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Saints of Football

Started on 15 February 2014 by ARSENAL_ruleZ
Latest Reply on 17 February 2014 by bebero
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ARSENAL_ruleZ's avatar Group ARSENAL_ruleZ
10 years • Edited

Southampton F.C. - Saints of football

http://www.bettingexpert.com/assets/images/content/sports/football/England/Premier%20League%20Logos/southampton-fc-logo.png

Hello and welcome to my new story with Southampton where I will be looking to make them one of the best teams in the world. This is my second attempt at writing a story however this time I will be trying a different approach as my previous story with Merthyr Town pretty much took the fun out of the game for me. Hope you enjoy :)

Who am I?

In this story I will be managing as Rafa Benitez, one of my favourite managers. Rafa Benitez started off as a coach at Real Madrid at 26 years old going on to become the assistant manager or the senior team. In 1995 he had a short spell at Valladolid before joining Osasuna however both were short-lived and unsuccessful. Rafa Benitez then went on to become manager of Valencia in 2000 and proved himself to be amongst the top Spanish managers by winning La Liga in the 2001–02 season and El País (spanish newspaper) named him Manager of the Year. In 2004 another La Liga title and also a Europa league victory were added to his collection however a disagreement between Benítez and the club director over team investment caused the Spaniard to switch to English Premier League club Liverpool.

In his first season, Rafa Benitez managed to win his Only UEFA Champions league and F.A Cup. In 2007, he reached the final of the Champions League losing 2-1 to A.C Milan. Rafa Benitez remained unable to win the Premier League at Liverpool. He parted ways with the Reds in 2010 and joined Inter Milan winning the Supercoppa Italaina followed by another UEFA Super cup. In November 2012 he was appointed interim manager of Chelsea for the remainder of the season, and won the 2013 Europa League title.



Southampton F.C.

I chose Southampton mainly because I like their attacking, fluid football and hope to build on that to develop them into a great club. I also believe that they have huge potential to be a world class team with great players such as Luke Shaw.

Year founder: 1885
Nickname: The saints
Fierce Rivals: Portsmouth
Media Prediction: 12th
Training Facilities: Excellent
Stadium: St. Mary's
Capacity: 32,689
Kits:

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Switch's avatar Group Switch
10 years
Great start, will be following!
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squid56's avatar Group squid56
10 years
Seems like it's gonna be a good story. Gonna be following!
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ARSENAL_ruleZ's avatar Group ARSENAL_ruleZ
10 years
Switch and Squid56: thanks :) hopefully I'll still be able to enjoy the save whilst writing the story!
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ARSENAL_ruleZ's avatar Group ARSENAL_ruleZ
10 years

Benitez takes Southampton post


It was announced this morning that spanish coach Rafa Benitez will become the new manager of Southampton following the resignation of former boss Mauricio Pochettino earlier this month.
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/si/dam/assets/130227174214-rafa-benitez-single-image-cut.jpg
The 53-year-old won the UEFA champions league, F.A Cup, Community shield and super cup during his first spell in England before winning the UEFA Europa league in 2013 as interim manager of Chelsea. He succeeds Pochettino who left the club in June on a 'personal basis'. Southampton said in a statement: "We are delighted to announce Rafa Benitez as our new manager. He has great experience and we are confident that he will take our club in the right direction".

Rafa Benitez held a press conference at St. Mary's on Thursday and he stated that "I feel that the is the right club for me at this point in time. I believe that this club shows great potential to become one of the best teams in England. I've always loved football in this Country and I can't wait to get started here". When asked about his current squad he said: "The players at this club are a fantastic bunch and I know that they are determined to show that they are the best". It is reported that Benitez is on a 2 year deal worth £15,000.
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Aaron's avatar Group Aaron
10 years
Different choice of manager! I like the write up as well mate, keep it up:)
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Jonte-23's avatar Group Jonte-23
10 years
Good luck!
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ARSENAL_ruleZ's avatar Group ARSENAL_ruleZ
10 years
AaronHJFT96 and Jontearonsson: thank you very much!
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ARSENAL_ruleZ's avatar Group ARSENAL_ruleZ
10 years • Edited

John O'shea joins Southampton



Southampton have announced the signing of English centre back John O'shea from sunderland for a reported £1.5 million plus future fees.

This signing comes just 8 days after the appointment of new manager Rafa Benitez and he has told us that he is confident that O'Shea will help improve the club and help them push for European football. Sunderland agreed a fee for Long on Thursday, with the player having a medical with the saints on the same day and Personal terms were finalised on a three-and-a-half-year deal on Tuesday morning. There was late interest from Newcastle however Southampton were given the green light to go ahead with the deal from Gus Poyet following the enquiry a few days before.

O'Shea, who previously played for Manchester United, said "Everyone at the club looks friendly and I am delighted to be part of a club that are going in the right direction". He went on to say "We also have a great manager at the club now with a lot of experience and he knows what he's doing. John O'Shea started his career at Manchester United with loan spells at Bournemouth and Royal Antwerp before breaking into the first team in 2009 before moving to Sunderland in 2011.
1
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The 510 Series's avatar Group The 510 Series
10 years
Oh my word! Barlow! They've got a fourth!!
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ARSENAL_ruleZ's avatar Group ARSENAL_ruleZ
10 years
2014-02-16 19:10#161361 The 510 Series : Oh my word! Barlow! They've got a fourth!!
HAHA, I remember that!
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The 510 Series's avatar Group The 510 Series
10 years
2014-02-16 20:14#161362 ARSENAL_ruleZ :
2014-02-16 19:10#161361 The 510 Series : Oh my word! Barlow! They've got a fourth!!
HAHA, I remember that!
Do you now? ;)
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ARSENAL_ruleZ's avatar Group ARSENAL_ruleZ
10 years • Edited


This was a solid performance from the saints. We started the game in control and had our fair share of chances but just weren't able to convert. In the 28th minute, Jack Cork found Scneiderlin with a through ball and a tidy finish from the frenchman. From that point, were were completely dominating play with our fast,fluid play and River just couldn't keep up. We picked up where we left off in the second half with the same attacking threat. Rickie Lambert had a number of chances to double our lead but a brilliant defensive display from Maidana kept River in the game. We did however manage to double our lead through Adam Lallana in the 52nd minute. A late goal in the 84th minute from Carbonero proved only to be a consolation goal for Los Millonarios as Southampton started their pre season with a win.


This match was simply a story of two halves. Once again we started off on the from foot and looked dangerous on the attack but Anderlecht were able to keep us at bay with solid performances from Gillet and Nuytinck. We did however manage to break through in the 16th minute through Rickie Lambert's Header. A lapse in concentration from Bruno meant that Rodriguez was able to double our lead with a goal in the 37th minute. We came out in the second half complacent thinking that the job was done whilst the opposition started the second half motivated and full of belief. It was now Anderlecht's turn to dominate play and have possession. They had a 15 minute spell of control over us and inevitably pulled one back in the 66th minute thanks to a piece of skill from Matias Suarez to get past Lovren and round Boruc. They equalised just 6 minutes later through a close ranged shot from Suarez to net his second of the game. This was the wake up call that we needed and soon found our way back into the match however it was too little, too late for Southampton as they didn't really manage to create any chances in order to restore their lead.


This was by far the best performance from the team. I know it AFC Wimbledon but we showed domination across all areas of the pitch. We took no time to get going and got our first goal straight from kick off as Rickie Lambert was on the end of a pacey cross from Lallana just one minute in. Nothing changed for the remainder of the match as we kept the pressure on with attack after attack and kept banging in the goals. We were just too much to handle for AFC Wimbledon.


Again, this was a confident performance from the saints as we started off the game in control but not really threatening until the 12th minute when new signing John O'shea got on the score sheet from a near post corner. We continued to control the game showing possession and determination to win the ball. We knew from the first goal that this game was ours.


A very average performance from us to be perfectly honest. It was a pretty even match in terms of possession as neither side really took the game to the opposition with only short spells of pressure either team. It took 47 minutes for a goal to be scored as Rodriguez scored a tidy finish from close range. There was an immediate response from Fenerbahce as it only took 4 minutes for them to reply with a goal at the other end. They gained the lead in the 67th minute through Pierre Webo got his second of the game. Fenerbahce looked good value for their lead. They began to show signs of control and really frustrated Southampton. As we approached the end of the game and the victory seemed imminent for the turkish side, Southampton won a corner out of nothing and Adam Lallana whipped in a cross in the far post for Jack Cork to equalise.


In this game, most of my first team were on international duty however This was a very poor performance from the saints. We never really got going and looked sluggish from the start. Valladolid settled much quicker and began to dominate us. Rickie Lambert became very isolated and rarely got any service. We did manage to keep them at bay for the remainder of the half. In the second half, I brought on two young midfielder in an attempt to regain control in midfield as we were being outnumbered. This did give us a few more more chances but Valladolid would continue to have most of the possession and create most of opportunities but did not manage to convert them.

Thoughts

A pretty average pre season to be honest. The quality was definitely there but we were just too inconsistent and complacency got the better of us way too often. I'm hoping for a positive start to the season but we must be more solid in the games that really matter.

Player of the month

Rickie Lambert was by far our best best player of pre season not only for the amazing goals he has scored, but also for the constant threat that he poses to the opposition defence even when he becomes more isolated in the game. He will always make the most of his chances.

http://news.coral.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Rickie-Lambert.jpg
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MJK46's avatar Group MJK46
10 years
Pretty good start to the preseason. Good luck in the Premier League.
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bebero's avatar Group bebero
10 years
Good pre-season !
You'll have your chance in Premier League .
Go Europa League or CL !
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