January 2010 Update

Hello all, it is now just about January of 2010 and I have my club sitting in 7th place in the Premier Division. The team has played A LOT better this year and the results are becoming more consistent as the season moves along.

Current Premier League Standings:































The season got off to a rocky start as Jonathan Woodgate went down with a broken leg just days after I sent Corluka to AC Milan, which meant that newly signed Kacar was pressed into immediate first team duties at center back, which is not is preferred position. Both Kacar and Michael Dawson have been very good for me in the absence of Woodgate. I have suffered other big injuries as well this year with Modric and Gomes missing 2 months each, and Derbyshire suffering a torn calf muscle which will shelf him for virtually the entire season.

Here is my current injury table:





So far this season I have several players that have been performing very well compared to the first season. Roman Pavlyuchenko heads that list as he has been dominant so far this year with 14 goals already and a 7.31 rating. He is also second in the Premier League in goals with 11. David Bentley has been very good as well this season and currently leads the Premier League in assists and is in 6th place in overall rating with a 7.31 rating. The biggest surprise of the year for me has been Assou-Ekotto at left back, who has filled in for the injured Gareth Bale (out for 7 months at the end of last season) admirably. The return of Bale has created some selection decisions for me at LB. My new singing Chris Porter has been simply amazing since joining the club. I singed him as a backup that would be unlikely to see much action in the first team, however he has done nothing but score every chance I have given him and now that Derbyshire is gone for the year he is my first choice to play alongside Pavlyuchecnko.

Current Stats:










Current Board Confidence and Competition Status:













Looking Ahead

With no European completions this year all I have left is to focus on the league position and hopefully get a good result in the FA Cup. I am just beginning the January transfer window and I am looking into the possibility of selling some of my big name players. I have accepted the fact that Modric and Bentley are both going to be leaving the club within the next couple years and I am beginning to explore options to sell them. In the case of Bentley, I am hesitant to sell at the current moment due to his importance and stature with the team, so I will likely hold off until the summer. I have singled out 2 players on my want list for replacements for this duo. Alexis Sanchez is a stud winger from Udinese that I am veyr high on, although his price tag may be higher than I am wanting to pay for a young and largely unproven player. The other target is Nuri Sahin from Dortmund who looks to be a very skilled winger as well.














In my next post I am going to show the current tactic set I am using, which as been very successful so far, as well as show my training programs.