Darren — Newcastle unbeatable in 2016/17? End of season special

Hey guys and welcome to my season finale with Newcastle. During the last post I explained how we’re unbeaten all season in all competitions and I brought you my first official video diary. You saw me manage Newcastle to victory in the League Cup against Manchester Utd. These videos may be a more prominent feature on special occasions or as the mood strikes me, so prepare yourself. :) We have a lot to get through today as I take you through the seasons finale and reveal how the toon finished 2016/17. There will be more than one video today, so I’ll try and skimp on the writing a little so I don’t bore you. Grab yourselves a drink, snack and get comfy…done that? OK then lets get this show started.

Premier League results

We start today’s post in the Premier League as Newcastle hope to maintain an unbeaten season. It all starts well, but a  draw at home to QPR puts doubt in the players minds. Thankfully I had Hernandez as midfield general to keep the engine ticking while Sanogo was lethal upfront. We may have scraped by a few matches, but the lads completed their EPL season unbeaten winning 10 games and drawing one from the last three months.

Premier League final table

Probably my best season to date, Newcastle won the league by a staggering 22 points. Winning 35 and drawing three games summed the year up. We only conceded 15 goals and the nearest contenders would have struggled to win the league any year looking at their points total of 86. This is my 6th consecutive Premier League title and there doesn’t seem to be a challenge coming any season soon either.

FA Cup results

After getting past the big teams during some tough early rounds, I found myself an easy draw. The sixth round against Middlesbrough featured a fringe team as my youngsters waltzed to the semi’s 3-1. Then Championship side Hull couldn’t handle a similar line up as we thrashed the Tigers 2-0. Kakuta was the most senior player and continued his classy performances from earlier in the season. We had reached the FA Cup final again, and our opponents were…Manchester City!! I have recorded this final and will share it later on in the post. Same as in the League Cup, I want to show you how I manage and when I make big decisions etc.

Champions League results

Last time you checked in, Newcastle thrashed Rangers at Ibrox in the First Knockout round 4-0. The return leg wasn’t much different as my fringe players went on a rout to make it 7-0 on aggregate. Spanish side, Atletico Madrid were drawn for the quarter-final. This is the third year in a row we have drawn them at this stage. We beat them the past two seasons and this was no different, Sanogo was a master class in the first leg and Dardouri the second to help the toon win 6-2 on aggregate. Last season we beat AC Milan in the final and we drew them for the semi-final this year. Both legs were by far the toughest of the year, but we prevailed 3-1 on aggregate despite a few scares. In the other semi-final a classic was played as Manchester City knocked out Barcelona to make it an all English final.

Now we have something a little bit different, I’d usually do a written match report on my finals but today it’ll all be visual and verbal. I am presenting both the FA Cup and Champions League finals too you by video diary. I’ll take you from my pre-match decisions, through the match itself till the final outcome. If you don’t want to watch both finals that’s OK, you can choose one of them. I’ll present the FA Cup first then the Champions League….I hope you enjoy. If it helps make up your mind on which final to watch, the FA Cup is 18 minutes long while the Champions League is shorter at 15 minutes.

FA Cup final vs Manchester City (click here to watch full match)

Well it was a close shave but the match facts prove Newcastle were the best on chances. We managed 33 shots to City’s 10 and 12 sots on target to City’s 4. Extra time decided the winner and I just hope we don’t have to rely on that in the Champions League final.

We lifted the FA Cup and with one trophy left to complete another quadruple I was optimistic. To see if we did it, just watch the video below. We may be facing the same opponents but its a completely different match. ;)

Champions League final vs Manchester City (click here to watch match video

Fantastic, another quadruple in the bag and probably my best ever season. We won the final convincingly in part thanks to some fatigue and injuries in the Man City camp, but a wins a win. Newcastle dominated almost every statistic bar possession which I always expect to be even due to my tactics.

2016/17 was my most dominant year yet, proven by the record below. We were unbeaten in all competitions and have racked up 70 games without tasting defeat!

Squad stats and finances

During my finest season, how many of my players were key? The answer is a lot. Whether it be Fernando scoring 18 goals and assisting 8 as my backup of the backup striker, or Anconetani as my main winger scoring 9 and assisting 27. The star was Yaya Sanogo with 42 goals from 28 starts, but Danny Wilson was solid in defence scoring 13 goals from set pieces. I have a truly special squad and I hope to keep them together for another few years, who knows maybe I’ll find the opportunity to strengthen further.

At the end of February my bank balance read £130 million, so where were we come the seasons end. Not as much as expected but I finished the season on £155 million. This was mainly due to contract renewals and the shareholders payout. We have no major departures planned, so next season could see this figure remain around the same level.

Well that is how 2016/17 finished. An excellent season and I hope you enjoyed the ride. This season saw the introduction of video diary’s, they’re still new and if any of you aren’t too keen please let me know. Just leave a comment in the box below and I look forward to reading your responses.

P.S. Mark requested my training overview so here it is. Hope this is what you wanted. I’m still improving the quality but what I have is more than good enough to do the job.