A European Trophy Hunt

The Final Run In



Our fine form continued into May, going on to beat Rio Ave 3-2. Matias scored in the first half, whilst Willyan and Milanovic both scored in the second half to fire us to victory.
Next up, Maritimo, sitting just above us in the table! A 7 goal thriller saw us come out victorius, winning the match 4-3. A Willyan hat-trick put us 3-0 up, before the visitors got it back to 3-3. Silveira popped up with a winner late on!
A tough match against Benfica follwed. An expected defeat here, although we went down fighting. Milanovic and Willyan both scoring in this fixture.
Finally, Belenenses, a team I expected to beat! Milanovic fired us ahead, but the hosts came back fighting, winning the game in the dying seconds!



The final league table sees us hold our 7th position, which is where we were when I took over, however, we did close in on the top 6, and, would of qualified for the Europa League except for conceding an 89th minute goal in the final game of the season to send us to a defeat.



So, we picked up another award, being the most improved club over the year! Hopefully we can continue to improve!

Into The New Season



We played alot of friendlies in the pre-season period, and I'm happy to say that we won most of them. We lost just won, and drew 2 of our 8 friendlies! Lets hope we can continue this form!



Into our league fixtures, and we had an eventful start against Beira-Mar, eventually winning 4-3. A first half goal from Silveira had us ahead, before Magalhaes netted our second.The third was an own goal, scored for us by Vinicius. Finally, Santos had our 4th, sealing the points for us.
Next us, a clash against Sporting, who we beat last time we faced them! This time was no different. A single goal from Aurelio was enough to see us past the visitors on this occasion.
Finally we faced giants Porto. Willyan gave us the lead 11 minutes in with a wondergoal, scoring from just insided Portos half!.As expected though, Porto run riot after that, and we fell to a 6-1 defeat.



Early days but we've shown a couple of good performances in our opening 3 games, and that leaves us lying 5th in the table, with 6 points from a possible 9.




I didn't have much money to spend during the window, so I switched to to my wage budget to capture 2 players on a free. Cristiano joins to give us a little more depth in the center of midfield, and should be a regular starter.We also bought in Williams, who'll add something we need to our central defensive position! Let's hope we can tighten it up a bit.



17 year old promising striker Gonacalves joined Man United in a deal for £5 million, a reluctant sell, but he had to go to help us out of our debt! Matias joined AEK for £250k, before Suk joined Boavista for £185k. Finally Roig left us on a free to help reduce the wage bill.



And finally, what I moved here for! I'm finally being sent to achieve my first qualification!

Another Fine Month



We continued our good start against Leixoes, Rondon and Marcal netting either side of the break as we took a 2-1 win.
Next up, Gil Vicente. Silveira was the man who got the goal in this low scoring match, and lead us to another 3 points.
We made it 3 wins from 3 for September, overcoming Freamunde. It was made slightly more difficult than I had imagined before the game, but 2 goals for Aurelio, one from the spot, ensured that our terrific form continued.



Who would of thought it! 5 wins from our opening 6 games has us flying high up in 3rd place, only trailing to Porto and Benfica! Just how long can our run continue?

Wilcox "We Can Keep Run Going"



Our fine form came to an abrupt end in a 9 goal thriller against Vit. Guimaraes. Despite 2 goals from Willyan, a penalty from Santos and a second half goal from Aurelio, we just didn't have enough gas in the tank to overcome the visitors here, who put in a fantastic performance!
Onto the Taca da Portugal next, and an easy draw saw us fly into the next round. Amarante were our opponents, and we fired 4 past them, Magalhaes set the mood for the match. Willyan scored a brace and Silveira neted 10 minutes before the end, sealing a routine win.
Back to league action against Academica. We fell behind, but we showed character in the second half to bounce back. Membela and Willyan both scored, with 20 minutes between the goals. Back to winning ways in the league!



We're still managing to keep up pace at the top of the league, however, we're being let down by our goal difference. Looking at the teams around us, we're just not winning games by the margins we need to be. But for now, it's the points that count!

A Very Short November



November saw us face just 2 matches, both being in the league. The first was against Maritimo, who pipped us to European football last season. Mimbela converted a penalty in the first half, before Goncalves found the net 9 minutes later, sealing our 2-1 victory.
Our second, and final match of the month came against Boavista. We couldn't find the back of the net, and we were punished. The final score, 2-0.



Another 3 points from a possible 6 sees us slip to 4th, 4 points behind Braga in 3rd, but we've got a game in hand over them. It's tight at the moment though!

Ending The Year Strongly



After a lack of action in November, we had a lot of work to do in December, plenty of games came our way!
We started with a cracking 8 goal game against Estoril. Willyan put us ahead in the opening minute, before continuing to score a second just before the break. Silveira also squeezed one in before the interval. In the second half Willyan completed his hat-trick. Youngster Valinhos rounded off our goals, and ensure us of the win.
Next up, league leaders Porto in the Taca de Portugal. Silveira gave us the lead in the first half, but the visitors then equalized. In the second half we took the lead again, this time by 2 goals as Valinhos netted a brace. It was enough to overcome the giants, and we'd go into the next round.
Beleneses, who seem to be our nemesis, once again came away with a victory over us. Magalhaes grabbed us a goal in the final minute of the game, as we fell to a 2-1 defeat.
Back to winning ways against Rio Ave got spirits back up though. Ferreira scored 15 minutes in, before Magalhaes doubled our goal tally before the interval. He scored his second, and what proved to be the decisive goal, midway through the second half.
We pulled off another giant killing in the cup next, as an inform Magalhaes found Sportings net twice in the first half to put us 2-0 up! We held out despite the second half pressure, and unexpectedly we're still in the cup!
Another 2-0 scoreline followed, and we were at the correct end of it again. New signing Cristiano and defender Thales netted in the second half, after we went into half time at 0-0.
The League Cup got underway just before the new year, and Boavista were our first opponents. Valinhos, Willyan and Williams all scored for us, but we couldn't take the needed 3 points here, with the score ending up 3-3.




Despite having a great month, we slip down another position to 5th, due to Sporting having a storming month, seeing them move upto second. We are only 3 points behind them though, and we've got a game in hand! If we win it we're still in a competitive position at this stage of the season!



After drawing our opening game in the League Cup, it seems it's almost already over for us, as with just one spot to go through, and Porto in our group, it's going to take something special to come above them now!

Poor Start To The Year



The first game of the new year saw us face P.Ferreira. A goal from Magalhaes rescued us a point in the second half.
Next up, Maritimo, who I've got a good record again. Cristiano netted just after the half way mark to send us into the semi finals of the Taca de Portugal.
High flying Braga were our next opponents. Goals from Mimbela and Silveira saw us overcome the hosts, and a gain in the league table over them!
Our League Cup Group clash against Porto was always going to be hard, but two first half goals, saw us go into the break on level terms. Mimbela and Silveira the scorers again. Porto were too strong for us on this occasion though, coming away 4-2 winners.
Bottom of the league Beira-Mar didn't pose any real problems, despite us conceding twice. A hat-trick from Rondon and a single goal for Aurelio saw us comfortably beat them.
Estoril added to our League Cup misery, beating us a goal to nil in the final match we'd be taking part in.
Finally, on form Sporting got the better of us with a goal in each half, as their advantage over us increases.



Were still planted in 5th position in the league, and able to jump above Braga with our game in hand. We're now just past the halfway mark, and doing better than I had expected to be doing. We're also exceeding our media expectations, who pitted us to finish 11th!



A poor League Cup campaign sees us crash our bottom of our group, with just 1 point from 3 games! I'm disappointed with that, I was hoping we'd manage to get 6 points on the board!

In transfer news, we sold 2 players in the January window, one being striker Willyan who left for Botafogo for £1 million. The other was young goalkeeper Vandermeeren, who joined Zulte Waregem for a fee of £170k.



And finally, I've signed a new contract to keep me here a little longer, which I may be tempted to stay depending on how this season finishes.

Unbeaten In February



Our first game of February came against Porto, where we stunned them again! Aurelio gave us the lead, before Rondon put in a record breaking performance, scoring 4 times, as he helped us to a 5-3 victory!
Leixoes followed, and a strong performance but we could only net once past them! Williams with what proved to be the winner in the 18th minute.
A convincing win against Gil Vicente continued our winning streak. Rondon netted once again, along with a Mimbela brace and Magalhaes was also on the scoresheet!
Second bottom Freamunde frustrated us by holding us to a goalless draw.
Back to winning ways at the end of the month though against Academica. Two goals from Rondon in the first 7 minutes, before defender Thales netted the third for us, completing an unbeaten month!



A fantastic month sees us back into 4th place, 5 points clear of 5th, and still keeping pressure on the top 3, trailing Sporting by a single point! We've got 50 points so far from 23 games, last season we finished the season with 53 points!

Nacional da Madeira Stumble



March was a bit of a disaster for us, and our only win came in the Taca de Portugal, against Oliveirense. Mimbella scored our only goal of the first half, but an impressive display in the second half saw Rondon net a hat-trick, giving us a convincing lead going into the second leg!
Next we traveled to face Vit. Guimaraes, defender Williams found the net for us, but it was far from enough in a disappointing 3-1 defeat.
Next up, Boavista, a side who always cause us problems, and they done it again. Magalhaes put us in the lead early on, but we couldn't add to it, or defend it, ending up with a 1-1 draw.
We followed up with a strong performance against league leaders Benfica, but it still ended in defeat. Thales headed us ahead inside 10 minutes, only for the hosts to battle back to a 2-1 victory.
And finally, Maritimo. We grabbed out second league point of the month in this game, Rondons strike just after the half hour mark saving the match for us.



After an awful month in the league, picking up 2 of 12 possible points, we're down to 5th! Hopefully we can pick ourselves back up, and put in a decent run just before the end of the season!



There were a few positives from this month though, with the first being our youth intake. Mendy seems to have the potential to be a top player in the future, and at just 15 years old, I may look to get him some first team experience sooner rather than later!
Pestana also looks like he's got a bright future ahead of him, with plenty of potential ahead! Lets hope he grows into a class player!



And the other piece of good news from the month, I've finally bagged my National C Licence! Now to go for the next one at the next given opportunity!

A Strong Month



Our poor run continued when we faced Benfica, and expectedly so. Rondon scored halfway through the first half, aswell as a 90th minute Bardi own goal, as we sunk to a 4-2 defeat.
The second leg of the Taca de Portugal was up next, and a 1-0 victory saw us cruise into the next round. Once again, Rondon was the man with the goal.
A game of 7 goals as we faced Estoril. Goncalves netted twice, Rondon added our third. Cristiano found the net five minutes after the break to ensure a 4-3 victory.
Rio Ave were up next, another away trip. Valinhos' goal in the 5th minute was enough to see us pick up another 3 points, and these were much needed!
We ended the month against Belenenses, who are currently sat in the bottom half. An expected victory in this fixture kept our run going. Marcal found the net twice for us, before we were helped by an own goal from Torrado. Youngster Valinhos scored our 4th.



A strong month leaves us in 4th spot, joint on points with Rio Ave who we beat during the month! A 7 points gap between us and third placed Sporting, so that's now looking out of our reach considering there's only 3 games to play.

A Mixed Finish



May started with a visit from Braga, and a comfortable win for us. Rondon fired us ahead in the opening 10 minutes, but after that we had to wait until the second half. 2 goals in 5 minute, the first from Magalhaes and the second from Mimbela. Braga grabbed one back, no more than a consolation though.
A surprising defeat to Vit. Setubal followed. 2 goals in the second half from Williams and Goncalves got us back level, before losing the match to a 92nd minute penalty!
P. Ferreira also took a point out of us, Mimbela scored for us in the first half, but it wasn't a match where we could hold our lead. 1-1 the final score!
Finally, we faced Braga for the second time this month. After overcoming them 3-1 3 weeks ago, I was confident of another good result. We were gifted a the lead in the 9th minute, having won a penalty which was converted by Williams. Magalhaes doubled our advantage soon after. Another penalty secure the result for us, with retiring Rondon scoring what proved to be his last goal of his career! The Taca de Portugal was ours!



A disappointing final month sees us slip down to 5th in the table, still securing Europa League football, and the clubs highest ever league finish! Unfortunately, we lost out to 4th place on goal difference!



For the second year in a row, we were named as the most improved club in Portugal! Again, it's a nice reward to receive, showing we're on the up in the footballing world!



And finally, after a trophy winning season, I couldn't talk the board into setting me off for my next coaching license, so I felt it was time to move on. Now to play the waiting game and hope a half decent opportunity arises!

The Next Move



So, I've left Portugal for neighboring Spain! Not a long move, but it's one that certainly offers a big step in my career! I was surprised to be offered an interview here, let alone for them to come back with a contract offer! Malaga are having a torrid season up until now, let's hope I can turn their fortunes around!



I've been left with what can only be described as an unnecessarily huge squad! As you can see there are a few decent players in there, but my main concern is the lack of full backs. It's obvious a clear out is needed here, especially when I say we're £140k p/w over our wage budget!



Here's the results up until I've taken charge, and one word comes to mind. Dismal! Absolutely pathetic! They're a team who've been struggling to find the back of the net, and finding it even harder to defend their own! This could be a harder job that I had originally thought, but it's a challenge, and I'm ready to take it on!



So, we're currently anchored at the foot of the table. 11 games played, 1 win and 2 draws sees us sat on a sorry 5 points! Something's got to change round here, and it's got to happen now, otherwise this club WILL go down! It's a race against time at this point.

A Malaga Turnaround

I had wrote this update out once, then I'm not sure what happened but it deleted! Therefore, I'm just going to leave the screenshots in this once, as I don't fancy writing it back out.



Just a little mentions for Recaldani, managing to score in every game in the two months since I've taken charge! He's on incredible form, as is the whole team at the moment.



A quick jump up the league table has us 2 points clear of the drop zone, however, if our form can continue, we'll be sure to continue rising over the coming months.