Part 104: Chapter the Second: Proteges and prodigies.
Chapter the Second: Proteges and prodigies.September 15, 2020-October 20, 2020
We've won two and lost two. Let's see if we keep up our good form and improve on that mark.
They need to add a feature where you can call up a journalist to make a comment, because I'd be calling my old pal Connor Watkin and giving him an earful about exactly what the FA can do with that suspension. I'd be happy to serve a sideline suspension and let the AssMan manage a game if it meant being able to scorch their asses.
Bram's not going to grow into a good partner for Bastable if he isn't on the training field.
Speaking of Bastable and Aarts.
That went well. Aarts is a big, strapping fellow like Bastable, perfect for leading the attacking line or being our target man in the 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-3-1 formations if he can buck up his courage. This also reminds me to go through other potential mentoring arrangements.
I might as well try to improve Novotny. He's going to end up on the auction block in a year or so and I want him to fetch a good price.
After trying to set up this match I realize that it probably wasn't the best idea to ask a Serbian to mentor a Croat.
Lastly, Mujkic is a full grown man at age 23, and I'm happy to put our vice-captain to work.
vs. Swansea, September 20, 2020
Premier League
We play the Welsh teams back to back. Swansea are a good team but we're at home and I want to control this game, so we're going to start with the 4-2-3-1. We're missing Shirra due to his injury and Todd due to his red card suspension, but Boumsong will be back in the lineup. The Swans are lining up in a weird variant of the 4-4-2, with two attacking wingers and two defensive midfielders with no one playing central midfield. It leaves six at the back and four up front, I have to imagine that it's intended to play a direct, counter attacking style.
Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Lewis, Boumsong (c), Mejasic, Mair, Petts, Matko, Nieddu, Mujkic, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Dos Santos, Feruga, Morvan, Djurovic, Bailey, Aarts.
The 4-2-3-1 is a good fit for our team. Our defense is one of the fastest in the league, which allows us to play high up on the pitch without worrying about getting burned, and we now have enough talent on offense to play a possession game. We spend the first half rendering the Swans attack helpless, but don't score a goal until a botched clearance from a corner rebounds off a Swansea defender for an own goal. When the game ends our team never look like losing, over the entire game Swansea spends just 1% of the time in our third of the pitch while we spend 21% of the game hammering at their defenses, the score belies our overwhelming dominance through all 90 minutes.
Man of the Match: Cyril Boumsong
Wrexham 1-0
I feel good about our chances too, but we're going to have a tired squad as this is just two days after the Swansea fixture.
Sing it, Boumsong.
At Nottingham Forest, September 22, 2020
Capital One Cup, Third Round
I want to win a cup this year. I think we can do it if we get a bit lucky in the draw, but if we're going to get there we need to avoid tripping over lower league squads like Nottingham.
Starting Formation: 4-3-2-1 Control
Starting 11: Novotny, Dos Santos, Todd, Feruga, Richard, Morvan, Djurovic, Matko, Nieddu, Mujkic (c), Bastable.
Subs: Kovacevic, Mejasic, Lewis, Mair, Petts, Jefferies, De Blasio.
Mujkic and Bastable combine on a very nice bit of old school cross into the box play to score the first goal. Nieddu, playing the attacking central midfielder position this game, and Matko combine for our second when Matko can beat the offside trap and get a clean shot. The third has Nieddu getting another assist, this time to Bastable. It's less than 30 minutes in and Nottingham seems unable to cope with our attack.
I feel comfortable enough with our lead at the interval that I pull Bastable to keep him fresh for League matches. After an hour the scoreboard is unchanged, so off comes Mujkic for the same reason. It's at that point that Nottingham manages to put one on the board, and we haven't been as good in the second half as we were during the first. Then I'm forced to use my third substitution for Todd, who has had an excellent game but goes down and cannot continue with 20 minutes remaining. The substitutions don't make a difference, we restore our three goal lead when a Nottingham defender misses a header and the ball bounces to an unmarked Nieddu. He caps yet another fabulous game by winning his one on one with the keeper, giving him a goal and two assists on the match.
Man of the Match: Dmitri Nieddu
Nottingham 1-4 Wrexham
He's off to a blinding start, with 4 goals and 2 assists in six games. I think the fans should start singing “Eye of the Tiger” for our Italian Stallion. Though that might confuse the actual Rocky on our team.
Higgs is still on Everton, and is getting playing time. He'll play several years as a Premier League keeper, but I'm glad we upgraded. Higgs was solid for us over the course of five years, but Kovacevic makes the great individual plays that Higgs never seemed able to.
After six games I feel like I have enough of an idea of how the regular starting 11 is going to look that I can change the expected playing times to match. This displeases a few players who have been bumped down the depth chart. They'll get over it.
Newcastle sold nearly £50m in players after getting bumped from the Premier League, and saw their wage bill drop from £52.4 to £33.2m. They're tearing up the Championship, though, so this will still be like playing a lower table EPL side.
Arsenal was bounced from the League Cup by Sunderland, and the new owners of the team are not pleased. I thought I would relay some of our supporter's sentiments in my interview by enjoying their misfortune.
We're still learning how to play in the new formations, and the team is not all the way there when it comes to having an attacking or possession mentality or playing at a higher tempo. But we're most of the way there, which means we have three looks to throw at our opponents and keep them guessing. Moreover, the team will be comfortable when I make ingame strategic and tactical changes that are a part of what they've practiced for another tactic. That is, our players won't miss a step if I switch us to a counter-attack strategy in our 4-4-2 Diamond formation because we've already drilled the counter-attacking mentality in our 4-4-1-1 strategy.
At Aston Villa, September , 2020
Premier League
The team has been playing well, and so much of that has been built around our proficient on offense. I have enough faith in the team now to try and beat a recently promoted team like Villa straight up even when we're away from home. This will also be the first game for Aarts, who's finally back to full health after being injured literally a couple hours after arriving at the club.
Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Diamond Attack
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong, Todd, Mejasic, Mair, Djurovic, Mujkic (c), Nieddu, Aarts, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Dos Santos, Feruga, Morvan, Petts, Matko, Bailey.
The game is scoreless, with our lads having the slight advantage, until Villa catches us on the break and an error by Todd allows their striker to get on the end of a low cross from the byline. We respond at 41 minutes when Bastable is yanked to the ground as a long throw-in is directed his way in the penalty area and Djurovic scores on the ensuing penalty kick. Then we take grab the lead ourselves in first half stoppage time, with Bram Aarts scoring in his debut on another well delivered ball from Nieddu. The magma hot Italian creates the next goal as well, with a wonderful back heel pass to Aarts which is turned into a bullet that the keeper is just able to turn away but that ends up directly at Mujkic's feet. Meteor, on a sweet run of form himself, can't and doesn't miss the second chance. Villa muster just one threatening set of moves over the rest of the game, and the 19-year-old Aarts completes a dream debut for the club. The win moves us up to second place in the league, though our schedule has been admittedly soft.
Man of the Match: Bram Aarts
61Aston Villa 1-3 Wrexham
You got talent, kid. I'm going to give you every chance to develop it. By the end of the season I expect our loaner, Di Martino, will be my third choice when picking the team. If Aarts keeps impressing as he did against Villa I might even need a mid-season strategic tweak to start playing two strikers up top in our other formations.
We didn't miss Shirra at all, thanks to Nieddu proving me a genius at talent evaluation. But now that Shirra is back you can expect to see both of them on the pitch, with Nieddu out wide and Shirra in the center.
He's not very pleased with me at this point, as it's become clear he's a rotation option and now I'm getting on his back about his newfound love of rarebit. I mean, I understand why he eats it every day, rarebit is delicious, but he's a professional athlete!
It was a heck of a strike, though it was only possible due to lazy defending from Cardiff that allowed the cross to reach him in the first place.
I'm the Rodney Dangerfield of managers. We won just as many games as Man U, and played tougher opposition. They had a better goal differential, 10-1 compared to our 6-2, but they're also the favorite to win the league while we're merely predicted to be top half. I get no respect.
My job security is trending back upwards, but I'm still not sure why it ever fell from “untouchable” in the first place. Also, with the two best Aussies in a generation playing for us we're shipping a lot of Bastable and Mujkic jerseys Down Under. If the US ever develops a great player I'm going to make his signing a priority to enhance our status as a popular club across the pond.
At least someone appreciates me. Even if he's secretly hoping I get complacent so we blow the game against his squad.
vs. West Ham United, October 3, 2020
Premier League
The Hammers are back in the top division, but unless they turn things around they won't have a long stay. They're currently sitting 19th and are winless over six games. I want us to make it seven, and impose our will upon them during the game.
Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong (c), Feruga, Richards, Morvan, Petts, Nieddu, Shirra, Mujkic, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Dos Santos, Lewis, Mair, Bailey, Matko, Aarts.
West Ham starts the game with the ball, but within 15 seconds we've gained possession when Boumsong intercepts a pass with his bald noggin. Shirra, showing zero rust from his two weeks on the shelf, makes a run into the penalty area and then lays the ball back for Mujkic, who scores as the 26th second ticks by on the match clock. West Ham steadies from the early blow, and 25 minutes later it remains our only attempted shot and our possession advantage has dwindled to a deficit. I relay orders to move away from our possession based attack into a more fast paced game to try and counteract West Ham's success at defanging us since the first minute. Instead, things go to hell in a high velocity handbasket. The Hammers score three times in six minutes as the entire stadium watches in dumbstruck silence. I rapidly change us into our 4-4-2 Diamond configuration, but despite several opportunities in the remaining minutes of the first half we can't claw our way back into striking distance.
Halftime sees the demolition of a chair by a baseball bat, and two substitutions. Petts, who had scored an own goal to put West Ham up two, and Richards, who made a key error that lead to another West Ham goal, come out in exchange for Aarts and Dos Santos. It doesn't make a difference, as we allow yet another West Ham goal in the 53rd minute. Then forty seconds later Shirra goes down injured, and I have to use my last substitution to replace him. Things don't get any worse after that, but they don't get better either. Feruga is able to score after a corner to give us a faint hope in the 66th minute, but it's all we get despite plenty of chances. We drop a game we had no business losing, and I have no doubt I'll hear the justified outrage all over town.
Wrexham 2-4 West Ham
Trying to take my mind off the West Ham travesty, I notice that Marc Jansen is rocking the Eredivise while Lasse Johanssen is holding his own in the Championship. If they keep it up and we'll have a surfeit of centerbacks in the coming years.
Good job scheduling friendlies for the actual international break, Australia!
Mujkic and Bastable combined for five goals and two assists against Saudi Arabia, and they don't miss any time with the team. See Australia, we can peacefully coexist. We don't need to destroy each other's squads over Meteor and the Bastard.
My relationship has been in such tatters since I dropped him down the depth chart that he actually loses morale when I congratulate him on his first international goal. Hopefully I can mend fences with him, or he'll never reach his full potential.
That ought to stop him from complaining. He's only had two games with a rating below 6.7 since February, and has a solid 7.05 rating over the club's last 20 matches, so he does deserve the raise. But holding off allows us to milk his favorable contract a little bit longer.
A French reporter hunts down Stuart Simpson In the run-up to our match in North London against the Spurs and finds him happy to gush over Mujkic. He's not wrong, Meteor has been fabulous this season, with five goals and three assists in eight games.
At Tottenahm Hotspur, October 19, 2020
Premier League
I'm concerned about the hangover from that West Ham loss. Giving up four goals is never good, and we're not going to be able to score often at
Starting Formation: 4-4-1-1 Counter
Starting 11: Kovacevic, Cirjak, Boumsong (c), Lewis, Mejasic, Djurovic, Mair, petts, Mujkic, Shirra, Bastable.
Subs: Novotny, Dos Santos, Todd, Morvan, Nieddu, Matko, Di Martino.
Our counter-attack knocks Tottenham on their ass, and who else but the Mighty Meteor makes them pay. We have two more chances before Shirra adds to our tally, and through 25 minutes the Dragons are roasting Spurs alive. By halftime we have eleven shots, seven on target, to Tottenham's one. The domination continues into the latter part of the game, but at 56 minutes our surehanded keeper makes an excruciating error when he lets an easy save bounce off his hands and into the net to bring Tottenham back into the game. They don't get a second stroke of luck, though, and the game finishes with Spurs on the receiving end of a hiding in full view of their own fans. The shot total tells the whole story: Spurs three, Wrexham twenty-one.
Man of the Match: Meteor Mujkic
Tottenham 1-2 Wrexham
The only negative to take away from that match, other than good-natured ribbing of Kovacevic for his howler, is that Mejasic will miss a game due to having racked up five yellow cards already. We're collecting more this season as each of our tactics require the players to hassle their opponents. I'm happy to make this tradeoff as our defense is the fastest in the Premier League and thus we can play a pressing game knowing that our back line will rarely get burned by their opponents. If we continue to improve I expect to institute a high line in the near future to take even greater advantage of that advantage.
Remember the name Isaac Stringel over the coming years, he could be the next Hugo Sanchez. We can't sign him yet as he doesn't meet work permit requirements, but I've been having my scouts keep an eye on him. He's off to Sao Paulo during the next transfer window, and will cost an arm and a leg when he finally makes his way to Europe in a few years. If it's three years from now we might be able to afford him.
We're in sixth place two months after our season has begun. We've beaten Tottenham Hotspur again, and this time we did it in their house. Our one loss over the last four league games came in an uncharacteristic fashion, and we picked ourselves right back up from that. Best of all, Meteor is back, baby. After a season where he was seldom anything other than average he has taken the league by storm with five goals and two assists over eight fixtures. If we can keep this up, we're going to be in the conversation for the Champion's League and some silverware.
