Hey guys and welcome to the climax of my domestic season. During the last post Newcastle were three points clear of Manchester City with two games in hand. We’d also qualified from an easy Champions League group and made the the League Cup semi-final. With 2019/20 shaping up so well I found some optimism and hope for more records. Remember we only need one more FA Cup title to take Newcastle past Man United’s record of 12 FA Cup victories. We’ll start today’s post with the January transfer window and move swiftly onto my EPL results before viewing the rest of Newcastle’s competitions.
While no one entered Saint James Park this winter, two players did leave. You may remember me making three free transfers during the summer. Goalkeeper Delac goes no where and has found a rotational place within my squad but the other two newbies departed just six months after signing. Dzagoev was rotated in midfield but never really impressed me and therefore was offered to clubs at £12 million, Spanish club Sevilla were amongst eight interested clubs and signed the Russian for £10 million. My other sale was that of Crisetig, the midfielder did well in my ball winning midfield role but fell victim to an over staffed position. I offered him out for £12 million and accepted many bids ranging from £9-10 million. Crisetig decided to join Stoke for £9.75 million, very good business considering both players joined for nothing. I played the midfielders at least 12 times during their six month stay and this attracted some attention hence the reasonable transfer fees of double their valuation.
Premier League results — January to February 2020
With Manchester City hot on my tail, I needed to take advantage of those two games in hand and extend our three point lead at the top. January saw the toon hitting top form as we beat Everton, Blackburn, Chelsea, Blackburn again and then Wolves. Sanogo and Da Silva were the stars scoring and assisting plenty. February saw a tough fixture list and this took hold as Spurs held me to a 0-0 draw away from home. We recovered well away to Blackpool winning 2-0, but then suffered another goalless draw at Old Trafford. February finished well though with victories over both West Ham and Aston Villa. As daft as it sounds, this felt like a bad run for my team.
Premier League results — March to may 2020
February finished on a decent note after two fairly worrying draws, now with three months left I wanted to set the tone for the most vital part of every season. We hit the ground running away to Liverpool, Birmingham and QPR beating all three on their own turf. Then Manchester City and Arsenal were seen off at Saint James Park before Bolton were comfortably beaten 3-0. A visit down South provided some spectacular Football as Portsmouth were thrashed 5-2 and then Birmingham couldn’t handle Santos as the Toon marched to the song of a 2-0 victory. My last three league games saw some fringe players given their opportunity as we beat Bristol City, Stoke and West Brom.
Premier League table
This league table is getting rather monotonous of late, with Newcastle sailing to the title while the rest scrap for second, third and fourth. This season featured Man City in second and the Eastlanders failed to close a gap of 22 points. While I didn’t quite manage the record of 110 points from last season, we did hit 106 which is just crazy.
FA Cup results
One more FA Cup title and Newcastle will have topped Man Utd’s record of 12 wins in this competition. We started with a bang early on due to my kindest draw in years. The third round was won 7-0 against Gillingham as Adam’s scored 5, then Wycombe were despatched 5-0 and Norwich 4-1. It wasn’t until the sixth round that we faced a challenge in Arsenal and the London based club were beaten 1-0 thanks to Hernandez. Next up was the semi-final and West Ham, a decent side that were dominated and bullied by Sanogo. That 3-0 victory put me through to the final and a match against Manchester City. Unfortunately you’ll have to wait for the next post for that one though guys.
Champions League results
After qualifying from my Champions League group with ease I faced Dinamo Moscow for our First Kockout Round. These were probably my easiest European opponents and most convincing win as the Toon thrashed Dinamo 11-0 on aggregate. The quarter-final brought about another reasonable draw in Porto, or so I thought. The Portuguese side came back from 2-0 down at Saint James Park to hold us 2-2. Then the second leg started even worse as Porto scored first before my boys took control with two strikes. However, Porto never gave in and scored an equalizer late on to take the tie into extra time. Thankfully Costantino scrambled the ball home from a corner to spare our blushes. My semi-final opponents were Valencia, the Spanish club have bought big over the last few seasons and look crazy good upfront. But we all know there’s more to football than attacking flair, my boys taught them a lesson as we won 5-0 at home and away to make it 10-0 on aggregate. I was honestly shocked and couldn’t believe the ease of which we progressed, but I’m sure my final opponents won’t be such a push over…AC Milan have a solid defence and could prove tough to break down but you’ll need to tune in next time for that one along with the FA Cup final.
League Cup results
We left off with Newcastle in the League Cup semi-final against Nottm Forest last post, the same opponent as last season and hopefully we could repeat the result. Well the first leg was used for youth and fringe players, considering we were at home my decision almost cost us. The Derbyshire side went in front before Adams saved my blushes pulling us through 2-1. After a close shave I fielded a stronger squad away from home and enjoyed a great 4-0 victory putting us into the final. The semi-final was against last years opponents and surprisingly so was the final. We won 4-0 against Wolves in last seasons final and a repeat this year would be fantastic…I have provided a match video so scroll down to watch the match as it unfolded.
As always I have prepared a full match video for the League Cup final. Click the link or image below to watch this game with my thoughts and reactions.
Click here to watch the full League Cup final vs Wolves
Another great performance and the match stats speak a thousand words. 63% possession and 29 shots is certainly an overhaul and I think the end result was fair. The most satisfying part though was my substitutes having the decisive blow and winning the match. Both Da Silva and Ziegler were fantastic coming on to make a difference on the wings.
This may be a little off topic and delayed, but in case you missed it…my latest academy product, 16 year old Fairclough scored his first goal against Norwich in the FA Cup. It was a stunning 30 yard strike and made him the youngest ever scorer in Newcastle’s history…words can’t describe how excited I am about this kid. You hear stories of people getting their favourite regens name printed to the back of their Football shirts, well I think Fairclough could be my first :)
Talking of records, lets check in on my unbeaten record which had hit 101 games last post. Newcastle have now gone 136 games unbeaten over a period of more than 2 years.
Squad stats and finances
I won’t talk too long about players as you can see all their stats below, but I will take some time to talk about three players. The first is obvious, Marcelo Santos has scored 34 goals from 27 starts. The other two stars play on the wings, Anconetani has scored 18 goals and assisted 30 from the right despite his nation over looking him for international duty (fools!) From the left is newbie Da Silva, the ex-Madrid star scored 16 goals and assisted 23. Probably the best debut season I’ve ever seen and a bargain at £4 million.
Newcastle finished December with £266 million in the bank. We are now in May and awaiting the FA Cup and Champions League finals. After receiving some cash for winning the EPL and from the departure of a few players the bank balance reads £282 million. I reckon we’ll finish the season on more than £300 million and this would be an excellent landmark.
Well that about does it for today, I hope you enjoyed the post and will be back next time. There couldn’t be more incentive as I introduce the Champions League and FA Cup cup finals with full match videos and commentary. Until then please feel free to comment and thanks for reading.
~RosT~
30 июля, 2011 at 19:24
You have a very good results. I get a great pleasure while reading your story. Keep going! :)
Darren Smith
30 июля, 2011 at 21:22
Thanks mate, I’ll keep this going for a while yet. :)
vikingmarius
30 июля, 2011 at 19:24
Wo fantastic season and I am sure you will get two more trophies, the buying and selling of cheap players has worked a treat. Fairclough was the player I was most excited to see how he did, and I am happy he did what he did and scored, the fact that all players ended with an avg rating over 7 is great and all your players have done so well there is no point in talking about individuals. Fantastic work.
Darren Smith
30 июля, 2011 at 21:24
Thanks Viking, selling big and buying cheap seems so simple but its tough to implement and that challenge is what’s kept my attention for so long. Fairclough has had a dream season and I could imagine the media IRL going crazy over him like they did Owen, Beckham and Rooney :) Lets hope the lads can continue their form into the last two seasons.
Jay
30 июля, 2011 at 19:58
Hey Darren
They should change the premierships name to ‘Lets see who can finish 2nd while Newcastle win again’ , another great league campaign mate, and congrats on yet another League Cup. I have no doubt that the FA and CL will follow aswell :).
I know what youll say, but i still want to ask, Do not find after winning this much with Newcastle that prehaps a new challenge is in order for you? i find that when if you win alot with 1 club it gets a bit boring?
anyway Good luck with the 2 finals , as usual another great post!
Darren Smith
30 июля, 2011 at 21:27
lol, thanks Jay although the reporters and commentators would probably disagree with your new name for the EPL. :)
As for a new challenge, well this one isn’t done. When I wrote my finance posts I set myself a goal of being the richest club in the world and breaking records along the way, I’m so close to that and couldn’t stop until its done. Also, I have never turned a mediocre EPL side into the best team the world has ever seen in terms of trophies, I’m closing in on Real’s CL title record and it would be a shame to miss out on such a historic achievement. I’ve never reached those heights on FM and have to give it a go.
Dave
30 июля, 2011 at 21:31
Nice work with bringing Da Silva on during the Wolves game. Always nice to see someone coming off the bench and completely changing things. That goal from the the set piece was a beauty, way the ball curled into the crowd of players
Darren Smith
30 июля, 2011 at 22:59
Thanks Dave, despite signing some ridiculous talents I think Da Silva could become one of my favourites.
paul
30 июля, 2011 at 22:18
136!!!!!!!! wow that is unbelivable i really do hope u get to 200 :) so when you going to sell sagnoo lol?
Darren Smith
30 июля, 2011 at 23:01
Thanks Paul, I’d love to hot 200 too but you never know what will happen. If I receive an offer higher than £55 mill come summer I sell Sanogo so we’ll see what happens :)
Desmo Wenning
30 июля, 2011 at 22:48
Awesome year Darren, not even 1 loss this year which is very impressive! Do people really buy shirts in RL with FM regen-names on the back of it??!?!??!?! That’s crazy!
Darren Smith
30 июля, 2011 at 23:03
Yeh mate, I heard loads of people talking about it, on the FM facebook page, my mates, and other sites. It seems to be a fashion of some sort and I must admit its better than getting the name of a player that could leave the club in RL. :) Fairclough all the way mate, when I get it I’ll post the image. :)
Desmo Wenning
30 июля, 2011 at 23:16
Haha would love to see it. When I buy a shirt I sometimes get my own name on it and sometimes I get the name of the real club man, who will never leave! Only my Arshavin shirt is different :P
Darren Smith
31 июля, 2011 at 09:11
I always saw the idea as a little weird until playing longer games and becoming more attached to my regen stars than real life ones :)
Kevin
31 июля, 2011 at 10:10
Hi there Darren
I just don’t know what else to say to praise you? This Newcastle team is simply incredible as is the way you have masterminded the whole Y2G project. Amazing performance domestically and I can’t wait to see how Fairclough does on a regualr basis.Good luck with the upcoming finals
Darren Smith
31 июля, 2011 at 10:39
Thanks Kevin, of all the wheeling and dealing I’ve done, Fairclough is still my most exciting player. I just hope the form continues and I can make more money without damaging the squad.
Johnny Karp
31 июля, 2011 at 10:20
Just 106 points, I’m disappointed :) Just kidding mate, another fantastic season for the Toon Army and there would be no better ending than to win both the FA Cup and the Champions League. Good luck!
Darren Smith
31 июля, 2011 at 10:40
Thanks Johnny, I’ll try for the perfect season next year :) For now its the two finals that hold my interest.
Laxeyman
31 июля, 2011 at 12:01
Brilliant Darren, your side are simply unstoppable and I would be very surprised if you don’t win both the Champions League and the FA Cup. Good luck!
Darren Smith
31 июля, 2011 at 13:03
Thanks Laxeyman, all results do seem inevitable at the moment but you never know in Football.
Lye
31 июля, 2011 at 13:54
Hi Darren,
Great job again. Man City shouldn’t be able to stop you from lifting the FA cup. AC Milan should prove a challenge for your team. I am pretty amazed on what records you can break for now. There is nothing for you to win except for breaking your own records. Good luck for the two cup finals.
Darren Smith
31 июля, 2011 at 17:10
Thanks Lye, I do still have records to go for but they won’t be broken quickly. I want to win the most CL’s and maybe even the most EPL titles but that may take too long.
FM Blogger
31 июля, 2011 at 19:59
Hi Darren,
I don’t know what to say, you never stop to amaze us. Once again winning everything there is to be won (I’m almost 100% sure you will win both the FA Cup and the CL). I can’t imagine what there is left for you to do, you have done everything! How far are you from topping the list of the richest teams in the world?
fmblogging.blogspot.com
Darren Smith
31 июля, 2011 at 20:54
Thanks mate, there are still goals in mind and I have a chance to make Newcastle the greatest side in history…in other words to win the most amount of CL’s (9) and that is my goal. I still have another £300 million to go before topping the richest clubs list so I have some time to achieve everything.
Nicholas Phipps
31 июля, 2011 at 20:10
Wow, just wow :)
Darren Smith
31 июля, 2011 at 20:51
Thanks Nick.
CsAtlantis
1 августа, 2011 at 04:58
Tierney, Dzagoev and Crisetig fetched some good money in for you Darren, your bank balance has been a bit hanging around the mid 200-300 mark for some time now hasn’t it?
How did Porto score 4 goals over 2 games against your team? :P
Looking forward tot he other finals
Darren Smith
1 августа, 2011 at 11:43
The bank balance has drifted around that mark for two seasons I think and I’m hoping we’ll break it this year. I honestly don’t know how Porto almost broke me, but I’m just relieved we went through :)
Dom
1 августа, 2011 at 10:40
Your story sounds to good to be true……
Darren Smith
1 августа, 2011 at 11:42
Sounds like an accusation as opposed to a compliment. If this comment was intended with negativity then show me the proof…which you’ll never find because I don’t cheat. I assume you haven’t followed this story properly or read any of my guides, tips etc etc…if you had then I doubt you’d be saying that.
Darren Smith
1 августа, 2011 at 11:52
Think I’ve just worked out who you are too…funny how people try and cover up their true identity. I’ll be watching you mate.
Dom
3 августа, 2011 at 14:00
I Have followed you and I am impressed with what you have done…. I meant no offence in my comment….. what do you mean by you will be watching me? do you not know that stalking is a criminal offence???
Sears
3 августа, 2011 at 15:51
Why didn’t you just say that in the first place so ? By reading your first comment , it does come across as if your saying Darren cheats , which we all know isn’t true .
Darren Smith
3 августа, 2011 at 18:31
Ahh OK Dom, just a misunderstanding then and I apologise. As Sears said your comment sounded very much like you were saying I cheat or at least suggesting it and I’m sick of such acquisitions. When I said I’d be watching you, I obviously didn’t mean literally as that wouldn’t be possible….I meant I’ll be watching your activity on this site, but if you weren’t accusing me of cheating then there’s no problem at all. Just be careful how you word things though because your comment sounded like nothing other than accusing me of cheating, that’s the problem with the written word as opposed to verbal conversations, without hearing someone’s tone something simple can come across the wrong way :)
Anyway, I apologise for the misunderstanding.
Dom
4 августа, 2011 at 10:49
Not a problem……