Start from the beginning here!

After an up-and-down first couple of months of the season, we can actually look back on August and September with a lot of optimism. We may have suffered a couple of defeats but they were hardly to low quality opposition. The tactical groundwork is being laid which will see us hopefully become a real force.

October

It’s time for us to get back into the business of playing football matches and, in doing so, winning games.

Sporting? A big deal? No. Not on my watch.

Famous rapper, Jesé Rodriguez, a man who is still somehow earning £100k p/w at PSG despite contributing less than 10 goals over the span of three years with various clubs, gives them the lead in the first minute. We have our backs against the wall for large parts of the games as they take plenty of shots against us, however very few of them are on target whereas we finally get clinical.

And, of course, it was talked about pre-game, Raphinha has come back to bite the hand that used to feed him!

The rest of the month doesn’t pan out quite so smoothly. The Europa League hangover is very real as we then suffer defeat at the hands of Reims. Despite taking a 1-0 lead, we concede two goals late on in the game and our life is ruined.

We bounce back after the international break by hammering Metz 1-0, with Evan Guessand, being given his first start for the club despite the fact he hates me and he wants to leave, scoring a goal in the 89th minute to send us firing back up the table.

Not content with humiliating Metz with this late winner, we go to Greece and do the same thing to PAOK. This time, M’Baye Niang is the man to pull their pants down, breaking away for a counter-attack and slamming the ball in at the keeper’s near post.

With two wins on the spin under our belt, we go to Stade Louis II and lose pretty comfortably. Gelson Martins gives Monaco the first half lead, then in the second half Islam Slimani knocks in a header because he’s absolutely massive. Our left-back, Souleymane Doumbia, gets himself a red card on 63 minutes and, if it wasn’t already, the game is dead. Bakayoko adds insult to injury by making it 3-0 in the 80th minute.

October isn’t all bad, however. We make two new signings in the form of Redouane Hal Hal, so good they named him twice, and Walim Lgharbi from Montpellier and Angers respectively. This basically takes up the remainder of our transfer budget, however they’re solid future additions to the squad.





The month ends with a report for leading development clubs in Ligue 1 and we’re not quite there. This is something I’ll definitely be changing in my time at the club as we aim for an entirely homegrown squad. Monaco, Lyon, PSG and Lille are the teams to beat.

Board satisfaction remains pretty average, with the board clearly very happy with our tactical approach despite the so-so results.

November

November starts terribly with a home defeat to Amiens, a team we should absolutely be beating home or away. Amiens come into the game 18th in the league, so I really ought to have seen this defeat coming. We dominate possession by some margin, yet they somehow end up with a similar shot tally to us. They get lucky late on as Gouano scores a 92nd minute winner, scrambling the ball over the line from a corner. Johansson is MOTM, a testament to our dominance, yet the worst performer on the pitch is Niang, a testament to our wastefulness up front.

PAOK come to Roazhon Park and get spanked 3-0, securing our passage into the Europa League knockout stage. The group was one we definitely should have got through but it’s nice to do so with 2 games remaining, meaning we can take it somewhat easy for the remaining couple of games.

The Europa League hangover kicks in again as we then get a taste of our own medicine, losing 3-0 to fucking Nimes. We dominate possession 60/40 yet we take very few shots and we’re limp defensively when they push us going the other way.

It’s at this stage of the season that I realise we’ve been shambolic defensively all season. In the league we’ve conceded 19 goals in 13 games which is pretty poor. To make matters worse, our attacking output is hilariously low as we’ve only scored 10 goals in those 13 games.

I decide that the problem is obviously the fact that our tactic is far too attacking considering the level of team we are. It appears that the likes of Nimes and Reims, your classic “wine farmers” teams that Ligue 1 is so often ridiculed for, are actually quite good comparatively to myself. Therefore, I create a new tactic with the aim of reducing the rate we’re shipping goals.

It’s effectively just another variation of the 4-3-3 we’re already using, only we’re now set to a cautious mentality with more emphasis on playing for the counter-attack rather than trying to take the game to our opponents. We’ll still be using the positive formation when it comes to teams we should be beating, but this is essential for teams who are higher up the table than we are.

We finish the month with a 1-1 draw against AZ, despite playing a weakened side with qualification from the group wrapped up. The counter formation doesn’t get a run out just yet.

The board satisfaction levels remain much the same. No questions being asked just yet.

December

The month begins with a lovely little scouting number. Titouan Thomas, a 17 year-old midfielder from Lyon, gets a 91% recommendation from our scouting team. He’s a bit pricey though which, given our current budget status, puts him on the back-burner for the time being. He’s definitely one to keep an eye on though, as his star rating means he’ll probably be first-team ready fairly soon.





Our first game of December sees us unable TOU-LOUSE(!) with a 2-0 win against Toulouse. The counter-attacking formation gets its first proper run out and it works wonders. Raphinha bags a brace to give us the win but, more importantly, we keep a clean sheet. It’s actually doing what we created it for!

We keep the run going with a 1-1 draw with Nice away from home, then with a 2-0 home win against our local rival, Nantes. Adrien Hunou puts us into the lead from the very start but it’s anything but convincing, with a Raphinha goal in the 87th minute wrapping up the win. We just about edge possession but, yet again, come second in the number of shots taken. We are far more accurate with our shooting, however, and at the end of the day who cares as long as you beat your rivals?

Then. It comes. The email every manager prays for.

The board are clearly massively impressed with me and my inconsistent league form yet my oddly consistent Europa League form. They give me an extra £14.75m to spend, which trumps our original starting budget. Titouan Thomas is back on the menu, boys.

We lose to Sporting in the Europa League with another shadow side getting a run-out, then go to Montpellier and get three points with a 1-0 win. A shadow-side plays once again in the cup against Angers and we just about scrape through on penalties. However, my priorities lie elsewhere…

For the second time this season, we come up against PSG. The counter-attacking formation was built for games like this. We need something from this game. Anything.

And within 2 minutes, Mauro Icardi puts them into the lead with a close-range finish after Mbappé absolutely roasts Doumbia at left-back. Oddly, the Frenchman then decides not to slam it into the side-netting and actually crosses the ball to the striker who’s free in the middle of the box and Icardi. At this point, I bite my pillow and prepare for the inevitable drilling which is about to occur.

But, like my girlfriend, it doesn’t come.

Instead, we go toe-to-toe in terms of possession, with our tiki-taka passing still allowing us plenty of the ball despite our counter-attacking mentality. We have plenty of opportunities to score, more than PSG even, and on the stroke of half-time, Raphinha cuts inside from the left and hits it just inside the far post, equalising for us and giving us a reason to believe.

The defensive display from this point is majestic. Angel Di Maria, playing in the absence of Neymar (who’s decided to take Christmas off to spend even more time with his sister), becomes an irrelevance and struggles to create anything at all against our defensive set-up. The final whistle blows and we’ve done it. 2019 ends with a triumphant point.

Elsewhere, our opponents for the Europa League are decided as the evil, corrupt corporation that is UEFA does us a massive favour and gives us Gent, a relatively easy draw.

Our Coupe de la Ligue progress against Angers gives us a less-than-ideal tie against Lyon to come.

Two very different level of difficulty draws.

The board satisfaction has improved, no doubt boosted by a draw with PSG, with the amount of money we’re spending on 16 year-olds being the main concern of theirs. Despite this, we’re doing well everywhere else so all is good in the boardroom.

At the half-way point of the season, we’re where we need to be. It’s tight but we’re in the top half, which is where the club wanted us to be when the season began. Of course, a few defeats and we could be slipping to the bottom half of the table, however a few wins could see us on the fringes of a Europa League qualification spot.

Squad dynamics are looking great, as the dressing room atmosphere, along with managerial support, is high. Da Silva, Niang and Bourigeaud are the main leaders in the squad, which is ideal as I’m not looking to sell on either of them any time soon, whereas the likes of Grenier and Morel are becoming more and more peripheral members of the team as the season progresses.

The first half of the season is complete, now the winter break has arrived and, with it, the January transfer window. Armed with money and a desire for kids, it’s time to go hunting…

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