Viva Espana! A FM14 Dynasty

[mrtourette]

A poor pre-season, especially defensively:




We have better odds for survival than last season, and it looks like we aren't favourites for the drop:







Bolster the striker position you say? We sign 20 year-old Senegalese striker Bocar Mbaya on a 3yr/£1500pw contract. Definitely one for the future but he has potential, having scored 60 goals in 95 games for AS Douanes in Senegal.

[mrtourette]

We sell 3625 season tickets for the new season, marginally down on last year. Our average attendance last season was in the region of 8000, so I'm expecting roughly the same this time around.


17/08/19 v Real Betis (H) 1-0
A near full-house aware at El Helmantico to see a solid if unspectacular start to the season, as the two teams combined to manage just five shots on target throughout the game. The only goal of the game was scored by Johan Lugo in the 78th minute, and he was named MOM and in the team-of-the-week with Robin Lafarge.

24/08/19 v Villarreal (A) 1-2
A tight defeat in an even game. Newly-promoted Villarreal took the lead early on after a mistake by Diego Llorente and doubled their lead a minute after half-time. Johan Lugo pulled one back a few minutes later but despite having a host of chances we were unable to draw level.

30/08/19 v Getafe (H) 1-3
This is the sort of game that killed us last season, a home defeat against average opposition as they took their chances and we didn't. Getafe went ahead mid-way through the first half and went into the break two-up thanks to a defensive error from winger Sergio Garcia. Israel Puerto headed home from a corner to pull us back into the game but then made a mistake at the other end to allow Getafe another goal and a comfortable finish to the match.

[mrtourette]

Jarkko Leppanen makes his international debut for Finland, becoming the first Salamanca AC player to earn a full international cap (while at the club).

Johan Lugo is a late call up to the Spain U21 team, and scores twice on his debut against Israel U21.


15/09/19 v Sporting Gijon (H) 0-2
See opening comment for the Getafe game. Another close match but Sporting took their chances and went ahead after six minutes, and then after comfortably fending off our attacks made the points safe with a second goal in the 81st minute.

20/09/19 v Cordoba (A) 0-2
Another defeat against a newly-promoted team, Cordoba completely outplayed us and we were restricted to just two attempts on goal (neither of them on target) compared to their 17. After a goalless first half they deservedly took the lead after 56 minutes and doubled their advantage with eight minutes remaining.

25/09/19 v Real Sociedad (A) 1-0
A good reponse to three poor performances, thanks to a first-half goal from Johan Lugo after he took advantage of a defensive error to score. The game was tight in terms of posession and chances and both teams could and should have scored more. Goalkeeper Daniel Sotres was given the MOM award.

30/09/19 v Malaga (H) 3-0
A comfortable win over bottom-of-the-table Malaga as we finally show some killer instinct in front of goal. Victor Bertomeu opened his account for the season in the 29th minute and two second half goals from Johan Lugo sealed the points, although in reality they were always safe. Bertomeu was named MOM and in the team-of-the-week alongside keeper Daniel Sotres and centre-back Israel Puerto.


We finish September in mid-table, good to get some wins in the bag early-on but some questionable performances:

[mrtourette]

05/10/19 v Valencia (A) 1-2
A frustrating defeat as we came close to getting a point against tough opposition. After a tight first half Johan Lugo gave us the lead two minutes into the second period, and we appeared to be holding Valencia and growing in confidence until they equalised in the 70th minute. A point would have been a decent outcome but an injury-time winner from Valencia snatched that away from us.

18/10/19 v Athletic Bilbao (A) 1-3
Another match in which we appeared to be holding our own until the second half, when Bilbao scored three goals in ten minutes just after the hour to completely blow us out of the water. With ten minutes left Vilyson Farrell pulled one back with a powerful long-range thunderbastard but we could not recover from the shock of Bilbao's goal flurry. Farrell was named MOM and also in the team-of-the-week.

27/10/19 v Barcelona (H) 0-2
Same old story, massive difference in attempts on goal (we managed three compared to their 32) and possession, although 42% for us is better than usual against Barca. We managed to hold them goalless in the first half, which I suppose is something, but eventually they broke through and in he end 2-0 isn't bad given their level of dominance.

30/10/19 v Atletico Madrid (H) 0-2
Another hard defeat to swallow as we held on until the 81st minute before a tough Atletico side took the lead, with them scoring a second in injury-time to give the result an unfairly comfortable slant. The game was tight but we couldn't make a breakthrough and eventually buckled under late pressure.


Vilyson Farrell's long-range strike against Bilbao is named second in the La Liga goal of the month competition for October.


A rough month with four defeats on the spin, although given the opposition it was always going to be tough. Spirited displays against Valencia and Atletico Madrid were encouraging, but not enough to stop us sliding down the table:

[mrtourette]

02/11/19 v Elche (H) 3-0
Back to winning ways in superb fashion thanks to a hat-trick from Johan Lugo. We in no way dominated the game but pleasingly took our chances when they came, with Lugo scoring an early penalty and then netted a second on the stroke of half time. Elche has opportunities in the second half but it was Lugo again who found the net with a late goal to earn the match ball and the MOM award.


Depite still having two years remaining on his contract I decide we need to tie-up Johan Lugo for longer and offer to double his wages, and he signs a new 4yr/£13000pw deal.


10/11/19 v Celta Vigo (A) 0-0
A frustrating draw as the points were there for the taking. We restricted Celta to just five attempts on goal but at the other end were unable to make a breakthrough and in the end had to settle for a point. Robin Lafage was given the MOM award.

23/11/19 v Numancia (A) 2-1
We made hard work of inferior opposition but were able to claim all three points thanks to first-half goals form Johan Lugo and Alex Serrano, his first for the club. Numancia pulled one back on the hour but offered little else in the second half. Lugo was anmed MOM.


20 year-old Senegalese striker Bocar Mbaya asks if he can go out on loan to try and get some first-team football. He's currently my third choice striker so I'd need him if Johan Lugo or Jarkko Leppanen suffered an injury, but tell him I'll try and find somewhere for him to get a game.


Johan Lugo's goal against Numancia is named third in the La Liga goal of the month competition for November.


A better month as seven points from three games sees us back up into 13th position.


The board are happy, with no particular gripes or complaints:

[mrtourette]

02/12/19 v Granada (H) 1-1
A record crowd of 13921 (against Granada? In the rain?) turned up to see a tense draw, with Granada slightly more aggrieved at sharing the points than us. Alex Serrano put us ahead after 25 minutes when his intended cross luckily went in, with an own goal from Israel Puerto early in the second half levelling the score. Granda were reduced to ten men in the 79th minute but still pushed and were unlucky not to find a late winner. Left-back Javier Garcia-Noblejas was named MOM.


With my contract up at the end of the season the board approach me about signing a two-year extension with a pay rise to £2900pw (from £2300pw). I use all of my negotiating skills to get that up to £3000pw, while reducing the 35% relegation wage drop they insist upon to 30%. I won't be tolerating any of this shit in two years, it'll be my terms or nothing.


07/12/19 v Ponferradina (A) 4-2 (Spanish Cup 4th round 1st leg)
The cup comes round again and it's time to give some of my stiffs a game. It didn't look like a wise idea when Ponferradina went into an early lead but Gonzalo Melero equalised after 13 minutes and Jarkko Leppanen got his first of the season a few minutes later. Victor Bertomeu then scored two second-half penalties but had been substituted when a third was awarded and Melero's spot-kick was saved. Ponferradina sored a second in injury time to give them a glimmer of hope for the second leg. Bertomeu was named MOM.

14/12/19 v Sevilla (A) 2-1
An incredibly satisfying result as we came from behind against third-place Sevilla, who controlled the majority of the match and went ahead early thanks to a mistake by full-back Gael Perea. Jose Artiles equalised just before the break and a late second-half strike from Johan Lugo proved to be the winner. Lugo was named MOM and Israel Puerto named in the league team-of-the-week.

18/12/14 v Ponferradina (H) 0-0 (Spanish Cup 4th round 2nd leg)
A dull game but credit to Ponferradina who at least attempted to create something going forward to get back into the tie. Our second-stringers managed only three attempts on goal during the whole match and were happy to sit back knowing the tie was all but safe. Javier Garcia-Noblejas was named MOM.

22/12/19 v Real Madrid (A) 0-3
Yawn, far more attemps on goal, considerably more possesion, early goal/s, took foot off pedal, chasing shadows, additional late goal/s no more than they deserved. These Real/Barca matches are getting very predictable.


At the end of the year we sit in 13th place, 11 points better off than at the same point last year:

[mrtourette]

Remember Jorge Palacios? You know, the 16 year-old full-back we sold to Sevilla 18 months ago for £1.1m? Turns out he just signed for PSG and we get £850k due to the 25% sell-on fee clause.


Time to make sure we keep hold of our promising youngsters (so that we can sell them at greatly inflated prices and later claim 25% of the sell-on fee), so I sign 18 year-olds right-back Eduardo (2yr/£725pw) and attacking midfielder Chema Sanchis (2yr/£1100pw) to new deals.


05/01/20 v Levante (H) 2-1
A cracking result against a team we usually struggle against, thanks to Jose Artiles' MOM performace. Artlies put us ahead after only eight minutes but Levante equalised shortly after. Despite plenty of attempts on goal we held them off off until half time, and then Artiles put us ahead again after 48 minutes. Once again we had to see off considerable pressure to cling onto the three points and Levante were certainly unfortunate to go away empty-handed havign controlled large parts of the game.

08/01/20 v Valencia (H) 2-5 (Spanish Cup 5th round 1st leg)
Our fans certainlty pick odd games to come and watch as a near full-house saw a team of mostly back-ups taken apart by Valencia. The game was certainly closer than the score suggested, with possession and attempts on goal roughly equal, but Valencia were more ruthless and were two-up after only 14 minutes. A Victor Bertomeu penalty pulled one back soon after, with the rest of the half close until two quickfire goals just before half time sent us in 4-1 down. Young striker Bocar Mbaye scored his first goal for the club after an hour but Valencia restored their three-goal lead with quarter of an hour left. At least all those fans got to see plenty of goals.

12/01/20 v Espanyol (A) 1-0
A satisfying smash-and-grab win as we soaked up a lot of Espanyol pressure and hit them on the break, with Johan Lugo's strike late in the first half proving to be the decisive goal. Goalkeeper Daniel Sotres was named MOM, which should tell you where most of the action was in this game.

15/01/20 v Valencia (A) 1-2 (Spanish Cup 5th round 2nd leg)
A better result than the first leg but the tie was never in doubt as both teams took the opportunity to rest first-teamers. As with the first match Valencia opened up an early two-goal lead, before Jarkko Leppanen pulled one back after 34 minutes. Both teams had chances to score in an open second half but couldn't find the net, and we finished the game with nine men after frustrations boiled over and David Costas and Noa Samson both received late red cards.

19/01/20 v Real Betis (A) 2-3
A close result but in reality Betis fully deserved to avenge their opening day defeat, controlling 62% of possession and limiting us to just six attempts on goal. They took the lead after only five minutes, although we were soon level an equaliser form Vilyson Farrell. Two goals early in the second half allowed Betis to open up a comfortable lead and despite an Alex Serrano goal in the 72nd minute gave us a glimmer of hope Betis were never really in danger of giving up any points.

26/01/20 v Getafe (A) 3-1
A really good win as despite having more possession we bullied Getafe and allowed them just three shots on goal in the whole match. Winger Alex Serrano headed us into the lead after 18 minutes, and although Getafe equalised straight after half time Johan Lugo put us back into the lead with quarter of an hour left and Vilyson Farrell gave the scoreline a little shine with a long-range screamer in the 93rd minute. Farrell was named MOM.


We may be out of the cup but three league wins in January mean that we are consolidating our mid-table position:

[Greyfriars Bobby]

I'm stopping by to say two things. First of all, I've been enjoying your dynasty. Your experiences playing Barca and Real Madrid sound a lot like what happens to my Scottish side when we play Rangers, Celtic, etc.

Secondly, thank you for posting the links to the tactical guides in Izulde's thread. I had seen something similar, but the sites you shared were a huge help. The club I'm managing has limited resources, and it helps to have a better sense of the kinds of players I want to target and sign.

Good luck with Salamanca AC, and I'll be following along!

[mrtourette]

Thanks!

Those guides and fmscout in general certainly have been helpful, mostly as a reminder of how realistic FM is and how much common sense needs to be applied. For example I was playing my two CMs in their best/favoured roles as ball winning midfielders, which you'd never do in real life as they'd both be dragged all over the pitch chasing the ball and offer no central support, yet for some reason it didn't occur to me that it would be a problem in FM. I just wanted to play my players how/where their best rating was and didn't consider that certain styles or individual tactics would clash and be counter-productive.

Anyway I think I have the individual and team tactics sorted now, still clueless about training and development so will read up on that at the end of this season.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

I smiled and nodded when I read your post, because I've done exactly the same thing. I had two center backs both playing the stopper role, who would have been rushing up to break up attacks and leaving the keeper exposed. Even worse, I had two trequartistas, which seems a little like a band with two lead singers and no bass player.

The training and development piece is the one I'm still trying to implement, too. I have a long, long way to go there.

Sorry to "hijack" your story...but thanks again for the tips.

[mrtourette]

Striker Bocar Mbaya asks to be placed on the transfer list, presumably as I have been unable to find a club to loan him out to. I agree to do so.


02/02/20 v Villarreal (H) 1-1
Two points thrown away as we dominated struggling Villarreal, and went ahead in the first half thanks to Johan Lugo. Despite comfortably controlling the second half we allowed Villarreal to equalise against the run of play with twenty minutes remaining and were unable to raise our game to force a winner.

10/02/20 v Cordoba (H) 2-1
A better home result as we soaked up a lot of pressure yet always looked the most dangerous going forward. We forced and own goal to go ahead after 18 minutes and Gonzalo Melero doubled the lead shortly after half time. Cordoba pulled one back with ten minutes left but never seriously threatened to steal a draw.

15/02/20 v Sporting Gijon (A) 3-1
A very good win as we came back from being 1-0 down at half time, due to an early penalty given away by Diego Llorente. Two goals in the first five minutes of the second half from Victor Bertomeu and Johan Lugo turned the game on it's head and Lugo sealed the points with his second with three minutes remaining. Lugo was named MOM and in the league team-of-the-week.

22/02/20 v Real Sociedad (H) 3-4
A poor result as we wasted a good start and allowed Socidead to get back into a game that we should have won. Israel Puerto put us ahead after 14 minutes and despite Sociedad drawing level immediately goals from Alex Serrano and Johan Lugo mid-way through the first half put us in the driving seat. An error from Robin Lafarge allowed Sociedad to pull one back before the break and then sloppy defending late on when we were looking to lock the game down allowed them two goals on the last ten minutes.

28/02/20 v Malaga (A) 1-1
A very tight game against bottom-of-the-table Malaga started well when Alex Serrano put us ahead after quarter of an hour. Neither side really distinguished themselves or took control of the game and it was no surprise when Malaga equalised then minutes into the second half. The game pertered out after that and a draw was the fairest result.


On the face of it two wins and two draws would indicate a good month but given the quality of the opposition we should really have been looking to kick on and stake a claim to belong at the next level. Two draws against teams in the relegation zone isn't particularly impressive.

[mrtourette]

04/03/20 v Valencia (H) 1-4
Once again Valencia are ruthless and give us a lesson in finishing in front of a full house at El Helmantico. They took the lead after just nine minutes and controlled the game until three goals in ten minutes with a quarter of an hour left blew us out of the water. Johan Lugo managed a consolation goal in injury time.

09/03/20 v Athletic Bilbao (H) 4-2
An excellent game as both teams went for the jugular and we came back from being down with only ten men. Johan Lugo put us ahead early on but we were reduced to ten men when Diego Llorente was sent off after just 25 minutes. Bilbao equalised a minute later and then took the lead after an error from Gael Perea, but Lugo scored his second to send the teams in level at the break. Jose Artiles put us ahead early in the second half and with a quarter of an hour left Bilbao were reduced to ten men, with Lugo completing his hat-trick from the resulting penalty. Lugo was named MOM and in the team-of-the-week.


His red card against Bilbao is the final straw and I fine and transfer-list right-back Diego Llorente. His performances over the last season-and-a-half have been average at best and his disciplinary record shocking.

He responds by saying that he wants to stay, so I tell him if his performances improve I'll consider it.


15/03/20 v Barcelona (A) 1-1
Take that Barca. The game followed the usual pattern of Barca dominance and despite holding them goalless at the half they took the lead after 55 minutes. However instead of the floodgates opening they were reduced to ten men after an hour and Alex Serrano popped up to equalise from close range with ten minutes left.


The game against Barcelona was Johan Lugo's 204th appearance for Salamanca, breaking Urtzi Iturrioz's club record.


21/03/20 v Atletico Madrid (A) 0-4
Back down to earth with a bump as we were comprehensively beaten by Atletico. Early defensive errors from Victor Bertomeu and Gael Perea handed Atletico an early two goal lead, with them three-up at the break. Gabriel Barbosa then completed his hat-trick after 52 minutes, after which the game petered out.


Johan Lugo's second goal against Athletic Bilbao is named La Liga goal of the month competition for March.


A tough month of opponents so two good results and two bad can't be sniffed at, but the amount of goals conceded can. We still sit comfortably in mid-table:




From this year's group of teenage trialists we sign the following to youth contracts:

Agustin Lainez, GK, 0 current rating/4 potential rating

Guillermo Acerete, DM, 0 current rating/4 potential rating

Julian Palones, AMR, 0 current rating/4 potential rating

Daniel Milan, ST, 0 current rating/4 potential rating

[mrtourette]

05/04/20 v Celta Vigo (H) 2-1
We had a late Jarkko Leppanen goal to thank for three points in a game that we dominated but nearly threw away. Johan Lugo put us ahead after 18 minutes but we were punished for our inability to kill the game off when Celta equalised with ten minutes left. However Leppanen's close-range finish in the 93rd minute gave us the victory, with Lugo named MOM and in the league team-of-the-week.

12/04/20 v Elche (A) 1-2
A close game but overall a deserved win for Elche, whi went ahead just before the half-hour mark. Victor Bertomeu equalised just before the break but after a tight second half Elche went back ahead with 20 minutes remaining and comfortably saw the game out.

15/04/20 v Granada (A) 0-2
A poor performance form us as we were easily turned over by Granada. Defensive errors by Noa Samson and Robin Lafarge allowed Granada to ease into an early lead and we were lucky to escape with just a two-goal defeat as Granada racked up 27 shots on goal and missed a second-half penalty.

27/04/20 v Numancia (A) 0-1
Another poor performance in a game we should've won at home to struggling Numancia. An error from Johan Lugo allowed Numancia to take the lead and although both teams had chances neither had the quality to add to the score. Despite the poor team performance left-back Javier Garcia-Noblejas is given the MOM award.


Three poor results against teams around us in the table sees us drop down to 12th place, but fortunately we're essentially already safe from relegation.

[mrtourette]

02/05/20 v Sevilla (H) 1-3
Our poor run continues as we were outclassed at home. Sevilla deservedly took the lead just before the break but were pegged back against the run of play by a Johan Lugo equaliser in the 71st minute. However we were unable to hold out for the last twenty minutes and a mistake by Vilyson Farrell allowed Sevilla to take the lead again and a third late on settled the game.

07/05/20 v Levante (A) 1-1
A point after four straight losses is an improvement but it was another sketchy performance. We went ahead thanks to an own goal after quarter of an hour but Levante soon equalised, and despite dominating the second half were unable to prevent us holding on for the draw.

10/05/20 v Real Madrid (H) 2-8
Same old story, although 15 attempts on goal and two goals is a marked improvement against Real. We were 6-0 down at the break but Victor Bertomeu scored at the start of the second half before another two form Real. A late header form Jarkko Leppanen capped the scoring.

17/05/20 v Espanyol (H) 2-0
After just one point from six games a good result to finish the season, although we barely deserved it. Goals either side of half-time from Johan Lugo and Victor Bertomeu were enough to give us the three points. Bertomeu was named MOM and goalkeeper Daniel Sotres was named in the team-of-the-week.


Striker Bocar Mbaya decides that he wants to stay and asks to be removed from the transfer list.


Final league table:

[mrtourette]

Player stats for the 2019/2020 season:





Some financial housekeeping taken care of in June:

- after making £9.9mil profit we are hit with a tax bill of £3mil.

- our wage budget has been set at £195k per week (an increase of £30k), with £11m available to spend on transfers.

- we pay out £185k in squad bonuses for finishing 12th, plus an additional £627k due to individual contractual avoid relegation clauses.

- we receive £1.68mil for our final league position.

- we sign a two-year general sponsorship deal for £160k per year.

[mrtourette]

Looking at contracts expiring at the end of next season I sign back-up full-back Gael Perea to a 3yr/£4000pw deal and striker Jarkko Leppanen to a 4yr/£9500pw deal


With his contract due to expire in a few days I finally manage to re-sign stubborn back-up goalkeeper Jose Francisco Garcia to a new 2yr/£3500pw contract.


A number of other contracts are not renewed (mainly U19 players) and the following first-team members are allowed to leave:

- attacking midfielder Gonzalo Melero (113 apps/17 goals). Was brilliant for us in his first two seasons, especially our promotion campaign, but in La Liga has struggled to impress and claim a regular starting spot. We also have an abundance of attacking midfielders.

- defender Alberto Prada (113 apps/1 goal), who was a first choice at left-back for three seasons until the most recent campaign, as well as serving as vie-captain. A solid performer but no longer a first-team regular and has a dreadful disciplinary record.


Johan Lugo is named our player of the year again.


I tell the board that we can achieve a mid-table finish this season, and they increase our wage budget to £222k and our transfer budget to £12.5mil in order to help hit that target.


We are given £18.22m for TV rights for the upcoming season.

[mrtourette]

England win the European Championships, beating Italy 4-2 on penalties after the final finished 0-0.

The losing semi-finalists are Spain (beaten on penalties by England) and Scotland (beaten 2-0 by Italy).

England's Jack Wilshire is player of the tournament.

Wilshire and Serbia's Aleksander Mitrovic share the Golden Boot award with four goals each, while Spain's Juan Mata, Cristian Eriksen of Denmark and Belgium's Romelu Lukaku all scored three.

[mrtourette]

We make the following signings during the off-season:

- Daniel Rueda, AML, 21 (4yr/£7500pw), £80k from Millionarios - three good seasons in his home country for the Colombian winger put him on my radar and he looks like a cracking prospect. Will challenge and potentially replace Jose Artiles on our left wing.

- Eduardo Farias, DR, 21 (2yr/£13500pw), £1.4m from San Lorenzo - young Argentinian right-back with good attacking skills, should fit straight into the first team. Will replace the disappointing Diego Llorente. Speaking of which...


Mallorca make a £300k bid for Llorente, which is good enough for me, but the swine refuses to move as Mallorca's wage offer wasn't enough for him. Although he's always played right-back at the moment he's a serviceable back-up centre-back, so is still of some use.


Sporing Gijon have us all in stitches with a pathetic £2.3mil bid for striker and captain Johan Lugo. They are politely told to shove it.


Cordoba make a £625k offer for centre-back Israel Puerto, which is swiftly rejected.


Right-back Eduardo and attacking midfielder Chema Sanchis step up to the senior squad from the U19s, although both will have to be pretty lucky to get a look in.


First-team squad at the start of the 2020/21 season:





Following the departure of Alberto Prada I appoint left-back Javier Garcia-Noblejas as vice-captain.

[mrtourette]

A very comfortable pre-season schedule, although against weak opposition:



Noa Samson (twisted ankle), Robin Lafarge (fractured ribs) and Vilyson Farrell (back strain) all pick up knocks in the pre-season and will miss the first few weeks of the season.


Our odds improve again and we are now considered a possibility for a mid-table position by the bookies:

[bbgunn]

There's a team called Jai Alai? They play in Miami?

[mrtourette]

I had no idea what you are on about until I did some research! Turns out there's no link, although the game of Jai Alai has it's roots in Spain it's in a different region to where this team are from. I can't find anything regarding the history of this team that suggest any connection with any version of the sport, but as it's an amateur Spanish team information in English is pretty limited.

[bbgunn]

Ah, sorry about that. To be fair, I don't know much about jai alai, either, except for the fact that it's played in Miami and they have these strange-looking things strapped to their arms. It's probably just a coincidence.

[mrtourette]

We sell 3729 season tickets for the new season, about 100 more than last year. Our average attendance last season increased to 9642.





15/08/20 v Oviedo (H) 3-1
We opened the season with a win but made hard work of newly-promoted Oviedo. Alex Serrano put us ahead with a free-kick just before half time and Victor Bertomeu doubled our lead on the hour mark. Oviedo pulled one back shortly after but we finally managed to kill the game off in injury when Bertomeu grabbed his second in injury time, as was named MOM. Bertomeu and Serrano were named in the league team-of-the-week.

21/08/20 v Celta Vigo (A) 1-4
We were comfortably beaten after a catastrophic start that saw Celta 3-0 up after just 14 minutes. They took the lead in the opening minutes through a penalty conceded by Diego Llorente and quickly followed that with two more goals, and went 4-0 on the half hour mark thanks to another penalty, this time conceded by Javier Garcia-Noblejas. Jose Artiles pulled on eback just before the break and the second half was a non-event in comparison to the first.

29/08/20 v Cordoba (H) 1-2
A frustrating result as we dominated Cordoba but were unable to turn that into goals. Cordoba were two-up at the break but were reduced to ten men just after the break, and when Jose Artliles scored a few minutes later it looked the tide was turning. However we couldn't make our pressure tell and were down to ten men ourselves late on when Alex Barrera received a second yellow card, ending our hopes of a comeback.


Experienced winger Sergio Garcia isn't part of my plans so I let him go on loan to Segunda B side Xerez for the season. I also send a couple of youngsters to Segunda B for the season to gain experience, centre-back Jose Joaquin Moreno to UD Logrones and midfielder Jose Angel Palomares to Llagostera.

[mrtourette]

12/09/20 v Mallorca (H) 1-4
A shockingly lop-sided result after an open game in which we controlled possession. Mallorca went ahead following a mistake by Israel Puerto but Johan Lugo equalised with his first of the season later in the half. Mallorca went back in front just after the break and after a second half in which both sides had chances two late goals gave the Mallorcans the points.

19/09/20 v Numancia (A) 1-1
Another frustrating game as we dominated the match but just couldn't put the ball in the net. Numancia went ahead after eight minutes but despite an equaliser form Jose Artiles a minute into the second half and plenty of opportunities we could not score a second to claim all three points. Artiles was named MOM.

23/09/20 v Real Betis (A) 2-2
A point away from home against Betis is a good result but it should have been better after we were 2-0 up at the break. Two goals form Johan Lugo put us into the commanding position, but a Robin Lafarge own goal just after the break let Betis back into the game and they equalised on the hour. Lugo was named MOM.

26/09/20 v Valencia (H) 0-3
We were totally outclassed in this game and struggled to create any chances of note. We held our own in the first half and the game was goalless at the break but an error from Noa Samson allowed Valencia to take the lead soon after and two more goals gave them the comfortable win.


A poor start to the season with heavy defeats and games in which we've failed to take advantage of our dominance:

[mrtourette]

03/10/20 v Barcelona (A) 1-12
Johan Lugo put us ahead after three minutes. It didn't quite go to plan after that.


Striker Jarkko Lepannen scored his first goal for Finland in the World Cup qualifying victory over Kazahhstan.


17/10/20 v Sporting Gijon (A) 0-2
A familiar story of the season so far as we had more that twice as many attempts on goal than Sporting but were incredibly wasteful. After goalless first-half a penalty conceded by Vilyson Farrell gifted Sporting the opener and an error by Eduardo Farias soon after allowed then to grab a second.

24/10/20 v Rayo Vallecano (A) 2-2
A La Liga record low attendance of 4317 saw a back-and-forth game in which a draw was probably the fairest result, even though we controlled more possession. Rayo went ahead after eight minutes but Vilyson Farrell's first goal of the season brought us level after half an hour. Rayo went ahead again just before the break but we equalised a second time thanks to Johan Lugo's goal at the start of the second half, and Lugo was named MOM and in the team-of-the-week.

29/10/20 v Real Sociedad (H) 2-0
Our first win since the opening day of the season and one which we deserved, with Victor Bertomeu and Johan Lugo taking advantage of defensive errors to send us in at the break two-up and we comfortably saw the game out for the three points. Bertomeu was named MOM.


The win against Sociedad sees us still sitting just above the relegation zone. The board are tolerating it:

[mrtourette]

02/11/20 v Elche (H) 4-3
An excellent win for us in a remarkable game full of attacking football. Johan Lugo put us in front after just four minutes and added a second ten minutes later. Elche pulled one back just after the half-hour mark and equalised just before the break. Two goals from Daniel Rueda, his first goals for the club, erased the disappointment at throwing the two-goal lead away and even though an error form Victor Bertomeu gifted Elche a third despite having the chances they were unable to equalise again. Rueda was named MOM and Lugo in the league team-of-the-week.

09/11/20 v Athletic Bilbao (A) 1-1
We were denied our first away win of the season by a late Bilbao equaliser. After a close opening hour Daniel Rueda put us ahead after 64 minutes, but an error by Alex Barrera gifted Bilbao an injury-time goal to deny us the victory.


Jarkko Leppanen came off the bench to score the only goal for Finland in their 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Montenegro.


Due to a lack of first-team opportunities Senegalese striker Bocar Mbaye requests a transfer, which I accept.


22/11/20 v Atletico Madrid (A) 1-3
A predictable defeat as we were completely outplayed by Atletico. We went behind after 13 minutes and an error by Alex Serrano allowed Atletico to go two-up soon after, with a third on the stroke of half-time giving them a commanding lead at the break. Winger Daniel Rueda pulled one back in the second half but we were never good enough to threaten Atletico's lead.

26/11/20 v Sevilla (A) 2-2
A good point away to high-flying Sevilla. Johan Lugo headed us in front after just six minutes but Sevilla equalised after half an hour and took a lead shortly after the break. Alex Serrano equalised for us on the hour and despite Sevilla being reduced to ten men soon after we were unable to find a winner. Serrano's equaliser gave him the MOM award.


An average month sees us maintain our place just above the relegation zone: