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#220611 The Ganja Trail - A Caribbbean Adventure
Eric Portapotty
Aye, they are, fingers crossed not for long though...
-----------------------------------------
What and odd game, both defences were quite poor.
Our defenders ended up having better average ratings because, well, more of them scored.
Derek Croes at the double, 2 good assists from strike partner Lake as well.
That's a mightily impressive 6 goals in 2 games for Croes, and what a quick hat-trick.
Cue his firing blanks in the next game, of course.
What'd I tell you, eh?
Midfield destroyer Rasmijn was the unlikely hero today, on other occasions I'd be fearing for him getting a 2nd yellow, but today he serves up a game-clinching performance.
We've played our cards perfectly this month, and we regain the lead (albeit having played 2 more games).
Pressure's on RCA now, knowing them they'll probably win both though.
#217500 The Ganja Trail - A Caribbbean Adventure
Eric Portapotty
Yeah, he's the HoYD, I've given his responsibilities to English.
Erm, 5? I think.
January 2021
Our attempt at a cup three-peat started off well, Caiquetio didn't trouble us too much.
Same story here, and having a 2-goal cushion within 10 minutes helped too.
Significantly less clinical here, though the general pattern of play was reminiscent of the previous 2 rounds.
And just like that, we're in the final - where we'll meet league leaders RCA:
Par for the course as well, about as comfortable as they come.
3-PEAT
Lake managed 7 in 4, 5 more than his league tally in with the same amount of starts.
And I don't wish to sound like a braggart, but seems like this time round the cup's been too easy, and we should be looking to replicate this form to our league campaign.
Got over 20k after all the rounds, not too shabby.
After the victory champagne had been chugged down it was time to resume our league campaign, as we finish the month with our 2 games in hand to be played:
Picked up where we left off in the cup, cellar-dwellers San Nicolas had no chance.
Though it did take us quite a while to get going.
If Caiquetio wanted revenge, they sure didn't show it - a comprehensive win.
This leaves us provisionally 2nd, would probably change though.
Regardless, RCA are looking like they'll run away with the regular season title.
A final piece of news:
Banked a substantial amount of the club's cash on this, it better pay off.
#217415 UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
Eric Portapotty
#217382 The Ganja Trail - A Caribbbean Adventure
Eric Portapotty
Shocking, appalling, shit result.
Started out so very well in both halves, so to eventually throw it away in the manner that we did was unacceptable.
Escalona conceded the penalty as well, to add to his subpar start to the season to say the least.
Escalona was dropped, de Waard started, and 2 assists was our reward.
Such an awful game to sit through, we let La Fama dominate the early proceedings resulting in the opener, then frustrations boiled over when Lugo went in 2-footed studs-up from behind.
We gradually took the game to them in the 2nd half, but was were still wasteful and were prone to being exposed on the counter due to our numerical disadvantage.
Up stepped Germain Cabrera - off the bench for the last 13 minutes of the game and he get us a late, late leveller with an effort from outside the area.
No doubt though, our performance and conduct meant that we were lucky to come away with a point.
Moron.
Table's not looking good, the board's beginning to make noises, it won't be pretty.
Cup month up next, hopefully it can help to alleviate the pressure.
#217168 Transfer Rumours 2014/15
Eric Portapotty
#217119 The Ganja Trail - A Caribbbean Adventure
Eric Portapotty
I'm seriously hopeless at cutting ties man, I get too attached.
I dunno, maybe I'll get the sack this time round?
#217062 The Ganja Trail - A Caribbbean Adventure
Eric Portapotty
Why a 2-month update? 4 games in that period is the answer:
Good win, though Croes would then be ruled out for the 2 months.
Terrible result given the consequences, and us throwing away a lead.
Defence was in sixes and sevens, while Lake and Escalona were oh so ineffective.
A formation switch worked, with de Waard putting in a top performance at the tip of our strikerless 4-6-0 diamond.
Then this game comes along, which exposes de Waard's deficiencies - a lack of pace and height, which rules him out of playing up top, as I've found out.
Though he should have redeemed himself by taking his chances, which he didn't, and from which we duly paid the price.
All the games in hand nonsense makes the table rather hard to decipher, but suffice to say we don't have much of a chance to come out tops upon the completion of said matches.
Early days though, we're still in it isn't it?
Couple of personnel news coming up:
I was looking around for some improvements on my current staff when he popped up - excellent attributes and a good knowledge of the region.
Of course this meant the departure of some of my staff:
Bye guys, you've served the club well but it's time to move on.
Lastly:
They've basically doubled his money, and I wasn't giving him a basic wage to begin with!
But he's decided to leave a title-wining team, so whatever floats his boat then.
#217027 On a quest to be the best. [FM15]
Eric Portapotty
Though I can't help but think about your career title, slightly controversial if you get my drift...
KUTGW
EDIT: Aw mate I was kidding man...
#217009 Fitness Thread
Eric Portapotty
I'm allowed to do either in the test, but my commanders have been telling me to train pull-ups since it apparently trains more muscle groups.
Thing is I can't even pull myself up in the slightest.
Went to the gym just now and tried out the assisted pull-up machine, would probably need more than that though.
#217001 The Ganja Trail - A Caribbbean Adventure
Eric Portapotty
Our defence of the league title began with... preseason:
An unbeaten preseason isn't bad, but there're cases to be made for turning those draws into wins.
de Waard didn't start against his former club, but featued for about 20 minutes, as we took then lost leads against Brazil Juniors.
We shrugged that blip off with a couple of solid wins, before suffering another near-defeat against Caiquetio - new Aruban international Derek Croes getting us another clutch equaliser.
Finished off in style against La Fama.
Last season's review:
Overachievers again, might not last though...
We're now the 2nd most reputable club in Aruba, a couple more titles and we should be able to make that top spot ours.
Now for some cash matters:
Most of which was spent on new training facilities.
And I'd much rather spend the money on the club than handing it over to the authorities.
Uh-oh, there are expectations on us for the first time, could be a bumpy ride from here on in.
Could (and probably should) have offered higher bonuses.
Then again, these guys are now mostly on contracted deals, so they should already be motivated by their base pay if anything.
Not surprised, a few of the challenger of years past have been relegated(!) and only us and RCA (and to a lesser extent Dakota have been challenging consistently in that time.
Croes I can see offering a lot, but Oehlers... Sure, when he plays he still offers a huge amount of vertical play on the right, but he's not produced match-winning performances for some time now.
No mention of Escalona, Lake or de Waard too, shows how much they know about us.
#216987 Fitness Thread
Eric Portapotty
I've been told that a good one relies heavily on the back muscles, how do I train them?
Aye, I need 6 to pass my fitness test, and I've got less than 2 months left.
#216680 Fitness Thread
Eric Portapotty
Any ideas?
#214735 The Ganja Trail - A Caribbbean Adventure
Eric Portapotty
----------------------------------------
Nothing mcuh happened in the off-season, bar these 2 inconveniences:
FUCK
Certainly didn't expect 2 of my best prospects to leave for a lower-league side and a recently relegated one, much less them managing to secure part-time deals - should have given them more that just non-contracts.
They were already part of the rotational squad too, but I suppose that's why you have a squad in the 1st place - I'll probably be able to cover their absences.
Then the rest of the team returned, and we began with the now-traditional couple of closed-door friendlies:
de Waard with a fluke freekick, Escalona coming off the bench to curl in a more orthodox one, with Figaroa's late winner sandwiched in between.
We didn't offer too much, but neither did the reserves - a proper perseason game, then.
Even less happened here, that's all there is to say about this one really.
Judging by these 2 matches there's ample room for improvement.
Didn't fuck up the preseason schedule this time, plenty of opportunities to get this squad up and running.
#214727 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
Meh, its awesomeness was exaggerated really.
#214285 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
#211138 Barclays Premier League 2014/15
Eric Portapotty
#211130 The Ganja Trail - A Caribbbean Adventure
Eric Portapotty
Another batch of youngsters:
This is my HoYD's pick of the lot:
Well he's got... erm... good composure? Essentially he's rubbish.
Worse still, if he's our best prospect it'll speak volumes about the rest of the bunch.
Think I'll probably write this bunch off as a loss, not worth signing any of them to be terribly honest.
Might be curtains for you too, Mr. Fingal.
The players weren't consistent to be honest, but hey who cares? We're champions!
Fingers crossed I actually set up a half-decent preseason for once.
It took a huge chunk out of our 400k+ bank balance, but the hope is that we'll be able to recoup most of that through regular participation in the sub-continental championship.
And finally:
Well I budged, guess I'll have to earn my way to an extended scouting range.
#211111 The Ganja Trail - A Caribbbean Adventure
Eric Portapotty
Our run in started with the aforementioned double-header against Estrella, which won't be the easiest of ties given how we lost our last meeting.
As it turned out... well just look at the scoreline.
Estrella completely failed to deal with our 4-6-0, conceding a couple on the break while offering very little in attack.
Their consolation was a cracker though, I'll give them that.
However we did have to meet them again, and having been trounced so thoroughly they would surely want revenge:
No.
It turns out they couldn't handle our main 4-1-3-2 either, not even scoring a goal in this one - must be a tough couple of days for their fans.
On to the title decider now, RCA having benefitted from Dakota's poor form to become closest challengers:
Much, much easier than expected, they were surprisingly meek and we managed to contain them with ease.
Oh yeah, great work considering our horrible home form in the regular season.
There are better ways to finish a season than giving up a 2-goal lead, but hey, a win's a win.
Winning all our home games in the playoffs significantly bolstered our home record, but it's still some way off our away form.
Ending up 9 points clear though, that's excellent.
YEAHHHHHHH MOST POPULAR CLUB IN ARUBA
I'm not really convinced that Lake did enough to become Aruba's 3rd best player, but he won't be arguing, so fair dos.
... Though it's probably his 12 goals in 23 starts.
4 in a row, somehow not being relegated is an award-winning achievement.
Players of the Season
Okay, so he was probably our best player of the season.
14 goals and 6 assists in 26 starts? Ok fine, so he was pretty damn good this year.
Lugo had a great season initially, before a broken leg wrecked the rest of his campaign.
Worse still, before his broken leg he was never the best player, his speed being his trump card - might be time to call it a day for him here.
Not Captain Marvel's best season, but he still contributed a significant bit to our cause.
And regardless of his form he won't be dropped anyway, one of the first names on the teamsheet with his set-piece ability.
Now for some transfers, a bit of a reward for our successes this season and in preparation for the next:
This is some Lewandowski-level league haxxing stuff, man.
Been one of the best performers in Aruba for the past couple of seasons, 7+ average ratings for the 6 years that he's been here.
Quite good with the set-pieces too, eases the pressure on Escalona.
Though recent events have left me rather worried...
Ouch.
But hey, if he was able to score 11 in 23 this season it's still all good, right?
Oh, and no new deal yet, so I might not have the pleasure of managing him.
#210781 Bayern and Beyond
Eric Portapotty
And good job mate, though it is slightly easy considering it's Bayern....
#210774 The Ganja Trail - A Caribbbean Adventure
Eric Portapotty
BOOM! A great start to our playoffs, putting our leaders down at 'their place' (we all play at the same stadium anyway).
BOOM! Another home win - good start, this.
Well famous last words there, we had an off day in attack and were promptly punished.
Doubly worrying was that it got RCA back into the title race, having ex-champions in the mix is never good news.
Good way to bounce back, despite Caravel's goal to keep them in the game we were never really troubled.
BOOM! Another hammer blow to Dakota's title chances.
We should have lost this, having conceded the opener and being very lucky to go into the break level.
Somehow managing to fuck up the team talk is the way to go, as the team went from an angry bunch to a victorious one.
The strikeforce was subpar for this match, Lake particularly wasteful.
It was therefore fortunate that he was the one subbed off and not Croes, who redeemed himself with a clutch goal right at the death.
With that (and 4 games to go) there're only 3 teams left in it, and to our credit we've managed to come out of this pile on top for the time being.
A double header against Estrella awaits, followed by what will probably the title decider with RCA, and finishing off with Caravel.
We end this month with some contract talks:
I'll sign a new deal if given the opportunity, given how I've not liked to cut ties with a club I've achieved success with.
Just to iron out some issues and ask for some sweeteners:
They really are giving us far too much cash mind, would much rather they spend the transfer and wage kitty to something like, oh I dunno, expanding the scouting range? It's not like we can spend the cash if we don't know who to buy in the first place.
Which brings me to this:
Oh well, fingers crossed they budge before our bridges are burnt.
#208643 La Liga 2014/15
Eric Portapotty
That'll be Ray Hudson.
#208480 Unemployed vol 4.
Eric Portapotty
#208461 Barclays Premier League 2014/15
Eric Portapotty
#208447 The Ganja Trail - A Caribbbean Adventure
Eric Portapotty
Well all clubs play in the same stadium, as well as the national teams, so there's always huge inconsistencies with the fixtures.
Also explains why I've only 1 game in March....
#208338 The Ganja Trail - A Caribbbean Adventure
Eric Portapotty
March - April 2020
March featured only one game, a home encounter against the new leaders Dakota - we needed to win to haul them back in to the mix, after they took advantage of their games in hand to storm ahead.
We were completely awful in the 1st half, meekly surrendering the attacking initiative with poor passing.
It was a blind stroke of luck that our only foray into their penalty area drew a foul, and gave us a way back into the contest.
As it turned out, despite our improved attacking combinations in in the 2nd 45 minutes our finishing was non-existent, and it was always going to be a draw at most.
Another home draw, an even worse attacking display.
We had looked to finally get a 1st home win at the 8th time of asking when we took the early lead.
Unfortunately, our typical shambolic defending reared its head again as we contrived to throw it all away and effectively rule ourselves out of the regular season's title reckoning.
Final away day, and solace from the tortures of our home form.
But even here we found it hard to overcome our poor attacking play in recent matches, though we eventually did get going in the 2nd half.
Both goals involved some good combination play, to be fair.
Oh and I should mention, this match relegated Britannia - so much for being the most reputable club in the land when you've done shit all these past few years.
That's a 1st home win at the NINTH time of asking, relegation form really.
At least we finished off with a flourish, Croes and Lake proving that they's not complete dogshit, just hopelessly inconsistent.
Finishing 2nd in the regular season despite only averaging only a point a game at home - imagine doing that in the EPL and getting a CL spot, truly bizarre.
Dakota did us a favour of sorts by beating RCA, hence giving is an increased prize money, but also extending their lead at the top to 6 points for the Champions Playoffs. Between a rock and a hard place, then.
A particular fixture problem would be the 3 games in 5 days, including a double-header against Estrella.
#208325 [FM14]Johno's career
Eric Portapotty
Bilbao will be a challenge, good luck
#207365 The Ganja Trail - A Caribbbean Adventure
Eric Portapotty
We'd needed it, it seems...
------------------------------
Another home game, another non-win.
Young centreback Lionel Christopher Charles got the ball rolling for us by conceding a penalty, to go behind with only a tenth of the game played.
Sylvester de Lecca got us out of jail with a great forward run from left-back for a poacher's finish.
Yet another home game, only this time we lost for the 1st time this season.
de Lecca had looked to rescue a point yet again with a howitzer from outside the area, but we contrived to throw it all away at the end.
Away from home*, a win to get back on track.
Youth prospect Derek Croes showed what he can do when on form, scoring one and setting out strike partner Lake for his goal.
Now if only we could be this adept at finishing all the time.....
(All the top flight clubs play in the same ground, so home and away is for administrative purposes, really)
Oh look, there goes our unbeaten away record as well.
We were rubbish in front of goal, and our high line as beaten for once by an impressive solo break.
Hit the post a couple of times, but it's the scoreline that matters.
We're top, but it'll look seriously ugly from here on in.
#207349 Champions League 2014/15
Eric Portapotty
#206485 Barclays Premier League 2014/15
Eric Portapotty
#206474 Barclays Premier League 2014/15
Eric Portapotty