Ryan Ferguson: The Unorthodox Approach

Ryan Ferguson: UEFA Champions League football was upon the club, and nobody was more excited than myself. It was an opportunity to compete against the top sides of Europe at the greatest stages. The prospect of competing at the Santiago Bernabéu, the San Siro, the Parc des Princes, the Allianz Arena - it was a dream come true for any football manager.

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Transfers

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A number of fringe players were moved on to make way for a new set of stars. While Chris Smalling (DC) retired from football, wide attackers Emil Forsberg (AML - £1M), Luca Paganini (AML/R - £5.75M) and Marvin Stefaniak (AML - £8.5M) were among the exports, while Luke O'Nien (MC - £400K), Riccardo Cappa (ST - £1.3M) and Emil Krafth (DR - £2.7M) also found themselves being shuttled out. The January window also so Ben Pearson (MC - £1.6M) and Anton Kresic (DC - £2M) move on to play more regularly.

June brought two young English stars to the club, as Arsenal defender Stephen Lacy (DC - £26.5M) and eighteen year old Chelsea wonderkid Kingsley Osagie (AMC/L - £60M) arrived. The latter became the most expensive English player in history. Other promising youngsters were brought in as eighteen year old Turkish defender Erkan Aktaş (DR - £30M), former Chelsea defender Danny Wickenden (DC - Free) and eighteen year old Gradimir Lucic (AML - £3.5M) of Serbia joined up with the club.

The most exciting signings, however, were of more experienced players. Belgian super star Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco (AML/R - Free) joined Whitehawk following the expiration of his contract with AS Monaco, and the fans were certainly excited by the signing of such a world class talent. Jeisson Vargas (AML/R - £3.1M) arrived for an absolute bargain price. The Chilean international was regarded as one of the most dangerous inside forwards around, and would add some much needed quality to our attack.

The vast majority of the new signings brought direct upgrades to the starting eleven. While our club captain, Andrea Punzi (DC), was not due to return to action for several months following a severe foot break, Stephen Lacy and Danny Wickenden would fit in seamlessly in to the team. Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco, Jeisson Vargas and Kingsley Osagie would all form part of a new look attacking midfield.

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UEFA Super Cup

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It was all too easy. We set up to hit the Germans on the counter attack, and all three of our goals came from quick counter moves. We soaked up all their pressure very well, and attacked the spaces even better. New signing Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco was among the goals, and starred as we tore FC Bayern Munich to shreds.

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Premier League

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We were absolutely majestic in our performances this season. An opening day 4-1 hammering of Liverpool had set the tone, and we recorded eight wins and one draw in our opening nine league matches. defeats to Everton and Manchester United in November did little to upset our form, as we then marched on to an eighteen game unbeaten run, before being beaten by José Mourinho's Manchester United AGAIN! However, we picked ourselves up once more, and won each of the remaining six league fixtures.

We lacked goals at times, while they came in abundance at other times. However, it was our defending which, as always, caught the eye. We conceded a league best seventeen goals throughout the season, and much credit had to be given to new signings Stephen Lacy and Danny Wickenden for making that happen for us.

Doing the double over Manchester City, and over Chelsea, set the tone for a remarkable season, but we continued to struggle against Manchester United in the league. Our results had put us on top of the league by two points going in to the final fixture, but with a far lesser goal difference to chasers Arsenal, and the final game brought much excitement. We went behind against Newcastle due to an early goal, but fan favourite Jeremie Boga struck twice in the final twenty minutes to secure the league title in dramatic circumstances.

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Just three defeats all season, thanks to a fantastic defensive record, was what put us in top position. Improvements were made in every single game, and that culminated with us finishing as Premier League champions. It was a dramatic Premier League season for us, and we were delighted to finish in the position we did!

Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City finished in second, third and fourth respectively, and would join us in the UEFA Champions League next season. Chelsea and Everton claimed the two UEFA Europa League spots, through league play, while Aston Villa, Southampton and Burnley found themselves relegated to the Sky Bet Championship.

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UEFA Champions League

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We were drawn in to a group which included Polish side Legia Warszawa, Dutch team Feyenoord Rotterdam an Spanish mega giants Real Madrid. We proved too strong for the trio, as we on six games out of six. This run included a brilliant victory at the Santiago Bernabéu, where Neal Maupay scored the winner with two minutes remaining.

Finishing on top of our group, we were put against Bayer Leverkusen in the first knockout round. We set up to score as many goals as possible in the away leg, which came first, and a 3-1 victory on the night set us up to finish the tie with a 4-1 aggregate win. A similar plan of action against Dynamo Kyiv in the quarter finals proved just as successful. Arsenal proved stern opposition in the semi finals, but a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium set us up to win 4-1 in the return leg, booking our place in the final at the Stade de France.

We were competing in the final in France against reigning French champions Paris Saint-Germain. We were very much the underdogs in this fixture, having played in far fewer European fixtures than our opponents. However, we utilised the same counter attacking system which worked so well against FC Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup this season, and against Inter Milan in the UEFA Europa League last season, and we earned a similar result. We soaked up the pressure applied by our opponents, and goals on the counter attack from Anton Nyman, Luciano Cabral and Jeisson Vargas handed us the Champions League title. HOORAH!

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FA Cup

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In truth, we were not drawn against the most difficult of opponents in the early rounds. We made easy work of Birmingham City, Swansea and Watford, before playing against Bournemouth in the quarter finals. We scored two early goals against them, but they produced a dogged performance and scored late to put pressure on us, but we held out to earn a pace in the semi finals.

Our big test was, on paper, in the semi final against Arsenal. However, the result on the day proved otherwise. Luciano Cabral and Jason Coffey each scored a brace as the Gunners were made look like school children. This set up a clash in the final against Chelsea. With the score set at 1-1 with no more than four minutes remaining, Whitehawk's hero of the final Premier League game came up with the goods and scored a late winner to break Chelsea hearts.

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EFL Cup

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It was a poor season for us in this competition. It took a penalty shootout for us to progress against Blackburn Rovers, before being knocked out by a much weaker Tottenham Hotspur side.

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Whitehawk Football Club

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Nobody came close to performing on the same level as English defender Stephen Lacy. He came in from Arsenal in the summer, and put down one of the best defensive seasons in Premier League history. On the ground, in the air, he was impenetrable. Along side him in defensive duties, Danny Wickenden, Tyrone Mings and Erkan Aktaş were instrumental in our success, making the job easier for a fantastic Predrag Rajkovic in goals. In midfield, young Anton Nyman continued to progress in his development, while Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco was instrumental in attack.

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World Football

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FC Barcelona were relentless in their run to win the UEFA Europa League, setting up a UEFA Super Cup clash against ourselves. The Catalan side tore VfL Stuttgart in to shreds in the final.

Barcelona's star man Neymar was, once again, the recipient of the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards, and was included in the FIFA World Team of the Year alongside fellow La Liga players Diogo Dalot of Real Madrid and Ángel Correa of Atlético Madrid. Paris Saint-Germain's Thibaut Courtois, Marquinhos, Daniel Bragança and Thomas Lemar, and AS Monaco's Aymeric Laporte, represented Ligue 1. Manchester United's Luke Shaw and Leroy Sané, and FC Bayern Munich's Lautaro Martínez made up the rest of the team.

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Ryan Ferguson's Message

Ryan Ferguson:

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"Champions of Europe, that's what we are! It's been a tremendous season for us, both on and off the pitch. Notably, on the pitch, we won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Super Cup, all in one incredible season! The players have been sensational! We've worked hard in training every day, and we performed to the best of our abilities when it mattered.

Once again, the fans have been tremendous for us. We may only have eleven players on the pitch, but it feels like one hundred thousand players when our fans are with us. Without them, I don't know what could have happened this season. They have helped to create some fantastic memories, and they can take pride in their accomplishments this season.

We've made fantastic strides and we're always looking to make more. We have a set of young players who will certainly become stars of the future, and we are very excited about what we could achieve next. We will be competing in the FIFA Club World Cup in December to try become the best football club in the world, and we look forward to this fantastic opportunity."

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Comment Section

MJK46, thank you!

ScottT, well you were correct on both accounts!

mgriffin2012, I'm sure Robbie would have plenty to be delighted for anyway, he's a peculiar individual!

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Previous Update: #12 - Season Eight: Season Review
Next Update: #14 - England: Season 2024/2025

Ryan Ferguson: As Premier League and Champions League champions, the expectation was for us to compete for the top honours once again. The media had picked uas one of the favourites in either competition ahead of the season, and we certainly expected ourselves to be vying for more trophies again.

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Transfers

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Plenty of money came in from the sales of Nahuel Leiva (AML - £25M) and Stephen Kingsley (DL - £5.5M). This money was to be put back in to the market as the club looked to bring young talent to Whitehawk. January and February brought more high profile sales, as Marcos Llorente (MC - £5.5M) and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco (AML/R - £2.7M) were sold to Atalanta and New York City respectively. I did not wish for these transfers to occur, but relevant circumstances forced my hand.

Just one player came in who was not a teenager, in the form of Jeff Reine-Adelaide (AMR/L - £9.5M) from Juventus. The French wide player was to add depth to our attacking positions. Sixteen year old English prodigy Michael Quinn (MC - £4.5M) joined from Bournemouth, while other notable signings included eighteen year old Argentine/Italian Facundo Foti (DL - £5M), eighteen year old Claudio Rotariu (AML - £6.25M) of Romania and highly revered teenage midfield sensation Ricardo Barbosa (AMC - £32.5M).

The squad was already in strong condition, while Foti and Reine-Adelaide came in to strengthen the depth of the senior squad. The other signings came in to join the youth ranks of the club, with the hope of breaking in to the senior squad in the future.

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FA Community Shield

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League runners-up Arsenal proved a stern challenge in the FA Community Shield. All four goals came in the final twenty minutes, forcing a penalty shootout to occur in the season opener of English football. We were victorious in the end, as we usually were in shootouts, and we lifted our first trophy of the season.

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UEFA Super Cup

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Another game, another penalty shootout! Barcelona had taken the lead in the first half at Helsingin Olympiastadion, but Neal Maupay came to the rescue to force a penalty shootout. Once again, we were successful, lifting our second trophy of the season.

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FIFA Club World Cup

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A semi final draw against Club América of Mexico was a stern one, which was settled by a single goal. Neal Maupay fired us in to the final, where we faced Brazilian giants Corinthians. Having won the competition twice before, Corinthians were no walkover, and the game was tense. Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco scored the match winner with eight minutes to go, and Whitehawk lifted their third trophy of an already successful season.

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Premier League

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The season started brightly as we remained unbeaten until a trip to Leicester City in November. Two defeats in November woke us up a little, and we then went on an unbeaten run which stretched all the way to April. However, things turned sour then, as we failed to win any of our final five league games of the season.

Our goal scoring had certainly improved from the previous season, but we were not so great defensively. We still recorded one of the best defensive records in the league, but it was not what we expected of ourselves at the beginning of the season.

Memorable victories included a 5-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace in August, and a 4-1 thumping of Arsenal in April. Less memorable results included a bad 3-1 defeat at the hands of Leicester City in November, and conceding three late goals to drop points against Watford in March.

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Our run of form in the middle of the season saw us top of the league by April. However, we dropped eleven points in our final five games, which told as we dropped to fourth. Manchester United won the league, four points ahead of ourselves, while Manchester City finished above us on goal difference.

Everton finished fourth to claim the final Champions League spot, while Arsenal and Chelsea had to settle with Europa League football after finishing in fifth and sixth respectively. Bristol City, Huddersfield Town and and Crystal Palace were relegated to the Sky Bet Championship.

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UEFA Champions League

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We were drawn in to a very difficult group, which contained Spanish giants FC Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund of Germany and Greek side Olympiakos. However, strong opening performances against Dortmund and Barcelona set the tone for a successful group stage for ourselves, as we waltzed to six wins from six.

We deployed a similar tactic to last season, looking to score as many goals as possible in the away legs of the knockout rounds. This worked fantastically well as we defeated Roma 5-2 on aggregate in the first knockout round, before defeating Bayer Leverkusen 5-1 in the quarter finals. FC Bayern Munich were our opponents in the semi finals, and two 2-1 victories proved to be enough for us to reach the final, where Manchester City awaited.

The final, in Old Trafford, was a very one-sided affair, truth be told. We ran the show from the first minute to the last, and goals from young stars Jason Coffey and Kingsley Osagie killed Manchester City's dreams of lifting the title, as we retained our title of European champions.

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FA Cup

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......I hate Blackburn.....

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EFL Cup

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We were triumphant in high-scoring victories over Everton and Arsenal in the early rounds of the EFL Cup, before meeting Watford in the quarter finals. In yet another game full of goals, the game was tied at 2-2 at the end of ninety minutes. West Ham then took the lead in extra time, but Kingsley Osagie equalised for Whitehawk with five minutes remaining. However, in the 120th minute, Serbian attacker Miroslav Novakovic struck gold for Watford - knocking us out of the competition.

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Whitehawk Football Club

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Stephen Lacy & Danny Wickenden were the star performers of the season in the middle of our defence. The two Englishmen were fantastic in the air, and on the ground, as they gave the team a solid base. Jason Coffey scored an incredible 32 goals in all competition, while Kingsley Osagie enjoyed a profitable season from attacking midfield, finding the back of the net 15 times.

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World Football

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Chelsea were victorious in their UEFA Europa League campaign, as they stormed to the final where they won against fellow English side Stoke City. They would compete against us in the following season's UEFA Super Cup, as a result.

Manchester City's Croatian midfielder Damir Sipus claimed the Ballon d'Or award, while Barcelona's Neymar was the victor in the race for the FIFA World Player of the Year. Both were included in the FIFA World Team of the Year, which also most notably included Athletic Bilbao's Luken Díez, AS Monaco's Kylian Mbappé and Arsenal's Álvaro Morata.

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Ryan Ferguson's Message

Ryan Ferguson:

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"We may have suffered Premier League heartbreak as we missed out on the league title, but we certainly have much to celebrate from this season. We end the campaign having won four trophies, including another Champions League title, and we played some fantastic football in the middle.

The players have played very well, and we were unlucky that both Manchester clubs had two fantastic seasons as well. Hopefully we can perform even better next season and win back the league title.

A big thank you to the incredible fans for showing their undying support for the football club throughout the seasons, and we can enjoy the summer knowing we are European and world champions!"

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Comment Section

MJK46, 2050 would be quite an impressive target to reach! Hopefully we will make it there, but nothing is certain!

mgriffin2012, yeah beating Germany in the final was a sweet victory, hopefully the first of many on the international scene!

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