Season 7 - Portugal and Season 8 - Preview

It's becoming obvious that I really don't care that much about international management. Portugal is easy, a simple qualification process is completed with a 100% record, but my hearts not in it.

I guide the team through a Euro 2008 group including Russia, hosts Switzerland and England with 7 points, finishing 2nd to England on goal difference. Ukraine are comfortably dispatched in the Quarters and then my woefully unfit squad are slaughtered 5-1 by France in the Semis. And I still don't care. So despite the FA being very happy with the performance, I resign to concentrate on Foggia.

The season 8 pre-game has a few big outs for me in a bid to restore dressing room harmony. Adolfo leaves for Atalanta on a Bosman. I rid the club of all 4 trouble makers. Plato drops into Serie C1B with Fidelis Andria for 100k, Seedorf is sent packing on a free to no-one, Barzagli goes to Napoli for 1m (which is far less than he's worth) and the one that I really didn't want to go, Oguchi Onyewu, leaves for 8.25m for Inter. Two other notable departures are Emeka Mamale at the end of his contract and Kaka who was solidly cack for 2 seasons for 3.1m to Salernitana.

But with all the goodbyes, in come some good-buys (aha - shoot me). Or at least I hope they'll be good buys. I snatch a young Italian center back by the name of Massimo Frezza from Inter for a mere 1.1m and he looks as good as Onyewu, but younger. I sign welsh winger Gary Roberts from Leeds for 2m after missing out on him 2 years earlier for 50k. In comes another Italian youngster, this time from Udinese on a free in the form of Riccardo Ferrari. Also, Cafu-esque right midfielder Camaro (another of my names) is bought in for nothing.

So the squad's happy and still has a lot of depth (apart from in goal) so once again, I'm confident of Champion's League qualification. We'll see. Board expectations are slightly lower, this time a serious title challenge. But this time I think top 4 is a must. If I lose the UEFA Cup Final again...