TNSSO - Wheel Of Fortune - Antwerp & Beyond

30th August 2027

Transfer News: The one position that desperately needed addressing in my new squad was that of the goalkeeper. So where better to go for my new number 1 than my old club! I paid £15.5 million to bring Elia Caprile to Udinese from Brentford and he has now cost me an extra million at £16.5 million to get him to follow me to Ajax.

Transfer News: My second signing is a young Brazilian that I had my eye on at Udinese. Thiago Melo had a minimum release clause of £12.25 million which we met to bring him here from Santos. He's good enough to act as a squad player right away, but should only improve over the coming years into a very fine central midfielder.

Johann Cruijff Schaal

Final

My first game in charge at my new club results in a trophy as we win the Dutch Supercup. Great performance for my first game in charge and it looks like it won't take my players too long to come round to my tactics and style.

Transfer News: 

One player I didn't deem good enough for us is Stanis Muzambo so I put him up for sale and managed to bag £9.5 million from Cercle Brugge for him.

Eredivisie

Matchday 1

Not the ideal start to the league campaign I wanted, but we didn't lose so it's not all bad. Must be taking our chances better though as we dominated this!

Transfer News:

 Ansgar Knauff was a player I didn't see getting regular football for me. He's a decent enough player for sure, but he is an out and out winger and I don't play that type of role. So when Marseille were willing to stump up £33 million for him, I happily let him go.

My first home game was up next...without a doubt the most impressive home I've had in my career so far!

Eredivisie

Matchday 2

We marked the occasion of my first home game with a good solid victory!

Transfer News:

 I needed another right back and my wing back roles have become so important to me over the years, so I didn't want to compromise on any quality. Which is why I forked out £31 million to sign Malo Gusto from Chelsea.

Transfer News:

 The other thing I felt we were missing is a world class striker, but not anymore as I paid £32 million to rectify that situation. Benjamin Sesko has been doing well in Germany for Leipzig scoring a goal every 2 games for them and I expect him to thrive even more than that for us! There's no denying the Dutch league will be easier for him and he should be able to hit the target regularly enough in Europe too.

The Champions League fixtures are out and we have a mixed bag overall, but there are some very tough games in here for us! Gutted I didn't get a game against Udinese if I'm honest - Antwerp didn't make it to the league phase as they were beaten in the playoff round.

Speaking of Udinese, the man who took over my role there is Rogerio Ceni, who left his position at Valencia to take the job.

Transfer News:

 Another departure from the club as Francisco Conceicao leaves for Strasbourg in a deal worth £4.4 million. Again, I just think we have much better options down the wings.

Eredivisie

Matchday 3

A dominating performance as we created more than 20 chances at the Willem goal, but we were again less than convincing in front of it. I didn't have new striker, Sesko, available to me as he is on his way back from a major injury (broken leg), but can't wait to see him out there as I think he will snap up plenty of these chances we create.

Transfer News: 

One final addition to the side on transfer deadline day as left back, Matteo Ruggeri joins from Lazio in a deal worth £13 million. He boosts the numbers and options in the squad and is a solid enough addition for a relatively cheap fee.

Transfer News:

 Well I thought it was going to be the last addition until I noticed that Dortmund had Youssoufa Moukoko up for loan and I just couldn't resist bringing him in for the season!

Great job at Udinese and best of luck at Ajax! 

3rd November 2027

Eredivisie
Matchday 4

A nice double for Moukoko on his debut for the club and one that earns us another win!

Champions League - Group Phase

Matchday 1

We missed two clear cut chances in this game, so we only really have ourselves to blame for not taking anything from it! Dortmund were the better side overall though, so I guess we can't have major complaints.

Eredivisie

Matchday 5

The 26 degree heat seemed to effect the work rate of both sides here with neither looking all that great, as we played out a 1-1 draw.

Eredivisie

Matchday 6

N.E.C had won all five of their opening games of the season prior to this, but we quickly brought them right back down to earth with a big fat thump!

Champions League - Group Phase

Matchday 2

This was a must win match for us and we did win it with ease. Our Swiss opponents were never in the game to be honest and are really going to struggle to get through the league stage of this competition!

Eredivisie

Matchday 7

A solid enough win back in the league as well. Great finish from Emile Smith Rowe for the first goal as he cuts in from the left before curling into the far corner with his right foot.

Injury: 

Unfortunately, we did lose Moukoko for up to 7 weeks in that last game which is a shame as he has started so promisingly with us, scoring 6 in his opening 4 league games.

Eredivisie

Matchday 8

Three quickfire goals in four second half minutes ensured another win. Another impressive defensive display saw us get our 7th clean sheet in 8 league games this season!

Champions League - Group Phase

Matchday 3

Excellent all round and a big win over Marseille! My English duo of Grealish and Smith Rowe were sensational throughout, with Grealish earning a 10/10 for his performance.

Eredivisie

Matchday 9

Entirely dominant! Five goals from multiple different goalscorers and we are very much in our groove right now!

Eredivisie

Matchday 10

VVV couldn't deal with us here and we easily could have had another 5 or 6 here, but 3 will do and the job gets done again!

Eredivisie

League Table

Ten games into the season and we remain undefeated, having opened up a 5 point lead at the top of the division as well. Possibly the most impressive thing though, is the fact we have only conceded a single goal!!

Champions League - Group Phase

Matchday 4

Great to see us transfer our excellent domestic form into Europe against one of the better teams we will face in the league phase of the competition. Benjamin Sesko is coming good and starting to show our fans why I paid the big bucks to bring him here.

Champions League - Group Phase

League Table

At the half way stage of the group phase, we are currently looking good! With our next two games being against Rangers and PAOK, we have to feel like they are both winnable and should cement our place in that top 8!

31st December 2027

As we check in on both of my previous clubs, Udinese are doing OK in Serie A but don't seem to have kicked on from my success at the club last year. Meanwhile, Antwerp relinquished their league title last season to Genk, but have started well this season and lead the way as they look to get it back!

Eredivisie

Matchday 11

Focus back on my current side and this would be one of our supposed toughest games of the season as we faced one of the other 'big' teams in Holland for the first time under my management. There is a rivalry there and I'm glad to have got the better of it in my first encounter with Feyenoord.

Eredivisie

Matchday 12

PSV are another of the sides that are supposed to be setting us some sort of challenge. Based on the evidence of this game, they are no threat whatsoever!

Champions League - Group Phase

Matchday 5

I was expecting a bit more from Rangers on their home turf if I'm honest. Always felt like we'd get the win, but thought we would have to work much harder than we did to get it.

Eredivisie

Matchday 13

We struggled to break Cambuur down here, until our English due of Jack Grealish and Emile Smith Rowe came off the bench to combine for the goal that gets us the 3 points.

Eredivisie

Matchday 14

Our biggest win of the season so far as we blow Utrecht away!

Champions League - Group Phase

Matchday 6

A match I fully expected us to win every bit as comfortably as we did! It was only ever going to be a case of how many we'd score here!

That win moved us to the top of the group phase and guarantees a place in the playoff round no matter what. However, from here, we have to feel disappointed if we don't finish in the top 8, but it would be a real statement if we could remain top of the tree.

Eredivisie

Matchday 15

Back in domestic action, I rotated my team pretty heavily, but we still managed to overcome 7th placed Roda without too much trouble.

TOTO KNVB Beker

Second Round

My first experience of the Dutch Cup resulted in a victory as we knock Groningen out of the competition thanks to a Smith Rowe double.

Eredivisie

Matchday 16

We suffer the rare occurence of conceding a goal here, but it really doesn't matter when you bang in 4! We are in senational form right now that's for sure!

I mean as far as the form book goes, it doesn't get much better than 17 straight wins in all competitions, scoring 60 goals and conceding just 4!!

Eredivisie

Matchday 17

Well we didn't make that easy for ourselves, but a win is a win and extends our run of straight victories to 18!

Eredivisie

League Table

As we finish off the calendar year and reach the half way stage of the season, we remain unbeaten in the league and have extended our lead at the top of the table to 7 points with a game in hand.

1st February 2028

Despite having left Udinese 6 months ago, there was an award for me that came out of the blue as I pick up the Serie A Manager of the Year 

As the January transfer window opened, the first thing I did was recall our wonderkid, Christiaan De Waal. He has been at Genk for the first half of the season and has 2 goals, 6 assists and 4 man of the match award in Belgium this year...those sort of performances encouraged me to give him a shot for us!

Transfer News:

 Then came my first signing of the window as I bolster the central midfield area even more, as Greek international Sotiris Alexandropoulos joins the club from Braga for a fee of £20 million! He is a quick, hard working centre mid who can link the play between defence and attack, playing any of the 3 centre mid roles that I like to use in my formation.

Transfer News:

 The first departure of the window sees striker Almoez Ali leave the club for Everton in a deal worth £800k. He has barely featured for me this year and wanted a move so I wasn't going to stand in his way.

As we return to league action after the Winter break, the fixture list has dealt us back to back games against Almere City in the Eredivisie.

Eredivisie

Matchdays 18 & 19

The first game was actually quite tight! The second game was somewhat ridiculous!!!

Champions League - Group Phase

Matchday 7

The winning goal might have come very late on but it was absolutely deserved after we had created 28 chances at the Atletico goal before finally putting the ball in the back of the net to seal the points.

It was a win that seals our safe passage through to the last 16 with a game spare in the group stage.

Eredivisie

Matchday 20

Normal service resumed back in the Eredivisie as we cruise to a 2-0 win over AZ. Pleased to have beaten them after they held us to a draw on the opening day of the season.

Champions League - Group Phase

Matchday 8

A blockbuster game for both sets of the fans with plenty of great attacking football on display. It was Chelsea that come out on top on this occasion but away from home, we can take plenty away from this.

Champions League

Group Phase

So that's the end of the league stage of the competition and we qualify in 3rd place after a strong display at this stage. Hopefully we will bag ourselves a favourable draw in the last 16 although there are plenty of 'massive' sides going through to the knockout stage who could end up being our opponents.

Eredivisie

Matchday 21

Christian De Waal turned in his best performance yet since returning from his loan spell in Belgium this month. He was awesome here with a goal and two assists!

Transfer News:

 On deadline day, I've managed to bring a wonderkid to the club in the form of 18 year old left back, David Fernandez Vinitzky. He looks like he will develop into a really good full back and only cost us £6.5 million. To aid with his development, I have sent him back to San Lorenzo for the rest of the season on loan (who we bought him from).

Transfer News: 

As I continue to build for the future, another youngster comes in. Serbian midfielder, Goran Nikolic, had a minimum fee release clause of just £6.25 million at Red Star and I was more than happy to pay that, which has proven to be the bargain of the century as he is immediately worth nearly £80 million upon signing for us! This kid could have a very, very exciting future in the game!

Transfer News:

 My final piece of business in this window was the loan signing of Bayern Munich's young centre back Gil Hesselbach who comes in to provide essential cover between now and the end of the campaign.

Eredivisie

League Table

So with our squad now finalised, it's time to turn our attentions to winning whatever we can and we will be hot favourites for the league as we have a 15 point lead and have only conceded 4 goals in 21 games all season! I don't ever recall having a better defensive record on any version of FM!

14th March 2028

TOTO KNVB Beker
Third Round

N.E.C are sitting 3rd in the Eredivisie so on paper, this would be one of the hardest draws we could get in the cup. However, we made a mockery of their league position as we absolutely battered them to progress to the next round.

Eredivisie

Matchday 22

One of those fixtures you look for in Holland at the start of the season and certainly one of our toughest we will face domestically. However, we come out on top and bag a very good 3 points!

TOTO KNVB Beker

Quarter Final

Considering we had 34 shots in this game to their 7, it's disappointing we needed extra time to get the job done. But the most important thing is that we did indeed get the job done and move into the semi finals of the cup!

Our next game would be my 300th in management! Hopefully we would mark the occasion with a win!

Eredivisie

Matchday 23

We mark my special occasion with a win, even if we weren't at our best.

Eredivisie

Matchday 24

For a moment there, around the hour mark, we lost our concentration a little and allowed Utrecht back into the game. However, we eventually regained our composure and saw the game out in the end for another win.

The draw for the Champions League last 16 pits us against Newcastle. There are some really big ties here with most games looking like they could go either way! I have a little history with Newcastle after my Udinese side knocked them out of the Europa League in the semi final last season on our way to winning the competition.

Eredivisie

Matchday 25

ADO had taken us to extra time in the cup a few weeks ago, but we had dominated that match and I expected a much wider result this time round back in the league and the lads duly delivered. Solid performance, with the only blemish being Jack Grealish's red card just a couple of minutes after coming off the bench!

Our next game would be a top of the table clash as we faced 2nd placed Heerenveen. However, with the gap between the two sides being a massive 21 points, there was no doubting we would be hot favourites to win the game.

Eredivisie

Matchday 26

We justified our favouritism with a win over our nearest rivals and it puts us in a strong position to now wrap up the league title within the next couple of games!

Champions League

Round of 16 First Leg

It's advantage Newcastle after the first leg, but there is only 1 goal in it and I fully expect us to perform better at home. We're not out of this yet!

Eredivisie

Matchday 27

With the second leg against Newcastle just days away, I rotated every single position in the starting lineup here! With all those changes, we had to settle for a draw.

Despite only drawing the game, that point was enough for us to secure the title with 7 games still to play!! It's also the 10th trophy of my managerial career!!

Eredivisie

League Table

With the title now sealed, it just remains to see if we can go unbeaten in the league this season!

Champions League

Round of 16 Second Leg

An excellent turnaround from the first leg defeat and for the second season in a row, one of my sides knocks Newcastle out of European competition.

14th May 2028

The Champions League Quarter Final draw pits us against the most successful side in the competition's history and we will do well to get through!

Eredivisie

Matchday 28

We were far from our best, but recovered from going a goal down to turn the game on it's head in the 2nd half and get the win.

This is REALLY disappointing. Considering I have joined a club with one of the best academies in the world, this is an absolutely shocking intake of youth players!!

In terms of the best wonderkids in the world, only one of our players makes the list at number 11 and that is new January signing, David Fernandez Vinitzky.

TOTO KNVB Beker

Semi Final

Vitesse posed absolutely no problem to us whatsoever here and they will probably be disappointed to get to the semi final of the competition, to only have 1 shot in the game! On the other hand, we were at our very best as we cruise into the final of the domestic cup competition!

Champions League

Quarter Final First Leg

They certainly don't come any harder than Real Madrid away!! So I'm absolutely delighted to come away on level terms and be in with a fair chance of progressing to the semis, especially as we had to play the last half hour with 10 men as well!

Eredivisie

Matchday 29

A whole host of changes to the starting lineup again back in the league and the players that come in make light work of Venlo!

Champions League

Quarter Final Second Leg

I know Real Madrid are the elite, but I can't help but feel disappointed we couldn't get through here. Maybe I was setting my standards too high, but I really felt like we could do it at home after getting a draw at the Bernabeau. But it just wasn't to be!

We only had a few days to recover from the disappointment of going out of the Champions League, before the final of the TOTO KNVB Beker as we attempted to win a domestic treble. AZ would be our opponents for this one and we would come into the game as favourites to lift the trophy.

Cup Final Lineups...

TOTO KNVB Beker

Final

Going behind twice wasn't exactly part of the script here, but twice we fought back to level things up and the winner came in the 92nd minute, courtesy of substitute Emile Smith-Rowe who tapped in at the back post from Sesko's low cross across the box! Dutch treble...completed it mate!

Another trophy added to my collection and this was the one that propelled me into the top 10 English managers of all time on the hall of fame!

Eredivisie

Matchdays 30-34

With the league and cup already won, it was just a case of playing out the rest of the season and trying to keep our focus despite none of the games really meaning anything to us. I rotated the squad throughout each of the last games just to give everyone some playing time and I'm pleased that everyone continued to chip in and do their bit to see out the season without defeat.

Eredivisie

League Table

When I came to Ajax last Summer, I will fully admit I expected to win the league. However, I didn't expect to win it with an undefeated season!! A fantastic achievement!

Congrats on a great season! Crossing my fingers for European success in 2028/29.

Just read this all the way through, really good effort mate keep it up

Thanks mate. Changes are ahead…watch this space!

Thanks mate. Appreciate that!

END OF SEASON 2027/28 REVIEW

A fantastic league campaign saw us finish unbeaten, scoring nearly 100 goals in the process. League seasons don't come much better than this!

It was success in both the domestic cup competitions as well, lifting both the TOTO KNVB Beker and the Dutch Supercup.

A decent showing in the Champions League saw us make the Quarter Final of the competition and there is no shame in going out to the mighty Real Madrid.

Overall Squad Stats

The New Arrivals

The Best 11

Club Awards

League/National Awards

No real changes over the course of the past season to the fanbase, although we did gain nearly 2 million new social media followers, taking the club to just shy of the 20 million mark.

The Commercials

The Finances

The budgets for the Summer aren't huge and we might have to move players on to raise funds to improve the squad for next year.

31st August 2028

After 52 games in charge at Ajax, I have decided to resign from my position. I found the Dutch league really easy last season and kind of got the impression that whatever squad I put out in domestic football, I would have won every game, so am looking for another challenge. Plus, after winning the treble in my first season here, I'm not really sure what there is left for me in Holland. As I leave my role, my record is an exceptional one!

Ajax wasted no time hiring my replacement and if I thought I moved around a lot, Jose Luis Morales has now managed a different side for each of the last 5 seasons!

After quitting my role at Ajax, it would seem that I am in demand on the international stage and have no less than 6 offers of national team management!!

I decided to stick with the Dutch link and take over as the new boss of the Netherlands national side! Can I bring success to a nation that has notoriously underachieved on the world stage for far too long now!

And that underachievement was continued as recently as this Summer's European Championships where Austria knocked the Dutch out of the competition in the second round!

There is no doubt that the squad is very strong and there really is no excuse for not going further!

We have world class talents in the side and if I can just get them to fulfil their potential, we definitely have the quality to go on and win something before some of these players hang up their boots!

I am still on the lookout for a new club role too, but there is nothing currently available that takes my fancy. Sevilla are a big club, but the job has no appeal to me, so I'll bide my time and wait for a bigger club to come up (probably once the seasons have started).

Back on the international stage, as I start to build my owm backroom team, I turn to my old club Antwerp to reunite with assistant manager, Andries Ulderink! Hopefully, we can bring the same level of success to international football as we enjoyed together in the domestic game!

My first squad is announced for the upcoming Nations League games against Ukraine and Wales and the biggest surprise is that I have dropped Nathan Ake who many expected me to be loyal to after our time at Ajax together last season!

On the domestic front, despite being a serial winner throughout my career so far, apparently I still haven't grown my reputation enough to bag the Barcelona job that I applied for!

So for now, we will just focus on our duties as Holland boss, with our first two games coming up!

12th November 2028

My first matchday lineup as Holland boss, as I look to implement the 4-1-2-3 formation that has been so successful for me at club level...

INTERNATIONAL

UEFA Nations League A

Group 2 - Matchday 1

We didn't start off all that fluently and when Ukraine took the lead through Mudryk's free kick, it was deserved. However, we regained our composure and started to get ourselves together and in the end record a good win and a rather dominant performance overall.

INTERNATIONAL

UEFA Nations League A

Group 2 - Matchday 2

A solid performance and another win to make it 2 from 2 under my management. Naci Unuvar came into the lineup and my ex Ajax player bagged a brace as he made a bid for a more regular place in the starting lineup!

INTERNATIONAL

UEFA Nations League A

Group Table

Top of the group with a perfect record, but the hardest games are still to come against Spain!

INTERNATIONAL

UEFA Nations League A

Group 2 - Matchday 3

A month had gone by before we were back into International duty and this was a tightly contested game with another top nation, but in the end it was our two subs who came off the bench to bag the goals to get us the victory!

Whilst in Spain, I took the opportunity to interview for the vacant Real Betis job, but unfortunately wasn't successful as they hire Zinedine Zidane as their new manager. I made a few demands in my interview, which they weren't prepared to meet, so for now I remain jobless in the club market.

INTERNATIONAL

UEFA Nations League A

Group 2 - Matchday 4

Memphis Depay's 81st international goal in his 151st international appearances lands the points for us in the dying minutes of the game, after he had given us the lead earliear on! Fair play to Ukraine who gave us a game here and worked hard to eventually come away with nothing.

INTERNATIONAL

UEFA Nations League A

Group Table

With two games to go, we are firmly in control of the group now and a single point will be enough to see us through as group winners.

Four wins from my opening four games as Holland boss has seen us rise in the world rankings to 5th place.

INTERNATIONAL

UEFA Nations League A

Group 2 - Matchday 5

Time flies by without any domestic football to play and it was soon November and time for our last two games of the Nations League Group. We only needed a point from the Spain game, but we took all three with Memphis Depay again proving that he is the main man up front despite being 34 years old now.

INTERNATIONAL

UEFA Nations League A

Group 2 - Matchday 6

For a long time, it looked like my 100% record as Holland boss was going to come to an end. I'd rotated 8 players in the starting lineup and it seemed to effect some of our fluency, but in the end, I brought some of the big guns on who turned the game on it's head in the last 10 minutes.

INTERNATIONAL

UEFA Nations League A

Group Table

So we top the group with 6 wins from 6 and it's been an impressive start to life in International management for me. Wales are relegated from the group without a win.

Our continued success in the Nations League has seen us rise another place in the world rankings!

11th March 2029

In the Nations League, we have been drawn against Germany with the game to be played in the Summer of 2029. The other semi final will see England face off against Poland.

Meanwhile, in the world of club football, it seems Erik ten Hag is simply following in my footsteps as he takes over as the new manager at Udinese after following me at Antwerp as well!

Back on the International stage, it was time for another draw...this time for the World Cup 2030 qualifying groups. With no other sides in our group inside the top 40 in the world rankings, we should cruise through this!

As the end of the year 2028 passes, the best 11 for the year is announced for the Dutch national team.

With International taking a back seat all the way around until March, I had a few months to turn my attention entirely to finding a new club job. I was missing club football and after nearly 8 months away from it, I was willing to lower my expectations to find a new job and wasn't necessarily just looking at Europe's elite. I had applied for the Newcastle position, but wasn't even seen fit to interview, whilst Liverpool fans laughed in my face when I declared my interest in a potential job there (which didn't end up coming up anyway). Then the Almeria board approached me without me needing to apply and I was enjoying feeling the love again. After attending the meeting, I was offered and have accepted a 2 year contract with the Spanish club.

Over the past few seasons, my new club have cemented their place as a regular fixture in the top tier in Spain and last season finished as high as 7th to qualify for European football!

But this year, things aren't quite so rosy and the club sit 14th in La Liga and although well clear of the relegation places, it's a disappointing step backwards from last season, which has ultimately cost Marcelo Gallardo his job after 4 years in charge.

I join with the club in a dire run of form, winning just one of their last sixteen games in all competitions and crashing out of the Copa del Rey and Europa League in the process.

There is no denying that the squad is the weakest I've managed since my days at Antwerp, but I am up for the challenge and feel that this is a club with potential that I can definitely steer back in the right direction.

My best player is in fact a Belgian. Winger, Largie Ramazani, has an abundance of pace and combined with some decent dribbling skills and flair, he will be an exciting watch and a player I'll be looking to channel a large proportion of our attacking play through!

And the player that can be feeding the through balls Ramazani, is central midfield playmaker Lucas Robertone. One of the more experienced players in the squad, but for sure one of the most talented he will be key to any success I have here in the short term!

It's the goalkeeper situation that is a real concern though, with my assistant manager rating my best keeper as only a 2 star current ability.

I do at least have £29 million available to me to improve the squad and a goalie will definitely be at the top of the agenda. Although the current window is closed, I can spend this money on players to join us at the end of the campaign ready for next year.

La Liga
Matchday 28

Not the start I wanted but there were a few positives to take from the game and I'm confident we will only improve.​

20th April 2029

La Liga
Matchday 29

Girona are battling hard against relegation so this would present us with an opportunity to bag my first win as Almeria boss and we grasped that opportunity with both hands! El Bilal Toure had an amazing day at the office as he scored 4 and had another 2 ruled out by VAR!

La Liga

Matchday 30

Complete domination from us from start to finish as we limited Zaragoza to just 1 shot in the whole game. Unfortunately, we couldn't take our own chances though and have to settle for a draw.

INTERNATIONAL

FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group

Matchday 1

An easy win to kick off our qualifying campaign against a Kosovo side that were never expected to present any sort of challenge to us. With 30 shots on their goal, there is an argument to say we should have scored more.

INTERNATIONAL

FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group

Matchday 2

A hard fought victory out in Bulgaria as a Memphis Depay double ensures 2 wins from 2!

La Liga

Matchday 31

What a result! A fantastic win against the title challengers and it wasn't even a fluke and we were in fact good value for it!

My first youth intake at Almeria is probably the most promising one I've seen in my career to date with a few players that could develop into stars for the club!

15 year old centre back, Rafael Olmedo could definitely find himself at the heart of the defence in future years!

And Ivan Marti could become one of the best attacking midfielders to have ever come through the ranks at the club!

But possibly the best of the lot is 16 year old striker, Ivan. Although he may turn out better as an inverted winger.

La Liga

Matchday 32

We followed up our win over Barcelona with another fantastic result over another of the top teams in the country! We are looking good for a strong finish to the season.

La Liga

Matchday 33

To beat Barca, Sevilla and Real Madrid all in a row was a bit much to ask for, but there is no shame in this defeat especially when you consider we played most of the game with 10 men!

La Liga

League Table

A decent start to life at Almeria has seen me lift the club into the top half of the table with just 5 games of the season remaining. Unfortunately, we are too far behind to make a push for a European qualifying spot, but I'm still keen for us to finish as strong as possible as we build for next season!

22nd June 2029

La Liga
Matchday 34

A very good win away from home, even if Athletic are massively underachieving this season (only 2 points above the relegation places now).

La Liga

Matchday 35

Atletico lead the division and find themseles just 3 games from lifting the title, so this was an extremely good draw for us and these kind of results give us plenty of promise for next season!

La Liga

Matchday 36

A late goal ensures victory over Sporting Gijon as Toure completes another brace under my management. He is definitely cementing his place in my plans for next season!

La Liga

Matchday 37

Our penultimate game of the season results in a draw. A disappointing one based on the fact we took the lead so late on, only for a lapse in concentration to allow Vigo to go right up the other end and equalize!

La Liga

Matchday 38

Nice to finish off the season with a win!

La Liga

League Table

Coming in and winning 6 of my 11 league games in charge saw us rise and finish in the top half of the table. It's a good platform to build on next year as we will look to make the push into the European qualification places. Real Madrid pipped both Barcelona and Atletico to the title in the end, with only 5 points seperating the top 3.

INTERNATIONAL

Friendly

Back on the International scene, we would warm up for our Nations League Semi Final with a win over Uruguay...a game which saw 19 year old Sil Moumane score on his debut!

INTERNATIONAL

UEFA Nations League

Semi Final

Even before Havertz was sent off, we were well on top here and didn't deserve to be behind. With the extra man and extra time, we got the job done in the end and progress to the final.

INTERNATIONAL

UEFA Nations League

Final

Sil Moumane is quickly establishing himself as the long term replacement for Memphis Depay as he bags a brace to lead us to the Nations League trophy and my first trophy in international football.