The SAF Challenge

Great work at Cowdenbeath, what a turn around from last season to this, and I am glad you have stayed and rejected other clubs.

Apart from the disappointing game with Celtic, a good month with some good wins.



Back second in the SPL and hoping to hold onto it.

Also:



Very well deserved. I came second in manager of the month but ah well!

Signings:

I made three signings during the January window, all for free. The first being Villyan Bijev, a 22 year old American striker. I also signed 29 year old Stuart Anderson from Oldham on a free transfer to help support us in midfield. My final signing was another German defender who hopes to follow in Sergen Budak's footsteps. Right back 18 year old Kai Simon joins from Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer.

Thanks mate, it's been a great season!

Thanks mate, looks like Europe League may be in reach for next season!



I'm really happy I've stayed too, I was tempted to take the Kilmarnock job but glad I turned them down!

Was disappointed to lose to Inverness in a game that we dominated but that's football. Lewis Milne and Sergen Budak impressed again this month, and they came second and third in the young player of the month award. Elliot Bannon also had quite a good month and is really impressing.

Here's the table:



10 games to go and we look certain for a top half finish. It would be brilliant to finish in the top 4 and get in Europa League qualification.

A superb win against Hamilton to kick off the month followed by two draws against Hibs and Dundee Utd, but they weren't enough to hold onto 2nd place.

Here's the table:



We look set to finish 3rd at least if we can keep this up which would be a brilliant finish for us, and would get us into the Europa League.

A superb month, especially with wins over Celtic and St Mirren not to mention Bannon's 4 goals against Dundee. The win against Celtic was the best result of the month as it shows that we can beat them with the squad we have (even with a few injuries), and Kai Simon made his debut in that game and scored the only goal.

Beating St Mirren meant that we went back to 2nd place and we will hopefully hold onto that.

Here's the table:



Hoping to hold onto second. We've also guaranteed a place in the Europa League qualifiers next season which is brilliant news.



Hugely deserved for him, he's been superb. Sergen Burdak also claiming second place - those two have been phenomenal this season.



Great month.

Fantastic job here mate, cant believe how well you are doing with the blue brazil! Keep it up!

I can't believe it either to be honest, I really did not expect to finish that high in just my second season in the SPL!

Don't know how I can beat it next season though, especially with Rangers joining the SPL.

A brilliant end to a brilliant season. We sealed second with our marvellous 3-0 victory over St Mirren.

Here's the table in full:



I now need to look at signing back up players for the squad and I need to strengthen certain areas but I am very happy with the squad I have at the moment. The youth intake this year hasn't brought in anybody special so I won't bother uploading a screenshot.

End of season awards:



Very well deserved after a great debut season.



Some superb performance this season, really hoping I can keep hold of him. I've upped the asking price to £2.5m to try and put teams off.





Extremely happy to get recognition for the marvellous season we've had.

Now onto the next season...

Great end to last season. I hope you can win a trophy this season and maybe go far in Europe

Thanks mate, I'm hoping for one of the cups this season which would be good.

I was given a good budget to spend so was able to invest in the squad rather well.



Really happy with some of these signings. They will really strengthen my squad and I should be able to match my position last year.

As always, I shall go through each player individually:

Chantler - A 25 year old utility player who can play left back, left midfield and centre midfield. Should be a good player for us and good cover in positions we didn't have much cover for last season.

Francis-Angol - A really promising 23 year old left back/left midfielder who should have a good season.

Lawton - was delighted to be able to sign him permanently after two loan spells where he played really well consistently.

Davey - a product of Chelsea's academy and should provide good competition and depth at center back.

Magnin - A product of Lyon's academy who should have a great future at the club at centre midfield.

McHugh - I've been trying to sign him a few times and am delighted to have got him now. Previously a one club man at Motherwell but hoping he can take us to bigger and better things.

Bonner - looking for him to becoming our first choice right back for this season. The 23 year old Northern Irishman has played in Scotland previously for Kilmarnock and Dumbarton.

Tennant - another one for the future and I couldn't resist after a scout recommended him as one for the future.

Gilks - our new first choice goalkeeper for this season, at the age of 34 I'm hoping he can do a job for a season or two.

I was drawn against Danish club Odense Ballklub in the 2nd qualifying round of the Europa League and this is how I got on:



A brilliant first leg at home meant we could lose the away leg and still progress. Alex Davey and Bob McHugh had superb debuts in the home leg.

I've been drawn a tough game against Russian giants Dinamo Moscow in the 3rd qualifying round.

The players leaving weren't up to the standard that we need here and I'd signed players far better than them who can offer a lot more.

A lot of youngsters again going out on loan to get experience.

Two more players have joined the team. 18 year old German defender Daniel Büttner joins on a free transfer and can provide cover at center back and right back. He made 13 appearances for Schalke 04 last season and is looking very promising.

21 year old striker Zach Clough joins on a free transfer from Bolton to add to the squad depth.

Also, great news for Elliot Bannon as he has earned his first call up to the Scotland team.

Next update will be the next European adventure against Dinamo Moscow.

Absolutely gutted to be out without even losing. I thought we had it in the bag after Bannon scored but only for them to score right at the end.

More bad news from this game is that new signing Bob McHugh is injured for 5-6 weeks.

Now it's time to focus on the league and the cups!

34 year old Frenchman Lionel Djebi-Zadi, who had 3 seasons at Central Park, has left the club and joined First Division side Raith with immediate effect.

Djebi-Zadi was hugely popular with Cowdenbeath fans and won Fans' Player of the Year for the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons. Lionel made 100 appearances in all competitions for The Blue Brazil, scoring 21 goals.

Liam Callaghan has also been released from his contract and has left the club immediately.

Not too happy with this month if I'm honest, despite staying unbeaten. The 3-0 win against Inverness was a good result but we couldn't build on that with any other results. A positive that we can take is that we didn't concede all month.

Here's the table:



Would like to be higher up but it's early days yet.



He's had a good start to the season, and good to see Bannon getting runner up.

I rejected two offers from Fulham for Elliot Bannon, both worth an initial £5m. I have once again managed to keep him at Cowdenbeath and I'm hoping I can keep him for a long time.

Got this news just before my next game. It's a pity really because Mr Findlay has given me everything I've asked him for, including extra wage budget, to relay the pitch and better youth and training facilities.

I'm hoping the next chairman is as kind! And a bit of money about him would be good too...

Still unbeaten in all Scottish competitions. Too many draws in the league are costing us I think, but that 6-1 hammering of Motherwell was a very good game and I'm hoping we can now build on that. They couldn't deal with Sergen Budak from corners and he scored 3 in quick succession to put the game beyond doubt. Was good to see Bob McHugh score against his old team!

Here's the table:



Sitting second, behind Celtic of course. Finishing second would be a very good season for us again.

Awards:

Sergen Budak very nearly got both player of the month and young player of the month, only to be beaten by Dundee United striker Grant Holt!

Third in player of the month was Elliot Bannon, and I got third in manager of the month.

We did a full sweep of young player of the month:



Junior Ogaga's contribution sometimes goes unnoticed but he provides some great assists as well as some vital goals.

Just thought I'd quickly note that Wigan offered me the job which I rejected and now the Leeds United job is free after they sacked Nigel Pearson.

It's very tempting to apply for the job at the team I've supported all my life, but I'm not ready to move south of the border just yet. Maybe next time round...

Horrific news I've received late in October:



In compliance with the rules of the challenge, I'm going to have to let them go.

I'm not letting them go for nothing though, I want a lot of money through these sales.

Lewis Milne, who was my club captain, decided to hand in a transfer request so I of course stripped him of the armband.

He then thought it was appropriate to complain about being replaced as captain, so I effectively told him where to shove it.

Peter Dyer is now captain.

Lewis Milne has since signed for Leeds United and will move when the January transfer window, however I was disappointed to see that he had a minimum release clause of £150k in his contract that I must have missed.

I fear the loss of Bannon and Milne may have a serious affect on our season. They handed in their requests on 24th October and I made the decision to leave them out of the team entirely for the cup game against Inverness, where we lost 2-0.

With Milne's future decided, I'm still waiting for a good offer for Bannon or for him to see sense and stay at the mighty Blue Brazil!



Celtic's perfect start has continued and we're the only other team unbeaten.

Glad to have won more than I drew this month in the league!

Sergen Budak once again won young player of the month and I came second in manager of the month.

We've had some terrible injury troubles with Daniel Büttner ruled out for up to 4 months with a torn hamstring, Ivor Lawton ruled out for up to a month with a sprained ankle and Peter Dyer out for up to 2 weeks with a gashed leg.

This means our squad is being run down to the wire, especially with the absence of Elliot Bannon and Lewis Milne.

20 year old Portuguese center midfielder Rui has joined the club on a free transfer as a direct replacement for Lewis Milne. With Milne now enjoying life in the reserves until he leaves in January, we needed a replacement to fill in for him.

Our first defeat in the lead came against Hibernian as we were poor. There were good wins against Inverness and Dundee United and a draw against St Mirren meant it was quite a good week. A weakened side managed to beat Second Division side Elgin City after we dominated all game.

On the Elliot Bannon front, I've decided to play him until January and find a new club for him then. I've rejected offers from Arsenal and Hull City that just weren't good enough.

Here's how the table looks:



Sitting 3rd but with a game in hand on Hearts (against Celtic).

Veteran Englishman Joey Barton has joined Cowdenbeath and will join the club immediately. Joey, 34, had been a free agent since his contract with Norwich ran out in the Summer of 2016. Joey, often seen as the "bad-boy" of English football has never played in Scotland before and has spent his whole career in England bar one short spell with Marseille.



In other news, Elliot Bannon decided to withdraw his transfer request and stay at Cowdenbeath which I am delighted with.

Another good month, was very happy with the 2-0 win over Celtic in a game where we dominated and managed to prevent them from scoring. If only we could do that 5 days earlier...

We are definitely an improving side with a lot of brilliant young talent that I will be doing my best to keep hold of. Elliot Bannon is having a superb season and I'm so glad he's decided to stay.

Lewis Milne and Ross Davidson have both departed the club to make room for the new central midfielders who ave arrived (Joey Barton and Rui). Talking of which, Joey Barton has torn his hamstring and is out for 3-4 months in just his 3rd game for the club.

I also forgot to add that the club got taken over and Mr Findlay handed over the reins to Mr Morrison, who seems to be just as helpful.

So here's the table:




So, Celtic have ran away with the league already and it looks like I have secured 2nd unless anything drastic happens. Scotland's continental qualification has been upgraded so 2nd place now qualifies for a Champions League qualifying spot which should be good!

Awards:







A clean sweep for us. Now onto 2017!

I can announce three players who will join the club.

After the success of Germans Sergen Budak and Daniel Büttner at the club, the club have signed German center back Dustin Matuschak on a free transfer after Borussia Dortmund terminated his contract. Matuschak, 18, stands tall at 6ft 6" and is seen as a hot prospect for the future.

The next player to join the club was 24 year old Welshman Lloyd Isgrove. Because of the link the club have with Coventry City, Lloyd's parent club were able to send Lloyd to Cowdenbeath for him to have some first team football. Lloyd, a winger who can play on the left and the right, has joined the club until the end of the season.

Spanish right midfielder Eduardo has joined on a free transfer from giants Barcelona. Eduardo, 20, is seen as the next best signing for the future for Butterfield who is clearly looking to future stars for his side.