Gendo - Comments

After finishing the first SUSIE challenge for this year, I thought I'd give this a go just because it sounds pretty fun. I was thinking about incorporating specific achievements to the seasons, but then I realized that most leagues run in all shapes and sizes, and putting in a hard number for any one thing would be difficult. Also, was there an intended length of time to have this run?

Expect a starting for me real soon.

Gendo Season 3



With all the money I got from last season in Europe, I went all out to rebuild the squad. Did me some good, though not as much as I'd like.



La Liga - 6th place: 4 points



Copa del Rey 4th round exit: zero points (thank you that it's not negative. )
Beat Athletic: 5 x2 = 10 points
Beat Osasuna: 3 x2 = 6 points

Season 3 - 20 points

Total Challenge Points: 52 points

Gendo Season 2



La Liga: 9th place - zero points (my tactics this time around were garbage, and I tried everything I could think of, to little avail.



I sold Carlos Vela and Gonzalo Castro for money, to hopefully rebuild the squad. Looks like that'll need to come during the upcoming offseason



Beat Athletic: 5 x1 = 5 points



Copa Del Rey Quarter Final Exit: 2 points



Champions League group exit (3rd place): 2 points
Europa League 2nd Round exit: 3 points

2nd season points: 12
Total points: 32

I blame myself for poor choices in important matches. Could've had more points in the first year.


3rd place: 10 points




5th Round exit: zero points


Europa League Group Stage exit: zero points (and it was an easy group too. )


Beat Athletic: 5 points x2 = 10 points total

Alaves and Osasuna didn't make the promotion playoffs, so no chance to beat them in the league next season.

After 1 season: 20 total points (yeesh, need to step it up...)

Well, I've never had a feeder club strictly for merchandising. Hope that it can bring in a good sum of money for you!

Do it, mate! Linfield obviously have the prestige in NI, so that can attract a wider range of players, maybe even some non-British Isles guys,

I am pleased with my signings, Dan and Johno. I really hope they pan out not just this season, but several season down the way.

August 2018



Community Shield


A wonderful come from behind victory to win the Community Shield for the third year in a row! We had an ugly start to the game, with Kurt Zouma failing to clear the ball correctly and struck it into his own net. Then Ma U doubled their lead after a Jesé striker near the penalty spot. But that's where it all started to turn around for us, as near two minutes later Lukaku gets Everton on the board. He continued to show lethal touch in the second half, as he equalized, and then put the team out ahead, with his hat trick, goals just 3 minutes apart. New loanee Isaiah Brown added to the tally just 2 minutes later to put the game out of reach for Man United, and we celebrate our first trophy of the season.

UEFA Super Cup


You really needed to watch this match live to appreciate how stressed I was the entire way through. Sturridge and Coutinho put the Reds out ahead before half time, and then disaster struck as Phil Jagielka got himself sent off nearly 10 minutes later. Playing with a man down and already 2 goals down, I just knew we wouldn't overcome this based on past performance. But oh boy did my team prove me wrong! Kevin Mirallas got us out to a flying second half start to pull it back within one. Right around the hour mark, Lukaku drives into the penalty back and takes a superb strike to knot up the match at 2. And then just 6 minutes later, we pull off the improbable, as Mirallas' shot from 18 yards out pulls us into the lead. All while being a man down! Unfortunately, we conceded near the end of regulation, forcing us to go to extra time.

Nothing really happened in that time, save for a couple yellow cards, so off to the penalty shootout. Jordan Henderson started the Liverpool side off strong, by skyrocketing the first penalty kick over the bar. Everton then made three consecutive PKs until Bryan Cristante had his shot saved. Liverpool made 3 straight shots to tie up the spot kicks until Santiago Arias had his shot blocked for Liverpool. It all came down to center back Jésus Vallejo, to which he promptly stepped up and drilled the ball into the right side back of the net, just past the outstretched hand of the keeper, for the win! We have a double, and the season isn't really official yet!

Premier League




Resounding success, followed by catastrophic failure. to Hull. AGAIN! That utter demolition of Leeds was a savory start to the league season. Lukaku hat trick and a Zouma brace were just brilliant sights to behold, and gave me high hopes that I would challenge the top 4-5 teams once again for the title. However, that came crashing down to earth as Hull squeak out a 1-0 win against the stats. With the 23 shots that we took, how in the hell did we not manage to score on any of them? That's the truly maddening part about it, that we put ourselves in a chance to win several times, but never came up with a proper finish. That needs to change, because it's not a fluke anymore, it's a full blown trend.

Champions Leauge Group Draw



Great draw in my opinion. Lyon will be a tricky side, but Ajax and Steaua should be fully beatable in both legs.

Transfers



First the outs, and aside from the free transfers, there were a couple big names being moved. Seamus Coleman and Lucas Boyé, two players that I had wished not to leave under any circumstances, had grown tired of me not playing them enough (even though they both had double digit appearances, and in Coleman's case, was injured). Lucas clearly had the talent to be a star somewhere else and not play second fiddle to Lukaku, so I decided it was best to ship him off to Sampdoria while he still had value; Seamus was picked up by Aston Villa. Reece Burke I brought in and immediately had doubts about his play, and at £5 million, it was a big gamble. It came up craps, and I had to release for there were better options on my squad. Brendan Galloway was another play that I had seen grow tremendously, but with how congested the midfield was already on my squad, he wasn't going to get play time either. I knew someone would take a man of his skill, and Norwich jumped on him.

Now for the ins: I liked scouting Brazil and Germany this summer, could you tell? I picked up six 18 and under players from those two nations, as I look to build to the future, with a seventh, Dave Hoyt, coming from Tigres in Mexico. Jon Flanagan was bought from rivals Liverpool to replace the gap that Seamus left, while Sam Byram came in as an RB backup (thought his play time for amount spent may have been a gamble). Finally, Isaiah Brown has come in on a season long loan from Chelsea, and he looks to be one of their bright young talents himself. Only 21, but nearly as good as Lukaku is already. I need to watch out for him in future matches down the road.

Cheers, Eric!

And I've given it much thought, Dan, and I decided I can't stay away from this; there's so much left on the table for me to try.

Off season 2018

Let's start this off by saying I was a wanted man going into the offseason, as Napoli and Juventus offered me job opportunities:




Obviously, I turned both of them down to continue any success I have at Everton.

Next came the financial reports, which after winning the Champions League, you'd expect us to jump up quite a bit:



We are now the 6th richest club in the world. But the chairman still refuses to give us more than £25 Million in transfer budget!

After stumbling on to the boardroom screen, I was surprised to see that we'll be getting a new stadium in the next 3 years:



Goodison only holds 40K people, so I can only imagine what this new stadium will seat, and how much revenue it'll bring in. I can wait 3 years for the surprise!

Our pre season friendlies went as follows:



Undefeated throughout, which can only mean that we'll fall flat on our faces in the season. I still don't understand why Orlando City was chosen to be the testimonial match for Jagielka, but I guess the game used some algorithm to determine that. Leighton Baines will have his testimonial next season, as it was cancelled this year.

And finally, here are our matchups for the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup:




Yes, two teams that we've had problems with from time to time, and we get them in back to back matches to start the season. Beautiful.

Did you ask him why he's gotta be so Ruud?

Fantastic run, mate! That CL title is in your sight now.

Good stuff in both league and Europe. Hope the form keeps up!

It's all come down to this, the culmination of a grand season. Sure, it's had some bumps in the road along the way, but the end goal is now in sight: who will take home the ultimate prize in Europe and be crowned champion of the Champions League?



We come down the tunnel, face to face with the Spanish, and recently European, giants, with the likes of Luis Suarez, Messi, and Neymar. Young players ter Stegen, Deulofeu, and Sergi Samper have helped them get to this level in a relief role, but are still dangerous all the more. As my players look back, I know that my two Barcelona loanees in Adama Traoré and Adem Halilovic must be having a wave of emotions come over them; starting them against their parent clubs, how will they react on the pitch? And will Lukaku and Rotariu make space past the Barça defensive line to get shots on goal?

Opening whistle from San Siro:

Things were going quitewell on our side of the ball, holding possession for a good amount of time, only making crucial mistakes down in their third of the pitch. 10 minutes go by, and nothing comes of it, until:



A shot by Romelu Lukaku after a run into the box is parried away by the keeper ter Stegen, but it goes right to Rotariu's feet. He takes the shot as ter Stegen is still way off his line and into the open net for the score! 1-0 Everton, and the crowd is stunned!

Things got plenty chippy throughout the match, as the rest of the first half had several yellow cards thrown around as harsh tackle after harsh tackle was committed on both sides. We entered the locker room with the slim lead, and I tell my boys that they are doing great. Keeping it up would result in a coveted Champions League title.

The start of the second half signaled the commencement of the yellow card machine again, as three more players fly into challenges to get themsevles booked. I make no remark to change their ways, and press on. Barcelona are pushing into our side of the field around the 56th minute, when a through ball was cut out by John Stones and passed long forward to Lukaku. Up the right wing he runs, but soon finds he has no space. Halilovic is open to his right, and he makes the crucial pass....



The net was wide open to the left side, as ter Stegen tried to place himself in a more favorable position to that side. Halilovic instead shot to the right, and ter Stegen made a wild jump at it, but couldn't save the attempt. 2-0 Everton, and the fans from Merseyside are exhilarated and overjoyed at the almost inconceivable lead they had on Barcelona. The Barça boys were not thrilled at all, and neither was manager Luis Enrique. Barcelona became more and more violent as the match went on, until one bad challenge by Sergi Samper in the box led to a penalty kick for Everton! Lukaku stepped up for the attempt. Surely a successful conversion would put the match out of reach....



Lukaku aims right, ter Stegen jumps to the net's left, and it becomes 3-0 Everton with just 22 minutes left to play! Everyone in blue is jubilant at this point, as the fans and subs jump for joy with the score. All the Toffees had to do was withstand pressure from Barcelona now and claim their first ever Champions League title. Messi and Neymar combined to have 6 shots on target all match, but Jack Butland saved all of them, even having to make some acrobatic plays late to keep his clean sheet.





And that's it! Everton are your new Champions League winners! And what a joy it is to see, and exciting to behold! What started off as doubt all the way back to the Chelsea match has now culminated in confidence and celebration, and dreams of where we go from here.

End of season Awards:






End of season Stats:



Romelu Lukaku, once again, was the team's leading scorer throughout the season, but not that far behind was loanee Adama Traoré; I firmly believe he'll be a solid player one day, just not for Barcelona. Top assister was Dorin Rotariu with 19 total assists. And the team's best player by average was Traoré with a 7.74 average.

Well guys, I honestly don't know where to go from here. It's been a great ride, and I've done everything (well, almost everything) I've come to set out to do. I could always change my end goals to something more European-centric now that I've finally won a continental competition. The next logical trophies to win are the Super Cup and the Club World Cup, would I be lucky enough to win those at the first asking? I don't know, and frankly I don't know if I want to try for it. I've had my eye on the Susie Challenges for a while now, and I think I'll put this down for a little bit and try my hand at those.

Thanks so much for reading and your support, guys, it's been fun here, and somewhere down the line, as always, I'll see you in the next post!

That FA Cup Semi was such BS, Dan, nothing more than that. Puts more focus on the Champions League for sure. And I was sweating for entire rest of the match after Lukaku scored, hoping they wouldn't come back with one of their own.

May 2018





THIS! This right here is the the clincher, the match that brings us on to the Champions League finals. And to do it in such stunning fashion too, with rarely used Ross Barkley coming on to capture a brace, as well as having Lukaku add to his total tally for the year. In most facets of the match, we had the advantage, but the one place where people would deem a key point, possession, we shockingly didn't have much of it. The goals were poaching efforts for the most part, playing off the Man U back line's mistakes. We need to come a long way better if we want to take on the final boss:






Finale of the Premier League, which for all intents and purposes, was to see out how we'd place. Overall, not too worried about results, just need to stay focused with the Champions League Final upcoming.



It's been a phenomenal season so far, not too many complaints: 2nd place in the league, and a berth in the Champions League final! See you all in the next post, where we'll be playing for all the marbles!

Time to challenge Copenhagen for the title!

Excellent season for you mate! Where do you go from here, try and conquer the league again along with the CL?

Solid season so far. What's the rest of your Europa League group?

April 2018 - Part 2








Huh, OK then. That's a somewhat interest way to end the month. Wins in the Premier League, which are all but meaningless at this point as Man U have decidedly won the title, but two shocking results in the cup competitions. firstly, Blackburn, Championship side Blackburn defeated us in extra time to get into the FA Cup final against Man U. How in the blue hell did that happen? I got FM'd hard, as all 3 of their shots on target found their mark. I was bad enough that the defense struggledin the latter stages of the match, but then for the offense to not land a single shot on target in extra time was exceptionally frustrating. Oh well, that's a compeition I'd love to have back.

Meanwhile in the Champions League, we managed to secure a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford to start the semi finals. If it wasn't for a defensive breakdown late in the match, we would've strolled out of Manchester with a commanding (I guess) 1-0 lead going back to Goodison.



Man U are officially champions of the league, so now I gotta hit them where it hurts: right in the Champions League. Can I be able to pull out a miracle at home and advance to Everton's first ever Champions League final? Tune in next time to find out! Thanks again for reading, and as always, I'll see you in the next post!

April 2018 - Part 1








Well, I said I was going to have a split month if I managed to advance in the Champions League, and looky here! We had an amazing start to the legs, defeating Chelsea 3-0 at home. However things turned south quick in the away leg, as Chelsea jumped out to a 4-0 lead at home. All we needed was a goal to advance on away goals, and it came in the form of a Lukaku goal from close range. We may have loss the battle, but the war was won, but barely, as we advance to the semi finals!

The Premier League so far this month was very ech. We could've beaten Liverpool, but the defense failed down the stretch, as we allowed them to have the victory. Fortunes did smile on use in the following match, though, as we demolished Tottenham to gain retribution for earlier in the season.



And now, what you've all been waiting for, the Champions League Semi final draw.....



Yeesh, now that is a tough draw. I'll be lucky to get a goal awayfrom home and then hope to make up for it at home. Winner plays Man City or Barcelona in the finals.

That's about all we can do at this point, Dan.

Gil Romero has been courted by several teams last season, but he decided to stay at Estudiantes, DP91. I'm very fortunate to have picked him up for cheap, unlike trying to get him from an Arsenal that would ask for somewhere around £40 Million. And the FA Cup and CL are my focuses now, definitely.

March 2018










Another solid month outside of the Premier League, as we roll on in both the FA Cup and Champions League. Brilliant victories over Norwich and Shakhtar help me advance to the next rounds of the respective tournaments, however I did encounter a couple hiccups in the league. Namely the Crystal Palace and Manchester United matches. Going in, I knew Man U was going to be a tough play, them being the league leaders and all, but I was surprised to see us jump out to a quick 1-0 lead early on. But it all came tumbling down after Leighton Baines conceded a penalty. Not only did his bad tackle garner a yellow, but then his arguing with the ref constituted a second yellow sending off, leaving us in a bad way for the rest of the match. It wasn't surprising that the wheels just completely fell off the team after that, as Man U scored twice in the span of a minute (off the penalty, then stealing the ball quickly and scoring a one on one). Words couldn't describe how pissed I was. What was almost as maddening was the draw to Palace earlier in the month. Palace, a relegation zone team, and we only come up with a draw against them. We drew them in both our meetings, that's unacceptable. We should pick it up coming down the way, but the league is out of reach for good now.

(Pardon not showing the table, I forgot to screen cap it, and I've already saved over progress. All you need to know is Man U are 9 points clear with a game in hand.)

Awards:


FA Cup:


Another in a string of great draws, we face Blackburn in the semis of the FA Cup, with the winner moving on to face either Chelsea or Man U in the Final.

Champions League:


Meanwhile, in the quarter finals of the Champions League, we DO get to face off against Chelsea, in what could be a down to the wire match. Very excited for this and so are my team!

Alright, next month I may truncate the season if we advance out of the Champions League Quarters. If not, then I'll carry on as normal and go to the end of the month. Big question is: will I advance, and if I do, who will I face in the Semis? Can't wait to find out! Thanks again for reading and as always, I'll see you in the next post!

That's a bad color choice for the draws, of which there were too many of that past month. Good of you to stay up top, but hope you can turn those into wins!

Remaining hopeful that those signings will pan out for you. Good luck in the Championship!

February 2018










Getting a little better now, after this undefeated month, but the pesky draws crept back into the forefront. Against Soton and last place Reading, that's just unacceptable. Especially the Reading match, where we needed to go all the way into injury time just to pull that one out. The FA Cup match went exactly as planned, no surprises there. However, one thing that was surprising was that I managed to pull an away victory over Shakhtar in the CL. 2-1 up coming back home is massive for my chances of advancement.

Overall, still 6 points back of Man U, who still have a game in hand. Clearly this is their year to take the league.





Final note: We drew Norwich at home in the quarterfinals. Another solid match in the Cup, and one that I feel we should be advancing from.

Still looking to the CL and FA Cup as motivation for the season, as Man U roll on. Come follow me and we'll see what happens next time. Thanks again for reading, and as always, I'll see you in the next post!

Good choice, and good squad you have there.

He really has been one of the best signings I've made, along with Dorin Rotariu, Dan. I plan on keeping them for a long time.

January 2018











Premier League form still a little rocky even in January. The loss to Man City came after we were drilled down to 10 men, and even though we kept fighting an managed a goal late, they answered right back with their man advantage. Against Chelsea, it was a case of two superb goal keepers going at it, stopping a total of 19 shots. We did predictably make it to the 5th round of the FA Cup after solid wins against both Swansea and Oxford. Manhester United have still yet to lose in the league, and being 4 points up already with two games in hand, it's safe to say they'll still hold the lead after catching up in games played.



Awards:




FA Cup 5th Round



A great matchup for us next, as we take on Championship side Bournemouth.

Transfers:



He is the final list of transfers for the January window. Starting with the outs, Schär and Nathan were already covered. Felipe Gutiérrez had several teams interested in him, and I was looking to go in a different direction since his form started to dip, and being one of the most paid players on my squad, it was obvious to me that it was time to part ways with him. I'm glad that I doubled my profit selling him. Cédric was essentially the same thing, minus the salary I was paying him. Since Stones, Zouma, and now Seamus Coleman is back, I have several options at right back. Cédric was already on loan at Marseille to start the season, before injuries forced me to recall him, but now I saw my opportunity to sell him.




Now about the in's, Vallejo was already covered. Gastón Gil Romero was a player I've been looking at for the past couple of season, but just never found a reason to bring him in, as I was pretty deep at the midfield. With the departure of Guitérrez, now was the time to sign him, as he had very comparable stats, was 3 years younger, and didn't want as much money. Tielemans and Powell are still very much my first choices, but Gil Romero could see time with both of them, as I feel out who I want to start now.

Now you may be wondering why I brought in Gary Hooper on loan. The answer is simple: Boyé and Lukaku are injured for the next month, leaving me with only Kevin Mirallas at striker. Hooper, even at 30, is very competent at the role, and I hope for him to provide sufficient cover for the next month as the other guys heal up. Once they are back, Hooper more than likely is out.

With Man U rolling the league so far, my goals right now are to remain top 4, and make a strong run in the Champions League and FA Cup. Will that happen? Who knows, but let's find out. Thanks again for reading, and as always, I'll see you in the next post.

I'd agree with the above and sign with Dinamo

Mid season Status Report

Transfers:


Due to general discomfort, causing a stir, and (in Fabian Schär's case) being just bad, it was time to let Schär and Nathan go their separate ways from the club. It's a shame, really, since Nathan was poised to be a solid AMC for me, but with that part of the pitch taken by Roberts, Barkley, and Halilovic, he was struggling to find game time. So Santos scooped him up as he flies back to his native Brazil. Schär has just been poor this season so far, as I thought with the torn ACL of Steve Caulker during pre season, he was going to be given a chance to shine. Sadly, he's made several bad mistakes, some that almost cost us matches, and with that in mind, I had no choice but to release him.



I did manage to bring in a solid replacement for him in the form of Jesús Vallejo from Arsenal. A kid I've been scouting since the start of this save, the 20 year old didn't find regular playing time for the Gunners, but at the same time, they weren't going to part with him so easily. I broke the bank to sign him, as he becomes the newest record signing for the club at £32.5 Million, passing Lukaku's transfer in. I do hope it'll be worth it, and only time will tell.




Patrick Roberts has once again won the Golden Boy award. Amassing a little less goals then his performance last season, he is the first person, going by the list, to have won the Golden Boy in back to back seasons. That's amazing for him, I'm glad I signed him!



And finally, midseason stats for the club. Lukaku is, once again, leading all goal scorers for the team with 16 goals in 23 appearances. Patrick Roberts leads the team in assists, handing off 14 of them so far. And highest average rating at the midway point goes to loanee Adama Traoré with a 7.81.

As always guys, thanks very much for reading, and I'll see you in the next post!

Not a bad month at all, Dan!

It is typical that I get a team of this caliber in the cup, DP91. Just gotta deal with it.

December 2017













Plenty of matches during this holiday period, and for the most part, we handled the schedule fairly well. There were some hiccups along the way, such as the Capital One Cup loss on penalties, and the loss of concentration against Spurs in the league. But other than that, can't complain about how we've been playing. I can, however, moan about Man U's form, as they've won everything this past month, growing their lead against me. Third place at the new year with a game in hand on Spurs, I'll try to make something happen in the coming months.





We drew against Swansea in the 3rd FA Cup round. Not a bad draw, but they've played us hard in recent matches. Can't take them for granted.




As we drew with Juventus to win the group, we were placed in the seeded pot for the knockout rounds. And wouldn't you know it, we get to face Shakhtar again! We needed the second leg to take the victory in the Europa League, will we need to do that again in the Champions League?

Yep, the bogey team strikes again, Dan. There has to be some way I can counter them, but at the moment, I just can't.

Winning in Europe is always a plus, SBR, and it puts us that much closer to advancement and making more money.

November 2017









Argh. League form is starting to slip, with just 4 points over 3 matches. We met expected results against Swansea, but the shocking draw to Crystal Palace followed by the disappointing late loss to Manchester United......these are the types of matches we should be winning now. Even against Man U, I feel that we match up to them in terms of talent and tactics, but it's all about how you execute those to get the results. We are still in second place, but now are tied with Liverpool and are behind Man U by 4 points. I hope the gap doesn't grow much larger.



Meanwhile, in Europe, form is still at an all time high, as we dispatched Copenhagen and Galatasaray to gain advancement into the knockout rounds! We are still in first place, and with Juventus left, all we have to play for is final positioning, as teams like the old standards of Real Madrid, Barça, PSG, and Monaco wait in the wings.



Holiday season is upon us, and so are 9 matches from 1/12 up to and on the New Year, 1/1/2018. Who will we face in the knockout rounds in Europe? Will the league form turn around? I sure hope so. I'll be giving you all of that next time around. As always, thanks again for reading and I'll see you in the next post!

Good luck out there!