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#147912 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
TWICE!
#147905 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#147882 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#147879 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#147874 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
Please stay forever.
#147857 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#147827 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#147822 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#147820 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#147795 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
I'm surprised Liverpool haven't really tested Vidic's lack of pace.
#147780 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
MON
GET THE FUCK IN
#147760 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#147747 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#147737 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#147648 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
Touche.
#147646 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
If that's the case the BBC should replace him with Sol Campbell, keeps Campbell from talking about how racist everyone is and keeps Crooks from talking altogether.
#147254 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
How nice it must feel then, that it coincides with your new anti-protest laws.
#147098 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
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.
#146745 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
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.
#146440 The FA Cup 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#146419 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#146399 The FA Cup 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#146362 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
Yeah it wasn't his debut and he didn't just score a debut goal.
#146355 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
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.
#146347 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
I hate you guys.
#145957 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
#145670 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
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.
#145419 The Mugshot Thread
Eric Portapotty
#145303 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
#145296 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
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.
-----
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!