Stuck In The Middle with Middlesbrough

[keeper#1]

Suck it, big clubs!  He's mine for the foreseeable future!

[theBlackPrince]

And no release clause either, lovely job!! Always feels good to get those key youngsters signed up for the long term and keep the vultures away!

[keeper#1]

2028-29 Midseason Update

Liverpool are proving to be the dominant force this season.  They are averaging above 2.7 goals per game and allowed under one goal per game.  City are trying to match them.  They have the best defense in the league but their offense is on par with our offense so keeping up will prove to be difficult.  We are in eight-team fight for the last two European slots.  Our offense is holding us back this season.  We struggle to score even though we create a lot of chances.  Just don't have that killer instinct in front of the net.

In Europe, we are a completely different team.  We score over two goals per game and we allowed just two goals in the six group stage matches.  We cruised to a first place finish and a spot in the second knockout round which was the board's goal for us this season.

December was a brutal month for us.  Only two league wins and knocked out of the League Cup.  If the defense played well, the offense didn't show up.  If the offense showed up, the defense didn't.  Just a struggle to find any form.  If we missed out on the Champions League, December is likely the reason why.

The upside to playing in Europe, I can give a lot of players a good amount of playing time.  Youngsters getting game experience will only help us in the future.

Looks like a very top heavy class which will improve our offense, goalkeeping and midfield will be coming to us in March.

[keeper#1]

2029 Youth Intake

As club, we are reaching the point where to be considered an "elite talent" you need to be a potential world-class player.  Our starting XI is really good and the youth are getting knocked down a little by comparison.  We need to build the club's reputation so we can fight the big clubs for the truly elite English youth players as they are very expensive to buy on the open market.

Another class that is top heavy with attackers which is fine.  Attackers, generally, cost more to bring in that defenders.  I'll find my young defenders in the transfer market.  The personalities in this intake are pure trash though.  

Steve May is another center forward who is more suited to playing on the wing.  May has a lot of upside once the mental side of his game comes around.  With some of the best facilities in the country, I've stopped loaning out my younger players to clubs in National League/League Two.  They just don't develop down there.  They get plenty of good games in the U18 and U23 Premier League.  May should be a good player in a few years.

Kemal Evin from Turkey is solid attacking player on the left side.  Like May, he needs to work on the mental side of his game in order to reach his full potential.

Mark Bell is going be an interesting midfielder.  He's not great and any one skill but is good at many skills and gives 110% in matches.  Will most likely fill a reserve slot in the first team to meet English requirements for the Premier League.

Russ Grant-Beckett is a smart wing-back who is willing to play the full length of the pitch.  A little on the slow side which a personality that doesn't scream "willing to improve."  Could be a candidate to develop and sell to a Championship or League One side.

Adrian Robson-Gallagher is definitely a talent to develop and then sell to a Championship/League One side.  Another player who looks like he can do a lot of things good but won't have that one or elite skills that could be useful in a sub role.

[keeper#1]

[keeper#1]

Edited March 9, 2022 by keeper#1

[keeper#1]

2028-29 Season Review

The high point of the season was rolling to the Europa League title and earning Middlesbrough a some European silverware and my first piece of silverware as manager.

We rolled through the competition on the way to the title.  We lost only one game against Energy Drink Leipzig but we able to win the tie on penalties and we drew against Roma in the group stage.  Other than that all wins and some dominant defensive performances.

We swept the Europa League Player of the Year awards.  Chaves took home the award over Saucedo and Acosta.  All three would have been worthy of the title.  However, in my opinion, the player of the year was goalkeeper Paul Fyfe.  He was our cup goalkeeper this season and a pulling hamstring kept him out of the cup final which was very disappointing.  I wanted to win the cup with him in net.  He got us there.  He deserved to win it for us.

European slots were all over the place this season in the Premier League.  Arsenal claimed the title behind a high-powered offense and tough defense.  Manchester City and Liverpool were right behind them.  All three will go to the Champions League.  As Europa League champions, we take the fourth Champions League slot and relegate Manchester United, who finished fourth, to the Europa League.  Tottenham won the FA Cup and claim the second Europa League slot.  West Ham claim a third Europa League place for England as winners of the Europa Conference.  That result sent fifth place Chelsea down to the Europa Conference instead of into the Europa League.  The bottom end of the table was much more straight forward with Crystal Palace, Norwich and Watford all going down the Championship.

Not a lot of movement into the club this season.  Graham Couldridge will be joining us next season after we bought him from Preston and then loaned him back to Preston for the remainder of the season.  The biggest move out was Gabriel Lopez who had his release clause activated by Manchester City.

A lot of different players got a lot of minutes this season.  38 league games + 13 Europa League games + eight domestic cup games meant lots of playing time for everyone at the club.  Bruno Acosta led the team with 14 goals while Chaves was second with 10.   Angel Sosa led the team with 10 assists.  He was the only player to complain about playing time this season and will likely get moved in the offseason.

Gil Leite will probably take over the captaincy from Dael Fry in the offseason too.

[theBlackPrince]

Congratulations on the Europa League Triumph over Wolfsburg!! Haven't seen there name around for many years, never seem to do that well. That penalty shoot-out victory in the quarter final seemed the most troubling part of a pretty immaculate European run. 

As I'm finding also, the gap at the top of the Prem is hard to close down, just seem to spend so much money and just stay a long way ahead! Let's hope you can start to close the gap next season and with the Champions League to play in, may persuade a few more players to join.

[keeper#1]

Summer 2029 Transfers

Middlesbrough did a lot of business in the summer 2029 transfer window.  Needed some upgrades at a few positions as well building some first team depth as the academy is still struggling to produce depth a lot of positions.

We had three deals lined up as soon as the summer transfer window opened.  Two new wingers joined the club as our academy wingers were not producing when given the opportunity to play.  Dale Doyle is a solid left-back who can also play center back.  Plus, he's an English player which helps with the homegrown talent registration requirements.

Altair

Altair has the makings of being our first superstar talent at the club.  He immediately upgrades the left wing/forward position.  Strong with both feet - he can drive at the heart of any back line and beat them with his pace.  Outside of his average free kick ability, he has the makings of a Brazilian Cristiano Ronaldo.

Dale Doyle

Doyle is a fast attack-minded left back.  Loves to get down the wing and can overlap any left wing/forward who cuts inside at the defense which should leave him open to pick our a crossing pass.  A great locker room presence and potential mentor once he settles into the club.

Mitja Vosnjak

A hard-working Slovenian right winger who likes to play make on the outside.  Hard to knock off the ball and can make life difficult for opposing wing defenders with his dribbling.  One of two right wing/forwards brought in during this window.

Graham Couldridge

Graham Couldridge joined us in January of last season but finished out the season on loan to Preston.  He is a different type of right wing/forward than Vosnjak.  He looks to create opportunities for himself more than bringing others into the play.  Another English player who will help us with Premier League registration requirements.

Iacopo Zappasodi

Zappaasodi is a creative central midfielder from Italy.  A pure playmaker who may be trained to play defensive midfield and work at the base of our midfield triangle.  Can see the field very well and can pick out a pass and hit a player running behind the defensive line in stride.  A very nice option to have on the team this season.

Ian Walton

Walton was not being used by Liverpool and wanted a way out of the club.  I was happy to give him that option as he is another creative midfield player who is a solid passer.  Wants to get involved in the offensive phases of play as much as possible.  Another English signing to aid in registration requirements.

Jesse Blissett

Our goalkeeping depth is sorely lacking.  An injury crisis at that position could potentially ruin our season.  Blissett is a low-cost third goalkeeper option brought over from Leeds.  He will spend some time with the U23 team developing his game.  Not sure if he will ever push for the full-time starting job but has the potential to be a solid backup.

New Affiliate Club

We are starting to branch out with affiliate clubs that help build our global brand.  The first club that I brought into this role is my "hometown club" -- the Philadelphia Union.

Not a lot of honors but not a club that has been around very long either.  They finished 2nd in the MLS Eastern Conference in 2021 before losing to New Manchester City of New York FC in the Eastern finals.

 

[keeper#1]

2029-30 Midseason Update

We are playing way over our skis in the first half of the season.  Our offense is struggling to gel as new players come into the roster.  The defense is rock solid and that has been carrying us in the first half.  Hopefully, the offense gets on track and we can make a serious challenge to Manchester City but I doubt that it will happen.  We are the masters of hitting the post or shooting directly at the goalkeeper.  Frustrating to watch!

In European play, we are a completely different team.  Maybe it's because teams don't know what to expect or what but we are a quality team in European competition.  The lone loss was to Leipzig at their place like in the Europa League.  

We got a decent draw against Hertha Berlin.  PSG and Real Madrid will renew acquaintances again.  Inter-Bayern Munich is another battle of European heavyweights in the first round. 

The wing forwards of Altair and Arian Passos Chaves have led the way offensively this season.  Each player has nine goals in the first half of the year.  Bruno Acosta has been the disappointment of the season with only six goals and about as many posts and crossbars on shots.   He has been helpful in bringing others into the play with six assists which is tied for the team lead with Santiago Simon.  I've learned that Dale Doyle is useless as a center back and is better at the left wingback position.  The bench is solid but learning their roles which has made coming from behind difficult.  I'm not quite who to count on and in what role.  A learning process for everyone involved.

The sheer volume of matches hasn't not helped matters.  Playing twice a week from September to December has been tough on everyone.  Hard to play a consistent lineup when there is a match every three or four days.  December was brutal with nine matches in 29 days.  Our only breaks have been international windows where a number of our players are playing one or two matches in those windows.

I think I finally have a quality group of youngsters coming into the youth academy to help support the team in the coming years.  A quality youth academy goalkeeper is much needed.

[keeper#1]

2029-30 Season Review: The Season of Almosts

This season will go down as the season that Middlesbrough almost made a lot of noise.  Runners-up to Manchester City for the Premier League title.  Losing to Crystal Place in the semifinals of the FA Cup.  Losing to Manchester United in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.  A lot of deep runs for some very important hardware but no hardware to show for all of the squad's hard work.

Another season where our offense let us down not against the bigger clubs but against the smaller clubs who have started to park the bus against us since our club reputation has improved to 6th best in England.  A tactual switch is in order for next season.  We need to improve the offense.  It's not the players.  It's on me to get the offense clicking for next season.

The Premier League still has seven teams going to Europe next season.  Crystal Palace, the winners of the Championship, are going to the Europa League as FA Cup champions.  Chelsea go to the Europa League as 5th placed team in the Premier League while Everton head to the Europa Conference as the 6th placed team.  Manchester United are the odd team out even though they finished in 7th place.  Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Arsenal all go to the Champions League.  Newcastle continue to yo-yo between the Premier League and the Championship.  Nottingham Forest go back down after one year in the Premier League sun.  Burnley join them as the last place finisher.

Our defense way over-performed while our offense underwhelmed.  That said, we are the stats say we would should be...in the Champions League.  But that offense....yuck!

Three 10+ goal scorers (Chaves, Altair, and Ascota).  Balfour 26B is the best pure goalscorer at the club but he missed some time with injuries and he's still under 20 years old.  Did not want to rush him too quickly.  He will see more playing time next season.  Santiago Simon hands out the most assists with 11 but he is getting pushed for playing time by Iacopa Zappsodi who creates chances that the strikers don't finish so no assists.  The defense is rock solid.  No worries there.

I made one signing in the January window.

Dan Sayer did not want to sign a professional contract at West Ham.  We scooped him up at a bargain price.  He will be the next England #1 if not by the 2034 World Cup than definitely by the 2038 World Cup.  He's only 17 and already has eight U21 caps.

The youth intake did not generate that top flight class it promised back in December.  It did, however, provide the club with some solid players who will help the club in the future.

Peter Ellis 30A is the type of midfielder that I've been looking for the academy to produce.  Hard working.  Willing to put the team first.  Smart on the ball.  Ellis isn't the fastest but hopefully we can teach him to be in the right place at the right time to help the club.

Daniel Kameni 30B is another winger off the production line.  

Carl Prendergast 30C is another solid midfielder from the Class of 2030.  Faster than Ellis but not as smart.  Could still be a helpful option in the center of pitch.

Anthony Humphrey 30D - another forward/winger off the production line who has problems with putting the ball in the net.

Dominic Barnes 30E - pretty much a clone of Anthony Humphrey 30D but plays on the left side instead of the right.

Even though, the club had an almost season.  Some individuals did pull down some individual awards.

After some arm twisting, I got the board to approve a stadium expansion.  Not coming until August 2031 but it's coming.

 

 

[dido53]

hı are you playıng fm23 with boro? you had a great career as ı see