The goal this year is to win the Bundesliga for the fourth time in a row. That however is secondary to our ultimate goal, winning the Champions League. Our progress the past five years has been as follows:
- 34/35 – Beaten by Milan in the Knock out Playoff Round
- 35/36 – Beaten by Milan in the Round of 16
- 36/37 – Beaten by Man City in the Quarter Finals
- 37/38 – Beaten by PSG in the Round of 16
- 38/39 – Beaten by Barcelona in the Semi Final
We have a good, young team. The 4-1DM-1M-3-1 I have been playing has put plenty of goals on the board, and while our defense isn’t the Great Wall of China, it’s still pretty solid. We have a big transfer budget, and lots of salary space to work with, but to be honest, I don’t think we need to go out and find one or two players. We have a solid squad, what we need is quality depth, and for that I am willing to pay.
OUTS:
I am not sure why Omar Mchedlishvili wanted to leave. Yes, Sheffield United has been a perennial top 6 team the past decade, even finished second once. And they won the Europa League last season as well, and Omar had a great season for us last year, with 11 assists and a 7.38 rating. But when Sheffield made the offer, he was eager to go. Maybe he just wanted to get out of Germany, I am not sure, but we made a tidy profit on him, and while his departure weakens our back field some, I’d rather have players who want to be here than those that don’t.
Leonard Spangenberg was a victim of the “Good Player, but Better players behind him” syndrome. He had two solid seasons with us, then as I had better younger players coming up, I sent him out on loan. He had a good spell in Genoa last season, and garnered enough attention that he moved to Salernitana.
Edwin Tenorio, to be fair I am not sure what the color of the sky in his world is. I brought him in to be a back up and he was happy being a backup and spot starter, then he wanted more playing time, and I said “No, you are good, but you aren’t Grčić good.” and sent him on loan to Lorient, where he allowed 76 in 33 games and the beat relegation by 4 points. He came back wanting more playing time, I shipped him to Villareal for a small loss.
I was expecting good things from Alexander Lacrouts this season. What I was not expecting was Barca to come in and make a €36.5M offer for him, one in which he jumped all over. Their midfield id getting old, Pedri turns 37 this year, so he will get a ton of playing time. I think this is one of those cases where the teams reputation came into play, and BArca could be relegated and still pull in players based on team names alone.
Christian Almansa was the type of backup goalie everyone should have: trained well, good mentor, ready to step in if needed. Yes, he was getting up their in age, but thats not a huge deal when it comes to keepers. Fiorentina made an offer for him, to be the backup, and he jumped at it. If he had been Edwin I may have been more of a jerk about it, but he did right by us, so I did right by him and let him go.
Polat Kaya is a year away from being a starter IMO, but I think it’s better for him to go out and get a full seasons worth of games in as a started. OGC Nice is a solid squad, and will challenge for European football this season.
Ignacio Fraile stormed into the office demanding more playing time. He was on a squad player contract, and last season had 18 appearances, 8 off the bench. I told him no, he pitched a fit, so I listed him. There weren’t any takers, so I ended up loaning him to Real Hispalis.
IN’s:
These were taken at the end of the season.
Yet again, my scout in Italy has failed me. Enrico Piras was supposed to be a 3 star current 5 star potential player who was happy to come here on a squad player contract and contribute, more often than not, from the bench. He came in as two stars, got some playing time at the beginning of the season, then demanded more playing time. I told him I would start him in the Pokals and Champions League games, and he threw a grump, so I stuck him on the U19’s for the rest of the season, put him on the transfer list, and Norwich picked him up.
I also fired my Scout in Italy.
Petr Březina is a pick for the future. I need a player capable of playing both sides of the defensive back four, and the Czech international fits the bill nicely. Physically gifted, solid Mentals and Technicals, Slavia Prague asked for him on a loan back, and I agreed.
My hope is that Marco Muñoz becomes the next Cezar or Sergio Palacios. Did I overpay for him? Yes, but he is a good young striker with room to grow, good Physicals, very good Mentals, and with his technique, Passing and First Touch, capable of playing either the Forward or AM(C) positions.
I think my Italian Scout has a Brazilian Cousin. Arcelino is a solid young M(C)/AM(C), but I don’t know that he’s €33M good. International asked for a loan back, and then stuck him on the bench, so I am not sure what to expect come Spring. He’s a solid player, but I think International got the better of me here.
Admittedly I panicked little bit when Omar left, and while there were D(R/L)’s who were very good available, I wasn’t going to pay Omar money for them. Francesco Gliozzi came thru on an Agent’s offer, and after looking at him, I thought he would be a solid backup and mentor, and he really has been. A solid all around player who’s versatility can (and will) come in handy.
Jacob Sørensen has had a very good career, from AaB to Kobenhavn, to Bayer and then Hoffenheim, then Chelsea to Juve, he’s for a lot of things to brag about. Juve listed him as Surplus to Requirements, and I picked him up because even though he’s older, he is still a capable DM, and his versatility is also a bonus. The Resolute personailty will also be helpful when it comes to mentoring. If I can get two or three years out of him I would be quite happy with that.
Martín Fernández is slight less expensive version of Sørensen, a solid, versatile player with Great Mentals and Good physicals with the right Technical skills. I wouldn’t start him at DM, but he will see a decent amount of time coming off the bench and starting in the Cups and other matches.
Hossam Yehia is…interesting. The Egyptian U21 International Keeper was let go on a Free by his former club Smouha, but he has 4 Star Potential. Other than a low Composure, he has solid attributes in the other areas, and at 21 he can still improve, especially as he has a Determined Personality. With Grčić as our primary keeper I don’t think we have anything to worry about, until a bigger teams comes after him, and having a good young keeper in the system isn’t going to hurt, especially one who comes in on a free.
Stefanoc has a lock on the D(R) position, but at the moment he’s also my best D(L), and there are times where it’s preferable to play him over there. As a consequence, we need a capable young D(R) who can make the position his own if required, and Anton Hopkinson is going to get that chance. The Scottish International had a miserable season at Fulham last year, and they were happy to let him go. For a player with Above Average to Good Mentals and Physical Attributes, whose Technical’s are also pretty good, 16M might be a steal…
I like our chances this year, not only to win the Bundesliga, but wo win the Champions League. Now we just have to see how it all plays out.
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