EOS Reflection

Always good to reflect on season to help improve for next!

Watford

How did last season fare? Well, even though managed to Win the League, was a bit flat in the other cup competitions with defeats to Man Utd and Wimbledon. Both were penalty knockouts, so the manager had some thoughts… Either get a better Goalkeeper with higher PS (Which is surprisingly harder than first thought) or don’t let it get to penalties in the first place. So, a two-fold plan, improve the reserve players to ensure that proper rotations can help rest first 11 players have a Plan B. Players brought in to help rotation options, Leighton Baines & Joao Cancelo at Fullbacks vast improvement. Mings brought in at CB with ability to rest Soyuncu more this season. Declan Rice has improved tremendously this season and gives cover for Partey who should have been eased into First team action slower last season after taking over from Jorginho who was a rock in the middle of the park. As for rest of midfield/attackers, Grealish brought in at LH, Barnes at RH, Abrahams at CF, and a move to TM for KDB. Gives rotation to Sterling, Odoi and Pogba.
The team has an emphasis on Homegrown talent, with the club looking at bringing in more British players and looking to build around the existing young players on the books. High hopes for the likes of Louie Barry, Dane Scarlett, Jamal Musiala, and Carney Chukuemeka. The manager is hopeful the next phase of the team development will help maintain their dominance and add some more trophies to the cabinet, but also expect it to take a little while for the team to get fully up to speed.
The spine of the team was nearly replaced, Henderson #1 GK, Maguire remains at CB, Partey still fairly new at AM, Maddison shifted to DY, KDB moved to TM and Abrahams taken over at CF. Hopefully the CC will allow the team to gain much needed match experience together.

Aim for next season: Premier League title and Champions League.

CF ABRAHAM B,23 TM DE BRUYNE B,29
CF STURRIDGE B,31 TM MUSIALA R,18
CF PARROTT R,19 TM CIRJAN R,18

LH GREALISH B,25 DY MADDISON R,24 RH BARNES R,23
LH STERLING B,26 DY POGBA R,28 RH ODOI R,20
LH KNIGHT L,18 DY CHUKWUEMEKA R,17 RH ZEFI R,16


AM PARTEY R,27
AM RICE R,22
AM GARNER R,20

LB MENDY L,26 CL SOYUNCU B,24 CR MAGUIRE B,28 RB WAN-BISSAKA R,23
LB BAINES L,36 CL MINGS L,28 CR WILMOTS R,21 RB CANCELO R,26
LB BONDSWELL L,19 CL GORDON R,18 CR SIMEU R,19 RB LAIRD R,19

GK HENDERSON R,24
GK RUDDY R,34
GK SETFORD R,17

Genk

Genk have managed to build there own identify over the years. Firstly, they became a talent factory, selling off all their best youth players to fund the superstar revolution and bring in players that would make an immediate impact as the aim was to become a global household name. This ambition has been achieved after winning a treble and winning every single league game.
The manager has slowly integrated some of the best wonderkids into the first team such as Ryan Gravenberch and Benoit Badiashile. Adam Hlozek and Charles De Ketelaere got plenty of minutes in the league, mainly from the bench. However, for next season Alexis Saelemaekers will become first choice RB after the departure of Cancelo back to Watford. As for Eduardo Camavinga he had a great transitional period in Germany at Leverkusen and now will come back at make the DY position his own ahead of the new season. Neymar departed and in came the “King” Mahrez, who was sensational in Brazil, scoring 32 goals in 34 games. Unfortunely some Genk players played out of position and that can’t be good for the long term of a club. So, the team needed to be balanced out and few less languages should also help the cohesion of the team.
The off-field activities of the club, stadium and infrastructure has aided in the club now being a sustainable unit and not requiring to sell off their best youngsters (Sorry Rob!!) and now can look forward to the next generation of talent the club has to offer developing before them. High hopes for Camavinga, Hlozek, Ketelaere, Fernandes (Joelson), Gvardiol, Gutierrez and Bade (Surely more, just can’t name them all or might as well publish a squad list.

Aim for next season: Treble again! Got the hunger for European glory.

CF DEMBELE R,24 TM ERIKSEN R,29
CF HLOZEK B,18 TM DE KETELAERE L,20
CF BROBBEY R,19 TM RUIZ-ATIL B,18

DY CAMAVINGA L,18
DY DEMBELE L,33
DY MISEHOUY R,15


LH GRIEZMANN L,30 RH MAHREZ B,30
LH FERNANDES B,18 RH BEN ARFA R,34
LH KJELDER L,18 RH MBANGULA R,17

AM GRAVENBERCH R,19
AM VRANCKX B,18
AM ONANA B,19


LB MENDY L,25 CL BADIASHILE L,20 CR RUDIGER R,28 RB SAELEMAEKERS R,21
LB COENTRAO L,33 CL VERTONGHEN L,34 CR CUESTA R,22 RB MAKUTUNGU R,19
LB GUTIERREZ L,19 CL GVARDIOL L,19 CR BADE R,21 RB GELDEREN R,20

GK LENO R,29
GK SVILAR R,21
GK VANDEVOORDT R,19

Leverkusen

The Leverkusen team currently has 8 different nationalities in the first 11, something the manager tries to steer clear of, however sometimes just got to take what the market offers. The aim of last season was to win Promotion, and we achieved our Goals. The manager assembled a squad faster than he anticipated which is always good. With some key players picked up, Adler, Busquets, El Shaarawy, Nainggolan and Lewandowski. The squad is slightly on the older side of things, making the short-term goals easier to achieve but the long-term goal is always sustainability. Backroom and Infrastructure isn’t at the same level as other satellite clubs, Genk and Botafogo so the investments will need to be shrewd otherwise to much money spent on buildings leaves no ability to manoeuvre in the market, and no investment in the capacity of the stadium makes any financial gains only short term and covering weekly outcomes.
The manager has looked at Fullbacks with the combined ages of Piszczek and Skulason being 69, recent acquisitions being Gosens and Otto. Which helps with team chemistry being German and Spanish respectfully. Manager also brought in Odoin Ighalo to provide some cover for Lewandowski, with the manager still looking at backup wide players with Frei and Larsen being the club’s current options. Club talents Knauff, Luca Netz and Coulibaly will be on the managers radar for development.

Aim for next season: Not get relegated, Win European Cup again.

CF LEWANDOWSKI R,32 TM MKHITARYAN B,32
CF IGHALO R,31 TM IBRAHIMOVIC R,15
CF HOPPE R,20 TM EGLOFF R,18


DY MILINKOVIC-SAVIC R,26
DY NAINGGOLAN R,33
DY LUBACH R,16


LH BAILEY B,23 RH EL SHAARAWY R,28
LH FREI L,27 RH LARSEN R,22
LH YEBOAH R,20 RH KNAUFF R,19


AM BUSQUETS R,32
AM TROCHOWSKI R,37
AM FUST L,18

LB GOSENS L,26 CL BONUCCI B,34 CR MUSTAFI R,29 RB OTTO B,27
LB SKULASON L,34 CL COULIBALY L,17 CR BUCHMANN R,16 RB PISZCZEK R,35
LB NETZ L,18 CL LANFER L,17 CR PAULI R,15 RB VAGNOMANN R,20

GK ADLER R,36
GK BERTRAMS R,28
GK KUCZ R,21

Botafogo

Probably had the highest expectations and ended up under delivering against them. Big money signing Casemiro came in and while he was solid in the middle of the park there were a couple of factors that caused the initial slump…. Change from CAT to SAM to CAT didn’t help. Selling experienced CB David Luiz and using a youth player and expecting same defence was rookie and not nailing down the first 11 until middle of the season, with Tete, Antonio and Bobsin all trying there hand to fill the DY position until Veteran Fernandinho came in and showed the youngsters how it’s done. Which led to a strong finish to the season, but double defeats to Santos and countless defeats to Sao Paulo eliminated any chance of becoming the Brazil champions or retain the Copa Libertadores.
The manager didn’t want to make overhaul changes to the squad; however, Neymar came in to add that explosive edge at TM and replace the goals Mahrez contributed. Damiao has come in to heap pressure on Hulk who was lacklustre Infront of goal compared to his high standards of previous seasons, Galhardo arrived towards end of the season to give the manager an alternative at TM after the departure of Felipe Anderson, who also paved the way for first team action for Tete. Dodo has arrived after the departure of legendary Dani Alves, but at 38 injuries throughout the season kept him out of action and needed a more long-term option at RB with Couto being hot the heels of Dodo. Finally, Bravo is the short-term choice between the sticks as Brazao at 20 has many years to develop his game.

Aim for the season: League and Copa Libertadores

CF HULK B,34 TM NEYMAR B,29
CF DAMIAO R,31 TM GALHARDO R,31
CF AUGUSTO R,17 TM PEGLOW R,19

DY FERNANDINHO B,36
DY BOBSIN L,21
DY CABRAL R,19

LH MOURA B,28 RH TETE R,21
LH RENATINHO L,34 RH VERON B,18
LH SILVA R,19 RH ANTONIO R,20

AM CASEMIRO B,29
AM DE PAULA L,21
AM ROSA R,18

LB GRIMALDO L,25 CL LEONARDO L,35 CR FELIPE R,32 RB DOMILSON DODO R,22
LB KASMIRSKI L,35 CL MARINHO R,19 CR MONTES R,24 RB COUTO R,18
LB PATRYCK L,18 CL QUARESMA B,19 CR VITAO R,21 RB GARCIA R,19

GK BRAVO R,38
GK BRAZAO R,20
GK GALDINO R,20

Great read Phil

A great read Phil. Looking strong for next season.

Combined review on all my teams

Barca - I had set initial expectations as winning the League and getting out of the group of death (Schalke and Charlton) in Europe. Barca did both and added a Copa del Rey as well so on paper it should have been a good season so ..... I think I missed an opportunity to do more in Europe. A lack of squad depth cost Barca and I'm pleased with how things have developed in that regard. The additions of Olmo, Llorente, Kounde and Immobile to the squad through the season as well as the development of Fati, Pedri and Garcia means Barca are much better equipped going into next season. Expectations ..... continued domestic dominance and a better European run.

Nacional - a similar story to Barca. In this case I set expectations as a League and Cup double plus getting out of the Libertadores group. A failure in the FA Cup was a big let down and better is expected next season with a domestic double being a key focus. The bright side of the season was a 100% League campaign with 0 goals conceded. Goals for next season are unchanged although I expect a much tougher time domestically. Again, as with Barca, it feels like a deeper squad is now in place. Experience in the form of Sergi Roberto, Zabaleta, Gerard Moreno and Lodeiro should help compete on all fronts.

Hannover - this season was all about building for a promotion push next season. Having pulled together an exciting squad I think winning the second division has to be the key objective. This season's run to the Cup final was unexpected and a nice bonus and I look forward to another decent run next season. No Europe this season and that will change next season with Hannover's first venture on a bigger stage. Key man Brozovic will continue to pull the strings and feed the young attacking line up of Kulusevski, Isak, Poulsen, Adeyemi and Berisha.

Akranes - last but not least the newly crowned Icelandic champions. Failure to do a domestic double was a big miss in a season where League domination was a given. Next season's expectations are a domestic double and a better European showing. This is a very young squad and the club is really set up to develop players for the rest of the group and I hope to see that prove fruitful with exciting talents like Daka, En-Nesyri, Diatta, Johannesson and Trubin starting week in, week out.

Phil@Watford wrote:: Always good to reflect on season to help improve for next!

Watford

How did last season fare? Well, even though managed to Win the League, was a bit flat in the other cup competitions with defeats to Man Utd and Wimbledon. Both were penalty knockouts, so the manager had some thoughts… Either get a better Goalkeeper with higher PS (Which is surprisingly harder than first thought) or don’t let it get to penalties in the first place. So, a two-fold plan, improve the reserve players to ensure that proper rotations can help rest first 11 players have a Plan B. Players brought in to help rotation options, Leighton Baines & Joao Cancelo at Fullbacks vast improvement. Mings brought in at CB with ability to rest Soyuncu more this season. Declan Rice has improved tremendously this season and gives cover for Partey who should have been eased into First team action slower last season after taking over from Jorginho who was a rock in the middle of the park. As for rest of midfield/attackers, Grealish brought in at LH, Barnes at RH, Abrahams at CF, and a move to TM for KDB. Gives rotation to Sterling, Odoi and Pogba.
The team has an emphasis on Homegrown talent, with the club looking at bringing in more British players and looking to build around the existing young players on the books. High hopes for the likes of Louie Barry, Dane Scarlett, Jamal Musiala, and Carney Chukuemeka. The manager is hopeful the next phase of the team development will help maintain their dominance and add some more trophies to the cabinet, but also expect it to take a little while for the team to get fully up to speed.
The spine of the team was nearly replaced, Henderson #1 GK, Maguire remains at CB, Partey still fairly new at AM, Maddison shifted to DY, KDB moved to TM and Abrahams taken over at CF. Hopefully the CC will allow the team to gain much needed match experience together.

Aim for next season: Premier League title and Champions League.

Unfortunately, I wasn't as successful this season as in previous seasons. No doubt to a couple of factors, such as changes to the squad, new formation, changing tactics in big weeks and general over thinking. However, the manager is as eager as ever ahead of the new season with some new players brought into the squad to help propel the side forward again. Nketiah comes into the squad to add competition for Abrahams who had a sublime debut season, certainly a "Monster" up top with 28 Goals this season. The manager is trying to find the right balance in midfield, with Rice taking over the captains armband and put in some inspired performances in the heart of midfield. Partey, winning the ball back and able to shield it well before recycling possession feeding it to Grealish and Harvey Barnes.
Rudiger comes in at the back to add some world class defensive qualities alongside Maguire who moves over to CL. Shaw and Cancelo make up the rest of the back four, with Henderson keeping things simple between the sticks. Manager keen to keep looking at how else he can keep improving the team over next couple of weeks ahead of the new season;

Aim for season; Premier League title.

CF ABRAHAM B,24 TM MADDISON R,25
hd84% sh99% st99% co99% ae72% vi99%
CF NKETIAH R,22 TM SMITH ROWE
hd69% sh96% st99% co99% ae68% vi99%
CF PARROTT R,20 TM ZEFI R,17
hd50% sh97% st99% co -% ae62% vi -%

DL GREALISH B,26 BW PARTEY R,28 DR BARNES
sh97% hd80% ta67% ta76% sh97% hd71% ta68%
DL STERLING B,27 BW GUEYE R,32 DR ODOI R,21
sh93% hd59% ta47% ta61% sh95% hd61% ta51%
DL VALE R,18 BW APP DR CHUKWUEMEKA R,18
sh97% hd -% ta48% sh93% hd64% ta67%








AM RICE R,23
ta83% sp99% lp73%
AM WARD-PROWSE
ta64% sp91% lp64%
AM PATINO B,18
ta30% sp98% lp53%

LB SHAW L,26 CL MAGUIRE B,29 CR RUDIGER R,29 RB CANCELO R,27
qu61% ta63% hd87% ta76% st -% hd85% ta77% st92% qu83% ta64%
LB BAINES L,37 CL MINGS L,29 CR WILMOT R,22 RB WAN-BISSAKA R,24
qu84% ta57% hd64% ta48% st38% hd72% ta52% st56% qu63% ta75%
LB DOIG B,19 CL MENGI R,20 CR SIMEU R,19 RB LAIRD R,20
qu -% ta88% hd84% ta79% st36% hd75% ta51% st56% qu59% ta57%

GK HENDERSON R,25
ss78% kn99%
GK RUDDY R,35
ss68% kn99%
GK SETFORD R,17
ss67% kn99%

Phil@Watford wrote:: Genk
Genk have managed to build there own identify over the years. Firstly, they became a talent factory, selling off all their best youth players to fund the superstar revolution and bring in players that would make an immediate impact as the aim was to become a global household name. This ambition has been achieved after winning a treble and winning every single league game.
The manager has slowly integrated some of the best wonderkids into the first team such as Ryan Gravenberch and Benoit Badiashile. Adam Hlozek and Charles De Ketelaere got plenty of minutes in the league, mainly from the bench. However, for next season Alexis Saelemaekers will become first choice RB after the departure of Cancelo back to Watford. As for Eduardo Camavinga he had a great transitional period in Germany at Leverkusen and now will come back at make the DY position his own ahead of the new season. Neymar departed and in came the “King” Mahrez, who was sensational in Brazil, scoring 32 goals in 34 games. Unfortunely some Genk players played out of position and that can’t be good for the long term of a club. So, the team needed to be balanced out and few less languages should also help the cohesion of the team.
The off-field activities of the club, stadium and infrastructure has aided in the club now being a sustainable unit and not requiring to sell off their best youngsters (Sorry Rob!!) and now can look forward to the next generation of talent the club has to offer developing before them. High hopes for Camavinga, Hlozek, Ketelaere, Fernandes (Joelson), Gvardiol, Gutierrez and Bade (Surely more, just can’t name them all or might as well publish a squad list.

Aim for next season: Treble again! Got the hunger for European glory.

Genk continue to go from strength to strength after putting in a relentless season. Chasing and winning the treble. The Squad is largely the same as previous, however some players have stepped up this season, Mainly Hlozek who managed to bag himself 36 goals in 35 games! The manager is really intrigued to see how the partnerships develop between Nkunku, De Ketelaere, Hlozek and Camavinga. All players have been vital in achieving success for the Belgian side. So will be looking to keep the core together for many more seasons. Mukiele arrived this season and made the RB position his own with a robust and dynamic style of play, with winning the ball back ability greater then Saelemekers. As for CB, Koulibaly has come in and built a formidable pairing with Badiashille. Thankfully the departure of some big players Dembele, Griezmann and Ruidger didn't disrupt the side too much.

Aim for this season; Treble again.

LW DE KETELAERE L,21 CF HLOZEK B,19 RW NKUNKU B,24
qu99% ae64% cg95% hd81% sh98% st98% qu56% ae72% cg98%
LW MAHREZ B,31 CF ONUACHU R,27 RW LANG R,22
qu92% ae76% cg98% hd76% sh98% st -% qu -% ae60% cg99%
LW KJELDER L,19 CF ADJEI R,20 RW MBANGULA R,18
qu25% ae66% cg97% hd76% sh89% st98% qu99% ae79% cg97%

DY CAMAVINGA L,19
sh99% hd69% ta77%
DY DEMBELE L,34
sh95% hd69% ta60%
DY MILAMBO R,17
sh97% hd63% ta0%

BW KESSIE B,25
ta80%
BW SARR R,19
ta87%
BW OYEN R,19
ta92%

AM GRAVENBERCH R,19
ta73% sp99% lp65%
AM CABAYE R,36
ta41% sp99% lp83%
AM SAMEK R,18
ta90% sp99% lp0%

LB MENDY L,26 CL BADIASHILE L,21 CR KOULIBALY R,30 RB MUKIELE R,24
qu0% ta78% hd90% ta82% st -% hd82% ta72% st16% qu -% ta86%
LB COENTRAO L,34 CL VERTONGHEN L,35 CR CUESTA R,23 RB SAELEMAEKERS R,22
qu67% ta68% hd74% ta63% st85% hd67% ta78% st -% qu17% ta78%
LB GUTIERREZ L,20 CL DOUKOURE R,18 CR BADE R,22 RB GELDEREN R,21
qu43% ta63% hd92% ta82% st -% hd91% ta84% st -% qu3% ta63%

GK LENO R,30
ss69% kn99%
GK SVILAR R,22
ss63% kn99%
GK VANDEVOORDT R,20
ss54% kn99%

Phil@Watford wrote:: Leverkusen
The Leverkusen team currently has 8 different nationalities in the first 11, something the manager tries to steer clear of, however sometimes just got to take what the market offers. The aim of last season was to win Promotion, and we achieved our Goals. The manager assembled a squad faster than he anticipated which is always good. With some key players picked up, Adler, Busquets, El Shaarawy, Nainggolan and Lewandowski. The squad is slightly on the older side of things, making the short-term goals easier to achieve but the long-term goal is always sustainability. Backroom and Infrastructure isn’t at the same level as other satellite clubs, Genk and Botafogo so the investments will need to be shrewd otherwise to much money spent on buildings leaves no ability to manoeuvre in the market, and no investment in the capacity of the stadium makes any financial gains only short term and covering weekly outcomes.
The manager has looked at Fullbacks with the combined ages of Piszczek and Skulason being 69, recent acquisitions being Gosens and Otto. Which helps with team chemistry being German and Spanish respectfully. Manager also brought in Odoin Ighalo to provide some cover for Lewandowski, with the manager still looking at backup wide players with Frei and Larsen being the club’s current options. Club talents Knauff, Luca Netz and Coulibaly will be on the managers radar for development.

Aim for next season: Not get relegated, Win European Cup again.

Leverkusen are probably the over achievers of the four clubs ran by the manager, the side managed to make it to two finals and while runner up in both. Hugely remarkable season for the side that finished 2nd in the Bundesliga, after a very poor start and some rocky results a long the way. However, the balance between the side is starting to take shape, with the average age of the side reduced and hopefully the quality remains just as high in the positions. Musiala came into the side midway through the season and managed 10 Goals in 15 games. Which is impressive from the youngster. Lewandowski still sensational at 33, manager looking to get another year out of him while some of the talents find their feet within the game, Sesko and Ekitike the natural choices in the CF position. Milinkovic-Savic the driving force behind the side, with 29 goals from DY! A solid back line of Gosens, Szalai, Soyuncu and AMN to complete the side.

Aim; Challenge title honours(If possible!) one step further in a cup.

  LW HUENG-MIN CF LEWANDOWSKI R,33 RW MUSIALA R,19
qu99% ae58% cg87% hd82% sh98% st99% qu99% ae64% cg98%
LW SARR CF SESKO R,18 RW ALVAREZ L,19
qu90% ae68% cg98% hd82% sh99% st96% qu -% ae59% cg99%
LW IBRAHIMOVIC R,16 CF EKITIKE R,19 RW KNAUFF R,20
qu -% ae58% cg -% hd99% sh96% st -% qu -% ae48% cg96%

DY MILINKOVIC-SAVIC R,27
sh98% hd84% ta79%
DY NAINGGOLAN

DY LUBACH R,17
sh99% hd67% ta78%

BW MERINO
ta93%
BW DORSCH R,24
ta74%
BW NKILI R,16
ta99%

AM ANDRICH
ta68% sp98% lp78%
AM ONANA
ta0% sp99% lp67%
AM KAMARA R,17
ta53% sp99% lp -%

LB GOSENS L,27 CL SZALAI L,24 CR SOYUNCU B,25 RB MAITLAND-NILES R,24
qu -% ta88% hd91% ta86% st -% hd84% ta82% st -% qu69% ta42%
LB OTTO B,28 CL BONUCCI B,35 CR KOSSOUNOU R,21 RB PISZCZEK R,36
qu49% ta67% hd68% ta58% st77% hd70% ta56% st80% qu49% ta61%
LB KRISTIANSEN L,19 CL ESTEVE L,19 CR PAULI R,16 RB VAGNOMANN R,21
qu -% ta90% hd94% ta44% st -% hd67% ta86% st -% qu58% ta69%

GK ADLER R,37
ss75% kn99%
GK ALVAREZ R,20
ss78% kn -%
GK GRIMPE R,17

Phil@Watford wrote:: Botafogo
Probably had the highest expectations and ended up under delivering against them. Big money signing Casemiro came in and while he was solid in the middle of the park there were a couple of factors that caused the initial slump…. Change from CAT to SAM to CAT didn’t help. Selling experienced CB David Luiz and using a youth player and expecting same defence was rookie and not nailing down the first 11 until middle of the season, with Tete, Antonio and Bobsin all trying there hand to fill the DY position until Veteran Fernandinho came in and showed the youngsters how it’s done. Which led to a strong finish to the season, but double defeats to Santos and countless defeats to Sao Paulo eliminated any chance of becoming the Brazil champions or retain the Copa Libertadores.
The manager didn’t want to make overhaul changes to the squad; however, Neymar came in to add that explosive edge at TM and replace the goals Mahrez contributed. Damiao has come in to heap pressure on Hulk who was lacklustre Infront of goal compared to his high standards of previous seasons, Galhardo arrived towards end of the season to give the manager an alternative at TM after the departure of Felipe Anderson, who also paved the way for first team action for Tete. Dodo has arrived after the departure of legendary Dani Alves, but at 38 injuries throughout the season kept him out of action and needed a more long-term option at RB with Couto being hot the heels of Dodo. Finally, Bravo is the short-term choice between the sticks as Brazao at 20 has many years to develop his game.

Aim for the season: League and Copa Libertadores

Botafogo had a very good season, maybe the manager had his ambitions set high at the start of the season? However, to win the Copa Libertadores is something the squad can be proud of and the fans certainly celebrated! The side have had some investment into the squad over the season with Llorente, Saul arriving midway to give the side a much needed boost in the middle of the park. Cabral arrived recently but has had to wait to get into the first XI after the team where pushing in the league. And final pieces to the Jigsaw have seen the arrival of Verissimo and Hemoso arrived to form a new CB pairing which the manager has struggled to build since his arrival. So hopefully this will settle the side and allow a new platform to build on. Goalkeeper still a weakness in the side, not due to quality but more the fact Bravo retires at the end of the season so the manager will have his scouting network out in full force to ensure the right candidate is recruited.

Aim for season; Copa Liba and League - Set the bar high!

LW MOURA B,29 CF CABRAL RW NEYMAR B,30
qu38% ae90% cg99% hd91% sh99% st -% qu99% ae78% cg99%
LW TETE L,22 CF HULK RW VERON B,19
qu83% ae84% cg99% qu80% ae81% cg97%
LW KAYKY L,18 CF NAVARRO R,22 RW APP
qu -% ae37% cg96% hd80% sh99% st -%

DL NIGUEZ L,27 DR LLORENTE R,27
sh97% hd75% ta75% sh98% hd75% ta72%
DL BOBSIN L,22 DR SCHELOTTO R,32
sh92% hd50% ta70% sh92% hd64% ta39%
DL ANTONIO R,21 DR CABRAL R,19
sh95% hd85% ta60% sh90% hd71% ta83%

AM CASEMIRO B,30
ta75% sp99% lp86%
AM FERNANDINHO B,37
ta57% sp97% lp63%
AM ROSA R,19
ta78% sp99% lp50%

LB TAVARES L,22 CL HERMOSO L,26 CR VERISSIMO R,26 RB DOMILSON R,23
qu -% ta86% hd78% ta52% st97% hd86% ta67% st67% qu64% ta68%
LB APP CL QUARESMA B,20 CR FELIPE R,32 RB COUTO R,19
hd73% ta79% st99% hd90% ta82% st -% qu40% ta59%
LB PATRYCK L,19 CL HENRI R,20 CR DJALO R,22 RB GARCIA R,20
qu46% ta61% hd56% ta53% st55% hd68% ta54% st57% qu15% ta36%

GK BRAVO R,39
ss80% kn99%
GK BRAZAO R,21
ss65% kn98%
GK GALDINO R,21
ss75% kn94%

Schalke Reflections

Slightly surprising season for Schalke to be honest.
Started off with PEB (from previous season) but soon became apparent that it wasn't working against top sides in europe, so changed to SLA, which was what I was working towards anyway. But again, not useful against top sides (ie losing to Man City twice in CL), and also didn't like the 'switching-off' when in the lead element of it.
As soon as I went back to FAS/FAP/FAL, things changed for the better. Although I rarely used the 'bog-std' setup. Managed to beat Watford and Man City in the CL - which confirmed that I was doing something right at last!
So, once settled on tactic, the season turned out ridiculously well - certainly unpredicted a third of the way into the season...
This season, I'm selling some 'older' players and I've got some youngsters that should break into the first team - Schlotterbeck, Wirtz and Kulusevski amongst others.
Playing the 2nd team in CCs this week, with the 1st team playing next week.