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October has been an average month at best for us in comparison to our performances in previous months gone by. We brought in seven Premier League points but were embarrassed at Old Trafford as we were battered by Man United 4-0 in front of a crowd of 75,000. We continued our success in Europe with another win against En Avant de Guingamp to take us to the top of our Europa League group. However in domestic competitions, we were embarrassed once more by Championship side Blackburn Rovers as they knocked us out of the Capital One Cup in the 4th Round.

Internationally, we delighted the nation of Switzerland once again as we edge ever closer to automatic qualification to the 2022 World Cup with two games against San Marino and Northern Ireland to send us into seventh heaven as we put seven goals past both teams in our group to cement our lead on Portugal in Group 2 to four points ahead with just two games remaining.

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We retained our fourth placed position in the Barclays Premier League which we possessed at the end of September as well. The 4-0 loss to Man United has seen us slip up against The Red Devils but this high position makes up for it. West Brom, Huddersfield and Burnley have yet to reach double figures this season. In the Europa League we took the lead at the top of Group H with a victory over former leaders En Avant de Guingamp and with three games left in the Group Stage, it's all looking up for us now.

Internationally, we have dominated the group all the way through the qualification phase and it would be absolutely gutting for everyone involved if we didn't achieve a first place position once the ten games are up, especially as we have the chance to wrap the phase up against the main rivals in Portugal and rub the qualification in their faces. Next month sees us finish our qualification campaign and we also face Peru in an international friendly.

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Lewis Cook came to me for a private chat this month with regards to a lack of first-team football this season and I took it upon myself to give him a chance with a starting spot and the midfielder has paid back my faith in him with some incredible performances. He scored in the Capital One Cup loss to Blackburn and has been a pivotal part in the team this month.

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Adam Chabukiani has led Switzerland to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after a 1-1 draw with Portugal in the final qualification match.

The tears of Cristiano Ronaldo have become an increasingly common sight in football and the world saw them again last night as Portugal were sent to the Best Second Place Play-Offs for a second chance at qualifying for the tournament, and at 36 years old, probably Ronaldo's last chance on the international stage.

But Switzerland will be able to look back on some great results throughout their qualifying campaign with their most notable including a comprehensive 6-0 triumph versus N. Ireland, an emphatic 7-0 win over San Marino and a 2-0 win over Finland.

With qualification secured, the 2022 World Cup will be the twelfth time Switzerland have featured in the tournament.

This month was pivotal in qualification as Chabukiani led his team out to the final two games of Group 2. Switzerland won an international friendly against Peru days before their qualification games against Hungary and Portugal.

But Chabukiani will have feared for his team's chances after a disappointing 2-2 draw against Hungary until the referee blew the final whistle at Estádio Nacional, Portugal.

Nerves began to kick in very early on for the Swiss as it took only four minutes for Cristiano Ronaldo to give Portugal the lead as he seized on a Ricardo Rodríguez mistake to score a towering header from close range.

Christian Schar almost handed the Portuguese a second goal in the 28th minute after a lapse in concentration from the centre-back.

However stand-in winger Breel Embolo sent Switzerland to the Middle East with an equaliser in the 34th minute of the game with an accurate finish which was celebrated emphatically by the Barcelona star.

Chabukiani was delighted with the qualification and felt justified in the selections he was making ultimately. Players such as Xhevdet Sefa, Breel Embolo and Ricardo Rodríguez were nothing short of superb during the nation's campaign.

The gaffer will be left with a headache now as he plans out his Swiss team for the tournament next June with so many Switzerland nationals impressing all over Europe at the moment, Chabukiani may take some time out of his Bradford role to watch Swiss hopefuls before the selection process begins.

In club related news, it was also confirmed that Bradford Park Avenue qualified for the Europa League 1st Knockout Round with two games to spare as Avenue struggled to defeat En Avant de Guingamp in their fourth fixture of the Group Stage.

7-1 over Northern Ireland is just insane...

Congrats on the international stage bro! Some amazing wins there as well ;-O

Griffo: They were struggling with selection due to injuries but even so, I'm proud of that result

BeanyUnited: Thanks mate! I'm delighted to get into my first major competition in the save really with the World Cup coming up - I'm super excited

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In the Premier League, it's fair to say that this month has been an atrocity in terms of results for us. After defeats at the hands of Wolves and Chelsea, we picked up one narrow point against Tottenham at the end of the month. This has seen our club fall down the league at a rapid rate since the end of October. However in Europe, things were a little better as we qualified for the next round of the Europa League thanks to a 3-1 win over En Avant de Guingamp.

Internationally, we rounded off our World Cup qualification phase with a draw against Portugal which sees Seleccao das Quinas lose out in the Second Place Teams table and fail to qualify for the Qatar World Cup as Belgium, Denmark and Serbia scrape their place in the Middle East next summer.

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After the shambolic performances this month, we have dropped five places from fourth position right down to mid-table ninth position in the Premier League table. This sees us four points away from our former position which Arsenal now hold. We are now closer to the bottom of the table than the top of the table. However, we are the first team in our group to qualify for the Europa League 1st Knockout Round after four points in Europe this month.

Internationally of course, we achieved our spot in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after an unbeaten run of ten games in the qualification phase. It was gutting for our Group 2 rivals Portugal who missed out on qualification by just five goals as Serbia stole qualification away from Romania, Portugal, Croatia, Ukraine and Albania who were all level on 16 points but Belgium, Denmark and Serbia stealing the qualification spots left for the Best Second Place Teams.

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Mason Holgate is the in-form player for us in November after adapting to a centre-back role rather than his favoured right-back position which has had to be given to Keith Miller due to complaints from the Scottish full-back about lack of game time. However in an underwhelming month full of defeats, Holgate has been a shining light in a pit of darkness for the team this month.

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Correction

Apologies folks, I have been writing that the World Cup in 2022 is to be hosted by Qatar when in fact it is being hosted by Morocco after it was changed a few years ago - sorry!

Well that is an absolute disgrace I shall stop reading immediately

Looking good in the continent so far

Good luck in the next stage of the Europa League!

Unlucky in the league, congrats in Europe and on the international stage! Some good stuff, making me consider international football in my save/story!

ninjaskill: You demon But thanks mate, it's going alright

Griffo: Thanks mate! I'm looking forward to advancing further in the competition

BeanyUnited: The PL has turned into a bit of a slump and instead of hoping of improving on last season, I'm having to retract a little just so I can get Europa League again! But who knows ey? But international football is brilliant in this FM, you should certainly think about getting into it with Dortmund!

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Adam Chabukiani has had a busy week of preparation as draws for three competitions are announced.

The Europa League 1st Knockout Round and the F.A. Cup 3rd Round have been drawn for Bradford Park Avenue meanwhile Switzerland's 2022 World Cup group has been drawn.

With the club being a European side now, Bradford PA have entered the FA Cup in the 3rd Round and have been drawn against Championship Leicester City.

Leicester also have entered the FA Cup at this round after being knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Wycombe earlier in the season. They lie in mid-table in the Championship after signing the likes of Jamie Ingram and Joe Allen from Everton and Liverpool respectively.

The FA Cup tie will be scheduled for Tuesday, 4th July 2022 at The Avenue. The kick-off time will be 7.45p.m..

With the FA Cup fixture being placed relatively close to present day, the Europa League 1st Knockout Round will be staged two months from this date.

The team that Bradford Park Avenue will face in this round of the competition is Belgian giants Anderlecht who fought through Group J in the Group Stage.

The matches will be played out in February with the First Leg being held in Belgium at Anderlecht's Stade Constant Vanden Stock on 17th February. The Second Leg will be played a week after at The Avenue.

But perhaps the most high-profile out of all of the draws happening this week is the knowledge of who Switzerland will face in the World Cup 2022 held in Morocco.

The Swiss have been placed in quite a tough group in Group G for the international tournament. The first seed was Argentina who topped the South American qualifiers this year.

With Argentina being the toughest side in the group, Chabukiani will have to face African team Guinea and Central America team Mexico in Group G.

The 2022 tournament will be the first time in Guinean history that their football team has qualified for a World Cup as they topped a group of Egypt, Togo and Sierra Leone.

Arguably the toughest group in the tournament is Group B as Algeria, Brazil, Holland and Russia look set to battle it out for a Second Round spot.

Adam Chabukiani has organised three pre-tournament friendlies in March, May and June as they face the United States in March, Cote d'Ivoire in May and Brazil in June before they start their World Cup campaign on 14th June against Mexico.

Anderlecht will be a tough challenge especially away but I have faith! As for Leicester you should be able to pull that one off eh!

2016-07-22 09:27#235645 BeanyUnited : Anderlecht will be a tough challenge especially away but I have faith! As for Leicester you should be able to pull that one off eh!

Anderlecht is slightly easier than say Sporting who I faced in the Group Stage, but still tough and I'm hoping to pull off a win there

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As 2021 comes to a close, we can look back on a successful year with accomplishments on European football, a new stadium and upgraded facilities within the club infrastructure. However the month that we finish on has been rather underwhelming as we drop further down the table as we reach the midpoint of the season.

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We end this year in ninth place, no improvement on November where we finished the same position. However that has been our lowest position all season and all month as we rose as high as sixth place this month. At the top of the table at New Year's Eve is Chelsea who lead by an enormous nine point gap on 2nd place Man United. At the bottom is newly promoted Huddersfield Town on 13 points and have lost 10 games this season. The other teams in the relegation zone are Brendan Rodgers' Swansea City and West Brom.

We finished our Group Stage phase of the Europa League at the top of Group H. After such a strong start from Ligue 1's En Avant de Guingamp, the French side lost their way slightly and it led to Sporting qualifying for the next round of the competition.

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A new entry to this award is our left-back Andrew Robertson who has been consistent throughout his stay at the club, but has never been one of the standout performers until now in such an unimpressive month as the full-back knocked on four assists to his season tally just this month with some brilliant crosses from deep.

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