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#366895 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
We did it!
Griffiths came on after 65 minutes when Lukaku picked up another injury, and he certainly impressed!
Still one match to go, full season round up coming soon
#366892 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
Its 1st May 2017. I have 3 league game remaining. Home to West Ham and Southampton and then finally away to Stoke.
Here's how April went
Went down to a last minute goal against Spurs after I thought we'd snatched a draw.
Lukaku got stretchered off 10 minutes into the United game and is just about to resume training.
We then picked up two vital wins against teams that are around us, meaning we are now 2 points clear of the relegation zone!
Burnley have a difficult run in (Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal), while Hull still need to play Man United. So I think one more victory will see us safe.
I'm slightly worried by the fact that the club is almost £60m in debt. Hopefully Moshiri will inject some cash to help with the running of the club, otherwise I can see a lot of players leaving and not being replaced in the summer
#366891 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
In the end, Man City tempted Rafa Benitez away from Newcastle, even though they are well clear at the top of the Championship.
And speaking of the Championship, there's a few interesting names down there. Ryan Giggs has replaced Steve Bruce at Villa, Harry Redknapp went in at Reading and Sven-Goran Eriksson is now managing Wolves...
#366882 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
Quick update, Man City's next game was a 2-0 defeat to United and this saw Pep get the boot. Current favourite to take over is former Villarreal boss Marcelinho.
The only other manager to be sacked so far this season is Tony Pulis at West Brom. He was replaced by Alan Pardew
#366854 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
A quiet month due to not being in any cups. Just 3 league games...
Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City though, so hardly the 3 easiest games. The Arsenal game was frustrating. Being 3-0 up at half time and just couldn't hang on. A credible draw in the derby was then followed by a great 3-0 victory over City. Pep is on the verge of getting sacked as they currently sit 9th, so this really won't have helped him.
We still sit 17th in the league, 2 points ahead of Burnley and level on points with Hull, who are above us on goal difference.
We've agreed one more signing for the summer, Andres Cubas from Boca. He's not likely to get a work permit straight away, but he's one for the future
#366386 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
We've only had one victory this month, in our last game, we beat Watford 4-1 at Vicarage Road. 3 defeats prior to this haven't helped matters and we currently sit 17th, 3 points clear of relegation.
We currently top the injury table tho with 5 players out, including Barkley, Coleman and Ashley Williams. Thankfully these are for weeks rather than months, so I won't be without them for too long.
We have a agreed a couple of transfers for players out of contract this summer. Guillermo Ochoa, will take over in goal (Until Rajkovic gets a WP), Seydou Doumbia will add some fire power up front and, even tho he's 33, Felipe Melo will still add some competition in midfield. This means come the summer, I can concentrate on signing some younger players to develop.
Sosa doesn't join until next January due to being under 18
#366227 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod
I spent a fair chunk of my budget towards the end of the window.
Almost £2m spent on 3 midfielders, no older than 21.They'll all be in and around the 1st team. Also coming in are Garcia and Henen on loan, they will add real competition for places.
I'm happy with the players that have come in and feel we should really be able to challenge this season. However, I am disappointed by the lack of players I've managed to move on as this means the wage budget is almost maxed out.
It's not been a great start to the season
In fact, it's been pretty average.4-0 and 3-0 defeats don't make good reading tho. We currently sit 14th after 5 games, but there's plenty of time left to put in a promotion challenge.
Argentinos Monsters
The window closed here too, but we didn't do much last minute business.
Just Tissone on a free, who's a solid holding midfielder. Formerly at Malaga, he's a bit of a coup for us.
We started the league campaign with a win and a draw
The board here also agreed to improve the training facilities at a cost of £750k.
LA Galaxy
The window is still open for domestic transfers here but I didn't make a single signing in August. Mainly due to not having enough spare salary below the cap to tempt anyone. I did however let Giovani Dos Santos head back to Tottenham after he kicked up a bit of a fuss, getting an initial £6.75m and freeing up a DP spot.
Unfortunately, Tripodi, the goalkeeper signed from Argentinos only lasted one match before injuring his cruciate ligament and deciding it was so bad that he retired! So I'm still on the look out for another keeper.
We lost 3 of the 5 games in August, meaning we've dropped to 6th in the Western Conference
Our main problem is not scoring enough goals, we are creating plenty of chances. So I'm sure things will come good eventually!
#366206 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod
The transfer windows have closed, so lets round up this months action!
Sfax Monsters
Ok, so the window isn't closed here just yet. It closes on 15th September. And I won't post an image of the transfers made as it goes on forever. Remember, there was only one player at the club when we took over. Most of the players we have signed are good prospects, but are lacking in current ability. So, the season ahead could be a tough one.
We have managed to bring in a defender on loan from Tasman, he's not great, but at 22, will add some experience at the back.
It's a little frustrating to have money to spend but have nobody to spend it on. Hopefully we can improve our reputation this season to attract some better players.
We've only played 4 friendlies this month, losing all of them. They have been against stronger opposition tho and we have some easier friendlies planned before the season starts.
The only other thing to note here is that the board have agreed to spend £1.5m to upgrade the training facilities. This will take just over a year.
Tasman Monsters
The window here doesn't close until 15th October, with the season starting a week later. Here's how our August transfers look.
Spoonley will challenge for the goalkeepers number 1 spot, while the other big money signing, Feneridis, will anchor the midfield.
Ferraro is easily the best defender in the squad, and he's already decided to leave Argentinos when his contract expires. Hopefully, he can settle here and we can pick him up on a free when his contract runs out.
We've played a few more friendlies, and we've won some and lost some. The players are starting to gel now tho and we still have over a month before the season starts.
Busan Monsters
The transfer window here closed in July, so no transfer activity has taken place.
Results
1 Win, 3 draws and 2 defeats doesn't make great reading. It means that we currently sit 3rd in the league. 10 points off top but we do have a game in hand. We are also only 3 points clear of Bucheon in 5th, a position that would see us drop out of the playoffs.
Monster SG
A few last minute transfers here to help with our promotion push.
Milanovic is a rock of a central defender, and he was free. Zubeldia and Pepelu will only make the bench while everyones fit, but will add options in midfield that we were short of.
Results
Good wins in two cup rounds mean that we now face Anderlecht in round 6. On top of that we were unbeaten until the end of the month, meaning we currently sit 3rd in the table, 2 points off of Tubize who are top.
Faure is 37 years old, but he still knows where the goal is with 5 in 7. Lets hope he can keep it up
Round up of the remaining teams coming soon!
#365628 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
I missed out on Lindelof. He decided that PSG was a better option for him. I did however manage to find a striker and goalkeeper, well, 2 goalkeepers...
My first goalkeeper signed was Predrag Rajkovic. He didn't get a work permit, but I signed him anyway and sent him out to my new feeder club Willem II. As he's not going to be available to me for a while, I also brought in Mathew Ryan on loan, as he wasn't getting game time at Valencia.
The bids for Lukaku never came, even tho I told him I'd accept a realistic bid from Man City. Chelsea did make an offer for Seamus Coleman, which I rejected. I expected him to kick up a fuss about it, but he didn't. He did however go and injure himself for 2 months!
As you can see, I also brought in a couple more loans to pad out the squad. Depay and Sturaro should prove useful.
The outs were mainly loans, although Lennon moved on, I have plenty of players that can play there and he just wasn't good enough.
January Results
We got shown up in the FA cup, but 2 wins and a draw have helped move us up to 15th in the league, although only 2 points clear of the relegation zone
#365623 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
#365547 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
I've reached 1st January and I'm not bottom...
Now just 3 points off Burnley in 17th and I have them at Goodison in my next game. A real 6 pointer.
A couple of transfers have been pre-arranged.
I've let Gareth Barry leave for Sunderland (£950k) and replaced him with a transfer listed Michael Carrick (£700k). Swapping one 35 yr old for another but definitely an improvement. Also coming in Martin Caceres on a free. He's at home playing centrally or on the right of defence, and at 29 has a few years left in him. I've further strengthened the defence by bringing in Mbemba from Newcastle (£16.5m).
I don't plan on doing much more in the window. Just a goalkeeper and a striker, maybe 2 strikers if Lukaku goes. Although... Victor Lindelof is transfer listed, and I shouldn't miss out on a chance to build for the future
#365422 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
Thankfully, the first win came in the next game. At home, to 19th placed Hull. It was only 1-0 (even tho we had 11 shots on target), but a win's a win!
Some better performances here, especially from Man of the Match Kevin Mirallas, and an unchanged back 4 managing to restrict Hull to just a single shot on target.
I started Robles in goal here instead of Stekelenburg, but personally, I don't think either of them are up to the job. Hopefully this will be the first January signing
#365311 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
My first match in charge is a visit to Crystal Palace. They line up with a 4312, so I give it some width as they don't have any and employ a DM to counter their AMC. Things don't go well...
We end up losing 5-1.
We have more possession and more shots, but terrible defending, goalkeeping and finishing costs us dear. There is plenty of work to do
#365281 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
My meeting with Farhad Moshiri goes well. He reminds me that the club has a philosophy to concentrate on youth, both by signing young players and developing our own. I'm happy with that.
With no assistant manager (Erwin Koeman obviously left along with his brother), I also get to meet wit Duncan Ferguson, who sends me through a team report. Basically we lack depth across the defence including goalkeeper, and we can't score goals. Our midfield depth is great though!
On top of that, a quick look at my squad shows that I may struggle to hold on to some of my best players in January. Lukaku is wanted by both Manchester clubs and Coleman by Chelsea.
On the plus side, I've got a transfer budget of £42m and a spare wage budget of £100k
The first thing I'll need to is find an assistant, so I make an approach for former Everton favourite Phil Neville. He has decent stats, a link to the club and it should help get the fans on side.
My expectations are to avoid relegation and reach the 5th round of the FA cup (They were already knocked out of the EFL cup by Bristol Rovers in round 2). Although more money was available for setting higher targets, I didn't want to make things too complicated. One step at a time.
My only unhappy player currently is Lukaku who want's to join Man City because of the wages they can offer. If they come in with a big bid, I may be tempted. He has only scored twice in 14 league games... I best be on the look out for a striker.
I see no reason to take the captaincy away from Jagielka. I do however make Ashley Williams the new vice captain.
My first team meeting starts ok. Only James McCarthy complains about wanting a higher profile manager. But the players aren't happy when I say we can avoid relegation, and even changing to a mid-table finish has them thinking I'm not optimistic enough. They seem to forget we're already 5 points adrift of safety!
The day ends with the FA Cup 3rd round draw... A trip to Arsenal! That could have been easier.
#365279 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
Seeing as I'll be managing Everton, I chose not to set a favourite club. Don't want to make things harder than they will already be. I don't mind a challenge, but I do want this save to be a bit of fun, so I didn't want to start with Sunday League rep and no badges. I've settled on Professional Footballer (Local Level) and my Continental C License. Hopefully, there'll be time to improve on that.
And with that, I take charge
#365276 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
Everton!
Considering some of the jobs that I could have ended up with, this feels like I've fallen on my feet. Although, as a Liverpool fan, it feels like FM just wanted to joke around with me.
Lets get this show on the road
#365271 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
So far, no managers have been sacked in the division this season. The 3 most insecure jobs are those at Southampton, Everton and Hull.
Lets see who goes first...
#365266 Stop the Drop
Jon Harrod
So, the plan here is to start a career by trying to save a team in the English Premier League from relegation and then seeing where it takes me.
I have the following leagues loaded: England, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Scotland, China, Mexico, USA, Argentina and Brazil.
The plan is to holiday until the beginning of December, and then take over at the next club to sack their manager as long as they are fighting relegation (bottom 5 or so depending on the points gap). Then hopefully we'll get the january transfer window to make some changes.
I should also point out that I've started the game using the latest data update, so Paul Clement is in charge at Swansea
#364092 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod
The headline is slightly misleading as Adeyemi got sent off in the 87th minute when we were already 3-1 up. It's good to see new signings Whitbread and Jahraldo getting on the score sheet. Aguemon (the signing from SG) also put in a good performance, grabbing an assist and hitting the bar.
Unfortunately, right at the end Whitbread picked up an injury (pulled hamstring) which will keep him out for the rest of the month.
For our victory, we have been rewarded with a home tie against Everton
#363634 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod
TRANSFERS
As I've said previously, I still haven't really got my head around the MLS transfer system. This is part of the reason not much has happened here. Almost all the players I have been interested in would take me over the salary cap. But it's mid-season, so we'll leave any major rebuilding until the off-season.
Tripodi came in as we really lacked a decent GK. Unfortunately, he played one game and damaged his cruciate ligament, out for 8 months... I'm going to need to find another either on loan or a free agent on low wages to help see the season out.
MATCHES
A bit up and down this month, but Robbie Keane is on fire, scoring 6 goals.
We currently sit 5th in Western Conference (10th in Supporters Shield). We have 3 games in hand over Kansas who are top and are 13 points behind. It's likely we'll have to settle for a Wild Card spot this season.
ANYTHING ELSE OF NOTE
Unlike real life, I'm hoping to keep Gerrard around for another season and I've already got him working on his coaching badges.
We went out of the cup pre-takeover.
Keane won player of the month for July. 5 games, 6 goals and a 7.78 avg rating.
#363633 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod
TRANSFERS
Becchio has gone downhill since leaving Leeds and is now 32, however, I think he'll prove a useful backup/impact player here.
The window here closes at the end of August and I still desperately need a DR, but otherwise, there won't be much else going on. It's good to get some of my more promising youngsters out on loan.
My best signing is my new GK, Sanchez. This also allowed Tripodi to head to LA (more on that soon).
The season preview names him as the best GK in the league, and he was a bargain.
MATCHES
Not much to show here, as the season doesn't get under way until 27th August, so most of my friendlies are still to come.
ANYTHING ELSE OF NOTE
I seem to have been knocked out of this seasons cup back in February, which is a bit odd, but means I can concentrate on the league. After all, the board expect us to go up as champions!
#363628 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod
TRANSFERS
Before you say it, yes, I know, Heskey (38) and Upson (37) are very old... But what League One side can say no to having two former England Internationals at the club? I'm sure they will be useful as mentors and possibly coaches in the future. Upson is actually first choice currently, while Heskey definitely makes the bench.
Mossmer has to be my best signing though. Brought in on a free and worth £550k, I'm hoping he'll protect the defence well.
I've also agreed a deal for Jhon Arango to join in January, though work permit issues probably mean he'll be loaned straight to SG.
MATCHES
I should probably have arranged a few more friendlies here, with just one more before the league starts next weekend.
Keep an eye out for Lee Erwin, I have him on loan from Leeds and he's likely to lead the line. He's scored in all 3 proper friendlies.
ANYTHING ELSE OF NOTE
Handed a tough task in the EFL cup against Rotherham, we're at home though, so who knows.
Our trophy group gives us Bury, Carlisle and Stokes U23s
The board want me to sign some more younger players, so I'll be looking into that before the window closes.
#363627 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod
Monster SG
TRANSFERS
There's a few free agents here, but they all have their uses. After all, even though we have money, we shouldn't spend if we don't need to.
I had tried sending Mosevich on loan to Oldham but he wouldn't get a work permit. He's a promising 19 yr old DC and should get plenty of game time here.
The best players signed here, is now the best player at the club according to my coaches. And... he was a free agent.
He's no world beater, but useful in the right areas and should do well in our league once he settles in.
MATCHES
Our first league game is coming up on 7th August and, with one friendly left, most first team players are match fit.
The Oldham friendly was the only one arranged between our clubs because of the distances involved.
On a side note, all of our goals so far have been scored by different players. Hopefully that's a good thing...
ANYTHING ELSE OF NOTE
The cup has drawn us against one of two lower league semi-pro sides (13th August)
The board expect a top half finish this season, but as 2nd favourites, I'd be disappointed if that's all we manage!
If I finally get to the point where some foreign players want to join Oldham, I'm hoping to use SG as a work permit workaround (Brexit permitting)
#363017 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod
TRANSFERS
Gorzegno was originally signed as the 2nd choice left back, but I'm struggling with the number of foreign players here, so went him to SG on loan. He'll get more game time there anyway, and he's 35, so it was only a short term measure anyway.
I didn't want to sell Im Sang-Hyub, but he kicked up a fuss when I rejected a bid and there's no point having an unhappy camp. Madanchi is his replacement and will be the main Asian foreigner in the team.
The best player signed was also the most expensive, Gu Sung-Yun
We are only allowed South Korean goalkeepers, and he's an improvement on what was here as well as only being 22.
This was the mid-season window and it's now closed. Hopefully we've improved enough for a promotion push...
MATCHES
3 wins and 2 defeats, one of those coming at top of the table Gangwon.
We currently sit 3rd in the table, 5 points off top with a game in hand. 2nd, 3rd and 4th go into a promotion play-off with 2nd bottom of the Classic League.
We are only 22 games into a 40 game season tho...
ANYTHING ELSE OF NOTE
We'd already gone out of the cup before the take-over. So we can fully concentrate on the league.
I did attempt selling and loaning players to Oldham, but work permits proved an issue.
Due to the number of new signings, we are currently £35k over our wage budget. This will need to be addressed once the season ends
#362619 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod
TRANSFERS
As you can see, we've not spent much of our £1.4m budget. The window only opened on 27th July though.
The best player to come in so far is Kim Kong-Hyuk from our parent club Busan
MATCHES
Just had our first friendly on 30th and lost 2-0 to Melbourne City. I don't think this is too bad as they are favourites for the A-League this season.
Our season doesn't start until 23rd October, so plenty of time to get things right.
ANYTHING ELSE OF NOTE
It's good to be able to utilise the affiliation structure, although a couple of attempt to loan players from SG, Argentinos and Galaxy all failed due to us not being good enough
#362611 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod
I'll give a quick breakdown of how the month has been for each team, starting at the bottom.
Sfax Monster
TRANSFERS
There's still more to come here. As I started with only one player and I needed to fill the team out.
Currently I have; 4 GKs (2 ready for action, 2 with potential), 2 DRs, 2 DCs, 1 MC, 1 AMC and 2 AMRs.
The best of my signings so far is Safwen M'Barek
Nothing special, but he's only 18 and has decent stats in the right places.
MATCHES
No matches this month. Our first league game isn't until 25th September, so 6 weeks of friendlies coming up.
The 1st round of the cup isn't drawn until 16 October.
ANYTHING ELSE OF NOTE
I tried bringing in some players on loan from most of our other clubs as well as attempting a few transfers, but currently, Sfax just aren't good enough for anyone to want to go to. Maybe next season...
#361100 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod
On a different note, I've never managed in MLS before. So, I'm finding the transfers and contracts there a bit confusing and it may take a while to get my head around. If anyone has any tips they'd be greatly appreciated.
#360053 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod
#359836 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod
As I mentioned, Sfax have only one player
As you can see, his important stats aren't too bad for a winger in our league. He's quick, can dribble and knows how to cross a ball. However, he won't be much use on his own.
I only have 1 scout at present, but the board are allowing me 4. So better find some and send them out!
By the way, Tunisian rules only allow me 2 foreign players. So I will mainly be signing Tunisians.
Reports coming soon
#359834 Emulating (Surpassing) Red Bull
Jon Harrod