[sabotai]

Kristijan Con will be out for a month due to a sports hernea.

7/22/2016: Division (A): Draw 0-0 vs. Aue.

8/1/2016: German Cup (A): Win 8-0 vs. Lübeck. I thought this would be an easy win, but damn. Marco played the whole game and scored 3 goals. Nils Quascher scored 4, with Isaac Donkor getting the lone goal.

I might regret this, but I've decided to sell Daniel Adlung, and to a division rival (Braunschweig). They're giving me $1.9M plus 10% of the next sale.

German Cup Draw: I draw Nürnberg for the 2nd round.

8/7/2016: Division (H) : Lose 0-2 vs. FSV Frankfurt.

My inbox is being flooded with bids for my young players, but they are mostly offers of $200k-$750k. I'm not selling a 4.5 or 5 star prospects for that amount!

8/13/2016: Division (A): Win 1-0 vs. Cottbus. Was in my defend tactic for this game while I played some backups/young players to get them on the field. I don't have enough players to field a reserve team this year, so I need to keep my guys rotating in and out to keep them all match fit.

With all the sales I've made, my transfer budget has gone up to nearly $9.5M and I have $120k per week of payroll budget to offer. I just can't find any players I need or want.

I've been sending my scouts out to look for any 4 star (or better) recommendations, but I've been looking specifically for DCs, GK (who is already a 4 or better Ability) and AMC prospects. I think I found an AMC prospect to grab, but there doesn't seem to be any DC (prospect or veteran) available or good GKs....

And I think it's time I cashed in on Sabusi. A team (in Turkey) offered $6.5M for him. I took it. The transfer will go through in June, 2017.

AMC / MC - Ante Roguljic - CRO -20yo - 2.5 / 4.5
Transfer: $1.5M, Contract: $15k p/w, until 2020, Squad Rotation. Bouy has proven to be fragile and Malli gets winded. I also needed a young prospect at the AMC spot. I'll be using him on rotation and we'll see how he progresses. Not the most athletic guy, but has a few high technicals already (Dribbling: 14, First Touch: 15, Passing: 13, Technique: 15). He needs some work but could be our next starter is Malli leaves in the next few years.

Selling Sabusi for $6.5M ($6M upfront, another $500k over 12 months) and buying Rogulijic for $1.5M has given me a transfer budget of $11.9M

Kristijan Con finally resumes full training.

My Assistant Coach told me that he feels Nils Quascher is ready for first-team action.....way to pay attention assman.

8/21/2016: Division (H): Draw 2-2 vs. RB Leipzig. We had a 2-0 lead and squandered it. This game did mark the return of Bobby Shou Wood who got us started with a goal in the 3rd minute.

Wannanwetsch is determined to be off the squad. The only offers I'm getting are from teams in the division. I sold Adlung in the division, I don't see myself selling Wannanwetsch to a rival.

López and Mendler came to me and expressed concern that the team is under-achieving. First off, López has had to be replaced in a few games already this year because of poor play, and Mendler, in his stints coming off the bench, hasn't played well either. Yeah, we're under-achieving, guess why...(besides me sucking at making tactics...)

8/29/2016: Division (A): Draw 1-1 vs. Dresden. We thoroughly outplayed them, had 18 shots, 9 on target, they had 7 shots, 3 on target. They just wouldn't go in...

Here's the dilemma I keep running into on transfers. I'm about to a sign a player that, by all accounts, would be a major signing for a second level team. I'm about to drop $4.5M in transfer budget money, and give the guy the biggest salary on my team. But I look at his attributes, and he's not much better than the guys I already have. I mean, in most areas he's...better....but is he THAT much better? Well, I have all this money, I might as well...

DC / DM - Jan Kirchoff - GER - 25yo - 4 / 4
Transfer: $4.5M, $42.5k per week , highest earner clause, signed to 2019, a slew of the typical bonuses that are higher than anyone else on the team.
As I said in the mini-rant above, best DC on the team....but not [i]so]/i] much better than Donkor or López. Kirchoff is fast (Pace: 18) but not fast (Acc: 8, Agi: 8). He is strong (Str: 16) and can jump (Jump: 18). Heading: 13, Tackling: 16, Marking: 15, Anticipation: 16, Composure: 15, Decisions: 15, Positioning: 15, Teamwork: 18....He's just a more complete defender than Donkor and López, but not a whole 'nother level above them, but I hope that makes it worth the $4.5M I dropped on him plus that large salary.

The deal got done and signed an hour before the transfer deadline.