Mamelodi Sundowns Mid-Season Report

Well as we close in on the midway point of the 1st season of NWO if you had told me I would be in top spot in Div 1 and MOTM for November I would tell you must be mad. However. that's how things stand at the moment but the chasing pack are not far behind and on a roll with the 2 in-form teams in Div 1 being the Japanese pair of Yokohama F. Marinos and Kashima Antlers, so we are not going to get complacent and know that there is a lot of work to do to achieve anything this season.

Taking over a club like Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa, and no disrespect to any South Africans but they are not known for their football, was a daunting task so the first order of business was to sell all the players and bring in a squad that I thought would be competitive in Div 1 when a GW of the quality of NWO.

Next was bring in quality rated players, even if they were a bit old, and run the risk of player ratings dropping which has happened to a few of my players. I believe I assembled a squad that would be competitive and to also have a few youngsters to complement the older players with squad turnover.

With a wage budget of 835k keeping money in the bank was also key to avoid going into debt and we are achieving that goal with a healthy budget of 10m in the bank.

We did make one large signing spending 10m on Hulk and he has been a revelation at the club contributing 11 goals from 18 games with 7 MOTM and a great rating of 7.72 per game. It hasn't been completely a 1 man team with Thereau contributing an amazing 15 assists in 17 games as well as 4 goals and D'Alessandro finding the net 7 times and 11 assists as well from 18 games.

Our aim for the 2nd half of the season will be a complete carbon copy of the 1st half of the season and hopefully take out the title in the 1st season of NWO. As our team logo states - the sky is the limit.

We will also look to be active in the off-season as we will be looking to bring in more youth prospects with our average age of 32 on the high side, and some players will be shown the exit door.

Next season we are likely to have SMFA football to contend with so we will need to keep improving as a team and build a squad that can compete with a grueling campaign.

With Christmas around the corner I wish all in NWO a Merry Christmas and thanks to you all for making NWO a fun and enjoyable GW!