Hey Guys how are you all? Remember me? :P. Wouldn't be surprised if you didn't. I haven't been on this thread in ages!!! I completely lost interest with FIFA 16 and played a ton of NBA 2K16. However, after watching the Euros I started to enjoy the game. I have also started University and have been working a ton. Anyway I have time and have found my enjoyment for FIFA 16 so to round out the game I want to achieve at least one Career Mode. I've thought of three teams I want to do a RTG with. Hopefully it will last!!!
Here's a little backstory about each team
Wolverhampton Wanderers
A young squad who achieved an impressive 7th placed finish. Kenny Jackett, due to Mutual Consent has left his role as the manager of the Wolves. With many of the players having big futures in football, promotion is essential in order to keep these players. Who will take Jackett's place and take Wolverhampton back to the Premier League after their decline.
Key Points
- Secure Promotion or fight or it (really depends on the boards goals)
- Develop current young talent
- Sign young cheap players with potential (Moneyball)
- Build their already strong academy
Walsall FC
Finishing a disappointing 14th in the 2014/15 season, Walsall legend Dean Smith has been sacked from The Saddlers. The club believed that the club wasn't progressing to the higher ranks of the English system. Fan's have been left a little upset and concerned about these goals with Walsall being a small club in the West Midlands region and have never played top flight football. With the redevelopments of the ground and the added financial support. The club may see future glory in the higher grades of the English system
Key Points
- Secure top flight football in 5 years
- Compete for the top 4 in 10 years
- Develop and play the youth
- Build the club along with the new stadium.
Notts County
The oldest football club in the world has hit rock bottom. Relegated to League 2. Manager Ricardo Moniz has resigned leaving a vacant spot 17 days into the transfer window. Releasing 14 players and signing another 16 players the club has had a huge overhaul owner and chairman Ray Trew has been active, even without a manager. Reports from the club believe that former manager Moniz had an outing with Trew about the decision making of signings and the lack of input. Trew's biggest challenge is now finding a manager that can use these players and promote the club back to the higher ranks.
Key Points
- Promotion from League 2 straight away.
- consistent promotion to each league 3 years average.
- Build youth academy
__________________ vrabbit
______________________________ Currently playing: FIFA 19 on XB1
Spoiler
Previously played: FIFA 16 on XB1 Teams: FC Barcelona
Globetrotter CM (previously at FC Twente, Kayserispor, Dorados de Sinaloa and Central Coast Mariners F.C.)
Newport County A.F.C.
GK: Kris O’Hara : 76 : Age 18
GK: Adam Marrow : 69 : Age 16**
RB: Conor Compton : 75 : Age 21
CB: Adem Mitrović : 82 (+1) : Age 28
CB: R. Martinho Ribeiro Pereira : 78 (+2) : Age 28
CB: Mamadou Sané : 75 (+1) : Age 27
CB: Daniel Dibble : 74 : Age 24
CB: Marius Papp : 69 (+1) : Age 21**
LB: Joris Voest : 74 : Age 29
LB: Brendan Galloway : 74 : Age 28
CDM: Rubén Muńiz Gallego : 79 (+1) : Age 22
CDM: Alassane Mandanne : 77 (+1) : Age 20
RM:Izet Hajrović : 74 : Age 33
CM: Vinícius Coradini Vivian : 78 : Age 23
CM: Jose Manuel Muńoz Muńoz : 75 (+3) : Age 18
CM: Ruben Loftus-Cheek : 70 (-1) : Age 28
CM: Dan Gosling : 64 (-1) : Age 34
CM: Mehdi Ouaamar : 64 (+1) : Age 19**
LW: Balde Diao Keita : 82 (+1) : Age 29
LM:Jésus Sanchez Ayala : 78 : Age 23
LM:Nicolň Angella : 73 (+2) : Age 20
LM: Cédric Thauvin : 70 : Age 23
LM: Sammy Ameobi : 69 (-1) : Age 32
CAM: Jan Navaratil : 76 : Age 25
CAM: Andy Ashton : 71 : Age 26**
CAM: Philipp Thy : 66 : Age 16**
ST: Jake Seager : 82 : Age 23
ST: Mervan Lorentzson : 76 : Age 22
ST: John Guidetti : 76 : Age 32
ST: Paul Ling : 72 (+1) : Age 20
** Denotes Player from Youth Academy
August
Barclays Premier League (17/08)
Manchester City | 2-0 | Newcastle Utd 38’ Wickham || 61’ Hiwula
A beautiful cross in by Cornacchia and a beautiful looping header from Connor Wickham which his marker, Mamadou Sané couldn’t handle opened the score. Just after the hour mark, Jordi Hiwula received the ball on the left corner of the box where he opens up some space between him and his numerous markers for a snapshot along the floor which O’Hara sees late and that was that.
Keita was the only player on the pitch which really wanted to get back into the game and that says a lot about how important he will be this campaign. New Manchester City signing José Sá made some great saves to keep our winger out and earned man of the match for it. The fans will not be happy with the poor performance today.
MotM: José Sá (8.7) (9 Saves)
Barclays Premier League (24/08)
Newcastle | 2-0 | Stoke City 12’ Lorentzson (Gallego) || 15’ Vivian (Mandanne)
Lorentzson receives the ball from Gallego on the corner of the box. The Swede skips around before suddenly nudging the ball to the left and blasting a shot into the bottom corner. Mervan Lorentszson has marked his debut off with a stunning left-footed goal!
A blocked Lorentzson cross loops in the air and drops onto the head of Alassane Mandanne whose header takes a bounce in the box before Coradini Vivian strikes the ball hard with his weaker foot first time into the far bottom corner; it’s a magnificently taken goal!
We were utterly dominant compared to what had happened last match with 22 shots overall with 15 on target compared to Stoke’s one shot.
Brendan Galloway wins a free-kick to the left about 30 yards out and Izet Hajrović pulls off a special free-kick with pinpoint accuracy for an early goal after 4 minutes.
A Keita corner misses everyone on the penalty spot but falls to Lorentzson at the back post who takes a touch which finds its way through two Bayern defenders allowing the Swede to smash the ball low on the volley and under Neuer for the second goal after 20 minutes.
We receive a reality check as Thiago has a shot which O’Hara superbly saves but Thomas Müller climbs above Conor Compton at the back post to head home the rebound.
With half an hour left, Hajrović floats the ball over the defence and onto the run of Lorentzson who manages to fend off his marker before making his way to the by-line and delivering a low cross to the unmarked Keita who slots home and easy finish.
MotM: Balde Diao Keita (9.4)
September
Capital One Cup Round 2 (03/09)
Newcastle | 4-0 | Reading 28’ Angella || 37’ Loftus-Cheek || 49’, 68’ Ling
We’re back!
MotM: Nicolň Angella (8.1)
Barclays Premier League (14/09)
Newcastle | 0-0 | Chelsea
We were evenly matched in this game. The most notable chances where a Lorentzson curling shot that went just high and wide and a Conor Compton shot from the right that hit both of the posts but just didn’t cross the line.
MotM: Adem Mitrović (7.2)
Champions League Group Stage (17/09)
Newcastle | 4-1 | Galatasaray 15’, 21’ Lorentzson || 31’ Loftus-Cheek || 50’ Vivian (Angella)
57’ Bruma
Why did they play a left winger in goal? We simply had to get shots on target to force their ‘keeper’ into uncomfortable saves and we eventually scored and kept scoring.
MotM: Cédric Thauvin (7.9)
Barclays Premier League (21/09)
Exeter City | 0-1 | Newcastle 78’ Guidetti (PEN)
It was a close one! A very boring first half saw each team cancel each other out. In the second half both Tielemans and Gallego hit the post/crossbar and Terzi mad a magnificent save to keep out Seager who had managed to get his toe to a low cross. In the 78th minute, Seager drew a foul in from Mustafi which the ref pointed to the spot for. Guidetti’s penalty wasn’t taken very well but it did the job for us to get the full three points.
MotM: Shkodran Mustafi (6.8)
Conor Compton has suffered a hyper extended knee and will be out for 4 weeks.
Capital One Cup Round 3 (24/09)
Sunderland | 1-2 | Newcastle 34’ Ortigoza || 57’ Meďté
34’ Guidetti (PEN) || 48’ Ling
MotM: Balde Diao Keita (8.3)
Barclays Premier League (29/09)
Birmingham City | 1-2 | Newcastle Utd 34’ Cartwright
37’, 64’ Guidetti
MotM: Balde Daio Keita (8.7)
October
Brendan Galloway has suffered a torn hip flexor, ruling him out for 2 months
Champions League Group Stage (02/10)
FC Basel | 1-2 | Newcastle 26’ Voest (og )|| 76’ Sokolik
23’ Lorentzson (Ayala) || 71’ Seager (Ayala)
MotM: Jesús Sanchez Ayala (9.6)
Swansea City’s youngster Pablo Rodríguez tops the goalscoring charts after being promoted from youth academy.
Barclays Premier League (06/10)
Newcastle Utd | 3-1 | Southampton 1’ Vivian || 35’, 87’ Lorentzson
71’ Larrea García
MotM: Mervan Lorentzson (8.5)
Barclays Premier League (19/10)
Arsenal | 1-2 | Newcastle 52’ Sanchez
11’, 25’ (PEN) Seager
MotM: Jake Seager (9.5)
Champions League Group Stage (23/10)
Newcastle Utd | 0-1 | Bayer Leverkusen 72’ Rodrigo
MotM: Jesús Sanchez Ayala (7.2)
Barclays Premier League (26/10)
Newcastle | 7-2 | Liverpool 9’ (PEN), 33’ Seager || 25’ Navratil || 35’, 45’ Keita || 45’+2’, 47’ Ling
5’ Benteke || 22’ Can
MotM: Balde Diao Keita (9.6)
Capital One Cup Round 4 (29/10)
Newcastle | 3-0 | Burnley 37’, 43’ Angella || 45’+1’ Guidetti (Angella)
MotM: Nicolň Angella (8.5)
Newcastle United’s Player of the Month for Aug/Sept/Oct
Balde Diao Keita
Our eight million pound signing has been worth every penny so far racking up numerous assists and chipping in with a few goals too. He could be the man to give us the edge over our opponents!
League Table:
1. Manchester City – 23 Points 2. Newcastle Utd – 22 Points
3. Exeter City – 21 Points
4. QPR – 19 Points
5. Swansea City – 17 Points
6. Manchester Utd – 16 Points
7. Chelsea – 16 Points
8. West Ham – 15 Points
9. Liverpool – 15 Points
10. Southampton – 15 Points
11. Arsenal – 14 Points
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16. Sunderland – 7 Points
17. Stoke City – 6 Points
18. Hull City – 5 Points
19. Fulham – 4 Points
20. Birmingham City – 2 Points
* Denotes team with a game in hand
Barclays Premier League Top Goalscorers
1. Romelu Lukaku – 6 Goals for Exeter City
2. Ravel Morrison – 6 Goals for West Ham
3. Pablo Rodríguez – 5 Goals for Swansea City
Champions League Group Table:
1. Bayer 04 – 6 Points
2. Newcastle Utd – 6 Points
3. FC Basel – 6 Points
4. Galatasaray SK – 0 Points
Newcastle Youth Academy:
Ben Campbell (England)
AGE: 16 | POS: GK
OVR:
57-63
POT: 86-94
Declan Wright (England)
AGE: 15 | POS: ??
OVR:
37-53
POT: 66-92
Cabee’s Thoughts:
New Signings - All the new additions have really improved the club as a whole! We still have a few consistency issues but that's to be expected at the start of the season with all the newbies fitting in.
Results - Our first match against Manchester City was such a disappointment. All the hype leading into the game for us was turned into shock as Wickham opened up their lead with a well executed header. After that, we bounced back well with a 3-1 win over German giants Bayern Munich and a 1-0 win over Exeter.
We're a bit uneasy on points in our group in the Champions League after the 1-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen but I still think we will be able to advance through despite the setback.
The 7-2 win over Liverpool was something very unexpected, especially after they took an early lead. I don't really know what happened but I guess we were relentlessly attacking and Liverpool quickly lost hope of a comeback.
League Table - Interesting league table at the moment! Romelu Lukaku has shot Exeter up the ladder by leading the goalscoring charts which is honestly quite nice to see. Pablo Rodríguez has been immense after just popping up on the scene from what looks like Swansea's under-21 side. The kid definitely has a bright future ahead of him! (I believe he's a Gonzalo Higuain regen)
Ben Campbell - Another potentially world class goalkeeper in our youth academy! Can't wait to see how good he is when I bring him into the senior team at the end of the year!
Back to the F.A. Cup now, but having gone all out for the Capital One Cup final just two days ago, this one is unfortunately going to be up to a lot of our reserves. Even worse yet, we have to go play it away. They will probably use a 4-2-3-1 again, and we will also once again use our 4-3-2-1. Armstrong makes his return to the starting XI, and this will really be his chance to earn his spot back. Maddison and Thomas both come in at the advanced midfield spots with Vincelot getting another run in the holding position. We replaced both wingers as well and brought in Ariyibi and Jones to play on the outside. The entire back line gets adjustments as well aside from Andy Taylor who will have to play on tired legs since we lost Stokes to injury for 3 weeks.
F.A. Cup Round of 16 Replay Swansea City (2) 2 - 2 (4) Coventry City SWA - Paloschi 11', Montero 68'
COV - Maddison 45' (PEN), Thomas 63'
MOTM: Leutwiler
Swansea took control early off of a corner when Paloschi headed it in as they looked to assert their dominance right away. And it looked like that was going to be how it played out until Neil Taylor made a terrible decision to slide through Conor Thomas in the box and got himself sent off while Maddison converted the ensuing penalty to equalizer heading into the break. With the man advantage we got a little more confident and finally exploited the holes in their defense when Thomas slid in to take the lead. But of course, we can't have nice things and just 5 minutes later, 10 men and all, Jefferson Montero equalized and it awakened Swansea once again. They took control back and all I could do was cover my eyes and pray for extra time. The football gods heard my prayers and we limped into the extra periods. After 30 minutes had played out neither side managed to do much and this one was going to be decided by penalties. Swansea kicked first and Gomis slotted his away and Maddison answered right back with one of his own. Next up Ki Sung Yeung smashed his shot off the left post and Armstrong made them pay when he converted his own shot. Ayew stepped up and he too found the woodwork, hitting his off the crossbar while Ricketts calmly scored his to put the pressure on Swansea. Montero, one of the goal scorers, was next up for Swansea and he left little doubt and converted his. It came to Fortune with a chance to send us through and he used a hesitation in his run up and fired the ball at the goal. The keeper guessed correctly, but he went low and Fortune went high and we were off to the quarter finals! It took a lot of luck with a red card and two shots off the woodwork in the shootout, but all that matters is the final result.
Southend, we've played them twice so far this season and we lost one and won the other. The loss we tried a 5-3-2 that was a complete disaster and we won't be making that mistake again. I will stick with our familiar 4-3-2-1 in this one and our goal will be to overload the space in the midfield as a result of their wide diamond formation. Fortune is back in the lineup after Armstrong failed to score once again in his chance at redemption, and we pretty much return our first choice lineup all the way around with Ricketts keeping his place on the back line after a solid showing from him last match.
Coventry City 0 - 0 Southend United MOTM: Leutwiler
I don't know what it is about these guys, but they just gives us trouble. Just like the first time we played them, we dominated them all over the field, but we just couldn't score. Luckily this time they didn't trouble us much so we didn't take a loss. Still this is just baffling how we always play so well against them, yet struggle to put the ball in the net.
Fleetwood Town comes next, and we are looking to take out our post Southend frustrations. They are sitting just 1 spot ahead of relegation so they will likely be fighting tooth and nail for this one. Their 4-3-3 formation also poses a threat with a lot of attacking power, but it leaves their wings wide open for counter attacks. We will use a 4-2-2-2 and focus our efforts on the outsides. This also gives us a chance to play both Armstrong and Fortune together and hope that one of them will separate themselves from the other.
Fleetwood Town 1 - 1 Coventry City FLE - Haughton 45'
COV - Hunt 87'
MOTM: Hunt
And Fleetwood came out and punched us right in the mouth. We sat comfortably on the ball throughout the match, but just before half a great cross and a strong header from Haughton put Fleetwood ahead, and us on our back foot. At half I looked them all in the eyes and and ripped into them. And we came out firing, but still it was all for nothing. But with just minutes remaining we drew a foul just outside of the box and it was the substitute Hunt that stood over it and sent it flying over the wall and curling into the top corner to save us the draw. We should have done so much more in this one, but we were lucky to escape with anything.
The F.A. Cup Quarter Final. This is big, and despite having made a successful run in the league cup, the F.A. Cup is a much grander stage. We drew Tottenham for this round, and as luck would have it, we will be playing in their stadium. Tottenham use a 4-2-3-1 which seems to be the formation of choice for the Premier League. We've had some Premier League opponents so far, but this will be our toughest one. I decide to go with our common 4-3-2-1. Armstrong will be given a chance up top, with Murphy and Lameiras occupying the wings. Joe Cole and Andy Rose will be our advanced midfielders and it will be up to them to link the entire game together and try to help us win the midfield. Vincelot is our holding mid and he will be tasked with limiting their attacking mid and leave their striker on an island against our central pairing of Stephens and Ricketts. Taylor and Lorentzson round out the lineup as our outside defenders and the entire back line will have to step up to this challenge.
Capital One Cup Quarter Final Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 5 Coventry City TOT - Dembele 74'
COV - Cole 5', Murphy 41', Armstrong 62', Gadzhev 82', 90'
MOTM: Ricketts
I don't even know how to explain what just happened. The skies opened up, a ray of sunlight shined down, and we started scoring. And we never stopped. Joe Cole opened it up with a stunning free kick and that angered the Spurs. It angered them so much that in the 34th minute Dier lost the ball to Joe Cole and he immediately slid in with a horrid challenge and he was sent off as a result. The match had no completely changed. We had a goal advantage, and they were down to 10 men. Murphy made it 2 before half and we went into the break in complete control. The onslaught continued with a great ball by Rose up to Armstrong and he finally broke his drought to add a third to the scoreline. Dembele pulled one back for the Spurs but I didn't care, this one was ours and we weren't going to let it slip away. And sure enough, Gadzhev subbed on and scored a free kick of his own before adding a tap in just before the final whistle to complete the thorough beat down in front of their own crowd. I'm not going to lie, there was no way that even I could have predicted this one.
I am buzzing right now, but it's time to get back to league play. If we want to stay on top of the table then we have to beat Blackpool. They generally run a flat 4-4-2 and I will send out a 4-2-3-1 to match it. The two holding midfielders will help to make life difficult for the pair of forwards, and we maintain our numbers to still end up with midfield superiority. Having just played two days earlier though we make changes all around to give everyone some rest. Only Ricketts and Leutwiler will keep their spots in the lineup. We had to commit to the cup tie, but we still need this one to hold our spot, let's hope that the reserves can get it done.
Coventry City 1 - 0 Blackpool FC COV - White 32' (OG)
MOTM: Thomas
Well, we definitely deserved to lose that one. Blackpool out possessed us, they out shot us, and they dominated us from the start. Still, they knocked the ball into their own net and we ended up with the win. Despite our lack of attack, we held strong at the back and kept them off of the score sheet after taking the lead. So we will take 3 points and not ask any questions. Let's hope we improve since we won't get lucky like that again.
I think it's safe to say that own goals won't be something to rely on. Luckily it was our reserves that played in the last one, so with our starters getting back into the lineup we should be able to create more opportunities. Sheffield United are no pushovers though and they are sitting 6th in the table trying to keep their spot in the playoffs. They run a 5-3-2 and as we've noted in the past, those formations are susceptible to attacks down the wings. I choose to match their 3 man midfield and send out a 4-5-1 which will focus mainly on moving the ball down the wings. Our first choice XI all come back in with the exception of the injured Reida Johnson. This will be a good test to make sure we are on the right track.
Coventry City 4 - 0 Sheffield United COV - Armstrong 9', Maddison 38', Vincelot 90', Fleck 90'
MOTM: Ricketts
That went as well as we could have hoped. The game plan went off without a hitch and even though we lost the possession battle, our strategy of attacking down the wings doesn't exactly play to that concept. Still, we peppered their goal with shot after shot and in the end we sent 4 through. Armstrong started it off early and Maddison added a second before the half was over. It looked like we would settle at 2, but Armstrong had a pair of shots in the 90th minute saved, and each one fell to one of our players for a first time finish as the keeper was still on the ground. A Millwall draw only added to our joy as we moved 2 points clear of them to stay at the top all by ourselves.
We travel to Bury for our next match and they are a bottom half team that are safe from relegation, but have nothing left to fight for. Still, these are the type of teams that can ruin a season for their opponents. Bury will field a flat 4-4-2 and just as we did against Blackpool, we will use a 4-2-3-1. Our XI remains nearly unchanged from last match, except Stokes is in for Taylor on the left side of the defense, old man Joe Cole comes in for Maddison at the 10, and Martins will take the place of Ricketts in the center of the defense while he plays for his country.
Bury FC 0 - 2 Coventry City COV - Cole 33', Rose 71'
MOTM: Leutwiler
It feels good to take care of business. Joe Cole opened it in the first half with a little bit of luck off a deflection, and Rose hit a stunner in the second half to wrap it all up. On top of that, we truly dominated the entire match and finally won a possession battle which was nice. We should have probably scored more, but a 2 goal result is nothing to be ashamed of. With one match left this month, we are looking pretty good.
Let's see if we can close out the month on top. Gillingham is what stands in the way of us making that happen, and once I saw this fixture I got a little excited. They run a 4-4-2 narrow diamond which is one of my favorite formations to play against since it just gives me loads of space to have my wingers rampage down the flanks. I put together a 4-5-1 and we play most of our starters except for the midfield that was a bit more exhausted than the others. Maddison, Fleck, and Thomas each get the nod there, but the focus will be on the outside in this one so that shouldn't matter too much.
Gillingham FC 1 - 2 Coventry City GIL - Dack 55' (PEN)
COV - Fleck 2', Jones 59'
MOTM: Leutwiler
The refs did their best, but we still won anyway. It's been a while since I had seen such a 1 sided game from the refs like that. They offered my players no protection and barely let us get close enough to an opponent to sneeze on them. Still, we started it off quick, playing it down the wing and Fleck scored off of a cross from the outside. Nothing much happened until the second half outside of them kicking us over and over again with no calls in our favor. Then the refs took it to a new level and they pointed to the spot leaving me completely baffled as to what they were calling. Nonetheless Dack converted the penalty and we found ourselves even. All that did was motivate us though and not 5 minutes later Jones scored after collecting a loose ball after their defender clashed through our man with the ball, but luckily fortune fell in our favor on that one and he slotted it home for the deciding goal. To really emphasize how this game went, we lost Murphy to a terrible tackle that of course had no foul called. We finished the month on top, but boy are we limping after that one.
Youth Academy
This month our scout took off to Ireland to continue his tour for prospects. He's actually done a very impressive job so far in England and Scotland, so we have high hopes for what he will bring us once again. The first month provided nothing of note though, but there are still 2 more months left to find some talent.
Greg Fox - 18 years old, Scotland, CB, 52 OVR, 79-93 POT
Jamie Gordon - 17 years old, Scotland, RM, 54 OVR, 70-90 POT
Michael Harkins - 16 years old, Scotland, CM, 40 OVR, 74-92 POT
Matthew Cox - 16 years old, England, LB, 52 OVR, 70-74 POT
Amari'i Seager - 15 years old, England, CB, 59 OVR, 70-74 POT
Sandro Wagner, Striker, 75 Ovr, €5,000,000 to FC Lorient
The 29-year-old striker spent only five months at the club, and during those five months he failed to hit the back of the net even once. Wagner was simply useless out on the pitch and we ran out of patience with him.
Transfers In
Davie Selke
73 Ovr, Striker, 22 Years Old, Germany
€6,900,000
VfB Stuttgart were fast to replace their summer transfer flop Sandro Wagner as they announced the capture of German striker talent Davie Selke only two days after Wagner had been sold. The 22-year-old Selke made his debut for Werder Bremen in 2013, which was followed by some goals and a very controversial move to RB Leipzig in 2015. Selke helped Leipzig achieve promotion to the top tier of German football in 2016, but in the following season his side got relegated back to the second division. Now the strong and capable goalscorer is hoping to live up to his potential at surprise of the season Stuttgart, who are second in the Bundesliga.
Our first game on Legendary could've ended better for us as we had several, or eight, good opportunities to score in the game. Niederlechner put the home side into the lead very early on with a powerful near-post strike. We managed to equalise with Balázs Dzsudzsák's curling effort twenty minutes before the fulltime whistle.
Second game on Legendary against a top team and boom - we beat them. Somehow Dortmund never really looked confident on the ball and I guess we just wanted the victory more than them. Bobby Wood's counter attack goal and Dzsudzsák's well taken penalty were enough to secure us the win.
Ramazan Özcan, 32 years old, 76 ovr
Timon Wellenreuther, 21 years old, 74 ovr
Benjamin Uphoff, 23 years old, 62 ovr
Right Backs
Kevin Großkreutz, 28 years old, 76 ovr
Jean Zimmer, 22 years old, 72 ovr
Left Backs
Emiliano Insua, 28 years old, 76 ovr
Maximilian Mittelstädt, 19 years old, 71 ovr Philip Heise, 25 years old, 70 ovr (on loan at Sturm Graz)
Centre Backs
Koray Günter, 22 years old, 75 ovr
Nico Elvedi, 19 years old, 72 ovr
Duje Caleta-Car, 20 years old, 71 ovr
Timo Baumgartl, 20 years old, 70 ovr
Central Midfielders
Christian Gentner, 31 years old, 74 ovr (C)
Serey Die, 31 years old, 74 ovr
Ádám Nagy, 21 years old, 74 ovr
Johannes Flum, 28 years old, 73 ovr
Hany Mukhtar, 21 years old, 72 ovr
Alexander Ring, 25 years old, 71 ovr Arianit Ferati, 19 years old, 65 ovr (on loan at RB Salzburg)
Wingers
Filip Kostic, 23 years old, 81 ovr
Balázs Dzsudzsák, 29 years old, 77 ovr
Tobias Kempe, 27 years old, 74 ovr Marco Rojas, 24 years old, 73 ovr (on loan at Greuther Fürth)
Christian Pulisic, 17 years old, 72 ovr
Strikers
Bobby Wood, 24 years old, 76 ovr
Nemanja Nikolic, 28 years old, 75 ovr
Lukasz Zwolinski, 23 years old, 74 ovr
Maximilian Philipp, 22 years old, 74 ovr
Davie Selke, 22 years old, 73 ovr Shawn Parker, 23 years old, 71 ovr (on loan at Greuther Fürth)
Jan Kliment, 23 years old, 71 ovr (on loan at SV Sandhausen)
Starting XI
My Thoughts
Form - Tieing with Freiburg was a slight upset but the win against BVB after that was great. I also adjusted some sliders in the CPU's favour after that win because, quite ironically, after turning the difficulty up the point gap between us and third-placed Hertha has grown instead of getting smaller.
Transfers - I was very happy when Lorient accepted our counter offer of 5M for Sandro Wagner because it meant that we were getting rid of him. He was completely useless for us, getting only a single assist in eight or nine appearances, and he spent the last couple of months rotting in the reserves.
With one striker gone I decided that it would be good to bring another striker in. We made several offers for Hoffenheim's Mark Uth, Frankfurt's Luc Castaignos and Haris Seferovic, and AZ Alkmaar's Vincent Janssen, but after some failed deals for one reason or another we decided that the young Selke would be the best option for us. He is well-suited for our target striker role and now I just hope that he lives up to expectations.
All of the three most expensive transfers of the window involved Bayern München. They signed Real Madrid's James Rodriguez for €115M (!), even though they have the likes of Mesut Özil and Mario Götze, and if that wasn't enough they went ahead and signed David Silva for €55M. Bayern also sold Robert Lewandowski to Chelsea for €76M, which makes me question their remaining fire power, although I think they still have Thomas Müller.
February - The first game of February is a very important (for me personally) game against Hertha BSC at the beautiful Olympiastadion away from home. After that we face our bogey team Hannover at home, which is then followed by a Europa League match against Saint-Etienne. After a trip to Augsburg we have the second leg of the Europa League fixture at home. We will get only a day of rest after the game against the French side before we play against Werder Bremen. The month is finished off with a game against a solid Schalke 04 side.
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A very unfortunate loss for us against third-placed Hertha. We took the lead after the half an hour mark thanks to Lukasz Zwolinski's header, but Vedad Ibisevic pulled the Berliners back on level before the break. In the 70th minute Salomon Kalou won his team the three points as he slotted a penalty in.
Round of 32, 1st leg Saint-Etienne 2 - 2 VfB Stuttgart Hamouma 40' pen, Clement 51'
Wood 56', Dzsudzsák 88'
Romain Hamouma put the home team into the lead from the penalty spot late on into the first half. The lead of the French side got doubled in the 51st minute with Clement's powerful shot into the bottom left corner of the net. Fortunately Bobby Wood pulled one back only five minutes later, and a few minutes before the full time whistle Balázs Dzsudzsák equalised from his compatriot Nemanja Nikolic's pass.
Round of 32, 2nd leg VfB Stuttgart (2) 0 - 0 (2) Saint-Etienne
A well-fought goalless draw was enough to secure our place in the round of 16 after we managed to score two away goals in the first leg. We will face the Dutch team Feyenoord in the next round.
Round of 16, 1st leg VfB Stuttgart 1 - 1 Feyenoord Nikolic 88'
Immers 12'
Lex Immers put the away side into the lead 12 minutes into the game with a cross that flew right over Timon Wellenreuther and into the net. As a consequence, our young keeper got taken off and Ramazan Özcan stepped between the posts. We then fought well and hard and finally in the 88th minute equalised. Feyenoord's keeper passed the ball right to Nemanja Nikolic, who then curled the ball around the goalie.
Mainz 05 0 - 2 VfB Stuttgart Selke 52', pen, 59'
Round of 16, 2nd leg Feyenoord (1) 0 - 1 (2) VfB Stuttgart Selke 53'
Our winter signing Davie Selke shined again as he decided this match-up in our favour with his goal! Bobby Wood played the ball across the Feyenoord goal and Selke just shot the ball into the net effortlessly to win us the game. We will play against fellow Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in the quarter finals.
Lukasz Zwolinski scored early on to put us into the lead, but Thorgan Hazard equalised under five minutes later. We then took the lead again with Bobby Wood's converted penalty, but Borussia's Josip Drmic equalised. In the 52nd minute Nemanja Nikolic converted our second penalty of the game to secure the three points. Borussia's Drmic had a chance to equalise the game in the 75th minute, but his penalty was saved by our keeper.
This was a very even game but at the end Dortmund were more clinical and managed to come out on top. Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored first for them a few minutes before the break with a powerful shot from the edge of the box, while Marco Reus doubled their lead after the hour mark. In the 76th minute our young striker Davie Selke managed to get an important away goal to keep our hopes alive.
Serey Die got injured and will miss 3 months of action.
VfB Stuttgart 1 - 0 Hamburger SV Kempe 77'
With this win we secured our place in the Champions League next season.
And that's how our Europa League campaign came to an end. We had more chances than our yellow opponents, but it wasn't enough as we wasted most of them. Dortmund were more clinical than us and that's all that matters.
Our keeper Wellenreuther had an amazing game in goal, saving nine of Ingolstadt's ten shots. Three of those saves came during a very short time period as Germany's future number 1 goalkeeper saved three consecutive shots in under ten seconds.
VfB Stuttgart 2 - 1 FC Bayern München Neuer OG 25', Nikolic 66'
Müller 4'
What a better way to end a spectacular season than by beating the league winners? Things didn't start off well for us as Thomas Müller tapped the ball into the net only four minutes into the game. We fought hard, though, and as a consequence Manuel Neuer hit the ball into his own net from a curling corner kick. The Bavarians started to control the game more as it went on, but in the 66th minute Nemanja Nikolic broke free on the counter attack and drilled the ball past Manuel Neuer into the bottom left corner of the net.
Nico Elvedi made his first appearance after his injury in this game.
Bobby Wood went down with an LCL injury and is ruled out for three months.
DFB Pokal: Bayern München Champions League: Bayern München Europa League: Tottenham Hotspur Premier League: Manchester Untied Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain Serie A: Juventus FC La Liga: Real Madrid
Promoted Teams For 2018-19 Bundesliga Season
SV Darmstadt
RB Leipzig
My Thoughts
What A Season! - We had an amazing season in our first year back in the top flight! As I mentioned in previous updates, the season was actually too amazing, but at the end I didn't manage to turn it around. Finishing second in the league and reaching the Europa League quarter finals is just too good for a newly-promoted side, but there's nothing we can do anymore. Getting eliminated by Hannover in the round of 16 of the DFB Pokal was very disappointing, though.
The Season of Hertha - Hertha were going strong in third in January, but from there they started falling down the table all the way down to eighth place where they finished season. I think the reason for this is that the Berliners sold both of their 75+ ovr keepers and were left with a mid-50s overall keeper. What a shame.
Player Performances - Davie Selke, Ramazan Özcan and Balázs Dzsudzsák were just some of our players who did a great job this season, but more of this in the upcoming squad review update.
Transfer Plans - Our defensive midfielder Serey Die has announced that he will be retiring at the end of next season, so that is something we will address in the transfer window. Furthermore, our right-sided midfielder in our midfield diamond, Christian Gentner, is getting older and starting to decrease in stats. This is also something I will look into during the transfer window. Other than that I'm very happy with the squad, although I'm looking to replace some rotation players with better ones.
Transfer Budget: €42,500,000 Wage Budget: €200,000
Thank you for reading this post! I hope you have enjoyed it! Any feedback or suggestions will be appreciated!
+ Strong tackler
+ Young
- Prone to errors
- Positioning could be better
LB: Emiliano Insua, 28 Years Old, 78 Ovr (+2), 7/10 1 assist in 27 appearances
+ Solid going both ways the pitch
+ Quick to get back to defend
- Didn't contribute enough in attack
- Often left his man unmarked
CDM: Ádám Nagy, 22 Years Old, 75 Ovr (+4), 7/10 1 goal and 1 assist in 35 appearances
+ Very good at intercepting passes
+ Good dribbling for a defensive midfielder
+ Went up a lot in his rating
- Often failed to maintain possession of the ball after gaining it
- Poor stamina
- Lacks strength
RM: Christian Gentner, 31 Years Old, 74 Ovr (-1), 7/10 8 assists in 40 appearances
+ Good passer
+ Ran up and down the pitch
- Didn't score a single goal
- Sluggish on the ball
LM: Filip Kostic, 24 Years Old, 82 Ovr (+1), 7/10 9 assists in 35 appearances
+ Fast
+ Very good dribbling
- Didn't score a single goal
- Went missing in several games
- Could've been more effective on the pitch
CAM: Balázs Dzsudzsák, 30 Years Old, 77 Ovr (+1), 9/10 16 goals and 1 assist in 31 appearances
+ Good dribbling
+ Very good finishing
+ Powerful shot
+ Very good at free kicks
- Poor stamina
- Assisted only one goal
- Lost the ball a bit too often
ST: Bobby Wood, 24 Years Old, 76 Ovr (+1), 8.5/10 16 goals and 5 assists in 34 appearances
+ Pacy
+ Good dribbling
+ Good finisher
- Could've been more effective in the second half of the season
ST: Lukasz Zwolinski, 24 Years Old, 74 Ovr (+1), 7/10 10 goals and 6 assists in 31 appearances
+ Strong on the ball
+ Good shot
- Wasn't clinical enough
- Could've been more effective
- Was barely noticeable in many games
- Lost his starting spot to Selke
Notable Substitutes
GK: Timon Wellenreuther, 21 Years Old, 76 Ovr (+9), 7/10 3 clean sheets in 16 appearances
+ Was amazing in the last few games of the season
+ Grew by a huge amount
- Sloppy during the majority of the season
- Got substituted off once
CB: Timo Baumgartl, 21 Years Old, 72 Ovr (+2), 6.5/10 18 appearances
+ Tall and strong
- Poor marking
CB: Duje Caleta-Car, 20 Years Old, 71 Ovr (+0), 6.5/10 25 appearances
+ Strong
- Poor marking
- Sluggish
LB: Maximilian Mittelstädt, 20 Years Old, 71 Ovr (+0), 6.5/10 3 assists in 24 appearances
+ Good dribbling
+ Good going forwards
+ Best assister out of the defenders
- Often left his man unmarked
- Weak on the ball
- Slow getting back to defend
CDM: Serey Die, 32 Years Old, 74 Ovr (-1), 7/10 1 goal and 3 assists in 32 appearances
+ Good tackler
+ Strong on the ball
- Poor marking
- Starting to decrease
CAM: Hany Mukhtar, 22 Years Old, 74 Ovr (+2), 6.5/10 7 assists in 30 appearances
+ Agile
- Weak on the ball
- Lost the ball often
- Could've contributed more in attack
RM: Tobias Kempe, 28 Years Old, 74 Ovr (+0), 6/10 5 goals and 1 assist in 25 appearances
+ Good rotational player
- Could've contributed more in attack
LM: Christian Pulisic, 18 Years Old, 73 Ovr (+1), 6/10 1 goal and 7 assists in 33 appearances
+ Skillful
+ Agile
- Weak on the ball
- Didn't create a lot of chances
- Didn't grow much
CF: Maximilian Philipp, 23 Years Old, 74 Ovr (+1), 6/10 2 goals and 3 assists in 15 appearances
+ Fast
- Could've contributed more in attack
- Never shone
ST: Nemanja Nikolic, 29 Years Old, 75 Ovr (+1), 7.5/10 13 goals and 3 assists in 37 apperances
+ Super-sub
+ Good finishing
+ Scored many important goals
- Could've been more clinical
ST: Davie Selke, 22 Years Old, 75 Ovr (+2), 9.5/10 9 goals and 2 assists in 13 appearances
+ Very good finishing
+ Strong on the ball
+ Good attacking positioning
+ Broke into the starting eleven at the end of the season
- A bit sluggish
That's all for this season, folks! The next update will consist of our summer transfers and our results in August.
Thank you for reading this post! I hope you have enjoyed it! Any feedback or suggestions will be appreciated!
__________________ vrabbit
______________________________ Currently playing: FIFA 19 on XB1
Spoiler
Previously played: FIFA 16 on XB1 Teams: FC Barcelona
Globetrotter CM (previously at FC Twente, Kayserispor, Dorados de Sinaloa and Central Coast Mariners F.C.)
Newport County A.F.C.