Got to say we are surprising EVERYONE in the Saudi Pro League by remaining unbeaten and having wins against not just Al-Nassr(Double Revenge - King’s Cup and rejecting me) but FREAKING Al-Hilal too. Let’s walk through a few things including some last minute surprises and some future plans.
Went hard out of the gate with last year’s Yelo League champions Ohod with a 5-0 demolition and we never looked back. And you might be seeing a new name in Martin Baturina. Let me walk through what happened there.
How I convinced this guy to join me
This guy is a fairly talented wonderkid who recently made the move to Cesc Fabregas’ Como side this year. In this save game he was chilling at Manchester City.I had a foreigner who worked for me in the second division but his ability got destroyed when I got promoted. And when I got an offer for him it was a no brainer to sell him, ONLY after making sure this deal was wrapped up. And he has delivered brilliantly. Only cost me 6.5 million GBP. Bargain given the exorbitant prices SPL teams pay usually.
With the addition of Baturina this is how my lineup is looking like:
Pellegri losing his ability worried me. He can win headers but they aren’t always on target and the same can be said for Oukhadda. I have plans for these two.
First up for Pellegri
His injury proneness and lack of ability worried me so I am bringing someone from Brazil once his contract expires at the end of the current year
Slightly better finishing, no major injury problems. And he is slightly shorter but he’s fairly agile which I hope helps. His ability says closer to leading SPL player and Al-Ittihad wanted him so I want this to work.
Next for Oukhadda
It is seeming more and more like I do have to focus on moving him on in the summer. And I found the perfect person to replace the guy:
Seriously:
I know he doesn’t have standout stats but he’s young. He’s not on the decline really. But I will keep looking if anybody else pops up too.
And another thing
You remember when I got rejected by Al-Nassr for my “reluctance to play set pieces”?
Well how about this
Vitik being our center back. Says it all. Read it and WEEP.
And there was a spanner in the works when I got this email
Disregard the others because they are part of my Reserve squad. Thankfully it won’t be long and I found someone who can replace him. And he’s foreign to boot too.
Another cool 6 million GBP. The kicker is because he is 19 he will not count as part of the 8 foreigners above 21. Perfect use of the loophole.
The result that shattered everything
Al-Enezi is a Saudi striker who came from Al-Ahli’s academy who joined freaking MANCHESTER UNITED. I needed a backup given Pellegri’s injury troubles so I went to bring him in on loan and he’s growing well.
The talent Al-Hilal have is just disgusting:
- Yassine Bono - A very talented keeper who played for Sevilla
- Kalidou Koulibaly - Someone who was linked with a big move from Napoli but chose the SPL
- Ruben Neves - Played for Wolves in the Premier League and rejected big moves for the SPL
- Sergej Milinkovic-Savic - I remember him solely for being linked to Manchester United every transfer window before he made the move here
- Aleksander Mitrovic - Played for Fulham in the Premier League and he is a plain brute relative to the Saudi League
And the fact that we stood tall and kept them out from scoring is a HUGE achievement.
Something that also caught me out was this too:
Looks like I’m going to be witnessing my first ever election for a president of the club I’m managing in. And in terms of coaching badges these guys are so accomodating and with them I am in the home stretch to getting my Continental Pro License which like I always say is the top most coaching badges in the game.
So we got the rest of the first half of the season and a match against Jose and Al-Ittihad soon. Let’s have it.