From zero to hero

A good month overall. The team bounced back after the 4-1 defeat against Man Utd. with a convincing 3-0 win. Then Huddersfield shocked us. We knocked at their goal all game long but couldn't score a goal. I am really happy with Ales Mrazek's displays. He slowly overcomes Stephen Fletcher and is already an important first team player. Meneghello is another good solid youngster.

Good progress! Just sitting on Europa qualifications

Another solid month there buddy

I won't get ahead of myself. This season is just about obtaining a decent position. Next season I'll try to reach a continental cup.

Pretty shaky month. The defense is simply killing me. If they manage to get a clean sheet in 1 game, then disaster comes. I simply don't know what to do anymore. I keep conceding simple goals. In the match against Arsenal we fell down 3 behind after just 15 minutes so it was all or nothing from there. We managed to score 2 goals until half-time, but after the break we conceded another 2 to end the game.

The performance in the Capital One Cup is a joy, although we are facing Chelsea in the quarter finals. It's going to be a tough game, but I hope the boys motivate themselves and play their hearts out.



Another great news was the 3.1 mil extra transfer budget gave to me by the chairman after an excellent control of players' wages. I don't need another player but it's good to have this money available in case an opportunity arrives.



We slipped down 1 place, but looking at the teams that are in front us I am not ashamed at all of this season's performance so far.

December was a busy month for us. Following the 5-2 defeat against Arsenal the boys bounced back with a 5-1 win. Also, this month saw us winning 1 and drawing 1 against league leaders Chelsea. The 2-0 win in the cup came as a surprise, Chelsea lining up their best 11. Then Stephen Fletcher came up and score 2 in 5 minutes in the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. We are in the Capital One Cup semi-final facing arch rivals Newcastle, whom we beat in the league. If we reach the final then it's an almost sure qualification in the EURO Cup.



I brought in a talented fast striker. I hope he confirms as he valued a great amount of money which I had to loan. January will test his abilities.



We dropped a few places but the hard games are almost over, and I still have faith in the boys.

I dread December and January in England. They are busy months, with a game almost every 3 days. We started this year way better than we finished the last one. We managed to demolish arch rivals Newcastle in the Capital One Cup semi-final after a 6-1 aggregate and we're through to the Final, where we'll face Man City. The match in the FA Cup against Swansea was forfeited to them, after I chose to rest all my star players for the league. I didn't think we can handle 3 fronts right now.

Swansea surprised us in the league also, winning 2-1. This month Michail Antonio stepped us his game after a chat we had and was simply brilliant in every match. If he didn't score a goal you can be almost certain he made the assist.



Since I had some money to spend I brought in experienced goalkeeper David Stockdale. I had him at CFR Cluj in FM2012 and I hoped he'll be the same talented player.



We can only hope of finishing 5th in the league, as there is a great gap from 4th place. But my number one priority is the Capital One Cup final, and after that managing to get a respectable league position.

Keep battling away buddy, still a chance of snapping a spot up in europe next year!

Great month for us!!! Unbeaten in the league, and managed to win the Capital One Cup after a 3-2 extratime win against Man City. This means we have already secured a place for next year EURO Cup. In the league we managed to draw against Liverpool and Man Utd. Keeper Mignolet had some great performances in those games and that helped secure the result. After a few goalless games Mrazek is starting to recover his form and scored a couple of goals this month.



As we have already guaranteed a place in the EURO Cup, my goal for this season is finishing in the top half of the league. And after our recent performances it is not a far fetched goal. We got through most of our tough matches and we need to focus against the lesser teams in order to have a marvelous year.

Well done winning the capital one cup and now heading into Europe! fantastic!

Thanks, mate! I am really happy with the players' performances in the cup. They managed to motivate themselves superbly in the important matches. We need a couple of signings for Europe but I'm feeling pretty confident.

After the cup win, the boys took a vacation from the league. It was an awful month for us, and now I find it even hard to motivate the players. Losing against rivals Newcastle hurt even more as we lost the game in the 93rd minute.



We managed to keep our top half spot but it's not going to last for long if we keep playing like this.

Things certainly are turning a little sour now but maintaining a strong top half finish has to be the key now!

We managed to bounce back and this month marked the best match of my career. After we found oureslves ahead 3 - 0 after 30 min against Man City, they managed to pull back and even take the lead. But Ales Mrazek's brilliance showed and he managed to complete his hat-trick and make an assist for a 5 - 4 win. Epic game!

We then lost against Chelsea and right winger Michal Antonio got an injury that will make him miss the next 3 weekes, putting his Player of the Year Award in the dust. We finished the month with a 3 - 1 win against Burnley and Ales Mrazek was voted again the man of the match. There are already 4 clubs interested in him, but I managed to sign him on a 4 year contract.



Our league position hasn't changed and with 2 games remaining I am confident we can achieve this season goal: top-half finish.

Finally the season is over. With only 2 games in may, I decided to rest most of my players after a hard season and introduced youngsters to first team soccer. Both games ended 0 - 0 but the results don't really matter.



Michal Antonio didn't won the English Player of the Year, but did receive the Goal of the Season. Steven Fletcher came second.



We finish eighth, but after we were tipped for relegation at the start of the season, I feel that this spot is more than satisfying. Also we're in EURO Cup's 3rd qualifying round. Man City was the biggest team left out of Continental competitions, the losses against us both in the Capital One Cup final and Championship making all the difference.

I know that it's still early in the transfer period, but I had my eyes set on a number of players and after seeing my transfer budget for the season I immediately went after them. But let's start with the players that left the club. In order to free up some of my wage budget and to acquire some money to transfer a specific players (you'll soon find out who), I sold Steven Fletcher to Huddersfield for 8 mil.



That was my biggest sell. Elsewhere, Barry Maguire joined Birmingham for 1.3 mil and Michael Sant joined Middlesbrough for 65K. Matej Delac joined Q.P.R for 1.7 mil.

Now my jewels. Mainly I managed to sign Vincenzo Meneghello on a permanent deal. It cost me 10 mil but after an incredible season I felt he was worth it. Another young star is Kieran Burns which I brought for 650K from Rangers. He is going to replace Frank Rutemoller which didn't really impress me very much. The last but certainly not the least was 21 mil central midfielder Alfredo Redaelli who had a thunderous season at Bologna. I scouted him during the second half of the season and the scout was overjoyed by his performances. Also, as I needed a 3rd striker, I brought in young Cristiano Bombardieri on loan. He's here just in case of an injury, because Ales Mrazek remains my number 1 choice with Kristian Valenta my rotation option.






This wraps up the transfer period for me having spent all of my transfer budget. There will be no more new players. Maybe if I can find a good free transfer that will change but I don't want to make too many signings this time.

I am now feeling quite comfortable with the squad at my command and I feel we can challenge an Continental spot in the league and make some decent performances in the EURO Cup.

After the 2018 World Cup, with Brazil winning against England with 1 - 0, there were several manager casualties. I applied only for England, but I was surprised when I immediately received an offer from Russia. I decided that I have too much free time so I accepted.

I don't intend to resign from Sunderland, and I have faith I could handle both jobs. With Russia I am expected to win my European Championship Qualifying Group where I will face Norway, Georgia, Portugal and Andorra.

Only 2 friendlies as I need to prepare for EURO Cup 3rd Qualifying Round. Again, I am not too concerned with the results. I only wanted to blend in my new acquisitions.



A weak opponent for us, Levadia. I am confident of our chances and if the players don't get complacent we are through to the next round.

Top season last year buddy and good to see your european run ready to be started! What a fantastic budget you had too!

As I predicted, we had 2 easy matches. We dominated both games, and Michail Antonio is already shaping up to be one of the key players.



We received a goal on a defensive error, and the numbers of shots and possession say it all. We got only 2 goals but their keeper did wonders between the posts.



Sivasspor next round. It's slightly bigger than Levadia but it's a welcomed challenge. First leg is going to be a little tough because we are starting the season against Man Utd and some of the players may be tired after that game.

31 shots and just 13 on target, more clinical and you'd have a high scoreline there! however your through thats the main thing!

Having to play in Europe is more demanding than I thought. We had an unbelievable match against Man Utd and getting a draw is just what we deserved. The draw against Reading came as a shock, although I was forced to change most of my starting eleven. Michail Antonio and Ales Mrazek are having a storming month both in EURO Cup and in the English Premier Division.



There is a long way to go so just 2 points after 2 matches aren't that bad.

Sivasspor where easy to overcome and now we are ready to play in the EURO Cup Group Stage. Our challengers?!? Sparta Prague, Palermo and Red Bull Salzburg. It's not an impossible group. If we perform as I know we can, we have a serious chance of reaching the next stage.



The draw for the Capital One Cup First Round has been made. We're facing Derby in what I think is an easy game.



Also I decided to let young loanee striker Cristiano Bombardieri return to his club after I managed to sign Yoann Gouffran on a free. I felt that the attack needed his experience after the sell of Steven Fletcher and with the Europe campaign going on.

Tough european group mate! made a steady start to life in the league too!

Looking at the other groups, mine is not that difficult. I managed to avoid Valencia, Inter, Hannover and PSV, among other greater teams.

If I knew that reaching Continental competitions will burden the boys so hard, I would have lost the final against Man City. With matches every 3 days, we managed to finish the month undefeated. We only got 1 win in the league, and that was hard fought, the rest of the matches ended in a draw. On the bright side, we won against Red Bull Salzburg in the EURO Cup, and against Derby in the Capital One Cup.



Our place in the league isn't that good, but with only 6 points separating us from league leaders West Ham, there is still hope. I am not too dissapointed in the draws, because we were favorites only against Q.P.R. The rest of the games we were tipped to lose so managing to earn a draw isn't that bad.



Only 1 game in the EURO Cup, so I don't have any expectations yet.



The draw in the Capital One Cup has been favorable for us, facing Norwich at home. I have faith in the boys and I hope we'll manage to get the win in 90 minutes.



Another opportunity has arrived, and since I was very dissapointed in Kristian Valenta's performances, I brought in experienced striker Mario Gomez on a free transfer. He got injured just before his first match opportunity so I haven't really managed to test his abilities.



I started my international career with Russia this month with 2 friendlies. I picked the players that had the highest average rating at their teams in their respective position, not caring about the age and the player name, so I got the press on my back, but the results speak for themselves. Zaur Sadaev is the pick of the players, managing to get a hat-trick on his first international appearance. Next month we'll begin our European Championship Qualifying journey and I hope that this form continues.

Good luck with Russia mate! Certainly becoming the 'hero' from the 'zero' you began at! West ham are flying!

We returned to winning games in the league this month, as I changed the tactic. I felt that a change in tactic was needed as the opponent teams started to get used to us and I think the choice was right.

We got knocked out of the Capital One Cup, losing 1 - 0 against Norwich. Ryan Gauld was dismissed in the 29th minute and it was all downhill from there. We managed to resist for 30 min, but after a grave error from goalkeeper David Stockdale Norwich managed to score the 1st and only goal. We got off a few shots but didn't managed to hit the net. Gauld was fined with 1 week wages and isn't going to get first team soccer for a while as his tackle was horrendous.



We climbed a few spots in the league and now we are sitting comfortably at 6th place.



We drew the game against Sparta Prague, which was a little disappointing. Then lost against Palermo, after Ales Mrazek missed a penalty kick. We also had 2 crossbars, so that loss was rather annoying. We are still sitting in 2nd position, so all we have to do is get 3 point with Sparta.




We started our European Championship Qualifying campaign this month and I am pleased with the results. The first goal against Andorra came late in the game, but at least it came. I am pleased we defeated Norway, as they were one of our challengers. We just have to overcome Portugal (which will be a little tougher) and we're headed straight for the Championship.

A tough month mate but its all about the league and europa league and it looks set that you will go through the groups.
good staart with russia!

To bad you lost in the Euro Cup. Now you can go full for the PL the rest of the year and maybe step up a few places. Do you have this aggresive players or do you play with hard tackles? In cup matches its hard to win if you lose players to red cards.

Good luck the second half of the season!

I play with normal tackles. I don't understand what happened in the cup match where somebody was sent off. In the EURO Cup I had to send in Trevor Nash, a 19 year old player from U19 Squad, because my key player Tom Hateley was injured and reserve Claudio Napoli had 66% stamina. I think the pressure got to him as he tried to do his best and he just crashed. It was his first senior game.