Season 4: 2015-16 Part 2 Jan-May

Our first game of the new year was at home to Liverpool in the FA Cup.  We dominated for 80+ minutes but it was one of those frustrating games where we only scored one goal and missed numerous chances. I'm not tactically adept enough to know how to effect that, but I was happy to settle for 1-0 when, in Liverpool's first attack of note on 89 minutes, the ref gave them a penalty and they equalised. I was crushed. It had been a harsh FA Cup draw, and yet it had looked like we had triumphed, only for it to be snatched away at the last. Now we had to go to Anfield and win!

In the league we continued our tough trio of fixtures, facing Man City, and grabbing a win through Jenssen's goal. Again we had dominated the match but it had looked like we'd only get a point until Jenssen's late winner brought a needed confidence boost. We then managed a hard earned draw against bogey side Arsenal.

Morale suitably boosted we headed to Anfield and defied the odds to triumph 3-2 in a thriller.  Tadic, who had under-performed overall, had an absolute blinder and scored two to cap a great performance.

                                                         

With 3 great results against quality sides, we headed to West Ham full of confidence, and continued our Jekyll and Hyde season by losing 1-0.

We followed up by crashing out of the FACup at QPR 4-1. It was one of the worst displays I have seen from my team.

I read them the riot act and we headed next to Elland Rd against bottom of the table QPR,  and won 7-0. Adelmilson got a hat-trick, Straqualursi got 2 , Kakuta (on his return from injury) and Johnson got the others.

                                                             

January finished with a 2-0 victory over Southampton (Adelmilson and Kakuta) and I really hoped this was the start of the strong run we needed to propel us into the top 5.

Instead February was dire. We started with a 5-0 loss at Liverpool in the league and followed it up with a 0-0 at Cardiff. Our European qualification ambitions were hanging by a thread. Meanwhile in this year's Europa League we had drawn Celtic in the 1st knock-out round. A very winnable tie on paper, but I was taking nothing for granted. The boys rose to the challenge and in the away leg we triumphed 5-1  (Straqualuri got 2, as did Ryan Bennett with Traore getting the 5th)

As we were out of the FA Cup the home leg was next and we gave a professional performance with Aboubakar grabbing the only goal of the game. We were through 6-1 on aggregate.

Back in the league and we extended our winless streak to 4 with a 1-1 draw at Birmingham (Adelmilson) and a 2-2 at home to QPR (Adelmilson and Jonathan). Both games we should have won easily. Something was very wrong but I couldn't work out how to fix it. 

Of course these things are relative, we were into the last 16 in the Europa, and we were comfortably top half in the premier League, and very fiscally secure, so the board were happy, but I knew with the players that we had, that we were under-performing in the league.

The Europa league last 16 saw us drawn against CSKA Moscow who we had faced twice in the group stage, winning one and losing one, so I knew it would be tight. In Moscow we went 2-0 up, but were pegged back to a still commendable 2-2 draw. Adelmilson and Boudebouz got our goals.

A must win game against 5th place Tottenham yielded a 2-1 win with goals from Gourcuff and Cardozo keeping our slender hopes alive.

Then it was the home leg of our Europa League tie and after the disaster of conceeding in the first minute, we rallied and triumphed 2-1 with Straqualursi and Tadic nabbing the goals that took us into the quarter finals.

                                                                  

As March drew towards a close, a 1-0 win over West Brom kept our hopes just about alive before a brave 5-4 loss to might Man City killed our hopes for good.  Having somehow battled back from 4-2 down, we just couldn't hang on to the precious point. A brace for Cardozo and goals for Ribery and Strqualursi comprised our four goals.

In the quarter finals of the Europa League we drew the mighty Athletico Madrid. The away leg effectively finished our chances, as we lost 4-1 with Straqualursi getting our only goal.

We then sank further down the league table when we lost 3-1 at Stoke (Lampard).

Our Europa league adventure ended with a pride restoring 3-2 win over Athletico in the home leg (Adelmilson, Johnson, Kakuta) losing 6-4 on aggregate.

Having tried out a ridiculously adventurous 3 striker formation against Sunderland, coming away lucky to escape with a 3-3 draw, I reverted to my 3 across central midfield for the run-in to the end of the season, determined to move up from the 10th place we found ourselves in. I hadn't used this formation since the first month of the season, and it caught our opponents on the hop. Wigan fell 2-0 (Jenssen and Straqualursi),  Swansea 3-2 (Bennett, Adelmilson and Kakuta)  and April ended with a 3-1 win over Villa, courtesy of a Cardozo hattrick.

                                                             

For the last two games of the season,  I blooded some youngsters and fringe players.  Against Chelsea, Doumbia was on fire as we demolished them 4-0.

                                                                       

 The final meaningless rubber against Wolves saw us lose 3-0.

So another season was over. Reaching the quarter finals of the Europa League was undoubtedly the highpoint, and although the board were more than happy with 7th, for me the lowpoint was failing to finish higher up the table given the players we had.

As always, there was always next year to look forward to.

January 2016 Transfer Window

The January Transfer Window saw the usual arrival of players from North and South America and Eastern Europe, whose contracts expired  in December.

Aiden McGeady the AMR arrived from Spartak Moscow on a free and I was delighted to get an Irish International into the team!. 

18 yr old Gil arrived from Sao Paolo as a left back, and was almost ready for 1^st team football on arrival. He was clearly a youngster with real talent. I returned Santi Cataldo from loan as I no longer needed him for left back cover.

Uilliam Felipe, a 20 year old goalie, arrived from Gremio and again he went straight into the 1^st team squad, as back-up to the slightly disappointing Baumann.

                                            Is Norwich big enough for two Irish Aidens?                    

Also from Sao Paolo came 18 year old Souza as a central defender and again he wasn’t really one for the future, as he was almost 1^st team ready.

It really was a great crop of signings, as 20 year old Darron Jevons joined as a centre back.  Already an established USA international, to pick him up on a free was a real coup for us. Again, he was ready to compete fro a place in the starting eleven.

These were not youngsters who might challenge for a place years hence, these were quality players ready to challenge from their first day at the club, with the advantage that at such a young age they were going to get better and better over the next few years.

Finally I spent £2.5 million (plus possible add-ons) on Oscar Cardozo.  I know he’s 32 and I wasn’t short of strikers, but I needed a second target man to go with Straqualursi and I loved the fact that for a target man, he not only had the strength and the heading and jumping, but also amazing finishing and composure. I was prepared to take a chance on a player of proven quality, especially when his wage demands were very reasonable for someone with his proven talent (£27,750 p/w)

I decided Nasri was a luxury I couldn’t afford at loan wages of 63,000p.w  plus £70,000 a month fee. Kakuta was still some way away from match fitness, so having returned Nasri, I loaned the much cheaper AMC Yoann Gourcuff from PSG.

                                      Oscar Cardozo..can he make it in the Premier League?                 

I resolved my issue with Frank Lampard’s contract by offering him a new one, giving him a much larger wage till the end of the season, but removing the extension clause. Additionally  with Howson out for the season, I brought in Luca Cigarini on loan from Porto as MC cover.

My final loan signing was Frank Ribery.  Dusan Tadic had been consistently underperforming and Rybus didn’t really have the quality to challenge him for a strating place, so I sold Rybus to Stke for 1.5 million and loaned Ribery from Bayern.

With two more quality DCs arriving, I decided someone needed to go. I wanted to keep Bennett and Ayala for their Home grown status and looking at the team, it seemed to me Bassong was the best candidate.  His knee tendonitis had really affected him and my coaches were all saying they didn’t think he’d get back to the player he had been, and certainly not in the short-medium term. So I put him on the market, and Toulouse offered me £7 million which I felt was a good price for the player he now was, and so he left. It can be a harsh and unsentimental game (football, not FM). I was really sad to see him go as he had been a great servant to the club and I will always remember him fondly, but nothing lasts forever and I am paid to make the tough decisions that I believe will benefit the football club. Thanks Sebastian, I’ll miss you…

I also ended the loans of Bruma and Alex, leaving the number of DCs at a more sensible level.

As for contract expiring summer transfers, I was more restrained this time. Having been updating this blog I had noticed how many players were coming in, and I resolved to be much more selective going forward  . 

               Bargain Basement Nasri?  Yoann Gourcuff   my new, much cheaper loan AMC    

Highlights were:

Fabio, a quality goalie from Cruzerio. I signed a pre-contract deal with him on the basis that I would sell Baumann who had never quite convinced me. Fabio, though 35, clearly had a couple of good seasons left in him by which time one of my several promising goalies would be ready to take over. He also was very sensible in his wage requests.

Gokhan Tore, a fantastic young winger to challenge Tadic and/or McGeady next season. He came in from Rubin, but as a youngster had spent 3 years with Chelsea.

Kamohelo Mokohtjo, a super deep lying playmaker who plays in the DMC slot, was poached from Feyenoord.  I was delighted to get him, beating off competition from some big clubs. Our improved stature following our European success was really attracting some quality players now.  At just 25, he can have his very best years here at Norwich.

Leroy Fer, an MC to replace Lampard, from FC Twente.

These were my big-name signings. I’ll cover all signings comprehensively in the summer review.

For now it was back to our mission to try and qualify for Europe again next season.

Season Four: 2015-2016 Part One Aug-Dec

We started the season with 2 tough fixtures,  away at league champions Arsenal and at home to Man Utd. Against Arsenal I tried to be clever. Thinking the only way I might beat them is to utterly throw them by surprising them, I went with the least used of my 3 formations, the  4-3-1-2

We took the lead on two minutes through Straqualursi and were still in front on 34 minutes when Bernardello got a straight red. What is it about playing Arsenal and red cards? Needless to say things changed very quickly after that. They equalized 2 minutes later , and by the 65 minute mark they were 5-1 up. At which point Traore lost his cool completely and got himself sent off too. Final score 6-1.

Against Man Utd I stuck with the 4-3-1-2 and we played well against them, looking the better team for much of the match. Against a team of Utd’s quality, however, you have to play brilliantly for 90 minutes, and they broke our hearts by scoring the game’s only goal in the 87^th minute.

Two losses from two games, and our next match, away to West Ham left us still searching for a win. Jacob Butterfield came back to haunt me, as the man I had sold scored the Hammers equalizer after Nasri had give us an early lead.

                                                     Samir Nasri made his mark on loan

I wasn’t sure if it was the formation, missing Carroll and Perisic or just low morale after a tough start, but I needed to sort things out quickly.

At home to newly promoted and struggling Leeds I reverted to our wonderful winged formation with Tadic and Boudebouz on the flanks. We recorded our first win. Doumbia and Kakuta got the goals as we came away with a not altogether convincing 2-0.

This year we were seeded in the 3^rd (rather than 4^th) pot for the Europa league, which meant a slightly easier group. Our first tie was away to lowly Thon and sticking with the same formation, we triumphed 2-0 (Aboubakar and Traore).

We were picking up confidence now and back in the league we vanquished Liverpool 3-1. Straqualursi bagged a brace and Kakuta got the 3^rd before getting the serious injury that would put him out for months.

                                                                      

Next up were Burnley in the Carling cup and they were dispatched 5-1. Iwan Somei got two, as did Traore, with Jenssen getting the 5^th.

The excellent run continued with us beating Southampton by the odd goal in 5.  3-2 the final score with Straquarlursi, Nasri and Aboubakar getting our goals.  Straqualursi was really seizing his moment to fill Carroll’s shoes and I did feel having a target man as one of our two strikers made a big difference. I had come close to signing a back-up for Straq in the summer, but no-one quite fitted the bill. This meant that sometimes I had to rest Straq, and to me we looked less convincing without a target man, so I resolved to bring one in in January.

After 5 wins and a draw from our last 6 we finally tasted defeat, and it was in the Europa league against group favourites CSKA Moscow. They triumphed 2-1 on our patch, with Daniel Ayala providing the consolation goal.

About this time Giorgio Chiellini, a centre and left back, who had been available on a free but had been injured, regained full fitness, and needless to say I signed him to add to my already large crop of defenders.

                                                        

I did decide to offset this by returning Somai from his loan. We weren’t playing with any central midfielders currently, so it made no sense to have a loan cm, in addition to those I already had.

Away to Cardiff we managed a 1-1 draw via Traore’s late penalty.

Perhaps overreacting to the last 2 results, I switched to a 4-1-3-2 and we returned to winning ways, beating Birmingham 2-1 at home (Howson and an og when a Strqualursi rocket bounced off the bar, hit butland on the backside and rolled in!)

(video)

Against Metalist I went to old favourite 4-1-2-1-2 and we crushed them 5-0 (Doumbia x2, Nasri, Aboubakar and Ayala).

                                                                    

I definitely had too many strikers but other than Adelmilson and Straq I couldn’t decide who should stay and who should go. So they were rotating which probably didn’t help any of them get a real run of form going.  Aboubakar had been agitating for more playing time but he’d just have to take his turn like everyone else.

In the forth round of the Capital One Cup we drew Arsenal away. Twice we came from a goal behind and forced extra time (Aboubakar and an og), and then when Bernardello gave us the lead in the first half of extra time I thought a shock was on the cards. Our bogey team came back with a goal in the 109^th minute, however, and it came down to the lottery of a penalty shootout . It was Arsenal whose balls were lucky, if you’ll excuse the expression, and they left us heartbroken when Aboubakar and Jennsen missed their penalties.

                                       Seydou Doumbia: Rotating in a group of quality strikers

Sticking with 4-1-2-1-2 we couldn’t shake off the Arsenal result and lost 2-1 at home to West Brom, a highly unexpected and disappointing result.  Doumbia got our only goal.

There was also the ‘one that got away’. Ex Man City right back Maicon was playing in Brazil. His contract was expiring in December, so I offered him a contract from January. We agreed terms on a £21,000 a week contract but at the last second I baulked. I really admired his crossing and dribbling which were great for a right back, but having agonized and agonized, in the end I decided I should curb my enthusiasm for bargains and I cancelled the deal. I regret it as I feel he could have brought something extra to the squad and his wages would have been a bargain for a player of his quality, albeit one who was ageing. I did change my mind shortly afterwards, but he chose to sign a new deal with his current club and the opportunity was lost.

As we entered November our next European tie saw us face Metalist at home and we got back to winning ways with a 4-0 victory. Doumbia, Boudebouz,  Nasri and Aboubakar got the goals.

However our league form remained decidedly patchy and we were poor away to Tottenham losing 3-1 with Nasri getting the only goal.

A 2-1 home victory over Sunderland (Nasri and Traore) was undermined by a 2-0 loss to Stoke. We were resolutely mid table at this point, with virtually no chance of qualifying for Europe if we didn’t buck our ideas up.

After trying a radical formation change which yielded a nervy 2-0 win over Europa whipping boys Thon, I made more subtle changes and went with a 3-4-3 against Wigan which yielded a 3-0 win (Kelly, Adelmilson and Johnson), followed by a 2-0 win at QPR,  (Straqualursi and Doumbia). I then reverted to 4-1-2-1-2 and secured our 3^rd successive win, 2-1 over Swansea (Adelmilson x2).

                                        Frank Lampard: providing solid back-up at 37           

This was more like it and December continued to be a triumph when we secured top spot in our Europa League group by winning 2-0 away at CSKA Moscow  (Ryan Bennett and Aboubakar).

More good news came when the board announced we were doing so well financially with the income from the Europa league, and my frugal spending, that they could increase my transfer budget by a further 10 million.

As Christmas approached we went away to Chelsea and a superb Straqualursi hat-trick gave us a 3-1 win.

                                                             

However our season for bad injuries continued when Jonny Howson suffered a broken leg, and looked likely to be out for the season.

This now left me with only 3 natural CMs, and now we had reverted to 4-1-2-1-2 this was a problem, especially as if Frank Lampard made another 5 league appearances, he’d trigger a one year contract extension which, given he was meant to be a back-up and was rapidly declining at 37 years old, was a big problem.

Our seventh successive victory was secured over Aston Villa with a Straquaursi goal, and we were now up to 6^th.

Sadly, that was to be the end of the great run, however, as Wolves shocked us 1-0. This was followed by a more expected 2-0 loss to Man Utd, and with the year reaching an end, we were in 7^th.

Summer 2015 Transfer Window

As I reflected on the season, my first order of business was to decide whether to move clubs. My reputation in the game is now listed as 'world class' and when Arsene Wenger, having won the league with Arsenal, decided to retire, the Premier League Champions approached me to take over. They offered me transfer budgets and wage budgets I could only dream of at Norwich but what tempted me more was my frustration that despite selling out every home game, the board refused to countenance expansion of the stadium, meaning we couldn’t bring in much needed revenue, and were turning away fans every week.

However in the end I stayed with Norwich. I'm normally a one club man in FM and I feel I am building something here.  I’ll probably stay too long, but for now I want to see how far we can go.

                                         

Best 11 of 2014/2015> Is your favourite there?

This would be the first season where ‘re-gens’ would play a part in my 1^st team so I’ll say a word or two about my thoughts on them. For those who don’t play the game, re-gens, are the  players who are not based on real life players but simply made up the game. As the seasons go by, old players retire and the new players coming through are all ‘made-up’ players. I know some FM players get sniffy about re-gens, but I’ve never understood their concerns. Yes,  the players aren’t real, but in real life new young players will come through. There will be a,new Messi, a new Ronaldo, a new Bale in real life. Exciting young talents who burst through. Same in the game. In real life Premiership clubs will send their scouts far and wide in the hope of spotting one and buying him for a low price and then developing him. That’s what I look to do, and for a club like ours it’s essential, given we can’t compete with the big boys for income and therefore for  wage and transfer budgets. If my scouts find a great player, re-gen or no, I buy them and if not I don’t.  The only thing I don’t like them are the awful fake face drawings the game uses. I downloaded a ‘face-pack’ add on giving photos of all the real life players in the game, and it really adds to feeling they are your players. The re-gen pictures just make me cringe. But time moves on and we can’t stick with the same pool of ever ageing players forever.

So onto the summer signings.  With Nelson leaving on a free transfer as his contract ended, I needed a new right back. Maicon was theoretically available on a free but wanted outrageous wages, so instead I plumped for Martin Kelly. He was a home grown talent and my team was short on those. The Premier League requires 8 Home grown players in your registered squad of 25, and I was a couple shy, so that was a huge plus. He signed for 5 million pounds plus add-ons.  The other thing I loved was he was just as good a centre back as right back, so I felt I was effectively getting 2 players for the price of one, which was a good thing as his wages were a new high of £49,000 p/w. My only slight concern was his crossing and dribbling weren’t great so when playing without wingers he might take a back seat to Jonathan.

    The 3rd most successful Irish manager of all time, apparently....                                                 

As discussed in the January transfer window, the players for the 1^st team squad who I’d signed pre-contract deals with were

Bruno Manga (DC) 

Scott Carson (GK) who replaced Rob Green who left when his contract expired.

Ryad Boudebouz  (AMR) 

Dusan Tadic  (AML). Tadic was a much better winger than Brahimi, and I off loaded Brahimi to Monaco for £1.7 million

Seydou Doumbia (ST).

Mac Reybus (AML/AMR)  

In January I had resisted the temptation to sign Oliver Baumann, a class Goalie, on the grounds that though available for nothing, he was no better than Ospina who had really proved himself, but when the summer arrived and Baumann was still available on a free, I couldn't resist. I offered the excellent Ospina to clubs for £7.5 million. The timing worked well as, without knowing of my attempts to generate offers for him, he came to me looking to a move to a ‘bigger club’.  Juventus bought him for £7.5 million and in came Baumann on a free.

 Thanks to downloading a 'facepack', over 95% of the real players in the game have pictures                                                            

My biggest ‘miss’ was Andy Carroll. After he returned from his loan with us,  Liverpool transfer- listed him and initially I went in to buy him at the 3.6 mill asking price, but we stuck on wages. I wasn’t prepared to break my 50k ceiling for a permanent signing so requested him on loan again, hoping to pick him up on a free when his contract expired at season’s end. His wage demands may have dropped, I hoped, and if not the pain would be blunted by saving 3.6 mill on the transfer fee.  Stoke, however, came in to buy him so Carroll had a decision to make. European football with us, on loan, or a new long term high wage contract without any European football. I could have changed my bid to a transfer but I trusted he’d go for the chance to play in Europe. He chose the money and signed a mega bucks contract with Stoke. I was left wondering if I’d made a false economy. He had been such a key part of our success..should I have broken my ‘golden rule’ to sign him.

Other than a couple of promising youngsters, those were my main signings. I did, however get busy in the loan market.

Jeff Bruma (DC) had done well for us last year, and I decided to loan him again, with notions of turning that into a permanent transfer if he did well. As another ‘home-growner he had advantages, but if he was to sign permanently he’d have to moderate his wage demands.

The   excellent ex-Chelsea centre back Alex became available on loan and my ‘bargain’ tendencies kicked in and I loaned him too!!

This left us  VERY top heavy with central defenders, but Bassong managed to get himself seriously injured and out for 6 months which meant it became less of a pointless loan!

Also returning was Iwan Somei who had been a very promising back up at AMC (and when needed MC) last year.

       An example of an awful picture of a re-gen. I know we haven't met Gil yet. Be patient...                                               

Karim Guede, my new DM aquired for 400k in January, felt he should start by right. I wasn’t prepared to replace Bernardello who was consistently excellent, unless his form slipped or he got injured. Guede was unhappy and an unhappy player was no use to me, so I sold him to Liverpool for 1.5 million.

My aggressive DM Simao had returned from loan at Fulham and seemed keen on a fresh start but I still had my doubts about his ability to stop diving in, so I loaned Emmanual Frimpong from Arsenal as a 3^rd DMC.

As it seemed wingers were the order of the day, I couldn’t justify Charlie Adam’s wages, and out he went to Aston Villa for 1.5 million

The only other player who left was John Arne Riise. Looking back I wished I’d kept him till his contract’s end the following year. I saw a youngster who could perform at the same level available to loan, so I took £650,000 for Riise but with hindsight I think he had something still to contribute and I was looking at his age (34) not his performances when I decided to offload him. Sorry John.  The incoming replacement was Santi Cataldo a youngster of just 19. 

Then suddenly Patrice Evra was available on a free. Reader I tried to resist but couldn’t, and brought him in. However Santi Catalso needed to stay as I had no places left in my Premiership registration for Evra! Cataldo, at under 21, didn’t have to be registered!

 A very cheap loan (no fee, wages £925 p/w!) saw right back Bart De Jong provide back up. Again at Under 21, he didn’t need to be registered, and for the same reasons in came Kenny Smit a very promising young goalie.

                                              New goalie Ollie Baumann  in green and yellow!          

I thought I’d concluded my transfer business when I picked up Frank Lampard on a free (I know, I know..but it’s so cool to occasionally have a really big name playing for you (see Beckham, Ronaldinho etc) even if they are well past their peak. Indulge me and forgive an old man his weakness).

No matter how I tried last seaon's loanee AMC Perisic would not join us on a permanent deal, so, as i had reached the limit of domestic loans, Frimpong was despatched back to Arsenal, and in from Man City came Samir Nasri on loan. He was extremely expensive for us (loan wages of 63,000p/w  plus £70,000 a month fee) but there was no doubting his real quality. You will note that I did relax my golden rule here. I justified it to myself on the basis that he was significantly better than the next AMC but more pertinently because it was only for 5 months till the January transfer window. It proved to be less of an indulgence than I initially thought as early in the season, Kakuta got injured for 5 months and Nasri became essential. 

Five Million on Kelly plus maybe a million in overall loan fees meant six million spent. This was more than offset by the 13 million generated by player sales and though our wage bill was up again, my fiscal wheeler-dealing, and the money from being in Europe, meant we were financially in great shape as we kicked off the new season

Norwich City Season 3 Part 2 (2014-2015)

2015 began with a valiant but ultimately disheartening 4-3 loss to mighty Man City in the FA Cup third round. I could talk about their players on 180,000 a week and their astronomical transfer budgets and what a good showing it was by little Norwich, but ultimately to come so close and finish with no reward was tough for us to take. As FA Cup holders I had wanted to put up a good defence of the trophy, so to depart in the third round was disappointing, no matter who the opponents. For the record Paloschi got a brace and Jonathan bagged our third.

Back to back home league fixtures against Stoke and Southampton saw us work off our frustrations with 3-0 and 3-1 victories respectively. Against Stoke Perisic got two and Carroll the 3^rd, and against Sunderland that man Perisic bagged another goal, with Kakuta and Paloschi contributing the other two.

Struggling Cardiff stunned us 2-0 on their patch but we showed resilience and determination in bouncing back with a hard fought 2-1 win over Chelsea at the Bridge. The green and yellow heroes on the day were Paloschi and Kakuta.

Stat watchers will have noticed this was 5 wins in 6 matches and we were moving steadily up the table. We weren’t drawing many games, and converting most of those to wins was really helping us. We began to look like possible European contenders and the confidence that comes from winning was creating a virtuous circle.

Andy Carroll bagged the only goal in an edgy 1-0 victory over West Brom and we kept the amazing run going with a 6-1 spanking of Sunderland. Straqualursi got a brace, with Paloschi, Perisic, Ademilson and James Rodriguez  getting the others.

                                                     

We were now in 6^th and on fire and we moved into 5^th with a 5-1 demolition of West Ham. Perisic and Rodriguez bagged 2 each and Carroll got the 5^th. The on-fire Paloschi put himself out for 6 weeks in this match. His amazing ability to poach goals matched only by his ability to get injured.

                                                    

Then came the Europa league knock-out phase. We had drawn the tough ask of Roma in the last 32 and for whatever reason we just did not turn up in the home leg. Roma shut us down and we found no answers, losing 1-2 with Perisic’s goal providing our only consolation.

The vagueries of the fixture calendar meant the return leg was our next game, followed 3 days later by a key match at home to top of the table Arsenal. I switched to 4-1-2-1-2 for this match for two reasons. I hoped it would fool Roma who had shut down my wingers so effectively in the first leg, and also it meant I could field some squad players, and players who didn’t fit into my 4-1-3-2. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to win and I played a strong squad (Perisic started at AMC) but I was realistic and knew a 2-0 win in Roma was unlikely. My plan was to sub Perisic on 70 mins if all seemed hopeless.

Somewhat inevitably we took a 1-0 lead from Lacina Traore’s wonder goal on 68 minutes. I felt we had to go for the one goal that would see us through and Perisic stayed on the park for the full 90 as we chased that goal.  

We tried hard but Roma held on and we went out on away goals with a nagging sense of what might have been.

We couldn’t dwell on it however, because next up were top of the table Arsenal. It was to be one of the most eventful games I have ever played.

Our cause wasn’t helped when our defensive rock and captain Seb Bassong, got himself injured in training and missed this key fixture. Bassong isn’t mentioned much here, as he doesn’t score goals, but he is an absolute bulwark in our defence, and a great example to all the other players. Writing as a manager renowned for dispatching players he inherits with little fanfare, the fact that he’s the first name on my team sheet 3 years from me taking over tells you all you need to know. We would miss him enormously.

His exertions on Thursday meant Perisic had to start on the bench, and with Arshavin out for the season, this meant Brahimi got a rare start at AML. Rodriguez took the AMC duties, and Katuta raced down the right wing.

     Ospina's sparkling form in goal meant Robert Green's stayed on the bench

Both teams were going for it from the first minute and it was end-to-end stuff. The first half-an -hour was breathless and enthralling. Andy Carroll put us in front on 3 minutes,  Santi Cazorla equalized on 7. Then Lacina Traore and Gael Kakuta scored within 3 minutes of each other to have us 3-1 up on 20 minutes. After 35 minutes the score remained 3-1 when disaster struck.  Jonathan was booked for a hard challenge giving Arsenal a free kick. I intended to tell him to ease off, as I always do with booked players, but before I could issue the instruction Arsenal took the free kick, Jonathan tackled, the ref blew his whistle and gave a second yellow card.

Reader I wept. Then I yelled things about the referee and his penchant for procreating with matriarchal relatives. I cursed Jonathan for his recklessness and tried to decide how to adapt.

I did have right-back Nelson on the bench so I brought him on and took off Traore, leaving Carroll up front as a target man. I switched to a counter attacking formation and hoped we could hold out till half time.

By half time Arsenal were level.  One minute after Jonathan’ sending off the referee awarded Arsenal a soft penalty and I began to feel the fates were conspiring against us.

Two minutes later Santi Cazorla scored his second and that made it 3-3. With no natural leader at the back we just couldn’t cope with Arsenal’s incredible attack.

At half time I attempted to regroup and refocus the lads for the fight ahead.

To my amazement we retook the lead on 58 minutes when Andy Carroll scored his second on a rare counter attack.  We held the lead for one minute before  Jack Wilshire equalised!

Oxlade-Chamberlein and Giroud (sidenote: It's amazing how many rl players Arsenal still have in FM in 2015!) scored two more to give Arsenal a 6-4 lead by 75 minutes.

I threw on Perisic hoping he could influence the game and he certainly did. We were awarded a penalty on 79 minutes which he promptly missed!  Still it wasn’t over as James Rodriguez made it 6-5 with a great long range shot, before Wilshere scored his second in the 90^th minute to finish us off. Final score Norwich 5 Arsenal 7.

                  Truly a one off match, with 48 shots on goal in the 90 minutes!

                                                                

I turned the game off at that point. I couldn’t face continuing until I had time to get my head right. I was devastated. A crucial game, and from a winning position we had ended up scoring 5 and still losing. Moreover Man City were next. Including the Europa league debacle this would mean 3 losses from 4, I was sure, and that would affect the confidence and momentum. I could feel the dreams of European football being torn away from me.

When I returned to the game I tried to convince myself we could rise again against Man City, but losing in the way we did against Arsenal made an already tough job impossible and we were thrashed 5-0.

I really did think our chances of Europe may have gone, and indeed in our next game, against lowly Blackpool, we were outplayed but somehow came away with a 1-0 victory via an Ademilson penalty. This brought a much needed boost to morale and we were back in business.

A Europa 6 pointer at home to Liverpool followed and we came away with a deserved 2-1 victory with Traore and Bennett getting the goals.

Suddenly our winning momentum was back and our second of 3 succersive home games saw Bolton thrashed 5-1 ( Charlie Adam, and Ayala got one apiece,  but the highlight was a superb Adelmilson hattrick).

                                                 

Paolschi’s injury and Kweuke’s departure, had led to a few more opportunities for the otehr stikers, and once I was confident Adelmilson had calmed down I started considering him for selection. Initially he was simply a sub, but eventually he earned the right to have a go and he was certainly looking to take his chance. (side note: By season's end both Aboubakar and Adelmilson decided they wanted to stay)

We were now holding 5^th and Tottenham were falling away. We nearly opened the door for them, however, with 2 draws from very winnable games. A rare scoreless borefest at home to Wolves was followed by heartbreak at Swansea when they equalized in the 89^th minute, canceling out Paloschi’s goal.

It was all to play for again, but we were up for the challenge. Next up were Aston Villa and this was an absolutely crazy game as we were outplayed for the first 88 minutes. After 85 minutes I thought we’d escape with a draw. Then they scored, and all seemed lost. With no real hope of success I changed our playing style to ‘controlling the game via short passing’.  I also moved Howson further up the park .  Unbelievably the changes had an immediate impact and we scored two goals in stoppage time and won the thriller at the Villa 2-1.  Firstly Adelmilson slotted home a cool finish, and then Jonny Howson raced clear and was cool as a cucumber, slotting the ball under the onrushing keeper, to send our travelling fans, and the Norwich City manager (that’s me, folks!) into raptures of delight.

  The Great Escape!  A crucial 3 points gained despite being 2nd best, a sign of a strong team                               

                                                             

It was one of those incredible moments in FM where changes you’ve made yield a big result. Not only had we scored twice in stoppage time to turn a loss into a win, but it was directly down to changes made by me as manager. I was elated. Those 3 points were absolutely vital in the battle for 5^th.

It was a great way for Rodriguez to finish his 3 month loan, and for an AMC I felt his return of 4 goals (and an assist) from 11 games, was a fair return.

May dawned, and away at bottom club Newcastle we were clinical and professional, winning 4-1 with Carroll and Adelmilson getting two each.

                                                      

 Two games left and 4 points would see us home and hosed in 5^th.

At home against struggling QPR we knocked on the door for 90 minutes and could not find a way through. It looked like we would have to beat Man Utd to guarantee a place in Europe when suddenly in stoppage time, my team who do not know when to give up, finally found a way through. Andy Carroll was the hero, as he had been so many times.

Now a draw at home to Man Utd would see us finish a fantastic 5^th, with guaranteed Europa league football for a second successive season.

Starqualursi opended the scoring for us, but Utd quickly struck back and were leading 2-1 by half time. Tottenham were also struggling so as things stood we’d be okay, but I really didn’t want to have to rely on them. With 85 minutes gone, however, I thought I might have to. I’d reckoned without my determined team of fighters. On 87 minutes up popped the incredibly underrated Straquaursi to bag his second and send us into raptures as we finished the season undefeated in 9 matches, and heading back to Europe.

Fifth place in my third season gave me incredible pride and I knew it would be a very tough ask to beat that. Still as long as I could resist my wheeler-dealing during the transfer window, I could keep the key squad members together and build for next season.

                                      

January 2015 Transfer Window / Mid Season Report

Looking at my summer signings and how they were bedding in, it was a mixed report.

Bernardello at DMC was proving a huge success. I needed a decent anchor man whether playing 4-1-2-1-2 or  my 4-1-3-2 with wingers, and he was more than decent. He was the model of consistency and professionalism, a real hard worker and always coming up with key tackles. For most countries he surely would have got more than his solitary cap earned for Argentina.

Charlie Adam was doing okay, though he was inconsistent, and of course since our move to wingers rarely got a game. Given his high wages, I wasn’t sure of his long term future.

Iwan Somai looked like a great prospect for the future, terrifying defenders when he ran at them. His issue was he was injured so frequently he couldn’t get many games under his belt. I would have loved to sign him but I balked at 11 million for a player so injury prone.

Perisic was real class, and I was desperate to sign him. The agreed 6 million fee seemed like a bargain, so I determined to turn the loan to a purchase before the loan expired.

Riise was strong and consistent, and though his wages were perhaps too high for a second choice left back, I couldn’t complain about his performances or his effort.

                                 Whisper it, but Arshavin's career is over                      

Kakuta was proving a great player, regardless of fee, but for 180,000 he was an absolute steal. My coaches were really helping him fill his potential and at his young age he was developing quickly.

Lacina Traore was also doing well, though through no fault of his own, he wasn’t really getting a good run of games.

Brahimi was clearly an underperformer. I knew this when I bought him, and it wasn’t his fault that our change of formation gave him a key starting role at AML which he clearly wasn’t up to.

Simao’s reckless aggression had led to our big row and he was now loaned out to Fulham

Loanees Jonathan Viera and Jonathan Dos Santos had been returned, indicating their performance,  Carroll was as excellent as last year, as was Paloschi but also just as injury prone. Jeffrey Bruma was proving a very capable centre back and his homegrown status was a big asset.

Aboubakar I saw as one for the future, but he felt he was ready. When no-one came in to loan him, he asked for a transfer. I granted his request and moved him to the reserves.

Arshavin and Green were sadly past their best, and Arshavin was indeed out for the rest of his contract with a serious injury that would see him choose to retire gracefully at season's end. 

As the transfer window started, even I realised that 7 strikers was farcical, and I made the decision to sell Kweuke.

Kweuke had had almost a year of poor goalscoring form, and though his average ratings were consistently high, I couldn’t afford to pay him his £40,000 wages without goals in return. So he was transfer listed.

                                A loan again, naturally!  James Rodriguez comes in at AMC                     

One reason I’d got him for a bargain £2.9 million (which was every penny of transfer budget I had left) was that I offered Sparta Prague 50% of the sell on fee. It was a last ditch effort at the time to get them to accept the bid.  Had the board given me the extra million Sparta had wanted at the time, they wouldn’t have had to watch 50% of the sell-on fee disappearing to Sparta. I got 10 million for him, but added a 50% sell on fee of my own, which I hope should yields some money a season or two down the line.

Early in the transfer window I terminated the loans of Jon Viera and Jonathan Dos Santos.  Both seemed surplus to requirements.  Then Fulham came in to take the still sulking Simao off my hands on loan leaving me with one DM, and Arshavin suffered a season ending injury, meaning I had to move Kakuta to AMR. I still had options for AMC:  Howson, and sometime Perisic, though as Brahimi was not really cutting it at AML, Perisic was making that spot his own.

I began training up Jenssen as an AMC. Jenssen had not fussed or complained despite the fact that our 4-2-4 meant he wasn’t getting any games, but he was already a competent AMC and if I could train him up to be accomplished there, I could keep a very good player onside.

Looking at players listed for loan, I spotted James Rodriguez of Porto. He was amazingly talented,clearly better than anyone I had in the team, but Porto wanted 1 million a month to loan him. Yes, you did read that correctly. One million a month.  However IF his performances turned draws into victories, and enabled us to qualify for Europe I thought it would be worth it.

I negotiated Porto down to 800K per month and agreed a 3 month loan.

                                                                  

                              The new DM: Karim Guede arrives from Gladbach

As for the DM position, I bought in Karim Guede for 400k from Gladbach. The only issue he would have was the brilliant form of Bernardello, more of which later.

I also bought promising young midfielder Marico and goalie Iroindo for a combined 500k as clearly I didn’t have enough promising youngsters!

I also did my annual bargain shop of players whose contracts expired in the summer and signed pre-contract deals with

Bruno Manga (DC) from Lorient, a very good purchase as he would certainly got straight into the first team.

Scott Carson (GK) from Bursaspor. A much better back up goalie than Rob green whose contract expired in the summer.

Ryad Boudebouz  (AMR) from FC Sochaux. A natural AMR, which we badly needed

Dusan tadic  (AML) from Twente. A much better AML than any we owned.

Those were my strong, sensible acquisitions.

I also signed pre-contracts with:

 Seydou Doumbia of CSKA Moscow. An excellent striker but we already had too many!;

Mac Reybus from Terek , a backup AML/AMR but we had plenty who could fill his position;

And 4 more promising youngsters!