Time has moved slowly the last few months, but unlike 2018 and 2019, I have still been playing FM over the winter months, and plan to keep ticking along with the save. The last update was many moons ago, before the world was turned upside down. According to my personal aims set out in the introduction I should be aiming to win the domestic league and cup, as well as reach the Champions League knockout rounds in the 2021/2022 season. I have pretty much achieved my aims in the save so far, only last season’s disappointment in the Champions League and an early exit of the domestic cup blotting our copy book.
Seasonal record in the save so far
We dominated the previous league season in the end, winning by 22 points, but it failures in other areas made it feel like a disappointment. Due to this I was looking to take another step, but also maintain this level of dominance in the league. I wanted to go unbeaten. Before the friendlies had been arranged, however, we had much upheaval in the summer transfer window. As mentioned at the end of my last post our title winning squad was pretty much picked apart. Five players who would have been first team regulars left, including both centre backs and our top assister Dominik Szoboszlai. Sure, we were paid well for them, a total of €108m coming into the club, but we struggle to attract players who are at the top of their game, no matter the price.
Just some of the transfers out of the club over the summer of 2021
Many other players left the club, most on a season long loan, but there were some younger players who I felt would not cut it at the club. The main issue I face is that we have only an U18 side and a senior team. There is no in-between ground so if a player matures from the youth team and is not close to the first team, then he does not get much option but to leave. Austrian league rules only allow for 10 domestic loan transfers, which we utilise, but after that there is not many places for a player to go. I am loading up more leagues of a suitable level to be able to loan players to, starting in January with MLS. This will allow players sent to New York Red Bulls to get game time. For now, I have allowed players who I do not see much future for to leave, but I included a buy back clause into the deal. If they develop into unexpected world beaters then I will activate this clause and bring the player back at a relative discount.
We spent only €35m of the available transfer revenue during the summer, mostly to pluck 17 and 18-year-olds from fellow Austrian, and neighbouring nations, clubs in order to have the next few seasons players developing. It has so far proved to be a success as the youth side are top of their league and have qualified from the UEFA Youth League group as winners. Over half of our spending was on central defender Strahinja Pavlovic (as detailed in the last post) and Lyon midfielder Malo Gusto. He came in and has immediately cemented his place in the first team in the BBM role.
Malo Gusto has quickly become a key player for Salzburg
I will have to break a few myths to update you all on our season up to the winter break. We have been on a good run of form in the league, and until this point it is still going. The possibility for an unbeaten run was ended three games in, however, as we were outclassed away to LASK. They took an early lead and as we pushed for an equaliser, they scored two more after the 90th minute. Disappointing at the time, but the fact that they are close to us in the league provides a little comfort. The eight-game winning run in the league was great, only a spot of over rotation in attacking options costing us points and breaking the run. We are still on an 18 game undefeated run in the league, stretching back to the 0-3 loss at LASK in early August.
Just some of the games making up our unbeaten run in the league, including the eight straight wins
All that keeps us top of the league table, although a few recent draws have closed the gap a little. I intend to keep the unbeaten run going as long as possible after the season resumes in February but will face tough games once the league splits. We are also still in the Austrian Cup, but are yet to face a difficult side.
The league table so far with four games left before the split
Now to the important part, as manager of the side with the biggest resources and budget in the country, any domestic honours are really a side note. More a sign of a poor season if we struggle to beat all in our way. That’s why the continental competitions are and important gauge of our success in the save. In season one we dropped into the Europa knockout stages and made the quarter-final. Season two felt like a disappointment as we gained only two points in the Champions League group stage and finished bottom. This season we faced two sides we had already played in the past in Tottenham and Juventus. Copenhagen provided the best chance of points and I would hope to at least beat them into third place.
Champions League results, our good start helping us progress from the group
I could not have imagined holding our own against some of the biggest sides in Europe, and Spurs, let alone picking up some wins. The two draws against Copenhagen were a disappointment and could have cost us in the end, be a win in Turin helped to put things in our favour. Progress to the knock-out stage for the first time is big step, and anything extra will be a bonus.
A late Harry Kane goal in Copenhagen in the final game sent Tottenham through as group winners
With not topping the group I believed this is where our journey would end as we would face a side who topped their group. When our name was drawn there was still Man United and Real Madrid in the pot, but the luck was on our side. We may still not progress, but at least we have a chance.
The draw for the next round was fairly kind
So, to the winter break and the January transfer window. Being a club of our size, it is not so much how we can improve, but who we can keep hold of which is the biggest worry. There have been a few players performing well during the first half of the season. Mikkel Damsgaard has really flourished this season and won Player of the Year for 2021, scoring 5 times and assisting 6 in his 17 games. We will lose starting left-back Rasmus Nissen Kristensen to RB Leipzig for €15m. He is a quality player but we have cover for now and in the summer, I have signed young French player Emmanuel Renard on a free. That now leaves only five recognised Salzburg senior players from the start of the game, but I always expected turnover.
Emmanuel Renard will join on a free and hopefully be in the side for years to come
At the moment there are a number of first teamers in demand. Most notably is Sebastiano Esposito, our main goal scorer. The former INTER player has been with us for 12 months now, scoring 24 goals in 30 appearances.
I started the save with the idea that Erling Haaland would be the player of the save, but up to this point, Esposito is proving to be #BetterThanHaaland. He stands to break Haaland’s goal scoring record (of the save, I doubt RBS is this low in real life) of 21 in a season. Seb is on 18 at the half way point so as long as Schalke don’t come in with a bid, then he will break it. He is wanted by the German club but I have no problem blocking that move as I do not see it as a logical step for him. It will be likely that we will lose him after the end of this season, and he will be difficult to replace. Since his arrival last January, we have been in good form, losing only a handful of games. The 19-year-old will be hard to replace, and at the moment we do not have anyone in the system to do so. My scouts have recommended Bradley Fink from Dortmund and given his price of around €10m I will bring him in. The 18-year-old will come into the club as an ‘important player’ which is not ideal, but he will get decent game time for the remainder of the season and I hope he can become a long term replacement as striker.
Can Bradley Fink become #BetterThanSeb?
On to the second half where we still fight for three competitions. Minimum requirement is the league title and we really should be making the final of the Cup. As for Champions League I see that we can get to the next round, but we have already achieved our goal in that. My secondary aim though will be to prepare the squad for next season, integrating some good youth players, and making a decision on players who may not cut it.
according to FM 