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#273955 2015/16 Barclays Premier League Thread
Eric Portapotty
I'd heard about that on the BBC, fuck me what a ridiculous nothing story.
#273930 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
Check out the big brain on Kev!
#273807 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
We continued to cope without Yao or Amin, but it seemed like it was our attack who missed a spark or two (Abdellaoui? Nah), so it was quite the relief when Ibrahim rammed home the opener.
Then you stick a pace babby (Farouk) and play on the counter to make it safe.
Completely ballsed up the gameplan here, wanted to soak up pressure to play on the counter, only to find ourselves boxed in by an Al Ahly side who were dominant on the day.
Then Abdel Kader (the CB) did what we did, we tried to play more proactively, but in reality it was too late.
A good, if slightly nervous recovery win over another title challenger - we never really felt comfortable despite being in the lead throughout the match.
Still, a vital win which keeps Damanhour at bay.
Another 2-2 draw, Ismaily are proving an extremely tough nut to crack.
Mabrouk continued his good season with another brace, looks like he's becoming a source of goals again.
We faffed about in the 1st period, but returned after the interval determined to add some gloss to the scoreline.
So we did.
The Smouha winning machine hasn't exactly stopped, but Al Ahly can definitely see a bridgeable gap, so it'll make for a rather uncomfortable next couple of months.
In transfer news:
Bye, you've served us well in your time here, but you could've been more clinical.
In fairness his contract was due to be up at the end of the season, so by selling him we avoid losing him on a free.
Wasn't overly keen on giving him a new deal anyway, given his relative haplessness in front of goal.
Much like Diouf and Dadzie, we had to wait some time before he turned 18 and was eligible to move overseas.
Hie trump card is clearly his finishing, if we can improve the other aspects of his game he might just prove to be a useful asset.
In international news:
On hindsight, it was never going to be an enriching stint to begin with, without the prospect of tournaments.
You'll note that none of our Egyptian players got called up, for the simple reason of the Egyptian NT's failure to qualify for the tournament proper - they lost out to DR Congo in the qualifiers, finishing 2nd where only 1st qualifies.
Shock turn of events considering Egypt's stature in the African game, but with a qualification system like that it was always going to be brutal.
#273640 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
#273623 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
I see, so it's not some propaganda tripe that the powers that be want us to believe - that's good I guess.
#273587 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
#273583 Transfer Rumours 2015/16
Eric Portapotty
You'd get a player who's had a good season or so in Ligue 1 over one who has been a solid Premier League striker?
I mean the money's a big factor, but putting it into context the last thing Liverpool need is dumping cash on unproven quality.
#273527 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
Miracles have happened ladies and gentlemen, Mounir Abdellaoui has scored.
In less pleasing news Salah Amin broke his ankle and would be out for the next couple of months; sure he's not been the most confident of centrebacks but he has also been a key part of our backline for the least season or so.
Oh wow, Abdellaoui's on a 'roll', a penalty converted despite doing nothing else all match.
Magnificent performance, El Ashri even taught Abdellaoui a thing or two about contributing when not scoring with 2 assists.
Well, oh how quickly things can change.
Abdellaoui had yet another dire showing up front, and unfortunately for his it was the last straw - he's not transfer listed and I'm expecting bids.
Worse still Yao would be out for a month or so, leaving us without our starting centrebacks, while Hossam Ibrahim got himself idiotically sent off, depriving us our our ball-playing 3rd choice CB for the next match at least.
Well that was a surprisingly good performance from what was an untested back 4, El Ashri being the hero again, really what Abdellaoui hasn't done for some time.
Still having a comfortable lead, we will need to maintain it in the event of our inevitable collapse in the 2nd half of the season.
#273063 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
We lost the 2nd half, conceded 2 goals, I've failed everyone.
Abdel Kader revisiting his goalscoring instincts though, not all bad.
Zamalek seem to be a pale shadow of their former glory days, and having sold their Italian stopper to Torino they've had to rely on their (admittedly talented) youth product.
Not that he saved them though, we took the game by the scruff of the neck and never really let go.
Played primarily on the break, but we found ourselves up against a shotstopper who woke up on the right side of the bed it seemed.
But cometh the hour, cometh the man - Hajji with his 1st goal for the club since arriving on loan.
An important win, since we've always had massive problems playing Wadi Degla in the past couple of seasons.
Too easy.
Also, Abdellaoui started (not up top, but on the left wing) and provided a cross for Abdel Kader to tap in.
Still, it's not like he's suddenly back in form or that I'm going to give him another shot - he needs more than just 1 assist - preferably a goal against a top side - for me to do that.
2 points clear at the top with a game in hand, unbeaten and 7 wins in 7 - looks good so far.
Meanwhile Haras El Hodoud have wilted, and Talaat seems to have been found out - his pace was (and is) his main weapon, but other sides have caught on that and most of his match reports now involve him possessing an inability to win headers.
#272888 2014/15 Fantasy Football
Eric Portapotty
All Out Attack is playing a 2-5-3;
Triple Captain trebles your captain's points;
Bench boost adds your bench's points to your points total.
As far as I can tell it's also a 1 gameweek thing only?
#272866 2014/15 Fantasy Football
Eric Portapotty
The 3 new items on top look like intriguing additions.
#272759 Transfer Rumours 2015/16
Eric Portapotty
#272733 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
#272289 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
We didn't do enough to put the game, and it turned out that we didn't do enough to secure the 3 points either.
We had the upper hand in possession, but El Gouna were significantly better at creating their chances here.
The opposition gaffer said post-match that our late winner was undeserved - he's right, if only because neither side were clinical enough to warrant a victory.
Mabrouk with another good showing to show that he's not yet a spent force, but a lackluster 2nd half led to a nervy finish.
In the only match Abdellaoui started this month he provided an assist, but as can be seen from the stats it's evident how the rest of his game went.
Farouk at the double and an El Ashri strike ensured a great 1st period, in contrast to another dull 2nd half.
An unbeaten month sends us up 2nd, behind a side now led by one of our own - Mohammed Talaat going from strength to strength with 7 goals and 3 assists in 8 matches, sending Haras El-Hodoud up top.
#271828 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
Transfers (and boy were there some):
Keynote signing of the window, a transfer 3 years in the making - a scout on assignment in France managed to find him, and with those attributes and mentality it was effectively a no-brainer.
Didn't hurt that he bid his farewell to his old club with a gift:
Yeah it is the French third tier, but 16 goals at 17 in a proper league is an achievement.
And yes he's gone on loan at Watford, who being in the Premier League will provide him with vastly superior training and footballing quality, now to mention relieving him of the prospect of playing in Egypt's youth leagues.
Hajji comes in as our 2nd choice LB after Yao was sent out to Damanhour for regular game time.
Can't cross to save his life, but seems reliable enough on the ball.
Yes another prospect is cashed in way too soon, only this time for double the money.
Musah was then loaned back to us only to find out that in signing with Twente at all he was removed from the Confederation Cup squad, so he wasn't available against TP Mazembe anyway.
Then came deadline day:
A million for a guy who is an athlete and nothing much else? I snatched their hand off, put it that way.
I genuinely doubt that they'll even attempt to play him anyway, his technical attributes are just far too poor.
I'd wanted to sign him on loan once Diouf left on loan, but it turned out that he only had 6 months left on his previous deal and a loan would be cut short.
At this point Shawky was already gone so I'd be left with fewer forwards than I'd like, so I bit the bullet and got him.
Slightly predictable, but good graft might go some way to making up for it.
Friendlies now:
A whitewash, but what about the Friendly Cup?
Put the reserves out in the hope of the fit first XI for the final, though we nearly had no need for them, having had to get through on penalties.
Real beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0, so that first XI will have some challenge:
In a game of some truly awful finishing, El Ashri took his chance and got the goal of a lifetime.
But I expected better from Real, their firepower really let them down on the day.
Though it has to be said, winning the Cup wasn't much - having Real over was a huge success, as there were sellouts in both their games, and we managed to double our gate receipts over last season - in preseason.
Well now that we conquered the Spaniards, could we do the same against the Congolese?
An away goal buts us in good stead for the return leg.
But it could have been more, save for Abdellaoui being classice Abdellaoui - being absolutely atrocious against the first top side that he encounters.
Such an utter bullshit match, one controversial penalty, and another in the dying moments of the game - absolutely rigged.
And with that our 3 loanees (Jose Carlos, backup GK Hajji and Musah) bid farewell, having no need for them for the league campaign.
Onto the league now, and a chance for revenge against our final-day nightmares of last season:
Why couldn't we do this last season?
Difficult game, they were a constant threat on the break, and we should have lost this.
Same, save for the fact that we should've held on for the win.
Oh and what a surprise, Abdellaoui was hapless in both matches, being hauled off after offering minimal quality.
Should've won by more, but with our finishing being consistently subpar I'll take a 2-0.
Finishing August with 8 points having faced 2 fellow moneybag sides and Ah Ahly doesn't sound too bad, but I'm not so sure.
This team's mentality has increasingly been about dominating proceedings, and the inability to put games to bed despite that is cause for concern.
On a brighter note, Franck Yao is 1st choice LB for Damanhour, but outshinging him is Mohammed Talaat, with a whopping 4 goals and 1 assist in is 1st 4 games - I seem to have terribly underrated him it seems.
#271811 Transfer Rumours 2015/16
Eric Portapotty
At least we can reminisce that Moyes happened as well.
#271402 Newcastle Thread
Eric Portapotty
I still can't quite get my head around how Shola's opinion differs so much from the average Newcastle fan.
#271001 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
#270997 Transfer Rumours 2015/16
Eric Portapotty
#270785 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
BTW mate no more vids?
#270669 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
I need a life.
#269693 Transfer Rumours 2015/16
Eric Portapotty
#269691 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
Aye, the disparity in finances is huge, seems like the only way to join the big boys is to get a sugardaddy at this rate.
-------------------
Egyptian Cup time, a chance to defend our title (with that in mind I decided not to holiday through the Cup).
Easy enough, though El Ashri would get an injury that would rule him out of the rest of the tournament.
Quite relieved that it'd be this easy against Zamalek, they had one of the best defences in the league last season
We seem to have found a way to counter El Gouna's narrow diamond consistenly, by matching it and playing wide on our strikerless system.
Musah did very well here, used his pace to great effect for his goal.
The semi-final lineup included: 4 tycoons' clubs and Al Ahly - might be a one-off, but the effect of money seems to be showing.
Only Al Moqaoloun stood between us and another shot at the Cup then:
Unfortunately our capacity to choke reared its head yet again.
Players of the Season
Mohamedd Ibrahim
It's quite impressive considering he was out of favour at the start of the season having had a poor disciplinary record the season before, but he worked his way back up to the first XI.
Ahmed Hassan Abdel Kader
Mounir Abdellaoui
The fact is he chokes afar too much in the bigg occasions, and I find myself increasingly preferring t drop him in clutch encounters for the olikes of El Ashri.
Ahmed El Ashri
He' still not sufficiently established to dislodge the former in my opinion, but if my plans to offload Abdellaoui do (somehow) come to fruition then he can probably expect starting regularly.
Mahmoud Abdel Fatah
Wadi Degla (apparently) underachieved horribly, but they still contrived to give us a hell of a time in our 2 games.
Zamalek should've been in their place, save for an impressive recovery after a nightmarish start to the season.
Wow, didn't see that coming to be honest, particularly consideirng he's only a loanee.
Unfortunately it looks like he's already had his last season at Smouha - Inter have transfer listed him and will let his contract run out; given he's being paid $11k currently I'll be looking to make do with Wael El Sayed.
Good news, but compare this to Al Ahly's average attendance - it's why they can cope at the top for so long despite having no tycoon, and shows the amount of work we have to do to even have a whiff of that financial stability.
Though the board has looked to boost attendances:
I was frankly flabbergasted when they pulled this off, Real fucking Madrid in Alexandria, whould've thunk it.
Though it can probably go two ways, either we get maximum gates and land a windfall, or no one cares and we stare ever more deeply into the shithole having spent (presumably) loads in getting these clubs in.
Unfortunately it's sandwiched between one of our most important matches of the season, in an already packed preseason:
Yes, we play TP Mazembe in the next round of the Confederation Cup, probably with a squad that's still not quite fit, without Compaore, and definitely without Ibrahim, who suffered a back strain and will miss at least the 1st leg.
#268993 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
Abdellaoui was worryingly off-colour against the league's bottom side who had been relegated a number of matchdays ago.
Shawky ghosting in to the right post to head in crosses was a positive highlight though.
Anyway, here's how the table looked like going into the findal day:
Just 3 points separate us from 3rd-placed Tersana, while Al Ahly were even closer and breathing down our necks - that said we were top dog here and had the advantage going into the last round of matches.
We basically needed to match Al Ahly's result, while a loss would also suffice if they only managed to draw.
Tersana's slightly more complicated, but they basically needed to beat us by 2 goals in order for them to go level in the head-to-head and have a shot at the title.
These 'players (sorry, allow me to rephrase) have got to be the biggest fucking chokers in fucking history.
Shooting absolutely nothing but blanks in attack (fuck's sake Tersana had more efforts on target) whilst being ponderous at the back contributed to a perfect storm for us.
Abdellaoui continued to choke at the worst possible moments with another depressing display up front.
So by winning their game Al Ahly ghosted in to win yet another fucking title.
Oh well at least we have 2nd place to look forward to-NOPE Tersana got in there as well by having a superior goal difference, having restored parity in the head-to-head.
It also meant that instead of having a shot at the African Champions League before the financial apocalypse inevitably rears its head:
We get another year in the 2nd tier competition, with vastly inferior revenue and more matches to have to play in - hip hip fucking hooray.
Spoiler over, I'll probably holiday through the Egyptian Cup since for once we won't have to win it just to fight for a place in the Confederation Cup.
Season review (if there'll be one) about a week from now.
#268964 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
Another misfiring performance from Abdellaoui and Co, as we constantly bombarded their goal with little to no end product.
It took a setpiece and a goalmouth scramble to even get an equaliser, even more damning for the forwards.
The game plan was to shut them down completely and just have as much of the ball as possible, so to concede 2 goals has to go down as a disappointment of sorts.
Back to misfiring again then, not even a shot on target.
So our results this month have been either dour goalless draws or high-scoring defensive shambles - inconsistent then.
Meanwhile, our continental journey continued:
Started a youth-team lineup, so as expected they couldn't score if their lives had depended on it.
Great, we're still 2 rounds from the group stages and we've already met the defending champions.
We went on a relentless assault on their goal at the risk of conceding ourselves in the hope that we could get an away goal.
But no, because of yet another shoddy demonstration at shooting - and we now face the prospect of having to win outright back at home.
#268888 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
Definitely thought we were going to capitulate after conceding the opener, but Abdellaoui got the leveller to ensure we need not have to scramble for parity for long.
Emam ensured that the players won't get as heavy a scolding at the interval, before coming out for the 2nd half and adding gloss to the scoreline.
This time we started early and finished fast - the game was effectively over by half-time, albeit with the result that nothing happened after the interval.
Credit where it's due to Wadi Degla - giving us a hell of a game for us for the past couple of season, and for coming back thrice here.
Starting with a 3-5-2 caught me off guard, and we did have difficulties establishing control of the game.
Still, pretty bloody infuriating to not hold on to a lead properly - could've gone 4 clear of Al-Ahly, who drew their game as well.
Well, we played them next:
Not the worst thing in the world drawing, and considering the amount of chances they had I'd take this with both arms.
The result meant we're still 1 point clear at thie top, but do to our and Al Ahly's faffing about Al Moqaoloun are now back into the title mix.
The good news is we've got an edge in the head-to-head against the latter, while they still have to play each other in the penultimate game of the season.
Off to the continental stage now:
Like in the Mansoura game, I genuinely thought we'd blow it completely after conceding the penalty - heck a couple of the guys 'looked unsure' after the equaliser.
So fortunately for us that was all they could muster.
Finally, it's time for another youth intake:
Basically, worse than most other intakes of previous seasons - only 1 player with any serious potential, and even he would find it hard to break into our already stacked forward group.
I dunno, he screams 'sell, sell, sell' at the earliest opportunity.
#268827 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
Yeah it's a shame, got a great team going along and we've got a good wave of momentum for once, I can see us beating them in a one-off game though, hopefully we can do so when we meet them.
----------------------------------
Police Union scored with their first effort on goal, we proceed to bombard their end with (wildly inaccurate) efforts, then they finish the game off with their final shot on goal in the game.
That's all I can say about this really, anything more and I'll end up having to get a new laptop.
Our wounds needed some licking, we managed to find relief (and then some) against El Gouna.
Matching their narrow midfield diamond with our 4-6-0 mean that we could match their numbers in the centre.
But it's good to get back to winning ways first and foremost really, could have easily crumbled and shat the bed.
It was imperative to win this, as they were only 2 behind us before the match - so it was good that we had the upper hand for most of the game and eventually secured the victory.
Couldn't say the same for this game - we struggled in our encounter earlier in the season and a similar pattern emerged despite the 4-6-0 attempting to match a flat central midfield 3.
Luckily this time Farouk was to pop up and put in a classic striker's performance - albeit from the right flank.
From 2 consecutive losses we finish with 3 wins on the trot with 3 clean sheets to boot.
And Al Ahly suffered another shock defeat against Masr El Makasa, so they're suddenly within reach again.
Onto the start of our continental conquest:
There's no point knowing the scorers here if you're interested) because this has got to be one of the most pyrrhic victories I've had for some time.
The ref was ridiculous, dishing out fouls and cards like there's no tomorrow and sending Abdel Latif for an early batch before the interval.
Seriously, farcical performance from the ref.
Then there's this, fuck's sake - I can only hope his progress won't be stunted too much, because it'll be a massive pity for him to fail having come so far into the 1st team.
The return leg was far less dramatic, thank fuck for that.
All in all 5-0 on aggregate was barely a passable scoreline, as the gulf in quality meant that we shoul've been touching double figures.
One of Cameroon's top teams, though quite some way off the real bigwigs of the continent.
Will be a problem nonetheless, underestimating them could bring us big trouble.
Finally:
That's the 5th sugardaddy club in Egypt (we're one of them if you remembered).
They're the top 5 here, but while Al Ahly are significantly less well-off here they will always have their massive gate receipts and reputation to bank on.
They's also managed to make a profit of $2m in the transfer market too, shows you what extremely shrewd dealing can bring.
#268674 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
Conceded the opener again (AGAIN), but we managed to come back well, though Amr Saleh did do his level best in his bid to beat his former team with a goal and an assist.
The 4-6-0 accounted for some of our biggest results in recent years, and this was no different.
Credit where it's due to Military Production though, provided some serious scoring chances and forcing Abdel Fatah to some top saves.
Unfortunately our 8(!) match winning streak (and 11 unbeaten) had to come to an end.
You could see it coming from miles away really, considering (bar his goal) Abdellaoui was guilty of some awful misses, and us not having the control of the game we had in previous matches.
No liking how Yao completely missed the header for their winner though.
We've kept up with Al Ahly for the month, though we went top for a couple of matchdays on goal difference, before our Zamalek trip-up.
I'm wagering that our best hope is to match their form, then beat them in the return fixture to have the head-to-head advantage.
Transfers too, as the January window opened and closed:
Ins:
Signed as a replacement for the outgoing (now gone) Eric Diaby, the intention is to develop him into a centreback who is confortable on the ball.
Will start the Confederation Cup matches, though the Premier League might be too soon for him, at CB anyway.
He's one of the many players Zamalek released prior to their current predicament of a season, one man's trash is another man's tresure I suppose.
Hajji is nothing more than a cheap 3rd choice GK for our Confederation Cup run, and he'l also turn out for the U21/reserves.
Jose Carlos on the other hand, is expected to start in the competition as rotation with Fahmy, who will take the domestic league.
Outs:
Nothing special really, though deadline day was filled with Tersana offering $2m for Mahmoud Ibrahim, amongst other offers from the likes of Al Ahly and Al Moqaoloun as they attempted to dismantle our squad.
There was also the draw for the Confederation Cup 1st round:
An unknown quantity, though it wouldn't be too much to expect us to dish out an annihilation.
#268585 2015/16 Pre Season thread
Eric Portapotty
Oh well, fingers crossed free-to-air TV here will broadcast the games.
#267602 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
Ibrahim at the double leads to an easy win, half-decent defensive display as well.
Playing a very high line against Tersana's talented, but ultimately slow, sole centre forward paid off as we shut down their attacks quickly.
Also, Ibrahim at the double again, very rich vein of form at the moment.
Relentless pressing paid quick dividends, though we had a bit more faffing about before we actually got a second to put the game out of Samanoud's reach. Then Ibrahim added a third (RED HOT), then the rest came to add a gloss to the scoreline.
Tarek Shawky got an assist as well, really took his chance to impress here.
Another perfect months sees us catapult to 2nd, 3 off the seemingly unbeatable Al Ahly.
A relatively comfortable buffer over the likes of Al Moqaoloun and Tersana as well, looking good.
Lastly, a coaching addition worth mentioning:
Yes he's back, after that good loan spell from Catania.
He's not actually got good attributes, but I'll put that down to him not having any coaching badges as well - hopefully he comes through to be a decent trainer.