1st January - May 31st
Previously on Conquer The Turf
Yet again I jump ship from the cup heroes of Arsenal to try and take Barcelona back to their greatest heights. Milinković-Savić and Telles turn out to be excellent excellent signings. Only one defeat before Christmas puts us in a good league position and we absolutely stroll through the group stage of the Champions League. The treble is still on.
Good news. I stay at Barcelona.
Barcelona
I begin this week by breaking a record, longest time at a club! Yes I know, I jump around a lot but I am definitely here for the season. Tactically I jumped around far too much, an experiment with strikerless did not pay off. What would Guardiola do? Go back to what works. I revert back to a DM and keep the striker. Set far higher up the pitch, lots more pressing.
How did my signings do? Milinković-Savić was excellent though his role needs tweaking. He did pick up a couple of goals but I want more. Him and Arthur had some great games together. Telles became a fixture at Left Back in the Champions League, a great signing for anyone’s game. Nikola Milenković is alright, fourth choice but hardly a stellar signing.
Overall not too bad. I have £87 million left in the transfer kitty, £150k on wages. Messi’s £1.2million wage per week takes a huge chunk but it’s totally worth it. The squad needs an overhaul, far too many older players on big wages. The first to leave? Luis Suarez for £61 million to Juventus. With 10 goals across all competitions he is doing well but cannot justify the 400k a week wage.
As promised I may have broken the world transfer record. There is only one player who could possibly replace Suarez up front. Thankfully the latest rule change in the Champions League (due to Coutinho’s winter transfer to Barcelona) means that players can now compete for two different clubs in the same season. Step forward Kylian Mbappé!
£250 million. Worth every penny. Only 21 years old and already one of the best players in the game. Now you may have worked out I didn’t have that amount of cash so I broke one of my rules. I pay in instalments, £120 million upfront then £43.33 million every year for three years. Weirdly his wage is only £375K per week. You cannot believe just how amazed and excited I am about him. With Dembélé and Messi is there a better front three in the world?
It’s actually worth saying that in thousands of hours playing Football Manager I have never spent so much money on one player. I think the most was about £140 million but it was a while ago, cannot remember who that was for. Usually pretty frugal but when you only need to replace one or two first team players you may as well spend big.
Sadly I got way too far ahead of myself. The window in Spain does not open until the 4th January. My next game? Real Madrid away in the cup on the 3rd. I give Suarez a farewell game and he is shockingly bad. Glad he is going.
It turns out I was right in Part 3, Belotti is turning into my nemesis. His hat trick makes a very comprehensive first leg 4-2 win. We don’t even play that badly, Messi is on fire but cannot do enough. What’s really galling is that we went 2-1 up but then they ran away with it. And worse of all we play them again in seven days.Ugh. Beginning to strongly dislike this Madrid side.
Right let’s get back on track in the league. A 4-0 hammering of Celta Vigo with Mbappé’s debut goal is a good sign of intention. The major downside is Messi is out for a month with an ankle injury.
Without the best player in the world we host Madrid and look to make up for two losses. I finally have Kylian who I hope to make all the difference. The worst possible start would be Belotti scoring in six minutes after the whistle, which of course he fucking does. Maybe I should have picked up him instead? Such a stupid goal, gets one on one with the keeper, has a shot saved that then falls back to his feet. Now 5-2 down.
We go more attacking and get a goal through Malcom before half time. In the second half Bale is brought down in the area only for Asensio to miss the penalty! There is still hope. A mere two minutes later and Mbappé smashes on in from the D. Just need one more to go through on away goals. Thank you Malcom! A huge run through the midfield and he slots it home top corner. Not even a red card to Rakitić matters, we are through 5-5 on away goals! Redemption.
The games are coming thick and fast, a total of nine for January which puts a huge strain even on a club like Barcelona. This is shown when Espanyol win the derby at home 1-0 courtesy of a 86th minute penalty. Results are all over the shop and don’t improve. A 1-1 cup draw with Bilbao is followed by a 0-0 in the league against Sevilla. Top by 5 points (Ath. Madrid have a game in hand) it’s been pretty rocky.
At times like this you need a player to step up and win matches for you. Thank fuck for Ivan Rakitić! Four goals in the next three games ensuring we end the month on a high with wins over Bilbao, Hispalis and Vallecano. You might be wondering, what the hell is Mbappé doing?
Well he has a slow start but comes to life in February. It’s said the best players turn up in the biggest games and he certainly does. A hat trick away against Bayer Leverkusen in the 1st knockout round of the Champions League. Five more goals also help us stay top though two 1-1 draws against Ath. Madrid and Vallecano leaves us 5 points ahead of Real Madrid who have a game in hand.
The second leg against Leverkusen should be a stroll, which it completely is. Another 4-1 win. Another Mbappé hat trick. He is slowly turning out to be the most important player in the team. Which is fortunate as we lose Messi again. This time for two months and he could miss a potential Champions League final. My options are either the hot and cold Malcom or Dembélé. Mbappé plays wide right but such a waste of a goalscorer. Let's hope Messi comes back soon. Next up in the cup? European giants Liverpool. (Pretty fitting for real life!)
With 17 games played in only two months I am glad there are only four this month, a chance to rest some players and take stock of the season. The squad players such as Samper, Denis Suarez are doing a job but probably not good enough in the long term. Semedo is really impressing me at right back when he plays. Malcom has only scored three and assisted three goals. Even more worryingly Dembélé has consecutive injuries, a broken wrist means I lose him for two months. I risk him playing with protective gear, getting too thin on attackers.
Rakitić misses a penalty and the team draws 0-0 against Alavés but he makes amend with a 57 second goal against Levante to get the win. Liverpool arrive at the Camp Nou top of the English League but having played three more games than Tottenham. Maybe one of the toughest teams to play in world football? (At this moment!)
There was no need to worry. Mbappé tears the reds defence apart scoring both goals on the pace, lobbing Alisson both times. Basically carbon copy goals. His pace is unbelievable. Proves I was completely correct in signing him. We dominate possession and don’t concede an away goal.
The second leg is a little nervier. Arthur scores an early goal but we lose Alba and Dembélé to injuries, Semedo has to fill in at left back. A limit of seven substitutes is pretty stupid in my opinion. Mane equalises but it’s not enough to stop us getting to the Semi Finals where we meet an old nemesis. Ath. Madrid yet again in a European Semi, let’s hope the results go the same way.
Three league wins build us up for the biggest game of the season so far. Real Madrid at home in the league. After the 2-1 loss earlier in the season I need a win by a better scoreline to give myself a huge advantage. Cannot envisage a loss at this time. A full team pick (well with Malcom and Coutinho out wide) race into a 3-0 lead by the 25th minute, Arthur scoring one and setting up the other two. Asensio scores four minutes later but it’s not enough. Belotti missing from the squad is a huge loss for Madrid but who cares? I will take this and its advantage Barcelona in the league! Three games left, 5 points ahead.
So let me be honest. The reason I jumped at the Barcelona job was the chance to play swashbuckling attacking football. Cram as many talented players into the team as possible and win games by big score lines. Alas I beat Ath. Madrid, 1-0 over two legs. Mbappé being the difference with the winner in the first minute of the second leg. It’s not exciting football and even a single goal for them would have knocked us out but both teams were pretty rubbish. Again, I will take it. In between both games was the drabbest 0-0 you will ever see, the back up ten players (I always use ter Stegen) showed that many need to leave.
With two league games left we need to push on, only 3 points ahead of Madrid. A 2-1 win over Vigo leaves us within touching distance of the league title. Racing into a 2-0 lead over Sevilla in the final game it should be a parade but a quick fire brace knocks us back. Going all out to get the winner does nothing, even with Messi finally back in the team. He has a bad game and we only earn a point. But it's enough! Winning the league by a single point on 94 points. It’s a great achievement even with the players out my disposal. Far too tight for my liking but part one of the treble is achieved.
Part Two. Only bloody Ath. Madrid again in the Copa del Rey final. Actually saying that I like playing them, my record against them is excellent. Messi is back though it must be said a bit of a gamble to start. Saying that, I was happy to drop Malcom. Ath. Madrid stick with 442 and have Costa and Griezmann upfront. Why they don’t start the brilliant Lemar I don’t know.
Mbappé scores a brace before half time, putting us firmly in control. They are kept to a minimum of shots, allowing me to take off Messi early in the second half. Need him fresh for another final. Milinković-Savić scores at the end to ensure the cup is ours. Relatively comprehensive win. This Ath. Madrid matches are hardly stellar.
I love how football always seems to end up with some inevitabilities, like how I move from Arsenal to Barcelona yet draw them in the Champions League group stage. Well, remember how I went up for the Manchester City job last summer? Guess who is waiting for me in the final! They have not spent too much money in the game, only really getting in Wilfred Zaha and Allan from Napoli. Still a formidable team but we are up for it!
Or we were. 17 seconds. That's how long it takes for Bernardo Silva to score an absolute screamer. 1-0 down. There are 89 minutes left so lots of time to take control of the game and get a goal back right? Wrong. I go for it, chase the game and it opens me up.
Laporte scores an easy header on 22 minutes from a corner. Pique losing his man in both instances and is having a nightmare. I have no one on the bench and no real way to change the game. I sub Dembélé on before half time, hoping he can force a goal.
Half time hits and I must decide. Whether to attack even more or hope they try to get a third and hit them on the counter? For this Liverpool fan there is one hope, the stadium. We are in the famous Atatürk, home of the miracle of Istanbul. There are echoes of that Liverpool Milan match and in this I am only 2-0 down!
45 minutes to save the dream of the European Cup. Agüero forgets to read the script, scoring from a corner when our defence disappears and then the killer blow on the 82nd minute. To add injury to this insult Dembélé goes down and must be taken off.
4-0. Game over.
No one likes losing but there are occasions you just have to admire the opposition. This isn't one of those times. Manchester City were brilliant and it hurts so so much. This was as bad as the 4-0 loss to Milan in 1994. Absolutely crushing. In fact it was so bad I have a change of heart. Originally I was going to end Conquer The Turf here, a treble would have been a very satisfying end to the series. Even a minor loss may have been fine. Not anymore.
Instead we will have one more season. One more chance to go for broke.
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