Dan - Barnsley FC; Leicester City FC

[RandoEFC+]

Hardest: Roma, RB Salzburg, BATE Borisov?

That pot 4 is pretty shite, difficult to choose a hard side. 

Easiest: Trabzonspor. Rapid Wien, Crvena Zvezda or Kairat Almaty.

Guessing you got a bastard group?

[Dan+]

Well well well Rando

Absolutely laughing. Pot 3 and we've got a group we should absolutely walk.

[Dan+]

5 minutes ago, Cannabis said:

Hard: Roma (would have been Chelsea but you can't draw them), Fiorentina (if you don't get Roma) or Hoffenheim, Aberdeen/Lorient

Easy: Trabzonspor, Kovenhavn, Zvezda/Soligorsk (never heard of either of them)

We've actually played Crvena Zvezda. It was our last UEFA Cup game. They're Red Star Belgrade but I typed the Serbian name for some reason.

I've downloaded a name fix and it gives you every name in their own language. Shakhter Soligorsk are called Scachzjor Salihorsk on mine  

[RandoEFC+]

5 minutes ago, Cannabis said:

Hard: Roma (would have been Chelsea but you can't draw them), Fiorentina (if you don't get Roma) or Hoffenheim, Aberdeen/Lorient

Easy: Trabzonspor, Kovenhavn, Zvezda/Soligorsk (never heard of either of them)

I know Shakhter Soligorsk as I've managed then on one of my mental adventure careers. Finished 2nd in Belarus behind BATE four seasons in a row then finally got a trophy beating them on penalties in the cup final. That was enough Belarus for me. 

2 minutes ago, Dan said:

Well well well Rando

Absolutely laughing. Pot 3 and we've got a group we should absolutely walk.

Mystic Meg .

[Dan+]

19 minutes ago, Cannabis said:

That group is utter wankballs, you should walk it Dan.

When it came out I was just sat there laughing at it. I know it's not exactly the Champions League but we have no excuses whatsoever for not winning that group. Three clubs we could sign any player off with no issues.

Well except work permits but it's not the point.

Maybe we're just a lucky club with group draws.

[Dan+]

Summer Business 2022

15/6 - OUT: Michael Keane (Tottenham, £9.75mil) - Rising to £15mil. I've signed Keane twice on this game now and both times he's been riddled with mistakes. I found him unreliable and at his age of 29 I was happy to make a profit, and cut his big wages.

30/6 - OUT: Islam Slimani, Demarai Gray, Cristiano Piccini (Released) - None had any real use to us now and they freed up £100k a week in wages between them.

1/7 - IN: Daniele Ragone (CC Mariners, £1mil) - Saw a bargain and got him in. Not as good as Gonzalez but a very steady back-up goalkeeper, and I expect Zieler to leave.

1/7 - IN: Dalibor Moldovanovic (Partizan, £2mil) - Aaron Martin wanted out so I looked for a replacement and found one in Serbia, who along with Albania and Montenegro, have just joined the EU (I only got a soft Brexit), so I'll be shopping here again I think. He's primarily a wing back, only 19 and highly talented.

5/7 - IN: Danilo Neto (Benelenses, £350k) - I don't use a number ten at the minute but that's always open to change. He's only 18 years old and has some potential, you can't say no at that price.

9/7 - OUT: Aaron Martin (Sevilla, £2.3mil) - Wanted out and I was happy to. Not really a great fan of his. Happy to sell him, bring in the young Serb and make a profit, and saving on wages.

10/7 - OUT: Nir Bitton (Southampton, £3.8mil) - The fall guy. We had a lot of players getting on a bit and a lot of players on massive money, but none more so than Bitton ticked the boxes - he was 30 years old, never really held down a place in the side and was on nearly £100k a week. He's a good midfielder and with smaller wages I'd have kept him, but he had to go, you need a star if you pay that out and good he is, he's no star.

12/7 - OUT: Presnel Kimpembe (Barcelona, £21mil) - This boy however was a star. An absolute rock at the back for us last season, but you can't deny someone a move from Leicester to Barcelona. His fee can rise to £30mil. It's a shame as he wasn't on too big a wage but we needed the money as well really, time to put my scouting skills to the test.

13/7 - OUT: Ron-Robert Zieler (Gladbach, £775k) - He wanted out and I was happy to get his £50k a week off the wage bill, especially with Ragone coming in.

15/7 - IN: Jordan Silva (Deportivo Guadalajara, £7mil) - This was the end of the clear out. We looked financially healthy now but we needed some more players in, especially in defence. I found a cracking defender in Mexico and in he came. He's 27 years old which is a bit disappointing but he's a very good defender at this price.

22/7 - IN: Miguel Vilaca (Vitoria de Guimaraes, £7.5mil) - I pulled out of a deal to sign a young Scottish winger so I could make this one happen. It occurred to me that our midfield was getting on a bit so we needed younger blood in there. Portugal's becoming quite a good place to buy from on this save so I joined in the fun. He became instantly worth £18mil upon arrival. He plays holding midfield but can operate further forward, and further back at centre half. At just 21, with pretty rounded stats, this was a solid signing.

29/7 - IN: Matija Nastasic (Bayern, loan) - I took a real gamble with my other centre half. Kjaer is too old to last a full season with the Europa League as well so I brought in Nastasic, who has had some injury troubles but he's a good defender and will be more than good enough for a year. I expect big money next season so shall be spending a bit to replace Nastasic, who is now 29 and will be soon on the way down.

25/8 - IN: Diogo Pinho (Vitoria de Setubal, £300k) - Yet another Portuguese youngster joins the squad. A creative winger this time, only 20 years old and another bargain price. It's a risk free signing.

 

Squad (Positions in brackets start with the players main position listed first)

Goalkeepers
Daniel Gonzalez (GK)
Daniele Ragone (GK)

Analysis: Very happy with my situation here now. Two quality young goalkeepers, one of them an outstanding talent.

 

Defenders
Jordan Silva (CD)
Yoo Han-Yoon (CD)
Matija Nastasic (CD)
Simon Kjaer (CD)
Ruben Gabrielsen (CD/RD)
Ben Chilwell (LD, CD)
Dalibor Moldovanovic (LWB/LD)
Andrea Conti (RD)

Analysis: I could probably do with another right back as Gabrielsen isn't up to much and Ozan Tufan is primarily a midfielder. I think we have gotten a bit weaker here but Keane was a disappointment and Kimpembe had his eyes set on bigger things, understandably. Silva is a quality defender though. A really good all-round defender.

 

Midfielders
Ozan Tufan (CDM, CM, RD)
Miguel Vilaca (CDM, CM, CD)
Jordan Cousins (CM, CDM)
Danny Drinkwater (CM, CDM)
Jack Wilshere (CM)
Gilson Barroso (CDM, CM)
Harry Winks (CM, RM, LM, CAM)
Billy Leach (CM, CAM, LW)
Danilo Neto (CAM, CM)

Analysis: I'm happy with this but ideally I'd have another more attacking midfielder who isn't particularly old. Possibly an upgrade on Winks. Neto has potential but is more of a number ten. I can't see Barroso and Leach doing a great deal unfortunately.

 

Wingers
Luan (LW, CAM, RW, ST)
Riyad Mahrez (RW, LW, CAM, RM, LM)
Allan Saint-Maximin (RW, LW, CAM, RM, LM)
Kevin Almeida (LW, LM)
Diogo Pinho (LW, CAM, CM)

Analysis: Nicely covered in these positions but could still do with possibly shifting one of Luan or Mahrez, it's hard though after the seasons both had. My biggest fear is that they both lose it in the same season.

 

Strikers
Patrik Schick (ST, CAM)
Aaron Hughes (ST, RW)
James Green (ST, LW, RW, CAM)
Duncan Hessanthaler (ST, LW)

Analysis: My main disappointment of the squad as I didn't add a single forward. I have my eye on a lovely forward from Mexico who has a release clause of £11mil but we couldn't really justify it while we had two young forwards chomping at the bit and Schick coming just a goal off the golden boot award. Maybe next year.

[Dan+]

July 2022
EL QR 3 - FC Voluntari (h) - So the season kicked off very early this time around. We were paired with minnows FC Voluntari of Romania. We absolutely dominated from start to finish, but only had an own goal to show for it. I'll let them off as it was still July. 1-0.

August 2022
EL QR 3 - FC Voluntari (a) - Far more like it. More even game but we were ruthless this time and won 0-4, giving us a very comfortable aggregate win.
PL 1 - Man Utd (a) - A disgusting first game, and a predictable loss. My first day record has been atrocious on this game. 3-1 it ended.
EL QR 4 - FK Sarajevo (a) - Easy tie and all but sorted in the away leg. A 0-3 win with all three coming in the second half.
PL 2 - Stoke (h) - A solid performance and a 1-0 victory. Nothing too eye catching but we had a tricky opening few games so we needed this.
EL QR 4 - FK Sarajevo (h) - A changed side finished things off with a 2-0 victory, giving us another 5-0 aggregate win. As previously stated, we pulled out a dream group in terms of progression, although not so much a dream in terms of travelling.
PL 3 - Arsenal (a) - Another routine defeat to a big club. 2-0 this time. Poor.

September 2022
PL 4 - Everton (h) - I hate playing Everton and this game re-iterated why. We hit the woodwork four times and were beaten 0-1 with a late goal. A really slow start from us.
EL Gr 1 - Rapid Wien (h) - Routine Europa League win. It took us a while, but it all clicked in the second half and we ran out 3-0 winners. The other game in Kazakhstan ended goalless.
PL 5 - Man City (h) - An assured performance from us and a 3-1 victory to go with it. Much to my surprise. Very impressive stuff. Man City are still not doing particularly well, they look to have been eradicated from the top 4.
LCR3 - Portsmouth (h) - A weakened team went behind very early on, but the game was turned on its head and we ended up thumping them 4-1 in the end. Easy.
PL 6 - Norwich (a) - An absolutely terrible performance yet again at Norwich. Carrow Road is my bogey ground on this save, only once have I avoided defeat there. We lost this game 3-0. Terrible.
EL Gr 2 - Trabzonspor (a) - I expected this to be the trickiest test of our group, but it was laughably easy. Trabzonspor did equalise after we took an early lead, but we won 1-3 and if it had finished 1-8 I don't think their fans could have said it was undeserved. They were terrible. There was a surprise elsewhere as Kairat won 0-1 at Rapid Wien.

October 2022
PL 7 - Birmingham (h) - This was a bit of a shock promotion, and even more satisfying for Blues fans as Aston Villa dropped to League One in the same year. They were probably Barnsley's replacement. We won the game 1-0, but we were made to work.
PL 8 - Wolves (a) - Definitely had the better of this game but couldn't convert any chances, and it ended goalless.
EL Gr 3 - FK Kairat (h) - Kairat have been the surprise package so far and have given themselves an outside chance of qualifying. They actually really made us work for this in the first half and although we did go in ahead, we were fortunate. The second half however, they totally crumbled and we ended up winning 5-0. This group is proving to be as easy as expected. If anything, even easier. Rapid Wien beat Trabzonspor 1-0.
PL 9 - Middlesbrough (h) - I was impressed with what I saw here. Newly promoted Middlesbrough did take the lead fairly early on but we turned the game around to batter them in the end. 3-1 it ended but really we could've had more.
LCR4 - Chelsea (a) - Shoddy draw, but what a performance. We looked the more threatening all game, and although it took 113 minutes, we got the goal to give us a surprise victory. Into the quarters we go.
PL 10 - Newcastle (a) - Newcastle are having a shocking season and sit right at the bottom following six straight defeats. Of course, this is Leicester, and that's where it ended for Newcastle as the hosts won 2-1. A terrible result for us.

November 2022 (up to international break)
EL Gr 4 - FK Kairat (a) - A win here would mathematically seal qualification, and although it was scrappy, it came late on as we made the long trip home with a 0-1 victory. Rapid Wien won at Trabzonspor and they moved into 2nd, but I'm not ruling Kairat out of this yet.
PL 11 - Crystal Palace (h) - For the first time, we failed to win after a Europa League group game. A 1-1 draw this time - making it three 1-1 draws in a row against Palace.

It hasn't been a great league campaign, but it's very tight as well, so it's yet to take any real shape. I don't expect us to finish outside of midtable this year. We're guaranteed to play a minimum of 53 games this season and that's assuming we go out of the FA Cup and Europa League at the next chance, so I'd say there's a good chance we end up playing 60. It's a strange season and I feel indifferent to it so far.

Considering I cut the wage bill a lot and have a comfortably negative net spend this season, I'm not too disappointed with how it's gone, I suppose.

[Dave]

Given how negative you were at the start of the season and the clubs finances I think seventh is a fantastic achievement. 

[Dan+]

We were predicted to come 7th but even so I'm happy with how that went, granted we were lucky to get it.

I think we have quite a good side, but it isn't my type of squad. The average age is too high, the average wage is too high. I'm a believer in development and younger squads, and it's hard to make a transition to that when I have such an ageing team. I think it'll take me another 2/3 years even after this one to get it anything like what I really want.

I think squads like this are steady, but limited. I don't think you can really achieve anything too remarkable with them. There is some talent for sure, but it isn't a squad built with the long-term in mind.

I do appreciate a few of the players though. Ozan Tufan, Luan and Patrik Schick are all real quality additions made by previous managers.

[Dan+]

November 2022
PL 12 - Tottenham (a) - Under-achieving Spurs beat us comfortably. A shocking display from us. 3-0.
EL Gr 5 - Rapid Wien (a) - This group is just laughably easy. It seems like no matter what we come up against they just roll over for us to give them a pounding. Young striker James Green hit a hat-trick in a 0-4 win. Trabzonspor drew 1-1 with Kairat in the other game.
PL 13 - Liverpool (h) - First of a double header at home to Liverpool, and it was a disaster. 1-4. Shocking.
LCQF - Liverpool (h) - I shook things up massively for this game and we raced to a shock 2-0 lead after just 4 minutes. The inevitable Liverpool goal arrived in the 31st minute but Schick completed his hat-trick just before half time. Sadly, the second half was a complete disaster and we ended up drawing 3-3 - Sheyi Ojo, once of my Barnsley side, hit a superb equaliser late on. The game went to penalties, and we were beaten. This season was quickly going pear shaped.

December 2022
PL 14 - Burnley (a) - This was just a totally ridiculous game. I went for a score more than you approach and it paid off as we won it 3-5, we were 2-5 up at half time  bit of a joke game, but it's an away win - and our first in the league this season.
EL Gr 6 - Trabzonspor (h) - 18 points hit in style. A much changed side absolutely thrashed already eliminated Trabzonspor 5-0. This was the easiest group we were ever likely to have. Kairat needed to win at home to Rapid Wien to progress, but were beaten 0-1 with a late goal, so the Austrians joined us.
PL 15 - Bournemouth (h) - Bore draw. 1-1. Wilshere typically enough got our goal.
PL 16 - Chelsea (a) - Totally expected us to get beaten here, but we held on for a very impressive point. We seem to really perform at Stamford Bridge.
PL 17 - West Ham (a) - West Ham were the surprise story of the season and sat 2nd going into this game. It was another frantic game, and we pulled off a shock by coming back from 3-1 down with two late goals - only for West Ham to pinch it in injury time. It's 1 win in 7 games and we're 14th in the table, although it's worth noting that the table was ridiculously tight and just two wins could put you back up to about 7th. The board however were very unimpressed, and set me a points target of 9 points from 5 games. I felt this was very harsh, but we had some good fixtures coming up.
PL 18 - Leeds (h) - The pressure was on for me. We had to win this. We did. We went behind early doors and I feared the worst, but Luan hit a first half double and we held on to win 2-1. We probably should've won it more comfortably.
PL 19 - West Brom (h) - FM strikes. Goalkeeper Daniel Gonzalez is injured before the game and I have to start my back-up goalkeeper Daniele Ragone. Disaster strikes as Ragone is injured in the 28th minute and we are forced into playing defender Simon Kjaer in goal for the majority of the match. With Arsenal and Man Utd to come in this run of games, I had this sickening feeling my time at Leicester was about to end. Step forward Kevin Almeida. The Portuguese winger scored an absolutely absurd goal from about 35 yards and added a second in the second half. WBA put us under pressure and did get one back with 20 minutes left, but we held on against the odds and had another win. We were up to 9th. I shouldn't be on the verge of the sack for being 9th.
PL 20 - Stoke (a) - We still need to win this. Failure to do so and we need to beat one of Arsenal or Man Utd at home, or draw all three games to get that 9 points. My third choice keeper, Samuele Guddo, probably League One standard at best, starts the game  and doesn't let me down. We go behind early on but you can't blame him for it. We look well on top here, as you would expect against a relegation fighting team, but we go in at the break behind. I'm now worried. There was no slacking in the second half though, we push and push and get the two goals we need via Schick. We hold on and we've won three in a row - my job is safe.

We are handed a tricky tie. A long trip and a pretty strong side. I think we will just about have enough to qualify, but I'd be lying if I said I was confident.

January 2023
PL 21 - Man Utd (h) - I felt like the pressure was off to some degree, but there was still no room for complacency. Sadly, we were swept aside in routine fashion. Man Utd are controlling the English game to an extent even they never have done before. What a side. 0-2.
FAC R3 - Reading (a) - I didn't feel too confident for this for some reason, but I put a strong side out. We did nothing all game except concede a pathetic goal in injury time and lost 1-0. Another absolutely disgraceful FA Cup result, and the third year in a row I have been knocked out by lower league opposition.
PL 22 - Arsenal (h) - Shocking performance. Swept aside with ease as Arsenal ran away 2-5 winners. Notably one of our three defeats in the league winning season was a 2-5 loss to Arsenal.
PL 23 - Everton (a) - I've lost every game against Everton so far, and this was no different. 4-1 to the hosts. 4 defeats in a row and I'm already worried I'm going to be back under pressure.
PL 24 - Norwich (h) - I had to switch things for this game. I opted for a three at the back system which I've been thinking about for a while. It was a pretty shocking game, but it did the trick as we presented ourselves with two chances and took both. 2-0.

Billy Leach was sold to Ipswich for £200k, Danilo Neto and Thuso Ntseki joined Preston and Sporting Gijon on loan respectively, before one of the most bizarre transfer sagas I've ever seen took place. Ben Chilwell has wanted out for a while following some CL interest, but finally dropped it as it cooled. Sure enough, he wants out again after rumours of Liverpool's interest and he won't accept me asking for any more than £4mil for him - which is absolutely ludicrous in this market for someone with time on his deal, English and wanted by Liverpool. I cut my losses, agree to sell him before he ends up joining..... Barnsley. He drops a league. What on earth is going on? I get in Maccabi Tel-Aviv left back Laszlo Toth as a late replacement for £2mil.

February 2023
PL 25 - Man City (a) - Reverted to type. Another garbage away performance. 3-0, yet again.
PL 26 - Birmingham (a) - This was an extraordinary game. We went in 0-1 up at half time but the game exploded into life the later it got. Birmingham equalised straight from kick off in the second half and ended up ahead in the 63rd minute. We piled bodies forward and got the equaliser in the 80th minute, before running straight down there again and winning a penalty - which Luan blazed over, before we then ran back up there again and Saint-Maximin scored Birmingham threw it all at us and despite missing even further chances, we finally sealed it in injury time as Saint-Maximin added his second and our 4th. An absolutely frantic game.
PL 27 - Wolves (h) - Wolves were very leaky at the back so I demanded a win here. Sure enough we would fall behind in the first half. We really surprised me though as we absolutely ripped the hell into them following that, and ran out surprise 5-1 winners. This is far more like it.
EL R32 - CSKA Moscow (a) - A long trip to a freezing Moscow wasn't really what I was hoping for, but we were very disciplined on the night and despite having to soak up pressure, we got a vital goal late on in the game and left Russia with a victory. 0-1 it ended. That's 11 straight victories in the Europa League, the record is 15.
EL R32 - CSKA Moscow (h) - This was more comfortable performance wise, but it was the same scoreline. 12 straight victories and an astounding 11 clean sheets to go with it. We landed a very tricky one in the round of 16.
PL 28 - Newcastle (h) - European hangover in full swing here. We were really crap in this game and a 1-1 draw arguably flattered us, granted it was annoying as we were leading until quite late on.

March 2023
PL 29 - Middlesbrough (a) - We always beat these. In real life we have gone 12 games without losing to them and on this game we had won 5 out of 5. More of the same came. We walked this one and it ended 0-2.
EL R16 - Sporting Lisbon (a) - This is a very hard tie. Make no mistake. These have held most of their side together, the likes of Gelson Martins, William Carvalho and Daniel Podence, as well as some very strong additions. They also won the trophy two years ago. My hopes for this were shot before we kicked off, as my new system relied on playing a wing back and my only left sided one, Moldovanovic, was injured just before the game - backing us into playing Nastasic there and a half fit Yoo at centre half. It went as I expected with Sporting racing to a 2-0 lead by half time, and to make matters worse Nastasic went off injured himself. I threw everything at them, and in injury time we pinched what could be a vital away goal. 2-1 it ended. The run of wins was over, but the tie wasn't.
PL 30 - Crystal Palace (a) - Absolutely impeccable away performance. 0-3 win despite rotating my squad. What a great game for us.
EL R16 - Sporting Lisbon (h) - Injury backed me into further switches and it was just one too many in the end. There's always a counter to improving through a system change that you didn't really plan for - and that's not having the back-up to do it. This was one too many and Sporting won 1-2 again, sending them through to the quarters. I think they're a good shout to go all the way. A cracking side.
PL 31 - Tottenham (h) - Spurs are bang out of form, and we're incredibly up to 7th - and if that isn't incredible enough, then we're actually not out of the top 4 picture yet. It's been a real freak of a season where the table has never taken proper shape (other than Man Utd absolutely walking it). Simon Kjaer stunned everyone by hitting two super free kicks into the net, but Tottenham clawed it back with two late goals and that's how it ended. Gutting.

This season makes very little sense to me. Yet again I feel like our league position majorly flatters us. We actually don't have too bad a run-in though so European football is well in the picture again. Man Utd won the League Cup, but the FA Cup only has one team from the top 6 left in it (Arsenal) so we're relying on them if we want it to drop down to 7th again. As good as it's been, I don't think it would be a disaster if we missed out. I still think there's a lot of rebuilding to do here.

[Chaaay AFC]

I see you get the no matter how shite the big teams form is they always turn up against you. 

One thing that always bugged me about FM, it's so hard to beat them teams even when they are doing shite.

[Dan+]

I've always struggled against teams who are under-performing. Like the Newcastle game for example where they've lost six in a row going into it, I just knew we weren't going to win it. We've got a history of it.

We've had such patchy form all year and yet we could end up back in Europe. It really baffles me. As it stands 55 points could get you into Europe. I got in last year with 54 which was astoundingly low.

But like I say, I wouldn't actually be too down if I didn't get in this year. It does screw your season up particularly in the Europa League. 14 extra games for me and what did I really have to show for it? The Europa League looks a great experience for a travelling fan but in terms of football, unless you win it, it's pretty crap.

[Dave]

What's the fixture list like for the big teams underneath you, Dan? Surely they're going to pull there finger out.

[Dan+]

April 2023
PL 32 - Liverpool (a) - We went away to an in-form Liverpool and held them to a goalless draw. I thought we played very well and were well worth the point.
PL 33 - Bournemouth (a) - This was the polar opposite to the Liverpool game. In the pre-match press conference I accidentally clicked the answer to the question about the Bournemouth manager saying that I think he should be sacked sure enough it seemed to fire them up and we lost 3-0. I was put in my place.
PL 34 - Burnley (h) - We bounced back with a solid 2-0 victory. Routine.
PL 35 - Chelsea (h) - We won this comfortably. Chelsea must hate playing us. I've played them five times as Leicester boss and have beaten them three times and drawn two. 3-1 it ended. We're back in contention for Europe. The top 4 is still mathematically possible, although it's unlikely.

May 2023
PL 36 - West Ham (h) - To get into that top four, we had to win this, and we didn't. We drew 1-1 and it put us in a position where we needed to get some points in our last two to have any chance of getting into the top seven.
PL 37 - Leeds (a) - A carbon copy of the West Ham game. Another 1-1 draw. My hopes were all but shot to pieces as I was in 8th place and needed a real goal difference swing to get into Europe, on top of a win.
PL 38 - West Brom (a) - Third straight draw, goalless, drab end to a long, challenging season. Chelsea lost at home to Wolves meaning we stayed in 8th.

So I got one point more than last year, but finished one place lower down. Truth be told though, we'd done Europe this year and I felt that if we went back into it next year, we would probably be hindered for next season. Not only is it testing in terms of the amount of games you play, it also forces you into spreading your budget between more players rather than bringing in more quality. I did bring in good players, especially given my net spend, but I want better. In a season where my net spend was minus nineteen million, my wage bill went down and we played 58 games in all competitions, I don't think we did badly.

We finished the season having lost just one of our last thirteen league games.

Benfica went on to win the Europa League in the end, beating Sporting of all teams in the final. Manchester United won the lot though. The league, the Champions League and even the League Cup, although Spurs would lift the FA Cup, beating Arsenal in the final.

I made quite a dramatic tactical switch during the season and I'd been considering it for a while. Especially with the signing of Moldovanovic, I definitely felt we needed to experiment a bit and it seemed to yield the results, although I do think the football was a tad boring.

The average age of my squad has come down massively. I've changed what I do a bit regarding younger players and I'm quite intrigued by Storts saying that he gets more joy out of keeping them at the club and not loaning them out. None sum this up better than Danilo Neto, who was developing quite well during the season but there was very little after I loaned him to Preston in January. Diogo Pinho on the other hand has really developed and I actually think he may get some games next season despite only really being signed to sell on at a profit. It was another garbage year for youth income though.

I have some money to spend this coming season, and I'm expecting Mahrez to leave as he feels he's achieved all he can at the club - suits me as he's on mega money for a 32 year old. I think we've got potential to have a really strong summer, and if I'm happy with my squad, then I plan to request a stadium expansion in September. Time to really take some strides towards growing this club.

[Dan+]

Summer Business 2023

11/6 - OUT: Ozan Tufan (Marseille, £17.5mil) - This is also potentially rising to £28mil. Ozan is one of the best players at the club, but Marseille have become really good on the game, French champions last season, and he's not getting any younger. He's 28 and on wages of £120k a week, our highest earner along with Luan. I'd rather not have sold him, but weighing everything up I think it made sense to.

11/6 - OUT: Riyad Mahrez (West Brom, £2.6mil) - He became pretty useless towards the end and doesn't fit into my 3-5-2, as well as now being 32 and still swallowing up the wrong side of £100k a week in wages. When he asked to leave as he felt he'd achieved all he could, I can't say this is the move I had in mind.

30/6 - OUT: Ruben Gabrielsen, Harry Winks, Danny Drinkwater, Samuele Guddo - Drinkwater was a tricky one but yet again, mega wages and getting on. Him, Mahrez and Tufan alone have freed up over £300k a week in wages, and that means it's time to play.

1/7 - IN: Valon Kaptina (Sampdoria, £13mil) - My first foray into the transfer window this season and it's an exciting one. Kaptina wasn't cheap but he's got years ahead of him aged 19 and was a regular for Sampdoria last year. I expect him to play a part here for years.

1/7 - IN: Jhuan (Corinthians, £17mil) - Another big money move as the Brazilian international midfielder joins. He's a very good all-round player with his best years ahead of him, aged 22.

1/7 - IN: Saliou Dja Djedje (Al-Ahly, £675k) - 19 year old Ivorian midfielder. Scouts have got him down as potentially being 5 stars, and for that price you would be a fool not to.

5/7 - OUT: Kevin Almeida (RB Leipzig, £20mil) - I had no intention of selling Almeida, but Leipzig came calling and as you can imagine, they're quite big now. For someone who was on the verge of kicking off because he wasn't playing (he doesn't fit in 3-5-2), I was happy to take this kind of money. He's a good player but the wrong fit.

5/7 - OUT: Jeet Padaruth (Huddersfield, £5mil) - Young striker Leicester signed before I was here. I think he still looks quite good but he isn't quite there yet, so I've got a buy-back clause in there of £11mil.

5/7 - IN: Mohammed Sumaila (FC Nordsjaelland, £7.5mil) - Very similar player to Jhuan but a bit more creative, the same age and cheaper. He's got a temperamental personality which is a catch but weighing it all up, this move was a no-brainer.

6/7 - IN: Gustavo Gomez (Stoke, £7.25mil) - Stoke were relegated in the first season back up, but Paraguayan defender Gustavo Gomez still put in some impressive displays after joining from AC Milan in January. He's 30 years old but he's still good and fits exactly what I want to do - as I am to play him in the middle of my three. He's my Kjaer replacement. His wages are strangely low as well.

16/7 - IN: Zoran Turan (FK Partizan, £725k) - Highly rated 19 year old forward with an absurdly low release clause, loaned back there for the season.

4/8 - IN: Luca Pellegrini (Man City, loan) - I needed another left wing back as Laszlo Toth can't actually play there and Moldovanovic is never going to play every game at 20.

21/8 - IN: Kyle Walker (free) - Released from Spurs, 33 years old but still a solid option, on pretty low wages and can cover at both right wing back and centre half. A no-brainer squad filler.

 

Season 2023/24 (8th on save / 3rd with Leicester)

EXPECTATIONS
They are never too easy to gauge, but I really think we need some form of European football this coming season. As Leicester, it is hard to aim to come above sides like Liverpool and Chelsea, but that's part of getting to the next level I suppose. I've seemingly found a way to get results based on the end of last season, and I have decided to build my team around this formation. I'm aiming for a top 6 finish, and at a push, top 4. We could've made the top 4 last year if we'd turned some late draws into wins and I thought we were quite sketchy last season.

 

JULY / PRE-SEASON

I've no idea why they decided to bring us back to play the MLS All-Star fixture again, but we ended up winning it again although were fortuitous. The rest were all impressive victories and we were scoring plenty.

 

AUGUST

It's been a long time incoming, but I kicked my season off with a victory! We followed it up nicely but had a bit of a nightmare at Leeds, although I think 3-0 largely flattered the hosts. Not a bad start.

 

SEPTEMBER

We are really impressive, and one of the most impressive things about us was that it took until the Chelsea away game for us to concede a clear cut chance. We are defensively looking so solid (Man City we were unlucky) and we are getting better and better going forward. The goals seem to only ever be scored by three different players though. We sit in the top 4.

 

OCTOBER

There's no fixture I hate more than Everton. It's the same every single time, and even in this one they left it until the last minute. But what Everton are to us, we are to Middlesbrough, and Luan absolutely ran riot. He kept it going for the Millwall game and we were in the quarters. We are still in a very healthy position in the league, but it is very tight towards the top.

 

NOVEMBER (Up to Int break)

The win over West Brom made it 10 clean sheets from 14 games which is outstanding, and something Leicester managed in the title winning season towards the end. It went a bit pear shaped at Huddersfield though as Padaruth, who I sold in the summer, haunted me. Still though, we've had a great start.

 

 

3rd is fantastic after 12 games and given our fixture list has been quite mixed so far, I think we could well keep it up - but on the flip side we are yet to play either of the top two, or Liverpool. Man Utd are just a joke on this game, they're an absolute juggernaut, they've become Bayern and Juventus.

Given my team is pretty young on the whole, I'm really happy with how its gone so far.

[Dan+]

My board have just requested a meeting with me to discuss increasing the transfer budget as I'd used all of it. Of course I've accepted. They've given me another £17mil. Great for me as I'm now going to buy this forward I've had my eye on since I arrived at Leicester - he's got a release clause of £11mil and could go on to play right at the very top. Hopefully he's still interested.

Quite worryingly though, our projected balance has nosedived and that never bodes well.

I did request for the stadium expansion at the start of September and they approved it, it's being expanded to 36,000 which, to be honest, I think is a little underwhelming, I was hoping for at least 40k. It's costing something like £15mil and I'm not sure I'd have bothered if that's all they're getting.

Good times though. I'm so much happier with the squad now than when I took over.

[Dave]

I've got the same problem with United on my save. They won The CL three years running.

Every save ive done in the last four games anything Mourinho touches turns to gold.