Welcome back to Portugal for another installment of my FM21 journeyman series!
In Part 14, Shama Deadman unveiled a new-look Espinho squad ahead of the 2023/2024 Terceira Liga season. He’s also enlisted a Dutch legend to help him build a team that can finish in the top half – or even challenge for promotion.
Today’s chapter will officially kick off the new campaign, as we track the Tigres’ fortunes over the first four months, from August until November. Has Shama got the eye of the tiger, or is he facing an early knockout? Seconds out, Season 4…
AUGUST 2023
After signing 13 players in pre-season, there was always a sense that it would take time for my rebuilt team to gel together. With that in mind, how did Espinho kick off my first full season in charge?
Well… not great, to be honest! But we didn’t lose, so there was that!
We actually made the best possible start against Real, with star striker Miguel Pereira volleying in a header from Álvaro Milhazes to break the deadlock after just 30 seconds! The visitors hit back to lead 2-1 at half-time, but another Milhazes assist for Pereira midway through the second half saw us come away with a richly-deserved point.
Now, if ever there was a match we didn’t deserve to take anything from, it was this one.
We hardly created anything, we were very sloppy in possession, and new club captain Abel Pereira was a liability in defence. But despite overwhelming us from start to finish, Alverca took their chances about as well as Hélder Postiga at Tottenham! We were VERY lucky to escape with a goalless draw!
Trofense at home was another struggle, but this time, we were just as wasteful in front of goal as our opponents. We hit the woodwork several times before our luck turned four minutes from full-time, when defender Sylvestre Costa lifted a long ball over the defence, sending Miguel clear to snatch our first victory!
Of course, we followed that up with another pitiful stalemate at Amora. We had 18 shots at goal, but just one on target – a header from Sylvestre. Miguel did find the net early in the second half, but he was caught offside, summing up a miserable evening for him.
It was also a night to forget for record signing Rodrigo Gui, who broke a couple of ribs in just his second game for us. That was the playmaker’s second moderate injury since arriving three weeks earlier. Oh gawd, PLEASE don’t tell me we’ve signed the Portuguese Jack Wilshere!
Anyway, that’s six points from four games, leaving us in 12th place. A decent start, but there was still room for improvement…
SEPTEMBER 2023
…so I brought in a couple of defensive midfielders – both from Guinea, and both named Ibrahima. We actually had Ibrahima Guirassy on trial in pre-season but failed to agree terms. Now, though, the robust ex-Varzim destroyer was ready to compromise and join us on an initial season-long deal.
I also took a punt on Ibrahima Bah – a former Bastia youth player who’s very much one for the future. He’s an aggressive tackler, but lacks determination and ambition, so he’ll need some help to fulfil his potential. Hey, I’m up for a challenge!
Now, I’ve got a couple of questions for you guys…
Firstly, how on Earth do you get heat stroke after jumping for an aerial challenge? Does our young right-back Martim Ferreira need round-the-clock suncream? That could explain why he’s only averaged 6.58 over his first four games, I guess.
Secondly, how did we lose 3-2 at home to Oliveirense – after being 2-0 up with half an hour to play?! To be fair, the visitors were 2nd after making a strong start, and we had to finish the match with 10 men after Adilson Silva strained his groin. But even by our standards, that’s quite a choke!
And to think it all started so well when forward Daouda Guèye set up another goal for Miguel Pereira before breaking his Espinho duck. The tide turned when new boy Guirassy cheaply lost possession, which resulted in Oliveirense’s Miguel Lima pulling one goal back. Adilson’s injury – shortly after I made my final sub – shook our confidence further, and Lima scored twice more in the 82nd and 94th minutes to complete the turnaround.
Following a third successive 0-0 away draw (at Louletano), we bounced back with a strong second-half display to beat Olhanense. Guèye scored again (but then injured his groin) before 17-year-old André Raposo got off the mark. Although the Leões briefly threatened a comeback of their own, Miguel quickly killed them off by making it 3-1 from a one-two with playmaker José Maçãs.
A strong end to September saw us climb to 11th place – five points off the pacesetters. Miguel Pereira was joint-2nd in the ‘Golden Espadrille’ race, having already scored FIVE goals in seven matches! Just to remind you, ‘Drago’ was only on FOUR goals when I took charge 19 games into the previous campaign!
OCTOBER 2023
Our cautious optimism continued into Round 2 of the Taça de Portugal. Though non-league Condeixa couldn’t be broken down in the first period, pressing forward Vasco Costa made all the difference after coming on at half-time. Vasco managed to score twice, with Miguel also on target as we strolled to a 3-0 win.
We were rewarded with a Round 3 tie at home to Segunda Liga side Gil Vicente, who were relegated from the Primeira last season. But if our next league match was anything to go by, we wouldn’t stand a chance.
Berço‘s three centre-forwards absolutely annihilated us with shot after shot in a one-sided contest. With our defence in disarray, Kadú had to produce another superhuman goalkeeping performance to keep them at bay… at least until they finally broke through in the 74th and 82nd minutes.
After a humbling 2-0 defeat, the international break came at just the right time. Now we could recharge our batteries, refocus our minds, and hope our best players didn’t pick up any injuries before the big cup game.
For heaven’s sake.
(And NO, smart guy, he’s torn his rectus, NOT his rectum. It’s a quad muscle in the thigh.)
With Drago on the sidelines, Guèye had to step up and lead our attack against Gil Vicente. After we survived some early attacks from the visitors, we got our first chance at around the half-hour mark. Former captain Mica Conceição delivered this fantastic cross from right-back, and Daouda did the rest.
The Senegalese forward’s afternoon got better still in the second half. A blistering counter-attack saw Maçãs go clean through, and though his shot was parried by the keeper, Guèye buried the rebound! With that, we secured a 2-0 win, a major cup upset… and the chance to cause an ever bigger one at top-flight Marítimo in November!
Before Marítimo, though, we had to concentrate on beating Marinhense at home. This was much more frustrating, as the visitors scored from a well-worked free-kick early in the second half. We couldn’t muster a reply until the 80th minute, when Vasco came off the bench and headed in a cross by Guèye. Perhaps we didn’t always need Miguel Pereira after all!
But then we ended the month with a shocking display at Pedras Rubras. 17-year-old Nélson Martins gave us the opener from a Milhazes free-kick, only for our newly-promoted opponents to reply with two set-piece goals of their own. Our misery was compounded after the break, when left-back David Santos gave away a soft penalty that consigned us to a 3-1 defeat.
Admittedly, it would be unfair to put all the blame on the defence this time. It was a grey day for Guèye, who spurned at least two very good opportunities, while Raposo couldn’t get involved from the left wing. As a manager, I had to find a way to make our counter-attacks more direct and more potent, else our away-day blues would only get worse.
How things had changed in October. Despite progressing in the cup, taking just one league point from a possible nine meant we plummeted from 11th to 19th. Things were still very tight in the middle of the table, though, so if we could pick up some form again in November, we would surely shoot back up.
NOVEMBER 2023
The month began with a feisty four-goal thriller at home to Benfica CB. Guèye was back to his clinical best here, scoring a couple of equalisers after the Águias Beirãs had twice taken the lead. Credit also to midfielder Ben Davis, who came off the bench to deliver a couple of assists – including this stunning delivery in the 90th minute.
For our next game at Marítimo B, I experimented with a flat 4-4-2 and a back-to-basics, direct counter-attacking approach. The change of tactic reaped dividends, as Conceição put in arguably his best performance of the year. After his deep cross was tapped in by Vasco in the first half, Mica would later convert a penalty to complete an impressive 2-0 win – our first away league victory of the season!
It was back to the 4-2-3-1 when Gondomar paid us a visit four days later, but everything just clicked into place for us. Guèye bagged himself a hat-trick from Rodrigo Gui’s first three assists of the season, to the delight of the Espinho fanbase.
Well… perhaps Antero would overreact if he looked at the league table!
With barely a quarter of the season played, we were already 10 points clear of relegation… and look how close we were to 3rd place! Granted, the top two were already miles ahead, but things were looking very rosy indeed!
But after picking up seven points in eight days, we then had to wait nearly three weeks before returning to action in the Taça de Portugal. We’d already beaten Marítimo’s B team, but could we now upset their seniors and book a place in Round 5?
Sadly not. We defended resiliently throughout the 90 minutes, but it was one silly challenge in the penalty area from Conceição that made all the penalty. The Verdes Rubros scored their penalty, and another major blow 10 minutes later effectively killed our hopes of a fightback.
Isn’t it typical when an in-form striker’s purple patch ends like this? With Guèye’s ankle putting him out until the new year, I now had a major headache. Teenage winger Franculino Djú had only played twice since the end of August after picking up bicep and rib injuries, and now an ACL injury meant he too was likely to be absent until 2024.
Those injuries leave me with only three options at right-wing as I head into December. One of them is Guirassy, who’s much more comfortable as a holding midfielder. So, is it time to give Martins an extended run in the team? Or is this Liam Edwards‘ chance to finally prove that he’s not just a part-timer from south Wales?
But that’s for the next chapter. Before I leave you, though, I just want to update you on my development as a coach.
WHOA, I’M HALFWAY THERE!
First off, I got my UEFA C Licence at the end of September! This is my first continental coaching badge, and the fourth of seven qualifications in total. Only three more to go, and then I’ll have all the licences I need to manage the big clubs!
Considering that I started out with nothing three years ago, I’ve climbed the ladder pretty quickly… but now it’s time to take things easy for a bit. I won’t begin studying for a B Licence until next summer at the earliest, as I want to concentrate on actually coaching my team right now.
As you can see, my attributes have steadily improved over the years, to the point where I can do a decent job on the training field – in certain areas at least. I probably shouldn’t be trusted with the goalkeepers, and I’m still as good at working with youngsters as José Mourinho is.
Some of my attributes have even reached double figures. I’m a strict disciplinarian (regularly handing out fines for poor performances) and regularly hold one-to-one conversations with my players (positive or negative), which explains why my ‘Level Of Discipline’ and ‘Man Management’ attributes are high.
In terms of reputation, I’m now up to 30% – or 1.5*, if you’re like Professor Brian Cox and prefer to look at stars. I’m still a little behind the club’s rep, but at least my players are now trusting and respecting me a bit more. Well… to a point.
Though we arguably have the best coaching set-up in the Terceira, these messages keep popping up in my inbox. Certain players are constantly complaining about the standard of certain training areas – specifically, the training areas that I’M in charge of!
I’ve spent few weeks rejigging coaching responsibilities – shuffling my pack more often than a blackjack dealer – to make sure every area is adequately covered without giving any coach a heavy workload. Yet there are always a few moaners, and they’re always moaning about MY coaching!
Maybe they just don’t like me. Perhaps they’re so starstruck that they want Edgar Davids coaching them 24-7! I know ‘Pitbull’ is a fine coach (not to mention a well-paid one), but not even he can work in every department all the time!
Or maybe the players actually do enjoy training, and this is just some elaborate scheme by Edgar to get himself more control over the club! Erm… Edgar isn’t after my job, is he?
Espinho sit in the middle of the Terceira Liga table after 13 games, but can they kick on and challenge for promotion? We’ll find out on Monday, when Part 16 takes us through the winter months of this season.
Thanks for reading!
Fuller FM 
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