that they will.

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Bro I don't know how you didn't throw your computer out the window after that Wolfsburg game. The Schalke result was a good one though.

Thoroughly enjoying this story, keep it up.
 
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AceAvenger said:
Bro I don't know how you didn't through your computer out the window after that Wolfsburg game. The Schalke result was a good one though.

Thoroughly enjoying this story, keep it up.
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Haha - once upon a time it probably would have. At the very least I would have been up for a new mouse! Its amazing the restraint you develop though when disposable income goes out the door once you have kids...
 
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Season 8 – February Roundup​






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Game 28 – Stuttgart (a)​


Well that was a lot more stressful than it had to be!!! We were dominating early when Garcia scored and were coasting just after the hour mark when Garcia scored again and the Silva scored with a long range effort. We continued to be the better side and maintained our dominance and I didn’t want to change anything so we continued to play on the attack. 3 minutes from time Towa scored with a scorcher and I quickly rearranged the troops into a more defensive formation but then Jager headed home in injury time. I screamed at the guys to concentrate and we managed to limp across the line. Still it’s 3 points nonetheless and I shan’t be complaining.

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Game 29 – Augsburg (a)​


Another game where we dominated but took a long time to finish off our opponents. Rossiter was the hero today and he controlled a bouncing ball after a scramble in the box and prodded in on 70 minutes. We never looked like being beaten after that and ran out easy 1 nil victors. Again, I would have liked it to be a far easier win but 3 points, particularly away from home in a good pickup at this stage of the season.

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Game 30 – Leverkusen (a)

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Our 3rd away game in a row and a really tough fixture here at the BayArena. We started well enough with Correa scoring with a shot that went in off the post after just 4 minutes but Bayer were always threatening and deservedly equalized just after the long break. We both took turns then to try and break down each other’s defence but when the dust settled both side’s goals were intact. Decent point.

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Game 31 – St Pauli (h)

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We were back in the familiar confines of the Commerzbank Arena for this one and did it ever show. Fosu-Mensah scored after bundling home from a corner and then Barkley showed the fans what they had been missing scoring a first half double. St Pauili would score right on the stroke of half time to make the team talk interesting but the boys went out and did a fantastic job. Once Schmiedebach saw red for his second bookable offence the question simply became how many would we win by. I took the opportunity to get Iheanacho some game time late and he repaid my faith with a late double. Great result.

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Barkley deservedly picked up the man of the match award for his efforts in the middle of the park. We need him at his best.

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Just after the St Pauli game I got some very, very interesting news. Alex Neil had been sacked as the boss at Tottenham and, although I’m not in the top 3 I am being linked with the position. If they don’t offer an interview in the next few days then this is a job I will apply for.

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Table Roundup​


We’ve eaten into the gap to Bayern a little bit in the past month. We are now only 9 points back of the giants. Schalke had a month to forget and now are in real danger of dropping below of Dortmund. Also we’ve now got a 17 point gap to 5th placed Leverkusen so nothing barring an astronomic collapse could see us drop out the Champions League spots.

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Lippo255 said:
A possible move to Tottenham!? Interesting!
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They have a really good squad also. Erikson, Kane, Lamela all still there with Bruma means they've got enough to challenge from the get go if I can get it.
 
A move to Spurs would be great. As long as you get European football each season you always get big transfer budgets as well!
 
I'd stay at Frankfurt if I was you, although that's probably due to a combination of not enjoying managing in the Premier League and wanting to see you topple Bayern!
 
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