Part 198: Chapter the First: Downshifting.

Chapter the First: Downshifting.
July 13, 2026-August 14, 2026

A whole month where we play nothing but friendlies? This is the life.



The board issued a £160m budget for transfers and wages as well, and will be offering me a contract extension as well.



I drew this up to give us a better late game defensive formation than just dropping the defensive line of the 4-2-3-1 further back. It hasn't been a very big deal in the past, but after the World Cup I like the notion of a team that can smoothly switch through three formations depending on what's needed. I'm taking odds on whether I ever use it or not, and if I decide to scrap it for the WM in December.



Let's get back to business.



I know what happened here. I brought a lot of young players up to the main squad for training camp, and they all got freaked out about my demand that we win the title. Then everyone was pissed off because I didn't hide my irritation at the reaction. Also, van Leeuwen, mouthing off in a team meeting is not a good way to start your tenure with this club.



At least he'll be better by the time season starts, and Kocsis can get some reps while Minami is down. I should probably look into buying another keeper, though, we don't have anyone in the youth squad who I would trust in more than a friendly.



Geez. I didn't even put Ünsal on the transfer list, I just sent out a feeler to see what the market was like. What a brat.



No one even wants you, at least not for over £50m.



Our ranking will be better in the run-up to the next World Cup as we'll have to go through CONCACAF qualifying and those matches count for significantly more than friendlies in the rankings.





I also got Hammatt to put his John Hancock on a new contract. That leaves only Parr and Mercado as potentially expiring contracts after this season. The upshot is that last year we spent just under £550,000/wk for those nine players, while now we're spending close to £1m/wk.



We've now got the fourth highest wage bill in the world, clocking in at £135m.



I added a teenage keeper who won't be a complete embarrassment if we're forced to use him, this now gives us a grand total of one serviceable youth goalie.



No more of this co-favorites crap. We're the best, and everyone knows it.



It still doesn't hurt to juice the bonus pool, though.



They did make us fly all the way back from America to play them, those jerks!



And one of our excellent prospects got hurt, too. I hope their fans enjoyed the hiding we gave them.



Stringel and Laux need a break after playing in the World Cup, and since they were unavailable to join the training camp it's best to have them go now instead of being stuck bumming around Wrexham alone.



First Chelsea's former head coach and now Arsenal. England sure does know how to pick em.



We'll have something like a dozen players out on loan again this year. I feel like Chelsea.



van Leuween played against Norwich and they immediately after asked to take him on loan. He refused, which is frustrating because he's got no spot with the senior team. I wish new signings who weren't promised major roles were more willing to go on loan right after coming in, it certainly happens all the time in real life.




That's not ideal, we might play the first match of the season with just Laux and Tounkara as healthy senior centerbacks.



It's time to finally leave America. I'm feeling a little wistful, the last two months are the longest I've spent in the United States since I put on the mantle of Coach.



Hands off of JQ, Real. He's not going anywhere.



You think Thiago's going to leave the reigning champions of Europe for a mediocre French club just because some rich Latvian wants to play at ownership? Quelle amusement.



The ingame board knows quality when they see it, and offered me the maximum length contract possible to go with a £21k/wk raise. The esteemed voting board is similar in form, giving me a three year extension (at my insistence) with a £160,000/wk salary. My minimum for accepting a new contract was £150k/wk, anything less and I'd have refused to sign now and we'd go back for another round of negotiating in January.



Nice work, guys. You didn't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.



Only one friendly left now, and it's against Manchester United. Then we'll play United for a second time in the Community Shield, where I am going to try my hardest to keep from going hell-bent for leather after a win. I just need to keep telling myself that it's only a friendly.



Stringel got back from his break still exhausted, so I turned him around and sent him right back out the door. I can imagine how exhausting it can be to carry an entire nation on your back.



HAHAHA! FINALLY!



It took a kings ransom, but I've got my man!



A half dozen teams wanted Rouissi.



But that's nothing to the 14 clubs that made loan offers for van Leeuwen.



Which in turn is nothing close to the 32 (!) clubs that made an offer to borrow Ikeda.



There weren't nearly so many suitors for Tim Jefferies. We still couldn't sell him, but at least Blackburn is paying full freight on his salary this year.



United were not taking it easy on us. They started almost their entire first team, and then added the rest when they went down by two goals in the first half. Once again a Scott Brown team allowed a three goal comeback in the second half, and there's whispers on the interwebs that I've grown too proud.



I can't resist any American who has three star potential for our senior team. O'Brien is a German-American dual national, so I need to get in good with him and convince him to play for the USMNT over Germany.

vs Manchester United, August 9, 2026
Community Shield


I was just sandbagging last game, United. This time it's for real! Also, we're playing at a neutral site (Wembley) instead of in Manchester, so that should help.

Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Vivace
Starting 11: Kocsis, Reed, Tounkara, Laux, Loseille, Maloney, Parr, Mujkic (c), Shirra, Stringel, Thiago.
Subs: Landgraf, Cirjak, Sadula, Zouaghi, Allan, Damgaard, Mercado.

We're playing very well, but Kocsis has to make like Minami to keep it at nil-nil in the 24th minute. Then, after knocking on the door for the whole game, Shahed Parr finally puts one of innumerable rebounds past Kovacevic ten minutes later. After the second half beings Thiago scores to give us a two goal advantage, and seems to be back in form after an unusual five game drought between the end of Italy's World Cup appearance and our first three preseason games.

That's all we manage, with several more chances going begging. We pay for our profligacy when the ageless John Baxter pulls Manchester back within a shout with 15 minutes remaining. Ten minutes later it's all tied up as we're in the process of bungling back to back matches, and we're facing penalty kicks despite dominating the game for the first seventy minutes. When we lose on penalties it seems foreordained, and casts a cloud over the start of our season.

Man of the Match: Mateo “Meteor” Mujkic




Wrexham 2-2 p Man United



Those late game collapses against United, following the USMNT's epic collapse against Australia, are scaring the hell out of me. I'm worried that we're going to stumble out of the gate. I don't want to spend most of the season chasing the leader again, it'd be far better if we just blew everyone out of the water for once.

I'm not sure exactly what the problem is. It could be overconfidence, or World Cup hangover, or just that we've been missing players. Or it's just bad luck and there is no problem.