Hallo, and welcome back! More time to see how our managers react and adapt to their new signings. One thing for sure, if the season so far is anything to go by, it will be goals galore.
First up it is league action. Matt’s AIK are at home to my own Kobenhavn. Games have been quite back and forth and high scoring so let’s see if that changes.
The half time introduction of the secret 6th Simpsons family member makes for a nervy second half but the Wale makes his mark and Kobenhavn come away with a victory. Our Ljung’s were bursting.
Hello, it’s nearly Christmas and while I still have some presents to buy, there is still time to squeeze in another visit to Germany. It’s now onto season 3 after a Pokal Cup final defeat to Dortmund and the disappointment of £13m of our hard saved money being spunked on a stadium capacity increase. No matter, we’ll be back in Europe by virtue of Dortmund winning the league.
Let’s start with some cup action and it takes penalties, a lot of penalties to make it through to the Liga Cup next round.
Welcome back to Dingwall. The challenge remains simple on paper: just stay ahead of the real Ross County across the same years. With at least one ‘Ross’ in the team. Since we’re already a division above them going into 98/99, survival is the only requirement — avoid relegation and the mission rolls on. So far, so good: a solid start in Division 2 sees us sitting 4th after six games.
Bonjour! I guess if you’ve come back again then you must be enjoying this series slightly, so I thank you. Anyway, having achieved the first season objective of staying in Ligue 1, let’s see what we can do with the squad over the summer…
I finally make a sale, as my one of my backup keepers generates £180k for the coffers…
But despite that sale, we still have no money to spend, so in come four free regens, starting with Juan Manuel Fuentes…
Lorenzo Juarros Loren…
Alberto Albistegui…
And future Man City Director of Football, Txiki Beguiristain…
A second sale sees Jandro join Osasuna for a quarter of a million. I never did call his name..
Valladolid then come knocking for Bakero as their new player-manager, and because he has the management job release clause in his contract, I’m powerless to stop him leaving…
We draw PSG in the first round of the league cup. Yay…
With money tight, I decide to arrange four home friendlies against Basque non-league clubs, which raise £80k for the bank balance and gives me a chance to blood some of the newbie youngsters. I won’t bore you with screenshots, but we obviously won them all.
Less than a month after being named PFA Player of the year, my keeper decides that we’re no longer a big enough club for him…
I’d like to make him stay and sit on the bench for that, but unfortunately I’m not in a position to turn down £1.3m…
After all those shenanigans, this is how we line up for our opening game at home to Bordeaux. Leighton is now number one, and I give Pascual a go in central defence beside Txutxi in an otherwise unchanged side. Let’s go…
We start this season how we ended last, with a hammering as Leighton has a day to forget, conceding five and scoring an own goal…
Moving swiftly on, Aurelio joins the little green bin men (remember them?!) on loan…
I release Ribera and Axier to try and trim the wage bill a bit. They both served me well.
We concede five again at PSG, and have to play the last six minutes with ten men having already made 3 subs when ACG gets injured…
Another regen heads out on loan, as Sotero joins Portuguese outfit, Alcanenense…
And then I finally make a signing to get excited about. Kaiku may not have been good enough for Dave’s Sporting Eeyore, but I’ll take him every day of the week for £500k…
Dani is old, and Karmona is sh*t, so we’re in dire need of a left back. Step forward, Jon Ander Lambea from Almeria for £375k. He can’t tackle for toffees, but at least he’s quick…
Bye bye, Dani Boy…
Both new boys start against Toulouse, and Kaiku assists one of our three goals. Calle is man of the match, but a special mention goes to Pascual, who scored one and assisted one…
Some things you just know are going to happen on this game, like Monaco getting a corner right when they need it in the last minute and of course denying us a good win…
It’s a game of two halves against Marseille, as we start really well, but then capitulate after an hour…
Nando is the latest loanee, temporarily heading to his homeland…
After an eventful first minute against Nancy, Revilla holds his nerve from the spot to give us the lead, and we hold onto it for the duration…
We have a right good go at PSG in the cup, but it’s another game where the result doesn’t reflect our performance, and we’re out…
We are however rewarded for our efforts against Lille, with new boy Kaiku scoring one goal and assisting the other two…
To be honest, this isn’t really bad news…
Kaiku continues his fine form with four goals away at rock bottom Rennes. He’s proving to be half a million well-spent already…
Bakayoko is surprisingly still at Montpellier, who are fairing slightly better this season, and we keep them a place below us with a draw…
Second-placed Strasbourg are too good for us, though, and we lose Leighton for a week…
Without the injured Leighton and Txutxi, it’s looking like another loss at Nantes until they gift us an own goal in the last minute…
Auxerre need no help scoring against us, but Pascual decides to lend a hand anyway, and then Diomede haunts us again after Kaiku started his own brief mini revival…
Well, this is a first…
We earn a hard-fought point away at Lyon, who are struggling just as much as we are…
But that point comes at a cost…
Kaiku is becoming the king of assists, and he adds another one to his tally as an Arregui brace earns us our first win in six games as we give sixth-placed Metz the judders…
Leighton looks to have thrown a point away at Lens when he gives away a penalty with 15 minutes to go, but thankfully he atones and saves it, and we stay above them in the table…
Fontan has made no secret of wanting to leave, so I bring in some free backup over the winter break to hopefully get Francko his move…
It’ll be Niort in the Coupe de France, so we might make it past the first round for once…
We destroy Guingamp in what’s probably our best performance of the season so far in front of a record attendance, which sees only 10 empty seats in the stadium…
And we finish this week’s action by making it back-to-back wins against Nimes, as Marx proves to not be too much of a hazard…
After a couple of early hammerings, we seem to have got our act together a bit, and find ourselves seventh at halfway. The goals conceded column is as much of a problem as ever, but we’re five places better off than we were at this point last season…
Join me again next week as we begin our cup campaign against Niort, while trying to sustain this thing resembling form that we’re currently experiencing. Do we dare to challenge those European spots? (probably not, but you never know). Au Revoir!
Hello and welcome back to another journey into the low-stat world of Germany where I’m heading into the end of season 2 with my Cologne team. Here we are in the league, 6th…
We’re now entering 1998/99, which in real life saw Ross County still stuck in Division Three. We, on the other hand, have somehow yo-yo’d our way a division ahead of history, which means the challenge rule for the season is delightfully simple: don’t get relegated. I’ll take that.
The squad stumbled its way through Division Three last year, but Division Two feels like another world. We need a few reinforcements — ideally without spending money we don’t have. Which is awkward, because we currently have… –£47k. In 1998 money that’s, what, a small bungalow?
On the shopping list: – a centre-back (or two) to support Ross 1 – a backup wing-back – backup DMC to give Bannon a breather – body behind Adams in MC – right-mid cover for Stevens – left-mid cover because Broddle is both old and average
So naturally, my opening gamble is Dave Rogers. Strong lad. Tough lad. Aggression levels of a peaceful yoga instructor, but still.
Bonjour! We’ve reached the halfway point of our first season in the top flight. It’s been a mixed bag so far, with some good results, and some terrible, but we’re three points above the relegation zone, and if we’re still there at the end of the season, I’ll be happy. Let’s go…
Morning all, and welcome back to Germany where I’m attempting to fashion a competitive Cologne team from neighbouring countries and the homeland. As to where we are in Season 2 – here’s our Graham with a quick reminder:
A shorter piece this week as we lurch towards what passes for a summer in the Scottish Highlands. Six league games to go and one meaningless Scottish Cup quarter-final wedged in the middle. Nerves shredded, squad patched together with hope and half-fit full-backs, and the faint possibility of promotion lurking like a mirage in the Highlands.
Part Four of this odyssey begins with everything still to play for—and plenty still to go wrong.
Bonjour! and welcome back to Bayonne. Last week we won promotion at the first attempt, but can we strengthen the squad over the summer to make it capable of surviving first season relegation from Ligue 1?
First business is cup draws, and it’s non-league Gueugnon in the Coupe de France…
And because we’re now a top flight team, we can play in the League Cup…
