First of all...recruiting after Thoniatis left. I had my good intentions and I did my best. I spent hours combing over all the players my scouts new below the age of 21 and any extra I could find. I excluded those that I thought wouldn't come, would be too expensive or would ask for big wages. I targeted quite a few Greek players as well.
My success was limited though. Even the players I thought I could get on the cheap commanded pretty big transfer fee's. Greek players valued at £40k or less were going for £700k or more. I only had £1.1m and I didn't want to blow that much on one or two players. I came close with those that I did get but they weren't as risky as an investment as some of the Greek players. I had to go overseas.
I ended up bringing in two midfielders immediately, and two defenders at the end of the season. I'll mention the defenders in the next update.
First...Magill.
Felt a little pricey at £160k but he was heavily recommended and I could see him falling into the CM or AP role. There was enough about him stats wise as well which meant I could probably rotate him into the squad from the off.
Perhaps more impressive, and expensive, was Jordan.
Great technical stats which is what you want when you shell out £500k but he didn't feel expensive. Or at least he didn't feel like an expensive risk. I could see him doing very well and developing into an exceptional player. Again he would slot pretty much straight into the team.
He did take up a Foreign player slot but I didn't go over the limit as I shifted my South African left back Gcantsane to Doxa. He was developing well defensively but didn't look like he'd be a good wing back. He done alright in the games he'd played but he was complaining and wanted more. So I got £50k up front, another 50k in instalments and put a sell on in place. I still had cover for the WBL position in youth signing Bengondo from the year before.
The Second Half of the Season
We carried on with a good run of form. The previous two seasons our form had gone to pot, perhaps because the players were young, but with a bit more experience now they managed to hold on for longer. With 6 games to go we were in 1st place!
Importantly at this point we had pretty much bagged a place in the European playoff stage as well. We had avoided the heartbreak of last season when we missed out on the chance to grab a European place by league sorting rules.
Perhaps more pressing though was the potential title win we could aim for. We were first, in form and had a much easier run in than some. We had mid/low table Larisa, Panaitolikos, Xanthi and relegation strugglers Panathinaikos. The only strong looking teams we had to face were Iraklis and Aris. The whole thing was ours to win or lose.
We started off well by beating Iralkis, other results went our way too and AEK looked like they were choking. It was contagious though and we then lost to Larisa and Panaitolikos (who later were relegated, along with Panathinaikos!).
And that was pretty much it for us then. AEK stayed behind us as they managed to cock up just as much but Olympiakos, who had been poor most of the season, sneaked ahead and stayed there. Our loss against Aris meant that they won it with a game to go.
Oddly disappointing. We weren't meant to be fighting for the title but to lose it when it was very close hurt. Especially when it was so easy to pin point where it was lost - against Larisa and Pana'. If we'd won those, like we were predicted to, we would have won the title. I could see why or how we had lost it too. The body language feedback before and during the game was one of nerves. I was initially confused but then I realised, the team had an average age of 22. The lowest in the league. Lehman was 30, Tavima 28 and Flanagan 27 but after that it dropped to 18-23. The extra years experience had led to less of a flop in form than the previous seasons but we weren't quite there when it came to the crunch. As manager I tried to turn them around but there was only so much I could do in the team talks, or individually after the first match. You do too many individual talks and they lose effectiveness, or lead to confusion. I needed to do about 8 for each match. Too much.
Still I was quite proud despite the pain of missing out. The team had punched well above it's weight and the players had given their all. By the end of the season everyone had played a few times and many players had surprised. I'll mention more about them in a bit because before I can go through them we still had 6 games to play...
European Playoff
2nd place didn't get us a European place. We had to fight for it all over again in a group of four. The top team winning Champions League football, 2nd and 3rd winning Europa and poor 4th place getting squat. Aris, PAOK and AEK were all big teams with good squads. Playing each of them twice would be a big ask. We did however have a 4pt lead because we finished 2nd, but then AEK had 4 also for being 3rd and Aris 2 for being 4th.
It went very well. 4 wins, 1 loss and a draw. With two games to go we'd guaranteed Europa at least, and with one game to go we had the Champions League spot. It took all the pressure of the last game against AEK, who had beaten us before.
So... we had 2nd place and Champions League football (of sorts, we'd still have to qualify!) to look forward to! A great success!
End of Season Review
Successful season on and off the pitch I think. We'd lost players, made money, recruited and set ourselves up for future success with hopefully some European money and kudos to come. We were in the red by the end of the season but only by £800k. Which would likely be wiped out by any coming TV deals. If need be I could cash in on Fengqi and Riscos's sell on clauses to put us back in the black.
We had a couple of young players coming in to join the squad at the end of the season, and we'd managed to recruit a few more in the form of Jordan and Magill.
Importantly the team was playing together well and as I mentioned above we had some very pleasant surprises.
Surprise 1 - Cortoglou
After a slow start he settled right in to being Helmer's replacement. He was solid all the way through the season and formed a really good partnership with Margeno and Philippe. Only the champions had a tighter defense than us.
Surprise 2 - Bengondo
He stepped up to cover for Abbes when he went on prolonged international duty. The other left back player had gone so it was all Benny's. He did so well that by the time Abbes was ready to come back I didn't want him. He just got left on the bench. His stats have shot up which must be down to the effect of playing so well for 24 games. Defensively he played better and he even laid on more goals than Abbes did in his 26 appearances.
Surprise 3 - Ponce
I was just planning on slowly introducing him to see if he had what it took, and then gradually developing him. He made such a good start he played a part in 33 games, scoring 4 and setting up 4. He passed really well and was picking players out from everywhere. He even set up a beauty of a goal with a back heel into the box. Stats wise he still doesn't look great but I'm going to focus his training some more and see if I can get an appropriate tutor to build on things. Stats aside he still plays well and might be one of those players that performs well above himself.
Surprise 4 - Zhiqiang
Okay he shouldn't really count as a surprise but halfway into the season I had serious doubts. He was out alot and in fact he didn't return to the first team until February. When he did though....He started banging them in, against good teams too. He took defenses apart. He twists and turns and then pokes it into the corner. He set quite a few up too and he formed a really good partnership with Flanagan.
Next Season
I have two players coming in but what else is going on? Well Heese is probably leaving. He's okay and he played a bit part in midfield when we needed cover but he is on almost £4k a week and he won't take a pay cut. I can do better for less so when his contract runs out he's gone.
Collin is likely off if I can find a team for him (or the compensation is low enough).
Keeper
Lehman is doing fine and will be 1st choice for a few more years I think but I'm painfully aware that I don't have a back up keeper. I need to get a young promising keeper and start slowly blooding them. It's not urgent but it would be wise.
Defence
The two players coming in are defender's, and one can cover midfield as well. I feel pretty happy in this department aside from cover for the right wingback. Collin didn't cut it and won't accept being back up so he'll be off and I'll need someone else.
If there was interest I'd be tempted to get rid of Abbes and free up a Foreign player spot and some wage money. Bengondo is first choice so I could move Abbes without missing him and replace him with a cheaper model.
Midfield
I feel pretty happy here. With Heese leaving there is maybe room for one more player (especially with the potential demands of Europe) and I have my eye on someone. There is quite a bit of depth here though.
Attack
I'm happy with Zhiqiang, Villia and Flanagan. Ze I'm still not sure about. I think he's okay and he's getting better but he doesn't want to wait for football. If he gets shirty I'll get rid of him but the fans seem to love him. Miron I think I'll be moving on as well. Maybe on loan initially but he's not developing well enough to stay here I think. I'd rather move him on and get a new youth striker to try and rotate in.
It's a little bit like how I feel towards Ze as well. I could get rid of him and free space up in the team and budget for a couple of promising strikers that 'fit' better.
So, all in all I think I need a youth GK, a youth/cover WBR, maybe another youth MC and a youth ST.
Nothing urgent though and nothing that I need to break the bank over.
Expectations
In the league we have to build on this and finish in the top 3 again. It was a hard slog but we have to keep our place and start really pushing for the title. I think we're still a season or two off a real title challenge despite what we've managed this time around but we're not far off.
I'd like to do well in the cup too but I think we need better depth if we're to manage this.
And Europe...I'm desperate to get to the group stage. For money and kudos. It would be a huge boost to the club. At some point we need to expand the 3.5k seater stadium and for that we need money. I'm not going to kid myself though, qualification will be very tough.
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