Klippybo
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- Joined
- Apr 7, 2009
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SEASON REVIEW
This is strange to say considering we won every single trophy available, won all but 2 of our league games with a record points haul and lost only 2 out of 61 matches in all but I think we have regressed. Our goals scored tally diminished significantly in the league and although you can say that that was down to Mbappe basically missing the 2nd half of the campaign and Ansu Fati also missing a load of games I still expected better.
Another reason why there was a lack of goals was the departure of Alex Grimaldo in the summer as he regularly got 10-15 assists from left back while Asier Lopez and Gonzalo Ramirez got only 7 between them.
Our defeat in the league came against Famalicao and as it seems to be it was my own player who I loaned out to them who scored the goals in Rogelio Imbesi. I let my players play against me as my school of thought is if they cant get in my team they arent good enough at the minute so we should be able to handle them but it has come back to haunt me a couple of times now.
In the domestic cups we edged out Sporting Lisbon in the Supertaca 1-0 and in the Allianz Cup we thumped them in the final 4-1 which was a season highlight but we were lucky to be in the final as Braga were only beaten on penalties in the semi. As for the Taca de Portugal it was nice and easy to the final where we came up against FC Porto and we managed to defeat them 1-0.
As for our continental exploits we beat Atletico Madrid in the European Super Cup but as ever my focus was on the Champions League and we won the cup for the 4th time in a row. We seem to play our best football in the Champions League and Kylian Mbappe and Ansu Fati especially starred as they were banging in the goals. We sailed through our group stage which included my beloved Athletic Bilbao before coming up against Spurs where we sneaked through thanks to an injury time goal from Ansu Fati.
Liverpool were up next in the quarter-finals and after losing 2-1 at Anfield we won 1-0 at home (Fati again) to go through in away goals and that set up a tie with Bayern Munich and we hammered them - 3-0 at home and 4-0 away - which was truly remarkable. Then in the final we faced Real Madrid. It was 0-0 after 90min although we had 2 goals disallowed and we fell behind in extra-time but goals from Fati and Mbappe gave us the victory and the cup.
My B team were excellent again and won the Liga PRO yet again. They only lost 2 league games all season and just like the first team they struggled for goals a bit.
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LIGA NOS
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FIRST TEAM SQUAD
Goalkeepers - Danilo Rita didnt get a game as Luis Cerqueira didnt get injured so he played all 61 matches and did well. Its a shame for Rita as he is a quality keeper but its a backup role for him.
Defenders - At left back I constantly switched between Goncalo Ramirez and my £82m summer signing, Asier Lopez, and both were decent enough with Ramirez just edging it. On the right there was no changes while in the middle the rocks at the back, Dias and Sebahattin Sahinoglu, were magnificent as ever. Strijbosch did well when called upon but Italo Reyes didnt get much chances to impress.
Midfielders - No goals for Florentino Luis this season which was a disappointment but alongside him Ronaldo Camara was amazing. He scored 12 and got 10 MOM awards in 38 appearances which is better than a 1 in 4 record which is quite astonishing. Jonny Budinauckas and Joao Paulo were my backup CMs and they really impressed when called upon and Budinauckas even scored a hat-trick in one match.
On the LW Ansu Fati, signed in the summer for £140m, had a slow start, he then got injured but when he came back after Christmas he burst into form and ended up with a decent tally of 22 goals and 10 assists. His backup, Hugo Lasso, was also on form as he scored 8 goals but also assisted 15 goals!
On the RW I had major problems all season. Antony was terrible. He only got 9 goals which for a player of his capabilities is truly terrible and his backup, Victor Tsygankov was also poor although 3 goals and 7 assists from 9 starts is decent. Antony was so bad that I may even be in the market for a RW in the summer.
At AMC Joao Felix was also disappointing despite having 15 goals and 12 assists. About a dozen of his goals were penalties so I really need him to grab a few more goals in open play. He had 3 backups, Almada was quite poor, while Roige hardly got a chance and Salgado came in in January and made a couple of appearances.
Forwards - Kylian Mbappe was on fire at the start of the season and couldnt stop scoring but then he got injured just after Christmas and basically missed the 2nd half of the league season as he was either injured or rested. He did end up with 36 goals though despite missing a large chunk of the season. Goncalo Quintas had his first season with the first team squad and the reigning European Golden Boot holder was quite disappointing really. He did OK I suppose and netted 16 times but when he got a run in the side when Mbappe was injured he didnt really excel.
My Player of the Year - Ronaldo Camara
My Young Player of the Year - Joao Paulo
Must Do Better - Thiago Almada
Donkey of the Year - Antony
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SUMMER PLANS
I have some decisions to make. Mainly at RW and up front. Will I stick with Antony on the RW or get another one and keep him as backup? With Zoran Petric returning from his loan spell I will have 3 top strikers so need to make a decision there too. I have no pre-conceived ideas although I have agreed to sell one player already and I will see what is out there in the market and maybe if I get more ridiculous offers for some of my players I may accept one.
I wouldnt mind us having a few more Portuguese players in my squad though as most of my players are foreign.