Some brilliant signings, Richards and Alfredo especially look brilliant!

2014-08-07 18:44#188624 Jamesg237 : Who was it that famously said, “You can’t win anything with kids”?

Alan Hansen

On a serious note, some really good signings. Feels weird to see both Neuer and Lahm retire, and to see a new Bayern being constructed... Hopefully you prove Hansen wrong. Good luck!

Neal:I am quite excited about the signings I have made and think that the transfer fees will be justified over time. Richard and Alfredo will become big name players for the club I'm sure.

AS4:It was indeed the pundit and of course LFC legend Alan Hansen. The signings should hopefully settle in quickly. It is a shame they are retiring but the rebuild is exciting.


I would like to thank everyone for helping me achieve one of my two aims for this story. I set out wanting to surpass the number of views that my old Liverpool: Back to the Past story achieved, which was 66,192. At the time this was a great achievement on a personal level and quite a surprise; I was surprised people maintained interest for so long as I only stuck with one club and there were better stories out there. However, setting out on this journey I was determined to surpass that huge number of views, which at the time was one of the highest for a FM13 story. I have since achieved that aim and seem to be continuing to make progress to another landmark, 70,000 views. Can this story one day surpass the likes of Neal's Inter story? Only one way to find out...

If our season turns out like our pre-season has then we are in for a very successful season full of silverware at the end. The draw against Metalist was a strange one. All the new signings were given their debut and it was clear from their performances that they would need time to gel into the new club and my style of football. The only concern I had in the game was that I had made pre-season too long, which meant that the players had hardly any time to rest. My justification for this was that the new players would get time to settle in in preparation for the season ahead. It did mean however that by the end of the Metalist game, the lads were shattered. I took the decision to cancel two of the friendlies in between this one and Zenit in order to give the team chance to recuperate which is what they need to desperately do.

This decision was justified by the result against Zenit as we hammered them in front of the FC Bayern München faithful. We dominated the game from start to finish with new signing Giampiero Rinaldi not taking any time in opening his FC Bayern München goal scoring account. A number of youngsters were given a chance in the next game, which was a very strange one but one that became all too familiar last season. At one point against GroBaspach we had led the game 5-1 so how it ended up 6-3 when there had only been seven minutes left to play is beyond me. It was clear that I would need to settle on a regular back line of defence who would get use to playing with each other. If I was to do this, then surely we would plug the leak at the back which had cost us some points last season.

The trip to America had to be cut short too due to fatigue but it is another decision that I don’t regret. We had intended to do a tour of the U.S.A but the players needed the rest and with the Super Cup match up against HSV fast approaching, it was clear that they needed a time out. It was another decision vindicated as we beat D.C. United and then went on to get my next piece of silverware with FC Bayern München. It was a very comfortable game that saw a lot of the retained players starting the game. The only new player who started the game Olivier Richard, who in the other games during pre-season, had put in some excellent performances in the central attacking midfield position. I cannot see anyone else in the side budging him out of this position as he has just been outstanding. I have to pat myself on the back for that signing! My hopes for the season are to simply win every competition that we compete in. I usually don’t care about the domestic cup competitions; however, we did not get knocked out very early on last year so I would like to make amends for that disappointment. I hope I can come back to you at the end of the season and say we won the lot and that FC Bayern München really are the future of football.

Great preseason, scoring a lot of goals

2014-08-08 00:47#188704 Neal : Great preseason, scoring a lot of goals

Preseason went brilliantly. Lots of goals and thankfully not too many conceded.

What more could I have asked for from the beginning of my second season in charge of FC Bayern München? Nothing, simply nothing. The month started off in the easiest way possible with a German Cup 1st Round game against a German third division side that just didn’t stand a chance. Due to the lack of quality the opposition possessed, I took the decision to give three of my new signings their first competitive start with Olivier Richard continuing to dominate the midfield like he had all pre-season. I had explained in my previous update that nobody would budge him out of his central attacking midfield spot, which is true, but he has since been moved position. Instead Giampiero Rinaldi has taken that spot and I have slightly altered one of the central midfield roles to allow Olivier Richard to become the creator of our attacks through a advanced playmaker role. This role suits him perfectly as it allows him to be involved in the majority of the attacks and put his excellent passing and flair attributes to work. In the German Cup, Grealish and Adjei picked up from where they left off last season and helped themselves to a brace and hat trick respectively. It was a perfect way to start the season.

What I was most pleased about this month was the fact that we did not concede a single goal. I had explained in my last update that it was crucial that I settled on a regular back four line of defence that would get the chance to gel together. Unfortunately I have been unable to do this due to them all being young and needing game time to develop. The only defender who has started every match this month is my right back, and new captain, Mathieu Peron. He will start the majority of games but be rested when the opportunity arises. The rest of the defence will have to put their all into their performances when they are given the chance to prove to me they deserve to become a regular like Peron. It is not a decision that I am going to enjoy making but as the season progresses, and the games become more important, a regular back four line up will need to be decided upon.

Player of the Month – Dominic Adjei

Unbelievable start! No goals conceded either, what a way to start!

Adjei looks like a beast! Improve his heading and he'll be an even more complete striker! Great work so far mate

Brilliant start to the season, defensively you look stellar. Though attacking football is obviously the way to go, I'm a firm believer that you'll never get anywhere without a solid defensive base!

AaronHJFT96:A brilliant way to start if I do say so myself! Long may it continue!

k1rups:He is fantastic and is just getting better and better. My style of football doesn't lend its self to headed chances for the lone striker but it is something to definitely consider in the future.

Neal:I aim to concede the least number of goals in the league this season and we have made a great start towards achieving that.

20 finishing
No goals conceded, no points dropped, you're on the correct path my friend

2014-08-11 17:28#189226 AS4 : 20 finishing
No goals conceded, no points dropped, you're on the correct path my friend

His finishing is just unreal and he could easily end up as the league's leading scorer this season!

I have to admit that I have come a very long way since my time with the likes of Grimsby Town and Stockport Count. Back in those days I was worrying about relegation and whether the board of directors would support my ambitions to help get the club up the English leagues. My time came at Newcastle United, and the win the Europa League catapulted my reputation to world class, which ultimately got me the job at FC Bayern München and I haven’t looked back since. Yes I do miss the challenge of the lower league teams and wish things had worked out differently at Stockport County, but I am enjoying the success that comes with managing one of the best teams in the world. Could I have gone this far with a lower league team? I personally have doubts in my ability to achieve such a feat and would rather leave it to the likes of Or.Dabool and Justice to go on that sort of journey. Does it mean I have cheated in taking the job at FC Bayern München, which could be seen as a shortcut to footballing success? I would have to say no as that was the whole point of the journey and targets I set myself. My main target was to start at the bottom, which no disrespect to Grimsby Town but I did and eventually try and get one of the big jobs in football, which I did.

Ever since I started my rein at FC Bayern München, I have tasted success and it is something I have thoroughly enjoyed. I have so far retained the league title and won the Champions League, which is huge step up from the FA Trophy that I won with Grimsby all those seasons ago. I have since added the German Super Cup to my collection, the European Super Cup after a dominate performance against Sevilla and have made good progress in our league defence and German Cup ambitions. Is there a result I am most pleased with? Not necessarily as they are all part of a bigger picture. I am heading into this season with the simply aim of winning every competition that we take part in. So far, I have done this twice with the two Super Cup wins. Yes they aren’t the most prestigious of trophies but they do look better in our clubs’ trophy cabinet than the opponents. What is there left to win this season? Well there is the league title which I am sure we can win a lot more comfortably this season as I will be ensuring we don’t slip up and lose concentration at the end of games like we did last season. Can we go the season undefeated? It is always a possibility and we have made a great start on that particular journey. We have the German Cup to bring back to the club after a two season absence. It isn’t the trophy I am most concerned with but like I said earlier, it is part of the bigger picture. The fans will be expecting to taste Champions League success once again and that campaign has got off in style with a 2-1 win against Atletico Madrid. All in all I am confident in our chances in every competition and I am expecting to add a few more trophies to my own résumé come the end of the season.

Player of the Month – Alfredo

Bah that's a mickey mouse trophy anyway

In all seriousness, another flawless month. Could we perhaps get a look at the tactics you use?