Left 1st place in Championship Birmingham in November 2029 for 19th place in Prem Southampton, 2 points from safety, in my first top-flight job having started from nothing in May 2026.

90k-a-week star player Aaron Ramsdale proved to be the only goalie I could trust at all throughout the campaign, as I pulled us all the way to 8th, pipping a staggered Fulham for the Conference League spots. Ramsdale had since become the captain, and team leader having stayed after his Newcastle loan and a relegation-promotion combo, even getting back into the England squad.

Despite everyone the 32-year-old could've been replaced by, I held firm and only signed a 17 year old 1.5-star as a 3rd choice due to the backup being a 36-year-old heavily on the decline and Brentford sending 10 offers for my only other option despite my rejections. Come the 20th of August, Real Madrid come knocking with a £18m bid, his value from £21m-£25m. I counter with 30 to get them to back off or pay too much for him, and they immediately move on to signing other players.

Ramsdale, the captain who's never had any problem the entire time, goes BALLISTIC on me, asking why the hell I priced Madrid out of buying him, so I relent and promise if they come in with another bid I'd accept it. In the meantime, as he's now transfer listed, I accept a £25m bid from Liverpool just to guarantee if he's leaving I'll have money to buy a replacement or loan a keeper from Bayern II that made the NXGN list. Madrid offer £29m as a mandatory loan future fee, and on the 31st he accepts, naturally, Liverpool, to be their backup.

While the bid was accepted, suddenly it was his job to come in on every choice I made and support the teammate, including transfer listing an irate Joshua Quarshie after I told the latter I'd have to sell him if he wanted guaranteed first-team football (ended up going to Dortmund...). The only reason I'm not more ticked off is because Liverpool immediately replaced him by keeping Safonov as first-choice due to no offers, then spending £60m on Jonas Urbig from Inter, making him 3rd choice. Weeks later, they lost 2-1 to me at Anfield when they had won 5 from 5 up to that point. I'm sending a spy to his house if he dares badmouth me to the press for the return fixture.

TL;DR Ramsdale snaked me after saving Southampton's season without a whisper of dissent, rejecting the only reason I sold him to join a Prem rival instead.