Who!? The Rhys Burnett Story

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May Roundup






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Game 44 - Chelsea (h)

We welcomed Chelsea today who were engaged in a tussle with Manchester United for top spot on the ladder. I have been really unhappy with a few aspects of our play recently and decided to shake things up here dropping off into a true 4-3-3 (4-1-2-2-1 for those who like to really step things out) and shifted Reed back into the defensive midfield role with Eriksen dropping a little deeper into the attacking CM role. It worked an absolute treat. We held the ball well and moved it round nicely. Created more and the better chances and completely outplayed one of our huge rivals. Hearing my name sung by the fans around New White Hart Lane before they gave it to Mourinho, who had been less than complimentary of me in the build up to this one, was sensational. At the final whistle I didn't say anything to him - we have them in the FA cup final in 2 weeks time and don't want to give them any bulletin board material. I did have a massive grin on my face though - I couldn't hide it!!



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Game 45 - Hull (a)

We had a decent break for the first time in ages so I could play my top side knowing they then had another full week's rest until the FA Cup final. We looked really good here too. Should have won by a lot more than the 2 nil scoreline but 3 points is 3 points. Very pleased.



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Game 46 - Chelsea (n)


We here it was, something that seemed beyond my wildest dreams as a schoolboy in Gravesend. Wembley. FA Cup final. The papers had been filled with stories about the sides in the lead up to this one. The Daily Mail had sent Martin Samuel to interview me and chart my life story. Mum and Dad were so proud and I was delighted they could be there for this game.

The opening 15 minutes were a tense affair as both teams prodded and probed in an effort to feel each other out. As the match wore on though I got the sense we were beginning to get control and then Bruma latched on a loose ball in the box - his first time effort seemed to be sailing wide before it collided with Kevin Wimmer and cannoned into the goal, amazing luck but we had deserved it on the balance of play! 1-0 to the good guys!!

In the 36th minute there was more joyous scenes at the Tottenham end of the stadium as a long through ball appeared to be making its way to Lamela before Kurt Zouma launched his enormous frame at full stretch and managed to get a foot on the ball. He couldn't control it though and Kane ran onto it and roofed it with a first time blast - amazing stuff. 2 nil to Spurs!!

Bruma has impressed me with his ability to place his shots and just before the hour he managed to curl one around the outstretched palm of Courtois and into the far corner after beating two players - that one will end up on the 'best goals of the FA cup' playlists for a long time now! Cue delirium! 3-0 Spurs!!

Mourinho was losing it - the 4th official was copping a spray as was the linesman. Dybala capitalised on a moment of confusion in our area and made the score 3-1. We were still very much in the ascendancy though.

And so it proved. We ran out comfortable 3-1 winners and in the process brought home Tottenham's first piece of silverware since their 2015 Europa League triumph. The Board and the fans were delighted!!



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As an added bonus we now qualify for the Europa League again!

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Board Roundup

After the FA Cup final I got news that our training facility, whilst still one of the best in the nation wasn't considered quite as state of the art anymore. I went to walk with the Board about that and also about finding a feeder club that would help in a commercial sense. Given my experiences at Frankfurt I was kind of expecting to have to beg for it. Take note Frankfurt - this is how a real Board operates.

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It's not spending frivolously though. We have now fully paid back our stadium debt only a few years after construction was completed.

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Unlike some others!!!

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And when all the dust settled these are the budgets I was handed. This is what ambition looks like.

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Transfers (so far) Roundup


A friend had been talking with me about the squad and he said something that really resonated with me. We lacked a true ball winning midfielder. I made it my top priority heading into the offseason and fairly quickly identified the man I wanted. Michael Payne, on the books at Chelsea, had grown disenfranchised this season after being continually overlooked for the first team. I was worried Chelsea would attempt to hold me to ransom after how I had ruined their chances in both the league and the FA cup but they were relatively reasonable and I was able to pick up my man for 20 million, with a significant portion of that spread out into the future.

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If that represented me trying to weaken a current rival then my next purchase was a move to weaken a former rival. Bayern had inexplicably transfer listed one of their amazing young talents Sahin Akdenis. The flying winger had caused me fits when we played him and he represents someone who will immediately push our current crop of wingers!

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There is still significant room in the budget for me to wheel and deal as I continue to identify decent players available to me.






Table Roundup

So this is how we finished up this season. Man U took out the title, but as you've already seen, contravened FFP in doing so meaning it will be interesting to see if they can sustain their success moving forward. Irrespective of everyone else though we must do better than our 10th placed finish this season, even if that represents a decent season for me personally with the side languishing in the bottom half when I took over.

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Last edited:
Wow! Action packed post! Dunno where to start :P

Congrats on the cup win!

United fall foul of FFP!

A Kiwi wonderkid(ish)!

& 71M to blow! Kudos!
 
Wow! Action packed post! Dunno where to start :P

Congrats on the cup win!

United fall foul of FFP!

A Kiwi wonderkid(ish)!

& 71M to blow! Kudos!

Cheers mate! I probably should have spread this one out into two or three posts shouldn't I!! XD
 
Great stuff mate, a trophy in the bag already, a massive transfer budget and back into Europe next year!

Like the look of the two you signed, especially Payne who looks like he will be an absolute warrior in the middle. Keep up the good work!
 
What an impressive start! A trophy straight away is sure to get fans on side instantly and the impressive win over Chelsea in the league.

Interested to see who you bring in to sure up your full back positions too, but the two you've already signed will definitely come in handy.

Also read through the rest of your story from the start and I'll admit it makes me want to do a save starting from the beginning one day! Just not sure I'd be good enough yet. But I guess the joy of starting like that means you don't have too many expectations and learn as you go like you had at the start in Scotland!
 
You were the chosen one Anaki... I mean Rhys, it was said you were to destroy the Spuds, not join them :p

That's a pretty big kitty though.
 
Love seeing Man U fail FFP :P Hopefully they will collapse hahaha

I would have liked to see you stay at Frankfurt but I can understand the decision to move on, and hopefully you do well at Tottenham - just don't beat Liverpool ;)
 
Great stuff mate, a trophy in the bag already, a massive transfer budget and back into Europe next year!

Like the look of the two you signed, especially Payne who looks like he will be an absolute warrior in the middle. Keep up the good work!

Thanks mate. I'm hoping for big things from Payne!


What an impressive start! A trophy straight away is sure to get fans on side instantly and the impressive win over Chelsea in the league.

Interested to see who you bring in to sure up your full back positions too, but the two you've already signed will definitely come in handy.

Also read through the rest of your story from the start and I'll admit it makes me want to do a save starting from the beginning one day! Just not sure I'd be good enough yet. But I guess the joy of starting like that means you don't have too many expectations and learn as you go like you had at the start in Scotland!

Have a look at Jamie's and Jela's stories too if your after some inspiration. It usually takes you a job or two to really find your feet so don't stress. Let me know if you do start and put a story up - would love to check it out!


You were the chosen one Anaki... I mean Rhys, it was said you were to destroy the Spuds, not join them :p

That's a pretty big kitty though.

Haha - I'm not a spurs fan in real life either that's for sure!! I thought it fit well with the story though given where Rhys started and he has had a really nice career arc so far. Plan on spending a few years here now and making them a force!


Love seeing Man U fail FFP :P Hopefully they will collapse hahaha

I would have liked to see you stay at Frankfurt but I can understand the decision to move on, and hopefully you do well at Tottenham - just don't beat Liverpool ;)

I just about fell out of my seat when I saw they failed FFP - the TV money alone makes it really hard to turn a loss!!
 
Good start mate. Looks like you signed a couple of great players there as well, I reckon your only one or two signings away from being a possible title challenging side again! Good luck in the Prem!
 
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Season 8 – Offseason Roundup

Awards and Rankings









No surprises when Erkisen was the runaway winner in the Tottenham player of the year awards. It will be interesting to see if he can maintain his good form this season with Kane and hopefully a few others more influential in my new system. Personally I still feel he is the man to beat.

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Add this to the list of things I never thought I’d see in my lifetime. Everton are a big club no doubt but the most reputable in the World?? Apparently so. I ran down the list created by ESPNFC.com and was pleased to see Frankfurt had moved up and was actually now above Tottenham. I take a lot of pride from that as it was effectively all me. When I had taken over they were considered a ‘national’ side in terms of appeal, now they are known worldwide. Also Andreasen hasn’t done anything extra with them. They had finished the season 2nd, exactly where I had left them in. It’s my job now to push Tottenham back up into the absolute top tier with Everton, Madrid, Bayern and Chelsea.

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I must admit this was another thing I never thought I’d see in my lifetime. I knew we were in a very good financial position thanks to us being debt free but I didn’t realize how good!! I am now in charge of literally the richest club in the world!!! There’s also a decent gap to 2nd placed Chelsea and 3rd placed Manchester United (how do you fail FFP if you are the 3rd richest side in the world anyway?!?). Unsurprisingly, thanks to the mammoth TV deal in the Premiership the top 6 sides and 10 of the top 13 sides are English. Heck, even Watford, Hull and Burnley have more money than Bayern!!

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I will be sure to let you know if I do, I have started one and taken a few screenshots for me to start a story, you guys are so good at this though and it depends if I can juggle this one along with my other save where I started at West Ham, lost my job and now am at Ipswich in the Championship (which I'm also tempted to put a story up with a brief introduction of the first two eventful years!)

Do you have links to the other two stories to read or the full title and I'll be sure to check them out along with this one!

Can't wait to see how your season starts!
 
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Season 8 – Offseason Roundup

Transfers






I made a few extra purchases as the season approached in addition to Payne and Akdeniz who have already been mentioned. I realised though that there was also a number of players who just weren’t up to the standard required all on 50k a week or more contracts! Not sure how we had gotten to be the richest club in the world throwing money away like that but Rio Lee, Walker-Peters, Jaun Angel, Ryan Lawson and Anthony Green were all average at best and being paid way too much so out they went. None of them I considered good enough to be in my top 25, Sweeney and Afolabi probably won’t ever make the grade here but they are both homegrown so I will keep them close and get them game time on loan and if they do develop they can always come back in.

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One of the things I have tried to be mindful of this year is ensuring in my backups and 3rd choice players that I have a healthy smattering of club trained and nation trained players as we have Europe to contend with again this season. As such I brought back Connor Ogilvie and Nabil Bentaleb who are both considered club trained. They had been developed by Tottenham and sold on so I don’t expect either of them to ever be first choice but I want them around to be backups and play in cup matches.

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My final two signings were purchases for the future. Ray Charles(worth) was on the books at Ross County but had a very good record at Under 21 level for Scotland, despite being only 18, so we brought him in. Unsurprisingly his vision leaves a little bit to be desired but his technique and skill mean he could be a world class winger. My other signing was Benito Nangis, he had found game time hard to come by at PSG and had subsequently been transfer listed despite having 3 caps to his name at only 22 years old. What I like about him is that he offers something different to Kane. Speed, pure unadulterated speed. If I need someone to go out and get at a team then Benito looks like he will be my man!

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I’m quite happy with being able to pick up those two quite cheaply. This is a new sensation for me. Rather than having to look longingly at all the bargains on the transfer market I can now actually take advantage of a few of them!!! There still might be more to come as I have plenty left in budget and haven’t fully addressed my fullback concerns so watch this space!!!




 
I will be sure to let you know if I do, I have started one and taken a few screenshots for me to start a story, you guys are so good at this though and it depends if I can juggle this one along with my other save where I started at West Ham, lost my job and now am at Ipswich in the Championship (which I'm also tempted to put a story up with a brief introduction of the first two eventful years!)

Do you have links to the other two stories to read or the full title and I'll be sure to check them out along with this one!

Can't wait to see how your season starts!


Sure thing mate

Jamie's - Jamie Carragher - A Manager's Story

Jela's - Road to Glory: The Manager

And don't stress about how 'good' your story is. In the end you've got to do it because it adds something to the game for you. You'll make writing mistakes and storyline mistakes and formatting mistakes - ****, most of my first attempts were borderline unreadable but like anything over time you'll improve!
 
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Season 8 – Offseason Roundup

National Competitions Roundup





It was World Cup time so, like always, the expectation level was crazy around the three lions squad prior to this. We would have 2 players named in the squad, Harry Kane and Phil Jones being the men. Disaster struck though for Jones in a warm up match when he suffered a leg injury causing him to need 5 weeks of treatment. It was one of those moments though as his injury opened the door for fellow spur Kyle Walker who joined up with the English squad for the World Cup.

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The English team actually performed quite well. Kane picked up a knock in the quarter final which meant he missed the semi against Argentina. Despite losing Joseph Reeve to a red in only the 25th minute for a challenge that didn’t seem all that bad and conjured memories of poor refereeing between these two nations at the ’98 finals in France, England were really the better side and were unfortunate to lose to a strike from 35 year old Lionel Messi. Nice to see him still dominating in 2022. As you can well imagine Mr Reeve isn’t exactly the most popular person in England right now and will receive quite the reception at visiting grounds this season.

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They then faced Russia in 3rd and 4th playoff. No one really cares but England dominated the match but were caught by a Russian suckerpunch when Lebdenko scored from a free kick late on. The game should have been well and truly over by then though.

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In the end it was the Italians who won beating the Argentines in the final 2-1. Standout player for the tournament was the surprising Ezequiel Rascaldani who, till now, had been plying his trade for AC Ajaccio but I doubt he will be with them for much longer.

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The Under 19 Euro Championship was also held just after the World Cup main event and in this England fared much better beating Italy 2-0 in the final to take out the title.

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The England side featured 2 Tottenham players and one of them. Nick Lakin, who had spent last season on loan at Wolves was named in the Euro U19 Championship Dream Team.

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In the England team along with Lakin was Samson Usman who was also already out on loan when I took over but at Millwall. Both he and Lakin will be kept around the first team this year as essentially 3rd choice in their respective positions. I will have them playing in the reserves and getting them first team minutes whenever I can.

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There's a player in the England team called John Carver?? Named after the best coach in the PL last season?? haha :P
 
Everton the best club in the world?? How did that happen? also Tottenham are the richest? Burnley 11th?? What kind of topsy turvy world is this??
 
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