willz121 - Comments

Right, well firstly apologies for the delay since my last update! Work has been a bit busy, and I've been away, and yadda yadda yadda... in that time though, I have finished my season, and thought I'd do a quick round up of what you've missed!

January Transfer Window

I made one signing in January, with Kevin De Bruyne coming in from my former club Manchester United. He was transfer listed there, and we managed to pick him up for just £4.1m. No players departed in what proved to be a very quiet January window for us.

Champions League

We finished second in our group to Schalke, but unfortunately we went out in the First Knockout Round against Barcelona. Chelsea were the eventual winners, beating Arsenal in the final. Barcelona and Juventus were the respective losing semi finalists.

Coppa Italia

We triumphed again in the Coppa Italia, this time overcoming Udinese in the final. It was a great result for us, and alongside the Super Coppa in the summer, we now had done the double...

Serie A

... And we quickly made that the treble:



We won the league by three points over Juventus, with just two defeats all season - both to Juventus!! I've still not beaten them, which is really frustrating. We also set the record for goals scored in the season, and points gained!

International Management

This has again become frustrating, after five players pulled out of the squad for a friendly, three got injured, and we didn't really have much choice who to call up. With that in mind, I had considered resigning from the Ivory Coast role. Another factor was that France were stealing all the good regens! Anyway, with the 2024 Olympics on the horizon, Spain U23's came calling, and I took the job... I've got the Spanish league loaded so at least there should be some decent players in there somewhere.

Whilst it's only short term, I think I will wait it out for another international role after the Olympics, and see if I can get a job from a loaded league.

Players



James Rodriguez was amazing this season, he simply didn't put a foot wrong all campaign! 23 goals and 11 assists from midfield was just superb, and I cannot believe how good he has been. Cristiano Ronaldo came in second with 17 goals, another massive haul from the now 39 year old forward. Toncheff and Tanski also had good seasons, as did De Bruyne. Kristoffer Abrahamsson was our top goalscoring striker with 13 goals, but we rotated that position quite a lot.

Manager of the Year



Another award to add to my collection, delighted with another treble winning season, and another top year with Roma. It's time now to try and focus on the players in my squad rather than buying any more older players. The ones that are still with me won't be forced out, but I need to give the youngsters a chance now after two perfect seasons.

Playable Leagues

I have now added the Switzerland league to my game, as they seem to be creating some nice regens at Grasshoppers, so it could be a potential future stop on the journey. I now have:

England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland loaded

So that's a concise round up, sorry it's taken a while, and sorry this isn't more detailed. Onto the new season!

It's been an enjoyable time at Roma so far, but it could be tough in three tournaments this season. I hope we can give it another good go though. They are becoming a team I enjoy so I can see why you are so fond of them!


Ronaldo is still the boss, well until he got injured in September (below). It's his first injury during his time for me, and he has been so worthwhile having in the squad. Been using him more as a poacher of late, and he does it very well!

Thank you both for following and commenting!

August/September

Let's start with some of our transfers:


Koval and Torres left for cash, with Torres constantly moaning about not playing it was an easy decision when Napoli offered his asking price. Koval, who was amazing for us last season wouldn't sign a new contract unless we nearly tripled his wages, and it was a figure we couldn't afford. With his contract up in the summer, we had to cash in.

The key players coming in are Toby Alderweireld, Sandro, Nedim Kerin, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ronnie Middleton and Mario Gotze:


We paid £800k for Sandro, £325k for Azpilicueta, and £5m for Middleton, the other three arrived on free transfers. It's been a good window for me, as I feel we've added in the right places. Kerin should be an able deputy for the departed Koval, and Mario Gotze should still do a job for us at just 31 years of age.

Results


I've honestly got no idea what I've done to this screenshot, the results aren't in date order - in fact I cannot figure out what order they are in... but anyway you can see that we've made a good start to the season. We overcame Inter 4-0 in the Super Coppa Final, and also managed a 2-0 win over them in the league at the San Siro!

We won our opening game of the Champions League over Sparta Prague, and also have Liverpool and Schalke in our group. Second place is quite alright with me, so hopefully we can get through. We should beat Sparta easily again, so minimal expectation should see us in the Europa... but we'll worry about that if we ever come to it.

Juventus continue to be our bogey side, as they are the only side to beat us this season, in fact the only team to score more than one goal against us so far too!

Table


With just the defeat to Juventus tarnishing our start to the season, we are joint top, behind Fiorentina on goal difference. They also have a game in hand, so they could stretch their lead over us with a win. Not a bad start to the season at all, and happy that we're making good progress from last season.

Team of the Month


Cristiano Ronaldo makes it into Team of the Month, but will now be out of action for two months with an injury. Hopefully we can get him back sooner rather than later as he's been our star player this season again.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for the comments mate, Ivory Coast should be an interesting challenge!! Final update...

May

Results


Just the final three games to round up, two in the league and the cup final. We started the final run in at home to Verona, where Robert Lewandowski notched the only goal of the game to give us a 1-0 win. Our final game of the league campaign took us to Cagliari, where Andrew Outlaw scored to rescue a point for us. We rested a lot of players before the cup final, but it was sad to finish with a draw. Having said that, Outlaw scored in the first game of the season and the last, so a nice touch! Onto the final...


That about says it all, dominated possession but Inter had more shots. However, we grabbed the only goal and secured the double! Fantastic season, and delighted with the side.

Table


11 points clear in the end, and the season was over! Delighted to win the league, and surprised how easy it was! We rebuild for next season now, and looking forward to another challenge with Roma.

End of Season Awards


Well deserved award for Cristiano Ronaldo, despite edging closer to 40, he has been sensational for us this season! His contract has an automatic renewal for 1 year after 15 games, so he'll keep going as long as he needs to!


Agustin Toncheff was named Young Footballer of the Year, and he has been brilliant this year. I really hope we can keep hold of him and nurture him through his career for a long time to come.


Toncheff also scored Goal of the Year, and when I congratulated him, he told me "I have scored better, but it's nice to win the award"... not bad!


Maxyim Koval, Andre Schurrle, Juan Fernando Quintero and Cristiano Ronaldo made it into Team of the Year. I am surprised that Capradossi wasn't included as he's been brilliant this season, whilst I didn't think Schurrle played enough, but has been good when he has been in the team!


Thank you very much! Manager of the Year in the Premiership and Serie A in consecutive seasons, happy days...


I also won the Manager of the Year award as voted for by the other managers - always nice to be appreciated by your peers!


Rightfully so, the team won Team of the Year, and it has been a fantastic first season in Italy.

April

Results


The wheels are falling off, but at least we've got a bit of room for error! The first game of April was a routine win, crushing Novara 4-1 with goals from Toncheff, Ronaldo, Abrahamsson and an own goal, but that was to be where the joy turned a little sour. Firstly, our trip to Parma saw us lose 2-1 despite a James Rodriguez penalty. We then hosted Siena, and despite taking an early lead through an own goal, we couldn't finish them off and more points were dropped.

Thankfully, the final game of the month saw us back to winning ways with Kristoffer Abrahamsson scoring the only goal against the Viola. It's been a bit of a disappointing month as we head towards the end of the season, but thankfully we should have points to spare!

Table


End game, we are the CHAMPIONS! With just two league games to go, we are twelve points clear, and we've got the Coppa Italia Final to come, so despite the recent form, I hope we can finish off now with a flourish.

Player Stats


Jason Heron has played a couple of games for us after we signed him on a free transfer, and has looked capable. Not quite the finished article, but could provide cover next season. Ronaldo is still up there for any players who have played enough to warrant an average rating, whilst it is extremely pleasing to see Selim up there too. He's been great for us at left back!

Team of the Month


Just the one this month, and loanee Dennis Roest is chosen. It's a shame that it doesn't look like Chelsea will let him stay another season, and I don't think we can afford him, but he's done well this year for us!

March

Results



It's that month again, and we face Milan and Juventus at the end of this month. After the disappointing defeat to Napoli, we had to get back to winning ways and a double from James Rodriguez was enough for a 2-1 win over Udinese.

We quickly followed this with a 4-1 thrashing of Lazio. This was a great result for us, instantly getting revenge for the 1-0 defeat we incurred in the previous metting. Cristiano Ronaldo belted in a hat-trick with Lewandowski adding to the rout.

Unfortunately, this form didn't carry over to our game at Sampdoria, which with the next two fixtures in mind, I thought was must win. Despite Andre Schurrle scoring, we didn't build on that and dropped points. Thankfully, we managed to roll Milan over in the next game, with a double from Quintero and Abrahamsson scoring to make it 3-0. A massive win, and one which we needed!

So to the Old Lady we travel, knowing that a win would all but give us one hand on the title. We even took the lead through Capradossi, but we just weren't good enough to get three points against them. Second time we've lost to Juventus, and it was another disappointing result.

Table


Fourteen points clear of Juventus, which could've been 17 if we'd have won the game, but we only have six games to go means we only need five more points to guarantee the title!

Player Stats


Lewandowski's cameos have been great so far, and Ronaldo continues to dominate with 17 goals and 10 assists. I am truly baffled as to how well he is still playing even at 37 years of age! Schurrle has been playing well recently and moves up the list, although Jordan Rossiter still struggles to find a way into the team.

Team of the Month


Six of the best here, with Koval, Selim, Capradossi, Toncheff, Quintero and Ronaldo all making the Team of the Month. Cannot ask for much more this season, they've been great and I hope we can get our hands on the title sooner rather than later!

February

Results



We faced Parma in the first game of February, and we secured a scrappy 2-1 win. In recent games, we haven't been at our best, but we pulled it together after this game. Ronaldo and Rodriguez got the goals.

The win over Parma started a five game winning streak, with us keeping four clean sheets in that run too. After beating Parma, we hosted Bologna, with Rodriguez again on target in a 2-0 win. Quintero notched the first goal of the game, which has seen him make a marked improvement!

An away game against Livorno saw Lewandowski score his first goal for the club, with Ronaldo scoring twice to make the scoreline a comfortable one. Lewandowski has been brought in to tutor players and also be a backup where required, so for him to score his first goal was a delight.

Another 3-0 win followed, as we hosted Catania. Ronaldo again on the scoresheet along with Quintero and Kyle Walker opening his account for his new club. Fusco and Rodriguez both scored as we beat Atalanta 2-0, before the big game against Napoli who had been making an attempt to break the top four...

And we blooming lost! Devastated with the result after an incredible month. Andre Schurrle grabbed our goal, but we went down 2-1. Really disappointed, but thankfully the games beforehand gave us that room for error!

Table


Twelve points clear of Juventus, with Napoli and Inter just points behind them. Milan continue to drop away, whilst the sides at the bottom are drifting a little too much to stay up.

Team of the Month


Five players in Team of the Month, Koval and Capradossi looking like regulars now, and joined by Selim, Toncheff and Ronaldo.

In other news...


I have been appointed manager of the Ivory Coast! They reached the Quarter Final of the African Nations Cup, and I now have the opportunity to rebuild.

January

Results


Another good month, despite a couple of draws and a defeat. We started the month with a game against Udinese in the Coppa Italia Quarter Final, with Tomas Martinez scoring the only goal for us. The game went to penalties, and we managed to win through in the end! Far from ideal having an extra 30 minutes played, but we are through to the Semi Finals!

Our next game took us to Sassuolo as we begin the second half of our season. A nice and easy 2-0 win was brought back to the capital, with new signing Kristoffer Abrahmsson (screenshot below) and Andre Schurrle scoring the goals to see us through.

The next game was a biggy though, as we faced city rivals Lazio in the Semi Finals. The game was played over two legs, and we took full advantage at home with a stunning 5-2 win. Goals from Taider (x3), Quintero and Rodriguez secured an exceptional win, and I was delighted that we made a commanding statement in the first leg.

Andre Schurrle continue his good form, scoring the only goal of the game against Genoa. After destroying them earlier in the season in my 500th game, it was nice just to get three points this time as we didn't look like scoring.

Lazio and Inter up next, and disappointingly we lost 1-0 at home to Lazio in the second leg. This was tough to take for the fans, but we were through and that's all that mattered. We then took a good point at the San Siro, with Quintero giving us the lead.

Table


8 points clear of the Old Lady, with Napoli quietly pulling up to Milan for the race for Champions League football too.

Team of the Month


Some great performances this month, and Koval and Capradossi make Team of the Month for the second month running. Agustin Toncheff joins them after an amazing run in the first team!

Transfers

Going out, we moved a few more youngsters to other clubs on loan for first team experience, but the major departures were Hamza Taider (£20m to Real Madrid) and Alfred (£27m to PSG). Both had complained about not getting enough first team football, and whilst I like to rotate the squad they weren't happy. We've made great money on the pair though and neither move to a direct competitor.

I've added screenshots for the key players we have brought in below:

Thanks it's been a really interesting save so far, as I started with a plan at Coventry, and now I've just decided to move around Europe and see what I can see! Thank you for reading and following!


Thankfully December made up for November, but it was good to get a point against Milan. Juventus are our biggest rivals and they are playing really well. Thanks for continuing to follow!

December

Results


After a tough November, we returned to form in December with some excellent results. Goals from Crowley and Fusco saw us beat Siena away from home, as we gave the fringe players another chance to impress. Fusco has certainly looked a decent player in front of goal this season when introduced.

We followed that up with a 2-0 win at home to Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia, with Matt Vickers grabbing both goals. Vickers hasn't lived up to expectations this season, so hopefully this can inspire him to better form.

A draw at home to Fiorentina followed, as we struggled to maintain our grip on the lead. We took the lead twice through Ronaldo and Rodriguez, but failed to hold onto it, which is really disappointing as Fiorentina aren't a great side.

Finally, we finished the month in style with a 3-1 win over Verona, with Ronaldo again getting on the scoresheet along with wonderkid Brambilla and Hamza Taider.

Table


Six point gap now over the Old Lady, and hopefully we can bolster the squad in January and keep this run going!

Player Stats

I forgot to grab this screenshot at the end of December... my mistake!

Team of the Month


Three players in Team of the Month, with Maxyim Koval keeping another good month, and Capradossi and Ronaldo maintaining their form.

Yeah was a really enjoyable month of winning, soon to be followed by...

November

Results



We started against Milan in a manner which I thought would see us win the game, but after blitzing their goal for 10 minutes or so, they tide turned completely and it was just one way traffic towards our goal. I have no idea what happened, but the footballing Gods kept the ball out of the net for us, and we managed to get a goalless draw against them. I really have no idea how we didn't lose this game!

We started brightly against Juventus as well in the next game, taking a two goal lead within 22 minutes, but again the tide turned completely - and this time we were punished! Our first defeat of the season to our nearest title rivals was a tough pill to swallow, but it means that we have less room for error against the other sides. The fixtures repeat themselves, which means that we will face Milan and Juve back to back again later in the season.

Finally, we travelled to Novara, where Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez (x2) got us back into winning ways, and ensure that we ended a tough - but short - month on a high.

Table



The gap is down to three points now, with the Juventus defeat it was always going to make it very difficult to keep too far ahead, Napoli are up to third after Milan's struggles.

Player Stats

I forgot to grab this screenshot at the end of November... my mistake!

Team of the Month



Agustin Toncheff is the only one who made it into Team of the Month after three average performances from the side. It's a shame, but hopefully we can be better prepared for the next game against Juve!

Interestingly, Walter Mazzari's job at Manchester United is currently under pressure, although I don't think I could go back just yet.

Thanks Dan! It's still a shock that we're performing this well, but we've still not really had much of a test... thanks for continuing to follow!

October

Results


Flawless, absolutely flawless! In a month where we faced Napoli, Udinese, Lazio and Sampdoria, we came away with a straight flush of wins. We started the month with a routine win against Atalanta, and it was a great performance. The goals were routinely spaced out, and Ronny even arrived on scene to score the third.

Next, we faced Napoli who I really thought would be a tough game this season. We sold a striker to them in the summer, so the expectation was that he would score, but we managed to pull a 2-0 win out of the bag with Taider scoring first before a last minute penalty from Alfred secured the win.

We hosted Udinese in the next game, and Ham-ez Rodriguez was on form, and scored both goals in a 2-1 win. I have to be honest, James and Quintero have both been disappointing recently, and for one of them to command this game and win us three points was very reassuring! Hopefully they can both kick on from here and raise their game a bit.

The penultimate game of the month was the Rome derby, away at Lazio. It was a very tight game, and we were looking set for a nervy 0-0 draw until Hamza Taider popped up in the last minute to hammer home the winner. I celebrated this goal fairly loudly, what an amazing three points for the fans?!

Finally, we hosted Sampdoria and again we had a fairly straightforward march to three points. Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Eduardo Fusco were enough to give us a clean sweep, maximum points and only two goals conceded in five games.

The big test follows as we face Milan and Juventus back to back, so that will be a real test of our strength.

Table


We're 8 points clear at the start of November, and face third and second in our next two league games. Wins could see us running away with the title at the early stages, anything less will bunch the chase up.

Player Stats


Ronaldo's early season form keeps him top of the Average Rating charts, although he's barely played again this month. Tonchev and Selim have been almost ever present, and have been perfoming well. Andre Schurrle continues to be my super sub, but I really feel bad that I don't play him more, whilst Hamza Taider continues to score and is now joint top goalscorer with Ronaldo.

Team of the Month


Five players in Team of the Month is another great sight to behold. We are playing well and winning well, so it's a pleasure to see my players getting recognised for their performances. It's brilliant, and I hope they can continue grabbing accolades!

Thanks for reading!

September

Results


We started the month with an excellent win over Inter. This was the first big test we had after steamrolling Sassuolo and Genoa, so to come away with a solitary goal win was good enough for me. James Rodriguez scored his first goal for the club, and hopefully the first of many!

The remaining games of the month were less of a challenge, and we continued our excellent form with another two cleansheets. Youngster Charlie Hatzke gave us the lead against Bologna, before Andre Schurrle and Hamza Taider completed the win. I rotated the squad for this game as I wanted to keep the others fit, and also give a couple of fringe players a chance.

The same approach was applied to the game at home to Livorno, with Andrew Outlaw given his first start of the season. He scored the opener, and whilst the game was very tight until the last few minutes, we looked in control. Youngster Eduardo Fusco came on to wrap the game up with the second goal in injury time. He's been decent in his cameo appearances so far, and glad he got a goal here.

Finally, we went to Catania and enjoyed the better of a seven goal thriller. Schurrle gave us the lead before Taider scored a second just after the break. Quintero (twice) and Martinez wrapped the game up for us, which was a lot more nervous for us than it really should've been. Another perfect month though, so I am delighted!

Table


Both ourselves and Milan have made a perfect start to the season, with Napoli and Inter following up a few points back. We've scored 20 goals in six games, which is really encouraging. Most of the teams at the top are scoring freely, so it could be an interesting season!

Player Stats


Cristiano Ronaldo still tops our average rating chart, but he has barely played since last month as I've been able to rest him. He's done well when he has played though and is an excellent player to have on the bench when he's not required to start.

Agustin Toncheff has been impressive in midfield, and he's been creating goals this season. Rossiter, Vickers and Outlaw have all been on the fringe this season. I'd like to give them more game time, but they don't fit at the minute which is frustrating.

Quintero and Brambilla have been disappointing when involved. Brambilla I don't mind because he is a youngster who needs time, but we parted with significant cash for Quintero, so would be good to see him pick his performances up soon!

Team of the Month



It's great to see Toncheff's performances recognised in Team of the Month, and also from loanee Dennis Roest. We've got a chance to sign him at the end of the season, and his performances so far have been excellent. Really impressed with him, and hopefully that will carry on into the remainder of the loan.

Thanks George & Dan for continuing to follow and comment, this has been the most fun career I've had for a while, and glad others can enjoy it too.

June, July & August

Thanks for all the comments guys, it's been a disappointing end to my Old Trafford career, but we went out on a high! It's been a few days since the last update, and with options of Brighton, Arsenal, Seville and Roma on the table it was make your mind up time. In the end, I decided to go with Roma as it will offer a completely new challenge in a league that I've not managed in on FM14.

I have also changed the skin to mark the new start in the career!

Roma are a club who are expected to finish in the top four this season, which was reflected in the early season odds:



We should be up there come the end of the season, and we are expected to qualify for the Champions League this year. One highlight of the summer is that England managed to finish third at the 2022 World Cup, losing to Italy in the semi final, but beating Spain to finish third.

Other than the World Cup and a handful of friendlies, the summer break disappeared, and we moved on a number of transfer targets I had outlined. Whilst I do want to favour bringing players through the ranks, there were a few players who I couldn't miss out on signing.



Firstly, I set about generating some cash for the club, and transfer listed half of the squad who were either on too much money, nearing the end of their contract, or just weren't good enough for this season.

Nedelev, Bruno and Brodic were the big departures, and whilst the board were disappointed with the sales of all three, the transfers in were much more pleasing!

Matt Vickers, Jordan Rossiter and Pietro Capobianco all followed me to Roma from Manchester United, and I was delighted to pick up all three relatively cheaply. I also managed to pick up Andrew Outlaw from Cardiff for a minimal fee, so those four are all players I have managed before in this career. A host of youngsters also arrived during the summer and were sent back out on loan, but then the big three were signed...



I am ecstatic to have brought all three into the club this summer, and I think they will be an asset for us going forward. James and Quintero have plenty of years left, and whilst Cristiano's physical stats have dropped, his mental stats are amazing. He is now our club captain, and will be mentoring our golden boy from the Academy:



Brambilla looks like a great talent, and at just 17 years of age he could be a star for the future. He'll be working closely with Cristiano, and I hope to give him plenty of game time this season.

Results



We started the season on fire, and it's been a great way to begin my time in Rome. We opened with an emphatic 5-0 win over Sassuolo, with goals from Taider, Ronaldo, Schurrle (x2) and Outlaw scored on his debut. James and Quintero hadn't signed by this point.

Our next game at Genoa would prove to be a milestone for me:



The players marked the occasion well, with two goals from Cristiano, and a goal a piece for Martinez and Alfred. It was really exciting to be able to rotate the team and still put out some excellent talent, so hopefully this will bode well for us going forward.

Table

Two wins from two, and an excellent goal difference sees us top:



With Inter next, this will be a real test of where we've got to. Our two opening wins have also seen us flood the Team of the Month:



Cristiano Ronaldo has been excellent since signing, and he tops our Average Ratings for the month:



I am looking forward to venturing into September in the next update, with our new look attacking trio in place, and hopefully get Brambilla some game time too.

Thanks for reading!

May

With the league title in the bag, just two games remained in the season. With nothing to play for, I gave a couple of youngsters a game, and Wesley Griffiths became the youngest ever Premiership goalscorer as he scored the opener against Swansea City.



We totally dominated the game, and we deserved the win in front of our fans to say thank you and to celebrate the league title. Two clicks later...



Four trophies in 17 months at Old Trafford wasn't enough for me to survive the takeover, and I am yet again turfed out by an Italian led takeover. I won't lie, I am really disappointed that this came about after winning the league, and buying several players that will become big players for United going forward. But it's the way it goes, and I cannot say I was sacked due to poor performance.

Table



Just for times sake, I was relieved of my duties with one game remaining. Top of the league by seven points, and sixteen ahead of our City rivals.

Manager of the Year



Delighted to pick up this award, and it's another reason why I feel disappointed to be leaving Old Trafford. Glad to win the award though, and hopefully it will enhance my reputation further.

Where to next?

Four job offers so far, but I am unsure whether to jump straight back in, or have some time away from football.


Walter Mazzari replaced me at Old Trafford, and Cesar Prandelli retired from Arsenal. I have turned down the Brighton role as they are already a reasonably successful club performing above their expectations. They finished 9th this season in the Premiership, and it feels as though it would be a step backwards at this stage of my career.


Sevilla is an interesting offer, and certainly would see a new challenge dawn. I am unsure whether I want a stint in Spain unless it is with one of the two big clubs. They require a lot of work to make the competitive, but they are in the Europa League next season after finishing 5th in La Liga this season.


Roma provide an interesting challenge after finishing 8th in Serie A this season, they are well out of where the board expect them to be. They have amazing facilities, and this certainly interests me a lot. They are offering the lowest of the transfer funds, but with their facilities they may not be required as I would like to build a squad here.


Finally, we all know about Arsenal. They've been distinctly average over the years, but managed to finish 4th this season so would be in the Champions League (via the qualifiers). They've got Ross Barkley in midfield, with Szczesny, Ramsey, Wilshere and Oxlade Chamberlain still at the club. It's a very tempting mood to strike straight back at the Manchester United board for sacking me... but I am unsure if I want to stay in England at the moment.

Time to have a think about where we go from here... thanks for reading!

Was fantastic to win the Capital One Cup, adds to the trophy cabinet! FA Cup and Premiership still on as well, so potential treble?
Yeah very disappointed to drop points, but not losing was more important. London teams are my bogey sides obviously!
Yeah edging ever closer, every game is a quick sum to see how many more points we need to secure the title!
Middleton looks very good at the minute, so hopefully he will be a fans favourite. Focus on buying younger players as our intake has been awful again this year!

April



Five big games in April, and we lost probably the most important one! De Bruyne is hitting form again, and proving he is the same player as last term, scoring five goals during the month. A 2-0 win to start the month against Newcastle was a tidy result, before we got past Everton with a 3-1 win. Both performances and gave us a boost going into the FA Cup Semi Final against Liverpool... unfortunately, this wasn't enough and we went down 1-0 against our north west neighbours. I was really gutted, but the performance wasn't what was required, and it hurts to say but Liverpool deserved it.

With the dreams of the treble over, we had to get back to basics and concentrate on winning the title. Two goals in added time made the 3-0 win over Hull City look better than it was, with De Bruyne single handedly won us the game against Brighton.

Table



Manchester United are Champions!

The win over Brighton took us over the line, and we had secured the title. It was fantastic to finally get the trophy won, and back at Old Trafford. Chelsea floundered a couple of times, and our near perfect form saw us home. Absolutely delighted!

Takeover Update

As per usual, it was a bit rocky, but:



The dreaded vote of confidence from the new Chairman, but with the double won, I hope he will give me a chance to remain at the club!

Awards



De Bruyne rightfully picked up the player of the month award, and he is finally back to form and has stopped moaning. If he can remain happy, he will hopefully return to first team regular next year.



100% win rate in the league, and only conceded 1 goal in the four games we played. Unfortunately we did lose to Liverpool in the cup, but I am sure returning to the Champions League will sooth some of the wounds! Thanks for reading...

March



Only four games in March, but three of them are massive ones for the club. Firstly, we started with a home tie against Tottenham, who have been the bane of my existence so far at Old Trafford. They are still the only side who have beaten us in the league this year, and after the Carling Cup semi final games, I am fed up of seeing them... however, we neatly dispatched them 2-0 at Old Trafford, which should hopefully see them drop out of the title race. Our next game was also at home, as we entertained Mansfield in the FA Cup Sixth Round (quarter final). We made this a lot harder than it was, and once again we went 1-0 down early on. I made three substitutes at half time, and they made the difference with Vickers scoring twice and assisting Medjedovic's goal.

Annoyingly, after the game Alon Einstein came to me to request a transfer as he hasn't been playing regular football. He's been in my starting eleven for the last two months, since he last moaned, so maybe it is time for him to move on. Not sure what else I can do really, but hopefully he will change his mind when we secure Champions League football.

We next had two away games, starting at Manchester City. Despite City struggling this season, we've not had a good record against them. They've got a strong squad, and we both battled away for a 0-0 draw. We were very lucky to escape with a point, but hopefully that's us getting some luck after peppering sides in February without much reward. The game against Fulham was a disaster, and a complete write off. Mateo Kovacic smashed in a 93rd minute equaliser to secure a point. February was perfect, March was just enough!

Table



Dropping points against City and Fulham has allowed Chelsea to close the gap back to four points, so one loss will be catastrophic for us. They have also now scored 100 goals, with six games remaining of the season. We are eight points clear of Tottenham, and thirteen clear of City, so hopefully this is now down to a two horse race.

News



We played two friendlies in March, and lost both. This meant that out of my six games in charge, we'd drawn once and lost five. It wasn't interesting, and it wasn't adding anything to my game, so I decided to step down. I would like to return to International management though, but this wasn't the right time for me.



Nooooooooooooo!!! If I get sacked by another Italian consortium, I will be very sad. We're on the verge of a potential treble, finances are immaculate, but the (potentially) new board are still looking for a replacement. My contract runs until the end of next season, so hopefully that might give me some protection...



... or maybe I won't need it! I just hope the takeover either falls over, or they decide to stick with me. At this moment in time, I'd prefer the former, and that this new consortium leaves us alone.

So that's March, quick and to the point... roll on April! Thanks for reading.

Thanks Johno, Huddersfield have built a fairly decent side, and he was one of three players there that my scouts were impressed by. I hope that he will become a key figure for the club, particularly now that we have a lot of foreign talent, we need to ensure the good English players come through. Thanks for following!

February



So February begins, and surprisingly for one of the shortest months of the year, we play six games! We started with a home game against Reading, and their former player Isaiah Brown scored after just 1 minute to down his old team. Was delighted to see him score, but we really should have scored a few more. With Chelsea still scoring for fun, we need bigger wins to try and reduce the goal difference gap. We followed the narrow win with another 1 goal win, this time at Huddersfield. Donaghue gave us an early lead, but they pegged us back and took the lead before half time. Chumpitaz and Donaghue again secured a win for us.

We next faced Millwall at home in the FA Cup 5th Round, which was a massive banana skin. I changed a number of players in the starting line up, and it shook us up a little too much. They scored early on, but goals from Donaghue and Kovacic gave us a 2-1 lead at half time. After half time we looked like we'd lose despite dominating every aspect of the play. When they equalised, I thought we were out of the cup, but an injury time penalty from De Bruyne secured us passage to the quarter finals. De Bruyne has finally realised the error of his ways and wants to stay, so that's a welcome return.

Back to back 1-0 wins in the league gave us a 100% record this month in Premier League games, although my laptop was nearly sent flying across the room when Henriquez scored against QPR. We had battered them, well and truly dominated them, and couldn't score. Henriquez in the fourth minute of injury time put us 1-0 up and I nearly jumped out of my seat! It was a huge goal for us, and yet another banana skin avoided. Our 1-0 win over Norwich at Old Trafford was a lot more comfortable, but we really are struggling to score goals despite creating many chances.

Finally, the month ended with the Carling Cup Final:



Again, we found ourselves behind, but De Bruyne, Vickers and Nouri made the result look a lot more comfortable than it was, but we had won another piece of silverware, and I was delighted with the result!

Table



Top of the league, with a five point gap is very nice at the moment. Still 9 games to play, so plenty to be decided. We don't have to play Chelsea again, but we face Tottenham and Manchester City during March, so the next update is an important one! Chelsea have scored 92 goals in 29 games, that's simply outstanding... Lukaku is a monster!

Manager of the Month



Three 1-0 wins, and the fourth game being won by 1 goal shows how tight we can be, but it's not ideal as most of those wins have been extremely close to being draws. We need to analyse who the chances are falling to, and maybe change personnel round slightly to ensure they fall to the right player. Delighted with the award though!

March update coming up... thanks for reading!