Blue Dragons

The Blue Dragons

Intro and Season one

So with the wind down of this years FM I’ve decided to try my first attempt at a documented save, so after falling down a YouTube rabbit hole about athletic Bilbao and Welsh independence don’t ask me how I went from one to the other, as a patriotic Welsh man and a avid Cardiff city fan I decided to adopt a Welsh only policy original I know so I’ve decided to start on a later start date.  so there’s a mass exodus of out of contract players leaving the club of perfect time for a rebuild amd a new image for the club going forward.

RULES 

1. Welsh only players to be signed

2. Second nationally Welsh are also aloud 

3. Any player to come through the youth system eligible

4. All players currently at the club are eligible

AIMS

I want to win the champions league with Cardiff as all Welsh and the World Cup with Wales, I also want to create an academy on par with Ajax, Barcelona. Develop players with attributes that I consider the fundamentals to my tactic and to being a high level football player namely

First touch: I mean if you can’t trap a ball this isn’t the game for you 

Technique: I mean who doesn’t love to see a outside of the boot pass 

Decisions: I don’t know why but seeming player play the obvious simple 5 yard pass is thrilling I’m sad 

Composure: just don’t crumble under pressure 

Positioning/off the ball:depending on where they play

And to test my theory that managing your u23s and u18s yourself can have a impact on development so i will be taking control of my u23s as well as the first team. 

Developing my philosophy of possession base fluid football they don’t call me Johan guardiola and by they I am course referring to the journalist that interviewed me in the shower, I will be using a 4-3-3 tactic that took me from league 1 to premier league champions with Ipswich 

Squad overhaul, so taking over on the 30th may with Alex smithies starting GK, Sean Morrison starting CB and captain, Joe Ralls arguably our best CM, Marlon Pack and Will Vaulks both out of contract so our midfield is going, Josh Murphy 10 million pound signing from the premiership days Aden Flint the 2 pound scruff, Leandro Bacuna i mean the less said the better and Ciron brown a squad player, and tommy Doyle, Jordan Hugil, Uche Ikpeazu all returning from loan. So a big job on my hands, so with one winger and 1 striker at the club and with 500k to play with. 

So my first signing was Christian Doidge a decent striker better than James Collins our only striker, cost me 425k paid over the odds but needed 

Next one in was Wes burns st/rw solid back up for 200k after a bit of rejigging the budgets

Then the end of contracts only decided on renewing Joe Ralls and Sean Morrison’s contacts so with 7 players leaving all on relatively big wage I was able to move the budget and got myself an extra 300k to play with.

So no3 is joe Jacobson former player and a decent  back up left back on a free 

No4 is Ryan broom backup CM  for a 100k

No5 Tom Lockyer over paid at 2.3 mill on the never never only 200k upfront 

and finally a couple of free agent signings in Cole Dasliva and Tom Lowery as squad players.

Alongside calling up some u23s that in IRL have made the step up this season in 

Eli King Isaak Davies Kerion Evans 

Start of the season 

Started very well only losing one game until the end of the transfer window unfortunately a 2-1 loss to Swansea, but solid 4-1 and 4-0 wins against hull and reading to start the season off put us top at the end of august.Then to start September off with a loss to another rival a penalty loss to Leeds in the carabao 3rd then with 2 wins a draw and a loss left us in 3rd to end September starting the run up to the World Cup break with a 3-1 win over West Brom but a very inconsistent October with 3 wins 2 draws and a loss.

Then to start off December with 3 wins and a loss only conceding 4 goals in 6 matches then straight into a draw against middlesbrough then into a unbeaten run from mid january to mid march 12 matches  w3ith lose being against a manchester united in the quarter final of the fa cup, the only one more loss until the end of the season annoyingly against forest who ended up the season doing the double over us, i mean a least it wasn't the doube of your a cardiff fan you know the pain, but eventually on the 22nd of april we were promoted with a 1-0 win over Blackburn 

Then to finish up with a draw and a win over birmingham and preston respectively now on to the prem