How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?

[southernmetalhead]

FC Terek Grozny
The Chechens

February 2014

Feb 1, 2014 - FC Krasnodar vs Terek Grozny
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
FC Krasnodar (6-2-9)	1	1	2
Terek Grozny (10-3-4)	1	0	1

Pizzelli 13'
Sarkisov 45'
Samsonov 49'

Terek Grozny's bad run of form has continued over from the Winter Break as The Chechens lost their second consecutive game and are now 0-1-3 in their last 4 contests. This time defeat came on the road at the hands of FC Krasnodar by a score of 2-1. Krasnodar got on the board quickly in the 13th minute when Joãozinho forced a Yaroslav Godzyur parry that Marcos Pizzelli follwed up with a shot into an empty net. Krasnodar came close to doubling their lead in the 24th minute, but Ari's chance was wide of goal. Terek equalized just before the halftime whistle in the 45th minute when Artur Sarkisov scored in his team debut, beating Krasnodar goalkeeper Alexandr Filtsov. The tied score would be short-lived as Krasnodar again went ahead in the 49th minute when Oleg Samsonov beat Godzyur on a shot from outside the box. Terek came painfully close to getting a last minute equalizer, but Adílson's volley in the 90th minute rang off the crossbar to send Rashid Rakhimov's club headed home empty handed.

MotM: Khodzhaniyazov

Feb 15, 2014 - Terek Grozny vs Lokomotiv Moskva
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
Terek Grozny (11-3-4)	1	1	2
Lokomotiv Moskva (8-4-6)	0	1	1

Lebedenko 45'
Obinna 78'
Kanu 87'

With Terek Grozny's recent run of poor form, a few clubs around the RFPL saw it as a chance to jump up and steal Terek's European spot. One of those clubs, 6th place Lokomotiv Moskva, came to Akhmat Arena with that firmly in their mind. Terek, however, started the game very strong as Oleg Ivanov forced an Ilya Abaev save in just the 4th minute of play. As in the game before, Terek got on the score sheet just before halftime when Igor Lebedenko fired a shot that was initially saved by Abaev. Undeterred, Lebedenko got a follow-up attempt that Abaev was unable to stop as Terek converted another 45th minute goal. Lokomotiv came out determined in the 2nd half knowing how big this game was, and Dame N'Doye forced Terek's Yaroslav Godzyur to make a save in the 63rd minute. Godzyur wouldn't be as fortunate in the 78th minute though, as Lokomotiv evened the game on a strike from Victor Obinna. The game looked headed for a 1-1 draw, but Abaev, Lokomotiv's reserve keeper, made a huge blunder that cost the Railroaders the game in the 87th minute. Obinna had made a back pass to Abaev that the Russian netminder attempted to kick but instead flubbed. The ball rolled straight to Kanu, who then rifled a shot into an open net to seal Terek's unlikely 2-1 win.

MotM: Lebedenko

Feb 23, 2014 - Amkar Perm vs Terek Grozny
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
Amkar Perm (3-7-9)	0	1	1
Terek Grozny (12-3-4)	2	0	2

Adílson 12'
Mitrishev 39'
Jakubko 59'

Terek Grozny traveled to the Ural city of Perm to take on Amkar Perm, a team they had previously drawn with in Grozny 1-1. Riding the momentum of their win over Lokomotiv Moskva, Terek came out blazing in this contest. The Chechens opened scoring in the 12th minute of play when Maciej Rybus sent a cross into the box that Adílson volleyed off the right post and in by Sergey Narubin for the early 1-0 lead. Rybus almost doubled the lead in the 34th minute with a header off a Dmitriy Yatchenko free kick, but this time Narubin was up to the task with a save. Just minutes later though, Terek would go up 2-0 when Magomed Mitrishev undressed Amkar defender Andrey Semenov at the top of the box and blasted a shot by a diving Narubin. The goal was the 5th of the season for the promising 21-year-old Russian striker. Amkar cut Terek's lead in half in the 59th minute when Georgi Peev made a brilliant lobbed pass to Martin Jakubko that the Slovak striker slotted home. Amkar would be unable to get an equalizer however, and Terek left with the full 3 points for the second consecutive game.

MotM: Rybus

Terek Grozny Player of the Month



CAM Kanu, 70 Ovr, Brazil, 26 years old

The goals for Terek Grozny this month were spread out over a number of players, but no goal was bigger than Kanu's 87th minute winner over Lokomotiv Moskva. At the time, Terek was in 4th place, desperately trying to hold off 6th place Lokomotiv. This marks the third time this season Kanu has been the team's Player of the Month.

RFPL Table
1. CSKA - 46 pts
2. Zenit - 45 pts
3. Terek - 39 pts
4. Dinamo - 39 pts
5. Spartak - 36 pts
6. Lokomotiv - 31 pts
7. Anzhi - 26 pts
8. Krasnodar - 24 pts
9. Kuban - 24 pts
10. Krylya - 23 pts
11. Rubin - 22 pts
12. Volga - 19 pts
13. Amkar - 16 pts
14. Rostov - 14 pts
15. Ural - 11 pts
16. Tom - 10 pts

RFPL Top Scorers
1. Honda (CSKA) - 11
2. Hulk (Zenit) - 10
3(t). McGeady (Spartak) - 8
3(t). Maximov (Anzhi) - 8
3(t). N'Doye (Lokomotiv) - 8

RFPL Clean Sheets
1(t). Malafeev (Zenit) - 9
1(t). Akinfeev (CSKA) - 9
2. Gabulov (Dinamo) - 7
3. Godzyur (Terek) - 5
4. Dikan (Spartak) - 4

Manager's Thoughts
Our terrible run of form from December survived the Winter Break of January and manifested itself in the first game of February with a 2-1 loss to FC Krasnodar. Krasnodar is a mid-table side, so really we should have at least come away with the draw. The game against Lokomotiv was a thriller and we benefited from a huge error by their reserve goalkeeper Ilya Abaev. I'm not sure why Lokomotiv wasn't playing Guilherme in such an important match, but nevertheless it was a great win to keep the wolves at bay. The final game against Amkar was a workmanlike performance that we came away with the full 3 points. I am however concerned about our recent inability to keep clean sheets. That is 6 matches in a row that we've conceded at least 1 goal.

Terek Youth Academy
UNK Roman Tverdovsky, 35-43 Ovr, 66-82 Pot, Russia, 15 years old
GK Vasili Yeksov, 42-48 Ovr, 68-80 Pot, Russia, 15 years old
UNK Mirko Balas, 37-49 Ovr, 64-86 Pot, Croatia, 16 years old

International Duty
A record 4 players were called from Terek Grozny to serve their countries this month. Defender Juhani Ojala again left to represent Finland, while midfielder Maciej Rybus again received the call for Poland. The two new invites were midfielder Oleg Ivanov for Russia and midfielder Facundo Píriz for Uruguay. Terek congratulates all the players on their accomplishment.

March 2014 Fixtures
3/1 - vs Zenit
3/8 - at Ural
3/16 - vs Krylya
3/28 - vs Tom

Here we are facing Zenit St. Petersburg again. Zenit has already beaten us in the Russian Cup and at Petrovsky Stadium by identical 1-0 margins. With this game at home in the Akhmat Arena, we will be looking to at least walk away with a draw. The final 3 games of the month should all be wins. Krylya Sovetov Samara is the highest placed team of the bunch in 10th place, while FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast and Tom Tomsk are the bottom two sides in the RFPL. We have already beaten Krylya and Ural this season, but Tom surprsingly upset us, and we will be looking to get revenge on the Siberians for that brutal 1-0 loss.

[moose141]

Quote: Originally Posted by jamiec47

Oh are all those players you have? I've been unable to keep up on the series. I knew you had Pastore. Well, obviously great minds think alike

Haha, no worries! Yeah, obviously I don't have all of them but I do have Pastore and Rafa and was planning on moving for either of those top quality strikers you mentioned in the coming window as well! Definitely great minds for sure.

[Blue Eagle]

Quote: Originally Posted by Regens4Life

AC Milan - Back To The Top Spoiler The start of the year. I was ready to offload some players, but I offloaded a LOT more than I planned. I made some signings, and the squad is a lot different. Transfers Out: Fernando Torres - $20,000,000 - Udinese Riccardo Montolivo $11,500,000 - Benfica Gabriel Paletta 10,000,000 - Atletico Madrid Philippe Mexes $3,500,000 - Burnley Giampaolo Pazzini $4,100,000 - Cagliari Sulley Muntari $2,300,000 - Lazio Cristian Zaccardo $1,600,000 - Lazio Suso - Season Long Loan - Hellas Verona There were a couple more, not important. The change in font size is intentional, classifying big and small transfers. Transfers In: Alexandre Lacazette $20,000,000 + Menez Marco Verratti $58,500,000 Ezequiel Lavezzi - Swap for Cerci Martin Odegaard $3,000,000 There were the transfers. Action packed. Obviously the main two with a whopping 58.5 for Verrati, I think he'll be worth it. And then 20 + a player in Menez I wanted to keep, but Lacazette is definitely an upgrade. Lavezzi was because I think he can fit in a lot more at a Serie A side at this point than PSG. I think he could be good. Odegaard was to compliment Mastour as an up and coming star, and maybe one day I'll play with two CAM's, and Mastour and Odegaard will fill those spots. Maybe. --------------------------------------------------------------------- AC Milan 2 - 0 Lazio Honda 14' Lacazette 59' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thoughts on the update: Very action packed. Many transfers, including mega-signings. The team played brilliantly in the first game, with the first goal coming off of an amazing assist from Verratti, who I have decided to play at CAM, for numerous reasons. I think his passing will be best complimented there, and I don't think either Mastour or Odegaard are ready. The second goal was a brilliant finish by Lacazette. Really a brilliant start to the career mode.

I'm interested to see how you do compared to me in the Serie A. Also you brought in some big transfers! I wish you had kept Menez because I think he is a great player but i think Lacazette will be great for you.

Quote: Originally Posted by Regens4Life

AFC Bournemouth - Together, Anything Is Possible. Spoiler Here it is. The beginning, along with a cool motto I found on Google images, as well as the picture(lol), that will hopefully sum up this career mode, and the one in FIFA 16. I'm very excited to start this, and I expect promotion in the first season without a doubt. With that, let it begin.

I look forward to reading this and seeing how you do, especially once you make it to the Premier League what transfers you make and what not.

Quote: Originally Posted by southernmetalhead

FC Terek Grozny The Chechens Spoiler February 2014 Spoiler Feb 1, 2014 - FC Krasnodar vs Terek Grozny TEAM 1 2 SCORE FC Krasnodar (6-2-9) 1 1 2 Terek Grozny (10-3-4) 1 0 1 Pizzelli 13' Sarkisov 45' Samsonov 49' Terek Grozny's bad run of form has continued over from the Winter Break as The Chechens lost their second consecutive game and are now 0-1-3 in their last 4 contests. This time defeat came on the road at the hands of FC Krasnodar by a score of 2-1. Krasnodar got on the board quickly in the 13th minute when Spoiler Joãozinho forced a Yaroslav Godzyur parry that Marcos Pizzelli follwed up with a shot into an empty net. Krasnodar came close to doubling their lead in the 24th minute, but Ari's chance was wide of goal. Terek equalized just before the halftime whistle in the 45th minute when Artur Sarkisov scored in his team debut, beating Krasnodar goalkeeper Alexandr Filtsov. The tied score would be short-lived as Krasnodar again went ahead in the 49th minute when Oleg Samsonov beat Godzyur on a shot from outside the box. Terek came painfully close to getting a last minute equalizer, but Adílson's volley in the 90th minute rang off the crossbar to send Rashid Rakhimov's club headed home empty handed. MotM: Khodzhaniyazov Feb 15, 2014 - Terek Grozny vs Lokomotiv Moskva TEAM 1 2 SCORE Terek Grozny (11-3-4) 1 1 2 Lokomotiv Moskva (8-4-6) 0 1 1 Lebedenko 45' Obinna 78' Kanu 87' With Terek Grozny's recent run of poor form, a few clubs around the RFPL saw it as a chance to jump up and steal Terek's European spot. One of those clubs, 6th place Lokomotiv Moskva, came to Akhmat Arena with that firmly in their mind. Terek, however, started the game very strong as Oleg Ivanov forced an Ilya Abaev save in just the 4th minute of play. As in the game before, Terek got on the score sheet just before halftime when Igor Lebedenko fired a shot that was initially saved by Abaev. Undeterred, Lebedenko got a follow-up attempt that Abaev was unable to stop as Terek converted another 45th minute goal. Lokomotiv came out determined in the 2nd half knowing how big this game was, and Dame N'Doye forced Terek's Yaroslav Godzyur to make a save in the 63rd minute. Godzyur wouldn't be as fortunate in the 78th minute though, as Lokomotiv evened the game on a strike from Victor Obinna. The game looked headed for a 1-1 draw, but Abaev, Lokomotiv's reserve keeper, made a huge blunder that cost the Railroaders the game in the 87th minute. Obinna had made a back pass to Abaev that the Russian netminder attempted to kick but instead flubbed. The ball rolled straight to Kanu, who then rifled a shot into an open net to seal Terek's unlikely 2-1 win. MotM: Lebedenko Feb 23, 2014 - Amkar Perm vs Terek Grozny TEAM 1 2 SCORE Amkar Perm (3-7-9) 0 1 1 Terek Grozny (12-3-4) 2 0 2 Adílson 12' Mitrishev 39' Jakubko 59' Terek Grozny traveled to the Ural city of Perm to take on Amkar Perm, a team they had previously drawn with in Grozny 1-1. Riding the momentum of their win over Lokomotiv Moskva, Terek came out blazing in this contest. The Chechens opened scoring in the 12th minute of play when Maciej Rybus sent a cross into the box that Adílson volleyed off the right post and in by Sergey Narubin for the early 1-0 lead. Rybus almost doubled the lead in the 34th minute with a header off a Dmitriy Yatchenko free kick, but this time Narubin was up to the task with a save. Just minutes later though, Terek would go up 2-0 when Magomed Mitrishev undressed Amkar defender Andrey Semenov at the top of the box and blasted a shot by a diving Narubin. The goal was the 5th of the season for the promising 21-year-old Russian striker. Amkar cut Terek's lead in half in the 59th minute when Georgi Peev made a brilliant lobbed pass to Martin Jakubko that the Slovak striker slotted home. Amkar would be unable to get an equalizer however, and Terek left with the full 3 points for the second consecutive game. MotM: Rybus Terek Grozny Player of the Month CAM Kanu, 70 Ovr, Brazil, 26 years old The goals for Terek Grozny this month were spread out over a number of players, but no goal was bigger than Kanu's 87th minute winner over Lokomotiv Moskva. At the time, Terek was in 4th place, desperately trying to hold off 6th place Lokomotiv. This marks the third time this season Kanu has been the team's Player of the Month. RFPL Table 1. CSKA - 46 pts 2. Zenit - 45 pts 3. Terek - 39 pts 4. Dinamo - 39 pts 5. Spartak - 36 pts 6. Lokomotiv - 31 pts 7. Anzhi - 26 pts 8. Krasnodar - 24 pts 9. Kuban - 24 pts 10. Krylya - 23 pts 11. Rubin - 22 pts 12. Volga - 19 pts 13. Amkar - 16 pts 14. Rostov - 14 pts 15. Ural - 11 pts 16. Tom - 10 pts RFPL Top Scorers 1. Honda (CSKA) - 11 2. Hulk (Zenit) - 10 3(t). McGeady (Spartak) - 8 3(t). Maximov (Anzhi) - 8 3(t). N'Doye (Lokomotiv) - 8 RFPL Clean Sheets 1(t). Malafeev (Zenit) - 9 1(t). Akinfeev (CSKA) - 9 2. Gabulov (Dinamo) - 7 3. Godzyur (Terek) - 5 4. Dikan (Spartak) - 4 Manager's Thoughts Our terrible run of form from December survived the Winter Break of January and manifested itself in the first game of February with a 2-1 loss to FC Krasnodar. Krasnodar is a mid-table side, so really we should have at least come away with the draw. The game against Lokomotiv was a thriller and we benefited from a huge error by their reserve goalkeeper Ilya Abaev. I'm not sure why Lokomotiv wasn't playing Guilherme in such an important match, but nevertheless it was a great win to keep the wolves at bay. The final game against Amkar was a workmanlike performance that we came away with the full 3 points. I am however concerned about our recent inability to keep clean sheets. That is 6 matches in a row that we've conceded at least 1 goal. Terek Youth Academy UNK Roman Tverdovsky, 35-43 Ovr, 66-82 Pot, Russia, 15 years old GK Vasili Yeksov, 42-48 Ovr, 68-80 Pot, Russia, 15 years old UNK Mirko Balas, 37-49 Ovr, 64-86 Pot, Croatia, 16 years old International Duty A record 4 players were called from Terek Grozny to serve their countries this month. Defender Juhani Ojala again left to represent Finland, while midfielder Maciej Rybus again received the call for Poland. The two new invites were midfielder Oleg Ivanov for Russia and midfielder Facundo Píriz for Uruguay. Terek congratulates all the players on their accomplishment. March 2014 Fixtures 3/1 - vs Zenit 3/8 - at Ural 3/16 - vs Krylya 3/28 - vs Tom Here we are facing Zenit St. Petersburg again. Zenit has already beaten us in the Russian Cup and at Petrovsky Stadium by identical 1-0 margins. With this game at home in the Akhmat Arena, we will be looking to at least walk away with a draw. The final 3 games of the month should all be wins. Krylya Sovetov Samara is the highest placed team of the bunch in 10th place, while FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast and Tom Tomsk are the bottom two sides in the RFPL. We have already beaten Krylya and Ural this season, but Tom surprsingly upset us, and we will be looking to get revenge on the Siberians for that brutal 1-0 loss.

It's good to see you get those 2 wins and to hopefully start turning your form around. Hopefully you can beat Zenit this time around and close the gap between you and them.

[texasbum06]

Deportivo La Coruña
FIFA 15 - Season 3

Blanquiazules’

August 2015

Supercopa de España Leg 1
FC Barcelona 3 - RC Deportivo 4
FCB - Messi 25', 42', 87'
DEP - Luisinho 9', De Tomas 15' (PEN), 45', Barral 60'
MOTM: De Tomas

Juan Dominguez played it to De Tomas in the middle of the box and he quickly found Luisinho on the left side of goal for a quick strike to the top right corner. After being brought down inside the box to earn a penalty, De Tomas converted into the top right corner to double the lead. Messi answered back after Neymar's cross was deflected right to him and he slotted it past the keeper. Messi equalized just before half with a perfectly placed header into the top left corner off of a cross. Carmona set up De Tomas perfectly on a run up the middle and he beat the keeper to the ball and placed it right past him into the bottom right. Urreta found Guardado on the left side and he played it into the middle for Barral to hit off of the left post and in. Messi brought down a failed clearance inside the box and took a touch around the defender to hit a perfectly placed ball to the bottom right corner.

Supercopa de España Leg 2
RC Deportivo 1 (5) - FC Barcelona 1 (4)
DEP - Meireles 28'
FCB - Messi 7'
MOTM: Lux

Iniesta got the ball just outside the box and found Messi in the middle for a quick shot to the bottom right corner. After a foul from about 35 yards out, Meireles lined up the free kick and sent it low around the right side of the wall curling it back into the bottom right corner for his first goal in a Deportivo shirt.

RC Deportivo 3 - Real Betis 0
DEP - De Tomas 73', Iglesias 88', Costa 90'
MOTM: Guardado

De Tomas lined up a free kick from 38 yards out on the right side of the goal, curling it around the right side of the wall and back inside to the bottom right corner. Costa played a big ball over the top into the box to De Tomas who played it to Aquino on the right side who was able to then slide it across the goal for Iglesias to tap in on the back post. Guardado won the ball and played it ahead to Iglesias outside the box and he quickly found Costa running free on the left side of the goal for the quick finish around the keeper to the far post.

RCD Mallorca 1 - RC Deportivo 2
MAL - Hernandez 37' (OG)
DEP - Guardado 83', De Tomas 90' (PEN)
MOTM: Guardado

Hernandez went in for a challenge and won the ball by deflecting it into the air only to see it loop over his own keeper and into the net for an own goal. Meireles played the ball to Guardado in the middle of the field and he proceeded to beat 4 defenders before unleashing a powerful shot into the top right corner to an equalizer. Carmona attacked to the right before faking a shot to cut it back and was taken down inside the box in the process earning a penalty in the 90th minute. De Tomas stepped up to the spot and powered it into the top right past the keeper who had guessed right but couldn't reach it.

RC Deportivo 3 - Real Valladolid 0
DEP - De Tomas 27' (PEN), 76', Guardado 32'
MOTM: Guardado

Costa was brought down inside the box allowing De Tomas to convert from the penalty spot into the top left corner. Guarado got the ball from Iglesias on the counter and ran around the defense to fire a shot from the right side into the top right corner. Aquino found Costa on the left side of the box and he sent a cross in that De Tomas dove to head back into the left side of the goal.

League Table


Abegondo Academy
Ben Valentin (United States) - 16 years old, 42-58 OVR 67-91 POT, LW/ST/CAM/CM, Unknown
Conor Jumper (United States) - 16 years old, 48-66 OVR 70-94 POT, RW/CM/RM/RB, Unknown
Francisco Acuna (Portugal) - 17 years old, 59-63 OVR 80-86 POT, CB, Physically Strong
Francisco Rotela (Spain) - 15 years old, 63-67 OVR 81-87 POT, GK, Goalkeeper
Gil Jardim (Portugal) - 17 years old, 52-62 OVR 68-80 POT, CB, Physically Strong
Humberto Sanchez (Mexico) - 16 years old, 58-62 OVR 74-80 POT, LB, Defensive Minded
Jose Baquero (Argentina) - 16 years old, 59-63 OVR 75-81 POT, LW, Attacker
Pablo Mosquero (Mexico) - 16 years old, 60-64 OVR 74-80 POT, CB, Physically Strong
Pablo Munoz (Argentina) - 16 years old, 65-69 OVR 83-89 POT, CM, Technically Gifted

Deportivo La Coruña Player of the Month

Raul De Tomas


Raul De Tomas knocked in an outstanding 6 goals this month to kick the season off in style. He could be in for one hell of a season if this form is any indicator for what is in store for the entire campaign. His diving header was the exclamation point on an already phenomenal month.

Manager Comments

New Season - New season, new challenges. We are aiming for a repeat league title, but we have so much more on our plate now as well. The Champions League will be a competition that will feature quality that this club hasn't seen in years. Also the Copa del Rey becomes an even larger priority now after a disappointing early out last season. We aim to be better this year, and it will take a lot to accomplish that.

Fast Start - We got off to a quick start picking up the Supercopa de España and then moving on to win our league matches in convincing fashion to lead the table. The two legs against Barcelona were an exciting way to kick off the season though, allowing us to test ourselves against one of the toughest clubs we will play all year.

Academy Update - Our scout has rounded out his trip to the United States, and we have two new additions as a result. Ben Valentin and Conor Jumper both come in with the potential to become key parts of the youth system. They still have a lot of developing to do before it can be determined which position they will be used in, but these will be the first Americans to join the club since I took over.

[Simppu12]

Ha Ho He


December 2017





Bayern München 1 - 2 Hertha BSC
Boateng 90'
Ramos 17', Alderweireld OG 45'

For the first time since 2016 Hertha BSC were able to beat Bayern München. The Berliners came to the Allianz Arena looking for the three points and they managed to take all of them. Adrian Ramos opened the scoreline in the first twenty minutes when Nico Schulz played the ball to him after a corner kick. The Colombian took a shot and the ball flew to the top right corner away from Manuel Neuer. Half an hour later Heung-Min Son's low cross got deflected into the net by Toby Alderweireld. Bayern managed to pull one back in stoppage time with Jerome Boateng's amazing header from the edge of the box but it wasn't enough. With this win Hertha's lead grew to eight points.





SL Benfica 0 - 2 Hertha BSC
Kalou 40', 72'

Fast attackers and quick passing were hard to overcome for Benfica as they lost against Hertha in this game. The Berliners started off the game brightly and before the break Salomon Kalou scored the first of the night after he was played through on goal. Half an hour later the striker got a brace from a counter attack which decided the game. With this loss Benfica are going to the Europa League. Hertha's reward for winning the group? Atletico Madrid in the round of 16.





Hertha BSC 1 - 0 FC Augsburg
Calhanoglu 45'

Once again Hertha's game failed to reach it's highest level but the Berliners were able to secure the win against Augsburg. Hakan Calhanoglu's goal in stoppage time of the first half was enough for the three points. The midfielder got into the box, turned around a defender and shot the ball into the bottom right corner.





Hertha BSC 3 - 0 Hannover 96
Werner 7', Kalou 26', Ramos 74'

Another routine victory for Hertha who are enjoying a six games long winning streak at the moment. They got the lead seven minutes into the game when Timo Werner tapped Karim Bellarabi's pass into the goal and twenty minutes later Salomon Kalou curled the ball around Hitz in goal to double the lead. Fifteen minutes before full time Hertha got a third when Adrian Ramos shot the ball into the open net from a counter attack.



Round of 16
1860 München 0 - 2 Hertha BSC
Kalou 28', Arnold 56'


Player of the Month



Salomon Kalou

After a few months in the shadow of Adrian Ramos Salomon Kalou was able to find his very good form again. The Ivorian striker scored four important goals in December and he looked always dangerous on the pitch.


Champions League Group

1. Hertha BSC, 14 pts
2. Inter Milan, 9 pts
3. SL Benfica, 7 pts
4. Bursaspor, 1 pt


Bundesliga Table

1. Hertha BSC, 43 pts
2. Bayern München, 33 pts
3. FC Schalke 04, 33 pts
4. Bayer Leverkusen, 32 pts
5. Borussia Dortmund, 31 pts
6. SC Freiburg, 27 pts
--------------------------------------------------
16. Red Bull Leipzig, 17 pts
17. FC Kaiserslautern, 11 pts
18. Werder Bremen, 10 pts


My Thoughts

I don't want to sound too confident but I think that we've secured the Bundesliga title. A ten-point lead should be enough for us. We also progressed in the DFB Pokal and Schalke are our next opponents. Winning the CL group was nice until I saw that we'll face Atletico in the round of 16. They are a good side in FIFA and it will be tough to break their defence. Speaking of defence, the transfer window is here and I'm going to replace Krychowiak. He hasn't really ticked in the middle for me. To be honest I've already signed a replacement for him.



Thank you for reading this post! I hope you have enjoyed it! Any feedback or suggestions will be appreciated!

[JAGGER6223]

Previous Updates

Spoiler

Introduction - Pg 986
Pre Season - Pg 995
Transfer Window/August - Pg 1005
September Update - Pg 1010
October Update - Pg 1017
November Update - Pg 1029
December Update - Pg 1039
January Transfer Window Update - Pg 1051
Tactics - Pg 1059
February Update - Pg 1068
March Update - Pg 1072

Birmingham City

April Update



Championship - Riverside Stadium, 4/4/15
Middlesbrough 0-0 Birmingham City

A tense game as we went to third place Middlesbrough. However, the hype the game had didn't live up to it with the match being extremely defensive minded and with their only being one shot on target, the game finish nil all.

Gaspar: Defensively we were good, they didn't have a shot on target. However, they defended real well too and that's why we only had one shot on target. Wasn't for the fans this game, but on we go to the Bolton game.



Championship - Macron Stadium, 7/4/15
Bolton 0-3 Birmingham City
(Moxey (RC) 4')
(Thomas (PEN) 7' (PEN) 62', Rantie 75')

We gained a great start when Moxey brought down Rantie in the box to give us the penalty and give him his marching orders due to him being the last man. Thomas scored the penalty to give us the lead. We were relaxed and did not rush as we dominated the first half. We doubled our lead when Dervite tripped Thomas in the box to give us our second penalty which Thomas converted. We put the cherry on the cake when Rantie found the gap in the exposed defence to place it into the back of the net.

Gaspar: Good result, Especially after the home result against them earlier this season. We were lucky with the two penalties but they were there. And in Football, you take what you get.



Championship - St Andrew's, 11/4/15
Birmingham City 1-0 Bournemouth
(Rantie 80')

Like the Middlesbrough game it was tense and defensive minded, with their being not many clear chances. The main chance came 10 minutes until full time when former player Rantie tucked away a nicely placed ball to score against his old team to give us the three points.

Gaspar: Winning games aren't always pretty and that’s what today was. But 3 points is 3 points and that’s what we need at this part of the season.




Championship - St Andrew's, 14/4/15
Birmingham City 1-1 Charlton Athletic
(Donaldson 33')
(Gudmundsson 90+4')

With the FA Cup Semi Final on the weekend we rested the entire side, with many of the fringe players given a chance. We started well and after 33 minutes we found ourselves ahead when Novak's shot was parried to find Donaldson who smashed it on the half volley. We defended our one goal lead to conserve energy as the game neared but a corner was whipped in as it was headed out to Gudmundsson who took a touch and took a brilliant unbalanced shot that fond the top right corner to rescue a much needed point for the London club.

Gaspar: Frustrating not to hold on to the lead until the end, our boys dug deep. We go four points behind Norwich and we really need to perform at our best to gain promotion without stress.



Dream Season see Birmingham on the Biggest Stage
BBC Sports, 17/4/15

11 months ago Birmingham were a minute away from the 3rd tier of English Football with a last minute goal keeping the Midlands side up. Today, it’s a different story. On the brink of promotion to the Premier League and a dream cup tie against Liverpool at Wembley, this club has made a true turnaround, with what many believe that the reason for this turnaround is manager Jake Gaspar who joined the club as an unknown manager at the start of the season. The Australian has stayed quite quiet since joining but his tactics do the talking. He said during our one on one interview that he and the team are both up for the challenges with the FA Cup and League. He also said it has been a great experience the success the club has had and the dream run from almost relegation to almost Premier League still hasn't sunk in. Gaspar also said that he and his family have quickly fallen in love with Birmingham City FC and that everyone has treated him well since joining.

No matter what the result is tomorrow we believe that Gaspar has done wonders with a falling club.



FA Cup Semi Final - Wembley, 18/4/15
Liverpool 2-1 Birmingham City
(Gerrard 60', Sturridge 82')
(Gray 84')

40 000 Birmingham City fans rocked up to the London colosseum to witness a game that may be talked about for decades. The game started with Liverpool's dominances in possession keeping our defence on our toes from the word go. But as the half progressed, we found our form and had the best chance of the half with a Thomas header hitting the crossbar. Going into half time with less possession but more shots. Liverpool came out and showed why they are Liverpool and dominated with their attack being extremely dangerous. In the 60th minute a pass from Henderson saw our defence open as the ball was placed onto Gerrard's right foot as he did what he has for more than a Decade and smash it into the net from long range. Our first mistake in defence was punished. We tried to attack as the game became end to end but when Monero ran down the wing and weaved through our wide players to cross it into a free Sturridge who headed it to double the Red's lead. But from kick off we went forward and passed it around well to find Gray free as he placed it around the Belgium number two and to make a game of the 8 minutes left. But these 8 minutes counted for nothing as the full time whistle went and a United Liverpool derby final was confirmed.

Gaspar: The boys did me and the club proud, hopefully the 40 thousand fans are proud going back up to Birmingham. It's gutting to finish one game short again but we need to focus on the last 5 games in the league and give the Birmingham faithful something to celebrate at the end of the season.



Championship - iPro Stadium, 21/4/15
Derby County 1-2 Birmingham City
(Eustace 24')
(Arthur 20', Rantie 48')

After the FA Cup disappointment, we wanted to show that we can bounce back, which we did 20 minutes in after Arthur rounded Grant to place it into the net. Our lead didn't last long with Derby playing it well around our half to find Eustace on the top of the box to curl it out and out of reach for Randolph to save. After the break a gap in the Rams defence saw a nice ball from Thomas find Rantie who gave us the lead once again and gave us the win after we held on from a strong Derby attack.

Gaspar: Good to see us bounce back from the FA Cup. Derby are a good side that shouldn't be where they are on the table. It was a good win in tough conditions against a tough team.



Championship - Molineux, 25/4/15
Wolverhampton 1-2 Birmingham City
(Henry (RC) 22' Sako 90+5')
(Thomas (PEN) 69' 90')

I returned to the Molineux to mixed emotions with many fans saying "What could have been" As a local derby the game was hostile and was shown when James Henry was sent off only 22 minutes in after a challenge from behind on Reilly. With the space on the wing we used to effect but couldn't find the end problem. It wasn't until 20 minute until time a Roger Johnson challenge saw us win a spot kick which Thomas converted. Wolves tried for an equaliser but were caught out with us countering and doubled our lead with Thomas scoring his second and 32nd of the season. Wolves scored a consolation when a cross found Sako's head as the full time whistle went.


Gaspar: Great Local derby game to be a part of. It was nonstop until the end of the game. The fan treated me well and I'm thankful for that. Wolves always will have a soft spot in me.



Championship - St Andrew's, 28/4/15
Birmingham United 1-0 Rotherham United
(Rowe (OG) 60')

Playing a weaker side, the game had a few half chances with not much going on. The only chance we got when Thomas powered through and as he shot it parried off Rowe to count as an own goal. We held on as we scraped a ugly win


Birmingham Secure Promotion
Sky Sports 28/4/15

Buzzing scenes around St Andrew's as Birmingham will play in the Premier League for the first time since the 2011/12 season. With the gutsy win tonight against Rotherham, they go 10 points clear of 3rd place Cardiff with two games to go. Birmingham are only a point behind leaders Norwich but have a greater goal difference. Gaspar said in his press conference after the game that this is a historic moment for the club but there are two games to go. We still have a trophy to fight for. The Blues have Leeds on Saturday before their final home game against Huddersfield. Captain Paul Robinson who was rested said that this was his best football moment and hopes to not be one season wonders in the Premier League.

This is how the table stands:

Norwich City - GD: 28 PTS 85 PLY 44
Birmingham - GD: 31 PTS 84 PLY 44
------------------------------------------

A intresting two weeks in the Championship to come.





Player of the Month
Darren Randolph



Darren Randolph after his impressive performance in goals this month. He has kept 4 clean sheets in a really important month and only conceded 5 goals with two against Liverpool. He has been needed after we have come against very tough attacks and has delivered.



April Votes

*Vote System will be given to our top three players each month. The best player will receive 3 votes, second best 2 votes and third best 1 vote. Player with the most vote at the end of the season will win the Birmingham City Player of the Year NOTE: Players on loan can't win it as well as players who leave the club throughout the season.

No votes will be given in May.

3 VOTES: Darren Randolph
2 VOTES: Wes Thomas
1 VOTE: Paul Caddis




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Thanks for reading, feedback appricated

SO SO SO SO sorry for the long wait in Update been extremely busy and actually haven't had time to write a post.

Next update will be the last two games and the end of season wrap where we find ot who wins Birmingham's player of the year.

Thanks JAGGER

[Simppu12]

Quote: Originally Posted by texasbum06

Deportivo La Coruña FIFA 15 - Season 3 Blanquiazules’ August 2015 Spoiler Supercopa de España Leg 1 Spoiler FC Barcelona 3 - RC Deportivo 4 FCB - Messi 25', 42', 87' DEP - Luisinho 9', De Tomas 15' (PEN), 45', Barral 60' MOTM: De Tomas Juan Dominguez played it to De Tomas in the middle of the box and he quickly found Luisinho on the left side of goal for a quick strike to the top right corner. After being brought down inside the box to earn a penalty, De Tomas converted into the top right corner to double the lead. Messi answered back after Neymar's cross was deflected right to him and he slotted it past the keeper. Messi equalized just before half with a perfectly placed header into the top left corner off of a cross. Carmona set up De Tomas perfectly on a run up the middle and he beat the keeper to the ball and placed it right past him into the bottom right. Urreta found Guardado on the left side and he played it into the middle for Barral to hit off of the left post and in. Messi brought down a failed clearance inside the box and took a touch around the defender to hit a perfectly placed ball to the bottom right corner. Supercopa de España Leg 2 RC Deportivo 1 (5) - FC Barcelona 1 (4) DEP - Meireles 28' FCB - Messi 7' MOTM: Lux Iniesta got the ball just outside the box and found Messi in the middle for a quick shot to the bottom right corner. After a foul from about 35 yards out, Meireles lined up the free kick and sent it low around the right side of the wall curling it back into the bottom right corner for his first goal in a Deportivo shirt. RC Deportivo 3 - Real Betis 0 DEP - De Tomas 73', Iglesias 88', Costa 90' MOTM: Guardado De Tomas lined up a free kick from 38 yards out on the right side of the goal, curling it around the right side of the wall and back inside to the bottom right corner. Costa played a big ball over the top into the box to De Tomas who played it to Aquino on the right side who was able to then slide it across the goal for Iglesias to tap in on the back post. Guardado won the ball and played it ahead to Iglesias outside the box and he quickly found Costa running free on the left side of the goal for the quick finish around the keeper to the far post. RCD Mallorca 1 - RC Deportivo 2 MAL - Hernandez 37' (OG) DEP - Guardado 83', De Tomas 90' (PEN) MOTM: Guardado Hernandez went in for a challenge and won the ball by deflecting it into the air only to see it loop over his own keeper and into the net for an own goal. Meireles played the ball to Guardado in the middle of the field and he proceeded to beat 4 defenders before unleashing a powerful shot into the top right corner to an equalizer. Carmona attacked to the right before faking a shot to cut it back and was taken down inside the box in the process earning a penalty in the 90th minute. De Tomas stepped up to the spot and powered it into the top right past the keeper who had guessed right but couldn't reach it. RC Deportivo 3 - Real Valladolid 0 DEP - De Tomas 27' (PEN), 76', Guardado 32' MOTM: Guardado Costa was brought down inside the box allowing De Tomas to convert from the penalty spot into the top left corner. Guarado got the ball from Iglesias on the counter and ran around the defense to fire a shot from the right side into the top right corner. Aquino found Costa on the left side of the box and he sent a cross in that De Tomas dove to head back into the left side of the goal. League Table Abegondo Academy Ben Valentin (United States) - 16 years old, 42-58 OVR 67-91 POT, LW/ST/CAM/CM, Unknown Conor Jumper (United States) - 16 years old, 48-66 OVR 70-94 POT, RW/CM/RM/RB, Unknown Francisco Acuna (Portugal) - 17 years old, 59-63 OVR 80-86 POT, CB, Physically Strong Francisco Rotela (Spain) - 15 years old, 63-67 OVR 81-87 POT, GK, Goalkeeper Gil Jardim (Portugal) - 17 years old, 52-62 OVR 68-80 POT, CB, Physically Strong Humberto Sanchez (Mexico) - 16 years old, 58-62 OVR 74-80 POT, LB, Defensive Minded Jose Baquero (Argentina) - 16 years old, 59-63 OVR 75-81 POT, LW, Attacker Pablo Mosquero (Mexico) - 16 years old, 60-64 OVR 74-80 POT, CB, Physically Strong Pablo Munoz (Argentina) - 16 years old, 65-69 OVR 83-89 POT, CM, Technically Gifted Deportivo La Coruña Player of the Month Raul De Tomas Raul De Tomas knocked in an outstanding 6 goals this month to kick the season off in style. He could be in for one hell of a season if this form is any indicator for what is in store for the entire campaign. His diving header was the exclamation point on an already phenomenal month. Manager Comments New Season - New season, new challenges. We are aiming for a repeat league title, but we have so much more on our plate now as well. The Champions League will be a competition that will feature quality that this club hasn't seen in years. Also the Copa del Rey becomes an even larger priority now after a disappointing early out last season. We aim to be better this year, and it will take a lot to accomplish that. Fast Start - We got off to a quick start picking up the Supercopa de España and then moving on to win our league matches in convincing fashion to lead the table. The two legs against Barcelona were an exciting way to kick off the season though, allowing us to test ourselves against one of the toughest clubs we will play all year. Academy Update - Our scout has rounded out his trip to the United States, and we have two new additions as a result. Ben Valentin and Conor Jumper both come in with the potential to become key parts of the youth system. They still have a lot of developing to do before it can be determined which position they will be used in, but these will be the first Americans to join the club since I took over.

Great beginning to the new season with the Supercopa and with three nice wins! De Tomas is still on fire and he's looking amazing. I think you're going to win at least La Liga this season but the double should be achievable, too. Did you make any transfers or are they in a different post?

Quote: Originally Posted by southernmetalhead

Spoiler FC Terek Grozny Spoiler The Chechens February 2014 Feb 1, 2014 - FC Krasnodar vs Terek Grozny TEAM 1 2 SCORE FC Krasnodar (6-2-9) 1 1 2 Terek Grozny (10-3-4) 1 0 1 Pizzelli 13' Sarkisov 45' Samsonov 49' Terek Grozny's bad run of form has continued over from the Winter Break as The Chechens lost their second consecutive game and are now 0-1-3 in their last 4 contests. This time defeat came on the road at the hands of FC Krasnodar by a score of 2-1. Krasnodar got on the board quickly in the 13th minute when Spoiler Joãozinho forced a Yaroslav Godzyur parry that Marcos Pizzelli follwed up with a shot into an empty net. Krasnodar came close to doubling their lead in the 24th minute, but Ari's chance was wide of goal. Terek equalized just before the halftime whistle in the 45th minute when Artur Sarkisov scored in his team debut, beating Krasnodar goalkeeper Alexandr Filtsov. The tied score would be short-lived as Krasnodar again went ahead in the 49th minute when Oleg Samsonov beat Godzyur on a shot from outside the box. Terek came painfully close to getting a last minute equalizer, but Adílson's volley in the 90th minute rang off the crossbar to send Rashid Rakhimov's club headed home empty handed. MotM: Khodzhaniyazov Feb 15, 2014 - Terek Grozny vs Lokomotiv Moskva TEAM 1 2 SCORE Terek Grozny (11-3-4) 1 1 2 Lokomotiv Moskva (8-4-6) 0 1 1 Lebedenko 45' Obinna 78' Kanu 87' With Terek Grozny's recent run of poor form, a few clubs around the RFPL saw it as a chance to jump up and steal Terek's European spot. One of those clubs, 6th place Lokomotiv Moskva, came to Akhmat Arena with that firmly in their mind. Terek, however, started the game very strong as Oleg Ivanov forced an Ilya Abaev save in just the 4th minute of play. As in the game before, Terek got on the score sheet just before halftime when Igor Lebedenko fired a shot that was initially saved by Abaev. Undeterred, Lebedenko got a follow-up attempt that Abaev was unable to stop as Terek converted another 45th minute goal. Lokomotiv came out determined in the 2nd half knowing how big this game was, and Dame N'Doye forced Terek's Yaroslav Godzyur to make a save in the 63rd minute. Godzyur wouldn't be as fortunate in the 78th minute though, as Lokomotiv evened the game on a strike from Victor Obinna. The game looked headed for a 1-1 draw, but Abaev, Lokomotiv's reserve keeper, made a huge blunder that cost the Railroaders the game in the 87th minute. Obinna had made a back pass to Abaev that the Russian netminder attempted to kick but instead flubbed. The ball rolled straight to Kanu, who then rifled a shot into an open net to seal Terek's unlikely 2-1 win. MotM: Lebedenko Feb 23, 2014 - Amkar Perm vs Terek Grozny TEAM 1 2 SCORE Amkar Perm (3-7-9) 0 1 1 Terek Grozny (12-3-4) 2 0 2 Adílson 12' Mitrishev 39' Jakubko 59' Terek Grozny traveled to the Ural city of Perm to take on Amkar Perm, a team they had previously drawn with in Grozny 1-1. Riding the momentum of their win over Lokomotiv Moskva, Terek came out blazing in this contest. The Chechens opened scoring in the 12th minute of play when Maciej Rybus sent a cross into the box that Adílson volleyed off the right post and in by Sergey Narubin for the early 1-0 lead. Rybus almost doubled the lead in the 34th minute with a header off a Dmitriy Yatchenko free kick, but this time Narubin was up to the task with a save. Just minutes later though, Terek would go up 2-0 when Magomed Mitrishev undressed Amkar defender Andrey Semenov at the top of the box and blasted a shot by a diving Narubin. The goal was the 5th of the season for the promising 21-year-old Russian striker. Amkar cut Terek's lead in half in the 59th minute when Georgi Peev made a brilliant lobbed pass to Martin Jakubko that the Slovak striker slotted home. Amkar would be unable to get an equalizer however, and Terek left with the full 3 points for the second consecutive game. MotM: Rybus Terek Grozny Player of the Month CAM Kanu, 70 Ovr, Brazil, 26 years old The goals for Terek Grozny this month were spread out over a number of players, but no goal was bigger than Kanu's 87th minute winner over Lokomotiv Moskva. At the time, Terek was in 4th place, desperately trying to hold off 6th place Lokomotiv. This marks the third time this season Kanu has been the team's Player of the Month. RFPL Table 1. CSKA - 46 pts 2. Zenit - 45 pts 3. Terek - 39 pts 4. Dinamo - 39 pts 5. Spartak - 36 pts 6. Lokomotiv - 31 pts 7. Anzhi - 26 pts 8. Krasnodar - 24 pts 9. Kuban - 24 pts 10. Krylya - 23 pts 11. Rubin - 22 pts 12. Volga - 19 pts 13. Amkar - 16 pts 14. Rostov - 14 pts 15. Ural - 11 pts 16. Tom - 10 pts RFPL Top Scorers 1. Honda (CSKA) - 11 2. Hulk (Zenit) - 10 3(t). McGeady (Spartak) - 8 3(t). Maximov (Anzhi) - 8 3(t). N'Doye (Lokomotiv) - 8 RFPL Clean Sheets 1(t). Malafeev (Zenit) - 9 1(t). Akinfeev (CSKA) - 9 2. Gabulov (Dinamo) - 7 3. Godzyur (Terek) - 5 4. Dikan (Spartak) - 4 Manager's Thoughts Our terrible run of form from December survived the Winter Break of January and manifested itself in the first game of February with a 2-1 loss to FC Krasnodar. Krasnodar is a mid-table side, so really we should have at least come away with the draw. The game against Lokomotiv was a thriller and we benefited from a huge error by their reserve goalkeeper Ilya Abaev. I'm not sure why Lokomotiv wasn't playing Guilherme in such an important match, but nevertheless it was a great win to keep the wolves at bay. The final game against Amkar was a workmanlike performance that we came away with the full 3 points. I am however concerned about our recent inability to keep clean sheets. That is 6 matches in a row that we've conceded at least 1 goal. Terek Youth Academy UNK Roman Tverdovsky, 35-43 Ovr, 66-82 Pot, Russia, 15 years old GK Vasili Yeksov, 42-48 Ovr, 68-80 Pot, Russia, 15 years old UNK Mirko Balas, 37-49 Ovr, 64-86 Pot, Croatia, 16 years old International Duty A record 4 players were called from Terek Grozny to serve their countries this month. Defender Juhani Ojala again left to represent Finland, while midfielder Maciej Rybus again received the call for Poland. The two new invites were midfielder Oleg Ivanov for Russia and midfielder Facundo Píriz for Uruguay. Terek congratulates all the players on their accomplishment. March 2014 Fixtures 3/1 - vs Zenit 3/8 - at Ural 3/16 - vs Krylya 3/28 - vs Tom Here we are facing Zenit St. Petersburg again. Zenit has already beaten us in the Russian Cup and at Petrovsky Stadium by identical 1-0 margins. With this game at home in the Akhmat Arena, we will be looking to at least walk away with a draw. The final 3 games of the month should all be wins. Krylya Sovetov Samara is the highest placed team of the bunch in 10th place, while FC Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast and Tom Tomsk are the bottom two sides in the RFPL. We have already beaten Krylya and Ural this season, but Tom surprsingly upset us, and we will be looking to get revenge on the Siberians for that brutal 1-0 loss.

The month didn't start that well but you improved a lot in the following few games. Beating Lokomotiv is a good achievement and you're in a good position in the league.

Quote: Originally Posted by Regens4Life

Spoiler AC Milan - Back To The Top Spoiler The start of the year. I was ready to offload some players, but I offloaded a LOT more than I planned. I made some signings, and the squad is a lot different. Transfers Out: Fernando Torres - $20,000,000 - Udinese Riccardo Montolivo $11,500,000 - Benfica Gabriel Paletta 10,000,000 - Atletico Madrid Philippe Mexes $3,500,000 - Burnley Giampaolo Pazzini $4,100,000 - Cagliari Sulley Muntari $2,300,000 - Lazio Cristian Zaccardo $1,600,000 - Lazio Suso - Season Long Loan - Hellas Verona There were a couple more, not important. The change in font size is intentional, classifying big and small transfers. Transfers In: Alexandre Lacazette $20,000,000 + Menez Marco Verratti $58,500,000 Ezequiel Lavezzi - Swap for Cerci Martin Odegaard $3,000,000 There were the transfers. Action packed. Obviously the main two with a whopping 58.5 for Verrati, I think he'll be worth it. And then 20 + a player in Menez I wanted to keep, but Lacazette is definitely an upgrade. Lavezzi was because I think he can fit in a lot more at a Serie A side at this point than PSG. I think he could be good. Odegaard was to compliment Mastour as an up and coming star, and maybe one day I'll play with two CAM's, and Mastour and Odegaard will fill those spots. Maybe. --------------------------------------------------------------------- AC Milan 2 - 0 Lazio Honda 14' Lacazette 59' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thoughts on the update: Very action packed. Many transfers, including mega-signings. The team played brilliantly in the first game, with the first goal coming off of an amazing assist from Verratti, who I have decided to play at CAM, for numerous reasons. I think his passing will be best complimented there, and I don't think either Mastour or Odegaard are ready. The second goal was a brilliant finish by Lacazette. Really a brilliant start to the career mode.

How are you able to keep all of these careers going?! I'm looking forward to this as I've been thinking about doing a Milan career after the Hertha one. Verratti is a great signing and he's been on my radar for a while now but I can't afford him.

Quote: Originally Posted by Keano16

The New Clough Spoiler April 2015 Spoiler April 4, City Ground FL Championship: Match 38 Nott'm Forest 1-0 Reading Veldwijk 65' (Pen) MotM: Chris Cohen (NFO, 7.0) Keano trusted his alternate lineup to get the job done here in this very important game against second placed Reading. And that's what they did. We set up defensively to make sure we didn't concede and then hit them on the counter. We actually had the better chances and McCarthy kept them out with fine saves. With about an hour gone Nouha Dicko set off down the left, cut inside Gunter and attacked Pearce. The Reading captain desperately tried to win the ball with a sliding tackle but he didn't time it well and ended up taking both Gunter and Dicko out. Lars Veldwijk stepped up to convert the penalty with ease and give us a 1-0 lead to defend until the final whistle. A massive three points! April 7, City Ground FL Championship: Match 39 Nott'm Forest 1-1 Norwich City Bennett 88' OG Lafferty 37' MotM: Danilo Cataldi (NFO, 8.8) Norwich and Lafferty scored against the run of play thanks to Moore giving the ball away trying to pass out from the back. Lafferty exchanged a one-two with Howson, who chipped it over the defence, and Lafferty finished past Darlow. That was their only shot in the entire game! We missed a catalog of chances with Assombalonga even smashing off the post in the 82nd minute. We finally got a reward for our pressure when Cataldi latched onto a ball, that broke from a tackle on Lansbury, inside the box. The MOTM struck it towards goal and just before the ball left his boot Bennett tried to block it. He was unsuccessful and only deflected the bullet of a shot into the top corner for a deserved point. After moving up to second following the Reading victory, Fulham beat Wigan 2-0 to move a point ahead of us into second. April 11, St. Andrew's FL Championship: Match 40 Birmingham City 0-2 Nott'm Forest Veldwijk 73' Dicko 90' MotM: Nick Powell (NFO, 8.6) Lars Veldwijk asked to play today and repaid my faith when he headed in Antonio's beautifully delivered corner with 73 minutes gone. We had missed several chances throughout the game before this so a sigh of relief was breathed by everyone in the away crowd when the Dutchman scored. Substitute Nouha Dicko added the second in the last minute dribbling inside Hancox and then avoiding Gunning's challenge before he cheekily put the ball through Randolph's legs. Thanks to Millwall beating Fulham 1-0 we move back into second with two points the gap on either side to Norwich and Fulham. Jay Spearing is out for 5 days with a Bruised Shoulder. April 18, City Ground FL Championship: Match 41 Nott'm Forest 2-3 Wigan Athletic Chalobah 30' Lansbury 73' (Pen) Gutierrez 43' Ramis 49' Fortuné 86' MotM: Marc-Antoine Fortuné (WIG, 9.3) Chalobah opened the scoring in a thrilling game that ultimately was a second defeat at home this season. Antonio's corner was not cleared properly and the ball bounced into Chalobah's path. He struck it sweetly on the half volley past Al-Habsi. 13 minutes later though, MOTM and constant nuisance Fortuné held off Paterson and sprinted down the right before pulling it back across to Gutierrez who hit it first time into the top corner with his side foot. Early in the second half the referee gave a very controversial free kick to Wigan on the D. Keano was adamant that it was not a foul. Centre half Ramis stepped up, curled it over the wall and in off the right hand post giving Darlow no chance at all. We attacked and attacked but Wigan were still threatening on the counter. Antonio agonizingly hit the post in the 65th minute before 10 minutes later McCann took Assombalonga clean out in the box and a penalty was given. Lansbury stood up and converted it to tie the game. But then Fortuné climbed above Cohen at the back post to head a looping header into the far corner for the victory. Al-Habsi denied Lansbury a second equalizer, saving his bullet header to hand us a defeat in an end to end game. Thankfully Fulham drew 1-1 with Derby but Norwich extended their lead to five defeating Brentford (Now relegated, sorry Jamie. ) 1-0. April 21, The Den FL Championship: Match 42 Millwall 1-2 Nott'm Forest Fuller 81' Veldwijk 34' Dunne 77' OG MotM: Danilo Cataldi (NFO, 8.2) We always looked in control in this one but we would have liked to have kept a clean sheet. Darlow really should have saved Fuller's goal as well. The entire team was rotated except for Darlow due to fatigue. Veldwijk scored his third of the month latching onto Cataldi's through ball before shooting in off Forde. We continued to push and when Dicko pressurized a free kick at the back Dunne panicked and gave a poor back pass to Forde. The Irishman completely missed the ball and it trickled into the net. Ricardo Fuller got a consolation goal with nine minutes left turning Wilson and just about holding off Kane before his shot came off the underside of Darlow and went in off the post. Another good three points, that also confirmed at least a playoff spot as we are now 13 points clear of 7th placed Watford with four games remaining. April 25, iPro Stadium FL Championship: Match 43 Derby City 2-0 Nott'm Forest Ward 48' Martin 74' MotM: Richard Keogh (DER, 7.7) The Rams came out on top in this East Midlands derby scoring with their two shots on target (:/). The amount of chances we missed in the first half was unreal and Lee Grant was playing very well in the Derby goal finishing the game with 7 saves. Antonio was dispossessed in the middle of the field by Russell who played it into Martin. Ward ran in behind and Cohen played him onside allowing for a one touch finish past Darlow. Chris Martin then scored himself brushing past Moore's challenge and shooting low to the left of Darlow. Fulham won their game moving into second ahead of us by two points. Reading are also only behind us on goal difference now. April 28, City Ground FL Championship: Match 44 Nott'm Forest 3-1 Bolton Veldwijk 16' Dicko 34' Hyam 77' Davies 3' MotM: Lars Veldwijk (NFO, 9.4) Thankfully, we ended the month on a high by resoundingly beating Bolton 3-1. We were asleep at the start not only allowing Davies to get in and shoot, but to also put in the rebound after his first effort hit the post. Veldwijk and Cataldi combined again to level on 16 minutes. Veldwijk being alert to put in the rebound of his saved shot. Veldwijk would then turn provider picking Dicko out with a low cross that the Malian finished first time. We were leading 2-1 at halftime thanks to Darlow who made some top saves to preserve our lead. Late on Hyam finished off a counter attack with a display of strength and dribbling skills after he got onto Spearing's ball. Jay Spearing by the way had a great game against his former club and would have been MOTM if not for Veldwijk's fine performance. With a 3-1 victory over Reading, Norwich secured the Championship title with two games to go and with a total of 93 points. Player of the Month Lars Veldwijk The Dutch backup striker was given chances this month and boy did he take them. He netted four times, setting up a further one and was given the MOTM award on one occasion. In a month where Britt Assombalonga didn't find the net once, Veldwijk really stepped up. Danilo Cataldi I must say was also excellent this month and linked up brilliantly with Veldwijk and is tied for second in the league for assists with 10. FL Championship 93 87 85 82 82 78 73 71 70 32 24 21 *Denotes Recent Addition Argus Tsolakoglou - GK - 61-75 (+10) Ovr - 77-94 Pot - 16 - Greece (Goalkeeper): This 16 year old Greek is a really good height for in between the sticks at 6'4" and has massive potential. With a good last couple of months in the academy until the end of the season, he could even become our back up keeper to McCarthy next season. *Charles Kwel - LW - 53-67 (+3) Ovr - 66-84 Pot - 15 - Nigeria (Winger): The Nigerian only joined the academy in April and saw minimal improvement in May. He will be evaluated to see whether he has a future or not. *Eizo Hayashida - RB/RM/CM/LM - 53-65 (+12) Ovr - 69-85 Pot - 16 - Japan (Unknown): At 6'3" we hope that he chooses the middle of the park to be a destroyer and a breaker up of play. He could likely settle at RB though and may be best suited at CB due to a lack of pace. Kyle Harvey - RB - 65-67 (+23) Ovr - 88-94 Pot - 16 - England (Winger): Standing at 5'8" Kyle has settled at right fullback for his desired position. We will have to teach him how to defend though as his best attributes are his physical and technical ones. He will certainly be a good asset in our attacking game. He had one of the best progressions this season. *Mitsuharu Ishida - LM/CM/CAM/ST/RW - 52-66 (+8) Ovr - 66-84 Pot - 16 - Japan (Unknown): Mitsuharu is the second Japanese addition to our academy and he looks best suited to being a CAM. *Pascal Fuchs - LB/LM/CM/LW - 46-60 (+1) Ovr - 60-78 Pot - 15 Austria (Unknown): The first Austrian to join, he projects as nothing more than a bench player for us and maybe cut loose. He looks like he will become a winger. Sean Augustien - ST/LM - 57-63 (+13) Ovr - 73-81 Pot - 15 - Netherlands (Unknown): Initially thought to be a central midfielder Sean has narrowed his options down to either left midfield or striker. If he decides to play as a striker hopefully he grows from his 5'9" height. Looks like will most likely be a playmaking left midfielder though. Our two scouts are still in Nigeria and Austria for a two more months while the third is still in Japan for another month. The scout in Austria has been tasked with finding pacey wingers. Manager Thoughts Our first three games this month were absolutely brilliant. We kept a clean sheet and picked up three points against second placed Reading, at the time, and then got a point while dominating the title winners. A solid 2-0 win followed before we were startled a bit by Wigan, Fortuné was immense and caused us a lot of trouble. It was up and down to end the month, as expected we beat Millwall but then we suffered a terrible derby loss to Derby. We convincingly beat Bolton though and played much better. We are still third although we were second at one point. Here's to hoping Fulham slip up. May Fixtures 2/5 Brentford (a) 9/5 Cardiff (h) The two final games couldn't be more different. Brentford are bottom and relegated so we should win that easily but Cardiff are just three points behind us and could overtake us with a win. If Fulham lose their two games Cardiff could even finish second by winning their two. The same applies for Reading. Brighton need just a point from their final two to secure a playoff spot and hold off Warford who are five points behind. To finish second we need to win both our games and hope that Fulham lose at least one of theirs.Targeted Points: 6/6. What do you guys think of the Youth Academy? And where should I send my scouts next? I don't care where as I am trying to get some variety in the squad. Thanks for Reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

Oh no, everything was going amazingly until the Wigan game. Those dropped points against them and Derby will surely haunt you if you don't achieve promotion. Next month will be very important and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. You can do it!

@Bluey - Nicely done getting the Portugal job. I'd probably use Ronaldo as a striker with Nani and Quaresma on the wings but do what you think is the best. You're still going strong with Inter and winning the Scudetto is very possible.

[texasbum06]

Quote: Originally Posted by Simppu12

Great beginning to the new season with the Supercopa and with three nice wins! De Tomas is still on fire and he's looking amazing. I think you're going to win at least La Liga this season but the double should be achievable, too. Did you make any transfers or are they in a different post?

Dang it. I knew I forgot something. I had that update sitting ready for so long that it finally slipped my mind that I had to do a transfer one as well. I brought a couple players in and sent some out as well. The list is at home so I won't be able to get the update out until tonight.