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AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
I've seen what happens when an ascendant team sells its lynchpin to a megabastard. Repeatedly. Not unless they're willing to break some records or part-ex someone just as good.

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A Tartan Tory
Mar 26, 2010

You call that a shotgun?!
Don't forget fellow board members, mukjic isn't signing a new contract because we haven't made the Europa league yet, we are well on course to doing so. So its a don't sell him from me.

Zip!
Aug 14, 2008

Keep on pushing
little buddy

I don't think we should sell him and if we do its for no less than £50m.

Brony Hunter
Dec 27, 2012

Motherfucking Mannis

They'll bend the knee or I'll destroy them
Don't sell him. He's basically our Bale, and look how well Spurs are doing after selling him and buy replacements.

Munin
Nov 14, 2004


Meteor was our first and he's the player I'm rooting for the most on the team. I wouldn't like to see him sold.

Especially so since he just seems to be finding his feet in the Premiership and he's someone our Croatian import can talk to.

Actually, on that note, how are our import settling in? Any of them speak any English yet?

ZorbaTHut
May 5, 2005

wake me when the world is saved
We don't exactly have prospective Mujkic replacements falling from the sky. If we sell him, we get to bring several more spots up to the level of not-as-good-as-Mujkic, in return for no longer having someone who can go toe-to-toe with the best.

If our goal is to make a shitload of money and never challenge the megabastards, go for it. I want to shoot for the stars, though.

Tehan
Jan 19, 2011
Money comes and goes, Meteors don't. We might be able to buy a stable of promising kids for the money we get for him but chances are we'd never be able to buy another Meteor. Don't sell him unless we don't make the Europa League and he gets fed up and wants to leave.

Roy Gato III
Jun 2, 2013

JT Jag posted:

If you can get £30-35M+ for Mujkik you gotta take that offer, you can get a ton of great prospects with that money.

Not a cent less.


Pretty much this. £30 million plus is nothing to sniff at in terms of buying players in FM. You can probably get at least 2 equivalent players and still have some left over for wages, depending on how much the board re-injects into the club.

Another option would be to wait until the summer and see if his value increases. This might tank his morale at not being sold and his value could actually go down, as there'd only be one year left on his contract (I think this is the case?).

generally I prefer
Apr 17, 2006

Wait until the summer. Replacing players partway of the season is hard, and if Barca are coming in for him now it's likely there will be more interest (and probably more money) in a transfer for him later – unless he agrees to sign a new deal, in which case, why sell?

Drunk Canuck
Jan 9, 2010

Robots ruin all the fun of a good adventure.

Mujkic is a Dragon until he dies. :colbert:

KKKLIP ART
Sep 3, 2004

Drunk Canuck posted:

Mujkic is a Dragon until he dies. :colbert:

Round 2 at Euro Disney?

Loggie
Apr 29, 2009
Keep him, I believe that by the time his contract runs out we will be able to pay him what he wants.

Zeroisanumber
Oct 23, 2010

Nap Ghost

Drunk Canuck posted:

Mujkic is a Dragon until he dies. :colbert:

habeasdorkus
Nov 3, 2013

Royalty is a continuous shitposting motion.
OK, glad to get the board's backing on this. :) I don't want to sell him, but I figured that a sum worth 1/4th of our yearly income needed to be raised.

I'll set his asking price at 40m, that should deter offers.

Munin
Nov 14, 2004


Yeah. The only reason I think we should consider selling him is if he gets seriously unsettled for some reason or wants to move on to see some other leagues after years in the Premier. I'd prefer any parting, should there be one, to be on amicable terms (on our end at least).

Amhazair
Feb 13, 2012
Seems the matter is settled, but for me the* important question was never asked: Do you have your eyes on a potential replacement? Not some prospect who might come good in some years, but someone who can already deliver right now. Say, in the price range and at the level of Nieddu on the opposite flank.

If you do it might be worth selling for the humungous amounts of money that secures further development in the future. Otherwise keep him and try to secure a new contract. (If he refuses over the summer you might be forced to sell anyway. An extra year of service is most likely not worth the loss of 25+ million. (Especially since, in my experience at least, the insecurity over the future means players running down their contract generally perform at less than their best level.)


*Well, the second important question next to: 'How long does he still have on his contract?' But that was asked already.

habeasdorkus
Nov 3, 2013

Royalty is a continuous shitposting motion.
I don't. Any Meteor replacement will probably be good but not great. I also didn't expect Nieddu to be so good, he's been a huge steal.

habeasdorkus
Nov 3, 2013

Royalty is a continuous shitposting motion.
Chapter the Fourth: Goals galore.
November 25, 2020-December 20, 2020

It's been one year since I dragged a slumping club into my home for a Thanksgiving meal that couldn't be beat. At the time we were three and nine, just keeping our heads above water and on a four match losing streak. Since then we've set England ablaze. In a season's worth of games we have twenty-two wins against five draws and eleven losses. That's 71 points, which would have been good enough for third or fourth place each of the last seven years. If we keep this up, and I see no reason why we shouldn't, the Champion's League will be in reach.

vs. Watford, November 28, 2020
Premier League


Watford's overachieving by even more than we are, they were expected to be busy dodging relegation and yet they're in sixth place. Their striker Tom Curran has already scored 13 league goals in 12 games. When I looked at the schedule before entering the match screen, I expected this to be an easy match based upon the opponent. Instead it's against a top half squad.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong (c), Lewis, Feruga, Morvan, Petts, Nieddu, Shirra, Mujkic, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Mejasic, Todd, Djurovic, Di Martino, Aarts.

Watford won't wash off. We score, and they score. We score, and they score. Or rather, Scott Shirra scores, and Tom Curran scores. Then Watford hits us on the break, but the side judge flags Curran offside and he's denied his hat trick. Shirra, disappointed with Curran for not waiting his turn, responds instantly and we take the lead. Not long after he finishes his showdown with Curran with his fourth goal, putting the game out of reach. 15,000 voices at the Racecourse Grounds each applaud him with their own choice of nickname. His 9.9 rating is as high as I've ever seen a player receive.

Man of the Match: Scott Shirra




Wrexham 4-2 Watford




He was Shirrasational! He sure sheared the defense! Scotty Too Hotty burned Watford bad!



Shirra earned the award almost entirely with his performance in the last match.



Both Wrexham and Chelsea have reason to be upset with this draw. They'll be slight favorites, but regardless of who advances the competition loses a team that could make a deep run. Meanwhile, Tottenham draws Skrill Premier squad York, and are the home team to boot. I call shenanigans.




Don't worry, the club isn't actually in jeopardy. We're approaching the election, and thus AJ_Impy doesn't feel that it would be proper to continue the search with voting less than a month away. Our youth recruitment upgrade remains underway.



We've been losing money this season, down nearly five million pounds already. We shouldn't be this bad off, our wages for staff and players are still very low compared to the rest of the league. Most of the increased losses come from non-soccer costs and miscellaneous expenses, which means we're being bled good and proper. That, or the cost of negotiations to buy the ground are being drawn from our budget as they take place.



Damnit, Bayern. I didn't just liberate him from Australia for you to come and steal him.



Shaun Davies is getting long in the tooth, he's 31 now and I'm not sure how many more years he'll be on this shortlist. He remains way out of our league when it comes to wages, but in three to five years we should be able to bring him back to Wales for his twilight years.

At Stoke City, December 5, 2020
Premier League


Stoke are in 10th, and are another team doing better in the league than I expected. I feel it would be prudent to start in the 4-4-1-1 as the away team, and let them try to take the attack to us.

Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Dos Santos, Feruga, Todd, Mejasic, Djurovic, Mair, Petts, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Cirjak, Boumsong, Morvan, Bailey, Nieddu, Aarts.

Our proclivity towards early goals reaches its zenith in this match. Meteor Mujkic makes like his moniker by scoring in the 8th second, the fastest goal I've ever seen. Petts doubles it up at twelve minutes in and Bastable gets off the schneid at 38 minutes. We cruise to a victory from there on out, withstanding a second half surge that sees Stoke scoring once in the second half before our defense clamps down to protect the two goal lead.

Man of the Match: Rocky Bastable




Stoke 1-3 Wrexham



Eight seconds after kickoff. That's the fastest goal in the history of the Premier League, topping Ledley King's 9.7 second mark from 2000.



If you had told me before the season that Rocky Bastable would go thirteen hours between goals I would have been dismayed at our league position. Instead, we've got one of the better offenses in the league even without his contribution. If this marks the start of a great run of form, we're going to start putting up hockey scores against other teams.



Welcome back, Bastard.



I might deport him at the window as he just won't shut up. He's not even good enough to play in the Premiership barring disaster to Kovacevic. I'll look for a journeyman backup in the January window who will accept his position on the team, and see what I can get for Novotny.

vs. Bristol City, December 12, 2020
Premier League


My entire pre-game talk is about how we have no business walking away with anything less than three points. We're approaching the point in the game where we've become a “big” side who expects any real challenge to come from other big sides. That means we can trip over smaller clubs that we look past. Bristol City is exactly the sort of team that can put a serious crimp in our plans if we don't take them seriously.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong (c), Todd, Mejasic, Mair, Djurovic, Nieddu, Shirra, Mujkic, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Feruga, Simpson, Morvan, Petts, Bailey, Aarts.

I shouldn't have worried. While it takes us a whole thirty minutes to get our first goal this time, we push Bristol around from start to finish. We end up with more goals than they had total shots, as our possession strategy suffocates them and keeps them contained in their own half of the pitch. They spend just 4% of the game with possession in our third, while over a quarter of the game sees us bashing away at the bus they parked in front of the net. Things get even more lopsided when they have a man sent off in the 57th minute, but by that point it was already two-nil.

Man of the Match: Dmitri Nieddu




Wrexham 3-0 Bristol City



From wing to shining wing Wrexham leads the league. We now have a number of scoring threats, and it makes any single injury or slump much less of a big deal. We're also deep enough that I've got multiple good options at central and right offensive midfield. Petts, Djurovic, and Nieddu all compete for two spots on the pitch, and any one of them could step in if Shirra were to get hurt.



You can check to see what transfer rumors are flying around under the News subheading of the league. When I do, I see a lot of teams looking at our players and whetting their appetites. Bastable and Mujkic aren't for sale at twice those prices, but I'm happy to let a mediocre prospect like Chapman go for a couple million. I'll offer him to the interested parties.



Well, I know what formation the team will field when we visit Blackburn.

At Blackburn Rovers, December 19, 2020
Premier League


The Rovers are another team who are in the top ten when we play them. I usually wouldn't send us out in the 4-2-3-1 when playing an away game, but the scouting report doesn't lie. I tweak our strategy so that our players focus less on maintaining possession and drop deeper on defense to prevent Blackburn from turning our aggressiveness against us.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Standard
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong (c), Todd, Mejasic, Morvan, Petts, Nieddu, Shirra, Mujkic, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Feruga, Simpson, Mair, Djurovic, Bailey, Aarts.

Blackburn gives us a taste of our own medicine, with a goal before sixty seconds has elapsed. It's safe to say that the modified tactics weren't working quite yet. We right the ship quickly, though, with Bastable picking up the first of his two goals on the day. It's smooth sailing, capped by a soft penalty that Shirra puts it away. Things risk getting interesting again when Blackburn puts one past Kovacevic, but the goal is called off and they never cut our lead back to one. Watching this match I felt the reverse of what I did during the West Ham one from October where we pissed away an early lead. It's a much better feeling.

Man of the Match: Rocky Bastable.




Blackburn 1-3 Wrexham



We were given a gift on that penalty, but it didn't change the outcome. I commiserate with Blackburn at my post-match press conference, though. I'll take any chance to stick it in the FA's eye.



The reporters will consistently try to start drama between you and other managers. Even the ones with an Old & Boring personality. It's difficult to give a compliment to an opponent without some jerk with a press pass calling you a scaredy-cat, or some other jerk talking about your attempts to play mind-games with your opponent.



Bolstered by a run of lesser opponents, the Dragons has moved all the way up to third place in the league. Over that stretch we've scored thirteen goals while allowing four. It gets harder from here. We play Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea over our next five league matches. If we can keep from being knocked below fifth place after that stretch the chances of us making the Champion's League increase to the point where we can start talking about it as a realistic outcome.

Cityinthesea
Aug 7, 2009
Dang, looks like the Cwp will be a 2 team cup next year.

Wes Warhammer
Oct 19, 2012

:sueme:

:stare: Eight seconds? Are you sure Mateo isn't some kind of super-human mutant?

Bobbin Threadbare
Jan 2, 2009

I'm looking for a flock of urbanmechs.

Cityinthesea posted:

Dang, looks like the Cwp will be a 2 team cup next year.

At least Southampton has won some games, drat. Any sort of behind-the-scenes troubles going on in Cardiff?

Munin
Nov 14, 2004


And after their pretty strong start Bristol is slumping into the area people expected the team to be at. That said, still good on them considering they have 0 wages.

Minister Robathan
Jan 3, 2007

The Alien Leader of Transportation
Playing in Europe next season seems pretty likely, Stoke is back 9 points. Is the 3rd or the 4th CL spot the qualification round cut off?

Staying up in the Top 3 would be amazing, I'm not sure how likely it is but it would be fantastic!

E. although, I seem to be counting my chickens before they hatch, a bad run could completely bork everything :ohdear:

Minister Robathan fucked around with this message at 21:44 on May 9, 2014

habeasdorkus
Nov 3, 2013

Royalty is a continuous shitposting motion.

Minister Robathan posted:

Playing in Europe next season seems pretty likely, Stoke is back 9 points. Is the 3rd or the 4th CL spot the qualification round cut off?

Staying up in the Top 3 would be amazing, I'm not sure how likely it is but it would be fantastic!

E. although, I seem to be counting my chickens before they hatch, a bad run could completely bork everything :ohdear:

4th is the qualification round, top 3 go directly to the group stage. I'm unconcerned if we finish 4th, the team we'd play to get to the group stage would be comparative minnows.

Bobbin Threadbare posted:

At least Southampton has won some games, drat. Any sort of behind-the-scenes troubles going on in Cardiff?

No clue, but it makes me a little sad that the Cwp will become just the North/South derby.

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Aww, you took the King's crowning achievement. Still, can't argue with getting up to 3rd. We need to wipe that red filth off the top of the table, mind.

Also, unlike my opponent I will gladly make grandiose promises. And live up to them! The 'God-King of Wales' Scott Brown Dragon Statue nears completion!

Robert Deadford
Mar 1, 2008
Ultra Carp

Minus Green posted:

:stare: Eight seconds? Are you sure Mateo isn't some kind of super-human mutant?

No, not super-human. I imagine it happened something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKDh04AN-Us

Yes, that is San Marino. And yes, that is England they are playing against.

Sky Shadowing
Feb 13, 2012

At least we're not the Thalmor (yet)

AJ_Impy posted:

Aww, you took the King's crowning achievement. Still, can't argue with getting up to 3rd. We need to wipe that red filth off the top of the table, mind.

Also, unlike my opponent I will gladly make grandiose promises. And live up to them! The 'God-King of Wales' Scott Brown Dragon Statue nears completion!

You'll find a sizable contribution has been made by the Shadowing family, in honor of our dear friend Scott Brown. :smug:

Rumors that this contribution had the words "oh god please come to Southampton Scott" in the memo box, in very tiny font, are completely true and oh god Scott please help :qq:.

A Tartan Tory
Mar 26, 2010

You call that a shotgun?!

Robert_Deadford posted:

No, not super-human. I imagine it happened something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKDh04AN-Us

Yes, that is San Marino. And yes, that is England they are playing against.

English goalkeeping never stops being funny.

KDavisJr
Jul 17, 2010

A real avatar never dies, even when it's replaced!

Minus Green posted:

:stare: Eight seconds? Are you sure Mateo isn't some kind of super-human mutant?

That type of poo poo tends to happen when the defense is pissing around. The type of poo poo that makes ESPN's Not Top Ten.


But he is an Aussie, and Badasses tend to come from there.

Also your results in the past few games have been fantastic! Four straight in dominating fashion! Keep this up and we'll be raining down Meteors in the Champion's League and/or the UEFA cup, pretty soon!

KDavisJr fucked around with this message at 23:40 on May 9, 2014

Dreamsicle
Oct 16, 2013

Out of curiosity what was Wrexham's record in the 2013-14 season? I know you're predecessor was sacked, but I want to know just how badly he did the season before.

Also is Man U's manager still AU Moyes?

Dreamsicle fucked around with this message at 07:18 on May 10, 2014

Munin
Nov 14, 2004


AJ_Impy posted:

Aww, you took the King's crowning achievement. Still, can't argue with getting up to 3rd. We need to wipe that red filth off the top of the table, mind.

Also, unlike my opponent I will gladly make grandiose promises. And live up to them! The 'God-King of Wales' Scott Brown Dragon Statue nears completion!

Nah, looking at that table it is all as it should be...

Except for a Wrexham in first spot being preferable of course.

A Tartan Tory
Mar 26, 2010

You call that a shotgun?!
I'm really interested to know how Scotland's Golden Generation is doing now.

habeasdorkus
Nov 3, 2013

Royalty is a continuous shitposting motion.

Dreamsicle posted:

Out of curiosity what was Wrexham's record in the 2013-14 season? I know you're predecessor was sacked, but I want to know just how badly he did the season before.

Also is Man U's manager still AU Moyes?

He finished 2nd but failed to get promoted. Then he was terrible the first two months of the next season and got sacked.

And yeah, AU Moyes is basically the new Sir Alex.

KDavisJr posted:

That type of poo poo tends to happen when the defense is pissing around. The type of poo poo that makes ESPN's Not Top Ten.


The defense and keeper didn't actually gently caress up that badly, Mujkic just made a great run into space, had a ball played perfectly into the path of his run, and fired a shot after a couple touches. I don't know that there could be a quicker goal.

A Tartan Tory posted:

I'm really interested to know how Scotland's Golden Generation is doing now.

Shirra's the only one who's on the national team at the moment, but he's up to six caps so far. McGoon and Scott are still huge prospects but they're not in full bloom like Shirra is, largely due to lack of playing time. Give them a few years and they'll get there.

habeasdorkus
Nov 3, 2013

Royalty is a continuous shitposting motion.
Chapter the Fifth: Tempered and quenched.
December 20, 2020-January 6, 2020

We're playing Arsenal, Derby, and Manchester City in the league, and Chelsea in the FA Cup. It's not a welcoming schedule, especially as all four games take place across ten days. The most likely outcome is that we take 3-4 of 9 possible points in the league while getting knocked out of the FA Cup early. The transfer window is also going to be opening shortly, and the club election is on January 5th, so at the end of this update I'll need to take stock of where the team is at and what we should do going forward.



His contract is up at the end of the year, 2.2m is a good haul, and I want to replenish my transfer budget before the window opens.



Turns out he can't do everything. Shirra is an extreme right footed player, meaning that a skilled defender who can show him onto his left foot can shut him down. Not many defenders can do that though, as Shirra is very technically adept (Dribbling 17, Technique 16), has a high game IQ (Anticipation 15, Off the Ball 15), and has a devastating first step to go with solid speed and agility (19 Acceleration, 16 Agility, 15 Pace). Did I mention he still can't buy beer in the United States until next season?



Bastable is back in form. With him looking as good as he did last season we've got a chance to be in first place for goals scored at some point this season.

vs. Arsenal, December 22, 2020
Premier League


Arsenal are in first place. They're led by one of the five best players in England, and probably one of the ten best in the world, Lee Nash. Nash is the AU Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has been beloved by FM in every game I've ever played.

Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong (c), Todd, Feruga, Djurovic, Mair, Petts, Mujkic, Shirra, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Mejasic, Lewis, Morvan, Bailey, Nieddu, Di Martino.

The good news is that we're not getting blasted off the field, the bad news is that we're not playing up to Arsenal's level. Thirty minutes in I breathe a sigh of relief when their striker, Bartoli, is called offside and we remain at 0-0. That just means my blood pressure spikes two minutes later when Lee Nash abuses Mair on his way to scoring two minutes later. Fortunately for the players Bastable evens up the score with a header in first half stoppage time, and I don't have to pitch a fit when we chat between the halves.

We squander a good chance because Meteor doesn't have his finishing touch today, and then fall behind from a set piece after subbing off Mair and Petts. With ten minutes left I switch to the 4-4-2 Diamond in an effort to salvage a point. Time ticks down and after three minutes of stoppage time we can least take a moral victory thanks to our decent performance. We also take a point, thanks to Rocky Bastable scoring the equalizer at 92 minutes and 47 seconds.

Man of the Match: That Bastard, Rocky Bastable




Wrexham 2-2 Arsenal



Oh hey, Montreal didn't win the MLS championship this season. DC United gets to relive their glory days of the late 1990s, except now in front of a much larger crowd. For all the snobbery directed at MLS they still put more asses in the seats than all but eight other association football leagues around the globe.

At Derby, December 26, 2020
Premier League


Derby are the one non-megabastard team we're playing this update. They're on a bad losing streak, so we're playing them at just the right time. Their poor form is our gain, if we lose or even draw here we'll have a harder time sticking in the rarefied air of the table top.

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Diamond Attack
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong (c), Lewis, Mejasic, Mair, Nieddu, Mujkic, Shirra, Aarts, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Richards, Todd, Morvan, Djurovic, Bailey, Di Martino.

Ever since getting back to scoring goals Bastable has been going bonkers. This time he thwacks one in at 8 minutes. Shirra gets in on the action and on scoresheet two minutes later. After making us wait another fifteen minutes Bastable belts in another to make it 3-0. Despite the mollywhopping they took in the first twenty-five minutes Derby are only mostly dead, they get one back before the half. I spend the pep talk hammering home how the game isn't over and to not lose our edge. The warning proves prescient, for the final twenty minutes of the match Derby take the game to us, and we come close to coughing up a three goal advantage. I shake my head and tut after the game, I want them to feel suitably chagrined about that Jekyll and Hyde performance. They are, with the exception of Bastable, who seems confused at what more I want from him after yet another two goal performance.

Man of the Match: Rocky Bastable




Derby 1-3 Wrexham



Stewart Lewis makes his return to the league Team of the Week. He's still a useful player, but he's been surpassed at this point by others on our squad. This is his last year with the team after having been with us since we were in League 2.



Bailey's contract is getting renewed, obviously. I'll have to think about Mejasic, though. As I found out to my dismay this summer, fullbacks are hard to find.

At Manchester City, December 30, 2020
Premier League


This isn't going to be fun. I'm holding out Mujkic, Shirra, Boumsong, and Cirjak for the FA Cup match in three days. We're a much deeper team than we've been in years past, the only players I'm not comfortable starting at their positions are Richards, Dos Santos, and Mejasic, but it's not our best eleven. We're going to need a miracle to win this, but we could luck into a draw.

Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Dos Santos, Feruga, Todd, Richards, Djurovic, Morvan, Petts, Mejasic, Nieddu, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Boumsong, Lewis, Mair, Mujkic, Bailey, Aarts.

We defang Manchester City's capable attack for the first half, with Woj Feruga making a vital challenge to clear a rebound in the 24th minute. Their defense is getting dissected by our ripostes, but both Nieddu and Feruga bang the ball off the post on our two best chances of the day. Those missed chances come back to bite us, as City pulls a Bastable and sinks us with a goal in the closing minutes. We were unlucky to lose the match, if anything we outplayed Manchester City on their own turf.




Manchester City 1-0 Wrexham



“Finally” getting it right? That praise is so faint that it's nearly invisible.



He should be a little disappointed in his boys, and we should have come away with at least a draw from that match.



Barcelona want Mujkic. I'm not interested in selling for that little, and the board backs me on it. Barca shrug, and the next day make an offer for a Manchester United player at the same price.




Happy New Year! The directors ask if I want to change my goals for the season, offering me up to £8m more in funds. This is a question we'll vote on.



Cardiff were interested in Lewis, he's valued at £900k, so I offered him for £2m. They didn't bite. He's still a useful member of the team and I see no reason to have one of our prospects take his role for the rest of the season when they'd be better served by remaining either on loan or in our youth system. If someone is willing to meet my asking price I'll take their money, but I'm not going to actively shop him.




It's awards season! Erik Lamela Matias Mercado wins himself a double handful of hardware.



Shinji Kagawa Takahashi beats out both Bastable and Mujkic, which is unconscionable. Either of them are better than he is. This is like when Crash won Best Picture.



Meteor adds a third of these to his cabinet, he greets the news with an insouciant shrug. He'd much rather have won the player of the year award.



Bastable scoops the monthly award after scoring two goals in three straight games towards the end of the month.



Shirra couldn't quite snag the young player award, but one of our loaned players, Stacy Newman, wins the equivalent League 1 award.



Rounding out the award news, I get word that I finished third for Coach of the Month. There are times I feel like I'm never going to win one of these again.



I'm forced to accelerate my decision on Mejasic as top Greek club Olympiacos is interested in him. I offer him a £12,500/wk, two year extension.

vs. Chelsea, January 2, 2020
FA Cup, Third Round


I give us very little chance of winning a replay at Stamford Bridge. That means we need to win today, and it means we can't sit back and try to hit Chelsea on the counter. Fatigue is not a factor in player selection as we've got the next week off before our next match.

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Diamond Attack
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong (c), Todd, Mejasic, Mair, Djurovic, Mujkic, Shirra, Di Martino, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Dos Santos, Lewis, Morvan, Bailey, Nieddu, Aarts.

The entire first half is for naught. Chelsea's defense frustrates us, helped by a referee who's clearly favoring them when it comes to calling fouls. They can't do anything going forward and so my pep-talk revolves around challenging the players to break down Chelsea and get us the goal we need to win.

I don't have to wait long to see my inspiration take effect. It's Bastable who gets his gorgeous, bulbous noggin on a cross from Djurovic two minutes after play resumes. Djurovic makes it two-nothing five minutes later when he's artfully picked out on a corner by Di Martino. Di Martino had otherwise struggled to this point in the game, but showed a great deal of cunning to find Djurovic out by the edge of the area with a clear shot at the net. Chelsea are more threatening after going down, and their ranging forward earns them several corners and creates some chances, but it also allows us to repeatedly threaten to pile on the goals. When Bastable scores in the 88th minute, the only surprise was that it took so long to get a third.

Man of the Match: El Bastardo Magnifico, Rocky Bastable




Wrexham 3-0 Chelsea



Not a bad draw, not a great draw. Bolton are still a mid-table Championship side, someone we should have no trouble beating.



Is this a joke, Inter? I have his asking price set at £50m, same as Mujkic.



You think this is funny? Am I a clown, Interisti? Do I amuse you?



He's signed through June 2023; we're not negotiating a new deal mid-season.



Had to be done. Mejasic isn't a long term solution at left back, but he's good enough for now and he was on the verge of signing a deal that would take him to Greece at the end of the year.



The king stays the king. For up to two more elections, at least. We're a constitutional monarchy like that.



We're fourth on the table thanks to having scored more goals than Chelsea. We travel to Stamford Bridge on January 13th, though, and they'll surely be looking for revenge after the way we dismantled them in the FA Cup. We're doing as well as I could hope, and we're in good shape to qualify for Europe through the league given our six point advantage over Everton. The fixture list also gets easier for the next six weeks, with no top-half sides on the schedule other than Chelsea until we play Tottenham on February 24. It's time to pile on the points so that we have a cushion when we play our competitors for the top four spots.



:siren:Board Vote:siren:

(pensively) We're losing money. The primary drivers of the red ink are increased tax payments (already £3m more than last year's final sum) and non-soccer costs (already £5m more than last year's final sum). Those two categories account for the entirety of our shrinking cash reserve since the start of the season.

We still have £9,300,000 in cash, and we will finish with a positive balance if no change to our payroll is made. Combined with the league prize money, we'll have something like £20m+ in the bank come the summer. However, given our strong league position and the real chance that we could make the Champion's league, I would like the board to consider freeing up additional funds for improving the team over the winter window.

QUESTION 1: Wage/Transfer Budget Increase

A) (Conservatively) We cannot risk going the way of Portsmouth and QPR, and we feel the team is strong enough as currently composed to compete. (No increase in wage/transfer budget)
B) (Indecisively) Making the Champion's League would mean a huge influx of money. You need to spend money to make money. But at the same time, we want you to keep an eye towards future success as well. (Wage/Transfer budget increased by £5m)
C) (Rand Paulishly) The tax man is stealing our hard earned money! We must spend it before they have a chance to take it and use it to coddle unemployed heroin addicts! (Wage/Transfer budget increased by £10m)

Voting will be open until Monday the 12th at 3pm EST.

habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 16:57 on May 10, 2014

the JJ
Mar 31, 2011
B

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Silly question. I promised to throw money at you like it was going out of fashion. I have secured my vice-like grip on the Chairman's position once more. Take everything not going on the 'Dragon Statue' fund. C

Also, now that the club is securely in safe hands, don't forget to ask me about a feeder club again.

tarbrush
Feb 7, 2011

ALL ABOARD THE SCOTLAND HYPE TRAIN!

CHOO CHOO
B

Is there any area of the team that you need to improve that our comparatively meagre budget will fill?

ForeverBWFC
Oct 19, 2011

Oh, the lads! You should've seen 'em running!
Ask 'em why and they reply the Bolton Boys are coming! All the lads and lasses, smiles upon their faces,

WALKING DOWN THE MANNY ROAD, TO SEE THE BURNDEN ACES!
B

Zeroisanumber
Oct 23, 2010

Nap Ghost
B. We have a good thing going right now, and it seems like we're pushing to finish out the season in good form and have (at least) a Europa League appearance. We'll reinvent the wheel in the off-season.

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Bobbin Threadbare
Jan 2, 2009

I'm looking for a flock of urbanmechs.

B. And hey, Cardiff finally won a game! Who did they beat?

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