It's official, it's January 1st 2170, most people will be recovering from an almighty hangover right now, if they haven't invented some cure for it yet. But me, I was ready to announce some transfer dealings, yes I know it's early, I like it done quickly.
Kim Dal-Joo £19 Mil (Some over installments)
This lad joins us from Kaiserslautern and is one of the most versatile young players I've ever seen, and he is well adapted to play well in any of his 3 natural positions for us which makes me very very happy as a manager. For me, a player of his quality at 21 years old is a no-brainer and I think he can compete right the way through the squad.
Mark Versluis £5.25 Mil
Simple, this lad hasn't played for us this season, he seemed like he could fetch a few bob, he did. I don't think I'd ever wind up playing this lad, we have Diallo and Hutten to do a job for us on that side, and unless we're unfortunate with injury, I doubt he'd be needed. There's no doubt he's a good winger, but I'm using inside forwards.
More to come
As we progress through January I'll be sure to bring you whatever transfer dealings we get up to, plus the fixtures that have gone before hand!
Thanks for reading,
All comments will be reciprocated,
Tah
Firstly, I'd like to congratulate this months nominees for SOTM, I have really enjoyed some of the stories nominated and I have to say Lewie's stood out for me. I hope one day to get nominated (preferably before FM17), and hopefully can do it this month!
Anyway, this month saw the highest amount of fixtures I've done in one update, hence the one day gap in my posts. However, I'm back after this long run of January fixtures, with wins, losses and transfers!
Tense affair
We dominated possession and definitely had a foot hold in this game, however, our defenders had to do our bit and Rafael Ruiz was again the star of the show.
Routine
A nice pedestrian win against a League 2 Bradford side, with a largely rested team. Gonzales grabbed a goal which granted himself an ounce of faith as Zoundi's understudy. Other than that though, the game was gone by 32 minutes.
Denying the doubters
Gonzales continued to disprove my doubts about his ability as he netted in this game too. Meanwhile Otsuki bagged a rare goal, after he was brought in for a Ibrahim who seems to be petering out, shame really, I had faith in him.
Statistical dominance, no result
I chanced Otsuki in this game after his goal late on against Everton and was disappointed emphatically, the Japanese lad lacks consistency and my late substitution for Ibrahim wasn't enough to rescue something.
Bogey team
2 points in 6 against a 19th placed Palace is a very piss poor statistic. A side we should be beating if we want to be up there with the big boys, and we dropped the ball twice. In an even game Ibrahim shone as he proved he's our starting striker once again.
IMPACT SUB
WE'RE GOING TO WEMBLEY! What a way to win it, Otsuki as an impact sub comes on and bags one late to send us into ecstasy! I did not expect to be going to Wembley in my first season but here we are, challengers for the 2169/70 League Cup!
Here's the goal that put us into the final, a great counter attacking move!
Underwhelming but enough
Otsuki once again proving he is Mr Impact as he came on to score the winner against a Championship Wimbledon, interestingly we seem to have stumbled across Dal-Joo's preferred spot in this game as he got a 9.0 rating in the CAM spot.
Martina, shaken, not stirred
Sometimes you have to put up your hands and just say 'Wow', when an individual talent carries a club to victory. Today was one of those days as Anton Martina bagged a hat-trick, including a late winner to send us home with no points. Very sad considering how well we'd played.
This, my friends, is Martina.
In the midst
Only a few actual Premier League games in the month of January, but they put us slap bang in the centre of the table with 24 games gone, a crucial game in hand to come against Spurs though. Now comfortably 16 points clear of the drop and edging closer to the magic 40, we can look onto that League Cup final with real ambition.
Player of the Month
Our first ever two time winner (I felt for sure we'd have a fan favourite by now). This lad has held our team up at times, really holding us firm whilst be piss about with it up front. He very rarely puts a foot wrong and was MOTM against West Ham in the first leg, and Yeovi, hence why he gathered interest from Barcelona in January. It is of course Rafael Ruiz.
Flop of the Lot
The team has played relatively well this month and their really wasn't any stand out candidates for FOTL, but this kid hasn't been his usual self, though he definitely already holds a place in my heart. To be fair, in his role he won't normally catch the spotlight, but recently he's played more like Lee Catermole than N'Golo Kante, Mohamed Daouda, I'm afraid it's you.
Transfers
There's been very little action, not going to lie, I almost forgot this section, however, we do have SOME news.
Very decent little winger, should fight with Gonzales until Zoundi returns from injury. He will probably have his loan terminated after that, but hopefully with offer something for a short while.
This lad wanted to leave and I simply wasn't playing him, especially after the signing of Dal-Joo, so I moved him on for the little money we could get.
Again, another case of a player just not getting game time and wanting to leave, so sent him on his way for the measly some of 350k.
One big date
25/2/70, the date we fight to lift the League Cup against a currently 8th placed Chelsea. We will look to be fully fit and fighting for the game and it is by far the focal point for our February adventures! Wish me luck, may the best team win!
Also, in the league, that game against 12th placed Stevenage looks quite tasty.
I'll see you next time, hopefully with a League cup to celebrate.
Until then, all comments will be reciprocated, thanks for reading.
There is simply no better way to get you guys in the mood for a League Cup final versus Chelsea like a good ol U2 song from the days before they gave everyone FREE MUSIC and people complained.
(WTF society?!?!)
Average at best
Otsuki solidified his presence as our Chicharito, coming on and rescuing a well deserved points, playing an average team though, I'd expect a result that's slightly better than average.
2 games without a win, 2 games unbeaten
Poor poor game, very scrap chances, the shining light in it all was definitely Dal-Joo though he seemed to relish a rare spot in place of Sasa in CAM.
Another cup run?
A win just when we needed it, a decent result fielding a fairly weakened side. We reach the 6th round of the FA cup, another cup run? Surely not
THE BIGGIE (smalls)
Allow me to set the scene, it was 5pm, I'd spent the day at the gym and revising, but I knew my computer was calling me, this game, was calling me. I was scheduled to go and see Jungle Book at 6pm, (it was awesome thanks), so I didn't have much time. But as W.H Auden said 'Stop the clocks', for it was time for the League Cup Final. (Yes, I take English Literature).
'Twas a tale of pure evenness as both sides looked fit to score and win, Rossini, Chelsea's veteran striker always looked a threat, and I was very fearful of his presence throughout. He looked like a handful. However, we did too, as we managed to equal the number of shots they had, but unfortunately lacked the dominance of possession we're used to.
And so, I leave you with our guest commentator Craig Charles... (you better read this in a Craig Charles voice you know)
Charles: Wycombe will be without their leader and captain Antoni Davies today due to a twisted ankle, so Dal-Joo will line up in centre midfield, of course, Wycombe's January signing from Kaiserslautern, this means Sasa gets the nod in the centre attacking midfield slot.
Charles (25 Mins): GOALLLLLLLLLLLLL! It's a scrappy one but the MIGHTY DUCKS will take it, corner in from Dal-Joo, it finds it's way to Diallo who nestles it in the bottom right! What a moment for the 20 year old!
Charles (Half Time): What a half, Wycombe, the underdogs go in 1-0 up, their not strangers to upsets you know! They had to beat Plymouth to get here and definitely won't fear the prospect of upstaging a giant to win this thing!
Charles (76 Mins): UNBELIEVABLE SCENES! BELIEVE ME, IF THE ROOF WAS ON WEMBLEY TODAY IT SURELY WOULD'VE BEEN LIFTED OFF! WYCOMBE ARE 2-0 UP AND SURELY HOME AND DRY! What a finish from Sasa, involved in the last one and scoring this! You can't give enough credit to Otsuki for that wondrous chip and how about that for cool and composed, smashed home from close range!
Charles (Full Time): It's official, Wycombe have fought for this tooth and nail and are deserved winners of the LEAGUE CUP! (Rafael Ruiz lifts the trophy!)
Absolutely thrilled, to win the League Cup just after promotion, when everyone thought we'd be staring down the barrel of relegation's shotgun is such an achievement. Additionally, we'll be in Europe next year, how's about that?!?!
Feet on the ground
We landed firmly on our feet in our first league game back. Running out winners against a 5th placed West Ham at the time, after Ibrahim decided all this commotion prompted a return to league scoring form, grabbing another 2 in this game.
Over time
This is definitely the first sign of addiction to FM, the whole, 'one more game' syndrome it's synonymous for. That hit me today, high off my League Cup glory and fancying just one more. So I did, and it worked out spectacularly. The same goalscorers as the League Cup final scoring again, as we seem to have found Dal-Joo a spot in the centre of midfield due to Sasa's great recent form and Davies injury.
What a month!
Well for starters we added this to our trophy cabinet which felt rather good...
As for the league, we cancelled out the poor start to the month with a good end as we went UNBEATEN in the month of February, fantastic scenes to be honest. I predict us to really push on with high morale and maybe squeeze a top 8 finish if we're lucky. We'll have to fight for it though.
Player of the Month
To be honest, this was a really really tough month to pick POTM and FOTL because the team worked so well together, and no-one seemed to put a foot wrong, however, I had to pick someone! For me, it has to be Sasa, he was involved in BOTH goals in the League Cup final, and scored against Liverpool, and has definitely proved he's a game winner as he missed both the Barnsley and Stevenage game. Truly deserved winner in my book...
Flop of the Lot
I say it was hard to select a winner for this...maybe if it was from first team regulars it would be, but this lad has not done what I expected this month. Brought in as a player to challenge Gonzales, he has done jack all when introduced as a sub, and it's definitely been a no brainer to choose to Spanish-man over this lad throughout February. Casalino, you may be back to Sevilla sooner rather than later.
The Morale is Key
Without doubt we must ride this high for a while now, and battle through March without regret in order for us to secure a movement upwards in the league. Not so many games this month, but expect a youth intake soon to spice things up!
Slows over the coming week, due to a few events going on in real life.
However, please keep commenting, all will be reciprocated.
So, I always love a youth intake, and to be honest, it definitely coaxes me towards the end of the season, in that lull before the end of season run in that's all exciting and that. So to be honest I was fairly excited to witness what Wycombe would come up with, and so, as I clicked the button to take me to the youth candidates screen, this was what I was greeted with.
As you can see, one man sticks out above all the rest, Tafari Holden, a centre back with some real promise if my assistant manager is correct. Let's take a closer look at our potential future defender.
As you can see, the lads got some rather decent stats for a young guy! In general he needs to develop across the board but that 20 determination should really help the lad grow rapidly in the years to come, maybe lining up in our defence one day!
I know this one was a short one, more tomorrow I promise.
Until then, all comments will be reciprocated.
Definitely an interesting group of results to be honest, most scarily however, is our cup form, which seems to be going from strength to strength as we get to the business end of the season, meanwhile, it's arguable our league form is having a rough time as a result. I'm sure you'd agree though, you can't field a weakened team this late on into the FA Cup.
A condensed fixture list...
Otsuki started update how he started the last one, as he scored, this time from a start. However, the rest of the team was dire, a real shame in a game you need to either win or lose, not draw.
Really poor
This was SUCH a poor game, felt like it lasted forever due to an onslaught of Sheffield attacks as we suffered miserably from post-international break blues, upsetting the teams cohesion. Otsuki again being a shining light for us
A first for Dal-Joo
A very iffy game once again, as we struggled through the month of March. At this point I definitely thought we'd thrown this month away with mediocre results across the board. Was however, nice to see Dal-Joo put his first goal away for THE MIGHTY DUCKS
Another trip to Wembley!
Thank god for Ibrahim as he prodded home LATE LATE in the day to earn us a trip to Wembley, reminding me he still exists after Otsuki's decent run recently. This is a great result for us, yes it pushes us into a semi-final, but the fixture congestion is scary.
The games in hand, to be kept in mind
The important thing is we are clear of the relegation zone, but the drop in league form has been disappointing, even when you look at the games in hand, they're all against higher opposition, and in this form, I doubt our chances.
Player of the Month
It's been a poor month theirs no doubting that to be honest, however, from what I have seen, utility has been key for us, a few injuries from Davies and Sasa would have definitely forced our hand a little if it wasn't for Dal-Joo, who's a deserved winner this month, stepping in to do a job in plenty of roles.
Flop of the Lot
This month it's been hard to pick a stand out player, all over the shop it really hasn't been great, so I'd have to choose someone who really hasn't had a good game at all. To me, it'd have to be Diego Vaz, who just hasn't turned up in the games I subbed him on for, always average.
Hectic is the word
My word this month will be tough, my players are about the fall off a cliff physically and all training will have to be for match fitness going forward, a long slog is ahead. A 5 day distance between pretty much every game, I don't look forward to this one bit, instead of looking up the league, we may have to look down.
Kim Dal-Joo £19 Mil (Some over installments)
Mark Versluis £5.25 Mil
