The flying donkeys

Season 11

Current squad

On the back of recent success, I feel the club needs a shake-up.

I spent most of last season buying mainly youth players.

I did want to sell Ederson but not at the price I was receiving. However, I did buy a goalkeeper and now I’ve got five keepers on the books. I will want to get at least one out the door.

I’ve also been carrying players for several years now who haven’t broke into the team or not even on my radar anymore.

I will look to sell these players.

First up I sell a player I picked up last season as he appeared on the transfer market at a really cheap price.

I know I could get more if I bought back then and sold now.

And that’s exactly what I did.

I did have high hopes for one individual I bought nearly four seasons ago.

But lack of game time and sub appearances on top of a massive decline in stats.

I bite the bullet on the mistake I made and move on.

Shame as he’s still really young.

Draw for the Champions League competition

Atletico Madrid is the main threat in the group.

Stuttgart could be interesting and as for Hamrun?…….Maltese club??

I move on two below-par fringe players, one sold for profit the other at a loss.

Sergej Milinković-Savić I really liked in the real world.

Which is why I bought him on FIFA so early on and he has been great.

It’s just that when I bought him I bought Kante at the same time, then Rodri followed after and then Rice etc etc.

He just remained a sub player most of his time at the club, until I forgot he was at the club.

And if im not mistaken the club that bought him in this save is the club he is playing for now.

I make a loss on the next player.

His stats have dropped dramatically and no game time is available now.

I’ve had five seasons out of him so it’s as if he’s cost me a million a season to sit on the bench, never good enough to break into the team.

I can take that hit the more I think about it.

I finally get around to bringing in a player.

I’ve gone for a striker because after I sold Sesko I was left with only two recognised players in that position.

I do have forwards that can play upfront, but not the same, I’m from the 90s I must have a number 9.

Entering his peak and I fought hard for his signature.

With him being in high demand, I did spend alot for his services.

Champions League competition starts.

Disappointing first game.

I may have underestimated my opponents.

Going to chalk that game off as a reminder that this tournament is elite and every team must be respected.

Three days later we are up against Milan.

I’ve dropped my regular DC partnership of Upamecano and De Ligt.

And started a new fresh partnership with Guehi and Bastoni.

Both players have taken over stat-wise from the previous pairing.

I’m paid back with the gamble as both men are showing some tasty numbers in game and with a goal contributed also.

We are at home against the Spanish side likely to rival us for the top spot.

We dominated for a large chunk of the game after we went one goal down early on.

Thankfully we hit back with two goals before the halftime whistle.

Ronaldo completed his brace before the hour mark and just as well as Atlético Madrid scored in extra time.

Away day in the Maltese, which sounds amazing if you’re a Chievo fan as we take on their league champions holders Hamrun.

And it went exactly how I envisioned it to go.

The Bellingham, Bruno Fernandes, and De Bruyne partnership aka BBB, hasn’t started very well to be honest.

With Bruyne out injured, we get to add Messi to the fold and he doesn’t disappoint.

With the new DC pairing looking solid, I agree on a bid for Upamecano.

He arrived in season 4 and had to wait for his chance to get in the team as Rudiger and Bailly dominated the early days.

Once those two left by then Upamecano’s stats had grown more appealing with each DB.

So it was a no-brainer to have faith in him to step up to the plate.

Not a high scoring game as the previous game.

But still grabbed three goals, three points and a cleansheet.

What more can you as for.

Bruyne is still slow off the mark, but showing enough on paper to keep him in the team.

But there’s no point in having a yes man if he ain’t adding to the campaign.

Better from Bruno and Bellingham is a positive and hopefully thats going to kick start what I know they are capable of doing.

Ronaldo has been amazing in all competitions.

He’s aging like a fine wine.

Again we are beaten by Stuttgart.

I was the better team which is annoying and at one stage my laptop was ready to be thrown against a wall.

I tried to change the team around to hopefully have a better second half.

My reason for changing three players is the following.

Guehi with one tackle that’s not even won nor a header attempted just aint good enough. That was an easy one to make.

Salah and Yildiz are both underpar in completed passing for my liking.

But unfortunately, the damage was done and I was unable to overturn the result.

I get a request that came as a surprise

I’m gobsmacked and heartbroken at the sametime.

It just doesn’t make any sense.

I’ve played him in most of the games in all competitions and he’s been on fire.

As much as I don’t want to lose him.

He did arrive on a free, so I’ll accept his request but I’ll be setting a price of 10m.

Its not the be all and end all.

We still have to get on with our season.

We make it two wins out of two against the Spanish club.

Transfer requested Ronaldo with the winner to take home the points thanks to Bruyne’s (finally) assist.

Bellingham continuing his fine form in the competition is very pleasing.

With Guehi missing this fixture I restore De Ligt to the line-up and he delivers.

It was drastic to remove him from the team given the fact that he has been amazing for several seasons, but I feel it’s time for a change but good to know he’s worth hanging on to

Zaire-Emery with the MOTM and rightly so.

He’s still raw but hungry and I have faith he will be a key part in the team.

The Champions League group is completed.

Stuttgart top the group and we slip in after finishing 2nd.

Draw for the next Champions League group.

Love this group.

Three giant clubs in Europe and the competition itself.

Take a break now from the league and CL and turn our attention to the Coppa Italia.

Granted I rest the team I’ve been mostly using so far and try out others.

Huijsen was a handful I was keeping my eye on and I thought he had a very good game.

Mainoo looked good in a DMC role, but to be honest, after the way he behaved last season I want him gone regardless.

Guler, I really like the look of him.

The problem with him is that I cant decide if he’s an AM or an MC.

I received an offer before the window opens.

I’m 100% stupid in agreeing to it, the only thing I keep reminding myself is that he arrived on a free deal when I parted with another player, so it’s all profit.

He looks amazing, but I’ve had BBB for a while and it works… but still wtf have I done.

We also moved on a goalkeeper to West Brom of all teams.

I thought I would have got 20m at least.

He’s been at the club since season 1 and bought at the same time as Alisson.

I bounced between the two as 1st choice, but in the later seasons settled on Alisson.

Next up

The game was gone the minute Bruno Fernandes got sent off, but Bayern Munich didn’t capitalise and when they got a player sent off too, I had a feeling the game was back on.

Between the ten-a-side game, former employees Laimer and Kane steal the game.

With the last game behind us, we go up against league leaders Inter at home.

Lively game but at halftime I can see Bellingham and Ronaldo of all players are struggling to put input into the game.

Neither sub offered anything better apart from Messi-ish.

Bruno Fernandes redeemed himself with two assists.

Bastoni was a rock, De Ligt did well in the air, but didn’t do well at winning his tackles.

The win is an important one against the title chasers.

Back in the Coppa Italia for the second leg.

The damage was done in the first meeting.

It was only a matter of holding off Parma for 90 minutes.

The draw for the next round.

Came out of this one lucky to grab a point as Manchester City had bossed us up and down the pitch.

Reinforced my planned DC partnership and they did have a good game despite the two goals conceded. It could have been a lot worse.

Saka played well, but I should have lobbed on Messi.

Declan Rice was restored to the lineup and done okay.

Bruyne and Bellingham combined well. But I can’t always rely on two-thirds of BBB to carry me through.

From one competition to another as we return to Coppa Italia.

Better this time round against Fiorentina.

We did go behind in the first half, but fought hard and won the game.

Poor from Alisson and made the change early on.

I mainly changed Bruno Fernandes for Saka based on his half-time rating.

But to be honest, he had played well.

With Ronaldo out of my planning.

I sign a youngster given the money I’ve paid for my last striker.

Someone in real life is turning the heads of some of Europe’s elite in his direction.

The right move with a good youth academy and top-tier coaches the world would be at his feet.

He’s got potential.

And thats what we will offer him.

Short break from the transfer window and we go out and smash Fiorentina at home.

We went on the right path 22 minutes in after going two goals up.

De Gea got sent off and Bellingham converted the penalty.

The game was done at the stroke of halftime.

We part ways with Pavard.

Shame as I do like him, but the positions he can cover are RB and DC.

Do I really want a sub player at 28 years sitting on the bench when I can take the opportunity to add a youngster is the question I asked myself.

Draw for the Coppa Italia semi-finals sees us go up against my in-game save nemesis.

Nothing really I want to add in this January window.

Having said that I get news that Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney is available on the market at a low price.

I think why the hell not?

I could flip him for profit, at least at the 10m mark.

First derby game of the season.

Dropped the wonderkid straight in at the deep end by handing him his debut and he opened his goal account which I’m sure the fans were pleased to see, especially against our neighbours.

Yildiz and Guler are a joy to watch, my future vision is for them to be the replacement for Salah and Bruno Fernandes.

This time out Guler played AML, with him trialled and tested at MC and impressed.

Ive got a very good player on my hands.

The time has come for our showdown with Napoli in the Coppa Italia semi-finals.

Bore draw and lucky to get that result.

Sets up a home advantage we will hope will play in our favour.

But also up our game for the return fixture if we are to have any hope of advancing in the competition.

I take a gamble in the league with my next-gen’s next.

Moved Guler to MC this time and he still has a good day at the office.

Hlozek was good last season and I’m finding it hard to add him and Reyna for that matter.

Both of them impressed and now I have created a selection headache.

With the regulars rested for the next game.

I’m hoping they will be up for a battle against a tough team.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.

A win would have done wonders for our league campaign.

Now we are in a dangerous position and need to get back to winning ways.

Return to Coppa Italia semi-finals second leg.

I was right to think that playing at home would play to our advantage as we won the game on home soil.

A captain’s inspired victory was the winning factor.

The BBB aint clicking but consistent bog standard “yeah you’re okay, but where is the magic from before”.

Glad to advance to the final, but nervous against the team we are about to face in the final, considering how we have lost to them recently.

With the teams with games in had in the league finally caught up with the rest of us, sees Cheivo drop out of the top spot.

THAT’S more like it, puts a smile back on my face.

De Ligt was amazing and is now making me think that I should partner him with Bastoni.

Better from BBB. Bellingham the standout of the three and Bruyne with a goal and Bruno with an assist, are a reminder of days of old.

After being on a high after the CL the mood changed after our next game in the league as we got defeated away to one of the title contenders.

It puts Napoli and Inter in a strong position to make it a two-horse race.

With the game nearly over the two wingbacks ran the length of the pitch and connected together to ensure we took all three points.

Bruno Fernandes was having a stinker which I should have dealt with at halftime, but the score was level and I decided to give him till the hour mark.

In the next game we are at home to Bayern Munich.

A clean sheet and a penalty discussion in our favour helped win the game.

Disappointed we couldn’t do it in open play, but a win is win.

A mix of individual average performance from the team.

Bastoni impressed and rightly so won man of the match.

Unlucky day at the office for Gyökeres. He had plenty of chances to get his name on the scoresheet.

Confirmation that we are going into the knockout stages with a game left in phase 2 group A is reported.

Knowing we are already through I let the fringe players have a runout.

Happy just to get this game out of the way and move on.

The draw for the knockout rounds has been made.

With the team rested we head into a league fixture against Napoli.

Bastoni again with a great performance and Guehi was equally impressive.

Gyökeres finally found the back of the net.

Bruno this time making a contribution to a match, unlike the others from BBB.

Milan won their derby which has added a bit of spice to the league chasers.

It’s the final of the Coppa Italia final.

Took the early lead only for Milan to pull one back with 20 minutes left of the game.

Getting annoyed with the BBB.

This time De Bruyne of all people is barely making a dent with his god give talent.

CL quarter finals next.

We went out there and smashed them.

After going a goal down we bounced back, scoring two goals in both halves.

Disappointed with Bastoni considering how well hes been playing.

Gyökeres is blowing hot and cold or maybe it’s the pressure in tough games. Something I need to think about at this later stage of the season.

This time it’s Bellingham’s turn from BBB to get subbed at half-time and with the same amount of time on the pitch as the Englishman.

Echeverri took his opportunity on offer.

But why am I overthinking the individual performances when I should be celebrating the win?

Quick look at the league table.

Not many games left to play.

Goalless affair in the second leg of the CL

Not an entertaining game for the fans.

I did make eight changes to the line-up from the last encounter.

We are into the semi-finals of the CL.

We face a team we played in the group phase whom we only managed to take 1 point from.

We advance to the CL semi-finals

We played better this time out and have the goal advantage going into the second leg.

My defence was solid as a rock, which is pleasing to see.

Bruno sacrificed at halftime, but I feel maybe that was the wrong decision on reflection

Gyökeres no goal on the big stage again is starting to be annoying.

I still haven’t sold Ronaldo, but I refuse to play him.

In between this round, we have a derby game. So we rest the team from before in preparation for the second leg.

It’s over for Chievo, Manchester City came out swinging punches.

Braces for both former Chievo employers is our downfall.

3-0 at half-time I tried desperately to get back into the game.

But we couldn’t mount what was needed to book our place in the final.

I made three changes at half-time.

Alisson was the obvious first choice as he looked to be heading for a four rating.

Bastoni the man who’s been flying high in several games, just couldn’t handle the attacking pressure from City.

I dropped Gyökeres in favour of Messi.

But I set that right before the second half and wished I had started him now given what he was able to do in 45 minutes.

Out of one competition but still two chances left to grab silverware.

The league’s not 100% in the bag but we need to keep winning.

I keep the same team as before, just dropped Messi and put back in Gyökeres.

We did our part but unfortunately so did Juventus and the dream of detaining the league is over.

That’s the second bit of silverware taken from us.

But we still have a domestic cup final to finish the season.

Injuries however have struck down two regulars.

Last game of the season and it’s the Coppa Italia final.

The score is level at 1-1 going in.

Its all to play for.

It wasn’t to be.

Milan proved to strong at home.

I can’t pick apart the mistakes as everyone had an average okayish game.

After going two down I tried mixing it up bringing on Echeverri.

But it didn’t change nor did he impact the game.

Our first-ever trophyless season and worst league position to date.

This season has been a shambles.

End of season player stats.

I usually pick three players I liked. But to be honest with Ronaldo dropping out of the race. Given how he started who knows what he would have ended on.

New signing Salah came in and adapted to his new teammates and to the league by storm.

Bellingham didn’t have a great season compared to what he’s achieved in the past seasons. But I picked him purely on his Champions League performances.