July Board Confidence Update
-- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership. The stature increase is the main reason but they are slightly disappointed with the departure of
Youssouf Sylla. Whatever! He stunk for us.
-- We recorded a loss last month of £15.61 million
Manager, Team & Stadium Status and Media Expectations
I get a huge raise and my domestic player bias continues to trend down toward more of an international flavour.
Another five percent increase on tickets, something that has become standard practice over the years for us. Our estimated value almost DOUBLES - again, Champions League money has a major impact on our bottom line and our wage and transfer budgets are up in proportion this year.
For the first time since we've been admitted to the Premier League, we have no stadium expansion plans underway. We have a lovely 23,000 all-seater now and a bit of room to grow into it after only averaging a little over 15,000 supporters per match last year. We are working on improving our youth facilities, a welcomed change for sure.
World Cup Update
-- Holland and Brazil went to penalty kicks and while
Shanon Andrea scored on Holland's first kick, they'd eventually lose 4-3 on penalties, meaning Brazil advance to the semi-finals. Mexico also win, destroying the United States 5-0. The Mexican goalkeeper that I'm hoping to sign doesn't play in this game. Mexico will face Spain in the semis, as they defeated Germany 3-2 and Argentina get past Italy 3-0 and they will face Brazil.
-- The big news out of that Argentina/Italy matchup is that
Gianluca Bolis finally earns his first senior team cap for Italy, actually earning the start in the contest! Unfortunately, Bolis got hurt during the match, suffering a twisted knee that will likely keep him out for about two weeks. He'll miss a few preseason friendlies…no big deal.