2025/26 (season 3) - Pre-season mini-update

 

2025/26 (season 3) - Pre-season mini-update

So, after securing promotion my mindset was that most of the players going out of contract would be released.  Most of them wouldn't be good enough, and the one that probably was Sid Ahmed Aouedj, who had been our first choice left winger last season.  He'd been a signing made by our DoF last summer, and he'd been a very useful player when fit.  However, at 33 years old, his ability had declined over the course of the season, plus he had proven to be fairly prone to injury.  Plus, what I hadn't realised before I rubber-stamped the signing was that he was by far the highest paid player at the club at well over £2k per week (bear in mind, we were semi-pro), and I was not going to be able to justify that kind of wage on one player, especially one who was clearly on the decline.

On 30th June, the following news item came through:

This was obviously going to allow us to offer better contracts and be a more attractive option for potential players.  However, just after this Mohamed Baâli, who had been our top scorer and first choice striker, and Tayeb Hamoudi, who had been our club captain and first choice defensive midfielder, come to me declaring they wanted to move to bigger clubs, and handed in transfer requests.  I did try to move both of them on, but no offers were forthcoming.  Although my mindset is that it's better to ship unhappy players out of the door, to avoid ruining squad dynamics, these are two of the better players in the squad and replacing them would not be easy.

However, on 5th July I had an unexpected item in my inbox.

For context, they are another top-flight team in Algeria, however they finished 4th last season so clearly were one of the stronger teams and their job became available because the previous manager had retired.

I went through the interview process, and carried on with business as normal at US Biskra, carrying on with the rebuild needed by getting a few signings at least started.

Then, only 5 days after attending the interview:

This was basically a no-brainer as far as I was concerned.  This is a bigger club, with a higher reputation and a transfer and wage budget which dwarfs what I had available to me at US Biskra.  And also, from a role-play perspective, they were offering to double the money I was earning currently.  I couldn't turn this opportunity down, and so I signed on the dotted line.

So, season 3 would be starting at a new club.

CS Constantine

We play home games here, the Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium.  A stadium we share with local rivals, MO Constantine, who are presently in the Eastern part of the 2nd tier, so there will be no local derbies to contend with this season.

Now, I note on the club vision that it says the club wants us to be competitive in the CAF Champions League, but as far as I can tell we're not in any continental competitions and based on what the league rules tell me only the league champions qualify for that.  However, I do feel moving here will give me a much better chance of getting there.  Time will tell!