Lets go on a European journey, man!

Gotta stay another season for a hat trick of titles.

I think thats my aim now @VP., see if we can win the league for a third season running and then look for a new job somewhere in Europe. Where I can take Haaland with me too preferably!

I think this could prove to be my final year here at Genk and probably in Belgium. Unfortunately we've struggled in the transfer window somewhat, attracting bigger names isn't really happening. And therefore we're making no strides forward in Europe. I've had instant success here domestically in Belgium, which has been grand and won more in my first two seasons than I thought I would, but we shall see what happens. Here is a quick round up of whats happened this summer.

No real 'big' departures this summer with just Folic leaving for a fee of £775k. The rest leave on free deals or loans to improve. On the other side of the table, just one new face joins the club in the summer. Former Southampton man Callum Chambers who cost us just under seventeen million pounds. He was transfer listed and interested in joining, adding a bit of versatility in defence and holding midfield roles. I missed out on goalkeeper Sergio Rico, who left PSG for Bordeux in the summer whilst having an offer for Maximilliano Wober accepted but he wasn't interested in joining my Belgian revolution!

Made sure I had a few more friendlies arrange this summer than I did last and the boys coped very well in all of them. Played five, won four and drew one as we faced a few 'medium' sized European teams such as Rangers and West Brom. Stick us in the Europa League and I think we'd cope very well. However it proves the Champions League is too tough for us at this stage.

Well, this is slightly unusual. We lose the Belgian Super Cup for the first time in my reign, it won't be three times of asking as we have a howler. Infront of a small crowd of just 20,296 Club Brugge take home the trophy following a penalty shootout. We had the better chances throughout the game but never really a clear cut chance. With the score still level at the end of ninety minutes, we headed for a penalty shootout where we failed to show up. Unusually for him, Haaland missed the first of the shootout, and that set the tone. Club Brugge convereted all three of theres, with only Kenedy scoring during our four, handing the trophy to the opposition.

Our Champions League group for this season has been drawn and its probably our most favorable draw we've had to date. Despite facing Italian Serie A giants Juventus and Spanish La Liga side Atletico, we are also drawn besides Russian Premier League side CSKA Moscow, a side I'm confident we can beat in both head to head ties. This 'should' see us aiming for third place and then we can head to the Europa League knockout rounds, thats the plan anyway. We shall see in a couple of months when I bring you the next update.

Next Post: KRC Genk mid season Round Up - January 2022

Has Haaland made any sniffs about wanting to move to a bigger club yet @Dan? A second solid season at Genk and I've no doubt this one will be another success too.

Haaland seems happy himself to be here currently @Shedender however there are beginning to be a few bigger clubs sniffing around him now with the likes of Chelsea, Bayern and Liverpool all lurking. My aim is to move myself on this summer and then take him with me.

January 2022, happy New Year. Lets see how the season has been going to date with us in search of a third league title and Belgian Cup on the bounce. We had already been beaten to the Super Cup at the start of the season, meaning there would be no treble treble this time around. But could we put together a strong enough domestic performance in the other two competitions. What about Europe, I felt this would be my best chance of progressing from a Champions League group, even if its just to head to the Europa League from finishing third in the group...

I'm just not getting the nack of this Champions League football it woudl seem. Another group stage, another exit. Finishing bottom of the group for a third year running. We had expectedly heavy defeats against Juventus both times. Atletico we nearly stole a point from in our first head to head and did grab a one all draw with in Spain. We didn't make the most of the games vs CSKA Moscow however. Losing 2-1 at home was a blow, we had a late goal ruled out in the 1-1 draw in Russia too which ultimately cost us third spot.

A third Belgian Cup on the bounce? Right now its looking doable, but its been the nervious run of our time to date. An easy 5-0 win away at Virton kickstarted our defence of the cup brilliantly as young Haaland fired home a hatrick. Away to AA Gent in the next round but a comfortable 2-0 win with both goals in the opening eighteen minutes sent us on our way. Quarter Finals almost caused problems, with us requiring extra time to get passed Eupen. We went on to win the tie 3-1 with Haaland netting twice and Kenedy also on target.

Once again, our league form is looking pretty strong with just the one defeat coming so far and that was a narrow three two defeat to struggling Club Brugge, despite Haaland grabbing two. Three draws also in the first half of the season but I feel there is nothing to worry about again so far this season. Haaland still finding the net regularly.

Top of the tree at Christmas and heading into the New Year once again. Its only a two horse race this year it would seem. With us just two points clear of chasing second place Anderlecht. They then open up an eleven point gap to AA Gent who are a further six points clear of fourth place Charleroi. Slightly strange to see Standard (currently 20 points off) and Club Brugge (21 points off) so far off the pace and down the table this year. But its good for us. We just need to stay consistant and make our match against Anderlecht count. Both of us losing just once in the first twenty league games. Twenty to go, all eyes on the top two!

And to end this post, some sad news. Real Madrid have completed the signing of £23.5million man Sander Berge and I am extremely disappointed by this. Last summer I turned down bids of £64million for the midfielder. But the board went ahead and accepted this offer, which completely stunned me. Fuming!

Next Post: KRC Genk end of season Round Up - May 2022

Board...

So annoying @r96Skinner! Nothing I could do

Season three has come to an end it'll likely be my last one here in Belgium. Things had been going well, maybe not in Europe, but domestically we were dominating at least. However the board have began to annoy me especially accepting a stupidly low offer for our central midfielder Berge. The ice began to crack and I wasn't prepared to be over ruled by them. Anyway, I was content to continue doing my job until the end of the year and go from there, we were still in the hunt for two trophies.

Missing screenshot of Cup Semi Final

Forgot to take a screenshot of the Semi Finals, we won them, will update this bit when I can.

Oh dear oh dear oh dear! The less said about this the better. Thats now two of the three trophies we've won both previous seasons gone. Anderlecht completely ruined us. Dominated the game and deserved the win, it could of even been more for them. We did have a goal in the opening couple of minutes ruled out through VAR and things then turned sour. Not happy to miss out on this one, especially after the last two seasons dominantion.

Two points clear going into this run of games and we had to try and be at our best if we were to come out on top going into the Champions group. Two defeats, against the big two in Anderlecht and Club Brugge, as well as two dropped points against Carleroi could see us rue missed chances. We led three nil against the latter of the three after half an hour, and somehow drew 3-3! Haaland among the goals, what else do you expect! Would our sloppyness cost us...

Well, its at least cost us this far. We head into the Champions group trailing Vincent Kompanys league leaders by a single point. In very much a two horse race, Anderlect have the advantage with two matches to be played. A massive sixteen points then open up to third place AA Gent. Club Brugge have never really got going this season, twenty three points off the lead with giants Standard thirty points away from Anderlecht.

Chasing league leaders but not really improving much. We beat Anderlecht in the opening game of the stage which put us as the leaders with a Haaland brace. A man that enjoyed this group. Three draws, two more defeats (including to Anderlecht) and another to Club Brugge really left us scratching our heads as to where it all went wrong this season. Had we done enough to get over the line though this season...

Champions! No idea what Anderlecht got up to in the run in but they finished five points adrift of us despite our dodgy form. It looks like we'll sign off with a trophy at least, making it three league titles on the bounce. We'll shortly review the season with the awards but after that, who knows.

Next Post: KRC Genk post season stats and awards - June 2022

One thing I hate is whenever the board sells a player behind your back, especially when you don't need the cash, but at least you won the league @Dan.

You going to try at least one more season at Genk to try and make European progression or move on?

Thanks for catching up @Shedender, I just wish I now sold him the year before when we could of got three times that amount! Well, all is revealed here...

Three seasons done, three league titles won, two Belgian Cups, two Belgian Super Cups, but absolutely no progress made in Europe left me questioning if my time here in Belgium has been successful to date. However one thing was for sure, the players here were succesful at the end of season awards.

Coucke doing Coucke things. A third year of claiming the pair of goalkeeping awards which saw him play thirty nine of the forty league games, conceding twenty seven goals along with keeping twenty two clean sheets. Absolute quality from our number one shot stopper once again.

I have a feeling this kid may need a very, very big trophy cabinet. Another three awards for the season as Haaland completely wraps up the award ceremony. He takes three awards this year, scooping both the 'Pro of the season' and 'Rookie of the season and of course, top goalscorer. With thirty one league goals in his thirty nine appearances this season he fully deservers it, finishing eleven goals clear of the next closest man.

He even breaks his own club record. Having scored forty three goals across all competitions this year, beating his previous best of thirty five goals.

I went on to win manager of the year for the second time of the three seasons I've been here, but a couple days later, handed in my resignation to the board. I probably didn't really do enough with the money available to strengthen the squad enough. We sat on a very healthy budget both the last two transfer windows and not spending much of that left us short in Europe as it showed in the Champions League. I'll head off and look for a new club, the big five countries have now also been added in, here comes the waiting game for the right offer...

Next Post: A new venture - ??

Very productive stint in Belgium. Interested to see where you end up next!

Man, I'd have buried the board in the press and walked away there and then. Disgraceful stuff.

Domestically productive, yes @r96Skinner, no impact in Europe though.

I was tempted @DNZY but wanted to see the season out as the options elsewhere were limited.

With my bags packed from my apartment in Belgium, it was time to hit the job centre. I took a little bit of time out, get myself together and see what awaited me. At first, there weren't many jobs available that really attracted me. The Basel and Dinamo jobs popped up, but they didn't pull me in. Eventually a couple of opportunities popped up that began to interest me, with the bigger leagues now loaded in as playable, it was time to see what would be offered...

I'm heading home! Back to England I go as we head to London and more specifically Craven Cottage to take control of Championship side Fulham. As you can see on the fifth line down, I did have an offer to head to France and manage Lyon, who offered me a transfer kitty of fifty one million pounds, a budget I'm sure I could use to compete with giants PSG. But I felt like heading to England. After delaying the offer for a couple weeks, the club had improved and already sat up in seventh place having won three of their last five games.

Here is what the board have come up with for their plans over the next five years. Of course I need to work within the wage budget and aim to sign first team quality players who are under the age of twenty three, that could be tricky. For this season they wish to reach the playoffs as a minimum expectation, reach the Fourth Round of the FA Cup (which they already have) and the Third Round of the Carabao Cup, its January, the club were out of this before I took control. Then rather unambitiously, the board just want us to reach the Championship playoffs for the next four seasons.

So this is the scene we walk in to midway through January. A point outside the playoffs and sixteen points off the top spot which sees Nottingham Forest in complete control. The Championship is a funny old league, very competitive where anyone can beat anyone, bar maybe Bolton and Wigan looking at their form. We are joined by West Ham in the league, they currently sit third. Top two is unrealistic for us this season, the main aim is to meet the boards objectives and finishin in the playoffs.

Here is the club I inherit too, its definitely not too bad considering the league we're in. I've already shipped out Ezeh and Dave Allen who just don't look the grade, Allen could potentially in a few years but he was unhappy to be here and we don't need that negativity. Both left for small fees. We won't be making improvements in January simply due to being given just two and a half million pounds to spend, I'll wait till the summer and see what coups we can make. I'm also happy to see what the squad can do.

Not a bad game to get myself started here in London. My first game in charge was away at twenty third place, struggling Bolton and we put them to the sword which is great to see. Idah got us off on the right foot with a goal just fifteen minutes into my reign. A brace from Ewing which included a superb solo effort and a good drive saw us lead three nil. Unfortunately we couldn't hold on to a clean sheet, conceding eighteen minutes from time. This climbs us up to sixth and into the Playoff spots.

Next Post: Fulham End of season Round Up - May 2023

Fulham will be a cracking place to build with! They have a great set of fans, and you should definitely be challenging at the top of the league!

Haaland not going to swap Belgium for Fulham?

Plenty of games to maybe even make the automatic places, good luck.

Best of luck in the capital, Dan!

I enjoyed your time in Belgium and I look forward to seeing you in England now, with a club that I think can give you a lot of work but at the same time motivation, good luck, I'm enjoying it a lot @Dan

Thanks @tongey, I'm excited to see how we can fare here with Fulham! Its a building process. Unfortunately we have very little funds right now so no chance of tempting Haaland here just yet.

Playoffs is the minimum expectation @VP.

Thanks @r96Skinner

Thanks @SirWerGaming, hopefully we can pick up some English trophies over the years.

Having swapped Belgium for England it was time to get stuck into life in the capital city, London. Fulham took the chance on me, having won a few domestic trophies in Belgium but very little other progress, it seemed a risk for them. Their aim was to finish in the playoffs and I had started off well having beaten Bolton in my very first match in charge back in January. Could we continue to build on that? Whilst the automatic promotion spots weren't out of the question, it seemed a big ask. We also had a big FA Cup tie to play...

Wow, that was a complete drubbing at Stamford Bridge as Premier League giants Chelsea put us to the sword big time. Losing seven one as they took their chances. Didn't really want an FA Cup run anyway.

Our form was pretty good since I took charge it has to be said. Shame we couldn't beat Charlton in my second game in charge as they're struggling so I thought we'd be on to a strong start. However five wins and a draw from my opening six games In charge was a statement for sure. However we then hit a slight loss of form, four defeats over the following six games. However we soon picked things back up to remain unbeaten in our final seven matches, picking up five wins and two draws. Adam Idah was in some superb form since I took charge that's for sure.

Of course that form would never of been good enough to seal an automatic promotion spot, but we did meet the boards objectives and secure a spot in the playoffs this season. We take sixth place, a whopping nineteen points off league winners West Ham who topple the hundred points barrier. Nottingham Forest in second just three points off the top spot and go up to the Prem. We'll be joined in the playoffs by Birmingham, West Brom and Southampton, with the first of those three our opponents in the Semi Finals.

A nervy but very full Semi Final first leg. We perhaps had the better chances throughout the ninety minutes and had plenty more of the ball at home, but it proved to be in vail as we played out a goalless nil nil draw. Neither side wanted to throw away the first leg, that was for sure.

Promotion wasn't to be for us this season. Taking the trip to St Andrews it showed that we needed to take our chances in the first leg. Birmingham dominated this game on shots, despite us having the lying share of possession. The host took the lead two minutes before the interval. An aggressive team talk got the boys back out on the pitch firing, levelling through Idah in the fifty fifth minute. But we soon fell away again, conceding two more and ultimately slipping out of contention for a spot in the Playoff Final. Onto next season...

Next Post: Fulham pre season Round Up - August 2023

Conceding a lot of attempts on your goal in those play off games, what formation you using?

Hard luck in the playoffs @Dan but it's perhaps not the end of the world as you came in mid-season.

All the hard work to sneak into the playoffs and Birmingham come and ruin the party! You're now set up for a good run next year though!

I'm using the 'Thor' tactic from our tactic page @VP.

Finishing sixth, I didn't really expect us to win the playoffs @Shedender, time to see what we can do with a whole season in charge.

Shame as we beat them a couple games before the playoffs too @tongey

My first summer here in sunny rainy London and I had a bit of work to do. We really need to get Fulham into the Premier League if I want to make progress, whilst the board are happy to see me just reach the playoffs again this year. And that showed by the measly four million pounds I've been given to spend on new faces this summer. Even worse, Idah, our top scorer last season, wouldn't renew his loan from Norwich so we need a new prolific striker too.

We struggled to find many players worthwhile of signing this summer, which means only one new permanent face. First off, two loan deals as Scott Guest and Oli Ewing join from Manchester City and Leicester respectfully. Its Rushian Hepburn-Murphy who joins for a long term deal. A free transfer and valued at over ten million pounds seems a coup for us. Ben Johnson was our last deal so far this summer, joining on loan from West Ham.

Here is the squad we take into the new season, I'm extremely worried too! There isn't much depth and I'm worried there isn't much quality there either. I still have time (a week or so) to finalise anymore deals I can find and bolster the squad. Hopefully this isn't all we go into the season with.

Despite the very small squad, a pretty pleasing pre season on the pitch. Something to build on perhaps.

Next Post: Fulham mid season Round Up - January 2024

Thanks again @SirWerGaming, its not a strong squad this time around and with our lack of financial support, it could be a tough year.

Happy New Year to you all that follow and support my story. Lets have a blast

So into 2024 we move and this updates been a while coming hasn't it. Having been away for a quick break to the big Apple and then Christmas and New Year, I've had very little time to get a serious session in and get some progress made. But finally the first half of the season here in London has been played. We went into the season with a squad that lacked depth and quality. As the board struggle to back us financially, missing out on the promotion last year looks to have cost Fulham any chance of success any time soon. However with the playoffs still the ambition of the board, I had to deliver.

We had a superb run in the Carabao Cup, much better than I could have imagined. We entered in the First Round, where we faced League One side Gillingham and comfortably beat them four one. The Second Round drew us at home against Premier League side Leicester, expecting to crash out, a first minute Joe Bryan goal sent us into the third round. We were rewarded here with another home tie, this time against League One side AFC Wimbledon. Thankfully no slip up as we coasted to a four two victory. Another Premier League team then awaited us in the Fourth Round, and another scalp for us. A penalty shootout victory over Newcastle, at St James Park saw us through after a one all draw in normal time. The Quarter Finals would be our last stop though. A trip to London rivals Chelsea saw us narrowly miss out, losing two one. We trailed two nil before half time and really tried to make a go of it, certainly not embarrassing ourselves.

Well, our form isn't as bad as I had feard coming into the season, we're definitely trying to prove a point at least. It started well enough, with six wins from our opening nine games, which also included a draw and two defeats. A couple bigger teams back in the Championship shows how we're off the top of the pile. With the likes of Norwich, West Brom and Southampton, despite us beating the latter of the three. We've had a few good wins along the way, whilst keeping with the Carabao Cup action. We'll now head to the second half of the season, look to get an FA Cup run on the go as well as keeping up with a strong performance in the league, but how does this show in the standings...

West Brom are the leaders as we pass through the halfway stage of the season. At one point they were clear and flying having won sixteen and drawn one of their seventeen games. However it seems to have taken a slight step back since and thats allowed Norwich to close within a point in second place. The gap then opens up to Leeds, who are a further seven points a drift in third and sit five points clear of us. We occupy the final playoff place as it stands, but are only three points clear of Reading and four clear of Bristol City, meaning we need to be at our best if we wish to stay in playoff contention again this year. A win for us and both Stoke and Sheffield Wednesday losing would see us jump to fourth, so the table is tight, lets bring on 2024!

Next Post: Fulham end of season Round Up - May 2024

After finally get that last update out, I've done my best to get into a routine and regularly playing again and have smashed out the second half of the season. Its been a fairly enjoyable year in charge of Fulham before this update, this now taking us to a year and a half at the helm of the London based club. We went into the second half of the season just inside the playoffs, sitting sixth and three points clear from seventh place. Whilst also guiding the Championship side to a Quarter Final exit of the Carabao Cup, taking a couple of Premier League opposition out on our way. Now we have the second half of the league season, but first, the FA Cup as we seeked a second cup run.

FA Cup Quarter Finalists as well. Not bad for a Championship club going to both domestic cup Quarter Finals. We had a good run, facing League Two Walsall in the Third Round, the first one we entered. The Fourth Round drew us to League One Charlton who we thumped comfortably five now. Our reward for reaching the Fifth Round was a home tie against Premier League side Wolves. And boy did we turn up for it! A big four one victory with our summer freebie, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy hitting all four! Unfortunately the Quarter Finals would prove to be our exit again, narrowly losing out four three against another Premier League outfit, this time away on the South Coast at Bournemouth.

Our second half of the season was a joy to be in charge of, the boys were fantastic! We played twenty one matches and went on to win over half of them with twelve victories along with four draws and five defeats. We were picking up points exactly where we needed too. Unfortunately still not matching the big teams like Norwich but did secure a victory over league leaders West Brom. But what did this mean to our playoff hopes, surely we were in them for a second season running...

Of course we scoop a playoff spot for the second season running, meeting the boards expectations. Infact, we sailed into them, finishing a massive fourteen points ahead of Southampton who were in seventh place. We were also a big eight points off an automatic promotion which Norwich took. But they could get nowhere near West Brom who flew away with the title, finishing ninteen, yes nineteen points clear! What a superb season for the baggies. For us though, Leeds United awaited. A side we drew 2-2 to in the last game of the season and lost 2-1 to earlier in the year. Not a great omen, could we go one better this year and reach the Playoff Final?

Advantage Fulham! Having the Playoff Semi Final First Leg at home was a massive boost for us and we took full advantage as we went on to take a two nil victory into the Second Leg. A wet afternoon at Craven Cottage saw it goalless until the twenty seventh minute when our centre back Jamzaoui scored a header. And it was another man in our back line to secure the win. Wing back Alfa Semedo netting a volley in the six yard box just eighteen minutes from time. Leeds poor discipline caught up with them when Martin Montoya was shown a second booking in the eighty sixth minute.

Playoff Final here we come! Another good showing, this time at Elland Road sees us book our place in the Final. We started nervy and this eventually cost us when striker Sandro scored from outside the area to give the hosts the lead. Luckily we quickly bounced back, practically going up the other end from kick off as Ben Johnson netted just two minutes later. And the game would effectively be won just two minutes before the break when Paulo Bernardo struck into the bottom right corner. Leeds, for the second game running went down to ten men when Sam McQueen was shown a straight red for a bas challenge in the box. The resulting penalty taken by Jon Davies was saved though.

WE ARE GOING UP! What a show from the boys, absolutely dominated Bristol City at Wembley to take us to the promised land, the Premier League! A game in which all our goals came from set pieces! It was just seven minutes before we had the crowd jumping when centre back Lefevre seized on an error and volleyed in from close range. Unfortunately our top score Hepburn-Murphy left the pitch after a challenge in the twenty eight minute. We had to wait till just after the hour mark for the next goal when Bristol Citys defensive midfielder put the ball into his own net. Jon Davies scored to put the game beyond doubt three minutes into injury time as Bristol City were pushing for a late comeback. However we still went on to concede in the final few seconds, but it mattered very little.!

Whats next? I'm not sure, the board have given me a £40million warchest to spend on summer arrivals, but I personally think it'd take a lot more than that to get us through survival in the Premier League, despite the teams we beat this year. There are a couple of jobs that have opened up as the season winds down and I will probably throw my name into the mix for these. I won't be resigning, if I don't get another job, it'll be mission survival with Fulham.

Next Post: ?? 2024

Class work, Dan!
Intrigued by the outcome of your decision, I can see the reasoning behind potentially leaving.

Great effort getting Fulham there. I'd give it a go staying in the Prem, only leave if someone comes knocking. Interesting to see where this goes.

I'm not sure how we done it with that squad @r96Skinner but it felt rewarding!

Thanks @bigmattb28, I never saw Fulham as a long term project unfortunately and financially they're not that stable.

Its been a busy summer but I am on the move. I began the early summer by trying to get a few freebies in for Fulham, players with expiring contracts, they got a couple of them in, Kyle Walker being the most notable despite being the wrong side of thirty now. But my main aim was always to move on this summer following promotion. I had done what I felt I could with Fulham. Having scrolled through the job market, there were a couple that appealed to me, also plenty that didn't. I chucked my name into the hat for a couple, the Fulham board apparently not worried about this, with no reaction from them.

God its been a busy summer! I applied for five jobs to try and get a route out of Fulham. And they're the first five in the list, Real Madrid, Man United, Arsenal, Lazio and Roma. However, the two Premier League jobs weren't really a big interest of mine. If I was to move to the Premier League, I'd prefer to head to Liverpool. However I attended the interviews for both the clubs anyway. I also interviewed at Real Madrid, Lazio and Roma. Unexpectedly there were three other offers that soon came in, two more chances for the Premier League in Brighton and Bournemouth as well as a chance to head to France to join Lyon. I rejected the two other interview offers at Bournemouth and Brighton, But did meet with Lyon to see what was happening in France.

Two rejections shortly followed, but if I'm honest, this didn't downhearten me at all. As I said in the above paragraph. If I was to head to the Prem, away from Fulham, it would only be for Liverpool right now. So to miss out on these two posts aren't the end of the world. Hope turned towards the other jobs that my name was in four, I awaited to see my next three emails...

Shortly after the two rejections, I had three job offers on the table. There was one job in particular that I was aiming for right from the start of my application. And one of those were one of the three above. The Lazio job didn't look too bad, obviously in the top tier of Italy, A huge transfer budget of sixty five million pounds to spend. Playing in the Europa League following a strong season last year. The Lyon job offer looks extremely tempted, over double the transfer budget available, one hundred and forty one million to spend and Champions League football, a chance to challenge PSG? Finally Roma, The lowest budget of the three, just thirty five million pounds on offer to spend and they'll be playing Europa ll football, the newest of the European competitions...

Italy bound! Lets do this!

Next Post: Welcome To Roma - June 2024

Lots of good offers, personally I'd have chosen Lyon but good luck in Italy!

The money at Lyon was very tempting @DNZY however my heart was set on Roma from the off when I saw it was available.

Lets go to Italy! A few offers were on the table but it was Roma that drew my attention in from the start of the summer and I'm very happy to have ended up here. A chance to build some sort of dynasty is the aim. Another long term project but one I can sink my teeth into. Fulham was a good chance to welcome myself back to English football and before that, Genk was a great starting block to establish myself. Now the hard work starts in trying to turn Roma into world beaters, Champions League winners? Lets just start with the basics perhaps.

And so here are the expectations that I've agreed with the board for my first season in charge in Italy. We will play the Euro Cup ll competition, one I'm yet to play in as of yet so that'll be a fun experience, with the board expecting us to reach the Final as a minimum expectation here. My aim is to win it! In the league, the aim is to make the top four at least and get that Champions League qualification. and the Italian Cup, we need to be making the Semi Final, so hopefully we'll get favorable draws throughout that competition.

Its nice to see so money at the club after that stint in London. Positive financial situation again. As expected, Roma currently have fifty one million pounds sat in the bank, with thirty five million pounds of this made available to me in transfers and 75% of transfer revenue will also be added to the budget, so I'll look to sell any deadwood where possible. The wage budget is set at £2.8million and I've currently got 350k of that left available that isn't being spent.

I am pretty happy with the squad I've taken on here in Rome. Obviously there are a couple places that look a little weaker than others but on a whole its got a fair bit of depth and there is also plenty of quality in the youth side which I've already tried to send out on loan to gain some valuable experience. A couple of the older players will be offered out to see if we can shift them, raising some small funds but also gaining some transfer budget back. A lot of potential which we look to unlock over the season.

Next Post: Roma - Pre Season Round Up - June 2024

WOW, that's a hell of a list of clubs who offered you interviews!

Roma will be a great club to manage! Got the backing of the board, and a great tradition at the club too! Great work choosing them! Best of luck Dan!