Darren: Newcastle’s end of season is not what you’d expect 2017/18

Hello, hello, hello! I’m back after a long and refreshing break in Rhodes. I loved the holiday, but despite leaving sunny weather, beautiful beeches and tranquil surroundings I’m glad to be back. I honestly missed you guys, blogging and playing FM a lot. Anyway enough of the small talk, we have a lot of catching up to do so lets return to Saint James Park for my FM 2011 Newcastle story. P.S. It may be worth noting this post was ready to publish before my holiday and therefore contains no such new tactics as I’ve been talking about in the social network…They’ll be coming soon :)

During the last post Newcastle were top of the league, still in all competitions and had beaten Chelsea in the League Cup final. Despite all of this, I wrote of my concerns in the way we were performing and Danny Wilson’s departure. Today we’ll discover if my concerns were unfounded or very much warranted, its time to keep your fingers and toes crossed as I bring Newcastle’s end of season report.

Premier League results: March-May

With the EPL title almost secure, the last few months could be used to build up form or try out younger players. Staying in form was my number one priority during March, with some tough opponents and big cup matches approaching I couldn’t let the morale slip. All was fine and my plans were going great as Newcastle beat Spurs, Man City, Everton and Bolton.

Then came April and a change in strategy as I noticed some far weaker opponents. This was a great opportunity to keep my fringe players happy and to develop the Y2G system. All went well against QPR as Gilson scored and Padin played brilliantly from central midfield to help the toon army win 2-0. Then disaster struck as my young guns couldn’t break through the Wolves defence, a boring 0-0 draw did damage morale slightly, but not too badly. The last four games were straight forward as we beat Blackpool 4-1, Sheffield Utd 3-1, West Ham 2-0 and Birmingham 4-0. Hernandez finished the season on fine form with those two goals against West Ham.

Premier League table

No drum roll required, I think we all know how the league table looks. Newcastle finished top on 103 points, a whopping 20 points clear of Manchester Utd in second. We even managed to set a new record for goals scored with 107.

Champions League results

My last post finished with a 5-1 drumming of Marseille during the First Knockout round away leg. Well, we carried this into the second leg and thrashed the French giants 3-1 at Saint James Park. Marcelo Santos took over from Sanogo and scored two very nice goals. My celebrations soon ended though as the quarter-final draw was revealed. Out of all the possibilities, Manchester Utd are the one side I hate playing so it was appropriate to see their name matched up against Newcastle.

The quarter-final first leg was incredible. Full of action, skill and late goals that ultimately ended in ecstasy as the toon army fought back twice to win 3-2. After watching such a spirited performance I expected a draw at Old Trafford, what I received was far from that. Man Utd scored an all important first half goal and my defence took all the blame. Despite my boys struggling to find a way back we pulled the score level with 10 minutes to go. Fantastic, through to the semi’s and a great victory…or so I thought, with just minutes left United scored the winner and therefore dumping me out of the Champions League on away goals, oouuuch! :( Both my left back Pereyra and centre back Kalu were to blame for the last goal, but my sides attacking efforts were shambolic also and probably the main reason for our early exit!

FA Cup results

My last hope of doing the treble, after such a disappointing performance in the Champions League I started to crave more silverware. It really has become an addiction and knowing a quadruple is out of the question just spurred me on. I used the sixth round tie against Blackburn to field one or two youngsters and Diop really impressed from the right wing as Newcastle progressed 3-2. However, the semi-final saw my finest XI and this proved vital as we beat Manchester City 2-0. Through to the final, but who were my opponents…dammit, Manchester United! Have you ever had an annoying little fly that won’t go away? No matter how many times you try to swat it, you always miss, well this is what Manchester Utd are to me.

This FA Cup final will be huge and probably the most evenly contested for many years. Therefore, I decided to record the final from start to finish including my own commentary. You can hear my thoughts, tactical decisions and in parts passion for the full 12 minutes. Please click the link below to watch the full match, it was a weird game and I think you’ll enjoy it.

FA Cup final vs Manchester Utd (click here to watch video)

Well what a game, for those of you who didn’t watch scroll back up now before I reveal the result. As mentioned in the video I have been disappointed with some performances and the general feel of Newcastle since Danny Wilson’s departure. Its difficult to explain but despite winning most of our matches, the squad doesn’t seem to be performing in unison. Either way, Kakuta’s late winner was pure ecstasy and really turned my mood around. Beating United 2-1 was fantastic and its more about the revenge than winning the treble. :)

Squad stats and finances

Despite winning so many matches and completing the treble, this season didn’t feel as good as the last two or three. But has this shown in the squad stats? Well I’ll let you judge for yourself, but I think my squad have managed some impressive average ratings and strike rates. Sanogo scored 44 goals from 30 starts, an amazing return but Marcelo Santos wasn’t far behind with 31 goals from 19 starts. My most impressive player was probably Anconetani who scored 15 goals and assisted 40 from the right wing. Though my favourite performer was Harry Goetz who has improved drastically to challenge Kakuta on the left wing with 15 goals and 9 assists.

At the end of February my finances read £155 million, not too shabby at all. After dropping out of the Champions League early I’m bound to lose some money, but how did the finances finish for 2017/18…not bad at all to be honest. We finished the season with a bank balance of £193 million. My empire is rising and those greedy shareholders can’t stop me…the buggers grabbed almost £30 million this year!

Now for a little bit of news, nothing massive but I took some great advice from Johnny. He suggested making a few bridges to the likes of Japan and America, a brilliant idea as this has worked wonders for Man Utd in real life. So Mr Karp I thank you very much and have pleasure in showing the screenshot below. Hopefully this new feeder club can provide the extra money from merchandising that Newcastle need to challenge Barcelona for their crown as richest club. Please note the section highlighted in red, I find it very promising :)

I think that’s enough for now, so I hope you enjoyed the post and thanks for dropping by. Please feel free to ask any questions below and I look forward to reading your comments as always. My next post will feature pre-season and lots of transfer news. :) Until then, bye for now.