[NoSkillz]

Sat. July 24, 2021

Preseason Friendly
Dover vs. Werder Bremen
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

We're back home but we face our third consecutive German side, this time running up against Werder Bremen. They finished 8th in the Bundesliga last year and I'd say we're a tad more powerful by the looks of it. By the way, young Paul Moses is STILL on international duty along with Emmerson Harvey. Moses still hasn't played a game for me yet and we're half way through the preseason.

Dover: 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - R. Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - Mancini, N. Cairney
AM - C. Murray, Z. Bardi, K. Kalfas
S - G. Gesios

Dover 3 - 2 Werder Bremen
Goals - Claudio Contreras (7.9), Giorgos Gesios (7.4), Zoltan Bardi (7.6)
Assists - Neil Cairney 2 (8.5)
Man of the Match - Neil Cairney
Other Dover Notables - None
Attendance - 7.679

We gave up an early goal but took over from there, scoring twice in a two minute span to seize control. We'd give up a late goal to make the scoreline look closer than reality. We held 52% of possession and outshot them 13-12 (7-6 on target). Neil Cairney was sensational again and he really looks like he's ready to explode in his second year with our club. Some of his dribbles were breathtaking. I think it's also notable to see the improvement in Claudio Contreras' game - the kid is still only 18 but he's really starting to get comfortable and has 2 goals and 2 assists in the preseason so far after nary a point all last season. He's up to 3.5 stars currently and still has 5 star potential. A stud in the making, I hope!

-- We had two injuries in the game: Mancini suffered a dead leg and will miss a few days while new signing Rayane Hamon suffered a thigh strain and will miss one to two weeks.



Pitch Alteration

-- I've always had a very long and wide pitch but I'm actually forced to reduce the pitch size this year due to Champions League regulations. We go with the maximum size allowed, which shortens the field by 5 metres and the width by a couple metres.



-- Another of my mediocre youth players gets a number of loan offers. Jonathan Gauthier, a D/MC will have his pick of the lot.



-- Sampdoria keeps calling for young DC Abdallaye Kokaina so I counter offer £20,000,000. It doesn't take long for them to hang up the phone. In more distressing news, HSV make a bid on DR Salim Loucif and this one is serious: £10,250,000 plus future incentives. Loucif has great intangibles and is a spirited and talented player and I have a £15,000,000 release clause on his deal - if HSV wants him, they know what to bid. I call his agent for shits and giggles to see what they'd want for an extension and he's looking for 2.5 times his current wage, which is pretty ridiculous. Plus, he wants to keep the release clause as is. Not acceptable so I walk away for now.



-- Hmm. Remember that great Brazilian right midfielder I was thinking about buying? His name is Parana and FC Bayern just bid £17,000,000 for him. I'll be interested to see if Feyenoord accept the deal - it would be a club record transfer fee for them.



Next Up

-- We have a home friendly against Manchester United as part of a clause in my sale of Cristian Rodriguez last year.