The retirement of Alex Taylor

Great to see your DoF doing his job properly - a top signing in Luciano and he has all the credentials to succeed in Belgium

BeanyUnited He is indeed. Luciano was a good deal now I just have to keep him away from all the other strikers I have so he will score

Jack Roel is a good DOF for sure. Pleased with the signing and hopefully he can set the league alight

Sandwiched in between the two Zenit games was a trip to massive rivals Anderlecht. Alex was yet to lose as he headed into his 4th Belgian Klassiker and it was something that he hoped to keep going. He also wanted to make it three away wins from three at Vanden Stock Stadium.



Alex had gone for his usual side except for Dion Cools stepping in for Meunier. Alex felt that Cools was a real talent and wanted to give him the chance to play. To continue to grow he had to play in big occasions and this was one, although Alex was confident he could handle it. Anderlecht had been able to hang on to their main talents so far which annoyed Alex and they named a strong team for the game.

The game got underway in a vibrant atmosphere and proceeded to suck the life out of the crowd as it was a dull game punctuated by the odd long range shot that failed to worry either keeper.

The home crowd half heartedly booed the ref as he gave Brugge a free kick out wide just after the half hour. Gedoz hit the ball in and it was headed clear up to Suarez who launched a counter for Anderlecht. He played the ball wide to Galhardo who raced down the right wing before hitting the ball to Trezeguet running into the box. He took a touch and blasted off a shot that Cools got in the way to block. Trezeguet got the ball back in the box with Frejsa and Cools nearby. He tried to get to the line for a cut back. Fresja put out his foot for a split second and Trezeguet went down as though he had been punched in the face.

Alex yelled “What the hell was that for!” at the fourth official.

“Shirt pulling” Came the response.

“WHAT” the fourth official braced himself for what was coming next. “How on earth does that cause him to fall holing his face. I didn’t realise he wore a f**king full body suit to games for his shirt to be pulled on his head. F**king disgrace! Never a penalty thanks for robbing us though. Out of interest you going to steal the money for the bribe from us as well or will Anderlecht just pay.” Alex still had more to say but, Philippe finally intervened and pulled him away from the fourth official.

Suarez stepped up to take the penalty and coolly sent Butelle the wrong way and put Anderlecht ahead.

Half time came and Alex had some choice remarks for the referee as he walked past. He then went in a told his team to do something up front as they had been quiet all game. One chance to level one to win was all they needed.

Just shy of 70 minutes Anderlecht got a free kick in a promising position. Defour whipped it in and it was headed out to an Anderlecht player. It was played up to Tielmans and he turned and slipped in Najar. He took a touch and pulled the trigger. Cools somehow got across and dived acoss to get a toe on the ball. It was a vital touch as the low shot likely would have eluded Butelle which it did anyway but, it smacked into the post which it wouldn’t have done with out the touch. Engels blasted away the rebound to end the danger.

Despite Alex making his team as attacking as he could they fell to a 1-0 loss in what was a terrible game.



The result saw Anderlecht leap frog Brugge and Lokern earned themselves a three point lead at the top of the table.

“Those incompetent f**king Italians” Alex raged upon being told the news. “Would think they were an amateur club.”

Roel just sighed “I’ve said all of this to them but, it won’t change a thing we have to reoffer him out to be signed. I’ll get on it as soon as I can.”

“Alright I guess.” Alex muttered. “Do we still have enough money left to sign Luciano tomorrow as was planned or will that be delayed.”

“We have just enough money to get the deal done and then soon after we will get the money from selling Castillo and lose his wages.” As long as I can still sell him for more than Luciano cost the lower wages he wants as well we will have made good money and got a better player.”



The next day Roel came back with three offers for Castillo. None of them where near the amount that they were looking to get for him so it looked like Roel was in for a long day of negotiating.

Pacos from Portugal made the bigger offer and Roel called to say the deal had broken down as they wouldn’t pay enough for him and also wanted Brugge to cover part of his wages which was something Alex and Roel point blank refused to do.



Negotiations with Atalanta had gone well and they had reached a deal worth just over €4 million euros for Castillo which was more than Luciano. Roel had also checked and there was no non-EU players they had signed already so there was no risk of the deal breaking down over it.



A couple of days later Atalanta confirmed the deal and Alex was happy to ship out the want away striker for whatever he could get for him. The deal had no last minute hitches and Alex was more than happy to see it go through and the money go into there bank account.



Soon after Alex was happy to confirm Luciano coming in to replace Castillo. He looked good in his first training session and Alex was pleased with the signing and annoyed that he would be unable to play him against Zenit.

I think Luciano needs a new picture Hhahahaah! Good signing matey as always

Surprised Alex didn't get a telling of from the FA over his comments and daaaayum that is one beautiful face! Good job man keep them up!

Some important work in the market mate! Squad is really shaping up!

BeanyUnited Yeah he might. The good thing is it is a pic of him celebrating a goal and also who would want to defend someone doing that.

TheLFCFan Maybe as he was correct they couldn't comment. He is a beauty hopefully he can fire the goals in regardless.

mgriffin2012 Yeah should be one of the best squads in the league just have to play like it

Zenit named another star studded team for the second leg of the Champions League playoff. The team was loaded with a mix of foreign and Russian stars that Alex’s side would have to beat to get into the Champions League playoff.

After 9 minutes Zenit got a throw in deep in the Brugge half. Smolnikov threw the ball in to Hulk at the edge of the box. Kokorin rose highest in the middle of the box and planted a header onto the bar. It hit the underside and crossed the line to get Zenit the away goal and a two goal lead.

After 25 minutes Garay stood over a free kick 40 yards out in the middle of the pitch. Instead of shooting he passed to Cheryshev who headed the ball into has path to play himself in on goal. Andre Martins got back in time thanks to a poor touch and blocked the shot. It rolled slowly well wide of goal. Kokorin got to the ball first and had an open goal as the ball had gone past Butelle. Kokorin shot and Engels flew in at the last second to block the ball and send it out for a corner. A goal saving block. Brugge would have to score three times to win the tie.

On the half hour Brugge won a free kick wide and Gedoz stood over it. He whipped a ball into the box and Vormer rose highest and powered a header into the top corner. Lodygin had no chance and Vormer grabbed the ball and encouraged the crowd to get louder as he put the ball on the centre spot.

After 32 minutes Cheryshev took a throw wide in the Brugge half. He gave the ball to Javi Martinez and he squared the ball to Shatov. Inside the box he whipped a ball towards the far post Kokorin slid in to poke the low ball into the back of the net. Alex had his head in his hands they so quickly gave the goal they had pulled back away. Three more goals were needed again.

Nothing changed as the teams headed into half time with Brugge needing a miracle to get back into the game. Alex encouraged the team to try and get back into the game and at least give Zenit something to think about.

Cheryshev ran out wide with the ball after 53 minutes. He played the ball inside to Kokorin who was forced to play the ball back to Witsel. He played the ball back to Smolnikov who played a one-two with Hulk to advance down the wing. He then cut inside and passed to Shatov who turned and played in Kokorin. His low first time finish gave Butelle no chance and also gave Brugge no chance of reaching the Champions League group stage. They were Europa League bound.

Lodygin hit the ball long form a goal kick after 82 minutes. Denswil headed the ball forward to Izquierdo who squared the ball Martins. He turned and played the ball wide to Gedoz. He hit in an early ball that Vossn was about to hit until he slipped and fell. With Lodygin sprawled on the ground having expected a Vossen shot Ribeiro calmly lifted the ball over him with a first time finish to pull a goal back for Brugge.

With less than two minutes left Zenit got a corner. Hulk whipped in a ball that Butelle came for and failed to collect leaving Cristico to score a simple header and rubber stamp the progression of Zenit into the next round.

The full time whistle ended Brugge’s run in the Champions League and signaled the start of their run in the Europa League.



The club also received a big financial windfall for there run and getting into the Europa League.




Vanaken picked up a small injury and would miss around a week of football. It was annoying but, not to bad.

Two days later Alex watched as the draws in Europe were made. AA Gent got an awful group where points would be limited but, they would get to play some big teams and enjoy some big games.



Then it was onto the one that mattered more to Alex. Along with some big teams like Manchester United, AC and Inter Milan, Valencia and Ajax among others. All of the teams were pulled out of the hat and Brugge ended up being drawn into Group J of the Europa League.



He watched on with a mix of happiness and not so happiness as the group was drawn. They got Italian giants A.S. Roma as the second seed, although Alex guessed most people would consider Roma the biggest team. Legia from Warsaw, Poland would be a challenge but, Alex would expect his team to get the better of them and guessed there would be a great atmosphere at the away game. Red Star Belgrade would be the same and Alex also though that he could see a prospect or two in Serbia who would be useful for the future.

Overall Alex was happy enough with the draw and agreed with most pundits that they would likely finish second in the group behind Roma although Alex planned on fighting them like hell to try and claim the top spot in the group.



Alex had to face the press about the draw and it was there he learned who Anderlecht had drawn, he had vaguely noticed but was focused on his own team. They had quite a challenging group featuring Ajax, Spartak Moscow and Hoffenheim. Alex guessed they would struggle but knew well enough not to directly say it to the press instead saying that they were in for a challenge.

Brugge would start the campaign off travelling to Belgrade to face Red Star. They would then host Roma before playing Legia away then at home. They would then welcome Red Star to Bruges before playing the final group game at the Stadio Olimpico which would not have been Alex’s preference for the final game if they needed some points.

Alex had a look at how all of the games had been arranged and was very annoyed when he saw they would have some games with only a day off in between them. The worst one would be facing Roma at home on the Thurdays and then rivals and title rivals AA Gent on the Saturday. Alex planned to complain greatly about it to the press and to the Belgian FA although he knew that it would come to nothing he just wanted to ensure everyone would think twice about giving them games with that little of a break. Alex figured he may as well have a bit of a rant about TV money ruining football while he was at it even though he didn’t think it was he just wanted to annoy the companies involved.

Alex decided to ring in the chances for the game against Westerlo who were last. McAuley and Luciano came in for debuts and Alex was looking forward to seeing how his signings fared in their first game in Belgium.

After 13 minutes Gedoz stood over a central free kick 40 yards out. The ball was played wide to Martins who after some time played the ball inside to Santamaria, he then played the ball wide to Gedoz who was open just inside the box. He stretched out and hit a half volley on target that the keeper dived across to push away and the rebound was cleared.

20 minutes in and Alex’s three central midfielders monopolised the ball and moved forwards with it deep into the Westerlo half. The ball was played wide to Cools who took a touch and smacked in a cross. Izquierdo hit the ball first time at the far post and form a tight angle it hit off of the outside of the post and went out for a goal kick. Brugge were pressing and Alex thought they would surely score soon.

After 28 minutes Westerlo had a free kick they launched into the box. It was headed away but, Izquierdo played a poor pass and Westerlo got the ball back. They pushed forwards interchanging passes in the midfield. Slabberkoon played the ball wide to Molenberghs and he chipped a ball up to Sabor. On the half volley Sabor hit a powerful low shot and Butelle had no chance as against the run of play Westerlo were ahead.

After 40 minutes Gedoz stood over a corner for Brugge. He hit it in at the near post and Mechele flicked the ball on target. Slabberkoorn headed the ball of the line and Henkens misjudged the ball to clear it. From 4 yards out McAuley fired into an empty goal to put Brugge level with a debut goal.

Two minutes later McAuley won a header from a goal kick to get the ball back for Brugge. Simons hit a long ball wide for Gedoz to chase. He got to the ball well ahead of his defender. He then played a ball inside the onrushing centre back to Luciano who was bursting into the box. He took a touch and his shot was blocked. The ball fell kindly to Izquierdo who powered the ball in from 6 yards out to get Brugge ahead.

Alex told his team to keep up the intensity at half time and make sure they held onto the lead they had earned themselves.

10 minutes into the second half Schonhiem had a throw in in the Brugge half. Some neat passing saw Brugge get the ball into the Westerlo half with Martins dicatating play with Santamaria. Martins played a great ball to sub Ebert out wide who had escaped his man. He slipped in Luciano with a great pass and Lucaino from just inside the box smashed the ball in hard high at the near post to make it 3-1. He celebrated his goal with his usual hand pistol shooting celebration, the first of many Alex hoped.

After that goal the game fizzled out and Brugge ran out easy 3-1 winners over Westerlo.



The only downside was that Luciano picked up an injury that would rule him out for three weeks. Although with the international break he would only miss 1 game if he recovered well or 2 if he didn’t.

Shame about the Zenit game, but you received a decent windfall and a nice group in the Europa League!

Strong result domestically to bounce back mate, shame about Luciano but only a small injury so he will be back in no time

BeanyUnited Yeah annoying to lose but, it will give us a chance to go deeper in Europe especially with the group that we got.

Pleased with the rotated side winning and Luciano looked good and can hopefully recover quickly.

It was the Belgian Cup draw and Alex was pleased to see his side get a lower division team in Royale Union. He was surprised when he was told by Philippe that they could buy home advantage. Alex was confused by it but, he was told the advantage of it for them would be home advantage for the tie which would give them a better chance of getting into the next round and they would earn more money as they could sell more tickets and both sides would get more money.



Union would get a lot more money out of it that Brugge but, a better chance of getting into the next round and some more money convinced Alex to go for it and buy home advantage for the game.



Alex came into work the next day and knew it would be a long one. For most of Europe it was transfer deadline day and a number of teams were interested in his players and Alex had no intention of selling any of his players this late on in the window. He came in to news that there was a bid for De Bock from Empoli, Alex rejected the offer.



Two hours later Alex rejected another bid for De Bock from Empoli. He then went out and took training for most of his team, he only had a few players out on international duty so he was continuing to train his team.



A couple of hours after he got back from training R.B. Leipzig had made an informal offer for Meunier. Alex had no plans to sell him but, also felt if he rejected the bid he might annoy Meunier. As a result he told Roel to simply negotiate away for the next 8 hours until the German transfer window closed dragging everything along as much as possible and trying to make sure RB didn’t just stop negotiating at which point Alex would have to tell Meunier he had rejected a bid.



The plan worked perfectly as Roel dragged the negotiating on past the deadline and Alex would just have to say the negotiations dragged on and lost track of time leading to then end of the window.



Three days later the window ended in Belgium and Alex was quite pleased with how the transfer window had gone for them and had a look at how his two biggest title rivals had done in the window.



Anderlecht hadn’t spent or received that much they sold Najar for decent money and Gibson and Mexes came in to bring big league experience. They made the loan of Trezeguet permanent in the biggest move.



AA Gent were the only Belgian side to spend big in the transfer market and not sell to replace the money the spent. Alex though Ter Avest was a good signing for them and wasn’t sure on many other signings including the big one of Crivelli from Bordeaux, time would tell if they had used the Champions League money well.



Two days before they played Schonheim he would miss a month and a half and Alex had De Bock as his left back and wasn’t sure who else he would use after that but, was sure that his team would be able to cope with the injury even if it wasn’t ideal.



Later on he was ranting about Wellington Silva. After only just joining the team he was already complaining about a lack of first team football and demanding to leave the club. Alex wished the window was still open and he could sell him but, was more than ready to sell him and would have Roel try to find a buyer as soon as possible.

In many ways Alex though the upcoming match against KRC Genk would be less stressful than the two weeks without a game.

Still busy in the market mate and its great to see! Progression in the Cup looks likely too!