The retirement of Alex Taylor

Ooooh we love a bit of insider transfer news

Atoobie Everyone does Now to see if it has any substance to it or not

It was a long trip to Genk at the team took a slightly longer route before the Belgian Cup game to avoid any traffic around Brussels which turned out to be a smart move.



Alex named a strong side and chose Thiago Ribeiro to go up front in place of Luciano. He also put Meunier up on the right wing to give Jose Izquierdo a game off after he had been playing for a number of games in a row. They would have to break down the deep lying 4-2-3-1. One team was guaranteed to get into the next round after the day with extra time and penalties if needed.

After 27 minutes Brugge got a free kick out wide. Gedoz whipped the ball in and it was headed high up in the air by a defender. Meunier got up and headed the ball back to Gedoz out wide. He passed the ball to Gedoz who was wide open on the other side. He took a touch outside the ball and he ball bounced as Santamaria smashed the ball goalwards. The keeper got down quickly and pushed the shot behind for a corner.

Just before the 40th minute Brugge got another corner and Gedoz again stood over it again. It was whipped into the near post and hit of a KRC Genk player. The ball fell kindly for Ribeiro and on the bounce he smashed a shot towards goal. It then hit off the same defender as the corner did and wrong footed the goalkeeper to get Brugge ahead just before half time.

Alex encouraged his side to keep it tight and try to get through to the next round. He replaced Meunier with Izquierdo to give the team some more flair up front.

Just after the hour Cools had a throw in deep in the KRC half. Tshimanga intercepted the throw in and played the ball up to Kebano on the wing. He played the ball further up the wing to Karelis. He played the ball inside to Pedraza who played it along to Buffel who played it wide to Karelis again. He played the ball back to Buffel then onto Buyens. He passed to Pedraza who played it wide to Kivrakidis. His cross into the far post was headed away by Engels and Vanaken to Pedraza. He passed to Karelis in the ball and De Bock slid in to tackle the ball away from him. The ball ran to Kebano at the far post and he had a simple tap in to level the game.

65 minutes in Kivrakidis had a throw in an inch from being a goal kick. He threw it to Buyens and he hit it long and De Bock intercepted the clearance. He passed to Engels who played the ball up to Izquierdo, he played a one-two with Santamaria and then ran into a ton of space inside. From 25 yards out he corked a shot off and the keeper dived and was just able to catch the ball.

Just before 80 minutes KRC Genk came on the counter attack. Tshimanga played the ball up to Cisse. He played the ball inside to Pozuelo who played the ball up to Samatta on the edge of the box. His shot was blocked by Denswil and ran on to Pedraza who played it wide to Kirakidis. He hit a cross into the far post with his first touch. Cisse shot at the far post and the ball bounced off the post then De Bock to go out for a corner.

The game went into extra time and Alex made a couple of changes to try and keep his side fresh for extra time.

As with a lot of extra times it ended without any incidents and the game went to penalties. Using a combination of players he most trusted with them and those who volunteered Alex named his players to take penalties.

Vossen stepped up first after Brugge won the coin toss. He began his run up and waited until the keeper dived to hit his shot low down the middle and in.

Buyens stood over the ball and took a couple of steps back. He hit his penalty to the left and Butelle dived the right way but was unable to make the save as the ball went into the top corner.

Frequent penalty taker Felipe Gedoz. He copied Vossen in going down the middle but, Koteles stayed put to make the save.

Kabasele stepped up to try and put KRC ahead in the shoot out. He sent Butelle the wrong way but, Butelle wouldn’t have been able to save it anyway.

Izquierdo was up next for Brugge. His penalty was hit high and slightly to the right as Koteles reacted to push the shot high over the bar and put Brugge far behind in the shootout.

Cisse stepped up to make it 3-1 to KRC Genk. His penalty only just snuck under the dive of Butelle which meant Brugge’s next penalty had to go in.

Laurens De Bock was the man to take it. Alex watched as he took the walk and placed the ball on the spot. He took three steps back and then ran up and hit the ball right down the middle again. Alex protested in vain as Koteles had used the run up to almost leave his six yard box, but his side were out of the Belgian Cup.

While he wanted to do well in it the Belgian Cup was the third most important tournament of three so Alex wasn’t devastated but, he was annoyed and resolved to practise penalties more.

Damn tough break dude Never mind bigger competitions to play for!

Beany Yeah it is annoying but, oh well bigger fish to fry

Just before the end of training Alex had the team do some sprints before the end. The first group went with Gedoz cantering to a win. The second group went and Alex saw a player pull up holding his leg. He saw it was Ebert was calling over Thierry to help him.



It was confirmed to be a bad injury and Ebert was out for three months de to his latest injury at Brugge. Alex would have guessed that Ebert maybe had been fit more than injured in his time at Brugge but, he couldn’t be sure.



Despite that Thierry refused to say that e was injury prone which was something that Alex failed to understand, although maybe they had become best friends in all the time they had spent together.

Ebert going down injured made securing the signing of another winger all the more important and Alex and Roel decided to start negotiations ahead of schedule in case Sao Paulo heard about the injury and increased the price.

Alex was in the room as Roel called the Sao Paulo director of football and was discouraged to hear a €10 million price tag had been set. Roel assured him that it was manageable and he could get the deal done in the budget they had although Alex was sceptical.

Alex left the room and an hour later came back with coffee for Roel. He pointed at the whiteboard that contained the latest demand from Sao Paulo. €5 million upfront and 3.75 more in add ons. He had done a good job but, Alex as unsure if he would be able to spend that much. Then he heard Roel’s latest offer of €1.5 million with 3.5 in clauses and realised there were still hours to go in the negotiations and left again.

Alex was called back into the room when a deal was being neared. Roel had managed to get the initial fee down to 1.8 million with 2.2 million guaranteed over time. He was working on the clauses and from what the deal had started at to where it had gone Alex knew Roel would get what he wanted.



Fifteen minutes later the director of football folded and Roel ad his deal which Alex signed off on. 1.8 up front, 2.2 over 48 months and 3.1 million more in clauses and 20% of the profit of the next deal. Alex was pleased with it and called Afro to tell him about the latest negotiations.



The next day Roel received a call from Centurion’s agent and the initial offer wasn’t very good and the agent had a reputation for being hard to negotiate with, although Alex would back Roel against any of them.

Come on show the agent how it is done!

Beany Will have to as a lot of what he wants is unpayable and I want my player

It was a decent length journey to Lier to take on Lierse at the snappily named Herman Vanderpoorten Stadion. Last time they played Lierse had won all four games of the season before they went to Bruges and lost 4-1 a result Alex was sure they would want revenge for.



Alex put Mechele in to give Engels a rest in the only change he made to his starting 11. Lierse were one of many Belgian teams who were going for the deep lying 4-2-3-1 and Alex knew his team would be in for a hard time to break them down.

After fifteen minutes Lierse had a corner. Cools blasted the low cross away to Luciano at the halfway line. He ran at the two defenders before massing wide to Izquierdo who played it inside to Santamria. He picked out Gedoz on the edge of the box and open. Gedoz received the ball and took a touch. His shot whistled past the keeper and the post slamming into the sidenetting.

Fejsa saw his header intercepted in midfield after 36 minutes. The ball was played wide to De Jonghe who passed up to Pollet 30 yards from goal. He dropped the ball back to Tahiri who picked out the run on de Jonghe. He only just got to the ball ahead Cools and despite the tight angle was able to slide the ball past Butelle and in.

With 5 minutes to half time Gedoz hit a free kick into the box that was headed out to Fejsa thirty yards out He passed to Vanaken who played the ball wide to Gedoz. He feinted and passed to Cools on the overlap. He simply accelerated to get past his man and then whipped in a great cross. Luciano got up well and flicked the ball towards the far post. The keeper stayed rooted to the spot and Alex could see the sigh of relief as the ball hit the post and bounced away.

Alex told his tem at half time that a goal was only a matter of time and a second would soon follow the first. He sounded confident but, had no idea if it was likely to happen or not.

Just after the hour De Bock as over a free kick just inside the Lierse half. His long ball forward was over hit and the rightback watched the ball go for a goal kick, until Gedoz stretched out his foot and was able to get the ball into the box. The ball was just out of reach of Luciano but, a simple tap in for Izquierdo. He celebrated as the right back got a massive bollocking from his manager for not guarding the ball on the way out.

As the clocked ticked over into the 80th minutes Gedoz took a throw in to Vanaken who played it right back. Wide open Gedoz fired in a cross. It was blocked and the ball rolled to Santamaria just outside the box. He passed to Izquierdo who was open 12 yards out at an angle. He trapped the ball and instead of curling it opted to smash it with everything he could muster. The ball was past the keeper before he could dive for it and Brugge had a late lead. Alex punched the air as his side got in front and promptly set them up to hold onto it.

They saw the game out professionally to bounce back from the cup loss with a win and three more points in the league.



Again all of the top 4 won so Brugge maintained a two point lead over their nearest challengers. Anderlecht on the other hand were struggling any only just inside the sixth place to be in the final group.

On Friday Alex got a call from Roel that he had finalised the deal with the agent of Centurion and the deal would go ahead when the window opened. Alex was pleased he had his man along with some depth at winger that wasn’t always injured.



Saymak who would be replaced was subject to a couple of offers and Alex left them to Roel to deal with. He negotiated a bit and accepted an offer for him.

When the clock hit 12:30 Alex’s attention, along with all the squad in the canteen, was turned to the TV and the Europa League knockout draw.

The first two ties were English and Italian affairs as Napoli would face Leicester and Sampdoria would take on Liverpool. AS Monaco, who Brugge had sent to the Europa League, got Dynamo Kyiv while Rubin got Inter. Koln got Zenit while in a quite big tie Sevilla got Lyon.

The only other Belgian side in Europe, OHL, were drawn out next. They got Roma from Alex’s group and Alex felt it was decent for them but, they would probably go out as they had not had a good season.

“Club Brugge will host…” Alex’s attention was snapped back to the TV. Big teams like Manchester United, Juventus and Valencia among others were in it still.



“A.C. Milan.” Despite the recent form AC were a big team and Alex also felt beatable as they were behind Roma in the table. He was also pleased the news drew a cheer from his players who wanted to take on a big side.



He watched the rest of the draw hoping for big names to get each other and knock each other out.

The draw for the round after was made right after. Ajax or Real Betis would take on Juventus or Rizepor. Alex could only see Juventus out of the four teams going into the quarter finals.

“Club Brugge or AC Milan will face” Almost everyone was still in it and Alex was nervous. “Sampdoria or Liverpool.” Another ex-giant of the game and if Liverpool and Brugge won Alex would return to England as a manager for the first time. He was more focused on AC Milan though and getting past them.

Alex made a few changes to welcome OHL, McAuley went in at centre back, Schonheim at left back and Ribeiro held his spot up front with Luciano not fully fit and Vossen unable to score anything. OHL stuck with the 4-4-2 that had been far more successful last season than this where most teams had reacted better to it.

After 5 minutes Cerigioni ran down the wing. He was able to get past McAuley and whip in a cross. It bounced off Engels and Ojo to fall for Thomas 8 yards out. He hit his shot high on target and Butelle threw a hand up to tip the ball over the bar in a great save.

19 minutes in a Meunier throw was intercepted by Thomas whose clearance was intercepted by Vanaken. He played it wide to Izquierdo who turned and was about to go past his man when a brutal scissor kick brought him down. Alex was up off his feet with the rest of the bench and fans demanding a red card and the referee brought it out instantly to try and stop and more protests. With OHL down to ten men they went to a 4-4-1 and set up for a point.

Two minutes later Schonheim intercepted a long ball and passed up to Izquierdo who ran inside and got past a couple of defenders and passed to Ribeiro. He slipped a pass between the left back and centre back to play in Gedoz, his first time shot was pushed away by the keeper and then fully saved.

Other than a shot from just inside the box that was blocked Brugge rarely threatened despite having the man advantage. Alex told his side to be more creative and try to find some more chances.

Alex put on Luciano to help them try and get a goal. Just before the hour Vanaken headed a goal kick back up to Luciano and he ran inside to get towards goal. He was forced to pass the ball back to Vanaken who passed to Schonheim. He got the ball up to Izquierdo 35 yards out. He passed to Ribeiro on the edge of the box. He backheeled the ball to Luciano who passed to Izquierdo who had continued his run to go in on goal. He took a touch and went high to the near post the keeper had guessed the other way and was unable to stop the ball and Izquierdo put Brugge ahead.

Against ten men Alex set his side up to be defensive and hold on for the win. Just after 80 minutes Luciano received a throw in from Meunier. Luciano cut inside into the box and kept going inside to get central 15 yards out. His shot was poor though and it was easily saved.

With only ten men OHL failed to make much and it was a tight win for Brugge but, the points were all that mattered.



With it being Brugge’s game in hand they were able to open up a 5 point gap at the top of the table with 2/3rds of the regular season done. There was a nice gap for Brugge and Alex was happy with how the season had gone so far, and half of the season if they made the Championship group which was looking likely.

I sense a title coming along dude Keep it up!

Beany Hopefully but the stupid half points thing means it is still close, with us in first my opinions on it have changed

Alex confirmed the deal to sell Saymak to Kasimpasa for €300,000. After wages and fees they had made a small profit on him and had some depth on the wings from him to help the squad in a good first half of the season. The deal was done and Alex headed out after the paper work to watch over some more practice.

Training went well and injury free despite the mid-week game and he got his side ready for Der Klassiker against Anderlecht. They were at home against a side that was coming far down from winning a few titles in a row. Despite not being near the top and winning the title they were still a good team and Alex ensured that his team was prepared for a tough game.

Luciano was running freely which Alex was happy to see until Engels suddenly crunched into him. Alex watched on and breathed a sigh of relief as Luciano got up and ran back to try and win the ball. Some more crunching tackles were thrown around and Alex was pleased to have everyone still fit and ready for the game against Anderlecht.

After losing the first game to them this season Alex was hoping to beat them at home this time to level up the head to head this season. He also knew his opposite number would be desperate for a morale boosting win as his position at manager was very under threat despite having been in the job for around the same amount of time as Alex had.

Getting on to the scouting and planning Tielmans was the main threat and Alex planned to hold Fejsa back more to try and counter his ability to dominate the game. He would also tell Denswil to step out a bit more than usual if he saw Tielmans on the ball to help limit him. He trusted Engels to match up well against Okaka as despite his lack of age he was an experienced player and a very smart and physical defender.

He was concerned that with Anderlecht playing the “in” formation in Belgium, a 4-2-3-1 with DM’s not CM’s that it would be a struggle to get the ball in to Luciano. However, if the wingers failed to track back then Izquierdo and Gedoz could cause chaos 1 vs 1 to get some crosses into the box.

Alex was confident heading into the game and headed back home. Some time relaxing with his family then got to sleep.

He felt the nerves he always got before a big game after he woke up. He found they had become worse as a manager, either as poor results mattered more for a manager or as he was unable to directly effect what happened on the pitch.

He went to the training facility, picking up Roel as usual on the way, for some last minute prep and the team arrived an hour later to board the coach to the stadium. They were greeted near the stadium with car horns the odd flare and cheering fans before the big derby.

Alex named his strongest side for the big game at home to Anderlecht. Alex had Cools in for Meunier in the only somewhat odd choice for his first 11. Anderlecht sprung no surprises in the starting 11 and formation so Alex was pleased he had trained how he had.

After 11 minutes Anderlecht had the ball far up the pitch. Okaka ran up through the middle before being forced to pass back to Tielmans. He knocked it wide to Preat who passed the ball to N’Sakala on the overlap, he passed the ball back to Dendoncker 25 yards out. He squared the ball to Tielmans who was able to slip in Sylla. His first time shot was powerful but right at Butelle who caught it easily enough.

Brugge were dominating the ball but doing little with it and Anderlecht launched a rare attack after 26 minutes. Sylla got the ball out wide, on the opposite wing, and played it inside to Dendoncker who passed to Doumbia. He played the ball up to Preat who found Tielmans who picked out the run of Sylla he cut across the face of the box and his low shot hit off the foot of Engels almost as soon as it was taken and flew just wide of the post. Alex was pleased to get a goal kick despite the deflection, unlike his opposite number.

The game went to the half level with Brugge playing like a Louis Van Gaal side to Alex’s annoyance. He called for more flair and risks as he sent his side out for the second half.

The game was dull in the second half until 80 minutes hen Tielamans beat a couple of players on the wing. He played the ball inside to Doumbia who played it up to Kawaya. He passed to Preat in space 20 yards out. In space he turned and played in sub Sala. He hit his shot first time and low Butelle dived but could only watch as the ball clattered the post and went out for a goal kick before breathing a sigh of relief.

The game ended in a 0-0 draw and Alex was a bit annoyed at how inept his side looked up front.



Standard cut the lead to three points and Alex hoped to try and increase the lead soon to get some breathing room.