[STORY] His Last Bow - Samsami moves to Saints!

[samsami]

Breaking News - Samsami moves to Saints!




This remarkable news was announced by BBC Sport late last night and confirmed by Southampton Football Club this morning.

More news will follow soon!

[AJ]

ahhhh. Bring it on!

[ebfatz]

Was always going to be.

Good luck!

[Vèrkûh]

He's back already!

[JayFlo]

100% following as a Saints fan!

Feel free to hire me as fans liaison officer.

[Redknapp69]

will be watching this

[samsami]

Press Conference with new Saints manager

On Monday 13th July 2015, there was a press conference for journalists and reporters where they were introduced to the new Saints manager.

These are some notes from that press conference.

Why Saints, sir?

I was ready for a new challenge after my years with Feyenoord and with Tottenham. Southampton has a good team and there's the Feyenoord connection, of course. Koeman started that and I'm sure we can attract more Feyenoord players if we need to.



So are you planning to change the squad drastically and sign many more Feyenoord players in the near future?

Probably not in the first year. Unless players insist on leaving the club, of course. Then I won't stop them. But first I want to get to know our players better and see how well they perform, week after week.

What is your expectation for this first season?

Well, the Board expects 'a respectable league position' this season. That seems fair enough and we shall see how far we can get. We definitely aim for European football, of course. And then we shall need to sign more players. But like I said, first of all I'd like to get to know the team better. And that will take time.

One thing is certain, though. This will be my biggest challenge so far. After that horrible relegation in 2005 things looked very, very bleak for some years. Since 2012 we have been back in the Premier League ending in 14th, 8th and 7th position. The challenge is to make it one step further every year now!

One last question, sir. When it was announced on Friday that you moved to Southampton the phrase 'his last bow' was used by one of the journalists. Was he quoting you?

I have no idea who he was quoting. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I presume.

Thank you very much, sir, and good luck!

[samsami]

Saints defeat FC Aarau in Switzerland

We already had to play our first Intertoto Cup match in Switzerland on 18th July against FC Aarau. And the team made a very good first impression! Juanmi (who replaced the injured Sadio Mané) scored the opening goal after just two minutes!

After that first goal Wanyama found the net twice while Tadic scored a penalty to give us a 4-0 lead at half time!

In the second half we seemed to have run out of steam, though. However, as this is only our first match since the summer holidays there's no reason to worry.

The nice thing is that these kind of games can help the team develop and mature before the Premier League season starts.



Because the whole team played well we cannot draw any conclusions yet and even though our opponent was not all that impressive a 4-1 victory is always a good way to start the season!

Spoiler!

[AJ]

what .tct is this?

[samsami]

what .tct is this?

For now the same as I used with Spurs. That worked really well, at least we conceded very few goals that way.



Not sure if I will continue to use this, though. I might try Jay Rodriguez as AMC. And we have Ward-Prowse who might like that role, but he's still young.

[zionmaster]

Is it no WIBWOB tactic???

[samsami]

Is it no WIBWOB tactic???

It's a Wib/Wob tactic that I have adapted, but I have installed the strongest AI tactics.

So that makes it extra challenging.

I also used these AI tactics in my Feyenoord Story and my Spurs Story. It makes it tough as you can tell when you have checked out my two previous stories.

[Redknapp69]

easy win

Ahhhhhhhh - I'm somewhat disapointed it's a wib wob tactic - never realised you did that - not a fan of them myself

Usually stop reading stories that do have them but I like your writing style so will obviously keep following

[samsami]

easy win

Ahhhhhhhh - I'm somewhat disappointed it's a wib wob tactic - never realised you did that - not a fan of them myself

Usually stop reading stories that do have them but I like your writing style so will obviously keep following

Thanks! And like I said, the computer uses very strong Wib-Wob tactics. As you have seen in my previous stories, it's a huge challenge to win the title, even with Feyenoord. It keeps things remarkably realistic.

I also hate using Wib/Wob tactics against default computer tactics. That makes things very, very boring.

[samsami]

Saints defeat FC Aarau at St.Mary's as well

With the exact same lineup as in the first leg we played the return match against FC Aarau at St.Mary's.

After a pathetic first half and a much needed half-time team talk the lads seemed to finally realise that they have to prove themselves; Wanyama set the example by scoring after just six minutes and he went on to find the net two more times to score his first hat-trick of the season!



So not a bad a game, after all. And if there's one player who has made his mark in these first two test matches it's Victor Wanyama!

Another player who has surprised us in a positive way so far is Juanmi. As long as Mané is injured Juanmi gets to play and he seems keen to grab his chance.

Spoiler!

We will give them all another chance in the next two Intertoto Cup matches against Spartak Trnava.

[Redknapp69]

The DM lynchpin has an eye for goal

[samsami]

The DM lynchpin has an eye for goal

lol....yes.....5 goals in two matches
But Aarau can't be taken seriously.

[JayFlo]

That's already over doubled his Saints tally IRL!

Juanmi and Ramirez both get minutes in the cup IRL but are knocking on the door to start

Where have the assists come from? Bertrand, Mane, Tadic and JWP are the main culprits normally

Any eyes on transfers?

[samsami]

That's already over doubled his Saints tally IRL!

Juanmi and Ramirez both get minutes in the cup IRL but are knocking on the door to start

Where have the assists come from? Bertrand, Mane, Tadic and JWP are the main culprits normally

Any eyes on transfers?

Assists have come from Bertrand, Clasie, Soares, Tadic and Juanmi.

No transfer news yet!

[ebfatz]

Just realised that this means you have Gallagher back in your squad again doesn't it?

Will he get games like he did for Spurs?

[samsami]

Just realised that this means you have Gallagher back in your squad again doesn't it?

Will he get games like he did for Spurs?

Correct, but I'm afraid he's not nearly as good as before the October update: CR=111 PR=113

[Coys]

That's a bug Samsami. He's 113 CR and -1 potential in editor. Happens to 100's of players who seem to load with their PA the same as their CA.

[samsami]

That's a bug Samsami. He's 113 CR and -1 potential in editor. Happens to 100's of players who seem to load with their PA the same as their CA.

I checked and you're right. Oh well, happens in IRL, too. Many youth players seem to have lots of potential and yet never make it.
Perhaps it's not a bug? Perhaps -1 means a random number (starting at 0) added to the current rating?

[Coys]

No. -1 and -2 are random potential values:

-1 PA:

90% chance for the potential being between 80-160
10% chance for between 120-200

-2 PA:

90% chance for random between 120-199
10% chance for random between 160-198

[JayFlo]

Gallagher will never play regular PL football for Saints - if I am wrong.....well I won't be.