(FM24) LutterworthFox presents The Nearly Men - Club #3 - Club Brugge

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #33 - February 2036

The good start continues, bar one result!

Some really good wins there even if all the games were against teams way down the table. 10-2 over Bristol City was absolutely insane!!! But that was followed by a shocker of a defeat to Norwich. The first defeat in my reign at Arsenal.

The month ended with two cup games, firstly was the EFL Cup final against arch-rivals Tottenham.

The game was an utter riot, two red cards, one for each side, numerous yellow, it was a scrappy, dirty game. Spurs scored early and when Briand was sent off it looked like we would head to defeat. The, in the second half, Spurs had a man sent off and we capitalised, two goals in the space of a minute put us 2-1 up and we held on for victory! I just love beating Spurs in finals!!!

The other was an FA Cup tie against Championship side Everton, I played the reserves and we very nearly screwed up. A 3-2 win!

The EFL Cup win means we have already guaranteed European football for next season but we desperately need to get into the Champions League football, just to keep the revenue coming in.

Currently 5th, with the England sitting top of the co-efficient that should be enough for Champions League football but we could really do with closing down Liverpool and Spurs in the top 4.

Financially we're still in a state, the balance now sits at -£180m, a £15m loss over the month!

The big loss this month was bonuses, £3m paid out for winning the EFL Cup and another £7m in other bonuses, the previous manager really did screw us over! Player wages did drop a bit due to player sales but it was still £15m over the month, with gate receipts and TV revenue only adding up to £12m we really need to lower the wages and the bonuses next season. I'm not sure player sales alone will make up how low the bank balance is!

Edited Thursday at 08:37 by TheLutterworthFox

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #34 - March 2036

Well our Champions League run ended very prematurely, in the Last 16 we were drawn against Inter Milan and in the first leg we got utterly destroyed!

A shocking performance, an xG against of over 5, that is really poor and just shows how poor defensively we are. An area that really needs looking at in the Summer.

Well we did claw back some creditability in the second leg, we nearly produced a great comeback but in the end it wasn't enough.

A 4-2 win, a 6-5 loss on aggregate, really not what I expected to happen

Now we just have domestic competitions to focus on, the EFL Cup has been won and we are still in the FA Cup after a quarter final win over Crystal Palace.

In the Semis we will face my supported team Leicester City, a game we really should be winning.

We are also closing down the top 4 places with some good wins over the month

10 points from 4 games, the only dropped points was the game we really needed to win but a draw at Anfield was solid enough.

The good news is Liverpool's form has dropped right off and with 7 games to go we are now only 1 point behind them. As for qualifying for the Champions League in 5th, well it all depends on the co-efficient and it's actually not as good as I expected.

England are currently third in the rankings, for 5th to qualify in the Premier League we need England to be in the top 2 and that may not happen.

In the Champions League - Only Man City are through to the Quarters, Italy and Spain have 3 teams

In the Europa League - England have 2 teams, Italy and Spain have 1

In the Conference League - We all have 1 team. 

Really and truly England need to at least qualify for the final of all 3 competitions and possibly win them to overtake Italy into second.

[AlfieLucas]

It's lovely to see Arsenal financially in the crapper

Like the concept of this save, good luck, even with the Woolwich.

[AlfieLucas]

Forgot to add, tremendous work with Sampdoria. I'll always remember Vialli, Mancini, Platt, Veron, Ortega and Seedorf. You've certainly made them a powerhouse.

[TheLutterworthFox]

29 minutes ago, AlfieLucas said:

Forgot to add, tremendous work with Sampdoria. I'll always remember Vialli, Mancini, Platt, Veron, Ortega and Seedorf. You've certainly made them a powerhouse.

Thank you so much for your comments mate. Really appreciate the support. Hopefully won't be at Arsenal long ;-) 

[AlfieLucas]

42 minutes ago, TheLutterworthFox said:

Thank you so much for your comments mate. Really appreciate the support. Hopefully won't be at Arsenal long ;-) 

Just as long as Spurs win it before then

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #35 - 2035/36 End of Season Review

What a brilliant half a season it's been at The Emirates, Champions League aside that is where we exited way too early.

The two aims in the final months were to firstly win the FA Cup and secondly, get into the top 4 to qualify for the Champions League.

Well we managed to achieve the second of those goals with relative ease.

Loads of goals, some cracking performances including beating this seasons Champions Man United and arch-rivals Spurs. 

And that meant we leapt all the way to second in the table!

A fantastic end to the season, in my 18 games we managed to win 15 and lose only 1. Gaining 47 points from a possible 54, not bad indeed!!

As you can see in the results above we demolished my boys Leicester City to get into the FA Cup final, where we faced Man United!

Would it be a cup double for us or a league/cup double for United?

And in a stunning performance we pulled off an incredible 4-2 win courtesy of two late De Potter goals!

So domestically it's been a bloody brilliant season, two cups and a top 4 finish!

Now to look at who the key men have been, firstly a look at the whole first-team playing squad.

A stacked squad, some of whom we'll be saying goodbye to over the Summer.

Player of the goes to one of those players leaving, Bukayo Saka, an Arsenal legend and even at 34 still a top quality player. He ends this season with 10 goals and 13 assists from 42 starts. He will now leave the club in the Summer as he's out of contract, with the finances in such a shambles I cannot afford £425k p/wk, I tried to negotiate but he wouldn't budge. Saka leaves as the record Arsenal league goalscorer with 184 goals. 

Young player of season goes to forward Tevez. A bit-part player before I joined but I made sure he got some game-time either as a Striker or on the Right Wing. He ends with 18 goals from 20 starts and 14 sub appearances, with Saka going he has the chance to cement himself on the Right Wing.

Ben Ashby ends as the clubs top scorer for the season, 27 scored in 44 starts. He will be a key man moving forward although he is on a massive wage.

And finally, Left Winger Kendry Paez ends with the most assists, 14 in 26 starts with 16 sub appearances, not bad seeing as his xA was under 10. Another player who will be key moving forward.

And here is the seasons best XI.

But as I mentioned we will be saying goodbye to numerous players over the Summer, Saka I've mentioned, we'll also be losing Declan Rice who is retiring, Gabriel Martinelli and Tim Iroegbunam who are out of contract and both William Saliba (£8.75m to Al-Ittihad) and Arda Guler (£54m to Barcelona). Some big shoes to fill but what it does is save me over £1m p/wk in wages. We are well in the wage budget but it needs to be brought down more to balance the books. The wage budget is currently at £4.8m p/wk, it need to be below £3m p/wk, that will save me around £90m a season.

What has happened though in the week after the season ended is we have had a board takeover!!

On the face it it's brilliant! I looked at the bank balance and suddenly is +£40m!!! The reason? The new chairman has pumped £243m into the coffers!! What a legend....until you check the debts!!!

He's took out a bank loan for the whole £243m with us paying £1.2m per month!!!! At least it clears the bank balance and gives me a chance to sign a few players, on lower wages than who is leaving!

Talking of budgets, prior to the takeover the chairman gave me some pretty mad money to spend!

The new chairman hasn't changed this. No way will I go near that wage budget but I may look at spending some of that transfer kitty.

So where do I need to improve the squad for next season? Well I've put the first-team squad into my squad builder spreadsheet with the players who will be here next season to see the gaps.

Even with so many players leaving it's not too bad. Obviously this could change is people leave, if I get a bid for a player that exceeds their value I will more than likely accept, just to make sure the bank balance heads in the right direction. 

The glaring gaps are in the defence, which is clear from our results, too many goals conceded over the season. With Saliba leaving we need a new first-choice CB. We also need at least one back-up CB, we have been short ever since I arrived.

We are also short at LB, Irondino is incredible but that's it bar academy player Vasilelou who only came through this season intake.

Finally a new DM is needed to replace the outgoing Declan Rice. 

It's going to be an interesting Summer, it's clear where we need to improve but I also need to make sure we aren't sending the club into the same financial mess from the previous few seasons.

 

Edited Thursday at 21:03 by TheLutterworthFox

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #36 - 2036/37 Summer Transfers

Well it's been a very busy Summer, the main plan was to get rid of some of the high earners, then replace them with younger players on lower wages. My plans did slightly change after the board takeover and a huge bump up of the bank balance, as of the 31st August it now sits at £175m, a profit so far this Summer of £150m! Not bad at all! So plans did change a little, I spent a bit more than I planned to but with the sales we achieved I still ended making a transfer profit and got the wage budget down by nearly £1.8m p/wk. 

Firstly the out's 

£161m of player sales. Some big names but also earning way too much. The two big sales there are Mocanu (RB) and Guler (AM). Ciullo was a young RW but we had so many options in that position and he was way down the pecking order. Saliba and Timber were two big names to leave, they were getting on and declining quickly, also both earning above £300k p/wk. The rest were backups.

We also lost Saka, Martinelli and Iroegbunam who left after their contracts expired and Rice who retired. 

All in all over £2.5m p/wk of wages removed from the squad.

So with all those sales players were needed. I said in the last update my main aims were at least one CB, a LB and a DM. With Mocanu and Timber leaving we needed a new RB as well. I managed to achieve all of it!

So please welcome....

Jack Hands - Central Defender - £48m from Middlesbrough

The biggest transfer fee of the window, only 20 and looks really good, his physicals and mentals are brilliant for that age and still has time to grow. A big fee but a massive prospect.

 

Louise Balsiger - Central Defender - £12.5m from Basel

Another young defender, on a low wage and a small fee for someone who already looks decent for this level. He will be back-up to Hands for this season.

Jari Bartels - Goalkeeper - Free from Ajax

I didn't particularly need a GK but when I saw this lad out of contract I had to snap him up. Trubels is my No.1 GK but at 34 he may end up leaving in the next season or two, could this lad be a ready-made replacement?

Oscar Hojlund - Defensive Midfield - Free from Sampdoria

I just had to go back to my old club and bring a player in! Hojlund was a key man for me at Sampdoria and as he was out of contract I felt he was a perfect replacement for Declan Rice.

Emmanuel Van de Blaak - Central Defender - Free from PSV

Another CB but unlike the previous two Van de Blaak adds experience to the back-line. A cracking player on a free transfer and adds some good depth to the defence.

Jumpei Chugo - Right Back/Right Wing - £26m from Bayer Leverkusen

My replacement for Mocanu. He can play anywhere down the right-hand side but he will be playing predominantly as a RB. An amazing player for a relatively low fee.

Michele Briganti - Central Midfield - £11.25m from Inter Milan

Signed with a look to the future. He will be retrained as an AM over the next season or so. He looks really well rounded for 20 years old.

Andreas Sonniksen - Striker - £12.5m from FC Midtjylland

I didn't need a new Striker but when this lad was recommended to me there was no way I was going to say no. He looks utterly incredible and is only 18 years old! He'll have to settle to be a bit-part player this season but will get game-time in the cups and league games when I need to rest Ben Ashby for the important Champions league games.

Overall a cracking window. We have lost a lot of experience but I've freshened the squad up with some really good-looking young players.

£161m of transfer sales, £125m spent, a profit of £36m in transfers.

The wage budget, as mentioned before has dropped from £5.2m p/wk last season to £3.4m p/wk as of August 31st. A saving of around £93m per season. That should really help out, the projection is now for us to lose about £40m over the season, seeing as we are paying back bank loans totally £2m per month that loss isn't too bad!

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #37 - August Results

I wanted to separate this out from the transfer business as didn't want the posts to be too long.

It's been a so-so start to the season, firstly we played in the Community Shield and face Champs Man United, we played really poorly but looked to be heading to a 1-0 win, that was until Man U scored in the 94th minute, it went to penalties and we lost! A crap way to start!

We then started our Premier League games and the opening three games were fantastic, 3 wins including a cracking 3-0 win over Liverpool. We then faced tycoon-owned Leicester City, a club on the up and predicted to end this season one place behind us in 5th, they won 2-1, we didn't really show up.

A solid start and we sit in 4th.

#

We've also had our Champions League fixtures and it's not a bad set of games.

Some tough games but if we are to win this competition we should be winning most of these and getting a top 8 spot in the League Phase.

 

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #38 - September 2036

What an absolutely stunning month!!

Let's start with the Champions League games, two matches this month to open the League Phase, firstly was a comfy win over AEK Athens at The Emirates.

And secondly was probably our toughest tie of the League Phase, away to Bayern Munich, it was a pretty even match which started likes a train, two early goals, one for each side but after that the game became scrappy with few chances for either side. It looked to be heading for a draw until our Summer signing, wonderkid Andreas Sonniksen scored to seal a 2-1 win!

Domestically it's been amazing, OK we're still conceding way too many goals but when you score this many it doesn't really matter if you concede a couple!!

That 9-1 win over Palace was incredible, I even played a few of the reserves in that game, the likes of Oliver Jones (AM) making his mark with a brace. 

Into second in the league but Spurs currently running away with it! Also interesting to see three teams at the bottom, all without a point!

We now go into a 4-week international break (don't ask me why!). It's currently September 22nd, next match is October 18th!

Edited Saturday at 13:44 by TheLutterworthFox

[TheLutterworthFox]

A quick update!

Something I totally forgot to mention at the end of last season, the Nearly Men List has had a couple of changes and all because of the 2036 Champions League final

Atletico Madrid won their first ever Champions League, meaning they are now removed off the list. However they have been replaced by Lazio who for to their first ever final but lost. Another Italian side to add to the list.

 

Edited Saturday at 13:47 by TheLutterworthFox

[TheLutterworthFox]

 Part #39 - October 2036 

A really quiet month, mainly because the international break last all the way until mid-October!

Only one Champions League match this month, away to Napoli and their goalkeeper inspired them to a 1-0 win, an undeserved victory where they only had one shot on goal!

Only three games domestically, two wins from two in the League and a win the EFL Cup where the reserves scraped over the line against Fulham.

Spurs have slipped up this month and we have closed the gap right down, now sitting second on goal difference.

Edited Monday at 06:08 by TheLutterworthFox

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #40 - November 2036

An absolutely massive month!

Firstly the Champions League, two games this month, both at home and both winnable. First up was Young Boys and we dispatched them with ease.

A 3-0 win, I have been testing out a new tactic, a narrow 41212, we have good options upfront and felt it a good idea to try something new, I'll put more about that in another update.

The second game was home to Ajax and although I felt we could've played better we eased to a 3-1 win.

Two solid wins which puts us in pole-position to end in the top 8 qualifiers in the League Phase.

Three games to go and to be honest we probably should be winning all three.

 

PSG will be tough but if we are to win this competition they are the games we need to win.

Domestically it's gone fantastically well, four games, four wins. That takes us to seven straight wins.

And with that we go to the top of the table, let's keep this going!

Our good form in November has also been noticed as we dominated the Young Player of the Month award.

All three are my signings, with Federico Ferreira, a Winter signing last season, having an amazing month. 4 games, 2 goals, 2 assists, not bad seeing as he's played all month in central midfield as a BWM(s)!

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #41 - December 2036

Probably our toughest month of the season so far, some absolutely huge games during December!

Firstly the Champions League, we only had one match and it was a massive one, home to French giants PSG and my word did we pull of one hell of a performance and result!

An absolutely stunning 4-1 win which, with two games left, puts us in pole position for a top eight finish.

Domestically we've had some big matches and whilst performances have been good, we have slipped up a few times with some iffy draws.

Draws against Chelsea, Spurs and Sunderland have set us back but that win over Man City was the biggest game of the season in league so far, they say top with us second, the win put us back to the summit.

And even after the Sunderland draw we still ended the year top of the pile, on goal difference to Man City with a game in-hand.

Now we enter the Winter window and this could be a busy month. We have £89m to spend but I don't really need to improve the squad in any areas currently, the Champions League and Premier League squads are max'ed out so anyone coming in couldn't be registered, however, we have numerous players wanted by other clubs and if any bid exceeds their valuation I will more than likely sell them on, that's if they aren't a key man, the likes or Ben Ashby, Irondino and a few other key first-teamers won't be going anywhere! 

 

Edited Monday at 18:54 by TheLutterworthFox

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #42 - January 2037

A new year and a stupidly busy month! 10 games in all but let's start with the main one, the Champions League.

The final two gams of the League Phase, both away and both were comfortable wins!

The first game was away to Nice and we were stunning, a 5-0 win and that was enough to guarantee us a top 8 finish.

The final match of the League Phase was away to Copenhagen, with qualification guaranteed I rotated but we still eased to a 4-0 win.

A fantastic 8 games with only a single slipup away to Napoli.

Barcelona definitely the team to beat this year but we have proved we can mix it, I have high hopes we can go deep into the competition this year, can we win it? There's no reason why not!

Domestically, it's been really good as ever with only one major loss.

We did rotate in the EFL Cup semi final against Man City, we have bigger fish to fry this season so I wasn't too fussed with the loss but the back-up players really didn't perform anywhere near at the level I thought they were.

The only other poor result was in the FA Cup away to Mansfield but I played a full team of kids and backups, again they weren't good enough but we eased through to the next round in the replay and then beat Man City in the 4th round, Sonniksen the man once again!

The League has once again been a great month, 3 wins from 3, all relatively easy games in the end, Middlesbrough was a great result, a 5-0 win against one of the up and coming teams in the League, tycoon-owned and pushing the Champions League spots.

Nicely top of the league, 2 clear of Spurs and way clear of the rest.

I mentioned in the previous post that there may be some transfer business this month but as the window slammed shut we did no business whatsoever, no bids came in for any of my players, I was more than happy with that, the squad is solid and settled, could it be improved? Yes, but we need to continue to stabilise the finances and, as I said previously, the Champions League and Premier League squads are max'ed out.

 

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #43 - February 2037

Another really busy month, no European matches, a full program of domestic action. But first the Champions League last 16 draw.

One of the tougher games we could've had. Man U are languishing in 6th in the league this season but they are last season PL champs and we will have to play very well over the two legs if we are to beat them!

The month overall has been decent, we have had so many games that fitness issues have been rife, some of our backup players really aren't up to standard but I've had to rely on them, either in the team or off the bench. Luckily, bar one result, it's been a decent month.

Some fantastic wins, including going to Anfield and beating Liverpool. We saw our EFL Cup run come to end, even though we beat Man City 1-0 in the return leg, we went out 2-1 on aggregate. 

In the FA Cup we beat tycoon-owned Leicester City to seal a spot in the Quarters where we have a tricky tie away to Spurs.

In the League, bar that defeat to Bournemouth where the reserves didn't show up, we have done really well with 15 points from a possible 18.

Still top, the Bournemouth defeat didn't do too much damage as Spurs have slipped up as well, 9 games left, 3 points clear!

Here are our final games in the PL.

Some tough matches including Spurs at home right near the end. That could be a title-deciding match. Luckily though the sheer number of League games has slowed down, just in time for the Champions League to start. That is the most important thing, the League matters, especially as it's us v Spurs but this save is all about winning the Champions League so if needed I will have to rest players in the League games.

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #44 - March 2037

The business end of the season!

Firstly the Champions League and Man Utd stand in our way, a tough game....or so I expected!

First leg at Old Trafford and my word we were incredible. A 3-1 win and one foot in the Quarters!

Then they came to The Emirates and we went one better! A 4-1 win and 7-2 on aggregate! I was really worried about this tie but I had no need to be concerned!

Into the Last 8 and we have another tough test ahead of us.

Spanish giants Real Madrid, really tough but you'd expect every game to be hard now, I know we have the squad to win the whole thing, we just have to go out and do it!

It's continued to go really well domestically. We went to Spurs in the FA Cup and won the tie 3-1, that wasn't the whole story though, Spurs missed two penalties towards the end of the game!!

Only two games in the Premier League and two routine wins.

Spurs slipped up again meaning the gap is now 5 with 7 games to go.

Finally some awards news, we have 4 players in the NxGN Top 50, 3 of those in the top 5!!!

Summer signing Sonniksen is No. 1, well deserves, this lad is something else!

 

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #45 - April 2037

Lets switch it up and talk about domestic action first. 

First up is the FA Cup semi final where we faced Newcastle, I had to rotate again but we did just enough to sneak into the final.

We did deserve the win but their GK was really good. Man United in the final

Now to the league and with games coming thick and fast I expected us to struggle but we did nothing of the sort!

4 games, 10 points including a ridiculous game where we beat Man United 7-2!!!!

3 to go, 5 clear and next us is Spurs at home, how cool would it be to win the league against our arch rivals?!

Now to the Champions League, we were into the Quarters and faced a tricky tie against Spanish giants Real Madrid. The first leg was at home, we needed to make that advantage pay and my word di we do that!

A 4-0 win, our best performance of the season by absolutely miles, Real have such a better side than us but we completely nullified their attack and blew them away with our own forward play!

In the second leg we just had to keep it tight and not let them back into it, we did more than that!!

A 3-1 win, 7-1 on aggregate, incredible!

In the semi's we face the only side to have beaten us in Europe this season, Napoli.

Funnily enough Spurs are in the other semi, at Sampdoria we beat Spurs in the final to win our first ever Champions League, surely it won't happen again?! But just imagine if we end the season winning the Premier League beating Spurs to seal it and then beat Spurs in the Champions League final!! That would be absolutely insane!

 

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #46 - 2036/37 Champions League Semi Final and Title Decider v Spurs

Champions League

Here we go, we could be three games away from my second Champions League, it took a while at Sampdoria, it could take me only 18 months at Arsenal BUT Napoli stand in our way, we won 7 from 8 League Phase games, the only team to beat us? Yes, Napoli!

This time though we weren't going to take them lightly and just like Real Madrid we had to make home advantage pay in the first leg.

Well what happened next was beyond my wildest dreams!

A 6-1 win, banishing the demons from the League Phase tie! We were 5-0 up at half-time in one of the most devastating attacking displays I'd witnessed, we put the handbrake on in the second half but still amassed 34 shots, 18 on targets and an xG of 4.6 and all with onlt 43% possession!!! 

So the second leg was a foregone conclusion, there was no way we were going to chuck a 5 goal lead!! Players were rested to make sure no one picked up an unnecessary suspensions, the heavily rotated side struggled in the first half with Napoli scoring twice but we were never in trouble. Sonniksen came off the bench to score towards the end and then midfielder Briganti levelled the match to send us through 8-3 on aggregate!!!

We're into the final and we will face.....

SPURS!

Premier League

With 3 games of the league to go we welcomed Spurs to The Emirates, a title decider, if we win the league is ours, a loss and Spurs close to the gap to 2 points with 2 to go! After the Napoli first leg players were tired, this game was sandwiched in between the 2 legs but with me knowing that tie was all but over I played as strong a team as I could. I knew Spurs would be tough, the are probably one of the best teams in Europe, this showed with their 4-0 win over PSG in the previous week. We had to be solid and make sure we put our chances away.

Well Spurs didn't get a chance, our defence was incredible van de Blaak and Balsiger in central defence were impenetrable, we scored mid-way through the first half to take the lad and then, towards the end we grabbed a second to seal the Premier League title, the clubs first since 2031!

And no better team to win it against than our rivals!!

Edited 14 hours ago by TheLutterworthFox

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #47 - 2036/37 Champions League final v Spurs

Here we go, it seems like fate, a Champions League final against our arch rivals and also, ironically the team I beat in the final with Sampdoria 2 seasons ago. We just have to go out and play our best game and I know we can win it.

The line-ups are in. We only have one fitness issue and that's Cubarsi who has just come from injury, he makes the bench with van de Blaak slotting in as a DM. Spurs (managed by Pep Guardiola) have quite a few key men out including Pape Sarr (DM), Matthias Berger (CB) and Troy Holmes (RW) who have all been key men for them this season.

Kick Off!

3 mins - First chance to Spurs who have started brightly, they make their way down the left hand side Joao Rego plays it into Pafundi who's shot from the side of the 6-yard box goes just wide

7 mins - First chance for us and it comes from a free-kick. De Potter takes it but it clips the walls and loops just over the bar for a corner

9 mins - GGGGOOAAAALLLLLLLLLL!

We have a throw in on the left, Irondino gives it to De Potter, who plays as incredible reverse pass into van de Blaak, hetakes a touch and rifles it home from just inside the box!! 1-0 to Arsenal!

22 mins - it really should be 2. De Potter is everywhere at the moment, he runs down the right, plays a gorgeous cross which find Ashby clear on goal but he volleys his shot way over

38 mins - How have we not scored?!!?? Nwaneri take a freekick from out on the right, it goes to the back post and is won in the air by Irondino, he nods it to Hands who is literally a yard out but his shot is blocked on the line

45+1 - Spurs have a big chance, it nearly played from a freekick, Brennan plays it to Pafundi who has a free shot on goal but he skies it from 6 yards out

And that's half time, we are well in control but Spurs do look dangerous

67 mins - It's been a quiet start to the half, the first highlight comes mid-way through the second 45 and it's for Spurs, a throw in finds Brennan on the edge of the box, he hits a lovely curling shot which goes inches wide of the post

Time ticking away, absolutely nothing going on, no highlights at all.

10 to go

5 to go

4 minutes injury time

CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE!!!!! We did it the hard way, Spurs had much more of the game even if the highlights were pretty even. Hard fought, defensively brilliant, a mark of our season!!!! INCREDIBLE!

I never ever expected to win it this quick, 18 months at Arsenal and I've turned them from a financial mess to European Champions!!!

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #48 - 2036/37 Season Review

Well here we are! Arsenal are Champions League winners for the first ever time and are now no longer nearly men! A second team ticked off from the list and both games we've beat Spurs!!! 

Now it's time to move on and find a new nearly men team to take to the top, but before that I want to take a look back at the season. I was going to do a Best XI but when I did this with Sampdoria I ran out of space on the post!

Firstly lets take a look at the competition overview

Three trophies this season including the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League, a stunning season!

Here is the whole title-winning squad.

Some players I will not forget in a while, we had to make wholesale changes over the Summer to sort the clubs financial situation out, the likes of Rice, Saka and Martinelli were let go, they were replace with hungrier, younger players who stepped up and were incredible.

I've mentioned Sonniksen a few times this season but this lad is something else. A £12.5m signing in the Summer, the No. 1 wonderkid on the NxGN and he showed just how good he is with 26 goals and 10 assists from 19 starts. It will be great to see just how far this lad can go.

Matthias De Potter was the man pulling the strings in attacking midfield, he was sensational in the Champions League final and one of our best players over the season. 38 starts, 14 goals and 11 assists over the season.

At Left Back was probably the best player in the squad, Irondino has been a rock in defence and fantastic when he gets forward. He deserves his place as the clubs player of the season. 

I could talk about so many more players but this post would get stupidly long!!

One of the best things I did for this club, bar the trophies was sorting out their finances. When I joined we were in the doldrums, £200 in the red and losing money all over the place, the wages were too high and it needed sorting. The high earners were packed off in the Summer, removing £2m p/wk off the wage bill, like I said before younger players came in on lower wages but with just as much hunger. I leave the club with £72m in the bank and a side set up to dominate for years to come.

In 18 months here I really feel I've turned around the fortunes of the club, it's been a short time here but a fantastic time. I leave the club as favoured personnel and an expanding trophy cabinet.

1 x EFL Cup

2 x FA Cup

1 x Premier League

1 x CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!

Arsenal are no longer nearly men and I'm sure we'll be seeing them lift more Champions Leagues in the future.

But now it's time to move on, where to next? I hear you ask. We will have to wait and see what job comes in but I feel like doing more of a challenge. I've managed a mediocre club in a big league (Sampdoria), I've managed a big club in a big league (Arsenal), I think it's time to go for one of the smaller teams and see if I can do something incredible there.

Poor old Spurs!!!!

So my preference is looking at the likes of Malmo, Partizan, Panathinaikos or Club Brugge, these are the teams in the lower down nations (not the big boys) so will be much more of a challenge and will take much longer to do what's needed. Obviously the job all depends on when one comes available. I'm happy to wait a season for one of these to come available but won't wait much longer than that!

Edited 13 hours ago by TheLutterworthFox

[leobiazzi]

I vote for Saint Ettiene because it's a cool club and would be cool to see you beat PSG.

I also vote for Partizan, if you feel up to the challenge. I recently traveled to Belgrade and Serbians are immensely passionate about football and sports in general. 

[TheLutterworthFox]

Part #49 - CLUB NUMBER THREE!

Well it's taken until November for any job to come up, Malmo sacked their manager but I was unable to apply, the option was greyed out and a week later they appointed a new man, luckily the next job came up pretty quickly and for me it's a perfect job.

I'm off to Belgium with Club Brugge, a club I thought would be the best team in Belgium but they are far from that currently.

No league title win since 2029,  in fact that's the only title they've won in the save so far. 

Why? Well there is a new big boy in town and that club is Westerlo, tycoon-owned since 2029, they have won 4 of the past 5 Pro League titles and this season are currently unbeaten!

It's probably going to take a bit of time to topple them but it's a nice challenge.

Here is the current squad, as you can see it's smaller than I've been used to and there is a reason for that.

In the Belgium Pro League you are only allowed to register 25 players, we are currently 3 short of this limit so I'll look to promote some from the reserves and youth team as U20s don't need to be registered. I may look at filling the spots up with signings for but now the kids will do!

I'll speak more about the players as I move through the seasons but here are my best two players.

Firstly is fullback Stevanovic, currently on loan from Napoli but a deal has been agreed for him to join us permanently at the end of the season.

Secondly is midfielder Fidalgo, he looks really special for this level.

We also have some pretty decent prospects in the reserves.

U19s

U18s

Club NXT 

So the future is bright, as this will be more of a long-term project I want to try and utilise the youth academy at Brugge to bring through some of the players into the first-team or maybe sell on for big fees. That's something I haven't done at all in this save but I do tend to do it in most of my FM saves. I think this is the perfect place to get back to what I love, bringing through academy players.

Finally, Europe and Brugge are in the Europa League this season, they entered straight into the League Phase but so far have not done well at all!

5 games, 2 points, we do still have a chance of sneaking into the playoff spots but it will be a hard task, we probably need to win 2 of the final 3 matches, which I think we can do if we perform well enough.

The fixtures don't look too bad, those two home games are winnable.

Edited 12 hours ago by TheLutterworthFox

[TheLutterworthFox]

8 minutes ago, leobiazzi said:

I vote for Saint Ettiene because it's a cool club and would be cool to see you beat PSG.

I also vote for Partizan, if you feel up to the challenge. I recently traveled to Belgrade and Serbians are immensely passionate about football and sports in general. 

Partizan were the ones I really wanted but they are dominating the league and I can't see their manager leaving unless he got a better offer. I think I'll definitely go to France at some point, the thought of toppling PSG is very appealing. For now I'm off to Belgium with Club Brugges, a big project but a fun one...I hope!

[leobiazzi]

It'll be fun to follow your adventures in Belgium nonetheless