As I sat and pondered a new season, this time in Division Four. I thought long and hard about the various formations we could use and possible players we could bring in. After giving the loyal Berlin fans the Division 5 Title I badly wanted to give them more success.
I had turned down the overtures of Valencia in the build up to Season 6 as I believed in this squad and publicly stated I thought we were well capable of competing for promotion again.
Pre season friendlies gave a mixed bag of results which didn't concern me - I view these as merely morale boosting and bonding exercises with the chance to try fringe players and various formations.
Come Match day 1 I took to the dug out in hope but things didn't go to plan as we scraped a 2-2 draw against newly relegated Crystal Palace. This wasn't the end of the world as Palace have a good side managed by a top manager in The Linder.
However things didn't improve and we went on to lose our next two games against Olympiacos and Malaga to slip into the relegation zone after 3 games. Fans stuck behind the Welsh genius in the dug out and rather than panic buy and drastically change things I called a team meeting to clear the air. Club captain Vladimir Darida stated a few of the lads weren't happy as club vice captain and general toe rag John Terry had been up to his old ways - by trying to shag Luis Muriel's and Wissam Ben Yedder's wives.
Realising I couldn't run the risk of morale dropping I made the decision to let Terry go and whilst holidaying in Turkey with my significant other I took a call from my old mate Jamie Alldridge at Westham offering Raul Albiol in exchange for the serial shagger. I couldn't wave goodbye to the talented but horny defender fast enough and the pic below shows me waving off the serial shagger as I step off my private yacht
With Albiol brought, - in he added a new calming influence on the back four and our ascent up the table continued. Left winger Yoshinori Muto really clicked into form and was recording almost an assist a game as things started to look good at Berlin.
With 21 games gone we were in the top 5, from there though the lads astonished even me as we set off on an unbeaten run. With 12 games to go we were battling Nathan Princes Leicester, The Linders Palace and Jimmy Gouldies Dynamo Kyiv.
Results started flowing and win after win came, with 6 games to go we had almost secured promotion and had a lovely bonus in Thauvin, Ben Yedder and Muriel all raising from 89 to 90 rated.
I knew this would give us the upper hand in the run in and we just needed to keep our heads, avoid injuries and utilise the squad cleverly. Luckily we managed to do this and went on to win our last 6 games to secure the title after a thrilling race with Leicester.
This sparked scenes of wild celebration in the streets of Berlin as fans partied days and night, savouring another title.
The Players
So who were the heroes who inspired Berlin to the title? We profile a few of the fans favorites below
Yoshinori Muto - voted Division 4 player of the year by his peers. The Japanese winger had an outstanding season contributing 27 assists and 7 goals in his 32 starts. What is even more impressive is the fact he rarely completed a full 90 minutes as he was regularly subbed on the hour mark! An in demand player who I will not even think about letting go unless its for an insane offer
Volkan Sen - this choice may surprise a few people but the two footed winger played an essential role as our super sub, often coming on for Muto or Thauvin - The Turk managed 12 goals and 10 assists from 17 starts and 15 sub appearances, quite often popping up with late winning goals
Wissam Ben Yedder - what can I say that I already haven't about this man? Top scorer again with 16 goals and a 7.49 rating. He is Mr Berlin and our talisman, when he plays the team plays. Unlucky not to get club player of the year and only beaten to it by Muto's brilliance
Florian Thauvin - Pace to burn, ability to beat a man, superb crosser and total team player. Thauvin chipped in with 5 goals and 10 assists from 26 starts. The breathtaking winger has the ability to go the top and will be a key component in the assault on Division 3 next season
Willy Caballero - The veteran keeper just keeps getting better! Bought for just £4m in Season 4 the reliable keepers performances keep on improving with age. His average rating has risen every season, he won the Golden Gloves award for Division 5 in Season 5 and was Runner Up this season with 16 clean sheets
Fringe and Future Players
We are blessed to have some great talent at Berlin and below are just a few to watch next season or in coming seasons
Aaron Mooy - After his rise to 87 he now fights for a starting berth in midfield. IRL the lad is tearing it up at Huddersfield and if he moves to a higher rated club his stock will continue to soar and could be a key player for Berlin
Manuel Akanji - picked up for peanuts the young Central Defender is soaring IRL. Strong performances in the UCL for Basel and internationally for Switzerland have him on Dortmund and Liverpools radar - A future star for sure
Marius Wolf - Im not sure how many people know of this guy but if you don't.... check him out. Picked up for £2m he will be a steal. After a less than impressive start to his career he is now playing every game for Frankfurt IRL across a range of positions. A winger on the game but could end up occupying numerous positions, I am confident he will be in the first team in 2 years.
Alfie Mawson - the young Swansea Central Defender continues with accomplished performances and has featured lightly this season. Surely due a rise to 87 which will see him contending for a first team spot
Conclusion
All I have to say is "Wow" a fantastic season which saw us attack with style and verve, entertain and fight when needed. The future is bright and we can not wait for Season 7 to start. Being in this Game World is the pinnacle of any manager playing Soccer Manager. It is so competitive that it honestly gives you goosebumps to succeed with such fantastic achievements. We broke the club record of unbeaten games and enter the new season on 17. I want more, I'm hungry and my future does not lie away from this great city............at least not for now.
Very nice mate ... the "intangibles" factor in the SM engine certainly seemed to tilt in your favor after Terry went off to terrorize West Ham wives ;-)
ReplyDelete