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#137049 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
So what seemed to be a tough start for this younger team has suddenly turned into a rather positive period.
The Al-Gaish win I'd honestly call a fluke, but not losing 3 of 4 matches is a definite plus in my book.
But there's quite a contrast between this and last season though - we've kept nil clean sheets so far, compared to 2 this time last year.
Despite conceding 7 goals in 4 matches we find ourselves 3rd, albeit already 5 behind the joint-leaders.
#136994 Transfer Rumours 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#136809 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
Could've been better, (as you'll see) the turbulence in the squad does point to an uncertain future...
--------------------------
While you were gone
-New owners!
-And a link-up with Premier League side Petrojet, which sees them loan us their youths FOC, which could help.
(Though it's probably also a sign of how far we've fallen, considering we were going head-to-head with them only 2 seasons ago.
--------------------------
Transfers
If the 'transfers out' section included the loan departures from last season you'll be able to see the full extent of our problems - 8 players came in temporarily at various points last season, including 3 of the starting back 4, as I attempted to not commit too much in our push for promotion in the last campaign.
So it's been a sea change, 8 players on permanent deals, as the rebuilding process begins.
Kone and Abdel Fatah have both been move on after making noises about moving on. Good riddance to the latter in particular, as I pocket over $150k and a 25% cut from anyone
dumbsmart enough to get him.Here are the new signings:
Hany Ragab
Marquee playmaker, signed as a stop-gap/replacement for Kone.
The brilliant thing is that immediately after he put pen to paper he got injured, which meant he missed the whole of pre-season, which is brilliant.
Mohamed Rabie
His tackling ability won me over, clearly.
Alaa Ibrahim
The only Petrojet player who agreed to play for us; everyone else would have preferred to play for 'a team of a higher standard'.
Philistines.
Sherif Samir
Scouts rate him, but he's two-footed so he'll turn out to be nowhere near as good as they make it out to be.
Abdullah Mehdat
Might've been duped for this one, sub-standard attributes for a 24-year old.
Still, he did come from Qatar, which should count for something, whatever that is.
Ahmad Yehia
A medium-term target from last season, he's made of glass - but probably one of the better ones like Pyrex, which should explain why he hasn't broken down yet.
Khaled Mostafa
Youth product of ours, he had left after a disagreement over wages but did a Carlton Cole after I found that we he was our best left back at the time.
Nader Saad
You'll notice that we was signed in the later parts of the transfer window, which is a indication of my inability to find a reliable goalkeeper who was willing to join the club.
He's got exactly the same problem that Abdel Nasser had (1-on-1s) which is brilliant, but beggars can't be choosers.
Ahmed Said
Deadline day deal, because we only have 3 senior cantrebacks, of whom Mahmoud has been a perma-crock ever since he came back from holiday.
Mohamed Fawaz Hussein
I fully intend on converting him into a left-back, fingers crossed he's not too old for that.
The plan is to go all out Lambert here, fielding the youngsters and eking out improvements from them.
As can be seen here, the 'Age' column in particular.
--------------------------
Pre-season
Weren't at our best, but we managed to eke out some wins, which is always a positive.
--------------------------
They've somehow managed to stuff all 3 relegated sides to this league, despite there being 2 other subdivisions.
Oh well, you know what they say - if you want to be the best, you gotta beat the best.
Nah.
#136582 What happened to agents' attributes?
Eric Portapotty
Is it just me, or is the attributes box no longer available?
#136561 Transfer Rumours 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#136523 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
Story of our season really - possessing both a determination to push on and win, and a capacity to implode spectacularly.
Oh well, saves money on the payouts.)
A season that promised so much turned out to be a bust.
Had the 2nd-best defence, but only 5th in attack - it's clear who let us down more, particularly in those draws.
Oh and one more to the to-do list: Never leave your team without a competent 2nd-choice goalkeeper.
Player(s) of the season:
Mohamed Hassani
Credit must be given to the defence this season (particularly for that start) and Hassani's been an almost ever present.
Might sign him if he agrees to lower his wages.
Now for someone's who's actually on a permanent deal - Hugo Patrick Nyam
Lower performance ratings than most of the squad, but on hindsight there's no one I wanted more in every match this season.
7 clean sheets is 2nd best in the league, and to think it came from only 15 starts.
Underachiever - Hani Abdel Fatah
Don''t be tricked by the rating and improvement in ability - he didn't manage to score an outright winner this season (only been consolations or thrashings) and we suffered greatly from his goal drought in the middle of the season.
Coupled with his transfer request when he couldn't even back it up with consistent form - yeah he's not done well.
So long you're happy...
#136387 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
A mildly successful, but ultimately frustrating period has passed as Nyam recovers from his injury.
Aty's somehow managed to do better than Abdel Nasser, conceding 4 fewer goals an even managing a clean sheet!
I'm quite amazed that he's managed to prove you wrong (to and extent), seems like my team knew that they were depending on the unreliable, so they stepped it up a notch to make up for his incompetence.
It's got its downsides though, in both 2-1s a centreback got sent off (presumably for over-exuberance) before we went 2 down, which meant trying to get an equaliser when we did get one back was nigh on impossible.
It's ultimately fruitless though, we've not been in the promotion race for some time already, and now even our defensive record's been bettered by El-Dakhleya.
At least Abdel Fatah's scoring again -
Look at them arrows, imagine if he'd been in a team with better facilities and comparable playing time.
He's still missing 1-on-1s though :rage:
-----------------
A new batch of lambs to the slaughter:
3rd best from this bunch is a left wingback - suffice to say it's a lost cause for most of these lads.
But what's this?!
Never mind...
#136318 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
#136317 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
#136142 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
What I said about Nyam when I signed him -that he wasn't good enough for the team, etc..
That the defence has collectively managed to prove me wrong is a plus, but little was I to know of his true importance.
He was supposedly a decent goalkeeper at the very least, coming from giants Zamalek.
If anything he's only managed to prove that he's much worse than I though before:
2 of the most inept defensive performances this season, and it's surely more than coincidence that it's happened during Nyam's absence (or rather, Nasser's appearances).
Either way, I had enough of this:
In his 4 games he managed to concede 10 goals - ruining our once-impressive defensive record.
While our attack has to take some of the blame, it's evident that the defence has contributed greatly this month, for worse really.
However, I'd managed to send Nasser back on the eve of the end of the transfer window, which meant that I spent deadline day scouring Egypt for a goalkeeper.
Oh well, at least my centrebacks won't assume that their goalkeeper is even remotely competent in the art of shot-stopping, when Nyam inevitably get another injury.
-----
Oh right, the transfer window:
Deadline day deal, provides competition on the wings, offers potential backup up top and I'm looking to train him to play CM as well.
Signed on the 1st week, genuinely surprised they'd let him go to one of their rivals.
Oh well, he goes straight into the tea-
Couldn't even finish a half without breaking down, a good start there.
Oh, and speaking of injuries:
And if you needed any more proof that it really does pour (as opposed to rain):
He's not scored in 4 months, and now he's got the cheek to ask to leave.
Happy days everyone.
#136117 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
It's seen us fall off the pace a bit, with an impressive defence still intact but the attack non-existent.
It started off well enough, 4 wins on the trot got us to 2 points from top spot - then we had to play the current top 6.
The defence coped well enough with this run, but the goals dried up (and how!).
I've reverted to 2 up top (was playing a 4-5-1), but it's still the defenders propping us up at set-pieces.
Case in point, Hassani's now joint-top scorer on 5, tied with Abdel Fatah who is currently suffering a 3-month goal drought.
As a result we've got the best defensive record by far (8), but 4th from bottom when it comes to scoring (21).
We've got bad news too:
He returns to Zamalek where he sits out his contract and I look for a new winger to borrow.
Oh, and there's the Egyptian Cup:
Far from ideal, full of ineptitude, and only a major fluke saving our arses.
Nyam was out for this match (2 months in fact, and he was not in for the Sharqiya game as well, explains a lot) and Abdel Nasser (the GK from Zamalek) proved his lack of ability in 1-on-1s (9) by conceding 2 in said manner.
I also managed to use all 3 subs before extra time thinking we were winning, and mistakenly brought on El Masri to play up top instead of Abdel Fatah, causing a potential shambles.
Someone went off injured, there was a goalmouth scramble which led to the equaliser (scripted) and I didn't watch the penalties.
As for our reward?
Excellent, brilliant.
Among other things, I got a new coach! (After wailing in front of the board)
The elusive fitness-oriented coach, if only to shut the players' mouths up.
Now to pull this off again in June to sign a GK coach...
#136104 Capital One Cup 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#136074 Transfer Rumours 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
There's having to fill the coffers after Matic and FFP to take note of, but surely he'd have known better if he could argue that Demba Ba would improve our squad.
#135716 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
Our new pressing system has paid dividends, with the team dominating possession in all encounters so far.
However it's also seen us concede late goals, notably in that 2-2, when we let slip a two-goal lead.
We're still unbeaten, but considering 3 other sides have perfect records, there's still a long way to go.
#135581 Formula One - 2013
Eric Portapotty
#135558 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
No exactly ideal (as usual), we've got highs (beating OFI Crete) and lows (losing to Grand Hotel, all greyed-out players).
Now the transfers:
Replaces my 1st-choice (released, more on that later), was planning to use him as a Sweeper Keeper a la Lloris with a high backline.
Thing is, he's not very good at that - in fact he's not too good at the basics either.
He's also got no determination, which'll help when we inevitably let in a goal or 2 in a match.
I've decided to fill my holes in the team with loanees, so that I'll get a fresher start if we do go back up.
First up is this guy, hard worker and a tall person, which will helps when someone tries to pull a Wide Target Man trick on me.
(You can't rule anything out when half your opponents are newgens.)
Bolstering the CB slots, his aggression should help with our pressing.
Though he'll probably send himself off more often than not...
Experience in attack, with a bit of pace, I could do worse.
Well not much worse, considering he's currently injured.
Players from Zamalek do have a pedigree of some sort, so there's that.
Backup GK, after realising we don't have one.
Scouts rate him quite highly for some reason, could do for a short-term acquisition.
And I've just realised he's taller than Ibrahim, might do well if I tweak my set-pieces.
Departures:
1st 3 are the high earners, got rid of them to free up that wage budget and give my some guarantees when negotiating contracts.
Saleh was the released GK, a Palestinian who conceded 45 goals last season (22 games).
Thing is, I've released him and signed Nyam without realising that he was half-Egyptian and they had a foreign cap of 3 last season.
This season? 2, one of which has been taken by Nyam.
So now, I've got 4 foreigners here, of which 2 will have to sit out the season as Id been unable to offload them.
As I've already mentioned, I'm a massive idiot.
------------------------------------
He're our season odds:
Considering there's only 1 promotion spot, we might be in a spot of bother....
#135321 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
So there.
#135128 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#135123 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
I'm a massive idiot.
#134563 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
That much is true, it's quite sad to see Ongfiang being on fire appearing in my newsfeed though...
And I had managed in Egypt before (FM11, took the team up to the top division and taking advantage of the Bosman rule (and AI clubs' ineptitude) to sign under-20s with huge potential.
Got found out big time in the PL (lost 5 of 5) before I jumped ship when an offer from China came in.
#134536 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
They've just been relegated from Egypt's top flight, and as such there'll be trouble ahead, in terms of personnel.
Best player, not that it matters anyway - his contract is up in a month and he wants to leave.
In fact this is the expected squad depth if we discount the players soon to be out of contract:
Clearly there's an instant problem area that needs to fixed ASAP.
#134532 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
Strugglers in Egypt's second tier.
Very odd - a 1st and only offer from Europe, in Belgium's third tier.
By far the richest and highest-profile club in this group - $2 million transfer budget and $110k p/w for wages.
Finished 2nd to last in Egypt's second tier, owned by a couple of Kazakhs.
#134362 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
Also, I'm been saving with rolling autosaves, and BY PURE COINCIDENCE I have found a save file on the day of my dismissal, pre-match.
So your call guys, do I undo my idiocy and continue, or do I let life take its course and look for new employment?
#134361 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
The only coach I managed to sign in a year at the club, others wanted nearly double what I could offer ($400 p/w) so it was only him and my assman doing the training.
No one around that's even remotely competent in fitness or goalkeeping, which meant Nzoyem was going downhill and my youth GKs are developing to nowhere near their potential.
Lost it at this, 2 early injuries and Nzoyem letting a long range FK cross bounce off him and into the net.
I leave the team here (+1 match which they lost) - upper mid-table and a 3rd round tie.
In any case,
Cellar dwellers in the Egyptian Premier League,
or a short trip to the second tier with recently relegated strugglers?
(Owned by a Montenegrin too, though he doesn't seem to be an oligarch.)
#134227 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
I'm a moron.
#134008 Transfer Rumours 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
#133998 Pentagon [FM14]
Eric Portapotty
Preseason was abysmal - I called my players back early in anticipation of a longer preseason (8 weeks) but there wasn't any one who was travel to our place to play, and we weren't allowed to anywhere else to play.
Assman managed to stitch up a couple towards the end of the 8 weeks, which meant we were slightly lacking in fitness for the start of the season.
Great start to the season turned sour real quick.
Debut match-up saw us thrash last year's quater-final opponents in the cup, Unisport.
Then came an ultimately frustrating draw, where we were slowly looking likely to score the winner, only to be pegged back, then score an even later equaliser.
Then came the fixture against giants Coton Sport, who we also met last year in the cup.
And like last year, we rode our luck as they missed chance after chance, and got a very fortuitous draw.
Games 4 and 5 exposed our lack of cutting edge uptop, and we ambled along failing to take our chances, paying for it eventually.
The Canon game was a particular travesty - starting new signing N'Dong for he debut, his distinct lack of a physical presence was brutally exposed by Nchia's pace, clearly outpaced for the 1st 2 goals.
Oh, and we've made more signings, if only to highlight my ineptitude further:
(DON'T LAUGH AT HIS NAME) He's probably the best (budget) choice for a box-to-box man, with pace and a good work ethic.
It is therefore a sign of my ability as a manager that I've allowed to let him go out on loan (in July, no less).
Pace uptop, backup Hernandez, if you know what I mean.
Covers RB and RM, albeit not very well.
#133768 The Italian Football Thread
Eric Portapotty
#133743 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty
It wouldn't bee as bad if it wasn't for the fact that it isn't even their best strike partnership.
#133742 Barclays Premier League 2013/14
Eric Portapotty