Hey everyone!
Welcome back to my Club Brugge save. Sorry it has been a while since my last post, internet problems didn’t help, but we’re back in business and in this post I will bring you Season 3’s Pre-Season. Last time out you’ll remember that we didn’t regain our League Title, finishing second behind Treble winning Genk, however we did finish in a Champions League position and qualified for the qualifying stages of the competition. Right on with the show…
The board didn’t give me an option…they wanted a title challenge.
Also they announced…
Nice to see a team I’m managing make money, doesn’t happen that often.
BREAKING NEWS
It didn’t take me long to make up my decision…
I wasn’t interested in taking the job…it wouldn’t have been a challenge, besides I haven’t completed all my objective as Club Brugge Manager.
Transfers IN/OUT
This was a fairly quiet transfer window for me, normally I sign more players but I was happy with most of the first team and was looking to strengthen in a few areas. I felt that I needed to improve the strike force of the team, so as you can see a few strikers left and also a few backup players. Paul-Jose M’Poku went on loan to get him some game time, he turned down our feeder club which was a shame because he would have been given first team football week in week out. Let’s have a closer look at signings…
Leo
Definitely signed for the future, I finalised this deal back in my first season but due to the Brazilian transfer rule he couldn’t join until he turned 18. He has potential to be a 3.5 star rated striker so fingers-crossed. He’s been loaned out to my feeder team Wetteren who are in the second division, so hopefully plenty of game time will help his growth.
Devlin Ndinga
Brilliant deal thanks to my scouts, Ndinga is currently a 3.5 star rated Defensive Midfielder with amazing Physical Attributes. His Work Rate and Teamwork are also high with great anticipation and demon positioning, he will definitely be able to fill in when Phillipp Klement is fatigued. Plus he’s only 24 and has plenty of years left in him. Check out his value…1.9m and I got him on a free.
Yaya Sanogo
Since the link with Barcelona was sent up in the first season, they have normally sent me players only worthy of a U21’s start, but this season they have sent me a pure beast. I was very disappointed in my strikers last season and Yaya would definitely help strengthen that position with his truly amazing finishing and composure. He also has a great aerial threat and I’ll hopefully use that to my advantage.
Jo
Couldn’t believe he was out of contract and that he was interested in signing for us and then to accept a £12,000 a week contract was unbelievable. Brilliant attributes for a striker and he should definitely be able to do a job in the Pro League. Jo still has age on his side and we’re all hoping that he can reignite his career with us.
Tom De Mul
Signed as backup for Hao Junmin, he is a Belgium player so helps with the match squad rule if need be. He possess good crossing, drilling and decent crossing attributes as well as decent pace. Still only 26 he has a few years left in him and should be able to cover well.
Jonas Ivens
With Carl Hoefkens nearing retirement age, Ivens was signed for defensive cover, he’s Belgian so again helps with the match squad rule. He has great Teamwork and Work Rate stats with awesome strength and fairly decent speed for a defender. He strangely has unbelievable Penalty Taking stats too. At 170k he was too good to let go and I managed to beat Genk to the signing of him.
We also had a bit of a scare. Fulham came sniffing for Hao Junmin…
Thankfully the board didn’t accept the deal, but 4.2m when we signed him for 375k is brilliant.
So that’s the Transfers…Hope did the Pre-Season match go…well…
A nice, unbeaten pre-season against decent opponents. It was nice to see Youngster Nick Van Belle get on the score sheet against sc Heerenveen.
Champions League Qualifiers
The draw was very kind to us and we managed to avoid the likes of Shakhtar, Ajax, Benfica and Rubin. Larisa should be a comfortable match, which will be in the next post.
Last but not least for this post is…new season…new kits…
That’s it for this pre-season post, thanks for reading and I’ll bring you the next update, which will include all our matches from July to September (Big update). Thanks again
Regards
Martin
Darren Smith
15 июня, 2011 at 13:13
Good pre-season Martin, you also signed some incredible players including Sanogo on loan…he’s a real beast and my fav player on FM11. I reckon him and Jo upfront will terrorise Belgium and probably get you through the CL group stages should the draw be reasonable.
Martin
15 июня, 2011 at 13:46
Cheers Darren, Hahah yeah Sanogo is quality…watched your youtube video’s later night…couldnt tell you loved him tho lmao! Theres two quailfying rounds we have to get through but fingers crossed!
Johnny Karp
15 июня, 2011 at 13:25
Very good signings Martin, especially the two Brazilians! Those two should make a real difference and then there is Sanogo too, of course! You could call Darren during the matches to boost his performance with his already famous «go on Sanogo, go on!» :) Or you could try to imitate the accent if you can :)
Martin
15 июня, 2011 at 13:48
Cheers Johnny, yeah Jo is class and Leo hopefully will become decent in years to come. Hahahaha yeah Darren sure loves his Sanogo lmao…I was chuckling whilst watching. Oi I too have a Yorkshire Accent :P
vaibhavc
15 июня, 2011 at 14:10
Hey Martin
Very good signings there, a great pre-season. Sanogo will be an absolute best for you, my evidence is Darren. You should try to get him on a permanent deal, if possible.
Martin
15 июня, 2011 at 14:16
Cheers vaibhavc, yeah i’m hoping he’ll be able to do a job for us. Yeah he’s certainley done a job for Darren. oooo I dunno about permanently…he’s currently valued at 3.3m could cost me too much…we’ll see :)
CsAtlantis
15 июня, 2011 at 14:33
Sanogo on loan for a season without paying his wages? That’s an amazing deal, and Jo is for now an even better player than Sanogo, you’re looking strong in the striking department, I think the toughest draw for Champions League will be the Third Qualifying Round :D
Martin
15 июня, 2011 at 14:51
Yep just what I thought…Barcelona have started to look after me lol. Yeah the striking department is starting to look rosey just need performance against poorer teams and we could be laughing. The champions league is going to be very tough…fingers crossed we can make it to the group stages :)
Laxeyman
15 июня, 2011 at 16:13
Great signings Martin, Sanogo and Jo up front! They will surely tear the Belgian defences apart, and Ndinga is also a good player, I have him at Droylsden and he’s served me well in the premier league, so I’m sure he’ll be good for you. I reckon you’re in for a successful season, good luck!
Gabriel
18 июня, 2011 at 10:54
Great post Pickard I think that Sanogo is a great addition to your team! Hey guys check out my blog on FIFA 11, it is a blog were I publish everything that happens during my manager mode on FIFA 11! Check it out, http://www.thefifamanager.com/
Ana Garcia
18 июня, 2011 at 19:46
Good signings Martin!
Sorry have been on holiday so havent had time to read your update until now.
You have bought well especially upfront and am glad you rejected Arsenal as I am enjoying where you are.
The best of luck this season!