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Career Concord Rangers: Champions on the Cheap?


Aaron55
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45 minutes ago, DavidVilla07 said:

90 for Chuba! Danggggg! Very well played @Aaron55.
Are you still using a 442 to achieve those results?

4-2-3-1, two wingers and an attacking midfielder. Akpom was playing as an advanced forward.

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Season 4: End of Season Update 

July/August: Preparations begin for the upcoming League One season, as we aim to continue our upwards trajectory, and win promotion to the Championship. Additions to the playing squad would be required to help achieve this, and we strengthened in each area of the pitch, except goalkeeper. Left-back Sylvain Deslandes came in following his release from Wolves, with further defensive reinforcements in RB Nikola Tadic and CB's Tom Anderson, Fikayo Tomori, and youngster Marco Wright, hopefully one for the future. After leaving Manchester United, we were quick to bring in midfielder Scott McTominay, and two new strikers were also bought in, with Chuba Akpom likely to be of interest to other clubs. Screenshot_2017-11-25-13-39-48.thumb.png.8d3de1751f536750d3d2e8433c84ceb6.png

Our pre-season games were all against teams we should be beating, and we did. These wins included a 6-0 victory over Torquay, all of the goals coming from Akpom. 

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Of course, this sort of form would attract interest, and Barnsley came in with an offer of £1.4m. Luckily, this wasn't quite enough to trigger his Big Club Release Clause. 

However, the bid from Brentford, two days before the start of the league season, was. 

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So our decision to bring in two new strikers turned out to be a good idea. Hopefully they would do well enough that we wouldn't miss Akpom too much. This transfer left our outgoings looking like this. A mix of youth players who didn't make it, and players who I didn't think would get much game time. 

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Our first game in the league was at home to Northampton, and a debut double from Fletcher, and another debut goal from Anderson, along with a Harvey Barnes penalty, saw us on our way to a 4-0 win. 

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After this we were straight into cup competition, Burton the visitors in the Carabao Cup First Round. A late penalty miss didn't matter, as Burton's late goal was just a consolation, thanks to another double from Fletcher, and a first goal of the season from winger Aaron Nemane. 

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Two league games followed, a 2-0 away win vs Rochdale came before a narrow defeat to Bradford City. Before that game, we had managed to make another addition to the squad, attacking midfielder Kelechi Nwakali signing a deal following his exit from Arsenal. 

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The second round of the Carabao Cup was up next, and again we were up against a team from our own division, Cardiff City. 

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Fletcher was again on the scoresheet, as we secured our place in the next round. 

We then finished off August with a 7-1 thumping of Oldham, a hatrick from Fletcher, and goals from three midfield players, Nwakali, Choudury and a double from McTominay. This result left us in 4th place in the early league table. 

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September: This month included a 4-3 league win vs Burton, with another double from Fletcher, and fellow striker Toni Martinez took his chance in the team, with 4 goals in an 8-2 victory away to Southend. 

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We were in Carabao Cup action again, Fulham our opponents in the third round. It looked like we might be on our way out, until George Thomas got us back in the game, and Fletcher grabbed a 90th min winner to see us through. 

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Derby were our last opponents of the month, and we won 4-1, meaning we end September at the top of the league. 

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(Unfortunately I forgot to take a screenshot of this month's fixtures) 

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October: Top of the league, and now we just have to stay there. We didn't get off to the best start in our attempt to do this, as we lost to Millwall. We did go on to win our next four games in a row though, before again losing 1-0 to Exeter, a disallowed goal meaning an injury time goal from them was enough for the three points. Our next game was in the Carabao Cup, and we faced Premier League opposition in Everton. When Sigurdsson scored after 15 minutes it seemed as if it might be a comfortable afternoon for Everton, however we had other ideas, and a quick equaliser from Rob Hall was followed by goals either side of half time from Martinez and McTominay, and ensured we would continue in the competition! 

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A 3-0 win against Luton rounded off the month, and meant we were now 4 points clear at the top. 

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November: Following a 3-0 win over Rotherham, our FA Cup adventure started in November, as we faced Plymouth in the first round. An early goal from young CB Marco Wright set us on the way to a 2-1 win and a place in the next round. 

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The next game also saw us start a new cup competition, the Checkatrade Trophy this time, as we defeated Crawley in an 11 goal thriller. 

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We then had a 5-0 league victory against Wigan, before a last minute Fletcher goal salvaged a point in a 3-3 draw vs Swindon. The next game saw a missed penalty, two red cards and two injuries, as we again won 5-0, this time against Bury. The injury to Harvey Barnes would start a spate of injuries and fitness issues that affected him on and off for most of the season. 

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A 2-1 win against Walsall came at the end of the month, and left us six points above Peterborough at the top of the table. Screenshot_2017-11-26-19-43-49.thumb.png.8414ca985811639eb2170a694c6dc232.png

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December: Notts County were our next opponents, as we played them in the FA Cup second round. A very comfortable 3-0 win saw us in the draw for the third round.

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Another Checkatrade Trophy group game followed, and we won that as well, the final score being 3-1 against Colchester. We then suffered our latest league defeat, going down 2-0 vs Northampton. Not the morale booster we would have liked going into the next game. Tottenham would be our opponents in the Carabao Cup quarter final. We managed to get to half time with the score level, but Spurs quality shone through in the end, and they ran out 3-1 winners. 

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Three league games came next, and all three were won by us, against Rochdale, Blackpool and Bradford City. The FA Cup third round would be our last game of 2020, and for the second time in about two weeks we would be up against Tottenham. George Thomas actually gave us the lead in the game, but a goal from Harry Kane started the Tottenham fight back, and they eventually won 2-1. 

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Our league results meant we ended the year nine points ahead of second placed Peterborough. 

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January: The transfer window opened, and saw arrivals and departures at the club, midfielder Oliver Shenton and winger John Herron both left the club, neither one had received much game time this season. Sylvain Deslandes also left, after only joining in the summer. Unfortunately it just didn't work out for him, with injury problems meaning I was willing to let him go when an offer came. The arrival was young Argentinian winger Julian Insaurralde, who would hopefully develop into a good player for us. 

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Two 2-1 results started off the new year, one win and one loss vs Oldham and Charlton respectively, before the third round of the Checkatrade Trophy. Early goals from midfield pair McTominay and Choudury set us on our way, before a double from Thomas meant we won the game 4-2 against Bristol Rovers. 

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3-0 and 5-0 league wins followed, before the Checkatrade Trophy quarter final. Former player Larnell Cole came back to haunt us as he scored Wycombe's equaliser from the spot, as a late goal saw us exit the competition after a 3-2 defeat. 

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Peterborough were defeated 3-0 in the last league game of the month, meaning we remained nine points clear. 

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February: Out of all the cups again, all that remained for us this season was the league. Five games were to be played, and we had a 100% win record, including high scoring games against Scunthorpe and Derby. 

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These wins stretched our lead to 14 points. 

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March: We were beginning to close in on the title, and following two wins and a draw, we travelled to Luton, knowing a win would guarantee us becoming champions. An entertaining game resulted in a 4-3 scoreline in our favour, and we had another league title to add to the collection! We would be playing Championship football next season, and just one step away from the promised land of the Premier League.

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We added a further three points to our total with a 4-1 victory over Rotherham to end the month. 

 

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We also got news at the end of the month that Wigan had received a court date after a group of companies started proceedings to wind up the club. Such sad news, and I definitely wasn't checking up on their players in case there were any I was interested in that may get released to cut costs :P

April/May: Four games were all that remained of the season, a 1-1 draw vs Wigan being the only dropped points, as we got maximum points vs Swindon, Bury and Walsall to finish the season 20 points clear, with a total of 115.

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The league top scorer was Ashley Fletcher with 49 goals, and despite his injury problems, Harvey Barnes led the assist chart, having set up 20 goals in the league. Rob Hall and Kelechi Nwakali made up the top three. 

Bad news for another club though, Charlton having the same financial issues as Wigan. 

The board were understandably delighted we won the league, and were also pleased with the signing of the young Argentinian winger in January, identifying him as someone to build a team around.

That team, though, would have to do without the leagues second top scorer, as Toni Martinez joined Barnsley following the triggering of his release clause.

We still have a very  decent base to build from, and now we just have to ensure we maintain a good quality squad going into next season. A few more incomings than outgoings would be nice, to add some more squad depth. 

We'd have to do without Niklas Sule, though. We offered the free agent a contract, but he instead decided to move to the German third division... Screenshot_2017-11-28-12-18-31.thumb.png.c829e6a2e6cc3e04b0a659142179b852.png

You can't win them all though, I guess. But as long as we keep winning more often than not in the Championship then I'll be happy :D

 

 

Edited by Aaron55
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Release clauses are really hurting you but you're rebuilding well mate. Another excellent season and I feel another one is coming! 

Once again though Aaron what a spectacular update, your commitment and style is nothing sort of outstanding! I'm sure the length puts some people off but I'm glued and super invested in this journey! Bring on the next season! 

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5 hours ago, Ashez said:

Once again though Aaron what a spectacular update, your commitment and style is nothing sort of outstanding! I'm sure the length puts some people off but I'm glued and super invested in this journey! Bring on the next season! 

Thanks! :D

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A promising winger from Argentina... Messi in making?  :D

Well done Aaron. Championship football is more than just a level upward. The competition is much more intense. Good luck and KUTGW!

Edited by johnloch
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11 minutes ago, johnloch said:

A promising winger from Argentina... Messi in making?  :D

Well done Aaron. Championship football is more than just a level upward. The competition is much more intense. Good luck and KUTGW!

That would be nice ? 

And thanks, and yeah I've only played a handful of games so far but can already tell it's going to be more challenging. 

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Oh man surely those Concord fans wished the season never ended! Season tickets couldn't be pricey enough to keep home crowds away, it's that spectacular ;)

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Wow, what a nice career ! You're managing this like a boss, and that Chuba Akpom stuff is amazing !! How did he do at Brentford after leaving your team ?

KIU !

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11 minutes ago, Gonzolito said:

Wow, what a nice career ! You're managing this like a boss, and that Chuba Akpom stuff is amazing !! How did he do at Brentford after leaving your team ?

KIU !

Not too well at all. 

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Season 5- End of Season Update

July/August: After winning the League One title last season, it was time to prepare for our upcoming Championship campaign.  We had the perfect pre-season results, with four wins from four, including a 4-2 victory against Burnley, who would be playing in the same division as us.  One negative would maybe be that we conceded goals in every game. By the end of these friendlies, our summer transfer business was complete, but probably for the first time since becoming manager, I wasn't 100% happy with the transfer business. Right-back Nikola Tadic left for league rivals Sunderland, and striker Toni Martinez left for Barnsley. Midfielder Kean Bryan also left, released at the end of his contract. Other outgoings included youth players who were deemed not good enough. It was the incomings that bothered me most though, as I didn't feel I bought in enough quality. Two young strikers were bought in on loan, while Jeremie Eboue was bought in from Sparta as defensive cover. 16 year old midfielder Brandon Stockley was also given a contract, following his release from the Arsenal youth system. Another midfield player, Cameron Brannagan also came into the squad, along with left-back Vashon Neufville. Hopefully I would be proven wrong, and the team would perform better than I expected. 

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We started the season away to Brentford, and two goals in the first half set us up for the three points, a 2-1 win being the final score. Next up was the first round of the Carabao Cup, and we were at home vs AFC Wimbledon. Goals from six different players, including a double from loanee Cristian Arias meant we progressed to the next round, after a very comfortable victory. 

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A very disappointing league result followed, as seven goals were scored again. This time however, five of the goals were scored by Barnsley, giving them an impressive 5-2 victory. We then drew 3-3 with Leeds, before finally getting another win, a 3-1 victory over Blackburn. We were back in Carabao Cup action after that game, and a very entertaining game saw us go through on penalties, after striking twice late on in the game to ensure the game went into extra time. 

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The month ended with a league game against Bolton, which we won 2-1, leaving us 8th in the table, but just two points off the top.

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September: Following the international break, we were back in league action against Nottingham Forest, and they left with the points after beating us 2-1. A 1-1 draw against QPR came next. There was a player exit on the morning of our game against Sheffield Wednesday, as Jeremie Eboue, at the club less than two months, was on his way out, after constant negative reports about him in training sessions from my assistant coach. This news didn't seem to have a negative impact on the rest of the squad, as despite a red card midway through the first half, we won the game comfortably. 

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Southampton were our next opponents, as we came up against them in the Carabao Cup. Despite having more shots than the EPL side, our finishing was not good enough, and we were out, after losing 2-0. 

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We lost again in the next league game, going down 3-1 to Reading, before ending the month with a narrow win over Watford. These results kept us 8th, but now eight points from first place. 

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October: It was the late show at the start of the month, as two goals in injury time turned the game on it's head. MK Dons had taken a 3-0 lead, but those goals meant we had won 4-3. 

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We then had a two week break before playing Norwich, where we lost 3-2, before winning our last two games of the month, including a 6-1 win against Oldham. We'd managed to move up to 7th in the league, and were now only three points off the top, and only one point away from second place! 

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November: Despite starting the month with a defeat to Swansea, November was a good month for us, as we won the rest of our games, and in 2-0 wins against both Bristol City and Preston, we had our first consecutive clean sheets of the season. Games against Burnley and Sunderland at the end of the month both saw us again get results thanks to late goals, and saw us move into second place, four points from Crystal Palace. 

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December: Unfortunately, we couldn't continue our winning form into December, a 2-1 win vs Wolves a week before Christmas being our only three points of the month. We started the month with a draw at home to Ipswich, before losing to Hull, and ending the month with three losses in a row for the first time since I had become manager, and even worse, we didn't score a single goal in those three games.  We could maybe class ourselves as unlucky though, as we dominated the game vs Brentford, and had two goals ruled out against Crystal Palace. These results saw us drop down to 6th, now 10 points off the top. 

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January: Into the new year, and we would need a much better month to ensure we stay in the race for promotion/play offs. We did get off to a good start, winning 3-0 and 2-0 against Leeds and Blackburn respectively, before we entered the the FA Cup at the third round vs Exeter City. Despite having two goals ruled out, we still managed to get through to the next round. We would be up against Manchester United in the next round, arguably our biggest game so far. 

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This was followed up by one point from the next two games where we lost to Bolton, and drew with Nottingham Forest. After this game, I decided to try and bring in another striker, as the two loanees I had brought in were not getting much game time at all due to injuries and fitness issues. One scored 10 times in 14 games, and the other hit the back of the net 7 times in 10 games. So they were performing well when they played, but it just wasn't often enough. As well as this, Ashley Fletcher was having similar problems. So, Ben Brereton was bought in on loan from Leicester City, and the other two loanees had their loans ended early. Midfielder Lee Evans left the club this month as well. 

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Brereton would make an instant impact, scoring all the goals in a win vs QPR. 

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The small matter of Manchester United in the FA Cup was next, and despite Brereton getting on the scoresheet again, it wasn't enough as United won 3-1 to knock us out.

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We were now 5th in the table, still 10 points off the pace. Screenshot_2017-12-01-14-27-10.thumb.png.7ed4ffcf1ff976ff43f4814bebd2d666.pngScreenshot_2017-12-01-14-27-14.thumb.png.2175c1d076d71fb2e7ceb73ae9e88b60.png

February: Ben Brereton continued his scoring start as February started off with a bang. He scored 5, as we beat Sheffield Wednesday 9-3! 

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We then took the three points again in a 2-0 win over Reading, before Watford took the three points from us, with a 3-2 victory. MK Dons were then beaten 2-0 before we rounded off the month with a big win over Norwich, Brereton getting a hatrick, and Insaurralde getting a hatrick of assists on top of his double. 

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Four wins from five moved us into an automatic promotion place, though only on goal difference. Screenshot_2017-12-03-08-00-13.thumb.png.0593d72c1664285b203b42c101a7921e.pngScreenshot_2017-12-03-08-00-17.thumb.png.7bc0f353a2b974a9cd65c36c2e0602d6.png

March: Only three games were played this month, and we took seven points from nine, a draw vs Swansea being the only dropped points, as Brereton continued his fine form with four goals against Oldham. He went off with an injury in that game, and I got worried he would be out for a while and my luck with strikers this season would continue, but thankfully it was only a minor injury, and he missed only the Swansea game. We dropped to third in the league, six points from the top with six games to go, and also six points clear of missing out on the play-offs.

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April/May: We started the month very well, scoring 10 goals in two victories against Bristol City and Preston. Our automatic promotion hopes then took a bit of hit, as we lost 2-1 at Burnley and Ipswich, either side of a good 3-0 win over Sunderland. A 5-3 win over Hull, with both teams having a player score a hatrick, saw us in second place with two games to go. Three points behind Crystal Palace, and two ahead of Watford. Games against 4th placed Wolves and Crystal Palace would round off the league campaign. 

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We drew 1-1 with Wolves, which meant we only had to match the result of Watford to ensure we would be going up automatically. Could we do it, or would we be faced with the play-offs? 

Spoiler

Screenshot_2017-12-03-15-41-50.thumb.png.6a9b269c96bdd07598f1473d2a97d581.pngWe did it!!! Premier League, here we come!!! 

Despite never being top of the table after any of the previous 45 games, we were also league champions! Screenshot_2017-12-03-15-41-57.thumb.png.bbfd868c6847cbcaae75bc97d20fc7ad.png

A lot of credit has to go to Ben Brereton, with his 32 goals in 17 appearances, all but one of which came in the league. With stats like this it was a shame to have to see him go. Screenshot_2017-12-03-15-42-23.thumb.png.4a2ef2a88798f783b8d2ce70aa996f0a.pngScreenshot_2017-12-03-15-42-52.thumb.png.3fc1abb0849649852bffa1079e1f95e5.png

He finished top scorer in the league as well. Not bad after missing out on 30 of the games! 

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Julian Insaurralde also had a good season as he continued his development, scoring 10 and assisting 15 times in his 28 appearances. His form especially picked up when I started playing him as an Inside Forward instead of as a Winger.Screenshot_2017-12-03-15-43-40.thumb.png.1830d8e7e4edff54ffd9378f1c32d371.png

We had three players featured in the Championship Team of the Year, as well as Brereton winning Player of the Year, which lead to the restrictions on loan transfers being lifted. I was also not doing too badly as manager.

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Concord are Premier League!!! 

 

Edited by Aaron55
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34 minutes ago, Taff said:

My apologies @Aaron55 I've missed a few updates, but Concord are now a Premier League Club, and that is huge, and maybe with a little luck you can get Brenton back on loan

 

That would be nice!

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Season 6 - We are Premier League 

JULY/AUGUST 

With promotion to the top division achieved, we were one step closer to our aims of Premier League and European success. Going up a level would obviously mean we needed to improve the quality of the squad throughout, with the squad depth screen showing just how much work was required. 

 

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As expected, our choice to not spend any money on transfer fees would prove to be the biggest challenge to assembling a Premier League standard squad. Relying on free agents and loan deals, we bought in defender Ross McCrorie after his release from Rangers, along with striker Dominic Solanke and winger Izzy Brown after Liverpool and Chelsea let them go. Left-back Richard Seargeant was promoted from the youth team, with the aim for him to then be loaned out. Five players also came in on loan, including a goalkeeper, a right-back, a winger, an attacking midfielder, and a striker. 

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Leaving the club this summer were seven players, three of which were players from the youth squad. Winger Aaron Nemane was released after having very limited game time the previous season. Richard Seargeant did end up going on loan, as Crawley took him for the season. Also making an exit from the club were defender Fikayo Tomori, winger Rob Hall and attacking midfielder Kelechi Nwakali, who I didn't want to sell, but had no choice, as the club record transfer fee received triggered his release clause. 

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Pre-season results were good, as we won all four games, keeping clean sheets in all but one. It was then time for our first ever Premier League match. Away to Manchester United. We didn't manage to come away from the game with anything, however we only lost 1-0 and so I couldn't be too disappointed with the team. We followed this up with a massive 6-1 victory at home to Burnley, before our focus turned to the  Carabao Cup, as we faced Ipswich in the second round. A close game was eventually settled by two extra time goals from Solanke, after a goalless 90 minutes that saw Ipswich go down to ten men just minutes before the end of normal time. 

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We then ended the month with a draw away to Tottenham, leaving us 8th in the early standings, with four points from the first three games. As these games had included away trips to Man Utd and Spurs, I wasn't unhappy with our start to the season. Screenshot_2017-12-04-09-40-46.thumb.png.9a97dac543257dd1850e19473454555a.png

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SEPTEMBER 

We got off to a good start, with a victory over Bournemouth, before a narrow defeat to Everton. Our attention again turned to the Carabao Cup, and Leicester were our opponents in the third round. Despite going behind to an early penalty, we fought back, and went in ahead at the break. Former loanee Ben Brereton then then looked like he might come back to haunt us as he levelled the scores about midway through the second half. However two more goals for us saw us progress to the next round. 

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The month was rounded off with two further Premier League fixtures, and a goalless draw vs Stoke and a 3-2 away victory against Huddersfield saw us up to 5th in the league, however we had played a game more than all the teams around us. Screenshot_2017-12-04-19-11-21.thumb.png.01d9250219083ae90026015115779f66.png

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OCTOBER 

Following the international break, a loss to Chelsea was how our month started, before an entertaining 4-4 draw vs Leicester, where we recovered from going 2-0 behind. We were then back in Carabao Cup action, and Sheffield Wednesday were beaten 3-1 in the fourth round. 

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Aston Villa were then defeated 4-0 in our last game of the month, and this result saw us maintain our 5th place position, though we were now already 12 points from the top of the table. Any optimistic predictions of immediate league success were out of the window. Challenging for a European place was probably the aim now.

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NOVEMBER 

We only played three games this month, and started off with a morale boosting 2-0 win over Arsenal, who to be fair had been struggling this season. Our hard work in this game was undone in our next game however, as we lost to Brighton. We did though finish the month with a 4-0 win over Southampton, with Dominic Solanke taking advantage of his chance in the starting XI with all four goals.

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An unwanted transfer bid came in this month, as three teams came in with £23.5m bids for winger Julian Insaurralde, who had been performing well this season. Thankfully there was no clause in his contract and I rejected the bids. As I wouldn't really benefit much from any increase to my transfer budget, and as I had a very healthy wage budget already, I didn't see a need to sell. 

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Two wins from three left us in 5th place yet again. 

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DECEMBER 

This month started well, with a 2-1 win vs Liverpool, thanks to two first half goals from ex-Liverpool striker Solanke. A draw vs West Brom followed, before we played Burnley for a place in the Carabao Cup semi finals. Despite going down to ten men just before half time, we managed to win the game. 

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Four more league games were still to be played, and we only picked up three points from the possible 12. Losses to Watford, Man City and Birmingham came before a good 2-1 win over Man United. The losses to Watford and Man City were especially disappointing, as we had been reduced to ten men early on in the Watford game, and lost to an 89th minute goal, before a 5-1 defeat to Man City. This result seemed very harsh on us, as they only had one more shot than us, in what seemed like a close game from the stats. 

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Getting the win against Man United kept us in the top half of the table, but we did drop down to 8th place. 

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JANUARY

Two late goals vs Burnley saw us win our first game of the month 3-2, before we entered the FA Cup with a game vs Man City. The memories of the 5-1 game still fresh in our minds, we managed to get some revenge and win the game 3-0, thanks to an early red card for Danilo, and a hatrick for Ben Brereton. Yes, we had bought the striker back in on loan once again, and he saw us through to the next round. Another striker, George Thomas, left the club this month. 

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Another cup game was up next, the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi final, where we would face West Ham. A disappointing result, as we lost 1-0 and had work to do in the next leg. 

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Before that game though, we had three Premier League fixtures, starting with a hatrick for Harry Kane as we lost to Tottenham, before beating Bournemouth and taking a point against Everton. On to the semi final second leg, we got off to a good start with an early goal from Brereton. However, we ended up drawing the game 3-3 which saw us knocked out of the competition. 

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The fourth round of the FA Cup was up next, and we beat Wolves to secure a place in the next round. (no screenshot of this) 

We were up one place in the league, to 7th, three points away from European place. 

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FEBRUARY

Aside from a loss to runaway leaders Chelsea, probably our best month yet. Five wins out of six in the league, including a 5-1 win vs West Ham and a 4-1 victories over Leicester and Huddersfield.  We also played Sheffield United in the FA Cup, a 3-1 win,  with all the goals coming in the first 26 minutes saw us through. 

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These good results moved us up to 5th in the league, only a point from the top 4, though with one game more played, and six points clear of Arsenal in 6th, though we had played three more games than them. 

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MARCH

February was a good month.  March however was not. Three league games saw us pick up two points, with draws against Arsenal and Brighton, before a 2-0 defeat against Southampton. Our FA Cup journey ended in the sixth round, with a 3-1 loss to Man United in which former United player Scott McTominay had opened the scoring. Our hopes of winning a cup were again over for another season.

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A poor month saw us stay in 5th place, however Arsenal were now just a point behind, having still played three games less. Man Utd were now four points in front of us in 4th place, with a game in hand. With only six league games left to play, it looked like we'd be trying to hold on to our Europa League place. 

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APRIL/MAY

Our winless run stretched to six games following a draw vs Liverpool and a 4-3 loss to West Brom. We finally picked up a win for the first time since 27th February, with a very good 6-0 win over West Ham. 

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We then drew against Watford, before finishing the season with two wins against Birmingham and Man City.

These results meant we had qualified for the Europa League, and would get our first taste of European football. Hopefully a good learning experience for our eventual qualification to the Champions League (hopefully!) 

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A decent debut Premier League campaign, finishing just one win away from a Champions League spot,  saw five of our players feature in the team of the season, including three of the loan players who we would have to find replacements for next season. Loanee James Wilson finished top scorer in the league, and was rewarded with the English Footballer of the Year and Players Player of the Year awards. Fellow on loan player Ezequiel Barco picked up the Players Young Player of the Year award.

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While I also picked up an award, being named Premier League Manager of the Year, after a season that left my manager profile looking like this. 

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One thing that is starting to annoy me is that I haven't yet won a cup competition, so hopefully I can change that soon. The Europa League wouldn't be a bad place to start ?

(not sure why some of the text is different size, and my phone isn't wanting to let me change it) 

Edited by Aaron55
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