The difficult second album

And so ends my first full season in T100 at West Ham.

The initial boost of results the club saw after my take over had faded towards the end of last season and we finished with a bit of a whimper. Ok a lot of a whimper. Infact whimper probably doesn’t do how badly we finished justice alright so lets leave that there.

Expectations were low for this season, indeed a pre season blog predicted a 15th place finish based on average first team ratings and that was assuming the first team stayed fit, something older players seemed to struggle to do and we do love an aging player in the east end.

Hilton 43/87, Juanfran 35/87, Rukavina 36/87, Diego 35/8, Joaquin 39/87 and Bravo 37/87 were all been recruited to boost squad numbers but also to try and maintain at least an average 87 starting average through the season.

Pre Season was traumatic to say the least as we set off on a 5 game tour and were promptly thwacked in 4 of them achieving only 1 draw. Not the greatest of pre season confidence boosts, but its seems to fit the feeling of impending doom for the season ahead.

A quick trip with the squad to the Queen Vic on the Friday night before he opener helped raise morale and we actually started a lot faster than expected with a draw and 2 wins in the first 3.

However im not quite sure what happened next but the collapse was spectacular. One afternoon we announced the exciting capture of young Englishman abroad, Musah, and all was rosey then…. Oh my what happened then….

Over the course of the next 11 games we would collect just 7 points, we would score only 7 goals and slide down the league faster than a fat kid on the Orbit slide outside the ground.

As points dried up we often had a bigger gathering of fans outside the ground calling for an end to my reign than attending actual games.

The middle of the season saw a slight improvement with wins over the bottom 2 keeping the club hovering in and around the 3rd automatic sacking spot much to the delight of the preying ultras. The 12 games saw us win 4, draw 2 and lose 6.

By this point it wasn’t just the fans that were restless I was becoming more fixated on the automatic sackings than ever before.

Then I had another managerial epiphany. I called in club captain and all round hardman Tomas Sivok and between us we decided to utilise a gap in our schedule (less said about our cup games the better) to take the squad a 2 day trip to Sivoks Czech home town, the delightful and under appreciated Ceske Budejovice. It may sound crazy and taking a squad of 48 players on a 2 day trip to a town with a population of under 100k may not seem like a good idea, well let me tell you this, you are correct. The trip was a disaster, young Joe Scally was arrested for urinating on a tree, Musah spent the entire time telling his agent to get him out, star striker Mata spent more time dancing on tables than relaxing and worst of all Sivok bumped into his high-school girlfriend and promptly announced his retirement from football. In retrospect going to a small Czech town famous for its beer with a group of aging alcoholics was probably a bad idea.

What a shit show. Anyway after 1 night of the proposed 2 we all came home early and vowed never to mention the trip to each other again. Sivok agreed to come back but maintained he would leave for home again at the end of the season.

The final 3rd of the season looked like being as much of a struggle as the first but like any good gaffer it was time to switch it up, out went 532 and in came a snazzy new 4231 formation, Enes Unal wasn’t happy to lose his spot  but then again I wasn’t happy spotting him spray painting the Czech monastery a few days earlier with the phrase “menajerim bir pislik”.

So off we set 16 games to save the season and what a ride it was. Our defence was tighter than before, 65 year old Hiltons new hip was holding up well, fortunately due to his age he’d had it done on the NHS, new keeper Campana proved there was life after Andrade left the club while new boy Konopyanka was doing everything my other forwards couldn’t -  he scored some goals.

The fans began to return and a glorious charge saw us only lose 2 of the last 16, climbing up the dizzy heights of 10th finishing the season with 14 wins 11 draws 13 loses, scoring 39 and conceding 37. The 3rd best defence in the division but also 3rd worst attack.

At his traditional end of season dinner Life Chairman Danny Dyer delighted the players with a rendition of forever blowing bubbles and declared he wants to see Seats at the club for the foreseeable future. He also questioned why he wasn’t invited on the trip to the Czech Republic but I swept that one under the carpet.

On a serious note the strong finish to the season and some pretty interesting looking younger players joining the squad the future looks positive – so long as my defence don’t all retire any time soon.  We do however wave a teary good bye to my most consistent performer Mr Sivok, enjoy your retirement captain.

Up the Irons.

Seats


World Club Cup & Shield Finals

WCC Final

Dan Wallace's much improved D2 side came out on top in a two-legged affair with D1 PSG in what could hardly have been a tighter couple of games.

1st leg

PSG manager Malcolm must have thought he had come away with a great result with a 0-0 draw in Berlin, but the lack of an away goal proved costly in the end.

2nd leg

And it was Hertha who duly scored that crucial away goal, Mario Mandzukic equalising Julian Weigl's opener with just under an hour played.

Man of the Match Marco Reus provided the match-winning performance and assist.

A fantastic win for Hertha, who wrote their name into the record books by becoming the first non-D1 team to win the World Club Cup (although the new tournament format helped with that somewhat).

Hertha rounded off the season with a stunning playoff victory in the league to secure D1 football for the first time in the club's history to cap a magnificent campaign.

PSG manager Malcolm finished in a club record third place in D1, before switching to a new challenge with World Club Shield finalists D5 Augsburg for next season.

WCS Final

D5 Augsburg contested the Shield Final in the absence of a winner from the D4 Divisional tournament.

1st leg

Attack heavy Augsburg dominated the 1st leg in Bavaria with three first half goals.

They ran out of steam, though, and conceded what proved to be a fatal late second goal to give Gladbach two precious away goals.

2nd leg

Incredibly, Augsburg boss Johns quit the club prior to the second leg declaring in a statement issued by the club that:

When I joined the club I was excited to develop the strong youth setup that previous manager Ivan Anic had built, and also to bring in some quality and experience to take us up the table. Unfortunately, I didn't read the small print in the contract which said that I had to wear the manager's special lederhosen that turned out to be a couple of sizes too small for me. They created all kinds of problems for me. I hope to be back in six months....

Under caretaker manager Steve Coppell, Augsburg's players looked completely demoralised and outplayed, and a 1-0 defeat flattered them.

Another away goals victory, and another World Club winner who went on to win their playoff final in the league, securing D2 football next season.

Manager Attila Olah has since joined Internacional in D1, while former Swansea, PSV, Fiorentina and CSKA Moscow boss Lee Adams takes the reigns at Gladbach.

Season 6 A Championship Winning Review

With Season 6 of the greatest Game World on Soccer Manager done and dusted, Hertha Berlin manager and Demi God Mark Stewart gives us an overview of the season in which he managed to secure a second successive division title.

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.


Hertha Berlin Season 5 Review

With season 5 done and dusted Hertha Berlin manager Mark Stewart gives SMTOP100blogspot an overview of the successful season

After the disappointment of failing in the play offs for the second time under Stewart in season 4, fans of Die Alte Dame were hoping for new faces to be brought in, in the hope that Berlin could challenge again.

Stewart did scour the market during the close season but come Match day 1 - not one squad player was brought in. This led to murmurs of discontent in the streets of Berlin with many claiming Stewart had been spending to much time spotting trams and had lost his marbles.



However the man from Cardiff had been working hard in training and trying new formations in friendlies. He stated “I was confident with my side come the start of the season. I had moved Andrea Poli from Right Back to Centre Midfield during the pre season friendlies and that gave the side a more balanced look. This was coupled with the emergence of early Stewart buys Jose Gomez and Dario Benedetto gaining plus 2 rating rises from 85 -87 respectively. “This solved the Right Back problem with Gomez making the position his own and Benedetto having a decent season as a replacement for Ben Yedder and Muriel”.



On the opening day of the season Berlin competently brushed a resurgent Bremen aside 2-0. They carried on the style going on a club record 11 match unbeaten run, which also led his side to the top of the table. A position they would occupy for the next 27 games.

After losing for the first time Match Day 12 Stewart realised maybe a little more strength in depth was needed. He scoured the transfer market and brought in Tranbzonspor winger Volkan Sen for £6m plus Lee Jones and Gabriel Silva from Marseille for £7m plus youth striker Fred Friday.





Sen went on to play a pivotal part as an impact player, taking part in 25 games - 13 of which were substitute appearances. He netted a massively important 8 goals, most of which were late on at crucial times.















Silva made the left Back spot his own, settling in seamlessly - offering pace and reliability on the left hand side




“I now felt my squad was complete and we were playing with gusto, attacking as a unit and defending like tigers”. From that first defeat at home to Montpellier the Germans went on to only lose a further three times all season.

“I think I realised we had the title when later in the season and up against Montpellier - who incidentally had ended our record unbeaten run  we faced the prospect of 9 first team regulars missing through suspension or injury. Many other sides may have crumbled but not Berlin, Stewart trusted his squad players and rather than go ultra defensive as he had initially planned he decided to go for it playing an attacking formation. This worked a treat as the patched up side won a thriller 4-3.

During Berlins run Malaga had embarked on a colossal unbeaten run but The German’s were not fazed as they themselves broke the club record for unbeaten league run for the second time in the same season recording the final 12 games without defeat and lift the Division 5 title.

This sparked wild scenes of celebrations with the fans and they partied day and night proclaiming Stewart the greatest manager in the clubs history. However little did they know that current Youth Cup Champions and Division One side Valencia had slapped a name your price contract on the table for the in demand manager.

Stewart explains “I thought long and hard and agonised day and night over what to do. I went through permutations in my head and envisaged rebuilding Valencia. However after much soul searching I concluded that I couldnt leave Berlin yet. I have invested so much time and energy in this club  by completely rebuilding and I genuinely believe we can challenge for honours next season”.


The Future

So now Stewart has declared his intent to stay what does the future hold for Die Alte Dame? We are now in the close season and no transfer activity has taken place yet.

Stewart said “Of course I’m in the market, but lets get this straight. I wont make transfers for the sake of it, if a player cant improve my side without upsetting the balance, then obviously I wont bring them in” The boys I have here have proven their worth with a title - it may be the lowest divsion but its still a great achievement against a host of other experienced top managers and they deserve a chance to shine at a higher level without being broken up”

The Players

We take a look at some of the shining stars of the season and who are the future main players of Berlin.

Wissam Ben Yedder - Mr Berlin himself, a great season playing unselfishly in working hard for the team. Once again he recorded the highest average rating in the squad and chipped in with 13 league goals. He can definitely shine in higher divsions

Luis Muriel - Has found his place as the central attacking midfielder in the side. Didnt chip in with to many goals but his unselfish play and high average ratings made him a key component of the side. Dont let Muriels lack of goals distort your thinking, the guy is a class striker but the balance works well with him playing just behind Ben Yedder and he will continue to play well in higher divsions

Vladimir Darida - Central Midfield lynchpin and free kick taker. The diminutive Czech chipped in with 9 goals all from free kicks last year. His unlimited energy and vision for a killer pass demonstrate the importance to the team

John Terry - Serial Shagger and general twat Terry was seen wearing a Chievo Verona and Celtic kit after their respective promotions. He may be a prick but he totally held the defence together last year and will continue to do so next year

Fringe Players

Alfie Mawson - The young central defender is the heir to Terry’s throne. If he continues his real life form a ratings rise from 85 will surely happen soon and when it does he will be seeing game time. I see the lad as a future England star so it would take a special bid for me to even consider parting with him

Florian Lejeuene - Will step in for Wes Morgan at centre back when his inevitable ratings rise comes. He had a fantastic season for Eibar in real life last season and similar perfrmances for Newcastle will surely see him rise soon

Walter Gargano - Now 32 years old but still continues to be an animal in the centre of the park when called upon, he will feature mainly from the bench next season and having chipped in with greta performances this season I expect the same for season 6

Aaron Mooy - The Aussie midfielder has it all. He can pass has a great shot, boundless energy and is great in the tackle, having won the Championship player of the year for Huddersfield last season I am confident he will raise in ratings this season by surprising premier league sides with his quality.



Conclusion

All in all you cant ask for much more in a season we won the league with style, we attacked throughout, we scored goals, we hardly conceded. The stat’s dont lie as the table above shows.
We have had a taste of success and want more. There is no reason why we cant challenge next season.

When drawn on his long term future Stewart stated “I’ll take each season as it comes, I have a desire to test myself at the top and we will see what happens after next season”. So will the mercurial, personable Cardiffian stay? Only time will tell - keep your eyes on season 6 and all will surely be revealed….





Lustenberger admits his performances for Hertha have been hindered by incontinence problems





Image result for der tagesspiegel

Hertha's ex-captain again speaks toLustenberger: "I have never pissed myself"

For the first time after his dismissal as captain of Hertha BSC 
Fabian Lustenberger expresses himself again extensively. 
And it works quite well.
BY 
I say, you can play better without a bandage. Coach Pal Dardai in conversation with Fabian Lustenberger.
I say, you can play better without a bandage. 
Coach Pal Dardai in conversation with Fabian Lustenberger. PHOTO: REUTERS



Fabian Lustenberger had the free choice. He was the first to come out on the terrace and chose a place where the sun shines in his face. In his back is the team hotel of Hertha BSC, a classy five-star hotel, with tower and battlements as a medieval castle. Fabian Lustenberger has left the fortress, and this is quite symbolic. For a good six months he has not spoken publicly. When he came from the training ground, he looked fixedly at the journalist or entertained with a colleague; He has blocked all interview questions. "I think I could take it out," he says. "I've never been hiding or, extremely, pissed."
That Fabian Lustenberger did not disturb the fact that he was a bit offended.
The impression was not wrong. In the summer, Pal Dardai dismissed the Swiss from one day to the next as captain and instead Vedad Ibisevic took office . "I had a few days to do with it", says Lustenberger - also because he was completely surprised by the decision. He was a captain for three years, and at first glance, there was no reason to withdraw from him, the most active player at Hertha. There was nothing reprehensible, Lustenberger did nothing bad. Dardai expected from his captain a somewhat more extroverted kind of internal leadership.
"I told Lusti that without the bandage he would be a much better footballer for us and he will play with me again. That's how it came, " Dardai said recently in an interview with the Tagesspiegel. "He is now really good." So the decision was correct. Lustenberger must laugh when he is asked whether he is now a better footballer without a tie. He had not played badly during the three years as captain, he replied, "although this is partly so carried over".
And yet it is a fact that Hertha's coach team was not particularly pleased with him at the end of the previous season that internally even was speculated on a causal link between his contract extension in March (until 2019) and the performance drop in the backround. Just as the squad was more and more playful, Dardai would have hoped for more resistance from his captain. But even or straight Lustenberger could not give the team the necessary support.

In the midfield he gets "a bit more action"

That was different in the first half of the season. The 28-year-old Lustenberger also played a part in the fact that the Berliners were the top runners-up in the soccer league. "I've shown the right reaction with my training, so I've come back," he says. The speculations that he would never play an exposed role at Hertha have quickly turned out to be invalid. In 13 of the 16 previous seasons, Lustenberger was on the pitch, and always in the starting line. Twice he was injured, only Dardai voluntarily surrendered against FC Augsburg - because he wanted to have more body length on the field against the robust Augsburger.
Hertha's coach has long been one of Lustenberger's top performers; And unlike some of his predecessors, he does not see him as an internal defender, but again explicitly in the defensive midfield - "because he can read the game". Lustenberger is also playing on this position now, because there is "a bit more action". He has become accustomed to the increased physical strain in the midfield. At first Dardai had often felt after 70 minutes that he had to take Lustenberger off the pitch, "but he did well."
As in the small, this also applies on a large scale. "He's never going to swallow it," Dardai said about Lustenberger's abdication as captain. That is human. What is important is that the anger does not radiate on its performance, at least not negatively. Dardai has even sought psychological advice on how to handle the matter best, so that no injuries will be left behind by his previous captain.Herthas coach did not take the matter lightly. "Phew," says Fabian Lustenberger, "I do not know how easy or difficult it has been. He gave me the chance, and I used it. That is the decisive thing for me. "
Follow the sports news on Twitter:

This was a translated page from Der Tagesspiegal - not made up by me!

Hertha Berlin, The Season so far

Having failed to make the Division five play off’s in Season three, manager Mark Stewart set about planning for season four.


Stewart’s team planning involved risking the wrath of the fans, as the manager unveiled plans to let favourites Valentin Stocker and Balazs Dzsudzsak go.

Stewart called a fans and press meeting at the training ground to explain his decision stating that although Dzsudzsak had been a fantastic servant to the club time was not on his side, and a deal had been pre agreed to bring young Japanese attacking player Yoshinori Muto to the club in exchange.

The manager also unveiled plans to let Stocker go in exchange for Italian war horse Andrea Poli, He went on to explain that Poli would solve the right back problem and Muto although not at the level of Dzsudzsak would bring quality and potential to the side.

The only other major signings were Wes Morgan - who joined in exchange for Helder Costa and Luca Bergomi from Besiktas and Sergio Oliveira for £5.2m from Gil Vicente. Stewart was quick to point out that Oliveira was not expected to see much game time but he hoped that the Portuguese midfielder would improve and challenge for a place in the future.

The Season

Hopes were high at Olympiastadion after a decent pre season and Stewart publicly stating that the club would guarantee finish 10th or above. In true Berlin fashion they started just as they did in season three with two defeats.

Fortunately things turned around and Berlin managed to win their next four games setting a new club record. Things then went sour for the Germans as they started dropping points regularly. By match day 19 the club had dropped to eleventh in the table.

Desperate to change things Stewart moved in the transfer market to bring in Willy Caballero from RCD Espanyol for £4m. Since bringing in the Argentine stopper things have improved, Berlin recorded a good 0-0 draw away to promotion chasing Independiente, then followed that up with wins against Brugge and West Brom, and most recently an away draw to fellow play off hopeful’s Cologne.
With fifteen games to play the fans still have faith in the manager and will go all out to try and make the play off spots.

The Players

Stewart said about the players “overall I have been pretty happy with the squad and have compiled an update about our key performers which is listed below.

Wissam Ben Yedder -  hasn’t yet repeated his form of last season but seven goals and three assists to date isn’t a bad return, and I have full confidence in the lad firing regularly before the end of the season. In real life Ben Yedder has been scintillating for Seville where he has scored 15 times in 20 games (cups included) after seeing the recent reviews I was disappointed he only got a plus one rise to 89, but I’m sure that 90 rating isn’t to far away”.

Luis Muriel - The mercurial Colombian has carried on improving on from last season and has seven goals and four man of the match awards, He offers us versatility being able to play attacking midfield or up front. I’m mystified as to why there was no ratings rise as he has been very good in real life amidst being the subject of much transfer speculation, hopefully he will rise to 89 at the end of the season.

John Terry - the club captain has continued to improve after a below average start to his career in Berlin and has really settled in well alongside Wes Morgan, His three team of the week awards have shown his value and he has said he will battle to the end to help get Berlin up.

Florian Thauvin - the flying French winger continues to wow the fans and has weighed in with four goals, seven assists and two man of the match awards already this season, He is the creative spark in the engine and is indispensible to the team at present. In real life he has been in fantastic form back in Marseille and if he can keep it up a ratings rise and call up to the French national side may well be a possibility.

Vladimir Darida - The lad disappointed overall in season three and halfway into season four he hadn’t lived up to expectations. I called a meeting with him and to instill confidence informed him I was making him set piece taker. That was seven games ago and in that period the Czech dynamo has scored four times, assisted once and made the team of the week. Like John Terry, Darida is respected and valued by his peers and now his confidence is back he will be key in driving the team on which I’m sure he will do.

Walter Gargano - the midfield powerhouse has carried on his good form from the end of last season and he is having the best season of his career statistically. The Uruguayan has so far weighed in with four goals, five assists, three man of the match and four team of the week awards. He adds steel in the centre of the park and has a bullet shot when he gets the chance to go forward, I hope he will stay with us until the end of his career, as an exemplary professional he sets a great example to the younger players.

Looking Forward

With fringe players like Sergio Oliveira, Scott Hogan and Charlie Taylor all looking to have great careers ahead of them the foundations have been laid. Obviously promotion is the clubs aim but the division is very tough this year with everyone capable of beating everyone. I dont envisage any transfer activity between now and the end of the season, and as usual I will review the squad then and make the necessary changes. I have taken the club to my heart since being appointed and as long as I’m able to I’ll continue putting in the hours and striving to get the club up the divisions and make the fans proud.



Hertha Review

Hertha Berlin Review & Manager Biography

Welcome to my latest blog telling you about my time at Hertha Berlin....and if your still awake after reading it  I have included a biopic about myself in real life to let you get to know me a bit better



The Top 100 - Hertha Berlin

I joined the league on March 6th, after Stephen Beddows invited me, following a Facebook comment on the Soccer Manager page. The season was 16 games in and Berlin sat in 5th place. My aim was promotion and the side I had was pretty good. 

Under my guidance we managed 10 wins 7 draws and 5 defeats, scoring 49 and conceding 31 with a season total of 75 goals scored (the 2nd top scorers outside of the top flight) we finished 4th, securing a play off spot which we lost to Celtic 3-1.

I was not happy at failing to go up so thought long and hard about next seasons aims, after discussions with the chairman I have set a target of 76 points in the league.

The Squad

I inherited a good first team and my star players were Demba Ba, Balazs Dzsudzsak, Vladimir Stocker, Vladimir Darida and Alexandre Pato. We lacked young players though so the majority of the transfer budget went on signing 27 players - most of those were 22 or under. The 22 games I was in charge gave me a chance to assess everyone and for the coming season I decided changes were needed to freshen up the squad.

First out the door was my old enemy and part time pie seller - Emiliano Viviano he was booted out in exchange for Rene Adler and £3m

Rene Adler

Emiliano Viviano


                                                         
After long and hard deliberation Demba Ba the man who scored a 7.52 rating, hit 15 goals, 11 assists and 7 man of the match awards went in exchange for Luis Muriel, Paul-Jose Mpoku and £9m. John Terry - £2m, Florian Thauvin - £10m and Damian Suarez £2.8m also came in to take the new signings total to 5. Walter Montillo is the only other player to join Ba and Viviano in departing. Over the next few weeks I still hope to do more business with 1 or 2 coming in and 1 or 2 leaving.

Luis Muriel

The New Season

My hopes and aims for next season are simply to be promoted, ideally automatically. Berlin will enter the youth cup but I don't expect us to be front runners and the domestic cups will be an opportunity for the reserves to gain some experience.

I expect a very tough and exciting season in division 5, the four relegated clubs will all be looking to bounce back and ourselves, Celtic, Santos, Olympiacos, Anderlecht, Brugges and Independiente will all be in the mix to I'm sure.

My aim is to entertain the fans and play with a swagger. I demand goals and will be encouraging attacking play at every opportunity. Hopefully this approach and a combination of formations I aim to rotate throughout the season will see us succeed.

Mark Stewart The Person

About me.......where to start? well I'm 40 years old and from Cardiff. I support Cardiff City and Man United and I first got into football in 1983 when I watched my first ever game - Man United v Brighton in the FA Cup Final. I decided to support the winner, which United won 4-0 after a replay.



In 1987 I discovered live football and started standing on the old Bob Bank Terrace at Ninian Park, the home of Cardiff City FC. Ninian Park was a special place for me which generated a phenomenal atmosphere that fired my passion for the game.

The Bob Bank
I loved the experience of lower division football in the 90's and travelled the country watching the mighty Bluebirds, visiting all sorts of places like Rochdale, Barnet, Wrexham, Maidstone, Bristol Rovers, Middlesborough.....the list goes on.

For all the games I watched though my  favourite was in 2003 when we played Leeds United who were top of the Premier League in the FA Cup 3rd round. We were 2 divisions below them and live on Sky in front of a capacity crowd and the very best atmosphere I have ever experienced.... we triumphed 2-1 which sparked wild scenes of celebration.

[youtube=[www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNLXVEw8JOs&w=320&h=266])


Other notable highlights include trips to Wembley for the FA Cup Semi Final and Final in 2008 and the League One Play Off Final in 2003.
As a Man United fan nothing will ever beat the treble winning season in 1999 and euphoria of the way we lifted the Champions League. Plus every game that we've beaten Liverpool :)



Football is such a big part of my life I loved playing the game as a child and played parks football until my early 30's. I still have the odd kick about but am garbage now. 

My experience of playing football management games actually stretches back 30 years when I started playing Football Manager on the ZX Spectrum! From there I moved onto the amazing Championship Manager which almost took over my life until I banned myself from playing it in 2004. After a long sabbatical I yearned to play a management game again and discovered Soccer Manager in around 2010.

The father of all football management games, originally released in 1982!!!

I also enjoy reading about football and my favourite books to date are Diego Maradonna's autobiography, Soul Crew and The Miracle of Castel Di Sangro (a gem of a book, Stephen Beddows if you haven't read it I'm sure it would be right up your street)

A fantastic read, I recommend to any football fan

My favourite players in my lifetime have been Diego Maradona (for me the best ever). 
Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs and Christiano Ronaldo. My favourite Cardiff players have been Nathan Blake, Phil Stant and Cohen Griffiths

The iconic image of Maradona running at Belgium...see the fear in the 5 defenders faces

Away from football i enjoy watching boxing, playing poker, getting drunk on Vodka and going to the gym. I have worked for the government for the past 17 years, in late 2014 I decided to join the Reserve  Army and I spent 8 months training. I received my army number and was sworn in, I was one course from qualifying when I quit in July 2015. It was a great experience though and was brilliant for character and strength building.

me and the Mrs

In my personal life I have a girlfriend of one year and have never had children, I love socialising and treat everyone with respect, I look up to no man and look down to no man, I'm happy go lucky and try and live life to the full. Right now I'm eagerly awaiting the European Championships, it will be a special tournament for Wales as the first tournament we have qualified for in my lifetime. Hopefully we can stick one on the English :) and qualify from the group, anything else is a bonus. Anyway I hope you have enjoyed my piece I'm off to eat a bag of Skittles, until next time......

Hertha Berlin New Manager Club Review

New Hertha Berlin manager Mark Stewart gives us his thoughts on joining the Top 100 and how life is treating him in Berlin.

Stewart took up the managerial reigns on March 5th 2016, with the club in 5th place chasing promotion and fans were eager to find out more about their new manager.

Hertha Berlin Overview



Stewart who’s hobbies include eating Skittles and drinking Vodka  quickly pointed out he wasn’t going to be a short term option like the clubs previous four managers and said he hoped to bring stability and success to the club.

Stewart goes on to state “I took time to assess my squad and overall was pleased, I didn’t want to make wholesale changes but had to get rid of a couple to bring new players in”. The fall guys were 37 year old Tim Howard and 31 year old Glenn Johnson moving on for £4.4m and £6m respectively. “I realised I wasn’t going to be able to bring any big name players in with a modest budget,and being in the bottom division. So I set my sights on the future spending the received transfer money plus kitty money on 19 players, the vast majority of which are under 23 years old”

Hertha Berlins life in the league has improved since Stewarts arrival the Germans have picked up 6 wins, 3 draws and suffered 3 defeats in Stewart’s tenure. The pick of the results have been a 3-3 away draw to fellow promotion hopefuls Stuttgart, 3-1 down with 15 minutes to go Berlin struck twice to save a point and show the fans they are up for the fight and will never give up.

They followed this by beating fellow promotion hopefuls Santos 3-2 with a late winner again coming this time in the 81st minute. Most recently Berlin have climbed to 3rd place with 3-0 and 5-0 wins against Flamengo and Twente. Stewart has said automatic promotion is the aim and we are fully focussed on getting the prize.

Stewart was asked about his most valuable players and diplomatically said everyone had a major part to play but did point out the strike force of Alexandro Pato and Demba Ba plus the enigmatic winger Balasz Dsudaks were key to the formation and tactics and had contributed massively to picking up 21 points from a possible 36 in his reign.

Top 100 Overview

I hadn’t managed in such a professional organised league before this and my initial thoughts were to sell Pato and Ba for big money, luckily I didn’t rush into this as I quickly realised I wouldn’t find good and experienced enough able replacements so rejected bids for both.

I have been made to feel very welcome and love the interaction on the news feeds and blogs, There are some great writers here who make me chuckle with their updates. My aim is to be a long serving manager in this league and I want to try and build a great foundation and future for Hertha Berlin.

Thanks for reading my update and I hope to post again soon









Big Bertha Bolsters Backline with Bonera

In a shrewd move for Hertha, Daniele Bonera as signed a deal with the club to help give the club more options in defense.

Hertha manager, The Good Doctor Fox, has been quoted as being delighted with the signing and believes his new signing is not just here to make up the numbers:


“We have signed Daniele as he has been a dominant force in any back line he has played in, I am thrilled he has agreed to join us and I am positive he will make a huge contribution to this club”.


Daniele Bonera (34) has signed an initial 3 season deal with the club.

Fox’s team have now brought in 3 new signings with 0 leaving the club. Fox has been asked about the finances of the club, declaring that there are no real issues:

“We are happy with how things are going at the moment and I don’t believe at all that we are in a situation where we need to sell to improve things. I am actually enjoying the strength in depth we are starting to accumulate. Inevitably in this sport, players do come and go so if we get the right offer here or there, we may end up accepting something but so far we have had nothing that makes us feel like we need to sell”.

With the curtain raiser of the season happening this evening, Fox was also asked about his preparation with the squad:

“I’m absolutely delighted at the moment. The lads have worked really hard, the new lads have integrated well and we have enjoyed a strong pre-season as a result. There were one or two hiccups which I think have now been addressed and we are all happy and confident and can’t wait to get the inaugural season, of what is no doubt going to be a fantastic set up. Let the games begin!”.

Big Bertha Sign's The Good Doctor


In what can only be described as a coup for the club, Hertha BSC have captured The Good Doctor Fox. The young, experienced manager has ventured in many leagues and game worlds but, over the past 12 months, his passion has waned and he almost bowed out of management altogether. We caught a word with Fox who, in a heartfelt, emotionally fueled interview expressed that






"There are important factors than dictate all aspects of ones life and, for a time, some of those factors far overruled my tenure as a Soccer Manager. I went into somewhat obscurity and resigned from a lot of game worlds but I believe I am starting to gain my passion back again and it is in no small part to Mr. Hirst, his ability to run a game world is second to none and his commitment is admirable. 

Hertha looked like a tremendous opportunity to try out a new style of management that focuses only on what I look for in a player, not buying for the applause of another manager, or to make it seem that I have an unlimited scouting knowledge. I don't.
I know the players that I know, and I don't want to depend on Google to dictate who I sign. I sign players who I believe can do a job and who I know the in's and out's of. This will be a bold, unconventional and perhaps mocked strategy but I believe this will be best for Hertha and much more exciting."


Big Bertha - Hertha Chairwoman 

It wasn't just Frank Hirst who talked Fox into coming out of semi-retirement, Hertha Chairwoman, Big Bertha, also raised his eyebrows. Which has sparked a lot of media speculation and rumour as to an alternative reasoning Fox agreed to the proposition.

"Big Bertha is a saint and I will have nothing said against her. She made me an offer I couldn't refuse, Lord bless her. I don't know where these rumours came from. All I know is that she is a strong-minded woman who knows what she is doing in more ways than one!"



Right to Left: Glen Johnson and Tim Howard both signed last night.

It seems that Big Bertha wasted no time in providing "The Good Doctor" with funds to sign players that adhered to his aforementioned philosophy either, Glen Johnson and Tim Howard both passed medicals last night and the club look set for more activity as Fox looks to strengthen with a central defender and a striker.

"I have two players in mind who I want to bring in and indeed and offer has been made for one of them. Big Bertha has been generous with the transfer kitty so I could bring Glen and Tim in but I don't want her well to run dry. I may need to offload one or two to progress but I am very optimistic we can get the wheels turning for my new strategy before that start of the season."

Hertha BSC have their first game of the season on Sunday 16th August at home to Hamburger SV.