(FM21) Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

[ChaosClive]

Was doing some player searches to see who the oldest player in the database left was, when I came across Arran Mallett.

Two things struck me about this guy.

1. Despite his age, he looks like he could possibly do a job in the Cypriot Second Division.

2. He has been first choice for King's Lynn for nearly his whole 24 year playing career. I've attached his stats below the profile, but taking into account 876 apps in the league, if we assume that he was also first choice for cup games (FA Cup + FA Trophy) and played at least 5 games a season in both, this would make him the first player I have seen ever reach over 1,000 games in their career.

 

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

May 2044

The final 2 games of the season went through quickly, with Lukic scoring his first goal as it was a ghost penalty in a 2-0 win over Alki. The final game of the season was a tense game, as Nea Salamina nearly fought back to earn a draw, but Geroskipou held firm with a 3-2 win.

Final Table

Geroskipou won the league by a massive 18 points, with this being the first season of over 100 goals.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

2043/44 Season Review

Despite another league title and R16 appearance in the Champions League, the Cypriot league dropped in the reputation.

Other clubs not doing well in Europe resulted in Cyprus dropping in the co-efficient table, meaning Geroskipou would have to play through from the 2nd Qualifying Round if they win the league once again.

Money

Some big money coming into the club, with a combined £11.33m coming from Co-efficient and TV money from the Champions League.

Of course, the government could not wait to get their mitts on some of it.

But the extra money helped the board realise they would be able to pay off all debts.

Clive's Cuttings

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

2044/45 Summer Transfer Window

Out

There were a few notable exits from the club over the summer. Bielan leaving to China was frustrating but understandable. Grendel also wanted to leave, as playing time between himself and Lukic was split, so when Groningen came in with a £2.1m offer, Clive took the option.

Vuckovic Y41 became the first academy product to sell for over £1m when he was sold to Milan's youth team.

The biggest sale was Vallejos to Fulham for an initial £12m. Clive was happy enough with this deal, as Sabatier was pushing Vallejos out of the starters job, and this gave a boost to the admittedly massive budget to sign replacements for a few positions.

In

Big money was splashed in the summer window, with 7 of the 8 transfers costing over £2.5m.

Nieto - A Mexican DC, who was a like for like replacement of Bielan.

Sikimic - A young Serb who could play either DR or DM.

Mitov - A Bulgarian prodigy at DC, who Clive was going to keep in the U19 for a season.

Oy - The Norwegian #1 at just 19 y/o, a long term replacement for Lukic in goal.

Cech - A promising Czech playmaker

Hrdlicka - Deep cover at ML, who had a slight chance of turning good.

Czapa - A rotational player bought in to bolster the DR position.

Graham - A purchase that Clive immediately regretted. The scouts had lied to Clive about the potential of this player.

Spoiler

Edited August 16 by ChaosClive

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

2044/45 Pre-Season

Clive had now taken charge of 1,000 Geroskipou games, he was hoping to at least double this before he retired.

An easy run of friendly results led into an equally easy run into the Champions League group stage. A 6-1 agg. win against Slovan Bratislava was followed up by a 6-4 agg. win over Celtic in the playoff round.

Where Geroskipou's run was relatively straighforward, APOEL made hard work of their tie against Porto, managing to knock then out by playing the system twice in two games.

Spoiler

                                    

Geroskipou were in between a rock and a hard place with the group draw. Barcelona and City were two of the top sides in Europe, so there was little chance of points against either.

At long last, the board had decided to accept Clive's pleas to improve the training facilities. This effectively maxed out the facilities throughout the club.

Odds

For the first time ever, Geroskipou were now favourites to win the league. Despite winning 6 of the last 7 titles, it was still a slim margin on the odds. At least Clive, who was a betting man, could continue to make a fortune by getting friends and family to put bets on the title once again.

Fixtures

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

September 2044

After a nearly full strength side could only draw against Apol. Limassol on the first day of the season, Clive's rotational players gave him hope in the second game, winning 3-1 against Nea Salamina. The regular starters then battered Shakhtar around 4-1 in the Champions League, before Alki were beaten 5-1 at home 5 days later.

With a few injuries to handle before Omonoia and Man City, Clive threw out a side that was verging on being 3rd string in some positions. The gamble failed on the scoresheet, the one place it mattered, as despite dominating, lowly Ypsonas ran out 2-1 winners. 

The frustration of the loss was quickly forgotten about against Omonoia though, as 7 Geroskipou goals went in on route to a clean sheet victory. Man City however proved a step too far, and they side ran out 4-0 victors.

Spoiler

Tables

After 5 games, Geroskipou sat in 5th. If they had managed to beat Ypsonas, they would be top, so it wasn't panic stations yet.

And the Champions League group looked as Clive had predicted.

Fixtures

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

October 2044

With 0 goals conceded and an 80% win ratio in the league, Clive considered October a success.

A 5-0 win against AEL was followed up by a 3-0 win against Anorthosi. After a predictable battering against Barcelona in front of nearly 100,000 people at the Camp Nou, it was back to league action, and consecutive 4-0 wins away at Ermis Aradippou and Othellos set up a potentially perfect league month.

It was against AEK Larnakas that Geroskipou became unstuck. The lack of clinical finishing resulted in a 0-0 draw, and was the first time since the CL R16 that Geroskipou didn't register a goal.

Spoiler

Tables

Alki, by contrast, had won all of their games in October to sit top of the tree.

Fixtures

The return fixtures of the Champions League were underway, with Barca visiting Cyprus and the squad travelling to Ukraine. In the league, APOEL, Nea Salamina and Apol. Limassol were next up. Finally, Othellos were drawn in the cup.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

November 2044

The first game of November was a shock, with Geroskipou managing to beat Barcelona 2-1 thanks to goals from Priso and San Roman. In the league, APOEL were beaten 2-1 before a heavily rotated side beat Othellos 3-1 in the cup.

Nea Salamina were battered 6-1 before the same fate was set upon Shakhtar, with Mulligan and San Roman both grabbing hattricks.

Back on the domestic front, Apol. Limassol were beaten 3-0 before Othellos were dumped out of the cup after losing 4-2 on the night (7-3 on agg.).

With some spare money in the bank, the powers that be finally decided to grant Clive's request to max out the youth facilities in order to try and bring through some more prosects from the academy.

Tables

Alki were keeping up their form, but had dropped points to let Geroskipou start to catch up.

In the Champions League, Geroskipou would have to beat Man City by at least 4 goals to progress.

Fixtures

Two huge games would open December, Alki and Man City away. APOEL were also drawn in the QF of the cup.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

December 2044

A great month on the domestic front, but not such a positive outcome in Europe.

A Priso hattrick helped Geroskipou beat Alki 5-1 to send them top of the league. 3 days later however, a 4-2 defeat against Man City dumped them out of the Champions League and into the Europa League.

Ypsonas were then beaten 4-0, before tight 2-1 victories against Omonoia and APOEL on either side of the international break helped both tighten their grip on the top of the table and put them in the driving seat of the cup tie. Finally, AEL went down 4-0 in the league.

Table

Fixtures

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

January 2045 Transfer Window

The January window is usually a quiet time for the scouting team and Clive, as he preferred to sort out transfers in the summer months, but this season was different. With the money seemingly burning a hole in the club's pocket, Clive delved into the market for some young talent.

In

Palamino - A holding midfielder from a deal that was arranged previously, but who could also operate as a centre-half.

Fabian - Szabo's replacement, and a decent backup to Priso.

Jacobsen - A 16 year old Faroe Island U21 striker, who would be used in the U19 squad for a few seasons.

Fredheim - A pacy 18 year old DC, again, a player who would ply his trade in the youth team.

Mathiasen - A good all-rounder who would be a 3rd choice right winger.

Morin - A similar player to Jacobsen, 16 years old, but French.

Carlos - A steal for a 3rd choice left winger,

Skrijelj - A 16 year old Serbian U21 goalkeeper, who was the bookies choice to replace Lukic both at club and international level.

Lopez - Another 16 year old, this time a Mexican youth international, who would join the club at 18 years old.

Spoiler

Out

Some notable outgoing transfers also occured. Szabo was unhappy at the club due to being behind Priso in the pecking order, so a £4m offer from Burnley was accepted. A similar fate occured to Milisavljevic, who was sold back to Red Star for double what Clive paid just a few seasons previously.

The biggest sale emotionally was Max Diaz. He was now 3rd choice behind San Roman and Nuti, and not getting younger, so Clive decided to move him on to Notts Forest for £3.8m, a massive increase from the £50k odd that he was bought for.

 

 

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

January 2045

Another 100% month, 4 in the league against lower half opposition, and a tight 2-1 win against APOEL in the cup to send Geroskipou through to another semi final.

Table

The lead at the top was now stretched to 8 points.

Fixtures

The final pre-split game in the league would be APOEL at home, before Dynamo Kyiv were in the 1st KO round in the Europa League.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

February 2045

Not a 100% month, but a very positive one. Due to fixture arrangements, APOEL were back to back in the league, with a full strength side winning 3-2, before a rotated side drew 1-1 between the Europa League games. Alki were also beaten 1-0 at the tail end of the month.

In the Europa League, Dynamo Kyiv were knocked out easily 7-2 on aggregate to send Geroskipou through to the R16, where they would face Wolves.

Fixtures

A tough start to the month lay in store, with Wolves and Alki in the Europa League R16 and Cypriot Cup SF, before Apol.Limassol and Nea Salamina rounded off the shortened month in the league.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

March 2045

After snatching a 1-1 draw against Wolves in the first leg of the Europa League, a fully rotated side came second in the first leg of the cup against Alki, losing 3-1 and the chances of another domestic treble looked slim.

The rotation pulled through though, as a rested side then went out and narrowly beat Wolves 2-1 in the return leg, sending Geroskipou through to the QF of the Europa League for the second time in 4 seasons. A nearly full strength side then managed to turn the Cypriot Cup tie on it's head, as they beat Alki 4-0 away from home to reach their 7th final in 9 seasons.

In the league, Geroskipou scored 5 second half goals to win 5-0 against Apol. Limassol, before beating Nea Salamina 3-1 away from home 3 days later to finish off the fixture congested March.

Youth Intake

There was just one player signed from the youth academy in March, the young English holding midfielder Lee Y45. Even if he would not be of use to Geroskipou in the future, he would be well on his way to being a star player for a number of mid table clubs in the division.

Table

With every other team either dropping points to each other or Geroskipou, there was now a 15 point gap at the top with 5 games to go, although Geroskipou had a match in hand over Alki in 2nd.

Fixtures

With the league almost wrapped up again, all attention would be on the Europa League QF against Wolfsburg.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

April 2045

April was an up and down month. APOEL were downed thanks to 4 goals in the final 10 minutes from Nuti and San Roman to win another league title. Then in the Europa League QF, Wolfsburg won the first leg 1-0 in a tightly contested game, before also winning the second leg 2-1 despite Geroskipou being on top for the majority of the game to send the Cypriots crashing out.

Back in the league, the Geroskipou attack was dominant, scoring 4 goals for each of the final 3 games of the month on route to a maximum 9 points from 9.

Spoiler

The budgets for the 45/46 season were in, and £23m was enough for Clive.

Table

16 points clear with 2 games to go and the league already won.

Fixtures

The final games of the season would be Omonoia in the league and then the Cup final, followed by Nea Salamina to finish the season off.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

May 2045

With no more European action, May was a quiet month. A Nuti brace helped secure a morale boosting win away at Omonoia before the cup final against them 1 week later. In the final, it was Priso's turn to grab the headlines, grabbing all 4 goals in a 4-2 win to lift the cup yet again.

In the final game of the season, 4 different Geroskipou players were on the scoresheet, including Karagiannis, Bohorquez and young Jacobsen on route to another 4-2 win against Nea Salamina.

Final Table

For a second season in a row, Geroskipou had gotten past the 100 goal mark, beating their own record by 7 to total 109 goals for and only 23 against, and running away with the league by a massive 26 points.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

2044/45 Season Review

After some impressive games in Europe and another season of domestic dominance, the Cypriot First Division was turning more heads and was creeping into the top 10 leagues in Europe.

Cyprus had also moved up to 11th in the coefficient table, meaning that league winners would go straight into the Playoff round.

Geroskipou's club coefficient was now best for 21st in Europe.

And in a big shock to Clive, while negotiating the new club vision, the board announced that Geroskipou now had the best youth system in the WORLD.

Money

Nearly £10m coming into the club at the end of the season thanks to Champions League revenues.

Clive's Cuttings

Another season of heavy rotation due to the early fixture congestion.

3 players managed to bag over 20 goals, with Mulligan just shy on 19.

5 players registering 10 or more assists was also a massive positive.

There was still no breaking the all time records, although Priso is edging towards breaking van Looy's record and Mulligan is only a few off Leiva's record for assists.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

2045/46 Summer Transfer Window

With another season looming, Clive delved into the transfer market yet again, although the incomings for the season were slim compared to other seasons, just 5 players were bought in, with more outs than ins for the first time in a while.

In

Merling - A bosman signing from Denmark. The 16 year old Dane has the potential to grow into a big presence at the back.

Stangnes - Another Nordic signing. With an initial £7m and another £4.5m in add ons, Clive was hesitant to sign the 16 year old, but his attributes for such a young player were promising. If he could develop as Clive thought, he could grow to be one of the best midfielders in the world.

Rodriguez - A 20 year old Argentinian from River Plate thanks to a £10.5m release clause. He will be in the first team rotation from day dot.

Kovac - For £600k, Clive could not turn down the oppertunity to sign another young and talented defender.

Mncube - The first South African that Clive ever signed came in for an initial £350k from Orlando Pirates with a bucket load of pace and potential.

Spoiler

There were some future transfers agreed for when players turned 18.

Lopez - A 16 year old Mexican winger who would be utilised on the right flank.

Ramirez - Another 16 year old Mexican, who would be trained as a left winger.

Spoiler

Out

Again, Clive only let a few players go, but notably:

Bohorquez - Who refused a new contract, so was snapped up by Newcastle on a Bosman, and immediately worth £36.5m with the Premier League tax.

Rao - A constant whimer, and as a 2nd stringer, Clive wanted him gone.

Araneda - The biggest loss of the outgoing players. Bournmouth activated the £12m clause in his contract.

Karagiannis - His contract at Benfica came to an end and he wanted £30k p/w.

Spoiler

Youth players poached

There were also 2 depatures from the youth team, both going to English clubs. Theodorou looked like a good talent lost to the real life loan farm that is Chelsea.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

2045/46 Pre-Season

With all of the transfer excitement out of the way, Geroskipou still had friendlies and Champions League qualifiers to play.

The friendlies all went by according to plan, including a 3-2 win against AC Milan.

Favourable draws in the Champions League also allowed Geroskipou to coast through yet again, with a fully rotated side losing narrowly inbetween the rounds to Alki.

Champions League Group Draw

The draw for the group stage was not the easiest, yet not the hardest. Inter being the hardest game, and Villarreal also posing a threat to making it past the groups.

Odds

It was no shock that Geroskipou were now billed as favourites.

Fixtures

A heavy looking opening month lay in store, with with only a 3 or 4 day break inbetween games, so a rotation system was put in plan.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

September 2045

Domestically, Geroskipou started the season as they ended the last one, and in dominant fashion. A 5-2 win against Omonoia was followed up by a win by the same scoreline against Ypsonas. A full strength squad was sent out against Villarreal, but despite dominanting, could only muster up a 1-1 draw.

Back in the league, a 7-0 win against Achna was followed up by a 6-1 and 5-1 win against Othellos and Aris Limassol respectively before another Champions League game. Again, despite dominating the game, Geroskipou could not break the deadlock, and drew 0-0 against PSV.

In the final game of the month, APOEL were beaten 3-0 in front of a full house in Geroskipou.

With the winning run in the league, 2 First Division records were broken in the span of 1 month.

Tables

6 from 6 was more than enough to fend off challengers from the top of the league.

Despite the slow start, Geroskipou were somehow in the qualification spots in the group, although they were the only team not to play Inter Milan yet, and had played 2/3 of their home games, leaving a tricky set of away fixtures left.

Fixtures

After the international break, there would be even more fixture congestion, with 6 games in 3 weeks, notably, Inter Milan home and away in the Champions League.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

October 2045

October was a mixed bag for Geroskipou, a big 5-1 win against Nea Salamina started the month off in good sted, before in the Champions League, a big 4-1 loss to Inter bought the side crashing back down to earth.

The disappointment was short lived, as a rotated side battered AEL 6-1 in the league to extend the winning run to 8 for the season, and then a 3rd string side beat 2nd Division Pegeia 2-1 in the cup.

The rotational squad was then sent out to play Alki in the league, but the winning run would stop at 8 as Alki held the visitors to a 1-1 draw, before a fully rested first team went out and beat Inter 3-2 in a tight game, with Nuti and Priso both scoring before the half hour mark to put Geroskipou 3-0 up before a fightback from the Italians.

Tables

Omonoia were hanging onto Geroskipou's coat tails in the league, waiting for Geroskipou to slip up to try and close the gap at the top.

In the Champions League, PSV were sitting in 2nd with a game in hand over Geroskipou, and the remaining 2 games would be crucial for qualification.

Fixtures

Omonoia in the league and Villarreal in Europe would be the headline games in November, both were must wins in their respective competitions.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

November 2045

Domestically, another dominant month, but only in the games that didn't matter. A 5-1 win against Apol. Limassol thanks to a Radojicic hattrick and Nuti double kicked off the month in style. This was then followed by a 6-1 win against Pegeia in the cup, with Priso grabbing 4 in the last game before the international break.

In the domestic game that mattered, Geroskipou were held to a 2-2 draw against Omonoia, despite being 2-0 up before half time. In the Champions League, the spiral continued, as a trip to Villarreal resulted in 0 points and a 4-0 battering.

As a consolation, a rotated side beat Anorthosi 6-1 in the league, with San Roman scoring a hattrick. 

Tables

Omonoia were slowly slipping away as Geroskipou were now 6 clear at the top.

Geroskipou were somehow not out of the Champions League, if they could beat PSV on the final day and Inter avoided defeat against Villarreal, a berth in the R16 was on the cards.

Fixtures

All eyes would be on the PSV game early in the month, with the biggest game apart from that being APOEL in the league at the back end of the month.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

December 2045

December was another almost perfect month, both results and table wise.

A big 7-0 win against Ypsonas with the rotation side gave Geroskipou the momentum going into the PSV game in the Champions League. This was more than enough, as 4 goals from Nuti and a single from Priso gave Geroskipou a 5-3 win in Holland. With the scores from the other game coming in, Clive was in shock when he saw that Villarreal beat Inter 1-0 in their game, sending Geroskipou crashing out once again and falling into the Europa League.

With the disapointment of Europe over, it was back to dominance in the league, with Achna, Othellos and Aris Limassol all being downed 2-0, 3-1 and 5-0 respectively.

In the QF of the cup, Omonoia once again managed to hold Geroskipou to a 2-2 draw, before a last gasp winner from Rodriguez against APOEL saw Geroskipou end the month 5 from 5 in the league.

News

A few big achievements occured during the month. First, Clive had managed his 1,100 game during the PSV matchup.

Priso was named African footballer of the Year yet again.

And Nuti was named both European Golden Boy...

...and U21 World Footballer of the Year.

Table

With 17 games played, Geroskipou were top by 8 points, and a total of 74 goals with just over half the season completed.

Fixtures

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

January 2046

Transfers

Out

A few transfers out occured over the window. Graham, the panic buy from a few seasons prior was sold to Alki for a massive loss at just £1.2m. Hrdlicka was also sold on the cheap (£250k) to Alki. Czapa was sold to Leeds for a big profit, and £9m for a 3rd choice left back is not a deal Clive wanted to turn his nose up to.

The biggest sale in the window was San Roman. He was now firmly second string to Nuti, and Clive was not wanting to have his highest earner sitting on the bench for most of the season. When Juventus came in for an initial £10m (+£2.75m add ons) as well as a 50% profit clause, Clive took the oppertunity. His market value shot up to £35m and the sell out was £13m, so Geroskipou would have made doubled their money on him.

In

Reyes came in after a deal was agreed prior.

Larsson was seen as a direct replacement for San Roman, and for a fraction of the price.

Results

Another clean sweep results wise. Geroskipou breezed past Omonoia in the cup with a 4-1 away win (6-3 agg), before beating Nea Salamina 6-1 in the return to league action. Consecutive 4-1 wins against AEL and Alki soon followed before a 3-0 win against Apol.Limassol rounded January out. Priso was on a hot streak in the league, after scoring 10 goals in 4 games.

Table

Still a comfortable gap at the top.

Fixtures

The Europa League 1st KO Round would be against French high fliers Lyon.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

February 2046

Another nearly perfect month. Anorthosi were comfortably beaten 4-0 to open the month off before Geroskipou were beaten 16-0 in a tune up game before the Europa League 1st leg.

The tune up game was a perfect set up, as Lyon came to town, and were blown off the pitch 5-0, effectively rendering the 2nd leg useless. Back in the league, a rotated side beat Nea Salamina 4-0, with Nieto getting on the scoresheet with a brace from corners.

The 2nd leg against Lyon went according to plan, as a 3-1 win on the night confirmed progression through to the next round. In the next game, Nuti scored a hattrick of penalties along with 2 from open play as Alki were beaten 7-0.

The final game of the month was a disapointing 1-1 draw against Apol. Limassol.

     

Table

Fixtures

A big month lay in store in March. Alki were drawn in the SF of the cup, which would intertwine with the Europa League ties against Tottenham.

With only APOEL and Nea Salamina in the league, there was a chance for Omonoia to slip up and slip further away from the top.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

2046 Youth Intake

Another youth intake, and Clive was disapointed yet again. Only 4 players were signed out of the academy, and only 1 looked like they would be able to make the grade in the first team.

Mavris Y46

Michail Y46

Harris Y46

Mitrovic Y46

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

March 2046

A 2-0 win against Alki in the first round of the cup was enough to send Geroskipou through to another Final, as in the return leg, a rotated side managed to draw 2-2 thanks to a Larsson brace.

In the Europa League, it was Priso the ultimate hero, as a 2-2 draw at home in the first leg was followed up by a dramatic 3-3 draw at the Tottenham Stadium, with Priso bagging in the 90th and 91st minute to send Geroskipou through to the QF thanks to an unlikey away goals lead over the two legs.

In the league, it was plain sailing however, as APOEL were beaten 4-1 and Nea Salamina 3-0, inbetween a friendly with Juventus as part of the San Roman deal.

  

News

Clive had now surpassed 1,100 games for Geroskipou.

And despite winning European Golden Boy and U21 World Footballer of the Year, Nuti somehow was snubbed for the NxGen award.

Table

With a 10 point gap and only 5 games to play, another title looked to be heading to Geroskipou

Fixtures

With the league all but wrapped up for another season, all eyes would be on the Europa League QF against RB Leipzig.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

Europa League Quarter Final

First Leg

The first leg was a very even affair, with both sides having ample oppertunity to win the game. It was Leipzig who looked better in the early stages of the game, and they opened the scoring in the 26th minute and were holding out until 5 minutes before time, when Nuti swooped in with the equaliser. Despite a red card for Radojicic just a minute later, it was too little too late for either side, and the game finished 1-1.

Second Leg

The second leg was just as tight as an affair, the difference being that in the first leg both keepers were in top form, in the second leg, they may as well as not shown up, as there were a combined 8 goals off just 19 shots on target, compared to the 2 goals from the same number of efforts on target the week previously.

The opening 10 minutes were like a ping pong match, with Mulligan opening the scoring before Geroskipou were quickly pegged back and shortly after back in front thanks to a Nuti goal. Leipzig then scored 2 without reply before the end of the first half to take a lead into the final 45 minutes of the tie.

In the 49th minute, Priso scored to put the score at 3-3 (4-4 agg) before another twist in the game occured when Leipzig scored their 4th. It was Nuti scoring late on, as in the first leg to send Geroskipou through 4-4 (5-5) on away goals for the second round on the bounce.

Semi Final Draw

Manchester United were the best team left in the competition, but Clive knew that they would have to test themselves against them at some point in the magical run they were on.

 

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

April 2046

Inbetween the EL QF 1st leg, a rotated side went out to face Omonoia at GSP, and came away with both 3 points and the league title. After the 2nd leg, Nuti scored another hattrick of penalties in a 5-3 win against Alki.

The first leg of the Europa League Semi-Final was a forgettable match, with Man Utd dominating until the 84th minute, when Larsson and Mulligan scored consilation but important away goals to take into the home leg.

In the final game of the month, it was Omonoia on the recieving end of a loss once again, this time 3-1.

Table

Fixtures

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

Europa League Semi Final 2nd Leg

With the 2 away goals carried over from the first leg at Old Trafford, Clive was quietly optimistic about his side's chances going into the 2nd leg. But when United scored first, those hopes were extinguished.

Priso levelled the scores up 8 minutes later to make it 1-1 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate, but then everything fell apart. United scored 3 more goals in the first half alone to put the tie beyond reach at 4-1 on the night and 8-3 on aggregate.

The second half was a frantic affair, with Geroskipou needing 6 goals to progress, and despite the dominance, they were not able to register another goal to send them crashing out of Europe at the final hurdle.

 

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

May 2046

After crashing out of Europe, Geroskipou looked out of sorts. They were 1-0 down against Apol. Limassol until the 90th minute, when Nuti scored the equaliser and then with the last kick of the game, Priso scored the winner to maintain the unbeaten league campaign into the final game of the season.

The first of two consecutive games against APOEL came in the cup, where after going 3 up before half time, Geroskipou held back a rampant APOEL attack to win 3-2.

For the final game of the season, it was a domestic unbeaten season on the line, but lady luck was not on Geroskipou's side, as they lost 2-1 thanks to a tight offside against Nuti and some poor goalkeeping from Oy.

Final Table

With a +100 goal difference, it was clear that Geroskipou had a complete stranglehold on the league.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

2045/46 Season Review

The run to the Europa League SF helped see the First Division move up to 11th in the European competition rankings.

Also a jump back into the top 10 coefficient table after a few seasons of CL qualifiers.

On the club ranking scene, Geroskipou were now in 15th place.

New HoYD

After a few seasons of not getting viable talent into the squad, Clive decided enough was enough, and splashed out on Cerri, who was earning more than Clive.

Money

Clive's Cuttings

Another high scoring season for Priso, this time with 46. Nuti however outshone his partner in his breakout season, with 48 goals from just 43 total appearances. Mulligan and Radojicic combined for a total of 37 assists from the right wing, with Arroyo getting 26 from the left.

Nuti broke the record for single season goals, Arroyo equalled the single season assist record.

There were also changes in the all time records. Priso broke van Looy's long standing record, finishing the season with the tally at 212. Mulligan also broke the all time assist record, ending with 96 all time assists.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

2046/47 Summer Transfer Window

Out

There was a mix of loans and permanent transfers out over the window. A number of academy players were loaned out, with the exception of Christodoulou Y43 and Dimitriou Y44 who were sold for a combined £700k.

Paradisi - Borussia Monchengladbach - £7.25m (£8m) - Was now 3rd choice defensive midfielder behind Palomino and Stangnes, so £7.25m was a great price.

Fredheim - FC Augsburg - £1.7m - The centre half was not progressing and was too old for the U19 team.

Christodoulou Y43 - Parma - £475k (£850k) - A similar story to Fredheim.

Dimitriou Y44 - Olympiakos - £225k (£500k) - A similar story to Fredheim and Christodoulou Y43.

Over the window, Santos made a massive £63m bid for Raimundo, but there was still a lot of potential growth in the youngster, so Clive was hoping he would be able to sell him for more in a few seaons.

In

Only 6 players were bought in over the summer for a combined £27.5m.

Agger - Free Transfer - Clive used the oppertunity for a free signing to bolster up the U19 side.

Vuk - Cibalia - £500K (£1m) - Vuk was a player that the scouting team pointed out could be massive in the future, having been capped by the Croatia U19 team at 16 years old.

Jensen - Kobenhavn - £3.8m (£5.25m) - A potentially great left back.

Boumechra - FC Nantes - £5m - Clive saw him as a potential 3rd option at centre half in the future.

Casarico - Racing Club - £10.5m - A bargain for a first team ready centre half.

Gillebo - Valerenga - £7.5m (12.5m) - The potential world class right back price tag was a little higher than Clive would have liked, but hopefully would pay dividends in the future.

 

Spoiler

 

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

2046/47 Pre-Season

The usual plethora of beatings handed out to lower division sides, along with 2 seperate tours, 1 to Asia and another to Italy.

The super cup was littered with 4 penalties, all converted in a 6-1 win for Geroskipou.

Champions League Group Draw

Geroskipou were handed one of the tougher groups, with Juventus and Arsenal both more favoured to progress. Kobenhavn was the most winnable match for Clive's side.

Fixtures

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

September 2046

The season started hot, with a clean sweep of wins. It took 5 games in the league for another team to even score against Clive's strong defence.

In the Champions League, a Priso goal and Rodriguez brace helped see off Juventus 3-2 in the opening round of fixtures.

Transfers

With the window about to close, Clive spent an initial £11.75m on young Austrian midfielder Burki. With any luck he was going to develop into a long term successor for Raimundo as a playmaker.

Tables

Alki had also made a strong start to the season, and sat on level points at the top, with Omonoia only losing to Geroskipou to start strong also.

Arsenal and Kobenhavn drew 0-0 to leave Geroskipou top of the Champions League group.

Fixtures

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

October 2046

October started with a big 4-1 win in the Champions League against Kobenhavn was good to keep up the 100% start to the season. Back in the league, a 3-0 win against Nea Salamina was followed up by a top of the table clash against Alki, who were also 100%. A Priso hattrick and Nuti goal helped Geroskipou win 4-1.

A trip to the Emirates put a close to the stop to the 100% record. Arsenal won 3-2 in a tight game. Back in Cyprus, Othellos were beaten 6-2 before basically a 3rd string side beat Ermis 5-1 in the cup.

Tables

Alki were still hot on the tails of Geroskipou, with their only dropped points of the season being against Geroskipou.

Despite the loss to Arsenal, Geroskipou still sat top of the group thanks to results elsewhere.

Fixtures

A big month in the Champions League. A win against Arsenal would almost guarantee progression through to the R16.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

November 2046

A 6-0 win against Doxa in the league with a rotated side set up the reverse fixture against Arsenal in the Champions League. Clive expected a tight game, but after the first goal of the game, the floodgates opened and Arsenal capitulated. By the time Full Time came, Geroskipou had won 9-0, with Nuti grabbing 7 and Priso 2.

After a 4-1 win against Apol. Limassol, a 1-1 draw to send Geroskipou through in the cup, goals from Vos and Priso helped Geroskipou go 11 from 11 in the league with a tight win against APOEL.

In the final game of the month, San Roman scored a hattrick against his former side to help Juventus win 4-2 in the penultimate Champions League game.

    

Tables

The gap at the top of the league was now 10 points.

Fixtures

Kobenhavn would be the do or die game in December.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

December 2046

Another clean sweep for Geroskipou, which included a 7-0 win against Ypsonas with a rotated side, and an 8-3 win against Aris Limassol.

In the Champions League, Kobenhavn were soundly beaten 3-0 to send Geroskipou through to the R16 for the first time in 3 seasons.

Tables

Halfway through the season, and Geroskipou were 16 from 16, and 13 points clear at the top.

Geroskipou also topped the Champions League group, with Arsenal also joining them in the R16.

Fixtures

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

January 2047

Routine wins in the cup against AEK Larnakas with a mixture of 2nd and 3rd stringers saw another SF on the horizon. In the league, a 2-1 win against Alki was followed up by a 5-1 demolition job of Nea Salamina and 4-0 win against Othellos, with Mavris Y46 scoring his 2nd in 3 games from the right wing. The final game of the month was a tough away trip to Apol. Limassol, and it was Casarico's late goal that sealed a 2-1 win.

Table

With 20 games played and won, Clive was wondering if this could be the first perfect season.

Awards

Nuti was a clear winner in both European Golden Boy and World U21 Footballer of the Year.

Fixtures

There were just 2 games before the split, both at home, and both winnable. In the Champions League, Porto were drawn in the R16.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

February 2047

A massive 9-1 win against Doxa somehow increased morale even more. In the final game pre-split, APOEL were defeated 4-0, with Nuti scoring another hattrick.

The Champions League game was a cakewalk, even though it was away in Portugal. The only time that Porto were in the game is until their first goal. Nuti, Priso and Radojicic all hit back to give the Cypriot club the best chance to progress.

The first stumble in the league came 4 days later, as Apol.Limassol were extremely lucky to hold off the onslaught to draw 1-1.

Spoiler

Table

With a 17 point lead, the title was pretty much sealed.

Fixtures

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

March 2047

Another month almost perfect. A 5-0 win against Alki took even more pressure off the league campaign. In the cup, a rotated side drew 3-3 against Omonoia, meaning the result would be decided away from home.

In the 2nd leg of the Champions League against Porto, it was almost a continuation of the 1st leg, with Geroskipou dominating and winning 4-0. The side took this form into the 2nd leg of the cup, as they dismantled Omonoia 5-1, with Priso grabbing 4 of the goals.

Back in the league, Omonoia were beaten 2-0, meaning that one more win would seal the title.

In the title decider against Nea Salamina, Clive was brimming with confidence as Priso continued his run of scoring, grabbing a hattrick. Nuti also scored 3, with Radojicic and Raimundo also on the scoresheet to bring the title home with the 8-0 win.

Another big increase in the wage bill was coming next season.

With the league win, Clive was now the most decorated manager in Cypriot football history.

Youth Intake

Nothing to report.

Table

Fixtures

Liverpool were drawn in the QF of the Champions League.

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

Champions League QF

Going to Liverpool was a daunting task, but Geroskipou proved they were up to the challenge. Nuti scored a penalty in the first half giving a vital away goal to the Cypriot side, before the Italian doubled his and his side's tally in the 63th minute. Despite Liverpool getting the better of the chances throughout the game, Oy had a stormer, and was not beaten, meaning Geroskipou took a 2-0 lead into the second leg.

The 2nd leg was still a nervy game, until the 3rd minute, when Priso struck to extend the aggregate scoreline to 3-0. After a disallowed goal for each side just a minute apart, the half-time score was 1-0. In the 71st minute, Nuti put the tie beyond all doubt, scoring his 3rd of the tie, and Geroskipou's 4th. So when Liverpool finally got into the game, it was too little too late.

Dortmund were drawn in the SF. Although anything from this point on would be a bonus, as the Geroskipou players and fans were getting nosebleeds from being this far into the competition.

 

[ChaosClive]

Clive English - Back to the motherland - APOP Geroskipou

Champions League Semi Final 1st Leg

The first leg of the SF started woefully. Dortmund were up 2-0 after 20 minutes. A rare missed penalty from Nuti really set the alarms off for Clive. Halftime came, a hairdryer was thrown and the team was sent back out early.

This seemed to have made the difference. Priso scored just before the hour to make it 2-1, before he struck once more to level the scores. 3 minutes later, Nuti made ammends for his miss in the first half to complete the turnaround in front of the yellow wall to help Geroskipou win 3-2.