Silly season...

Silly season arrived with the start of the end of contract wage auctions at the end of the first season. This saw many managers throw caution, and common sense, out the window when bidding on players. Spanish legend Raul ended up going for £140k a day, which was soon topped by Robinho at £150k a day. Moreover, distinctly average players routinely ended up being bought at £50k a day or more.

Fortunately, Beaulieu FC were in a good position. With only 4 contracts up for renewal, I even had a lock to spare for next season! I wanted to use this period to sign a left winger in the wage auctions, but in the end the majority of my big business occurred through private transfers. I bid on dozens and dozens of players, but most of the time lost out to huge offers from other clubs. Most of the time I just chose not to tie up my money as ideal targets such as Giovinco (85k), Downing (67k) and Anelka (97k) went for far more than I could afford.

I was looking for reliable backup for club vice-captain and Silvio Proto when I stumbled upon Brazillian legend Rogerio Ceni for sale. A snip at £200k despite his age and wage, the commanding ‘keeper joined as first choice. Silvio was obviously unhappy at being demoted to the bench, and quickly found first team football with … for a fee of £650k.

Marc-Andre Kruska had flattered to deceive and, despite recent improvements in both his performances and his stats, I felt it was the right time to move the youngster on. Forja Bajen exercised his instant buy amount to acquire the young defensive midfielder for £650k.

The final bit of big business saw Steven Pienaar arrive at The Anchor. I’d been desperate for a player capable of playing down the left wing, Mark Quins’ The Wombles moved to All Evening from Xtreme and were looking to drop their wage budget. A hefty £2.5m saw the South African midfielder swap the lower leagues for the All Evening Premiership, becoming Beaulieu FC’s most expensive player in the process.

I also managed to pick up a few good squad players in the wage auctions. Kaio is a very attack minded midfielder with explosive pace, while Roger is a more rounded creative midfielder. Dabrowski adds some steel, and height, into my midfield and is joined in defensive duties by Garcia, a young, balanced defensive midfielder. Mateus was brought in to add depth to an otherwise sparse frontline, but is only expected to sit on the bench. Finally left back Olson arrived to stake a claim for a regular spot at left back. Although on big wages, he’s made a solid start and at just 21 has plenty of time to improve.

I also managed to pick up a large number of youth players, the pick of which can be seen in the next post.