lukegraham1991

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 15 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS SOUTHAMPTON So after thinking we would come back against a 19th placed Southampton and perform somewhat to the standards we expect from such a well put together squad. How wrong was I!? Things really have gone from bad to worse here - little to no key highlights of our attacks and we've taken an absolute beating to a team struggling against relegation. I'm starting to think that a few of the lads we've brought in or kept on aren't going to work out at this club with bad performance after bad performance of late. Notable poor performances: Ernest Nuamah: 6.1, Jeremy Doku: 6.3 & Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.3. Standout performances: Josip Sutalo: 7.1 & Vitalie Becker: 7.0.

2024/25 SEASON - OCTOBER RESULTS & LEAGUE TABLE SO FAR... We had a bit of a rocky month here, even when we did win the two games we won, they were really tight contests we managed to sneak by the opposition in. However, we may have lost the Bournemouth but in fairness they are doing very well in the league only losing the one time so far this season and have got some good players on the books in this save. Spurs are the league leaders and only managed to beat us with a majorly deflected own goal in the end late into proceedings. Coming up next however, we have some games I would like to think we can improve our performances with, and gain some points to get ourselves back into the top half of the table at the very least. Southampton (19th) away from home up next so let's see if we can get back to goalscoring ways after a very slow month in October!

Bit of a tough one to take that one but not the only problem we have right now! Our CB's don't seem to be able to build up a good working relationship I'm starting to notice and that's a recipe for disaster especially when we were previously relying more so on how defensively solid we were!

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 14 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR Next up we faced current league leaders Tottenham after 11 league games have been played. We got a scrappy win on the 26/10/24 and play Spurs on 30/10/24 so haven't had much time to recoup but Spurs did also play on the 26th. Disappointing loss in the end after a deflected shot beat Pickford on the date quite late into proceedings as well. We nudged them out slightly in the xG as well across the 90 minutes but still lost the game which is always a bit rough to see. Notable poor performances: Josip Sutalo: 6.0, Jeremy Doku: 6.2 & Jarrad Branthwaite: 6.4. Standout performances: N/A

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 13 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS NORWICH CITY A tightly fought game but we managed to scrape over the line to gain the three points after James Ward-Prowse slotted home a penalty in the 25th minute. We've gained the likes of Branthwaite, Angelo, Doku, Calvert-Lewin and Kaio Jorge back into the squad this week and hopefully we can kick on from here with getting them minutes under belts to get back to our best because we simply haven't been as good as we can be lately. Notable poor performances: Jeremy Doku: 6.2, Vitaliy Mykolenko: 6.5 & Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 6.5. Standout performances: James Ward-Prowse: 7.4, Jordan Pickford: 7.3 & Nathan Patterson: 7.3.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 12 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS BOURNEMOUTH Poor loss in a poor performance. Didn't create much at all, Gray missed an absolute sitter 1on1 which killed us for at least a point but also would have flattened the team. Good news is that DCL got some minutes under his belt and didn't get injured and we now have Santos Borre back but he wasn't at his best in this one either. Bournemouth, surprisingly are on an 11 game unbeaten run this season so far and had a few good signings that I was surprised by. Notable poor performances: Josip Sutalo: 6.1, Chris Smalling: 6.2 & Demarai Gray: 6.2. Standout performances: Dwight McNeil: 7.1.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 11 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS SUNDERLAND Our next outing ended up being a cagey one - since our last update, our final striker Kaio Jorge got injured for 3/4 weeks. Great news, trust me.. I know! However, as you can see from the below image, Jeremy Doku was back, but he by no means a centre forward and the 6.5 rating proved that for me. I ended up going two up top late on to push the opposition as much as I could knowing that they had a poor defensive record, and the change-up paid off, as I brought Terracciano on as a striker and he ended up netting in the 80th minute for us to secure the win and 3 points. But now I am just hoping that even one of my forwards can be back fit and firing sooner rather than later otherwise we could be in trouble, DCL is due back into full training in two days but it's whether he can stay fit for us now as I know he's had his injury problems in the past. International break now means a 14 day layoff without a game which may nurse some of these injured attackers back in time for our next Premier League clash against Bournemouth. Notable poor performances: Dwight McNeil: 6.4 & Demarai Gray: 6.4. Standout performances: Filippo Terracciano: 7.7, Vitaliy Mykolenko: 7.6 & Ernest Nuamah: 7.6.

2024/25 SEASON - SEPTEMBER RESULTS & LEAGUE TABLE SO FAR... We had some tough weeks here, after our good run of form leading up to the Liverpool game, having not lost since the league opener against Manchester United, we managed a goalless draw against Aston Villa (A), went on to lose heavily to both Liverpool (H) & Norwich (A) and managed to lose a lead late on against Brighton (A) which only meant we took 2 points from a possible 9 in the month of September and got ourselves dumped out of the Carabao Cup in the third round. In other aspects of the team and a possible sign of things to come, going into October we currently have Angelo, Doku, Wilson, Calvert-Lewin and Roque out with injuries - with Santos Borre still serving a ban. Next up we take on 20th placed Sunderland with hopes of getting 3 points on the table, we need Kaio Jorge to carry on his goalscoring form from the last game against Brighton to have any chance of winning but Sunderland have scored 2 goals and conceded 21 so far so hopefully they can keep leaking the goals for us without a reply. The other fixtures we have this month are Bournemouth (6th), Norwich (9th)& Tottenham (1st) so we need to improve to get some results here. On the plus side, three of these games are at home with only the one away fixture in October vs Bournemouth.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 10 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS BRIGHTON We had another tough test vs somewhat of a bogey team of ours so far throughout this save. An early goal down to a Solly March effort and I thought the losses would continue after the last two games. Callum Wilson was then injured and had to come off in the 29th minute to be replaced by Kaio Jorge which means we are now down to just the one actual striker. However, Kaio Jorge sprung us into life with a brace in the 51st and 77th minutes of the game. Only for Solly March to be put 1on1 with Pickford late on to secure a point for Brighton. Notable poor performances: Ernest Nuamah: 6.4, Josip Sutalo: 6.5 & Jarrad Branthwaite: 6.5. Standout performances: Kaio Jorge: 8.3, Lucien Agoume: 7.6 & James Ward-Prowse: 7.4.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 9 - CARABAO CUP - AWAY VS NORWICH CITY Even with the changes I had to make for this one, I thought we would have beaten Norwich. How little do I know though?! Absolute shambles of a performance, once again early in the Carabao Cup, third season on the bounce we've been dumped out of the competition early doors. With Doku & Roque going down injured in this one, we now have 4 of our best attackers out injured at the moment. Could be a tricky period coming up... Notable poor performances: Jordan Pickford: 6.1 & Callum Wilson: 6.2. Standout performances: Jeremy Doku: 7.6 & Vitor Roque: 7.4.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 8 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS LIVERPOOL This game was always going to be difficult. But with the crowd on our side an the recent run of good form and not losing in 6 games in all competitions, I went into this one somewhat confident we could have got something from this game. How wrong I was! Really poor performance all around - the sending off was the final nail in the coffin for us though, and we took a beating in this one. We also had to sub off DCL so hopefully that injury isn't too bad as we seem to score very little when he isn't involved. Notable poor performances: Josip Sutalo: 6.1, Rafael Santos Borre: 6.1, Jordan Pickford: 6.4, Ben Godfrey: 6.4, Chris Smalling: 6.4 & Jeremy Doku: 6.4. Standout performances: Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 7.4.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 7 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS NEWCASTLE UNITED First game back in September after the international break came in the form of an away fixture against Aston Villa. Couldn't really get going in this one, some tired legs from the international break meant I had to change a few in and out. 0-0 draw isn't the end of the world as we keep up our current unbeaten run but disappointed not to create more with the players at our disposal. Notable poor performances: James Tarkowski: 6.4, Angelo: 6.4, Demarai Gray: 6.4 & Jeremy Doku: 6.4. Standout performances: Jordan Pickford: 7.3, Ben Godfrey: 7.3 & Amadou Onana: 7.3.

SEASON 2024/25 - TRANSFERS IN & OUT Just wanted to show a brief overlay of what we've brought in and sent out. We did bring in the likes of Romeo Lavia (28m), Vitor Roque (25m) & Jack Butland (2.6m) in at the end of last season too. Overall I am pleased with the improvements we've made on paper - hopefully we can keep this squad fit and push on to cement a better finish in the league & compete for a few cup trophies along the way too!

TRANSFER IN - CALLUM WILSON In our final deal of the transfer window, we've already struggled with a few injuries so far this pre-season and now going into the season, so I wanted to bolster our out and out striker options and again, Callum Wilson was a british option that was available on a short term deal with good ratings - with the option to extend the deal if we want to. He was also happy to sign for us on a fringe contract with is a huge plus just in case he doesn't play very much.

TRANSFER IN - CHRIS SMALLING In one deal we managed to get over the line, I wanted to bring in an experienced british CB to help out with the 4 we currently have, after I loaned out some of the younger lads for more game time. Therefore, I saw Smalling available on a short term deal with the option to extend and with his ratings still being right up there for the level we are at right now, it was a no brainer!

2024/25 SEASON - AUGUST RESULTS & LEAGUE TABLE SO FAR... Our opener against Manchester United (A) was a difficult test, our second game against Arsenal (H) was also a tough game with two of last seasons top 4 in our schedule but to nick a point in the one game was probably more than most would have expected given last seasons 10th placed finish. Things started to pick up from there though with three wins on the trot, West Ham (H), Middlesbrough (A) & Swansea (H) in the Carabao Cup with a late goal to salvage a draw against Newcastle (H) to finish up the first month of the season, we find ourselves in 9th place as things stand. September we only have the four fixtures with one of those being a Wednesday/Saturday week of fixtures and we face local rivals Liverpool which is another tough test. The Liverpool game is the only one of the three being played at home as well, so while we may be playing somewhat lesser teams than Liverpool in the other fixtures, any away fixture will prove more difficult. Let's hope we can keep this momentum going and continue our 5 game unbeaten streak going ...

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 6 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS NEWCASTLE UNITED Our last game in August came in the form of a home tie against money bags Newcastle United. A cagey affair in the first half eventually saw Isak take the lead for Newcastle with a tidy finish 1on1 with Pickford. I had to ring in the changes once more due to tired legs, we really need some injured lads to get back and fit as soon as possible. Substitute Rafael Santos Borre latched onto the end of a tempting cross from Demarai Gray and smashed home a volley to steal the point in the 94th minute!!! Notable poor performances: Angelo: 6.2 & Josip Sutalo: 6.3. Standout performances: Demarai Gray: 8.4 & Rafael Santos Borre: 7.7.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 5 - CARABAO CUP - HOME VS SWANSEA CITY Very nice win as we made some changes to get people up to speed, a mix of fit players to continue momentum with some players that needed the extra minutes. After we went 4-0 up I made some changes to get some more of the lads more game time under their belts too. Notable poor performances: N/A Standout performances: Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 8.9, Jeremy Doku: 8.4 & Vitaliy Mykolenko: 8.1.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 4 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS MIDDLESBROUGH An away test against Middlesbrough this week who have beaten Aston Villa and Manchester United before taking a beating against Arsenal so far this season. DCL back on the scoresheet for us is a huge positive after he's just easing his way back into game time after picking up an injury at the end of pre-season. This win means 7 points from 4 games so far this season - unbeaten in our last 3 games as well! Notable poor performances: James Tarkowski: 6.4, Filippo Terracciano: 6.5 & Dwight McNeil: 6.5. Standout performances: Jordan Pickford: 7.3, Vitaliy Mykolenko: 7.3 & Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 7.3.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 3 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS WEST HAM UNITED We managed our first win and three points of the season - getting the clean sheet on top of that was just the icing on the cake! Amadou Onana uncharacteristically sealing the victory for us with a first half brace! Great bounce back from the lad after playing to a 6.3 rating in last weeks draw to Arsenal. Nice all around team performance though and a few late subs being the lowest rating on the day which I can live with. Notable poor performances: N/A Standout performances: Amadou Onana: 8.7.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 2 - PREMIER LEAGUE - HOME VS ARSENAL Another tough test for us in only the second game of the season came in the form of last seasons 4th placed finish Arsenal. It was a cagey affair, but when we took the lead through Demarai Gray being a fox in the box for an uncontested rebound at the far post, I thought we would get the luck we needed for the win. Unfortunately for us, Jesus levelled things up 7 minutes later. Not long after the equaliser, Jarrad Branthwaite took an injury meaning he couldn't continue & had to come off, leaving us with 10 men for the remaining few minutes of the game PLUS the 6 minutes of injury time, but we managed to hang onto a point which is a positive. Notable poor performances: Amadou Onana: 6.3, Ben Godfrey: 6.4, Dwight McNeil: 6.4 & Jarrad Branthwaite: 6.4. Standout performances: Demarai Gray: 7.1 & Filippo Terracciano: 7.0.

2024/25 SEASON - GAME DAY 1 - PREMIER LEAGUE - AWAY VS MANCHESTER UNITED Well, we knew this one would be difficult, we did manage a 4-1 win over United in the opener of last season but that one was at home, this one was away, and they definitely wouldn't have wanted to open their campaign in that fashion again, never mind against the same opponent! In all honesty, we did well to keep it to 1-0, as you can see from the individual player ratings, we didn't have a good game at all unfortunately. To lose 1-0 from a cross & header isn't the end of the world but we'd like to keep those goals to a minimum as well to be honest. With no-one playing over a 6.8 rating in this one though, and Arsenal (H) up next, we could be in for a tough start to the season. Notable poor performances: Dwight McNeil: 6.3, Jeremy Doku: 6.3, Filippo Terracciano: 6.4. Standout performances: N/A

TRANSFER IN - KAIO JORGE I've been on the look out for a new striker for some time, only a decent one to play as backup for the likes of DCL, Santos Borre & new signing Vitor Roque as I've recently loaned out Matheus Nascimento for regular game time. We had work permit issues with some other potential targets but we're ultimately happy with our man! Jorge has a 3 star potential and was happy to sign with a 'squad player' status which is always a positive.

PRE-SEASON RESULTS - SEASON 2024/25 So, this pre-season we went on a tour of Singapore. I organised friendlies on Wednesdays and Saturdays to give 'first' and 'second' stringers regular game time - a few injuries and the Olympics scuppered that somewhat so I have to get some swaps in here and there but overall, despite the poor level of the opponents, happy with the clean sheets and goals scored - should be ready to go into the season with high morale, although, Manchester United at Old Trafford first game up is a bit of a bummer...

Nice work man! I'm trying to blood some youth more than anything really, I've got quite a young squad overall and want that to be the way I do things for the time being.