Pentagon [FM14]

Played till January:



2 wins from 6 and a few idiotic results leave us on the brink of being out of the running for promotion again.
`
From having 2nd spot to ourselves at one point to being 8 points off the lead, and a whole host of clubs ahead.

I've also made a couple of signings - first off:




From Leeds to Egypt? I've been far too optimistic admittedly.

However:



Yes, (English) lower league legend and part-time tank Magnus Okuonghae joins the club on a 2-year deal.
I've pretty much put my job at stake with his signing:



But he'll be the club captain, not to mention a decent tutor.



So that's the last of least season's back four gone - he had asked for a transfer at the start of the season, and his performances this season were those of a man whose heart isn't at the club.
So goodbye, and good riddance.



Bloody moron had rejected my advances the previous 5 times, and when I finally succeeds he goes on to get a 5.8 in his debut.
Imbecile.

But this is the one I'm most pissed off about:



Apparently only top-flight clubs and make pre-contract signings, so ENPPI swooped to get one of my most promising strikers on a free.
Oh well, I've left him out of my 25-man squad for the rest of the campaign so he can rot in the youth squads for all I care.

(Due to Susie being Susie and going down for the best part of Friday, I played out the season and and the new campaign's preseason.)

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Anyway... After the signing of Okounghae I had expected a renewed boost and a way back up the standings as we looked to claw our way back into promotion contention.

Well that didn't exactly happen:



There would inevitably be teething problems whenever a new teammate arrives, but I didn't expect this, to say the least.

It got so bad the board had to give me a pep talk to keep my spirits up:



Properly reassuring.



We (somehow) finish 6th, despite that disastrous run at the end there.

Player of the Season - Ahmed Yehia


The least inconsistent player this season by far, he contributed 10 of our goals and troubled defences with his trickery.
Rightly voted Fans' Player of the Year.

Failure of the Season - Magnus Okuonghae



Might be harsh to expect world-class performances from any player, but Okuonghae wasn't just any player (in this team) - he was signed with maximum terms under the assumption that he could lead the team to the next level.
The opposite happened; complete lack of communication with his defensive partners, making mistakes every match, and being a very insecure presence in general - ironic considering his build.

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Preseason

Transfers first:



Evidently, not the best window ever, as a lack of interest in Smouha and the dearth of talent available meant that the only external addition came on Deadline Day, with all other movements being in-house.
Good news though, as 4 of the highest-paid veterans have been released/retired, which shaves over $3k off the wage bill.



The departures meant that the only true playmaker was 36 year old Hany Ragab, so I had to stock up on the future.
Determination and Composure should provide a decent springboard.



This season's Abdel Fatah, except he was alternating with the former and that he's much lazier.
Case in point:



This coming from a striker with 2 goals from 10 starts.
Good bloody riddance.

And of course there's the Hamdy departure, which leaves the 25-man squad with this:



So all 3 of the best strikers of the last 2 seasons have gone, and we're left with this trio.

El Sayed will probably be playing in games where we're expected to dominate, Ibrahim is a good option on the counter, and Ragab plays the troubled upstart who has showed promise in the youth teams (even though, he's been here the longest).
Funny thing is though, Ibrahim is also providing cover for the left wing, as an inside forward.

And in defence, only Rabie and Okuonghae are starters, the others being filler from the youth squads in what is another show of my lack of planning.

You'll also notice that there aren't any loanees here; it's all in-house from here, hopefully.

On the playing side of things: in a bid to try and improve relations with him and the team I've made Okuonghae captain, only to realise that many in the team have had intentions to seize the captaincy.

As a result:



An abysmal preseason! yay
Really though, utter shambles; Rabie isn't talking to Okuonghae so the defence has been getting pulled all over the place, which means rookie Abdul Ghany (in for the injured Nyam) has had to deal with plenty of shots, which isn't ideal with he's only got a 1-on-1s attribute rating of 6.

So after preseason I decided to bow to the team's preferences and removed Okuonghae as captain, only to provoke this from half the team:







A rather accurate prediction for once.

I've played through to the start of 2017:



Could've been worse considering our preseason, but could've been better as well, looking at all those games where we failed to score.
The season started well enough results wise, with El Sayed getting a debut goal.

However he also tore his calf muscle which meant that he missed the 1st half of the season, and left us with 2 fit strikers.
It showed, as we repeatedly failed to capitalise on our chances, leading to multiple narrow losses.

On the plus side, Rabie and Okuonghae seem to have patched up after having turned on each other last season, and have formed a coherent partnership.



We're again in that 'Best of the Rest' position, not quite in a position to challenge for promotion, and having to look over our shoulders.

There's the 1st round of the Egyptian Cup, which we've managed to get past in the previous 2 seasons.



I don't like playing Ittihad, put it that way.

Oh, and some great news:



He's asked for a move in preseason, and looking at this situation he's hellbent on leaving.
Not much I can do anyway, as his contract ends in June.

Oh well, time to look for a replacement.

4 games left, are we still in the promotion race?



1 defeat in 6, but with 3 draws.
In general we've done well enough to keep the draws, but a lack of potency uptop leaves a lot to be desired.



10 points adrift with 12 available, safe to say we aren't in the running.

Transfers made as well:



He was targeted before the window, in light of our lack of striking options.
However, he tore his knee cartilage in his 1st training session which meant his eventual availability coincided with El Sayed's return to fitness.
(Is this how Wenger might feel now?)



He's also not yet started, as the CB partnership of Rabie and Okuonghae is going stronger than ever.
It's not like he's vary good though, might have been a mistake this.

Other things that happened:



Yes, his injury streak continued this season as we had to resort to playing Abdel Aty again.
Not that it turned out too bad though. in hindsight.

The bigger thing to happen as a result of this injury woes is his coming to terms that no one else would want a GK as fragile as him, and agreeing to sign a new deal.
It's great news, as it gives me a couple more years to find a proper goalkeeper.

Now for some bad news:



I'd have preferred he'd not be leaving, as none of our other guys have his experience.
We might have a passable replacement in Ashour though, who hasn't been abysmal when he's played.

Finally, a new batch of youngsters:



Put it this way: if Tamer Hassan turns out to be anything more than a youth reject I'll eat his hat.

Also, note to self - when managing in the lower leagues always take charge of signing your own youth candidates, not your Head of Youth Development, who possesses no ruthless streak to speak of and signs everyone up for the ride to 'boost the numbers for your youth team'.

So I've completed the 3rd season of my Egyptian stint:



Not a bad end at all - 10 from 12, and finally getting one over the enemy that is Ittihad.



We finish 5 points off 1st, and 5 from 5th as well, not that we were in the title race though.
We've also regained our defensive solidity, but the goalscoring still proves problematic.

Players of the season:

Magnus Okuonghae:

Finally performing to the standards expected of him, he has been a colossus in defence and forged a decent partnership with Mohamed Rabie at the back.
If I'm being picky his only problem is not scoring enough headers, considering he's probably the most physical player in the league.

Ahmed Yehia:

Ever-present this season, a league-high 10 assists - Yehia's gone from strength to strength this time round.

Sherif Samir:

Top scorer (with 10) this season despite missing 3 months with a broken ankle, it kind of shows the problems we have in attack.
But he's 21 already, and if this is all he can develop to by this point then it might be time to re-evaluate his place at the club.

Just completed what was a bumper preseason:



The good thing about playing this much is the revenue generated that keeps us in the black (particularly after last season - we played a couple towards the end to keep us from finishing the campaign in the red).
Bad thing is, I've already played half a season's worth of games having not even started it yet.

It's not been the best preseason anyway - 4 wins from 10 would've been had we not beaten some of the bigger sides in that set, which meant that we weren't beating those that we were expected to either.

No transfers this season, everyone's in-house:



...but 2 departures, both right-backs.
The significant one is Abdulla Mehdat, who had been an unspectacular player for us (with the occasional howler), and when an offer came I could let him go and promote one of my youth-teamers, safe in the knowledge that it's mediocrity at worst.

Mansour's just a youth player who was never going to reach greatness, put it that way.

What of the non-transfers then? Well, Nyam's just put in yet another transfer request (no surprises there), but:



He's on his final year of his contract here, and it looks set to be nothing beyond that.
Quite sad really, he went from being a branded a laughingstock and a flop by his own fans to bucking up an producing dominant performances last season, culminating in him winning the Fans' Player of the Year award; too bad that renewed relationship looks set to come to an end.

I can't really tell if it's good or bad - on one hand, I can save over $2k p/w in wages, not to mention $625 in appearance fees.
He's also 32, which means paying through the nose till he's halfway to his forties isn't the best longterm plan.

Anywho, this is this season's registered squad:



Fathi's the aforementioned youth rightback, and he might have to cover for the left after Fawaz Hussein was ruled out for a couple of months.

Played to the end of November:



It's been a nightmare so far, we've sorely lacked incision this season with players taking potshots, largely to little effect.
We've also been very susceptible to concessions of goals from set pieces, which has gifted opponents points despite not dominating.



Maybe the bookies are right and I'm not destined to pull off a top-half finish....

On a related note, have a look at Hany El Sayed:



It's probably my fault for persisting with him for so long, but no goals in 8 starts? Ridiculous.

I've played to the end of what has been a nightmare season:



This season had it all - well almost, only we didn't manage to get any consistent form.
Hugo Patrick Nyam signalled his desire to leave this season with a series of highly incompetent performances, while Hany El Sayed continued to lead the attack due to injuries - at least he scored 3, albeit after a 16-game goal drought.



Well in the bottom half, and deservedly so.

What of the Cup, then?



Epitomised our problems this season, really - extremely wasteful, conceding a late goal, and an injury.

Players of the Season

Mohamed Mabrouk:

A breakthrough season for the youth product, and now firmly my starting box-to-box midfielder.
Chipped in with a couple of goals.

Ahmed Yehia:


It's a damning indictment of the team that Yehia makes the list again.
Heck we might've finished higher had it not been for his injury layoff.

Now for the transfers:



Aziz Awad was the 4 choice centreback who was never going to break the Okuonghae-Rabie partnership, so I was never going to pass up the chance to let him play in the Egyptian Premier League.
Obviously he didn't do well there.

Samir's deal was expiring this season and he wanted more than treble his current wages (despite having very minimal improvement), so off he went.



Look at him, almost makes me not regret letting him go.



Mohamed El Sayed was signed as a stopgap after Samir left and my 2nd-choice left winger tore his calf muscle.
He's not very good, but neither am I.

Also, a future deal:


He was intent on leaving, and considering the season we just had I don't blame him.
He was one of our better performers this season (much better than Hany anyway) but was starting striker, and main culprit, of our loss in the cup.

At least solace can be found in our youth intakes:



The only proper talent from this bunch, but what a talent! I'll be looking to build my team around him next season.

A new campaign, a new preseason:



2 wins and 5 losses in 8 is ultimately a failure, but a win and a draw against Premier League Haras and Al-Ahly respectively aren't too shabby.
But of course that was countered with losing 4-1 to non-league Grand Hotel, so it's still a bit shit.



I'm not that optimistic.

Now for the transfers:



Did a bumper stocktaking this time round, and got rid of some key players for the better good of the young'uns.

Nyam left because he's a disloyal turd (not intentioanlly racist).

Emam after 3 starts in 2 years.

Mohamed because he was becoming increasingly disinterested and I have a better-motivated box-to-box midfielder in Mabrouk.

Ibrahim was previously mentioned.

Despite being name Fans' Player of the Year for the 2nd time in 3 years Yehia wasn't going to get any better, and when an offer from newly-promoted-to the Premier-League Suez FC came knocking I couldn't resist.

Win-win really, Yehia gets to play in the top-flight and I get to develop Mr.Ragab, who had been wanting to move out on loan last season due to a lack of playing time

Rabie had been angling for a move this preseason and it showed in his disinterested performances in the friendlies.

I had to cash in on him anywaay, considering his deal was ending this season.

Salama joins Yehia at Suez, who for some reason have him starting - which will inevitably end badly.

Useless.

Now for the signings:


Farag is at an age where he could still develop, and at $190 p/w is very inexpensive considering the players whoo wanted upwards of $500.


If everything goes to plan, then Samir would probably be only a stopgap.
It's not like he can't hold his own as well, so he would provide decent cover if needed.


Iheanacho is the prospective longterm GK for the team, and is a fairly low-risk proposition too - $65 p/w.

Of course being the utter genius that I am I had failed to spot the real reason for his lack of demands:


He's only 21.

"A broken nail" and "A strong headache"

Don't underestimate strong headaches!

How does a headache spread to someone else?

Think it's from an injury DB I downloaded, must have attempted to make it possible to send players home fro headaches as in real life, clearly wrong though

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Anyway... Played till New Year's Eve 2018:



Season started terribly, as our defence crumbled against Tanta and we subsuquently lost to a late piledriver.
Got a couple of half decent wins as we got a run going, but nothing too impressive.
It wasn't until late in the match against El Dakhleya that things got really started - a striking crisis meant that I had to play a 4-6-0, which turned out quite well.
It proved to be very useful against teams who played 5 in midfield, as we were able to overwhelm them while not having to drop the wingers - and there were quite a few of those teams.



All this point to a comfortable lead at the top of the table, as we look to go back up after 4 years in the wilderness.
It's more impressive when considering that we were 8 points off top at one point.

And now the Cup:



At least we actually got through to the next round this year.



If we can handle them as effectively as we did last time out, then it''ll be a walk in the park. IF.

Cracking stuff. Was going to suggest that you look at moving clubs. But the start you have had to this season maybe you can gain the important promotion. If not, think it maybe time.

I don't think anyone else wants me

I think I'd stay regardless though, there are some cracking youth prospects here, and I'd love to hack it with the youngest squad in the league.

Played to the end of the season - could we go all the way?



Pretty much, as we continued our relentless march to the tile (and promotion).
Well there was the odd blip along the way but Olympic Alexandria were only too happy to hand us back our advantage while the rest of the league was on a different level.
We won the tile at Telecom Egypt, on yet another matchday where Alexandria dropped points yet, this time ruling them out of overhauling us.



Top scorers, despite not playing with a regular recognised forward for the 1st time in my tenure.

Star Performers

Anwar Ragab:
Directly involved in 15 goals in 21 starts, Ragab's gone a long way to vindicating the decision to sell Yehia.
He's still not quite like his predecessor though - maybe it's because he's now surrounded by better players than Yehia did, and he didn't stand out.
Either way I'm not really complaining, so long he provides the goods.

Mohamed Mabrouk:
Ever-present in the box-to-box role this season, and rightly so - he more than makes up for the lack of men up top with his regular runs forwards and becoming an auxiliary striker.
9 goals was just reward for his dedication.

Walid Ahmed:
The tip of the diamond in my 4-3-3-0 setup, his height and strength allows him to effectively be a deep-lying targetman.
Holding the ball up with his back to goal, then passing into space for the inside forwards to run to is a regular highlight this season.
2 twisted ankles meant that he wasn't able to play as much as he could, but with 5 goals and 7 assists in 11 starts it's hard to ask for much more, considering he's not even 18 yet.

Mahmoud Farag:
Definitely the surprise package this season, and apparently the biggest beneficiary of our formation change.
I didn't expect a lot - no real speed, relatively poor reading of the game, and no real finishing ability, but somehow he managed to find himself making the right runs and be in the right place when it mattered.
He's also got only 3 assists despite being much better at crossing than most other things, but again - who am I to complain?

Now for some other items on the agenda:



Teams kept offering $15k with instalments, with the odd 100k offer up front, for an immediate deal.
I wasn't going to lose him this season though, not when we were about to get promoted.
As the transfer window ended Al Mokawloon were the most persistent, pushing till the latter hours, till they agreed to let us keep him till the end of next season, when we will need his help to stay up.
200k upfront was pretty useful too. (Not really, I don't spend anyway - we did find ourselves back in the black though.)



Really unfortunate that he spurned the opportunity to join us in the Premier League, and despite his occasional troubles, he did win a Fans' Player of the Year award, which definitely counts for something.

So here's his replacement:



Few problems - he're a right back, which means he'll need time to adapt to playing in the centre; he's 19, which is awfully young for a starting defender in the Premier League, even taking our squad into consideration; and being foreign, which means potential problems with adapting.

At least he's cheap - on a free and $40 p/w.

We've also got a new bunch of young'uns:



Nothing too spectacular, though I hope to be proven wrong (as I had been previously).

That's not the most interesting thing about this batch though - there's a Singaporean! Hopefully he's at least half-decent:



.. No.
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Oh right, the Cup!



We definitely struggled between the equaliser and our 2nd goal, but after that we tore them apart with our counter-attacking.



Premier League opposition at home - definitely could be better, but at least it's not Zamalek away!

Congrats on the league win - and with such a young squad. How do you rate your chances in the Prem? I know there are some good teams (Zamalek, Al Ahly and so) but how's the rest?

So my 1st top-flight campaign in Egypt (in FM14 at least) starts, well with preseason:



Unbeaten yes, but most of the teams were lower-league opposition, so it's kind of moot.
There was a goalless draw wth a Zola-managed Sassuolo, and a narrow loss to Ismaily.
We coped well enough with their attacks (and had more shots in fact) but we weren't able to put it away when it mattered - which is the main worry for the team, because I've persisted with a strikerless gameplan.

Now for transfers:



Fawaz Hussein didn't play for much of last season at LB (despite being played out of position there for the best part of 3 years) as it became clear that his lack of defensive nous was never going to be covered sufficiently by his attack threat.

Mostafa wanted far too much for his ability, so I let him go - admittedly I should have given him what I wanted considering we were in the PL and an increase in wages were inevitable.
But the cup loss had shown that he wasn't going to cope well with right wingers running past him.

Awad was unhappy at not playing, while (rather embarrassingly) I forgot to renew Samir's deal.

Then there's this:



Al Mokawloon have paid us nearly a million SGD within 6 months, not bad for 2 youth graduates.
Hassan wasn't exactly a regular in my team anyway - he had some insane mentals and was regarded to be the best player in the team by the staff, but his lack of passing and marking ability were dealbreakers (he had come a long way too - they were both 5 when he 1st emerged in the youth team).

This is his replacement:



Played for Aluminium last season, I think it's quite clear that he won't be starting.
However he'll be an experienced and versatile option off the bench, being able to play in defence, DM or central midfield.

Also,





Got relegated with Al-Gaish last season, he was (predictably) getting restless and eventually got his wish - a move to a fellow 2nd division team.
Wanted to get him on loan but Al-Gaish would only let him go permanently.

Among other things:
- I signed a new deal, with the promise of new youth facilties,
- And Mohamed Mabrouk won the Fans' Player of the Year award.

This is the tentative registered team:



Give or take a deadline-day foreign signing.


I'm not optimistic - the last time I got to the Premier League I had also struggled for years in the 2nd division and got promoted with a team full of youth prospects as well.
That time round we lost our 1st 4 matches and I jumped ship when an offer from China came in.
They did survive relegation that time round though, so there's still hope.



I think the defence should hold up well enough, but the lack of strikers (at all) might prove costly when we need a cutting edge.

So with Susie going own on us yet again, I've played to the halfway point of the season:


The season started with 2 half-creditable draws and 2 losses, as we struggled to solidify a relatively new defence (new RB and Yao).
Then came some respite against whipping boys Damanhour, and we made full use of that to get our 1st win.

An inevitable defeat to Zamalek followed, before a comeback win against Masry kick-started our season, going 6 games unbeaten against the mid-table sides and big spending Al Mokawloon.
Then another inevitable loss against Al-Ahly, before another win and loss.

We finished this round with wins against ex-parent club Petrojet and Haras El-Hodoud.


Damanhour are hands down the worst side in the league, and will need to improve significantly to avoid a Derby-like humiliation.
Petrojet are also in serious trouble, they started with probably the worse defence in the league (bar Damanhour's) and resorted to playing their right back in the centre when playing 3-5-2.

Some news now:



I might consider buying him back if he doesn't enjoy his stay.



We now have over a million in the bank, and it was high time we put some of that to good use.
I've not touched much of the budgets, so this was the logical step.

Then one day, one of my players came knocking on my door:


Firstly, he's not exactly set the world alight enough to warrant a new deal; secondly, he does still have time on his deal; and least but not least, he's actually quite replaceable, considering our current standing.

And that's what I've done:


Gibson had been on trial in preseason, but I scoffed at his wages.
Over time he's lowered his demands somewhat, I've got a spare slot in midfield, and a foreign slot as well.

Oh yeah, I've got myself a new gig:


Funny how they've employed me (literally) on the eve of the start of the Asian Games.


I used the 4-6-0 with Smouha on this team, and picked a team with players who probably have never played with each other before.
So it's not too bad.
(On a side note, SI needs to work on the U23 system - hiring managers on the eve of tournaments, no squad registrations needed (seriously, complete overhauls mid-tournament are possible with little or no effect on team familiarity)).



Next round we met the giants that are Turkmenistan(not really):



We dominated possession (as is the objective of packing a midfield), and had the same number of shots as they did, but they were more clinical when it mattered.



11 days.

Yeah it wasn't his debut and he didn't just score a debut goal.

Played to the end of the season - could we avoid relegation?


Well yes, but it could and should have been better.

The unbeaten run had confirmed our participation in the Premier League next season, and we were looking to consolidate 5th in the midtable scrap.
However, a 4-game lossless streak quickly turned into 6 winless games, featuring 3 of the top 4 - which sent us tumbling down a very tight table.
At least we ended with consecutive wins.


Al Mokawloon went absolutely nuts with the goals, playing with a mentality not dissimilar to Manchester City and averaging almost 4 goals per game - their starting strike pair scored 62 of their goals.
But like City, their defence possessed a hilarious capacity to fail, as seen by conceding 7 in 2 encounters against us.

Zamalek were much more sensible, with an ability to put games to bed efficiently (a la Chelsea) and stepped up to win the title.

Al Ahly were the big chokers, which wasn't surprising considering Smouha old boy Hani Abdel Fatah was leading the line - a sheer inability to break vital deadlocks proved to be their undoing.

Ismaily weren't exactly challengers from Day 1, but improved to finish among the big guns.



And what of us?


Players of the Season:
(Usual suspects really)



Achieving double figures for goals and assists, as well as winning the most MoM awards, he's probably the best player this season.
He's also attracting interest from Qatari and Korean sides, but it's not like I need to sell him anyway.



Another double-doubles man, his shooting might be slightly wayward but he deserves to be named as such.

\
Joint-top scorer. as he (as usual) became a finisher of chances, rather than a creator.
He could do with better consistency though.



The languid playmaker who was our starting Enganche yet again, he's not highly regarded by the staff, but he plays because of him being an auxiliary target man.
He's not shown much improvement despite starting virtually every match when fit, but he is still only 18, so there might yet be hope.


Another batch of dude coming the youth system:

We seem to be going through a lean period as the youth facilities are being upgraded, and so it proved.

And who's up for the Cup?


We were paired with Ismaily in the 1st round, and provided a good defensive performance to ensure Ragab's goal was enough.

So it was terribly unfortunate that it came at a price:


From being one of the key players in the club, to inevitably becoming a shadow of what he was and facing a fight to keep his place in the team.


We put that aside for the moment with a empathic win against the Telephones.
Isaac Gibson started in place of Mabrouk (who needed a rest) and he rewarded my decision with an MoM performance.


We were much adventurous compared to previous encounters. but still ended up in defeat, with only a consolation to show for our efforts.

Season... 7? Yeah, and here's preseason:



6 wins from 6, albeit all coming against lower-league opposition.

Couple of other things:


Well deserved - he's now regarded as a legend in these parts.


The price of success.


Seems like the only think this achieves is bringing forward the completion of the youth facilities by a year, but if we can afford it...


Now for the transfers (and there are quite a few):


Most of the arrivals are insignificant - 2 were youth candidates who were put pen to paper after they'd left after their trial, while the loanee was a GK who made up the numbers.



Formerly of Haras El Hodoud, he was signed to replace Hamada, who had been injured and couldn't be re-signed in time, and Zahran who is neither fit nor ready.

Of the departures, Fatallah didn't want to re-sign, Alaa and Salama were surplus to requirements, while the loanees weren't getting game time.

Ashour left because he wasn't going to develop any further, and to make way for a (admittedly overlooked) product of last year's youth intake.


He's very similar to Ashour, but he's also got consistency (apparently) which will do him a world of good.


Ibrahim wasn't getting game time being stuck behind Mabrouk and Gibson in the pecking order, so he was sold for a nice a mount of cash.
He was immediately loaned out to fellow Premier League side Masr El Makasa, so they might know something about him that I've missed.


But all these pale in comparison to the big deals:


After not winning the title despite scoring 120 goals in the league last season, Al Mokawloon made a huge statement of intent by signing their title rival's star striker for nearly $4 million.
It just so happens that the man in question is Hani Abdel Fatah, and we managed to earn the above amount, doubling our coffers in the process.
Not bad for a guy who only averaged 1 goal in 4 games with us.


Significantly less, but still hilarious as Al Mokawloon managed to make a loss despite Hamada not playing a game for them.

(It turns out that the club were able to afford all this thanks to a couple of Canadian tycoons financing all this - how odd.)


I had wanted to sell Yao, but the boost to our balances allowed me too loosen the pursestrings slightly.


I'll have to retract my comments on last year's youth intake, as 6 of them will make it to this year's 30-man squad.


Not that (as usual) we're expected to pull up any trees this season.

Good pre season AHAK looks really promising. I do like that high determination. Good luck!

I've played to the middle of what has been a topsy-turvy season:



An opening loss to Petrojet threatened to set the tone for the season, but 3 games unbeaten (including a shock win against Al-Ahly) steadied the ship somewhat.
After that run, however, we lost 4 games on the trot as I was ridiculed for being tactically stubborn; changing things in the win over Tersana seems to have vindicated the press' criticism, but watching the match in progress it's easier to dismiss it as a (computerised) placebo.

We then lost our next game, went 5 games undefeated and resumed the inconsistent nature of our team - 2 wins in 7, as the nadir came in the loss to Al-Gaish.
After the match I fined half the starting XI of 2 weeks' wages, which riled some of them - most eventually understood, but Farag (left winger-cum-top scorer) and Elregal (the new arrival and cantreback) argued and were subsequently transfer-listed.
(I don't mind losing them either - Elregal's fitness problems and general lack of concentration were a huge problem towards the latter parts of matches, while though Farag is the top-scorer with 5 goals, he's far too selfish and takes too many chances: less then a fifth of his shots have resulted in a goal.)

Now for the good news:



Step one to making this club self-sustainable is complete, so I immediately asked for step 2 to commence.



Problem is, going by the figures shown, it'll cover the whole balance of the club, which conveniently stands at 2.2 million.

Keep it up dude!

Thanks for keeping up with this as well!

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Another season, another opportunity to ponder about 'what ifs':



2 losses in 12, yes, but also 4 draws - including one against cellar-dwellers Suez FC, where we repeatedly failed to break them down, and trailed for most of the match.
Also, interesting how a couple of draws can offer very different perspectives - case in point, no wins in 4 turning into unbeaten in 5.
Regardless, we did end with 3 straight wins, and that's undeniably positive.


Either way, an improvement on last season and generally disproving doubters, but having shown an ability to beat Al-Ahly it does make one wonder what might have been if we managed to get some form when it mattered.

Players of the season

Mohamed Adel:
2 goals and 9 assists aren't all that impressive,but in a season without real standouts he did his part.
It's also commendable how he has reinvented himself, from a midfield scrapper and squad player, to deep-lying schemer and club captain.

Anwar Ragab:Missed the start of the season to a torn calf muscle, he has come back with his pace intact and 1st-team place relatively unscathed.
(Which is another sign of how overpowered speed is in FM, clearly.)

Adama Yao:Hands down the best of an admittedly under-par defensive group, he's not done much but we'd probably be worse off without him - which might come to fruition if he wants yet another raise.
Not that I've no complaints about him though - his aerial prowess when attacking corners is absolutely abysmal, and the goal he scored was with the hammer that was his right foot.

Walid Ahmed:Virtually no obvious improvement seen in his time here, the decision to trigger a 3-year extension to his contract looks increasingly like a masterstroke.
Still, 6 goals and 5 assists.

Mohamed Mabrouk:He'd set the bar for himself in seasons past, and though it's quite high the fact that he couldn't really meet it hurt our chances.
He'd been looking increasingly ineffectual and error-prone in recent games, so fingers crossed he'll find his lost form, or we'll be in some trouble.

Also, a new batch of youngsters have arrived:


I know that I've been very prone to underestimating my youth products, but this year's batch does look inferior to the ones of seasons past.
I've signed them all up just in case, but I just don't see it from these guys.

Now WHO'S UP FOR THE CUP!?!?!?!??!?!?!??!?!

Round 1 was against Premier League opponents the Police Union:


We trailed, got one of their guys sent off, hit back in the 2nd half, conceded a late set-piece header, had our own man dismissed, scored an even later tap-in, then this:


It's almost like the match engine wants penalties.


Well we prevailed - not that I knew how, I couldn't watch.

Next round was yet another PL team, this time the 4th-placed Masry:


We didn't exactly dominate proceedings, but rode our luck to extra time.
In yet another masterstroke Yao was taken off to keep (what was left of) him fresh for the next round (which we didn't reach), and the defence crumbled like the figurative cookie.

(You're now sick of this aren't you) Another season, another period of preparation commonly known as pre-season:


If you disregard the Club Brugge loss as a money-spinning write-off, we've gone unbeaten this time round.

Beating Al-Ahly was a nice touch, but we were quite sloppy against Shabab.
At least we won the last 2 comfortably, where the team dabbled with keeping their shape instead of hassling opponents from the word go.

Of course a proper preseason won't be complete with an injury - of which there were quite a few knocks - and this was the kicker:


Awesome - best CB out for the start of the season.



Yay!


Not yay.
Can't say I didn't expect it though, I've previously mentioned that the strain on the finances would be significant.
Glad the higher-ups made a decision with my philosophy in mind and kept the youth facilities.


Oh right, yay!

Now for the transfers - the only arrival:


And yes, I fully intend to convert him into a centreback within his 2 seasons at the club.


Fan favourite Farag was mercilessly cut loose as his wages didn't tally with his ability and I had 2(!) up-and-coming left wingers lying in wait.
Everyone else were youth fodder who should have cut it but didn't.


Weak in the air, prone to losing his man, and injury-prone - not the best things a young footballer can have.
I should probably have re-trained him to a DM, but what's done is done, really.


His contract was up at the end of the season, and he really didn't warrant a raise - I wouldn't have paid him what I did on hindsight!
Considering offers of 50k were the norm 6 months ago, 110k represented good profits.

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The bookies are expecting 14th - with this team I've no idea how it'll turn out if I'm honest.