Burkina2008

August 3rd, 2033 - Aim: Middle of the table One year in the Championship and a finish in 16th place, cannot be said that Sheffield was already a stronghold in the second tier of English football, but after a meteoric rise, not much more could be demanded from Carlos Dolbeth, who in June already defined the objective of the following season to be: “solidify our position in this division and be at least 15th in the table…small improvements is all I can ask for”. The financial power difference between Sheffield F.C. and the other clubs in the division remained enormous and the money from the TV rights as well as the departure from Louis Jackson to QPR and Pierre Andre to the Arabian market, were crucial to open a buffer for bigger salaries and transfers. The target was really the defense this time. Last season the team suffered many goals and only the good attack was able to compensate... things had to be more even. Still in June two new faces right in the start of the pre-season, stricker Jayden Danns from Hull and the new goalkeeper to substitute Pierre Andre, Olissa Emmanuel, young Nigerian where a lot of good saves are expected. During July another 7 new faces, mostly of players that were finishing their contract or out of contract all together. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect this time was the arrival of a single loan player, Jesus Largo from Tottenham, getting away from a model that did work in the past, but was probably too little for the quality of this league and a splurge of 2.7 Million Euros on a relatively unknown central defender out of a league that has little interchangeability, the MLS. Will this strategy work for Dolbeth? We will have to wait to find that out but the friendlies in the pre-season gave an excellent indication of improved quality in defense, with 6 wins in 6 games and only 2 goals conceded. This included also a brilliant victory over Birmingham City and a season presentation game where Sheffield did manage to beat the second placed team of the Belgian league last season. Looking at the betting market, it also seems that the boys have a much better valuation at the moment and a mid-table finish is an expected result for the team. Favorites are two of the EPL relegated teams, Brentford and Norwich City but what makes this even more interesting in the city of Sheffield, is that for the first time, the 3 clubs of the season are joined in the same division, after Sheffield United got relegated last season. Will this be the year that Shiffield F.C. manages to beat one of their (younger) town rivals…we will see, but for now the first game of the season will be for the Carabao Cup Cronica Leonina! Desta vez queria falar de outra coisa…sim verdade que o Sporting não esteve nesta edição, mas depois do Porto não ter passado dos oitavos de final em 2025, de tanto Benfica como Sporting terem passado a fase a eliminar, sendo que o Sporting apenas perdeu para o campeão Real Madrid nos quartos em 2029, na edição de 2033, teríamos de novo duas equipas do Tugão. O Benfica teve uma prestação lastimável…pela primeira vez uma equipa portuguesa não passa da fase de grupos tendo sido eliminados num grupo com o Manchester City e uns sauditas do Al-Ettifaq. O Porto, tal como no campeonato e na Champions esteve bastante melhor e passando a fase de grupos em primeiro contra Wydad, Tigres e Belgrano, acabou por perder com o Inter nos oitavos, com o PSG a vencer a competição disputada na Turquia. Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta!

Tem de ser O Porto infelizmente depois de uma excelente fase de grupos foi logo de vela Vamos investir Enorme mesmo O Sporting nada muda Sim no final acabamos por atingir o objectivo

Saida do Brest e agora?

Demasiado facil!

Na foto do Rio Ave o segundo de baixo 'e o Rui Jorge?

Epa acho que ate tens algumas hipoteses na Europa League...pelo menos de passar a proxima fase

Porra tres equipas do Sul a subir deve ser uma coisa do unica no passado recente

Isto tem sido um enorme classico em que a luta em Portugal passou dos tres grandes para um Boavista-Moncao!

May 22nd, 2033 - Safe bottom half The fans were a bit less worried but still wary of what can happen in such a tight league. 19th place, 8 points above the relegation line and 8 games to go, was a good buffer, but another losing streak like the one in January-February could still be fatal. That said March ended on a positive note. While a bit more was expected from the visit to Lincoln, where the boys were down 2-0 after 10 minutes and could only tie up the game in the second half, could easily have been another 3 points, but one was still something. The same cannot be said from the visit of Watford, where unfortunately the Home of Football was half empty, but where Sheffield F.C. showed its true colors by beating Watford by a more than fair 2-0, which put the The Hornets for sure out of the fight for a playoff place. The start of April was much tougher with a visit to the Molineux in Wolverhampton, where the title contenders did manage to get a win. It was, what I can call, a classic match for the boys this season: managing to score first but then not being able to sustain the pressure of a stronger side and losing it all in the last 10 minutes of the game. A bit more surprising was the great result home over Fulham, 5-1 was completely unexpected from Carlo’s boys with The Cottagers being already 4-0 at the 26th minute…more than a brilliant display, this result saved mathematically the team from relegation this season, which is why in the following game, again at home, the renovated stadium filled up completely for the first time. Well, the adversary probably also had something to do with it, as a small revenge was the aim of Dolbeth in the second official match against neighbors Sheffield Wednesday. Similar to the away game, it ended up being a very tight match which was only resolved by the goals and in the form of Fernando Gonzalez and Sheffield F.C. will probably have to wait another season to beat their new rivals. The last games were mostly for honor and the team played well on another visit to the capital by beating QPR by a clear 3-0 and putting the last nail in the coffin of Stoke City who got mathematically relegated after suffering a heavy defeat at the Home of Football. That said the last game at Middlesbrough was one where winning was a must for the home team and that could be seen in the field as Boro managed to get into the playoffs which they ended up losing in a most unfortunate fashion by penalties in the final against Wolves. Overall, for the first season in the Championship, there is little to complain about. 16th place, 17 points above the relegation line, it would have been crazy to think Sheffield F.C. was going to do much better. Also overall, on the individual level Schulmeister was the fourth best goal scorer, while Gonzalez and Obeng will make team of the season. Let’s build upon this season! Cronica Leonina! Depois do bom inicio de 2033 ainda pensei que pelo menos ultrapassávamos os lampiões…mas nem isso, um final de época horrível, indiscritível com apenas 4 pontos nos últimos 5 jogos incluindo uma derrota na Luz, acaba por f*der por completo a recuperação e mais uma vez não passamos de um misero terceiro lugar. Mesmo assim e para verem como sou magnânimo, parabéns ao Porto que deu uma tareia a toda a gente e quase chegou as meias da Champions! Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta!

Sera que vira? Muito mesmo Vamos continuar na luta!

A realidade 'e que existe um excedente pessoas com certa formacao universitaria e um deficit de pessoas com trabalhos menos "de secretaria"... Nao vejo grande mal em menos pessoas a irem para cursos universitarios

Bem na Bielorussia onde ja era esperado, mas significante a nivel Europa onde despachas de forma algo surpreendente o Legia

Como disseste! Isso acaba por ser para despachar rapido!

Duvido muito que esse milagre aconteca

Merecido...esses jogadores com average rating de quase 9...

March 15th, 2033 - The first real crisis 15th place with two thirds of the league games played, was a relatively safe place to be at. While it was true that the impossible dream of a playoff place was not just miles away from reality, it was also truth that the relegation spots were more than 10 points away in a very tight middle of the table. That said, 2033 had not been kind to Dolbeth who was yet to win a game. Actually, the last win had been December 18th…February started off again in the wrong foot with a visit to Derby County and a very poor performance from the boys, who at this point did look like a shadow of themselves back in October 2032. With the crowds also dwelling, the next home game was important, but after a miserable first half, Sheffield managed to turn around the game only to get scored again injury time and lose 2 points. Even worse was the next home performance with little fire in the attack and an overall grey game under terrible weather that brought the count to 9 games without a win in all competitions. For the first time, some fans began talking about “necessary changes” which was even more notable when the boy’s loss a 0-1 lead at Bournemouth and left 3 goals in within the last third of the game, making it only 2 points in the last 9 league games and the team getting closer to an unexpected relegation battle. Under pressure, the visit to Cardiff, a team in the relegation spots gained way more importance than it should. It was notable that there was more will in trying to get back on track but even with complete dominance, Sheffield did struggle to score, and the first goal only came in the first half injury time. The second 45 minutes were as frustrating as the first half and even when the boys scored in the 81st minute, the referee signaled for offside, so it was a struggle all the way to the last minute, when finally, almost 2 months since the start of the year, Sheffield F.C. finally got to win a league game. Now the objective had to be to return to a winning form and a few days later, the Home of Football received the other Welsh team, curiously also struggling in the relegation battle like Cardiff. That wasn’t meant to be a despite for the third time this season, clearly up by 1-0 for most of the game, the whole team fell apart in the later stages and suffered another defeat. March started much better, playing home against a Luton squad that is very close to getting already relegated with still 8 games to go and the trashing 5-1 was exactly what the team needed. Still the boys did not manage to follow through when playing against a tougher opponent, Ipswich Town…in a game where for the first time they got to ride on the renovated team bus, now with a phrase from king Pele “without Sheffield F.C. there wouldn’t be a me”. 8 games to go, 19th place, 8 points out of the relegation spots, let’s see if Carlos can bring the team to safety soon and start planning next season. Cronica Leonina! Mais uma vez acordaram depois do Ano Novo. Primeiro vencemos finalmente os morcões, depois ainda vencemos os lampiões para dar uma esperança na continuação da Champions…dito isto na Luz levamos uma tareia. Apesar de tudo para o campeonato estamos com 6 vitorias consecutivas, que acaba por ser mais do que pensava possível há uns tempos. Já só estamos mesmo na liga e podemos f*der os encarnados…que seja um objetivo! Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta!

Sim aquele ritmo inicial foi so mesmo a pica de la estar! Sem duvida Ui nao facas isso!

BS pelo norte de Italia

Ja melhoraste mas este ano parece mesmo ser do Moncao!

Eu diria que a equipa esta em crescimento. Notam-se os bons resultados na Europa onde mesmo perdendo, perdes por poucos. Vamos ver agora nos playoffs se consegues chegar aos oitavos

February 4th, 2033 - So many changes Mid of the table was more than what was expected at the beginning of the season, so there was nobody really complaining when the team loses a few games here and there…still in the mind of the players was the idea, that the playoffs were not really that far away and a revenge win against Plymouth Argyle by a solitary goal from Patrik Maric, did little to convince the players otherwise. The club was also growing, with the boxing day match home against Huddersfield Town, seeing yet again another record attendance. The 12,500-stadium capacity might be enough if the crowds keep growing and if the club keeps climbing up the ranks like they did recently. The game itself was yet another thriller, 3-3 result with the boys being a man down since very early in the game, making it a small heroic result. The civil year ended with a visit to Peterborough, a team which was also performing better than anyone expected and was sitting in a playoff space. Not a good game… 2032 which was a great year for Sheffield F.C. ends in bittersweet way. The professionalism of the club and the number of better players also caused a few problems, and the beginning of the market sees 4 players leaving. While Junior Cesar, Garcia and Menzan, never had a spot in the starting 11 and wanted to go to greener pastures, Tylor Golden was past his peak, but the biggest transfer was Rigoberto Hernandez who forced the move to Nottingham Forest. With that money the club also tapped into the market and broke their incoming transfer fee for central defender Ken Campbell who had been shining in one of the overachievers of the league. The rest of the players coming in were loans from Burnley and Portugal, with Dolbeth making use of his Portuguese connections to reenforce the defense and the sticker positions in the team. Unfortunately, none of these players made it through the first game of 2033, which was a very early exit from the FA Cup against a League Two team. If it is true that Carlos rotated the squad, it is also true that the quality difference should have been enough to not even bring the game to penalties… But now this was water under the bridge and the first game for the league in 2033 was a visit to giants, Blackburn Rovers. The historic home team was sitting on the top of the table and with Sheffield being one man down since the 17th minute, they can count themselves lucky to leave Ewood Park only 2 goals down. The reality was that Sheffield only shot the ball once on target and it was not an easy game at all. The other two fixtures of January were also far from perfect with the draw home against Brighton coming to the last minute and the defeat at Milwall being again a bad game. Still looking for their first win in 2033, Dolbeth and his boys are now down to the 15th place, but still comfortable… Cronica Leonina! Uma altura com jogos complicado em que mais uma vez faltou a solidez que o Sporting necessitava. Para o campeonato frente a 3 candidatos ao título apenas 2 pontos em 9 possíveis, atiram a equipa para fora da luta pelo título definitivamente. Na Champions uma surpreendente vitoria contra o Dortmund faz com que a equipa tenha garantido uma ida aos playoffs…contra o Benfica. Os morcões fizeram um brilharete e ficam em primeiro! Querem ver que vou voltar a ser temporariamente dragão pela primeira vez desde 2004? Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta!

Isso mesmo Sim foi aquela tusa inicial mas depois... Tudo pode acontecer!

Vai ser certamente o ano do titulo!

Ui Costa Rica...mas a equipa pelo menos 'e forte desde o inicio

Ui sera que vamos ter uma surpresa negativa?