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#267522 Champions League 2014/15
Eric Portapotty
#267518 Champions League 2014/15
Eric Portapotty
EDIT: Also getting coverage consisting of 5 seconds match footage and 5 minutes buffering on average.
#267503 Champions League 2014/15
Eric Portapotty
MON
#267482 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
Conceding the opener from their 1st shot on target, bad start to say the least.
Didn't help that despite Farouk getting an equaliser we were still extremely wasteful, Abdellaoui (surprise surprise) being a main culprit.
He was hauled off for El Ashri, who reprised his supersub role again to secure us a comeback victory.
You've thought we'd learn from the previous match, but no we concede an early lead again.
Abdellaoui did score this time, but Farouk was less then impressive this time despite using his pace well on multiple occasions.
So it was left to Ibrahim to perform heroics this time, another supersub performance.
We simply had to play the 4-6-0 against their brave but unorthodox 3-6-1, Ibrahim earning a start after hie winner last time out.
He repaid the faith fully, with a storming game down the right, wrapping the game up before the interval and adding a fourth for good measure.
So however unlikely it seemed at various parts of this month we finish with 9 for 9, and within touching distance of Al Ahly.
Zamalek did the chasing pack a solid by managing to hold them to a goalless draw, but there's no denying this season has been a nightmare for them so far.
#267400 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
I'm just glad it's a game and I'm not being sued for unfair employment tactics!
-----------------------------------
Rather foolishly stuck to a 4-3-3 against their 3-5-2, when the old 4-6-0 would have helped to regain control of the midfield.
Still, gave the team a right rollicking, Yao in particular for his off-colour defending.
Not a good recovery from the previous game, didn't help that Abdellaoui had another poor game up front, but at least we got an unlikely winner.
Another 3-5-2, so we went with the 4-6-0, dropping the misfiring Abdellauoi.
Paid immediate dividends, but we spent the rest of the game failing to find a second.
Quite worrying that Koroum also managed a couple f chances of their own, did not make for comfortable watching.
Al Ahly showed a remarkable lack of ambition here, no shots at all despite having nearly equal possession.
I'd blame my attack (Abdellaoui and Aymen Farouk in particular) for being wasteful again but when you're playing an Ahly side with a Czech international in goal (!!!!) it was never going to be a walk in the park.
Nevertheless, we finish the month with 2 goals scored and conceded each - despite that we also managed 7 from 12.
Al Ahly are out of reach, but 2nd spot is a cause well worth fighting for here.
Also, a thought for Zamalek, who after selling a couple of key players to new rich kids Tersana and completely failing to replace them, find themselves knee deep in the shitter.
#267389 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
I'm surprised that a Swede can have better job prospects than those in Ireland tbh.
What job is it anyway?
#267365 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
#266777 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
At times it seemed like Police Union was only interested in kicking the living shit out of us, resulting in knocks on a couple of our players.
Should've had more then just a yellow and a red.
Moqaoloun only really dominated the opening and closing phases of the game, before we went behind and after we'd secured our lead.
Credit where it's due for their comeback.
Starting with a midfield 5 I'd expected Mansoura to play a possession game - alas their equaliser came from a great burst of pace from Bala.
Thankfully we'd managed an equalier before half-time, or there'd be a lashing in the dressing room.
Table's still quite tight, but I'd have preferred not to be at the bottom of the chasing pack.
Finally:
He gets a huge pay rise, after going on many tantrums when I refuse to pay him more than the $180 that he'd been in the 5 or so years as a starter for us.
He had only a year plus left on his current deal so it'd be better to settle it before he starts looking at greener pastures.
#266735 Newcastle Thread
Eric Portapotty
Credit where it's due at least he's not Steve fucking Bruce.
#266733 [Story] I've been playing the same Football Manager save for almost 5 years and still haven't won the World Cup. This is my story...
Eric Portapotty
Sucks to hear that mate, though expecting England to win the WC...
Might want to post your story on the careers page, it'll make for good reading.
Wrong place mate.
#266654 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
Extremely wasteful here, caught offside 5 times (all in the 1st half) as chance after chance was being chalked off.
Among other things would be Abdel Fatah's depressingly hilarious own goal, which gave us the ignominy of conceding 3 goals from only 2 shots on target.
Started the youngsters here, El Ashri with a terrific goal to further enhance his reputation as one for the future.
Farouk netted in a great winner as well, though it wasn't the most convincing recovery from our opening-day loss.
Mahmoud Ibrahim was absolutely atrocious this game, couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo, so he was hauled off for Farouk, who again proved to be instrumental.
Still, some embarrassing shooting and poor build-up play on display.
Then we go ahead and undo all our good work with a terrible defensive display.
I'd blame the defence for a shocking performance, but surely the attack can come up with more then a Compaore header from a corner right? Shambles.
Deja vu, an inability to start scoring and we (AGAIN) end up in the bottom half, with a negative goal difference - so frustrating.
#266617 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
I'd be very surprised if he finished top scorer and still missed out on the PoTY, so this is par for the course really.
Tersana really won big with their takeover by a tycoon, a whirlwind title and becoming a new regular challenger.
Don't understand how Moqaoloun's rep fell, they finished 2nd last season and did play in a continental competition.
Looks like not spending big on transfers doesn't really help, still bleeding cash at an alarming rate.
Speaking of which:
Plenty of departures, some for a pretty penny.
- Shehata was a decent stopgap for Amin to develop, but he never showed that in any way an upgrade to Amin - slow and prone to lapses in concentration, we couldn't play a high line as a result. Good servant, but goodbye.
That he got picked up by Tersana almost immediately suggests I've missed a trick in these 2 season, but I doubt it.
- Mostafa threw a fit, demanded 1st team football and refused to extend his deal, before eating humble pie and returning after he realised no one else wanted him.
- Adel is a legend in these parts (and a favourite of mine), but it was evident that he wasn't going get a game for us (he's hardly even 5th choice now), so he leaves on loan to get some minutes under his belt. I'll have him in the squad for the CAF Confederation Cup, so he might get a game or two against the early-round opponents.
- Dadzie and Hassan were sold as I didn't I had the the chance to give them game time to develop - Dadzie is non-Egyptian ahile Hassan has to contend in 2 superior under-25s in Ibrahim and Farouk. Probably too the easy option and settled for quick money for Dadzie, but Hassan looked increasingly off unfulfilled talent (albeit not his own fault).
Only the single new arrival:
Signed for peanuts when his youth contract was ending at his former employers', I had to wait a couple years until he turned 18.
Rated higher than Dadzie though, only good news there.
Now for preseaosn:
I gave Adel his testimonial against Tanta, a last hurrah before he left on loan.
All games were arguably against weaker opposition (only Eskisehirspor were superior in a couple of areas).
Regardless, a perfect record would mean good morale going into a new season.
Third favourites despite having virtually no additions to the team? Odd, very odd.
Lastly, the seaosnal opener - the Super Cup:
We benefited greatly from El Aref's two-footed lunge (and Mabrouk's theatrics) an d proceeded to dominate the rest of the conest, eventually securing the Super Cup win - a great start to our campaign.
#266526 FA Cup 2014/15
Eric Portapotty
#266517 FA Cup 2014/15
Eric Portapotty
#266480 FA Cup 2014/15
Eric Portapotty
If you're gonna have a wank during the match, just say you're gonna have a wank during the match
In all seriousness, hoping for a good match, and that we manage to keep Benteke quiet.
#266446 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
Cheers, though if only we hadn't started off so terribly.
---------------------
Key players this season:
Mounir Abdellaoui - You can't not have him mentioned 1st it seems, top scorer this season, breaking the club's seasonal goalscoring record, been the key for us moving awya from the 4-6-0 (as he did last time).
If anything he could do with a bit more consistency, on a couple of occasions we could have done with his goals.
Ahmed Hassan Abdel Kader - Still very much the chief creative force, though he's probably no longer the main goalgetter.
Had a consistent campaign bar that utter horrorshow against Zamalek.
Aymen Farouk - Worked brilliantly as a right-winged poacher,and chipped in with a fair amount of assists as well.
Ahmed Emam - made the left wing spot his own (albeit due to a sheer lack of competition), showed glimpses of excellent combination play.
Only issue would be his injuries, he did miss a fair chunk of the season.
Then there's that usual suspect Mohamed Mabrouk, who unfortunately wouldn't have done enough to defend his PoTY from Abdellaoui.
Also played a couple of freidnlies for the China U21s:
Should've thrashed them given the disparity bewteen the nations, but we managed 'only' 4-2.
Won by the same margin, again underwhelmingly so,
I think the players know that this age group is a bit of a sham in Asia, without any tournaments to participate in it's just a bit of a stepping stone to the U22s, or even worse - a reject pile from the U22s.
I've got half a mind to apply for the U22s, since this seems like a futile effort.
#266414 The FIFA Thread
Eric Portapotty
But it's possible that he'll ride this wave of Blatter hate and use it to his advantage, isn't it? Regardless of his corruptibility.
#266411 The FIFA Thread
Eric Portapotty
#266410 The FIFA Thread
Eric Portapotty
#266406 The FIFA Thread
Eric Portapotty
Seems like there's a significant rift created already, Blatter will lose a big chunk of his influence whatever the outcome.
#266392 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
The game was over by half time, and the players played like they knew that in the 2nd half.
Still, 3 points in the bag in our chase for 4th.
A frustrating game, we dominated proceedings but couldn't find our shooting boots before Damanhour fired in the opener.
For all our efforts we eventually only scored an equaliser, even after the opposition went down to 10 men.
It also meant that 4th was virtually out of reach, 3 points behind Wadi Degla and with and inferior head-to-head record.
An efficient (if slightly futile) way to end the league campaign.
Losing only 5 games (a league low) was extremely surprising considering our wretched start (3 losses in 4).
Alas an inability to convert some of our 10 draws into wins cost us big time.
As can be seen, we overcame our horrible start to inch our way up the table, only falling short of the top 4.
In any case, the season wasn't over yet, we still had an Egyptian Cup to play, and another shot at continental qualification.
Our first opponents? None other than Al Ahly *gulp* :
Well that was surprising, 3rd time lucky for us this season.
The win was made slightly sweeter given the opener was scored by their S$1.5m record signing, their admittedly talented behemoth of an Iranian centreback.
Oh and how could I forget, El Ashri you beauty - coming on in the 75th minute, he sealed the win with 2 great efforts; definitely a useful player to have already.
The reserves were sent out against the lower-league side, and they displayed their potential to the fullest with a thumping.
Moataz Emam underlined his potential to succeed Mabrouk as our box-to-box engine, while El Ashri led the line well up front.
In fact Abdellaoui hurt his shoulder in training after the match, so with Ibrahim still recovering from his torn hamstring as well, El Ashri had to continue starting up top.
As it turned out, not such a bad move, as he increased his tally to 4 for the tournament.
Yet another winner from El Ashri, against a desperately poor Zamalek side.
Though credit to them for even making it this far, they lost 3 and only won 1 of their last 6 league games, a horrific stretch that sent them crashing out of the top 4, their usual hunting ground.
In the final we meet Ismaily; having finished 1 place and 2 points behind us, Homos (their gaffer) would love to get one over us.
The certainly couldn't have started worse, a calamitous OG from Abdel Fatah.
However, we got into the game with our usual provocative style, and tied the game soon after.
We continued to knock on the door against an Ismaily side who seemed to play mainly on the break, providing a couple of scares.
Eventually it came down the supersub Ibrahim - coming back from a torn hamstring he rose hight to head in the winner.
feelsgoodman.jpg
El Ashri was undoubtedly the MVP here, leading the line for most of the tournament owing to injuries, and contributing vitally for the very most part.
The icing on the cake, we're finally back on the continental stage (albeit not for another 6 months).
#266330 The FIFA Thread
Eric Portapotty
#266325 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
3rd might be a step too far though, that's where the automatic continental spots are.
4th is still a shot, but we'll need a couple of sides to crumble.
----------------------------
Started April with a bang, finally returning to that goalscoring form that made us top scorers last season.
In fact we're also topping to goal charts this time as well, a surprise given our dour start.
As comfortable as it gets, despite Koroum making life difficult with a flat midfield 5.
Significantly tougher with El Gouna's diamond midfield; Abdellaoui wasn't getting anything from our creators, and had picked up a knock for his troubles.
Farouk was shifted up front and proper wing play was introduced, reaping instant rewards.
A nice comeback after knocking on Ismaily's door for almost half an hour.
Still, a defensive performance that left a lot to be desired after going 2 down midway through the 1st half.
Dropped points as well, not the best result.
So the best we can hope for is Wadi Degla to collapse and for us to snatch 4th spot, then have one of the top 3 win the Egyptian Cup in order for ss to play in the CAF Confederation Cup next season.
In other Smouha news:
Fought tooth and nail for the recruitment request, here's to being able to sell youth prospects to keep us from being bankrupt! \o/
Now to the other side of the world, with the China U21s:
Happened last month, but I'd forgotten about it.
Bit of a nothing match really, just as well because it seems I'd picked the wrong age group to manage - it's the U22s that participate in tournaments here.
#265709 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
Such a frustrating match.
We managed to carve out a decent lead despite not having the majority of possession, they got a goal back before the break, and I went into the interval making it explicitly clear that there was no room for complacency, not when we're still only halfway through.
Then they go out and concede the equaliser.
Worse still, Ibrahim tore his hamstring and would be out for 3 months.
Well this was a proper putdown.
As with the Masry game, we went into the break a goal up against the run of play, having withstood a barrage of sorts on our goal.
We come out for the 2nd half, Ahmed Hassan Abdel Kader disastrously misplaces 2 passes, our defending simultaneously went to complete pot, and suddenly we're 3-1 down.
We spent the rest of the game taking potshots, but we never looked able to making up for our fuckups.
Tersana will win the title barring a horrific collapse, period.
For us though, 7 points from 3rd with 7 games to play, can we do it without Ibrahim?
Away from the league, it's March so we've got the new intake of youth players coming though:
Overall a better bunch, but it's probably worse in that the standouts aren't as good.
He's essentially the opposite of least year's Abdel Halim - physically gifted, but almost bereft of proper mental or technical ability.
Lastly:
A bit of moonlighting, may or may not help my prospects of a future club gig there, but at the moment I'd very much prefer the Egyptian equivalent.
#265701 Newcastle Thread
Eric Portapotty
Glenn Roeder.
(Who afaik was also a terrible appointment - wow you guys have had some abysmal managers post-Sir Bobby it seems)
#265616 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
JanuaryFebruary 2027*And a bit of March because I'm a colossal idiot
As mentioned there weren't any league games in January, and I'd only just realised why - the Africa Cup of nations was going on, in Egypt.
Anyway, back to business:
The defending wasn't up to scratch, but our attack would prove to make up for it - good win.
Same story here, except this time our attacks were more fruitful and we were so much more suspect with defending crosses.
Seriously, it should've ended 8-4 or something if it wasn't for the woodwork.
Frustrating game, Masr El Makasa we're ever looking likely to score but they certainly were on course to keeping a clean sheet.
Eventually their resistance broke and we managed to secure another win.
We weren't even playing a high line, yet the defence was caught hopelessly out of position when ENPPI opened the scoring.
We tried to amend the problem the only way we knew how (bombarding the opposition goal) and to our relief the equaliser finally came on the stroke of half time.
Notched up a couple more to give the scoreline some respectability, but this wasn't as comfortable as 3-1 suggested.
Tersana (with their new tycoon sugardaddy) are now shock runaway leaders, while a miracle has indeed happened and we've managed to claw our way back to a whiff of continental contention.
Though admittedly there's still some way to go before we can actually lay claim to the top 4.
#265578 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
We played a customary counterattacking system that we do against Al Ahly, unfortunately neither side had the clinical finishing on board, though both goalkeepers did well to ensure clean sheets for both sides.
TL;DR Mahmoud Ibrahim is a phenomenal idiot.
We started terribly, but subsequently bombarded the opposition area until we eventually regained the lead.
Then Ibrahim two-footed someone from behind, and got his marching orders.
Damanhour then started their own offensive as we increasingly sat back to preserve our lead, but the pressure told and we eventually conceded on the 94th minute, when only 3 minutes of injury time had been given, something Mark Hughes would be able to empathise with I would imagine.
Ibrahim would go on to get a 3 match ban, the colossal piece of shit.
Poor defending an a great free kick from Fawzy condemned us to our third draw in a row.
The momentum was always going to end, and unfortunately Tersana were to benefit for our wasteful showing.
It was one of those games where we could have done with Ibrahim's ability, but oh right he's banned, cunt.
I have to say, we managed to recover very well from that reversal, with a very comprehensive victory over Al Moqaoloun.
Some may point to only 1 loss this month, but the reality is 6 points from 15 this month has again put us out of sight of continental qualification, and unless a miraculous recovery happens for the remainder of the campaign this season is effectively a write off.
January sees no league games, instead we've got friendlies lined up:
And we've also signed key players to new deals:
Ibrahim also got a new deal, in which all 3 got bumps in their salary and will burden the club further in years to come.
#265512 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
#265368 [FM14] Pentagon - Redux
Eric Portapotty
No shame in nicking a point against the league leaders, but given that we were the dominant side one wonders what we could have come away with had we been more clinical.
No worries here, as comfortable as they get.
I was expecting it to be one of those days where we'd spend all day trying (and failing) to hit a barn door with a banjo when they scored the opener, thank goodness we woke up and managed to go into the break in front.
Ibrahim was great here, having been frankly dire against Haras El-Houdoud - a bit of shouting seems to have worked.
A brilliant run has finally seen us secure a comfortable position in the top half, though the doors to the top 3 are still out of reach.
Al Ahly are up next, let's see if our run can withstand their power.
#265355 The Lower League Thread
Eric Portapotty