Never tried a career and posting it, let's see how it goes......

[elbilly]

Good luck at Monaco! Looks like you've made a good move there

Not sure if you'll get a stadium increase in Monaco; it's quite a small principality and would cost an absolute fortune to demolish the surroundings!

Anyway, good luck! Decent chance of some silverware

Thanks, definitely got more chance than there was at Valenciennes. Doubt I'll be here enough time to see new stadium anyway as I am looking to get a French league title before moving on to another country, hopefully that can be done within a few seasons with Monaco.

[elbilly]

The first match of October looks a lot closer than it actually was. We went 2-0 up before Lens grabbed a goal back we regained our two goal advantage soon after and their second came in the 93rd minute with pretty much the last kick of the game. We swept Lille aside with ease and they were lucky to only concede 3.

Manager-less Toulouse had a man sent off in the 3rd minute which added to my frustration in this match as they scored one of their 2 shots and we couldn't manage to put any of our 18 shots in the net, so came our first defeat in the league.

We went out of the cup which I'm not too bothered about but no beating Clermont when we controlled the game and showed how shocking we were at penalties got me angry with the players.

We're well in the hunt in the league, I feel we could have had more points than this so far, I hope we become more ruthless.

[elbilly]

We got a good run of form going following our 2 defeats and soundly beat Lorient. Early goals set us at ease and Lorient posed very little threat throughout the game. The match against Harve should have been more comfortable and we failed to show the ruthlessness I am looking for that we showed against Lorient. While they never looked like scoring a slender lead always makes me nervous considering the points we have already dropped late in games this season. A poor first half performance against Troyes was rectified in 5 second half minutes that the 3 points were secured.

Going away to Marseilles was always going to be a tough game and they were better than us all game.

PSG dropped points a couple of times this months and we are top by goal difference with PSG having a game in hand. Auxerre have dropped off a little and Lyon continue to struggle having changed their manager.

[elbilly]

With three games before the winter break I was hoping to hold on to our lead at the top of the league. We struggled to put the ball into the back of the net against former team Valenciennes and while they never threatened our goal in the 90 minutes it took us until the 83rd minute to get the winner. Against Bordeaux we put the ball in the back of the net 3 times, unfortunately 2 of them were past our own keeper and when we finally put one in the oppositions net I thought we might come back to get at least a point as we had been the better team but we could not pull it together and Bordeaux scored a goal of their own to secure the points. The final game of 2017 saw us host Clermont with us hoping to gain revenge for our cup exit. An early lead was very welcome, another goal and a penalty Lucas Ocampos, his first since 21st October, gave us a comfortable half time lead which we maintained until full time.

The league is looking pretty good as PSG have only managed one win in 4 games during December including a defeat at, then bottom placed, Sochaux. We've scored the most goals in the league and only Rennais have conceded less than us which is pretty pleasing. The winning post was at 71 points last season and 77 the season before, though it has been lost with a team on 82 points and PSG won it in 2014 with 93 points. Going on what has happened so far I think 76 is going to be the magic number this year.

[elbilly]

The new year has been greeted by a nice present from the board $49.5m to spend on players and an increase in our wage budget to $1.62m.

I do like this sugar daddy.

[B.W.G]

Good first half of the season,looks like it will be a tough battle for the title.

[elbilly]

Good first half of the season,looks like it will be a tough battle for the title.

Yeah it's going to be a good tussle. Looks like Marseilles have picked up their game and it's going to be a 4 horse race.

[elbilly]

The new year kicked off with a win in the French cup, 2 early goals enough to see us through in the end. The first league match was a trip to struggling Lyon though I did not consider this would make a difference with a tough game expected, Anderson's 68th minute strike enough to secure a pleasing 3 points. It didn't get any easier in the next match as Saint-Etienne have always proved a tough outfit to match and a rare start for Toivonen was rewarded with the only goal of the game. Another victory in the cup, though it took us until extra time to get it with a team made up of mostly fringe players, it took 2 first team subs to come on and combine to get the goal. We hosted Sochaux knowing that a win would take us 5 points clear after PSG's draw at Lyon and we took the 3 points with relative ease despite conceding a sloppy goal from a corner. The month ended with a dreadful match at Rennais which will not go down in anyone's memory as a poor display by both teams saw us each take a point, though if we could both be given zero points for that nobody could complain!!

5 points clear at the top as we took 10 points from 12 in January as PSG, Auxerre and OM all dropped points.

[elbilly]

Players brought in

Didn't go and spend all the money the board gave us, but would like to have added a couple more players than we did. Brought in Nelson Oliveira as an extra striker option for $11.5m from Benfica and a central midfielder Mazzitelli from Roma for $3m as we have been a bit thin on options in that area. Matuidi has been injured a few times already this season which has left us with 3 fit CMs most of the time and we play with 3 CMs so needed cover there. Our director of football arranged for a young left midfielder, Amaya, to come in from River. He is not good enough.

Would like to have brought in a right back, had an $11m bid accepted for Diego Renan but he wanted ridiculous money. Another winger would have been nice too but there was nothing much on offer worth the money.

Players out

A couple left for free from the reserves and one on loan. Nobody that will be missed.

[elbilly]

Given time to reflect on February I should consider the month pretty satisfactory. 3 wins, a draw and a defeat in the league, 10 points out of 15, and progress in the cup. But when I look at the league table and PSG have overturned the 5 point advantage I had I am less than satisfied.

It all started so well with a routine victory over relegation threatened Nancy. A poor game followed against Montpellier, though we did strike to woodwork on a couple of occasions, neither team deserved the three points. We played some of our best football of the season in handing a 3-0 beating to Auxerre, while it might seem we got lucky in scoring 2 of our goals from the penalty spot we outclassed them all over the pitch and they may consider themselves fortunate to only have conceded the 3. I fielded mostly fringe players once again in the cup and once again they failed to show any evidence that they could be a starter in more important games as second tier Lavallois took us to penalties where our keeper was in fine form to stop 3 of their 4 attempts from the spot.

A goal fest ensued as we met Lyon for the second time in 5 weeks. We went into the break 3-1 up but when they pulled it back to 3-2 with 30 minutes left I had a horrible feeling that we would fold and drop points, however we showed great determination and struck twice in the final 10 to secure the 3 points.

I only wish we could have shown the same determination in our next match as we were abysmal in defeat to mid-table Tours. I got a little too angry with winger Cedrick after the match, in my defence he had a shocker, not even Sunday league standard as far as I am concerned, and I don't think he likes me very much anymore.

Free scoring PSG have taken the top spot by goal difference as they won all 5 of their games in February scoring 14 and not conceding a single goal. If they keep this form up during March I think the title may be beyond us. It would certainly seem that it is between us 2 now, though if Marseilles have a good run over the next 6-8 games they could bring themselves into contention. I do not think Auxerre have the quality to claw their way back into contention, but should keep picking up enough points to secure a top 4 place which would be a fine result for them.

In other news, Bochum and Valenciennes both sacked their managers this month, and with Schalke having disposed of my successor in November that makes it a hatrick of sackings at my former clubs this season. FC Bayern also parted company with their manager while lying in 8th place with Dortmund and Gladbach battling for the top spot in the Bundesliga. Arsenal finally climbed out of the bottom 3 in the EPL where they had languished since September, former Inter manager Javier Aguirre having taken the reigns in December.

[elbilly]

We bounced back from the disappointing performance against Tours as we dominated Lens with Oliveira grabbing his first goal, Ocampos was switched to the right wing with Cedrick being dropped to the reserves. Next up was a trip to Lille the day after Marseilles had beaten PSG 3-0 at the Stade Velodrome putting a stop to their fine run of victories and bringing themselves back into title contention. We took the lead on half time after a pretty uneventful first half. I hoped for a second consecutive clean sheet to give us the 3 points, and while we didn't manage this their 77th minute goal proved to be a mere consolation as Ocampos had put us 2 up minutes earlier giving us the edge for the time being in the title race.

Having suffered our first defeat of the season against Toulouse we were out for revenge when they visited the principality. It looked like we would not exact desired revenge until Msakni, returning from an injury lay off, was brought on to replace Oliveira and secured us 3 vital points as PSG also picked up a victory against former club Valenciennes while OM could not follow up their win over PSG as they were held to a draw at Sochaux, then played their game in hand midweek, going down at Saint-Etienne, at 13 points behind with 9 to play I consider them out of the title race.

Next up was a trip to Harve. Despite being in 19th place I wasn't exactly expecting an easy time. And that's pretty much how it played out as we won by the narrowest of margins with some good defending proving crucial to preserve our early lead. A cup tie at Rennais followed with PSG playing Troyes in the league at the same time. I made a few changes to keep the team fresh. I don't know if this caused the poor performance but that is what we were as we went out and didn't show the commitment I demand from my teams. PSG won 5-0.

Overall I can be very happy with 12 points from 12 in the league and top by 6 points. A little unhappy with the cup exit as I would have liked to progress further.

I may have to revise my target of 76 points to win the league.

[deltablue]

Hope you hold on.

[elbilly]

Hope you hold on.

Cheers. Thankfully April has gone pretty well for us so far.

[elbilly]

The month began with a pretty easy victory over Lorient as they provided little resistance and they managed just 2 shots on goal. We should have been a bit more ruthless and put more past them, 3 points are the important thing and that's what we got. Troyes also only managed 2 shots but they scored them both as we failed to turn our superiority in possession and shots into goals. Luckily PSG were held to a draw at Saint-Etienne Next up was a very important game as we hosted OM. In front of a full house two goals up inside 25 minutes and things seemed pretty good as we held the advantage going into the break. Despite Ocampos missing a penalty on 63 minutes we held on to our lead and a clean sheet to go with it. PSG, meanwhile, travelled to Auxerre two days later and were held to a draw.

After a two break, to allow for the Fench League Cup final to take place, won by Saint-Etienne over PSG, our final game of April saw us travelling to my former club Valenciennes who hav slipped into the bottom 3 in recent weeks. Chantome gave us an early lead but we were quickly pegged back only for us to retake the lead with Ocampos's 30th goal of the season, the remainder of the half passed without much action. A silly foul saw a penalty given to increase our lead in the 2nd half. Ocampos should have secured his hattrick minutes later only to be denied by a fine save from the keeper. Oliveira came on as a sub and claimed a late 4th. The following day PSG hosted Sochaux and again were held to a draw. PSG then played their game in hand midweek, once again being held to a draw, this time at Rennais, to round off a month that saw them gain 3 points on only one occasion in the league.

It's very much advantage us in the title race. 5 more points will win us the league. At the other end of the table Valenciennes are in trouble as they have not been picking up points regularly and I think they may go down.

[elbilly]

The run in.

While the neutrals and media would love it to come down to the final day I would be happy if we win next and PSG manage a draw or worse and we win with 3 games remaining.

[elbilly]

First up Bordeaux at home. An uneventful first half passed quickly. A reminder to our better players that they are the ones who can influence the outcome led to an opener from Ocampos and he set up Msakni for the second. Ocampos made up for another missed penalty 2 minutes after the miss by getting the third. Strangely PSG did not play this weekend.

[elbilly]

Very happy for him. He's been awesome.

[elbilly]

A midweek trip to Clermont Foot with victory meaning we would win the title no matter what PSG did. When we conceded in the opening minutes I feared the players would bottle it. An equaliser from Chantome's freekick just before half time gave me something to be pleased with going into the break. Msakni took the lead after some penalty box pinball before goal machine Ocampos scored the third and the away fans were singing championship winning songs and taunting the home fans about their possible doom. PSG grabbed a 90th minute winner at home to Nancy but their efforts were in vain!

[elbilly]

We appeared to be suffering a hangover in the next match at home to Saint-Etienne as we were 2-0 before grabbing a consolation goal through Cedrick. Despite having won the title I still expected us to win and let them know.

The final day of the season saw us travel to beaten title challengers PSG. Dudu got us off to the perfect start and grabbed a second before Ocampos made it 3-0 to send us into the break with smiles on our faces. A PSG goal with 30 minutes remaining proved a consolation as we held firm to round off the season with a fine victory.

Unfortunately for Valenciennes a draw with Lille on the final day was not enough to save them from the drop.

[elbilly]

Turns our my initial prediction of 76 points needed was a win short of the total needed. But that did not matter as we managed 86 points to take the title by a massive 8 points.

[elbilly]

My first manager of the year award

[b101]

congrats on a great performance in France, gotta love Ligue 1

[elbilly]

To review the year I am delighted to have won the league in my first season with Monaco. We were superb at times throughout the season, though there were some poor loses, but we got the points needed to secure the title with 2 games to spare. Ocampos was of course the main highlight in our team as he scored 35 goals and provided 9 assists with an average rating of 7.65, I hope he makes it into the starting XI for Argentina at the World Cup, but they have some strong options for him to contend with. Our young defender Muratovic was particularly pleasing, at 21 he showed maturity beyond his years. Anderson was our best midfielder and providing 11 assists, chipping in with 4 goals and showing his strength to gain vital possession. Dudu was good, may be not as good as I had hoped though he did get on the score sheet 10 times and provided 13 assists. Msakni was equally as good on the right flank with 8 goals and 8 assists and some fine performances. Our big money centre back Cosic was a rock at the back and justified our outlay on him while Chantome also performed admirably and edged Vertout out of the first XI on a regular basis.

I think we are going to need more strength in those positions for next season as we will be competing on another front in the ECL.

[elbilly]

congrats on a great performance in France, gotta love Ligue 1

Thanks, has been a very interesting 2 seasons indeed!

[elbilly]

4 players in team of the season. I didn't give Jose Enrique a mention in the season round up, I certainly should have as our first choice left back averaging 7.40 with 2 goals (his first and only 2 for the club) as well 4 assists. There was not much competition for his place and we were lucky to have a quality player there.

Don't think anyone could argue with the other 3 selections from our squad. A little disappointed not to have at least one of our centre backs in there as we had the 2nd best defence. And of course Ocampos had to be there as top scorer from the league's top scoring team.

[elbilly]

[elbilly]

The future..... well I'm not sure what to do. We have enough money to strengthen the team adequately to launch an assault on the league again while competing in Europe. I'm not sure what pot we will be in for the ECL draw, I imagine it will be 3, so it may be hard to advance from the group stages, but we should be able to do enough to secure more European football after the winter break in the EL. Our tycoon has regularly pumped money into the club and I think this will continue so I would have the funds to build a dynasty at Monaco should I stay long term. The biggest problem is not being able to attract the biggest names to Monaco as the team and league do not have a good enough reputation. This ought to change if we make ECL every year and start making it to the latter stages.

I have a couple of good players set to come in for next season, one who I am particularly looking forward to seeing, though at 20 he may be too young to have a big effect on the team. We will need a couple of extra wide players as Cedrick will be leaving and we have little other options to cover the 2 we start on the flanks. I am not sure whether I should try and move Oliveira on this summer or give him another season as I have been very unimpressed with him since he joined in January.

Ok, so the options if I decide to leave are not great, though Dutch champions and cash rich Vitesse are looking for a manager and this would provide a good opportunity to win a title in a 3rd country within a couple of seasons. But I do like Monaco and feel better here than I have at any other club so far (it's not the heaps of money honest....)

[elbilly]

Former clubs

So far I have not provided a former club update in any detail, now I will.<br>In bold are the seasons I spent at the club, normal type are the seasons since.

All the clubs I have managed have gone downhill since I left, none dramatically so except maybe Valenciennes. I thought they might hang on but they slipped down the league in the second half of the season as they would not have had any money to strengthen in the January transfer window. I do not have too much pity for them given how the board responded to me applying for a job at a much bigger club. I am glad Bochum have stayed in the Bundesliga though they are finishing lower every season. Their finances are described as rich which as not the case when I was there so they should be able to get good enough players to stay there I hope. Schalke will have been hit hard by failing to make the ECL for the last 2 years but they are a big club and will be back up the top soon I'm sure.

[elbilly]

A little disappointed in this but I'm sure I can raise this

[elbilly]

Whilst we were busy winning Ligue 1 this happened

Premier League

2013 1st Chelsea 2nd Man City 3rd Man Utd

2014 1st Man City 2nd Chelsea 3rd Arsenal

2015 1st Chelsea 2nd Man Utd 3rd Man City

2016 1st Man City 2nd Chelsea 3rd Liverpool

2017 1st Chelsea 2nd Man Utd 3rd Man City

2018 1st Man Utd 2nd Tottenham 3rd Man City

La Liga

2013 1st Barcelona 2nd Real Madrid 3rd Athletic Madrid

2014 1st Barcelona 2nd Real Madrid 3rd Real Sociedad

2015 1st Barcelona 2nd Athletic Madrid 3rd Valencia

2016 1st Real Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd Athletic Madrid

2017 1st Real Madrid 2nd Valencia 3rd Barcelona

2018 1st Real Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd Valencia

Seria A

2013 1st Juventus 2nd AC Milan 3rd Napoli

2014 1st Napoli 2nd Roma 3rd Inter

2015 1st Juventus 2nd Fiorentina 3rd Lazio

2016 1st Napoli 2nd Juventus 3rd Lazio

2017 1st Juventus 2nd Palermo 3rd Inter

2018 1st Inter 2nd Cagliari 3rd Fiorentina

Bundesliga

2013 1st Dortmund 2nd B Gladbach 3rd FC Bayern

2014 1st Dortmund 2nd HSV 3rd Schalke

2015 1st Schalke 04 2nd FC Bayern 3rd Bayern Levekusen

2016 1st Schalke 04 2nd FC Bayern 3rd HSV

2017 1st FC Bayern 2nd Dortmund 3rd HSV

2018 1st Dortmund 2nd Wolfsburg 3rd FC Bayern

Portugal Premiera League

2013 1st Sporting 2nd Benfica 3rd FC Porto

2014 1st Benfica 2nd Sporting 3rd FC Porto

2015 1st Braga 2nd Benfica 3rd FC Porto

2016 1st FC Porto 2nd Benfica 3rd Braga

2017 1st Benfica 2nd FC Porto 3rd Braga

2018 1st FC Porto 2nd Benfica 3rd Sporting

Turkey Premier League

2013 1st Galatasaray 2nd Fenerbache 3rd Sivasspor

2014 1st Galatasaray 2nd Fenerbache 3rd Genclerbirligi

2015 1st Fenerbache 2nd Orduspor 3rd Genclerbirligi

2016 1st Fenerbache 2nd Galatasaray 3rd Orduspor

2017 1st Fenerbache 2nd Galatasaray 3rd Trabzonspor

2018 1st Galatasaray 2nd Kayserispor 3rd Sivasspor

Ligue 1

2013 1st OM 2nd PSG 3rd Saint-Etienne

2014 1st PSG 2nd Montpellier 3rd AS Monaco

2015 1st Lyon 2nd OM 3rd PSG

2016 1st Lyon 2nd PSG 3rd Lille

2017 1st OM 2nd Toulouse 3rd Lyon

2018 1st AS Monaco 2nd PSG 3rd OM

Leagues added since 2014/2015

Greece Super League

2015 1st Olympiakos 2nd Panathinaikos 3rd PAOK

2016 1st PAOK Salonika 2nd Panathinaikos 3rd Xanthi

2017 1st Olympiakos 2nd PAOK Salonika 3rd Panathinaikos

2018 1st Olympiakos 2nd PAOK Salonika 3rd AEK

Eredivise

2015 1st AZ 2nd Ajax 3rd Vitesse

2016 1st PSV 2nd Heerenveen 3rd Vitesse

2017 1st PSV 2nd AZ 3rd FC Twente

2018 1st Vitesse 2nd PSV 3rd Ajax

Russian Premier Division

2015 1st CSKA Moscow 2nd Spartak Moscow 3rd Rubin

2016 1st CSKA Moscow 2nd Krasnodar 3rd Anji

2017 1st CSKA Moscow 2nd Dinamo Moscow 3rd Zenit

2018 1st Zenit 2nd Rubin 3rd Anji

Scottish Premier League

2015 1st Celtic 2nd Dundee United 3rd Motherwell

2016 1st Celtic 2nd Rangers 3rd Aberdeen

2017 1st Celtic 2nd Rangers 3rd Dundee United

2018 1st Celtic 2nd Hearts 3rd Kilmarnock

Champions League

2013 1st Man Utd 2nd Real Madrid

2014 1st Barcelona 2nd Man City

2015 1st Man City 2nd Arsenal

2016 1st Barcelona 2nd Man City

2017 1st FC Porto 2nd Shakhtar

2018 1st Juventus 2nd Man City

Europa League

2013 1st OM 2nd Galatasaray

2014 1st Spurs 2nd Sporting

2015 1st FC Porto 2nd Valencia

2016 1st FC Bayern 2nd Napoli

2017 1st Man Utd 2nd OM

2018 1st Galatasaray 2nd PSG

[elbilly]

Hope this doesn't get any bigger clubs in Europe too interested

[elbilly]

I'm staying

[elbilly]

We've spent some big money. I think that'll be all for us now.

Goretzka is obviously the stand out singing from former club Bochum. He has developed like I hoped he would into a quality player. He was European Golden Boy in 2016 and will play between the defence and the midfield. I am also very excited about our free signing Simonov who I think will become a very good player. We have added quality to the squad and have competition for places all over the field.

[deltablue]

Some decent investment there.

[AK22]

Well done on becoming champions! Some big spends there!

[elbilly]

Some decent investment there.

I think we have done pretty well, it's been a big layout but the players mostly have their best years ahead of them while the right back was badly needed so even at 27 I am happy as he is better quality than what we had.

Well done on becoming champions! Some big spends there!

Thanks, was a fun season, think our spending is justified even if big as we now have the strength in depth to have a good chance at retaining our title and give it a good go in Europe.

[elbilly]

Belgium are champions of the world!

[elbilly]

Hopefully there is more silverware to come our way this season

[elbilly]

Thanks

[b101]

Wow, lucky you! Interestingly I'm just starting my season with Rennes and have also just won the Trophée des Champions, nice to see an alternate version of reality here

P.S. Ocampos is a beast, hope you kept hold of him!

[elbilly]

Wow, lucky you! Interestingly I'm just starting my season with Rennes and have also just won the Trophée des Champions, nice to see an alternate version of reality here

P.S. Ocampos is a beast, hope you kept hold of him!

I do realise how lucky I am, I've never had a free spending chairman before and it's just a little bit nice

Amazingly nobody has taken any interest in Ocampos, not sure if it's because he hasn't got many Argentina caps but I'm not complaining one bit as I want him here as long as I am.

[elbilly]

Friendlies

[elbilly]

The first fixture gave us a tricky looking assignment against Bordeaux. They probably edged the first half but we went in with the lead as Dudu pounced on an error at the back to put in Ocampos. The second half started frantically as there were 3 goals in the first 5 minutes as Bordeaux equalised, we then scored from the kick off before adding a penalty, we killed them off and their second was only a consolation.

The trip to Lorient saw a first half that produced little action, the second half wasn't much better until we produced a good move starting from the back and ending up with Msakni squeezing the ball in from a tight angle. We held the lead until the end and am happy that we got the 3 points despite the game being low on quality. I do like that Msakni has a habit of scoring important goals and I hope that continues.

We entertained Montpellier with both teams having won their opening games. We had been rocked by a training injury to Ocampos meaning that Niang would have the chance to impress over the next 3-4 weeks, along with Anderson out for this match we had to rely on our depth to get a performance. Again we struggled to insert our dominance on the game and were a little lucky to go into to the break level. We only had ourselves to blame for their goal and ultimately the winner as Goretzka gave the ball away cheaply and they broke and when a horrendous attempt at a clearance went wrong their striker jumped to go through on goal. I was not a happy manager. Niang showed that he is not yet a threat to Ocampos as first choice striker as he did little to nothing all game.

We went to Lavallois before the international break needing a good performance and 3 points to put the defeat to Montpellier behind us. It didn't look like the win was going to come as Lavallois seemed to be content to park the bus. New signing Nani was brought on for his first appearance in a Monaco shirt and had an instant impact giving us the lead before a rare attack saw them eqaulise. Nani struck again to get the 3 points and make the decision to sign him appear a smart one.

[elbilly]

A very tough ECL group

[elbilly]

Players out

[elbilly]

As I said in my previous fixture report we have bought Man United's Nani for a fee of 6.75m. He's 31 and on 120k per week for the next 3 years but I think he'll be handy for our larger fixture list and has already proved to be a good buy, long may it continue.

[b101]

As I said in my previous fixture report we have bought Man United's Nani for a fee of 6.75m. He's 31 and on 120k per week for the next 3 years but I think he'll be handy for our larger fixture list and has already proved to be a good buy, long may it continue.

As a United fan I'll be interested to see how he does in France. Always seems good in easy games but tends to go missing in the tougher ones for us - at least he has had a good start against Laval for you!

[elbilly]

As a United fan I'll be interested to see how he does in France. Always seems good in easy games but tends to go missing in the tougher ones for us - at least he has had a good start against Laval for you!

I'm with you on that one bro! The most frustrating player we've ever had!

[elbilly]

The return from the international break saw us travel to PSG where we lost to a penalty that I did not agree with. We produced very little with Niang again proving that he is not ready to be a regular replacement for Ocampos. Our next assignment was not going to be any easier as we traveled to the Bernabaeu to face Real Madrid in our first ECL match. I never had any illusions that we could take the game to them so we set up to sit back and hit on the break and that is exactly what we did as we took the lead just before the break, Niang finally getting his goal. When Real equalised on the 74th minute I feared we would fall apart, but we didn't and again hit them on the break to grab the winner! Simonov getting his first for the club.

Saint-Etienne visited seeming content to defend as they produced very little going forward, their goal coming from a free kick. Ocampos, returning from his injury lay off, even missed a penalty as we dominated. A visit to an Auxerre side that have so far failed to reproduce their good start of last season followed. An early change due to an injury for Nani saw Niang come off the bench and give us the lead. Sloppy play saw them equalise with 8 minutes left. Niang should have secured the 3 points at least twice before that so I was not happy with him despite the goal.

We rounded off September at home against Lens where Ocampos was on fine form banging in two first half goals, though he once again missed a penalty. The only down side being that we have lost Msanki for the next 3 months to a torn hamstring.

We are in there at the top so I am happy. PSG slipped up at Saint-Etienne while we drew with Auxerre.

[B.W.G]

Excellent season with winning the League,good start to the new season as well.Hope you find some more success this season.