Tamworth: Back To The Future [Archive] - Front Office Football Central

Chief Rum

06-21-2004, 12:23 AM

Tamworth, 2005/06

Midway through my Third Division campaign, I was, of course, making plans for the next season. Part of that included a trip to El Salvador and the club Aguila. There I saw three players I thought could take me to the next level.

All three players were veteran members of El Salvador's national team and seemed unlikely to have work permit problems.

Forward/midfielder Jose Alexander Amaya, 29, was a decently fast striker with solid mental skills, and good playmaking and finishing skills. Defensive midfielder Jorge Humberto Rodriguez, 34, was my expected steady replacement for Hudrovic, whom had decided to retire at the end of the 2004/05 season to pursue a career as a physio. The last player was a goalkeeper named Juan Jose Gomez, a 24-year-old netminder with fine aerial and command abilities, and solid basic goalkeeping skills. He was a little too eccentric and was poor athletically, but I knew he was better in the long haul than Whitehead for sure, and probably Harris, too.

Speraking of Whitehead, despite his phenomenal season with us, I let him go. With Gomez on his way and Harris in the fold, I didn't feel I needed to keep him on. I also allowed stodgy vet centreback Jim Rodwell go, now that Graham Porter had essentially taken his starting job on the backline. The last key departure I allowed was striker Norman Sylla--I just felt I was playing at a level he wasn't good enough to continue playing anymore.

The Salvadorans weren't the only players I brought in. In fact, probably the best player I brought in was a Welsh winger named Andy Williams from Bath City. I had long looked for a left-sided Hicks and I felt I had found him in this 27-yaer-old. He was fast, a great dribbler and crosser, and even better yet, was a hard worker with great teamwork. That's actually something neither Hicks nor Booth are strong at.

I also brought in a forward named Adam Wilde with finishing skills to rival Stadhart and Portway, and a Surinam midfielder named Ifenido Vlijker whom I thought would make a fine backup at the MC spot for Amaya or Hicks. I got two interesting messages in that both the purchases of Vlijker and Gomez, the Slavadoran goalkeeper, would lead to increased merchandising revenues. Apparently they both had some reknown.

As it stood at the beginning of my campaign in the Second Division, I had Gomez and Harris trading off in net, behind incumbents Joe Taylor and Graham Porter on the backline. Dave Robinson and Justin Skinner also returned as my fullbacks. I put Hicks back on the right wing and installed Williams on the left, using Gray and Booth as high-quality backups. Amaya I put in the middle to lead the offense. Up front, I still had a wealth of options that I rotated in and out. Stadhart was the top guy, but I felt I could count on Torpey, the dribbling menace, One, Quailley, and the veteran Portway to help out here, in addition to Wilde and Vlijker.

I discovered I had a trouble spot, though: DMC. About a month into the season, Rodriguez decided he wanted to be a coach some day. Apparently this triggered some weird bug in CM03/04 where it required him to go through the work permit process again--but it doesn't set a date for it. This means he sits there on the team, drawing a salary, and I can't play him at all. :(

And this was at the beginning of a three year contract! Ouch.

I swung it by using Vlijker, Robinson and Mark Noon there on occasion, but I didn't truly fix the problem until I brought in Danish midfielder John Jensen from Danish Second Division club Silkeborg for $18,000. Jensen was getting little playing time in his homeland and jump at the chance to go to England's Second Division. It might have ended up being my best move of the year, but more on that later.

The Second Division proved to be a test from the very beginning, although the Lambs did fairly well early on. It was hit-and-miss through October, though, before we hit a truly horrid stretch from November through January. It became clear that the game had found some tactical combinations to counter my tactics, or at the very least, my players weren't good enough at this level to carry out the tactics against my opponents.

I tried a couple different tactics I found, and I tried tinkering on my own. Nothing seemed to work. I plummeted to 19th in the division in January, just outside of relegation, and the team seemed stuck in reverse.

I decided to go to desperation and downloaded the famous diablo tacic. It's a tactic that is considered by some to be cheating, which is why I wasn't comfortable using it. And to be honest, I'm still not sure how comfortable I am using it. But, then, I'm no longtime football fan, so I don't know a good tactic from a bad one anyway. Even the tactics I had been using before with success were downloaded.

So I installed the diablo tactic, making just a few changes that were more toward my style of play. I found that the tactic relies on long runs and speed, which happens to be what I look for in my teams. In particular, it counted on strong and tall backline play, and multifaceted midfielders. Amaya certainly fit the ball at the attacking midfield spot, while recently acquired Jensen seemed to be a good fit at the defensive midfield spot. I had long put an emphasis on tall centrebacks, so I already some solid ones in place for that, with Taylor and Porter and youth defensive back Danny James.

It also called for fast wingers with good dribbling and crossing skills. Touché.

I installed the tactic and watched as my team struggled to learn it amidst bad form and and matches that mattered. It was gradual, but my team started to turn it around. From November to late January, I set a team-record for going 12 matches without a win. When things finally clicked with my new tactic, I put up my second best string ever, going 19 matches without a loss from February to June, 2006. And it set up an amazing comeback.

As I said, halfway through the season, I was sitting at 19th in a 24-team division. In the Second Division, you need to be in the top two to get automatic promotion, with the third through sixth spots fighting it out for the third promotion spot. So to have a chance at promotion, I needed to finish sixth or higher--and that was a good long way away.

It's amazing what seventeen straight matches in which I got at least a point can do. I steadily began climbing the table. In early March, I was probably playing at my highest form when I started winning and just kept on winning. In late April, I reached the promotion playoff levels, and when the Second Division wrapped up its season, I found myself sitting in fourth and a part of the playoff for that last spot to the First Division.

We beat fifth-place Walsall, 6-3 on aggregate, in two late matches. And then we faced off third-place Tranmere in our first match at the vaunted stadium of Wembley for a winner take promotion match.

In the 28th minute, we forced a corner. Mark Hicks sent the ball in, but it was sent back out to the touchline. Hicks retrieved it and ran back into the box under pressure. He ditched the ball off to Dave Robinson, set up inside as a heading target on the initial corner. Robinson punched the ball in amidst the traffic for our first score.

Tranmere tied it up, though, in the 42nd minute, and we went into the half notched up at one apiece.

We finally moved ahead for good in the 54th minute. Winger Steve Torpey sent a nice cross into the box after a good run to the goal line. Armand One collected the ball, and after some maneuvering, turned around and blasted the ball into the net for the go ahead score.

We put it away three minutes later with a score by Jose Alexander Amaya, and completed an amazing comeback to earn promotion to the First Division.

In the end, we did it with offense. Our final record was 24-8-14 for 80 points. We scored an amazing 112 goals! But we also allowed 63 goals, which was one of the higher totals in the league.

Amaya led the way with 25 goals in his Tamworth debut. He also had 10 assists and a 7.46 rating. He was ably supported, once again, by Hicks, who scored 17 goals and a team and league-leading 24 assists. Hicks, amazing all year once again with a career-high 8.13 rating, once again earned the Supporters' Player of the Year.

The Lambs got scoring from several different players besides Hicks and Amaya, as you would imagine when you put up 112 goals in a season. Adam Wilde chipped in 11 goals, with 13 assists. Che Stadhart put in 12 goals. Armand One had 13 goals and seven assist. And we got a big help from a three-month loan from Nottingham Forest's Darren Birchall, who put in 13 goals in 14 matches as a relief for Amaya in the midfield.

Aside from the tremendous playmaking skills we got from Amaya and Hicks, we also got a great first effort from Andy Williams on the left wing. Williams had six goals and ten assists to go along with a second-highest 7.92 rating. Jensen, after his arrival, had a goal and ten assists from the defensive midfield position.

I ended the season very happy with the offense, but not so with the defense. Taking care of the holes revealed back there was to be an offseason goal of mine. The good news is that most of the problems happened on Adam Harris' watch, as he allowed 24 goals in 15 matches. New Salvadoran goalie Gomez was much more solid, with 47 goals allowed in 38 matches.

Our cup hopes were doomed by the bad start. We didn't get past the first round in either the FA Cup or the League Cup, and we only got to the Second Round in the Vans Trophy competition.

CR

Chief Rum

06-21-2004, 01:54 AM

2005/06 Season, Around The World

Major League Results

English Premier Division: Man Utd, Arsenal, Newcastle
Primera Liga (Spain): Barcelona, Alavés, Real Madrid
Serie A (Italy): Juventus, Milan, Parma
Bundesliga (Germany): FC Bayern, Hertha BSC, Dortmund
Ligue 1 (France): Nantes, Paris-SG, Lyon
Casino Eridivisie (Holland): PSV, Feyenoord, NEC
Portuguese Superleague: Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, Braga
Supeligaen (Denmark): AaB, OB, FC Kobenhavn
National A Division (Greece): AEK, PAOK, Olympiakos
Belgian First Division: GBA, Standard, Anderlecht
Scottish Premier League: Celtic, Rangers, Kilmarnock
Turkish Premier Division: Fenerbahçe, G. Birligi, Samsunspor
Ukrainian High League: Dinamo Kiev, Metalurg Donetsk, Shakhtar

Other European Champions: Admira Wacker (Austria), Dinamo (Croatia), Banik Ostrava (Czech Republic), TPS* (Finland), Ferencváros (Hungary), St. Pat's Athletic* (Ireland), M. Tel-Aviv (Israel), Distillery (Northern Ireland), Sogndal* (Norway), Wisla (Poland), CSKA Moscow* (Russia), Zeleznik (Serbia & Montenegro), Inter Bratislava (Slovakia), Malmö FF* (Sweden), Basel (Switzerland), Caersws (Wales)

*-- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign

National Cups

English FA Cup: Man Utd over Chelsea
English League Cup: Chelsea over Arsenal

Spanish Cup: Alavés over Alcorcón
Italian Cup: Roma over Parma
German Cup: Leverkusen over Werder Bremen
French Cup: Lens over Auxerre
Dutch Cup: PSV over Heracles
Portuguese Cup: Porto over Braga

European Club Competitions

Champions League: Barcelona over FC Bayern
UEFA: Sporting Lisbon over Shakthar

Comments: Barcelona and FC Bayern have brought in a lot of top stars of late. It's no surprise to see them win their respective leagues and then end up going head to head for the Champions League. Shakhtar in the UEFA final is another indicator of the continuing strength of the Ukrainian High League. Man Utd pulled off the double after last year's disappoiting season, and Chelsea made up for failing yet again to break the top three in the EPL, by winning the league cup and playing for the FA Cup. Italy and France continue to change out champions on a yearly basis. Real Madrid fans can breathe a little easier, as they got back up to third in the Primera Liga, but the real surprise is Alavés, which won the Spanish Cup and finished second in league.

CR

Chief Rum

06-21-2004, 04:08 AM

Top Transfers Of The 2005/06 Season

SC Miroslav Klose (GER) from Kaiserslautern to Man Utd for $62 M on August 9, 2005.
FB Luciano Zauri (ITA) from Lazio to Real Sociedad for $26 M on July 27, 2005.
SC Emile Lokonda Mpenza (BEL) from Standard to Dortmund for $23.5 M on January 15, 2006.
MF Mark Bresciano (AUS) from Parma to Juventus for $22.5 M on January 27, 2006.
MF Juan Sebastián Veron (ARG) from Chelsea to Newcastle for $21.5 M on July 16, 2005.
SC Javier Saviola (ARG) from Barcelona to Inter for $21.5 M on January 24, 2006.
MF Stilian Petrov (BUL) from Celtic to Aston Villa for $20.5 M on January 20, 2006.
SC Amoroso (BRA) from Dortmund to Barcelona for $19.25 M on August 2, 2005.
LW Daniel Bierofka (GER) from Leverkusen to FC Bayern for $19.25 M on August 30, 2005.
SC Raul Tamudo (SPA) from Espanyol to Valencia for $18.75 M on December 1, 2005.
MF Marcelinho (BRA) from Hertha BSC to Schalke 04 for $18 M on January 22, 2006.
SC Christian Vieri (ITA) from Inter to Valencia for $17.75 M on December 20, 2005.
SC Alejandro Domínguez (ARG) from River to Dortmund for $17.75 M on January 19, 2006.
SC Niko Kranjcar (CRO) from Dinamo to Atalanta for $17.75 M on January 30, 2006.
MF Stephen Appiah (GHA) from Juventus to Inter for $16.75 M on January 14, 2006.
SC Benjamin Lauth (GER) from 1860 Munchen to Napoli for $16 M on August 25, 2005.
RW Luis González (ARG) from River to Valencia for $15 M on August 25, 2005.
MF Fernando Sales (SPA) from Zaragoza to Villareal for $14.75 M on August 6, 2005.
RW Dennis Rommedahl (DEN) from PSV to Chelsea for $14.25 M on July 11, 2005.
MF Giampiero Pinzi (ITA) from Udinese to Chelsea for $14 M on January 25, 2006.
MF Juan Román Riquelme (ARG) from Barcelona to Valladolid for $13 M on July 15, 2005.
SC Jan Koller (CZE) from FC Bayern to Milan for $12.75 M on August 29, 2005.
SC Alvaro Recoba (ARG) from Inter to Napoli for $12.5 M on August 4, 2005.
MF David Dunn (ENG) from Birmingham to Fulham for $12 M on July 9, 2005.
MF David Prutton (ENG) from Southampton to Newcastle for $12 M on August 5, 2005.
LW Florent Malouda (FRA) from Lyon to Betis for $11.5 M on August 25, 2005.
MF Fabian Ernst (GER) from Werder Bremen to Milan for $11.5 on August 10, 2005.
FB Vincent Candela (FRA) from Roma to Barcelona for $11.5 M on August 27, 2005.
SC Ilan (BRA) from Atlético Paranaense to Rennes for $11.25 M on June 21, 2005.
SC Roy Makaay (NED) from FC Bayern to Valencia for $10.5 M on August 11, 2005.
LW Ryan Giggs (WAL) from Man Utd to Barcelona for $10.5 M on December 6, 2005.
MF Fabrício (BRA) from Corinthians to Real Madrid for $10.25 M on July 30, 2005.
MF Adriano (BRA) from Atlético Paranaense to Leverkusen for $10.25 M on August 8, 2005.
MF Jurica Vranjes (CRO) from VfB Stuttgart to Werder Bremen for $10 M on January 25, 2006.

Comments: It's getting hard to follow these extensive transfers, with so many big names passing back and forth between four leagues, England, Spain, Italy and Germany. The obvious standout is the transfer of Klose to Man Utd, in what was otherwise a relatively quiet transfer year for the British superpower. As always, Man Utd specializes in getting a lot of strikers, adding Klose to a team that already had Nistlerooj and Anelka, among others. Chelsea remained very active as well, getting Belgian winger Rommedahl and Italian midfielder Pinzi to replace the departed Veron, who went to join Prutton in a new midfield for Newcastle. The only major English power to stay quiet was Arsenal, but that didn't stop them from finishing second in the league and winning the league cup. In Spain, Barcelona continued its buying ways, bringing in striker Amoroso and winger Giggs, among others, and they certainly both played a role in the Spanish club's dobule this season. Buying didn't help Valencia, though, which struck out all around, despite bringing in superstar striker Vieri, Dutchman Makaay, and homeland striker Tamudo, in addition to Argentinian winger González.

CR

Chief Rum

06-22-2004, 12:47 AM

Germany 2006

It's that time again. The biggest sporting event in the world takes place in this sport every four years, and here's the next one. A rundown of what happened:

Qualifiers

HOST: Germany

EUROPE: Czech Republic, Finland, France, Holland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Serbia & Montenegro, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine.

AFRICA: Angola, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Nigeria.

SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru

NORTH AMERICA: Honduras, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, United States

ASIA: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Korea

OCEANIA: Australia

Comments: Astute observers will pick out right away who is missing. Yes, two years after missing the quarters at Euro 2004, England failed to even make it to the World Cup tourney. It's a low time for the Brits on the international pitch. There are surprises here and there. Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Greece all probably should have made it somewhere, but Europe is a very tough place to come out of and qualify. Africa had a lot of its top teams--Cameroon, Senegal, Egypt, South Africa--fail to make it, with Nigeria perhaps the only regular top African team to actually make the cut. South America was largely as you would expect it, with the possibility that Uruguay would have been more deserving of that fourth spot than Peru. In North America, the big two nations got in, but Honduras and Trinidad & Tobago are probably minor upsets over Canada and Costa Rica. Asia seems pretty close to what you would expect, although it's disappointing Japan didn't find a way in.

The Groupings

GROUP A: Czech Republic, Honduras, Romania, South Korea

This should be an interesting grouping. South Korea is the best, but the other two teams are strong up-and-coming European squads.

GROUP B: Angola, Argentina, Iran, Trinidad & Tobago

Argentina is the clear favorite here, and should walk into the second round. Iran is probably the best of the rest, but it's close enough that you can dare to hope that the islanders from little Trinidad & Tobago could make it to the next round.

GROUP C: Australia, Brazil, Peru, Saudi Arabia

This looks like an easy group at first glance, at least for Brazil. And I'm not suggesting the powerful defending cup holders are going to have to sweat much here. But none of the other three teams are all that bad at all, and the fight for the second spot should be fierce.

GROUP D: Italy, Mali, Nigeria, Spain

This might be the best group in the tournament. Italy and Spain are top ten level competitors, with Italy the defending holders of the Golden Boot. Nigeria is the best team out of Africa. You have to feel for Mali, which is in over its head.

GROUP E: Colombia, Finland, Ivory Coast, Portugal

This is another very solid group. Colombia and Portugal will be the favorites, but there isn't an easy team in this group. Any of the four could make it to the second round.

GROUP F: China, Germany, Holland, Scotland

How do the Dutch and Germans always end up going head-to-head? That will be the pivotal matchup here, as they should be the favorites. Still, Scotland has the ability to stay with either team on a good day, and observers ahve been saying China is ready to break out for some time now.

GROUP G: Mexico, Serbia & Montenegro, Turkey, United States

Like Germany and Holland, the Rio Grande Border War seems to be a regular occurrence in international competitions. This is possibly the best overall group, though, with another up-and-coming European team in the Serbs, and steady Turkey to go with the traditional North American combatants.

GROUP H: Burkina Faso, France, Norway, Ukraine

France is obviously the class of this group, just eight years off of a World Cup win, and the runner up in Euro 2004. The battle for second should come between Norway and Ukraine, but figure the Vikings to get it, as the Ukrainian national team hasn't advanced nearly as far as its best league has in recent years.

CR

Chief Rum

06-22-2004, 02:00 AM

Germany 2006 Group Stage

ROUND ONE

Group A

Romania 4, Czech Republic 2
South Korea 4, Honduras 1

Romania strikes first blood in the likely battle for the #2 spot between them and the Czechs. South Korea walks, as expected.

Group B

Argentina 2, Trinidad & Tobago 1
Iran 3, Angola 2

Argentina shouldn't have had as much problems as it did with T & T, but then Iran shouldn't have just edged out Angola either. This group remains wide open.

Group C

Brazil 2, Peru 0
Australia 3, Saudia Arabia 2

These were two very critical games. Brazil's toughest opponent might be the fellow South American Peruvians, and beating them gets the defending champs a leg up early on. Australia and Saudia Arabia are competitively close to each other, so Australia's win is a big step forward for the island-continent.

Group D

Spain 2, Italy 0
Nigeria 2, Mali 0

Despite outplaying the Spaniards, Italy managed to fall miserably to the best other team in the group. That puts the Euro champs in a difficult position the rest of the way. Nigeria, as expected, won easily over Mali.

Group E

Finland 3, Portugal 0
Colombia 2, Ivory Coast 0

Finland pulls off the stunning upset over Portugal. The loss likely means Portugal is going to have to beat Colombia to get in, and that's not going to be easy. Colombia handles Ivory Coast without difficulty.

Group F

Germany 2, China 1
Holland 1, Scotland 0

Host Germany probably should have won by more in front of its fans, but then, Germany never wins big. Holland escaped a tough match with Scotland with a win.

Group G

Mexico 2, Serbia & Montenegro 2
Turkey 1, United States 1

It's like they didn't even bother to play the first round, as everyone close to square one. And what's really funny is that you can't say that either result was unexpected.

Group H

France 3, Burkina Faso 0
Norway 2, Ukraine 0

France handles Burkina Faso without a worry, while Norway won an important game to establish itself as the second best team in the group.

ROUND TWO

Group A

Romania 2, Honduras 0
South Korea 3, Czech Republic 1

Just two games in, and this group is already settled. Romania and South Korea clinched spots in the final round with their wins. Romania's was expected, and the Koreans were favorites to win as well, but the Czechs are a good team that could have made it interesting fi they had beaten the Koreans.

Group B

Argentina 2, Iran 0
Trinidad & Tobago 3, Angola 0

You could say Argentina should still eb winning these matches by more goals, but beating Iran, probably the next best team in the group, and having just Angola left should mean the South American power can rest its stars for the next round. The big game came from the gutsy islanders, though, whom have set up a huge match with Iran for that second spot.

Group C

Brazil 4, Saudi Arabia 0
Peru 4, Australia 3

Brazil pasted the Saudis as expected, adn their advance to the next round is all but assured. Peru's win over Australia is likely the key win for them to join Brazil in the next round.

Group D

Nigeria 2, Spain 0
Italy 1, Mali 1

As solid as Nigeria is, Spain should have won that game. This is a huge win for the African nation. Fortunately for the Spaniards, it appears that the Italians have mailed it in, as they put up a pathetic performance in drawing with Mali.

Group E

Ivory Coast 3, Finland 2
Colombia 2, Portugal 1

Portugal put itself in the position of needing an upset win over tough Colombia, and sure enough, it failed to do so. This tourney seems liekly to move on without the Portuguese. Ivory Coast muddies the situation, though, with its big win over Finland. It would be a favorite to take that second spot behind COlombia were it not having to deal with Colombia itself in the final match of the grouping.

Group F

Germany 0, Scotland 0
Holland 4, China 1

Courtesy of the underachieving Germans biding their time before waking up, the Dutch are through to the next round with the expected walk win over the Chinese. The Scots are clamoring for a spot in the next round with very beatable China coming up, while Germany meets up with a group leader who holds a grudge against them. Could the hosts be out of this one?

Group G

Mexico 0, United States 0
Serbia & Montenegro 2, Turkey 0

This was a veyr even group to begin with, but if I had to pickw ho would be on top after the second round of the group stage, it would not have been the Serbs. They have the inside track, but a tough match against the United States looming ahead. This group is still wide open.

Group H

France 3, Ukraine 1
Norway 4, Burkina Faso 0

France wraps up a spot in the next round, as expected. The surprise is that Norway did, too, although after the win over the Ukraine, it could have been considered a foregone conclusion. After losing to Norwegians, the Ukrainians would have needed to beat powerful France to have a chance at sneaking in.

ROUND THREE

Group A

South Korea 2, Romania 1
Czech Republic 1, Honduras 0

With spots in the next round assured, the top two qualifiers were just playing for a match against a second place squad. The Koreans took that right. The Czechs did little but salvage a little pride in beating Honduras.

Group B

Argentina 2, Angola 0
Iran 3, Trinidad & Tobago 0

The Cinderella story ends here, as T & T dropped a big one to Iran. Argentina rolls to get the top spot it was expected to get from the very beginning.

Group C

Brazil 1, Australia 1
Saudi Arabia 1, Peru 1

This round was probably the most shocking of the group stage. The Aussies pulled off the huge upset in drawing the powerful Brazillians, while Peru lost to a weaker Saudi Arabia with a spot in the next round on the line. As a result, despite losing to Peru, Australia moves on to the second round while the Peruvians are going home.

Group D

Spain 5, Mali 0
Italy 1, Nigeria 1

Pathetically enough, Italy probably put up its best result of the tourney in drawing with a tough Nigeria squad, even if the Afrian nation had already clinched a spot. It mattered little, though, as Spain locked up the second spot with an easy win over Mali.

Group E

Colombia 2, Finland 1
Portugal 1, Ivory Coast 0

Colombia didn't have as easy a time as it should have had against the Finns, but it secured the grouping with its win. The more intriguing aspect came in that Portugal's win over Ivory Coast put the other three teams in a tie for the second spot with three points apiece. In the tightest group finish, Finland beat out Portugal and Ivory Coast on goal differential. Only two goals difference sseparated the three teams.

Group F

Germany 1, Holland 0
Scotland 3, China 1

Germany saved its spot in the next round by winning a tough defensive match over Holland. Its win made a good win by Scotland over China a moot point, as the Germans join the Dutch in the second round.

Group G

Mexico 3, Turkey 1
Serbia & Montenegro 1, United States 1

With the Americans continuing to pull draw after draw, Mexico was able to clinch a spot in the next round. The Serbs and Mexicans move on because they did what the United States couldn't--beat Turkey.

Group H

France 5, Norway 0
Ukraine 2, Burkina Faso 0

France finally really put it to someone, and it was probably the second best team in their group. You have to think they are the favorites in the next round right now. Otherwise, the match mattered little, as both the French and the Norwegians had already clinched their spots in the final.

Final Qualifiers

Group A: South Korea, Romania
Group B: Argentina, Iran
Group C: Brazil, Australia
Group D: Nigeria, Spain
Group E: Colombia, Finland
Group F: Germany, Holland
Group G: Mexico, Serbia & Montenegro
Group H: France, Norway

CR

SirFozzie

06-22-2004, 08:29 AM

Argentina vs France in the final I think

PilotMan

06-22-2004, 10:14 AM

Yeah, but wouldn't Iran v. Serbia be funny.

Chief Rum

06-23-2004, 12:37 AM

Germany 2006 Second Round

Here are the matchups for the second round.

South Korea --vs-- Iran
Argentina --vs-- Romania
Brazil --vs-- Spain
Nigeria --vs-- Australia
Colombia --vs-- Germany
Mexico --vs-- Norway
France --vs-- Serbia & Montenegro
Holland --vs-- Finland

Some interesting matchups here. The best games to me look like Brazil and Spain (which should be a lot of fun), Nigeria and Australia (because my impression is they are fairly even), and Colombia and Germany.

Second Round Results

SOUTH KOREA 3, IRAN 1

This isn't a surprise. Iran might have been the weakest team in the final round. South Korea remains an up-and-coming team that has now reached at least the quaretrs in two straight World Cups.

ROMANIA 2, ARGENTINA 0

So much for Foz's prediction. Romania was an upset just to get to this round, so beating a worldclass power liek Argentina is quite a feat. Argentina held the edge in most of the match numbers (13 to 7 shots taken; 21% in its own end to 32% in Romania's), but the former Soviet bloc nation made their shots count. Both goals were scored by Marius Niculae, star striker for Portuguese champion Sporting Lisbon.

BRAZIL 1, SPAIN 1 (Brazil on PK, 3-2)

Wow, talk about a game! This one lived up to the press clippings prior to its start. Brazil, the winner of two of the last three World Cups, barely escaped the second round against one of the few teams in the world that can be considered to approach Brazil's talent. This one was a locked, tight defensive affair for most of the match. Superstar striker Ronaldo of Real Madrid put Brazil up in the 64th minute, but Arsenal's Jose Antonio Reyes tied it up for Spain in the 70th minute. The teams remained deadlocked throughe xtra time, and needed penalty kicks to figure this one out. It came down to the fifth kick, with the nations tied up at two apiece. Betis' Juanito missed his kick, though, giving Man Utd's Kléberson a chance to win it. And win it did--Brazil moves on.

AUSTRALIA 2, NIGERIA 1

I said this one was wide open, and it was. Australia won a tight one and got into the quarters. Nigeria was Africa's last representative in Germnay.

GERMANY 1, COLOMBIA 0

As usual, Germany became involved in a very defensive match. And as usual, Pliver Khan won it for them. He acted like a wall against what few Colombian shots got through (altogether, only 12 shots were taken, and just five went on goal). The only goal in the match didn't even come in gameplay. It was scored on a 33rd minute penalty kick by Greuther Furth's Sascha Rösler.

MEXICO 3, NORWAY 2

This one was a real free-for-all. Mexico came in as the favorite, but barely escaped a wide open match.

FRANCE 1, SERBIA & MONTENEGRO 0

France probably expected to roll in this one, but the Serbs had other ideas. They put the powerful French through a big test in this one. Like Germany-Colombia, this one was a tight defensive match with, once again, just 12 total shots (eight on goal). It remained locked up and scoreless until just near the very end. Finally, in the 86th minute, Auxerre's young Kapo scored the lone goal of the match to send France forward. Man Utd's goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was the man of the match in this one.

FINLAND 1, HOLLAND 0

Traditionally, the Orangemen blow this one in the group stage. Having vaulted that obstacle, they, of course, lose one they should have won in the second round. Despite a wealth of offensive talent, they are unabl;e to solve the Finns' defense and fall in a close one.

CR

Chief Rum

06-23-2004, 12:59 AM

Germany 2006 Quarterfinals

It's getting tighter. Here are the matchups for the quarters.

South Korea --vs-- Australia
Brazil --vs-- Romania
Germany --vs-- Mexico
France --vs-- Finland

Quarterfinal Results

SOUTH KOREA 0, AUSTRALIA 0 (South Korea on PK, 4-3)

Wow, this was a great match. I remember watching it, so it was disappointing to me to not have the game stats for this one (I thought they saved all of those? :( ). Anyway, as you can see, this one went all the way to penalty kicks after a brutal 120 minutes of tight defensive play. The only thing I remember about the match is that Australia would lose because Juventus' Mark Bresciano missed his penalty kick. Either he failed to kick it to tie, or he failed to kick it in when Australia needed it, win or lose.

ROMANIA 1, BRAZIL 0

Wow. Upset of the century? So far at least. Romania may be changing the way people think about it as a football country. What's even odder about this is that Romania didn't just win, they outplayed the defensing World Cup holders, winning through with 13 shots against just four by Brazil. Chelsea's Adrian Mutu got the only goal, scoring in the 72nd minute and earning the Man of the Match.

MEXICO 1, GERMANY 0

Germany lost the defensive tango this time. In front of a vocal crowd of hometown germans, the Mexicans pulled off the upset and won past Germany despite being outshot 8-5. Germany didn't help its cause by only putting one shot on goal. The one goal was scored by Leverkusen's Mora in the 76th minute. The man of the match was veteran Jesús Arellano of Mexico's Monterrey.

FRANCE 2, FINLAND 0

Finland's surprising win over Holland basically handed France a gimme in the quarters. That proved to be the case when France outshot the Finns, 17-3. That's not the kind of domination you expect in a World Cup quarterfinal. Tehy also dominated possession, with 30% of the time spent in Finland's end, as opposed to just 15% in their own. The winning scores were by Arsenal's Thierry Henry in the 5th minute, and Man Utd's Nicolas Anelka in the 90th minute. Henry won the man of the match.

Semifinal Matchups

Here are the matchups for the semifinals of Germany 2006.

South Korea --vs-- Mexico

South Korea is back in the semifinals for the second straight World Cup and looking for the legitimacy that would come from winning through to the final. They are favored in this matchup with Mexico, a solid team in its own right, but probably shouldn't have gotten this far.

Romania --vs-- France

You would think this would be another gimme for France, but let's face it, any team that beats both Argentina and Brazil in the World Cup has proven itself to not be a gimme. It should be interesting to see if France can dominate this one, or if Romania can continue their run to an impressive Cinderella championship.

CR

Chief Rum

06-23-2004, 01:19 AM

Germany 2006 Semifinals

Mexico 1, South Korea 0

Stupid game didn't save this one either. Gah. I did watch this one, too, although I don't remember too many details. What i remember is that it was a very tight match, with a lot of back-and-forth and close shots. It remained tied late, in fact, going into the final minutes. If I recall correctly, the winning goal was put in by Mora again, the guy who put in the winner against Germany. He is transforming himself into Mexico's signature player, as Mexico shocked the world and got to the final.

France 1, Romania 0

Not wanting to be outdone by the Korenas and Mexicans, France and Romania staged their own close match. Like the other rmatch, these two sieds kept it even at zero throughout the match. Contrary to previous belief, Romania did indeed hold up well against Francem playing even with them the whole way. It looked like extra time would be needed for this one. Well, it did, except Juventus' star striker David Trezeguet had other ideas. He finally got in a goal in injury time, earning France a return to the final for the first time since 1998, and international reknown for himself. Adrian Mutu got the man of the match in a losing cause. Despite losing, no one can doubt that Romania has established itself as a rising power in football, much as South Korea did four years ago.

THIRD PLACE MATCH

ROMANIA 5, SOUTH KOREA 0

The Koreans were apparently frustrated at having lost to Mexico with a shot at the World Cup in sight. They didn't even show up for this one. Or the Romanians are just that good.

CR

Chief Rum

06-23-2004, 02:09 AM

Germany 2006 Final

France Versus Mexico

France has to be considered the favorite in this one. They may have the most talent in the world. Meanwhile, Mexico has made it this far playing well as a team, putting up a tight defense and allowing talents like Emilio Mora and Jesús Arellano to get them the one goal they will need. If it's a shootout, France wins hands-down, but if it's a tight defensive match--and this Cup has been filled with them--it's anyone's ballgame.

In the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, France showed that it was the better team early on, dominating Mexico like it had against Finland. Despite that, they couldn't solve Mexico's defense early on, and the two sides went into halftime in an improbable scoreless tie.

The second began much as the first, but France finally broke through in the 54th minute. Milan's Robert Pires sent in a corner, but it was headed back out to the touch. Pires, coming off of the corner spot, was first to the ball, and took it into the box, evading defenders. He found an opening across the box to Barcelona's Vincent Candela. Mexico's goalkeeper Cornejo Pérez was up the line to guard against the approach of Pires. The Cruz Azul keeper scrambled down to get in front of Candela, standing at the opposite corner of the six yard box. Candela blasted a high shot that hit the post above a leaping Pérez's head and sailed into the back of the net for the first score of the match and a 1-0 lead for France.

Mexico would put on a good show after that, trying to get back into it. But France and Fabien Barthez proved to be too tough, coming through again and again to save possible scores, most often initiated by Arellano. The clock ticked up to 90, and France won its second World Cup in eight years, by a final score of 1-0.

France dominated the action, with 16 shots to just five for Mexico. They also had a 23% to 31% possession advantage in their own end. Despite the limited offense and lack of a score, Mexico's Arellano got the man of the match.

France's Thierry Henry received the Golden Boot as the best player of the tournament. Romania's Marius Niculae, who really broke out in this tournament, took the second spot, and Norway's Daniel Braathen of Rosenborg was third.

Here is the World Cup's Dream team:

SC Thierry Henry (FRA) --Arsenal
SC David Trezeguet (FRA) --Juventus
MC Patrick Vieira (FRA) --Arsenal
MC Tomás Campos (MEX) --Cruz Azul
ML Robert Pires (FRA) --Milan
MR Belletti (BRA) --Real Sociedad
DC William Gallas (FRA) --Chelsea
DC Mikaël Silvestre (FRA) --Man Utd
DL Dédé (BRA) --Dortmund
DR Lilian Thuram (FRA) --Milan
GK Fabien Barthez (FRA) --Man Utd

Sub1 GK Oliver Kahn (GER) --FC Bayern
Sub2 FB Jaap Stam (HOL) --Roma
Sub3 MF Pablo Aimar (ARG) --Valencia
Sub4 MF Esteban Cambissso (ARG) --Real Madrid
Sub5 SC Miroslav Klose (GER) --Man Utd

The 2010 World Cup will be held in China.

CR

Chief Rum

06-23-2004, 02:32 AM

International Competitions

As usual, there were other tournaments going on that season, not that anyone really paid attention with Germany 2006 coming up.

African Nations Cup

Senegal defeated Nigeria, with Ghana ending up third. Egypt served as the host.

OFC Nations Cup

Australia won its second straight OFC NAtions Cup, beating rival New Zealand. Samoa finished in third. Australia was also the host of the tournament.

CR

Chief Rum

06-23-2004, 04:13 AM

Tamworth 2006/07

Well, we had reached the First Division, and I knew we were at a whole new level now. We were finally at a level that was somewhat nationally recognized. This seemed to be backed up by our board, which finally agreed to improve our training grounds and gave us its highest transfer fund account yet, with about $450,000.

Of course, I had already made significant improvements prior to the end of last season. In fact, I signed so many players to Bosman contracts, it was fortunate I made it to the First Division, because my wage bill would have severely handicapped me in the Second Division.

The best three players I brought in were Darren Birchall, Casper Nelis and Orri Freyr Oskarsson.

Birchall was with Nottingham Forest in the Premier Division last year, but he won us over with his loan period, when he scored 13 goals in 14 matches with us in three months late in the 2005/06 season. I wa surprised Forest was willing to let him go. The 28-year-old Birchall has the elite crossing and dribbling skills I like in midfielders, he's solid physically and speed-wise, and he is an excellent passer. He can play both in the middle and on either wing.

Dutchman netminder Nelis comes from a lower division club in Holland named Omniworld. I needed a good sub for Gomez, and Nelis was the best I could afford. He was also the first goalkeeper I went for with an eye toward both aerial ability and handling. He sttod well in both respects, and is also more atheltic than Gomez, although he is older by five years.

Oskarsson was a guy I was waiting for. The 26-year-old Icelandic forward is well-known in CM circles as a great player to get. In that respect, I almost didn't get him, as he was suppsoedly particularly effective in the diablo tactic I was using. Still, it seems his position in that tactic was as the central midfield position currently held by AMaya and soon to be joined by Birchall. I resolved not to use the speedy forward there, and instead put him up front as our best striker. Oskarsson came to us from Primera Liga's Second Division Terrassa.

With all the defensive problems on the backline I had last year, I saw that area as one that needed to be addressed heavily. So although my highest profile Bosman gets were in the net and in the offense, my most important acquisitions were on the backline. To that end, I brought in four defenders via Bosman in centrebacks Barry Laker and Reinder Hendriks, and fullbacks Jamie Fularton and Brian Shelley. Laker was a 32-year-old vet from former fellow Second Division squad Stevenage. He was a fine man marker with good speed and smarts. Reinder Hendriks was a Dutch defender from lower division Holland club Babberich with excellent positioning, good tackoign and aggressive play, even if he wasn't as fast or tall as Laker. Fularton was a 32-year-old defensive midfielder from Southend who had some good ball skills in additiont o being a terrific man marker and a smart player. He could use a speed infusion, but he was fairly solid. Shelley was a 24--year-old Irish fullback with almost wing-level ball skills, but he wasn't so strong defensively.

Once my Bosmans were settled, I went about bringing in further help, and managed to use my funds to bring in two very key parts, once again for the backline. Unlike the first four, though, these were guys I viewed to have a real future for us. And, yes, even in the next level, the EPL. The first was Mike Duff, a 28-year-old defender from the Wolves who already had 19 matches of EPL experience. Duff, from Northern Ireland, was fast and tall, quickly became the best man marker on the squad, was a hard worker and very determined and speed and height to make things happen. He also had enough ball skills and versatility to play at centreback, right fullback and in the midfield. He cost me much of my transfer account, a good $200K. The other, quieter acquisition was a 26-year-old centreback named Leon Cort. Cort was playing for Southend at the time, and it took $70K to bring him up to Tamworth. Physically, he was probably my most imposing player, with elite level jumping and heading skills and terrific pace and acceleration. As with most of my other defenders acquired this offseason, he was also blessed with strong defensive ability and was an excellent tackler. If he had weaknesses, it was that he didn't bring much into the offense technically, and he wasn't as mentally adept as most of my other defenders.

So my new lineup had Gomez and Nelis switching off in goal. Laker and Cort (eventually) teamed up in the middle, with Duff on the right and Fularton on the left. Jensen returned to the defensive midfield, while Amaya remained at the attacking midfield spot. Hicks and Williams were back ont he wing, with Booth as a key backup. Birchall was there to play at any of the midfield positions. And Wilde and Oskarsson were the best up front, with Stadhart as the third striker.

The season started off very well. We won seven in a row from the very beginning and quickly established ourselves as the class of the division? Was I surprised? You betcha. I really thought we would struggle to get along, but apaprently the division wasn't as far along from the Second Division as I thought. The offense was thrilling. Hicks and Williams were terrorizing offenses, Amaya was a dynamo in the middle, and Oskarsson and Wilde were perhaps one of the best striker combos I have ever seen.

What's really funny is that we still hit a bit of a crisis point in the middle of the season, as is customary for us, it seems. We lost two games in early November (the only time all year we lost two matches in a row, if you can believe it), and we went four matches during that stretch without winning. We lost in the League Cup to a Second Division squad. It was embarrassing. It only partially soothed me that we were still among the best teams in the division.

We were having problems defensively and that was the issue. I couldn't believe the compuetr has already figured out a counter for my tactic. I knew there had to be something I could do. So I started tinkering with diablo. It turns out I had the offside trap setting on. My defens ewas good, but not so good it could effectively pull that off, which requires worldclass level teamwork and anticipation along the backline to make work against this level of competition. I switched it off, went to a half-zonal, half-man-mark mix among my centrebacks, put my fullbacks on man-mark and close down on the ball, and other various little touches here and there. It turned out to be brilliant. The defense really turned around. We staretd winning strongly again, and we began to widen our lead in the First Division table. By the time our turn came up in the FA Cup in January, we were rolling.

Why do I mention the FA Cup? Because this was probably the area of our greatest triumph this season. First Division squads don't win FA Cups. A First Division team hadn't even been to the final since 1996. But I wasn't thinking about that when I started it. I was trying to last long enough to get to face an EPL team with a big stadium, because I was running a huge wage bill again, and I really could use the moneyf rom splitting those gate receipts that I couldn't get at little ole Lamb Ground.

While we were winning in the First Division, we were getting lucky in the FA Cup. We kept drawing Second and Third Division squads, often at home. We kept winning. We had won into the quarters in March before the luck of the draw finally brought us to a visit from Manchester City. I figured we were dust then, and I wasn't happy because it was a home match. If you can believe it, I didn't think we could beat Man City (which was in the top ten of the EPL at the time), and I was just praying we could draw them at our place, so we could get the replay at their place and get those gate receipts I was looking for.

We welcomed City to the Lamb Ground pitch that Wednesday evening and proceeded to put in a prodigious pounding the likes of which I still have no idea where it came from. I wa shocked. We came to play...and we kicked some seriosu ass. We won, 8-1. Eight to one! OMFG!

One moment I was thinking we would be lucky to score against Man City, the next I am realizing we have an FA Cup semifinal date with Newcastle! The semifinals take place at Wembley, so we were guaranteed our payday after all, win or lose.

But after shellacking Man City and domianting the First Division, I finally began to believe we could win the damn thing. We met Newcastle at Wembley in April, and as you would expect from a worldclass side like the Magpies, we had our hands full. We were down 3-1 going into the final ten minute sof the match. Shola Ameobi had just scored his second goal of the game, and I thought we were dut. Shows you what I know. In the 82nd minute, Amaya worked his way intot he box and blasted a shot past Shay Given to make it 4-2. Then Williams made a ncie cross into the box a couple minutes later, and Oskarsson put the ball into the net for a tie game at 3-3. And then Wilde got open on the keeper in unjury time and put in the winning goal! AMAZING! I knew if this were to happen in real life, the British (and liekly the European) media market would eb going nuts. Cinderella and then some.

Then we got our next gift of the season. Improbably, another First Division squad had won in the other semifinal, and for the first time, the FA Cup was certain to go to a First DIvision squad. Our opponent was Crystal Palace, the 13th-best team in the division at the time, and a team we had already beaten twice in league play, and handily.

I entered that match confident and rightfully so. We were expected to win it. So it was no suyrprise that we did, although Palace made it close (I scored late to move it to a two-goal deficit after clinging to a one-goal lead for most of the match). I couldn't believe it, but I had just won the FA Cup and a ticket to European football next year.

Meanwhile, in the First Division, I was really distancing myself from the competition. I didn't lose a match from early February to early April, a string of 15 matches, and by the time I did, I had practically clinched the division championship and promotion. I finished the season 32-7-7, for 103 points, my most in a season yet. I scored an amazing 118 goals, while allowing just 47 to my opponents. I won the division by 17 points over second place Leicester.

Oskarsson was the story. He was amazing. He scored 31 goals and also collected 17 assists--both team highs--and 13 Men of the Match. He put up an incredible 8.55 rating, and he broke Mark Hicks' hold on the Supporters' Player of the Year award.

Wilde was similarly amazing, with 27 goals and 15 assists, with a 7.50 rating. Amaya was probably the second best player on offense, with 29 goals, 16 assists and a 7.71 rating. On the wing, Williams really came into his own, with 10 goals and 13 assists, while Hicks had a bit of a down year (5 goals, 6 assists), but was still very solid. Birchall turned out to be a brilliant pickup, with 20 goals and 6 assists, mostly in relief of Amaya in the middle. Duff and Jensen did excellent work at defensive midfielder and also displayed fine skills setting up the offense (11 and 9 assists). Gomez allowed just 39 goals in 33 matches, while Nelis allowed 26 goals in 24 matches. Cort turned out to be a great get on the backline, and our defensive play was very solid.

We were coming off of a great First Division season, winning promotion to the great English Premier League, and we had won the FA Cup and would be a part of the UEFA competition the following year. We also earned a bunch of money thanks to our FA Cup wins, and would soon add a hefty check for Premiership TV. Tamowrth was at its richest yet as we entered into one of the top leagues in the world.

CR

Chief Rum

06-23-2004, 10:45 PM

2006/07 Season, Around The World

Major League Results

English Premier Division: Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool
Primera Liga (Spain): Barcelona, Real Madrid, Celta
Serie A (Italy): Juventus, Inter, Parma
Bundesliga (Germany): Dortmund, Schalke 04, FC Bayern
Ligue 1 (France): Paris-SG, Montpelier, Nantes
Casino Eridivisie (Holland): PSV, Ajax, Zwolle
Portuguese Superleague: Benfica, Braga, Sporting Lisbon
Supeligaen (Denmark): FC Kobenhavn, AaB, Esbjerg fB
National A Division (Greece): Olympiakos, PAO, AEK
Belgian First Division: Club Brugge, Genk, GBA
Scottish Premier League: Celtic, Hearts, Kilmarnock
Turkish Premier Division: Bursaspor, Fenerbahçe, Samsunspor
Ukrainian High League: Shakhtar, Metalurg Donetsk, Dinamo Kiev

Other European Champions: Austria Vienna (Austria), Dinamo (Croatia), Sparta Prague (Czech Republic), AC Allianssi* (Finland), Balaton FC (Hungary), St. Pat's Athletic* (Ireland), M. Haifa (Israel), Ballymena Utd (Northern Ireland), Brann* (Norway), Groclin (Poland), CSKA Moscow* (Russia), Rad (Serbia & Montenegro), Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia), Djurgården* (Sweden), Basel (Switzerland), Caersws (Wales)

*-- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign

National Cups

English FA Cup: Tamworth over Crystal Palace
English League Cup: Liverpool over Arsenal

Spanish Cup: Córdoba over Hércules
Italian Cup: Juventus over Genoa
German Cup: Hannover 96 over Kaiserslautern
French Cup: Sedan over Lyon
Dutch Cup: Ajax over MW
Portuguese Cup: Braga over Académica

European Club Competitions

Champions League: Inter over Juventus
UEFA: Iraklis over Olympiakos

Comments: After a couple years of FC Bayern, Man Utd and Barcelona dominating the top clubs, Juventus surged to the forefront, falling just one Champions final loss away from the prestigious treble. Man Utd's is even more prodigious, as the superpower failed to break the top three in league or appear in the final of either domestic cup. Chelsea finally broke through the Man Utd-Arsenal hold on the EPL title, and Liverpool, once a reknowned superpower itself, finally returned to prominence with a third place finish and a league cup win. Jucentus wasn't the only Italian club to do well. Inter was runner up in the Serie A and won the Champions League. In Spain, Real Madrid had its best season in recent years by finishing second. Some long runs came to an end as Dortmund ended FC Bayern's four-season lock on the Bundesliga championship, and Benfica ended a three-year run by Sporting Lisbon in the Portuguese Superleague. In Scotland, the Rangers fell out of the top three for the first time this century.

CR

Chief Rum

06-24-2004, 12:33 AM

Top Transfers Of The 2006/07 Season

MF Andrés D'Alessandro (ARG) from Wolfsburg to Milan for $68 M on August 30, 2006.
MF Kléberson (BRA) from Man Utd to Milan for $46.5 M on August 25, 2006.
RW Sidney Govou (FRA) from Lyon to Man Utd for $45.5 M on August 25, 2006.
SC Zlatan Ibrahimovic (SWE) from Ajax to Schalke 04 for $42.5 M on January 23, 2007.
MF Sebastian Deisler (GER) from FC Bayern to Dortmund for $41.5 M on January 4, 2007.
MF Jerko Leko (CRO) from Dinamo Kiev to Schalke 04 for $35.5 M on August 16, 2006.
SC Jairo Fernando Castillo (COL) from América de Cali to Fiorentina for $28 M on August 25, 2006.
MF Patrick Vieira (FRA) from Arsenal to Milan for $28 M on January 26, 2007.
SC Diogo Rincón (BRA) from Dinamo Kiev to Hertha BSC for $27 Mon January 11, 2007.
MF Clarence Seedorf (NED) from Milan to Real Madrid for $24.5 M on August 25, 2006.
MF Owen Hargreaves (ENG) from Real Madrid to Arsenal for 24 M on January 27, 2007.
SC Mateja Kezman (SER) from PSV to Newcastle for $21 M on January 9, 2007.
SC Giacomo Cipriani (ITA) from Lazio to Barcelona for $17.5 M on August 30, 2006.
SC Andrea Gasbarroni (ITA) from Betis to Real Sociedad for $16.5 M on July 26, 2006.
MF Torsten Frings (GER) from Dortmund to Real Madrid for $16.5 M on December 8, 2006.
SC Marco Borriello (ITA) from Milan to Lazio for $16.25 M[/b] on January 1, 2007.
LW Santiago Hernán Solari (ARG) from Real Madrid to Barcelona for $16 M on December 5, 2006.
SC Mido (EGY) from Marseille to Chelsea for $15.75 M on January 27, 2007.
SC Michael Chopra (ENG) from Newcastle to Chelsea for $15.5 M on January 30, 2007.
SC Kléber (BRA) from Sao Paulo to Gladbach for $15.25 M on August 22, 2006.
MF Ricardhino (BRA) from Santa Cruz to Internacional for $14.75 M on March 15, 2007.
MF Igor Duljaj (SER) from Partizan to Lazio for $14.5 M on January 24, 2007.
SC Alan Smith (ENG) from Leeds to Fulham for $14.25 M on July 31, 2006.
RW Christian Tiffert (GER) from VfB Stuttgart to Chelsea for $14.25 M on August 13, 2006.
SC Yakubu (NIG) from Everton to Fulham for $14.25 M on August 30, 2006.
LW Thiago Motta (BRA) from Barcelona to Atlético Madrid for $14.25 M on December 28, 2006.
SC Amoroso (BRA) from Barcelona to Real Madrid for $14 M on July 18, 2006.
MF Christian Poulsen (DEN) from Schalke 04 to Real Madrid for $14 M on August 26, 2006.
MF Dudu Cearense (BRA) from Parma to FC Bayern for $14 M on January 30, 2007.
SC Lincoln (BRA) from Kaiserslautern toWerder Bremen for $13.75 M on August 20, 2006.
SC Mike Hanke (GER) from Schalke 04 to Kaiserslautern for $13.5 M on July 22, 2006.
MF Carlos Alberto (BRA) from Porto to Celta for $13.5 M on August 20, 2006.
FB Paul Konchesky (ENG) from Charlton to Kaiserslautern for $13.25 M on August 24, 2006.
SC Dimitar Berbatov (BUL) from Leverkusen to HSV for $12.75 M on January 26, 2007.
MF Bernd Korzynietz (GER) from Gladbach to VfB Stuttgart for $12.5 M on January 26, 2007.
MF Márcio (BTA) from Cruzeiro to Internacional for $12.5 M on May 27, 2007.
SC Ismael Iñiguez (MEX) from Pumas to FC Kobenhavn for $12.25 M on August 19, 2006.
LW Néstor Fabián Canobbio (URU) from Valencia to Málaga for $12 M on August 4, 2006.
MF Darren Fletcher (SCO) from Man Utd to VfB Stuttgart for $12 M on August 29, 2006.
LW Riccardo Montolivo (ITA) from Reggina to VfB Stuttgart for $11.75 M on August 28, 2006.
DC Jong-Kook Song (KOR) from Feyenoord to Schalke 04 for $11.75 M on January 12, 2007.
SC Ronaldo (BRA) from Real Madrid to Dortmund for $11.75 M on January 31, 2007.
MF Morais (BRA) from Paysandu to Besiktas for $11.5 M on August 18, 2006.
RW Cleiton Xavier (BRA) from Internacional to Schalke 04 for $11.5 M on August 27, 2006.
LW Emanuel Centurión (ARG) from VfB Stuttgart to Leverkusen for $11.5 M on January 10, 2007.
SC Landon Donovan (USA) from Leverkusen to Duisberg for $11.25 M on August 4, 2006.
RW Oscar Rojas (MEX) from San Luis to Alavés for $11.25 M on December 22, 2006.
MF Iván Helguera (SPA) from Real Madrid to Barcelona for $11.25 M on December 29, 2006.
MF Jurica Vranjes (CRO) from Werder Bremen to Hertha BSC for $11.25 M on January 15, 2007.
SC Portillo (SPA) from Real Madrid to Hertha BSC for $11 M on January 12, 2007.
MF Leandro Gracián (ARG) from Vélez to Boca for $10.5 M on July 15, 2006.
MF Cristian Ledesma (ARG) from Leverkusen to Inter for $10.5 M on August 8, 2006.
SC Mikael Forssell (FIN) from Hertha BSC to Atlético Madrid for $10.5 M on December 15, 2006.
SC Nelson Haedo-Valdez (PAR) from Werder Bremen to Gladbach for $10.25 M on January 27, 2007.
FB Michel Salgado (SPA) from Real Madrid to Betis for $10 M on August 28, 2006.

Comments How do I even begin to comment on this list of the transfers? It is by far the longest list of transfers with $10 M-plus pricetags since I took over at Tamworth. D'Alessando's move to Milan is the new high fee paid, topping past deals for Hargreaves and Martin Klose at $62 M. That $68 M was the big deal on August 30, which saw $99.75 M exchanged that day in three separate deals. Of course, that's nothing compared to the $116.5 M that was spent in three other deals on August 25, including the second and third biggest deals of the year involving Kléberson from Man Utd to Milan, and then Man Utd turning that around and spending it on Govou. There were a ton of little things to note about this year. The first ever $10 M-plus transfers entirely within South America made the list, with three of them in place here. The first American (Landon Donovan) reached a double digit transfer fee. Bundesliga squads in particular were spending like mavens. It must have been a banner year for football in Germany. And some big names exchanged teams, too, even beyond the above, including superstar striker Ronaldo, previous transfer fee record holder Hargeaves, star French midfielder Vieira, German defensive midfield star Deisler and Swedish star striker Ibrahimovich.

CR

GoldenEagle

06-24-2004, 12:43 AM

Keep it coming Chief. This is outstanding.

Chief Rum

06-24-2004, 12:46 AM

International Competitions

Just like 2005 and 2003, 2007 was a slow year for international competitions, as most fo the world prepares for several major continental tournaments in 2008, including the European Championships, Copa America, and the African Nations Cup.

Gold Cup

The United States rebounded from a poor Germany 2006 showing by winning the Gold Cup and beating Brazil along the way. Mexico finished second, and South Korea, the lone Asian nation invited to the New World tournament, finished third.

Confederations Cup

France backed up its Cup win in 2006 by taking the follow up Confederations Cup, held in Bolivia this year. France beat Italy to get a little revenge for falling to the Italians in Euro 2004. Colombia finished third in the only tournament other than the World Cup that includes full-age teams from all around the world.

CR

Chief Rum

06-24-2004, 02:13 AM

Keep it coming Chief. This is outstanding.

Thanks, GE. I plan to. I'm pretty excited, too, since I am now finally getting close to where I currently am. It was the regualar updates as we go along that I was most interested in doing. I'm just a year away now. :)

Good luck with your dynasty. I have never played in Belgium. It should be interesting to follow.

CR

Chief Rum

06-24-2004, 03:53 AM

Tamworth 2007/08, Part I

I am about to embark on my most exciting season yet. I had so much to look forward to going into this season that I hadn't before. I was in the EPL with Tamworth. I was actually the defending champion of the FA Cup. I was in the UEFA. My transfer account and wage bill cap were unbelievably huge. It was just a great time to play the game. And Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria was coming up, too, and that's the toughest tourney in the world.

So there was a lot going on as I entered the new season in the Premiership for the first time. One frustration was the small size of my stadium. The board had refused to increase my 4,000-seat lamb Ground during my run in the First Division. It was already being dwarfed in the Second Division. And, now, here I was in the Premiership with a badbox for a stade. Fortunately, the board approved a 2500 or so seat expansion. Of course, that would only get to about a third of the next smallest stadium in the league, and until then, I would have to play in a smaller stadium. But at the time I was willing to accept that,simply because they had finally given me what I wanted in getting an expansion. There is much more to that story, though, and I will update you later on in this post.

I had a lot of decisions to make, of course. This wasn't made more apparent to me than by the wage limit and transfer fees I was given. My tranfser fund in the First Division was just over $400,000. With the influx of $19 M in Premiership TV money and my winnings from a successful run at the FA Cup, I was given a shocking $14 M in transfer fees. That's so much money, I don't know what to think. And then there's the wage bill. It was just over $1 M in the First Division. It was $12 M in the EPL--and most of my players were still signed to bargain First Division salaries at best.

Despite my domination last season, including cup wins over Man City and Newcastle, I had to assume my current roster would be somewhat outclassed by most of the sides in the Premiership, especially the top dogs like defending champ Chelsea or the rich bastards at Trafford and Ashburton Grove (yes, the Gunners are in their new place now). So I knew I had a lot of work to do in the transfer market. I got to work right away.

Before I settle on who I bring in, though, I have to send some people out. Over the years, I have acquired a lot of parts at each stop that have stopped being useful or able to help as I climbed higher in the League. So I cleared off a lot of those players by simply allowing their contracts to run out after the First Division season ended. Some were fairly worthless, but there were a handful of decent players in the mix.

Leon Cort's arrival bumped Barry Laker to a backup role, so it was an easy decision to let the veteran centre back go. Former starting fullback Dave Robinson was still an effective player, but he had way too many single digit ratings for a guy at this level, and I knew I could find better easy. Past key players like striker Armand One and midfielder Mark Noon were also deemed expendable.

With some of the excess off of the staff, I went about with my transfer shopping. I did almost all of it in the first period of June-August, 2007. I'm not sure I know where to begin, because I just bought a ton of players. Altogether, I brought in 18 players. Some were just potential future players, guys my scouts had said could be excellent rospects for the future. These included strikers Ian Collins and Mark Hooper, midfielder Alan Elliot, defenders Kevin Gorman and Peter Castle and goalkeeper Thomas Heaton. These guys I stuck on my U-19 squad or my reserves squad with a bunch of my remaining rejects from my lower division squads, as well as what was left of my last round of youth academy prospects from the First Division year.

But those kids only formed a small percentage of what I went after. I'll just go from area to area.

In the net, I felt that Nelis was a solid option, but I remained worried about Gomez long term because of his athleticism issues. Nelis was also turnign 30 soon, and I knew I needed to get younger if Gomez wasn't the answer. So I brought in a 20-year-old Finnish goalkeeper named Jon Masalin from Aston Villa. Maslain has some teamwork and work ethic issues to deal with, but he is decent physically (not as good as nelis, but much better than Gomez), has the best combo of aerial ability and handling, and unlike my other keepers, he isn't eccentric. Plus, he's young. He cost me $230,000, and my plan was to throw Nelis, Masalin and Gomez to the wolves and see who came out the strongest.

At centreback, I still had Cort in place, but Laker was gone. I was more comfortable with Duff at right fullback with his offensive abilities, and most of the rest of my depth here was just not good enough for this level. So I brought in three centrebacks. The best of the bunch was 2--yaer-old david Raven from Millwall. Raven wasn't the fastest player around, but he plays very tall, marks like a demon and works very well with others. He's also and engine room leader and blessed with a fullback's offensive ability. And he was just 22 years old. I boguht him for $1.1 M. The next two were Jon Otsemobor, a 24-year-old former youth product of Liverpool whom they released on a free, and Mark Warren, brought in on a free from Southend. Otsemobor was as good a marker as Raven, and he has the speed to keep up with Premiership strikers. Where he falters is in the mental areas of the game, where he isn't nearly as solid. Warren doesn't bring much except steadiness. He's clearly a backup type who is just good enough to stick to the first team of a low end Premiership squad for a while.

At the fullback spots, I brought in some key players. I wanted to amke these positions more offensive, as I have found in my tactic that they are very heavily involved in initating the offense. This was why Duff interested me more on the right side. I still had Justin Skinner on the left, but he was getting odl and was borderlien anyway. So I went and signed 33-year-old veteran Icelandic internation Hermann Hreidarsson. Hreidarsson has just a step above average speed and at 33, he's certainly not a long term solution. But he was a very smart defender, he had centreback hops and was very technically skilled defensively and as a tackler. Also, his ball skills were just a shade below the wingers I was using in the First Division. I got him from Charlton for $1.1 M. To back both Duff and Hreidarsson up, along with Skinner, I signed Norwegian defensive midfielder Jarl Andre Starbæk away from a lower division Norwegian squad. The versatile 28-year-old defender and midfielder wasn't as blessed technically and his work ethic was poor, but he had better speed than my other fullbacks, and he was an elite crosser, even better than my wings, who rank among the best you can be. Plus, he could play both sides. I signed him from Ham Kam, the lower Norway side, for $120,000.

I went into the offseason figuring I needed some big upgrades at the defensive midfield spot, as Jensen was clearly too slow for this level. He was struggling at times in the First Division actually. So I went after two players for this position, and several of my backline players (Duff, Hreidarsson, Gorman, Otsemobor, Starbæk) were also possibilities at the spot. I'm glad I didn't go for one of them, though, because otherwise I wouldn't have signed Scottish midfielder Michael Stewart from Sheffield United. Stewart, a 26-year-old who cost me $1.6 M, had a centreback's height, a brilliant tactical mind, solid defensive and physical skills, and terrific on-ball skills, including striker level finishing. He was just a well-rounded player and seemed to fit well for what I was looking for at the defensive midfield spot. I went back to Milwall for more help here and also nabbed Mark Phillips for $1.1 M. Phillips, who is actually a centreback, doesn't have terrific on-ball skills, but he had just enough to be able to function there as a more defensive option at the position. The 25-year-old Englishman had the explosive speed to stay with Premiership strikers and midfielders, and defensive skills as good as anyone's on the team besides perhaps Cort. He's also a terrific tackler. Where he faltered next to Stweart was in the mental abilities. While still very solid there, he was dwarfed in the mental game by Stewart, a tireless, aggressive midfielder with a captain's leadership abilities and the ability to work at top level with highly-cooridinated backlines. In these areas, Phillips was more of a pedestrian. He seemed like a good bet to backup both the defensive midfield and centreback spots.

By now, you all must realize I have a love affair with wings. I love good, fast wings, with great crossing and dribblign. They just really make the offense work. So, despite the presence of several solid wings in Williams, Hicks, a fellow named John Corbett I never mentioned in the First Division part of this dynasty, and the youthful up-and-coming Chris Booth, I jumped at the chance to bring in some really exciting talent here. The notable name was Richie Partridge, an Irish winger who could play both sides of the pitch. He was just 26 when signed away from Liverpool, where he was stuck ont he reserve team and frustrated. His contract was coming up, so I signed him on a free. Partridge doesn't have the teamwork I like, and was slightly less explosive than my previous wings (we're talking a drop to 15 or so pace/acceleration, so not much), and he was also very passive (5 aggression). But he had the best combination of ball skills I saw available in my price range. He's a very good passer and had 20 Decisions. He was also a 20 Dribbler, and his crossing was very good as well. He could finish as well as most strikers. And he can play any midfield, wing or forward position. The other guy I got was Carl Motteram, a $1.4 M transfer from Birmingham. The 21-year-old winger could also play both sides of the pitch. He was an elite level crosser and also happened to have close to elite level finishing, and acceleration that put him up among the fastest individiuals to ever play for my team (albeit not as fast as Oskarsson). In fact, I actually tried him out at striker at first, but it soon became clear he was much more comfortable at his winger position. Motteram wasn't as smart with the ball, nor as good a dribbler as Partidge (he was merely very good, rather than elite there), but he was a more natural passer, a better tackler, more aggressive and slightly faster. Plus, he's just 21. I signed a third winger, a Frenchman named Yoann Bigné from Bordeauz for $90,000, but to be honest, had I known I would get Partridge and Motteram, I wouldn't have signed him. I won't go into too many details except to say that he is similar to Warren on the backline--good enough to occasionally spell the starters and do a passable job, but certainly not a long term keeper.

Unbelievably, I made no changes in the middle. Amaya was coming off of a great season, and Birchall did well as a backup. I eventually wanted to get more "creative" types at that spot, instead of the striker types I was using, but I felt other areas needed addressing first, so I went for them instead.

With Oskarsson coming off his great season, and Wilde also doing very well, I didn't get much up front. The fact of the matter is that prices of good strikers are severely inflated in football (and CM 03/04 as well), so there was little I could afford that were much better than what I had. So by the end of the first transfer window, I had only brought in one new striker, a Ukrainian kid named Andrei Pereplyotkin from Southampton. Thw 21-year-old, like Partirdge was Liverpool, was frustrated at his lack of first team experience and looking for an out. I was able to get him relatively cheap for $2 M, which was a good 50% less than his assessed value. And that's still more than I spent on any one other player in this transfer window. Perplyotkin, skillw-ise, matched up well with my ideal striker. Whereas Oskarsson and Wilde got results, you wouldn't say they really had the talent. Oskarsson made things happen with good technical and mental skills and explosive speed, but he wasn't a good dribbler or finisher, ironically. Wilde was a great finisher, near as good as you can be, and plenty smart, too, but he was at best average, speed wise, barely in doule digits. So Pereplytokin was an exciting player to get, with elite-level finishing and speed that was much closer to Oskarsson's than Wilde's. He was also a very good dribbler and crosser, which is nice to have when you're trying to make things happen on breakaways. He wasn' as mentally solid, and was a bit of a willow with the ball (could be blown off course with a slight wind), and those were his failings. He seemed to be a player with some good potential.

Altogether, I spent about $10 M of my $14 M during the opening transfer season.

My lineup had Nelis, Gomez and Masalin vying for the #1 netminder job. Cort had a new partner in Raven at centreback, with Duff on the right and Hreidarsson on the left. Stewart would start at defensive midfidler, with Phillips backing him and the centrebacks up. Amaya and Birchall returned to man the attacking midfield spot. Williams and Motteram were my left wingers, and Corbett and Partridge were on the right. And I moved Hicks, whom had long ago proven to have a nose for the goal, up front, where he could join Wilde, Oskarsson and Pereplyotkin to help rpovide us with our scorers.

I was readyt o begin my first ever season in the Premiership.

CR

John Galt

06-24-2004, 03:50 PM

Great reading so far. Can't wait for more.

Chief Rum

06-24-2004, 09:30 PM

Great reading so far. Can't wait for more.

Thanks, John. Next round of posts coming up.

CR

Chief Rum

06-25-2004, 12:00 AM

Tamworth 2007/08, The Early Season

Fact is, enough happened this season, that it's worth it to split this one up into two posts (above and beyond the offseason post). So here goes...

As one of the benefits to winning the FA Cup, we earned the right to play in the Community Shield, which symbolically opens the English football season. Our opponent was Premiership champ Chelsea. We itnroduced ourselves to the Premiership in style, beating Chelsea 4-2 at Wembley, the site of our FA Cup win in May.

That certainly kicked us off right. The team quickly showerd it wasn't the relegation candidate the oddsmakers said it would be. Of course, they were saying that pretty much every season from the very beginning, and we always proved them wrong. Why should this year be different?

We suffered an early home loss to Fulham in our second league match of the season, but it was a rare blemish on a record that was mostly wins from the get-go. We embarrassed three different teams in the first few weeks by identical 6-1 scores. We seemed game to at lesats lose or draw one match every month, but not much beyond that. The Fulham loss was our only one in August. We dropped a 3-1 match at my old haunts in Middlesbrough in late September. We drew with Sunderland early in November, 0-0, and later that month, lost 4-2 to Birmingham on the road.

Really, we weren't out of any match in league until December, when we were embarassed by the powerful man Utd squad at Old Trafford on December 22, and then fell 5-1 to, again, Fulham, on New Year's Day. They seem to have our number.

In the end, few teams had answers for our offense. We gave up our share of goals. In fact, based on the numbers, we weren't in the top half of the league in defense. But no one could touch us on offense. Oskarsson was amazing, both scoring and passing. Amaya was incredible from the midfield--I am talking a season for the ages from the vet Salvadoran. Wilde showed that his lack of apparent talent was as unimportant in the EPL as it had been at previous levels.

Man Utd, though, proved to be very tough. After the first couple of matches, we were never lower than the top five in the league, through January. But that loss to the Red Devils in December was key, because they were with us the whole way, and used that win to vault themselves into a first place spot they would hold for a good deal longer. We seemed to settle into second place as the other powerful teams in the league worked out their own problems and started to put on runs. Strong wins at home over Liverpool and Arsenal showed we could definitely hang with them in the early going. The match of the first half of the season came the day after Christmas, when we won a wild shootout with Newcastle at the Lamb Ground, 5-4. Considering our amazing two-goal comeback to win through in the semifinals of the FA Cup the season before, I would imagine the Magpies are rather sick of me by this point.

Despite the offensive success, we felt we could use more depth and quality up front, as Hicks was moved up to the front more because of that than because we felt he was really better there. I hate to play guys out of position--just something I don't like to do. So it bugged me having to run Hicks out there a lot when my top strikers were tired. So I was searching around trying to find someone to use that $3.7 or so M I had left in the transfer account.

Eventually, I settled on 24-year-old Nigerian striker Yakubu, a player who hurt me in the first game I lost. I had a future transfer agreed to for more than what I had, hoping I could move some minor parts to cover the difference by the time the transfer could go through on January 1, 2008. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any interest in my available players and the deal fell through. Then the very same day the deal fell apart, I watched as Yakubu put up a hat trick against me in Fulham's second woin over us on New Year's. That just resolved me to land the player, who was listed by Fulham despite he's seeming quality as a player. In fact, he had apparently been listed so long, they had lowered their demands almost 50%, much like Pereplyotkin in Southampton. Frsutrated by having the deal fall through, I tried offering all of my remaining transfer budget, which in the past had been turned down. Perhaps doing the AI version of its own frustration, Fulham agreed to this offer and sent Yakubu to me later that week.

Yakubu was really the first well-known player I had landed, I felt, and at 24, he had a long career ahead of him. Yakubu was stronger mentally than Perploytokin, the only other player with similar skill level at the position, and was a proven commodity in the past, having scored 57 goals for Portsmouth and Everton from 2003 to 2006.

The league wasn't the only thing I was doing during this time, of course. I began my quest for success in the domestic cup that had proven to be very difficult for me to advance in: the League Cup. I had yet to go beyond a November match for this first prize of English competition, and as always, I stressed doing well in the cup competitions.

I drew Liverpool in the third round to open that quest, but fortunately, it was at home. I beat the Reds, 5-1, in a Halloween match, behind an Amaya hat trick. In the fourth round, I drew a much tougher match in Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Fortunately, Chelsea seemed to have matchup problems with me that were apparent int he Community Shield, and they showed up again when we beat them, 5-2, on December 5, 2007. Oskarsson led the way with two goals.

One of the benefits of being in the Premiership is you are introduced to the League Cup competition rather than late in the running. Just two wins and I was already in the quarterfinals. After two tough opening matchups, I got lucky when I drew First Division Derby at home for the quarterfinal on December 19. As expected, I smacked them hard, 6-1, with Amaya turning in an amazing four-goal performance.

The semifinal of the League Cup, scheduled for late January-early February, is played in two home-and-home legs. As it turned out, I did not get a fortunate draw in Arsenal. The first match was to be played on January 23 at Ashburton Grove, with the follow up at the Lamb Ground on February 6. I expected a tough match on the road, but Arsenal seems to have problems with em the way Chelsea did. We beat them, 4-2, at their place, with another Amaya hat trick to go with it. Amaya had never played better than that December-January stretch. Having played so strong on the road, it was a simple matter at home in the second leg, as we won easily, 5-1, with the recently-arrived Yakubu scoring two goals.

That game symbolized a potential issue, though. Amaya did not score in that one. In fact, he did not even play. The reason? He was sent off early with a personal foul in a horrible 4-1 loss the previous week at Blackburn, and was thus ineligible for the Arsenal match. He would in fact draw a further three-match domestic ban as a result of the harshness of his foul, an attack on Blackburn midfielder Barry Ferguson in which he kicked him after a hard tackle.

This would have far reaching consequences, but since much of that lies in the second half of the season, I will leave it for then.

As important as my runs in the Premiership and League Cup were, I was just as intrigued by the UEFAm the international tournament I had earned my way into by virtue of my FA Cup win. I was a first seed, which meant I didn't have to qualify for the tournament first, which, at its beginning has no less than 96 of the top teams in Europe (in fact, all of the best teams but the top 32, which have won their way to the more prestigious Champions Cup).

Each round of the UEFA is played in two home-and-home leg matches, just like the semifinal of the League Cup. My draw in the first round was Finnish club Tampere United, which had finished as the runner up in the Finnish Premier Division in 2006 (like many Scandinavian divisions, the FPD is a spring to fall league, not a summer to spring leasgue as in elsewhere in Europe). My first UEFA match, at the Lamb Ground, didn't start off so well. The Finnish club jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held on for the 2-1 win. Now having to play them at their place, I did not like my chances. The second match, played in Tampere, Finland on October 17, didn't go so well either for the most part. Entering the last fifteen minutes, we were knotted up at one apiece, which put me down 3-2 in aggregate. After a match in slumber, though, MAaya finally woke up and broke through, tying the aggregate score with a goal in the 78th minute. It seemed set to go to extra time, when Amaya got a hold of another one in injury team and got past the Tampere Utd keeper for the series-winning goal. We had escaped with a tight 4-3 aggregate socre against Tampere Utd to advance to the next round.

Our second round opponent was Bundesliga squad 1.FC Köln, which finished 5th in one of the world's top leagues the year before. having been tested by Tampere Utd, I figured this one would be very tough. Strangely, though, we had an easier time with the German club, beating them 4-1 at our place on November 8. Amaya, of course, scored the now traditional hat trick. On November 29, we finished them off at their place, although it was much closer, 4-3 Tamworth. On aggregate, we won, 8-4, to reach the 2008 stretch of the tournament. That stretch is tough both because the field has been whittled down in Darwinian fashion, and because losing teams from the Champions League group stage are now being introduced into the field. We drew Rosenborg, the longtime Norwegian power, for our third round opponent.

It was right around now that I dscovered a seeming bug in the game's stadium expansion logic. The Lamb Ground had been undergoing construction of the 2500-seat expansion since June, and was scheduled to be finished on December 7. Well, that day came and went, and the ground remained unchanged. In fact, it was still listed as being under construction for the expansion, with the same already-past date listed. So I had no idea when my stadium would actually increase in size. Questioning here at FOFC suggested it might be years. That is very frustrating, considering that revenue from my park has to be considered a key thing here, and having a 3500-capacity stadium in the Premiership is just ridiculous.

I decided that, if by the end of the year, the expansion hadn't happened, I would download aneditor and change it to a level more appropriate for my level. I was hoping I wouldn't have to do that, though.

The second half of the season is coming up.

CR

Chief Rum

06-26-2004, 01:06 AM

Tamworth 2007/08, The Home Stretch

So here we are. We're still in the two main domestic cups and the UEFA, and we're second in the Premiership.

Before I get into that, though, it's time to talk a little about Amaya. I can't say enough right now about the guy's performance. He has been phenomenal this season. I had praised him, too, something I had yet to do for any other player in this dynasty. When he was sent off in that Blackburn game in late January, he had about 40 goals in 30 matches. That is incredible.

Still, the foul was just stupid, and after he was banned for three more matches, I felt I need to do something. So I gave him a warning. A simple warning. I had done this to others in the past who committed stupid fouls, and they were fine with it. Amaya, unfortunately, appears to be a big bad baby. He didn't like it at all. In the span of a week, he went from happy to be with club to unsettled, wants to leave club, and dislikes "you" (that being me). Maybe I should have known--he is temperamental. But, really, only a fool would not see that foul was just idiocy. So the rest of this season will be a battle between Amaya's hurt feelings and my attempts to either reconcile that situation or at least get his performances up to par.

At first, I hoped it would just go away, although I kenw from past experience in other dynasties that is sometiems hard, even impossible, to change a player's mind in a situation like this. What's really funny is that, under my manager profile, I have Amaya listed as a favoured personnel. Go figure.

After playing it easy didn't work, I complimented him in the media again. No luck. Later on in the season I gave that move another shot, and it didn't work any better than the first time. The second time, though, was just a last ditch effort, because I had made a decision by then: despite him having the best numbers on the team, I was going to do my best to ensure Amaya was not a Lamb come 2008/09. I wasn't going to list him until the season ended, but I knew it was time. He's 32, and not really all that talented for this level (good, but not great). He's temperamental and upset with me. And what would have been impossible just a couple years ago (everyone on the team seemed to admire Amaya and think he was a great talent), now seemed possible because the team seemed to be much more enamored with guys like Partridge and Stewart and Cort now. I felt moving Amaya not only made sense from the standpoint of ymself and the player, but that his leaving now was the right team for the team.

This is a situation I will address further in the offseason.

The Premiership Final Fixture

Man Utd had established itself as the top team in the league, leading my squad consistently by about 4-5 points.

We were continuing to pretty much lose or draw a league match a month, but not much more than that. This was a tricky time, becuase I was juggling three cup competitions and a heavy Premiership schedule. My depth was really tested, a fact of this season that I have taken to heart in future moves.

The Blackburn was the February loss. We won all three of our remaining matches in February before going into a long stretch of cup competition in late February-early March (which I will detail shortly). We didn't play a league match from February 23 to March 16, thanks to our commitments elsewhere. This included two league matches that were bumped back twice.

Once we returned to league action, we went 2-1 through the end of March. The March matches were much more difficult, though. Whereas in February, we essentially rolled through our three wins, in March, all three league matches were one-goal affairs, including 3-2 loss to Liverpool at home and a close 4-3 escape against Chelsea on the road.

This seemed to reach a low on April 13, when we lost to Arsenal at Ashburton Grove, 4-2. This was a key point of the season. We had our losses, but Man Utd was going througha tough stretch themselves, and we had actually closed the gap on them by this point. But with us both playing a touch poorer than before, Newcastle, Chelsea and Arsenal all closed the gap some. After the Arsenal match, Tamworth was three points back of Man Utd, 70 points to 67, while Chelsea had 65, and both Newcastle and Arsenal had 63. It was the first time at which you could really say the league was at a bitter free-for-all.

Fortunately, we came to play in this winner-take-all situation. After the Arsenal loss, we went on a string of five wins. The first wins weren't easy, beyond a 4-1 tally over Sheffield Wednesday at the Lamb Ground. We were winning, tight defensive matches, and our defense put up two clean sheets during that stretch as well. Man Utd continued to play poorly--so poorly in fact that we soon had a sizable lead. By the time May 11 and a circled match with Man Utd came around, we were on the brink of the league championship.

We had 79 points with two to play. Man Utd had 72 points with three to play. Everyone else was out of it. If we won, we clinch it. Nothing like playing Man Utd at home with the league championship on the line, eh? And our last match of the season at the Lamb Ground, too.

We came to play in this one. Our high-octane offense immediately hit its stride, scoring an incredible three goals in the opening twelve matches. Even by our standrads, that's fast! Two of the goals were by Wilde, with the third by Oskarsson. That set the tone for the day, as we traded goals with the Red Devils the rest of the way. When the whistle blew, we were up in an unconventional, high-scoring, 6-3, affair, and we were the champions of England!

With the championship clinched, we had mostly backups in for our last match, a road tilt at newcaste. We lost that one, 3-1, of course, not that it mattered. The win over Man Utd ended up being key, considering our loss to Newcastle, as United won both of its last games to finish with 78 points. We had 82 points. Had that game come out with a Man Utd victory, we would have fallen to second with 79 points, while Man Utd would have finsihed with 81 points.

For the season, we went 27-1-10 (that '1' is a draw, remember; we had 10 losses), and finished with 82 points. Our offense was incredible, scoring 115 goals in the 38 league matches. Our defense was less so, allowing 65 goals, but still giving us a league-leading +50 goal differential.

The Domestic Cups

When last we visited the cups, Tamworth was set for a League Cup final after beating Arsneal in the two-leg semifinal.

That league final would be played against First Division Sunderland, following its own Cinderella bit. Since it was a First Division squad, I felt we could take them even with a mix of backups. Why would it be necessary to play backups? Well, as it turns out, that League Cup final, scheduled for March 2, 2008, was right smack in the middle of a brutal set of cup competitions for us. From February 16 to March 13, we played six matches, and only one of them was a Premiership match (versus Man City on February 23). From February 28 to March 13, we had our opening UEFA match with Rosenborg in Norway, the League Cup final three days later (it was a leap year), the second leg against Rosenborg at home three days after that, on March 5, and an FA Cup match three days after that on March 8. My players (and probably no one else's either) can't recover fully from three days' rest, for the most part, so I knew I would have to pick ym spots to play my best players. I decided, given the prestige of the tournament and my difficulties advancing in the UEFA, that Rosenborg shoul dget my attention, and I would play some backups, with starters where I could, against Sunderland in the League Cup Final.

Well, that was a big mistake. The match against Sunderland, which returned us to our home away from home at Wembley, would feature just two Lamb starters in keeper Jon Masalin and fullback Mike Duff (returning to his First Division centreback spot for this one). We didn't even have any starters among the backups. Now, understand, when I say backups, I'm still talking about Partridge and Motteram and Birchall and Pereplyotkin here--I didn't march out nobodies. But Amaya (recently returned from suspension), Oskarsson, Cort, Stewart, Williams and Ravewn, among others, were all sitting and waiting for the second leg of the Rosenborg UEFA competition to be completed three days later.

Sunderland put us on our heels from the very beginning. Forward Matthew Piper put in a goal in the 6th minute. Birchall, playing in Amaya's midfield role, finally broke through and scored in the 35th minute to tie it up. Duff made a dumb mistake, though, and brought down a Sundelrand player in the box in the 43rd minute. Defensive midfielder George Boateng, whom I was very familiar with from my Middlesbrough dynasties, put in the penalty kick to put Sunderland up for good.

Tommy Smith made the lead insurmountable in the second half, with a 50th minute goal, as we continued to flounder. We only put three of nine shots on goal. While Sunderland only had five shots, all were on goal, and Masalin was just awful. So we blew it, and lost our first shot at the League Cup.

Our defense of the FA Cup began in early January with a third round matchup with Third Division Torquay United. That was when we were playing at our peak level, pre-Amaya-spat, and we smoked Torquay, 5-1.

We got a somewhat tougher opponent in First Division Stoke in the fourth round on January 26. Despite that, we still had little problem with them, winning 4-1 at home. We were still on a roll.

The fifth round matchup on February 16 against First Division Norwich City came at a much more pivotal time, as it kicked off our five cup matches in six strecth that went from the Norwich match on the road to March 13. We smacked Norwich, 6-2, showing that we were quite intent on defending our FA Cup. Of course, we had been fortunate in that we had yet to draw a Premiership side in the competition.

That luck would end for the sixth round, the quarterfinals, as we would draw Liverpool for a home match. Thinking like a small side manager again, I actually was disappointed we didn't play at Anfield, so we could get the box receipts. At the time, actually, we were fairly short on funds, down below $10 M in the balance again, as the combination of higher wages and the huge transfer account (all spent) along with poor total gate money from the small stadium and having yet to receive big monies from league or cup competitions, led us to be relatively poor for such a highly-ranked squad.

We showed up to play on March 8, perhaps rejuvenated by the fact we had blown the League Cup just a week earlier with backups. Liverpool pretty much didn't, and we moved on to the semifinals with a 4-1 win.

Now, if you have been reading along, you will recall that the FA Cup semifinal is played at a neutral site, generally either Wembley or the Milennium Stadium in Cardiff. We had a real treat awaiting us at Wembley, the site of our recent League Cup debacle: Man Utd, the very team we were battling the Premiership for.

The match was set for April 6, and there was no way a backup was going to find his way into the lineup for this one. Last year, we came back late to stun Newcastle in this match, after being down two goals with ten minutes left.

With history like that in our minds, we took on a team that has quickly become a bit of a rival in the league. And we started off right, as Oskarsson put a goal past Fabien Barthez in the very opening minute. Amaya added another in the 16th minute, and we had a 2-0 lead. I would call that comfortable, excpet this is man Utd we're talking about here. Sure enough, winger Kieran Richardson scored in injury time of the first half for the Red Devils to give them some momentum going into halftime. We quickyl squashed that bug in the second half, as Oskarsson nabbed his second goal in the 51st minute, and winger Jim Corbett put us up to a commanding 4-1 lead in the 56th minute.

I began to rest easy. Too soon? Perhaps. In the 63rd minute, midfielder Gilberto Silva scored to move Man Utd to within two. Then after surviving some scares, we allowed fullback Patrice Evra to finally break through, and he scored to move Man Utd to within one! We were just hanging on!

The Red Devils kept the pressure up and even had a couple really good chances. But our defense came on strong when it needed to, and we shut the door on them the rest of the way. We escaped the FA Cup semifinal with a 4-3 victory.

Our FA Cup final opponent would be, surprisingly, another First Division squad, just like last season and like the League Cup final. This time, it was the Wolves, who impressed by shellacking Chelsea, 5-0, in the other semifinal. For the Wolves, it was a particularly big game in that they lost in the semifinals of the FA Cup last year on penalty kicks to Crystal Palace, our victim in the final.

Having lost the League Cup with a questionable lineup, I determined not to lose the FA Cup in the same manner. Fortunately, it was the final match of the season for us, scheduled on May 24, so we could afford to allow the players to get tired in this one. All of our starters were in except for Oskarsson, Stewart and Williams, with Nelis in goal. The former two were on the sub list. Williams, unfortunately, was out with an injury I will be detailing in a little bit, with Motteram starting in his place.

It was back to Wembley again. It's strange to think that, since we started this dynasty, we have played the Second Division promotion playoff final here, two FA Cup semifinals, an FA Cup Final (and about to play a second), a League Cup final and a Charity Shield, all in this great London stadium. It always makes us money, too, which is nice.

The Wolves put up five goals against Chelsea. I wasn't going to take them likely. Despite that success against Chelsea and our own league-leading 115 goals, this match turned suprisingly defensive. Neither side could quite get close enough to take good shots.

In the 31st minute, Amaya picked up on a nice pass from Mark Phillips--starting for Stewart in this one at the defensive midfield spot--and took it into the box. He dodged to the right and put in a shot past Wolves' keeper Roy Carroll for the 1-0 lead. It was around then I thought that might end up being his last ever goal for the Lambs, having already made my decision on his future (he would actually be listed right after this match).

I figured there would be more goals, even with the defensive nature of the match. I underestimated both sides' abilities to frustrate the others' chances, though. We played a back-and-forth, ahrd-tackling match the rest of the way, with few plays resulting in actual shots. The Wolves put up a couple great chances, but we were there to clear them out or divert them for corners, and when we couldn't Casper Nelis stepped up and stopped the ball. In the end, we allowed just three shots to the Wolves, two on goal, while we ourselves had just six shots, with four on goal. Nelis and the defense did a great job as we won a very tight 1-0 match for our second straight FA Cup, and the domestic double.

The UEFA Cup

Having won through the early two rounds of the UEFA to get to the third round, we had a matchup with Norway's Rosenborg when the competition resumed in late February.

As you will recall, this was during that tough stretch of cup competition, with the two legs of the Rosenborg matchup surrounding the League Cup final.

I went into this one hoping to have one of those games I had been having and blowing the Norwegain side out, so I could take more risks with a tired, but starter-level lineup in the League Cup three days later, and then throw a reserve squad against Rosenborg in the second match.

Rosenborg, no slouch, of course, would not cater to my desires in this matter. We played to a tough 1-1 draw at their place on February 28. Consiodering we didn't really breeze through the first two rounds of this tournament, drawing 1-1 is cause for concern. I needed to be sure to have my starters for the next match at home against Rosenborg. Little did I know that would end up costing me the intervening League Cup.

When we matched up with Rosenborg again, my starters were well rested and playing at home. Rosenborg rpoved to be much easier at the Lamb Ground, and we beat the, 4-0, to take the 5-1 aggregate win.

This late in the year, the UEFA competition turns around quickly, and we immediately had a fourth round match scheduled for March 13, not much more than a week after our Rosenborg win.

With teams ousted from the Champions League now in the mix for the UEFA Cup, I drew one of those teams in highly-regarded Ukrainian High League squad Dinamo Kiev. We had actually met up with this team in a preseason friendly at the Lamb Ground, drawing 1-1. Of course, separated by eight months and a wealth of importance, that match was of no use to us at all in this leg.

The first match was at the Lamb Ground, and I expected to be truly tested. So it was with some relief that we actually really came to play this day. We shellacked Dinamo Kiev 5-0. The follow up in Kiev on March 27 was much closer, of course, but they still couldn't solve our defense, and we won, 2-0. That gave us a 7-0 aggregate win and a ticket to the quarterfinals.

Wow! The quarterfinals of the UEFA! Dare I think we can win this thing?

We drew Portuguese Superleague power Braga for the quarterfinal. I don't know what's gotten into us, or if these leagues just aren't as good as they seem, but we really put it to Braga in the opener of this leg, too, winning 6-0 at the Lamb Ground on April 10. Partridge scored a hat trick late for us. We then finished off the leg with a 3-0 win at their place on April 16. The 9-0 win vaulted us into the semifinals and a matchup with Braga's league partner, Benfica.

Benfica proved to be as little a match for us as well. By now, we were heavy into our good stretch in the Premiership that eventually won us the league championship. The UEFA competitions were just other matches to win in among the league matches. We dominated Benfica at their place, winning 7-1 on APril 24 behind a hat trick by Oskarsson. It was a much more back-and-forth match at the Lamb Ground on May 8, where we won a close one, 4-3. Of course, we weren't starting many starters, as we were preparing to go for the league championship against Man Utd three days later. On aggregate, we won 11-4.

We had done it. We had won through to the UEFA Final, to be held this year at Lerkendal Stadion in Trondheim, Norway. And we had made it this far with only one matchup with a squad from one of the big four leagues (1.FC Koln in the second round is a member of the Bundesliga).

That would end in the final, though, scheduled for May 21. Our opponent would be Serie A power Parma, currently fifth in the powerful Italian league. I figured this would be a very tough match.

The best players appeared to be forwards Marco di Vaio and Alberto Gilardino, both younger members of an Italian national team in transition, and goalkeeper Sebastian Frey, whom would soon replace Man Utd goalkeeper Fabien Barthez as France's starting netminder. American winger Connor Roberts was also on the team, as well as Brazilian veteran defender Junior. These guys were no slouches.

Oskarsson opened up the scoring in the 17th minute, beating Frey for the 1-0 lead. The lead was very shortlived, as Parma's Swedish midfielder Henok Goitom tied the score up just one minute later. A Parma defender made the ill-advised decision to cut down Oskarsson in the box in the 20th minute, though. Williams put int he resulting penalty to give us the 2-1 lead.

After that, both sides seemed to settle into a long match of key tackles and interceptions and finely set up plays, as we tried to put more points on the board. For the most part, we had the edge over them, although we didn't score again on Frey through the first half.

The second half was much like the first, with the monotony only broken up, unfortunately, by an injury to Williams. We put Partridge in and went on with what was becoming a very defensive match filled with close calls. There were a number of times when I thought Parma would tie it up, but we always just managed to escape it.

Finally, in the 88th minute, Oskarsson got a hold of another one on the keeper and beat Frey for a relief-inducing 3-1 lead. A surprise goal by Birchall in injury time was just frostong on the cake. We had won the UEFA Cup and completed the international treble!

It was an impressive achievement, although the treble wasn't actually achieved until the FA Cup final three days later (at the time of the win over Parma, it was just the international double, as we had already clinched the Premiership championship).

We outshot Parma, 13-9 (9-4 on goal), and Oskarsson's two goals gave him the Man of the Match. We did not escape unscathed, though. The injury to Williams turned out to be very serious. Our starting left winger suffered damaged cruciate ligaments and would miss nine months. Basically, the match cost us our left winger for most of next season, complicating our offseason plans and depriving us of one of our premier wing talents.

But I will worry about that when I worry about that. At that time, i was only concerned with the fact we had finished off one of the greatest, unexpected football seasons in European club football history.

The End Results

All in all (and not counting friendlies), we played in 38 league matches, 12 domestic cup competitions, the Charity Shield, and 13 international matches, for a total of 64 matches. Our total record was 50-2-12, including an amazing 23-1-2 in cup competitions (including the Charity Shield).

Money was no longer an issue. We won millions for our success in the FA Cup and UEFA Cup, and we got $16 M for our table-topping finish in the Premiership. We would soon add another $19 M in Premiership TV monies for the 2008-09 season, and our balance ended up higher than $40 M. Money problems were not an issue anymore.

We reached the end of the season, though, and the promised expansion of the Lamb Ground had not happened. It is a maddening bug. I decided that, despite it not perhaps being within the spirit of the dynasty, that I should edit my ground to be more appropriate for the level of team I had become (a Premiership squad).

So I went in with Mind Compression (a CM03/04) editor and changed the Lamb Ground to a 29995-all seater park, which is slightly under the average for a Premiership ground (probably about 13th-15th or so among the 20 teams. I made no other adjustments, although I was pleased to get upgraded training facilities (from "adequate" to "top training grounds with youth academy). I also adjusted Tamworth's caps on these numbers, allowing the stadium to expand to 45,000 and the local population to support the club up to 48,000. Once again, I felt this was within reason, as I was not all that far from Birmingham, and fans would certainly travel the short distance to go see one of the better clubs in the Premiership. I set the initial stadium attendance at 24,000 or so. Strangely enough, the approved expansion is still in place. But then, I figure that's not ever going to happen, so I'm not too worried about it.

Obviously, it was a banner year for many of my players, especially my forwards and midfielders. Amaya, despite his emotional issues and dislike of me, had a phenomenal season from the attacking midfield role. He had an incredible 54 goals on the season in 43 matches, with 14 assists and an 8.47 rating. And, yes, I'm still planning to move him.

The real star, though, was Orri Freyr Oskarsson. The Icelander was amazing, with 37 goals and 40 assists in 43 matches, to go along with an 8.53 rating and his second straight Supporters' Player of the Year award.

The other strikers were no slouches themselves. Yakubu scored 11 goals and had 16 assists in his five competitive months with the club, along with a 7.71 rating. He also got six goals and assists with Fulham prior to that, so he finished with 17 goals and 22 assists on the season. Wilde (20), Hicks (15), Pereplyotkin (14) and Birchall (16) all also contributed much offense to the club.

Williams, whose injury seems likely to be very key for the club in the next season, had five goals, 17 assists and an 8.13 rating. His wing partner Corbett had 11 assists and a 7.95 rating as well. Partridge (12 goals, 10 assists) and Motteram (6 goals, 8 assists) were very good as reserve wings as well.

Stewart, the imported Scottish midfielder, turned himself into a star, and the second-highest valued player after Yakubu. It seemed like everyone had Stewart as a "thinks Stewart is a good player". Stewart had four goals, 15 assists and a 7.65 rating. His backup, Phillips, had 9 assists.

Along the backline, when players weren't praising Stewart, they propped up Cort, who had become the defensive leader of the team. Cort had a 7.35 rating and 6 assists. His partner Raven put up a 7.05 rating. ANd getting higher ratings on the backline is hard to do unless you're very good.

Duff (7 assists, 7.49 rating) and Hreidarsson (4 assists, 7.22 rating) also did very well as the fullbacks.

Symbolic of our defensive problems, the goalkeepers were at best solid, but really could have been much worse with a worse defense in front of them. Masalin allowed 46 goals in 30 matches, putting up 7 clean sheets and a 6.73 rating. His net partner Nelis put up very similar numbers, with 45 goals conceded in 30 appearances, 6 clean sheets and a 6.60 rating.

And that was the end of a tremendously successful season.

CR

Chief Rum

06-26-2004, 04:24 AM

2007/08 Season, Around The World

Major League Results

English Premier Division: Tamworth, Man Utd, Liverpool
Primera Liga (Spain): Barcelona, Deportivo, Celta
Serie A (Italy): Juventus, Genoa, Milan
Bundesliga (Germany): FC Bayern, Leverkusen, Werder Bremen
Ligue 1 (France): Guingamp, Lens, Cannes
Casino Eridivisie (Holland): Ajax, NEC, PSV
Portuguese Superleague: Sporting Lisbon, U. Lamas, Académica
Supeligaen (Denmark): AaB, OB, FC Kobenhavn
National A Division (Greece): Olympiakos, PAOK, AEK
Belgian First Division: Anderlecht, Mouscron, Standard
Scottish Premier League: Celtic, Dundee, Hibs
Turkish Premier Division: Fenerbahçe, G. Birligi, Galatasaray
Ukrainian High League: Dinamo Kiev, Arsenal Kiev, Shakhtar

Other European Champions: GAK (Austria), Varteks (Croatia), Banik Ostrava (Czech Republic), FC Haka* (Finland), Debrecen (Hungary), Bohemians* (Ireland), M. Haifa (Israel), Linfield (Northern Ireland), Bodo/Glimt* (Norway), Wisla (Poland), CSKA Moscow* (Russia), Partizan (Serbia & Montenegro), Zilina (Slovakia), Elfsborg* (Sweden), Grasshopper (Switzerland), Caersws (Wales)

*-- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign

National Cups

English FA Cup: Tamworth over Wolverhampton
English League Cup: Sunderland over Tamworth

Spanish Cup: Real Madrid over Valencia
Italian Cup: Parma over Perugia
German Cup: Bielefeld over Schalke 04
French Cup: Nîmes over Montpelier
Dutch Cup: Ajax over Willem II
Portuguese Cup: Belenenses over P. Ferreira

European Club Competitions

Champions League: Milan over Dortmund
UEFA: Tamworth over Parma

Comments: I don't think I would be tooting my own horn to say that my club's success was the story of European football this season. I was the only team to win the treble, and I did it in the first year I ascended to the top league. In fact, I came a bad result against Sunderland away from pulling off not only the international treble, but the domestic one as well. After winning their respective leagues for the third year in a row, you have to consider Juventus and Barcelona to be two of the very best clubs in the world. FC Bayern regained its perch atop the Bundesliga after a drop to third. Bayern has won five of the last six Bundesliga championships. A long streak came to an end in Holland. Ajax finally broke through and defeated PSV, which had won five in a row since 2002. Incidentally, Ajax, which also took the domestic double, was the last Dutch team besides PSV to win that league. Dortmund made a big splash last season with a wealth of strong signings and a league championship, but a drop out of the Bundesliga top three has to be a considerable disappointment. Parma eased its pain of losing in the UEFA final by taking the Italian Cup. Overall, Italy was very strong this year, with powerful Juventus as champs, the Champions Cup winner in Milan, and UEFA runner up Parma. For the second year in a row, Rangers were nowhere to be found in Scotland's top three.

CR

Chief Rum

06-27-2004, 03:50 AM

Top Transfers Of The 2007/08 Season

RW Mancini (BRA) from Roma to Real Madrid for $63 M on December 7, 2007
LW Rafael van der Vaart (NED) from Ajax to Liverpool for $46.5 M on August 9, 2007
FB Wilfred Bouma (NED) from PSV to Schalke 04 for $29 M on August 27, 2007
RW Mauro Germán Camoranesi (ITA) from Juventus to Barcelona for $28 M on July 13, 2007
MF Gennaro Ivan Gattuso (ITA) from Milan to Arsenal for {b]$25 M[/b] on January 17, 2008
MF Gilberto Silva (BRA) from Arsenal to Man Utd for $24 M on January 15, 2008
SC Peter Levenkrands (DEN) from Rangers to Blackburn for $22 M on July 29, 2007
SC Javier Saviola (ARG) from Inter to Schalke 04 for $21.5 M on August 27, 2007
SC Fabrizio Miccoli (ITA) from Juventus to Real Madrid for $21 M on August 30, 2007
SC Jermain Defoe (ENG) from Tottenham to Roma for $20 M on August 31, 2007
MF Mark Bresciano (AUS) from Juventus to Liverpool for $19.5 M on August 3, 2007
MF Andrea Prilo (ITA) from Milan to Inter for $18 M on January 1, 2008
SC Ruud van Nistlerooy (NED) from Man Utd to Real Madrid for $17.75 M on July 18, 2007
SC Gil (BRA) from Corinthians to Sampdoria for $17.25 M on January 30, 2008
MF Stephen Appiah (GHA) from Inter to Fiorentina for $17 M on July 18, 2007
SC Guiseppe Sculli (ITA) from Marseille to Man Utd for $16 M on August 7, 2007
SC Djibril Cissé (FRA) from Zaragoza to Man Utd for $16 M on August 9, 2007
SC Dimitar Berbatov (BUL) from HSV to FC Bayern for $15.75 M on January 10, 2008
MF Michele Pazienza (ITA) from Udinese to Chelsea for $15.25 M on January 30, 2008
MF Paul Scholes (ENG) from Man Utd to Arsenal for $14.75 M on August 6, 2007
LW Gaetano D'Agostino (ITA) from Roma to Man Utd for $14.5 M on August 25, 2007
MF Juan Román Riquelme (ARG) from Valladolid to Barcelona for $14.5 M on August 24, 2007
MF Giampiero Pinzi (ITA) from Chelsea to Inter for $14 M on January 16, 2008
MF Emerson (BRA) from Roma to Milan for $13.25 M on July 19, 2007
FB Bernd Korzynietz (GER) from VfB Stuttgart to Man Utd for $13.25 M on August 22, 2007
SC Benjamin Lauth (GER) from Napoli to HSV for $12.75 M on July 17, 2007
SC Nenê (BRA) from PAO to Juventus for $12.25 M on January 6, 2008
SC Cacau (BRA) from VfB Stuttgart to Rostock for $12 M on January 7, 2008
SC Andrea Gasbarroni (ITA) from Real Sociedad to FC Bayern for $12 M on January 24, 2008
MF Torsten Frings (GER) from Real Madrid to Barcelona for $11.75 M on January 1, 2008
MF Roland Bonimeier (GER) from Basel to Leverkusen for $11.25 M on January 1, 2008
RW Lucas Martín Castromán (ARG) from Vélez to Real Madrid for $11 M on December 22, 2007
SC Milos Krstic (SER) from Basel to Sporting Lisbon for $10.75 M on January 30, 2008
DC Belletti (BRA) from Real Soceidad to Real Madrid for $10.5 M on August 30, 2007
MF Patricio Pérez (ARG) from Valencia to Parma for $10 M on January 25, 2008
SC Davide Matteini (ITA) from Piacenza to Parma for $10 M on January 26, 2008
SC Ricardinho (BRA) from Internacional to Cruzeiro for $10 M on February 16, 2008

Comments: Gotta hand it to Real Madrid. The world's richest club knows how to buy in style. This past season they brought in Mancini and Castroman on the wing, Belletti on the backline, and Nistlerooy and Miccoli up front. Their spending was almost matched by Man Utd, though, which brought in its own wealth of star players in Sculli and Cissé up front, D'Agostina on the wing, Silva in the midfield, and Korzynietz at fullback. Amazingly, both teams still managed to fall short in their leagues, with Real Madrid once again finishing behind three-time straight Primera Liga champ Barcelona, while Man Utd were shocked by surprise squad Tamworth. This transfer season also had one move that was just wrong: Scholes to Arsenal? Heaven forbid! Among the nationalities of players moved, it was a strong year for the Netherlands, Italy and Brazil. A ton of good players from these countries were moved in the past year.

CR

Chief Rum

06-27-2004, 05:34 AM

Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland Qualifiers

Tamworth may have come out of nowhere to win the international treble, but it's time to put aside club success and look at the most competitive international tournament in the world.

Here are the four Groupings for Euro 2008:

Group A

Austria, Greece, Holland, Turkey

Comments: This should be a very competitive group, as no one team will stand out here, judging from past reputation. Holland was the only team here to get to the World Cup final round, while Turkey embarassed itself with just one point in the group stage of Germany 2006. Still, they will likely be the two favorites here, as Greece didn't even make the World Cup and Austria is probably only here because it's hosting this thing.

Group B

France, Norway, Poland, Spain

Comments: Obviously, the clear standout here is the World Cup champion French. Not only do they have that standout achievement on the docket, they should also be well-motivated by their runner up finish in this competition in Portugal in 2004. But they didn't get a friendly draw in two other teams that made the Germany 2006 final round in Spain and Norway. Poland, obviously, is in over its head in this group.

Group C

Belarus, England, Italy, Serbia & Montenegro

Comments: Serbia & Montenegro, the favorite? You laugh, but it was the Serbs who reached the final round in Germany in 2006, while the defending Euro champ Italians embarassed themselves in the group stage, and England watch the tourney from the cozy confines of their living rooms. Still, this figures to be a very tough group. Belarus was quite a Cinderella in the qualifying, but the dream almost certainly ends here.

Group D

Croatia, Czech Republic, Portugal, Switzerland

Comments: Portugal seems to be the favorite here, coming off of a run to the semis as hosts of Euro 2004, but they won't be in front of the home crowds here, and they didn't escape the group stage at Germany 2006. But then neither did the Czech Republic, and Croatia and Switzerland weren't even invited. The Portuguese have the talent to walk here. After that, it's a much more open group, although the Czechs probably have a clear edge for the second spot.

WHO DIDN'T MAKE IT

Well, one country in particular should stand out, since they were mentioned enough above: Germany. Embarassingly enough, the Germans--supposedly one of the top football countries in the world--did not make it to Euro 2008. But they have some pretty significant company. The other standout here is Romania, which may have ruined all the good it did in finishing third at Germany 2006 by not even qualifying for this tournament. With Finland also on the outs, that makes three World Cup 2006 quarterfinalists who didn't make it to Austria/Switzerland.

Other notable countries to not make it were Sweden, Belgium, Scotland and the Ukraine.

CR

Chief Rum

06-27-2004, 06:23 AM

Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland Group Stage

ROUND ONE

Group A

Turkey 0, Austria 0
Holland 3, Greece 1

Buoyed by the home fans, the Austrians continued the Turks' recent bad run in the internationals but pulling off the upset scoreless draw. That allowed the Dutch to take the early upperhand int he group when the beat the Greeks handily, as expected.

Group B

Spain 1, France 1
Norway 3, Poland 1

This probably went as good as the Vikings could hope for. They beat Poland to give them the clear edge among the "also-rans", while the two favorites drew, putting the Norsemen on top of the group. For all as good as Spain is, France has to be disappointed to not start off strong here.

Group C

Serbia & Montenegro 2, Belarus 1
England 3, Italy 1

The English put in a statement in this match, as they took a commanding lead of the group with the toughest other team in their rear view mirror. Serbia & Montenegro probably should have beaten Belarus by more, but the win and three points is what counts. Italy is likely up in arms over this latest international debacle. They were barely competitive at Germany 2006, and they are the defending champs of this tournament.

Group D

Croatia 2, Portugal 0
Switzerland 1, Czech Republic 0

It's amazing how just one round can turn a whole group on its ear. The Swiss are here for show--or so it was said. They didn't get the memo, though, and surprised the stronger Czechs in front of the home crowd. And then Croatia pulled off the even bigger upset, continuing Portugal's recent string of poor success in international competitions.

ROUND TWO

Group A

Turkey 2, Holland 2
Greece 3, Austria 1

Holland missed a brilliant chance by failing to beat Turkey. The Turks, meanwhile, would be looking a lot better at this point if the Greeks hadn't beaten the Austrians to move up to second. A draw in that game would have suited Turkey much better. Holland still has the edge, but at this point, this group is still wide open.

Group B

Spain 2, Poland 1
France 1, Norway 0

For Norway, they need to win one of these last two games to get in, and Spain figures to be slightly easier than the French. Still, Norway put up a good fight before falling to the World Cup holders. Poland becomes the first squad to be eliminated after falling to Spain.

Group C

Italy 1, Serbia & Montenegro 0
Belarus 4, England 2

Here we have the epitome of intestinal fortitude. On one hand, we have the Italians, downtrodden and looking for a wint o break them out of their malaise. And we have the English, with an easy opponent at hand and a spot in the quarters there for the taking. Italy finally came through and got a hard fought win over the Serbs. England fell on its keister and gave up one of the biggest upsets in recent football history.

Group D

Croatia 3, Switzerland 1
Portugal 2, Czech Republic 0

Croatia could be expected to beat the Swiss, or at the very least match them blow-for-blow, but it was their win over Portugal that made this a pivotal game. Although their spot is not clinched, the surprising Croatians are virtually assured of advancing now. Portugal puts themselves square with the Swiss for that second spot, while the Czechs are all but eliminated in a very disappointing performance.

ROUND THREE

Group A

Turkey 2, Greece 0
Holland 2, Austria 0

The group's two spots were there for the taking, and the Dutch and Turks followed through. For Holland, it's just a completion of a foregone conclusion in this group, although there is some retribution for having drawn with Austria to start this group off. Turkey meanwhile earned itself some props for making up for a very poor showing at Germany 2006.

Group B

Spain 2, Norway 1
France 4, Poland 1

It came down to the Spain-Norway game, as no one realistically expected the eliminated Poles to compete with the French (and they didn't). It was a winner take all. Spain came in with more talent, and in the end, that was the difference in a tight contest. It wasn't quite the easy road projected, but France and Spain both left this group for the quarters.

Group C

Serbia & Montenegro 3, England 2
Italy 2, Belarus 0

England, perhaps disheartened by its shocking loss to Belarus, didn't have the gumption to come up with a needed win against the tough Serbs, and that proved to be their undoing. Italy, as expected, beat Belarus handily and won its way into the quarters after all. The surprising Serbs got the top spot on the basis of total goals scored. Of course, after reaching the World Cup final round in 2006, maybe it shouldn't be a surprise anymore that Serbia & Montenegro have gotten as far as they have.

Group D

Croatia 0, Czech Republic 0
Switzerland 2, Portugal 1

Who are the biggest losers in this Euro? England or Portugal? With a spot in the quarters on the line, the Portuguese choked away their chances and unbelievably fell to the homeland Swiss. Croatia wasn't as impressive in this round as previously, but it only needed a point to advance, and it got it. Shocking as it is, the two favorites are going home, and the Swiss and Croatians are moving on.

Quarterfinal Matchups

Holland --vs-- Spain
France --vs-- Turkey
Serbia & Montenegro --vs-- Switzerland
Croatia --vs-- Italy

CR

Chief Rum

06-27-2004, 05:24 PM

Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland Quarterfinals

SPAIN 1, HOLLAND 1 (Spain win on PK, 3-1)

What a way to start off the quarters! This is by far the best match yet of the tourney. The two teams evenly split up 38 total shots, with 22 on goal. Holland got a late exciting goal from midfielder Mark van Bommel of PSV in the 86th minute, to fight off the desperation of trying to solve Iker Casillas of Real Madrid in net for Spain. Spain had been holding onto a 1-0 lead since Raúl, also of Real Madrid, scored in the 24th minute. After equalizing, Holland and Spain battled it out through two extra time periods before reaching the penalty kicks. Xavi of Racing Santander opened up Spain's own end with a score, but Barcelona's Patrick Kluivert didn't get the Dutch started right by missing his. Fortunately for Holland, Deportivo's Diego Tristán gave them a gift and missed his, allowing PSV's Kevin Hofland to tie it up at 1-1. Fernando Navarro of Barcelona converted his turn to give Spain the 2-1 lead, setting up the shot of the day. Navarro's club teammate Denny Landzaat kicked his shot for Holland, but Casillas saved it, giving Spain the edge. Valencia's Miguel Angel Angulo put Spain up 3-1 on the next kick and putting the backs of Holland to the wall. When Inter's Andy van der Meyde missed his kick, it was all over, and Spain advanced to the semifinals. Despite losing, Dutch netminder Sander Westerweld of Real Sociedad got the man of the Match.

TURKEY 1, FRANCE 0

Wow! France's "inevitable" march to the title ended shockingly today, as Turkey continued to play well. This one had a goat, though. Real Madrid centreback Phillip Mexès tripped Betis's striker Sanli Tuncay in the 43rd minute and earned himself a send off with a professional foul! France was already a goal down, courtesy of a 23rd strike from Fenerbahçe's Akin Serhat, and now they had to fight back from a man down, too. Showing how good they are, they still outshot Turkey for the match, 13-9, and the ball was in Turkey's end 32% of the match, as opposed to 21% in France's end. But they couldn't beat Turkish goalkeeper Reçber Rustu of Barcelona. Fullback Kahriman Memhmet of Fenerbahçe earned the Man of the Match for his defensive work.

SERBIA & MONTENEGRO 2, SWITZERLAND 0

For all of the Swiss' relative reputation to Serbia & Montenegro, they held to past form and really tested the favored squad before falling. Switzerland put up six shots on goal to Serbia & Montenegro's three (although the Serbs took the overall shot count fight, 11-6), but they couldn't beat Vitesse netminder Dragoslav Jevric. The Serbs got to Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio of Perugia early. Benaglio allowing two of the three shots on goal to get past him. They were scored by striker Andrija Kaludjerovic--ironically, Benaglio's teammate at Perugia--in just the 3rd minute, and midfielder Branko Boskovic of Paris-SG in the 27th minute. Jevric got the Man of the Match.

CROATIA 2, ITALY 0

Apparently beating out England to get to the quarters took all of fight out of the Italians, who quailed in typical form in this one. This was a very tight, defensive match, with just 13 shots taken. The Italians only put two of their seven on goal, while stunning Croatia had five of its six shots on goal. Unfortunately for Italy, star goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus had an off-day, and allowed two goals to go by. It was a scoreless draw for most of the match before Croatia finally tested Buffon midway throught he second half. Striker Tomislov Sokota of Benfica finally got Croatia up one in the 66th minute, and fellow striker Domagoj Abramovic of Kamen Ingrad put the Croations up 2-0 just four minutes later, before the Italians realized they had been scored on in the first place. In a tournament that is becoming reknowned for its huge upstes, this is just another one. Juventus fullback Igor Tudor got the Man of the Match for his help on the backline.

SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS

Croatia --vs-- Spain
Serbia & Montenegro --vs-- Turkey

CR

Chief Rum

06-27-2004, 06:31 PM

Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland Semifinals

CROATIA 2, SPAIN 1

You have one major upset, why not make it two? Croatia seems intent on letting everyone know they are not to be taken lightly, after dispatching Spain to reach the Euro 2008 final, after being longshots to get to the tournament, out of the group stage and out of their quarterfinal match with Italy. They outshot the Soanish in a close match, 9-7, with a slight 3-2 on-goal advantage, while possession remained largely even. As in Spain's game against Holland, the Spanish got an early lead off of a Raúl goal in the 17th minute, but they couldn'ty make it stick. Striker Domagoj Abramovic, after scoring against Italy, is beginning to make a name for himself with important scores, as he pout in the equaliser in the 72nd minute. The Spanish, perhaps reeling from losing their grip on the lead, quickly allowed another in the 74th minute to Cibalia striker Ivan Zgela. That proved to be the difference, as Croatia pulled off yet another amazing upset. One of the few true stars on the Croation team, midfielder Jerko Leko of Schalke 04, got the Man of the Matchf or being a tackling force in the defensive midfield.

TURKEY 3, SERBIA & MONTENEGRO 0

As tough as this tournament has been with mostly defensive play, this one was a bit of a surprise. The Serbs were coming off of a strong showing in Germany 2006, a shutout of the Swiss in their quarterfinal, watched as Turkish star goalkeeper Reçber Rustu had to leave the match with a back strain in the 5th minute, and outshot the Turks 11-6. Despite all of this, they couldn't solve young star sensation netminder Ceylan Fatih of Denizlispor. The 19-year-old put up a 9 rating performance in replacing Rustu and shutting out a Serbian squad that tested him on a number of occasions. The Serbs also lost their goalkeeper, Jevric, the star of the quarterfinal with Switzerland, but unfortunately for them, he didn't get hurt until the 86th minute, as he played poorly (4 rating). Striker Tuncay got the early score in the 15th minute, and for a long time, that looked like it would be it. It wasn;t until late scores by Celta midfielder Yildiray Basturk and Werder Bremen midfielder Sahin Selçuk in the 78th and 88th minutes, respectively, that the Turks turned this one into a blow out. Tuncay receiuved the Man of the Match.

Okay, who picked the Turkey-Croatia final? Certainly wasn't me!

CR

Chief Rum

06-27-2004, 07:07 PM

Euro 2008 Austria/Switzerland Final

Turkey Vs Croatia

Well, perhaps these two teams weren't expected to be here, meeting for the Euro 2008 Final at Ernst Happel Stade in Vienna, Austria, but they are.

For the Croatians, they are following in the footsteps tread by previous Eastern European successes like Romania and Serbia & Montenegro, which have begun to establish that football east and southeast of Germany is not necessarily worse.

For the Turks, this is retribution for what was once considered a very strong team that hit upon hard times. Poor perfoemcnes at Euro 2004 and Germany 2006 have stripped the gloss off of Turkey, but their strong showing here has firmly re-established them as a team to be reckoned with.

The Turks will have to go this one without goalkeeper Reçber Rustu, as he is still hurt from the back injury he suffered against Serbia & Montenegro, but they are probably feeling good with Ceylan Fatih in net. Since he played so well against the Serbs in relief of Rustu, he seems like a strong candidate to do well against Croatia today.

The Turks have had their problems putting goals on net, and this was quickly established once again, as what early shots they were taking didn't really reach Croation goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa of Marseille. Their defense wasn't helped either when fullback Kahriman Mehmet, the star of their quarterfinal win over France, had to leave the match with a foot injury in the 10th minute. Centreback Asik Emre of Besiktas was put into service slightly out of position for the rest of the match.

Although there were a fair number of shots, the Turks couldn't put a shot on goal, and the Croatians couldn't solve Fatih, who is proving to be a huge big name goalkeeper on the rise at this point. It took an angry flare up between the two sides to change things.

In the 60th minute, defensive midfielders Turkey's Belözoglu Emre of Inter and Croatia's Jurica Vranjes of Hertha BSC got into it, resulting in Emre pushing Vranjes. The shove earned Emre a card. That only seemed to enrage him and he pushed Vranjes again! Referee Gilles Veissière had no choice but to send off the hothead Emre with his second yellow!

So now the Turks were going with a man down, an injured backline and their reserve goalkeeper. It was only a matter of time.

In the 82nd minute, Silvio Meric of Iraklis collected a clear out by Fatih at the midfield. After running to the middle of the pitch under pressure, Maric found striker Ivan Zgela charging toward the left corner and lofted a nice pass to him. Zgela, who scored the match winner against Spain, has been a creative playmaker up front for Croatia all tournament, and he is no different on this play. After a quick jaunt into the box, Zgela sent a high pass into the far end of the six-yard box. Fatih, drawn to the post near Zgela, had to scramble back to fron the expected shot. The pass fell to star midfielder Jerko Leko, and Leko powered a header toward the right corner of the goal. Fatih wasn't able to get near the shot before the ball blasted into the net for what proved to be the only score of the match.

Croatia wins Euro 2008 in Austria/Switzerland by the score of 1-0.

Overall, the Croatians had the edge in shots taken, 12 (8) to 10 (3), and they also generally cotnrolled possession, with 31% of the time spent in Turkey's end, asopposed to 21% in their own. Still, you have to wonder what the match might have been like if Emre hadn't have lost his cool. Not only did he put the Turks a man down, but he is also one of their best playmakers.

Despite allowing the game-winner, Fatih rightfully got the Man of the Match. His play at Euro 2008 might signal the arrival of a new star goalkeeper on the scene.

Euro 2012 will also be held jointly, in the British kingdoms of Scotland and Wales.

CR

Chief Rum

06-27-2004, 07:37 PM

Other International Competitions

African Nations Cup

Senegal won its third straight African Nations Cup, beating Cameroon. It's a shame neithee of those temas made it to the World Cup in Germany. Morocco was in third, and Cameroon was hosting the event.

Asian Cup

Perhaps buoyed by reaching the World Cup in Germany and hosting the 2010 event, the Chinese surprised and won the Asian Cup, beating traditional power South Korea. Iran, another Asian team that did surprisingly well at Grmany 2006, finished in third. The event was held in the United Arab Emirates.

OFC Nations Cup

Australia won its third straight OFC Nations Cup, and for the second straight time, it was over New Zealand that they won it. No other nation from the Oceania area has ever won the cup excpet for Australia and New Zealand. The Solomon Islands finished in third in the event, hosted by New Zealand.

Copa America

Argentina edged out the United States in a tight final for the most prestigious New World international event. Powerful Brazil, which was defeated by the American team, finished in third. The event was hosted by Venezuela.

CR

Chief Rum

06-28-2004, 03:56 AM

Tamworth 2008/09 Offseason

We are finally beginning to approach where I am in the game, and where I will resume in somewhat Quiksand form.

Before we get to the season, though, we have an offseason to go through. And as you might expect, having a wildly successful season as we have had, we have both more expectations and a lot more money to work with.

Last season, I had about an $11-12 M wage bill, and $14 M in transfer fees. With our balance as high as it is (in the 40 M's, and that includes paying some $7 M in dividends to club stockholders, whom I didn't even know we had).

This year, I was shocked when I was handed a $24.5 M wage budget and $24 M in transfer fees! I had had enough troubles filling last year's wage budget (I ended up about $1.7 M short), although I did spend just about all of my transfer account.

WHO"S GONE

Before I go into what needs I may have, I figure it is important to note who is leaving. I can afford to keep everyone from last year's roster, even the reserve squad, but if I don't have to, why keep them?

Amaya was the obvious first player to know of. I transfer-listed him, as I said I would, a move he liked, of course, as he has wanted to leave the club for some time. It will take someone else to get him off of my hands, though--I signed him to a trhee-year extension the last offseason, and he still has two years to go.

I'm not going to say the guys I released (or allowed to leave) are importna. They were almost all reserve team guys. Amaya was the highest profile player that is on the outs, and he's not even gone yet.

The other main guy I am moving out also happens to be Salvadoran. Juan José Gómez, my former goalkeeper, spent most of the season with my reserve squad and wasn't too happy about it. He and I were both relieved when his contract came to an end.

In all, nineteen players were released from their contracts in July. John Jensen was probably the most significant of the remaining guys. I will remember his contributions fondly, but the fact is, Jensen was getting too old and has always been too slow to really help me at either defensive midfielder or on the backline anymore.

Among significant long time Lambs, this offseason also witnessed the expiration of contracts for former dribbling star Steve Torpey, occasional backup midfielder Martin O'riordan and several former key backline players, including former starters Joe Taylor, David Perkins, Danny James and Richard Follett. Notable frontline and midfield departures include Ifenildo Vlijker--who atually scored 11 goals for this past season in spot duty in the midfield spot, and striker Jason Jadin, who saw more action in the lower divisions than he did this season.

HOW WE STAND

Before we begin to try and spend this offseason money, it's time to take a snapshot of how we stand at our positions.

In the net, with Gomez gone, we have three remaining goalkeepers of some value. Casper Nelis played in many of our key matches, but he is getting older and has the lesser of skills amongst my keepers. Jon Masalin, the young Finnish goalkeeper, has youth and good skills, but he was inconsistent this season. Then I have Thomas Heaton, the reserve goalkeeper. Heaton perhaps has better upside than Masalin, but he is unhappy at spending the season on the reserve squad. My defense allowed too many goals, and I would like to bring in a big name goalkeeper, if anything else, for ease of mind. But i'm not sure, skills-wise, I'm going to find much better than what I have for a reasonable price.

So I decided to list Nelis, place him on the reserve squad and elevate Heaton to the first team. Nelis and Masalin might provide me with the better combo this season, but Nelis is just here now, while Heaton is a part of the future. I think it's time to bring him up.

At centreback, I am happy with Raven and Cort defensively, but I like the concept of having centrebacks with some offensive skills. I also felt I needed more quality depth, as Otsemobor is relatively unproven, Phillips is split between centreback and defensive midfielder, and young Peter Castle, my top reserve centreback and himself a youth ont he rise, is still unproven. So I figure to bring in some centreback help.

On the reserve squad, young Kevin Gorman appears to be ready to move to the big club, and I am excited by his potential, especially as an attacking fullback. With Mike Duff still around as the starter, and another good kid in Pat Davenport (and do-everything defneder-midfielder Jarl Andre Starbæk) around, I am relatively happy with right fullback.

Left fullback is another matter. While I have no individual issues with the quality of play I was getting from either Hermann Hreidarsson or Justin Skinner, the fact is they are 33 and 35 years old, respectively. I definitely need to get younger and get better depth there.

The emergence of Michael Stewart as a star at defensive midfielder was huge for me, as that is a very critical position in my tactic. But I knew I could use mroe depth. I felt I could use Phillips--who isn't very strong offensively--better at centreback, and if I do so, and keep guys like Duff and Hreidarsson at fullback, then I am suddenly out of quality depth at defensive midfielder. So this is an area to look at.

I was strong on the left wing until Williams suffered his knee injury. With him out to at least January and most of my other options outside of Motteram either not good enough or better suited at other positions, I saw this as a need area for at least one player.

Strangely enough, the right wing has ridiculous depth. Corbett was wonderful as the starter, and Partridge is probably our best backup player. We still have Chris Booth, who played with the reserve squad, and he appears to be ready for the jump to the big time. And we have Darren Birchall as well, who is better suited to wing spots anyway than the midfield positions he has been handling. We even still have Hicks, although, for now, he remains better used up front as frontline depth.

In the middle, we could have some issues. With Amaya unhappy and tarnsfer-listed, we can't count on him. And with Birchall being as inconsistent as he has been, I'm not ready to commit to him as the starter either. So it's just about an empty slate here, and probably our top priority of the offseason.

The front spots have long time stars (Oskarsson and WIlde), and newer, younger star talents (Yakubu and Pereplyotkin). But I would feel more comfortable with another hired gun or two up here. The problem is, strikers cost so much, I'm not sure I can actually bring one in.

And that's where we stand.

INTERNATIONAL JOBS

Just a break from the offseason maneuvering for a second. I don't aspire to just be a club manager. I also would like to manage national teams.

Not surprisingly, the latest round of international competitions have produced some openings. Italy, England and France all sacked their managers. Having looked around, I also found that the Colombian manager was sacked for a poor performance in the Copa America, and bad play int he Asian Cup opened up the Japan job. I went ahead and applied for all.

I quickly found out I wouldn't get the English or Italian jobs, as they were filled right away. France remains open, though. A month into the season, Colombia and Japan both hired new managers. It would have been nice if they had sent me a message to acknowledge this. So it's France or bust--and they still haven't filled the position. Weird.

WHO I BROUGHT IN

Unlike previous seasons, I didn't sign a bunch of players via Bosman ahead of time, at least not before my new wage budget and transfer accounts were announced. So I knew what I had to get and what I had availabel to spend to it before I made any personnel decisions here.

I immediately began a round of offers, to both impending Bosman transfers, and for straight transfers as well.

Plenty of players didn't work out at all. I put in a bid for Freddy Adu, now an 19-year-old with SC Freiburg, and even worked out a deal for him and with him, but he has yet to establish his credentials internationally, and he did not receive a permit. That was a huge deal ($10 M) that fell apart. I put in enquiries for midfielders like Middlesbrough's Stuart Downing, a left winger I remembered fondly from my Boro dynasty days, and Romanian midfield star Tiberiu Ghaone with Greuther Furth. Greuther Furth asked for way to much for Ghaone, and so did the Boro with Downing, although we eventually agreed to a deal that I allowed to fall apart because of the possibility of an Adu deal.

I inquired about numerous top goalkeepers. My requests for transfer prices on Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas and American star keeper Tim Howard, with real Madrid and Deportivo, were both turned down. I could have bid for Chelsea's Petr Cech, but decided I didn't like him any better than my current guys.

I had a deal for Poland striker Emmanuel Olisadebe fall through after he demanded far too much money to sign with us. That deal, which I tried to put together after the Adu deal fell apart, was far an even larger amount, some $13 M or so. There were many others for whom it's not importent enough to detail what happened with them and my enquiries. Suffice to say, who I did get was the result of numerous offeres and considerations across Europe, and I missed as much as I hit.

At goalkeeper, rebuffed for my top targets, I didn't end up signing anyone and stood by with Masalin and Heaton. No one has bitten on Nelis either, so it appears he will remain with my reserve team in the mean time.

My most expensive signing of the offseason was Blackburn defender James McEveley, a 23-year-old star who already had four seasons starting in the EPL under his belt, with three of them averaging over a 7 rating. He's fast, tall, smart, a great tackler and good defender, and he has midfield offensive skills. He can also play center or on the left, meaning he fills two roles for me. I spent $8.5 M on him, by far the most I have ever spent on a player.

McEveley was nice because he was just 23, but I failed to get the other young centreback I was hoping to get, and I failed to get another true left back at all (alhough I fouind guys at other spots to help out there). So I signed veteran 32-year-old Dutch defender Tieme Klompe. Klompe isn't a long term answer, obviously, but he was one of the most skilled players I could have gotten. He is an incredible defender and even faster and taller than McEveley. He, too, has very good offensive skills, works very hard and works well with others. I spent $2.3 M on him from Erdivisie club Herenveen.

Not only was defensive midfield a need position for me behind Stewart, but it also provided the best combination of skilsl that were useful for the sort of attacking fullbacks I wanted to have at left fullback. So when I had the chance to sign three different guys here, I went for it.

The most prominent is a name some you will know from real life, or will have remembered from this recent Euro: Denny Landzaat. Landzaat, the 32-year-old defensive midfielder for Holland and one of the players to miss a penalty kick in the loss to Spain in the quarters of Euro 2008, was nearing the end of his contract with Barcelona. He combined solid physical skills, great field smarts and fine playmaking ability, especially as a passer. He was also a very good defender. His only detractions were his age and the fact he wasn't top of the lists physically (merely very solid). I signed Landzaat on a Bosman transfer to a very reasonable deal.

The other two defensive midfield signees are younger players with more longterm potential for success. I signed them both on Bosmans as well. David Prutton is a well-regarded 27-year-old who can play both defensive midfield and at wing and fullback. He isn just a shade slower than Landzaat, but he is a premier offensive defender. He also works very hard and is very good defensively. It took a bit to sign him, with him drawing a second-highest $1.1 M salary, but I won his services over several other teams. He came originally from Newcastle. Gaël Clichy was the other signee. The French 23-year-old is more comfortable on the left side, and he will be my primary backup at left fullback. He has a good round of skills, much like Landzaat and Prutton, but he is less developed right now, and also not nearly as physically blessed (although he has fine top speed). He could develop further, but Landzaat and Prutton are clearly the catches in this group.

On the left wing, I targeted a player I had long kept tabs on, someone I loved having on my team when I was in Middlesbrough. WImbledon winger Lionel Morgan was a terrific winger in the mold of what I look for at the position. He is an elite crosser and dribbler, with skills there that I haven't seen on anyone else yet but the very top wingers in the world. He is just a tad short of explosive with his speed. He is a fine passer and is very dangerous with long shots, enough that I will occasionally use him int he middle. Where he lacks a little is that he isn't as strong a tackler as I like, and while he is no slouch mentally, he isn't as nearly as across the board competent at the mental game as some of my other players. Regardless, he should serve very well as a backup to Motteram and Williams, when he comes back. I got him for $4 M.

I said the middle of the tactic was in dire need of a new round of players, with Amaya on the outs and Birchall not perceived as the answer. I did my most work bringing in help here. I tapped South America for help here, although all three players I signed were European regulars.

Colombian forward Johnnier Montaño is an international regular and a player dangerous from both the midfield and at striker. In fact, it was his strength as a striker that made me consider him for this position, as my attacking midfielders make a lot of aggressive forward runs. He is as explosive as Pereplytokin and Yakubu. He has an excellent combination of passing, creativity, flair and decisions, which makes him a very creative playmaker. And he has winger-level dribbling and crossing skills to go along with solid finishing and off the ball. He isn't very tall or powerful, but he more than makes up for it elsewhere. We signed the 25-year-old away from Parma, where he scored 70 goals from 2003-05 before being relegated to reserves and loans by Parma's ridiculous wealth of talent.

To be his primary backup, I brought in 29-year-old Chilean international David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro from Inter. Pizarro spent most of his career in Serie A, but for the past two years, he was playing as a loan with Turkish power Galatasaray. Pizarro is just as creative as Montaño, works harder and is a smarter player. He's also a terrific dribbler, and is a better tackler. Where he falters, besides age, is that he isn't nearly fast (although his speed is still very good). Unlike Montaño, Pizarro is definitely a natural midfiedler and has been his whole career, from the looks of it.

The third acquisition was more because of his versatility when the team had a run of injuries in the first month of the season in August. Last year, I had tried to bring in Man Utd reserve midfielder Giovanny Hernández, but he wanted too much money per year. His demands this time around were much more reasonable. The 32-year-old Colombian is also an international teammate of Montaño, and has long had the ability to play all three midfield positions, a versatility that earned him an offer from me. Man Utd had been trying to move him for some time, and he was dissatisfied with his backup role as well. He isn't as aggressive as Pizarro and Montaño, but he is just as creative as either of them. He nearly has the technical offensive skills to match Montaño, and he has better speed than Pizarro. He's also a smarter player than Montaño, if not so much as Pizarro. He's somewhat of a mix of the two. Additionally, with him having gotten regular time with Man Utd just two seasons ago, he was well-known and his signing increased shirt sales for us.

The last signing here may be the most significant. I felt I wanted to bring ina another striker, but, as I said, I was concerned about the cost. Efforts to bring in Adu and Olisadebe failed, but I had already secured my first option in case those didn't work out (which they didn't). I signed away Sevilla striker Louis Saha of Fulham and Man Utd fame. The French striker looks like he has been through several career cycles, and yet, he is just 29 years old when we bring him in. After a return to quality play following a couple down years in 2003-04, Saha was bought by Man Utd. The British superpower was too well-stocked, though, and Saha was eventually transferred to Sevilla in the middle of the 2004-05 season. There he saw regular first team time for a couple seasons (and played well) before being sent to Sevilla's Second Division team. Despite playing well, he never got back to the first team in the Primera Liga and was clearly frustrated with the lack of progress his career was making. So, basically, I came along at just the right time and signed, IMO, the biggest name I could for relatively cheap.

Saha doesn't quite have the combination of speed and finishing that some of my other strikers have, but he's still 15+ across the board there. He may be the most complete of my strikers mentally. And he has the sort of creative skilsl that can make him useful when he needs to turn to more midfield style play. Really, his all around quality, while not elite everywhere, is rather shocking considering he was basically relegated to anonymity by Sevilla and Man Utd. I'm hoping his return to the EPL will faeture him with a huge chip on his shoulder. I got him on a Bosman transfer.

And that completed my offseason transactions for the first offseason. I really feel I have put together a second team that could compete well in the EPL. In fact, I have split up my best two "elevens" as separate units, and have a set of backups to play with both of them. The result is I basically have two wholely different lineups, which support each other.

CR

Chief Rum

06-28-2004, 06:28 PM

When I reach around the first of September in my dialogue here, I will provide you all with a look at osme of th ebest footballers and leagues in the world, and what is thought ot happen this season. But I have a lot fo stuff going down in August first, including our first matches, so I will do that first. I will also go through the first position lists, as Quik would do with his teams.

CR

Chief Rum

06-28-2004, 09:07 PM

Tamworth First Team Roster

Here is the Tamworth roster we are currently running with.

Some small notes: I have included Casper Nelis on the first team, but the relaity is that he will actually be on the reserve squad to get regular playing time, in case I need him. I have not included Amaya on this list, for reasons both already listed and others soon to be made.

I don't have it noted here, but Andy Williams is hurt and out until January. There are other injuries, but I won't detail them until my August post.

If the first team looks large, partly that's because some of these guys are transfer-listed, and partly because I'm just looking to carry a big team. Guys who are listed include GK Casper Nelis, DL Justin Skinner, and DC Mark Warren, as well as most of my reserve squad, which mostly has left overs from my lower division teams.

The roster...

<font=courier>
Keepers Age Wage Value Top Skills

Thomas Heaton 22 $100K $1.7 M Agility, Reflexes, Aerial Ability, Command of Area
Jon Masalin 22 $35K $1 M Handling, Rushing Out, Aerial Ability, Communication
Casper Nelis 31 $35K $875 K Agility, Aerial Ability, Handling, Eccentricity

Defenders Age Wage Value Top Skills

Pat Davenport 18 $40K $475 K Teamwork, Acceleration, Stamina, Balance
Mike Duff 30 $575K $2.9 M Work Rate, Marking, Determination, Balance
Kevin Gorman 20 $160K $1.7 M Agility, Balance, Jumping, Stamina
Jon Otsemobor 25 $65K $2.3 M Marking, Acceleration, Agility, Pace
Jarl Andre Starbæk 29 $85K $1.4 M Crossing, Influence, Positioning, Pace
Gaël Clichy 23 $160K $3.5 M Stamina, Pace, Determination, Decisions
Hermann Hreidarsson 34 $825K $300 K Heading, Bravery, Positioning, Agility
James McEveley 23 $1 M $5.5 M Tackling, Heading, Pace, Stamina
Justin Skinner 35 $40K $95 K Aggression, Work Rate, Marking, Teamwork
Peter Castle 21 $100K $2.2 M Marking, Tackling, Positioning, Acceleration
Leon Cort 28 $110K $5.5 M Heading, Jumping, Tackling, Positioning
Tieme Klompe 32 $625K $1 M Marking, Work Rate, Bravery, Positioning
Mark Phillips 26 $300K $3.7 M Determination, Acceleration, Pace, Influence
Mark Warren 33 $75K $200 K Heading, Agility, Marking, Jumping
David Raven 23 $75K $2.9 M Passing, Heading, Teamwork, Marking

Midfielders Age Wage Value Top Skills

Denny Landzaat 32 $850K $2 M Strength, Decisions, Influence, Positioning
Danny Prutton 26 $1.1 M $6 M Determination, Off The Ball, Teamwork, Work Rate
Michael Stewart 27 $230K $10.5 M Heading, Determination, Bravery, Aggression
Darren Birchall 30 $85K $3.7 M Dribbling, Off The Ball, Technique, Crossing
Chris Booth 18 $60K $625 K Penalty Taking, Balance, Agility, Pace
Jim Corbett 28 $80K $2.7 M Dribbling, Crossing, Passing, Agility
Giovanny Hernández 32 $725K $2.2 M Flair, Set Pieces, Decisions, Off The Ball
Carl Motteram 22 $900K $6.25 M Crossing, Passing, Creativity, Finishing
Richie Partridge 27 $400K $6.75 M Dribbling, Decisions, Stamina, Crossing
Lionel Morgan 25 $825K $6.75 M Crossing, Dribbling, Long Shots, Balance
Andy Williams 30 $500K $1.6 M Crossing, Bravery, Dribbling, Pace
David Pizarro 29 $500K $13.25 M Teamwork, Flair, Agility, Creativity
Johnnier Montaño 25 $775K $10.5 M Off The Ball, Pace, Agility, Acceleration

Forwards Age Wage Value Top Skills

Mark Hicks 27 $450K $9.5 M Dribbling, Crossing, Pace, Long Shots
Orri Freyr Oskarsson 28 $950K $2.4 M Pace, Determination, Off The Ball, Work Rate
Adam Wilde 29 $400K $2.6 M Finishing, Strength, Balance, Agility
Andre Pereplytokin 22 $475K $10.25 M Finishing, Influence, Acceleration, Pace
Louis Saha 30 $625K $4 M Off The Ball, Determination, Flair, Pace
Yakubu 25 $1.2 M $17 M Finishing, Acceleration, Pace, Strength


My projected first team is as follows:

GK Jon Masalin
DR Mike Duff
DL Hermann Hreidarsson
DC Leon Cort
DC David Raven
DMC Michael Stewart
AMC Johhnier Montaño
MR Jim Corbett
ML Carl Motteram
FC Orri Freyr Oskarsson
FC Yakubu

My "second first" team is as follows:

GK Thomas Heaton
DR Kevin Gorman
DL Gaël Clichy
DC James McEveley
DC Tieme Klompe
DMC Denny Landzaat
AMC David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro
MR Richie Partridge
ML Lionel Morgan
FC Andrei Pereplyotkin
FC Louis Saha

I will be switching these whole lineups game-after-game, and my plan is to never have one serving as backups for the other (I mean, as substitutes). That way, I alwys have a fresh-and-ready lineup to go for each match. The only exception will be Masalin/Heaton, whom will switch off in backup roles. As goalkeepers don't really get tired, this should eb very doable.

Although every player not on the above list is technically available for backup/sub-duty, there will certainly be favorites. These are the players I see as likely being heavy backup/sub contributors.

DRC Jon Otsemobor
DC Peter Castle
DRL Jarl Ander Starbæk
DMC Danny Prutton
MRC Darren Birchall
AMC Giovanny Hernández
MR Chris Booth
FC Mark Hicks
FC Adam Wilde

Of course, that's practically a thrid team right there. I have a feeling juggling limited playing time will be a key to me keeping these guys happy.

CR

Chief Rum

06-28-2004, 11:32 PM

Top Transfers Of June-August, 2008

I have detailed my own offseason, but there were a bunch of other clubs making moves, too, of course. Here's a look at the big transfers that took place during the first transfer window.

SC Fernando Cavenaghi (ARG) from River to Inter for $32.5 M on August 28, 2008
SC Kapo (FRA) from Auxerre to Barcelona for $32 M on August 12, 2008
DC William Gallas (FRA) from Chelsea to Roma for $24 M on July 20, 2008
FB Gianluca Zambrotta (ITA) from Juventus to Milan for $24 M on July 30, 2008
LW Denílson (BRA) from Roma to Arsenal for $24 M on August 31, 2008
MF Barry Ferguson (SCO) from Blackburn to Newcastle for $23.5 M on August 28, 2008
DC Mikaël Silvestre (FRA) from Man Utd to Milan for $21 M on July 26, 2008
SC Ronaldhino (BRA) from Roma to Dortmund for $20.5 M on July 12, 2008
FB Diego Placente (ARG) from Deportivo to Chelsea for $19.25 M on July 18, 2008
SC César Delgado (ARG) from Cruz Azul to Parma for $18.75 M on August 7, 2008
MF Johann Vogel (SWI) from PSV to Juventus for $18.5 M on August 25, 2008
SC Tristán Diego (SPA) from Deportivo to Barceolna for $17.75 M on August 22, 2008
SC Hernán Crespo (ARG) from Chelsea to Arsenal for $17.25 M on August 26, 2008
FB Willy Sagnol (FRA) from FC Bayern to Dortmund for $17 M on August 3, 2008
MF Gérson (BRA) from Bahia to PSV for $16.5 M on August 15, 2008
SC Bobo (BRA) from Grêmio to Juventude for $16.25 M on August 30, 2008
DC Sylvain Distin (FRA) from Milan to Roma for $15 M on July 27, 2008
FB Juan Pablo Sorin (ARG) from Deportivo to Juventus for $15 M on August 25, 2008
MF Richard Blonk (NED) from Feyenoord to Ajax for $14 M on August 29, 2008
RW Mario Alberto Santana (ARG) from Chievo to FC Bayern for $14 M on August 31, 2008
FB Wayne Bridge (ENG) from Chelsea to Man City for $13.75 M on June 30, 2008
SC Sylvain Perrin (FRA) from Auxerre to Newcastle for $13.5 M on August 17, 2008
MF Kieron Dyer (ENG) from Chelsea to Roma for $12.5 M on July 1, 2008
MF Riccardo Montolivo (ITA) from VfB Stuttgart to FC Bayern for $12.5 M on August 12, 2008
RW Javier León (SPA) from Athletic Bilbao to Benfica for $12.25 M on July 15, 2008
SC Aruna (IVO) from Anderlecht to Man City for $11.75 M on August 30, 2008
RW Simao (POR) from Benfica to Deportivo for $11.25 M on August 25, 2008
SC Ronaldo (BRA) from HSV to Real Madrid for $11 M on August 24, 2008
SC Jaime Alfonzo Ruíz (COL) from Cortuluá to Basel for $10.75 M on June 30, 2008
MF Christoph Preub (GER) from Valencia to VfB Stuttgart for $10 M on July 31, 2008
MF Cristiano Zanetti (ITA) from Liverpool to Liverpool for $10 M on August 30, 2008

Comments: A couple years ago, it was Gemrnay dominating the purchasing. This past window, it was the Italians. Milan, Inter, Juventus, Roma and Parma all made huge buys in their attempts to secure one of the tougher crowns to get in football. Of course, Juventus has won it three years in a row--will their moves be enought o hold off the others? Another thing I noticed here is a huge run on defenders, particularly the starting backline for France. Usually, defenders don't cost so much, so they aren't so prevalent on lists based around transfer fee amounts. But with names like Gallas, Silvestre, Distin, Zambrotta, Placente, Sagnol and Bridge out there, it's not a surprise to see them drawing some big ticket prices. Among interesting side notes, it's no surprise that France's budding star striker Kapo finally found his way to the always-rich Primera Liga, although it is a bit of strange twist that Brazilian superstar striker Ronaldo--now 32--has found his way back to Real Madrid. The Brazlian was bought by Dortmund two years ago, moved to HSV after a season, and now goes back to Madrid. Not surprisingly, none of the Tamworth deals made the list, although the McEveley deal ($8.5 M) would have been close, and the Adu ($10 M) and Olisadebe ($12.75 M) deals would have qualified if they hadn't fallen through.

CR

Chief Rum

06-29-2004, 02:09 AM

August 2008

Player Contracts

We were told whose contracts would be up at the end of this season. Here are the key players, and what we are planning to do with them.

MF Darren Birchall ($85,000, asking for $575,000)-- Birchall has had a good run with us, but I can't see re-signing a guy in his 30s to be a third team backup. If I determine I can get by without him, I will probably list him soon.

DC Leon Cort ($110,000, asking for $1.1 M)-- Cort's situation will bear watching. He remains a tremendous player and the best guy on our backline. That said, McEveley is probably the future at his spot, and his current partner Raven is younger than he is. Both McEveley and Raven have better offensive skills than Cort, and are better working together on defense. Cort is only 29, though, and in his prime.

DRC Mike Duff ($575,000, asking for $750,000)-- Duff's future may rest with the development of Pat Davenport and Kevin Gorman. Gorman is the future, and a true attacking fullback, but Duff is still the best defender of the three. Davenport, who is only 18, is likeoly the defensive future at the position, and although Duff is a nice guy to keep around, I'm not sure I will need to.

All three primary listed players, GK Casper Nelis, DL Justin Skinner, and DC Mark Warren are all in their last years, and obviously, we have no intention of resigning any of them.

Premiership Odds

Early in the month, the Premiership odds were announced.

Oddsmakers set Manchester United as the favorites at 7-4 to win the league this season, which didn't surprise me at all.

We were picked for third, with 3-1 odds to repeat as the Premiership champs. This is the first time in this dynasty that the oddsmakers didn't think we would be relegated, which is no surprise--it matches the expectations of our board and our supporters.

Chelsea was picked just ahead of us for second, with 2-1 odds. They also mentioned Arsenal (5-1), Liverpool (10-1) and Newcastle (10-1).

Community Shield

As the winners of the EPL and the FA Cup, we get to meet ourselves for the Community Shield--just kidding. :)

In the traditional opener of the Premiership season, we were set to face EPL runenr up Manchester United at our home away from home Wembley on August 10.

Last year, when we beat Chelsea 4-2 in this event, the boys at Stamford Bridge marched out alrgely a second-squad team, much to my disappointment. I wasn't to be disappointed against Man Utd. They presented me a lineup that included Barthez, Ferdinand, Govou, Anelka and Klose.

With both of us sending out top lineups, it was a brutal, wide-open contest from the very beginning. Orri Freyr Oskarsson got us scoring right away, blasting a shot into the corner off of a nice Johnnier Montaño pass in the 9th minute.

Nicolas Anelka equalized in the 30th minute, off of a nice crossing pass from Sidney Govou. The tie didn't last long, as Montaño took a terrific long ball from Mike Duff on a run into the box. Barthez tried to cut him off with a rush out, but Montaño sidestepped slightly and sent in a low shot off of the right post for the 2-1 lead.

It went to halftime that way, but it didn't take Man Utd long in the second half to tie it up again. In the 50th minute, Anelka sent a really nice pass to Miroslav Klose, who timed it well to get a step on our backline. Jon Masalin made a bad decision to rush out on the ball and missed the loose ball. Klose chipped a little side pass to Govou, and the French winger sent an easy score into a wide open net.

Klose probably could have scored on his one in that last one, but he got his eventually. In the 53rd minute, Klose took a nice pass from Govou into the box and sent a low shot across the goal and into the side net. Masalin is not doing well today.

Anelka got back into the action just a minute later, as Man Utd was really turning it on. Duff went for a bad interception attempt on a Keiran Richardson pass, and Klose got open toward the goal. He moved it up to Anelka, streaking into the box. Anelka finished off the goal with a nice 20-yard striker past Masalin, and a 4-2 Man Utd lead (including three goals in four minutes).

The blitzkrieg by Man Utd was finished off in the 60th minute, when Klose went in wide on the box with the ball. He took a difficult shot, but it showed that he is a worldclass striker in that he still made the difficult angled shot, putting Man Utd up 5-2. Ouch.

In the 82nd minute, we got a little bit of pride back. Mark Hicks got free on the left flank near the box and sent a strong cross into the six yard box. The ball was intercepted by centreback Phillip Bardsley, but he couldn't control it. it squirted out to Richie Partridge, playing attacking midfielder in this one, and Partridge blasted it past Fabien Barthez for our third score.

And that's how it ended. Machester United 5, Tamworth 3

Player Injuries

August was a tough month for the Lambs, as we lost a number of key players to injury.

I have mentioned Williams, of course, with his knee injury. He is still a long way from coming back.

Early in the month, young fullback Pat Davenport suffered a groin injury and will be out for two months. He had been contending for the second team right back spot, but it looks like Kevin Gorman gets it by default.

The week leading up to and including the open of the Premiership season on August 16 was particularly brutal. On August 9, new defensive midfielder David Prutton suffered a shin inury that will sit him for two weeks. As if it's a spreading disease, starting right winger Jim Corbett also suffered a shin injury on August 12, putting him out of the opener for sure and probably putting him out of the second game as well. Then, as if we needed more hits to our wing depth, new left winger Lionel Morgan had a knee injury (and true to form, as he has proven ot be oft-injured in his career, as has Prutton), and will miss two weeks.

The big injury didn't happen until the August 16 season opener against Aston Villa, though. Oskarsson suffered an arm injury, and it turned out to be broken. He will miss a month, and that will hurt our striker depth, which ois probably the weakest depth on the team.

Complicating things, we didn't get Giovanny Hernández from Man Utd until August 17, meaning that on top of missing several players to injury, we were also short in the midfield for a bit. We were so short, we even had to play the doghoused José Alexander Amaya against Chelsea in our second match.

Amaya and Montaño

Why Montaño, our new attacking midfielder, with Amaya? You'll see in a sec.

First of all, I did finally resolve the future of Amaya. I sent out feelers to clubs early in August after I didn't get any bites from just having him on the list. One of the teams to express interest, but not at the price I was asking (Amaya was valued at $1.4 M at the time), was Colchester United, which had just been promoted from the First Division.

After a couple back-and-forths, we finally settled on a $100,000 transfer. That's obviously not a terrific value for me, but I just didn't see the point of expecting so much for him at this point. It was more worth it for me to move him. Amaya's move, which had to go through a work permit application, finally went through on August 23.

In the days leading up to the season opener against Aston Villa, I had problems with Amaya's primary replacement, Montaño. Apparently, Montaño was having personal problems, and would be looking to take a small break from football for a while. I hadn't ever seen this before, so I wasn't even sure how to deal with it. Montaño didn't seem to want to leave the club; he was just generally unhappy. The message hinted it would go away with time, but I decided to honor his message by leaving him off of the playing roster for a little while. I didn't play him for the three matches following the season opener (which also contributed to Amaya making one last appearance with us before being shipped out).

Of course, this turned out to be the wrong thing to do, as Montaño soon sent me a message questioning why he wasn't seeing regular football. I guess his break didn't last so long. So I put him back in the rotation, and just hoped his unhappiness would ease over time. He still wants to stay with the club, so that's a good thing. The last thing I wanted in a new attacking midfielder was a headcase, though.

The First Premiership Matches

We started off with three Premiership matches from August 16-23. We opened the season at the Lamb Ground against Aston Villa on August 16, went to Chelsea on August 20, and then wrapped up the week by playing Liverpool at home on August 23.

Yakubu really showed up for our season opener, scoring two goals to lead us against Aston Villa. We limited the Villans to just one shot in the match. Tamworth 3, Aston Villa 0

Our first road match with Chelsea was a wild one. We jumped onto a 2-0 lead behind David Pizarro's first score with us, and a strike by Pereplytokin. Star Dutch striker Arjen Robben made it 2-1 in the 44th minute, but we seemed to have things under control when Louis Saha put us up two goals in the 61st minute. Shows how much I know. Two more of Chelsea's star forwards in Adrian Mutu and Hernán Crespo--before he was moved to Arsenal--brought the Blues storming back to a 3-3 tie in the 71st and 75th minutes.

I thought it would end up in a draw, when we finally broke through in injury time, scoring past Petr Cech for the win. Who did the scoring? You won't believe it--Amaya. It was his last goal for us. Tamworth 4, Chelsea 3

Pizarro and Montaño both scored in their debuts with us this month, so it should come as no surprise that Giovanny Hernández should do the same in his. He kicked us off to a strong start against a good team in the 9th minute. Adam Wilde and Richie Partridge also both scored as we took care of the Reds at home with ease. Tamworth 3, Liverpool 1

With three opening wins to the Premiership season, we're off to a good start in our title defense.

Super Cup

Thanks to our victory in the UEFA Cup, we also received the honor of playing in the Super Cup, which is the international version of the Community Shield.

We would meet up with Serie A power AC Milan at the Stade Louis II in Monaco on August 29.

I knew Milan had a good team, but when I checked out their lineup, I was just shocked at all the stars they had. They had Ruud van Nistlerooy, fresh off of a $5.75 M transfer from Real Madrid, at one striker spot, and Pereplyotkin's striker partner for the Ukrainian national team in Andriy Shevchenko at one other spot. As they ran a 4-3-3, they actually employed three forwards, so they had Brazilian star forward Kaká in the lineup, too. Their three midfielders were former Arsenal star Patrick Vieira in the middle, former Man Utd star Kléberson and Italian national midfielder Massimo Ambrosini. They had another Italian national in Alessandro Nesta at centreback, and among other players back there, they had recent star transfers Gianluca Zambrotta and Mikaël Silvestre. Oh yeah, and Brazil's long time star netminder Dida was in the goal, and the guy who brought on the highest ever transfer fee paid in this dynasty, Argentinian forward Andrés D'Alessandro, was coming off of the bench. Good Lord.

I wasn't going to quake in my boots, though, as I knew I had a good team, too. My guys proved it early on. New defensive midfielder Denny Landzaat played a nice ball up to Pereplyotkin on a breakaway in the 5th minute, and the Ukrainian scored it past Dida for the 1-0 lead.

It would stay that way until first half injury time. Kaká lofted a ball forward to Nistlerooy, with Tieme Klompe just missing a heading clear out attempt. Nistlerooy sent in a cross to Shevchenko as he charged into the box. He faked out Heaton and scored the ball for the tie match.

It seemed likely we would have to go to penalty kicks on this one, as we approached the 80th minute with the score tied. Fortunately, were that to happen, no extra time is played--it just goes to penalty kicks.

It runed out not to matter. In the 80th minute, Landzaat collected a clear out and went on a run up the middle of the pitch. He moved a ball nicely to Saha, who broke free just in time to gain a step on the Milan backline. He ran onto it, worked in space and blasted the go ahead past Dida. We survived some final minute scores before Hernández put it away with an injury time goal. Tamworth 3, Milan 1

I was really pleased to beat a team as powerful as that. I think it shows I'm not to be taken lightly in this game.

CR

Katon

06-29-2004, 06:45 AM

MF Cristiano Zanetti (ITA) from Liverpool to Liverpool for $10 M on August 30, 2008

So how did that one work, exactly?

Great dynasty.

Chief Rum

06-29-2004, 07:17 AM

So how did that one work, exactly?

Great dynasty.

Sneaky Thai financing, of course. Those new investors finally earn their weight, and they even convinced Zanetti he's on a new team! :)

Heh...good catch. I was typing too fast for my own good. Zanetti went back to his homeland and Napoli.

Thanks and keep reading.

CR

SirFozzie

06-29-2004, 07:42 AM

:) Set em up and knock em down, Tammies!

Chief Rum

06-29-2004, 08:04 AM

:) Set em up and knock em down, Tammies!

Heh...Tammies. We're Lambs, dammit! :)

What is a better nickname? That we're a bunch of baby sheep or we're a bunch of valley girls all named Tammy?

You know by now we would have grown up into Rams, I figure.

CR

Chief Rum

06-30-2004, 01:00 AM

Top Players In The World

In order to get a feel for what the football world of 2008 is like, I feel that I should introduce you to the best players in the world. This isn't so easy to do, though, as there are a wealth of leagues.

In the end, I felt I had to go by value. It's not the best way to do it, as quality of player is just one part of the measure, which includes the player's accomplishments, the reputation and achievements of the club he plays for and the league he plays in, how close he is to his peak playing form and peak age, how big his contract is and how long he has left on it, and how he does for his country in international competitions, and that's probably not all of it. There is almost certainly positional bias as well, along with an emphasis toward offensive players over defensive players. Fortunately, you can make an argument that much of these qualities are at least partially related to the player's skill. So while I wouldn't bank that the best player int he world is actualyl also the most valuable, he's probably on the list of best players in the world. So here goes:

1. SC Adriano (BRA)-- Inter, $73 M

Brazilian superstar striker Adriano is just 26 years old, but he has already scored 27 goals in 58 international appearances for Italy. He has scored 65 goals in the past two seasons with the team, and 101 in the last four.

2. SC El-Hadji Diouf (SEN)-- Liverpool, $61 M

The 27-year-old Senegalese striker has been one of the Premiership's more consistent offensive performers for several seasons now. He has scored 77 goals in five seasons with the Reds, and also had 10 assist in two different seasons. Internationally, he has scored 31 goals in 60 matches with Senegal.

3. SC Martins (NIG)-- Inter, $56 M

The young Nigerian striker is just 23 and could be just coming into his own. I'm not sure what's more amazing. That two of the top three players int he world are from Africa, or that two of the top three players in the world are on the same team--and are best of friends as well. Martins hasn't really turned his immense talent into the kind of production he may some day, but that's probably partly because Adriano is taking all the shots. Martins often comes off the bench for Inter, which has limited his time. He has 22 goals in 47 appearances with Nigeria.

4. SC Shola Ameobi (ENG)-- Newcastle, $54 M

This 27-year-old English striker probably has every right to be peeved he isn't considered more valuable than Diouf, as he has clearly outplayed him in the Premiership. Ameobi has established himself as perhaps the most dangerous player in the Premiership, with four straight 30 goal seasons. In that time period, in which he has scored 134 times, he has also never had less than a 7.49 rating and 53 assists. The reason he isn't as highly regarded than the less productive Diouf is probably because it took Ameobi longer to break into England's tough international squad. Ameobi only has 22 caps, with 10 goals in that time.

5. MF Andrés D'Alessandro (ARG)-- Milan, $53 M

The target of the highest fee ever paid in this dynasty ($68 M) comes in at fifth on this list. And as you can see from the Super Cup, sometimes D'Alessandro doesn't even start, amazingly enough. He is versatile enough to play both forward and in the midfield, but tends to play in the middle more. In two seasons with Milan, the 27-year-old midfielder has 12 goals and 15 assists to go along with a 7+ rating. D'Alessandro also has eight goals in 45 caps with powerful Argentina.

6. MF Pablo Aimar (ARG)-- Valencia, $48 M

That's one terrific midfield Argentina is sporting. D'Alessandro's international partner in the middle of Argentina's tactic comes in at sixth on this list. The 28-year-old playmaker has been at the center of Valencia's midfield since the turn of the century, and he still has a lot of game left. Aimar has 24 goals and 32 assists in the past five seasons for Valencia, to go along with 6 international goals in 56 appearances with Argentina.

7. SC Kapo (FRA)-- Barcelona, $48 M

As Thierry Henry gets older, it seems the torch has been passed to Kapo, the long time Auxerre scorer who was recently brought into powerful Barcelona. The 28-year-old Frenchman put up 77 goals in the last five seasons for Auxerre. He has long been a regular with the worldclass French team, with 12 goals in 41 caps.

8. MF Joe Cole (ENG)-- Chelsea, $48 M

England checks in with its second player in the person of 26-year-old Cole, who, despite his younger gae, has been manning Chelsea's midfield since he was 20. Cole has yet to finish a season with under a 7 rating. He has 18 goals and 21 assists in the past five seasons. For England, he has scored much more often, with seven goals in 34 caps.

9. RW Cristiano Ronaldo (POR)-- Man Utd, $47.5 M

Ronaldo is yet another player who seems to play a backup role who yet finds himself considered among the best in the world. Ronaldo is often used as Man Utd's offensive injection midway through games. Ronaldo doubles as a creative wing and occasional striker. In the last five seasons, Ronaldo has 59 goals and 64 assists. At just 23, Ronaldo still has a long way to go in his career. Despite the young age, he already has 10 goals in 33 appearances with Portugal.

10. SC Samuel Eto'o (CAM)-- Mallorca, $47 M

Eto'o, the third African striker in the top ten, is one of the Primera Liga's top scorers. The 27-year-old Cameroonian was great last year, scoring 35 goals in 38 matches with Mallorca. Eto'o has 93 goals in the last five seasons, all with Mallorca. He has also been explosive with his native Cameroon, scoring 35 international goals in 67 appearances.

Other Lists

Top Ten Young Players

Below are the top ten most valuable players who are 21 and younger as of October 25, 2008.

1. SC Andrija Kaludjerovic (SER), Perugia, 21 y.o., $23.5 M
2. SC James Graham (SCO), Leicester, 21 y.o., $19.25 M
3. SC Avi Ohayon (ISR), Chievo, 19 y.o., $18.5 M
4. SC Emiliano Viganò (ITA), Valencia, 21 y.o., $16.5 M
5. SC Eric Veld (SWI), Cottbus, 20 y.o., $16 M
6. FB Miguel Villanueva (SPA), Sevilla, 21 y.o., $15.5 M
7. SC Paul Dixon (IRE), Inter, 19 y.o., $15.25 M
8. MF José Antonio Gil (SPA), Lleida, 20 y.o., $14.75 M
9. SC Masahiro Yoshimura (HNG), Milan, 17 y.o., $14.25 M
10. LW Michael Schaafsma (NED), Milan, 18 y.o., $13.5 M

Top Ten Strikers

1. Adriano (BRA), Inter, $73 M
2. El-Hadji Diouf (SEN), Liverpool, $61 M
3. Martins (NIG), Inter, $56 M
4. Shola Ameobi (ENG), Newcastle, $54 M
5. Kapo (FRA), Barcelona, $48 M
6. Samuel Eto'o (CAM), Mallorca, $47 M
7. Roque Santa Cruz (PAR), FC Bayern, $45 M
8. Arjen Robben (NED), Chelsea, $43.5 M
9. Antonio Cassano (ITA), Roma, $39.5 M
10. Miroslav Klose (GER), Man Utd, $36 M

Top Ten Midfielders

1. Andrés D'Alessandro (ARG), Milan, $53 M
2. Pablo Aimar (ARG), Valencia, $48 M
3. Joe Cole (ENG), Chelsea, $48 M
4. Steven Gerrard (ENG), Liverpool, $45 M
5. Belözoglu Emre (TUR), Inter, $43 M
6. Jermaine Jenas (ENG), Newcastle, $38.5 M
7. Alonso Xabi (SPA), Real Sociedad, $36.5 M
8. Eric Djemba-Djemba (CAM), Man Utd, $35.5 M
9. Owen Hargreaves (ENG), Arsenal, $33.5 M
10. Aliaksandr Hleb (BEL), Chelsea, $33 M

Top Ten Wingers

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (POR), Man Utd, $47.5 M
2. José Antonio Reyes (SPA), Arsenal, $45.5 M
3. Mancini (BRA), Real Madrid, $43 M
4. Joaquìn (SPA), Betis, $41.5 M
5. Damien Duff (IRE), Chelsea, $40 M
6. Daniel Bierofka (GER), FC Bayern, $38 M
7. Ricardo Quaresma (POR), Barcelona, $37 M
8. Evandro Roncatto (BRA), Alavés, $37 M
9. Vicente (SPA), Valencia, $28 M
10. Rafael van der Vaart (NED), Liverpool, $24.5 M

Top Ten Fullbacks

1. Ashley Cole (ENG), Arsenal, $28.5 M
2. John Arne Riise (NOR), Liverpool, $23 M
3. Mbulelo Mabizela (SAF), Tottenham, $22 M
4. Brett Emerton (AUS), Blackburn, $21 M
5. Christian Chivu (ROM), Roma, $20 M
6. Luciano Zauri (ITA), Real Sociedad, $18.25 M
7. Gianluca Zambrotta (ITA), Milan, $17.25 M
8. Tobias Rau (GER), FC Bayern, $17.25 M
9. Fernando Navarro (SPA), Barcelona, $16.5 M
10. Kasper Bogelund (DEN), Man Utd, $14.75 M

Top Ten Centrebacks

1. John O'Shea (IRE), Man Utd, $32 M
2. Rio Ferdinand (ENG), Man Utd, $32 M
3. John Terry (ENG), Chelsea, $31 M
4. Paolo Cannavaro (ITA), Parma, $22.5 M
5. Phillip Mexès (FRA), Real Madrid, $22.5 M
6. Daniele Bonera (ITA), Arsenal, $21 M
7. Joseph Yobo (NIG), Everton, $19.25 M
8. Kakhaber Kaladze (GEO), Milan, $18.5 M
9. Miguel Villanueva (SPA), Sevilla, $15.5 M
10. Alessandro Nesta (ITA), Milan, $15 M

Top Ten Goalkeepers

1. Shay Given (ENG), Newcastle, $22.5 M
2. Gianluigi Buffon (ITA), Juventus, $21.5 M
3. Tony McDermott (ENG), Arsenal, $9.5 M
4. Stipe Pletikosa (CRO), Marseille, $9 M
5. Andreas Isaksson (SWE), Alavés, $8.5 M
6. Sébastien Frey (FRA), Parma, $7.5 M
7. Iker Casillas (SPA), Real Madrid, $7.5 M
8. Dimitar Ivankov (BUL), Levski Sofia, $7.25 M
9. Ivan Pelizzoli (ITA), Roma, $7.25 M
10. Tim Howard (USA), Deportivo, $ 7 M

CR

SirFozzie

06-30-2004, 06:09 AM

Bah, you're still a bunch of Tammies ;)

Chief Rum

06-30-2004, 06:23 AM

English Premier League Predictions

I put together a little preview of the League this year, with my predictions. I am modest for myself, although I will, of course, be expecting to contend for the title. So hopefully my predictions will be wrong.

With each team capsule, I have listed players ranked significantly high among players based out of the Premier Division. I only took so much fullbacks and centrebacks, while I took down a lot of strikers and midfielders names. That is why you will see more names for guys up front than in the back. Regardless, the numbers in parantheses following the players' names is their rank, by value, at their position within the EPL.

Just because no players are listed at a position doesn't mean there aren't players there, or even good players. I'm just too tired to list everyone, and I don't know if I could really pick out the best non-valuable players anyway. Just rest assured in knowing that teams that seem short of players in the capsules didn't have many players ranked as high as the other teams (which should give some indication of how they will do this year).

Here are my predictions:

1st MAN UTD (Last Year: 2nd)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: Worldwide
Finances: Rich

SC: Miroslav Klose (4), Nicolas Anelka (7), Giuseppe Sculli (29)
MF: Eric Djemba-Djemba (4), Gilberto Silva (17), Gaetano D'Agostino (20)
WG: Cristiano Ronaldo (1), Sidney Govou (5), Kieran Richardson (12)
FB: Kasper Bogelund (5), Patrice Evra (7), Bernd Korzynietz (11)
DC: John O'Shea (1), Rio Ferdinand (2)
GK: --

Outlook: Man Utd is as powerful as ever, with one of the top forward combos, a deep midfield and easily the best defense in the league. Fabien Barthez is still the goalkeeper, but he has fallen off enough to not be a top ten EPL keeper. Not that it should matter behind the top two defenders in the EPL.

2nd ARSENAL (Last Year: 4th)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: Worldwide
Finances: Rich

SC: Thierry Henry (6), Jérémie Aliadière (18), Hernán Crespo (36)
MF: Owen Hargreaves (5), Gennro Ivan Gattuso (10), Edu (14)
WG: José Antonio Reyes (2), Denílson (7), Jermaine Pennant (11)
FB: Ashley Cole (1)
DC: Daniele Bonera (4), Kolo Abib Touré (6), Michael Jakobsen (10)
GK: Tony McDermott (2)

Outlook: The Gunners have the best midfield in the EPL, and maybe the world. Henry isn't what he used to be, but he remains a star, and McDermott is one of the best young goalkeepers to come around in England in a while. With this talent and their resources, Arsenal should jump back up to near the top.

3rd CHELSEA (Last Year: 6th)

Tactic: 4-3-3
Rep: Continental
Finances: Rich

SC: Arjen Robben (3), Adrian Mutu (5), Mido (9)
MF: Joe Cole (1), Aliaksandr Hleb (6), Christian Poulsen (23)
WG: Damien Duff (3), Salvador Aguado (18)
FB: Diego Placente (9)
DC: John Terry (3), Robert Huth (11), Mikell Bischoff (15)
GK: Petr Cech (6)

Outlook: Top to bottom, perhaps the EPL's deepest squad. The best trio of strikers int he league man the frontline for the Blues, and a midfield nearly as strong as Arsenal's will feed them the ball. The defense is very solid, and with better goalkeeping than Man Utd, and better backline defense than Arsenal, it might be enough to make the leap forward.

4th LIVERPOOL (Last Year: 3rd)

Tactic: 4-3-3
Rep: Continental
Finances: Secure

SC: El-Hadji Diouf (1), Anthony Le Tallec (10), Emile Heskey (20)
MF: Steven Gerrard (2), Mark Bresciano (13), Benoit Pedreti (31)
WG: Rafael van der Vaart (4), Harry Kewell (10)
FB: John Arne Riise (2)
DC: J'Lloyd Samuel (17), Djimi Traoré (24), Igor Biscan (25)
GK: Jerzy Dudek (4)

Outlook: The Reds have spent a lot of money of late and aren't as well off as they used to be. That means they might have to count on this gorup--so these guys better come through at the levels they were paid for. Diouf is supposed to be the second best player in the world, and he should be leading a top notch frontline. Except for the middle of the backline, the first team is riddled with players at the top of the EPL talent pyramid. Liverpool can repeat their standing last year with this squad, but they could use finishing higher.

5th TAMWORTH (Last Year: 1st)

Tactic: 4-1-3-2
Rep: Continental
Finances: Rich

SC: Yakubu (13), Andrei Pereplyotkin (26), Mark Hicks (27)
MF: David Pizarro (16), Michael Stewart (22), Johnnier Montaño (24)
WG: Lionel Morgan (19), Richie Partridge (20), Carl Motteram (25)
FB: --
DC: McEveley (23)
GK: --

Outlook: The Lambs had incredible success last year playing their high-octane offensive game, and much of that offensive talent returns. One of their top offensive players from last year in José Alexander Amaya is gone now, though, so it will be up to the new players to try and replace him. That shouldn't be a rpoblem--it's the leaky defense that could cause problems. If Tamworth can show improvement there, they are strong enough to make a run at a repeat.

6th NEWCASTLE (Last Year: 5th)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: Continental
Finances: Secure

SC: Shola Ameobi (2), Mateja Kezman (16), Craig Bellamy (17)
MF: Jermaine Jenas (3), Barry Ferguson (15), Hugo Viana (21)
WG: Darren Ambrose (13), Jonas Kamper (14), Bojan Djordjic (17)
FB: Olivier Bernard (14)
DC: Jonathon Woodgate (7), Aaron Hughes (8), Titus Bramble (18)
GK: Shay Given (1)

Outlook: Like Liverpool, the Magpies aren't nearly so well off anymore, thanks to faltering in Europe the past couple years. So they may have to go with what they have here. Fortunately for them, they have enough to contend for the title with the other top five contenders. Ameobi si the most exciting offensive player in the league, and a tough backline fronts the best goalkeeper in the league. If Ferguson can pair with Jenas to energize the midfield, this could be a title team.

7th ASTON VILLA (Last Year: 8th)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: National
Finances: Rich

SC: Darius Vassell (12), David Villa (31), Peter Crouch (37)
MF: Stilian Petrov (8), Fredy William Thompson (9), Steed Malbranque (30)
WG: Jérome Cartier (24)
FB: Seth Johnson (15)
DC: Gareth Barry (9)
GK: Thomas Sorenson (9)

Outlook: The Villans have always managed to stay around respectable, but never take that next step. No one on this roster has the look of taking them to that next level, and it looks like more of the same. With a solid first team at all points, Aston Villa will certainly make some noise. But expect them to just be mediocre enough to finish behind the big boys again, but ahead of the smaller fish.

8th MAN CITY (Last Year: 10th)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: National
Finances: Secure

SC: Aruna (21)
MF: Dickson Agyeman (12), Jurica Vranjes (29), James O'Connor (41)
WG: Shaun Wright-Phillips (29), Jon Harley (31)
FB: Wayne Bridge (6), Phillip Evans (21)
DC: --
GK: Nicky Weaver (3)

Outlook: Manchester City has some fine talent in Aruna up front and Weaver in back. They will need both players to have their best years to get them this far, as thw Citizens might not get much help outside of a solid midfield.

9th TOTTENHAM (Last Year: 17th)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: National
Finances: Secure

SC: Hélder Postiga (8), Robbie Keane (38), Paul Gallagher (42)
MF: Fabien Ernst (32), Gary O'Niel (37)
WG: Simon Davies (8), Christian Tiffert (16), Claudio Ercoli (32)
FB: Mbulelo Mabizela (3)
DC: Ledley King (16)
GK: --

Outlook: The Spurs were a tremendous disappointment last year, when many picked them to contend for the title. They return plenty of that talent this year, and the whole team should play better with a year to get used to one another. The wings are excellent, and Postiga is a strong talent up front, but they will have to overcompensate for an iffy midfield and an at-best adequate defense. Still, it will be enough to be a marked improvement over last year, when the Spurs skirted relegation.

10th FULHAM (Last Year: 14th)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: Continental
Finances: Secure

SC: Alan Smith (45)
MF: David Dunn (19), Michael Essien (25), Mike Douglas (40)
WG: --
FB: Carlos Bocanegro (10)
DC: Zatyiah Knight (20)
GK: --

Outlook: The Cottagers seem to have made being mediocre an art form. They have that same look again this year, right down to returning Alan Smith--who isn't getting any younger--as the lone true source of offense up front. Smith is no longer good enough to pull it off, and with little help scoring, he and his teammates are going to find themselves in a lot of defensive matches. And that's bad news, because htey aren't all that good defensively either.

11th SOUTHAMPTON (Last Year: 7th)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: National
Finances: Rich

SC: James Beattie (15)
MF: Shaun Neville (44)
WG: --
FB: Peter Canero (13), Paul Tierney (19)
DC: --
GK: Owain Fon Williams (7)

Outlook: Much like Newcastle and Man City, Southampton will be relying on a strong striker and a strong goalkeeper to make ends meet this year. Where Southampton differs, though, is in that its talent elsewehre just isn't up to those squads. Even the best of years from its top two players are unliekly to get in contention for Europe.

12th BLACKBURN (Last Year: 9th)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: National
Finances: Rich

SC: Peter Lovenkrands (19), Matt Jansen (24), Dean Ashton (32)
MF: Steven Reid (7)
WG: --
FB: Brett Emerton (4), Lucas Niell (8), Nils-Eric Johansson (16)
DC: --
GK: --

Outlook: The Rovers should be exciting on offense, with creative youth Reid feeding the ball to a solid trio of strikers. The Rovers are too weak along the wings and in the net, though, to take advantage of it. Expect a lot of high-scoring affairs from these guys as they score--and are scored upon--a lot.

13th LEICESTER (Last Year: 15th)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: National
Finances: Rich

SC: James Graham (11), Tommy Wright (14)
MF: Muzzy Izzet (35)
WG: Jordan Stewart (23), Stefano Mauri (30)
FB: Lee Atkinson (18)
DC: --
GK: --

Outlook: Leicester was promoted just last year, and now, having escaped the common doom of recent promotees and saved itself from relegation, the City will take the next step into a legitimate EPL squad. This will, of course, be courtesy of Graham, the best young player in England. He and Wright will form one of the league's best striker combos a lower-end EPL team is ever likely to have. Of course, defense will eb an issue, and that's why Leicester will struggle to finish higher than it did last year--but the matches will be closer this time.

14th EVERTON (Last Year: 16th)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: National
Finances: Secure

SC: Wayne Rooney (22)
MF: Li Tie (27)
WG: James McFadden (6), Daniel Cruz (22)
FB: --
DC: Joseph Yobo (5)
GK: Richard Wright (5)

Outlook: At some point, the Blues need to realize that they need to get Rooney some help. He can't do it all hismelf. At least the midfield is creative enough to get him the ball. Wright is a fien netminder, and Yobo a strong defensive leader, but they are going to need more help for this team to be better than average defensively.

15th BIRMINGHAM (Last Year: 13th)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: National
Finances: Rich

SC: Milan Baros (25)
MF: Darren Carter (18), Aliou Cissé (28)
WG: --
FB: --
DC: Matthew Upson (12), Matthew Taylor (21)
GK: --

Outlook: Birmingham is headed in the opposite direction, and nearby Tamworth is beginning to leech away its fans. The Blues have the money to get themselves back into things, but they don't seem intent to spend it. So they return to the league with little looks of improvement, and will likely fall even further and be a relegation candidate.

16th BRISTOL CITY (Last Year: First Division)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: National
Finances: Rich

SC: Lee Miller (34)
MF: Tommy Doherty (34), David Vaughan (38)
WF: --
FB: --
DC: --
GK: Mark Brown (10)

Outlook: Usually, recent promotees aren't rich before they get to this league, but Bristol City has that advantage and a handful of decent players as well. They are good enough to make some noise this season, and will liekly be the best candidate of the three new members to stave off relegation.

17th NOTTINGHAM FOREST (Last Year: 11th)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: National
Finances: Rich

SC: --
MF: Gareth Williams (42)
WG: Michael O'Sullivan (26), Andy Reid (28)
FB: --
DC: --
GK: --

Outlook: Forest got to 11th last year with smoke and mirrors. It's inconceivable they could do it again. They have very little quality up front or in the back. A decent midfield alone isn't going to get them very far.

18th BLACKPOOL (Last Year: First Division)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: National
Finances: Secure

SC: --
MF: Omar Daley (43)
WG: --
FB: --
DC: --
GK: --

Outlook: Blackpool surprised in the First Division last year. It would be an even bigger surprise if they could keep it up here. Daley is a afine player, but this roster just isn't up to EPL standards.

19th SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY (Last Year: 12th)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: National
Finances: Rich

SC: Kim Olsen (46)
MF: Anan Quinn (36)
WG: --
FB: --
DC: --
GK: Allan McGregor (8)

Outlook: McGregor is a fine goalkeeper, and it's a shame he is going to have to put up clean sheets every night to keep his team in the match. And he isn't likely toget any help doing that from his backline either.

20th COLCHESTER UNITED (Last Year: First Division)

Tactic: 4-4-2
Rep: National
Finances: Secure

SC: --
MF: --
WG: Karl Duguid (21)
FB: --
DC: --
GK: --

Outlook: Duguid and recent arrival Amaya should give United an exciting feel in the midfield. Unfortunately, there's not much else to them, as they are easy choices for likely relegation this season.

CR

Chief Rum

06-30-2004, 06:28 AM

Bah, you're still a bunch of Tammies ;)

Quiet you!

CR

SirFozzie

06-30-2004, 06:29 AM

(laughs) :)

KUTGW Chief, :)

Chief Rum

07-01-2004, 03:31 AM

Quik generally went month-by-month, but if I did that, not only would I be glossing over things I don't want to gloss over, there would be a long time between updates, as I am running every league on full detail (so the game can run slow at time).

So I am going to generally go week-to-week, usually Monday to Monday, as rarely do I have to play a match on Monday.

CR

Chief Rum

07-01-2004, 05:44 AM

Saturday, August 30 To Monday, September 8

We left off with the win over Milan in the Super Cup, so I will start from there.

Transfer Deadline Approaches, Motteram To Go?

Not long after the season opener, we started getting beseiged with offers for winger Carl Motteram. Apparently, the 22-year-old is thought to have a bright future.

We drew initial interest from German Bundesliga clubs Hertha BSC and Wolfsburg, and from Serie A squad Atalanta. When asked what it would take to move the winger, who was valued at around $5.75 M at the time, I gave serious thought to it and responded with $12 M.

That may seem to high to you all, but I feel he was worth it. Despite his young age, he already eclipsed my high standards as a winger, and given he is actually an attacking midfielder and has a 15 Finishing, I have every right to expect the computer teams will treat him as a striker, which he very could one day be (although in my limited experience with him, he doesn't seem to have the scoring touch).

Given that, and my own depth issues at the position, I felt the offer was fair (and partly, I thought it would scare away interest, too, which was fine with me).

As expected, all three clubs withdrew their offers or offered far less ($7-8 M) than I was seeking. I thought that would be the end of it, especially as we approached the final week before the closing of the transfer deadline.

Just five days before the deadline, Deportivo, of all teams, suddenly weighed in with an offer--and it was the best one yet. Although it was broken somewhat into a two-year monthly payment, the full transfer was for $11 M--and a player exchange of a young right winger named Adam Morgan. The $11 M was fine, but given it was broken into monthly installments, I wouldn't have accepted it by itself. The addition of Morgan, though, made all the difference. The 20-year-old right winger was himself already a very solid-looking wing (yes, also by my standards). I decided that, since Birchall and Partridge could both play the left side, I could do a deal like this, and I agreed to it.

I got offers of $9 M each from Benfica and Atalanta (upping their original offer), but I rejected both, as I didn't want anything to get in the way of the Deportivo deal. I knew it was a longshot anyway, with the transfer deadline approaching, but I figured, why screw with the opportunity?

With a possible Motteram deal in the works, I began to work on a left wing replacement possibility, and made a $1 M offer for Southampton's Matthew Etherington. The left winger was worth far more, but a lack of interest at that price dropped Southampton's expectations. Etherington lacked the aggression I would like to see in a winger, and he could also have been a better crosser, but I knew I was only getting him as a solid stopgap measure. Besides, he was a fine dribbler, had great teamwork, and was nearly explosive in his speed and acceleration.

Southampton agreed to transfers with me, Bristol City and Fulham, all of us high-level English squads. As Etherington was considering our contract offers, powerful Celtic of the Scottish Premier League came in with a loan offer, which Southampton also accepted.

As these deals were going down, we also negotiated a transfer deal for Mallorca's Trond Erik Bertelsen. Left fullback was the one spot I didn't feel entirely comfortable with on the current team, at least in the long term. Bertelsen, a Norwegian international, was listed as a worldclass fullback, and he had the matching skills, too, with a centreback's defensive skills and the winger skills to match my high standards.

These deals were all coming to a fore as the transfer deadline came down. Morgan wasn't interested in a deal with Tamworth (which is dumb, he's an Englishman in Spain for crying out loud), but we made him an offer anyway. Etherington was interested, and we made him a strong offer (which we upgraded when other teams came into the bidding). Bertelsen seemed interested, but said we didn't have the resources to meet his demands. That's kinda annoying, considering we had a good $10 M or so of wage budget room. Our board wouldn't let us offer more than $1.2 M per season, though--that's just dumb. We made our best offer anyway.

As the final days ticked away, it all came crashing down. Morgan refused our contract offer because he felt it was too soon for him to leave Deportivo (he had just arrived there last season), Etherington decided to go with the loan to Celtic, and Bertelsen rejected our offer and refused to negotiate further. Morgan's refusal, of course, triggered the failure of the Motteram deal.

And that was that.

International Duty

It was around about the turn of the month that we started getting messages about several of our players. The beginning of September is usually set aside for international competitions, and with World Cup qualifying getting under way, that meant a lot of national teams in business.

We had the most players called up I had ever had for a team of mine, with 10. Chile called up Pizarro and Colombia brought up Hernández for the South American qualifying (which had already been going on for close to a year). Nigeria called up Yakubu for the African qualifiers (they do theirs in group stages, which is kinda neat, while South America plays a whole fixture against every other country).

And European countries called up seven of our players, with the best team calling being Louis Saha to the powerful French squad. That was a bit of a surprise, actually, since it appears he had fallen out of favor with the team. Apparently his transfer to Tamworth and a significant role with a team in the EPL returned his stature to what it was in his days with Fulham and Man Utd.

Others to get the call were Michael Stewart (Scotland), Andrei Pereplyotkin (Ukraine), Richie Partridge (Ireland), Mike Duff (Northern Ireland), Hermann Hreidarsson (Iceland), and Denny Landzaat (Holland).

Had it not been for injury and perhaps unhappiness in one case, we might have had an additional three others. Orri Freyr Oskarsson has been called up to Iceland's squad with Hreidarsson pretty regularly now for the past year. Andy Williams was called up by Wales for an international match shortly before his knee injury. And Johnnier Montaño has also been capped by Colombia and is only 25. So, I could have as much as 13 players go on international leave at once some day (and that doesn't even talk about future developments by both current players and future acquisitions in this area). Thank the Lord for good depth!

Most of the competitions will be happening from September 3-13.

Champions League

With UEFA and Champions League qualifying running its course near the end of August, we found out where we would be placed in the group stage of the Champions League, as well as the group fixture and even our odds of winning the thing.

As the defending champion of the EPL, we got an automatic entry into the group stage of the most prestigious club tournament in the world.

I felt we got a pretty fortunate draw in the group stage as well, being placed in Group C with Bulgarian power Levski Sofia, Ukrainian High League squad Chornomorets and Portuguese Superleague squad U. Lamas. While all of these teams certainly proved their worth last year and deserve their spots, none of them are top teams from the best leagues in the world--or even were champs in their own leagues (well, Levski Sofia was, but Lamas was second in the Superleague, and Chornomorets, fourth or fifth in the UHL). It's not like I drew Juventus, Barcelona, FC Bayern here.

The oddsmakers seemed to like my chances as well, putting us at 11-1 odds to win the trophy. Milan, the defending champs, were set at 2-1 and placed as co-favorites at those odds with Barcelona and FC Bayern. Juventus and Man Utd were next at 5-2, with Deportivo coming up next at 4-1. The oddsmakers described my quest for the Champions League title as requiring a bit of luck and maybe a key signing or two, but well within the realm of possibility. That may not sound like much, but it's a heck of a lot better than the "you will be fortunate to not be relegated" messages I usually get from those bastards.

Our first match in the Champions League will be a home match against Levski Sofia on September 16. I will give a fuller update of the league as we get closer to the start of competition.

Board Confidence Update

The Tamworth board are absolutely thrilled with the level of commitment you continue to show to the club.

In all its grammatical glory.

Manchester United

Normally, from late August until mid-September, there are no matches, thanks to the international call ups. But with us being in the Super Cup, our regular match at Old Trafford had to be pushed back to September 3.

I figure any match against Man Utd is a critical one, so while it was the only match we played this week, we were really gunning for this one. Pizarro and Hernández were already gone to South America, but our European call ups and Yakubu were both still around. It was a first team game as well, so these were supposed to be our best players (although you could argue our second "first team" is just as good as our actual first team).

We didn't start off so hot. Miroslav Klose received an excellent long pass from Keiran Richardson, and then maneuvered a tight cross to Nicolas Anelka. The move left Jon Masalin out of position and was an easy score for the French striker. By the end of the half, though, Adam Wilde proved he's more than just an injury fill-in for Oskarsson on the first team. He put in a score off of a nice Jim Corbett crossing pass to tie it up. Then Yakubu surprised Man Utd by getting a step on the backline with a nice pass from David Raven, and he put in the go-ahead goal in injury time of the first half.

The second half was all United, though. They tied it up in the 58th minute when Anelka got his second goal of the match, off of a rebound from a Richardson shot.

It looked for a while like it would end up 2-2, but Man Utd kept the pressure on, and forced a corner in the 79th minute. Gaetano D'Agostino swung in a wide-turning cross, which Klose outjumped Mike Duff for and headed in for the go ahead. We kept the pressure up and had our chances ourselves, but we were eventually done in by an awful play by Masalin, who didn't endear himself to me in this match.

In injury time, we had a foul from near the left touchline, and Mark Hicks had a real close opportunity to send the ball into the box. He did so, but a Man Utd defender got to it and headed it out to the left-centreline corner. It was then that I realized that Masalin had taken up space all the way in the offensive side of the pitch! I shit you not, he was closer to the damn offensive box than Hicks was when he launched that cross into the danger zone. So when the ball was headed out, Masalin was scrambling to get back across the centre circle and back to our goal. D'Agostino, who retrieved the ball, couldn't believe his luck. He hoofed it, Kirovski-style, from beyond the centreline, and all I could do is watch in horror as the ball sailed into the empty net from some 75 yards away. That, of course, was the clincher. Manchester United 4, Tamworth 2

We had our first league loss of the season, and if this were real, I think Masalin would be sending his parents Christmas cards now, because by the time he's done doing laps for this one, it will be the New Year.

That pretty much covers this first week of Spetember. I will cover the international competitions in the next post.

CR

SirFozzie

07-01-2004, 08:35 AM

*giggles madly for some reason*..

Masalin's in twubbbbbbbbbllllllee :)

Chief Rum

07-02-2004, 02:49 AM

*giggles madly for some reason*..

Masalin's in twubbbbbbbbbllllllee :)

lol...SirFozzie's gotten into the liquor cabinet, I see. :)

This dynasty may have dodged a bullet. My second hard drive (an older drive) is apparently failing, and that's where the game resides. I spent most of the night working on getting it back up, and I finally succeeded, although I think it's only a matter of time.

I moved critical files to the good drive so I wouldn't lose important things from the second drive falling apart. Ugh, I'm sick of computer problems. :(

Incidentally, Foz, if you read this, that is why I ended up not being able to get on tonight. Sorry about that, and I hope I will see you online sometime tomorrow (Friday) before I have to go away for my brother's bachelor party.

More to come.

CR

SirFozzie

07-02-2004, 06:29 AM

New and innovative way to say "Foz, are you drunk again?"

I Like it!

But no.. not drunk.. just excessively silly from a killer week at work. :/

Chief Rum

07-02-2004, 06:30 AM

Early September Internationals

As I mentioned, there are plenty of international qualifiers going during the first half of September, with most steering, of course, toward the 2010 World Cup in 2010.

In fact, pretty much every continental federation besides Asia's is holding some form of qualifier during this time, with only Africa doing it for a competition other than China 2010 (they are doing qualifying for the bi-annual African Nations Cup).

It's probably easiest if I just go from continent to continent and talk a little about where they are at at this point.

Asia

This will be quick. Whereas South America drags theirs out over three-plus years, Asia shoots theirs off like a rocket. The group stage for the World Cup qualifiers here don't start until next May. As such, any Asian international players in Europe will get a break during this stretch of international play.

Asia receives four bids, and they get a bonus, because China will get an automatic spot as the host. That will give Asia five entrants at China 2010, and one team which likely wouldn't have made it will get to take up China's traditional spot.

In 2006, South Korea, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia were the Asian World Cup representatives.

Oceania

The ocean countries in the South Pacific officially begin their final qualifying round this September.

In Oceania's final round, six teams, including automatic entrants Australia and New Zealnd, compete in a complete home-and-home fixture for Oceania's one spot in the World Cup.

Traditional regional power Australia won the bid in 2006.

The highlight of the two rounds played on September 6 and 10 was the matchup between Australia and New Zealand. Australia won 2-0, and are the only Oceania team with two wins throught he first two rounds.

The six nations competing are Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, the Solomon Islands, Tahiti, and the Cook Islands.

North America

CONCACAF is one round short of their own six-team final.

The North and Central American competition is nearing the end of the three-griup semifinal stage, which will yield two teams from each group for the final stage. The final stage, which will be played next year, has four bids up for grabs.

There was round of matches in this group on August 30.

In Group 1, two of the region's 2006 participants, including runner-up Mexico, had bad days, losing this round. For MExico, it was their first non-win in the stage and are comfortbaly int he lead. For Trinidad & Tobago, though, it puts them int he serious position of missing out.

In Group 2, The United States and Honduras seem to be on the verge of clinching after routing teir opponents on August 30.

Jamaica and Canada are leading Group 3, but they made things a little closer for themselves after drawing, while Haiti won to put itself back into the race for a spot.

In 2006, the region sent Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Honduras and the United States to Germany.

Africa

As noted, Africa is actually conducting its qualifiers for the 2010 African Cup of Nations. The next round of World Cup qualifying won't take place until January. The continent uses ten group stages, followed by playoffs, to determine its five entrants. Incidentally, 2006 World Cup participants Mali and Burkina Faso have already been eliminated.

In Group I of the African Cup of Nations qualifying, Nigeria smacked Swalizand, 5-0, on September 6, with Tamworth's own striker, Yakubu, contributing two goals.

Besides the above eliminated squads, Africa also sent Nigeria, Angola and the Ivory Coast to Germany 2006.

Sotuh America

With just ten nations on a football-mad continent, South America hosts a three-year fixture in which every nation plays every other nation in home-and-homes. The September 3 round was the eighth match in the eighteen-match fixture.

The big matchup was Colombia visiting Argentina. THe Colombians pulled off a big upset and won, 1-0. Tamworth's Giovanny Hernández started in the midfield for Colombia but did not distinguish himself in either good or bad fashion.

Brazil and Peru got huge wins, both winning 4-0 over their opponents, Venezuela and Paraguay, respectively. Bolivia and Uruguay played to a 1-1 draw.

Ecuador edged out Chile, 1-0, at home, while Tamworth's David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro started in CHile's midfield. He played well, but it wasn't enough to produce the needed score.

South America gets five nations with a shot to play in China 2010, and ti will send the top five squads from its international fixture.

Europe

Europe, of course, is the biggest and most competitive competition for spots, despite being home to 13 spots for China 2010.

The first two group fixtures were played during this first week of September. The nations have been split into nine groups of five or six teams each, and the best team in each will receive an automatic bid. The eight highest second-place squads will battle for the remaining four spots in a follow up playoff.

Here's a quick lookat the European groups:

GROUP 1: Cyprus, Hungary, Malta, Scotland, Spain, Ukraine.

This figures to be a brutal group. Spain is the favorite, but Scotland, the Ukraine and even Hungary will be right there as well.

The Ukraine, with Tamworth's Andrei Pereplytokin as a named sub, beat Malta 5-0 on September 6, and then stunned Spain, 2-1, on September 10. Pereplyotkin wasn't called into either match.

Tamworth's Michael Stewart subbed into Scotland's 1-1 draw with Hungary on September 6, and then started in the September 10 2-0 win over Cyprus.

GROUP 2: Albania, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg

Defending Euro 2008 champions Croatia was given a diamond opportunity to back its strong play up by getting to China 2010. This should come down to a three-nation race with the Czechs and Greeks.

The Czech Republic scored the first big victory with a 1-0 win over Greece on September 10.

GROUP 3: Faroe Islands, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Portugal, Wales

Norway and Portugal will be the favorites here, but Norway could be challenged by Ireland and Wales, who both have the talent to compete for entry into the World Cup.

Ireland made the big early noise, getting a step on fellow fringe contender Wales with a 3-1 win, and then shocking Portugal, 3-2, at home on September 10. Tamworth's Richie Partridge played well in both matches for the Irish, starting on the wing and getting an assist in each match.

One shocker to note: Norway 1, Faroe Islands 1. Ouch.

GROUP 4: Bulgaria, FYR of Macedonia, Italy, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Sweden

This has the look of another three-squad race, this time between Bulgaria, Sweden and Italy. The latter two would be the favorites, with Italy expected to breeze, except the Italians have proven they don't do anything easy.

Sweden apparently forgot to show up to the first two rounds, suffering 3-1 and 4-1 road losses to Liechtenstein and Moldova in embarassing succession. I suspect that coaching job might be open soon.

GROUP 5: Andorra, France, Georgia, Northern Ireland, Poland, Romania

This is an intriguing group. France, of course, is the clear favorite for the automatic spot, but if they win it, that could mean some fierce competition for that second place spot. If the 2006 Germany Romanian squad shows up, this will be a cinch for them. If the team that didn't even make it to Euro 2008 shows up, Poland could sneak in there.

Tamworth's Louis Saha was not picked for either team in France's two matches.

A darkhorse emerged early on when Northern Ireland shocked France by drawing them at home, and then beat Andorra, 3-0. Tamworth's Mike Duff started at right fullback for the Northern Irish squad in both matches and played well.

GROUP 6: Austria, Bosnia, Denmark, Germany, San Marino, Slovakia

Germany looks like the clear favorite here, but they can't be feeling too comfortable after a disappointing World Cup in their own country in 2006, followed by a complete no-show for Euro 2008. If Germany returns to old form, the battle for second will be brutal, with four of the other five teams, exclusing only San Marino, differ little in their apparent talent levels.

Germany beat Bosnia, 3-1, but then lost 2-0 to Austria. Denmark, probably the "best oif the rest" slapped around Slovakia, 6-1, in the first round on September 6.

GROUP 7: Azerbaijan, Belgium, England, Estonia, Iceland, Slovenia

England will be favored here, but they haven't exactly been playing inspired ball. Belgium, Iceland and maybe even Slovenia are all good enough to challenge in this group.

It was a mixed first fixtures for the English, which lost 2-0 at Slovenia, but then rebounded with a big 4-0 win over their probable top group rival, Belgium, at home.

Tamworth fullback Hermann Hreidarsson played so well in Iceland's opening 2-0 win over Azerbaijan that he got the Man of the Match for his performance. He and his teammates weren't so solid on September 10, though, falling 2-1 to Slovenia.

GROUP 8: Armenia, Finland, Israel, Serbia & Montenegro, Turkey

The fact it is a five-squad group is counterbalanced by the overall strength of this group. Finland reached the final round of Germany 2006, as did Serbia & Montenegro. The Serbs also got to the semis of Euro 2008. Turkey went all the way to the Euro 2008 final before falling to Croatia. All three sqauds should be bitterly competing in this group.

Turkey failed to capitalize on its recent success in Autria & Switzerland, dropping key 2-1 and 2-0 matches to Finland and Serbia & Montenegro at home.

GROUP 9: Belarus, Holland, Lithuania, Russia, Switzerland

Holland is an obvious favorite here, and they have played decently in recent international competitions.

Russia, Switzerland and Belarus are all good enough to play their way in, thoigh, especially if Holland pulls one of its occasional disappearing acts.

The Dutch gave no indications early on they would do so, beating the Swiss at home, 3-0, and then following it up with a 2-1 home win over Belarus. Tamworth's Denny Landzaat was not picked for the team for either match.

Olympics

Shortly before the actual international qualifiers began, the youth squads of several nations played for a Gold Medal in men's soccer in China.

In the final, France's Under-23 squad beat Mexico's Under-23 squad, 1-0, in a rematch of the 2006 World Cup final that also matched its score.

This competition would probably rank higher on the importance scale if it weren't limited to players 23 & under.

CR

Katon

07-02-2004, 08:21 AM

If the Sweden job comes available, will you be applying for it?

Chief Rum

07-04-2004, 09:28 PM

If the Sweden job comes available, will you be applying for it?

Yup. I'm pretty much prepared to apply for just about any European job that is bigger than, say, 1 M people in population, and any team that isn't a small Pacific or Carribean island on the other continents.

My goal is to just get a job first. Then I hope to parlay that into relative success on the international scale and move on to bigger nations (football-wise).

CR

Chief Rum

07-05-2004, 12:47 AM

Tuesday, September 9 To Monday, September 15

With the club having no matches to be concerned with because of international play, it was a quiet week in the early going.

As it went on, we got our players back from the September 10 international matches, and by Saturday, September 13, we were back in action.

Our opponent was Blackburn, in a home match at the Lamb Ground. Our second team was due to start, but Richie Partridge was still recovering from his play with Ireland three days earlier. I elected not to have him in the lineup (or as a sub), and started Chris Booth instead.

Perhaps inspired by having lost badly to Man Utd the last time they were on the pitch, the club took quick advantage of some breakdowns in the Rover defense. In the 6th minute, Denny Landzaat fed a pinpoint pass to David Pizarro as the Chilean midfielder broke past the Blackburn defense and into the box. Pizarro put a low straight shot into the lower left corner before Blackburn keeper Brad Freidel could get over there. Just seven minutes later, winger Booth collected a clear out and found Andrei Pereplyotkin charging toward the box with a slight step on his marker. The Ukrainian forward didn't have a great shot, at an angle and with his defender closing in fast, but he got it off. It went off Freidel high and trickled into the net for the 2-0 lead.

Blackburn wouldn't go away, though. In the 49th minute, left winger Danny Pugh sent in a long and high pass directly into the middle of the box from the left touchline-centre. Right fullback Andrew Griffin outjumped the Tamworth defende and headed in a high goal over the hardcharging Thomas Heaton to put Blackburn back in the match. They couldn't make a further dent, though, and the Lambs put it away on a 67th header score by fullback Jarl Ander Starbæk off of a Lionel Morgan corner. Tamworth 3, Blackburn 1

The Lambs dominated the match, outshooting the Rovers 20-4. Pizarro got the Man of the Match.

International Roster

With the Champions Cup competitions due to begin next week, we had to submit our international roster.

The EUFA (Europe's governing body in football and the Champions League) require a club to register 28 players for its international roster, and only those 25 players--come injury, suspension or whatever--may play for the team in the matches covered by that period. In this case, this was the roster for the six-match fixture of the group stage, to be played through December.

This probably isn't a difficult process for most teams, but with the depth I have, it becomes hard to pick and choose who to go with.

Here's the roster.

Forwards: Oskarsson, Yakubu, Saha, Pereplytokin, Saha, Wilde, Hicks
Midfielders: Montaño, Stewart, Pizarro, Landzaat, Birchall
Wingers: Corbett, Motteram, Partridge, Morgan, Booth
Fullbacks: Hreidarsson, Duff, Gorman, Starbæk
Centrebacks: Cort, Raven, McEveley, Klompe, Castle
Goalkeepers: Masalin, Heaton

Notable exceptions to the roster (including all remaining first team members) included GK Nelis, DC Warren, DRC Otsemobor, DL Skinner, DMC/DL Clichy, DMC Prutton, and DMC/DC Mark Phillips.

The fact all of these players are backline players puts even more of an emphasis on the fact we have so much depth back there.

Clichy is technically a starting member of the second team, but he is probably the player I feel the least comfortable with among my two starting elevens. I decided to sit him for international matches and rely on McEveley and Starbæk as backups at the spot. I felt that, with Hreidarsson and Duff around, I would be fine for backups at defensive midfield. Probably the area that concerned me worst was in the net. Last year, Nelis was hurt for much of the season, with a string of little injuries, all different from the last. My physios assured me it was no single injury problem but just that Nelis was unfortunately apt to get hurt. It was one of the reasons I didn't want to rely on him this year, and it forced me to sometimes go into international competitions with just one goalkeeper (Masalin was the other keeper).

So I struggled with possibly having a third goalkeeper available. In the end, though, I determined Masalin and Heaton to be low risk for injury. Masalin had never even suffered as much as a hang nail in his career, and Heaton had only had an injury twice in five seasons, with only one being semi-serious (he lost three weeks in 2006-07 with a groin injury).

By keeping Clichy and Nelis off, I was able to give versatile players like Starbæk (fullback both sides, defensive midfielder, winger both sides) and Hicks (forward and all midfield/winger spots) places on the roster. Oskarsson was the only player hurt at the time and is due to be close to a return by our first Champions League match. Andy Williams won't be back until after this round is completed, so I didn't have to worry about including one of ym better wingers for the group stage.

CR

Chief Rum

07-06-2004, 03:28 AM

2008-09 Champions League Group Stage

This week (September 16-22) will faeture the start up of the Champions League group stage, as 32 of the top teams in Europe compete for the biggest club prize in the world.

As I have mentioned before, as the reigning champion of the English Premier League, I got an automatic entry into this stage. Here are the groupings:

Group A

Celtic (Scotland), CSKA Moscow (Russia), Guingamp (France), Milan (Italy)

Where They Come From: Celtic was last year's Scottish Premier League champion, a position they have held since 2004. The SPL champion has to win throught he third round of qualifying to get to this stage. Last year, Celtic reached the tournament quarterfinals. CSKA Moscow has won the Russian Premier Division four seasons in a row, which earns them an annual ticket into the second qualifying round of the Champions. The Russian squad made it to the group stage last season, and beat Portuguese Superleague squad Académica in the third qualifying round to get here. Guingamp is the defending champion of France's La Ligue. While always a constant contender for the title, they hadn't succeeded until last season. The French champ gets an automatic entry into the group stage, and this is Guingamp's first visit to the Champions League since 2004. AC Milan is the defending Champions League holder. Milan finished third in Serie A, which is a position that normally requires a visit to the CL's qualifying rounds, but as the defending champion they got an automatic nod into the group stage. Milan is a regular in the Champions, with this being their sixth straight year in the tournament.

Group Outlook: Milan has been installed by oddsmakers as a co-favorite to repeat as CL champs and are clearly the class of this group. If you want an update on the powerful roster this squad has, just look at the Super Cup results. After that, though, it looks like a toss up. Guingamp is led by crafty Burkinabe striker Beli Moumouni Dagano. CSKA Moscow is a defensive-minded team with a strong set of internationals manning its backline, including national team Brazilian fullback Athirston and Czech international defensive midfielder Jiri Jarosik. Celtic has a dynamic international lineup led by home country hero Stephen Pearson up front, Norwegian defender Pa-Modou Kah and David Pizarro's Chilean international teammate winger Mark González.

Group B

Banik Ostrava (Czech Republic), Cannes (France), Juventus (Italy), Leverkusen (Germany)

Where They Come From: Banik Ostrava is the defending champion of the Czech First Division. They have won the division two times in the last three years, and have yet to finish lower than fourth. They have reached the Champions League several times, but have never advanced past the group stage, including last year. Cannes finished in third in La Ligue last year, and won through the qualifying round to get here. This is their first visit to the Champions League. Juventus is the three-time defending champion of Serie A, one of the top leagues in the world, and a true superpower club. Like league-mate Milan, Juventus has been in the CL every season since 2003, and only once did they fail to reach the elimination stage. Last year, they lost in the quarters. Leverkusen is one of the more consistent strong teams of the Bundesliga. They finished second last season and haven't finished lower than sixth in five seasons, but this is their first return to the CL since 2005-06. They do have a Champions runner up to show for themselves in 2002.

Group Outlook: Juventus should make the second Italian group winner so far, as they look much stronger than the rest of the field. The defending Serie A champ is seen as a serious contender for the trophy, among the top five or six teams with a shot at it. Leverkusen is a quality second team, though, and likely has the best shot at the other spot. With Cannes also being a major league member and Banik Ostrava a consistent visitor to this competition, this isn't all that easy a group to come out of. Juventus remains a veteran and tested squad led by well-known international stars, including one of the top goalkeepers in Italian Gianluigi Buffon and star French striker David Trezeguet. This is a very strong defensive squad, including Euro 2008 champion defender Croatian Igor Tudor. German defender Hanno Balitsch and Brazilian centreback Lúcio are two of the best defenders in the world, and they play on the same backline for Leverkusen. Belgian striker Stein Huysegems does the scoring. Cannes will get some great scoring chances from Morrocan star striker Marouane Chamakh and young-star-on-the-rise Brazilian scorer Jo, just 21. Banik Ostrava striker Mario Licka has long been the premier scorer in the Czech First Division and is a very good player.

Group C

Chornomorets (Ukraine), Levski Sofia (Bulgaria), Tamworth (England), U. Lamas (Portugal)

Where They Come From: Chornomorets finished in fourth of the Ukrainian High League and won through to the group stage from the third round of qualifying. They have been a solid team for years, but generally don't finish high enough to qualify for the Champions League. This is their first visit since 2005-06, and also the furthest they have ever gone in the tournament. Levski Sofia is a regular participant in the CL from Bulgaria, a nation whose league is not represented in the game. They have reached the CL five years in a row, and this is the fourth straight year they have reached the group stage. Interestingly enough, Levski Sofia happened to draw fellow Bulgarian club Litex in the third round of qualifying to get this far. Tamworth is the defending UEFA and English Premier League champion, and was perhaps the story of Europe last year. They should have a lot of pressure on them to repeat their performance. They have never been to the Champions League. U. Lamas is Portugal's equivalent of Tamworth. Having only been promoted to the Superleague three years ago, they have finished eighth and then second in consecutive seasons. This is their first visit to the CL.

Group Outlook: If Tamworth needed to establish its credentials as a big time club, it couldn't ask for a much better shot than this group. If England's newest power wants to establish itself as a club to be reckoned with, it needs to win this group handily. No one really stands out amongst the rest. Chornomorets is a decent Ukrainian squad. Levski Sofia is one of the best clubs--in Bulgaria. And U. Lamas is just three years removed from Portugal's Second League (not that Tamworth comes from more vaunted origins). Tamworth is led by an international buffet of strikers, with Nigeria's Yakubu, France's Louis Saha and Iceland's Orri Freyr Oskarsson probably being the best known. U. Lamas, as a member of a top league, is probably the favorite for the second spot, although it really looks to be anyone's game. U. Lamas lone standout player is young Portuguese rising 21-year-old star Roger Schaap, who stunned the Superleague with 38 goals last year. Levski Sofia is almost a pseudonym for the Bulgarian national team. Striker Kostyantyn Balabanov has the look of a strong player with a good pedigree of scoring in the Ukrainian High League, but he has never played at the international level beyond youth squads. He is the offensive leader for Chornomorets.

Group D

Deportivo (Spain), Dinamo Kiev (Ukraine), NEC (Netherlands), Olympiakos (Greece)

Where They Come From: Most of this group is fairly well known. Deportivo has always spent like a superpower, but it wasn't until recently that they really had some success. They finished in second in the Primera Liga last year, which has fallen down abit from amongst the top leagues but is still a very good league. Surpisingly, Deportivo has very little recent history in the CL, and this is their first return to the competition since 2003 (and then it was just to the third qualifying round). Dinamo Kiev is a strange mirror-image to Deportivo, as the star of the rising Ukrainian High League. They haven't finished lower than second in the league in the last five years, and the one time they didn't, they finished in third. They are the defending champions of the UHL, and have won the league two of the last three years. They likewise have surprising success in the CL, where they have yet to fail to reach the group stage, and even won the whole thing in 2004-05. NEC has long been a solid team in Holland's Eridivisie, but this is the furthest they have gotten, finishing second last year. This is their first year in the CL. Olympiakos is the crown club of the Greek National A Division. They have won their league three of the past four seasons, including the last two, and like Dinamo Kiev, have only finished in the league as third just once in the past five seasons. They have reached the group stage of the Champions League in five of the last six seasons, but have yet to get beyond that stage.

Group Outlook: Oddsmakers don't seem afraid of Deportivo's lack of redent strong success or the long break between visits to the CL. They have installed them as one of the top six clubs in the tournament. Still, this won't be an easy group to beat, and is probably the first group you could say that the favorite to win the group isn't somewhat of a lock to advance. As you would expect from a team with the payroll Deportivo puts up, there are a number of significant players on the roster. The midfield is patrolled by veteran quality players in Spain's Sergio and the Italian Fabio Liverani, the offense is multi-faceted and capable while led by Spaniard Albert Luque, and an internationally-reknowned backline of Portugal's Jorge Andrade and Holland's Mario Melchiot fronts American star netminder Tim Howard. Dinamo Kiev may be good enough to play with Deportivo, though, with Argentina's Roberto Nanni up front and Romanian star midfielder Florin Cernat leading the offense, while Brazil's Alessandro and the Ukraine's own Andriy Nesmachnyi form one of the best fullback combos in the world. NEC's Dutch striker combo Frank Demouge and Patrick Ax are in their prime and have been among the Eridivisie's top scorers for several years now. Uruguayan winger Nery Alberto Castillo is a creative winger with a hot future, and he keys Olympaikos' offense, sending more than a few balls to star Greek striker Labros Choutos, one of the National A's best offensive players. The favorites are Deportivo and Dinamo Kiev, but expect a bitter fight in this one.

Group E

Brno (Czech Republic), Genoa (Italy), Partizan (SER), Sporting Lisbon (POR)

Where They Come From: Usually, the Czech Republic doesn't get two teams to the group stage, but this year, Brno joins Banik Ostrava here. Brno finished second last year in the Czech First Division, and third two times in the last four years, but this is their first entry into the Champions League. They had to do it the hard way, winning through from the second round of qualifying, including a third rund win over tough Turkish squad Fenerbahçe. This is their first time in the CL. While Genoa has done nothing to shame itself, generally finishing in Serie A's top ten squads, it is not one of the first teams people think of when they think of Italian football. Genoa finished ahead of vaunted league-mates like Milan and Parma and Roma last season to finish second, a league finish they had never achieved before. While no team that finishes second in a powerful league like the Serie A is to be ignored, this is the highest Genoa has finished by far (seventh was their previous best finish in the league), and this is their first visit to the CL. Partizan has won two of the last four Serbia & Montenegro First Division titles, including last year. They haven't been as dominant as you would like a team from a lower end European league to be, though, with an eighth place finish just two years ago. They haven't been to the CL since 2005-06. Sporting Lisbon has established itself as the team in Portugal's Superleague, winning four of the last five league titles, including last year. While it did have early success in reaching a CL quarterfinal in 2005, and have made it to the group stage now in five straight years, Sporting Lisbon has yet to turn its league success into something more tangible on the international scale.

Group Outlook: Genoa is the likely favorite, given where they play, but I feel this group is about as wide open as any. This is a group Sporting Lisbon can win, and Brno has shown resiliency in getting through two rounds to get here. Explosive Argentinian striker Diego Milito has firmly established himself as a scorer on the highest stage for Genoa, where he gets fed by the creative passing of Croatian right winger Dario Srna and midfielder Mozart from Brazil. Few striker combos in Europe match the ability and skill of Romanian World Cup star Marius Niculae and Portuguese international Yuri for Sporting Lisbon. Brazilian midfielder Tinga and Chilean winger Rodrigo Tello are the creative force behind the two. Former Portuguese backline stars like Beto and Rui Jorge remain to offer veteran savvy, even with declining skills in evidence. Brno's Libor Dosek has built a reputation for being one of the best scorers in the Czech First Division, where he is aided along by another strong scorer in Milan Pacanda. The best midfield name on the team is 19-year-old David Machacek, a potential star in the making. Serbs Sasa Ilic and Vladimir Ivic lead a dynamic and experienced midfield behind lead striker Ivica Iliev.

Group F

Bodo/Glimt (Norway), FC Bayern (Germany), Inter (Italy), Lens (France)

Where They Come From: Bodo/Glimt is as unlikely a name as you will find in this competition. The Norwegian squad had never won the Norwegian Premier Division before doing so last year. It didn't get an easy draw for its first visit to the CL either. FC Bayern is one of the most powerful clubs in the world, and Inter is close to the same level. Bayern has won the tough and prestigious Bundesliga four of the past five seasons, turning one of the world's top leagues into almost a laugher every year. The powerful German club has yet to fail to reach the elimination phase in five straight Champions League tournaments, including a loss in the 2005-06 final, and visits to the semifinals and quarterfinals as well. Inter doesn't have quite so strong a pedigree to fall back on, but they have done nothing to shame themselves in never finishing lower than fourth in perhaps the world's top league in the Serie A. They finished fourth last season. While Inter may not have the CL success Bayern has had, failing to make it past the second round in four of the last five years, the one year they did make it through, they went all the way, winning the Champions trophy in 2006-07. Lens has a hsitory of finishing in the middle of the table in France's Ligue One, so finishing second--five spots better than any previous finish in the five years--was a bit of a surprise, much like Genoa in the Serie A. Drawing into the same group as FC Bayern and Inter is just cruel for the first time visitors to the CL.

Group Outlook: While Lens is no slouch of a team, this group seems like a cinch. The only question is whether FC Bayern or Inter will finish atop the group. Even the bottom ranks are set, as Bodo/Glimt isn't even in Lens league, much less the superpowers. The stars of Bayern are well-known, but worth recounting. The venerable star goalkeeper Oliver Kahn remains in net, with only slight diminishing in skill and seemingly no interest in leaving the game. He is joined by such fellow German stars as midfielders Michael Ballack and Deitmar Hermann, along with aging Italian former superstar Christian Vieri. They lend veteran savvy, but the real stars are those in their prime, like South American superstar striker combo Roque Santa Cruz and Claudio Pizarro of Uruguay and Peru, respectively. Brazilian winger Alex and German star Daniel Bierofka may form the top winger combo in the world. Bayern has been picked as a co-favorite to win the CL this season. Inter can stare Bayern right in the face with the likes of Adriano and Martins, two of the three best players in the world, as one of football histories best ever forward lines. Turkish midfielder Belozoglu and Spanish star Mikel Arteta form a less heralded but as skilled creative force behind the front two stars as well, and all that doesn't mention top striker reserve Mohammed Kallon of Sierra & Leone--and one of the best scorers in the world. Colombian forward Oscar Eduardo Villareal is the established face of Lens' offense, where he is the receiver of passes from steady Malian winger Seydou Keita. Anders Askheim is an offensive force for Bodo/Glimt in the Norwegian Premier Division, where he is supported by fellow forward, Icelandic international Hans Torstein Sigurdsson and winger Tron Olsen. Expect fireworks out of this group, especially between the top two powers.

Group G

AaB (Denmark), Arsenal Kiev (Ukraine), Barcelona (Spain), Werder Bremen (Germany)

Where They Come From: AaB has finished first or second in the Superligaen in each of the past four seasons, and are now an established Danish power. Still, it is Denmark we're talking about here, a decent league at best. AaB are the defending champs. Last year, they failed to get out of the third round of qualifying. Arsenal Kiev jumped up to second in the Ukrainian High League last year after spending the previous years around fifth and sixth. As such, they were a bit of a surprise and are in their first ever Champions League. Barcelona, the three-time defending champion of the Primera Liga, needs no itnroduction, as the club is a world-reknowned superpower. Like Inter, they have a disturbing history in the CL, failing to get beyond the second round in three of the last four years, but winning it all in 2004-05 (over FC Bayern). Werder Bremen, while not on the scale of a Bayern or Dortmund, has quietly truned itself into a very strong German side, finishing third last year and fourth the year before that. This is their initial season in the Champions, though.

Group Outlook: Barcelona is the third favorite, along with Juventus and FC Bayern, and with good reason. Their roster is chock full of superstars. Where to begin? Up front, you have superstars like Holland's veteran striker Patrick Kluivert and new top French scorer Kapo. Well known names like Jan Koller and Diego Tristán back them up with veteran leadership in limited minutes. Kapo often goes to the right wing to pair with Portuguese star winger Ricardo Quaresma as one of the best sets of wings in the world. The midfield is littered with guys like Brazilian vet Emerson and Argentinian Juan Román Riquelme, while defensive stars like Spain's Carles Puyol and Fernando Navarro, and young Englishman Steven Taylor keep veteran Turkish international goalkeeper Reçber Rustu safe from harm. Barca shouldn't have much of a problem reachig the elimination phase, but the second spot seems likely to be up for grabs. Werder Bremen will depend on their quartet of Brazilian star forwards in Diego, Lincoln, Diego Tardelli and Lúcio Flávio. All four have scored double digit goals in the Bundesliga, and are versatile enough to be int he lineup at the same time at various forward and midfield positions. Arsenal Kiev has a versatile midfield headed by Ukrainians Igor Skoba and Olexiy Ivanov and Nigerian international Emmanuel Osey Okoduwa, and a fine lead striker in the Turkmenstani tongue-twisted-named Guvanchmuhamed Ovekov, but they will be hurt by the loss of double-digit goal scoring forward Ruslan Yermolenko, who will be out until early 2009 with a back injury. Rasmus Wurtz and Christopher Poulsen provide solid defense for AaB. Wereder Bremen should have the inside track onthe second spot.

Group H

Ajax (Netherlands), GAK (Austria), Man Utd (England), Shakhtar (Ukraine)

Where They Come From: Ajax has long been one of the powers of Holand's Eridivisie, but usually the Champions League is the home of Ajax rival PSV. Last season, Ajax finally broke PSV's hold on the league's top spot after finishing second three times in the previous four seasons. Ajax has made it to Champions League in four of the past five seasons, and reached the group stage every year. Unfortunately, they haven't gotten beyond the second round, including last season. GAK is one of the better teams in the Austrian Premier Division, but this is the first time they finished on top of the league. Strangely enough, their first place finish in 2007-08 followed a five-year worst ninth place in 2006-07. This is their first visit to the CL since the 2003-04 season, when they lost int he second round of qualifying. GAK won its way through the hard way, winning in two qualifying rounds, including a stunning defeat of English power Liverpool in the third round. Man Utd remains one of the world's richest and most powerful clubs. The premier English superpower finished in second last year, and haven't finished lower than fourth in the English Premier League in five seasons. They also have a history of strong success in this event. They have gone to six straight CL's now, won the 2003-04 trophy, and reached the semis in three of the four seasons since (with a quarterfinal visit in the season they didn't make it to the semis). Shakhtar, along with Dinamo Kiev, is one of the standout clubs of the rising Ukrainian High League. Shakhtar has finished third in three of the past four seasons, including last season, and won the league they year they didn't. They got all the way to the quarterfinals in 2003-04, but didn't return to the CL until last year, when they took it one step further in getting to the semifinals. Obviously, performing well in the CL is not a problem once the club reaches the tournament.

Group Outlook: While no one is going to say Man Utd isn't coming out of this group, this has to be one of the toughest draws in the tournament. Man Utd is one of the six top teams tabbed to have the best shot at the trophy, and they figure to make it out of the group phase, just as they have done every year since the beginning of this dynasty. But it won't be easy with Shakhtar, another team that plays well in the CL, and Ajax, a powerful and rich club itself, as part of the group. Man Utd has a premier level of talent that is matched by few teams in the world. Worldclass is a description that can be thrown around for most of Man Utd's top eleven, which includes superstar Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, fellow winger Frenchman Sidney Govou and Cameroonian international Eric Djemba-Djemba in the midfield, German superstar Miroslav Klose and French striker Nicolas Anelka up front, and perhaps the world's best backline with such English stalwarts as Rio Ferdiand and John O'Shea. Ajax is led by a strong midfield anchored via Moroccan winger Nourdin Boukhari and Ghanaian midfielder Abubakari Yakubu, while Belgian striker Wesley Sonck--one of the top offensive talents in the Eridivisie--leads the attack up front. Shakhtar's Olexiy Gai and Razvan Rat form one of the better fullback combos in the CL, and the defense is aided by strong work in the middle by midfielders Anatoliy Tymoschuk and Vitaliy Lysysts'kyi. The offense gets much of its scoring from Andriy Vorobey. American striker Steve Jackson is the top talent on GAK, with Austrian winger Matthias Dollinger doing much of the team's creative work. Whiel Man Utd should get one spot, the other spot should be a bitter battle, with Ajax and Shakhtar likely duking it out. Even GAK is no slouch, although in this group, they might lose all of their matches.

CR

Chief Rum

07-06-2004, 04:51 AM

Tuesday, September 16 To Monday, September 22

Champions League Fixture

Here is a look at Tamworth's fixture for the Group C group stage:

September 16: vs Levski Sofia
October 1: at U. Lamas
October 22: vs Chornormorets
November 4: at Chornomorets
November 26: at Levski Sofia
December 9: vs U. Lamas

Oskarsson To Return

We have played almost our entire fixture so far without the services of dynamic playmaking striker Orri Freyr Oskarsson. Oskarsson is back in training now after breaking his arm a month ago in the league home opener against Aston Villa. He won't be ready for our opening match against Levski Sofia, but it's possible he could play in our Premiership road match against Leicester on the following Saturday.

Matches

Our match against Levski Sofia didn't start off so well. Just six minutes into the match, centreback Aleksandar Tunchev got a hold of the ball near the left touchline and hit a nice long pass to winger Krasen Trifonov breaking into the left of the box with a step on the backline. Although he came in at a sharp angle, he hit a high, hard shot at Jon Masalin. The Finnish goalkeeper got a piece of it, but it bounced off of him and rolled on into the net for an early Levski Sofia lead.

It didn't take long for the Lambs to tie it back up. Yakubu took a nice pass on the right from Johnnier Montaño on a nice centerfield run in the 13th minute and blasted it across the goal and into the far end of the net. Levski Sofia goalkeeper Dimitar Ivankov had little chance at the finely placed shot.

After that, it was the Johnnier Montaño show. The midfielder spent some of the early season matches on the bench because of his personal problems, and then once I got him back on the pitch, he didn't really seem to take off right away. Well, he put it all together today, scoring ina number of different ways. In the 17th minute, he took a pass similar to the one Yakubu scored on, but instead of avoiding Ivankov with the shot the way Yakubu did, he blasted it directly over and past him. Then in the 24th minute, Montaño scored off of a direct kick from just outside of the box, hitting a score in off of midfielder Anton Kostadinov for the 3-1 lead. In the 58th minute, Montaño found himself with an open look at the goal, but was a good 40 yards out, and closer to the centreline than the box. Despite that, he let off a beautiful shot that sailed like a rocket at the net. It slammed into the right corner of the net with pinpoint accuracy as Ivankov watched in stunned amazement. Montaño finished off his incredible day by scoring his fourth goal with a chip over Ivankov after the Bulgarian keeper charged out to stop him in the 64th minute. Montaño's four goal explosion was an eye-opener (and he assisted Yakubu's goal). Tamworth 5, Levski Sofia 1

Team morale was high following our impressive opening win in the Champions League group stage, so we went into the Leicester road match on September 20 in high spirits. Oskarsson wasn't quite ready yet, but then, he is a first eleven starter, and this match was scheduled for the second eleven. Those good feelings really propelled us in this one as we put in our best effort of the year so far in a dominating match against Leicester. Richie Partridge started us off with a penalty score in the fifth minute. David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro scored in the 18th minute, and Andrei Pereplyotkin moved us up to 3-0 in the 20th minute. We didn't put it into high gear, though, until the second half. Louis Saha put in two scores in four minutes just into the second half, and Mark Hicks, who came on as a sub, finished off the shellacking with two late scores to give us an incredible win. Tamworth 7, Leicester 0

Obviously, we are playing at our best form right now.

CR

Chief Rum

07-07-2004, 01:13 AM

Tuesday, September 23 To Monday, September 29

We have just one match this week, a Premier Division home match against Southampton. Incidentally, Southampton is playing well right now and near the top of the league table.

Injury News

Orri Freyr Oskarsson is set to make his return in the Southampton match on September 27, and we look forward to his return, as his absence has stretched us up front abit, considering we run two complete elevens that both require backing up for their matches.

We gain one player, but we lose another. On September 23, centreback and defensive midfielder Mark Phillips broke his foot in training and will be out for two weeks. The reserve backline player was a versatile option for us for regular backup work behind both elevens, but we are particularly deep on both the backline and at defensive midfielder, so he is not expected to be missed too much.

Young right fullback Pat Davenport couldn't have gotten hurt at a worse time when he tore his groin muscle in early August. Not only did it cost him his shot at a spot on one of the two eleven squads, but his chief competitor Kevin Gorman has held up well in the job on his own. Davenport could be ready to return to action by next week.

I won't be opening up the position for competition again when Davenport comes back, so it looks like he will join our other non-two-eleven members as primary backups.

Slovakian Youth Unsettled

When I went over my offseason acquisitions, I only mentioned the guys having an impact on my first team, but as anyone who follows these games know, you have to scout for the future as well. In doing so, I found several young players in Slovakia who looked good enough to bring in. For the most part, I was rebuffed for them, but I did manage to acquire two of them.

I brought in striker Roman Boldyrev from Inter Bratislava and sweeper/defender Andrey Gorbunov from Zlate Moravce. Both clubs are in the Slovakian leagues, and neither player cost more than $170,000. As they were 18 and 19, respectively, at the time, they were slated for my Under-19 squad.

Gorbunov seems to have settled in just fine, but I was soon getting worrisome messages about Boldyrev. The young striker was having trouble settling in the area. Whereas Gorbunov quickly got a basic handle on English, Boldyrev struggled. He would eventually get to that stage, but by then he was sending messages he wanted to leave the club. Since we're in the middle of the closed transfer period, our hands are tied there. I am hoping things will improve enough for the young man to want to stay by the time January comes around.

Matches

Let's just say the Southampton match didn't go down the way any manager would want to draw it up.

Southampton proved to be a tough match defensively, keeping us out of the goal better than teams have been up to now. At one point early in the match, Yakubu took exception to the ref calling a foul on Hermann Hreidarsson for a hard tackle, and the ref gave him a yellow card. Not twenty minutes later, in the 34th minute, David Raven was called for a foul froma hard tackle, and, again, Yakubu let his temper get the best of him. The ref gave him a warning, but it did no good, as Yakubu again went off. This was the last straw; Yakubu was given his second yellow card and sent off with a red. It was really odd, as Yakubu is not noted for being temperemental, nor had I noted such outbursts before.

Fortunately, I have had players sent off before, and have devised a solid defensive plan to still maintain some offense. I adjust my four-man backline into a three-man, with a sweeper who moves slightly forward, and two centrebacks who guard to the touchlines. This is done while allowing the rest of my attack--the offensive attack--to remain as it is, with two wingers, two forwards and a forward-backward pair of midfielders.

We went into halftime tied at zero apiece, but we got it going in the second half. Just a minute in, we got a free kick fromt he right of the box. Jim Corbett sent in a long pass that somehow got to near the far post. Carl Motteram collected the ball in the air, and volleyed it toward the left corner in a very quick move. Owain Fon Williams, the Southampton goalkeeper, couldn't get to the shot int ime, and we had the 1-0 lead. For a while it seemed like that would be it, but we finally put it away in the 72nd minute on a score by Michael Stewart. Darren Birchall added another in the 80th minute, and that was it. Tamworth 3, Southampton 0

CR

thealmighty

07-07-2004, 02:48 AM

Chief, this is just an awesome read. I love it.

p.s.- you suck!! I was up 'til almost 3am reading this thing, as I hadn't seen it before today and i just couldn't stop 'til i was caught up.

Chief Rum

07-07-2004, 02:58 AM

Tuesday, September 30 To Monday, October 6

We return to Champions League action with a trip to the home pitch of U. Lamas on October 1. We follow that up with a road match at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, October 4.

League Cup Draw

On September 30, we were entered, along with 31 other squads. This is the first entry point for the top returning six Premiership squads. The bottom fourteen participated in the second round, and three squads--Bristol City, Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City--didn't even make it out of that round. So seventeen total Premiership squads are in this draw.

That meant there was more than an even chance would draw a direct league competitor for our first matchup in the League Cup, the competition we blew in the final last year. And draw one we did, as we were assigned a date with Fulham at the Lamb Ground. The match will be played on October 29.

Board Confidence Update

Same-o same-o. The board members remain impressed with my commitment to the club. This is about the first time, though, that I noticed a key difference between the board's expectations and those of the supporters. The board expects us to challenge for the EPL title this year. The supporters expect us to win the title. Interesting. I had never noticed a difference before in any of my dynasties.

Not surprisingly, I personally expect to hit the mark for the supporters.

September Premiership Awards

Tamworth went 6-1 in the August/September stretch, so it was little surprise that I named the league's manager of the month.

What was cool, though, was that I had some company amongst the Lambs. David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro won the Player of the Month (which didn't surprise me), and Kevin Gorman won the Young Player of the Month (which did surprise me). In fact, Gorman is the first player from one of my teams that has ever won a young player of the month award.

Injuries

The frustration of Pat Davenport continues. The young fullback finally returned to full training and health this week. He didn't last another week.

On October 6, he went down with another torn groin muscle. It's his third groin muscle injury in the past five months, although that fact didn't really impact me until a month from now (more on that later, in other words).

But Davenport's loss once more wasn't the key injury this week. Carl Motteram suffered a broken foot, much like Mark Phillips, in training on October 3. Also like Phillips, Motteram will miss two weeks. His absence will hurt us much more than Davenport's injury will.

It's likely that Lionel Morgan will keep his second eleven spot, and I will just play it by ear on the first eleven left winger spot, with Darren Birchall, Richie Partridge, Mark Hicks and Jarl Ander Starbæk likely being the top candidates. If Parridge, the second eleven right winger, switches to a temporary first team left winger spot, I will probably start Chris Booth in his place. Booth has played very well in limited minutes.

Matches

We got a big test in our first road match in the Champions League. U. Lamas not only played with us, putting up much more shots than our opponents usually do, but they scored on us first and held us scoreless for the entire first half. After a 20th minute score by striker Diocliciano (say that five times fast) Tavares, we founbd ourselves in a 1-0 hole at halftime.

As in the Southampton match, we got it going in the second half. Louis Saha scored in the 47th minute on a close shot on goal. His score was set up by a great run by Andrei Pereplyotkin to the touchline. The Ukrainian striker dished off a nice pass to Saha, who put it in for the tying score. Saha added another one ten minute slater to give us the lead. Pereplyotkin himself put it away with a score in the 80th minute. Tamworth 3, U. Lamas 1

We had lineup problems for the Nottingham Forest match. Thanks to his yellow card bonanza in the Southampton match, Yakubu was forced to sit for a domestic match and would be out for this one. And then we also lost Motteram to injury a day before. So our striker depth was really hurt when we started Adam Wilde in Yakubu's place, and Mark Hicks in Motteram's spot.

Fortunately, both Wilde and Hicks came to play in this one. Despite playing at the wing spot, which isn't a traditional scoring position, Hicks scored our first and third goals of the match, in the 25th and 44th minutes. The first score tied it up after Forest's Darren Huckaby put them up 1-0 in the 7th minute (incidentally, the third straight time we have allowed the opponent to get on the board first). The second score put it away after Orri Freyr Oskarsson scored his first league goal of the season in the 29th minute. Wilde's 67th minute score was just icing on the cake. Tamworth 4, Nottingham Forest 1

International Duty

Follwoing our match against Nottingham Forest, several players were once again off to play for their national teams, as qualifying for China 2010 resumes around the world in early to mid-October.

African national teams aren't in action for this period, so the Nigerian Yakubu would be able to stew over his suspension at home this off period.

Both South America and Europe will be conducting another round of their qualifying rounds.

Once again, David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro was called up to Chile, and Giovanny Hernandez was again called up to Colombia.

In Europe, it was much the same crew that was called up as in September. Mike Duff (Northern Ireland), Richie Partridge (Ireland), Louis Saha (France), Andrei Pereplytokin (Ukraine), Denny Landzaat (Holland) and Michael Stewart (Scotland) were all called up. Hermann Hreidarsson (Iceland) was also called up again, but as was the cas elast year, he had company on the plane trip home, with Oskarsson returning to national team action. Oskarsson's broken arm prevented himf rom playing in the opening rounds of qualifying for Iceland last month, but has been a regualr with the team for the past year.

Once again, Andy Williams might have gotten the call were he not hurt. He won't be available to us or Wales before January.

CR

Chief Rum

07-07-2004, 03:01 AM

Chief, this is just an awesome read. I love it.

Thanks. Keep reading.

p.s.- you suck!! I was up 'til almost 3am reading this thing, as I hadn't seen it before today and i just couldn't stop 'til i was caught up.

lol...sorry about that. And this is my "short" and "quick" dynasty. ;)

CR

Chief Rum

07-07-2004, 05:51 AM

Tuesday, October 7 To Monday, October 13

Thanks to international play, Tamworth the club has no matches this week, and in fact won't play until well into next week (October 18).

Player Rumblings

Just because half of the top elevens are scattered around the world, though, doesn't mean there isn't anything happening. In fact, this is the week things really began to stand out about the attitude of the team, which is, perhaps, less positive than the team's table-topping record.

On October 7, Yakubu told media sources he was unhappy with his role with the team and felt he should be a regular on the first eleven. I met with him and told him he would be selected for the first eleven when I said he was good and ready. The Nigerian striker apologized to me a day later and accepted his role.

This was but the tip of the iceberg, though. Darren Birchall, who is one of my key backups at the moment, has also made rumblings about getting more playing time. Johnnier Montaño remains unhappy from his personal problems, although he is no longer concerned about his playing time. Thomas Heaton and Peter Castle remain unhappy from last year, when they complained about not being on the first team. Castle, in fact, wants to leave the team, a request I don't plan on meeting. I have already spoken about Boldyrev, the young Slovakian striker, of course, and none of the listed players are happy about being placed so except for Klos Kostwinder, the reserve gaolkeeper I can't seem to give away.

And then there are other little things I am picking out. For instance, several players are unhappy with Giovanny Hernández and see his attitude as a distraction. He is the only player who is drawing this sort of reaction besides Yakubu--who is only labeled such by Hernández himself. I have to be concerned that one player is causing so much strife. I have also noitced that, while few players are saying they want to leave the club, few are enthusiastic of being with the club or with their roles with the lambs. There are a lot of unsettleds and unknowns in this group. I suspect this is because of my depth and the use of two elevens. For instance, Yakubu is a first team regular, but since I have a whole other starting lineup, he only appears in half the games. It may come to a point where I am going to have to start cutting down the roster, anoint specific starters for all times they can be available, and move everyone else.

It's a tough situation, as my depth helps me in so many ways. This might be one of the ways it hurts me.

Injuries

No new injuries this week, but we did get someone healed up. Mark Phillips appears to be ready to return to action after missing two weeks with a broken foot. Of course, there is no action for him to participate in right now.

South American Qualifiers

It was a surprising round on October 11, as powerful South American squads Argentina and Brazil both underachieved their way to disappointing results. Argentina drew with Bolivia, 0-0, on the road, while Brazil shockingly lost 3-0 at home to Peru. Ecuador beat Paraguay, 4-0, in another bit of a surprise match.

In matches involving Tamworth players, Colombia took a big step forward by crushing a man-down Uruguay squad at home, 4-0. Hernández played well by rating, but was actually lower in rating than just about all of his fellow Colombian mates. Read into that what you will. Chile drew, 2-2, with Venzuela, but it was disappointing, as they lost at home and allowed the Venezuelans to come back from a 2-0 deficit. The second goal was scored on a penalty by Tamworth midfielder David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro. Pizarro was one of the better players for Chile.

The next round of qualifiers resumes in a few days, on October 15.

European Qualifiers

GROUP 1

The Ukraine drew with Hungary, 1-1. Andrei Pereplytokin was named as a sub, but not used. The surprising result of the day was in Spain, where Scotland surprised by the Spanish by drawing them, 1-1. Michael Stewart got on late for Scotland, in the 81st minute, but did no distinguish himself. In the third match, Cyprus beat Matla 3-1 in a matchup of the likely dogs of the group.

The Ukraine leads the group through three matches with seven points, followed by Hungary and Scotland with five. Spain is a disappointing fourth with four points.

GROUP 2

The Czech Republic has to be upset in drawing, 0-0, with Albania, which should be a win for them. Another group contender, Greece, didn't miss a beat themselves, beating another lightweight in Kazakhstan, 2-1, on the road.

The real heavyweight of the group is defending Euro 2008 champ Croatia, and they didn't disappoint, demolishing lowly Luxembourg 3-0 at home.

Croatia leads the group with seven points, with Greece right behind with six. Surprising Albania has five points now, putting them in a tie with the Czech Republic.

GROUP 3

Ireland had a home match with weak Faroe Islands, so it's no surprise they really smacked them, 6-0. Richie Partridge started on the right wing and played well, although he didn't score an assist or goal in the match.

Portugal, the projected group favorite, also took care of business at home, beating Latvia 3-0. The best match of the round was a 0-0 draw between Wales and Norway. As two of the better group contenders, a draw didn't help either of them too much.

Surprising Ireland has won all three of tis matches so far and lead the group with nine points. Portugal follows with six, Norway five and then Wales four.

GROUP 4

The big match here was a visit by the Italians to Sweden. They are probably the best team in this group, but Italy came away with little after drawing with the Swedes, 1-1. The other key contender besides those two, Bulgaria, beat little Liechtenstein on the road, 4-1. FYR of Macedonia beat Moldava, 2-1, in a matchup of smaller-level sides.

Bulgaria, as much a surprise as Ireland in Group 3, leads the way with three wins and nine points. Italy lost its hold with Bulgaria by drawing with Sweden, and now have seven points.

The shocker here, though, is Sweden, which should be much better than they are. Despite getting good reinforcement from drawing with powerful Italy, the point they have gained is their lone point in three matches so afr, and they are in last place.

GROUP 5

In a rematch of the Germany 2006 semifinal, France beat Romania, 4-0, at home. Louis Saha was a named reserve, but was not used. For Romania, it was a match they probably were hoping to make closer, at least if they feel any pressure to repeat their third place finish in Germany (and they should).

Poland, the other solid team in the group besides France and Romania, handled Northern Ireland at home with ease, 3-1. Mike Duff started at right fullback for the Northern Irish and played decently well considering the result.

Georgia beat Andorra, 2-0, in the third match.

France leads the group with seven points, with Romania and Poland just behind with six each. Northern Ireland has four.

GROUP 6

Germany didn't do so well in the first two rounds, so they came up big with an easy home win over San marino, 3-0. Denmark kept ahead, though, with a key 2-1 win over Austria. Bosnia and Slovakia drew, 1-1, in a match up of former Iron Curtain squads.

Denmark leads the way with nine points, and is another squad that can be said to be surprising at this point. Germany and Austria, so historically untrusting of one another, are tied for that key second palce spot at six points each. Slovakia remains in range with four points.

GROUP 7

England beat Azerbaijan, 2-0, in a key win for the often beleaguered home chaps. The win came on the road.

The big win, though, came courtesy of Belgium, which just absolutely shellacked Slovenia, 8-1. You can bet the Slovenians are feeling that one.

Iceland edged out Estonia at home, 1-0, with Hermann Hreidarsson starting at a centrebacks pot and playing well. Orri Freyr Oskarsson was not selected for the match.

Slovenia's shocking blowout loss was even more surprising given they came out of the first two rounds with two wins and the group lead. They remain tied on top with six points, along with Iceland and England. With Estonia and Belgium sitting at four points, this group is probably the most wide open at this point.

GROUP 8

Finaldn beat Armenia at home, 2-0, as expected. Israel and Turkey drew, 0-0, in a match that not only matches the two most southeastern nations in the qualifying, but also matched up warring religions in Judaism and Islam.

Group leader and favorite Serbia & Montenegro had the round off (as this is a group with an odd number of teams), but still lead the group with six points. They are tied with Finland, which has also won both of its matches.

Isreal is thgird with four points, but did so in three matches, while Turkey has yet to approach the skill it played with in Euro 2008, with just one point in three matches.

GROUP 9

Russia got a huge win when they upset Holland, 2-1, at home. Denny Landzaat came in as a sub in the 73rd minute and played well, but it was too late to save his nationint his one.

Belarus and Lithuania drew, 1-1, in a matchup of former Soviet satellite nations.

Despite the loss, Holland still sits atop the group table by itself, with six points in three matches. Lithuania and Russia are tied for second with four points, although Lithuania has aonly played in two matches. Idle Switzerland, which came into qualifying as a group contender following its surprising run in Euro 2008, has just one point in two matches.

Internationals Up Next

Europe won't return to international action until March next year. South America, though, will be back in action next month after the October 15 round.

Lamb Ground Expansion Completed

OMG, lol...

This is the expansion I had built last year, that reached the completion date, but then nothing happened. Nothing more was said about it other than it was underway. Well, for whatever reason, it finally came through--after I had already manually edited the Lamb Ground to be more comparable to other Premiership stades. The original 2050-seat expansion moved us up to 32,045 total capacity, all seated.

CR

Chief Rum

07-08-2004, 03:50 AM

Tuesday, October 14 To Monday, October 20

International play wraps up early this week, and we return to league play by the end of it. And it's a biggie. On Saturday, October 18, we are welcoming powerful Arsenal to the Lamb Ground.

South American Qualifiers

Most of the rest of the world's continents only played one round this break, but South America got two done, with another set of matches on October 15.

The two power squads, Argentina and Brazil, bounced back from disappointments on October 11 to win their matches. Argentine beat Peru, 1-0, at home, while Brazil went on the road to beat a tough Uruguay team, 2-0.

In a matchup of teams featuring Tamworth players, Chile and Colombia drew, 2-2, at Chile. Both Chile's David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro and Colombia's Giovanny Hernáandez started for their respective countries, and put up respectable ratings, although neither player figured in the scoring.

In other South American qualifying matches, Paraguay beat Bolivia, 4-2, at home, and Ecuador surprised Venezuela on the road, 3-1.

After ten matches, there is a glut of teams on top of the table with 20 points. As expected, Brazil and Argentina are two of them, and it's no surprise that Colombia is also up there. The big surprise is Peru, which seems to be making it difficult to exclude them from China 2010.

Of course, with five spots under contention, who cares about table-topping ties. The real competition is for the fifth spot, among teams all running a good distance behind the top four squads. Ecuador and Paraguay are tied for that fifth spot with 13 points, with Ecuador getting the nod with a better (but close) goal differential. With Uruguay at 11 points and Chile and Venezuela at 9, this is far from over.

Phillips Wants A Regular First Team Role

On the same day South American nations were duking it out in the New World, defender and defensive midfielder Mark Phillips told the media he felt he deserved a regular first team role. Of course, he has one--as a backup.

Seriously, though, Phillips isn't in a good position right now. He's a solid player, but he lacks the offensive skills I like for the defensive midfield position, and he isn't as gifted as I like my centrebacks to be for that position. So that result is that he becomes a jack of all trades on the backline and in the midfield, but not good enough to really start anywhere.

As with Yakubu, I tell him he will get his chance when the time is right (not telling him I think that time will never come, of course), and he apologizes the next day. Still, I don't think Phillips will be in Tamworth too much longer, given his relatively unimportant role and my own feelings about players who spout off to the media about their lack of playing time.

Injuries

Nothing new to report, except that Carl Motteram seems to be progressing along toward health, following his broken foot from almost two weeks ago. He's due to be back in full health by the end of the week, but since he is a first eleven player, it won't matter anyway for the Arsneal match (it's a second eleven match). He should be ready for our Champions League home match with CHornomorets at the Lamb Ground next week, though.

Matches

The South American qualifiers did have their impact on this match, as both Pizarro and Hernández came back home tired. Pizarro was rested enough to be selected for the team, but not to start. Hernáandez would normally have been his replacement in that case, but the Colombian midfielder wasn't in condition to play, so we went with Darren Birchall in the middle.

In the 31st minute, we got a quick reminder of just who Arsenal has playing for them. Fullback Dion Dickoff took a short run across the right centreline and launched a curling high pass to Hernán Crespo, running toward the box near the middle of the pitch. He headed the ball on high into the box--where superstar striker Thierry Henry timed a perfect step ahead of our centreback Tieme Klompe. Thomas Heaton advanced on Henry, but the Frenchman executed his play to perfection, floating a chip over Heaton's rush and into the corner of the net.

Arsenal kept us off the board for the entire first half, and once again, we went into the second-45 down 1-0. It's odd how this keeps happening.

We didn't break through until the 57th minute. Denny Landzaat found Louis Saha--Henry's French teammate--with an excellent long pass from the centreline, and Saha blasted it past Tony McDermott's far shoulder for the equaliser.

Never ones to wait, the Lambs immediately put the pressure on for another one with a simply beautiful move. Richie Partridge hit a long cross-pitch up to Saha near the left corner. Saha headed the ball to Lionel Morgan nearby, and Morgan, ont he quick, volleyed a great pass to Birchall, who timed his entry ot the box perfectly to free himself up. He hit the ball past McDermott for the go ahead.

We would get a wrap up score from Andrei Pereplytokin in the 69th minute, and that was that. Tamworth 3, Arsenal 1

Our attendance of 32001 was, of course, a new Tamworth record, what with the expanded ground being officially in place now.

CR

Chief Rum

07-08-2004, 05:23 AM

Tuesday, October 21 To Monday, October 27

I can't think immediately of a reason why, but we have an odd Saturday off this week. We do, however, have our Champions League match against Ukrainian High League squad Chornomorets on Wednesday, October 22.

Motteram Set To Return Against Chornomorets

Winger Carl Motteram, as expected, should be ready for our match against Chornomorets. He broke his foot two weeks ago, but fortunately, did so just before a long international break.

Matches

With two wins under our belt in our Champions League group fixture, we were hoping to take a commanding lead in our group with a third win over Chornomorets.

Unlike seemingly every other match for the past month, we got on board first this time, and early, too. Johnnier Montaño sent in a high, short corner that Leon Cort got under, and the dentreback headed it in for the score. Chornomorets goalkeeper Volodymyr Lozinskiy was nowhere near the play when it went in.

It stayed that way for a good while. Despite the bare 1-0 lead, we were never really tested defensively. For the match, we allowed just one shot to the Ukrainian squad.

We put it away in the 74th minute on an odd play set up by Mark Hicks. Hicks sent in a great pass into the box, just to the left of the left goal post. Lozinskiy had been rushing out to counter Montaño's approach, the intended target of Hicks' slightly off pass. Instead of immediately retreating to get the ball, the goalkeeper just froze. Montaño ran past him to the ball and proceeded to make an easy, open shot difficult by blasting it across the net and into the side netting on the other side. Fortunetly, the inside side netting. And that's how it ended. Tamworth 2, Chornomorets 0

Halfway through the Champions League group stage fixture, we have nine points and the Group C lead. Levski Sofia, our first victim, sits in second with six points, while Chornomorets has three, and U. Lamas zero.

Injury Update

We didn't escape the Chornomorets match unscathed.

Starting right fullback Mike Duff hurt his neck and will miss 10 days to two weeks. He had to leave the match in the 15th minute, and was replaced by Karl Ander Starbæk. I don't have any contingent plans yet as to how to replace him in the lineup in the meantime, although his short recovery time shouldn't mean too many missed matches anyway. If I have to, Starbæk and Otsemobor would probably be the primary candidates to start there. This would be where Pat Davenport would step in were he not hurt all the time.

Champions League Midway Point Update

Here's a quick look at the groupings in the Champions League.

GROUP A

Milan 7, Celtic 6, CSKA Moscow 2, Guingamp 1

Milan hasn't swept to victory, but they are leading. Celtic also seems to be right there, as this one could be over as soon as next round.

GROUP B

Juventus 7, Leverkusen 6, Cannes 3, Banik Ostrava 1

This one has a similar look to Group A, and with the expected results as well. Cannes is still close, though, so Leverkusen is no shoo-in. Juventus is doing as expected.

GROUP C

Tamowrth 9, Levski Sofia 6, Chornomorets 3, U. Lamas 0

U. Lamas is the other major league squad here, if you presume the Ukrainian High League isn't as good as its performance in these competitions have shown, and yet the Portuguese squad is doing very poorly. The bulgarian national team--I mean Levski Sofia--has the early advantage, while Tamworth is walking in, as expected.

GROUP D

Olympiakos 7, NEC 4, Dinamo Kiev 4, Deportivo 1

What?!? How about this shocker? It could be argued that Olympiakos was the favorite to come in last here, and right now they are looking very good for advancement to the knockout stage. Lord knows what's gotten into Deportivo. They need to get their act together fast.

GROUP E

Brno 5, Genoa 5, Sporting Lisbon 4, Partizan 1

I said before that I expected this to be wide open, and it has been. Genoa seemed to be a suspect squad compared to other Italian powers, and Brno beat Liverpool to get to this stage. This one should be intriguing to watch go down.

GROUP F

Bodo/Glimt 7, Inter 4, FC Bayern 3, Lens 3

Wow...what else is there to say?

GROUP G

Werder Bremen 5, AaB 4, Arsenal Kiev 3, Barcelona 2

This CL is beginning to get a little freaky. Now two of the three favorites are currently out of the knockout stage, and need to work their way back into it. And that doesn't mention Deportivo, another top six squad on the outs at the moment. At least Wereder Bremen isn't a surprise here--they were the odds on favorite for second behind Barcelona.

GROUP H

Shakhtar 9, Ajax 3, Man Utd 3, GAK 3

Shakhtar is the only team besides Tamworth to win all three of its first matches. They practically have their spot clinched here, as the other three squads are beating up on each other. Man Utd, another top-six squad as set by the oddsmakers, is once again on the outside and need to nail this one down.

CR

Chief Rum

07-09-2004, 12:20 AM

Tuesday, October 28 To Monday, November 3

Unlike last week, we don't get skipped over for a Saturday match this time around. On Wednesday, October 29, we play in third round of the English League Cup, a home match with Fulham. And then on Saturday, we resume our league schedule with a road match against Birmingham.

Montaño Changes His Tune

I don't exactly when it happened, but sometime this week, Johhnier Montaño had a lsight change of heart with his current state of unhappiness. And it wasn't good.

The Colombian midfielder now wants to leave the club. We received no messages or no reasons for this seeming aggravation of his previous displeasure. I still don't have any idea what his problem is.

As of right now, I will be keeping him, but obviously, in the end I will try and move unhappy players if they don't improve their attitudes.

Board Confidence

Same-o same-o

October Premiership Awards

We didn't get the clean sweep we did after the first month.

I was still awarded the Manager of the Month for the second time in a row. That was the only award Tamworth received, though.

Man Utd striker Miroslav Klose got Player of the Month with four goals in two matches, while 16-year-old Blackpool defender Richard Swift got the Young Player of the Month after a good run of form.

Incidentally, Theirry Henry's chip score in the Tamworth-Arsenal match was selected the third best goal of the month.

Matches

Mike Duff was still out for the Fulham match, but it was a second eleven match in any case. The last team this squad played, some players were still fatigued from international play. For the Fulham match, David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro was back at full strength, and Giovanny Hernández was ready to return to regular sub work as well.

We got some help from Fulham to get off to a good start in this one. In the 22nd minute, Richie Partridge went on a run down the right side of the pitch, and then took it into the box. As he approached the six-yard box, Partirdge moved the ball across the box. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether it was intended to be a pass or a shot. In any case, the ball went off midfielder Michale Essien and then goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar for the surprising own goal.

An unsuccessful clear out six minutes later gave Andrei Pereplytokin a shot at another goal, and he didn't fail either, putting the ball in the corner from up close for the 2-0 lead.

A bad mistake by Tieme Klompe got the Cottagers back in the match in the 36th minute, though. Striker Collins John made a great tackle on Klompe after the centreback tooka short pass from James McEveley while sitting on the backline. John stepped forward and edged the ball out from Klompe. All of a sudden, the striker was alone on goal versus Thomas Heaton, with Klompe on his tail. Heaton parried John's first shot, but was unable to control it, and the first save left him out of position to make the second one. John put it in for the easy score and cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Lambs didn't take long to respond, though, as Louis Saha scored on a terrific sharp-angled strike off of a free kick. Lionel Morgan had a direct kick on goal, but instead moved it up to Saha, who freed himself on the right end of the box. Saha had just a sceond's opening, but he blasted the shot at the net, and it went off van der Sar's hands and into the net for the score.

That was all she wrote. Tamworth 3, Fulham 1

With our League Cup match taken care of, we returned to league action for the first time in two weeks, with a match against Birmingham. Mike Duff wasn't quite ready, so Jarl Ander Starbæk got the call at right fullback.

Every now and then, you just hit a hot goalkeeper. And, wow, did we hit one today! Carlo nash, he formerly of Middlesbrough at one point, cleared out shot after shot. Some of it was luck, some of it was skill, some of it was "just not my day". We put 21 shots up, with 14 on goal, and not one got by the guy.

Of course, it gets worse. In the 40th minute, Leon Cort got hurt and had to leave the match (we replaced him with Jon Otsemobor). And in the 68th minute, star Czech striker Milan Baros received a long ball from winger Damien Johnson on the run and blasted it past Jon Masalin as the goalkeeper rushed out to meet him. No, Baros didn't get a step on Otsemobor, which would have been fitting. He did it on Cort's regular centreback partner David Raven.

We lost our first match since the September 3 shellacking by Man Utd, a span of five league match wins, and nine wins overall in a row. Birmingham 1, Tamworth 0

We can't win them all.

Injuries

Cort's injury ended up being semi-serious. He suffered a groin strain, which will put him down for three weeks. At the moment, I don't have any set idea on how to replace him in the starting lineup, but I figure to choose his temporary replacement from Otsemobor, Peter Castle and Mark Phillips.

Remember when I mentioned a few posts back about Pat Davenport suffering his third groin injury in six months? I finally decided to pay attention to that areound now. I had my physio conduct an examination, and he determined that Davenport needed surgery to stop the groin injury from being recurring. The resulting rehabilitation will put him out for two to six months. I elected to do it, as Davenport is not currently a critical part of the team, but as a young player is certainly a future prospect. I figured the healthier I could get him, the better it would be. Once I did it, I got the message that the fullback will be out for five months, so we won't likely see him until April.

Duff has returned to health, and will be available the next time the first eleven takes the pitch.

Fourth Round League Cup Draw

Having beaten Fulham in the League Cup third round, we were a part of the 16-team fourth round draw this week. We didn't get too many favors here when we drew Arsenal as our opponent. Fortunately, the match will take place at the Lamb Ground, and despite their still immense talent, the Gunners seem to have problems with us.

The match will take place on December 3.

Incidentally, the third round was the scene for a huge upset, when Second Division Barnsley beat Chelsea on penalty kicks, 2-2. And get this--it was at Stamford Bridge. I'll bet some Blues' fans ain't too happy about that.

CR

Chief Rum

07-09-2004, 11:05 PM

Premiership Table, November 4, 2008

| Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D.| Pts |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1st | Tamworth | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 12 | +20 | 24 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2nd | Chelsea | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 21 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 3rd | Man Utd | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 10 | +13 | 20 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 4th | Arsenal | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 18 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 5th | Birmingham | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 18 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 6th | Newcastle | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 9 | +6 | 18 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 7th | Liverpool | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 17 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 8th | Southampton | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 9th | Nottm Forest | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 16 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 10th | Aston Villa | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 15 | +2 | 15 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 11th | Fulham | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 14 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 12th | Blackpool | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 14 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 13th | Everton | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 15 | -3 | 14 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 14th | Man City | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 16 | -5 | 9 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 15th | Sheff Wed | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 9 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 16th | Leicester | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 19 | -13 | 9 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 17th | Bristol City | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 8 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 18th | Tottenham | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 18 | -7 | 8 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 19th | Blackburn | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 25 | -14 | 7 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 20th | Colchester | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 26 | -18 | 3 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|

Comments: Ten matches into the season and we have a slight lead in the Premiership. Looking at the standings, there aren't too many surprises so far. Birmingham--who just beat us--is probably the only team in the top six or seven squads that is a bit of a surprise. Biggest disappointments so far definitely have to go to Tottenham and Blackburn, both of which should be much better than they are showing so far.

CR

Chief Rum

07-10-2004, 01:13 AM

Tamworth Season Stats, November 4, 2008

<font=courier>
Keepers Age Wage Value Apps Con AvgR

Jon Masalin 22 $35 K $1.2 M 9 13 6.56
Thomas Heaton 22 $100 K $1.5 M 7 8 6.71
Casper Nelis 31 $35 K $800 K 0 0 0.00

Defenders Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Leon Cort 29 $110 K $5.25 M 11 2 0 0 7.09
Hermann Hreidarsson 34 $825 K $325 K 9 (1) 0 0 0 7.20
David Raven 23 $75 K $3.0 M 9 0 2 0 7.11
Mike Duff 30 $575 K $2.7 M 8 0 2 0 7.00
James McEveley 23 $1.0 M $5.5 M 7 0 0 0 7.71
Tieme Klompe 32 $625 K $950 K 7 0 0 0 6.71
Kevin Gorman 20 $160 K $1.8 M 6 0 1 0 8.00
Gaël Clichy 23 $160 K $3.5 M 5 (1) 0 2 0 7.33
Jarl Andre Starbæk 30 $85 K $1.6 M 1 (3) 1 0 0 7.25
Jon Otsemobor 25 $65 K $2.5 M 1 (2) 0 0 0 7.00
Peter Castle 21 $100 K $2.3 M 0 (4) 0 0 0 7.00
Mark Phillips 26 $300 K $3.7 M 0 (1) 0 0 0 8.00
Mark Warren 33 $75 K $140 K 0 (1) 0 0 0 7.00
Justin Skinner 36 $40 K $90 K 0 (1) 0 0 0 6.00
Pat Davenport 18 $40 K $475 K 0 0 0 0 0.00

Midfielders Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Michael Stewart 27 $230 K $10.75 M 9 1 1 0 7.11
Johnnier Montaño 25 $775 K $10.75 M 8 6 3 2 8.00
Carl Motteram 23 $900 K $6.0 M 8 1 0 0 7.00
Richie Partridge 28 $400 K $6.75 M 7 (3) 3 3 1 7.90
Jim Corbett 28 $80 K $2.7 M 7 0 3 1 7.86
Denny Landzaat 32 $850 K $2.0 M 7 0 6 1 7.57
David Pizarro 29 $500 K $13.75 M 6 (1) 3 1 2 8.00
Lionel Morgan 25 $825 K $6.75 M 6 0 4 0 7.50
Darren Birchall 30 $85 K $3.6 M 2 (3) 2 0 0 7.20
Chris Booth 18 $60 K $625 K 2 0 4 0 8.00
Giovanny Hernández 32 $725 K $2.2 M 1 (4) 2 0 0 7.40
Danny Prutton 27 $1.1 M $6.0 M 0 (5) 0 0 0 6.80
Andy Williams 31 $500 K $1.6 M 0 0 0 0 0.00

Forwards Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Andre Pereplytokin 22 $475 K $10.25 M 8 7 3 0 7.25
Yakubu 25 $1.2 M $17.0 M 7 (1) 4 2 1 7.00
Louis Saha 30 $625 K $4.1 M 7 8 1 4 8.57
Orri Freyr Oskarsson 28 $950 K $2.4 M 6 2 3 0 7.50
Adam Wilde 29 $400 K $2.6 M 4 (4) 3 2 0 7.00
Mark Hicks 27 $450 K $9.5 M 1 (8) 4 3 1 7.44


CR

Chief Rum

07-10-2004, 04:40 AM

One side note to readers:

It is now that I have finally caught up with where I am in the actual game. So don't be surprised if thingsd slow down some--after all, I have to actually play the game to get something to write about. ;)

That said, I think reaching this point will be a lot more helpful for my writing, as the unknown that is the future will impinge upon my impressions, and I won't lose those impressions or gloss over anything because I went through such and such time period weeks ago (in real life).

Let me know if there's anything you guys want to know about the universe this is in.

CR

Chief Rum

07-10-2004, 06:23 AM

Tuesday, November 4 To Monday, November 10

I have two matches this week. I resume the second half of my Champions League group stage fixture with a visit to the Ukraine and the home stade of Chornomorets on November 4. And then I follow it up with a home match against my just-defeated League Cup opponent Fulham on November 8.

Tamworth Signs Slovakian Centreback

Late on November 3, our offer to Slovakian centreback Péter Kiss was accepted. Kiss is an 18-year-old centreback whom our scouts thought had a bright future.

Kiss is currently the property of Banska Bystrica, a Slovak Second Division club. He was one of the several Slovakian kids with potential we found in our last run through the country (the one that produced current U-19 talents Roman Boldyrev and Andrey Gorbunov). His contract recently hit the Bosman six months, and we put in an offer.

Kiss is currently on a $10,000 per year contract, and it didn't take much more than that to get him (like $20,000 or so, I forget exactly). Kiss turned down an offer from Banska Bystrica to join us, and the Bosman transfer will be officially completed on May 3, 2009.

Kiss looks a great talent physically (18 Acceleration, 16 Pace, 18 Jumping, 18 Stamina), and he also has good skills in key spots (16 Crossing, 11 Dribbling, 12 Passing, so he is no slouch in moving the ball) and in the mental skills I like (14 Determination, 13 Teamwork, 14 Work Rate). His technical skills need a lot of work, though, and outside of the worker's mental skills I listed above, he isn't the brightest bulb on the scoreboard. He does have a U21 appearance for Slovakia under his belt already.

Kiss has one assist in 17 appearances for Banska Bystrica, with a very respectable 7.47 rating. He also has two men of the match. He was a regular starter last year at just 17 for them.

Chornomorets

My habit in the past was to list out match results in the same section, similar to how Quiksand does his. Since I go by week, though, I don't generally have more than two matches in the same post. Plus, it breaks up the order of things when I am forced by my own style choices to go out of order, at least chronically. So from now on, I will go more or less by the date on club issues. And we have reached the date for the Chornomorets match.

I realize upon looking at the group standings that a win in this match would clinch my spot in the next round. Chornomorets is currently third with three points, six behind me. If I win, I move beyond the possible reach of the bottom two teams and thus secure my spot in the next round. So I have some motivation in this one.

Chornomorets immediately gives me something I have not seen before: a snow-spotted pitch. It's a frigid 23º F, and although it's dry and clear, it clearly hasn't been all the time leading up to the match. I thought my resolution was screwed up at first until I realized the off-white, faded-green pitch coloring was intentional. Good show, SI!

With Leon Cort hurt, I find myself a little less deep on the backline. This becomes particularly obvious in these international matches, where I only have a handful of other backline players available. This is a sceond team match, but I chose long ago not to include my second team left fullback Gaël Clichy on my international roster, and most of my main backline backups (Mark Phillips, Jon Otsemobor, Mak Warren) are not eligible for this. On top of that, the guys I do have aren't really good for the spot for one reason or another (Hreidarsson is the first team starter and needs to be saved for Fulham on Saturday, Jarl Ander Starbæk is at 92% conditioning following the Birmingham match, Peter Castle is a centreback, not a left back). So I went with James McEveley, normally one of my second team centrebacks, as left fullback and started Castle with Klompe in this middle.

I beat these guys by a tight 2-0 score at home, so I wasn't expecting an easy match here. Seeing snow only made it more obvious, and I was right. The Ukrainian squad played with me in a very defensive match, particularly int he first half. At halftime, it was still scoreless, with Chornomorets having two of five shots on goal, to my just two on six. And I survived some doozies, too, as one of their strikers, Olexandr Kosyrin, three times had but Thomas Heaton to deal with on goal, and he failed all three times (he had a '4' rating at the half). If he was on his game, I would have been down big.

It wasn't a great match for centreback Denys Kolchin either. In the 50th minute, he had to make a nice tackle to divert a Louis Saha pass away from Andrei Pereplytokin (who was happy to playing in front of his homeland Ukrainian fans), but under pressure, he attempted to clear it away from the striker. Unfortunately, he was facing his own goal. I watched in some amusement as Kolchin's far too soft clear out floated high above charging Chornomorets goalkeeper Volodymyr Lozinskyi and fell into the open net for the own goal.

I felt bad for Chornomorets being down that way after playing so strongyl defensively, so I was almost happy when, in the 80th minute, Kosyrin got to a rebound from Heaton in the middle of the box and blasted it in for the equaliser.

Leave it to Kolchin to blow it again for Chornomorets, though. In the 82nd minute, the centreback sent an errant side pass in his own zone, and Lionel Morgan intercepted it easily. He moved it forward to Mark Hicks and Giovanny Hernández, who were suddenyl alone on goal with Lozinskyi. Hicks chipped up to Hernáandez, and the Colombian midfielder easily put the shot into the corner of the net for the 2-1 lead. That would be all she wrote. Tamworth 2, Chornomorets 1

With that, we clinched our spot in the second round of the Champions League--with two matches to play! My plan is to start backups for much of the last two matches, just to get them some playing time. Of course, that will be limited, since most of our 25 players on the international roster are starters on one of our two elevens, but I'll see what I can do. As with the other three Champions League wins, we received $350,000 for winning.

Other Champions League Results

Here's a very quick rundown of where things stand in the other groups.

GROUP A: Milan clinched a spot with a 2-1 win over Celtic. Celtic is in second place with 6 points, but CSKA Moscow (3) and Guingamp (2) are still right there.

GROUP B: Juventus (8) and Leverkusen (6) remain the favorites, but they didn't do much to clear the group up by drawing and losing, respectively. Cannes and Banik Ostrava (both 4) are in it still.

GROUP C: This is us. We clinched, of course. Levski Sofia (9) is on the verge of clinching, too, with Chornomorets at 3 points still. U. Lamas has lost all four of its matches.

GROUP D: Deportivo (1) is still the story (or anti-story) of this group, losing to Olympiakos. How pathetic. Olympiakos (10) leads the group, while Dinamo Kiev (7) improved its standing by beating NEC (4), 3-0.

GROUP E: Chalk a couple up for the big dogs. This group was a hueg toss up with surprise leader Brno on top. Sporting Lisbon reminded Brno who they really were, and beat them, 2-0, while Serie A squad Genoa didn't lose ground by drawing with Partizan. Sporting Lisbon (7) is now on top, with Genoa (6) still second. Brno (5) is very much alive, and even Partizan (2) isn't out of it.

GROUP F: This group just keeps getting more and more messed up. Shocker Bodo/Glimt continues to top this group after beating FC Bayern at home, 4-2. Yes, you read that right. Ain't done either--Lens beat Inter, 2-0, at home as well. So, yes, two of the world's most powerful clubs--Inter (4) and FC Bayern (3)--are currently out of it, while Bodo/Glimt (10) and Lens (6) have the spots.

GROUP G: Not much was settled in this group, as there were two draws. Everyone essentially remained as is. Barcelona continues to underachieve with a 1-1 score at home against AaB, while Werder Bremen (6) kept its group leader status by drawing 1-1 with Arsenal Kiev. AaB (5), Arsenal Kiev (4), and Barcelona (3) all still have terrific shots at this one.

GROUP H: It's all about Shakhtar. They are the only squad besides us to win all four of their matches and have their spot clinched for the second round. They did it by beating Man Utd, 1-0, at home, leaving the English power in last. At three points, though, they are just a point behind Ajax and GAK, who drew 2-2, so this one is also very wide open.

Motteram Hurt Again

Just two weeks after returning from a broken foot, first eleven left winger Carl Motteram again hurt himself, disclocating his shoulder in training. He will be out a month.

It's some relief it was his shoulder this time. His last two injuries were both to his foot, so if he hurt that again, I fear I might have to consider a surgery and lengthy rehabilitation, like I did with Pat Davenport.

It's always difficult to shift in midstream with two elevens and limited depth at this particular wing spot, but I think I will get by with second eleven right winger Richie Partridge playing first eleven left winger, and simply move up backup Chris Booth into the second eleven right winger spot. Booth, who has four assists in very limited time, deserves more playing time anyway, and Partiridge is versatile enough to make the temporary switch. My concern is with Fulham, as Partridge never left the pitch in the Chornomorets match, and I am counting on him being conditioned enough to start again against Fulham.

Fulham

Premiership play resumes today with a rematch with recent Tamworth League Cup victim Fulham. The American in me always enjoys playing Fulham because they have American winger Demetrius Williams and fullback Carlos Bocanegro. Both are starting in this one. I beat these guys in the League Cup just ten days before this, 3-1, also at the Lamb Ground.

Notable players here, besides the Americans, are former Man Utd stars Phil Neville and Paul Scholes (both older now), and former Leeds striker Alan Smith.

It took us a little bit to get going, but we got the scoring off right with a very nice passing play in the 30th minute. Richie Partridge (yes, he was able to go) moved toward the cente rof the pitch on a short run, and then moved it up to midfielder Michael Stewart. Stewart turned the balla round and sent a sharp pass to Yakubu, just inside the box on the left. Yakubu pretty much turned and volleyed the pass right past goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar for the first score.

Partirdge also figured into the second one, although this time he would get credit for it. After a corner was headed just outside of the box, John Corbett moved the ball to Partridge, charging in from the corner spot and near the right goal line. Partridge moved the ball deftly intot he six yard box and Johnnier Montaño left-foot volleyed the ball into the corner of the net before van der Sar could react.

I thought that would be it until Orri Freyr Oskarsson put a very nice score in the 61st minute. Yakubu and Oskarsson were playing a bit of a passing game as they moved the ball forward on short give and goes down the pitch toward the goal. One such pass drew both Bocanegro and centreback Steve Wilkinson to Yakubu, and giving Oskarsson a step on the defense. He was still pretty far out, though, beyond the box. With Bocanegro closing in and van der Sar cutting off the approach to the net, Oskarsson put in one of the nicer shots I have seen him hit (and he has hit a lot), when he sliced a curving shot around the charging van der Sar and into the open net from some 30 yards out.

That would be it in a match we largely dominated. Tamworth 3, Fulham 0

We set another new attendance record, with 32007. That beat the old record--set last month against Arsenal--by six whole fans. ;)

Marc Vaughan...Working For Us?

As some of you may be aware, some of the devilish SIGames programmers have stuck themselves in the game. This includes our common visitor Marc Vaughan, head of programming at SIGames (IIRC) and unofficial company spokesperson extraordinaire here at FOFC. In the game, Vaughan in 2008 is a 37-year0old unemployed coach.

I don't need a coach. I decided I need a scout, though. I had some guys I wanted scouted individually. The problem with that is that you need a scout who is not dedicated to an area or a nation to do that. It sometimes takes a while for a scout without assignment to even get to these. As a result, I usually just ignore individual player scouting and immediately assign my scouts to new nations or areas as soon as they are done with their previous assignments.

I have three scouts sets to do nations and regions, and that has worked well for me. I have a fourth who does upcoming opponent souting reports, which also find useful. So I decide to get a fifth scout whom I will never assign and simply leave in palce to do individual scouting (checking out players I specifically point out for scouting).

I look for 20s in Judging Player Potential and Judging Player Ability in scouts, and don't see the need to go lower if I can get them that high. Well, no free agent scouts had these rankings, and the tranfser window being closed means I can't hire away scouts from other clubs. So I expand to include all job descriptions, and lo and behond, Marc Vaughan pops up. Apparently he fancies himself quite th eye for talent. ;)

I put in an offer for what he claimed he wanted ($35,000), but of course, as a scout and not the coaching position he wanted. Darn it all to heck if he didn't turn the deal down on Monday, November 10. Stubborn programmer! :)

When I went to offer him again, his demands had changed to a "very large contract to sign" description. I offered him the max my board would allow ($100,000 per annum, $100,000 signing bonus). What the heck? I am $8.25 M under my wage budget and have over $37 M in the bank. I can afford to overpay for a scout.

League News

Not much to note from this week in the Premiership.

The biggest news was the injury to young superstar striker James Graham of Leicester. The 21-year-old striker tore a groin muscle and will miss two months, which won't help a team struggling to stay out of relegation (currently 17th). Graham has two goals in five matches this season, and this his third groin injury in four months. You know what that probably means-- a recurring injury. Last season, Graham had 18 goals, 8 assists, and an 8.03 rating in 30 matches for the Foxes.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Miroslav Klose (Man Utd)-- 9 rat, MoM vs LEI
SC Hélder Postiga (Tottenham)-- 1 G, 9 rat, MoM vs BIR
ML Joe Cole (Chelsea)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs NOT
MC Christian Poulsen (Chelsea)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs NOT
MC Orri Frey Oskarsson (Tamworth)-- 1 G, 9 rat, MoM vs FUL
MR Omar Daley (Blackpool)-- 1 G, 9 rat vs COL
DL Djimi Traoré (Liverpool)-- 8 rat vs SOU
DC Hermann Hreidarsson (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs FUL
DC Richard Swift (Blackpool)-- 9 rat, MoM vs COL
DR Robbie Stockdale (Nottingham Forest)-- 8 rat vs AST
GK Richard Wright (Everton)-- 9 rat, 8 sav, W vs NEW

CR

Blade6119

07-10-2004, 11:56 PM

What tactics do you use...i cant seem to get goals like you do no matter how much i outclass my opponents

Chief Rum

07-11-2004, 01:33 AM

I use a slight variation of the diablo tactic, which is sort of a 4-1-3-2, with the midfielder in the '3' on a long run up to the forward line.

You should be able to find the diablo tactic at the Dugout.net.

CR

Chief Rum

07-11-2004, 02:25 AM

Tuesday, November 11 To Monday, November 17

With the league cup and various international matches finally out of the way (for the most part), the Premiership is finally able to slip in two full rounds in a week. This week we play at Everton on Wednesday, November 12, and then face Manchester City at home on November 15--my 36th birthday. Give me a good one, guys.

International Callups

Europe and much of thes rest of the world is taking this time to rest, and won't be in action again until well into 2009. South America, though, has one more round to play this year, next week on November 19. As expected, Colombia calls up Givanny Hernández and Chile David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro. What's new is that Colombia also finally calls up Johnnier Montaño as well. It's about time, considering he seems to be good enough and is already capped. Hopefully his callup and brief return to South America will lighten his mood a bit.

I don't expect any of the players to miss any Tamworth matches, as their World Cup qualifier happens in the middle of a week with only one late Premiership fixture.

Injury

Leon Cort has yet to return to the first team, so the news I got Wednesday, November 12, was not encouraging. Reserve defender and a likely choice to replace Cort during his down time Peter Castle strained a groin muscle in training and will be out for a week. He will certainly miss this week's two matches, although I hope to have him back for next week.

Cort seems to be progressing fine, but he won't be available for this week's matches either. I will likely start Jon Otsemobor or Mark Phillips in Cort's spot in the first eleven's match this week.

Everton

Wow, this was a weird match.

The Blues have a pretty solid team, and are 10th in the Premiership coming into this match. Goodison Park isn't an easy place to play, so I expected a tough match.

Everton has plenty of decently well-known players, but few stars. The one well-known name, which I well get into later, wasn't available for this match. The defense is pretty tough with goalkeeper Richard Wright in net, and tough centreback Joseph Yobo in front of him. I was throwing the second eleven at them, with Chris Booth at right wing to replace the temporarily "promoted" Richie Partridge.

I should have known right from the beginning this match was going to be a strange one. In the first five minutes, my guys hit two posts with shots (one for each). Andrei Pereplyotkin hit one, and Pizarro hit the other.

The match went into the sublime in the 12th minute, though. Striker Nick Chadwick blasted a shot at the net from up close that evaded Thomas Heaton. The ball hit the crossbar and bounced high up to just right of the goal. Left back Gaêl Clichy had his back to the goal, the ball ricocheted off his back, and went past a disbelieving Heaton for the own goal. I say it went that way because that's how I hope it happened. Looking at the 2-D, it actually looked like Clichy was set up perfectly for the score and blasted it into the open net. :rolleyes:

In the 35th minute, centreback Declan Power got up for a corner kick and put another one past Heaton, and we were down 2-0.

Meanwhile, we couldn't figure out Wright, who was playing terrific. I thought there was a strong chance we were going to drop this one, entering halftime down 2-0.

In the 53rd minute, Booth got a nice side pass from Denny Landzaat ona poor clear out by Evrton, and Booth moved it up at right angles to the initial pass and a streaking Pereplyotkin in the box. The Ukrainian striker went near post and just slipped the ball in before Wright could put it away.

We kept plugging away, but Everton survived a number of scares. Finally, in the 73rd minute, Clichy made up for his earlier mistake. He sent a nice long ball into the left of the box for Louis Saha. Saha moved the ball straight up to center and Pizarro. Despite being marked strongly by Yobo, Pizarro got his foot on it and deflected it into the goal past Wright for the equaliser.

And that's how it would end. Everton 2, Tamworth 2

The draw came against a win by Man Utd, which moved within two points of our lead. Maybe this year's title race will be an actual race after all.

Marc Vaughan Is Too Good For Us

Well, what a shocker. On Friday, I learned that a hundred grand per year, with a hundred grand up front isn't enough to entice Vaughan out of the SIGames' office and into the pitch stands. I guess he really wanted to coach. We will just have to look elsewhere for our scout (and likely lower our standards, unfortunately).

Manchester City

City itself had an interesting week, but once again, I will get into that under 'League News'.

Man City has struggled this season, and are currently 15th in the Premiership. They were expected to be better than this, albeit not that much better.

We face another top Premiership goalkeeper in Nicky Weaver in this one. City has more well-known names than Everton, although you can't tell from the results. Aruna is the star up front (six goals), and Dickson Agyeman and Jurica Vranjes form a competent midfield. Shaun Wright-Phillips is a solid wing, and Wayne Bridge and Sun Jihai form half of a good protective shell around Weaver. Your guess is as good as mine as to why they are 15th in the Premiership.

With me having to shuffle the lineups a bit because of the Cort and Motteram injuries, I had Partidge in at left wing, and Otsemobor in place of Cort.

Simply put, Orri Freyr Oskarsson came to play in this one. He blitzed City early on, scoring in the 7th and 10th minutes (one on a great swerving corner shot from the outer edge of the box) to give us the early 2-0 lead.

Aruna got them right back in it, though, with his own score past Jon Masalin in the 14th minute. We largely held onto the ball, though, and City couldn't break the defense any further.

In the 37th minute, Jihai took an ill-advised tackle against Jim Corbett, upending the winger. That earned the Chinese international defender a yellow card, his second of the match, and an early bath.

Depite playing a lower end tactic with the lead, we were simply too much at home and against a squad a man down. Michael Stewart scored in the 43rd minute, and Yakubu finished things off in the 56th minute. Tamworth 4, Man City 1

Happy Birthday to me.

We set another attendance record with 32018 in attendance. This beat the previous mark of 32007 versus Fulham by 11. We can only go as high as 32045.

Man Utd won as well and remain just two points behind us in the league table.

Tamworth Signs Turkish Scout

Having failed to lure Marc Vaughan from both programming and coaching, we expanded our scout search to include slightly lesser talents. In doing so, we came upon a Turk named Bekir Kavas.

Kavas is a 40-year-old who only speaks Turkish, but, hey, football is its own language, right? He only wanted $16,000, so he was an easy signing.

As it turns out, I didn't have to compromise too much, with Kavas having the same 20 Judging Player Ability as our other scouts, and only one point less, 19, in Judging Player Potential.

I haven't decided yet, but I may switch Johnny Walsh, currently scouting the opposition, to doing individual scouting, since he does have the 20 Judging Player Potential I like. That skill really matters little for scouts watching the next opposition, so Kavas being slightly less in that won't matter if I have him scotuing out the opposition.

League News

I said there was a name Everton still has that is very recognziable, and there was news about him this week. This would be none other than real life Euro 2004 star Wayne Rooney, long considered a star prodigy in England.

Rooney hasn't quite gotten to that level in this game, and in fact doesn't even get picked for England's national team too often anymore, but he remains a solid player.

The 23-year-old striker tore a groin muscle on Monday, November 10, and will be out of action for two months. The Tamworth match was Everton's first without him.

Rooney has four goals in 10 matches this season, but he has yet to really impress. In the past five seasons, Rooney has topped 10 goals just twice, and he has yet to finish with higher than a 7 rating. Still, he remains one of the Blues' bets players, so they will certainly miss him. Plus, at 23, he could still be improving.

The other bit of news involved our other opponent. On Thursday, November 13, Manchester City hired Pär Zetterberg to be their new manager. The Tamworth match was his first helming the club (welcome to the league).

Zetterberg is a 38-year-old Swedish manager who has an Okay reputation. He seems likely to be an up-and-coming manager.

What's really odd is that this is his second stint as manager of Man City. The former Anderlecht player was hired Sunderland as assistant manager in June, 2006, but six months later, Man City had an opening and gave him the job.

He did fairly well at City before being hired away by Bradford City just a year after taking the Man City job. The Bradford City job was a step down to First Division, though, so who knows why he took it? And then he managed to get fired from it on October 5 this season.

Since he never did badly with City, they decided to rehire him. In all, he is 35-20-34, with 136 goals scored and 138 conceded as a manager.

Man City's last manager, Simon Smith, was sacked on October 26 after a poor club start.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Lee Miller (Bristol City)-- 9 rat, 2 G, 2 A, MoM in 2 matches
SC Tommy Wright (Leicester)-- 1 G, MoM, 9 rat vs BLK
MF Gareth Barry (Aston Villa)-- 8 rat in 2 matches
MF David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro (Tamworth)-- 1 G, MoM, 9 rat vs EVR
MF Stilian Petrov (Aston Villa)-- 2 G, 1 A, MoM, 9 rat in 2 matches
MF Orri Freyr Oskarsson (Tamworth)-- 2 G, MoM, 10 rat vs MAN
DF Declan Power (Everton)-- 1 G, 9 rat vs TAM
DF Brett Emerton (Blackburn)-- 1 G, 1 A, MoM, 8 rat in 2 matches
DF Aaron Hughes (Newcastle)-- 1 G, 8 rat in 2 matches
DF Luke Young (Aston Villa)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs BIR
GK Mark Brown (Bristol City)-- 8.5 rat, 13 sav in 2 matches, 1 G conceded, 1 clean

CR

daedalus

07-11-2004, 04:54 AM

I seem to notice that CM staffers who wants to be coaches will refuse to go "down" to scout no matter what you offer.

Chief Rum

07-11-2004, 05:43 AM

Tuesday, November 18 To Monday, November 24

As I mentioned above, we have just one match this week, a match at Blackpool on November 22.

South American World Cup Qualifiers

Pretty much every team won that was supposed to in Wold Cup qualifying for South America on November 19.

Entering this round, the eleventh match in an 18-game fixture for South American squads, there were four standout squads sitting at 20 points apiece. Traditional powers Argentina, Brazil and Colombia were joined by Peru.

Although these four squads have not yet clinched spots for China 2010, their seven-point lead could be insurmountable at this point. The true competition is for the fifth and final spot, where every other nation except for Bolivia has a legitimate shot at it.

Paraguay was one of the two teams tied for the fifth spot with 13 points, but they lost at home to powerful Brazil, 2-0. That made the Uruguay-Ecuador match even more critical, as Ecuador was the other team tied with 13 points, while Uruguay was just behind with 11. The Uruguayans held serve at home, beating Ecuador 2-0 to move into the fifth place spot with 15 points.

David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro and his Chilean teammates missed a diamond chance to move back into closer range for that last spot when they dropped an admittedly tough 2-1 road match to Argentina. Pizarro started int he midfield, but only garnered a 6 rating.

A couple Tamworth players were also present at the Colombia-Venezueal match. Like Chile, Venezuela had nine points and a chance to move up with a win at home over Colombia, which started both Giovanny Hernáandez and Johhnier Montaño. Colombia proved to be too tough, though, winning out with a 3-2 victory.

Colombia's victory was all the more impressive in that they came back from a two-goal deficit and being a man down. Montaño got the comeback going with a goal in the 30th minute. The Tamworth midfielder/forward put up an 8 rating in a solid return to international play. Hernáandez wasn't so strong, with a 6 rating.

Colombia, Peru (which beat Bolivia 2-0), Brazil and Argentina all have 23 points after 11 matches, and a clear nine-point lead over fifth place. This round cleared up that fifth spot a little, in that the losses of Chile and Venezuela will make them unlikely to get back into this one. That leaves fifth place Uruguay with 14 points, while Paraguay and Ecuador are right on its tail with 13 points.

North & Central American Qualifiers

CONCACAF also concluded a key round in its qualifying when it finished the semifinal rounds.

In the semifinals, six teams advance from three four-team groups to the final. The top four squads from the final round will receive the region's World Cup bids to China 2010.

In Semifinal Group 1, Mexico won easily to the next round, with Guatemala just edging surprising Netherlands Antilles, nine points to eight. 2006 Germany participant Trinidad & Tobaggo had just three points in this group.

In Semifinal Group 2, the United States and Honduras dominated play and easily won their way into the final round. The Americans won all six of their matches.

In Semifinal Group 3, it was upsets galore. Island nations Haiti and Jamaica shocked the perceived stronger Canadian and Costa Rican teams to win through to the final round.

The six-team final will begin play in March, 2009.

Club Is Healing

Centrebacks Leon Cort and Peter Castle are healed up and ready to return to action, returning us to a more normal state of affairs with our backline and its depth.

The real good news, though, is that former first team left winger Andy Williams has resumed light training after damaging cruciate ligaments in his knee last May. He looks right on schedule for a full return two months from now.

Blackpool

Blackpool came into this match at a rather surprising 11th in the Premiership. The last time we played a team at this level on the road, we barely escaped Goodison Park and verton with a draw. So I figured today's match wouldn't be a snoozer.

As a recent First Division promotee, Blackpool and its first eleven aren't as well-known as some other Premiership squads, but they are growing on people. The best known players are former Bolton defender Nicky Hunt on the backline, forward Brett Ormerod, most notably of Southampton, and midfielder Omar Daley, whom has been a fixture for Blackpool since they were in the Second Division.

In a strange twist, despite it being a second eleven match, Michael Stewart was in the match at defensive midfielder. It was purely accidental, and I plan on putting Denny Landzaat, the projected starter, into a first eleven match to even things out.

The first score in the third minute was reminiscent of that odd score against Fulham where goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar allowed a ball to roll to the touchline and didn't bother to retreat it, allowing Tamworth to score. Today, it was the Lambs that suffered. The ball rolled to the far left touchline. Thomas Heaton went up the line toward it, but then just stopped, seemingly frozen. He wasn't near the ball, but he was a good deal off his line, too. Striker Joe Murphy centered the ball, but it was cleared out to the edge of the box. Midfielder Imants Bleidelis put a nice pass in close to Oremerod, who was on the far side of the net from heaton and had an easy shot to score--which he did.

Tamworth got it back in the 14th minute, when Stewart put a nice pass into the box for Darren Birchall, who started in the midfield in place of the World Cup qualifying-fatigued Pizarro. Birchall was quicly closed down, but his run drew the direct attention of Blackpool keeper Lee Camp. He had just enough time to skip a sid epass to Louis Saha, who had an open net shot. He blasted it in for the tie.

That was how it would go to halftime, with just eight shots, three on goal, between the two teams by that point. At this point, it looked anything but like an impending shootout.

In the 60th minute, fullback Gaël Clichy moved a long ball up to Saha near the left touchline. Saha moved the ball on on the run to Birchall, charging toward the six-yard box ahead of the defense. He hit a low shot across the goal, catching the side netting on the other side for the go ahead score.

Blackpool didn't give up, though, tying it again just a couple minutes later. Bleidelis, who had a very solid match in the middle of Blackpool's offense, sent in a corner that Murphy blasted at Heaton. The goalkeeper deflected it, but it fell to winger Ricky Waddell in front of the goal for the easy score.

In the 70th minute, Blackpool fullback Steven Kavanaugh made a critical error, though. Having tackled the ball cleanly from Saha near the left corner spot, Kavanaugh attempted to clear the ball to the middle of the pitch. He missed winger Jarl Ander Starbæk, though, who stepped forward and intercepted the pass with an eye for the goal. He blasted a beautiful shot right at Camp from some 25 yards out, and the goalkeeper flailed at the shot as it sailed into the net for the score.

After playing in such a tightly contested match, the Lambs put it away after that with two late scores by Andrei Pereplytokin, who had a wonderful second half. Depite actually being outshot 14-13, and 10-8 in on-goal shots, we pulled out a standout victory. Tamworth 5, Blackpool 2

League News

There was little to report this week in the Premiership beyond the latest round of matches.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Shola Ameobi (Newcastle)-- 3 G, 10 rat, MoM vs COL
SC Miroslav Klose (Man Utd)-- 3 A, 9 rat vs ARS
MF Harry Kewell (Liverpool)-- 2 G, 9 rat, MoM vs BIR
MF Michael Stewart (Tamworth)-- 2 A, 9 rat vs BKP
MF Jarl Ander Starbæk (Tamworth)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs BKP
MF Chris Booth (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs BKP
DF Peter Canero (Southamton)-- 1 G, 9 rat, MoM vs LEI
DF Jonathon Woodgate (Newcastle)-- 9 rat vs COL
DF Tieme Klompe (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs BKP
DF Kevin Gorman (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs BKP
GK Thomas Heaton (Tamworth)-- 9 rat, 8 sav, 2 conc vs BKP

Pretty good week for us, obviously.

CR

Chief Rum

07-11-2004, 05:44 AM

I seem to notice that CM staffers who wants to be coaches will refuse to go "down" to scout no matter what you offer.

They must be a little too snooty. ;)

CR

thealmighty

07-11-2004, 02:24 PM

Chief, I've been wondering if the AI for this game is a bit too easy? The reason I ask is that every dynasty I have seen for CM04, the person playing starts out at a lower level and proceeds to move up a level almost, if not, every year and crushes the opposition.

Each successive year they all say they hope to not be relegated but end up being promoted. So, is the AI lacking a bit, or are FOFC players just an overwhelmingly wonderful group of CM studs?

SirFozzie

07-11-2004, 02:38 PM

He's using an ubertactic, take that into account ;)

Chief Rum

07-11-2004, 03:36 PM

What Sir Fozzie said. As human players, we have the advantage of relying on past successful tactics the computer isn't aware of. When I try and stick with the tactics that come with the game, I usually end up on some bad run of form that ends up getting me fired. I just don't have a natural enough handle on football tactics to make the proper adjustments. Alsi, I think when you go with the tactics in the game, the computer has almost as good an advantage with its knowledge of those tactics, as humans do with human-created tactics. There doesn't seem to be much of a middle ground.

There are holes in the AI here, too, I am sure, but I have found this game's AI's to be one of the stronger such in the text sim community. The game is also programmed to figure out how to beat your tactic--or at least that's what I have heard (and seen from my dynasties).

FWIW, I am trying to move away from the uber tactic. Last season, I switched to a base 4-4-2 defensive (an in-game tactic) whenever I got a four goal lead. Now I switch when I have a two-goal lead. I only switch back if the opponent catches up (hasn't happened yet). Next year, my plan is to switch after I get a lead (any lead), and keep it until I get a goal down.

CR

Chief Rum

07-12-2004, 02:40 AM

Tuesday, November 25 To Monday, December 1

This week will return us to Champions League action, and finish off with a Premiership match. On Wednesday, November 26, we go to the home of Levski Sofia for the fifth round of the six-match Group C fixture. As we have already clinched our spot in the next round, this will be a spot when we will try and get some backups some more time, although our ability to do so is limited because we are limited by the 25-man international roster we submitted in August. It will mean much more for Levski Sofia, which can clinch their spot in the next round with a win or a draw.

The Premiership match carries with it the usual importance of such muches, but isn't likely to draw any better of a lineup from us. We are hosting table bottom-dwelling Colchester and former Tamworth star José Alexander Amaya, and we should be able to win it with ease. So I will be starting more backups there as well, as I give some of the first eleven guys a break, while getting the backups a start or two to salve the wounded egos that usually come with playing those roles.

Levski Sofia

It would take just about a miracle for the Bulgarian club Levski Sofia to not nab the second spot in our Champions League group, as they are six points up on third place Chornomorets with two matches left to play. Still, they figure to be motivated until it's locked up.

Back in September, we opened our march to a bid in the second round with a 5-1 win over Levski Sofia, although enough time has passed that I have no idea if that is a good indicator of how things will go today.

This was a first eleven match, although, as I mentioned, I switched some people around for what is basically an unimportant match for me. Leon Cort is healthy again, so I thought this would be a good spot to put him back in the lineup. I paired him with Peter Castle, though, instead of David Raven, whom I named as a sub. Carl Motteram is still healing up from his shoulder injury, so Richie Partridge returns to starting on the left side in his place. Instead of Johnnier Montaño and Michael Stewart in the middle, I put in Giovanny Hernáandez and Denny Landzaat. Hernández is just in as a backup getting a start, while Landzaat is in to recover the start he lost when I accidentally put in Stewart in a second eleven match. The final change was starting Adam Wilde instead of Yakubu up front.

I don't know if maybe it was that the players weren't familiar with each other, or if it was just a long overdue breakdown in play, but we did not start off well in this one. In the 13th minute, Levski Sofia winger Krasen Trifonov hit a sharp pass intot he six yard box from near the left touchline. The pass was moving fast enough to get lost amongst the scramble of players inf ront of the goal. When it came out, it hit off of Mike Duff and bounced into the net for our second own goal in four matches. Ugh.

Trifonov also figured into the next score. In the 20th minute, he sent in a long pass, again from the left touchline, although this was further out. This pass was more set up for an aerial challenge, and Levski Sofia striker Georgi Chilikov beat out Castle in mid-air to put a strong header on goal. Jon Masalin didn't have time to react and we were, shockingly, already down 2-0 just 20 minutes in.

We got one back eight minutes later, when Hernández converted a wide open shot that was set up by Orri Freyr Oskarsson and the attention he draws when he goes into the box. Depite the nice team play that showed, we couldn't seem to figure out Levski Sofia's defense after that.

I thought it would end up at 2-1 when the 72nd minute came around. Midfielder Petar Shopov received a long pass near the centre circle and headed a terrific pass to Chilikov, who got a step on our defense. Chilikov was a little to the left of the goal, and Masalin was closing on him fast, so he didn't have too much of a shot. He blasted a low shot right at Masalin. The Finnish netminder got a hand on it,b ut it squirted past him and rolled slowly toward the goal. Landzaat ran back to try and get to it, but it just crossed the line before he got there, putting us down 3-1.

We got a late score from David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro, but it was too late. Levski Sofia 3, Tamworth 2

We outshot the Bulgarian club 13-10, and 8-5 on goal, but they made it in when it counted.

Other Champions League Results

Here's a very quick rundown of where things stand in the other groups. As a reminder, note that Milan in Group A, Tamworth in Group C, and Shakhtar in Group H already had spots locked up in the knockout phase before today's round. Today's matches cleared up a lot of the group standings. The group stage will end with one more round in early December.

GROUP A: Milan (11 points) had their spot locked up, but Celtic wasn't in yet. They clinched the second spot with a 1-0 win over Guingamp. Celtic has 9 points now, with CSKA Moscow (4) and Guingamp (2) following behind them.

GROUP B: Juventus and Leverkusen each came into their match today in Germany with a chance to clinch a spot. They both failed, when they drew, 1-1, and allowed Czech club Banik Ostrava back into it, when they beat Cannes at home, 5-3. Now Banik Ostrava and Leverkusen are tied for second with 7 points, while Juventus is still in reach with 9 points. Cannes has 4 points, too, so even they aren't out of it.

GROUP C: We had our spot locked up here, and Levski Sofia finished off the group with their win today. We are both sitting at 12 points now. Even third place and its spot in the UEFA is locked up, as Chornomorets (6) beat U. Lamas (0) to put it out of reach.

GROUP D: Deportivo finally came through and won a key match in this Champions League group when it beat NEC, 3-1. In an odd twist, though, winning essentially eliminated Deportivo. By beating the Dutch club, group leader Olympiakos (10) backed into its spot in the next round. And with Dinamo Kiev beating Olympiakos, 1-0, the Ukrainian club moved too far ahead of Deportivo to be caught, clinching their own spot. Dinamo Kiev is tied with Olympiakos, while Deportivo and NEC are tied with 4 points apiece.

GROUP E: The top two teams met in this one, in much the same situation as Juventus and Leverkusen in Group B. This time, though, Sporting Lisbon beat Genoa, clinching a spot for the Portuguese Superleague club, while dropping the Serie A squad into third place. Surprising Czech club Brno beat Partizan 1-0 to mvoe into second place with 8 points, two ahead of Genoa. Sporting Lisbon leads with 10 points, while Partizan has 2.

GROUP F: It's sad that such a fun and exciting matchup as a 6-4 FC Bayern win over Inter can be reduced to nothing by the fact they have both been underachieving so badly. Group leader Bodo/Glimt lost to Lens, 2-0, but the FC Bayern win clinched a spot int he knockout phase for them anyway. Lens' win moves them up to 9 points, one behind Bodo/Glimt, but they could still technically be caught by FC Bayern, which has six points. They also happen to play each other in the last round, but FC Bayern is going to need to beat Lens by at least four goals on the road to have a chance. Inter is a shocking last place with 4 points.

GROUP G: Well, at least one of the underachieving clubs in this tournament has stepped it up when needed. Barcelona beat group leader Werder Bremen, 3-1, to jump into second place with 6 points. Werder Bremen's loss also allowed Danish club AaB to move into first with 8 points, after they beat Arsenal Kiev, 4-0. With Werder Bremen in third now, and also with six points, and Arsenal Kiev at 4, no one has clinched a spot--and no one has been eliminated--going into the final round of the fixture.

GROUP H: Shakhtar has been the tournament's most dominant squad, and the only one that has made it this far without losing. They were already clinched going in, and now they have 15 points. The story in this group was the tight race for second, where Ajax and GAK were tied with four points, while yet another underachieving superpower, Man Utd, sat in last with three points. This may be a pivotal round, as Man Utd crushed Ajax, 5-1, at home to move into second place with six points. GAK, of course, lost to Shakhtar. Man Utd has the edgem but any of the bottom three teams could still end up with the final spot.

Montaño Declares His Unhappiness Again

I'm beginning to get sick of this needy player.

Midfielder/forward Johnnier Montaño declared on Saturday, November 29, that he isn't happy with being left out of my first team plans. He doesn't seem to realize that I was only getting backups some time. I tell him he will be in the first eleven when I feel the time is right, a statement he accepted that same day, and later apologized for making a huff at all.

Still, this is two times now he has voiced displeasure about his playing time, and I am beginning to get sick of playing to this guy's attitude. He is also still listed as unhappy, as having personal problems, and that he wants to leave the club, none of which have changed in more than a month.

Given that Hernández seems to provoking dicontent with his attitude as well, I am beginning to wonder if I should be staying away from Colombian midfielders. Another strange thing is that Montaño also has a problem with Hernández (along with several others). You would think as countrymen, they would be far more likely to be friends, especially when surrounded by people who don't speak their native language and in a strange foreign land.

I think at this point I have to guess that I will need to move one or both of these midfielders and go with someone else in the middle, at least for the long term. At least Pizarro seems to be a well-settled individual.

Colchester

As against Levski Sofia, I saw little need to throw out a top lineup here against a weak opponent at home. It seemed like a good opportunity to give some guys a break, so I started a largely backup squad. This would normally have been a second eleven match.

I brought up Casper Nelis to take on his first start of the year in net, and started a complete backup backline, with Jon Otsemobor and Justin Skinner at fullback, and Mark Phillips and Mark Warren at centreback. Chris Booth would normally have started here with Motteram hurt, but I started him here anyway, as he is technically a backup and will return to that role in a week or two at most. On the other wing, I started Jarl Ander Starbæk. In the middle, I went with Darren Birchall and Danny Prutton. Up front, I started Mark Hicks and Montaño, at his natural position for the first time this season.

Colchester has had an awful year and seems likely to be headed back to the First Division. They start Amaya in the middle, of course, but he isn't their only significant player. They also have a strong winger in Karl Duguid, and striker Trevor Benjamin up front. Benjamin played several years in the Premiership with Leicester City, and Duguid has been a mainstay of Colchester for several seasons now.

Even with backups in, it was clear early on that this wasn't going to be much of a contest. In the 2nd minute, Phillips sent a ball up to Montaño near the left corner spot. Montaño quickly moved it down to Birchall to the left of the goal. The midfielder blasted a shot at a sharp angle toward the net, and his shot sailed over goalkeeper Ian Walker's shoulder and into the net for the first score.

The next score, in the 9th minute, was sort of a reverse of the first play. Starbæk centered the ball to Birchall just outside of the obx, and he headed it forward to Montaño, charging in from the left of the goal. The Colombian hit another hard shot at Walker, and again the goalkeeper couldn't handle it, as it went past him for the 2-0 Tamworth lead.

Colchester got a little back into it in the 33rd minute. Benjamin sent a centre-circle header forward to fellow striker Delroy Facey, who was alone on goal with Nelis. Facey was still thrity-five yards out, though, as Nelis was charging out to him. He sent a nice curling shot that wheeled around Nelis and managed to fall into the goal, just inside of the right post. It was reminiscent of the curling shot Orri Freyr Oskarsson scored against Man City.

The 49th minute was kinda fun to see. Hicks received a clear out pass from Mark Warren, and then proceeded to go on a run down the right touchline. As he approached the goal line, he turned in to the goal, sidestepped past a defender and charged in on goal at a hard angle. His shot, much like the previous Tamworth scores, went past Walker without hardly stopping, to give the Lambs the 3-1 lead. The reason it was fun to see is because it was very similar to the way Hicks scored many of his goals as a winger for us in the lower divisions. As a forward now and against better competition, you don't see runs like these too often anymore.

We got one more score off of a nice long strike from Hernández in the 87th minute, and that's how it ended. Tamworth 4, Colchester 1

Board Confidence Update

Maybe I should only mention this if it changes. The board remains "absolutely thrilled with the level of commitment" I "continue to show the club."

November Premiership Awards

Oskarsson received the Premiership's Player of the Month award, scoring three goals in our three matches. He also had the second best goal of the month with his curling shot score against Man City.

The Young Player of the Month went to Tottenham's 19-year-old forward Jack Howells, while the Manager of the Month went to Man Utd's Joop Hiele. This last is no surprise, as the Red Devils have won eight matches in a row, and remain right on our tails in second place.

League News

There was more management moves this past week, as boards around the league variously got sick of the lack of success from their teams, or replaced departed managers.

Everton hired former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri on November 25. Ranieri remained as the Blues' coach until 2005 before being sacked following that season. He was shortly hired by Serie A squad Piacenza, where he has remained the past three seasons. He left the Piacenza job to move to Tottenham.

The 57-year-old Italian manager has a 109-62-78 record, with 353 goals against 270 conceded.

Ranieri replaces Gilanluca Vialli, who took the job at First Division Bradford City last month.

Another club decided it wasn't happy with its boss after a poor start to the season. Blackburn fired Sam Allardyce on November 30. Allardyce had only been managing the club for just over ten months, after he was hired in January.

Allardyce, a 54-year-old native of England, was in his second stint in the Premiership. He managed Bolton in both the Premiership and the First Division until January, 2007. He was then hired away by the Rangers in the Scottish Premier League, but only held the job for less than a year, until last December.

Allardyce is currently the manager of England's national team, a job he was hired for (over me, BTW) last July.

He has an 87-43-109 record as a manager. His teams have scored 315 goals, and allowed 355.

A couple of players had standout performances in league action this week, including Liverpool striker Michael Owen and goalkeeper Mark Brown of Bristol City. Owen seems to be playing better than he has in years, with 12 goals in 19 matches. He received media notice when he scored a hattrick in the Reds' 4-0 UEFA victory over CSKA Moscow on Thursday, November 27. Brown's performance came against Newcastle in a 1-1 draw on Sunday, November 30. He faced off 12 of 13 Magpie shots to keep Bristol City in the match, and has conceded just 20 goals in 16 matches for the new Premiership side.

Montaño wasn't the only player to express displeasure at his role or be the target of criticism this week. Chelsea forward Mido complained about his role with the squad. The Egyptian forward has only appeared in eight matches for the powerful club, and ha syet to score a goal this season. Manager Erland Johnson met with Mido, and apparently mollified him, much as I did with Montaño.

Then on Sunday, November 30, Arsenal manager Bert van Marwijk criticized fullback Daniele Bonera for poor play. The media suggested the team's relatively poor league position--sixth--was at the root of the manager's frustration, although the team has been playing better of late (5-2-2 in last nine matches, including league, League Cup and UEFA matches). Bonera himself told media the next day he felt the manager's criticism was somewhat deserved, and that he would try to play better in the near future. But he also said he didn't feel he should be singled out, and that the Arsenal squad as a whole has played very poorly. Glad I'm not in that locker room. ;)

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Hélder Postiga (Tottenham)-- 2 G, MoM, 9 rat vs BKP
SC James Beattie (Southampton)-- 3 G, 1 A, MoM, 10 rat vs SFW
MF Darren Birchall (Tamworth)-- 1 G, 1 A, MoM, 8 rat vs MAN
MF Mark Hicks (Tamworth)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs MAN
MF Giovanny Hernández (Tamworth)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs MAN
MF Stilian Petrov (Aston Villa)-- 1 G, 1 A, MoM, 9 rat vs MAN
DF Gareth Barry (Aston Villa)-- 8 rat vs MAN
DF Mark Warren (Tamworth)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs COL
DF Olaf Mellberg (Aston Villa)-- 8 rat vs MAN
DF Luke Young (Aston Villa)-- 8 rat vs MAN
GK Edwin van der Sar (Fulham)-- 10 sav, 1 clean, 10 rat vs LIV

CR

Katon

07-12-2004, 04:16 AM

Erland Johnson managing Chelsea? I can remember (barely) when he used to play defence for us. How'd he get to be our manager?

Chief Rum

07-12-2004, 04:41 AM

Arsenal At Tamworth

English League Cup 4th Round

December 3, 2008

I wouldn't normally single out a game like this, but every now and then, you get a match that just defines a season. It's one the fans would look back on and remember as being an important part of that year. I feel this was one such match.

For Arsenal, their roster is somewhat emotionally challenged at the moment by the recent sparring between manager Bert van Marwijk and defender Daniele Bonera, as well as the squad's poorer than expected league position, currently sixth.

For Tamworth, they have probably played their worst in the past month (this being relative) in dropping two matches and drawing another in their last eight matches (Premiership and Champions League). They are on top of the Premiership again, but are feeling the heat from a hot Man Utd squad that has run off eight in a row, and today they are trying to take the next step in the tournament they blew in the final last year--the English League Cup.

And that doesn't mention the new power-old power dynamics that exist between Arsenal and Tamworth.

Arsenal remains the club with the true superstars. Their lineup shows this, with guys like Thierry Henry and Hernán Crespo playing up front. Other top players include Bonera and Sol Campbell at centreback, Claudio Reyna in the midfield, Gennaro Ivan Gattuso on one wing, and rising goalkeeper star Tony McDermott in net. They even have stars like striker José Antonio Reyes and midfielders Owen Hargreaves and Freddie Ljungberg in the sub spots.

For us, it was time for the second eleven, and we mostly went with that. Chris Booth wasn't quite recovered from playing Colchester four days before, so we started first eleven right winger Jim Corbett, but otherwise, it was the regular second eleven, with Thomas Heaton in net. Since the squad won't have a match until the final Champions League round almost a week away, I have decided to make stronger players available in the subs, going with first eleven players like Yakubu, Leon Cort, Hermann Hreidarsson and Michael Stewart.

Early on, the match was very back-and-forth. We had a strong early shot in the 13th minute when Andrei Pereplyotkin and David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro put together a quick passing game near the centreline to lift a nice pass to Louis Saha. Saha had a step on Bonera and was in on-goal and McDermott. Unfortunately, the French striker blasted the shot harmlessly over the bar.

We got another nice chance in the 15th minute, when Kevin Gorman took a nice pass from James McEveley and ran toward the goal along the right goal line. He passed the ball right into the six-yard box and Saha had a point-blank shot, but McDermott was perfectly positioned. Fullback Dion Dickhoff cleared out the rebound to end the threat.

We finally broke through in the 22nd minute. Gaël Clichy intercepted a Dickhoff throw-in, setting off a quick set of passes amongst the Lambs, before Lionel Morgan found Pizarro charging into the box with a step on marking midfielder Iván Helguera. Unlike Saha, Pizarro didn't miss when he had his chance, blasting the ball past McDermott for the 1-0 Tamworth lead.

In the 25th minute, it was our turn to sweat. Henry chased down a long pass that went down near the right corner and then deftly stepped through two defenders to get on goal. He moved a quick pass up to Denílson, who had a wide open net, but for some reason, the Brazilian winger aimed at the right post, where Heaton had been preparing for a Henry shot. Heaton caught the shot and clutched it.

Just a minute later, though, Denílson redeemed himself. He sent in a long corner that drifted over all of the glut of players closer to the near post, and found Crespo alone on the other side of the six-yard box. The Argentinian star put in an easy shot on a wide open net for the equaliser.

In the 42nd minute, Arsenal threatened again. Clichy sent in a throw-in along the left touch line, but Bonera beat Morgan to the ball and sent it nearly the length of the pitch, to the right of the Tamworth goal box. Henry and Tieme Klompe immediately got into a footrace for the ball, but that's not a contest the Dutch defender can win. After Henry picked the ball up and charged into the box, Klompe went to a desperation move and tackled the French superstar a little too hard. The ref awarded the penalty and gave Klompe a yellow card for the infraction. Crespo stepped up to take the penalty. The striker put a little too much oomph into it, though, and the ball sailed over the bar!

The two teams went into halftime knotted up at one apiece. In a very defensive match so far, the Gunners had a slight shot lead, 5-4, and more shots on goal as well, 4-2.

Hargreaves came in for Reyna at halftime, but that was the only change for the two teams. With the possibility of extra time for this advancement match looming, neither team wanted to commit too early to sending new players on the pitch.

The second half got off to a very interesting start in the 48th minute. Henry was approaching the box on a run again when Klompe took him out from behind. Much to Tamworth fans' horror, Klompe was given his second yellow card and booted off of the pitch. I switched to my three-man backline set up, and more or less prayed it would hold up. On the ensuing freekick, Gattuso sent a sharp pass into Helguera, who blasted a shot at the net, but Heaton was able to turn it over the net for the corner. McEveley headed out the corner harmlessly to end the threat (but not Arsenal's man advantage, of course).

In the 54th minute, the Lambs got their best shot in a long while. Kevin Gorman moved a nice pass up to Pizarro on a run toward the box in the middle of the pitch. He in turn passed it up to Saha, who split the defense on the run and charged into the right side of the box, essentially on-goal with McDermott. Despite juking to the left, Saha was unable to evade McDermott, who amazingly clutched Saha's hard shot from up close.

Arsenal had a similar play in the 63rd minute. Reyes had just replaced Henry, giving Arsenal a powerful Latino striker unit in Crespo and Reyes. Dickhoff retrieved a long clear out from his own end and sent a pass up to Reyes, who was being marked by Gorman. The striker put some space between himself and the fullback, and also juked to his left, much as Saha had done. He maintained control, though, and seemed to have an open shot on the net. The football gods were smiling on Tamworth, though, as Reyes hit it a little too much to the left and it went harmlessly into the side netting.

With them being a man down, this would be just one of many close calls. The next came in the 65th minute. Denílson sent in a quick crossing pass from the left side of the goal for Reyes, and the striker got a good hold of it, but he blasted it over the bar.

The subs continued, as Arsenal brought in its last sub in Ljungberg in the 75th minute for Helguera, while Tamworth brought in its first sub in the 79th minute when it replaced Saha with Yakubu.

In the 77th minute, Denílson took a Dickhoff pass from the centreline and went on a nice run toward the inward left side of the box. He took a perhaps ill-advised long shot from just beyind the box that swerved toward the left post, but went a little too wide, hitting the same side netting that deflected Reyes' first good chance.

The Denílson-Reyes connection continued to produce close calls just a minute later. The winger went on a run into the box along the left goal line before shooting off a quick chip pass to nearby Reyes. Reyes turned and fired a point blank shot on goal, but Heaton made a brilliant move to block the shot. Clichy, who was excellent today, cleared the ball from danger.

Clichy also cleared out a dangerous cross from Denílson in the 90th minute, and then moved a good pass away from Crespo in the box in injury time to preserve the tie.

And so begins the extra time period. You guys probably know where this is going by now. But there is always drama along the way. The Lambs used their second sub at the beginning of extra time, putting in Cort for Corbett, and shuffling the lineup to make the positions work, including moving right fullback Gorman to Corbett's right wing spot.

In the 104th minute, Clichy made another crucial clear out on a nice pass intended for Ljungberg, but his kick away didn't get too far before Reyes put it back on Ljungberg's foot. The Swedish midfielder took a shot right at the hard charging Heaton, and the goalkeeper turned it back hard. James McEveley jumped on the ball and moved it out of danger. That would be the big play of the first extra time period.

In the 115th minute, Denílson blasted a shot too high over the bar, and three minutes later, had a nice pass to Reyes eliminated by an offsides call on the latter player. Without the call, Reyes would have been through on goal against Heaton. Tamworth scared Arsenal a little near the end, when Bonera had to make a nice tackle on Yakubu in the box to stop an imminent shot on goal in injury time of the last extra time period.

And, so it went to penalties. I can't say enough about how intense ths was. Despite there being just two goals in the whole match, Arsenal came so close in the second half with the man advantage. I was surprised we managed to survive the onslaught. Arsenal outshot us 15-6 for the match, and 9-3 on goal.

Adding to the tension was an injury to Yakubu in the 101st minute by Bonera. The striker was barely able to stay in the game, and I needed him to stay in, too, with a 15 Penalty Kicking ability. So I took the risk of leaving him in, with injury possibilities abounding, not to mention how the fatigue might affect his penalty kicking abilities. I set up my penalty kicking order and we went to it.

Dickhoff went first for Arsenal. The fullback stepped up to the ball, and Heaton guessed to the right a little early. Perhaps anticipating Dickhoff would change on the fly, Heaton dove back to the middle as the fullback kicked the ball...

...right where Heaton had been before for the goal. Score, Arsenal!

The pressure was on as the tired (61 energy) Yakubu was my first choice in my PK set up. The Nigerian striker stepped up and blasted the shot...

...past a frozen McDermott, burying the ball into the net to the goalkeeper's right. Tamworth ties it up! Arsenal 1, Tamworth 1

Campbell was next for Arsenal. The centreback took a long run up to the ball. Heaton tensed for the shot, moving just slightly to his right, as Campbell unleashed his kick...

...and sent it right over the bar for the huge miss! Can Tamworth take advantage?

Morgan was next for us. He is also the worst penalty taker of the five I picked by far, although he was still a double-digit talent in this area. He went up close to the ball for his kickoff. McDermott jumped to his right, while Morgan turned and blasted it the other way...

...but too far! Morgan's shot hits the left post and ricochets back onto the pitch for the miss. Arsenal 1, Tamworth 1

Tamworth failed to take advantage of the Campbell miss.

Crespo went up next for the Gunners, and he had a chip on his shoulder. Despite the fact that he scored Arsenal's only goal, Crespo also badly missed a penalty in the first half that would have made this whole mess unnecessary. This was redemption for him.

He also took a short route to the ball. Heaton displayed a little more patience this time, waiting for Crespo's move before reacting. The Argentinian forward let loose on the ball, hitting it to Heaton's right...

...and the Tamworth keeper deftly stepped right over and clutched the shot for the huge save! An amazing save by Heaton. Will Tamworth fail to capitalize on another opportunity?

Gorman went up next for the Lambs. He took a sharp, short angle to the ball, and McDermott seemed ready for him. The keeper took a bead on the direction of the kick as Gorman unleashed the shot to the netminder's left...

...but he hit it high and it sailed over McDermott's shoulder for the score! McDermott was positioned correctly but he missed the high shot, and Tamworth has the penalty kick lead through three rounds. Tamworth 2, Arsenal 1

The hopes of Arsenal rested on fullback Michael Jakobsen. The left-footed back went up to the ball and struck a hard shot toward his near post. Heaton guessed correctly and leaped to get in the way...

...and he did it! He turned the ball away, even though it was almost likely to hit the post! The second straight huge save by Heaton!

Now, all Tamworth had to do was hit this last one to take this improbable match, despite the man disadvantage.

Denny Landzaat stepped up to the ball to try and seal this one for the Lambs. He took a long run to the ball. McDermott tried to gauge his approach and shot out to his left. The Arsenal keeper quickly saw he had guessed wrong, though, and, showing amazing reflexes, he leapt back in the way of the ball, which Landzaat kicked slightly to the right of center. McDermott and the ball raced to the same spot...

...and the ball squirted under McDermott's hands and slipped into the goal for the winning score! Tamworth 3, Arsenal 1

It was a thrilling match to watch. I couldn't believe we had survived this adversity to move on in the League Cup. We are now through to the quarterfinals, and Arsenal's "miserable" (relative here, folks) season continues.

Pizarro got the Man of the Match for his flawless work in the midfield and for scoring our only goal, but in the engine room, I am pretty sure I would hand the game ball to the young Heaton, who showed the poise of a veteran in this one that belied his young 22 years of age.

CR

daedalus

07-12-2004, 05:02 AM

Nice win with a man down! Woohoo!

JAR is a Spaniard, however.

Chief Rum

07-12-2004, 05:30 AM

Erland Johnson managing Chelsea? I can remember (barely) when he used to play defence for us. How'd he get to be our manager?

Heh...that's one of the few problems with CM. Finding old stats and histories, or finding out what a player did before joining the pitch-side employment ranks is next to impossible unless you know and followed the guy.

At this point in time, Johnson is a 41-year-old Norwegian manager, and one with a Good reputation, too. Looking at his stats, I can see why.

It appears that Johnson began this dynasty as either the manager or player-manager of Follo, a Second Division club in Norway. He didn't win any promotion in his year there, but apparently he did well enough to impress the management of powerful Celtic.

The Scottish power hired him away in June, 2004. He managed them from the 2004-05 season through the 2005-06 season, winning the Scottish Premier League both years, taking the Scottish League Cup in 2005, and the Scottish Cup in 2006.

That was enough for the folks at Stamford Bridge, who hired him on July 22, 2006. Obviously, he has been in control ever since. He immediately saw success with Chelsea, leading them to the Premiership championship in 2006-07. This was after the club finished sixth and fifth in the previous two years.

The club has returned to what ti was doing before since then, finishing sixth last year and currently fifth this season. He also led Chelsea to the quarters of the UEFA in 2006-07, and the quarters of the Champions League in 2007-08. They reached the FA Cup semifinals last year as well before falling (and, no, not to us).

In his career, Johnson has three league titles and two cup wins. He has an incredible record of 154-51-69, and his teams have scored 507 goals to 303 conceded in 274 total matches. I would have to do a looksy at the other managers in the Premiership, but I would have to think that kind of success puts him at or near the top of the list of managers in this league--and maybe even the world.

In case you're wondering about the whereabouts of José Mourinho, he stayed with Porto until he got sacked in January, 2006. Then he had a short, unsuccessful stint with Leiria, sacked after a year. And last year all that led to him being hired by...Real Madrid!

Prior to Johnson, Chelsea had Ranieri until May, 2005, and then hired another name recently in the news (in my dynasty)-- Gianluca Vialli. They hired Vialli away from Udinese in the Serie A. Vialli only coached Chelsea for a year, but he seemed to do decently well. He wasn't sacked in 2006, but hired away by Aston Villa. He wasn't sacked by Villa either, or Everton after that. This guy must have nine lives and a penchant for moving down the managing food chain for some reason. If you all recall correctly, I recently noted he left the Everton job for First Division Bradford City.

Johnson was Vialli's replacement.

CR

Chief Rum

07-12-2004, 05:33 AM

Nice win with a man down! Woohoo!

JAR is a Spaniard, however.

Thanks. It was intense. I better win this damn thing now. ;)

lol about JAR's origins. You see, I knew that, but I keep forgetting. :)

Every time, I think, "he's Argentinian" and then I go look at him, and see he's Spanish and do the whole slap-forehead thing. I think I have done it about 20 times already. Ugh.

CR

P.S. I went up and edited the reference, which fortunately was just once in that long post. :)

Chief Rum

07-12-2004, 03:21 PM

Tuesday, December 2 To Monday, December 8

The Arsenal match was the only match we had this week. So this week shouldn't take too long to recap. Heck, we don't even have a Premiership Team of the Week--no league matches this week.

Tamworth Signs Slovakian Winger

Once again, an opportunity arose to sign one of the Slovakian youths that looked like they could have a long term impact. On December 2, Inter Bratislava winger Petr Novotny reached the six-month point of his contract, making him eligible for Bosman transferring.

We made him an offer at the level he wanted (about $20,000 per annum again).

It took the 18-year-old winger just two days to agree to the change of address. He rejected an offer from Inter Bratislava in doing so, and will join us on June 3, 2009.

As with the other Slovakian youths, Novotny is a fine physical talent (15 Acceleration, 18 Pace). He also has the mental skills I like (12 Determination, 15 Teamwork, 14 Work Rate). Despite his youth, he is around 9-12 in most of his technical skills, putting him a little further on then the others.

He has one goal and two assists in seven appearances for Inter Bratislava, a Slovak First Division squad (their top level). He also appeared in seven matches last year, but didn't figure into any scoring.

We haven't won out on all young players, though. Ipswich's Gary Ross, a 19-year-old netminder we have long kept an eye on, inked a new contract with the First Division squad, keeping him from us.

He hadn't done so good prior to this season (last year, he conceded 75 goals in 54 appearances, which is just solid, rather than incredible), but our scouts said a while ago he had a bright future, and he is just 19.

Good goalkeepers seem hard to come by, so I was hoping he would become available. Every attempt through transfer that I have made for him (among other goalkeepers) has been rebuffed by Ipswich.

Making it all the worse, he is off to a fine start this year, with 11 goals conceded in 12 matches, to go along with five vlean sheets and a 7.50 rating.

League Cup Wrap Up

With the exciting win over Arsenal on December 3, we moved into the quarterfinals of the League Cup for the second straight year.

We received $120,000 for the victory, although at this level, that's just a drop in the bucket.

Centreback Tieme Klompe will have to sit out our next domestic match, as part of his ban for his forced removal from the Arsenal match. I'm glad, though, that the worst of it is him simply missing a match, considering we could have lost the match as well (and almost did).

In other League Cup matches, there were few surprises. Basides our own Premiership-only match, there were several other matches of top level squads. Man Utd was probably the most notable, beating Southampton 2-1. Birmingham beat Blackburn, 2-1, in extra time. The Rovers, of course, are currently without a manager, so this probably didn't help their spirits any. Liverpool barely escaped Everton, winning 2-1 in extra time. And Nottingham Forest beat Blackpool, 1-0.

Manchester City has been struggling this year, but they really should have done better than edging out First Division Walsall on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw. Aston Villa didn't have similar problems with First Division Norwich, winning easily 3-0.

In the only match not involving a Premiership squad, the Second Division Northwich Vics beat Barnsley--which upset Chelsea in this tournament last month--in extra time, 2-1.

The draw for the quarterfinals will be held Saturday, December 6.

Partridge Becomes Second Player To Complain In A Week

Second eleven winger Richie Partridge told The Observer on Friday, December 5, that he was unhappy at not being placed in a regular role with the first team. Grrrr...

This comes just a week after noted pamper-boy Johnnier Montaño spouted off in a similar fashion.

I think both of these incidents are a direct result of my lineup juggling from injuries, and my recent attempts to get backups some starts in meaningless (or nearly so) matches. This would be plainly obvious in real life, but I have to deal within the constraints I am given here.

I tell Partridge the same thing I did Montaño, that he would be in the first eleven when the time is right. Also like Montaño, he accepted that and said he was pleased I would appreciate him more from now on. Spoiled brat. :)

Partridge is a good player, and I suppose these things are to be xpected when you have the depth that I do. But considering that Chris Booth has played as well or better than Partridge in a backup role, and that I have no reason to complain about first eleven right winger Jim Corbett, the last thing Partridge should want to do is get on my bad side.

Intercontinental Cup

This is the pinnacle of club competition, as the Champions League winner faces off with South America's Copa Libertadores winner (I think) for the "world championship". This year the cup was played on Friday, December 5.

Hopefully I will play in this next season, but this year the match, which was played at Yokohama International in Japan, is Milan against Argentinian power River Plate.

They made this about as exciting as it could be. The match stayed at 1-1 for the game and then went to penalties. Milan just edged out River Plate, 4-3, to take the Intercontinental Cup.

Exciting Transfer Target Weekend

The weekend of December 6-7 was a pivotal one for Tamworth in the tranfer market.

Second Division German squad SC Freiburg allowed Freddy Adu's contract to reach Bosman status on December 6, and I offered the young superstar in the making a contract. If you weill recall, I also negotiated a transfer deal for Adu last summer, but the Nazis that control Britain's work permit program shot the $10 M transfer down.

Adu was looking for a very reasonable deal, under $500,000 per year, and with a similarly-sized bonus. I made him the offer and the next day, Sunday, December 7, he accepted, turning down an offer from SC Freiburg to stay.

Now comes the dreaded part. The work permit hearing has been scheduled for December 22. I suspect it will fail again, but one can always hope. Adu has one cap for the United States, but he is only 19 right now.

There are some minor quibbles about his ratings I can make, as he doesn't look to be quite the physical and mental superstar you would suspect he would be (although they are certainly strong enough for a Premiership-level player). It's clear I am mostly making the bid on his real life name. Hopefulyl, he can live up to his press clippings--assuming he is allowed to play in the country, that is.

Even as were hearing from Adu on his acceptance of our contract offer, we were also getting a transfer offer of worldclass fullback Trond Erik Bertelsen from Mallorca for $7.75 M. As I mentioned before, Bertelsen was someone I had interest in near the end of the last transfer window. Of course, he asked for far more than our board would allow.

Still, it seems like the board may have loosened up a bit, so I am hopeful. I go ahead and accept the transfer offer again. Regardless of whether we can work out a contract, Bertelsen couldn't move here until the opening of the next transfer window on January 1, 2009.

If I were to add the 24-year-old Norwegian star, I really feel it would solidify one of the areas ont he backline I eel I could be better--and give me a worldclass level name to legitimize this team as a true power. Now if only the board would get their collective thumb out their collective arse. It doesn't make sense to skimp on a contract to a very good player when you are some $8 M below your wage budget.

League Cup Quarterfinal Draw

The draw for the Ebglish League Cup quarterfina was held on Saturday, December 6.

There was only one squad lower than the Premiership in the pool of teams, and we drew them, of course. We have had a long history of success in seemingly avoiding the top teams until the end in most cup competitions (excepting the Arsenal match, of course).

Our opponent is the Second Division Northwich Vics. They are currently third in that division. We will play them at their place in not much more than a week's time, on December 17.

The other quarterfinal matchups were Man City at Liverpool, Aston Villa at Birmingham, and Nottingham Forest at Man Utd.

CR

daedalus

07-13-2004, 12:47 AM

Thanks. It was intense. I better win this damn thing now. ;)I love the fact that you can get so darn emotionally involved with a CM match. I literally scream and yell at my players. And that's just CM3 engine (CM 01/02, to be precise). Can't wait until I have the computer to run a CM4 engine-based game.

How did what's-his-head come to lead the Gunners? What happened to Le Professor?

daedalus

07-13-2004, 01:18 AM

No Landon Donovan for you? With you playing an attacking-type midfielder, he'd seem a good fit. Don't know about his ratings in your game, however.

Chief Rum

07-13-2004, 03:40 AM

Tuesday, December 9 To Monday, December 15

We have two matches this week. We wrap up the group stage of the Champions League with a home match against last place U. Lamas, and then we resume our Premiership schedule after nearly two weeks off with a road trip to Bristol City.

FA Cup Third Round Draw

We have finally reached the point where the best Premiership squads are included in the FA Cup draw. This cup, of course, is of special mention to me since I am the two-time holder of the trophy.

We could have drawn anyone from a non-league all the way up to Man Utd, and I thought we straddled the middle ground when we drew Ipswich, a First Division squad.

Ipswich is no slouch--they are currently in third in the First Division and in line for a promotion via playoff. They are also of interest to me given they have Gary Ross, the goalkeeper I mentioned that had signed a new cotnract with them (and whom I had targeted as a possible acquisition sometime last year).

We will play host to the game at the Lamb Ground on January 3.

U. Lamas

Qualifying for the next round has been in the bag for almost a month now. So this is just another relatively unimportant match. I again started a hodgepodge of starters and backups, with the starters coming from the first eleven, as it was their turn to take the pitch. Jarl Ander Storbæk started at left back, and Peter Castle was one of the centrebacks. Chris Booth and Darren Birchall were on the wings, and Giovanny Hernández was in the middle. Mark Hicks and Adam Wilde were up front. The only starters in place were Mike Duff at right back, David Raven at the other centreback spot, Michael Stewart at defensive midfielder and Jon Masalin in net.

Despite having a mostly backup lineup on the field, we dominated fromt he beginning. U. Lamas hadn't gained a single point up to now in this group stage, and it amazes me they even got this far.

We got our first goal when Booth converted a penalty kick in the 24th minute. Wilde added another in the 33rd minute, and Castle scoed his first ever goal off of a corner header in the 42nd minute.

Yakubu, who came in as a sub, scored our last goal in the 74th minute to wrap it up. Tamworth 4, U. Lamas 0

As I have indicated in the past, I scored those last two with a basic tactic (switching after I got the two-goal lead). Despite playing two-thirds of the match outside of our regular tactic, we took 26 shots, 16 on goal, and we didn't allow a single shot on goal to U. Lamas. Not a single one.

We were again awarded $350,000 for our win, although the real money was the club record $1.5 M in gate recepits we brought in.

Other Champions League Results

As this was the last round of the group stage, this was it for qualifying for the next round. Of course, several groups were already settled before today.

GROUP A: Milan and Celtic had these two spots taken care of prior to this last round. Milan won the group with 14 points, Celtic had 12, CSKA Moscow finished with 4, and Gungamp had just 2 points.

GROUP B: Juventus and Leverkusen opened a door for Banik Ostrava with their draw last round, but they shut it today. They both won handily to clinch the spots from this group. Juventus won the group with 12 points, while Leverkusen had 10. Banik Ostrava missed a terrific opportunity after losing to Juventus, 3-0. They finished with 7 points, while Cannes brought up the rear with 4 points.

GROUP C: As I have noted before, we and Levski Sofia had this wrapped up last round. Levski Sofia drew with Chornomorets, so I won the group with 15 points. Levski Sofia had 13, Chornomorets 7, and U. Lamas migth have been the worst team in the competition with 0 points.

GROUP D: Olympiakos and Dinamo Kiev also finished this one up last round. They both finished with 13 points, with Olympiakos taking the group lead on head-to-head goal differential. NEW and Deportivo finished tied for third with four points, in an awful group stage for one of the expected top teams in the tournament in Deportivo.

GROUP E: Sporting Lisbon had their spot clinched, so this came down to the Brno-Genoa match in Italy. Genoa should have won, given they are a Serie A squad playing at home--but they didn't. Brno continued its Cinderella run that began in the second round of qualifying, and qualified for the knockout phase with a 2-0 win. Sporting Lisbon won the group with 13 points, while Brno "checked" (har-har) in with 11 points. Genoa had 6, while Partizan finished in last with 2 points.

GROUP F: Lens and FC Bayern played for the final op[en spot here, although it would have taken a dominating match by Bayern to have a chance in this one. Lens made the point moot by beating the German power at home, 3-1, and clinching not only the group's second spot, but the group lead. Another prominent Cinderella story, Norway's Bodo/Glimt, clinched its spot last round. Lens had 12 points, Bodo/Glimt finished with 10 points, Inter had 7 and FC Bayern placed in a stunning last with 6 points. This is probably one fo the most surprising group results since this dynasty began.

GROUP G: Barcelona looked like another one of the favorites fallen on bad times before it won through to second place in the fifth round of the fixture. So do they take that and hold on to the spot? Of course not. Barcelona finishes off a frustrating group stage by losing ont he road to Arsenal Kiev, 1-0. Arsenal Kiev's win put them in a tie with Werder Bremen, but the German team won out because of head to head away goals. AaB won the group with 9 points, while Werder Bremen and Arsenal Kiev tied at 7. Barcelona had 6 points.

GROUP H: Shakhtar had thid group won eons ago, and had a chance to win all six of their matches to be the only team to do so in the group stage. Alas, they fell short, 4-2, at Ajax, and finished with 15 points. The loss had repercussions elsewhere, though. Man Utd continued its underachiever role, and lost 4-3 at GAK, giving Ajax the chance to leap past them for the second spot behind Shakhtar. Ajax and GAK tied with 7 points, but Ajax won through on head-to-head after winnign and drawing with the Autrian club. Man Utd finished just behind both squads with six points.

The second round draw will take place on Friday, December 12.

Booth Target Of Loan Talk

Apparently believing I wasn't giving him a role with the team, both Burnley and Leeds United offered to loan out winger Chris Booth for three months, despite the fact he wasn't listed as being on loan, and had started six matches this season.

I turned down the offers, as I have no plans to lose Booth in his valuable backup role.

Motteram Resumes Full Training

Yay! First eleven left winger Carl Motteram is finally ready to return to action from his dislocated shoulder injury. He went back into full training on Wednsday, December 10, and should be ready for match work in the near future.

Motteram has been out for a month. His return means that Partridge will return to his second eleven right wing role, and Booth will return to his prior backup position on the wing.

Mallorca Accepts Bertelsen Transfer Offer

Spanish Primera Liga squad Mallorca accepted our offer of $7.75 M for worldclass fullback Trond Erik Bertelsen on December 10, which seemed to be a busy day for player transactions. Of course, this was simply what they offered us, so their acceptance of our offer was a mere formality.

The tricky part is offering a contract to Bertelsen himself. The board won't allow me to offer him more than $1 M per year, and he is currently on a $2.5 M per season contract. As expected, Bertelsen stated he didn't think we had the resources to meet his demands.

Despite that, we went ahead and offered the full millon per year contract and a cool million signing bonus as well. If Bertelsen for some reason actually accepts the contract offer (highly unlikely--he rejected the same contract last summer), he would join us at the beginning of the next transfer window on January 1.

Raven Wants Improved Contract

Centreback David Raven's contract isn't up for another year and a half, but the 23-year-old centreback is apparently already concerned about upping his salary. Of course, if I started for a top Premiership side and I was still on a lower division level $75,000 per contract, I would probably want better terms as well.

Raven has been a key part of our defense, and given his age, I expect resigning him will be a priority this offseason. That said, I see no point in adjusting the contract now while it's advantageous to the club. I promise raven he will receive an improved contract at the end of the season (when I was going to address the issue anyway).

He seemed satisfied with this and went back to work.

Champions Cup Second Round Draw

The top sixteen teams, as determined by the Champions League group stage, were entered into the final draw for the knockout phase of Europe's most prestigious club tournament.

The second round is a two-leg affair, with home-and-home matches.

At this point, it can't be said anyone you draw will be easy. Still, I was happy to not draw a Milan or Juventus to start. We got a middle-ground draw in Dinamo Kiev, a past Champions League holder.

Dinamo Kiev finished in second in Group D. The first leg will be played at the Lamb Ground on February 25, 2009.

The other matchups are Leverkusen-Milan, Olympiakos-Levski Sofia, Juventus-Celtic, Bode/Glmit-Sporting Lisbon, AaB-Ajax, Shakhtar-Werder Bremen, and Brno-Lens.

Bristol City

Recently, starting goalkeeper Mark Brown has been playing very well for Bristol City, so I suspect playing a tough defensive match on the road won't be an easy thing to do, even for the table-topping squad.

Actually, even that's not technically true. Man Utd played an earlier match and won its ninth in a row to leapfrog us in the table by a point. Of course, the Bristol City is our chance to return things to normal status. It's amazing that Man Utd can be so dominating in league, and yet fail to get out of the group stage of the Champions League, even against a decent group.

Bristol City, a First Division promotee from last season, is doing slightly better than expected at 16th in the league. That may not seem high, but it isn't a relegation spot, and that's better than most recent promotees can count on.

Bristol City isn't crawling with top players like many other EPL sides. They are most notable for Brown and a pair of good fullbacks in David Vaughan and Kevin Amankwaah on defense, while Leroy Lita leads the offense up front.

Today is a second eleven match, and the first time in a while, Partridge was on the team. With Motteram back, Partridge returned to the second eleven right wing spot he held prior to Motteram's injury. Tieme Klompe was serving his suspension, though, so the second eleven will have to wait for its next match to get its original starters back in place. Leon Cort will get the start in Klompe's place.

This match was just as defensive as I thought, although Bristol City also struggled to get shots against our defense. We didn't struggle in that way, but we weren't able to solve Brown for a while either. Maybe I should bring that guy aboard...

In fact, our first score took a tremendous shot by Andrei Pereplyotkin. In the 38th minute, the striker went on a long run toward the right end of the box. He came in at the goal from a sharp angle, and usually in that role, the shooter will shoot to the wide far end. Instead, Pereplyotkin surprised Brown by aiming a low shot at the near post, in what amounted to a hole between the post and Brown that was similar in size to the hole Luke used to shoot Womp Rats through on Tatooine. Despite that, Pereplyotkin's shot just weaseled its way by Brown and into the net for the score.

As it turned out, that ended up being the only goal in a tight match. We outshot Bristol City, 15-3, with an 8-1 on-goal advantage, but we only got the one goal. But then, that's all we needed, as we regained first place in the Premiership.

Bertelsen Agrees To Contract With Tamworth

Wow! What changed? In a shocking development, Mallorca's Norwegian star left fullback Trond Erik Bertelsen accepted our offer, despite it being far lower than what he has seemed willing to accept in the past.

That's the good news. On closer inspection, there was some bad news. I discovered that Mallorca had him priced at $3.1 M now, and I was buying him at a premium at $7.75 M. And I was also buying damaged goods--it seems since I originally offered him, he had picked up a groin muscle tear and would be out for two months,

Okay, so it's not the perfect buy. But I lose nothing really in making this deal and gain one of the top backline talents in the world. And he's just 24.

Eventually, Bertelsen will be our first eleven left fullback, moving Hermann Hreidarsson back to the second eleven and Gaël Clichy to a backup role.

Not only does Bertelsen bring worldclass talent to a backline position at which we only had 30-somethings or questionable talents, he also fits in exactly as I want my fullbacks to play. He is an explosive physical talent, with 18 Acceleration and Pace. He is also Strong (15) and has fine Stamina (16).

Technically, he has top winger skills, which is really exciting for the offense. He has 19 Crossing and 18 Dribbling for moving the ball. He is also a standout defensively, with 20 Heading, Marking and Tackling, and 16 in Positioning.

His only real downfalls is that he could be a little better in some of the mental aspects of the position (9 Aggression, 6 Determination, 11 Teamwork) and in Jumping (11).

The Bertelsen transfer will be completed on January 1.

League News

It's been quiet for a couple weeks, but I wasn't too surprised to see an upswing in league news this time. We are getting nearer to the next transfer window, and this is traditionally where the honeymoon ends for many managers of underachieving squads as well.

On Wednesday, December 10, Chelsea worked out a $5.75 M transfer deal for Georgian left fullback Alexandre Amisulashvili, currenbtly with La Ligue's Paris-SG. As a native of a none-EU nation, though, Amisulashvili will have to go through the work permit process. His appointment with the British labor board is scheduled for December 24.

On Thursday, English football was rocked when Blackburn signed away manager Bert van Marwijk from powerful Arsenal. The move is especially interesting in that van Marwijk has made news lately in fighting with centreback Daniele Bonera in the media. Arsenal has been disappointing this season, at least for them, as they are sixth in the league. The Rovers, though, are in a relegation position right now at 19th. Their poor performance led to the sacking of current England manager Sam Allardyce.

Van Marwijk was the longtime manager of Hibs in the Scottish Premier League before Arsenal hired him in June. The honeymoon period ended quickly for the 56-year-old manager, and he chose to leave the tension behind, and try to keep Blackburn from dropping to the First Division.

Van Marwijk has a 62-24-40 record with Hibs and Arsenal, and his teams scored 228 goals against 164 conceded in 126 matches.

The Gunners will begin the search for a new manager.

The spotlight didn't leave Arsenal before more player problems cropped up. On Saturday, December 13, offseason acquisition Spanish midfielder Iván Helguera said he believes he is being targeted by refs in England because of an unfair reputation created by the media and opposition crowds. I had a good laugh at this one, because I have never seen it before. Pretty neat.

As a preface to this, it should be noted that Helguera was fresh off of a two-yellow send off in that day's action versus Lecicester when he made his comments. It was his first red card of the season, and the two yellows were his third and fourth on the year. Arsenal won, 1-0, despite being a man down and playing without a manager.

Aston Villa manager Tord Grip held a different kind of press conference that day. He praised star Swedish centreback Olaf mellberg for his form of late for the Villans. Aston Villa, currently fourth in the Premiership, are one of the surprise teams of the league so far, and Grip said Mellberg was a big reason for that. Mellberg has a 6.92 rating in 26 matches this season, and has been a leader for an Aston Villa defense that has given up just 19 goals in 16 matches, tied for sixth in the league defensively.

Villan fans flooded The Guardian a day later with support for Mellberg.

Although nothing so exciting happened to us (besides the already reported Bertelsen move), we did receive a couple of key offers of players we have had interest in.

On Thursday, December 11, First Division Wimbledon offered midfielder Paul Scott to us for $3.2 M. Scott is a very good dribbling midfielder who still has a bright future ahead of him at just 20 years old. He doesn't quite have the speed I like, though (while still decent), and $3.2 M is a little much right now for him. So I turned down the offer.

Then on Saturday, we received an offer of Grenadan striker Jason Roberts from fellow Premiership squad Birmingham for $6 M. Roberts is 30, and still very fast. He has good technical skills and could play a featured roel for many teams, although his mental skills don't hold up as well. Even so, he wasn't what I was looking for in a new striker, and $6 M is too much anyway. So I turned down that offer as well.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Adrian Mutu (Chelsea)-- 1 G, 9 rat vs MAN
SC Michael Chopra (Chelsea)-- 3 G, MoM, 10 rat vs MAN
MF Shaun Derry (Colchester)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs TOT
MF Seth Johnson (Aston Villa)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs BKP
MF Karl Duguid (Colchester)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs TOT
MF Joe Cole (Chelsea)-- 1 A, 9 rat vs MAN
DF Luke Young (Aston Villa)-- 8 rat vs BKP
DF James McEveley (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs BRS
DF Michael Dawson (Nottingham Forest)-- MoM, 9 rat vs SOU
DF Titus Bramble (Newcastle)-- MoM, 9 rat vs SFW
GK Thomas Sorenson (Aston Villa)-- 4 sav, 1 clean, 8 rat vs BKP

CR

Chief Rum

07-13-2004, 04:52 AM

I love the fact that you can get so darn emotionally involved with a CM match. I literally scream and yell at my players. And that's just CM3 engine (CM 01/02, to be precise). Can't wait until I have the computer to run a CM4 engine-based game.

The CM3 match engine was also very good, but I can't say enough about the 2D-pitch, daedalus. Seriously, it's revolutionary for a sim game, and it's very well done. It's the sort of thing they could have totally screwed up, but they have done a brilliant job with it. I highly recommend moving on in the series to this, although I suppose we're close enough to the release of FM2005 that you may just want to wait for that.

How did what's-his-head come to lead the Gunners? What happened to Le Professor?

Heh, after you posted this, van Marwijk left the team. ;)

Arsène Wenger stayed with the Gunners for five seasons, until last May, when he was--prepare yourself--sacked. Yeah, that would happen.

Obviously he was a victim of his own ridiculous success, as he couldn't survive the rise of Chelsea and, yes, Tamworth, to the level of Man Utd, thus reducing the importance of Arsenal (and Liverpool and Newcastle).

In five seasons, Le Professeur won a league title in 2004-05, and also finished as the runner up in the Champions that year. He also won an amazing seven cups (FA Cup 2002-03, 2004-05; League Cup 2005-06, 2006-07; Community Shield 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06). None of this includes his pre-dynasty success, of course.

In his time as a manager, Wenger has a 196-53-76 record, with 678 goals for and 336 goals conceded in 325 matches. Wenger finished second, first, second and second in the Premiership before a drop to fourth last year cost him his club job on May 4, 2008.

Wenger has also been bouncing around as a national team manager. He was hired by Nigeria in February, 2004. He only ran Nigeria for a year, but in that time, he led them to the last round of qualifying for Germany 2006 (they would go on and make it to the big tournament under another coach), and he also coached the Olympic Under-23s to a silver medal at the Athens Games.

In February, 2005, he left the Nigeria job for the U.S.A. He coached the American team to third place in the 2005 Gold Cup.

In February, 2006, he was hired away by Cameroon, continuing this strange career jumping that seems to happen every February. He never did much with Cameroon, though, and was hired away by Senegal in July, 2007. He proceeded to lead Senegal to the 2008 African Cup of Nations championship. He also has gotten Senegal to the group stage of World Cup qualifying for China 2010, and led the Under-23s to the quarters at the 2008 Beijing Games.

At 59, Wenger seems to be running out of steam, as he has announced he will be retiring at the end of the year. :(

No Landon Donovan for you? With you playing an attacking-type midfielder, he'd seem a good fit. Don't know about his ratings in your game, however.

Donovan is a pretty solid player in this universe, currently playing with Duisberg in the second division of the Bundesliga. He is someone I have shorltisted and keep an eye on, but he's kind of a tweener. He doesn't have the dribbling or creative skills I like from my forward midfielders, although he's solid all around. And at striker, although he's good enough to play a role for me, he hasn't leapt to the top of my list yet at this position.

CR

Chief Rum

07-14-2004, 06:51 AM

Tuesday, December 16 To Monday, December 22

We have two matches this week. On Wednesday, December 17, we go to the home of the Second Division Northwich Vics to play our quarterfinal match in the English League Cup. Then on Saturday, we have a big match at the Lamb Ground with powerful Newcastle, currently seventh in the Premiership.

Northwich Vics

When I came up to this match and checked out who I was playing, I made a surprising discovery that was a forehead slapper. This was the team former Tamworth youth winger Simon Gray signed with after we allowed his contract to run out.

I had big hopes for Gray when I signed him as a prospect while Tamworth was a Conference squad, and he played well for us when called upon. He only played with the first team one year, but he made a big impact as our starting left winger when we were in the Third Division, starting 30 matches for us.

We got Andy Williams as we went into the Second Division, though, and figuring Gray (who was only 15 at the time) could use more work with the kids, I sent him down to our U-19 squad, where he played for two seasons. I was prepared to resign him, but my scouts insisted he had reached his potential already at just 17. And my scouts were pretty good by then. So I let him go.

He ended up with the Northwich Vics, and has played well with them. In 52 appearances with them in the Third Division last year, he had 16 assists and a 7.10 rating. This year in the Second Division (the Vics were promoted), he has been okay if not spectacular (2 goals, 4 assists, 7.00 rating in 23 appearances. Still, my scout focused on him when he talked about this team, so clearly he remains an important part of the squad. Good to see a former Lamb done some good.

I don't think that's going to help him or his teammates today, though, as we clearly outclass them. Hopefully we don't invalidate that massive effort against Arsenal two weeks ago by dropping a bomb in this one.

It was a first eleven match, so most of that team's regulars were in. The lone exceptions were Mark Phillips in for Leon Cort at centreback, and Darren Birchall at left wing for Richie Partridge/Carl Motteram. Cort started in Tieme Klompe's place against Bristol City four days before (with Klompe on suspension) and isn't ready to return. I suppose I jumped the gun switching Partridge back to the second eleven because Motteram is taking his sweet time builidng up his conditioning from his shoulder injury. So Birchall has to start in this spot today.

I was thinking it was cruel to uinleash most of the first eleven on a Second Division squad until striker Karl Farrimond stole the ball from Johnnier Montaño on an odd play by the Colombian midfielder in the 3rd minute. Montaño had received a clear out pass from Mike Duff in the middle of the defensive pitch, and wasn't under any apparent pressure from the Vics, but he retreated into our own box anyway. He apparently didn't see Farrimond, already hanging out in the box. The striker slipped up to Montaño and just took away the ball--and suddenly he was just a few feet away from the goal with no one to stop him but Jon Masalin. He kicked it low and close and beat the surprised Masalin just inside the post to give Northwich Vics the surprising early 1-0 lead.

Montaño redeemed himself in the 9th minute (well, to an extent, come on that was just stupid). Michael Stewart found Montaño at the edge of the box on one of our standard scoring plays. Montaño turned around and took it in on goal, blasting a shot just to the left of the right post for the equaliser.

Stewart figured into the next score as well. In the 44th minute, he intefcepted a clear out by Gray and moved it back through the defense into the box. The ball fell to Yakubu, who blasted the ball at Northwich Vics netminder Martin Quinn. The ball went high over Quinn and into the net for our first lead (and a long time coming, really).

Just a couple minutes into the second half, we sealed it with a nice interception by Yakubu. The Nigerian striker got in the middle of a backpass by Farrimond from near the centreline. He headed it forward to Orri Freyr Oskarsson, who did what he does best--dribble fast. He took the ball into the box while creating space between himself and Northwich Vics defender Declan Quinn, and then he launched a high shot that was similar to Yakubu's score. Once again, Quinn showed he couldn't handle the high stuff and the ball went by for the score.

I have no idea if those two Quinns are related. :)

That would wrap the scoring, and we are through to the semifinals of the English League Cup. Tamworth 3, Northwich Vics 1

Other League Cup Results

It almost could have been one heck of a final foursome.

Man Utd just barely escaped Nottingham Forest--and this was at home, too--when they scored a goal in extra time to win, 1-0. Guess who scored it. Klose? Anelka? Cissé? Try Floribert Ngalula Mbuyi (and in injury time of the first extra time period, too). Try saying that name five times fast.

Liverpool scored three goals in the first 17 minutes to quickly put their match out of reach for Man City. The Reds beat the Citizens, 4-1.

The spoiler came in Birmingham, where the home squad beat the red hot Aston Villa squad. The Villans have charged into the top five of the league with a strong run, but they couldn't edge out Birmingham, falling 3-2. Birmingham scored two goals in the last ten minutes to pull off the amazing comeback.

Had Aston Villa won, the semifinals of the English League Cup would have possibly had the four top teams in the Premiership table. As it is, it has three and Birmingham, a solid top ten squad. That's one of the better ending fields this cup has seen in a while.

We won $325,000 for our win over the Vics, and will find out who our semifinal opponent is on Saturday, December 20.

International Duty

Most of the world's national teams are done for 2008, and won't resume until spring, 2009, but Africa is hot all year round. They scheduled a round of the African Cup of Nations on December 27, and striker Yakubu got the call again for his homeland Nigeria. We only expect he will miss one match (which is, unfortunately, a first eleven match).

Newcastle

Newcastle might not be a top five squad anymore (they are seventh right now), but they remain a worldclass side. No visit from the traditional powers in the Premiership can be regarded lightly.

The Magpies are throwing their top guys at us, which always makes it fun. Star English striker Shola Ameobi will start up front with Serbian Mateja Kezman. The two strikers ahve combined for 31 goals this year.

The midfield is nearly as scary, as Scottish star Barry Ferguson has transitioned well to St. James Park. He is joined by longtime Newcastle stars like Jermaine Jenas and Hugo Viana.

As if that wasn't enough, the backline remains loaded, led by star centreback Jonathon Woodgate, and in the net is the best goalkeeper in the Premiership--England's national netminder, Shay Given.

But enough with the worship--we have a match to play.

We are going with our second eleven squad today, playing in its original form for the first time since Motteram's injury forced Partridge onto the first eleven for a while.

As has often been the case with this team, we did not start off so strong. In the 20th minute, Ferguson took a throw in pass from the left touchline and sent a curling cross into the box. Ameobi beat out a mass of Tamworth defenders to the ball and fired a shot at the goal. Thomas Heaton deflected it down the line a little, but still in play. Kezman was first to the ball, where he put Heaton through a round of embarassment by actually kicking the shot off of the goalkeeper and into the net for the score.

We got it back in the 34th minute, although your guess is as good as mine as to why it happened the way it did. Gaël Clichy moved the ball across the left centrelin on a short run before moving it forward to Denny Landzaat near the middle of the pitch, maybe 35 yards out. Landzaat moved lightly forward and then suddenly just unleashed a long shot on goal. It was a slow-developing shot aimed at the left post, and Given was on it with ease--until the ball somehow got past him and into the net for an amazing score. Basically, both goalkeepers look a little silly right now.

That opened up the flood gates. In the 39th minute, Partridge took a throw in and moved on to Andrei Pereplyotkin, charging into the right end of the box with a step on the defense. The striker turned in toward the center of the box, but then deftly hit a ball nearer to the right post. It apparently fooled Given, who was preparing for a shot closer to the far end of the goal, and we had the 2-1 lead.

We officially took control of this one four minutes later, when Klompe headed in a corner pass from David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro.

We got a 46th minute score from Louis Saha and a second half injury time score from Landzaat--who ahd a terrific day--to finish off a brutal walloping of the Magpies. Tamworth 5, Newcastle 1

We finally got a little breathing room, too, as Man Utd's streak of nine consecutive Premiership wins finally came to an end, when they drew with Everton, 0-0. They still haven't lost in league since September 27, when they were shellacked by Chelsea, 3-0.

We set another attendance record against Newcastle, drawing 32020--two more fans than the previous record set against Man City on my birthday last month. One of these days, we may even seat all 32045 spots in the Lamb Ground. Imagine the difference in crowd noise for that one. :)

League Cup Semifinal Draw

While we were beating Newcastle, the English Football Association was conducting the draw for the English league Cup semifinals, to be held next month.

This is usually where we start drawing great teams. I figured we would get Man Utd, but we got Old Trafford's "little" cousin instead in powerful Liverpool.

The semifinal of the League Cup is a two-leg, home-and-home, so we will play the Reds twice. We travel to Anfield for the January 21 match, and then follow it up with a match at the Lamb Ground on February 4.

Man Utd will, of course, meet up with Birmingham in the other bracket.

Adu's Work Permit

On Monday, December 22, the labor board ruled--again--that 19-year-old American star-in-the-making Freddy Adu was not well-known enough to earn a work permit to play in England. Yeah...right...obviously, this world has some key differences from the current one.

I have appealed the decision, and the board will give me a response on January 9. If Adu's application fails, it will be the second time in a year he has been denied entry to England (and both times for us). I am essentially without hope on this one, although it should be noted that Giovanny Hernáandez's application was also rejected at first and then won through on appeal last August. So it's not impossible--but I'm going to move forward as if I didn't get him.

Adu needs to play in more national matches for the United States. One cap and playing for a Second Division Bundesliga squad ain't gonna get it done.

League News

One of the fun parts of this time of year is the rise of transfer speculation as clubs prepare for the new transfer window, due to open up again on January 1.

Adu is relatively unrelated, as he is a Bosman transfer, although the Bertelsen move is one such move that will go through then.

Last week, Wimbledon offered us striker Paul Scott, a quick dribbling scorer who is just 20 years old. We turned down the offer, as $3.2 M is just too much for him, but apparently Tottenham didn't. The Spurs agreed to a transfer deal for the striker, and he will join them on January 1. That news came down the pipe as we were beating the Northwich Vics.

That ended up being the lone news locally, but this week was rife with speculation about a star Brazilian winger in international circles.

Alex, the 31-year-old FC Bayern star, told his manager Ottmar Hitzfeld that his recent poor performances have been a reuslt of exhaustion and jadedness, all of which he apologized for. I don't know if this then played a part in it, but the worldclass winger was then targeted by uber-rich Real Madrid, which gave FC Bayern an offer of $24 M for the winger, on Sunday, December 21.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Kim Olsen (Sheffield Wednesday)-- 2 G, 1 A, MoM, 10 rat vs NOT
SC Adrian Mutu (Chelsea)-- 1 G, 1 A, MoM, 10 rat vs BKP
MF Denny Landzaat (Tamworth)-- 2 G, 8 rat vs NEW
MF David Fox (Sheffield Wednesday)-- 8 rat vs NOT
MF Matthew Hamshaw (Sheffield Wednesday)-- 1 A, 9 rat vs NOT
MF Harry Kewell (Liverpool)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs MAN
DF Derek Geary (Sheffield Wednesday)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs NOT
DF John Arne Riise (Liverpool)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs MAN
DF Sami Hyyplä (Liverpool)-- 8 rat vs MAN
DF Brett Emerton (Blackburn)-- 1 G, 1 A, MoM, 9 rat vs FUL
GK Fabien Barthez (Man Utd)-- 7 sav, 1 clean, MoM, 9 rat vs EVR

CR

Katon

07-14-2004, 08:25 AM

Chief Rum

07-14-2004, 04:00 PM

Are you sure Shay Given's English? I thought he was Irish.

Nice to see Kezman doing well in the Premiership, seeing as he's going to be playing there for Chelsea in real life. Where's Arjen Robben got to?

You see, this is how I get people to respond in my threads. I just use a little misnformation... ;)

That's odd, I have no idea where I got the idea he was English. Given is indeed Irish (although I was dead on right that, in value, he is the top goalkeeper in the Premiership).

Kezman has had a good career and has never had less than double-dgiti goals in a year in a major league (between the Eridivisie and the EPL). He has also seen sopme success as one of the lead names on the Serbia & Montenegro national team.

Robben is still playing with Chelsea (he was a "future transfer" programmed into the player file in the update I used), and he still plays regularly, although he isn't having a great year this year (6 goals in 21 matches). Actually, looking at his numbers, that's in line with how he has been doing. I suspect he sees a lot of time on the wing with Chelsea's depth up front (Chopra, Mutu, Mido).

I see he's from PSV, just like Kezman. So the Dutch power is Chelsea's farm team, eh? :)

CR

Katon

07-14-2004, 04:46 PM

Chief Rum

07-14-2004, 05:01 PM

So it seems right now. I'm actually sort of curious as to what's going to happen to them next year, seeing as we've pinched all their best attackers. They are getting something out of the deal, though; we're buying them a Brazilian defender named Alex so that he can spend some time in the EU to get around the work permit laws. Almost exactly what you need with Adu, come to think of it.

Robben is a winger primarily, not a forward, so his use there makes sense - especially given how scary Mutu is in CM (and how scary Chopra can grow up to be. Mido's good too . . .) The one bad thing about Abramovich's takover is that it's made Chelsea completely unplayable by removing all the challenge. In previous versions, beating Real Madrid in the CL was a real achievement; now, it's something which happens with the default squad in the first match of the group stage.

Thanks for the info. That will be interesting to watch (the Alex situation, clearly the other Alex and not the winger). Yeah, in CM, Chelsea can be scary good. They seem to be just as rich in there as in real life.

Beating Real Madrid ain't no thing, though. In this game they are just barely top five int he Primera Liga. ;)

Seriously, I don't know how the game has so mismanaged Real Madrid and the entire Primera Liga from superpower andd superleague respectively.

CR

Katon

07-14-2004, 05:16 PM

Well, to be fair, mismanagement is not exactly unrealistic for Real. The galacticos policy has gaping holes in it, and up until this summer they'd shown no sign whatsoever of noticing said holes. If you want to know what happened in your game . . .

Well, looking over the top transfers sections of this thread, $62 million for Owen Hargreaves rather springs to mind. How'd he wind up doing for them, anyway? Actually, looking further on, he was sold to Arsenal at a $38 million loss a few years later. They then turned around (just recently) and spent $63 million on Mancini

Other random thoughts, while I'm looking at the transfers:

- Chelsea signed Mido and Chopra three days apart. Huh.
- $68 million for Andres D'Alessandro? Well, if memory serves, he's better than Hargreaves.
- Four different players have gone for over sixty million dollars, to three clubs. Have Man U and Milan gotten better results than Real?

daedalus

07-14-2004, 06:02 PM

Adu needs to play in more national matches for the United States. One cap and playing for a Second Division Bundesliga squad ain't gonna get it done.What about the chance that he gets German as a second nationality? I haven't seen what he looks like in the game so I don't know if he's already considered to have a dual-citizenship or not. Because if he isn't, after 5 years, he should be able to get German citizenship.

Chief Rum

07-14-2004, 06:05 PM

Milan has been very solid at times, and certainly not as bad as Real has sometimes been. But they seem stuck behind Juventus in the Serie A.

Man Utd won the quadruple one year and they remain a very powerful club, so it seems they are spending their money right.

Other big spenders that have been very successful are FC Bayern and Barcelona.

Yeah, looking at those transfer lists, it's amazing how much money gets thrown around, and how often said players are moved later on for much, much less money (and not even because of age).

Personally, I think Real madrid got caught in this "we have money so let's spend it whether we need to or not" loop, and maybe made some very bad decisions in doing so.

Hargreaves' amazing price shocked me. I knew he was a good player, but that was just shocking. I also knew he wasn't that good and, IMO, a bit of an underachiever in the game as well.

CR

Chief Rum

07-14-2004, 06:10 PM

What about the chance that he gets German as a second nationality? I haven't seen what he looks like in the game so I don't know if he's already considered to have a dual-citizenship or not. Because if he isn't, after 5 years, he should be able to get German citizenship.

Can you get triple nationality? Adu already has Ghanaian as another nationality. I don't know if players switch countries in this game, although that would be interesting if they did.

He's just 19 and still has some developing to do, I am sure, so I think he will become more of a fixture on the U.S. team in the relatively near future.

CR

daedalus

07-14-2004, 06:11 PM

In 01/02, Mido was as much of a headache as he seems to be in real life. Wonder how he is in this universe.

Katon . . . that was the only way I could've justified D'alessandro's fee, too. Heh.

Chief Rum

07-14-2004, 07:08 PM

In 01/02, Mido was as much of a headache as he seems to be in real life. Wonder how he is in this universe.

Katon . . . that was the only way I could've justified D'alessandro's fee, too. Heh.

Mido is a headache in CM03/04 as well. He just complained about his lack of a role with Chelsea earlier this month, lol.

There is no justifying D'Alessandro's fee. But is there justifying Adriano's? ($68 M!)

CR

daedalus

07-14-2004, 10:25 PM

Hard to justify that kind of fee for anybody really. There's a lot to like about D'alessandro, really. He's supposedly a great playmaker and he was able to be River Plate's captain at 21, which seems incredibly impressive to me.

From all I've read, Adriano is a fast and strong forward with great ability to score - I mean, he's scoring well in Serie A and it's tough to knock that. But, y'know, 68 big ones is a bit expensive.

Unrelated (except for the Parma-reference, of course), we snuck Lupoli out of Italy (in real life)! Huzzah! :D

Chief Rum

07-15-2004, 01:40 AM

Tuesday, December 23 To Monday, December 29

Most everyone will be celebrating the Yuletide and holidays and what not around now, so there isn't much actual football going on. I think England has Boxer Day around now, too. Anyway, we have just one match, a Premiership match at Sheffield Wednesday the day after Christmas.

That doesn't mean this won't be an exciting week you know. With the transfer window just a few days away, the transfer speculations have begun...

Ceylan Fatih A Lamb?

I decided to go to Turkey and check out how Turkey's backup goalkeeper Ceylan Fatih was doing. If you will recall, Fatih stepped in for starting goalkeeper Reçber Rustu in Euro 2008 and nearly stonewalled the Turks into a championship (fell just short in the final).

I had had him on my list to keep an eye on for a while. Well, as I was looking around for options on goalkeeper a couple days ago, I found Fatih and saw that he was reasonably valued at $2.5 M. After the Bertelsen deal I have about $5 M in transfer funds left, so I made an enquiry for the keeper.

Turkish Premier Division squad Denizlispor came back with an offer-- $3.1 M. I decided it was worth it and accepted it on Wednesday, December 24. So now I am awaiting an offical response from the Turkish club.

What am I going to do with my current goalkeepers? Your guess is as good as mine. Hang on tight here...besides, it might be premature. Fatih has to qualify for a work permit (although I woudl think that won't be an issue for a guy who made a name for himself at the Euro).

Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday came in at 12th in the league, which is a little better than expected, although not by much.

I thought they might be playing well, as they dominated Nottingham Forest last weekend (getting a bunch of them on the EPL Team of the Week, which is why I noticed them).

Still, like other squads that have been promoted from the First Division in the last two or three years, they aren't filled with well-known players. Their best guys eem to be strikers Kim Olsen (21 golas last year) and Francis Jeffers (former Southampton striker).

It was a first eleven match, but Yakubu was away to the Dark Continent somewhere to play for Nigeria, so I hadf to start Adam Wilde in his place. Otherwise, it was the same lineup, with the notable addition of Carl Motteram, finally conditioned enough to return to the pitch.

I have found that no road match in this league goes easy, and as I have said before, I tend to let the opponent get the early edge. Why this happens I couldn't tell you. Given all of that, I figured this would be a tough match, but I would probably come out on top with a second half run.

Well, through much of the first half, it didn't look like either of us were going to make a run. We took some good shots on their goalkeeper Allan McGregor, but he stayed in fron tof the ball and kept us out of the net.

So it was still scoreless late in the first half when Sheffield Wednesday went on a good run. In the 39th minute, fullback Ross Forsyth had the ball near the centreline and left touchline. He sent a high arching pass toward the center-edge of the box. Olsen jumped up and beat out several Tamworth defenders for the ball, heading it off a little forward into the box, to the left of the post. Jeffers got to it first, but it seemed that Jon Masalin was positioned pretty well to stop the shot. Shows what I know--Jeffers seemed to blast it right by the guy, through the small hole between Masalin and the left post. I have no idea where the Finn was on that play.

Allowing our opponents the first score and even entering halftime down 1-0 is not anything new to us, though. I fully expected to come back because, well, that's what always happens.

We continued to test McGregor without success. In the 58th minute, Forsyth sent another long pass into the box, this time near the far right end. After it was bandied about a little, midfielder David Fox moved a short pass forward to Olsen, who was being marked by David Raven. Olsen somehow sidestepped Raven after getting the ball and went in on gola. Michael Stewart was right there, too--the Lambs had seemingly a million chances to take the ball off of Olsen's foot before he shot it. When he did, Masalin had guessed to head to the near post, but Olsen kicked it far, into the opposite side netting for Sheffiedl Wednesday's second goal of the match. And we were down, 2-0. I knew at this point coming back would be more difficult. But it can be done...

...or maybe it can't. We got shut down, as Masalin allowed both of the only two shots on goal he faced to get into the net. He and Motteram, in his return, both put up awful 4's in competition. And our five-match winning streak in league came to an end. Sheffield Wednesday 2, Tamworth 0

Motteram Targeted By Chelsea?

It seems Chelsea doesn't just go to PSV Eindhoven for reinforcements. Perhaps in an attempt to try and weaken the top Premiership squad, Blues' boss Erland Johnson is apparently interested in our own winger Motteram.

Those of you whom have been following know about Motteram and the whole Deportivo thing ast summer. Although I won't give the guy away, I wouldn't fight his departure if someone came along with a great offer. I still have his value/asking price set at $12 M (about double his listed game value).

Johnson apparently thinks Motteram is available because he is unsettled. He is, although, I can't say I know why. Maybe because he hasn't really played as well as a first eleven winger on this team shoud, and his "replacement" Andy Williams is less than a month away from a fullr ecovery from his knee injury.

Williams' presence and the likelihood I could get a lot for Motteram makes it even more liekly I would be interested in moving him, above and beyond his injury problems and relatively inconsistent performances. He is just 23 and terrifically skilled, and Chelsea is a contender for the title against whom we will be competing, so there is some risk involved.

In any case, I tell the approaching media that I will sell the player if the price is right.

Fatih Deal In Place, Negotiating With Goalkeeper

What more is there to be said? The same day the Motteram rumors sprouted up (December 26), Denizlispor accepted our offer (which was really their offer). We put in a contract offer for Fatih, whose demands were entirely reasonable (well under a million per year).

Fatih, just 20, has been a little inconsistent this year with 20 goals in 14 matches for Denizlispor, and some of his ratings coiuld use improving, particularly Handling (11). But last year he conceded 39 goals in 40 matches, and every yea rhe has played he has allowed less goals at the end of it than matches played. He had 17 clean sheets lost year at Turkey's highest level, and a 7.47 rating. He also has an even higher 7.53 rating this year than last year, so that makes me think Denizlispor's defense must be quite a bit worse this year than last year (so that would explain the poorer goals conceded to matches ratio).

Motteram Unsettled By Chelsea Rumors

This is often what happens when transfer speculation starts.

On Monday, December 29, Motteram told Football365.com that the media speculation on his potential move to Chelsea is having "an unsettling effect" on his football.

He also admitted he wopuld relish the chance to play at Stamford Bridge, but he wanted the matter done quickly.

Incidentally, the ball is in Chelsea's court. Unbeknownst to the media or to Motteram (assuming I haven't told him), the Blues have yet to go beyond simply letting rumors of possible interest get intot he media. We have received no offer or enquiry.

My hope, though, is that Chelsea's interest will bring others out of the woodwork, such as Deportivo again, which made that strong offer for Motteram in August, including young right winger Adam Morgan. I still don't know why an Englishman would not want to return to play at the top level in England if he had the chance.

Hertha BSC Offers Olisadebe

It's like a repeat of last summer's failed transfer activities. First Adu. Then Bertelsen. Then Motteram. And now Polish striker Emmanuel Olisadebe is back in the mix.

This 30-year-old striker has always excited me as a possible player to bring in. He has explosive speed, is a very smart player, and he can score with the best of them (17 Finishing). He never has gotten consistent time with Hertha BSC, though, as they have been one of the Bundesliga's best squads over the years.

They offered him to me for $6.75 M. Now, with $7.75 M tied up in the about to be consummated Bertelsen move, and another $3.1 M dedicated to the possible Fatih deal, I don't have enough money to match that offer.

So I counter with $1.7 M (pretty much the max I can offer) and 50% of his next selling fee (which, given he's 30 and his value will be going down most likely, is not much of a selling point). Olisadebe is a long shot, though. Even if Hertha BSC were to accept this lowball offer, Olisadebe himself has to agree to the move, and his lack of willing ness to go to Tamworth has been the primary hitch in problems bringing him over in the past. I believe he would need a work permit, too, although I don't think that will be an issue.

Also, Olisadebe's contract is about to run out in June. While I would certainly be negotiating a new contract with him, that means that before we can wrap things up, he will likely be able to sign elsewhere via Bosman. So neither I nor Hertha BSC might have much of a choice in where he goes.

League Transfer Speculation & Happenings

At this point, this needs to be separated from league news because there is just too much rumor and innuendo going on with the upcoming transfer window about to arrive. I'll go from player to player.

Chelsea midfielder Pazienza On The Move

This Italian midfielder Michele Pazienza looks like he has a lot going for him, as he is just 26, a physically dominant player, an excellent ball mover and possessed with solid, if not spectacular mental faculties. He can even score like a striker (17 Finishing). Still, he seems to be shelved behind Chelsea's terrific depth and is worried about recent transfer speculation at the midfield positon (note: this was prior to the rumors about Chelsea's interest in Motteram).

The story on this guy first broke on Tuesday, December 23 when Seria A power Lazio and its manager Frank Farina admitted they were seriosuly looking to bring the midfielder home.

Pazienza was brought in by Chelsea from Udinese two seasons ago, but he has hardly played for them. What a watse. The Blues have gotten so desperate to move him, they have dropped their asking price from $7 M to $3.4 M.

And he is attracting interest. I had him scouted myself (although I'm not planning on making a move), and seven other teams are interested, including Everton and Man City locally, and a whole bunch of Bundesliga squads (Werder Bremen, Bielefeld, Leverkusen, and 1860 Munchen).

On Friday, December 26, Johnson, Chelsea's manager, came out and said he would be willing to move the midfielder. That's hardly a surprise, of course.

Pazienza addressed the media on Saturday, December 27, to deliver mucht he same message Motteram would deliver the next day, saying he feared the transfer speculation would hurt his football form, and that he wanted some privacy. Unlike Motteram, though, he didn't suggest he would relish playing for Lazio, interestingly enough.

At the end of the week, the Pazienza matter remained unresolved.

Deportivo fullback Melchiot Getting Interest From Man Utd

Man Utd seems to think having the greatest backline mankind has ever known is not enough. They are reportedly targeting Dutch veteran right back Mario Melchiot, currently unsettled with the Primera Liga's Deportivo.

The 32-year-old feels the club is underachieving (he's right; they are 14th in the Liga) and is unsettled over it, apparently.

So Man Utd manager Joop Hiele is apparently exploring bringing him over to Old Trafford, according to reports on Tuesday, December 23. It shouldn't cost much--at this late stage of his career, Melchiot is just valued at $1.9 M.

On Christmas Day, Deportivo manager John Toshack said Melchiot could be had. He liked the fullback and wanted to keep him, but said that every player has his price. So we'll see if this one gets consummated.

Chelsea Completes Amisulashvili Deal

Unlike my failed attempt with Adu, Chelsea succeeded in getting a work permit for 26-year-old Georgian fullback Aleksandr Amisulashvili, whom they signed on transfer away from Paris-SG earlier this month. The deal went down on Christmas Eve.

Amisulashvili will join the club on January 1, upon Paris-SG's receipt of some $5.75 M from Abramovich's bank vault.

Amisulashvili had a goal, five assists and a 6.86 rating in 21 matches with the La Ligue 1 club.

Juventus Interested In...Henry?

Obviously, if this went down, it would be one of the more notable deals of any tranfser season. At 31, Arsenal's superstar striker Thierry Henry is still in his prime.

On Christmas Eve, rumors abounded on Rivals.net that defending Serie A champ Juventus was looking to bring over the French star.

The article also quoted his agent as saying that Henry would be tempted by the move.

Neither Arsenal nor Juventus nor Henry commented on the story officially this week, but it might be something to keep in mind in the future.

Blackburn Sign Italian Midfield Youth Star

I don't have this guy scouted, but apparently he's worth something.

On Christmas Eve, Blackburn signed 20-year-old Italian left winger Francesco Tognon away from Argentine Premier Division squad Banfield. The deal will officially go through on January 1.

The transfer cost is $6.5 M, which is really the whole reason why I think this deal might be significant. I'll keep an eye on this guy. He has been starting for Banfield for five years now, since he was 15, if you can believe it, but his stats don't really stand out from his time there.

FC Bayern Alex Still Being Courted

Apparently, the German superpower was asking for too much for star Brazilian winger Alex. The 31-year-old is worth $17.5 M in value, but Real Madrid put up $24 M. Apparently, even that wasn't enough, because whatever FC Bayern's response was, Real Madrid withdrew their bid on Christmas.

If Alex got comfortable with the idea he wasn't going anywhere, it didn't last long. Real Madrid rival club Barcelona, the three-time defending Primera Liga champ, put in a $24 M bid itself on December 26.

Then on Monday, December 29, Barcelona apparently got scared by FC Bayern's counteroffer and withdrew their bid as well. Makes me wonder what FC Bayern is asking for that they could scare away two of the richest clubs in te world like that.

German Club Pursuing Birmingham's Simpson

On Friday, December 26, rumors began to surface that Bundesliga squad Braunschweig was one of the clubs gunning after highly-rated Birmingham youth Jon Simpson. The 18-year-old midfielder started half of Birmingham's matches last year at just 17, and held up decently well (4 goals, 1 assist, 7.06 rating in 32 matches). He already has two U-21 caps with England and seems to have a hot future.

Why Birmingham would want to move him, I couldn't guess. He hasn't played much this season, though, for some reason, although he did good when he was in the lineup.

On Sunday, December 28, Birmingham manager Neil Cameron said he is ready to listen to offers for Simpson.

That's where it was when the week ended.

Blackpool Youth Defender Swift Drawing Interest From Ajax

Dutch power Ajax is reportedly interested in Blackpool's 17-year-old defender Richard Swift, according to reports on Saturday, December 27.

Swift is considered to be a rising talent, as he has remained a solid contributor even here in the Premiership.

Blackpool manager Steve McMahon said he wasn't anxious to move him, but that he would if the price was right. Swift has a 7.13 rating in 15 matches this season with Blackpool.

Bielefeld Is Chasing Swiss Striker Veld

You all likely have never heard of Veld, because he doesn't exist. He is just 20, and his career record only goes back to 2004-05.

He came to my attention when he did most of the scoring for Switzerland in their surprising run at Euro 2008 (of which they were part-host). He looks like a budding star

Originally with one of Switzerland's top teams in Basel, Veld moved to Bundesliga squad Cottbus last year. In half of a season this year, Veld has scored 14 goals in 21 appearances in one of the top leagues in the world (and with a 7.76 rating, too).

Bielefeld is, of course, another Bundesliga squad. On Saturday, December 27, several top German newspapers began reporting that Bielefeld was looking to bring in Veld as a long term replacement for striker Marco Kuntzel, the team's long time lead offensive player.

Bielefeld manager Huub Stevens was quoted as saying it might cost as much as $17.75 M to bring Veld over from Cottbus.

The next day, Cottbus manager Michael Skibbe resolutely denied that Veld was available at any price.

Birmingham Willing To Move Griffiths

Apparently Birmingham manager Neil Cameron has no interest in keeping his young talent.

On the same day the manager said young midfielder Jon Simpson was available, he also said he would listen to offers for another young prospect on the rise in centreback Chris Griffiths.

The Irish 19-year-old has apparently been targeted by Serie A squad Sampdoria. Cameron said Sunday, December 28, that he would be willing to move Griffiths for the right price.

Griffiths has been playing a youth and reserve role for Birmingham since shortly after pimples started sprouting on his face, but he is for the first team this season taking on more of a major role with the club. In 18 appearances, he has a goal and a 6.67 rating.

Sheffield Wednesday Looking To Contra

According to a Soccernet.com report Sheffield Wednesday manager Chris Turner is considering making a run at Atlético Madrid fullback Cosmin Contra.

Contra is a Romanian international star who played on the third place Germnay 2006 squad.

Turner apparently turned his attention to Contra after he was rebuffed in efforts to bring aboard Blackburn fullback Andrew Griffin.

Contra is 33-years-old and has been playing for Atlético Madrid since 2002.

League News

This is non-transfer related league news.

Blackpool manager Steve McMahon told media after his squad's 2-1 loss to Liverpool on Saturday, December 27, that despite his team's poor performance recently, that he feels the work of midfielder Omar Daley should be noted.

McMahon said Daley's recent performances have been outstanding, and he has played a big role in Blackpool doing better than expected on the year. Blackpool isn't too high at 15th, but they were largely thought to be headed for relegation.

Daley has two goals and a 7.12 rating in 17 matches this season.

Daley has also become one of the more popular players on the team for the fans. The 27-year-old Jamaican has been with Blackpool for four seasons--since they were in the Second Division.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Kim Olsen (Sheffield Wednesday)-- 1 G, 1 A, 9 rat vs TAM
SC Adrian Mutu (Chelsea)-- 1 G, MoM, 10 rat vs COL
MF Stilian Petrov (Aston Villa)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs BRI
MF David Baldwin (Southampton)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs ARS
MF Jim Corbett (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs SFW
MF Jesper Gronkjær (Everton)-- 8 rat vs BLK
DF Glen Johnson (Chelsea)-- 8 rat vs COL
DF Djimi Traoré (Liverpool)-- 1 G, MoM, 9 rat vs BKP
DF Richard Wood (Sheffield Wednesday)-- MoM, 9 rat vs TAM
DF Peter Clarke (Everton)-- MoM, 9 rat vs BLK
GK Shaun Allaway (Leicester)-- 12 sav, 9 rat vs LEI

CR

daedalus

07-15-2004, 04:01 AM

Chief Rum

07-15-2004, 04:34 AM

Tuesday, December 30

Things are getting so nutty right now, I'm going to switch to a day-by-day post set for at least this week, which wil take us into the new year and open the new transfer window.

Contracts Hit Bosman Mark Today

As usual, I got notice of a ton of player contracts hitting the six-month Bosman mark today, both on my team and on my shortlist. Starting today, these players are eligible to be offered contracts from anyone, although in some cases, doing so will result in compensation being paid to the player's current squad, as if a transfer fee was paid. Actually, i am confused about under what circumstances this is doen and what determines the amounts compensated, so if any of you readers know, please enlighten me. :)

Tamworth Players

I'll start off with the current Lambs whom have reached six months remaining on their contracts.

You have to start with the two members of the first eleven backline. Leon Cort and Mike Duff, who represent the right half of the top team's defense, are both on expiring contracts--and might not be back.

It's not that they are bad players. Certainly not. Cort has been a fixture on our defense for years now. He put up 7.38 and 7.35 ratings the past two years, and is at a lower, but still solid 7 rating through 15 games this season. Duff was fantastic last seaosn, with a 7.49 rating and has been with the team as long as Cort. His numbers have also fallen slightly (7.21 rating in 14 appearances), but he remains solid defensively and a playmaker. Duff had 11 assists in the First Division with us two years ago, had seven last season and has four so far this year, so he can make things happen.

Neither are demanding too much, either, at around $700,000-$800,000 per year, and they are 29 and 30, respectively, so age shouldn't be an issue for a little bit yet. It's simply my realization that when all of my players are being paid at a clip that is more level with the Premiership, i may not be able to keep all of the players I have now. Most of the other guys I have are younger players who have better longterm upside. And I don't want to face a situation in a year or two where I need to resign a young star (McEveley, Otsemobor, Castle, Bertelsen, Clichy, and so on) and I don't have the money because I have dedicated too much money to the veteran holdovers.

I don't see the need to re-up with either player right now, so I am going to wait until we are either much closer to the end of the season, or until someone shows interest in them. If the latter happens, I will simply make the call based on what kind of interest I am receiving.

The only other significant player hitting the six-month mark is backup midfielder Darren Birchall. Birchall is a nice player to have around, because he can play all four midfield spots and he's good enough to contribute at all spots. He could start for a lot of teams in this league. But there are a lot of little quibbles I have. While he's good, he never made me sit back and say, "Wow", the way I have with some other players on the team. He reminds me of Motteram in that he might have all the talent in the world, but the results haven't quite been there. He also isn't as all around excellent as you would like a starter to be, and given concerns I have stated about overstocking the roster, might not fit as the backup he currently is either. So if I had to guess right now, I think Birchall will be gone.

Veteran defensive backs Justin Skinner and Mark Warren are both in the twilights of their careers and they only really get playing time when I think they have been sitting too long or have an opportunity to start an all-backup level squad. They are both already transfer-listed and will be gone at the end of the season.

There are a ton of players leaving from the lower squads, mostly past players from our lower division squads. Centreback Reinder Hendriks is 35 and has announced his retirement. He started for us in the First Division. Goalkeeper Casper Nelis served us well last year as a part time starter, but he is little more than an emergency replacement now. With Fatih likely to be on the way, he is even more unnecessary. Striker Stephen McGowan has been with us a long time, and he still has good talent--he's just 24--but he's just not a high-end Premiership talent, so I will be letting him go as well. They join seven other players on the Reserves and U-19 squads whom aren't really important enough to mention by name.

Significant short-listed players

Looking over this list is always interesting, because this is often where I discover players on the shortlist who are no longer of a level that is useful to me. I mean, this is a shortlist that has been built up over five seasons. I have found evidence of guys that have obviously been on the shortlist since I was in the Conference and Third Division.

But I have to check them all. You never know when some guy you had scouted and promptly forgot about turns out to be just what you're looking for and available.

The first notable player is one I already mentioned. Hertha BSC and Poland striker Emmanuel Olisadebe has reached six months left on his contract and is fre to consider offers from anyone. But we are currently targeting him for a possible transfer, so who knows what will happen there.

The next player to stand out to me was Arsenal right winger Jermaine Pennant. Pennant looked like a star in the making to me in past dynasties, so I always keep tabs on him. He is just 25 and is available.

I considered an offer to him, but some things got in the way. First, my assistant manager Terry Gennoe didn't think he was a worthwhile signing (although that's no surprise--Gennoe badmouths everyone). Second, he has 14 Pace and 8 Aggression, both of which are a little lower than I like, despite solid to excellent ratings elsewhere. Third, I am already very deep on the right wing, with Jim Corbett, Richie Partridge and Chris Booth, among others. Fourth, when I went to go see what he wanted, he told me he didn't think we had the resources to meet his demands. And fifth, he has been a bit of an uinderachiever for Arsenal, only once breaking double digits in goals or assists in five seasons (despite plenty of playing time) and never finishing with as high as a 7 rating for a season.

So I decided to play a waiting game and see how things played out for this young English star.

There were a ton of other players on my shortlist that also reached their Bosman deadline, and some of them were even pretty good, but these were the only guys I seriously considered making offers to.

Emilio Mora

When Mexico charged to a spot in the World Cup final in Germany in 2006, forward/midfielder Emilio Mora was a huge part of it, creating plays for the team and helping produce a lot of offense.

Mora has been with Leverkusen of the Bundesliga for four seasons and is coming off perhaps his best season. Last year he scored 23 goals in 36 appearances and averaged a 7.83 rating. He also had 11 assists and 13 Men of the Match.

The 30-year-old playmaker wasn't on my shortlist, so when his contract reached the Bosman point, I didn't receive notice.

Fortunately, Blackburn took care of that. Apparently wanting to make his mark with his new club, new Rovers and former Arsenal manager Bert van Marwijk is reportedly looking to bring Mora into the fold. Mora is also currently unsettled at Leverkusen, as despite his tremendous success last year, he has received very little playing time with the German club this year (two goals and an assist in just five appearances).

Mora's playing time has apparently been detrimentally affected by the arrival of Belgian striker Stein Huysegems from Eridivisie club AZ.

After reading about van Marwijk's interest, I checked out Mora and discovered that his contract had just come up on Bosman. After a little thought, I decided to put in an offer for him, as it will cost me no compensation to Leverkusen to sign him to a Bosman transfer. He was only seeking a $700,000 or so per year contract as well.

So I have put in an offer. Strangely enough, Blackburn apparently wants him for use this year (my transfer, if accepted, would not go through until the end of the year), so they are attempting to work otu a transfer deal with Leverkusen. So that might give me an advantage, in that I am dealing with Mora directly, while van Marwijk is one step behind, stuck int he team-to-team transfer process.

I hope to hear more from Mora in the near future.

League Transfer Speculation

Here is more transfer speculation from this day.

Swift Happy At Blackpool

Young Blackpool fullback Richard Swift, currently targeted by Dutch power Ajax, told Football365.com today that he is happy to stay with Blackpool.

Swift, 17, has already established himself as a solid defender, despite his age. Blackpool manager Steve McMahon said he would move the youth for the right price.

Atlético Madrid Is Set To Move Contra

Following reports that Sheffield Wednesday is looking at bringing in Atlético Madrid's veteran Romanian fullback Cosmin Contra, the Primera Liga club said they would listen to offers for him.

Atlético Madrid manager Lorenzo Serra Ferrer said he didn't want to move Contra, but would if Blackpool offered enough.

The 33-year-old defender was a part of the Romania team that finished third at Germany 2006.

Cissé Deal Falls Through

For some reason, an agreed transfer between Man Utd and Deportivo of the Red Devils' French striker Djibril Cissé fell through. Perhaps Deportivo reached its transfer fund limit, although for teams as rich as them, I wonder if that's really possible.

Cissé still looks like a terrific talent, although he has to compete with Miroslav Klose and Nicolas Anelka for playing time. And that seems to be the gist of his problem. He has only appeared in five matches--and none as a starter--for Man Utd this year, scoring one goal. Man Utd has struggled to move him as well, with their asking price dropping from his $8 M or so value to as low as $2.5 M.

Hopefully he will be moved soon after all. I hate to see good talent go to waste on the backup squad.

League News

Here is non-transfer league news, although there isn't much of it.

Veteran Blackpool striker John Murphy tore a groin muscle in training today and will miss two months.

Murphy has been the lead striker for Blackpool for several seasons now, and scored 17 goals last year in their quest to get promoted from the First Division.

He wasn't off to such a great start this year, though, without a single goal through 21 matches.

It's possible that at 32 he is just running out of gas, although it could also be he just isn't good enough to compete at this level, his first in the Premiership.

Regardless, he won't be seeing the pitch until March.

CR

Chief Rum

07-15-2004, 04:37 AM

Do you have any intention to swoop in on any of these deals for the younger players? That was always one of my favourite things to do. Heh.

I'd be all over that Pazienza deal, too. But, then, I'm a player-hog.

Well, there's a problem there. For one, I have spent most of my transfer budget (and I had a fair amount of it).

And two, I am a player hog, too, and I have found I already have a ton of players. :)

I am already making decisions that are making me wonder how I am going to make room for everyone.

I do admit it would be fun, though. ;)

CR

Chief Rum

07-15-2004, 05:39 AM

Wednesday, December 31

With Bosman contracts addressed yesterday, this figures to be a shorter recounting of events.

Fatih Accepts Tamworth's Offer

It looks like we have a new variable in our goalkeeping formula, assuming Ceylan Fatih passes his work permit application. Actually, given some of my lack of success int his area, I suppose nothing is a sure thing with the labor board. Hopefully, though, everything will come out fine.

Fatih's rights are currently owned by Turkish Premier Division club Denizlispor, whom we will be paying $3.1 M if it goes through.

I won't find out the exact date of the work permit meeting until January 1, though, and the deal won't officially go through until the permit issues are resolved.

I am really excited about the prospect of bringing this guy on. As I have said before, this guy proved at Euro 2004 and in a full season in the TPD that he has some legit skills. You could argue that the goalkeepers I have looked at have better Handling (11) and One-on-Ones (11). I also have to be concerned about ratings like Teamwork (2) and Aggresion (3).

Still, he just brings so much else to the table. Aerial Ability (14) is a key factor for me, and he is solid there. He has 15 in Command Of Area and 17 in Communication, which would seem to bely his Teamwork issues. He has tremendous physical skills, with the speed of a fast striker and 18 Agility. And he has 20 Reflexes, which will help a ton.

Plus, he's just 20, so he could still have a lot of growing to do (in fact, I certainly hope he does).

I will have to consider what this means to Jon Masalin and Thomas Heaton, assuming Fatih gets his work permit. Heaton is a guy I like, and there are times I like Masalin, too, but the latter player has caused me more angst. If I have to send someone packing, it will almost certainly be Masalin.

Jermaine Pennant

I gave a ton of reasons why I should not pursue Pennant, most pertinent of which was the fact he thought I couldn't pay him enough.

That became even more apparent today, when Arsenal received a conditional $12 M offer from powerful Real Madrid for Pennant. I considered tossing ina contract offer and still decided it wasn't something I could do.

Not surprisingly, even without a manager, the Gunners didn't take long to accept this offer, considering Pennant is six months from leaving the club.

What did surprise me was how fast the deal was consummated. In the course of one day (today), Real Madrid made the offer, Arsenal accepted it, Real Madrid made Pennant an offer, and Pennant accepted it. Pennant even left the team this very day to go to Spain, because the Primera Liga transfer window is apparently already open.

So almost as quickly as I noticed he was available, Pennant was gone to Madrid. He signed a $3.4 M annual contract, BTW, so he was right--I'm not allowed by the board to offer anything even remotely close to that.

League Transfer News

This should be shorter, with the Fatih and Pennant deals already discussed.

Cottbus Gets Offer From Atalante For Veld

Rumors abounded last week that German club Bielefeld would attempt to bring in rising star Swiss striker Eric Veld, but it was Serie A squad that stepped it up and made the first offer.

They made an $18.5 M offer for the 20-year-old striker. That's more htan his value, so if anyone else is interested, they better get their offers in.

Simpson Unsettled By Transfer Speculation

Birmingham's youthful midfielder Jon Simpson told Rivals.net that he is afraid the recent rumored speculation of his potential move to the Bundesliga's Braunschweig will cause him to have bad form on the football pitch.

He said he would enjoy playing football at Braunschweig, but that he hoped the matter is resolved quickly.

Simpson is a well-regarded 18-year-old midfielder that has already established himself as an up-and-comer on one of the biggest stages in club football, although he has played very little this season compared to last.

Birmingham manager Neil Cameron said earlier this week that he would move Simpson for the right price.

Contra Wants To Stay In Spain

Romanian fullback Cosmin Contra issued a statement that he did not want to leave his current club Atlético Madrid to move over to England's Sheffield Wednesday.

Contra, 33, has been with the Primera Liga squad since 2002. He was recently rumored to be a target of Sheffield Wednesday manager Chris Turner.

CR

Chief Rum

07-15-2004, 06:38 AM

Before I begin January and the official beginning of the new transfer window, I think it makes sense to catch people up on the league and around the world as well. So following will be a few posts in that regards.

CR

Chief Rum

07-15-2004, 07:03 AM

Premiership Table, January 3, 2009

| Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D.| Pts |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1st | Tamworth | 18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 56 | 21 | +35 | 43 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2nd | Man Utd | 18 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 37 | 15 | +22 | 40 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 3rd | Aston Villa | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 37 | 22 | +15 | 36 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 4th | Liverpool | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 31 | 16 | +15 | 36 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 5th | Chelsea | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 22 | +14 | 36 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 6th | Arsenal | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 18 | +14 | 33 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 7th | Newcastle | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 28 | 22 | +6 | 30 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 8th | Birmingham | 18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 23 | -2 | 27 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 9th | Nottm Forest | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 25 | -2 | 26 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 10th | Everton | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 21 | 26 | -5 | 24 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 11th | Sheff Wed | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 23 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 12th | Southampton | 18 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 25 | 31 | -6 | 23 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 13th | Fulham | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 26 | -9 | 20 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 14th | Tottenham | 18 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 25 | 28 | -3 | 19 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 15th | Blackpool | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 19 | 28 | -9 | 18 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 16th | Bristol City | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 24 | -6 | 15 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 17th | Man City | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 33 | -10 | 15 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 18th | Leicester | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 33 | -16 | 15 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 19th | Blackburn | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 21 | 39 | -18 | 13 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 20th | Colchester | 18 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 13 | 47 | -34 | 6 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|

Comments: Well, we survived a long Man Utd win streak to stay on top of the division, albeit barely. Most of the top of the table is as we expected, with the notable exception of Aston Villa. I picked the Villans as the top non-"superpower" team, and I figured it was possible they could beat out one or two of those clubs. Vaulting all the way up to third, though? No, couldn't have guessed that. While there is no shame in finishing lower in a tough league this, I have to think Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle are all getting pissy with their staffs (well, Arsenal would be, but their guy already left for Blackburn). Birmingham and Nottingham Forest are mild surprises, as is Sheffield Wednesday at 11th overall. Tottenham is a bit lower than I predicted, although it should be noted they have improved since the last time we did this. Blackpool and Bristol City are out of relegation spots, so you have to think they are pretty satisfied with their league standings right now. The fact that two long time traditional Premiership squads in Man City and Blackburn are duking it out to try and stay out of relegation is nothing short of shocking. Colchester is just awful. I can't believe they came out of the First Division last year--it must have been crap down there last season.

CR

Chief Rum

07-15-2004, 07:42 AM

League Leaders, January 3, 2009

Here are the notable league leaders in individual categories at this point of the season.

Goals

1. Shola Ameobi (Newcastle) 14
2. Hernán Crespo (Arsenal) 13
3. Darren Huckerby (Nottingham Forest) 13
4. Darius Vassell (Aston Villa) 12
5. Nicolas Anelka (Man Utd) 12
6. Adrian Mutu (Chelsea) 11
7. Michael Chopra (Chelsea) 11
8. Thierry Henry (Arsenal) 10
9. Miroslav Klose (Man Utd) 10
4 tied with 9

Assists

1. Hernán Crespo (Arsenal) 8
2. Miroslav Klose (Man Utd) 8
3. Christian Tiffert (Tottenham) 7
4. James Beattie (Southampton) 7
5. Sidney Govou (Man Utd) 7
6 tied with 6

Rating

1. Miroslav Klose (Man Utd) 8.41
2. Adrian Mutu (Chelsea) 8.28
3. Hernán Crespo (Arsenal) 8.20
4. Richie Partridge (Tamworth) 8.00
5. Thierry Henry (Arsenal) 7.93
6. Shola Ameobi (Newcastle) 7.83
7. Mark Brown (Bristol City) 7.78
8. James Beattie (Southampton) 7.71
9. Martin Taylor (Birmingham) 7.64
10. Gareth Barry (Aston Villa) 7.59

Goals Conceded Per Match
Minimum 10 appearances

1. Jerzy Dudek (Liverpool) 0.82 (14 in 17)
2. Fabien Barthez (Man Utd) 0.83 (15 in 18)
3. Tony McDermott (Arsenal) 1.00 (17 in 17)
4. Carlo Nash (Birmingham) 1.07 (16 in 15)
5. Allan McGregor (Sheff Wed) 1.11 (20 in 18)
6. Thomas Sorenson (Aston Villa) 1.17 (21 in 18)
7. Shay Given (Newcastle) 1.22 (22 in 18)
8. Petr Cech (Chelsea) 1.22 (22 in 18)
9. Mark Brown (Bristol City) 1.33 (24 in 18)
10. Shaun Allaway (Leicester) 1.38 (22 in 16)

Rating, Attackers

1. Miroslav Klose (Man Utd) 8.41
2. Adrian Mutu (Chelsea) 8.28
3. Hernán Crespo (Arsenal) 8.20
4. Thierry Henry (Arsenal) 7.93
5. Shola Ameobi (Newcastle) 7.83
6. James Beattie (Southampton) 7.71
7. Kim Olsen (Sheff Wed) 7.56
8. Johnnier Montaño (Tamworth) 7.50
9. Andrei Pereplyotkin (Tamworth) 7.44
10. El-Hadji Diouff (Liverpool) 7.44

Rating, Midfielders

1. Richie Partridge (Tamworth) 8.00
2. Stilian Petrov (Aston Villa) 7.58
3. Mark Hicks (Tamworth) 7.45
4. Edu (Arsenal) 7.40
5. Harry Kewell (Liverpool) 7.36
6. Joe Cole (Chelsea) 7.29
7. Ryan Giggs (Birmingham) 7.28
8. Ricky Waddell (Blackpool) 7.27
9. Gilberto Silva (Man Utd) 7.27
10. Denílson (Arsenal) 7.23

Rating, Defenders

1. Martin Taylor (Birmingham) 7.64
2. Gareth Barry (Aston Villa) 7.59
3. Aaron Hughes (Newcastle) 7.43
4. Rincón (Aston Villa) 7.43
5. Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd) 7.41
6. John O'Shea (Man Utd) 7.38
7. Mbulelo Mabizela (Tottenham) 7.36
8. Joseph Yobo (Everton) 7.29
9. Darren Kenton (Southampton) 7.28
10. John Terry (Chelsea) 7.28

Rating, Goalkeepers
Minimum 15 appearances

1. Mark Brown (Bristol City) 7.78
2. Jerzy Dudek (Liverpool) 7.41
3. Fabien Barthez (Man Utd) 7.39
4. Carlo Nash (Birmingham) 7.33
5. Edwin van der Sar (Fulham) 7.11

Yellow Cards

1. Alan Quinn (Sheff Wed) 7
2. Zatyiah Knight (Fulham) 7
3. Jonathon Woodgate (Newcastle) 6
4. Djimi Traoré (Liverpool) 6
5. Derek Geary (Sheff Wed) 6
6. Anthony Gardner (Tottenham) 6
7. Mark Reilly (Birmingham) 6
11 tied with 5

Men of the Match

1. Adrian Mutu (Chelsea) 7
2. Miroslav Klose (Man Utd) 7
3. James Beattie (Southampton) 6
4. Shola Ameobi (Newcastle) 6
5. Mark Brown (Bristol City) 5
7 tied with 4

CR

daedalus

07-15-2004, 09:18 AM

Given age and the price he has dropped to, would Cissé be a possible target instead of Olisadebe? Obviously, a Bosman Olisadebe would be cheaper but 1.7 isn't much cheaper than Cissé's price tag.

Whoa. We got 12 large for Pennant? Wenger would be absolutely stoked right now for about 5, I figure.

Chief Rum

07-15-2004, 09:14 PM

Even now Cissé's asking price (or more like Man Utd's asking price) is just a touch beyond what I can pay right now. Note, of course, that Olisadebe's offer probably won't be accepted either, as my tight transfer fund situation led me to really lowball Hertha BSC for him. If I were them, I would flip me off.

But, yeah, it would have been useful to have been aware of Cissé's situation before putting in the bid for Olisadebe or even Mora. He is younger than both, more obviously talented than Mora (although it's not far off), and younger than Olisadebe, as you noted.

I'm not too surprised about the Pennant deal, since we have already noted the extravagant transfer fees some clubs (*cough* Real Madrid *cough*) are willing and able to pay, no matter who the player, and also because Pennat is just 25 and in his prime. The big surprise to me was that Real Madrid felt they needed him so bad so soon that they would pay that now rather than just offer him a Bosman deasl which would get him to them much cheaper (albeit for next year).

CR

Chief Rum

07-15-2004, 10:17 PM

Tamworth Season Stats, January 3, 2009

<font=courier>
Keepers Age Wage Value Apps Con AvgR

Jon Masalin 22 $35 K $1.0 M 15 20 6.20
Thomas Heaton 22 $100 K $2.1 M 13 15 7.23
Casper Nelis 32 $35 K $450 K 1 1 5.00

Defenders Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Hermann Hreidarsson 34 $825 K $325 K 14 (1) 0 0 0 7.13
David Raven 23 $75 K $3.4 M 14 (1) 0 3 0 7.07
Leon Cort 29 $110 K $3.9 M 14 (1) 2 0 0 7.00
Mike Duff 30 $575 K $2.9 M 14 0 4 0 7.21
James McEveley 23 $1.0 M $5.75 M 13 0 0 0 7.62
Kevin Gorman 20 $160 K $2.1 M 12 0 1 0 7.83
Tieme Klompe 32 $625 K $1.0 M 12 1 0 0 6.83
Gaël Clichy 23 $160 K $3.8 M 10 (2) 0 5 0 7.33
Jarl Andre Starbæk 30 $85 K $1.8 M 3 (6) 2 0 0 7.33
Peter Castle 21 $100 K $2.1 M 3 (5) 1 0 0 6.88
Jon Otsemobor 25 $65 K $2.9 M 3 (4) 0 0 0 6.86
Mark Phillips 26 $300 K $4.0 M 3 (2) 0 0 0 7.20
Mark Warren 34 $75 K $65 K 1 (2) 0 0 0 7.33
Justin Skinner 36 $40 K $65 K 1 (1) 0 0 0 6.50
Pat Davenport 18 $40 K $475 K 0 0 0 0 0.00
Trond Erik Bertelsen 24 $1.3 M $22.0 M 0 0 0 0 0.00

Midfielders Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Michael Stewart 27 $230 K $10.5 M 15 2 6 1 7.27
Johnnier Montaño 25 $775 K $11.25 M 13 (1) 9 5 2 7.79
Richie Partridge 28 $400 K $6.75 M 13 (4) 3 6 1 7.76
Jim Corbett 28 $80 K $2.7 M 13 0 5 1 7.69
Denny Landzaat 32 $850 K $2.2 M 13 2 6 1 7.54
Lionel Morgan 25 $825 K $7.0 M 12 0 4 1 7.42
David Pizarro 29 $500 K $14.0 M 11 (2) 6 2 4 7.92
Carl Motteram 23 $900 K $6.25 M 9 1 0 0 6.25
Darren Birchall 30 $85 K $3.7 M 6 (5) 4 3 1 7.36
Chris Booth 19 $60 K $625 K 6 1 5 1 8.00
Giovanny Hernández 32 $725 K $2.3 M 3 (8) 5 0 1 7.36
Danny Prutton 27 $1.1 M $6.0 M 1 (9) 0 0 0 6.90
Andy Williams 31 $500 K $1.6 M 0 0 0 0 0.00

Forwards Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Andre Pereplytokin 23 $475 K $10.25 M 14 (1) 12 3 1 7.33
Louis Saha 30 $625 K $4.1 M 13 10 3 4 7.92
Orri Freyr Oskarsson 28 $950 K $2.4 M 11 (1) 6 5 2 7.92
Yakubu 26 $1.2 M $17.0 M 10 (4) 8 4 1 7.07
Adam Wilde 29 $400 K $2.6 M 7 (7) 4 4 0 7.07
Mark Hicks 27 $450 K $9.5 M 3 (13) 5 4 1 7.31


CR

Chief Rum

07-15-2004, 11:36 PM

Around Europe

Here's a quick look at the top of the tables in the major leagues around Europe, as of January 3, 2009.

Primera Liga

1. Alavés 38
2. Mallorca 36
3. Córdoba 35
4. Real Madrid 30
5. Lleida 27

Comments: I'm not sure that any table more displays the fact the Primera Liga is now as wide open as it has ever been than the above. I doubt a single one of those teams outside of Real Madrid and maybe Alavés would have been picked for the top end of the table. Three-time defending champ Barcelona is 11th, and Champions League flameout Deportivo is 14th.

Serie A

1. Sampdoria 36
2. Juventus 35
3. Milan 32
4. Lazio 30
5. Inter 29

Comments: This table is a little more conventional, although league leader Sampdoria is a surprise. Three-time defending champ Juventus is right on their tail, though, and none of the other four are surprises. Roma is 7th and technically tied with Inter, so they are still right there as well. Parma is just behind in 8th. Last year's second place squad, Genoa, has fallen to 14th.

Bundesliga

1. FC Bayern 40
2. Dortmund 38
3. Leverkusen 34
4. HSV 30
5. Hertha BSC 30

Comments: FC Bayern on top is about as surprising as the sun rising. Dortmund has a history of success, but this league position is a surprise given recently poor results. None of the others are surprises at all, and represent a good grouping of the top German clubs. Eric Veld's Cottbus team is in 6th.

La Ligue 1

1. Montpelier 39
2. Lens 38
3. Le Mans 34
4. Nîmes 33
5. Nancy 32

Comments: France's top league has long been the most consistently competitive division, with no true superpowers. But even for them, this is a surprising result. Outside of Lens, none of those clubs would likely have been expected to be picked this high. More traditional powers include Auxerre (7th), Paris-SG (12th), Monaco (14th), defending champ Guingamp (15th) and Cannes (18th). Cannes, a Champions League group phase entry, is currently in line for relegation.

Eridivisie

1. NEC 36
2. Ajax 36
3. PSV 36
4. FC Groningen 34
5. Feyenoord 30

Comments: This looks like the best early lead, with traditiional Dutch superpwers Ajax and PSV competing with the newest rival to that duo in NEC, which has seen substantial success in recent years (including a visit to this year's Champions League group phase). Feyenoord is an old power that has returned, for now, to the top five.

Superleague

1. Gil Vicente
2. Benfica
3. Porto
4. U. Lamas
5. Sporting Lisbon

Comments: Gil Vicente is as big a shocker as Sampdoria in the Serie A, but otheriwse this is pretty much a snapshot of recent Superleague final standings. Sporting Lisbon, the three-time defending champion, is a bit of an underachiever at 5th right now, but they are still in it, along with traditional Portuguese powers Benfica and Porto, as well as Champions League group phase entrant U. Lamas.

Superligaen

1. Herfolge 39
2. FC Kobenhavn 39
3. AaB 38
4. AB 31
5. Skjold 28

Comments: As in the Serie A and the Superleague, a relative unknown has the top spot over traditional powers like FC Kobenhavn, AaB and AB. Herfolge is a big surprise at this point, although, like France, there aren't any real powers in this league.

National A

1. Iraklis 37
2. PAOK 30
3. Proodeftiki 26
4. PAO 26
5. Panionios 25

Comments: This table has the opposite look of some of the other leagues, where a known power leads, but is followed immediately by a bunch of unknowns. Proodeftiki, in particular, is a stunner. Defending champ and longtime Greek power Olympiakos is 6th, just ahead of another consistently strong contender in AEK at 7th.

Belgian First Division

1. Genk 38
2. Heusden 35
3. La Louvière 32
4. Cercle Brugge 31
5. Mouscron 31

Comments: This is another league that reminds relatively open from year to year. Genk is not that surprising, but Heusden is. Defending champ Anderlecht is 7th. Past traditional powers that have fallen off are Club Brugge (6th) and Standard (12th).

Scottish Premier League

1. Aberdeen 36
2. Rangers 35
3. Celtic 32
4. Dundee 31
5. Hibs 30

Comments: Groundskeeper Willy will be happy with this table. Superpowers Rangers and Celtic are right behind Willy's team, though. It's nice to see both near the top; the past few years, they have made a disturbing habit of only having one team make a good run to the top of the league.

Turkish Premier Division

1. G. Birligi 42
2. Galatasaray 35
3. D. Bakirspor 33
4. Dardanelspor 31
5. Fenerbahçe 30

Comments: It's like a flashback to five years ago, when Galatasaray was the top Turkish power, and G. Birligi was an up-and-comer behind them. Defensing champ and traditional superpower Fenerbahçe remains in sight. Another top power, Besiktas, is having a terrible year, and is currently in line for relegation.

High League

1. Shakhtar 38
2. Dinamo Kiev 37
3. Arsenal Kiev 34
4. Metalurg Donetsk 28
5. Nafkom-Academia 27

Comments: Shakhtar and Dinamo Kiev are using the same talent that got them to the Champions League knockout phase to lead the Ukrainian High League. There are few surprises here, with the exception of fifth place Nafkom-Academia. Champions League squad Chornomorets is 10th.

Spring-To-Fall League Champs

Here's a quick look at the European leagues which wrapped up this past fall, as they run a different schedule than most other European leagues.

Finland: HJK, AC Allianssi, TPS
Ireland: Bohemians, Athlone Town, Cork City
Norway: Bodo/Glimt, Aalesund, Rosenborg
Russia: CSKA Moscow, Spartak Moscow, Uralan
Sweden: Husqvarna, Västa Frölunda, Norrköping

Notable Fall Transfers

Here were the $10 M-plus transfers from the September to December, 2008, time period.

LW Damiàn Luna (ARG) from San Lorenzo to Boca for $14 M on December 29, 2008

Comments: Well, that took long. Above is the only transfer deal to break $10 M. Technically, the Jermaine Pennat deal qualifies, but since it is based on about $3 M in appearance conditions and what not, it falls from $12 M to about $9 M, putting it under the official break off point.

CR

Chief Rum

07-16-2004, 01:12 AM

Thursday, January 1, 2009

The beginning of the new transfer window is always a big day. Then you have to consider it's the first day of the new month and new year, so some awards come rolling down the aisle. Lots to talk about today.

Bertelsen Officially Joins Tamworth

We officially completed the $7.75 M transaction for worldclass Norwegian fullback Trond Erik Bertelsen. Everything goes off without a hitch, including our payment to the Primera Liga's Mallorca, and we have our new first eleven left fullback, and a premier name to boot.

Bertelsen's move set off a series of results.

Our commercial director noted that the signing of the fullback is likely to cause a "sharp increase in shirt sales." I like more money, especially considering what we just dished out.

The transfer fee broke the club record for transfer spending in a year--again. This is a record we have broken before in this season, the first in which we had a landmark $24 M assigned to us. All told, the club has now spent $23.5 M this season.

Tamworth fans gathered at the Lamb Ground today to welcome my announcement of the Bertelsen signing. A supporters' spokesman said the fans are attaching importance to the signing as an indication of the club's continuing ambition. I would have to agree--the fact we can afford to bring ina player liek this indicates a new era in Tamworth is underway.

Not all is well with this, of course. As noted before, Bertelsen is currently hurt, out with a torn groin muscle he suffered in training three weeks ago. He has about a month before he will be able to return to action. We'll start him on our training program, and I hope he will become familiar with our tactics during his down time. He instantly vaults to the top of our value list, leaping past Yakubu for the top spot with a value of $22 M.

Bertelsen had four goals, three assists, a Man of the Match and a 7.08 avergae rating in 13 appearances with Mallorca. Despite being just 24, he already has 37 caps for Norway, and has five international goals.

I have described his skills before, but it would seem like a good time to go over them again. Physically, Bertelsen is as fast as a top notch striker (18 Acceleration & Pace), and he is also strong (15) and has good stamina (16). His techincal offensive skills, despite his position, rank among the best on our team, including Crossing (19), Off The Ball (15) and Dribbling (18) for ball movement, a key set of skills in my tactic. Defensively, he is very capable as well, with strong abilities in Marking (20), Positioning (17), Tackling (20) and Heading (20). He is also a hard worker (14 Work Rate) and technically sound (15 Technique).

The issues he may have is in some of his other mental skills. He isn't as strong with Teamwork (11) as I like, and his Determination (6), Bravery (9) and Aggression (9) are definitely out of line with what I like in my backline defenders.

Still, he has such great skills elsewhere, and his performance in the past seems to support those skills, that I am not too concerned about these weaknesses.

Fatih Move Delayed By Work Permit

This was expected, given that goalkeeper Ceylan Fatih hails from non-EU Turkey. I remain hopeful it won't be an issue.

The board will announce its decision on his work permit application on January 15.

Once Fatih officially joins us, I may have some decisions to make regarding the future of other goalkeepers on the squad, in particular Jon Masalin.

Olisadebe Bid Rejected

Well, no shock. I knew I was lowbalkling Hertha BSC by offering them just $1.7 M for Emmanuel Olisadebe, whom they offered to us for $6.75 M.

Getting the 30-year-old Polish striker would be a bonus, but isn't truly necessary. I may be able to bring in Emilio Mora, and I have all six of my top strikers signed through next season anyway.

Hertha BSC did not counteroffer.

December Transfers Officially Go Through

Bertelsen wasn't the only December transfer to officially be consummated Thursday in the Premiership.

Chelsea brought in Georgian fullback Aleksandre Amisulashvili from Paris-SG, Blackburn signed Banfield's Italian winger Francesco Tognon and Tottenham bought Wimbledon striker Paul Scott.

Board Confidence Update

My commitment to the club continues toabsolutely thrill the board.

December Premiership Awards

Chelsea's Adrian Mutu has been very good the past month, and that earned him the December Player of the Month award today.

It doesn't seem right that an established starter like Arsenal's goalkeeper Tony McDermott should get the Young Player of the Month for December, but then, he is just 21.

Not surprisingly, Aston Villa manager Tord Grip got the Manager of the Month for December after he led his team to a surprising third place in the table.

None of the goals of the month involved Tamworth.

Annual Awards

On January 1 every year, the bets player on most of the continents and plenty of other awards are handed out. But I'm not going to tell you who won them. Why?

Because they are meaningless. This part of the game remains broken, IMO, ans has since CM4 (upon which CM03/04 was based) came out a year ago. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to these awards. For instance, most of the European awards go to the top players on the top Bulgarian team, Levski Sofia. What's up with that?

Hopefully, SIGames will address this in Football Manager 2005. It's disappointing that it was not ever fixed through two games and several patches for each last year, despite it being a much discussed bug among fans.

Incidentally, it is for much the same reason that you won't be getting a Premier Select squad this year. The game just skips over doing this every June. Your guess is as good as mine why this is. :(

League Transfer News

First Division Charlton Athletic's manager Steve Bruce said his young Scottish goalkeeper Paul Walker would be available if he wants to leave.

This apparently comes after Tottenham expresed interest in the 20-year-old Scotsman. Tottenham's interest was listed as "widely reported" although this is the first I heard it.

To be honest, while Walker may have a lot of upside and I haven't scouted him to know what his ratings are, his numbers this year, and even in his career don't look so great. He has allowed 31 goals in 15 appearances, along with a 6.47 rating. Note that this is in the First Division.

Belgian club AA Gent's young midfielder Stephen O'Brien seems to be the centre of attention today, after the club's manager Raynald Denoueix said the Irish 18-year-old is not for sale at any price.

The versatile midfielder is listed as promising and appears to be versatile enough to start both in the middle and on the wing.

Denoueix's hand's off warning came after reports that Blackpool was interested in signing O'Brien.

German club Braunshweig has apparently worked out a transfer deal for Birmingham midfielder Jon Simpson. The 18-year-old midfielder was the subject of rumors of an impending move in recent days.

The transfer won't go through, though, until February 12.

Simpson has played with England's U-21 team and saw a lot of time with Birmingham last season, although he hasn't played much with the first team this year.

The transfer fees involved weren't specified in the report.

CR

Chief Rum

07-18-2004, 07:33 PM

Friday, January 2 To Monday, January 5

Having gotten past the truly busy part of the early transfer period (the first day), I think it's a good team to return to multiple-day posting. We'll wrap this week, and then return to the weekly schedule. I do have a match during this time, an FA Cup third round match against First Division Ipswich. This is our first FA Cup match of the season, in a cup competition we have won two years in a row. Can we make it a three-peat?

Bertelsen Raring To Go

A day after officially moving over to the Lambs, our most internationally-valued player Trond Erik Bertelsen said he is anxious to begin the work of playing for us and helping the team move to the next level.

The worldclass Norwegian fullback told the Sunday Mirror on Friday, January 2 that he knew that big pressures would come with the move, but that he didn't see high expectations as a burden to him. He said he is intent on proving my decision to sign him was right.

Good. I like that attitude. Now get to rehab so we can see you on the pitch soon, Erik (I just can't call him Trond).

Mora Accepts Tamworth Offer

This is turning into a big stretch for us with our acquisitions.

Mexican forward Emilio Mora accepted our contract offer in a Bosman transfer deal on Friday, January 2. Mora hit the Bosman point just three days ago on his current contract with Bundesliga power Leverkusen.

Mora will join us on July 1, after his contract runs out. There is some risk in the move, of course, as Mora is not that young (30), and he plays a position where I am pretty deep, especially if Adu's work permit works out and I somehow negotiate a deal for Olisadebe.

But I see Mora as capable of also working that key attacking midfield spot and taking turns at left winger, too. That might be where he gets more time, as his arrival at the end of the season could make it a lot easier to move Johnnier Montaño and his iffy attitude, and Carl Motteram (who would only be moved because of what I could get for him, really).

Mora has good physical skills, and is solid at both winger and striker technical skills. He has very good creativity and he is solid mentally. Mora's starnge int hat he doesn't have many elite (18+) attributes, but he has 12-17 in nearly every single key stat I can find, and most toward the high end of that value.

He reminds me of José Alexander Amaya when we first brought him in from El Salvador. It helps that, unlike Amaya, Mora is a proven commodity at a high league level (23 goals, 11 assists, 7.83 rating in 36 apps with Leverkusen last year) and I have seen him perform well at an even higher level (one of Mexico's leading offensive stars in their run to the final of Germany 2006).

There are potential issues. I need to get a work eprmit for him, and I don't have a lot of success with that. He is also temperamental (just like Amaya and Montaño). I must have something for hot-tempered Latino attacking midfielders.

Mora's acquisition, assuming it is accepted by the British labor board (and it should be), makes Montaño's exit a virtual certainty now, and shortly after this I do indeed list him. Still, that's just to gauge interest. Right now, it's more important that I keep Montaño, as he still plays an important role in the middle of my first eleven. Next season is when Montaño's prsence ont he lcub likely needs to be addressed.

I found out on Saturday, January 3, that Mora's work application will be considered on January 17.

Olisadebe Offered On The Cheap

Most of the time, SIGames's AI is about as solid as you will find in text sim sports. But they dropped the ball on this one.

One day after turning down my lowball $1.9 M offer for Polish forward Emmanuel Olisadebe--which included a 50% take of his next sell price--Bundesliga squad Hertha BSC offered him to me for $900,000--straight up. That's just dumb, of course.

I'm not above turning down things because they are too stupid, though. After submitting my new bid (what they offered), Hertha BSC accepted the offer on Monday, January 5.

I wernt to negotiate with Olisadebe and expected him to ask for too much (or to say we didn't have the resources to sign him), as that is what he did last summer and when we have looked at him in the past. Not this time, though. The striker was much more reasonable, looking for around an $800,000 per year salary, with a signing bonus about half as much. That's certainly doable, so I offer it to him.

Unlike the Mora deal, Olisadebe would come over right away. He is also inside his Bosman period, so it's still possible could step in and take him from both of us (Tamworth and Leverkusen).

Ipswich--FA Cup Third Round

We welcome Ipswich Town for a Saturday afternoon of football today. Ipswich is one of the First Division's best teams, sitting at third in the table when they meet us. So while we did well to miss out on a Premiership squad for this round, we got one of the top squads outside of that league in Ipswich. The match will be played at the Lamb Ground.

Ipswich also happens to be the employer of young goalkeeper Gary Ross, a solid 19-year-old metminder whom we have targetted as a possible future Lamb for some time now. So far, our offers have been spurned by Ipswich. We will be going up directly against Ross today.

Ipswich finished just outside of promotion last year, in fourth (they lost in the playoff), so they seem to be a pretty proven team at this point. They have some good players, but it's always tough to say how good at this point. Ross, of course, is in net. Dean Bowditch is a toable young striker that, in value, would be in my squad's top five at $11 M. He has 17 goals in 28 matches this year, and has scored 17 or more goals in five straight First Division campaigns for Ipswich now. And he's just 22 (maybe I should keep an eye on this guy, too...). Veteran midfielder Tommy Miller has been controlling the creative side of Ipswich's offense as long as Bowditch has been executing it.

This is a second eleven match and the first time the complete seond eleven has started with each other in months, with Richie Partridge back at his right winger spot, and Tieme Klompe returned from his suspension.

In the 13th minute, we tooka dvantage of some soft pressing on Ipswich's part. Perhaps fearing our vaunted offensive attack, they were playing a little on their heels, and weren't pressing on our backline at all, even once we crossed the centreline. Kevin Gorman used the space created to get fairly far into the middle of the pitch on the right, and found Andrei Pereplytokin set up for a run into the box. Gorman laid the ball into the box perfectly, and as usual, Pereplyotkin got that step on the backline and went in on Ross, one-on-one. He blasted an angled shot from closer to the right post over Ross's shoulder and intot he left back corner for the first score.

In the 33rd minute, Lionel Morgan took a nice setup pass from Louis Saha and ran into the box. Midfielder Jermaine Wright took Morgan dow, though, and the ref called the foul and a penalty. David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro stepped up to take the penalty, and blasted a low shot to the left that froze Ross. It scored easily for the two-goal lead.

We did have the advantage, but I have to say that Ipswich Town played with us pretty tough. We went into our defensive 4-4-2 tactic after Pizarro's score, but I think the First Division squad was more competitive than a ton of our Premiership and Champions League opponents have been at the Lamb Ground.

We didn't score again until the 78th minute, and it took a great shot by Giovanny Hernández. Ipswich blocked a freekick by Mark Hicks, which deflected into the left end of the box. It was cleared out by the defense, but only to the middle of the defensive pitch. Klompe was first on the ball and moved up to Hernández, just outside of the box, and just to the right of center. Hernández saw an opening and instantly fired a hard, curving shot toward the left post. Ross was a little forward of his line, and the shot just got around him and sailed into the net for the final score.

We have successfully begun our quest for a third straight FA Cup. Tamworth 3, Ipswich 0

The Third Round of the FA Cup still has a significant number of teams, with 32 matches of 64 squads, so this competition has a long way to go.

There were few major upsets, with the possible exception of teh recently red hot Aston Villa. The Villans faced another Premiership squad in Bristol City, so losing wasn't so much of a shame as losing to a lower league squad. Still, if you have just completed a great run in your league and gotten up to third in one of the top leagues in the world, you want to do better than losing 2-1 at home to a lower end (and recently promoted) Bristol City team.

Southampton, Tottenham, Everton and Birmingham all lost by two goals or more against First Division squads, and all on the road. It was a pretty solid day for the First Division. They were beaten by Burnley (2-0), Charlton (3-1), Coventry (5-0) and Rushden (3-0), respectively.

Blackpool was eliminated by Blackburn, and Man City by Leicester in the only other two Premiership-only matches. Chelsea and Nottingham Forest disappointed by drawing with their opponents and will have to replay their matches next Wednesday, January 14.

Chelsea's draw impacted us, as the Premiership was forced to move our scheduled league home match with them from that day to January 28.

We were given $80,000 for our win over Ipswich.

Coventry Offers To Loan Booth

What, does this guy have "Loan Me" tattooed on his forehead? On Sunday, January 4, we found out First Division Coventry would like to have Chris Booth on loan for three months.

As he remains a key backup for us, I see no reason to do this, so I turn them down.

I could just set it to refuse all loan offers for him, but, frankly, I don't like to automatically turn down any loan or transfer offers. You never know when one might come in handy.

The Adu Appeal Fails

Well, I can't say I am shocked. The British Labor Board remains rather stubborn on this, and won't grant Freddy Adu a work permit.

As this was the appeal on the first denial, the application is issentially null and void--and with it, our contract with the young American forward. So he is back to finishing out his current contract with SC Freiburg. He is due to wrap that contract with the Second Division Bundesliga squad in June. Obviously, I am just going to have to wait for the 19-year-old to get more caps for the United States national team before I can bring him into England.

Yakabu Complains Again

On Monday, January 5, Nigerian striker Yakubu complained again about being out of the lineup. This is the third time he has done this since the season started, and I am getting more than a little tired of it.

I tell him he will be selected when the time is right. Yakubu doesn't seem to realize that his turn in the first eleven had to be skipped over because he was playing for Nigeria in the African Cup of Nations late in December. The matches around the one he missed (the loss to Sheffield Wednesday), which were few and far between over the holidays, were manned by the second eleven. Because of week-long periods between matches and his playing with Nigeria, Yakubu essentially hasn't seen the pitch for us since mid-December. So while on a time level I understand his complaint, it seems obvious to me there was no attempt to reduce his role but simply a matter of bad timing.

I feel he is quick to complain, and I am beginning to suspect that, given that he has been largely outplayed by both second eleven forwards, he might be a transfer candidate now or in the future.

With Olisadebe probably on the way, and Mora coming in six months, I won't have room for complainers on the front line of this squad.

Stephen O'Brien

AA Gent's young Irish midfielder Stephen O'Brien is apparently drawing interest from Blackpool. He is 18 years old and called promising. He also seems to be valued pretty highly for a young player in the Belgian First Division ($725,000) and seems to have the versatility to play both in the middle and on the wing.

On Friday, January 2, a report came out of Soccernet.com about Blackpool's interest in O'Brien. The interest flattered the midfielder, who said he would consider any offers that might be coming.

Other than that, I knew very little about this young prospect. He wasn't scouted at all for me, so I didn't know a thing about his ratings. He plays solid, but not great for AA Gent (high-6's rating), and his contract runs out in March (that sometimes happens with the younger players, where the contracts don't match up with the end of the season).

I put him down for scotuing, but didn't think about it much.

Then, on Monday, January 5, Genoa made a bid, offering him a contract. That did it for me, so I pulled a daedalus and offered the midfielder a contract myself. Surprisingly, no compensation would be needed for this player, despite his youth status.

I still don't have him scouted, so I might be buying bad goods, but all indications say otherwise. I'll worry about that once I found out if he has mutual interest in Tamworth.

League News

Here's a round up of league news over this weekend, as well as major transfer news around the world.

I normally wouldn't have mentioned the latter, but on Saturday, January 3, Serie A club Atalanta won the Eric Veld sweepstakes.

The young superstar Swiss striker moved from Cottbus to Atalante for $17.5 M, with maybe another million tossed on depending on appearances.

I will continue to keep an eye on the young player, but I suspect he has already moved beyond my price range. Of course, he is also slower than I like my players to be, so maybe that doesn't matter.

Two days after Charlton boss Steve Bruce said he would consider offers for his youngg goalkeeper Paul Walker, the player himself said he would have to seriously consider an offer to Tottenham, the Premiership team rumored to be interested in him.

He told a national newspaper on Saturday, January 4, that he would consider any move to the Spurs, and that he was extremely flattered at their interest.

Young defensive midfielder Bruno Pedretti told the Daily Mirror on Monday, January 5, that he is no longer happy with his contract, which calls for just a $20,000 annual salary through June. Pedretti is a future star froim the looks of him. He already has double digit technical skills in most aspects, he is highly proficient in the mental skills area, and he is very fast (16 Acceleration, 20 Pace).

Pedretti is a player I have been keeping an eye on, but he may have already progressed beyond my reach. He is in his Bosman period, but says I do not have the resources to sign him. Even if he was amenable to a deal, though, I would owe Charlton some $1.3 M in compensation, and that's a little more than I am interested in spending on a Bosman transfer.

The Italian midfielder wants to discuss a new contract with Nottingham Forest, but says he won't sign anything that "doesn't reflect his true value to the club."

There was no Premiership League Team of the Week, as there were no Premiership matches in the past week (due to holidays and the FA Cup).

CR

daedalus

07-18-2004, 11:54 PM

Stephen O'Brien
Then, on Monday, January 5, Genoa made a bid, offering him a contract. That did it for me, so I pulled a daedalus and offered the midfielder a contract myself. Surprisingly, no compensation would be needed for this player, despite his youth status.Proper! :D

One of the big things I'm really looking forward to is the lack of roster limit in CM4-based game. The 50 player limit in 01/02 was really getting in the way. :D

Chief Rum

07-19-2004, 01:20 AM

Proper! :D

One of the big things I'm really looking forward to is the lack of roster limit in CM4-based game. The 50 player limit in 01/02 was really getting in the way. :D

I figured you would catch that, although I gave it a little help by bolding your username. ;)

Yeah, no limit is great. I can buy and sell anyone! (I can afford, that is...)

CR

Chief Rum

07-19-2004, 06:11 AM

Tuesday, January 6 To Monday, January 12

After stretching out a small Premiership schedule through three weeks or so, we get two Premiership matches this week. We go on the road to play Tottenham on Wednesday, January 7, and then follow it up with a highly anticipated match with Aston Villa on Saturday, January 10.

FA Cup Fourth Round Draw

The fourth round of the FA Cup was drawn on Tuesday, January 6, giving 32 teams new opponents in the net round of England's most prestigious cup.

We drew another First Division squad in Burnley, who are currently 16th in their division. This match will be played at the Lamb Ground, our second straight home match against a First Division squad in this competition.

The match will be played January 24, 2009.

There's one matchup of Premiership squads, and it's a doozy. Newcastle will travel to Old Trafford to take on Man Utd. There could be another one, but it will require both Chelsea and Nottingham Forest to win their replays. The two squads are slated to play each other if they win through next week.

Yakabu Happy With Role

Yakubu apologized to me in the media on Tuesday, January 6, just a day after complaining about his lack of regular first team duty (which is a farce anyway).

He says now that he realizes he should respect my decisions and that complaining publically isn't going to improve his chance of selection. Of course, he has said that before. I guess I'm just going have to cross my fingers that he will do what he says.

None of this removes the mark he has earned on my personal ledger for the problems he has been causing.

Tottenham

The Spurs are currently 14th in the league, but my match last month against Sheffield Wednesday showed that even road matches against midlevel league competition is no easy pickings.

Tottenham is led by two great players, one in front and one in back. The front is handled by Hélder Postiga. The Portuguese star striker has 10 goals in 19 matches this season. South African central defender Mbulelo Mabizela runs the backline, where he has put up a very solid 7.33 rating in 18 matches.

Other notable players include forward Jack Howells, who won the Premiership Young Player of the Month in November, and midfielder Christian Tiffert, the German playmaker who has put up three goals, seven assists and a 7.06 rating in 19 matches.

It is a first eleven match today. Andy Williams is close to full health, but he is not quite there yet, and his conditioning is still very poor, as one would expect. So Carl Motteram gets another start with the first eleven. This is also Yakubu's return to the lineup after missing his last start while away with the Nigerian national team (and sparking his recent complaint). Otherwise, this lineup is the same as it has been.

It wasn't a good start for the Spurs, as not five minutes into the match, they lost right winger Fabian Ernst with a calf strain. He was replaced by Ricketts, which turned out to be a key move.

Postiga showed soon after why he is so dangerous. In the 14th minute, midfielder Mathieu Bodmer moved the ball from the centre circle to Ricketts on the right. Ricketts moved further into the offensive pitch, drawing froward some of the backline. That allowed Postiga to slip through and split the defense. Ricketts' pass to the Portuguese forward was right ont he mark in the box. Jon Masalin stepped out to stop him, but Postiga sidestepped and put in an easy shot into the empty net for the early 1-0 Tottenham lead.

The Lambs got it back in the 31st minute off of a strange offensive set that included two caroms off of Tottenham players. Hermann Hreidarsson tried to center a pass from the left touchline toward the middle of the pitch, but the ball ricocheted off of Ricketts toward the front of the centre circle. Michael Stewart was closest to it and tried to fire a low, long pass into the box directly ahead. Fullback Gary Doherty tried to intercept it, but the hard pass went off of him to Adam Wilde on the left end of the box. Wilde lifted a soft, high pass over Mabizela to Yakubu, sitting on the other side of the six-yard box. Yakubu blasted a high shot at a sharp angle at the goal, and the ball went over goalkeeper Ian Naylor, hit the crossbar, and then smacked into the right side netting of the goal for the equaliser.

Wilde, of course, picked up an assist on the play. Like Ricketts before him, he played a key role in a score after replacing an injured player. Orri Freyr Oskarsson took a knock and had to leave the match in the 19th minute, although the injury turned out to not be serious (in fact, he didn't miss a single day of training). Wilde replaced Oskarsson.

The Spurs wouldn't falter where others in the past had, though. Centreback Stephen Carr and Mabizela combined to move a high pass into the box, aiming for striker Milenko Acimovic. Leon Cort cleared the ball out of danger, but he was aided by a Mike Duff foul on Acimovic. The ref called it and pointed to the penalty. Recent midfield acquisition Paul Scott put in a hard penalty at the left post for the 2-1 lead.

That's how it went into halftime.

The second half was much of the same until the 55th minute. Hreidarsson grabbed the ball along the left touchline and moved it forward to Adam Wilde, near the outer left corner of the box. Wilde headed it on to Johnnier Montaño close to the left side of the six-yard box. The pass drew Mabizela, much like Tamworth's first score, and Montaño moved the ball past the defender to the, once again, wide open Yakubu. The striker easily put in his second goal of the match to tie it up again.

Naylor was shutting us down, though. We had a lot of shots on him, but it looked like that's how it would end. Unfortunately for Tottenham, if you allow an opponent to keep taking swings, sooner or later he's gonna connect.

In the 83rd minute, Stewart intercepted an errant pass near the centreline, and the Lambs went ont he counterattack. Yakubu used his speed to get a slight step on Mabizela. He received a nice long pass from Stewart just short of the right side of the six-yard box. That drew Naylor down. Yakubu moved the ball up to Wilde, ahead of his man on the other end of the box, and the replacement striker put in the score before Naylor could scramble back to stop it.

That would seal a very nice comeback win for us. Tamworth 3, Tottenham 2

Yakubu got the Man of the Match, so I suppose he was very motivated by his "return" tp the starting lineup. Naylor probably deserved it more. He let three goals go by, all on understandable misdirection plays allowed by his defense. He stopped 10 others.

O'Brien Turns Down Suitors To Sign With Tamworth

The daedalus plan worked. :)

AA Gent's young and promising midfielder Stephen O'Brien turned down three other teams to sign a Bosman deal with us on Thursday, January 8. He turned down offers from Genoa, his current employer AA Gent, and La Ligue squad Nancy.

The deal will be consummated when his contract with AA Gent runs out on March 13.

I still don't have a clue how this guy scouts out, although I am hopeful that one of my scouts will help me out with that soon. I suppose I am crossing my fingers, but you can't beat the price (free transfer, small contract of about $100,000 per year).

Unless he comes in like the next coming of David beckham, though, O'Brien is destined for a reserve or U-19 role, where he can learn Slovakian from my growing contingent of youths from that part of Europe.

Olisadebe Accepts Contract Offer

On Thursday, January 8, Polish striker Emmanuel Olisadebe has accepted our contract offer, allowing the transfer with Hertha BSC to go through.

Interestingly enough, even though Hertha BSC had negotiated a transfer amount with us, they still had a contract offer on the table for Olisadebe. Apparently they hoped he would take it, and they could back out of their transfer deal with us. Didn't work, guys.

Olisadebe immediately moves over to Tamworth with the move, at a cost of just $900,000. I have described the Polish international forward in the past, but I will do so a little more here. The 30-year-old striker is still explosive (18 Acceleration and Pace), and he still has high level scoring abilities (17 Finishing). He has good enough Dribbling (14) to get where he needs to go, and is smart enough to put himself int he right position for the ball (17 Off The Ball). This guy is about as solid as they come in nearly every category, with double digit skills all around. He is both physical and mentally strong, and probably becomes are most skilled striker the second he hits the pitch. In limited time with Hertha BSC, he has four goals and three assists in seven appearances.

His arrival is likely to cause something of a domino effect on our frontline starting squads. The question for me became, which domino? Louis Saha and Andrei Pereplytokin have been marvelous as the second eleven starters, and I see no reason to split them up. There is really no question that Olisadebe needs to be starting. So that means he has to go on the first eleven. Yakubu is complaining about playing time, but he is coming off of perhaps his best performance this season. He is also younger than his partner Oskarsson, and less versatile (which adds to Oskarsson's value as a potential backup). Oskarsson doesn't complain--he just plays wherever he is needed. That is invaluable, and in the end, it will likely keep him around while earning Yakubu a ticket outta town. But for now, it seems better to assuage the Nigerian's fragile psyche, keep him in the first eleven to pair woth Olisadebe, and move Oskarsson to a backup role, where he can play both forward and in the midfield. This will also have an effect on the playing time of current frontline backups Mark Hicks and Adam Wilde--and neither of whom have done anything to earn a demotion.

The transfer moves us up to $24.5 M in transfer fees paid on the year--once again, a new club record.

Montaño Says There Are Too Many Rival Players

Frontline players weren't the only guys who might have groused about the Olisadebe transfer.

Johnnier Montaño, who could find a reason to complain in just about any situation, decided he feared for his future at the Lamb Ground. He's right to worry, of course, although it's the impending arrival of Emilio Mora in July that could lead to his removal from the team, and not Olisadebe.

Montaño told the Sunday Times on Thursday, January 8, that he is disillusioned with life at Tamworth, fearing that there are too many rival players at the club for his position.

Montaño, of course, has had his request in to leave the team for some time. My listing of him had resulted in him looking forward to leaving the club, but as of yet, I had no takers or even bites. I decided to offer him around to clubs suggested by assistant manager Terry Gennoe in an attempt to unload him.

On the personal level, I contacted a local radio station and agreed with Montaño's assessment that there are too many players at his position--against the recommendation of Gennoe, who thought I should say there are "never" too many rival players. I actually agreed with gennoe, but I felt the situation called for a little bit of tact.

I also suggested that, to alleviate the overcrowding, I would likely be looking to offload a player or two. I did not say that that player in question would almost certainly be Montaño himself.

Partridge Unhappy With Contract

Thursday was the day all the whiners came out.

Second eleven winger Richie Partridge complained that his pay scale was too slight. He suggested his agent could net him a better deal at another club, and that he wanted to begin contract negotiations on a deal immediately.

The problem is, his contract isn't monstrously low, IMO, at $400,000 per year. And he has another year on it, too.

I followed Gennoe's advice this time and told Partridge he wasn't getting a new contract.

Partridge seemed to accept this, and later that day, he issued a public apology for his complaint.

He seems content for now, but this is another mark for a player who has already complained about playing time once this season. The list is growing longer...Montaño...Yakubu...Partridge...

Aston Villa

This is a circled match on the ole calendar, with how the Villans have been playing.

A great run in December have moved Aston Villa into the league's top five. With us coming to Villa Park, this is a legitimacy test for them.

For us, it's another tough road match in a string of them the past month or so. Thus far, we have gotten away with at least a draw in every road match outside of Sheffield Wednesday. Hopefully we'll be ready for this one.

Aston Villa has been in the Premiership for many years now, and their roster has its share of notable players. Goalkeeper Thomas Sorenson is one of the better netminders in the league, and he has a solid defense in front of him, which includes multiple Team of the Week players like Olaf Mellberg, Gareth Barry and Luke Young.

Still, it's an offense where the Villans have made noise this year, ranking among the league leaders in goals scored. Darius Vassell, the long time Aston Villa star, remains strong, with 17 goals and 12 assists in 33 matches. Spanish striker David Villa helps put the shots in, with 10 goals in 33 appearances. The midfield is strong and deep. It is led by Stilian Petrov (4 goals, 6 assists, 7.28 rating in 29 apps), Steed Malbranque (3 goals, 8 assists in 27 apps) and Fredy William Thompson (5 goals, 8 assists, 7.35 rating in 31 matches).

Today is a second eleven match, and the whole team as it once was is again starting. This might be the last match Lionel Morgan starts, though, as Andy Williams' likely return soon could move him to a pure backup role, and bump Carl Motteram to the second eleven.

This started off as a very tight, defensive match. Neither team was getting many shots off. They would get close, but it would be cleared out. We would get close, but someone would make a key tackle.

Scoring didn't break open until the 42nd minute. The stalemate was actually broken on a key play by goalkeeper Thomas Heaton. The Lamb netminder went deep into traffic for a Malbranque corner and fisted it straight out into the center of the pitch. Tieme Klompe latche donto it and started a counterattack. He lifted a long pass up to Andrei Pereplyotkin, running along the right touchline, and the Ukrainian striker sent a long pass to Louis Saha, just beyond Mellberg going into the box. The pass actually passed right over Mellberg, who appeared to just miss the pass. Saha went in on goal, dodged to the left, and then just kicked the ball right at Sorenson. The shot went high over Sorenson's shoulder, and the goalkeeper missed it to allow the first goal of the match.

At halftime, only four shots on goal had been taken, two by each side.

Our second score, in the 55th minute, was a thing of beauty. David Marcelo Cortez PIzarro has been awesome for us in the middle and he showed it again today. Taking a pass near the centre circle from Morgan, Pizarro went on a run straight up the gut of the defense. Despite his forward charge, the Villan defenders seemed hesitant to move in, perhaps fearing he would get behind them. Malbranque and Mellberg--two of the Villans' more talented players--were still making an effort to close off acces to the gola, when Pizarro split them on the run. He fooled Sorenson and hit a low, hard shot into the lower left corner for the 2-0 lead.

Aston Villa got back into it a few minutes later. In the 61st minute, winger Adam Drury was dancing along the right edges of the box, evading defenders. It seemed only a matter of time before we caught him and cleared out the ball, but it never quite happened. Finally, from near the left goalline, Drury moved a pass up to the other winger in Jérôme Cartier. The young Frenchman hit a hard shot on the volley from near the corner of the box right at the left post. Heaton moved over and was in good position to stop it, but Cartier's shot blasted at the post, struck it, and then went right in behind Heaton for the score.

Aston Villa couldn't take advantage, though. James McEveley headed away a long pass, and moved the ball back up the middle of the pitch to midfield sub Giovanny Hernández. Hernández drew some attention from Barry, which suddenly freed up Pereplyotkin. Hernández moved a shade to the right to avoid Barry before putting a perfect pass on Pereplytokin as he went into the box. The Ukrainian striker put a move on Sorenson, charging out, and put the ball int he net for the 3-1 lead.

In the 79th minute, Oskarsson displayed that my strategy with him might end up being brilliant. As he was hurt early in the Tottenham match, Oskarsson recovered fairly quickly with little depleted conditioning and was ready for his new backup role. He replaced Saha in the 61st minute. He created this next goal almost completely by himself. He took a short pass from Morgan when both of them were near the centreline and left touchline. He took off on a long run, while being marked/chased by two defenders, that led him to the left goalline. Once there, he reversed on his defenders, circled around them, and went charging into the box. Drawing attention from other defenders to himself, the Icelander dished off to Denny Landzaat, who put a hard, high shot in over Sorenson that struck the crossbar.

Oskarsson showed off his skills again in the 85th minute, when he took a pass from Pereplyotkin near the center of the offensive pitch, but then showed just how fast he can be when he immediately had a step on Mellberg toward the goal. Sorenson ran out to meet him, but Oskarsson simply kicked a low shot right past the goalkeeper for our fifth goal of the match.

We ran away with the huge win, despite not really outshooting Aston Villa by much with 13-10 (8-6 on goal). Tamworth 5, Aston Villa 1

Arsenal Comes Calling

daedalus, hold on to your hat.

The Gunners have been looking for a manager for a month now, since Bert van Marwijk left to coach Blackburn. I was beginning to wonder when they were finally going to hire someone.

On Saturday, January 10, they offered their manager's position--one of the most prestigious club managing posts in the world--to none other than me.

This is actually the second time it has been offered to me. When Arsène Wenger was sacked last year, I was offered the job. Coming off of an international treble, though, I felt I was really building something at Tamworth, and I turned them down. The job shortly after went to van Marwijk.

So what did I think this time? It was a big enough decision for me to save the game here, leaving both options open to me.

Maybe some day, I will come back to this and give it a shot. But I am still just as dedicated to making it work at Tamworth. It's just not time yet for a new challenge--I'm not done with this one. I turn Arsenal down.

Sorry, daedalus.

Partridge Hurts Himself In Training

Karma's a bitch, ain't it?

On Monday, January 12, Partridge hurt himself in training, straining a groin muscle. The winger will miss two weeks.

Chris Booth will replace Partridge in the second eleven in the mean time.

See, this is what happens when you're a whiny little bitch. ;)

Williams Returns To Full Training

Oh, rejoice! Our starting left winger is back at full health!

Even as one winger one down with a minor injury Monday, another is cleared to return to full training from a major injury.

Left winger Andy Williams, who was a fixture on the left side of our tactic since we were a Second Division squad, has recovered from damaged cruciate ligaments in his right knee. Williams suffered the injury in last year's UEFA Final win over Parma, in May. In recovering in eight months, he actually beat projections by over a month, not counting conditioning time.

Williams has a long way to go before he gets to playable shape, but at least now he can go full bore. I am hoping to have him available for the next first eleven match, a match with Liverpool five days from now. That said, it's likely he won't be ready for that one, as it is in just five days.

Last season, Williams had five goals and 17 assists in 38 appearances. His 8.13 rating was one of the highest on the team and in the Premiership.

In three seasons with the Lambs, Williams has 40 assists.

League News

On Tuesday, January 7, Colchester made an effort to bolster its midfield with the signing of 31-year-old Dutchman Richard Knopper. They bought Knopper from Tottenham for $130,000.

Knopper has seen little time for the Spurs in recent years, although he was a full tiem starter just three seasons ago. He's still young enough to have retained most of his skills, I would imagine, although one of the reasons he will see time with Colchester is likely because they are the last place squad in the Premiership, and are simply awful.

Colchester also made a move for the future when they signed Finnish right winger Mika Väyrynen away from Greek power Iraklis. The 27-year-old Finn was a starter for the 2006-07 UEFA champions, but has since been relegated to backup duties. He will move to Colchester on July 1.

Sheffield Wednesday made a big move on...Wednesday...January 7, when they agreed to a $3.5 M transfer for Leverkusen midfielder Hamit Altintop.

Altintop, a 26-year-old Turkish international, should step in and play a major role for the mid-level squad, as they try to make a run at a spot in Eruope next season. He was a little-used backup for powerful Leverkusen, where he had a goal in five appearances, to go along with a solid 7.20 rating.

Sheffield Wednesday made another move to shore up their midfield when they agreed to loan Southampton's defensive midfielder Gary Mason for three months on Friday, January 9. The 29-year-old Scotsman has a 7.00 rating in eight appearances for Southampton this season.

Fulham made a move for next year when they worked out a Bosman transfer deal with Charlton fullback Gary Naysmith. The defender's current contract will run out on June 30, allowing him to move to Fulham the next day.

The 30-year-old Scotsman should provide some depth for the Cottagers on the backline next season, although he probably isn't starter material.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week.

SC Salvador Aguado (Chelsea)-- 1 G, 1 A, 7.50 rat in 2 matches
SC Yakubu (Tamworth)-- 2 G, 1 A, MoM, 10 rat vs TOT
MF Michael Stewart (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs TOT
MF James O'Connor (Man City)-- 8 rat vs BLK
MF Aliaksandr Hleb (Chelsea)-- 1 G, 7.50 rat in 2 matches
MF Alan Quinn (Sheff Wed)-- 2 G, 8 rat in 2 matches
DF Kasper Bogelund (Man Utd)-- 2 G, MoM, 9 rat vs COL
DF Djimi Traoré (Liverpool)-- 1 A, 8 rat in 2 matches
DF Darren Kenton (Southampton)-- MoM, 8.50 rat in 2 matches
DF Richard Dunne (Man City)-- 9 rat vs BLK
GK Owain Fon Williams (Southampton)-- 13 sav, 2 cleans, MoM in 2 matches

CR

daedalus

07-20-2004, 01:10 AM

Awwwww, turn down the Gunners?!! That's unpossible! :D

I know how you feel, though. I couldn't leave Rushden & Diamond once we moved on up, either.

The daedalus plan always work. Snag 'em young for cheap 'n sell 'em off for slightly more unless they make a major impression. :)

I know how you feel about The List™ o' Bad Doggies. Complainers earn themselves a quick Greyhound ticket. Unless, of course, they're Repeat Offenders then they earn a speedy trip to the bench. Of course, if they REALLY tick me off . . . they get to learn to be more versatile: train opposite foot and goalkeeping.

Chief Rum

07-21-2004, 05:35 AM

Tuesday, January 13 To Monday, January 19

With our home match against Chelsea pushed back two weeks, we are left with just one match this week, a high-profile trip to Anfield to play the third-place Liverpool Reds on Saturday, January 17. The Chelsea match was pushed back because they had to replay their third round FA Cup match after drawing with Stevenage.

Montaño Draws No Interest

I guess no one else wants a headache either.

On Wednesday, January 14, I got notice from all the teams I offered the troubled Johnnier Montaño to that they weren't looking to improve that area of their squads, or that I was asking too much (but would consider him if I lowered my demands). I was asking for $11 M, which is his currently listed value.

It's not necessary to move him right now. Indeed, I don't necessarily have too much depth at the attacking midfield position if I move him (at least not what I like, although I do certainly have the bodies to fill the spot).

I think I will hold off on offering him around for less, and see if I can pick up some interest between now and the summer.

Fatih Is Denied Work Permit

It has been a bad month for us with work permits. First, Freddy Adu gets pushed aside, and now it looks like Ceylan Fatih is going to get shot down, after the British Labor Board turned down his application on Thursday, January 15.

This doesn't make much sense, of course. In Adu's case, we're talking about one of the most talked about young phenoms in the world. In Fatih's case, we have a young goalkeeper that stepped in for his national team's star netminder, and then led that team all the way to the final of the European Championships. These aren't nobodies.

The British Labor Board seems to have its own ideas, though.

We appeal the decision and get a surprisingly quick date for the board's next consideration of Fatih's application, the following Monday, January 19.

It was just delaying the ineveitable, though. They turned down his application, and our potential goalkeeper of the future is stuck in Turkey. Glad I didn't transfer list Jon Masalin.

American Players Garnering Interest

With Adu's deal with us following through last week, he has, of course, returned to being Bosman eligible on his current contract with SC Freiburg. Not surprisingly, he is drawing interest.

On Tuesday, January 13, he got an offer from Rostock, and then on Thursday, January 15, another offer from Union Berlin. Both squads are division-mates of SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga's Second Division, but unlike the latter, they are on top of their league and looking to promotion to the powerful Beundesliga at the end of the year. Rostock and Union Berlin are one-two in the division, and now they are fighting for Adu. SC Freiburg is still in both races as well, in the top ten and with an offer on the table for the American forward.

On Sunday, January 18, the 19-year-old accepted the offer from Rostock. He will transfer over to the club on June 7.

Adu wasn't the only American forward in Germany drawing interest. Longtime international player Landon Donovan was also targeted with offers this week, although his are of the transfer variety.

On Friday, January 16, Donovan, who is currently toiling with another Bundesliga Second Division squad in Duisburg, was targeted by Bundesliga squad Wolfsburg. The next day, another Bundesliga squad in 1.FC.Köln and the Premiership's own Man City also joined in with offers. All three offers were between $5 M and $9 M, and Duisberg accepted them all. As of the end of the week, Donovan was considering three contract offers and will likely be in a new home inside of another week.

Chelsea Offers Pazienza

I mentioned last week that Italian midfielder Michele Pazienza is disgruntled at his lack of playing time and looking to move.

I didn't have the money to make an offer on him, with most of my remaining transfer budget earmarked for Fatih. When the deal for Fatih began to look doubtful, though, I became a lot more free with my remaining money, some $4 M in transfer funds. Really, though, I wasn't looking to bring in Pazienza.

He seemed like a solid player. He had the explosive speed and striker quality finishing skills, so he would work well as my attacking midfielder.

But I don't think I would have made an offer if Chelsea didn't step up and offer him to me first on Friday, January 16. They offered him to me for $3.2 M, which was a good deal less than his listed value of $7 M.

That price was apparently the magic price, though, as other clubs started to get into it for the 26-year-old playmaker. On Wednesday, January 14, Bundesliga squad Werder Bremen gave an offer. Another German club, Bielefeld weighed with an offer on Saturday, January 17. Apparently the Italian is very popular in Germany, as Hertha BSC came into the Pazienza sweepstakes on Sunday, January 18. Leverkusen finished things off in this first week with an offer on Monday, January 19.

Lazio was interested in Pazienza near the beginning of the month, but they haven't put in an offer for him.

As of the end of the week, Pazienza was considering offers from five different clubs, and it looked like others might get involved as well.

Mora Permit Approved

Well, it's about time.

On Saturday, January 17, the British Labor Board finally pulled up a winner for Tamworth. They approved the work permit application of Bosman transfer candidate Emilio Mora, clearing the way for the Mexican attacking midfielder to move over to us at the end of his current contract with Leverkusen.

He officially becomes a Lamb on July 1.

The 30-year-old Mora became notable when he played a key role for Mexico's surprising showing at Germany 2006, including an appearance in the final of the world's most prestigious international event.

Mora is a versatile player that has very solid all-around skills. He won't wow you with any elite abilities, but he is very good where it counts, and is a far above average player in all aspects of the game. He has the speed and finishing to be a quick striker, the crossing and dribbling skills of a very good winger and midfielder, and the mental aptitude to fit in with my better players (including strong team work skills).

He continues my run on temperamental Latino attacking midfielders, in the mold of José Alexander Amaya and Montaño.

Yakubu Called Up To Nigeria

Apparently, Africa is the only continent even thinking of running international competitions the past couple months, and it is running two (African Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifying for China 2010).

Yakubu was called up for the second time in a month to play with his native Nigeria. The national team will play on January 24 and January 28 in the African Cup of Nations competition, and he will be unavailable during that stretch, with maybe some overlap on the edges. We play Burnley in the FA Cup on January 24, and our rescheduled match with Chelsea is on January 28.

Let's hope Yakubu won't feel I am leaving him out of the lineup if he's gone for a couple matches. That's pretty much happened last time.

Liverpool

Any visit to Anfield is a big day. With an early win by Man Utd today, and the fact they were able to participate in Wednesday's round (the one we would have played Chelsea in), they actually leapfrogged us into first place by three points, but with two more matches played.

Liverpool has jumped to third place, so today's matchup will feature the third and second place squads of the Premiership.

Obviously, with the kind of talent they can put on the pitch, we have to respect them. They are good enough to beat us even when we're playing our uber-tactic.

The Reds use a 4-3-3, so they have an extra striker, and their midfield is more accurately described as three true midfielders, as opposed to a midfielder and two wingers.

Up front, three of the best in the biz start, with English international star Michael Owen joining up with the world's highest valued player in El-Hadji Diouf and French striker Anthony Le Tallec. The offensive talent isn't stunted in the midfield either, where Mark Bresciano and Harry Kewell form a powerful Australian duo around English international Steven Gerrard. The backline is also strong, of course, with Norwegian attacking fullback John Arne Riise leading the way. Long time Polish star netminder Jerzy Dudek is the last line of defense, and stars like striker Emile Heskey and centreback Sami Hyypiä ready to sub in.

This is a first eleven match, and it will also be the debut of our latest acquisition, Dudek's international teammate striker Emmanuel Olisadebe. The striker will take the place of Orri Freyr Oskarsson in the lineup. Andy Williams isn't quite ready (as I suspected), so Carl Motteram gets one more start on the left wing.

This one started off with limited shots, but the ones taken were good ones. The first ten minutes featured three high shots, with Yakubu and Olisadebe hitting shots over the goal for Tamworth and Liverpool getting an errant shot from Kewell.

The scoring didn't begin until the 12th minute. Michael Stewart had the ball in the center of the offensive pitch and he sent a nice straight pass into Montaño, just entering the box. Montaño blasted the ball right past Dudek for the first score.

The Reds would get it back quickly. In the 17th minute, Stewart got in the way of a centering pass from Kewell, but all that did was allow Le Tallec to move it up to fullback James Carragher. Despite kicking at an angle and through traffic, Carragher put in a hard shot just inside the right post for the tie. Liverpool almost added another one a few minutes later when Diouf came in alone on goal, but the striker sent an errant shot harmlessly into the side netting.

Leon Cort nearlessly gave Liverpool a score when he sent a pass up the centreline. Owen stepped up and intercepted it, and proceeded to go on an impressive and speedy counterattack that left David Raven in his dust. Jon Masalin had to stop a hard low shot from Owen, parrying it to the side. Cort cleared the ball out.

The Lambs would finally break through just before halftime, when Montaño moved the ball to Raven along the left edge of the box. The centreback moved it down to Motteram. Like Carragher, Motteram took a hard shot from the far edge of the box, but somehow managed to blast it past Dudek for the go ahead score.

The most important part of the first half, though, didn't involve a score. Just seconds before half time, centreback Djimi Traoré slid in on Montaño and drew a yellow card. Unfortunately, it was his second of the match, and he was off for good.

Despite the man advantage, it took a while for Tamworth to put it to good use. Carragher intercepted a nice David Prutton pass in the box and cleared it out in the 49th minute. And Dudek parried a tough half-volley from Olisadebe up close in the 60th minute.

The score finally came off of some brilliant work by Jim Corbett in the 67th minute. The winger took a throw-in pass and charged into the box, along the right goalline, dodging two or three defenders in the process. He sent a pass across the six-yard box to Yakubu, but the striker had to retreat under pressure. He moved it to Adam Wilde, charging in toward the goal. The substitute striker put a low hard shot straight into the open net for the 3-1 lead.

Despite bing a man down, Liverpool put together an amazing shot of its own to get back into it. In the 70th minute, two subs hooked up to provide the score. Rafael van der Vaart retrieved a corner clear out along the left touch line and sent a pass down to Florent Sinama-Pongolie, close to the same spot Motteram scored at in the 45th minute. Like Motteram, Pongolie unleashed a hard, high shot at the goalkeeper, and it somehow got past him to cut the deficit to one.

Tamworth didn't put it away until the 75th minute, when they used a nice set of passes to engineer a score. Wilde charged toward the left end of the box, but sent a box-crossing pass to Olisadebe, approaching the right touchline. The Polish striker sent the ball back to Darren Birchall, who hit a nice angled shot to catch the inside of the left post for the put away goal.

Despite playing a man down for half of a match, Liverpool gave us a serious test before falling. Tamworth 4, Liverpool 2

The win puts us back in a tie with Man Utd atop the table, and in first by goal differential. It also starts us off in our little mini-turnament with Liverpool. We play them again, same place as well, just a few days from now, when we meet them in the semifinals of the League Cup. Then we play them again in early February for the second leg of the same cup.

Yakubu Whines About His Contract

It's not a week in Tamworth if Yakubu doesn't complain about something. On Monday, January 19, rumors came out in the media that the Nigerian striker is unhappy with the terms of his current contract, and looking to negotiate a new deal to secure his future.

There's no doubting Yakubu's talent, but given his complaining ways and the fact he is signed up for two more years (June, 2011), I would have to say giving him an extension is the last thing I need right now. Not helping matters was what he was looking for. ALready among our top paid players at $1.2 M per year, the 26-year-old wants to be paid $2.3 M! That's actually not that high for a star in this league, or so I understand, but that's a lot higher than I am used to being allowed to give a player. The shocking thing was that the board was ready to authroize the offer. They must really love Yakubu. I will have to keep that in mind.

Assistant manager Terry Gennoe tells me I shouldn't offer hima new contract, and I agree, telling him he isn't getting that contract. Later that day, Yakubu's agent read a statement to the media on behalf of the striker, saying he had withdrawn his demands for a new contract, and apologized for allowing the contract issue to spill over into the media.

Man, I really do need to move this guy out.

League Transfer News

Lots happened this week, and that's not including the ton of things I already listed involving us (Fatih, Mora, Pazienza).

On Wednesday, January 14, Man Utd made a bid for more offense when they offered Everton $9 M for 31-year-old Danish winger Jesper Gronkjær. The winger has been a consistent, if unspactacular player for the Blues for years now, and also has stints with Arsenal and Chelsea on his resumé.

On Friday, January 16, Southampton raided Bristol City for help on the wing, although the aid won't come until after the season. Southampton signed away Bristol City's winger and fullback David Vaughan. The 25-year-old Welsh international is in his first season in the Premiership after playing regular roles with Bristol City and Crewe in the lower divisions. He will move over to Southampton on July 1.

Chelsea seems to be trying to move extra parts, and somehow decided that star striker Michael Chopra needed to go. On Saturday, January 17, the Blues sold the star English striker to Serie A's Napoli squad for $12.5 M initially, with a possible increase to $13.75 M on appearances. Chopra is having a great year--12 goals, 7 assists and a 7.25 rating in 20 appearances--so this is quite the risky move for Chelsea (not that they lack for depth, though).

League News

Things are getting testy for some of the teams performing poorly around the league.

On Wednesday, January 14, that became apparent in Manchester, when Man City manager Par Zetterberg ripped into Croatian midfielder Jurica Vranjes for his poor form of late. Man City fans seemed just as upset as Zetterberg, as a supporters' spokesperson announced the next day that they agreed with the manager's opinion of the midfielder's lethargic performances, and that he is making too much money ($1.6 M) to have an excuse.

On Friday, January 16, two of the better players in the league were involved in contract negotiations. Arsenal's young star goalkeeper Tony McDermott signed a three-year extension at $950,000 per year (and that's quite a bargain), while Newcastle's French fullback Olivier Bernard has shot down the club's efforts to resign him, with a breaking off of talks happening even as McDermott signed his new deal at Ashburton Grove. The fullback, in his prime, is in his Bosman period and is making just $850,000 per year. I would make a bid, but that's why I brought in Trond-Erik Bertelsen.

Nearly three months ago, star Leicester striker James Graham tore a groin muscle and missed the rest of the calendar year before returning early this month. The Foxes have suffered in his absence, but they are certainly happy to have him back now. After the Saturday round, Graham earned more plaudits for a strong performance against Colchester in a 2-0 win. The Scottish youth star didn't score, but his runs and shots on goal terrorized Colchester all match and earned him the Man of the Match.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week.

SC Ivica Olic (Southampton)-- 2 G, 8.50 rat in 2 matches
SC Adrian Mutu (Chelsea)-- 1 G, 1 A, MoM, 10 rat vs TOT
MF Scott Parker (Chelsea)-- 8 rat vs TOT
MF Jim Corbett (Tamworth)-- 1 A, MoM, 10 rat vs LIV
MF Darren Birchall (Tamworth)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs LIV
MF Fredy William Thompson (Aston Villa)-- 2 G, 7.50 rat in 2 matches
DF Patrice Evra (Man Utd)-- 7.50 rat in 2 matches
DF Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd)-- 8 rat in 2 matches
DF Danny Higginbotham (Southampton)-- 1 G, MoM, 8.50 rat in 2 matches
DF Richard Cotton (Man City)-- 8 rat vs NOT
GK Mark Brown (Bristol City)-- 18 sav, MoM, 8 rat in 2 matches

CR

condors

07-21-2004, 11:22 AM

Chief Rum

07-21-2004, 02:52 PM

not sure if Yakubu is the same every game or random but he was on my rushden side for 4 seasons and was one of the highest average rating players every year(#1 twice) but he became unhappy and didn't get along with scott parker so i decieded to transfer list him and real madrid offered 23 million for him

i am enjoying the reading

There are set ratings initially and for potentials as well for most of these players, although some things may have been left on random. In my experience with NHL:EHM, this was most prevalent in the hidden mental characteristics, and I would imagine it is those that control how moody a player is. So I couldn't tell you how similar your Yakubu was to mine.

Yakubu does do good when he's on the pitch. He's not as dominating as I like, but he's still very good.

$23 M is a dream world, though, I would imagine. I mean, I got Yakubu from Everton after they had to lower thei demands for him to half his value back then (just under $4 M). I'm not sure I would get any interest.

Glad you're enjoying the reading.

CR

Chief Rum

07-22-2004, 08:40 PM

Tuesday, January 20 To Monday, January 26

The Premiership fixture takes a break this week while the next round of cup competitions are played. On Wednesday, we meet Liverpool at Anfield again, this time for the first leg of the English League Cup semifinal, then on Saturday, we host First Division Burnley in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Incidentally, both Chelsea and Nottingham Forest won their third round replays and will be a second matchup of Premiership squads in the next round. The first one is the high-profile matchup of Newcastle and Man Utd.

Liverpool, First Leg of English League Cup Semifinal

Weren't we just here?

In an odd scheduling quirk, we happen to be playing Liverpool at Anfield for the second time in four days. And we will be playing them again in Tamworth in two weeks, when we wrap this two-leg semifinal of the English League Cup. So this is a bit strange.

In Saturday's 4-2 loss to us, the Reds played us fairly even at full strength for an entire half, and then lost in the second half, after we scored two goals against a depleted defense that was a man short, courtesy of Djimi Traoré's 45th minute send off.

So I don't anticipate a repeat of Saturday's match, but a much closer affair.

That seems to be Liverpool manager Alex McLeish's belief, as he throws almost exactly the same lineup out there today. The only difference is the insertion of centreback Sami Hyyplä for Traoré, whom, of course, cannot play today, with the automatic one-match suspension for the send off in place.

Personally, I suspect Liverpool might be better off with Hyyplä in there anyway.

As for us, we are going with our second eleven squad, so we have an essentially new lineup out there. Richie Partridge is still nursing his minor injury, so Chris Booth gets the call at right wing. Andy Williams is ready to go now (or close enough), but I have determined him to be our first eleven left winger. Since I am holding him out for that, and new second eleven left winger Carl Motteram is still tired from the last Liverpool match, Lionel Morgan will get another call here, in the lineup for which he has started all season.

You won't believe how this went in the early going. Around the 11th and 12th minutes, Liverpool got a little too rough. Striker El-Hadji Diouf pushed defender Tieme Klompe on a corner, and when he was whistled for the foul, he argued with the ref. The official didn't appreciate that and carded him. On the ensuing goal kick to the centreline, Harry Kewell backed into Andrei Pereplyotkin and was called for a foul. That set up a free kick from the right centreline by Booth, who sent a long pass toward the penalty area. After the ball was bandied about near the edge, Hyyplä bodychecked Pereplyotkin for the ball, and was called for Liverpool's third foul in less than two minutes. Diouf found something to his disliking here as well and argued with the ref again. Bad move, El-Hadji...just 12 minutes into the match, Diouf got his second yellow card and was sent off, making this the second straight Tamworth-Liverpool match in which the Reds have to play a man down.

Despite being put on the advantage again, we would struggle to score in the first half, as Liverpool does still have quite a lot of talent. In the 20th minute, David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro came in alone on Jerzy Dudek, but put an awful shot off to the right of the goal. In the 44th minute, we came closest to scoring when Pizarro volleyed a Morgan pass down to Louis Saha just to the left of the left post. The striker unleashed a hard shot at the goal, but Dudek was positioned perfectly. He sent the ball back out, where it was immediately cleared.

In fact, Liverpool had as many good shots at it as we did in the first half. In the 20th minute, defender J'Lloyd Samuel blasted a shot from the left edge that sailed just over the crossbar. And in the 25th minute, Micheal Owen used some nice moves to get into the box and to the right goal line before setting up Anthony Le Tallec with a nice pass back inf ront of the goal. All Le Tallec had to do was kick it in, but he sailed it too high, and it went over the crossbar.

The Lambs finally got on the board with some nice work between Saha and Pereplyotkin. Saha took a pass from Gaël Clichy into the box, moving to the left goal line. From there, he sent a low pass across the goal mouth. Pereplyotkin, reading the play, stepped through a small hole between Hyyplä and midfielder Mark Bresciano and just got enough on the ball to put it into the net for the first score of the match.

Liverpool wouldn't go away easy. In the 60th minute, Bresciano sent a pass into the box for Owen to move onto. Owen raced his marker, Klompe, to the ball and just edged him out, unleashing a hard shot at the goal. Thomas Heaton went out ont he rush and took the shot up close, parrying it to his left. Clichy got to the ball first and cleared it. Liverpool also came close with a shot by Steven Gerrard from the left of the goal that went too high in the 64th minute.

It finally took a string of Tamworth offensive pushes and an amazing kick to move us up a notch. Giovanny Hernáandez started the sequence by having his shot deflected over the crossbar by Dudek. The Reds cleared out the following corner, but then got called for a foul on Mark Hicks near the right edge of the area. Hernández sent the resulting indirect freekick toward the six-yard box, but it was headed out to just beyond the edge of the box by winger Rafael van der Vaart. Hicks stepped up and, on the volley, blasted a shoulder high shot at the right post. Dudek was on the shot, but it ricocheted off of his hands and up into the corner of the net for an incredible 25-yard strike and a 2-0 Tamworth lead.

The Lambs really put it away in the 74th minute, when Hernández won free to the right of the goal on a poor punch out by Dudek. Hicks moved the ball up to the midfielder, who kicked a nice cross-goal shot into the left side netting for the put away goal.

The match moved into the sublime in the 79th minute, when Gerrard argued not once, but twice on a foul (that wasn't even his own), despite already having a yellow on his docket. He was summarily tossed after being given all the leeway, and for the first time I actually had a two-man advantage over someone. We didn't score again, though. Tamworth 3, Liverpool0

If I was McLeish, I suppose I would be pissed off at the refs (8 yellows & 2 reds on Liverpool to just 2 yellows on us, 16-13 in fouls as well). If I was me (and the game allowed me to do so), I think I would be ripping into McLeish and his lack of a "leish" on his players, whom have managed to get three of their players sent off for rough play and poor sportsmanship in two matches against us.

Alas, I don't yet have the capability to rip into the other manager (reports are that might be in FM 2005, though).

Pazienza Signs With Hertha BSC

Well, it was fun to get in a big transfer-war like that.

On Thursday, January 22, Chelsea's Italian midfielder Michele Pazienza accepted the offer from Bundesliga power Hertha BSC, and turned down several offers from other clubs, incuding ourselves, Man City, Werder Bremen, Bielefeld and Leverkusen.

The 26-year-old Pazienza has been disgruntled at Chelsea, where he wasn't getting much playing time.

At least he didn't stay in the Premiership.

Burnley, Fourth Round of FA Cup

We once again drew a First Division opponent in cup competition, one round after playing Ipswich. Burnley isn't the high First Division squad Ipswich is, though, and I don't expect this match to be a tough test. Even so, I wil still be throwing out a top lineup to take care of business.

The match is taking place on Saturday, January 24, at the Lamb Ground, which means that normal first eleven striker Yakubu is away with Nigeria. Orri Freyr Oskarsson returns to his starting role in Yakubu's place, and will be paired with the player who bumped him to the backup team in Emmanuel Olisadebe. Meanwhile, Andy Williams is set for his debut on the left wing, which will officially bump Carl Motteram back to the second eleven and Lionel Morgan to the backup team.

Tamworth put immediate pressure on Burnley in the 4th minute. Olisadebe got free on a run and unleashed a shot that sailed over the crossbar. On the ensuing goalkick, the Lambs worked it back to the goal, with Johnnier Montaño taking on an Andy Williams pass near the center of the edge of the box. He headed a hard pass to the side, which ricocheted off of defender Danny Edge and bounced to Oskarsson, free to the left of the goal. The striker fired a shot at the near post, and his shot bounced right off of Burnley goalkeeper Ben Williams and into the net. The ref waved itoff, though, Olisadebe moved offside.

It wouldn't take long for the Lambs to remedy that mistake for Oskarsson. In the 7th minute, Gaël Clichy had the ball near the left end of the centreline. He worked slowly up the line against soft coverage and waited for a break from Oskarsson. When the striker went into the box, Clichy placed a perfect pass right onto Oskarsson. He fired it from a sharp angle across the goal mouth, catching the right post and into the net for the first score.

Tamworth continued to threaten after that. Williams just managed to block a close shot by Montaño in the 11th minute. Mcihael Stewart blasted a long shot over the bar on the ensuing goal kick. A mintue later, Williams deflected another Montaño shot over the bar. And in the 18th minute, Andy Williams and Oskarsson worked a nice give-and-go that freed the striker up on the goalkeeper, but Ben Williams got his hands on Oskarsson's angled shot and sent it up the line, where it crossed the goal line harmlessly.

Tamworth finally broke through again in the 22nd minute, when Stewart sent a long cross-pitch pass to Oskarsson near the left edge of the box. Oskarsson headed the pass up to Montaño, who was splitting the defense on a run intot he box. The midfielder put a hard shot into the right end of the net for the 2-0 lead.

Burnley tightened up the defense after that, and we didn't get another score. Fortunately, they never could solve our defense, and Jon Masalin put up the clean sheet. Tamworth 2, Burnley 0

One notable play came in the 48th minute, when Olisadebe entered the box ont he right with a good look at the goal. His shot blew past Ben Williams, but it struck the right post and went back out into the area, where Williams cleared it. It would have been Olisadebe's first goal for the Lambs, had it gone in.

With the win, Tamworth moves on to the FA Cup's 5th round. We were given $120,000 for the win.

Other Notable FA Cup Fourth Round Results

There were some very significant results in the latest round of England's most prestigious cup. Quite frankly, it wasn't a very strong day for the highest level of competition in the Premiership.

No less than four different Premiership squads lost to lower division squads today, and two others will have to play again after they were drawn by similarly lowly opponents.

Two other Premiership squads lost in matchups between EPL teams, meaning six of England's top squads are out, with another two on the line in the replay on February 4.

The two big matchups took place in Bury and Manchester. In Bury, the Second Division Bury squad pulled off an amazing 1-0 upset over Liverpool, which has had an awful week. The Reds were playing without regulars striker El-Hadji Diouf and midfielder Steven Gerrard due to suspension after both were sent off in their loss to us. Still, they have no excuse for losing this one. They weren't the only Premiership squad to fall to a Second Division team, as Wycombe beat Bristol City, 2-0.

The other huge match in Manchester was at Old Trafford, where the round's biggest match featured Man Utd hosting Newcastle. The Magpies got a big game from Shay Given, as he put up the clean sheet on powerful Man Utd, and Shola Ameobi scored the only goal in a 1-0 road win for Newcastle. In the other Premiership-only matchup, Chelsea beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

The other Premiership squads to lose was table-supporting Colchester, which got thumped hard by First Division Norwich, 4-0, and Sheffield Wednesday fell in a close one, 1-0, to First Division Scunthorpe.

Third Division Reading continued a mini-Cinderella run by drawing with Leicester at home and forcing a replay. The other Premiership squad draw involved Fulham, which tied 1-1 at home with First Division Crystal Palace.

Only five Premiership squads have won through to the fifth round of the FA Cup, with two more possibilities from the replays. The five teams that are through are Tamworth, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle and Blackburn.

This competition, which usualyl dominated by high-level squads, has seen three First Division squads among its last four finalists the past two seasons.

The draw for the fifth round will be held on Tuesday, January 27.

League Transfer News

Man Utd appears to be stepping up their efforts to bring in Everton's Danish winger Jesper Gronkjær. With their offer last week of $9 M apparently turned down, the Red Devils offered young Belgian defender and midfielder Floribert Ngalula Mbuyi in a straight-up Yankee-style trade on Tuesday, January 20. Is it a step up, though, from $9 M? I guess that depends on how Everton views the 21-year-old Mbuyi, whom has seen significant time for Begium's U-21 squad and saw part time starting duty on Man Utd's powerful backline last year. One difference--Mbuyi is in his Bosman period, and Man Utd has had very little success in moving him, dropping their requests from $1.9 M to just $400,000.

The deal fell through a few days later, though, when Mbuyi instead took an offer from Serie A's Perugia in a Bosman transfer. Mbuyi will move over to the Italian club on July 1, while Man Utd will have to go another route if they want to bring aboard Gronkjær.

One of the notable things about Arsenal's goalkeeping crew is that they happen to have England's number one and number two netminders on the same team. It boggles the mind that a national goalkeeper for a strong nation like England isn't even starting in league, but that's the case for Chris Kirkland, backing up young phenom Tony McDermott at Ashburton Grove. The Bundesliga's 1960 Munchen decided to make a bid on the goalkeeper on Tuesday, January 20. They offered $2.4 M for the 27-year-old.

Arsenal was apparently looking to move him, as they accepted the offer. 1860 Munchen officially worked out a contract with Kirkland on Saturday, January 24, and brought him over to Germany. It should be noted that when I made similar offers for the goalkeeper in the past year and a half, Arsenal asked for much more or efused to deal at all, the bastards.

Milan is flashing around its excesses of cash. On Tuesday, January 20, it made separate $24 M offers to FC Bayern for star Brazilian winger Alex and to Arsenal for Italian midfielder Gennaro Ivan Gattuso.

Like last month, though, bringing on Alex apparently is no simple thing. Milan would withdraw their offer for the winger four days later, no doubt because FC Bayern's counteroffer was not to their liking. The Gattuso bid didn't go so easily either, as Milan upped its offer to $26 M on Sunday, January 25.

The Landon Donovan sweepstakes wrapped up on Wednesday, January 21. The American midfielder and forward agreed to a deal with 1.FC.Köln, turning down offers from Wolfsburg and Man City. The Duisburg 26-year-old officially moved up a level in the Bundesliga, at a pricetag of $6.5 M in transfer fees.

German midfielder Patrick Ochs, a regular with Wolverhampton at both the Premiership and First Division levels the past three seasons, agreed to a Bosman transfer deal with Nottingham Forest on Thursday, January 22. He will join Forest on July 1. The 24-year-old is just under a 7 rating in 28 appearances this season.

On Friday, January 23, Colchester agreed to a Bosman transfer with 27-year-old Sierra Leonean striker Paul Kpaka of the Belgian First Division's Genk. Kpaka has played little for Genk this season, but scored 14 goals in 41 appearances last year. He will join Colchester on July 1.

Milan isn't the only squad "gunning" for an English league midfielder. On Friday, January 23, Genoa worked out a $12 M deal transfer deal with Liverpool for French midfielder Benoît Pedretti. Predretti only sees sporadic play with the Reds. The 28-year-old is not to be confused with young Charlton winger Bruno Pedretti, who recently told media he wasn't satisfied with his contract earlier this month.

Also on Friday, January 23, Blackburn loaned young left back Matthew Sadler from fellow Premiership squad, Birmingham. The loan is through the end of the season. The 23-year-old defender has been a regular on the Blues' backline the past season and a half, starting 44 matches in that time, and averaging a 6.94 rating this season.

The Spurs made a big move on Saturday, January 24, when they made an $8.5 M offer to Scottish power Celtic for striker Stefan Moore. The former Aston Villa player has done well in Scotland (12 goals in about a season's worth of matches across two seasons). Aston Villa rarely gave the 25-year-old striker a chance here in England, so moving to Tottenham could give him a chance to prove them wrong.

Southampton droipped $7 M in transfer fees and rising Northern Irish star David McConnell on Saturday, January 24. Despite being just 19, McConnell already has five caps and two international goals. McConnell, versatile enough to play both forward and defender, has dominated the First Division with Ipswich since he was just 17. He has scored 17, 26 and 21 goals the last three years, and also displayed strong passing skills (29 assists in that time), and was putting up a Tamworth-like 8.19 rating when Southampton brought him aboard. Now that's the kind of player I should have been paying more attention to.

The transfer deadline for English clubs is the end of the month, January 31.

Other League News

Sheffield Wednesday striker Francis Jeffers suffered a torn groin muscle in training on Tuesday, January 20, hurting the club's chances at a spot in Europe next year. The former Southampton striker is probably Sheffield Wednesday's premier offensive player. He has eight goals in 13 appearances this season, and this is his third major injury in the past six months, after missing three weeks two separate times earlier this season for two unrelated injuries. This time, the 28-year-old will be out for two months.

Tottenham right winger Simon Davies isn't too keen on his falling role with the Spurs this season. The 29-year-old Welshman has been a key component of Tottenham's midfield since 2001, but he has only appeared in five matches this season. He missed the first two months of the season (and the last month of the 2007-08 season) with a slipped disk in his back, but has been healthy since October.

On Tuesday, January 20, he told the Times he was unsatisfied with the decision of Spurs' manager Eddie Gray to leave him off of the first team. He said Gray doesn't have enough experience at the Premiership levelk, and that he wouldn't know a good player if he saw one. What is surprising about that is that the venerable 61-year-old Gray has been managing Tottenham for three years, following a stint at the helm of Leeds, which was also in the Premiership at the time.

While the article was kinda odd, I tend to agree with Davies. He's not a bad player and even valued at $16.5 M. The Spurs aren't good enough to be playing a guy like that just five times in half of a season.

On Wednesday, January 21, Irish defender Chris Griffiths was reported by the Daily Star to be unhappy with his current deal. The 19-year-old Birmingham defender has nine U-21 caps for Ireland already, but wasn't starting regularly for the Blues until this season. He has a 6.78 rating in 27 appearances this year. He is currently making just $60,000 per year, and is on the Bosman period of his contract.

There were no Premiership matches this week, so there isn't a Premiership Team of the Week either.

CR

Chief Rum

07-24-2004, 06:41 AM

Tuesday, January 27 To Monday, February 2

We return to Premiership action this week after a week of cup competitions. On Wednesday, January 28, we play the home match against Chelsea that had to be pushed back to make way for Chelsea's third round replay in the FA Cup two weeks ago. Then on Sunday is the big one (as if Chelsea is small potatoes...), when we welcome our primary league contender in Man Utd to the Lamb Ground.

The last time we played the Red Devils, they smacked us at their place in an early September match (4-2 loss, the one where Jon Masalin moved all the way up into the offensive pitch for some reason, allowing Man Utd to score an improbable goal from behind the right centreline). Also, the winner will have the clear advantage the rest of the way in the league fight.

FA Cup Fifth Round Drawn

On Tuesday, January 27, the fifth round of the FA Cup was drawn.

Thus far, we have drawn First Division squads in this competition. That trend would continue today, when we drew former Premiership stalwart Leeds United. Leeds is no doubt a shell of what it once was, but it's a decently rated squad for its division (currently eighth), and there are a sprinkling of familiar names here and there, such as midfielder Eirik Bakke, winger James Milner and a former English national team goalkeeper in Paul Robinson. I still have Milner on my shortlist. They also happen to have my top young prospect in Mark Hooper currently on loan. And to be honest, I don't even remember if the terms of our deal included allowing him to play against us (one of these day's I'll have to go over my U-19 team, so everyone will know what I have coming, besides the Slovakians, that is).

Back to Leeds. They have been in the First Division since the 2005-06 season, and they haven't finished in the division's top ten yet, so this is probably one we should win, even at Elland Road. I wonder if they are financially healthy again? (I checked, it said "Insecure", so I guess not)

We meet up with the Whites on February 14.

Perhaps it's just a reflection of the fall of so many Premiership squads in the earlier rounds, but this round won't feature a single matchup between two teams from England's highest level.

Newcastle hosts Norwich, which is third in the First Division and smacked EPL club Colchester in the fourth round. Arsenal hosts Rushden, which has the riches but not the pedigree (13th in D1) of a big club. Blackburn has to travel to First Division Scunthorpe, but the home team is struggling to stay out of relegation to the Second Division, so that shouldn't be much of a match. Chelsea hosts Wycombe, which beat Bristol City, but, still, this is Chelsea, and Wycombe is a Second Division team. If Fulham and Leicester win through on their replays next week, they will play Coventry and Bury, respectively. Bury pulle doff the biggest upset of the last round when they beat Liverpool at home.

All told, there are sixteen spots in the competition for the fifth round.

Chelsea

Chelsea is still a top five squad in England, but they aren't as recognizable as they used to be. Crespo and Gallas have been gone for half a year. Chopra and Pazienza have been moved in the past two weeks.

But this team still has their latest superstar in Adrian Mutu, who might be the top player in the Premiership right now. Dutch star Arjen Robben remains, and recent purchase, former Roma and Spurs striker Jermain Defoe rounds out a threesome up front in Chelea's 4-3-3 tactic. Defoe scored 19 goals for Tottenham just two seasons ago.

Joe Cole, Scott Parker and Aliaksandr Hleb have been together for some years now, and is one of the more accomplished midfields on the island. Damien Duff, himself a top winger, comes off the bench. Gallas may be gone, but England's second national centreback John Terry remains in place. He and recent fullback acquisition Aleksandre Amisulashvili form high points on a good backline fronting solid Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech.

This is a second eleven match, but it is the first time Carl Motteram and Richie Partridge have been paired as wingers since last year. Motteram has been moved to the second eleven by the return of Andy Williams, and Partridge just healed up from his groin strain. The only other difference is Justin Skinner is getting a rare start at left fullback, with Gaël Clichy a little tired.

We got the early shots off. In the 13th minute, David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro went on a run toward the box in which he split Parker and centreback Robert Huth. He let loose a long, but hard low shot between the two at goal, but Cech parried it off to the right, and then cleared it. Denny Landzaat took another good long shot a minute later that Cech could only put off to the left. Saha was first on it, with a hole between the post and an approaching Cech, but his shot went into the side netting. Then in the 19th minute, Landzaat found Pizarro on a run into the box, but the midfielder blasted his shot over the goal.

So despite our early control, it was Chelsea that put up the first score. In the 22nd minute, Cole found Robben in the left end of the box. Robben drew attention from the defense and from Thomas Heaton as he approached the left goal line. Once there, he sent a sharp, low pass across the goal mouth. Mutu stuck his leg out of the crowd and put the ball in on redirect for the first score of the match.

Tamworth wouldn't stay down for long, though, as Cech made a couple of mistakes in net for Chelsea. In the 36th minute, Partridge since an on-the-mark long pass from behind the right centreline onto the outer edge of the area and Lousi Saha. The French striker beat Huth in the air and headed a hard shot off of Partridge's pass right at the goal. Cech was on it, but he allowed a rebound to the left. Saha jumped onto it first and kicked it into the open left side of the net for the tie score.

Just a couple minutes later, Cech didn't just allow a rebound, but made a bad decision that led to a score. Skinner sent a long pass forward to Saha, near the left corner of the box. Saha beat Huth in the air again and sent a hard, high pass toward the front of the goal and a hard-charging Pizarro. The pass was off, though, and seemed headed harmlessly across the right goal line. For some reason, Cech decided to step up and stop the pass. He fumbled it, though, and the ball deflected off to his right. Pizarro was first on the ball and kicked in the easy goal behind the frozen Cech.

This match got into the very interestign mode, though, early in the second half. In the 49th minute, Andrei Pereplytokin was making a run into the box when he collided into Terry. Pereplytokin took the worst of it, and clutched his leg as he fell to the pitch. He had to be carted off the field, and early indications aren't good for the striker, who seemed to be in great pain.

As Tamworth sent Mark Hicks on to the pitch as a sub, some of the Lambs apparently started bad mouthing Terry and Chelsea over the Pereplytokin injury. In quick succession, Hleb kicked Carl Motteram, and Parker pushed away Skinner. The refs intervened before it could go further, but it had gone far enough--Hleb was sent off with a red card, and Parker given a yellow--his second of the match! I have never seen two guys booted at the same time. Getting to watch them slowly and moodily walk off was certainly a unique experience.

The Lambs then immediately took advantage of the surprise two-man advantage, although it took a wonderful play by Partridge to make it happen. In the 53rd minute, Kevin Gorman sent a throw in at the right goal line near the box. Partridge, closely marked by Amisulashvili, just managed to chase the ball down at the line and send a sharp pass up the line toward the center of the goal. Saha jumped up and caught the pass, heading it into the net on the volley for his second goal of the match, and a 3-1 lead.

It would prove insurmountable for a team playing on the road and two men down. Tamworth 3, Chelsea 1

Probably the most surprising thing (other than that this is the third straight match against a Premiership opponent in which at least one player was sent off) is that we didn't score again after that.

Chelsea Aftermath

For an incidental Premiership match, Wednesday's victory over Chelsea brought with it an awful lot of news.

Obviously, Hleb and Parker won't be playing for the Blues next time around. Hleb would soon discover he had been given a three-match suspension in addition to his automatic one-match ban.

On our end, Motteram didn't draw a card in the frackas, but he did get one in play during the match, and it turned out to be his fifth one of the season. For that, he too will miss our next domestic match, against Man Utd. Of course, it's a first eleven match anyway, but he won't be available regardless.

We set another record for attendance with 32030. The total is ten fans more than the previous record, set last month in a 5-1 win over Newcastle. It seems likely that mark itself could fall in four days, when we host powerful and popular Man Utd.

All of this news pales in consideration to our report on Pereplyotkin's injury, though. The Ukrainian striker, and our leading scorer with 15 goals, has broken his leg and will almost certainly miss the rest of the season. He is on the books for sure for four months, and that will liekly mean full recovery won't happen until the offseason in June.

Pereplyotkin's loss is a harsh one for our club. He is one of our influential leaders (18 Influence). He and Saha have formed a powerful striker combo, and have been probably our best and most consistent offensive performers this year. He is our top goal scorer at 15. He has developed into one of the top strikers in the Premiership. For all these reasons, this is a very bad injury for our squad to suffer. Media pundits are saying it's going to seriously derail our shot at the title.

I'm not so much of a pessimist, considering our depth at the position, although I am very concerned at losing the offensive potency that the Saha-Pereplyotkin duo was giving us. This solves the potential issue of what to do with Oskarsson and Olisadebe. I haven't decided which yet, but one of those two will drop to the second eleven to matchup with Saha, while Oskarsson will regain his regular spot on one of the two elevens, probably the first one, next to his old partner Yakubu.

Regardless, I'm just going to have to cross my fingers that this doesn't dull the effectiveness of our second eleven, which, truth be told, has been better than the first eleven.

In fact, I went back and did the math. The first eleven is 13-0-5 this year. The second eleven? 15-1-0! That's right, the second eleven has not been beaten yet, and the only blemish was that 2-2 draw with Everton in early November.

Leicester Makes Offer On Heaton

On Friday, January 30, Leicester offered us $1.9 M and veteran defender Riccardo Scimeca for second eleven goalkeeper Thoams Heaton.

Heaton is not listed, nor am I making him available. Frankly, he is obviously the top goalkeeper on the squad, based on performance this year, while the only other candidate, Masalin, has proven to be inconsistent in two seasons of regular time.

Both are young (Masalin is 23, Heaton 22) and well-skilled. Masalin, though, has allowed 25 goals in 20 matches, against 20 goals in 18 matches by Heaton. Is the difference awe-inspiring? No. But I have watched them both enough to figure Heaton is the goalkeeper of the future, at least as things stand right now. If I had gotten Ceylan Fatih, Masalin would have been listed already.

Heaton is currently valued at $2.2 M, and it seems likely that Leicester was aiming for some equivalent deal. We have no desire to move Heaton, though, no real need for an over-the-hill defender, nor any desparate need for the low money offered.

So I turn the Foxes down, saying Heaton is an important first team player.

Board Confidence Update

Same shit, new month.

The Tamworth board are absolutely thrilled with the level of commitment you continue to show to the club.

Boy, will they be surprised when I tire of the challenge and go for something new.

January Premiership Awards

Adrian Mutu won the Player of the Month award for January, his second straight honor in this category. He continues to be a top player for Chelsea.

Last year, Leicester's James Graham was a constant presence in the English Premier Division Young Player of the Month award. After returning from his midseason injury, Graham won this award for the first time this season.

Man Utd manager Joop Hiele won his second Manager of the Month award in three months, as he led his squad to another undefeated month. I get no respect at all. :)

None of the goals of the month involved Tamworth, either offensively or defensively.

Man Utd

The big day has come. Hopefully, I can dampen Hiele's mood just hours after he was named the Premiership's Manager of the Month.

As usual, the Red Devils' lineup is stocked with stars, although it's not as bad as it could have been (Rio Ferdinand wasn't selected). The usual superstars in Miroslav Klose and Nicolas Anelka were up front, with Sidney Govou and Crisitiano Ronaldo in the lineup in a scary wing combo. The midfield was handled by steady regulars Gaetano D'Agostino and Eric Djemba-Djemba. While the backline was missing Ferdinand and didn't start Bernd Korzynietz, it still looked very strong with John O'Shea heading it. His partner in the backfield was Phillip Bardsley. In addition, midfielder Keiran Richardson and solid backup striker Guiseppe Sculli were on the sub list with Korzynietz. Fabien Bathez, as usual, started in net.

This was a first eleven match for us. Gaël Clichy started at leftback for Hermann Hreidasrsson to recover the start he lost last match to Justin Skinner, and Lionel Morgan was in for Andy Williams on the left wing, as the first eleven winger still needs a lot of match practice to get back into full match playing shape. Up front, Yakubu returns from missing two matches with Nigeria. He starts along side Orri Freyr Oskarsson, who returns to the starting lineup in anticipation of Emmanuel Olisadebe dropping down to the second eleven to replace the injured Andrei Pereplyotkin.

The last time we played, Man Utd really put it to us, 4-2, at Old Trafford. It was probably the worst match of the season for us. So i wasn't too surprised how this one started.

Man Utd won a corner in the 2nd minute. Although the corner was cleared out rather than headed toward the goal, it merely set up the follow-up play. D'Agostino, who was coming in from the original corner, got to the clear out in the right end of the area, and sent a curling pass back to center, toward the outer edge of the box. Bardsley jumped for the ball and headed a shot that sailed over a charging Masalin for the first score.

We had a great chance to tie it up in the 30th minute. Johnnier Montaño had the ball in front of the centre-circle and drew attention from the Man Utd defense. That allowed Yakubu to move a step ahead of the defense on the left end of the box. Montaño moves the ball forward to Yakubu, who moes in alone on Barthez. The French goalkeeper is ready, though, and blocks the hard shot after rushing out. D'Agostino cleared it out to end the threat.

The play would merely be repeated a few minutes later, though, as Yakubu was early on displaying a canny skill to get space on the Red Devil defenders. Leon Cort sent a terrific pass from the defensive half of the pitch up to Yakubu, agains charging into the box on the left side, Bardsley in on his tale. This time, Yakubu blasted the shot just to Bathez's left and the netminder was unable to get his hands on the hard shot. It slammed into the net for the equaliser.

I couldn't believe what happened in the 43rd minute. Bardsley, whom had played a key role in the match so far (scored Man Utd's goal, was man-marking Yakubu on Tamworth's goal), obstructed Montaño on a run, and was ticketed with a yellow. It was his second, after he earlier obstructed yakubu, and for the fourth straight match against Premiership squads, our opponent had at least one player sent off in the match.

Still, Man Utd is too good to just assume victory in a situation like this, even with a man advantage. It took a terrific shot to break the 1-1 stalemate in the 51st minute. Michael Stewart tried to move a pass from the centre of the pitch up to Yakubu, but O'Shea headed the ball directly back. Stewart then adjusted and moved the pass a little more directly toward the goal, allowing Yakubu just a whisper of an edge int he race to the ball. The Nigerian striker didn't have time to move the ball once he got to it, with O'Shea preparing to relieve him of the ball, so he unleashed a hard, lwo shot just inside the left post from the edge of the area while on the run. It was a terrific shot that blasted through a tight hole between the post and a seemingly surprised Barthez for Yakubu's second goal.

Considering the dificulty of that shot and the fact that Man Utd would go on to hold off the Lambs for some time--despite being a man down--I think that shows just how much talent we were facing in our opponent today. We clung to a 2-1 lead for most of the second half. Finally, in the 74th minute, a Djemba-Djemba foul got us a freekick from the middle of the offensive pitch, off to the right. Chris Booth, in for Jim Corbett on sub, sent a pass up to Yakubu, just outside the center of the edge of the area. There were as many as four Man Utd defenders, besides Barthez, blocking Yakubu from the goal, so the Nigerian striker, who was simply on fire today, went with an odd shot, using his outside foot to fire a curling shot over and toward the right post. The shot was kicked well enough to simply curl around the defenders, and Barthez seemed frozen as yet another wonderful shot fell into the right side of the net for the put-away goal. Oskarsson would add two late goals, including a beauty of a narrow angle shot that he had to blast between Barthez and a defender to score, to turn this one into a rout. Tamworth 5, Man Utd 1

This was a huge statement match for us, and with it we had a six-point lead in the Premiership for the first time this season.

Yakubu, who recently complained about his contract and role with the club, let his play do the talking in this one, having his best match of the season. Oskarsson, returned to a regular eleven spot by Pereplyotkin's injury, made it clear himself he probably shouldn't have left the role in the first place. Pereplyotkin who?

As I suspected, we set a new club record for attendance, when we brought in 32033 for this one. That's just three fans more than we had for Chelsea four days ago, which was the last record for attendance we had. With a 32045 capacity ground, we don't have too much further to go up (without expansion, that is, and I am not planning to push for it after the changes we have made in the past year).

Against Chelsea, Motteram reached the five-yellow card limit to miss this match (although he wouldn't have played anyway). He will now be availabel for the next win, but first eleven right winger Corbett got his fifth yellow card aginst Man Utd and won't be available for the next match with the automatic domestic ban.

League Transfer News

It's the last week in the trasnfer window for English clubs, officially ending on Saturday, January 31. Here's what went down.

Two notable name moves kicked off the week when former French international fullback Vincent Candela was brought in by Man Utd, while Chelsea dropped a chuck of change to bring in midfielder Leonardo Ponzio, both on Tuesday, January 27.

Man Utd signed the 35-year-old vet defender away from Roma for $900,000. It appears that Candela's physical skills have deteriorated into the lower double digits, but he still seems to be very strong mentally and technically, and looks like a key signing. Despite that, media pundits apparently ripped the move as a waste of money. Candela rebuked the critics in an interview with The Daily Star later that day, saying he sees no reason why he won't be able to play at his current high standard through the end of his contract. He is signed through June 2012, so I would have to agree with the critics (he will be almost 38 when it ends) in the long run, although for $900,000, this is just a drop in the bucket for Man Utd. And Candela is good enough now at least to help out. He had four assists and a 6.91 rating in 11 appearances with Roma this season, and was also very solid last year for them (two goals, six assists, 7.05 rating in 44 appearances).

Ponzio, who comes in from Primera Liga Second Division squad Zaragoza, cost Chelsea a good deal more, at $12 M. He seems to be worth it, though. The Argentinian defensive midfielder has terrific ratings and, at 27, is in his prime. He only has two caps for Argentina, but apparently he played long enough at the highest levels in Spain to not have to worry about a work permit. He had three goals and trhee assists to goa logn with a 7.00 rating in 24 appearances for the Spanish club. Zaragoza has been at the second level in Spain for the past couple seasons, but were a Primera Liga regular prior to that. Ponzio has started 30 or more matches for the club going back four seasons now.

He's not exactly a big name player, but the media tends to overhype stories when the deadline approaches. On Tuesday, January 27, Everton manager Claudio Ranieri said he is willing to listen to offers for 24-year-old part time midfielder Alan Moogan. Moogan seems to be a decent player, but he doesn't really get too much regular playing time, with just one appearance this year (although he scored a goal in it). The defensive midfielder appeared in 12 matches last year and 16 in 2006-07. Ranieri's announcement came after rumors came out that Second Division Barnsley were looking to bring on Moogan.

Moogan and his agent themselves say not much is going on yet in the Barnsley possibility, though. On Wednesday, January 28, the agent for the midfielder told reporters from Football365.com that neither he nor his client had yet to have contact with Barnsley.

Birmigham seems to be in the mode of supplying backline players to the world right now. Just days after loaning Matthew Sadler to Blackburn, and looking to possibly move disgruntled youth back Chris Griffiths, the Blues move youthful Scottish U-21 regular Mark Reilly to Leicester for $700,000 on Tuesday, January 27. Considering he is just 21 and already has 11 U-21 caps with Scotland, I have to think Leicester did really well to get Reilly for what they did, although I only have him partially scouted. Reilly, who is versatile enough to play either on the wing or at fullback, appeared in 14 matches for Birmingham this season, with two goals, three assists and a 6.94 rating. This is a season after the young defender appeared in 30 matches for the Blues last year. Why Birmingham seems so intent to move these good looking young defenders, I couldn't tell you.

Nottingham Forest made a high-profile move Wednesday, January 28, when they brought in German international striker Benjamin Lauth on loan from the Bundesliga's HSV. The 27-year-old forward has been phenomenal in the Bundesliga this year, scoring 13 goals and dishing out eight assists in 23 appearances in Germany. Last year, he did even better, with 18 goals and 10 assists in 34 appearances. Lauth will be with Nottingham Forest throught he end of the season.

In a move of unknown importance beyond the strength of the clubs involved, Serie A squad Perugia signed away Irish U-21 midfielder Peter Bird away from Liverpool. The Bosman transfer of the 19-year-old will take place on July 16. Bird, a Reds' youth academy product, has only appeared in four total matches at Anfield the past two seasons, but has three U-21 caps for Ireland.

Blackpool loaned well-regarded England U-21 defender and midfielder Stuart Hunt from First Division Charlton on Wednesday, January 28. Hunt, 21, has four caps with the England U-21 team and has been a regular for Charlton the past couple seasons. He has a 6.79 rating in 24 appearances for the Addicks this season. The loan will last through the end of the season.

This must be the time of year when big teams trade youth players. Serie A squad Brescia raided Sheffield Wedsnesday for 19-year-old midfielder Steve Richards. Despite his age, Richards has played a regular part time role for Sheffield Wednesday the past couple of seasons. He has a 6.74 rating in 19 appearances this year. He will transfer to Brescia in a Bosman move on May 22.

It goes to show what kind of backline talent Arsenal has handy when they can afford to just loan out Ivorian international Kolo Abib Touré, and to another Premiership squad to boot. On Thursday, January 29, Fulham loaned Touré, an accomplished international centreback, for the rest of the season. Touré is in his prime at 27, but barely played for Arsenal, with just four matches under his belt this year. From 2003-2006, Touré was a young fixture on Arsenal's backline, and always averaged well over a 7 rating. Frankly, I am shortlisting him as a possible player to pickup this offseason, although I wish he had elite defensive tachnical skills.

Last week, Milan made huge bids for FC Bayern's Alex and Arsenal's Gennaro Ivan Gattuso, with numbers for each player rumored to be in the mid-20's of millions. Well, the hammer fell twice on Thursday, January 29, and Milan revolutionized its midfield. Gattuso, regarded as a worldclass midfielder, moved over to Milan for $26 M. And then Milan stunned England by signing away Liverpool wing fixture Harry Kewell for $28.5 M after its efforts to bring in Alex were rebuffed. So the Premiership gained over $50 M from Milan for these two players. Gattuso, a 31-year-old Italian international, actually came to Arsenal from Milan two years ago after seeing just sporadic time with his original club. He has two goals, three assists and a 7.03 rating in 32 starts this year for Arsenal. The Kewell move seemed to come out of nowhere. The 30-year-old Australian superstar winger has been a notable presence at Anfield for most of the decade now, and remains one of the top talents in the world. Still, he was only a part time starter for Liverpool the past couple years. This season, he has four goals, three assists and a 7,27 rating in 22 appearances with Liverpool.

Blackpool brought over former Premiership midfielder Nicolás Medina from First Division Sunderland on Friday, January 30. They bought the 26-year-old Argentinian for $1.8 M. I don't have any ratings for this guy, but he played in 38 matches for Sunderland last year, when they were a Premiership squad. He has played 19 matches this season, with a goal and three assists.

Birmingham's young defender Chris Griffiths inked a Bosman transfer deal with Portuguese Superleague squad Benfica on Friday, January 29. This comes just a week after rumors surfaced that the 19-year-old Irish U-21 regular was dissatisfied with his current deal. Griffiths has started regularly for Birmingham this season, although it is the first time he has seen regular time at this level. He has a goal and a 6.78 average rating in 27 matches this season. He also has nine U-21 caps for Ireland, along with two international goals. He will move over to Benfica on May 29.

On Saturday, January 31, Leicester succeeded where Sheffield Wednesday failed. Almost a month after the latter club was rebuffed in its attempts to bring on Romanian international fullback Cosmin Contra, the Foxes signed away the 33-year-old veteran defender from the Primera Liga's Atlético Madrid for $575,000. Last month, when rumors surfaced of Sheffield Wednesday's interest, Contra said he didn't want to leave the Spanish club, where he has been playing since 2002. The deal apparently died away then. Leicester kept up interest, though, and officially bought the defender on the last day of the current transfer window. Contra, who still looks like an accomplished if unspectacular player, has seen his playing time dwindle with his skills the past few seasons, but he still maintained a regular role with Atlético Madrid. He averaged a 6.64 rating in 14 appearances so far this season.

Contra and Leicester came under fire much as Man Utd did over its signing of veteran fullback Vincent Candela earlier in the week. Contra told the Sunday Mirror pretty much the same thing Candela did to the media, saying the critics were wrong about him being a poor use of the Foxes' money, and that he would prove them wrong. Well, at least he has motivation. Contra told the club website the next day that he was looking forward to playing with top quality supporting players like Sheffield Wednesday has.

The crowning achievement of the transfer period happened on the final day of the window, when Man Utd successfully negotiated a $13 M deal for Dortmund's Icelandic international striker Eidur Gudjohnsen. Gudjohnsen pairs with our own Oskarsson as starting strikers on Iceland's national squad. Gudjohnsen, 30, should be a potent addition to a striker group for the Red Devils that already includes Klose, Anelka, and Sculli. Gudjohnsen has played well for Dortmund (7.18 rating this season) and has gotten 10 or more goals in three of the last our full seasons, but he still wasn't seeing all too much regular starting time with the German power. This past season he has six goals and six assists in 28 appearances, only four of which were starts.

Man Utd fans lauded the move on the part of Hiele, and welcomed Gudjohnesen with open arms on Saturday, although he wasn't yet prepared enough to play against us the next day (too bad, too, they could have used him, it seems). On Sunday, after their loss to us, Gudjohnsen told the Chester Evening Leader that he aims to bring glory to Old Trafford. It has been suggested in the media as a payday move for the striker, whom has played well enough to gain notice, but hasn't really established himself as a superstar. Gudjohnsen said that isn't the case, although he is being paid well enough ($3.1 M) to "get by". It must be nice to offer that much money in an annual salary to a player.

League News

Well, that's the transfer window, but as usual plenty of other things happened in the Premiership this week, including the hiring of two new managers.

The big one came in on Friday, January 30. Arsneal, rebuffed in their effort to lure me to Ashburton Grove, finally moved on and hired 45-year-old Welshman Mark Bowen to one of the world's most prestigious club management positions. Bowen, a former Wlesh international regular as a player, is more than a bit of a shock, with little experience or regard as a manager as of yet. He has just one other stint as a manager, as he was hired by former Premiership squad Middlesbrough (me olde haunts) last March to stave off relegation. He was unable to do so, and when his squad started off badly at the First Division level this past season, he got his walking papers last October, just seven months after being hired. With that hefty resumé he gets signed by...Arsenal. Sheesh. Bowen has a 9-2-14 record as a manager, with 38 goals scored against 44 conceded. Say what you will about his experience and track record, but Bowen does seem to better than the average slob in the manager ratings. Arsenal was without a manager since Bart van Marwijk left in December to take over Blackburn.

The other manager move was in Leicester. The Foxes hired John McDermott on Wednesday, January 29. McDermott, a youthful 41-year-old Englishman, went to work right away for Leicester, bringing in Lauth from HSV and Contra from Atlético Madrid. He also tried to get Thomas Heaton from us. Kudos for the effort anyway.

Despite his young age, McDermott does have a significant track record. He worked under Man Utd's former legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson as his assistant manager at Old Trafford from 2003-2006. That position is actually more prestigious than all but just about the top managing jobs in Europe, to be honest.

McDermott was hired away by Scottish power Celtic in August, 2006, replacing Erland Johnson, who went for the riches to be found managing Chelsea. McDermott led Celtic to league titles in the Scottish Premier Division both years as the manager, and also won the Scottish Cup two years ago. He finished runner up in both the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup last year, and won through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League last year, and has reached the knockout stage of the CL this year as well. The guy has a very strong 88-25-32 record, with 285 goals scored and 141 conceded. Basically, McDermott should have been Arsenal's hire, while Bowen might have been considered for Leicester. Looks liek the Foxes really lucked out.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week.

SC Yakubu (Tamworth)-- 3 G, MoM, 10 rat vs MUT
SC Brett Ormerod (Blackpool)-- 2 G, MoM, 10 rat vs NOT
MF Denny Landzaat (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs CHE
MF Michael Stewart (Tamworth)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs MUT
MF Orri Freyr Oskarsson (Tamworth)-- 2 G, 10 rat vs MUT
MF Lionel Morgan (Tamworth)-- 1 A, 9 rat vs MUT
DF Mike Duff (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs MUT
DF Gaël Clichy (Tamworth)-- 9 rat vs MUT
DF Daniele Bonera (Arsenal)-- 9 rat vs MAN
DF Lee Bell (Bristol City)-- 9 rat vs LEI
GK Ian Walker (Colchester)-- 6 sav, MoM, 10 rat vs SOU

My team really kicked ass on the Premierhsip Team of the Week listings. Cool. ;)

CR

daedalus

07-24-2004, 12:05 PM

It goes to show what kind of backline talent Arsenal has handy when they can afford to just loan out Ivorian international Kolo Abib Touré, and to another Premiership squad to boot. On Thursday, January 29, Fulham loaned Touré, an accomplished international centreback, for the rest of the season. Touré is in his prime at 27, but barely played for Arsenal, with just four matches under his belt this year. From 2003-2006, Touré was a young fixture on Arsenal's backline, and always averaged well over a 7 rating. Frankly, I am shortlisting him as a possible player to pickup this offseason, although I wish he had elite defensive tachnical skills.KOLO! :D

I'm still hoping Arsenal can sign his brother, Ya Ya. If only because, well, it'd be damned cool to have a "Ya Ya" on the squad.Blackpool brought over former Premiership midfielder Nicolás Medina from First Division Sunderland on Friday, January 30. They bought the 26-year-old Argentinian for $1.8 M. I don't have any ratings for this guy, but he played in 38 matches for Sunderland last year, when they were a Premiership squad. He has played 19 matches this season, with a goal and three assists.Interesting. Medina was a high rating-low performance guy for me in 01/02. Thankfully, because of his high "potential", I was able to sell him off to another team.

Chief Rum

07-25-2004, 05:29 AM

Just for shits & giggles, I went and looked up Yaya.

Apparently in real life he is with Beveren. In the game, he left Beveren (of the Belgian First Division) for Shakhtar. He never really played regularly for them, although he did play regularly with their reserve squad (in the High League, some squads' reserve teams, including Shakhtar's, play in the next lower league division, rather than in a reserve-only league).

At the beginning of this past season, he left on a free for Turkish Premier Division squad Dardanelspor, and is playing well. Still, his ratings, while solid and enough to make him a regular on Ivory Coast's national team along with his brother, still pale compared to Kolo.

I stil don't have ratings on Medina, but he doesn't look to be all that valuable. But, like you say, maybe it's a performance thing and not a ratings thing. Some guys are like that.

CR

daedalus

07-25-2004, 08:43 AM

I'm still hopeful that we can sign Yaya. He's gotten very good reviews from all I've read. Kolo claims that Yaya is the better of the brothers. Plus, he's supposedly a midfielder in the mold of Paddy and if Paddy doesn't want to make up his mind and commit, I'd rather just say thanks for the memory and have a good day.

But then again . . . as I see it, Freddie and Edu would be gone, too. If you don't commit all the way - a la Titi - we'll get you a ticket on the Greyhound and wish you a nice day. I'll take the money and get somebody who WANTS to be here.

Chief Rum

07-25-2004, 03:08 PM

Well, the Gunners certainly have the cash to bring quality replacements for any of those players. That must be nice to be able to do that. ;)

CR

daedalus

07-25-2004, 04:04 PM

Hee hee. We're actually fairly low on money compared to other teams in similar competitive range. Most of our money are tied up with keeping the club afloat while building a new park and we don't have the international name to bring in money like Manchester United or Real Madrid.

They money those guys would fetch, though, could be used for some interesting replacements. :D

Chief Rum

07-25-2004, 05:07 PM

Heh...I'm sure it would. ;)

CR

Chief Rum

07-26-2004, 05:05 AM

Tuesday, February 3 To Monday, February 9

This week, we have both cup and league play.

We host Liverpool on Wednesday, February 4, to complete the two-leg semifinal of the English League Cup. Then on Saturday, February 7, we become one of new Leicester manager John McDermott's first opponents with the Foxes. We will welcome them to the Lamb Ground in a Premier Division match.

International Call Ups

For some reason, many European national teams schedule freindlies around now, to prepare for the busy national team season to come in June and July.

On Tuesday, February 3, our second eleven right back Kevin Gorman was called up to Irish U-21 squad, for whom he has already appeared five times in his 20-year-old life. The Irish U-21's will play Spain's kids on February 10.

It's not my custom to stop any player from representing his country in any capacity, so, of course, I allow him to go with no instructions as to his use.

This early call up was quickly followed by a flood of calls to service to some of my notable international players on Wednesday, February 4.

No less than 12 players were requested to be on hand for matches on behalf of their countries. Most of the old internationals were picked, as expected. Louis Saha was called on by France, and Holland called for Denny Landzaat. Northern Ireland notified Mike Duff, and fellow Irishman Richie Partridge received notice from the Republic. Scotland brought back Michael Stewart, and Iceland called for the usual duo in Hermann Hreidarsson and Orri Freyr Oskarsson.

South American nations were also embroiled in friendly fever, so David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro was called up by Chil, and Colombia once again sent out for Johnnier Montaño and Giovanny Hernández.

The most notable absences among the old regulars were left off for obvious reasons. African nations are thick into both the African Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifying, so they don't feel the need to utilize this break for a friendly to keep their teams sharp. So Yakubu gets a break.

Thanks to his broken leg, Andrei Perpelyotkin was also not called up by the Ukraine.

Tamworth also had some new players get the call. Welshman Andy Williams was tabbed by his homeland, now that he is healthy again from eight months of rehabiliting a major knee injury. And Emmanuel Olisadebe will be playing for Poland.

One new player who would certainly be in a national lineup were he not wrapping up a two-month rehab froma groin muscle tear is Trond-Erik Bertelsen. The Norwegian fullback is close to returning to action, but, not surprisingly, the national team coach didn't feel the need to use Bertelsen in a pointless friendly that could cause an aggravation of his injury.

Tamworth Registers Late Season Roster For Champions League

With the knockout phase of the Champions League due to get going near the end of the month, we have been asked to submit our 28-man roster for the second phase of the Champions League.

Essentially, we are allowed to replace three players on our original roster submitted in August. Our choices to add are have two easy decisions, with the acquisition of Bertelsen and the return to health of Williams. I'll get to the third in a second.

The tricky part was who to leave off, as I could think of few players who embarrassed themselves in our run to the group stage title in Group C. One was easy, as I dropped the hurt Pereplyotkin. It would have been nice to replace him with a striker, but the obvious choice, Olisadebe, was ineligible to play for our team, because he had been selected for Hertha BSC's international roster. The Bundesliga power only played in the UEFA, but apparently that was enough. Since Adam Wilde and Mark Hicks were both already on the roster here, though, I didn't see a reason to sweat with Oskarsson, Saha and Yakubu as my main trio up front. So I dropped Pereplyotkin for Williams.

In the end, I decided to drop some versatility to get the better talent on the roster for the other two spots. I dropped Darren Birchall to make room for Bertelsen, and then Jarl Ander Storbæk for Jon Otsemobor.

Otsemobor was the one I really struggled with. I like what Storbæk brings to us, with his ability to play fullback, midfielder, and winger, but I wanted another legit centreback on the team for these matches, and I felt Otsemobor provided that the best.

Liverpool, Second Leg of English League Cup Semifinal

Having won the first leg at Anfield, 3-0, I felt pretty confident coming into this one. I had beaten Liverpool two times in the last month, and was playing at home now (neither of the previous matches were at the Lamb Ground).

Of course, the Reds had also lost players to rampant red cards in both matches, so it wasn't like I faced a full squad for all 90 minutes. Still, with a three-goal edge in an aggregate two-leg set, I felt I had enough going for me to just play my game without worrying too much.

It is a second eleven match, but some players weren't quite up to 100% in conditioning, so I had to make a couple changes. Gaël Clichy was dropped to a substitute role, and I started Storbæk in his place. My left wing position was still in flux with the return of Williams, so I started Birchall on the left wing today. I was still feeling the ramifications of the Pereplyotkin injury as well, so Olisadebe was in the lineup trying to learn to play with his new team, and Adam Wilde was in for Saha.

Liverpool went with the usual lineup, although they didn't have to deal with suspensions this time, and Harry Kewell is in Italy now. The same front threesome in El-Hadji Diouf, Anthony Le Tallec and Michael Owen were in place. Rafael van der Vaart replaces Kewell at one of the three midfield spots, joining old starters Mark Bresciano and Steve Gerrard. The backline is a mix of the starters we saw in the first two matches, with long time Liverpool stars Sami Hyyplä and John Arne Riise, playing with Djimi Traoré--who got sent off in the first Tamworth match--and Jamie Carragher. As usual, Polish national goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek is in net.

I tend to give opponents the early edge, and that's not hard to do against a quality team like Liverpool. In the 3rd minute, Riise sent a pass into the right end of the area to Van der Vaart. Van de Vaart went to the left goal line and then crossed a poss toward the far end of the six-yard box. Michael Owen was alone on the corner and blasted a volley at the goal. Thomas Heaton was ready for it, but he let it out to his left, down the line. No one was in position to get to the ball before Owen, who blasted it into the far back corner of the net behind the frozen Heaton.

We then did something we usually don't do: wel let them score again. In some ways, it was a very siimilar score. Owen moved under a long clear out pass from their end by Diouf and went on a run into the right end of the area. As he approached the left goal line, he sent a crossing pass across the goal mouth that was even closer to the line than the one he scored on earlier. Le Tallec slipped free of the marking McEveley just long enough to put a diving header on the pass. The ball went into the net for the easy score, and all of a sudden I had to consider that Liverpool might actually catch me. It was 3-2 on aggregate now, with us just holding onto the lead.

The tension of that situation was compunded throughout the rest of the first half, where we largely controlled the ball and got shots off, but we kept missing wide or over, never seriously threatening to score.

Finally, in the 43rd minute, Pizarro went on a run into the box, splitting the defense, and took a long pass from Birchall. He dodged to his left to try and find an angle around the charging Dudek, but wasn't entirely successful. He blasted a hard shot at the goal, but Dudek got a piece of it. The ball slipped behind him and rolled slowly to goal. No one for the defense could get to it, though, and it rolled across the line for the score. It was 2-1 on the match for Liverpool, but more importantly, it was 4-2 for us on aggregate, giving us a little more breathing room.

The second half was the Denny Landzaat show. Our second eleven defensive midfielder and Dutch international seemed to create our entire offense by himself, all with some brilliant passing. In the 48th minute, he sent a pass into the area for Olisadebe that Dudek just managed to deflect across the right goal line. In the 53rd minute, Landzaat put another pass right on the money for Birchall, who went into the box a step ahead a trio of defenders. He dodged clear of Dudek but mystifyingly missed the open net, shooting harmlessly into the side netting. The final breakthrough in the second half took Landzaat's best pass. The midfielder got the ball on the wrong side of the centreline in the 60th minute and sent a bullet pass sailing over half of the pitch, just over the heads of several Liverpool players, and directly onto the foot of Adam Wilde, in the left end of the penalty area. Wilde quickly charged in on goal and unleashed a hard shot that sailed in front of Dudek to the other side of the goal. It caught the right post and banged back into the net for the match-tying score.

Wilde figured in the next score as well, in the 68th minute. He took a pass from Olisadebe as he entered the penalty area. Dudek rushed out at home, and Wilde tried to move to the right to avoid the goalkeeper. This allowed Igor Biscan to step up and dislodge the ball from Wilde. Unfortunately for Liverpool, the unexpected gift surprised Dudek and he couldn't hold onto it. It skirted to his right, allowing Birchall to jump onto it and blast it into the left end of the net for the 3-2 lead.

The Reds got the score back even quickly, with a 70th minute header by Emile Heskey that slipped over Heaton and off of the left post for the score. But by then it was clear Liverpool couldn't overcome the Lambs' three-goal advantage in aggregate.

They didn't go quietly. In the 75th minute, Le Tallec had a good look at a goal, but miskicked the ball and watched it roll slightly wide of the left post. And in the 85th minute, Tamworth defender Tieme Klompe misjudged a Riise corner and sent it right back at his own goal. Fortunately for the Lambs, Heaton was right on spot and deflected it away. There were no more scores in this one. Tamworth 3, Liverpool 3

We won the semifinal round over Liverpool, 6-3. We have earned ourselves a return to the English League Cup final, a competition we lost last season to Sunderland.

We were given $800,000 for our win and entered into the final draw. Our opponent? Not as easy as Sunderland this time (note the irony, BTW, of calling Sunderland "easy"): Man Utd. The Red Devils beat Birmingham, 1-0, in both matches to take a tight 2-0 aggregate win to advance to the final.

We will meet them at Wembley Stadium on March 1.

The addition to our fixture also forced the rearrangement of a match with Nottingham Forest. It was pushed back from that weekend to March 4.

International Call Up Aftermath

Thanks to the wealth of players being taken from both us and Blackburn for international friendlies next week, our scheduled match for February 11 has been moved back to February 18.

Is this like a badge of honor thing for the club, having to reschedule a match because our team is depleted by international action? :)

Caen Denies Our Enquiry For Benvegnu

We found out on Saturday, February 7, that La Ligue 2 squad Caen has turned down an enquiry we made about the availability of 24-year-old French goalkeeper Benoît Benvegnu.

Benvegnu is a player I have had my eye on for a couple years now, and he seemed like the next feasible option for a goalkeeper upgrade after the failure to bring in Ceylan Fatih.

Basically, he has all the qualities I like in a goalkeeper, with 19 Aerial Ability, 16 Reflexes, 20 One-on-Ones, 14 Handling, 19 Communication, and 18 Agility. He's an across the board quality keeper. The problem is that he is toiling with this low end French team that doesn't want to move him, and he doesn't seem ambitious enough to force a move. He's only valued at $300,000, but this club has turned down $2 M for him.

Well, there is some bad stuff. 10 Command of Area is not impressive, although it looks good next to a 4 in Determination and 1 in Work Rate. That's right, just 1! Still, the results speak for themselves, as follows.

Last year, in the French National Benvegnu allowed 40 goals in 38 matches, and this year in La Ligue 2, he has conceded 34 goals in 34 matches. He has a 7-plus rating the last two seasons, and 13 clean sheets each season as well. I think he's a hidden star, and one of these days I'm going to convince those bastards to send him my way.

Leicester City

We return to Premiership action now with a home match against Leicester, which is desperately trying to turn around a season by hiring a new manager after it has flirted with relegation. This squad has been up here in the Premiership now, against all odds originally, in five of the past six seasons, though, so they can't be discounted. The fact they also have young star striker James Graham just makes them all the more dangerous.

Graham has eight goals in an injury-limited 16 matches this season, and he is paired up in this match with late January free transfer signee, formoer Aston Villa striker Juan Pablo Angel of Colombia. The veteran striker still has a lot of ability, so I was a little surprised to see that he had yet to sign with a club for six months after Aston Villa allowed his contract to run out last season. Tommy Wright, replaced as the starter by Angel, is himself a significant talent on the bench, with 23 goals the past two seasons with the Foxes.

The midfield is still led by Muzzy Izzet, who has eight assists in 29 matches. Neither it nor the backline is particularly well-skilled, though, which is Leicester's primary problem (only Colchester has given up more goals). They did sign veteran fullback Cosmin Contra in the last transfer window to help here. In the net is Shaun Allaway, a solid looking goalkeeper who probably deserves to be playing behind a better defense.

For us, this is a first eleven match. And for once, it is the first eleven we had envisioned from the very beginning, right down to Oskarsson starting (note that he wouldn't be right now, were it not for the Pereplyotkin injury). It feels odd to be playing Leicester, considering we have been playing an awful lot of Liverpools, Chelseas, and Man Utds recently. I was beginning to wonder if there were any bad teams in the Premiership.

I have to hand it to Leicester. Despite the fact I had far more shots on goal than they did in the early going, they largely kept me stoppered up. Allaway parried away a long, low shot from Jim Corbett in the 12th minute. The Foxes turned away another Corbett edge-of-area shot, two straight corners and Allaway clutched on a Yakubu straight shot in a quick series in the 19th minute. Allaway also made point blank saves on shots by Oskarsson and Williams in the first half. Despite outshooting them 8-1 on goal at halftime, the score was stil 0-0.

That would change quickly in the second half and on an oddly simple play in the 47th minute. Corbett had a free kick from along the right touchline and sent in a long pass toward the near post and Oskarsson in the right end of the area. Oskarsson was surprisingly undefended, so he turned and blasted a shot into the net that just squeezed between the right post and Allaway.

We had gotten our goal finally, and our lead as well. But Leicester went back to the workmanlike way of defending us, and Allaway was coming through when his defense wasn't. We got to the final five minutes of the match, and I was still sweating with just a one-goal lead.

In the 89th minute, Duff sent a pass forward into the right end of the area, which Oskarsson reached first. The Icelandic striker then sent a sharp cross into the center box, setting up a hard shot by Yakubu. Allaway sent it right back out, but he was unable to get in between Montaño's follow-up, and we finally got the insurance I was looking for.

I figured that was it, but the goal, which came hard-earned seemed to open up the floodgates. A minute later, Montaño scored again on a run into the box that Allaway definitely should have stopped, and then well into injury time, Oskarsson reproduced his cross connection with Yakubu, only this time Yakubu put it where Allaway couldn't reach it. So a match that was actually mucxh closer than it seemed ended up looking like a blowout. Tamworth 4, Leicester 0

Bertelsen Returns To Full Training

At last!

Our big buy this past transfer season, worldclass fullback Trond Erik Bertelsen is finally in full training and just about ready to return to the pitch.

He has some conditioning to do to get backinto playing shape, and he likely will be lagging behind a bit at first, as he gets in match shape and learns the tactic.

Still, it's good to finally be able to get him onto the field for us. His return to health will bump Hreidarsson back to the second eleven and Clichy to the backup group.

League News

As a Premiership squad, we, like our teammates, are bound by the transfer window periods and cannot bring new players aboard at this stage. But Premiership squads are free to move players out, and lower division squads can do the buying.

Reports surfaced on Friday, February 6, that First Division Wigan was looking at bringing aboard veteran goalkeeper Arni Gautur Arason from Man City. The 33-year-old goalkeeper is apparently currently unsettled with City.

Arason was the primary goalkeeper for some good Rosenborg squad years ago, but he hasn't seen the pitch yet for Man City in six seasons, so I can understand his frustration. The only action he has seen in this time, outside of reserve teams, was on a loan with Sheffield Wednesday two years ago, in which he appeared in four matches (and did poorly).

Intriguingly enough, Arason is Iceland's national goalkeeper and a national teammate of Oskarsson and Hreidarsson.

Wigan might have a chance at him, too. Man City boss Par Zetterberg has dropped his asking price to just $180,000, and said on Monday, February 9, that he would listen to offers for Arason.

Blackpool got some bad news Saturday, February 7, when their longtime playmaking midfielder Omar Daley broke his leg in a 2-1 loss to Birmingham. Daley will miss five seasons, and is certainly not returning until next season at this late stage of the year.

In his first Premiership action of his career this season, Daley had three goals and a 7 average rating in 23 appearances. Daley has been a fixture of Blackpool's midfield and offense since joining them five years and two divisional promotions ago.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week.

SC Hélder Postiga (Tottenham)-- 2 G, 1 A, MoM, 10 rat vs BLK
SC Johnnier Montaño (Tamworth)-- 2 G, MoM, 10 rat vs LEI
MF Dickson Agyeman (Man City)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs FUL
MF Thomas Gravesen (Everton)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs SFW
MF Orri Freyr Oskarsson (Tamworth)-- 1 G, 2 A, 9 rat vs LEI
MF Fredy William Thompson (Aston Villa)-- 1 A, 9 rat vs MUT
DF Mbulelo Mabizela (Tottenham)-- 8 rat vs BLK
DF Jérôme Cartier (Aston Villa)-- 8 rat vs MUT
DF Anthony Gardner (Tottenham)-- 8 rat vs BLK
DF Titus Bramble (Newcastle)-- MoM, 9 rat vs SOU
GK Allan McGregor (Sheff Wed)-- 7 sav, 1 clean, MoM, 9 rat vs CHE

CR

Chief Rum

07-27-2004, 06:01 AM

Tuesday, February 10 To Monday, February 16

After several weeks with two matches in every week, we finally get a small break, courtesy of the international friendlies scheduled for this week. Of course, it took a postponement of a match to even get this week down to one match.

That one match will happen on Saturday, when we go to Elland Road to take on former Premiership squad Leeds in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

International Friendlies & Tamworth Players

It's a light week for news, so here' s a little bit about our international Lambs' work with their homelands in fixtures on February 11.

Emmanuel Olisadebe (Poland): Started up front and had an assist to go along with an 8 rating in Poland's 4-3 victory over Egypt.

David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro (Chile): Started in middle and posted a 7 rating in a 2-2 tie with Finland.

Louis Saha (France): Did not start, but came on as a sub in the 74th minute, posting a 7 rating. France beat Japan, 4-0.

Denny Landzaat (Holland): Did not start, but came on as a sub in the 74th minute. Only put up a 6 rating in Holland's unimpressive 1-0 victory over Leichtenstien.

Mike Duff (Northern Ireland): Started at fullback, and contributed an assist and an 8 rating in a 3-0 win over Wales.

Andy Williams (Wales): Williams did not start in his first international action since last year, but he got onto the pitch in the 48th minute. He posted a 7 rating as his squad, as mentioned, fell badly to Northern Ireland.

Richie Partridge (Ireland): Partridge started on the wing for Ireland, as he generally does. He put up a 7 rating in a 0-0 draw with Spain.

Johnnier Montaño (Colombia): Started up front and scored Colombia's lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Scotland. He also posted a 7 rating.

Giovanny Hernáandez (Colombia): Also started for Colombia, although he was on the wing. He had a disappointing 6 rating in the loss to Scotland.

Michael Stewart (Scotland): Stewart did not start and only saw action after being subbed in late in the match in the 80th minute. He put up a 6 rating in his short stint in Scotland's win over Colombia.

Orri Freyr Oskarsson (Iceland): Atypical of his job with the Lambs, Oskarsson actually started at a defensive wing position for Iceland. He put up a 7 rating in their 2-0 win over Cyprus.

Herman Hreidarsson (Iceland): Hreidarsson also started for Iceland, as the left side of the national team's three-man backline. He also put up a 7 rating in the win over Cyprus.

Fullback Kevin Gorman also played internationally, or at least was called up to Ireland's U-21 squad. Unfortunately, the match does not track anything beyond the final results in U-21 competitions, so I don't know how he did (other than that he came back to me as healthy as he left).

International Callup

Not so fast, Yakubu.

While much of the international football community engaged in friendlies this week, African nations were enjoying a break from a heavy fixture that included both qualifying for the African Cup of Nations and for China 2010.

Instead, the continent of Africa will hold another round of World Cup qualifying next week, on February 21.

Yakubu was called up again by Nigeria to play Guinea-Bissau.

Leeds United, Fifth Round of FA Cup

The FA Cup continues to throw one First Division squad after another at us. On Saturday, February 14, we meet 7th-placed Leeds United, a former Premiership semi-heavyweight that has been struggling to get back to the big league for four seasons now.

As I mentioned before with the draw, Leeds still does have a handful of notable players from its old days, like goalkeeper Paul Robinson, winger James Milner and midfielder Eirik Bakke. They also have our own Mark Hooper on loan, as well as Chelsea's young right winger Mark Smith. Neither Hooper nor Smith are eligible for this match, though, although I can't recall if Hooper's absence is related to a ban against cup competition or against playing us (or both, perhaps).

Ben May and Robbie Shields are starting up front for the Whites, with May a reasonably accomplished former Milwall striker in the First Division, while Shields is a leftover talent from the Premiership days that hasn't ever really put together a consistent season as of yet (although he is just 24). Milner rounds out the front three in Leeds' 4-3-3 tactic. Bakke is at the center of the midfield. On the backline, past Tamworth transfer target--when we were in the Second Division--Frazer Richardson is still around and a solid enough player. Robinson has made appearances for the English national squad, so he's no slouch.

Still, this is one we should win going away, even on the road. We run out our second eleven for this one, with some changes. Some of our guys were still tired from their international action, so we had to insert replacements where we could. Lionel Morgan got his first ever call in the middle of the tactic as a replacement for Pizarro. Booth started on the right side for Partridge. And Adam Wilde started in place of Olisadebe. All three of the normal starters were installed as subs, though, so as to possibly see some action in the match (and hopefully forestall complaining, Partridge I am looking in your general direction...).

I think the thing that surprised me about this match was how defensive it turned out to be. That wasn't how it looked early on, though, as we piled on two quick scores.

In the 18th minute, Gorman sent a throw-in pass toward the right goal line. Booth got to it first and immediately sent a back-curling cross that was aimed at the far end of the six-yard box. Wilde moved above Richardson and Joel Kitamirike to get his head on the ball. He blasted it goalward and the high shot somehow evaded Robinson, who was positioned well to stop it. It sailed into the net for the first score.

Not three minutes later, we would strike again. This time Landzaat took a header pass from James McEveley in the middle of the offensive pitch. Morgan timed a break down the middle of the area perfectly, and Landzaat found him as he ran across the edge of the area. Morgan had enough space to let off a shot before a trio of defenders closed. His shot sailed over Robinson's right shoulder and into the net for the 2-0 lead. It was Morgan's first ever goal for us.

I wish I could say this match got plenty more exciting after that, but it didn't. Leeds clamped down and kept us out of the net, and even from shooting a lot (our seven shots total--four on goal--is probably our lowest match total all season), but they couldn't come anywhere near breaking our defense, taking two shots and only one on goal. The ball spent much of the match running time bogged down in the middle of a muddy pitch.

It doesn't have to be pretty to count as a win, though. Tamworth 2, Leeds United 0

In the other FA Cup action on Saturday, the few remaining Premiership squads largely escaped harm. Blackburn was the only casualty as of yet, losing 2-0 to First Division relegation candidate Scunthorpe.

There is the possibility of another, with Newcastle failing to dispatch First Division Norwich at St. James Park. They drew them 3-3, and will have to play them again in a replay at Norwich's home park.

In the other matches involving EPL squads, Leicester "buried" Bury, 6-2 (haha ;) ). Chelsea shut out Wycombe. These should have been easy, considering both squads were Second Division clubs. And Arsenal edged out First Division middle-of-the-table Rushden, 3-2.

Premiership squads make up half of the remaining eight teams, with Tamworth, Arsenal, Chelsea and Leicester still in the mix. Newcastle could be the fifth. First Division squads Scunthorpe and Coventry take up two spots, and the last spot is also guaranteed to a First Division club, although we won't know which club until Bradford City and Charlton play out a replay after their 0-0 draw on Saturday.

We received $240,000 for our win in the fifth round of the FA Cup and move on to the sixth round, which is the quarterfinal stage. The draw for the sixth round will be held on Tuesday, February 17.

League News

The agent for Man City's veteran reserve goalkeeper, Icelandic national team goalkeeper Arni Gautur Arason, has dismissed the interest of First Division Wigan Athletic as "utter rubbish" days after it was reported the club wanted to rbing Arason aboard.

On Tuesday, February 10, the agent said that Arason is happy at the City of Manchester Stadium, and has no intention of leaving the club. That surprises me, considering the guy's career is being wasted away on City's reserve squad.

Last month, Bundesliga squad Braunschweig arranged for the Bosman transfer of Birmingham's England U-21 midfielder Jon Simpson.

That transfer officially went through on Thursday, February 12. The well-regarded 19-year-old midfielder was a regular with the Blues last season (32 appearances and 24 starts), but was only seeing limited time this year (just three uneventful appearances).

Simpson has two caps with England's U-21 team. His four goals and 7.06 rating with Birmingham last season gives him the look of a star on the rise, so it's a little surprising that Birmingham would elect to let him go.

Young rising star Robert Nygård was signed away from Man Utd by Mallorca on Saturday, February 14. Nygård is just 19, but he already has four caps with Norway.

Interestingly enough, Mallorca is the former employer of our own Trond Erik Bertelsen--a Norwegian national teammate of the young Nygård, who will, as a left winger, doubtless somewhat replace Bertelsen in the Primera Liga's lineup (Bertelsen started at wing for them, although he is an attacking fullback with us).

The Nygård move was, again, the completion of a Bosman transfer. Nygård only saw sporadic time with the Red Devils, although he did well when he did (17 appearances in last two seasons, with two goals and a 7.35 average rating).

On Sunday, February 15, Spurs midfielder Tobias Linderoth told The Observer that he was concerned at his recent omission from the first team.

Linderoth, 29, has played somewhat regularly this season and last, although it doesn't appear he was ever more than a part time starter or a decently well-used backup. He started 13 matches, and played in 15, for Tottenham last season after coming over from Serie A's Perugia in a big $6.25 M transfer deal in the middle of the season. This year, he has started just twice, but also has 15 appearances as a sub.

The Swedish international's playing time has likely been hrut by a lack of production (3 assists and a sub-7 rating in 32 total appearances for the Spurs over the last couple seasons).

Linderoth saw regular time four years ago with mighty Newcastle after cutting his rope as a growing talent with Everton, so he is very familiar with play in the Premiership.

In another surprising move in a week of intriguing decisions by Premiership squads, Bristol City allowed young hopeful Steve Robinson walk. The 20-year-old defensive midfielder, who started for Bristol City on its way to promotion to the Premiership last season, reached the end of his contract.

While Robinson doesn't have the U-21 caps or the obvious shine of some other young talents, he seems like someone a new Premiership squad would want to keep around, or at least certainly not allow to leave on a free transfer.

Robinson had a 6.60 average rating this season in 25 appearances, including 17 starts. He has started for Bristol City since he was 17, and has 140 appearances, mostly starts, with the club over the last three-plus seasons.

He is now free to sign with anyone.

Since there were no league matches this week, there is no Premiership League Team of the Week.

CR

Chief Rum

07-28-2004, 08:05 AM

Tuesday, February 17 To Monday, February 23

We have two Premiership matches this week, and they are both on the road, so this could be a tougher week to get through. Still, neither Blackburn nor Southampton are in the top five of the league, so it's not as bad as it could have been.

On Wednesday, February 18, we play the Rovers, who are struggling to avoid relegation. Apparently the hiring of former Arsenal boss Bert van Marwijk has yet to really pay out some dividends. This is the match that was postponed from last week because of players from both clubs playing in international matches.

On Saturday, February 21, we meet Southampton, whom at 9th in the league, should be a better test for us than Blackburn.

FA Cup Sixth Round Drawn

We start off this week by finding out who we will meet in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup. Thus far, we have played only First Division squads, beating Ipswich, Burnley and Leeds in three straight matches.

This draw followed to that form, as we drew mid-table First Division squad Crystal Palace. The London-based squad has been in the First Division since the beginning of this dynasty.

More significantly, drawing them pits us in a rematch with the squad we beat to take our first FA Cup almost two years ago--when we were both First Division clubs.

Crystal Palace's top player is Finnish international Aki Riihilahti, a 32-year-old midfielder whom has been a fixture in the center of the club's offense since 2000. As popular and respected as he is, though, the guy Tamworth will probably have to gameplan against is 28-year-old striker Peter Weatherson. The striker has dominated in the First Division the past three seasons and currently has 28 goals and 13 assists in 41 matches. He has 89 goals and 35 assists in the last three seasons and has been on my shortlist for a while.

A third player to watch is Riihilahti's fellow countryman Jari Niemi, whom has provided the creative spark for Crystal Palace in recent years. The 32-year-old forward has four straight double-digit assist seasons, including 13 this year. Scoring isn't much of a problem for these guys. It's defense where they apparently fail (54 goals allowed is in bottom half of First Division).

We will host Crystal Palace at the Lamb Ground on March 7.

The fixture addition led to another postponement of a league match. Our road match against Arsenal was pushed back to March 25 to make room.

In other FA Cup sixth round matches, First Division relegation candidate Scunthorpe will try to salvage a dismal season by advancing further against the Premiership's Leicester, whom they will host. If Newcastle beats First Division Norwich in a March 1 replay, they will travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea in the high profile match of the round. A replay on February 25 will also determine Arsenal's opponent, as former Premiership squads Bradford City and Charlton Athletic duke it out.

Hooper Returns From Loan

Just days after watching his employer defeat his loaner in the FA Cup, our young striker Mark Hooper returned to us from Leeds on Wednesday.

Hooper is a guy I have high hopes for, but he wasn't going to see time with us, at least not on the first team. So I shipped him out on a three-month loan to Leeds.

While with Leeds, Hooper put up four goals and three assists in 20 matches. Just 18, he will return to our U-19 squad for the rest of the season.

Blackburn

As I noted, Blackburn has struggled this year. They are striving to stay away from relegation. And actually, in that respect, new manager van Marwijk is doing pretty good. They were 19th when he took over in early December. Now they are 17th and officially out of relegation (albeit not by much). They aren't out of danger, though, and they are among the worst teams in the league, both on offense and defense.

Still, they have been in the Premiership a long time, and this isn't an easy squad to play at Ewood Park. The notable name American readers will know about, of course, is American international goalkeeper Brad Freidel. He's 37, now, though, and is splitting time with 20-year-old English U-21 player Neil Miles. And Miles is outperforming him.

What skills the Rovers put on the field is largely due to five top notch players. Up front, Danish forward Peter Lovenkrands and longtime Rover Matt Jansen lead the offense. Both players have double-digit score totals, and Lovenkrands is also one of the club's top playmakers (10 assists). The middle is led by Irish star midfielder Steven Reid and Australian right winger Brett Emerton. Emerton is the lead creative spark in the midfield with 7 goals and 4 assists, and has been a big part of Blackburn for several years now. The backline leader is strong fullback Lucas Niell, another Aussie. He plays strong both forward (three goals, three assists) and back (7.23 average rating).

This is a first eleven match, but it is a special one. Prior to the match, we determine that Trond Erik Bertelsen is finally fit enough to play. We have waited a long time to get this talented fullback into the mix. He will start at left back, officially bumping Hermann Hreidarsson to the second eleven, and Gaël Clichy to the backup team.

Soem players seem to be slow to recover from recent play right now, and one of them is Jim Corbett. He isn't ready to go, so we replace him with Darren Birchall for this one. Yakubu will be taking off after the match for his call up to Nigeria, but he is on the pitch for this one.

The table standings seemed very accurate in the early going. We produced an early score off the bat, and it didn't take long to build a significant lead.

Just seconds after the opening kickoff, fullback Mike Duff sent a pass to Orri Freyr Oskarsson on the right side of the offensive pitch. Oskarsson beat Swedish centreback Nils-Eric Johansson in the air and moved the ball onto Johnnier Montaño, whom had moved beyond the defense and charged into the penalty area. Montaño blasted a shot from just inside the edge of the area that sailed over Miles' shoulder and just inside the right post for the first score.

Not more than two minutes later, Montaño set up a play that Andy Williams timed well. Williams broke into the area on the left side, with a step on the defense, and Montaño put the ball right onto the winger from near the centerline. Williams was soon met by the hard charges of Miles and Johansson, but he skipped to the right and put in a hard shot into the open net behind Miles for the 2-0 lead.

The match seemed to move into the surreal when Montaño did it again in the 11th minute. The attacking midfielder did a great job of splitting the defense after eceiving a pass on the run from Yakubu. Running right up between defenders Johansson and Chris McConnell, the Colombian fired a hard, high shot right on goal from in between them. The ball was just too hard for the young Niles to handle and the Lambs had a three-goal lead just 11 minutes into play.

Montaño was fantastic, scoring two goals and assisting on the third. He almost had a hat trick later on, but he missed a wide open on-goal shot near the end of the half that he sailed over the cross bar.

In the 16th minute, Jon Masalin picked upa knock, and it soon became apparent he would not be good to continue. Although the passionate Finn disliked it, he was replaced by Thomas Heaton in the 19th minute. Apparently, this was just what the Rovers needed.

They came roaring back in the next ten minute. In the 25th minute, Lovenkrands lifted a high pass from the left touch right into the center of the penalty area and Emerton. Alone on goal, the midfielder scored with ease, putting a hard shot well away from Heaton, into the right corner. Just three minutes later, Neill sent a half-pitch pass from beyind the centreline to Lovenkrands outside of the penalty area. Somehow, neither he nor two Lamb defenders, David Raven and Leon Cort, managed to touch it and it skipped into the right end of the area. Jansen was first in it and hit a hard shot past the charging Heaton for the 3-2 score. I was beginning to sweat.

Just before halftime, in fact, it appeared the Rovers had tied it. Niell took a hard shot from well outside of the area that somehow made its way directly on goal, only to be parried by Heaton. Lovenkrands jumped on the rebound and put in an easy score. Fortunately for Tamworth, though, the ref waved the goal off when Jamie McMaster was ruled to have stepped up a tad too early.

We would continue to have to sweat this one out, which had looked like an easy one after we scored three quick, early oglas, which is even fast for us.

We didn't escape that bare one-goal advantage until the 73rd minute. Cort sent a long pass from beyond the centreline to Mark Hicks on the left edge of the area. Hicks went toward the goal line and then sent a cross pass directly in front of the goal. Oskarsson slipped inside Johansson and used a diving header to send a shot at the left post. The ball fluttered a bit before rolling into the goal, but Miles had played too far up to get to it anyway.

We had to survive a couple of point-blank headers, one by Lovenkrands and another by Jansen, but we pulled out a hard-fought victory. Tamworth 4, Blackburn 2

Contrary to the early success and the final two-goal win, we were actually outshot 8-7 (7-5 on goal) in this one, and that is a rarity. Of course, we also switched to a 4-3-3 after getting the early two-goal lead, so maybe that was it.

Sheffield United Offers To Loan Booth

I still have no idea why people think I am not using Chris Booth.

I received another offer to loan him out on Thursday, from First Division squad Sheffield United. The mid-table club wants to loan his services for three months,

Once again, I turn down the offer, as Booth remains a key backup for our squad--and he probably deserves more playing time as it is.

Storbæk, Skinner Pick Up Knocks In Training

Our fullback crew and depth took a couple hits leading into the weekend.

Jarl Ander Storbæk, who has been a key backup at both fullback and on the wing, sprained his ankle in a training session on Friday. He will be out abotu a week, meaning he is certain to miss the Southampton match. He also would have to miss the Champions League match with Dinamo Kiev next week, except I took him off of the international roster a couple weeks ago.

Storbæk got some company in the training room a day later. Veteran left back Justin Skinner sprained his knee in training on Saturday, and will also miss a week. Considering Skinner hardly ever plays, even as a backup, this doesn't figure to affect us much.

Southampton

Considering the struggle we had against the lowly Rovers, I had to be pessimistic about our chances in a tougher match against 9th-placed Southampton, a tough squad that reached the English League Cup semis before falling in two tight 1-0 contests to Man Utd. Although not on the level of some of the more traditional powers of the Premiership, the Saints have established themselves as a high-quality second-tier squad that is consistently dangerous.

They appear to be more of a defensive club, with just 33 goals scored coming into the match, and 36 allowed. That's a shade below average right now for both of those. The defense is probably in good due part to young international star goalkeeper Owain Fon Williams, the Saints' 21-year-old Welsh rising star in net and already one of the best goalkeepers in the Premiership. He is aided by a solid backline led by centreback Darren Kenton and Man Utd left back loan Paul Tierney.

Popular Irish vet Rory Delap leads the midfield, although the talent of the center of the pitch seems to actually radiate from young English midfielder Shaun Neville. Both could be stronger playmakers, a role they seem to defer to left winger Peter Canero.

Up front, the Saints are very strong. They still have longtime Southampton star James Beattie, who has 16 goals this year, and hasn't failed to score less than 11 goals in a season since the turn of the millenium. Croatian star forward Ivica Olic rounds out one of the best front twosomes in the league, with 15 goals and 11 assists himself. This group is made all the scarier by the presence of rising young Northern Irish superstar David McConnell, the former Ipswich 19-year-old striker that has dominated the First Division since he could first legally operate a motor vehicle.

This is a second eleven match for us. I briefly consider starting Masalin, as he essentially lost his last go ont he pitch because he picked up that early knock, but I decided I didn't want to make a move that would switch the teams of Masalin and Heaton. Hreidarsson was starting at left backin his first official match with the second eleven. Everyone else was as you would expect, with Olisadebe continuing in his replacement role for the injured Andrei Pereplyotkin.

This match was a tough, defensive match from the very beginning. Few shots were even taken through the first half and beyond. When they werew, though, they were high quality chances--so high quality that even solid young keepers like Fon Williams and Heaton couldn't necessarily keep up.

The first score came in the 24th minute. David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro went on a run toward the penalty area, and took on a header pass from Louis Saha. Fon Williams charged out to stop Pizarro, but the Chilean midfielder chipped a beautiful lob shot that sailed over the goalkeeper and fell softly into the net, just inside the left post.

The Saints had the next best chance when Olic fired a shot on goal from left of the left post in the 34th minute. Heaton deflected it over the bar and the resulting corner didn't lead to anything.

In the 40th minute, we worked for a hard-earned chance at the goal. Hreidarsson sends a long pass from beyond the centreline intot he left end of the area. Pizarro and Saha are in the area, marked onyl by Kenton. Pizarro runs to the ball and takes it to the goal line, with Kenton closing in. Pizarro chips off a soft pass into the middle of the area, at a midway point directly between Fon Williams and Saha. The two charge for the ball, and Saha just beats the goalkeeper to it by a tenth of a second, and blasts it on the run right past him for the second score.

Southampton didn't get one back until the 55th minute. Canero moved a ball from the left touchline up to Olic just left of the left post. Olic then sent a drifting pass toward the far end of the six yard box. Neville leaped on it and blasted it a hard shot into the right corner to cut the deficit to one.

With just a quarter of the total match running time remaining in the 66th minute, the two clubs had combined for just seven total shots, four for Southampton. That would soon change.

In that minute, Tamworth centreback James McEveley was called for obstruction after he cut off Beattie. He was carded, and woe to us, it was his second, after he picked one up in the first half for tripping Olic. McEveley was sent off to the lockerroom and we played the rest of the way a man short. That's when Southampton really turned it on, putting the pressur eon us big time. Heaton deflected a 68th minute shot by Olic across the left goal line, and clutched a close header by Beattie in the 75th minute before cracking.

In the 77th minute, Delap had the ball in the left end of the penalty area, but he was under pressure. He moved the ball up to Olic, near the left post of the goal. Olic took a second to turn it around, but when he did, he unleashed a powerful shot at the goal that just blew right by Heaton to tie it up at two apiece.

The pressure wouldn't stop there. In the two minutes following Olic's goal, Canero became a playmaking dynamo. Soon after the kickoff, he set up an on-goal shot by Delap that Heaton saved. Then he sent a high cross over the area that Clichy almost headed into his own net before it was cleared by Kevin Gorman. Clichy would get in the away of another crosser seconds later, but this time, he almost set up a fine shot by Nolberto Solano. The forward retrieved a Canero cross deflected by Clichy and hammered a shot at the net from beyond the right post that sailed over the bar.

All of this was just a prelude to the final breakthrough. After Carl Motteram put a shot on goal that Fon Williams saved, the goalkeeper sent a half-pitch pass to Canero along the left touchline. Canero ran into the offensive pitch largely unmanned, so Hreidarsson drifted away from his mark, Olic, to stop Canero. That, of course, was exactly what Canero was waiting for. He sent a soft pass over the defender to Olic as the Croatian ran into the box. He blasted a hard shot that went right past a rushing Heaton for the go ahead score. Ouch.

In the end, though, we were saved by the counterattack. Gorman cleared a ball out in the 83rd minute, up to Motteram. Motteram sent a long pass across the pitch toward Adam Wilde, on the run toward the opposite goal with defender Claus Lundekvam in close pursuit. The pass actually cleared both players and bounced into the area. Wilde proved fleeter of foot and got to the ball, which had stopped to the left of the left post. Reporoducing the amazing accuracy that has been a trademark of Wilde's since I first got him, the forward blasted a goal-mouth crossing shot at the far post, just catching the inside edge to send the ball back for the amazing comeback score.

Heaton had to make several more close saves in the end, and the Saints outshot us 9-2 after McEveley was sent off, but we managed to escape St. Mary's Stadium with a draw. Tamworth 3, Southampton 3

Our seven-match league winning streak may be over, but at least we didn't lose. McEveley will automatically miss our next domestic match--the English League Cup final next week against Man Utd--thanks to his yellow card deuce.

League News

There were some contract extensions and the like (James Graham got a new cheapie deal from Leicester; personally, if I were him, I would hold out for a lot more than $725,000 per year), but otherwise it was a light week in the news for the Premiership.

Here's the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Johnnier Montaño (Tamworth)-- 2 G, 1 A, MoM, 9 rat vs BLK
SC James Graham (Leicester)-- 4 G, 1 A, 2 MoM, 10 rat in 2 matches
MF Tommy Doherty (Bristol City)-- 8 rat vs ARS
MF Dickson Etuhu (Sheff Wed)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs LIV
MF Matthew Hamshaw (Sheff Wed)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs LIV
MF Trond-Erik Bertelsen (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs BLK
DF Kasper Bogelund (Man Utd)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs CHE
DF Peter Canero (Southampton)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs TAM
DF Joseph Yobo (Everton)-- 8 rat vs FUL
DF Clayton Fortune (Bristol City)-- 1 G, 1 MoM, 9 rat vs ARS
GK Antti Niemi (Nottingham Forest)-- 7 sav, MoM vs NEW

CR

daedalus

07-28-2004, 11:05 PM

How can you let all these young players leave the country?!?! I'm disappointed! :D

Chief Rum

07-30-2004, 01:32 AM

How can you let all these young players leave the country?!?! I'm disappointed! :D

heh heh, hey I am using an uber tactic. I have to give the opposition some chance! :)

CR

Chief Rum

07-30-2004, 03:39 AM

Champions League Knockout Phase Preview

The Champions League resumes action this week with its knockout phase. Sixteen clubs will begin a single elimination tournament to determine the champion of Europe. Included among this, we will be playing Dinamo Kiev at the Lamb Ground to open our second round two-leg matchup with the Ukrainian High League squad.

Here are the matchups:

AC Milan vs Leverkusen (Germany)(Italy)

A Look At AC Milan: Milan has been one of the traditional superpowers in world club competition for some time now. We have met these guys before, of course, as we played them in the Super Cup in August. This is a team that is always flashing its money, though, so it's no surprise that even that superstar team in August has some key differences now. Milan is the defending champion of the Champions League and is also currently leading the Serie A, perhaps the top league in the world and certainly among the elite. They have the best defense in the Serie A, and are among the three or four handful of teams in offense. They lead the league by two points over Inter and three-time defending league champ Juventus. Since we last played them, Milan paid $54.5 M for two of the Premiership's best midfielders in Arsenal's Gennaro Ivan Gattuso and Liverpool's Harry Kewell. They have been added to a group that is already worldclass with Patrick Vieira (7.23 rat) and Kléberson (6 assists, 7.21 rat), among others on board. Argentinian Andrés D'Allessandro, for whom was paid the current all time high in transfer fees ($68 M) rotates between the midfield and forward, and has been effective at both (9 goals, 9 assists, 7.39 rat). D'Allessandro, stunningly enough, has to fight for playing time on a squad that already has Dutch superstar striker Ruud van Nistlerooy (15 goals), Brazilian forward Kaká (13 goals) and Ukrainian vet striker Andriy Shevchenko (8 goals). You don't get a break from the defense, which has longtime Brazilian international netminder Dida in goal. While 35, Dida shows no signs of slowing down, allowing less than a goal per match. He has a worldclass defense in front of him, led by French fullback Mikaël Silkvestre (7 assists, 7.00 rat) and popular Georgian centreback Kakhaber Kaladze (7.00 rat).

A Look At Leverkusen: This traditional Bundesliga power is flashing its abilities in league once again. After finishing second last year, it is back in that same position again this season, albeit just a shade ahead of FC Bayern. Leverkusen ranks among both offensive and defensive leaders in one of the world's top leagues. Only Dortmund has more points and a better goal differential in the Bundesliga. Belgian striker Stein Huysegems has turned into a huge signing. He leads Leverkusen with 21 goals and 11 assists and has already established himself as the club's premier offensive option. Nigerian Dati (9 goals) and veteran German international Oliver Neuville (8 goals) lend support. English midfielder Joey Barton and Neuville also help out with creating offense (7 assists each). The defense remains a powerful force, headed by legendary Brazilian centreback Lúcio (7.35 rat). Popular German international Herman Balitsch is another big name at fullback. Veteran German goalkeeper Hans-Jög Butt remains a top notch goalkeeper at 34.

Outlook Going Into The Group Stage: Milan was picked by oddsmakers as a favorite to repeat as champions of this tournament and the other two picks, Barcelona and FC Bayern, have both been bounced in thr group stage. Milan was not beaten in Group A, winning four matches and drawing the other two to win the group. They allowed just three goals in the six matches. Leverkusen had the look of a respectable squad that could make it to this level back in September. Still, I think they have done even better than expected, especially with Huysegems blossoming as their lead attacker. The German club did not breeze through Group B action, only earning its spot in the final round of matches by beating Cannes, while third place Banik Ostrava, understandably fell on the road to group winner Juventus.

Tamworth (England) vs Dinamo Kiev (Ukraine)

A Look At Tamworth: We are at the top of one of the best leagues in the world in the Premiership, and we're even pulling away (although the draw to Southampton tightened things up again). Our offense remains domiannt, with an amazing 87 goals scored, far ahead of anyone else in the league. Our defense is solid (33 goals allowed), although i's clear it's the offense that wins us our matches. The offense is largely provided by a deep group of forwards that includes French international Louis Saha (14 goals), Nigerian striker (14 goals) and Orri Freyr Oskarsson (12 goals, 10 assists). The midfield includes two more top goal scorers in Colombian Johnnier Montaño (15 goals) and Chilean David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro (11 goals). The midfield has several key contributors, in particular Irish winger Richie Partridge (9 assists), Dutch international Denny Landzaat (8 assists) and Scottish midfielder Michael Stewart (8 assists). The offense might have had a hiccup with the injury to Andrei Pereplyotkin (15 goals), but they brought in Polish international striker Emmanuel Olisadebe from Hertha BSC, so they should be fine there. The defense got a big boost by the high profile signing of Norwegian international fullback Trond-Erik Bertelsen. He joins key backline players like James McEveley (7.45 rat), Mike Duff (7.33 rat) and Hermann Hreidarsson (7.10 rat). They should help co-starting goalkeepers Thomas Heaton and Jon Masalin, whom have talent but are young and relatively untested at this level.

A Look At Dinamo Kiev: Dinamo Kiev continues to be one of the top teams in the High League, and even have a Champions Cup in their recent past. They are currently second in the High League, just one point behind another traditional power in Shakhtar. The amazing thing is that, through 17 matches in the High League's long drawn out fixture, Dinamo Kiev has allowd just three goals. Three! Obviously, their defense is phenomenal, even against a midlevel league like this one. The offense is solid for the league, which seem s to be a touch defensive in nature, but isn't really on the level of most high end clubs. The head of the defense is veteran Ukrainian netminder Olexandr Shovkovskyi (12 goals conceded in 23 matches, 7.00 rat). He is aided by a backline headed by Serbian international Goran Gavrancic (7.16 rat), and a strong pair of attacking fullbacks/defensive midfielders in Andriy Nesmachnyi (7.40 rat) and Brazilian Alessandro (7 assists, 7.15 rat). Argentinian striker Roberto Nanni leads the offense with 11 goals. He is fed passes by a midfield led by Romanian international Florin Cernat (4 goals, 5 assists).

Outlook Going Into Group Stage: Tamworth came into the tournament as a squad with high expectations, but not necessarily realistic trophy hopes. Still, they were always a possibility, given what they did last year, and they got a friendly draw in Group C to get to this point. They won their first four matches in the group fixture to become one of the first clubs to clinch a spot in the knockout pahse. They ended up on top of Group C after a brief run by Bulgarian squad Levski Sofia put it at risk. Dinamo Kiev is never a team that can be ignorned in this competition, where they have had good success. Still, it was a surprise that they not only clinched a spot, but clinched it with a match to play. The surprise in Group D was the failure of Primiera Liga power Deportivo to even come close to showing up for this tournament, which allowed Dinamo Kiev to easily secure a spot.

Olympiakos (Greece) vs Levski Sofia (Bulgaria)

A Look At Olympiakos: Greek power Olympiakos has long been a heavyweight in the National A, and usually qualifies for European club tournaments. This year, they are a solid fourth in Greece's top league, although at 39 points, they are well behind league leader Iraklis (52 points). Their offense is one of the best in the league, but the defense is only slightly better than average here. Their league performance is actually a bit disappointing, considering they have won the National A three of the past four seasons. Any opponent, no matter what level, has to be serious about putting a stop to Olympiakos' super-Greek striker combo of longtime Greek star Labros Choutos (17 goals, 9 assists) and 18-year-old wunderkind Stelios Erodotou (16 goals). Uruguayan international winger Nery Alberto Castillo (4 goals, 9 assists, 7.35 rat) might be the most important part of the offense, while Greek midfielder Pantelis Kafes (7 assists) also contributes. The midfield is also the area where the Greek squad could play much better this time around, with recent transfer addition, American international Edson Buddle from Rayo in Spain. Greek centrebacks Spyros Vallos (7.06 rat) and Efthymis Kouloucheris (6.94 rat) lead the defense, but as noted, this isn't as strong an area of their team as the offense.

A Look At Levski Sofia: Unlike any other team remaining in the Champions League, Bulgarian squad Levski Sofia doesn't play ina simulated league, and so is tougher to get a handle on. They are a regular Champions League participant from Bulgaria, but this is only the second time they have gotten this far in this tournament since this dynasty started. The game puts together some stats for league games not listed, with stats associated, so I will go by that. The forwards would seem better if they played in an actual league. Borislav Dimitrov (12 goals) and Petar Shopov (11 goals) form the primary sources of scoring up front for this squad. Veteran Serbian midfielder Sasa Simonovic (11 assists, 7.94 rat) is the star in the middle of the offense. Winger Krasen Trifonov (7 assists) is a rising talent for the Bulgarian national team. Brazilian winger Lucio Wagner (5 assists, 8.17 rat) has also been very good against mostly weak competition. The defense doesn't really scare anyone, but it has a couple of solid looking players in Aleksandar Tunchev (7.50 rat) and Zhivko Milanov (7.39 rat). Veteran Bulgarian centreback Iliyan Stoyanov (7.00 rat) has played better in his long career, but lends experience and savvy.

Outlook Going Into Group Stage: Honestly, neither of these teams was thought liekly to get this far. Olympiakos was a stunner in winning Group D. Deportivo was the clear favorite there, and most everyone's choice for the second team was Dinamo Kiev. Olympiakos certainly had a shot, but getting in by the fifth round of matches and winning the group entirely? Obviously, they are a little underrated at this point. Levski Sofia, or the Bulgarian national team, as I have joked in the past, may or may not be as good as a team usually is to get this far. They played in a weak group with only one heavyweight in Tamworth. That said, they did beat Tamworth and they beat the other weaker teams in Group C with the same skill and ability as the Premiership leader did.

Juventus (Italy) vs Celtic (Scotland)

A Look At Juventus: Juventus is the three-time defending champion of the powerful Serie A, and was considered among the top five or six squads in this tournament. While the Champions League this season has been a bit of a stunner, Juventus has largely played up to form. Juventus is just two points back of league leader AC Milan in league play, and they have now reached the Champions League knockout phase in five of the past six seasons (including reaching a final and two semifinals). Their roster is as star-stocked as usual. Still, they haven't been as dominant as Miulan and Inter, the two Italian clubs ahead of them in the Serie A. On both offense and defense, they are competent but not elite compared to the top squads. Long time veteran star striker Alessandro Del Piero may not be the player he used to be, but he is still a key part of Juventus' attack, with 12 goals. His frontline leading squad role, though, has been usurped by Brazilian forward Nenê (15 goals). Del Piero might return to a reserve role, though, as superstar French striker David Trezeguet is about ready to return to action from his shin injury, which has cost him four months this year. Trezeguet has been dominating the Serie A for a decade now, and Juventus is a whole new team with him on the pitch. Another veteran Italian, Mauro Germán Camoranesi is the creative focus of the offense (12 assists), but he gets top notch aid from midfielder Matteo Brighi (6 assists) and the venerable, but still quality Czech star winger Pavel Nedved (5 goals, 4 assists). The defense may not be as solid as the offense, but it's no slouch with Croatian star centreback Igor Tudor (7.26 rat) playing in front of one of the best goalkeepers in the world in Italian international star Gianluigi Buffon (33 goals conceded in 36 matches).

A Look At Celtic: Celtic is the Scottish Premier League's four-time defending champion and is one of the United Kingdom's top football powers. The problem is they play against weaker Scottish clubs, instead of the more reknowned squads of the Premiership. Even so, Celtic hasn't put it all together just yet this season, and are sitting at third in the SPL. They don't lead in eithe roffense or defense in the league, but they do rank highly in both. The dynamic offensive talent for Celtic is at5tacking midfielder Stephen Pearson, who runs opponents ragged while leading the club with 17 goals, 11 assists and an 8.17 rating. He is aided in the scoring load by striker Stefan Moore (10 goals), Rob Hulse (6 goals) and Shaun Maloney (6 goals). Speedy Chilean winger Mark González is almost as important to the offense as Pearson, with 12 assists. Young Scottish goalkeeper David Marshall has been very solid this year (46 goals conceded in 39 matches) in his first season in net, although stopping Juventus could be another matter altogether. He is aided by a quality defense led by Norwegian international fullback Pa-Modou Kah (7.16 rat) and veteran Belgian centreback Joos Valgaeren (7.27 rat).

Outlook Going Into Group Stage: Juventus came into this as one of the top half dozen squads, and now has to be considered a favorite in a tournament that has seen several major upsets, including four of the top six anointed as potential champs. They struggled to overcome Trezeguet's injurya nd some lackluster play in Group B, but they eventually won past Banik Ostrava for both a spot in the knockout phase, and the lead group spot. Celtic is always a club with talent you need to respect, but even so, their performance in Group A was surprising. They won through to the knockout round with ease and nearly toppled group leader and tournament favorite Milan. Considering the talent and experienc ethey have, you have to think they have a solid chance in the remaining rounds.

Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) vs Bodo/Glimt (Norway)

A Look At Sporting Lisbon: The Superleague is one of those leagues that have a lot of talent to respect, but they don't produce superpwer clubs on the level of some of the higher squads. Still, Sporting Lisbon has been the premier club in this league for a while, with four championships in the past five seasons. This league may not be up to Italy or Germany, but it's higher than Greece and probably the Ukraine, so winning here is somewhat significant. At the moment, Sporting Lisbon is underachieving a little, in fourth with 40 points, 5 back of another traditional Portuguese power in Porto. Like some of the other clubs in this tournament, this club isn't particularly doiminant in either end of the pitch, but they do both well enough to be respected. Romanian superstar Marius Niculae (14 goals) is once again by far the premier offensive talent up front. They are a different squad without him on the pitch. The midfield has a wealth of strong talent, including Brazilian midfielder Tinga (5 assists, 7.07 rat), and Portuguese wingers Yuri (5 goals, 3 assists, 7.27 rat) and Luis Olim (7 assists). That midfield has taken a hit, though, for the next round with Olim out for another month with a broken leg. The defense looks able, particularly with playmaking fullbacks Mário Sérgio (4 assists) and veteran Rui Joge (3 assists). Centreback Beto (7.24 rat) and goalkeeper Ricardo (38 goals conceded in 34 matches) have worked together for both Sporting Lisbon and for Portugal's national team for a decade now.

A Look At Bodo/Glimt: Bobo/Glimt may not be a club that is well-known, but they have won the Norwegian Premier Division two years running now, and then they breezed through their group stage. I'm not sure anyone could predict this kind of success. They are about to embark on a defense of their latest championship in the league, which runs from spring to fall in the frigid north. The NPD is a decent enough league, but it is also low enough that you have to wonder how much you can take from the stats in that league. That said, there are some players on this team that can be said to have dominated in Norway last year, particularly up front. The top two strikers are Anders Askheim (25 goals, 17 assists, 8.17 rat) and Hannes Torstein Sigurdsson (19 goals, 10 assists, 7.39 rat), but they also get significant scoring from Kristian Ystaas (13 goals, 9 assists) and Trond Olsen (4 goals, 8 assists, sometimes plays in midfield). Even Knutsen (9 goals, 5 assists, 7.53 rat) appears to be the class of the midfield, although this part of the squad doiesn't seem to be as strong as up front. Tor Egil Horn (28 goals conceded in 34 appearances) is in net, and seems to be decent, if not spectacular. Anders Eriksen (4 goals, 7.15 rat) leades the backline.

Outlook Going Into Group Stage: Sporting Lisbon has some talent, but they weren't expected to be a top contender for this trophy. Still, they seemed like a good choice to get this far from a group that didn't seem to have a truly dominant squad. The top squad ostensibly was Genoa, which finished second in the Serie A last year. Their lack of previous success and a fall from grace this year seems to indicate they were a bit of a fluke, and that gave Sporting lisbon dibs on taking Group E--and they did. The last team I expected to get to the second round was Bodo/Glimt. Not only were they a first time Champions League entry with little obvious top league level talent from at best a medium-level league, but they were entered into the same group as tournament co-favorite FC Bayern and perennial Serie A contender Inter. Not only did they get by those teams, they thrived, jumping out to the Group F lead before eventually allowing Lens to catch them. They and Lens worked to embarass both FC Bayern and Inter, both world-reknowned clubs.

AaB (Denmark) at Ajax (Holland)

A Look at AaB: The Superligaen is a solid European league, but like many other middle-ground leagues, it's a good deal behind the top three (Italy, Germany, England). So doing well here isn't quite the amazing accomplishment it might be elsewhere. That said, AaB hasn't finished lower than second in the league in four seasons, and they are currently third. They have the best defense in the league, although their offense is merely competent. For all its apparent scoring problems, the Danish club does have two strong looking scorers up front in Rajko Lekic (14 goals, 9 assists) and Denmark U-21 regular Christian Jacobsen (14 goals, 7.44 rat). Swedish midfielder Martin Ericsson (8 goals) does most of the rest of the scoring. Surprisingly, much of the creativity of the offense comes from players closer to the back end of the pitch. Defensive midfielder Rasmus Wûrtz (3 goals, 7 assists) and popular centreback Christopher Poulsen (8 assists) do much of the passing not done by Lekic. Wurtz and Poulsen join veteran Norwegian international Trond Andersen (7.15 rat) as the keys to the defense in front of Jimmy Nielsen (28 goals conceded in 35 matches).

A Look At Ajax: Ajax remains one of the top powers in the Netherlands, and the Eridivisie is as strong as La Ligue or the Superleague, and even approaching the weakened Primera Liga (although that might be a stretch). Point is, winning here is a little more significant than in Norway or Scotland or the Ukraine, IMO. Ajax is the defending champion of the Erdivisie, but it is the only such championship since the dynasty began. Ajax is currently in second in the Eridivisie, with traditional Dutch superpower PSV on top, six points ahead of them. Defensively, only PSV is better than Ajax, and the club ranks among the league's better offensive squads as well. The have two well-regarded strikers leading the way in Moroccan international Nourdin Boukhari (17 goals, 6 assists, 7.32 rat) and Belgian star Wesley Sonck (12 goals, 10 assists, 7.53 rat). Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder (13 assists) keys the offense, with help from Dutch international Patrick Paauwe (3 goals, 5 assists, 7.21 rat). Italian U-21 regular Matteo Iannone (7.44 rat) has already become a strong force on the backline. He is the top player on a good backline that also features popular international Dutch star Nigel de Jong (3 goals, 3 assists, 7.23 rat), Ruud Knol (7.10 rat) and veteran Hatem Trabelsi (5 assists, 7.04 rat). The backline work is key to the defense as the goalkeeping could be better, with Maarten Stekelenberg (33 goals conceded in 30 matches) a solid, but unspectacular option.

Outlook Going Into Group Stage: AaB wasn't anyone's list to make it to the second round, much less win Group G, which also had the Bundesliga's Werder Bremen and tournament co-favorite Barcelona. AaB became the beneficiary of horrible play by Barcelona, as the superpower failed to even come out of the group. AaB secured its spot and its gorpu win on the final day by going to Werder Bremen's home pitch and drawing them. With Shakhtar as dominant as they were in Group H, this group featured a tight race for the second spot. Ajax ended up winning out in a tough group which included powerful Man Utd. Ajax had to actually do what no one had yet to get into the tourney--beat Shakhtar. So they earned it.

Shakhtar (Ukraine) vs Werder Bremen (Germany)

A Look At Shakhtar: Shakhtar, along with Dinamo Kiev, has symbolized the stunning rise of the Ukrainian High League in the hierarchy of professional European football leagues. They have turned themselves into a respected power, if not a superpower in most estimations. It helps that they have consistently done well in the Champions League when they have gotten here, much like Dinamo Kiev, a past Champions Cup winner, has done. Shakhtar is currently on top of the High League, and seeking their second championship in three seasons. Last year, they finished third. They don't have the ridiculous dominance Dinamo Kiev does on defense, but they are very good there, and they have the second best offense in the league. Ukrainian international forward Gennadiy Zubov leads the offense (19 goals, 7 assists). He is the lone frontline starter on a squad that uses a 4-5-1, with forward midfielders. The best of those scoring midfielders are Armen Akopyan (13 goals, 4 assists, 7.34 rat) and Vitaliy Lysyts'kyi (10 goals, 5 assists, 7.21 rat). Romanian international winger Râzvan Rat (6 goals, 10 assists, 7.31 rat) is another source of offense in this atypical tactic. Vitaliy Rudenko (27 goals conceded in 30 matches) is a solid player in net for Shakhtar, and he is aided by a backline that features Ukrainian international star Anatoliy Tymoschuk (4 goals, 3 assists, 7.15 rat) and Polish defensive midfielder Mariusz Lewandowski (four goals, 7.11 rat).

A Look At Werder Bremen: This squad has yet to finish higher than third in the league since this dynasty started, and this is also the first time they have gotten to the Champions League. They are a bit of an enigma, having gotten this far despite a historic lack of real success (at least in comparison to fellow league mates like FC Bayern and Leverkusen, among others) and also being 10th this season in the top German league. Even in a tough league like Bundesliga, that's usually not the stuff of champions. Werder Bremen has an offense that ranks up there with the best in the league, but their defense is in the bottom half of the league, so now you see the problem. The heavy scoring load is carried by a super foursome of strikers, including a trio of Brazilians in young Brazilian Diego Tardelli (14 goals, 11 assists), Lincoln (13 goals, 4 assists, 7.44 rat), and Diego (9 goals, 13 assists, 7.47 rat), along with veteran Russian international Vladimir Beschastnykh (13 goals, 7 assists, 7.24 rat). Oddly enough, though, with all that talent up front, the leading goal scorer is another Brazilian in midfielder Lúcio Flávio (18 goals, 9 assists, 7.41 rat). Where would this squad be without Brazil? Those five do both the scoring and much of the passing, though, so it's them or bust, usually. Popular German centreback Frank Baumann (6.90 rat) and Frank Fahrenhorst (6.94 rat) lead a respectable backline that seems like it is playing below its capabilities. Hit-and-miss goalkeeper Thomas Richter (62 goals conceded in 38 matches) is perhaps the big problem on defense, though.

Outlook Going Into Group Stage: While no one doubts that Shakhtar has proven its credentials, I don't think anyone would have predicted them clinching a spot in the knockout phase by the fourth round of matches and being the only undefeated squad in the group stage after five. You have to respect a run like that, especially in a group with a couple other very respectable squads in Man Utd and Ajax. Considering they are also first in the High League right now, Shakhtar looks poised for a run. Werder Bremen's offense is fantastic, though, and that's a big hurdle to get by. That defense is scary, though, so it's mystifying they have gotten where they have. They came into Group G competition as the likely second best team in the group, and that's where they ended up. Of course, it was Barcelona that was supposed to be on top, not Danish club AaB, so Werder Bremen might have dodged a bullet in that Barcelona really droppe dthe ball in the Champions this year.

Lens (France) vs Brno (Czech Republic)

A Look At Lens: The top league in France is a tough one to get a read on. They are clearly not at the level of the very top leagues, but they have tremendous parity from club to club, and it seems to be a breeding ground for some fo the best players in the world, both French and otherwise. So coming out of La Ligue to grab a Champions League spot is significant for Lens. Still, Lens has been more often a squad that has struggled to evade relegation more often than threatened to be a part of Europe's top club competitions. Last year's second place finish came out of nowhere. It may be that last year was a corner turned, though, as the French club is now in third in league and don't look to be falling any time soon. Among contenders in La Ligue, their defense is a little worse than the others, but their offense is as strongly rated as most in France. Like Werder Bremen, lens relies ona deep forward and versatile forward crew that includes several Brazilians. It's tough to say who is more dominant with Brazlilian forward Rico (15 goals, 13 assists, 7.21 rat) or Colombian international star Oscar Eduardo Villarreal (13 goals, 7 assists, 7.93 rat). Lens will have to hope it's Rico, though, as Villarreal will miss the next two months to a torn groin muscle. French strikers Moreira (11 goals, 5 assists) and Peguy Luyindula (7 goals, 7 assists), and Brazilian Deivid (6 goals) lend impressive depth that will help cover up the loss of Villarreal. The midfield is very strong, as some of that forward depth sometimes plays there, in and around two of the club's top players in popular Malian star winger Seydou Keita (8 assists, 7.17 rat) and steady French midfielder Bruno Cheyrou (5 goals, 9 assists, 7.11 rat). Brazilian defender Leílton (7.15 rat) leads the backline, but his fellow starters are often younger defenders still cutting their teeth. Veteran Italian goalkeeper Flavio Roma (42 goals conceded in 37 matches) has rebounded from an awful year last season with Chievo to become the premier defensive player on the squad.

A Look At Brno: Were it not for Bodo/Glimt, I'm not sure a Cinderella squad could trump the shocking run of Brno, which began its Champions League campaign this season in the second round of qualifying. The Czech Republic squad has consistently surprised and beaten some big opponents along the way. This is their first Champions League, though, and they have never even won the Czech First Division, in which they finished second last year. They are currently third. Their defense is solid, but not spectacular, while their offense is downright average, even by Czech First Division standards. Still, it's hard to argue with results. A trio of strong strikers do the vast bulk of the scoring for this squad, with popular striker Libor Dosek (13 goals, 7 assists, 7.55 rat), Milan Pacanda (13 goals, 9 assists, 7.48 rat) and Petr Musil (10 goals, 8 assists). In a bit of nationalism, all three offensive talents are Czech, which you don't usually see in Champions League level clubs (but is repeated on some other second round squads this year, including Shakhtar and Levski Sofia). Those three strikers work together to produce much of the offense for this squad, which doesn't appear to be as strong in the midfield. Young Czech Republic U-21 right winger Eugeny Yeremin (6 assists) has contributed from the midfield at points. The defense features standout attacking fullback Roman Drga (5 goals, 4 assists, 7.28 rat). Like Lens, though, this backline has an awful lot of youth on itm albeit talented youth. Jindrich Skacel (34 goals conceded in 32 matches) is decent, if not awe-inspiring in net.

Outlook Going Into Group Phase: Neither of these teams was expected to get this far. For Lens, it wasn't their talent, so much as an awful draw. They were placed in a group with tourney co-favorite FC Bayern and Italian superpower Inter, and they probably thought they got a break when Bodo/Glimt was placed there, too. The reality is that Group F was one of the more shocking of such groups in this tournament's history, with everything finishing topsy-turny, as the little Norwegian and French clubs sent two of the most powerful squads in Europe home. Lens ended up winning the group with a 3-1 victory at home over FC Bayern. Brno deserves all that accolades it gets, but like Group E winner Sporting Lisbon, it was fortunate to end up in this group. Genoa was the "heavyweight" and it was no shock when last year's surprising second place Serie A squad ended up dropping both in league and in the Champions League. That opened up a spot for the opportunistic Brno, whom had to consider itself a much more natural match for group winner Sporting Lisbon and Partizan. The Czech squad actually was leading the group for much of the way before losing to Sporting Lisbon in the fourth match. Even that, just relegated them to second place. While I wouldn't bet big money on either of these teams, it's hard to ignore what they have accomplished so far.

Predictions

So how will it all come out? Here's my blow-by-blow take.

Second Round

Milan over Leverkusen: There's just too much talent on the defending champion squad in this, the best of the second round matches.

Tamworth over Dinamo Kiev: Top offense versus top defense. I think offense will win out. I could be biased, though. ;)

Olympiakos over Levski Sofia: I think the Greek squad Olympiakos is underrated and has some very nice talent. Levski Sofia is decent, but I don't see them winning this one.

Juventus over Celtic: I would love to pick Celtic here, but Juventus is just too loaded. You don't win the Serie A three years in a row for nothing.

Sporting Lisbon over Bodo/Glimt: I think true Cinderella dreams end when you get to this level, and Sporting Lisbon will pop the Norwegian club's bubble.

Ajax over AaB AaB is no slouch, but this should eb a win going away for Ajax. They have the kind of talent you find on solid clubs in the top leagues in the world.

Shakhtar over Werder Bremen: Werder Bremen has some powerful talent up front, but Shakhtar has been too dominant so far to ignore. I think they will keep it up for at least another round.

Lens over Brno: Once again, the dream ends. Lens looks strong, even without Villarreal, and they should be more than a match for Brno.

Quarterfinals

Milan over Tamworth: We won the Super Cup, but they really reloaded by adding Gattuso and Kewell. I think we'll fall in a close one.

Juventus over Olympiakos: Olympiakos is a good team--but they aren't this good. Juventus will win to make it an all-Italian affair in one semifinal.

Ajax over Sporting Lisbon: This should be one of the tightest battles in the Champions League, as these teams seem to have very comparable talent. In the end, better overall balance will get the Dutch squad to the semis.

Lens over Shakhtar: I think Lens' offense and the surprising play of Roma in net will be enough to edge out a spirited Shakhtar club. Besides, this is where the Ukrainian club usually checks out.

Semifinals

Juventus over Milan: Why? Heck if I know. Both of these squads are just ridiculously rich in talent. I think the return of Trezeguet will elevate Juventus to the Serie A champion level it has been holding the past few years and edge out Milan.

Lens over Ajax: Villarreal will finally be back for this one, and the overall offensive talent for the French club should be enough to beat a club that is dependent on too many young backline players.

The Final

Juventus over Lens

Lens by now is the Cinderella squad, but in the end, true talent will generally win out. Juventus is just too strong with Trezeguet and Del Piero, among others, up front, and star goalkeeper Buffon in net.

CR

Chief Rum

07-30-2004, 10:47 PM

Tuesday, February 24 To Monday, March 2

This is a big week for us, even though we will not be playing a league match.

As you no doubt will have gathered from the previous post, we will be hosting Dinamo Kiev in a Champions League second round match on Wednesday. This will begin the two-leg round in the first step of the knockout phase of Europe's most prestigious tournament.

On Sunday, we will get the chance to redeem ourselves for the one tragic error of last season--the English League Cup final. Last year, of course, we took our opponent, the since-relegated Sunderland, far too lightly, and it ended up costing us the domestic treble. We do not plan to make that mistake again.

Of course, the opponent fate handed to us is abit tougher than the last: Man Utd. Our nemesis in league play has already shown the ability to beat us, even using our tactic. This should be a terrific test for my squad.

This will also be a test of the system I set up following last season's debacle at Wembley. I lost last year because I had to make the choice of playing my best against European competition (we were in the UEFA at the time) or against Sunderland. I decided that I could wing it against Sunderland, so I played my best against Norwegian club Rosenborg, my third round UEFA opponent, three days before the 2008 English League Cup final. That, of course, was a key reason I marched a subpar squad onto the pitch for the Sunderland match.

It was with that stretch in mind that I developed the two separate elevens depthg I have had this season. I will find out this week if I was justified after all in carrying so much depth that I risked upsetting quality Lambs who rightfully feel they deserve more time.

Dinamo Kiev

I won't go into too much detail about Dinamo Kiev here, as I just did so int he last post. Needless to say, when the match at the Lamb Ground started on Wednesday, they had everyone I expected, including a blend of Ukrainian and international stars that went from Olexandr Shovkovskiy, the Ukrainian goalkeeper whom has been so strong this year, and attacking fullback Andriy Nesmachnyi, another top Ukrainian, to such foreign players as Nesmachnyi's wing partner, the Brazilian Alessandro, Argentinian striker Roberto Nanni and playmaking Romanian midfielder Florin Cernat. They play a 3-2-3-2 tactic that I don't believe I have seen played by anyone else yet in this game.

This is a first eleven match for me, and it was the usual suspects on the pitch. We got off to a good start from the point of producing offense, although it took a very nice shot to get the first score.

In the 13th minute, we had been knocking on the door for a while, with a Jim Corbett crossing pass zipping by the front of the goal mouth before being cleared out, and a deflection save of a Ykubu shot by Shovkovskiy. The clear out by Alessadnro of the Corbett crossing pass didn't go veyr far, to the left corner of the area. Yakubu was on it first and sent it up to Michael Stewart in the middle of the offensive pitch. Stewart was moving a little closer to the edge of the area when a hole in the defense opened up. He fired a low and hard shot tiward just inside of the left post. Shovkovskiy apparently didn't see it, as he made no move toward it as the ball sailed in from some 30 yards out for an improbable score.

Pressure set up the next score for us ten minutes later. Corbett was terrorizing the Dinamo Kiev defense with runs into the right end of the area, and this play was set up by a similar run. Corbett dodged by two defenders and looked about ready to send off another crossing pass into a busy front of the goal when Nesmachnyi made a last ditch tackle and edged the ball away from the winger. Perhaps fearing the pass would still end up on a Lamb foot, midfielder Olexandr Aliev inadvertently handballed in the area as he tried to clear the ball. The ref called it, and Shovkovskiy was soon faced with having to stop an Andy Williams penalty kick. Williams blasted a hard shot at the left post that seemed to freeze the Ukrainian goalkeeper, and the kick slammed into the post and back into the net for the 2-0 Tamworth lead.

Most of the first half was good news like this, but we did have one bit of bad news. Trond-Erik Bertelsen was kicked in a 29th minute challenge with Allesandro and went down. He had to leave the match, although he did walk off with the help of a couple teammtes. Considering we just got him back, it would be a horrible blow to us to lose the top fullback so soon after adding him to the squad.

Dinamo Kiev wouldn't seriously test our defense until the final minutes. By then, we had added a third score by Johnnier Montaño, who drove a ball right by Shovkovskiy from the left end of the area.

The best of the Ukrainian club's late chances came in the 85th minute when Morrocan midfielder Badr El Kadouri ended up with the ball in the middle of the offensive pitch. His ballwork drew the defense up to him and allowed midfielder Andriy Husin to slip behind them and toward the box. El Kadouri put the pass on the mark, and Husin went in on goal alone. Jon Masalin rushed out to him and took Husin's shot on the runs, deflecting it back out. Husin kicked in stride again, but the ball this time sailed over the crossbar for the goal kick. Tamworth 3, Dinamo Kiev 0

We lucked out with Bertelsen. It was merely a bruised shin and he will miss just two days. I think he should have stomached the pain and stayed on the pitch, although I know shin injuries can really hurt.

Other Champions League Second Round Results

Leverkusen 3, Milan 2 The German club came back to score the winner in the 90th minute on an injury time Joey Barton goal.

Levski Sofia 2, Olympiakos 0 The Bulgarian club did a surprising solid job on Olympiakos defensively, only allowing two shots on the match.

Juventus 1, Celtic 0 Juventus edged the Scottish club despite being outshot at home. The lone score was by Nenê in the 58th minute.

Bodo/Glimt 4, Sporting Lisbon 1 The underrated Norwegian club continues to surprise, as they dominate the supposedly stronger Superleague club at home. Sporting Lisbon was particularly hurt when midfielder Tinga was sent off with his second yellow card just before halftime, when the score was just 1-1.

AaB 2, Ajax 0 If Ajax is the stronger club from the better league, they're going to need to do better against AaB. The Danish club scored two goals in two minutes in the first half and limited the Dutch club to just two shots on goal.

Shakhtar 3, Werder Bremen 2 Shakhtar pulled out a wild, back-and-forth match with a Gennadiy Zubov injury time score to take this one. Every time Shakhtar took a lead, and then Werder Bremen would shortly later tie it upo again. The German club just simply ran out of time after Zubov's late score.

Brno 2, Lens 0 This first round couldn't have gotten more against form. This is merely the latest. Cinderella squad Brno continues its run with a strong defensive performance in a match that only included five shots on goal between both clubs.

The second leg of the Champions League second round will be played on March 11.

UEFA Third Round First Leg Results

The other top European club competition also resumed play this week, with the first leg of the third round being played all over Europe on Thursday.

Three Premiership squads won their matches today. Aston Villa pasted Greek squad Panachaiki at home, 3-0, while Newcastle edged Paris-SG 2-1 at St. james Park, and Liverpool won a tight, 1-0, contest on the road over Polish club Wisla. The only loss came courtesy of the First Division Wolves, who lost 1-0 to Champions League failure Genoa. The Wolves are in the UEFA for reaching the FA Cup final last year (before losing to us).

In the most surprising result of the night, Chornomorets stunned Bundesliga-topping Dortmund, 3-0. The second leg will be played on March 4.

Davenport Resumes Light Training

It took most of the year, but young fullback Pat Davenport got the go ahead on Saturday to begin light training to prepare for his return from rehabilitation of a chrnic groin muscle injury. Davenport, 18, was originally thought to be a contender for the second eleven right back spot, which has been ably held by Kevin Gorman this season. Davenport is still at least a month away from returning.

Board Confidence Update

We got the same message we always do from the board today. They remain deliriously happy with my management.

February Premiership Awards

After months of largely hitting and missing on the league's monthly awards, we finally scored a nice month for February.

For the this time this season, I was named the Premiership Manager of the Month, going 3-1-0. We also got another Premiership Player of the Month, when Orri Freyr Oskarsson got the nod. He had four goals, three assists and a 9 rating in three league matches in February.

The Premiership Young Player of the Month went to Leicester's James Graham for the second straight month. He has certainly been playing very strong ball since his return from injury. He had four goals, an assist and an 8.67 rating in three league matches this past month.

Man Utd, English League Cup Final

The time has come to return to Wembley Stadium and do what we failed to do last season: win the English League Cup Final.

And we get to play Man Utd again, for the fourth time this season. We have already wrapped our league matches with them, and we also played them in this very stadium more than half a year ago in the Community Shield. We also lost two of those three matches, but won the last won, 5-1, at the Lamb Groiund last month.

The Man Utd squad looks as strong as ever, with the usual suspects ont he pitch. The only different addition than usual was Emilio Moretti playing entreback in place of Rio Ferdinand, who tore a groin muscle in early February. The backline for the Red Devils is deep, though, and I don't think I have played the same defender fourosme twice yet in a match with them. One odd move was putting three of their best wingers all on the sub list in Sidney Govou, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kieran Richardson, and starting Patrice Evra and Gilberto Silva. Maybe they're trying to shake things up after losing to us badly last month.

It was a second eleven match for us, although we had to make a small change. With James McEveley suspended for his send off against Southampton last week, we had to start Jon Otsemobor in his place.

Apparently I gave a rousing speech before the match, or maybe the players were inspried by their loss here last year, because we got to work right away. Right off the kick off, the ball ended up on Emmanuel Olisadebe's head int he middle of the pitch, which he moved forward to David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro as he ran into the left end of the area. Pizarro moved in on goal, as Fabien Barthez closed in him. He fired a shot up close on Barthez, but the goalkeeper blocked the shot. The ball fall a touch to Barthez's right and Pizarro was first on it. He blasted the rebound past Barthez as the netminder tried to recover from the first save, and the ball sailed into the empty net for the first minute score.

Man Utd didn't start off too well there, but they played with us through the first half. They had a couple of strong possibilities to put one in, too. In the 19th minute, Eric Djemba-Djemba struck a hard shot from the edge of the area that cut throught he traffic and went on goal before Thomas Heaton was able to parry it away. In the 31st minute, Gateano D'Agostino sent a high drifting corner almost right down on the center of the goal, and defender Kasper Bogelund headed it toward the net. Kevin Gorman was in place, though, and he blocked the shot down the left goal line. And in the 39th minute, Nicolas Anelka went ona s trong run intot he box off of a Patrice Evra pass and had an angled shot on goal, but he kicked it too high and over the bar.

Things became much more complivated for the Red Devils in the 42nd minute when Moretti made the ill-advised decision to drag down Olisadebe from behind. It was the centreback's second yellow (the first also came on a foul against Olisadebe), and he was sent off. Strangely enough, Man Utd also lost another defender, Phillip Bardsley, in their loss to us last month, and in the 43rd minute, just a minute off of Moretti's dismissal.

Despite this, we didn't dominate this match, although we did have the possession edge. We ended up just doing a better job of capitalizing on our chances. In the 48th minute, Richie Partridge passed up to Olisadebe along the right touchline, and the striker volleyed a crossing pass into the center of the area. Louis Saha was alone running into the box, and after a little sidestep to get an angle on Barthez, he put a shot into the net just inside the left post for the 2-0 lead.

We put it away in the 56th minute, when Olisadebe headed in a Partridge free kick at the right post. Barthez moved up to stop the header, but the ball just managed to squeeze in between the charging keeper and the post for the 3-0 lead. A 77th minute penalty kick by Chris Booth rounded things off,a nd we pulled off an impressive win for the English League Cup in front of more than 80,000 screaming football fans. Tamworth 4, Man Utd 0

We haven't beaten Man Utd this year in a match that didn't have one of their guys sent off, but then, maybe they should be more careful about that. ;)

We were awarded $1.6 M for our win the English League Cup final, and have taken our first step toward the domestic treble.

Nicely enough, following the match, the supporters showed their love for me by saying I as a "credit to the team and to my profession".

The board also said they were very pleased with me, although that doesn't come as a surprise (well, neither was the supporter love).

Warren Out With Training Injury

On Monday, little used backup centreback Mark Warren, who is currently on the transfer list, seriously sprained his ankle and will be out of action for two weeks. Warren has just three appearances this season, so I don't anticpate the squad mossing a beat.

League News

I don't normally mention lower league news, but I thought you guys would find this interesting. On Saturday, Third Division Tranmere fired Kasey Keller. That's right, the former American goalkeeper. Keller, 39, the former goalkeeper for the Spurs, retired a couple years ago and became a fulltime managing candidate. He was hired by Tranmere last April, but couldn't save the club from relegation from the Second Division. This year, they have really struggled and now are flirting with relegation from the Third Division. Obviously, this is probably why he was fired. He ended his tenure with Tranmere with a fairly even 20-8-22 record.

Aston Villa's veteran Slovakian midfielder Igor Demo reportedly told his manager Tord Grip that he felt he was being victimised by league refs after being sent off in the Villans' loss to Leicester on Sunday.

Demo got two yellows in the Leicester match and has eight yellow cards on the year.

Demo reportedly asked Grip for advice on how to stop "this unfair treatment" he feels he is receiving from the refs.

On Monday, Celtic won the signature of young winger Steve Robinson, formerly of Bristol City. His contract was allowed to expire by Bristol City on February 15, putting him on free transfer.

Despite that, Robinson was thought to be a well-regarded young player whom at 20 years old had already been starting for Bristol City for four years. This season Robinson had two assists in 25 appearances with Bristol City this season, and a 6.60 average rating.

Robinson took a $700,000 contract offer from Scottish Premier League Celtic over offers from Birmingham, and Zaragoza and Valladolid of the Primeral Liga.

I considered an offer to Robinson, but I didn't have any him scouted and wasn't ready to offer a guy $500,000-plus when I didn't know what I was getting.

Here's the Premiership League Team of the Week

SC James Graham (Leicester)-- 2 G, MoM, 10 rat vs AST
SC Adrian Mutu (Chelsea)-- 2 G, MoM, 10 rat vs BLK
MF Fabian Ernst (Tottenham)-- 1 G, MoM, 8 rat vs SOU
MF Darren Carter (Birmingham)-- 1 G, MoM, 9 rat vs BRI
MF Matthew Hamshaw (Sheff Wed)-- MoM, 8 rat vs MAN
MF Wayne Bridge (Man City)-- 7 rat vs SFW
DF Phil Neville (Fulham)-- 1 G, 1 A, 8 rat vs COL
DF Lee Webb (Sheff Wed)-- 8 rat vs MAN
DF Mbulelo Mabizela (Tottenham)-- 8 rat vs SOU
DF Anthony Gardner (Tottenham)-- 8 rat vs SOU
GK Neil Miles (Blackburn)-- 8 sav, 8 rat vs CHE

CR

daedalus

07-31-2004, 12:03 AM

Argentinian Andrés D'Allessandro, for whom was paid the current all time high in transfer fees ($68 M) rotates between the midfield and forward, and has been effective at both (9 goals, 9 assists, 7.39 rat). D'Allessandro, stunningly enough, has to fight for playing time on a squad that already has Dutch superstar striker Ruud van Nistlerooy (15 goals), Brazilian forward Kaká (13 goals) and Ukrainian vet striker Andriy Shevchenko (8 goals).Just a thought . . . One of my favourite ways of acquiring players was to be a vulture on these teams once the players are sufficiently unhappy. You also have an easier time shaking them up when they don't get enough playing time like this. Or an easier time snaking them on Bosman.

As an example, in my 01/02 game, I got D'Allesandro for 1.5M about a year and a half after Rangers paid 7.5M for him (point of reference, the most expensive transfer ever in my game was about 30 and only two were over 30).

Chief Rum

07-31-2004, 01:13 AM

Yeah, I have actually done that on occasion. Giovanny Hernández wasn't happy being a reserve on Man Utd, for instance. I recently signed Emilio Mora in a similar situation, and I do keep my eye out. Years ago, I made Adu get pissed off at SC Freiburg for refusing to move him to me. :)

I also did this in my past Middlesbrough dynasty, when I went after Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink with Chelsea and for Colombian international Jairo Fernando Castillo, with America de Cali.

Still, while it's in my arsenal of tricks, I usually don't go to those tactics unless I really want someone, and his owner is being a total butthead. ;)

CR

Chief Rum

07-31-2004, 02:14 AM

Premiership Table, March 3, 2009

| Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D.| Pts |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1st | Tamworth | 26 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 87 | 33 | +54 | 65 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2nd | Man Utd | 26 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 53 | 23 | +30 | 58 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 3rd | Arsenal | 26 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 48 | 21 | +27 | 52 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 4th | Chelsea | 27 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 49 | 34 | +15 | 49 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 5th | Liverpool | 26 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 47 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 6th | Aston Villa | 27 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 50 | 45 | +5 | 41 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 7th | Birmingham | 27 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 41 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 8th | Newcastle | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 35 | +5 | 38 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 9th | Southampton | 27 | 11 | 5 | 11 | 37 | 41 | -4 | 38 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 10th | Sheff Wed | 27 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 31 | 28 | +3 | 37 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 11th | Everton | 27 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 30 | 34 | -4 | 36 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 12th | Nottm Forest | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 34 | 38 | -4 | 35 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 13th | Fulham | 27 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 28 | 38 | -10 | 32 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 14th | Tottenham | 27 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 40 | 44 | -4 | 31 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 15th | Man City | 27 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 35 | 43 | -8 | 28 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 16th | Leicester | 27 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 32 | 51 | -19 | 28 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 17th | Blackburn | 27 | 7 | 5 | 15 | 34 | 55 | -21 | 26 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 18th | Blackpool | 27 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 27 | 47 | -20 | 25 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 19th | Bristol City | 27 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 27 | 38 | -11 | 24 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 20th | Colchester | 27 | 2 | 5 | 20 | 21 | 69 | -48 | 11 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|

Comments: The primary difference between now and the table from two months ago is that I have begun to pull away from the pack, and Arsenal and Aston Villa have switched places. Arsenal seems to be benefiting from the departure of manager Bert van Marwijk, while Aston Villa has cooled off from the hot streak that got them all the way up to third by the turn of the year. Newcastle continues to underachieve, and allowed Birmingham to move ahead of them. Two months ago, the top ten was rounded out by Everton and Nottingham Forest. Bad runs by both have dropped them to the middle of the table and out of range of European qualification, while Southampton jumped into the top ten and Sheffield Wednesday continued the better-than-expected play that has them in the middle of the table in the first place. Fulham and Tottenham remain squads with talent, but they can't seem to catch a break to move up right now. They are still 13th and 14th in the table. The last two months have seen traditional squads like Man City and Blackburn put themselves back out of relegation after getting scared by a low run of form. Leicester, too, has seen its fortunes rise, not coincidentally with the return of two-time Young Player of the Month James Graham. Blackpool and Britstol City have dropped from upstarts back to the relegation candidates they were considered at the beginning of the season. As in January, Colchester remains one of the worst Premiership squads seen in years.

CR

Chief Rum

08-01-2004, 03:45 AM

Tamworth Season Stats, March 3, 2009

<font=courier>
Keepers Age Wage Value Apps Con AvgR

Jon Masalin 23 $35 K $1.4 M 22 25 6.32
Thomas Heaton 22 $100 K $2.4 M 21 (1) 25 7.36
Casper Nelis 32 $35 K $300 K 1 1 5.00

Defenders Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Leon Cort 29 $110 K $4.1 M 21 (1) 2 2 0 7.09
David Raven 23 $75 K $4.0 M 21 (1) 0 5 0 7.09
Mike Duff 30 $575 K $2.3 M 21 0 4 0 7.33
Hermann Hreidarsson 34 $825 K $325 K 20 (1) 0 0 0 7.10
Kevin Gorman 20 $160 K $2.3 M 20 0 2 0 7.65
James McEveley 24 $1.0 M $5.75 M 20 0 0 0 7.45
Tieme Klompe 32 $625 K $1.0 M 20 1 1 0 6.85
Gaël Clichy 23 $160 K $4.1 M 15 (4) 0 6 1 7.53
Jarl Andre Storbæk 30 $85 K $1.8 M 4 (8) 2 0 0 7.25
Jon Otsemobor 25 $65 K $3.0 M 4 (5) 0 0 0 6.78
Peter Castle 21 $100 K $2.3 M 3 (8) 1 0 0 6.91
Mark Phillips 27 $300 K $4.0 M 3 (5) 0 0 0 7.13
Justin Skinner 36 $40 K $45 K 2 (1) 0 0 0 6.67
Trond Erik Bertelsen 24 $1.3 M $13.0 M 2 0 0 0 7.50
Mark Warren 34 $75 K $45 K 1 (2) 0 0 0 7.33
Pat Davenport 18 $40 K $475 K 0 0 0 0 0.00

Midfielders Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Michael Stewart 28 $230 K $10.75 M 22 3 8 1 7.36
Denny Landzaat 32 $850 K $2.2 M 21 3 8 2 7.57
Johnnier Montaño 26 $775 K $11.0 M 20 (1) 16 7 4 8.00
Richie Partridge 28 $400 K $6.75 M 19 (5) 3 9 1 7.67
Jim Corbett 28 $80 K $3.8 M 19 0 7 3 7.74
David Pizarro 30 $500 K $12.25 M 18 (2) 12 3 5 7.90
Lionel Morgan 26 $825 K $7.0 M 17 (3) 1 7 4 7.55
Carl Motteram 23 $900 K $7.75 M 15 2 1 0 6.80
Darren Birchall 30 $85 K $3.8 M 8 (8) 6 4 1 7.38
Chris Booth 19 $60 K $625 K 8 (3) 2 7 1 7.55
Emmanuel Olisadebe 30 $850 K $5.0 M 5 (1) 1 2 0 7.17
Andy Williams 31 $500 K $1.0 M 4 2 0 0 7.75
Giovanny Hernández 32 $725 K $2.3 M 3 (12) 7 1 1 7.47
Danny Prutton 27 $1.1 M $6.0 M 1 (14) 0 0 0 6.93

Forwards Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Louis Saha 30 $625 K $4.6 M 20 15 6 5 7.90
Andre Pereplytokin 23 $475 K $11.0 M 18 (1) 15 5 1 7.32
Orri Freyr Oskarsson 28 $950 K $2.4 M 17 (3) 12 10 3 7.90
Yakubu 26 $1.2 M $17.0 M 16 (4) 14 8 3 7.45
Adam Wilde 29 $400 K $2.6 M 9 (12) 9 5 0 7.24
Mark Hicks 27 $450 K $9.75 M 3 (18) 6 5 1 7.29


CR

Chief Rum

08-01-2004, 06:44 AM

Tuesday, March 3 To Monday, March 9

We get back to some Premier Division play early on this week, when we play host to mid-table squad Nottingham Forest on Wednesday. Then we take our next step in the FA Cup on Saturday, as we host our old friend Cyrstal Palace, whom we beat in the final of that very same competition a couple seasons ago.

Nottingham Forest

On Wednesday, we play host to Forest, the 12th ranked squad in the Premiership. We beat Nottingham Forest at their place 4-1 in October.

Forest is a solid squad, albeit not one that really has the talent right now to make a run at the top. If they play well enough, they might contend for a European spot, but even that is a stretch at this late point.

Their offense seems to be entirely provided by striker Darren Huckerby (19 goals). They play an intricate 3-2-3-2, similar to what Dinamo Kiev ran last week. Their best midfielder, unfortunately for them, is hurt and will miss today's match. That would be veteran Icelandic international Brynjar Gunnarsson (6.90 rat). They do employ some decent defensive midfielders in the key wing roles in Darren Ryan (4 goals, 6.91 rat) and Diego Martinez (5 assists). The real problem with the team Forest runs out is that they have too many kids trying to learn on the fly. Starting midfielder Neil Futcher is 18, Ryan is 18, and starting centreback Lee Bates is 17. The net is at least handled by a well-known and venerable name in Finland's Antti Niemi. He adds a little respectability to the defense (50 goals conceded in 38 matches).

Huckaby is still learning to work with Nottingham Forest's key transfer window addition in HSV loanee striker Benjamin Lauth, who had 13 goals in 23 appearances with the German superpower, but only has one goal in five matches so far with Forest.

This is a first eleven match for us, from top to bottom.

That youth hit Forest hard early in this one. In the 5th minute, Andy Williams put a ball into the box for Yakubu, and Bates took out the legs of the Nigerian striker, leading to a penalty call. Williams got the call, and he blasted the ball over Niemi's left shoulder for the score.

The Lambs almost added a couple more scores in the first 15 minute, but Niemi turned away close shots by Johnnier Montaño and Orri Freyr Oskarsson. It was Forest, though, that almost ended up tying it. Lauth worked himself behind the defense on a nice pass from defender Hasney Aljofree and charged in on goal. Jon Masalin came out and blocked Lauth's shot to his left. Huckerby jumped on the ball and angled for a shot around Masalin, but the golakeeper retreated it and made a nice save to push it across the left goal line. The follow up corner was cleared without a score.

Despite the quick double shot by Forest, this was clearly our match from a control standpoint. Niemi was standing on his head to stop another tough shot by Oskarsson in the 21st minute, and to deflect a Jim Corbett shot over the net after a nice run. We finally broke through in the 26th minute. In an offensive wave that actually begun with Corbett's deflected shot, Michael Stewart ended up with the ball in the center of the offensive pitch. As he typically does, Montaño was able to time a step into the penalty area and Stewart was right on him with the pass. Niemi rushed out on Montaño and almost knocked the ball away before the Colombian mdfielder sidestepped it and kicked the ball into the open net for the 2-0 lead.

It didn't take so long to get the next score. In the 28th minute, Mike Duff had the ball from a foul near the right corner. He sent the ball up the goal line to Oskarsson, who was strangely unguarded. The striker ran up the line toward the goal and blasted a sharp angle shot at the opposite side netting. Niemi couldn't stop the blast and we had a commadning three-goal lead.

After that, Nottingham Forest actually did a fair job in keeping us to the outside of the penalty area, as we put a number of long shots over the bar. But it was too late by then, because they couldn't solve Masalin. In fact, the only shots they got all match came in that one two-shot affair in the 18th minute. Tamworth 3, Nottingham Forest 0

Oskarsson did pick up a minor injury, when he suffered a gashed leg. He will be out for five days, including Saturday's FA Cup match against Crystal Palace. That latter shouldn't matter, though, as he wasn't going to be playing anyway.

Crystal Palace, Sixth Round of the FA Cup

You know it's a slow week when we pretty much go from one match to the next one, just like that.

I have already talked a little bit about Crystal Palace. The Eagles are struggling this season in the First Division. They are the fourth straight club from the division that we will be facing in this competition.

Dominant First Division striker Peter Weathersoon remains the player to watch, with 28 goals this season. He gets help from Marlon King and young Richard Lambert (12 goals each) up front. Veteran Finnish winger Jari Niemi (14 assists) is the top midfield passer on the squad, with Weatherson also showing he passes as well as he shoots (14 assists). Centreback Darren Powell (7.10 rat) and young Italian fullback Ciro Rizzi (7.16 rat) lead a decent backline, but this team is definitely a better offensive squad than defensive. The net work is handled by Richard Lee, but he has allowed 70 goals in 49 appearances.

We will run out the second eleven for this one, as scheduled. There were no changes from the standard second team lineup.

David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro didn't start off the day so well. In the 13th minute, he took a header pass from Louis Saha right into the box, and had even dodged aside Lee, but he put an open shot well wide of the goal. He redeemed himself in the 20th minute. James McEveley took a clear out pass to the right centreline and moved it forward to Emmanuel Olisadebe along the right edge of the area. The pass drew the attentions of both Powell and the striker's marker, Gary Borrowdale, leaving Pizarro alone near the center of the area. Olisadebe has increasingly been able to find the centre man on this play, and he did so again, dropping it down to Pizarro. The Chilean midfielder ran into the box and on goal, blasting a shot over Lee's right shoulder for the first score of the match.

Pizarro continued to get chances throughout the first half, forcing Lee to deflect one shot over the goal, and to make a save on a low Pizarro shot after a long run up the middle of the pitch. Lee's ended early efforts turned out to be worthwhile, as the Eagles' impressive frontline combo went to work in the 40th minute.

Weatherson headed a ball toward Lambert just outside the edge of the area. With a step on the defense, Lambert ran into the box. Thomas Heaton rushed out on him and when Lambert kicked a low shot, Heaton deflected it to his left. Unfortunately for the goalkeeper, the save left him off-balance and help was slow in coming. Lambert barely beat Heaton to the ball and kicked it into the open net to bring Crystal Palace level.

Going into halftime with a 1-1 draw was hardly how I envisioned this match.

Pizarro continued to knock on the door in the second half. He threw a wide shot at the net off of a free kick, and then attempted a chip on Lee that the goalkeeper was just able to retreat on and catch before it went into the net. Lee couldn't do a thing with Pizarro's next shot, though, in the 59th minute. Denny Landzaat found Pizarro in the penalty area and placed a perfect high pass right onto the midfielder. The ball barely stopped an instant before Pizarro had blasted it at the right post, well away from Lee. The ball caught the edge of the post and sailed into the back of the net for the go ahead score.

Pizarro wrapped up a strong day in the 65th minute. Olisadebe got control of the ball near the centreline and found Pizarro on a run up the middle of the pitch. Pizarro was being closed upon on both sides, as defenders chased him and Lee rushed out. Before he even got to the penalty area, though, Pizarro unleashed a low curling shot that jsut whistled by the approaching Lee. The ball curved toward the left post and went into the side netting for a beautiful long score. The midfielder had scored his hat trick!

We continued to threaten to make the score worse, with Olisadebe having a shot turned away from point blank range, and Chris Booth shooting a shot off of the right post in the 80th minute. It wouldn't matter, though; we had already secured the necessary margin for victory in this one. Tamworth 3, Crystal Palace 1

Pizarro, on top of his hat trick, took no less than 11 of our 16 shots, and 7 of our 9 on goal shots. He rightfully earned a 10 rating and the Man of the Match in this one.

We were awarded $650,000 for the win in the Sixth Round, which is essentially the quarterfinals and the last matches of the FA Cup that aren't played on neutral ground.

FA Cup Sixth Round Results

We're getting to the nitty gritty here.

Chelsea edged First Division Norwich, 1-0, at Stamford Bridge to advance to the next round. That one probably shouldn't have been that close.

Still, the Blues did better than the other Premiership squads remaining. Arsenal was drawn at home, 0-0, by former Premiership squad Charlton Athletic, while First Division Scunthorpe held even, 1-1, with the Foxes of Leicester. Arsenal and Leicester will have to replay their matches on March 18 to determine who will advance to the semifinals.

League News

Some little bits of news on the Premiership wires this week.

On Wednesday, young Fulham midfielder Mike Douglas, who has yet to see the pitch for the first team since being brought on board from Crewe last summer, complained to The Times about his lack of presence on the first team. The 21-year-old has played well at the reserve level, though (7.42 rat).

On Thursday, the Western Daily Press reported that Bristol City defender Clayton Fortune is unhappy with his current contract. Fortune, 26, is making just $65,000 per year right now, so I can understand his consternation, considering he has started 28 matches for City (and played well, 7.11 rat).

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Miroslav Klose (Man Utd)-- 9 rat vs SFW
SC Orri Freyr Oskarsson (Tamworth)-- 1 G, MoM, 9 rat vs NOT
MF Michael Stewart (Tamworth)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs NOT
MF Andy Williams (Tamworth)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs NOT
MF John Arne Riise (Liverpool)-- 8 rat vs BLK
MF Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd)-- 1 G, MoM, 10 rat vs SFW
DF Gary Rowett (Blackburn)-- 8 rat vs LIV
DF Nyron Nosworthy (Southampton)-- 1 G, 9 rat vs AST
DF Joseph Yobo (Everton)-- 8 rat vs COL
DF Danny Higginbotham (Southampton)-- MoM, 9 rat vs AST
GK Richard Wright (Everton)-- 6 sav, MoM, 10 rat vs COL

CR

Chief Rum

08-01-2004, 11:05 PM

Tuesday, March 10 To Monday, March 16

We start off this week by playing Dinamo Kiev in the second leg of our Champions League matchup. While we have a 3-0 lead in the aggregate scored match, this one is in Kiev, so I can't assume anything at this point. Still, I am looking pretty solid.

On Saturday, we play host to top ten Premiership squad Birmingham in a league game. That should be fun.

FA Cup Semifinal Draw

Two of the semifinalists for the FA Cup have yet to be finalized, but that doesn't mean the English Football Association won't move forward with their draw.

As it turns out, we got the only other squad that is certainly through to the semifinals in Chelsea. Arsenal-Norwich and Leicester-Scunthorpe will determine the other semifinal matchup after they play their respective replay matches next week.

We will play Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on May 4.

The FA Cup continues its "tradition" of offering me up tough semifinal opponents. Two seasons ago, I got Newcastle and barely escaped with a 4-3 victory after coming back with three goals in the last 20 minutes. Last year, I got Man Utd, and once again barely escaped with a 4-3 win there.

Chelsea, currently fifth in the league, is another example of a powerful opponent for my FA Cup semifinal.

Dinamo Kiev

Given that it is early March in the Ukraine, I expected some snow or otherwise tough conditions when we traveled to meet Dinamo Kiev at the Valeriy Lobanovs'kyi stadium Dinamo on Wednesday. It certainly was gusty and cold (46º F), but the pitch and sky were both clear.

The Ukrainian club marched out the exact same lineup as last time. For us, it was a first eleven match. Orri Freyr Oskarsson, though, was still getting back into shape from his down time via the gashed leg injury. I felt he was far enough along to include as a sub, but I started Mark Hicks in his place. Otherwise, the lineup remained the same.

I don't know if it was the windy day or playing in the cold or the already-noted tough defense by Dinamo Kiev, but this was a tight defensive match, the kind where any offensive run could be critically important. That's bad news, of course, for Dinamo Kiev, as they need to generate three more goals than us (and four if we score a goal).

A brilliant play in the 12th minute by Andy Williams set up a near score for us. He went on a long curving run from beyond the centreline, where he worked his way down the centre and then right up the middle, somehow dodging by numerous defenders. Just as he reached the edge of the area, he moved the ball up to Yakubu to the left of the goal. The Nigerian striker blasted a shot on goal off of the volley but his ball sailed too high and whzzed over the bar.

In the 20th minute, Dinamo Kiev got their first real good chance. Defensive midfielder Andriy Nesmachnyi took a ball just off the left edge of the penalty area and sent a high lob cross into the area. Striker Oleg Gusev was on it, but his volley went wide left of the goal. Then a couple minutes later, Brazilian midfielder Alessandro freed the ball up from Williams along the right touchline and moved the ball forward to Argentinian striker Roberto Nanni on the run. Nanni had a step on the defense, but, perhaps unwisely, went for a long distance chip over rushing out Jon Masalin. The ball just missed the net as it drifted down (kicked from some 30 yards out, I might add), and went harmlessly out of bounds for the goal kick.

This match seemed full of long distance tries that were a good ways off from success because of the wind they were going into. The closest shot through the first half and change came in the 53rd minute, when Michael Stewart sent a long ball billowing into the wrong side of the right side netting (wrap your mind around that one!).

We're beginning to creep across the second half here, and that's unfortunate for Dinamo Kiev. They really need to start scoring goals to have a chnce here. Getting a 0-0 draw or 1-0 win against us at home isn't going to be enough.

They did almost break through in the 59th minute. Nesmachnyi made a nice pass to Gusev, who went along a half-pitch-length run along the left touch. Gusev sent a sharp cross into the edge of the area, where Nanni was being marked by both David Raven and Trond-Erik Bertelsen. Despite that, Nanni got his head to it and blasted a strong shot on goal. Masalin was ready for it, though, and deflected it back out. Bertelsen cleared the ball to end the chance.

We had a great chance in the 73rd minute. Yakubu took a Bertelsen trhow-in along the left touchline and found Giovanny Hernáandez ona run toward the left end of the area. Yakubu sent a long pass that actually went into the penalty area well ahead of Hernández and his marker, veteran centreback Sergiy Foderov (the soccer-playing one). Hernández proved to be much faster than the older Fedorov and took the ball in toward the goal from near the left goal line. He fired a hard shot on goal, but the high ball ricocheted off of the crossbar and bounced toward the right end of the goal. It was then cleared by Goran Gavrancic.

In the 76th minute, Williams got revenge on Alessandro for the midfielder's earlier swipe of the ball that led to Nanni's oh-so-close chip shot. Williams took the ball from Alessandro along the left touchline and went on a run toward the offensive pitch. He has greater foot speed than Alessandro so he was able to stay on the ball and free up a pass to Yakubu, who was just outside of the penalty area, to the left of the goal. The striker took the ball ona run toward the center of the pitch and unleashed a hard shot just inside the left post. Goalkeeper Olexandr SHovkovskiy didn't react in time, and the ball sailed into the back of the net for the first score of the match.

Adding injury to insult, Gavrancic had to leave the pitch with a dislocated shoulder on the play. Not only would the injury cost Gavrancic more than a month this season, his squad had to try to score five goals in then minutes with a man disadvantage, since they had already used their alotted three-man subs.

Yakubu's goal would prove to be the difference, as Dinamo Kiev put up little further fight. Tamworth 1, Dinamo Kiev 0

On aggregate, we won the second round Champions League matchup, 4-0, and are through to the quarterfinals. We only allowed Dinamo Kiev to take seven shots, only two of which went on goal.

Other Second Round Results

Milan 3, Leverkusen 3 (Milan through on away goals) Leverkusen proved to be every bit of the tough match for the defending champs, but they fell on away goals after Milan shut them out 1-0 in Italy.

Tamworth 4, Dinamo Kiev 0 Already covered, of course. Our defense really did a good job in this round.

Levski Sofia 3, Olympiakos 0 The Bulgarian squad finished off the impressive victory by holding Olympiakos scoreless in a 1-0 match. They certainly have exceeded where I thought they could be.

Juventus 3, Celtic 0 The Bhoys blew a big chance when they went into a home match against Juventus just a goal down. Coming out of Italy with a 1-0 loss was impressive, but they dropped the ball by allowing the Italian club to continue to limit their offense with a 2-0 win in Scotland.

Bodo/Glimt 5, Sporting Lisbon 2 This was almost a foregone conclusion for the Cinderella Norwegain club after they thrashed Sporting lisbon at their place, 4-1. Today, the Portuguese power played much better, holding Bodo/Glimt to one goal in a 1-1 draw, but too little, too late.

AaB 3, Ajax 1 Another surprise squad held up on the road and didn't allow the Dutch power Ajax to come back on them. The two clubs drew 1-1 in the Netherlands, allowing the Danish club's 2-0 win at home two weeks ago to stand up for the win.

Werder Bremen 5, Shakhtar 3 Werder Bremen is clearly a squad witha lot of offensive talent, so there is no surprise they were able to put three up on Shakhtar. Holding the most dominant club in the group stage to zero goals, though, in a 3-0 comeback win to climb up from a 3-2 deficit going in is very impressive.

Brno 3, Lens 1 Just like AaB and Bodo/Glimt, another surprise squad in Brno held serve with a 1-1 draw on the road, allowing its previous victory to win through. What Brno has accomplished this eyar is nothing short of amazing. When was the last time a second round qualifier got all the way to the quarters?

O'Brien Joins Tamworth

On Friday, the transfer of Stephen O'Brien on a free from AA Gent was completed, and he joined our U-19 squad.

If you will recall, O'Brien is the promising 19-year-old midfielder we signed on a Bosman transfer a couple months ago.

He had four goals and six assists in 24 appearances for the Belgian First Division squad, and is thought to have a bright future.

As I said above, he will play with our U-19s for now, as he isn't yet ready for first team play at this level.

Champions League Quarterfinal

On Friday, we received official notification of the fixture for the Champions League quarterfinals, although we already knew we were set for a showdown with defending champion AC Milan.

We will play the powerful Serie A club at Giuseppe Meazza on March 25, and then at the Lamb Ground on April 8.

Our scheduled visit to Ashburton Grove and a match with powerful Arsenal was postponed due to the clash with Milan on March 25. The rescheduled league match will be played on April 22, instead, perhaps turning it into a pivotal late-season match, for Arsenal at least, if not us.

In other matchups, Juventus takes on Levski Sofia, Bodo/Glimt and AaB hook up for the Scandinavian quarterfinal and Werder Bremen and Brno will do a Central European matchup.

Booth Targeted For Loan Again

Unbelievable. These guys just don't have a clue.

We get another offer on Friday to loan out young winger and key backup Chris Booth, this time from First Division relegation candidate Derby. We turn the offewr down again.

I would hope it stick, but I know it won't. As a promising winger, he will probably continue to be a target until I finally make him a regular.

Morgan Unhappy With Role

Winger Lionel Morgan came to me on Friday (busy day) to inform me of his unhappines with not being on the first team.

Technically, of course, he is a member of the first team, and I regard hima sone of my best backups. I realize this is probably a reaction, though, to his recent demotion to the backup squad from the second eleven, courtesy of Williams' return to health.

I really like Morgan and have since my Middlesbrough dynasty, and I still have big plans for him. Truth be told, I think I can get a lot for Carl Motteram, the current second eleven left winger, and would probably prefer to move him and allow Morgan back onto the regular squads.

Still, that's a decision for the offseason. For now, I tell Morgan he will be selected when I feel the time is right.

Later that day, Morgan said he was happy I was beginning to appreciate his value with the team.

Looking back, I see why he might be upset, as he was an unused sub against Dinamo Kiev, and he wasn't selected for the three previous matches. He hasn't played since the first match in the two-leg round with the Ukrainian club, some two weeks ago.

I admit I am a little disappointed, though. I would have hoped Morgan was above the petty whining some others (Yakubu, Johnnier Montaño, Richie Partridge) have done.

Nelis Hurt In Training

On Saturday, reserve goalkeeper Casper Nelis hurt himself in training, tearing a groin muscle. He will miss the next two months, which more or less puts him out for the season at this point.

Losing a reserve, of course, is not really a big deal, but there is always the possibility that an injury to one of our top goalkeepers will make the need for a quality reserve necessary. Nelis, who started for us last season with Masalin, was the emergency reserve. We do still have our other reserve, Kees Kostwinder, but he is listed and I would only go to him in a true emergency.

Nelis appeared in just one match for the first team, conceding one goal (I believe it was ina low priortiy match against Colchester in late November-early December). For the reserve squad, he allowed 17 goals in 15 matches, to go along with 6 clean sheets. Considering he in the final year of his current contract, I suspect Nelis has played his last match in a Tamworth uniform.

Birmingham

More than four months ago, a tough looking Blues squad beat us in a tight 1-0 match, one of our few down marks on a long season. I am hoping to get revenge for that loss in today's rematch at the Lamb Ground.

Birmingham has remained the respectable squad it looked it would be back in November. They are sitting at ninth in league, and appear to be a solid defensive squad. Offensively, though, they appear to be in the bottom half of the league. That would certainly fit with losing to them 1-0 in November.

The goalkeeping is being handled by a familiar name from my Middlesbrough dynasty: Carlo Nash. It's good to see the guy doing well. Actually, he has been starting for Birmingham for years, and did pretty poorly. This year, he has been much stronger (37 goals conceded in 31 appearances), which suggests that at least part of his problem was a poor defense in front of him.

The only difference from last year's defense, though, appears to be the increased play of young Chris Griffiths (33 appearances by far more than he has ever gotten). The other regulars, Martin Taylor (7.35 rat), Matthew Upson (7.15 rat) and Vincent Kompany (6.47 rat) remain the same and aren't playing especially better than they have in the past. Perhaps Neil Cameron, who took over the managing job in Birmingham just over a year ago, has put a stronger emphasis on defense than his predecessor Simon Smith. It should be noted that Smith ran Man City for most of this season before being fired, and they have some very poor defensive numbers at the moment.

The offense, for all its problems, does have some quality players. Former Man Utd and Welsh star winger Ryan Giggs is still the best creative talent on this squad, even at 35. He leads the team with 10 assists. Damien Johnson (5 assists) is a good defensive wing on the other side, and veteran Senegalese midfielder Aliou Cissé remains a strong defensive player in the middle. Up front, Czech star striker Milan Baros (18 goals) remains the face on the Blues' offense. Veterans Kanu (7 goals) and Jason Roberts (9 goals) form a solid support group for Baros.

We went with our second eleven today, although we made a small change. Partly, it was a mistake on my part, though. Despite the fact that he had started a few days before against Dinamo Kiev, I was focusing on Montaño as if he was the scheduled starter. Noting, of course, that he was poor in conditioning, I decided to use the opportunity to start the unhappy Morgan in his place. Then, further making all this strange was that I put in normal second eleven attacking midfielder David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro in Denny Landzaat's defensive midfield spot, and left the Dutchman off of the squad altogether. I didn't realize my error until I had alreayd begun the match, so I will just have to try and make it up to Landzaat sometime in the next few matches.

We broke through the defense early on. In the 10th minute, Louis Saha headed the ball up from the center of the offensive pitch toward Emmanuel Olisadebe. Olisadebeb had a step on the defense going into the right end of the box. He fired a shot at the goal, but Nash was ready for it and defelected it back up the goal line. Olisadebe was first to it, but more improtantly, his deep run into the box had drawn the attentions of Nash and defenders Kompany and Upson, freeing up Saha on a run straight up the middle. Olisadebe has repeatedly shown his ability to find the open man and he did again, moving the ball down to Saha. The French striker volleyed the ball into the left end of the net on the run, well out of reach of Nash, stuck near the right post.

Just three minutes later, we almost added another one. Morgan got a freekick from just outside of the box. He sent a slightly curving shot at the left post, but Nash was on it and sent it back out into the box, where it was cleared by Giggs.

Motteram had another great chance in the 23rd minute. Taking a pass from Hermann Hreidarsson along the left touchline, Motteram turned at the outer corner of the penalty area and sent a curving shot right in toward the left post. It would have been a brilliant score, but Nash just managed to step down to it and block it. Kompany then cleared it away.

We finally broke through again in the 27th minute. James McEveley fired a long pass to Olisadebe along the right side of the pitch. The striker beat Callum Davidson in the air and headed it on to Morgan on a run into the box. Nash played him toward the right post, so Morgan switched feet and kicked the shot into the left end of the net for the two-goal lead.

After that, the Blues did a fairly good job of limiting our shots. Their problem was they couldn't seem to get anything going themselves. We had one other great chance, but a score by Olisadebe was disallowed when he moved too early on goal.

Backup winger and fullback Jarl Ander Storbæk picked up a knock in the 76th minute, forcing us to finish the match a man down, but it didn't change the end result. Tamworth 2, Birmingham 0

Storbæk was just fine, suffering a bruised jaw in a bad collision. He's just going to miss a day of training, and I always give the squad a day off after match days anyway.

League News

There was very little in the way of league news that didn't actually happen to us in Tamworth.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Matt Jansen (Blackburn)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs MUT
SC Brett Ormerod (Blackpool)-- 4 G, 2 MoM, 9 rat in 2 matches
MF David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs BIR
MF Dickson Agyeman (Man City)-- 1 G, 1 A, MoM, 8 rat in 2 matches
MF Richie Partridge (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs BIR
MF Mark Bresciano (Liverpool)-- 1 G, MoM, 10 rat vs MUT
DF Lucas Neill (Blackburn)-- 1 G, 9 rat vs MUT
DF Lee Atkinson (Leicester)-- 8 rat in 2 matches
DF Richard Scimeca (Leicester)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs LIV
DF Aaron Hughes (Newcastle)-- 8 rat vs FUL
GK Shay Given (Newcastle)-- 4 sav, MoM, 8 rat vs FUL

CR

Chief Rum

08-02-2004, 03:17 AM

Tuesday, March 17 To Monday, March 23

We have a short stretch between international club competitions, and the cup competitions are growing sparse, so we finally return to a week with all Premiership matches.

This week will play 14th-placed Fulham at their place on Wednesday, and then follow that up with a home match against 10th-placed Everton on Saturday.

Fulham

The Cottagers just continue to seemingly run in place. They have been in the Premiership awhile now, but they never really threaten to break into the upper echelons of the league, nor do they end up relegated at the end of the year.

This year is no different for Fulham. At 14th, they aren't safe from relegation yet, but they should probably steer clear again. Fulham ranks in the lower half of the league in both offense and defense, and they are generally closer to the bottom than to the middle.

Both Collins John (12 goals) and Alan Smith (7 goals, 6 assists) are decent enough strikers, but the fact is, they just aren't enough to make a break at the big time. John is just 23 and having his best year, but he doesn't have top talent. Smith is one of those guys who is olid, but has proven he can't be more than that over the years. Hurting the Cottagers further is the fact that there is almost no quality scoring depth on the team.

The midfield is stocked with names, if not true talent. Like Smith, midfielder David Dunn is another known name that just hasn't really developed into a difference maker. He is playing beside one of the most beloved names in England in Paul Scholes. Too bad the former Man Utd superstar is 34 and lacks the physical ability to put his creative talents and football savvy to good use. Sylvain Legwinski is 35, but still plays at a consistent level on the right wing. American left wing Demetrius Williams (7 assists) is the best offensive innovator on the team, but he is way too inconsistent (5.97 rat). Michael Essien needs to see the pitch more from the midfield. He is probably the most complete player under 30 currently part of the offense.

The defense has a surprisingly long list of top players for a weak performing unit. Popular American fullback Carlos Bocanegro (7.14 rat) continues to be the backline leader. Former Man Utd fullback Phil Neville (two goals, foru assists) handles things on the other side. Both Zatyiah Knight (7.13 rat) and Steve Wilkinson (7.23) have done some good work at centreback, and the squad also brought on Arsenal's Kolo Abib Touré on loan, and has former international defensive midfielder Nicky Butt in hand. Heck, they even have nice wing depth with exciting young right winger Bruno Gama and former Chelsea winger Boudewijn Zenden around. Why is this team so bad?

Aging Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar might be a key reason. He is not enjoying a good year (57 goals conceded in 38 matches).

This was a first eleven match for us. There were no changes to the starting eleven, although I did add Denny Landzaat tot he sub list with the intent of getting him some playing time to make up for my lineup gaffe against Birmingham.

John got fancy to give Fulham a bolt of early excitement. Smith took an Essien pass and ran down to the left corner before sending in a curling backpass into the center of the penalty area. Deep amidst defenders, John performed an acrobatic overhead kick to blast a shot at the right post. He was off target, though, as the ball sailed wide right.

In the 8th minute, Johnnier Montaño won free through traffic along the centreline with the ball and proceeded on a run along the left touchline. He drew attention from Knight, which allowed Yakubu an open field on a run toward the box. Montaño put the ball on Yakubu's foot and the striker picked it up and blasted it toward the inside of the left post. Van der Sar was close enough to reach it, but failed to react fast enough, as the ball sailed into the net for the first score.

Just a couple minutes later, Jon Masalin almost made one of those critical errors he has been known to make. Demetrius Williams got the ball along the left touch and sent a long cross-pitch pass to near the left end of the penalty area. Smith went on a run to get to the ball first and used his speed to gain the edge. Masalin seemed to waffle whether to jump out of th enet to get the ball. By the time he decided to do so, Smith was able to get to the ball just before he did. The reuslt was a wide open net for Smith to kick to. Fortunately for Masalin and the Lambs, Smith was well off-target, curling a shot harmlessly past the goalmouth to the other side of the pitch.

Van der Sar turned away some good chances early on, including close shots by Yakubu and Montaño, and a play in which Jim Corbett went on one of his patented runs up the goal line to the box. Masalin had to make a top save when Smith made a well-timed pass to Essien on a run into the box. Essien was alone on goal, but Masalin was able to turn the straight-on shot away before Leon Cort cleared it.

Van der Sar seemed to be on his game, so it took a nice play to get us on the board again. In the 47th minute, Andy Williams cleared out a Fulham corner that Orri Freyr Oskarsson got to first out on the right. Oskarsson was under pressure from defenders, but he managed to kick a long ball across the centreline toward Yakubu in the middle of the offensive pitch. Yakubu got to the ball at the same time as Neville, but he got the ball under control, and skipped by the veteran defender to go in on goal. Van der Sar charged out to stop him, so Yakubu chipped a shot from beyond the penalty area. It drifted over the goalkeeper and fell perfectly into net for the score, Yakubu's second of the match.

Fulham had a big chance to get one back in the 55th minute. Legwinski put a pass into the penalty area for Smith, who had a step on the defense. Masalin went out to meet the striker, but Smith had a pretty good shot at a goal. Despite that, he kicked the ball well wide left of the goal, in a mystifyingly off kick.

We finally put this one away in the 61st minute. Trond-Erik Bertelsen passed the ball up to Yakubu on the left side. Yakubu headed the pass into the box, just ahead of Darren Birchall. The midfielder misplayed his first attempt at a shot, dribbling the ball forward at Van der Sar. The keepr couldn't get it under control, though, and it fell to Birchall again. He kicked into the open net with ease for the three-goal lead.

Tamworth added a fourth goal in the 70th minute, when Knight brought Birchall down in the box. Andy Williams kicked the ball inside the left post from the spot for the Lambs' fourth goal of the match. That is how it would end. Tamowrth 4, Fulham 0

The Cottagers actually got nearly as many shots off as we did (9-11), but they couldn't seem to get the shots on goal (2-9), and that would be their downfall.

FA Cup Quarterfinal Replays

While we shellacked Fulham, the two FA Cup quarterfinal replays were played on Wednesday.

All competition long, First Division and lower squads had stunned Premirship squads, but not this time. Arsenal edged Charlton, 1-0, on the road, and Leicester beat Scunthorpe, 4-2.

They will now play each other at Wembley Stadium on April 8, in the nightcap of a two-match affair that will start with us meeting Chelsea in the afternoon.

The winners of the two matches, of course, will meet for the FA Cup in late May.

International Call Ups

Club competition may be hitting the home stretch, but international play is just kicking off its season, with the resumption of qualification for China 2010 set to resume in the next couple weeks. On Friday and Saturday, we got the news that no less than 15 of our players were being called up.

On Friday, the Under-21s came calling. Ireland once again called on Kevin Gorman, while Slovakia called up our U-19 defender Andrey Gorbunov. The Ireland U-21's go to Latvia on March 27, and host Norway on Match 31. Slovakia plays host to Austria and Germany on those same dates.

On Saturday, we got the big call up list. Thirteen Lambs were added to international rosters.

South America is kicking off another round of World Cup qualifyinf fixtures, so Giovanny Hernández and Montaño were both off to Colombia, while David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro will go to Chile. Colombia plays Paraguay on the road on March 28, and then they host Peru on April Fool's Day. Chile travels to Uruguay first, and then play Paraguay at home.

As usual, Ireland called up Richie Partridge. In a new move, though, they also added longtime Lamb Mark Hicks. It's nice to see Hicks finally get some respect. Ireland's schedule mirrors that of its U-21 squad, just a day later on both.

This was also the first time Bertelsen was called up by Norway while in a Tamworth uniform, although this is certainly not his first time playing for Norway. The Norwegian squad will play Portugal on the road before Bertelsen plays two of his teammates on Ireland on April 1 in Norway.

The other players called up are to be expected, including Louis Saha to France, Michael Stewart to Scotland, Andy Williams to Wales, Emmanuel Olisadebe to Poland, Mike Duff to Northern Ireland, and both Oksarsson and Hermann Hreidarsson to Iceland. The only regular not called up was Landzaat. This was no omission--Holland isn't playing until a few days later, so the call for their players will also come later.

Saha and Olisadebe will meet again shortly, as France hosts Poland on March 28. France travels south to little Andorra on April 1, while Poland goes home to play Georgia. Wales will play both of its matches on the road, against the Faroe Islands on March 28, and Portugal on April 1. Scotland plays Malta on the road on the same first day, then Stewart & company will host the Ukraine. Northern Ireland travels to Georgia for its first match, and then they host Romania on April 1. Iceland wraps up the international fixtures involving Tamworth players by going to Belgium, and then playing England at home.

Everton

Unlike Fulham, Everton is a squad that has seen some success from its talent, although you could argue they could be even better.

The Blues still have a shot at Europe this year, but they are currently on the outside looking in at 10th in league. Only Bristol City and Colchester have scored less goals this season, but Everton does have a respectable mid-table defense, which has kept them in soem matches they perhaps shouldn't have been in. One of those was a 2-2 draw against Tamworth in November.

Richard Wright (45 goals conceded in 35 matches) continues to play well in net for the Blues, if not spectacular. He remains a top notch netminder. Nigerian centreback Joseph Yobo (7.22 rat) continues to be a force on the backline. Everton's defense would be much worse without him, as he has to make up for players of either poor ability like fullback Tony Hibbert (6.24 rat, highest in three seasons) or youth, like centrebacks Andy Potter (21 years old) and Declan Power (20).

The wings key the offense in this tactic, led by Danish winger Jesper Gronkjær (6 assists) and Colombian winger Daniel Cruz (5 assists). Chinese star Li Tie (5 assists) is the top player in the middle.

In the absence of oft-injured Wayne Rooney (6 goals in 14 matches), Elvis Hammond (7 goals) is leading the Blues in scoring. He gets help from young 17-year-old David Cooper (6 goals in 20 matches), who is a youthful talent that is giving Everton's offense what life it has. Steady Scotsman James McFadden (5 goals, 4 assists) continues to help the offense from both the frontline and the midfield. Rooney is just wrapping up another two-month stretch of down time, courtesy of his second torn groin muscle of the year. He will have missed more than four months this year due to groin hurts, and injuries have derailed what once was a very promising career.

We are going with the second eleven today. The only change we make is sticking Danny Prutton in the defensive midfield spot for Landzaat. The Dutch midfielder played half of the match against Fulham, and is still recovering from that. Still, as a nod to the start I accidentally cost him, he is ont he sub list for this one, and I do intend to play him again.

We didn't waste any time. In fact, our first score came on a play with surprising quickness in the 7th minute. Tie had the ball on the defensive side of the pitch, when Olisadebe slipepd up and took it from him. Very quickly, he dropped a pass to Partridge, who moved it up to Pizarro on a run toward the box. Wright charged out, but Pizarro went with old tricks and chipped the ball over the goalkeeper. The ball fell into the left corner of the net for the first goal.

Just four minutes later, we used a persistent attack to stack on another goal. Gorman found Pizarro running into the box again, and Pizarro unleashed a low shot right at Wright. The goalkeeper deflected it to his left, but no one could get to the ball faster than Pizarro. The Chilean midfielde rkicked another one at Wright, but he was positioned well again. This time, though, the rebound fell to his right and, unfortunately, for Everton in good view of a wide open net. Saha came up from the edge to finish off the easy score before a defender could leap on it and clear it.

We continued to get chances on Everton throughout the rest of the match, but we couldn't capitalize on any further passing plays. We got just one more goal off of a brilliant curling freekick by Pizarro in the 57th minute. The kick, from 30 yards out, was a fantastic, highlight-reel type of score that curled just inside the left post.

As has been the case recently, we simply dominated on defense, allowing just one shot, and made good on our shots on offense. Tamworth 3, Everton 0

We are really beginning to stretch things out in league, with a 14 point lead on second place Man Utd.

Thoughts On Match Reports And Our Tactics

I have decided at this point on two things regarding Tamworth league matches the rest of the way.

I believe our league championship is a foregone conclusion at this point, with just a month and change left. So from now on, I will be running normal computer tactics throughout matches (in other words, no uber tactics) the rest of the way, at least in league. I will continue to use what has worked in international and cup competitions.

This is in preparation for next seaosn, when I have decided I will only allow myself to use regular tactics in league matches. I don't know yet if I will extend that ban to cup and European competition, although I will play it by ear.

The other change I will make for league matches the rest of the way is that I will shorten my match reports considerably, unless I believe there is something of import that needs to be shared beyond simple scores and goal reports and what not. It's simply gotten too long to write out each match report.

I still plan on doing full writeups of international and any remaining cup matches.

League News

Nottingham Forest manager Walter Smith praised his midfielder Brynjar Gunnarsson in the media for recently strong form on Wednesday. Gunnarsson was out with an injury when Forest played us a couple weeks ago, so I personally wouldn't know. The veteran Icelandian has been solid this season, though (two goals, four assists, 6.90 rat).

Smith suggested that if the rest of the team played at the same level of Gunnarsson, the club wouldn't be where they are in the league table (an actually not bad 11th).

Fans flooded the local media in Nottingham with praise for the midfielder following Smith's announcement.

On Thursday, Southampton finally named a new manager, and it's an old name. Former Middlesbrough manager Steve McLaren returns to the Premiership as the new boss of the Saints.

McLaren's return highlights a bounce back year for the 47-year-old manager. Last season, he got sacked by the Boro in February, and then resigned his post as England's national team manager after the home nation did poorly in Euro 2008. McLaren was hired by Scottish power Rangers and has led them to a second place spot in the Scottish Premier League. He also reached the Scottish League Cup final and kept the team in the Scottish Cup until the quarterfinals.

For his career, McLaren is a respectable 105-64-94, with 381 goals for versus 368 against in 263 games managed. He has yet to win a league or a cup. He managed England after Sven-Goran Eriksson was fired following Euro 2004, and coached them through qualifying for Germany 2006 and then Euro 2008. England failed to qualify for Germany 2006.

McLaren is stepping into a good situation, as Southampton, in 7th, is deep in contention for a European spot, perhaps even the UEFA or a Champions League spot with a good run.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Thierry Henry (Arsenal)-- 1 G, MoM, 9 rat vs CHE
SC Shola Ameobi (Newcastle)-- 1 G, 1 A, MoM, 9 rat in 2 matches
MF David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro (Tamworth)-- 2 G, 1 A, MoM, 9 rat vs EVR
MF Jim Corbett (Tamworth)-- 9 rat vs FUL
MF Andy Williams (Tamworth)-- 1 G, 9 rat vs FUL
MF Richie Partridge (Tamworth)-- 9 rat vs EVR
DF Luke Young (Aston Villa)-- 7.50 rat in 2 matches
DF Matthew Upson (Birmingham)-- MoM, 8 rat in 2 matches
DF Mike Duff (Tamworth)-- 9 rat vs FUL
DF Ben Gardner (Newcastle)-- 1 G, MoM, 9 rat vs MAN
GK Tony McDermott (Arsenal)-- 3 sav, 8 rat vs CHE

CR

daedalus

08-02-2004, 03:29 AM

Thoughts On Match Reports And Our Tactics

I have decided at this point on two things regarding Tamworth league matches the rest of the way.

I believe our league championship is a foregone conclusion at this point, with just a month and change left. So from now on, I will be running normal computer tactics throughout matches (in other words, no uber tactics) the rest of the way, at least in league. I will continue to use what has worked in international and cup competitions.

This is in preparation for next seaosn, when I have decided I will only allow myself to use regular tactics in league matches. I don't know yet if I will extend that ban to cup and European competition, although I will play it by ear.

The other change I will make for league matches the rest of the way is that I will shorten my match reports considerably, unless I believe there is something of import that needs to be shared beyond simple scores and goal reports and what not. It's simply gotten too long to write out each match report.

I still plan on doing full writeups of international and any remaining cup matches.Why not do your own instead of using stock computer tactics? That could be something else fun to tinker with.

Y'know, at least fun for us to mock and harass you with. :D

Chief Rum

08-02-2004, 03:35 AM

Why not do your own instead of using stock computer tactics? That could be something else fun to tinker with.

Y'know, at least fun for us to mock and harass you with. :D

Oh, I'll be tinkering! :)

I'm just saying I will always go off of a computer tactic base before I make adjustments, and that I will avoid moves that will make something into an uber-tactic (one of which, I believe, is the forward run for the attacking midfielder in diablo, which is the reason I score so many goals with Pizarro and Montaño).

CR

Chief Rum

08-03-2004, 05:23 AM

Tuesday, March 24 To Monday, March 30

We have one match this week before everyone takes off for international matches. That, of course, is the key opener of our two-leg Champions League quarterfinal with defending champion and world superpower Milan. I don't think I am overstressing in noting how critical this match could be.

I will be covering the international action in separate posts, so this might be a light week outside of the Milan match.

Landzaat Called Up

On Wednesday, Tamworth midfielder Denny Landzaat got the expected call up to Holland. His notice from the Netherlands came a few days after the others because Holland will only play one match in this round of World Cup qualifying fixtures.

Landzaat has been a regular call up with the Netherlands national team since well before coming to the Lamb Ground. He and his Dutch countrymen will meet Lithuania on the road on April 1.

Milan, First Leg of the Champions League Quarterfinal

Now for the big time. This is the kind of squad that can beat us even when we're running an uber tactic. They are that good.

In an odd twist, we have actually played AC Milan this season, beating them 3-1 in the Super Cup in August, which matches the Champions League and UEFA winners.

Milan is currently on top of the powerful Serie A, although the league is very tight at the moment, with surprising Brescia (one point back) and three-time defending champ Juventus (two points back) within a win of the top, and dangerous Inter is also fairly close (five points back).

As is often the case with superpowers flush with cash (see: Real Madrid, Man Utd, etc.), Milan made some purchases in the midseason transfer window to bolster their club. Unfortunately for them, only one of the three players they spent more than $60 M on is eligible for international club play. They spent over $56 M on Liverpool winger Harry Kewell and Arsenal midfielder Ivan Genarro Gattuso, but neither can play in the Champions League, because they were on their respective former clubs' international rosters for previous European-level competitions. So the only January transfer we will have to play against is Danish forward Johan Absalonsen, who was playing with 2007-08 mid-table Marseille of La Ligue.

Milan's lineup, of course, reads like a who's who of international superstardom. Milan has the Serie A's top defense, and a respectable offense, if not at the very top of the league. The head of defense is Brazilian star goalkeeper Dida (51 goals conceded in 48 matches, 18 clean sheets). He plays behind a four-man backline in the 4-3-3 tactic Milan runs (incidentally, the same as English powerhouses Chelsea and Arsenal). French international Mikaël Silvestre (8 assists, 7.02 rat) and Italian veteran Gianluca Zambrotta (5 assists, 6.88 rat) are two well-rounded ends to the backline, while popular Georgian defender Kakhaber Kaladze (7.03 rat) heads the central defense. He is paired there with Italian superstar defender Alessandro Nesta (7.23 rat).

The three-man midfield features both Kewell and Gattuso at prominent points in league play, but they, of course, can't play in the Champions. Not that that matters for a team with this kind of depth. I doubt the squad will suffer from replacing those guys with talents like Kléberson (4 goals, 7 assists, 7.12 rat) and Argentinian superstar Andrés D'Alessandro (9 goals, 10 assists, 7.36 rat). Former Arsenal star Patrick Vieira (7.09) is still a powerful defensive presence in the middle of the tactic.

Up front, the talent is just sick. Former Man Utd superstar Ruud van Nistlerooy (19 goals, 4 assists) is at the center of the three-man frontline, where he serves as a target for both the midfield and his star forward partners, Kaká (13 goals, 7 assists) and Andriy Shevchenko (9 goals, 11 assists).

On our schedule, this is a first eleven match. We made no changes to our first eleven for this match.

Right away, I knew this match wasn't going to be like my other ones. Absalomsen, starting on the frontline instead of Nistlerooy (you got me as to why), went on a long run along the left touch in the 4th minute. He moved into the area and sent a sharp crossing pass into the box. The ball skipped dangerously close to both Kaká and Shevchenko before Leon Cort got to the ball and cleared it out of danger. Showing the offensive firepower for both clubs, we went on an immediate counterattack run off of Cort's clear out, as Yakubu ended up with the ball and went on a cross-pitch run before Dida deflected his shot over the crossbar.

On the ensuing corner kick by Jim Corbett, Shevchenko drew a foul for a push on Orri Freyr Oskarsson--and gave us a penalty! Oskarsson himself went up to take the shot. The Icelandic forward blasted a shot right up the middle, counting on Dida making a guess one way or another. But the Brazilian superstar netminder didn't get where he is by falling for that. He was ready for it and sent the ball right back out into the box. Oskarsson was, of course, first ont he ball, but Dida stepped forward and caught the striker's rebound attempt to end the early chance.

The thing that scared me most (and which became quickly apparent) was that Milan was quickly able to outman us on the backline with a quick counterattack. They often had odd-numbered rushes, which is atypical of this tactic. Shevchenko, for instance, went on one such rush in the 22nd minute. Fortunately, Jon Masalin was ready for it and clutched the Ukrainian striker's shot.

In the 25th minute, we finally managed to capitalize on an error by Silvestre. The French fullback tried to move the ball along the centreline, but Oskarsson intercepted the ball and moved it down to Johnnier Montaño. The midfielder went on a run toward the centre circle, drawing the attention of Kaladze. That allowed Oskarsson to get a step on the defense on a run toward the box. With Nesta and Kaladze trying to close in on him, Oskarsson took the return pass from Montaño and ran into the box from the right. After working his way to the right to seek a hole around the charging Dida, Oskarsson blasted a shot just inside the right post for the first score of the match. We nearly added a quick second score a minute later, but Nesta made a key clearance on an Oskarsson centering pass to Montaño.

In the 30th minute, Montaño had the ball near the cente of the pitch. He tried to move the ball forward to Oskarsson, who was trying to get a step on the defense into the box. Vieira seemed to be ready to head the pass away, though--until he mishit it! The French midfielder misjudged the pass and accidentally struck it back--and right on Oskarsson's foot! Oskarsson quickly ran intot he box and reproduced another high corner shot inside the right post for his second goal of the match. Oskarsson is already just a missed penalty away from a hat trick.

I had seen this before. I felt this was the start of a huge run, and we would put powerful Milan away much as we had others before them. Silly me.

In the 38th minute, Mike Duff got above Shevchenko in the box for a Kaká crossing pass and headed a clear out. The header was short, though, and Kléberson was first on it. He immediately moved it up to Absalomsen on the left. The Danish forward ran into the box to the left of the goal. After dodging right, Absalomsen fired a shot into the upper left corner that Masalin was unable to get to. The Italian club had moved within one, and the decision to start Absalomsen over Nistlerooy no longer looked so odd.

Oskarsson nearly completed his hat trick in the 47th minute, when he took the ball alone on goal. He dodged to the left and fired a shot on goal, but Dida blocked the ball up the left goal line. Nesta kicked it across the goal line before another Lamb could get on the loose ball.

It almost happened again in the 59th minute. Corbett found Oskarsson on a run into the box with a perfect centering pass. The Icelander put a hard shot into the upper right corner of the net. Unfortunately, the ref waved it off, calling offsides on Yakubu. Dida also stonewalled Montaño on a shot from the left of the goal, contributing to a long string of Tamworth futility in the second half.

Where we failed, Milan succeeded. Not long after the Montaño miss, Shevchenko found new sub Nistlerooy running on the left side of the offensive pitch. He moved it forward to the Dutch star, who took it to the left goal line before trying to center it. The pass richocheted off of Cort, marking Nistlerooy, though, and settled to the left of the goal. Shevchenko was first on it and he moved it up to backup defender André Bahia, just getting around an attempted interception by Trond-Erik Bertelsen. Bahia, alone and even with the right post, sent a shot into the right end of the net beforee Masalin could work his way up the line. With that, Milan had tied it up.

They weren't done. In the 72nd minute, Silvestre fired off a free kick from a distant left touchline spot. He sailed the kick in toward the right end of the six-yard box. Nesta and Bertelsen went up for the aerial challenge. Not only did Nesta win that challenge; his header bounced off of the Norwegain fullback and shot askance of its original path, surprising Masalin and bouncing into the net for the go ahead score, just to the right of the left post.

We got a shot or two more in, but that go ahead goal was the dagger in the heart. We never seriously threatened again, and have put ourselves behind the eight-ball in our tow-leg match with Milan. Milan 3, Tamworth 2

We do get to play that next match at the Lamb Ground, but you have to worry when you are going up against a reknowned squad that has proven itself capable of playing with you. We will need to win by at least one at home on April 8 to have a chance to move on.

Other Champions League Results

Danish squad AaB edged Norwegian club Bodo/Gimt, 3-2, in Denmark to take the early advantage in the matchup of surprising Scandinavian clubs. AaB did a strong defensive job, limiting Bodo/Glimt to just four total shots (although they did score on both of their shots on goal).

Juventus wasn't going to allow surprising Levski Sofia to shock them. As you might expect, they held serve at home quite strongly, dominating the Bulgarian squad, 3-0. Levski Sofia only had one shot on goal.

Brno did the unexpected (as they have done all competition) and held the offensively potent Werder Bremen scoreless on the road. The suppsoedly defensively-deficient Bundesliga squad returned the favor, though, as the two sides ended up level, 0-0. This one will need to be decided in the Czech Republic.

All four of the second legs of the Champions League quarterfinals will take place on April 8.

Injuries

While many of our top stars packed their bags and fled the Lamb Ground to various points arounde continental Europe and beyond, some of the other players stayed home and got hurt in training.

Reserve striker Che Stadhart broke his toe on Thursday, and will miss two weeks. Slovakian U-19 striker Roman Boldyrev broke his collarbone in a training session on Sunday, and will miss about four weeks. On Monday, we were finally hurt on the first team. Key backup winger and midfielder Lionel Morgan picked up a calf strain and will miss about two weeks.

I almost wish I had rested everyone instead.

League News

There was no news of note this week in the Premiership, what with the league's best players leaving to represent their homelands around the world. Since there were no league matches, there, of course, was also no Premiership Team of the Week.

CR

Chief Rum

08-04-2004, 03:07 AM

International Play Up To Late March Matches

There have been some international matches played, particularly in Africa, since I last took a look at international play, so this post will catch everyone up on the goings-on as the world prepares for China 2010.

African Cup Of Nations Qualifying

Africa holds its Cup of Nations--its equivalent to the Euro--every two seasons, including during World Cup years. So they are running qualifying for both competitions at the same time (which is why Yakubu takes off to international play so often).

Here's a quick list of the top clubs in Africa, by FIFA ranking.

6. Nigeria
10. Cameroon
12. Senegal
14. Morocco
17. Ghana
22. Ivory Coast
26. South Africa
34. Angola
40. Algeria
42. Togo
45. Sierra Leone
47. Liberia
50. Egypt
51. Burkina Faso
52. Kenya
58. Mali
61. Zimbabwe
65. Guinea
67. Democratic Republic of Congo
70. The Congo
89. Libya
91. Rwanda
92. Mozambique
96. Zambia

There are 13 groups in the African Cup of Nations qualifying, with three or four nations per group. Morocco is hosting the event in 2010, and Senegal is the defending champion.

Here's a brief group-by-group look, with three matches left for each club.

Group A: Angola (34), Congo (70), Djibouti, Niger

Comments: As expected, Angola is dominating, and since only one nation moves on, it's almost already a cinch to move on. The Angolans have 9 points to 3 for everyone else.

Group B: Algeria (40), Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Togo (42)

Comments: Togo has the edge over Algeria, 9 points to 6, and beat Algeria head-to-head last year, so this group spot is theirs for the taking.

Group C: Chad, Malawa, Mali (58), Zambia (96)

Comments: Mali got a lucky draw here, it appears, and they are leading the group. They aren't dominating, though, with Zambia still in reach.

Group D: Egypt (50), Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Zimbabwe (61)

Comments: Zimbabwe has the edge and a win over Egypt, so it's an uphill climb for the traditional power along the Mediterranean coast.

Group E: Burkina Faso (51), Central African Republic, Ghana (17), Tanzania

Comments: Ghana is one of the top clubs in Africa, so it's no surprise they have won all three of their matches so far. Burkina Faso, which played in Germany 2006, is no slouch, though.

Group F: Cameroon (10), Namibia, Republic of Congo (67), Somalia

Comments: This group is surprisingly up in the air, which should be disappointing for Cameroon, a top ten world club. Three squads are tied at six points, with Somalia the lone zero point nation after three matches. Cameroon has the edge right now with goals scored and goal differential.

Group G: Eritrea, Libya (89), Mozambique (92), Tunisia

Comments: Even with two clubs in the top 100 of the world, you have to figure this one is pretty wide open. That seems to be backed by the showing of Tunisia, currently on top of the group with three wins. They are the first club outside of the top 100 to currently be in line for a spot in the competition.

Group H: Burundi, Gabon, Rwanda (91), South Africa (26)

Comments: This group is playing out as expected. South Africa leads with three wins, while Rwanda has only a loss to South Africa.

Group I: Nigeria (6), Sierra Leone (45), Swaziland, Uganda

Comments: Nigeria, the top club in Africa, should be leading this group easily, but they suffered the embarassment of drawing with Uganda in December. That leaves them just a point up on Sierra Leone, which seems good enough to make a run.

Group J: Botswana, Gambia, Guinea (65), Ivory Coast (22)

Comments: This could be a good fight to the end. Guinea and Ivory Coast drew in December and have beaten their group opponents, so they are currently tied atop the griup tAble with seven points apiece. This one could come down to the next matchup of the two nations in August.

Group K: Ethiopia, Liberia (47), Mauritius

Comments: Liberia leads this group as expected. Being a top 100 group with no other such clubs, and in a three-nation group, is obviously a boon to advancement.

Group L: Benin, Cape Verde. Mauritania

Comments: This is the only group without a top 100 club. It's still pretty wide open, with Cape Verde leading with four points, and Benin just behind with three.

Group M: Kenya (52), Madagascar, Seychelles

Comments: As expected, Kenya is on top here with two wins and six points.

As the host and defending champion, respectively, Morocco and Senegal do not have to go through qualifying to get into next year's tournament.

World Cup Qualifying, Africa

As I said, the African Cup of Nations isn't the only tournament qualifying going on right now. Qualifying for China 2010 is now deep in the second round. Africa has five groups of five nations, and the winner of the groups will go to China next year.

Here's a group-by-group look:

Group 1: Cameroon (10), Egypt (50), Guinea (65), Senegal (12), Sierra Leone (45)

Comments: Need proof the groups aren't weighted to produce the top fivce nations on the continent? I figure this one shows that, as every single club is a top 100 team in the FIFA rankings. Senegal leads right now with 10 points, while Cameroon is just behind (9 points). Egypt has 6. Every team has at least a draw or a loss.

Group 2: Algeria (40), Angola (34), Kenya (61), South Africa (26), Zimbabwe (52)

Comments: This group is no slouch, either, with another fivesome of all top 100 clubs. It doesn't have the top running quality of Group 1, though. South Africa has played strong, and has 12 points and four wins. Zimbabwe is a somewhat surprising 7 points, but in a group with this little difference, the most surprising thing is that South Africa has jumped to the top so strongly.

Group 3: Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast (22), Liberia (47), Nigeria (6), Togo (42)

Comments: This club has the top club power of Group 1, but doesn't have the depth of either of the first two groups. I'm sure that's fine for Nigeria--except they are behind Ivory Coast at the moment. They drew when they played each other a year ago, but Ivory Coast has played slightly better since then to lead the group with 10 points. Nigeria is right behind with 8 points, so this one has a long way to go.

Group 4: Gambia, Ghana (17), Libya (89), Rwanda (91), Tunisia

Comments: Ghana is the clear favorite here, as only one other top African club drew a weaker group (see Group 5). At the moment, though, they are dropping the ball, with 9 points, to Tunisia's 12. The North African nation has four wins in four matches, including a 2-1 win over Ghana last month.

Group 5: Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Malawi, Morocco (14), Namibia

Comments: What kind of luck does Morocco have? They get an automatic entry to the Cup of Nations, and they are the only top 100 club in their World Cup qualifying group. Not surprisingly, they lead the group and are pulling away. They have 12 points, with four wins in four matches. Surprising Cape Verde is second with 7.

CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying

The World Cup qualifying final for North and Central America is already underway, as six nations play a full home-and-home fixture for the region's four spots.

Germany 2006 runner up Mexico (8) and the United States (5), not surprisingly, are leading the group with 7 points apiece through three matches. Their only non-wins came in a 1-1 draw against each other on March 15.

Honduras (74) and Guatemala (56) are currently third and fourth with four points each, but Jamaica is just behind with three points. Surprising Haiti is playing as expected and has no wins so far.

So, basically, this final has produced no surprises just yet, although Jamaica is in the position to thrust itself into a spot with strong play the rest of the way.

Oceania World Cup Qualifying

The Oceania region also has reached its final stage, but the competition for a spot is much fiercer, since there is only one spot.

Not surprisingly, Australia (12) is leading the six-nation group with four wins. New Zealand (53) is traditionally the other power in the region, but they aren't mounting much of a threat at the rival Ausses at the moment. They are tied with the Solomon and Cook island groups, all three with six points. Tongo has four points and little Tahiti has one.

As usual, Australia is the easy favorite to get to China 2010.

Other Regions

South America has been on break from their full fixture since November, much like Europe. Asia starts its qualifications later than any other region and won't kick things off until May.

I will cover South America and Europe in the recap of the late March-early April matches in the next post.

CR

MIJB#19

08-04-2004, 06:11 AM

Chief Rum

08-04-2004, 06:50 AM

South America

Here is a look at the South American action in the late March-early April round of international matches.

Table Set Up

South America has five spots set aside for China 2010. They play (and have been playing) a full fixture in which all ten nations play the other nations in home-and-homes, for a total eighteen matches. The top five squads in the national table at the end of the fixture win their way through to the World Cup tournament.

After eleven matches (completed through November), four teams had firmly established themselves on top of the table, with top ten world superpowers Brazil, Argentina and Colombia being joined by upstart Peru. All four teams had 23 points, nine more than the fifth place squad, Uruguay. With just seven matches left, that is close to insurmountable.

That fifth spot, however, remains a brutally competitive and open spot. Uruguay has the spot with 14 points, but they are justa point ahead of both Ecuador and Paraguay. Chile and Venezuela are also still within striking distance at 9 points.

Coming into the matches, here are the top 100 ranked South American squads.

1. Brazil
3. Colombia
7. Argentina
18. Peru
64. Chile
68. Paraguay
69. Ecuador
73. Uruguay

March 28

On the first day of matches, there were few battles between the countries still in contention for that fifth spot. The only key match would be Uruguay hosting Chile.

None of the top four squads played each other, facing off with one of the lower teams instead.

In the key match, Uruguay edged Chile, 1-0, on the strength of an 89th minute score by forward Horacio Peralta of Uruguayan club Nacional. That key three points could be huge for both teams, so Peralta's late score could be a death blow for Chile's World Cup hopes. Tamworth's David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro finished with a 7 rating, but no other distinguishing achievements for Chile.

The only other match involving Lambs was Colombia, which stomped Paraguay on the road, 3-0. Striker Jeffrey José Diaz of the Primera Liga's Deportivo scored two goals to lead the way. Tamworth had two starters on the Colombian side. Veteran international midfielder Giovanny Hernáandez serves as the team captain on the right wing and put up a 7 rating. Johnnier Montaño served as Diaz's frontline partner, and assisted on one of his goals, along with his own 7 rating.

Argentina barely avoided an embarassing hoem draw to Venezuela, when Boca forward Carlos Tevez scored in injury time to give them the 2-1 victory.

Peru also played a close match at home, edging by Ecuador, 2-1. Top ranked Brazil had no problem with table cellar-dwellar Bolivia, though, beating them 4-0 on the road.

Uruguay's key win over Chile, combined with the sweep of other teams inc ontention for the fifth spot, has allowed Uruguay to widen its lead with the fifth spot to four points over Paraguay and Ecuador.

April 1

Whereas there were few truly meaningful matches on March 28, this round was full of them.

All five of the lower end squads fighting for the fifth spot were in action against either each other or Bolivia, the last place nation. Chile got one more chance with a match against Paraguay, while Venezuela is also against the wall in a match against Uruguay. Ecuador was the lucky nation facing off withg Bolivia. Among the teams that are practically qualified, the big match is a Brazil-Argentina match in Brazil, while the undercard features Colombia hosting Peru.

Even when they are meaningless, those Brazil-Argentina matches are always fun. Brazilians centreback André Bahia and midfielder Kléberson, both of Milan, showed their love of country by trying to take it out on the Argentinians with rough play, and were booted in the 2nd and 12th minutes. Despite the immense man-advantage, Argentina only managed to score once in a match that ended 1-0 on their favor. No lvoe lost between these two sides.

Colombia showed Peru why they are the third-ranked squad in the world, beating the one surprise amongst the top four squads, 4-1, at home. Hernández got the start on the right wing again, although this one neded a little scary for Tamworth fans, as the midfielder picked up a knock in the 33rd minute and had to leave the pitch. He put up a 7 rating,a dn the injury turned out to be very minor. Montaño was not selected for the Peru match.

The lesser quality but more important matches between the lower end squads all essentially resulted in a tightening of the race for the fifth spot. Chile and Venezuela both injected life into their campaigns with resounding 3-0 defeats of Paraguay and Uruguay, respectively. In the Chile match, Pizarro started again and had a 7 rating.

As expected, Ecuador beat Bolivia at home, albeit by a close 2-1 decision, to move back within one of Uruguay.

South American Points

*Colombia 29 (+20 GD)
*Argentina 29 (+11 GD)
*Brazil 26 (+16 GD)
*Peru 26 (+12 GD)
*Uruguay 17 (-8 GD)
Ecuador 16 (-4 GD)
Paraguay 13 (-12 GD)
Chile 12 (-2 GD)
Venezuela 12 (-14 GD)
Bolivia 5 (-19 GD)
*-- currently in line for bid to China 2010

The top four haven't clinched yet, but with five matches left, they can within the next 1-2 matches.

Uruguay and Ecuador have separated a little from the pack, and that means something at this point. That said, no team is safe with five squads within five points of that last spot. Chile could be particularly dangerous, considering it is the highest ranked of the lower squads, and also has by far the best goal differential of that latter group.

The next matches will take place in early June.

CR

Chief Rum

08-04-2004, 06:53 AM

I think that Tunisia is just another case of "FIFA Rankings don't say anything about the countries' true strenghts". ;)

I am a little late to join the readers group, but so far it's been an interesting read, Matt.

Better late than never. :)

Yeah, my impression was that Tunisia was stronger in real life than this is suggesting, although we are talking five years down the road here.

Still, it stands out when you see Tunisia doing well in both World Cup qualifying and in African Cup of Nations qualifying.

CR

Chief Rum

08-04-2004, 06:12 PM

Europe--Setting The Table

Before I get into what happened in this latest round of international play, I thought I would first reset the table for what Europe's World Cup qualifying groups currently look like and where they stand.

Group 1: Cyprus (85), Hungary (93), Malta, Scotland (30), Spain (20), Ukraine (36)

Comments: This is one of the stronger groups in the competition, which is a shame, since only two nations can possibly come out of this and into the World Cup (and one will have to do it by beating another second place team). The Ukraine has the edge through three matches, with seven points, including a 2-1 decision over Spain last year. Scotland and somewhat surprising Hungary are tied for second with five points. Spain is underwhelming again, with its only win coming against lowly Cyprus.

Group 2: Albania (95), Croatia (21), Czech Republic (37), Greece (39), Kazakhstan, Luxembourg

Comments: Croatia, the defending Euro 2008 chapion, has the edge here. It will be interesting to see if they can handle being the favorites this time. They weren't placed in a group with a traditional European power, but the Czechs and Greeks are respectable teams. All told, though, getting three teams ranked 95th or lower is a coup for the surprising new power nation in Balkan Europe. The early going is playing out as expected. Croatia leads with seven points, although they came against the bottom three squads in the group. Greece, with six points, lost a showdown with the Czech Republic last season, but are in second because the Czechs failed to take care of business in draws with Kazakhstan and Albania. Albania and the Czech Republic have five points each.

Group 3: Faroe Islands, Ireland (35), Latvia, Norway (29), Portugal (44), Wales (78)

Comments: This one doesn't look as strong as some other groups, but it could be called a redemption group. Several of these squads have a history of being better than they are listed right now (Portugal, Wales), and that makes for a real solid top foursome at the very least in a competitive group. That top foursome does indeed comprise the top four spots of this table, with Ireland leading the way with nine points. Ireland did it legit, too, with wins over Wales and Portugal. Speaking of Portugal, their loss to the Irish was their only loss, and they sit at second right now with six points. Norway has been inconsistent, including a draw with the weak Faroe Islands, so they are third with five points. Wales will need to step it up, as they only have four points right now.

Group 4: Bulgaria (41), FYR of Macedonia (81), Italy (4), Liechtenstein, Moldova, Sweden (59)

Comments: Italy was handed a group they should easily be able to qualify from. Of course, the Italians have never done things the easy way. Bulgaria and Sweden have respectable squads, but neither should be able to keep up with the Italians when they are playing at peak form. So far, Italy is true to its history and is in second, behind Bulgaria. The Central European club has three wins and nine points, all against the weakest squads by FIFA ranking in the group. Italy has seven points, with just a draw with Sweden as the only mark on their record. Speaking of Sweden, that draw with Italy was their only point, as they stunningly lost to both Liechtenstein and Moldova...badly (and moving their draw with Italy into the sublime). No one is particularly close to the top two clubs right now.

Group 5: Andorra, France (2), Georgia (77), Northern Ireland (100), Poland (84), Romania (13)

Comments: Romania can't catch a break. It just seems wrong to place the Germany 2006 third place squad with the World Cup champs. If Romania wants to get in again, they will have to do it the hard way (either by beating France or going in as a second place team). Fortunately for both of the top clubs, the rest of the group isn't so fearsome. The top is pretty tight so far, with France, as expected the group leader with seven points. France did crush Romania, 4-0, in a primary group showdown last year, but they spoiled it by drawing with Northern Ireland, 1-1. Romania's loss to France is their only blemish, as they are tied with Poland for second with six points. Poland has gotten fat off of the lower squads. Northern Ireland is one of those squads, though, and they have done surprisingly well in getting to four points.

Group 6: Austria (76), Bosnia & Herzegovina (98), Denmark (32), Germany (28), San Marino, Slovakia

Comments: Is this the battle for Saxony? The top two clubs are interesting because on one hand, Denmark seems to be a solid, even improving team, while Germany is a traditional power that did poorly at its own World Cup and didn't qualify for Euro 2008. Still, those two clubs are the clear favorites here. Denmark has the early edge right now, with three wins and nine points. They haven't played Germany yet, but they also haven't played San Marino. Germany looked good except when they dropped the ball against their Bavarian neighbors Austria last year. They are tied with Austria for second with six points. Slovakia is a mild surprise in fourth with four points, but their win came against San Marino.

Group 7: Azerbaijan, Belgium (33), England (31), Estonia (79), Iceland (71), Slovenia (55)

Comments: This is one of the stronger groups, although it lacks true top notch European power. England used to be that, of course, but they have been underachieving for over a decade now. In some ways, there is a correlation between England-Belgium and Germany-Denmark in Group 6, as less traditional upstarts are trying to establish themselves in groups with normally strong powers fallen on hard times. The supporting cast, though is pretty strong in this group and should make for some fierce competition. The current standings certainly reflect that, with five squads from four to six points, including a three-way tie for the group lead for England, Slovenia and Iceland. Slovenia beat both England and Iceland, but then got smacked hard by Belgium in an embarassing 8-1 loss. So it's tough to get a read on them and on Belgium (tied with Estonia with four points). The Slovenia match is the only non-wins on the record for England and Iceland at the moment, and England has already beaten Belgium, 4-0. This group is just crazy at the moment.

Group 8: Armenia, Finland (43), Israel (72), Serbia & Montenegro (19), Turkey (27)

Comments: It's only a five-nation group, so it seems cruel again to have two well-regarded clubs like Turkey and Serbia & Herzegovina in the same group. The Serbs began their rise to power with a run to the second round of World Cup 2006, and then got to the semis of Euro 2008. Turkey also got to the second round in Germany, and lost in the Euro 2008 final. So these are two nations with a recent history of playing strong. Finland is no slouch either here. The Serbs continue to play well, with six points in two matches, including a 2-0 win over Turkey. They are tied with Finland, also in two matches and also with a win over Turkey. The Turks have just one point in three matches, which is an awful blow for them at this point. Israel is third with four points, but they, too, have played three matches in the uneven fixture forced by an odd number of teams.

Group 9: Belarus (46), Holland (15), Lithuania, Russia (82), Switzerland (75)

Comments: Holland seems to be the only top team that is really handed an easier group (with possible exception to Italy). Not only is the highest other nation ranked 46th, they are in a five-nation group, which logically is a little easier to come out of. Still, Holland is another nation that traditionally makes things hard on itself, and while not dominating squads, Belarus and Russia are no pushovers. Switzerland is a club to watch, because of how they did in their own Euro 2008 last year (getting to the knockout phase against all odds). In the first few matches, Holland is doing what it's supposed to be doing, leading the group. The problem is that they have six points in three matches, as they dropped one to Russia, that nation's only point-match in their three matches so far. Belarus lost a showdown to Holland, 2-1, and then nailed themselves as underachievers by drawing with Lithuania, 1-1. Lithuania is actually a bit of a surprise at this point, in second with four points. Russia is third with three, while Switzerland and Belarus have just one point apiece. Lithuania's better performance essentially means there isn't an easy win for any club in any match in this group.

CR

Katon

08-05-2004, 08:51 AM

MIJB#19

08-05-2004, 09:20 AM

Stylistic quibble: national teams are not clubs.

Great dynasty apart from that, though. How did Spain drop to #20 in the world? Are they really worse than Peru (#18), or is this just FIFA's rankings being silly?That's the one thing I noticed, but decided not to write about.

Well, you should know that FIFA rankings are dominated by finals tournaments results, hence the high ranks for Mexcio because they play more tournaments then European top countries do.

Chief Rum

08-05-2004, 09:42 PM

Well, to be fair, Mexico was a finalist in the last World Cup. ;)

I'm sure that, with their nod toward realism, CM has likely copied the FIFA formulae for rankings (whatevrer those are, I forget, although I know they involve tournaments over a period of time or last three major tournaments or whatever). So considering that FIFA's rankings are often ridiculed as flawed, those flaws are no doubt reproduced here.

As for Spain, they have no one to blame but themselves. They keep choking in major tournaments.

Peru seems to be riding their strong run in World Cup qualifying, unless that doesn't count. I forget how they have done in Copa America or the Gold Cup in recent years (you guys can go look that up if you want, since I knwo I list it somewhere here).

As for clubs/teams, pish off. :) Actually, I am very aware of that already, but I have been writing clubs so long, I think I forgot in the all writing I did above for international play.

Thanks for reading, guys.

CR

3ric

08-06-2004, 02:04 AM

Just caught up with this dynasty after overlooking it for a while (didn't see it was with CM). Fun read, but I look forward to next season when you limit yourself to not use the über-tactic... :)

Chief Rum

08-06-2004, 02:25 AM

Just caught up with this dynasty after overlooking it for a while (didn't see it was with CM). Fun read, but I look forward to next season when you limit yourself to not use the über-tactic... :)

You just wanna see me struggle. :)

Hopefully I will disappoint you and others predicting my imminent demise. ;)

Welcome to the dynasty audience.

CR

Chief Rum

08-06-2004, 03:16 AM

Europe Results, March 28

I will go down the groups and detail the results on March 28.

GROUP ONE

Results

Scotland 2, Malta 0
Ukraine 2, Cyprus 0
Hungary 1, Spain 0

Comments: The key match here, of course, was yet another disappointing loss by Spain. They had a great chance to jump back into contention with a win over Hungary, which has played surprisingly well so far. They failed to score against Hungarian netminder Gábor Király of Bielefeld, though, while the Hungarians got an 85th minute score from forward Tibor Tokody of Ujpest. Although their opponents were hardly strong, both Scotland and the Ukraine took care of business on the road. Scotland dominated Malta with both shots and possession. Tamworth's Michael Stewart put up a 7 rating in the middle for the Scots. The Ukraine's win was much tougher, in a tight defensive match that needed two late scores by Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko to give them the win.

With the top three teams all winning, this group is as tight as before up top--and powerful Spain is even further out of the running. The Ukraine has ten points, with both Scotland and Hungary at nine points. Spain is fourth with four points and desperately needs a win on April 1. Fortunately, they are hosting Malta.

GROUP TWO

Results

Croatia 1, Czech Republic 0
Luxembourg 2, Kazakhstan 0
Greece 3, Albania 1

Comments: The match of the round was the showdown between Croatia and the Czech Republic. Croatia was the group leader and the top squad, but this match was played on the Czechs' home turf. They won a tough defensive match that only had six total shots on goal, witht he only score coming from Académica forward Tomislav Sokota. Big Game 1A took place in Greece, where traditional rivals squared off. Albania's good early run made this game important, but Greece squashed the little country's momentum with two late scores in a match they largely dominated. I woudl speak more of Luxembourg and Kazakhstan, but theya re going to need to win more for it to begin to matter.

Croatia's win keeps them on top of the group with ten points, although second place Greece's victory keeps them right on their tail with nine points. All of this sets up an April 1 showdown between the two teams in Croatia. Albania and the Czech Republic remain tied in third with five points.

GROUP THREE

Results

Norway 2, Portugal 0
Faroe Islands 5, Wales 1
Latvia 0, Ireland 0

Comments: It may have involved a squad tied for last place and the lowest of the "major" squads in the group, but little Faroe Islands' huge demolition of Wales opens some eyes here. It makes their earlier draw of Norway seem less plausible and makes one wonder if the little country can actually make a run at things. One reason they might be able to is because neither of the top two squads won, with Ireland shocked in a draw against lightly-regarded Latvia, and Portugal falling to up-til-now underachieving Norway. Latvian goalkeeper Andrei Povlov of Skonto turned away seven shots by Ireland to get the draw. Tamworth's Richie Partridge had a 7 rating on the left wing for Ireland. Before a late score by Liverpool's John Arne Riise, it looked like Norway would win over Portugal couresy of a 51st minute penalty kick by Lleida fullback Ole Tolberg. Tamworth's Trond Erik Bertelsen put up a 7 rating on the left wing for Norway.

Norway's win leaps them past Portugal and into second with eight points, two ahead of their opponent. Wales' stunning loss to the Faroe Islands not only cost them a chance to also jump over Portugal, but allowed the Farotians to draw level with them. Ireland still leads the group with ten points. Ireland-Norway and Portugal-Wales makes the April 1 matches perhaps the most important round yet.

GROUP FOUR

Results:

FYR of Macedonia 3, Liechtenstein 0
Bulgaria 2, Sweden 1
Italy 2, Moldova 0

Comments: The big match for this week wasn't so big, thanks to Sweden's amazing freefall thus far. The normally strong squad contniued its poor play by falling to group-leading Bulgaria on the road. The match was largely even, but Bulgaria got the edge when Aston Villa's Stilian Petrov put in the go ahead goal in the 72nd minute. Italy dominated Moldova on the road, not allowing even one shot on goal, while Macedonia easily handled little Liechtenstein.

The wins by Bulgaria and second place Italy pretty much kept the status quo, with Bulgaria on top with 12 points, and Italy with 10. FYR of Macedonia breaks the three-squad tie at three points to move into third with six points. As has happened in two of the first three groups, the top two tams will meet each other in Italy on April 1.

GROUP FIVE

Results

Georgia 1, Northern Ireland 1
Romania 2, Andorra 0
France 1, Poland 0

Comments: Poland came into this one in second, but hadn't played any tough squads. On March 28, they didn't win, but they nearly pulled off a big upset when they forced powerful France to grab a late score from Man Utd winger Sidney Govou to pull out a 1-0 win. Looks can be deceiving, though, as France largely outplayed the Poles, who hung in behind the strong play of Liverpool's veteran goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek. Tamworth's Emmanuel Olisadebe started on the front line for Poland and put up a 7 rating, while fellow Lamb Louis Saha was not selected for the match by France. Romania didn't hit on many of its 15 shots on goal, but Andorra never even got a sniff at a shot after defender Samuel Serra Ferrer was sent off with a red card in the 25th minute. As if Romania needed the help. Georgia and Northern Ireland could have made a move up, but neither were entirely successful with a draw. Tamworth's Mike Duff had a poor day (5 rat) for Northern Ireland at centreback.

Poland's loss to France allowed Romania to move ahead of them and into second place alone. The Romanians are a point behind group leader France. Poalnd is in third with six points, while Northern Oreland has five points.

GROUP SIX

Results

Germany 2, Denmark 0
Slovakia 1, Austria 0
Bosnia 1, San Marino 0

Results: This was a big round for this group. Denmark had gotten to this point undefeated, and their match with traditional power Germany was the showdown circled on the calendar. It turns out it was Germany that came up big, though, reversing their ecent trend of choking in big matches. The generally outplayed Denmark in this one in most facets of the game. The other big matchup was Slovakia and Austria. Austria had a win over Germany and was tied with them for second place, so they are in a position to make a move. But they needed a win over surprise squad Slovakia, and it was the former Eastern bloc country that stepped it up. In fact, Slovakia, despite the close score, dominated this match and did not allow the Austrians to take a single shot on goal. Slovan Bratislava midfielder Martin Sabol scored the only goal in the 71st minute. Bosnia & Herzegovina is good enough to sneak up on people, so they needed to beat weak San Marino to get in striking distance--and they did, albeit in a close one.

Germany's defeat of Denmark drew the two countries level atop the group with nine points, while Slovakia overtook Austria for third place with seven points. With Austria still at six, this group is still pretty wide open.

GROUP SEVEN

Results

England 3, Estonia 1
Slovenia 3, Azerbaijan 1
Belgium 2, Iceland 0

Comments: This group came in about as tight as could be at this point, with five teams within two points of the lead, including a three-way tie for the lead. The big match came between Belgium and Iceland, with the latter being somewhat of a surprise as a part of the leading trio, and Belgium being one of the co-favorites going into qualifying that was looking for redemption. The Belgians held serve at home, getting two qukck early scores and never giving Iceland room to budge an inch on offense. Tamworth players striker Orri Freyr Oskarsson and centreback and national team captain Hermann Hreidarsson both started for Iceland, with 6 and 7 ratings respectively. England has long found a way to lose games it needs to win, but they didn't fall into that trap this time. Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard scored two goals as England tore apart Estonia, allowing just one shot on goal. Slovenia was the only group co-leader playing ont he road, but thsi was countered by them playing the group's worst squad in Azerbaijan. Not surprisingly, they won going away, behind two second half goals by Cottbus striker Borut Semler.

The Iceland loss has eased things up on top a little, but this remains one of the tighter groups in qualifying. England and Slovenia are stilled tied on top, now with nine points. By virtue of having defeated Iceland, Belgium jumped to third with seven points. Iceland is still in it with six points.

GROUP EIGHT

Results

Serbia & Montenegro 1, Finland 0
Turkey 2, Armenia 1

Comments: As with so many of the other groups, this was a very critical round. The big match featured the two lone undefeated squads in Serbia & Montengro and Finland. Despite playing on the road and struggling to get by Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Antti Niemi, the Serbs were by far the better club on the pitch. They won behind a late goal by Newcastle striker Mateja Kezman--just five minutes afetr he came onto the pitch as a sub. The second one doesn't look important on a group level, as a mettign between the bottom teams, but pre-qualifying favorite Turkey needed a win to right the ship, and they got it. Turkey dominated Armenia on the road, and led most of the match 2-0 before giving up a late goal. Israel, which came in in third, had the round off.

The Serbian victory thrusts the rising national team into the group lead with nine points, while Israel's bye ensured Finland it would remain in second with six points. Turkey and Israel are tied for thrid with four points, but Turkey has played one more match than all of the other squads.

GROUP NINE

Results

Switzerland 4, Lithuania 2
Russia 1, Belarus 0

Comments: Some of the verve goes out of this round with group leader and favorite Holland on a bye, but that doesn't mean the matches had no meaning. Holland's run to the top has been the only surprise in this group. Switzerland and Belarus entered as the next best teams, and both have done poorly so far. So this was a gut check round for them. Switzerland came through, but Belarus fell to the group's surprise team in Russia. Switzerland beat Lithuania to draw even with the Baltic Sea nation, but Belarus was completely outclassed by Russia, which dominated them in their win, despite the score.

Russia's win draws them level with Holland for the group lead, although they also have a game on the Dutch. With Switzerland now tied with Lithuania in third with four points, this group now has a very tight, wide open look. Even Belarus, with their talent, isn't out of it, although it's hard to get enthused about a nation that has just one point in three matches.

CR

Chief Rum

08-06-2004, 04:31 AM

Europe Results, April 1

I will go down the groups and detail the results on April 1.

GROUP ONE

Results

Spain 5, Malta 0
Scotland 2, Ukraine 1
Cyprus 1, Hungary 1

Comments: Spain needed a win, and as expected, they got it against a weak Malta squad. How ugly was it? Try 35 shots (19 on goal) to zero! If they brought that game to some of their other matches, clinching a spot in the World Cup wouldn't be much of an issue. The showdown match was in Scotland, where group leader Ukraine was trying to put some distance between itslef and the Scots and Hungary. Scotland wasn't so obliging, though, getting early first half scores from star talents James Graham of Leicester and Stephen Pearson of Celtic and holding on for the win in a very even match. Tamworth's Michael Stewart had a 7 rating in a midfield start. That gave Hungary a chance to riser to the top with Scotland, only to have them drop the ball and draw with Cyprus.

This group remains completely up in the air. Only four points separate the top four clubs, with Scotland leading at 11. The Ukraine is right behind them with 10, and Hungary has nine. The dangerous Spain snuck into contention with its demolition of Malta, sitting now in fourth with seven points.

GROUP TWO

Results

Croatia 1, Greece 0
Luxembourg 1, Czech Republic 0
Albania 1, Kazakhstan 0

Comments: With Croatia and Greece meeting each other, this was a chance for the Czechs or the Albanians to move up. So this was one of those weeks where every match had some significance to the group table. For Croatia, edging the second place Greeks at home was a huge validation of their status as the group favorite as well as leader. They won out in a very tight match that the Greeks should feel no shame for having lost. Speaking of shame, the Czech Republic has joined the likes of Sweden and Belarus as one of the big underachievers of qualifying so far, after allowing little Luxembourg to pull off one of the biggest upsets in their nation's football history. The Czechs took 18 shots and put 12 on goal, but Luxembourg netminder Jimmy Gillander of Iraklis and Beira-Mar stonewalled them and held up for the amazing clean sheet. Albania didn't exactly sweep Kazakhstan under the rug, but at least they got the needed victory.

Croatia's win gives them a strong lead ont he group with 13 points, four more than Greece. Albania's win jumped them up to third with eight points, while shocking Luxembourg has ridden a two-match win streak to fourth with six points. The disappointing Czechs have five points.

GROUP THREE

Results

Ireland 3, Norway 0
Portugal 3, Wales 1
Faroe Islands 1, Latvia 0

Comments: Norway had a chance to overtake group leader Ireland today, but the Irish proved to be too able at home to fall in this one. They got just five shots off on a tough Norwegian backline, but made them count, getting three first half goals to cost to the win in an otherwise brutally defensive match (only eight total shots on goal). Tamworth's winger Richie Partridge dominated from the right wing, scoring his first ever international goal and putting up a top notch 10 rating to nab Man of the Match honors. His teammate Mark Hicks wasn't selected for the match, just like March 28. Trond Erik Bertelsen actually played directly against his Lamb-mate on Norway's left wing, but, obviously, didn't do so hot, with a 6 rating. This round was filled with big matches, though. Portugal got back to winning ways with an easy win over Wales, thanks mostly to two second half scores by Braga striker Nuno Miranda. For Wales, they just continue to fall short in key matches. Tamworth's Andy Williams started in the midfield but put up just a 6 rating. The last match saw the continuing rise of the Cinderella Faroe Islands. They could be expected to beat Latvia at home, but more importantly, they have to be considered a legit contender in the group now.

Ireland's win gives them a lead like Croatia has in Group Three, with four points on Portugal. The race for second is much tighter at the moment, with Portugal just a point up on Norway and two on the Faroe Islands.

GROUP FOUR

Results:

Moldova 5, Liechtenstein 0
FYR of Macedonia 1, Sweden 0
Italy 1, Bulgaria 0

Comments: The group leaders met in a duel in Italy today, and it was the powerful Italians that came out winners in a match they played strongly in, but didn't necessarily dominate. Still, they got the score they needed from Parma striker Alberto Gilardino and shut the Bulgarians down to make it stand. For Sweden, today pretty much ensured they were down to their worst qualifying campaign ever. It's no longer about qualifying--it's about catching Liechtenstein in the table. The two squads put just five shots on goal--one of which, unfortunately for the Swedes, snuck into the goal for Macedonia. Moldova doesn't get plaudits for doing what it's supposed to do in pasting little Liechtenstein.

Italy's win places them in a position they aren't used to--the group lead with 13 points. They are usually the most talented squad on any given pitch, but their ability to underachieve is notorious. Now they will have to fight off that history and a tough Bulgarian squad, just a point behind in second, to keep that spot. Macedonia's win vaults them up to third with nine points, but the top squads are beginning to seriously distance themselves from the bottom feeders.

GROUP FIVE

Results

Poland 2, Georgia 1
Northern Ireland 2, Romania 0
France 2, Andorra 0

Comments: The top three teams were all playing the lower teams, so this was a chance to put some distance between the two groups. Almost. Poland held up against Georgia, allowing just one shot on goal by the Georgians, while France beat Andorra (if in underwhelming fashion). The catch came in Northern Ireland, where the Irish proved they were no fluke by beating second place Romania. It was a very even match, but Northern Ireland capitalized on their chances. It was a good day for Tamworth players, as both Polish striker Emmanuel Olisadebe and Northern Irish fullback Mike Duff started and put up 8 ratings. Louis Saha was selected by France as a sub, but not used.

Romania's loss has allowed France to put a little lead on, with 13 points. Romania and Poland are tied in second with nine points, while Northern Ireland has thrust itself in the picture with eight points.

GROUP SIX

Results

Denmark 7, San Marino 0
Slovakia 2, Germany 0
Bosnia 0, Austria 0

Results: Just when Germany seemed to take control of things by beating group and region rival Denmark, they turn around and drop a critical match against the lower-regarded Slovakia. The Huns are clearly missing their superstar goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, who is now retired from international football, as his replacement, Dortmund's Roman Weidenfuller, allowed two of the three shots he faced to get by him. Denmark, perhaps frustrated by their los to that same German team, took it out on little San Marino, including a hattrick by young PSV striker Lasse Qvist. Austria missed on a chance to move back into contention by only drawing with Bosnia.

Germany's loss dropped them all the way to third with nine points. Slovakia moved past them into second with 10 points, and Denmark took back the group lead with 12 points. Austria remains on the fringe with 7 points.

GROUP SEVEN

Results

England 1, Iceland 0
Slovenia 3, Estonia 1
Belgium 3, Azerbaijan 0

Comments: Iceland had a chance to get back into things after dropping from the group lead, but they failed to hold up England at home. In fact, the English dominated and are playing som eo f the best football they have played in some time. Tamworth's Orri Freyr Oskarsson and Hermann Hreidarsson both put up 7 ratings, but otherwise did not distingush themselves. Slovenia kept pace with England by beating Estonia. Belgium made a move back to contention by beating Azerbaijan, 3-0, with two goals coming from Dortmund forward Emile Lokonda Mpenza.

England and Slovenia are on top with 12 points each, but Belgium is just two points behind with 10. Former group leader Iceland is beginning to fade with just six points.

GROUP EIGHT

Results

Israel 3, Finland 0
Serbia & Montenegro 5, Armenia 1

Comments: The Serbians just won through to the group lead on March 28 by beating co-leader Finland. Getting to follow that up with a home match against weak Armenia was the cherry on the sundae. The match of the round was between second and third place squads Finland and Israel. The Israeli squad isn't as well-respected as the Finnish team, but they took control of the second place spot with a strong win. The waffling of both Finland and Israel overall, though, has kept Turkey within striking distance of second, despite playing fairly poorly in qualifying so far. Turkey had a bye this week.

Serbia & Montenegro has the biggest group lead in qualifying at the moment, with 12 points. That's five points up on second-place Israel. The fight for second looks to be fierce, though, as Israel has just a point lead on Finland and three on dangerous Turkey.

GROUP NINE

Results

Lithuania 2, Holland 1
Belarus 2, Switzerland 2

Comments: Holland missed a terrific opportunity to ease up one of the tightest groups in qualifying when they dropped ball against Lithuania. They allowed two of Lithuania's four shots on goal into the net, and that proved to be their undoing. With group leader Russia on a bye, not only did the Dutch miss out on a chance to capture the group lead, they now drop into third of a group they are considered to be the favorite by some margin. Pre-qualifying contenders Belarus and Switzerland did little to put themselves in position to advance by drawing with each other.

With the surprising win, Lithuania moves level with idle Russia for the league lead with seven points apiece. Holland is right behind with six points, and another point down finds the Swiss. With Belarus a solid team just five points out of the lead, you can't say that anyone is out of this one.

CR

3ric

08-06-2004, 07:22 AM

Bulgaria 2, Sweden 1The Bulgarians got their revenge at Sweden at last. They just had to wait until Henrik Larsson had retired.

You haven't gotten an opportunity yet to coach an international team?

Chief Rum

08-06-2004, 10:23 PM

The Bulgarians got their revenge at Sweden at last. They just had to wait until Henrik Larsson had retired.

You haven't gotten an opportunity yet to coach an international team?

Strangely enough, Henrik is still playing, although, as you surmised, he is retired from international football. Llarsson is 37 now, though, and has spent much of the season on the Celtic reserves (that's right, he stayed with Celtic). He probably has overstayed his ability to play at a top level unfortunately.

I deemed myself ready for international action last year, and when a handful of prominent jobs opened up after failures in the Euro 2008 and other international tournaments last year, I applied for them. England and Germany both shot me down in Europe, while Colombia and Japan hired others as well. France is the only opening I have applied for that has not been filled. That's right, almost a year later, France's national team manager spot is still unfilled. Obviously a game bug. I am hoping that something will kick it into motion soon and get it going, because I would like to stop checking France's staff page every other week.

CR

SplitPersonality1

08-06-2004, 11:25 PM

Chief Rum

08-07-2004, 02:54 AM

Tuesday, March 31 To Monday, April 6

We have just one match this week, with international play wiping out the possibility of club matches early on.

The lone match is a big one, though--our FA Cup Semifinal showdown with Chelsea in front of the football-mad throngs at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

Board Confidence Update

No change here. I am beloved. I wonder how quickly the board's love for me will last if my tactical adjustments don't take? I'm safe this season, of course, but how long does it take for a manager to fall out of favor in a bad season if he is really well-regarded? Hopefully I won't ever actually test that.

March Premiership Awards

On Wednesday, the first day of the month, the league announced the monthly awards for March.

Blackpool's Brett Ormerod won the Premiership Player of the Month award for March. The 32-year-old striker was fantastic this month, with seven goals in four matches, including two separate hattricks. Ormerod posted an 8.75 average rating.

Leicester's James Graham won his third straight Premiership Young Player of the Month. At some point, this guy has to get old enough to not get this award anymore, because he is clearly mature beyond his age (21). He had three goals and two assists in five league matches in March, averaging an 8.40 rating.

Graham also likely won the Premiership Manager of the Month award for his new manager John McDermott. The former Celtic boss has engineered a turnaround for the Foxes since he took over in late January, and he has quite a pedigree as well. That said, I don't think it's coincidental that Leicester City's fortunes have risen since Graham's return from injury in early January. The Foxes won all five of their league matches, including wins over Liverpool, Chelsea, Man Utd and Aston Villa. They also won through to the FA Cup semifinals, although this award only takes into consideration league achievements.

Tamworth did not figure in any of the goals of the month.

Davenport Resumes Full Training

Young fullback Pat Davenport is finally ready to return to action after completing five months of rehabilitation for a chronic groin injury. Combined with the actual groin injuries themselves, Davenport has missed the entire season. Since the first team is essentially established, including Kevin Gorman as the second team eleven starting right back, I have decided to send Davenport to the reserve squad for the rest of the year to get him some consistent playing time.

I still have high hopes for the 18-year-old defender, but I'm no longer certain he will be ready next season for a regular first team role as I had thought he would be.

Chelsea, FA Cup Semifinal

Most match reports from now on will use the shortened format I will be using, as well as computer-based tactics, but this is not one fo thsoe matches. I'm not yet ready to commit to tactics I am not used to for critical cup and European matches.

Chelsea, of course, is one of the powerhouses of the league, although they have fallen off a bit, down to fifth in the Premiership. Their talent can't be doubted, though.

On offense, only Man Utd and ourselves are clearly better squads this season. Defense is Chelsea's albatross, as they are putting up mediocre numbers in goals allowed, about middle of the table.

The Blues use a 4-3-3 tactic that is close to what I will be first trying out in my next league matches, and they have the players to fill it, even after moving star forward Michael Chopra to Napoli in January. The headliner is still Adrian Mutu, with 20 goals in 37 matches. He has been a dominant force this season. Arjen Robben (7 goals) is another star talent who makes way for Mutu for the most part. Egyptian star Mido and Roma transfer Jermaine Defoe have three goals each, as this club is very reliant on Mutu for its offense. Robben (9 assists) and Mutu (7 assists) are also the primary playmakers in the offense.

The midfield is deep and talented, as you would expect, so it's surprising they aren't putting up more obvious numbers on offense. The primary starters this season have been the popular Joe Cole (three goals, two assists, 7.17 rat), Scott Parker (7.08 rat) and Belarussian Aliaksandr Hleb (7.03 rat). They are aided with tremendously skilled depth which includes Dane midfielder Christian Poulsen (three assists), longtime popular Irish left winger Damien Duff (four assists) and January's star midfield transfer, Argentine's Leonardo Ponzio.

John Terry (7.27 rat) is the leader of the backoine and a worldclass defender. His primary partner is Germany's Robert Huth (three goals, 7.17 rat). The outside spots are handled by Glen Johnson (five assists) and December transfer Aleksandre Amisulashvili. This line is also deep, although obviously, given the squad's defensive performances, this line has been fraught with inconsistency. In the net is Czech international goalkeeper Petr Cech (55 goals conceded in 42 matches). Cech is a well-regarded netminder, but is having at best a competent season.

For us, this is a second eleven match, although the recent international play is forcing us to make some adjustments. Both of our starting left backs, Hermann Hreidarsson and Trond Erik Bertelsen are tried from matches with their national teams, so we start former second eleven starter Gaël Clichy, and put Bertelsen on the sub squad. Chris Booth has to start in place of the fatigued Richie Partridge, whom I also put on the sub list. And Darren Birchall gets the call in the middle of the tactic over David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro, who is not stillr ecovering from playing with Chile on Wednesday. Like Bertelsen and Partridge, Pizarro will be available for substitute work.

We scored early to take the edge. In the 8th minute, Denny Landzaat had the ball in the middle of the pitch, and found Emmanuel Olisadebe with a step on Terry going into the box. As he has made a habit of doing, the midfielder put the ball precisely on Olisadebe's foot. The Polish striker fired a low shot at Cech, who was rushing out at him. The goalkeeper got a piece of the ball, but it skipped past him and rolled into the net for the goal.

It quieted down considerably after that, which is surprising with the two squads on the pitch. Neither side got anything else going in the first third of the match. In the 33rd minute, Chelsea had a great chance set up by Mutu. Glen Johnson found Mutu on the run from along the right touch, sending a cross-pitch pass onto the striker just as he was chraging toward the right end of the area. Klompe closed in, but Mutu swung a pass up to center and Defoe. The striker headed it on goal, past his man marker James McEveley, but Thomas Heaton stepped down and was there to catch it.

Then in the 40th minute, Robben stepped up on an Olisadebe pass in the defensive zone and intercepted it, timing a long cross-pitch pass to Mutu, who took off toward the goal just as the striker got the ball. McEveley was the lone defender on a two-on-one break and trying to play between Mutu and Defoe. Mutu ended up trying to do too much as he ran into the box, though, as he sailed his shot well over the goal.

With the half nearly done, just two shots on goal were recorded, and only eight overall. This was looking entirely different than one would suggest. Finally, in first half stoppage time, we found a break in the defense. Again, it involved Landzaat and Olisadebe. The midfielder collected a clear out near the centre circle and found the striker moving into the right end of the area, wide of Terry and the goal. Olisadebe made a great move that froze Terry and allowed him to move a step past him to get an angle on the goal. Then he blasted a high shot just short of the crossbar. Cech reached up to try and grab it, but it blasted past him and into the net for the two-goal lead. Showing how tight on time the play was (it was more than two minutes into stoppage), the whistle was blown almost the second the goal was scored in.

It wouldn't take long for Olisadebe to capitalize on another chance. The striker was having his best day so far in his career as a Lamb. In the 51st minute, Johnson was preparing to initiate a Chelsea pass play from just behind the right centreline when Saha surprised him and stepped up to take the ball. Despite Huth and Johnson being right there, Saha managed to get the ball under control and go on a run along the right touch behind the defense, leaving Huth hurt on the pitch as well. Saha took the ball into the left end of the area before putting up a soft centering pass for Olisadebe. The striker volleyed the pass inside the left post and into the corner of the net for his hattrick.

That seemed to take much of the fight out of the Blues. The rest of this match was mostly Lamb highlights--and it could have been worse, with Cech making a brilliant save at the left post on a Mark Hicks freekick from just outside of the area. The resulting clear out just ended up leading to a Tamworth goal. Olisadebe--yes, him again--ended up with the ball along the right touch and found Pizarro, who was substituted in recently, on a run toward the goal. Pizarro took the ball in on goal and fired a shot inside the right post for the Lambs' fourth goal. We finished them off with a 78th minute score by Hicks ona run into the right end of the box. This one started tight, but just ended up ugly. Tamworth 5, Chelsea 0

I'll miss this tactic when I can't use it anymore. :)

Booth picked up a knock, but it turned out to just be a sprained wrist that will only limit him for a couple days. Chelsea suffered a far worse loss. Mutu suffered a torn groin muscle late in the match and will miss at least a month and maybe the entire rest of the season (what's left of it). That could be devastating for a squad that relies on him so much, and which is still in range of a Champions League slot.

League News

It was a light week with, once again, many of the best players away with their national teams. There were also no league matches, so we had no Premiership Team of the Week.

CR

Chief Rum

08-07-2004, 02:57 AM

Thanks a lot Chief.

Thanks to you, I am forced to start playing the crack substitute known as Championship Manager. I'm not sure why, but I missed your dynasty until a few days ago and I am really enjoying it. So much so, that I am probably going to restart my own "Adventures in Babysitting" CM thread.

Because of you, and recent posts by Antmeister in the General Discussion board, my sleep will suffer, my marriage will suffer and my children will not receive as much quality time from their father. And it will be all your fault.

Seriously, great read. I love the depth.

Thank you? :)

Good luck with the dynasty. I'll keep my eye on it. I would apologize for being the street hood that is dealing your addiction out, but I am Marc Vaughan's long lost evil American twin. (or is "American" and "evil" redundant?). Muhahaha!

CR

Alf

08-07-2004, 11:08 AM

Just caught up with this dynasty after overlooking it for a while (didn't see it was with CM). Fun read, but I look forward to next season when you limit yourself to not use the über-tactic... :)Shame on you Kristian. Chief Rum makes me want to buy FM5 when it comes out now...

3ric

08-07-2004, 11:39 AM

What, you haven't pre-ordered already? :D

Chief Rum

08-08-2004, 03:13 PM

Like I said, Marc Vaughan's evil twin. I'm so evil even MV's mom doesn't know I exist! :)

I'm really looking forward to FM2005.

CR

Chief Rum

08-08-2004, 06:17 PM

Tuesday, April 7 To Monday, April 13

This is yet another big week for us, with Milan coming to town on Wednesday to finish off our Champions League quarterfinal. Since we're a goal down going into this one, we will need to win by at least one to advance. It helps that we scored two goals in Italy--away goals is the first tiebreaker.

On the last day of the week, Monday, we meet up with Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium (now there's a mouthful). That will start us up on the rest of our Premiership matches, and also be the first match in which we go with a computer-original tactic (or a tactic based on one).

Milan, Second Leg of the Champions League Quarterfinal

Neither team has changed much in two weeks, so we can just get into the nitty gritty here.

Milan manager Ezio Rossi made some small changes, one of which was necessary because of a major injury the club took when they last played us. Apparently, it was no small knock that took out legendary Italian centreback Alessandro Nesta. The 33-year-old veteran defender will miss about three months and change with a fractured skull. Ouch. He will be replaced by Argentinian defender Fabricio Coloccini in Wednesday's lineup.

Rossi also made changes in the midfield and up front. He inserted supersub Argentinian forward Andrés D'Alessandro in the middle of Milan's 4-3-3 tactic and shifted Patrick Vieira over to the left, bumping out Massimo Ambrosini. Up front, there was no messing around with starting Johan Absalonsen in this one. Milan marched out their super threesome forwards, with Kaká and Andriy Shevchenko back on the ends, and superstar Dutch striker Ruud van Nistlerooy back in the middle of the front line.

We once again had our first eleven in, as we did in the Guiseppe Meazza two weeks ago. That first eleven was mostly as it has been, with Hermann Hreidarsson replacing Trond Erik Bertelsen because the latetr was a little tired from a late appearance against Chelsea. We stocked the sub squad with better quality reserves, including Bertelsen, Richie Partridge, James McEveley and Louis Saha, as we were more than a little concerned about this match. It isn't every team that can beat us using our uber tactic, but that's exactly what Milan did.

It didn't take long for me to see this would be a different sort of match. Amazing what a simple switch of venue can do. In the 9th minute, Mike Duff got the ball along the right touch on the wrong side of the centreline. He saw Yakubu making a run toward the center of the opposite side of the pitch, closely marked by Coloccini. He sent a long, high pass to the Nigerian striker, who was basically on an island with his defender and no one else about. Yakubu beat Coloccini in the air and headed the ball on, and into the penalty area. Yakubu ran into the area and onto the ball, as Dida waffled between whether to charge out to meet him. Yakubu fired a low shot toward the left post, but Dida made a fantastic save, pushing the ball up into the left end of the area. Yakubu chased after it, still with a step on a closing defense and Dida wasn't quite quick enough to back up and cut off an open shot. The striker sent an easy shot into the wide open net for our first score of the match. We were now drawn even with Milan and were the match to end right now, we would get in on away goals.

Of course, this match was far from over. Milan almost tied it up and took the aggregate lead six minutes later. Shevchenko took a long pass from centreback Kakhaber Kaladze and went on a long run just to the left of the goal. He curled in toward the net at the end of his run into the left side of the penalty area and fired a shot at the far post. Unfortunately for the Ukrainian striker, the ball sailed wide right of the post and missed the mark.

We started to add some insurance later in the first half. In the 20th minute, Michael Stewart wound up with the ball near the centre circle. He spotted Johnnier Montaño directly ahead, on a run into the penalty area. He put the pass spot on and Montaño was through on goal. The Colombian forward blasted his shot just inside the left post and into the high back corner of the net for the two-goal lead.

We began to move the match into the nether regions with a quck two-goal set of scores about a third of the way in. And it could have been worse. In the five minutes leading up to this pivotal stretch, Montaño missed a wide open net, and Dida deflected an Andy Williams shot when the winger found himself on goal with a step on the defense (which, it turned out, really missed Nesta and lagged a step all day). In the 29th minute, Yakubu took a pass from Williams and moved it down to Montaño in the center of the offensive pitch. The forward turned it around immediately and sent it to the edge of the area for Orri Freyr Oskarsson. Montaño put the ball beyond Oskarsson and his marker, Kaladze, allowing the Icelandic striker to move down on it first. Oskarsson turned and blasted the ball toward the net on the run, hitting the ball with such force that it blasted past Dida's left shoulder before the goalkeeper could so much as react to stop it. The next score came almost right off of Milan's kickoff. After a tackle, a freekick and a clear out, Leon Cort ended up with the ball in the center of the defensive pitch. Occasionally he drops an incredible pass into the offensive zone, and he did so now. Like Stewart ten minutes before, Cort found Montaño near the edge of the area. He put a perfect pass on the mark from more than halfway across the pitch. Montaño skipped past a poor tackle attempt by Vieira and blasted a low shot inside the left post. Dida just missed it ont he dive as the ball went into the net for a commanding 4-0 lead.

Do I really need to go on like this? We were really rolling. Milan did get one back on a Shevchenko score in the 43rd minute. But Montaño responded quickly to that, finishing off a hattrick with a hard shot past Dida in first half injury time. Montaño's replacement, Giovanny Hernández, added a quick two scores late in the match to move what had been a scary match for me before into a crazy run away win. Tamworth 7, Milan 1

This was probably my most dominant win ever on this high a stage against this quality of a team. I was very impressed with myself. ;)

We won the quarterfinal against the Champions League defending champs 9-4 on aggregate to win through to the semifinals.

We were awarded $2.9 M in Champions League winnings for the two-leg victory, and we also set a gate receipts record at the Lamb Ground of $1.8 M, courtesy of high Champions League-priced tickets and a crowd numbering over 31,000.

Champions League Quarterfinal Results

Coming into today, here was the situation in the other three quarterfinals:

Juventus 3, Levski Sofia 0 (playing at Levski Sofia today)
AaB 3, Bodo/Glimt 2 (playing at Bodo/Glimt today)
Werder Bremen 0, Brno 0 (playing at Brno today)

As you can see, the home teams by and large held up in the first leg, with the exception of Werder Bremen, which only got a draw in its home match. Of course, Milan held up in its home match, too...

Here's what happened.

Juventus 1, Levski Sofia 0 (Juventus wins, 4-0, on aggregate)

The Italian superpwer didn't win easy on the road, but they did still win. The only score was a 4th minute penalty kick by Alessandro Birindelli. Only four shots on goal were taken all match between the two sides.

Bodo/Glimt 1, AaB 0 (Bodo/Glimt advances on away goals, 3-3, on aggregate)

AaB has to be very disappointed, considering they went to Norway with a one-goal lead and then held Bodo/Glimt scoreless into the last ten minutes of the match. Unfortunately, the Norwegian squad pushed across an 80th minute score by Anders Askheim, and only allowed two shots on goal to the Danish club to win through on a tiebreaker.

Werder Bremen 3, Brno 2 (Werder Bremen win, 3-2, on aggregate)

Brno had a terrific chance after drawing the offensively potent Werder Bremen in Germany, but they started off bad and never could recover. Werder Bremen got scores from Lúcio Flávio and Diego Tardelli int he first ten minutes to take a lead they would never relinquish. And since the othe rmatch was a draw, this one was a winner take all.

UEFA Fourth Round and Beginning of Quarterfinals

Looking back over my dynasty, I realized I had missed reporting the results of the UEFA Fourth Round. They wrapped up the day after the first leg of the Champions Leg quarterfinals, on March 26.

We entered the fourth round with three English league squads still alive, including First Division Wolverhampton. Newcastle and Aston Villa are the other squads still alive.

The Wolves ended up being the only English squad to not survive the fourth round, falling to Portuguese Superleague squad Belenenses, 3-2 (and disappointingly losing 2-0 at home after holding a 2-1 lead coming from their place).

Aston Villa barely survived a 3-0 shellacking on the road against M. Tel-Aviv of the Israeli Premier League. They won 5-4 overall after figuring they were safe with a 5-1 win at home.

Newcastle didn't allow Polish First Division squad Wisla any goals at all in a 3-0 aggregate victory.

There were a couple of top notch matches. The Bundesliga's Schalke 04 beat Inter 3-2 in Italy to surprise the Italian power, and defeat them 4-2 overall. Dutch power PSV beat Porto, 2-0, in Portugal to provide the difference in a 4-2 aggregate victory.

The biggest upset came when Ukrainian High League Tavria edged out another Serie A power in Parma, 1-0, on aggregate. Th two sides drew even in a scoreless match in Italy after Tavria squeaked by Parma in the Ukraine.

The Primera Liga's Alavés was Spain's only entrant to get this far, but they did advance, beating another Polish First Division squad in Legia, 3-0, on aggregate. Greek National A club PAO beat former Champions League club Chornomorets of the High League, 2-1, on aggregate.

The matchups for the quarterfinals are PSV and Tavria; Aston Villa and Schalke 04; Belenenses and Alavés; and Newcastle and PAO.

In the quarterfinal first leg on Thursday, April 9, Tavria continued to roll, surprising PSV in Holland, 3-2. Aston Villa and Newcastle both did well at home. The Villans beat Schalke 04, 5-3, while the Magpies shutout PAO, 3-0. Belenenses edged Alavés, 2-1, in Portugal.

There is a very quick turnaround in the EUFA quarterfinal. The above eight squads will switch venues and play each other again on April 15--less than a week after playing the first leg.

Champions League Semifinals Announced

The announcement is a mere formality, as the Champions League doesn't redraw after the initial knockout phase draw. We knew who we would have to face.

We will host powerful three-time consecutive Serie A champions Juventus on April 22 at the Lamb Ground in the first leg of the semifinals. We will then meet them at Delle Alpi, their home stad in Torino, Italy, on May 6.

Werder Bremen hosts Cinderella Bodo/Glimt on April 22, and then goes to Norway on May 6.

Our match with Arsenal on April 22 has been re-arranged for May 13. It is actually the second time our visit to Ashburton Grove has been postponed for a Champions League match. We were initially supposed to meet up with the Gunners in March. Whenever we finally meet up with them, it will be the first time since that amazing penalty kick win in the League Cup fourth round last December.

Yakubu Called Up

Nigeria is meeting Togo in a Group Three World Cup qualifier on April 18, and on Saturday requested the presence of Tamworth striker Yakubu at the match.

It looks like he will have to miss the Blackpool league match scheduled for that day--which is, incidentally, scheduled to be a first eleven match. I already have plans to juggle my strikers to accomodate.

My Tactic Against Man City

Here is an attempt to visualize the tactic I will be using against Man City:

<font=courier>
<--F ^ F-->
^ | ^
\ F /
\ /
M ^ M
^ | ^
| M |
| |
F D D F

G


Obviously, it is a slight variation of the given 4-3-3 the computer uses (and which is prominently used by some of the world's top superpowers, including Arsenal, Chelsea and Milan). Given my depth at forward, I thought this would be a great way to take advantage of it. I also feel I have the attacking fullbacks to make them more important to the offense as they are here.

I have dropped the middle forward back to an AMC position with a forward arrow, and the middle MC back to a DMC position, also with a forward arrow. I feel this keeps some of what I like to do from the uber tactic, allowing my forward midfielder to make runs into the box, while giving my back midfielder the dual roles of being a primary defensive presence in front of the backline, but also allowing him to initiate the offense.

The forwards I have kept with the 4-3-3's side arrows. Since my forwards do have well-rounded capabilities, I am not concerned that this will require them to do more crossing and playmaking.

The side midfielders, my former wingers, will run at an angle toward the touches on offense, and be primary ball movers, as they were in the old tactic, and in the 4-3-3. The arrows make them more into the wingers I first recruited for those spots.

I gave the fullbacks forward arrows to participate in long crosses. I think this will better take advantage of the good offensive abilities I have at those positions.

The two centrebacks are essentially the same as before, with the small change that one defensive back will be a man-marking speedster, while the other will be a zonal last line of defense with primary defensive and positioning skills.

Overall, I kept much of the team approach the same. I will go with hard tackling, as always, and man mark in own half for the fullbacks and the man-marking defender, and zonal marking for the defensive midfielder and the other centreback. I set my wingers and forwards to man mark always. I rely on my players' abilities to determine the best direction to move the ball, with Mixed passing, and I don't employ counter attacks, offside traps or men behind the ball.

The fullbacks and wingers and side forwards will do crossing, while the midfielders, wingers and fullbacks will run with the ball. My midfielders and fullbacks will attempt through balls, and my defensive midfielder will hold up the ball.

The only things I don't like about it involve the left and right centre midfielders. I have often professed my affinity for good wing play. Using three midfielders in the center doesn't leave these positions out wide the way I like them. So I am concerned this tactic won't make full use of talents like Andy Williams, Jim Corbett and Richie Partridge, although I feel my askant forward arrows and the types of wingers I have gone for will work here well enough. The other thing related to wings that I'm not sure I like are the arrows moving the left and right forwards out to the touch. Not only does that move them farther away from the goal (which to me seems to work against forwards scoring), but it seems to move them close to the same spots as my former wingers are running to, and I don't need two players at each of those spots.

I Ihave lots of ideas for how I want to try new tactics--this is just the first one. I also have a question for the readers--does dropping the middle forward back strike too much of the uber tactic? If you feel it is too close to the old tactic, I would probably just place that forward midfielder forward as the target man. Still, I felt I needed to draw him back, because I dodn't have anyone in the middle at that point to advance the ball forward, and moving him to the frontline means I will have to move my DMC forward to an MC spot, perhaps exposing my defense.

I guess we'll find out when I start playing.

Man City

Manchester City is 15th in the league, but it is a road match and they are supposed to be better than they have been this year. So I am figuring for a tough match (not to mention my squad playing a new tactic).

Ivorian forward Aruna is clearly their best offensive player. He has 11 goals this year to lead City by far. He is one of the two forwards in Man City's 3-2-3-2 that uses two defensive midfielders, a la Dinamo Kiev. Midfielder Dickson Agyeman is the highest valued player but he hasn't been great this season (2 G, 3 A, 7.13). The playmakers seem to be the defensive midfielders. They have a really good one in Wayne Bridge (5 G, 2 A, 6.86), and the other side is manned by Anthony Réveillère (5 A). The offense seems about average, while the defense is only better than a handful of other Premiership squads. English international Nicky Weaver (60 GC in 37 mat) isn't playing behind a very good backline.

It was a second eleven match for us. Despite the new tactic, it's fairly obvious who goes where. The attacking midfielder (David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro) moves up to the middle forward spot, while the old strikers (Louis Saha, Emmanuel Olisadebe) man the side forward spots. Denny Landzaat is in the defensive midfield position, of course, with Richie Partridge and Carl Motteram int he other midfield spots that run off to the touches. Herman Hreidarsson and Kevin Gorman get to be the first two fullbacks to try their expanded offensive roles, while James McEveley and Tieme Klompe are at centreback, in front of Thomas Heaton.

Those of you looking to see me struggle ( ;) ) with the new tactics will be overjoyed to know that the team did indeed struggle. My understanding, though, is that it sometimes takes time for players to learn new tactics. I sure hope so, because I didn' like much of what I saw, especially int he first half.

Aruna scored in the 12th minute off of a Jurica Vranjes pass from the midfield when McEveley seemed to misjudge the pass and took a step away from Aruna. Aruna just squeezed the ball high inside the left post. That would be the only score for a long time. By the 38th minute, we hadn't gotten a single shot off, much less on goal, and we had a slight possession disadvantage of 22% in our own third against 19% in City's. City had three shots, all on goal. That's when Bridge was sent off with a professional foul for holding back Pizarro on a run toward the box. It wasn't a second yellow, but an actual straight, professional foul red. You don't see those too foten--tey usually result in multiple match suspensions.

Not surprisingly, with the man advantage, we started getting some shots off. Still, we continued to struggle, even with an extra man, and weren't anywhere near the dominant offensive squad we have been. The best shot through 76 minutes came when Olisadebe headed a Motteram pass right on goal, and Weaver caught it to end the chance. Weaver also caught a Mark Hicks freekick that almost snuck inside the left post. That shot finally caught us up with Man City in shots taken at five apiece. Ouch.

I figured we were done for as we went deep into stoppage time. The official had indicated three minutes of extra time, and we were just getting a throw-in from the right touch when the 93rd minute rolled on through. Gorman short tossed it to McEveley, who moved it forward to Olsiadebe in the right end of the penalty area, in traffic. The striker moved back to Gorman along the right touch,a nd the fullback fired a cross through the area that deflected slightly off of Vranjes. The ball dribbled to the middle of the area and Hicks got to it with his back to the net and two or three defenders. William Flood, a former Lamb loanee and a midfield starter for City, tackled the ball away from Hicks, but the ball skirted up to Pizarro--with a good look on net! Pizarro took a small step to the left and blasted a high shot inside the left post. Weaver jumped after the shot, but it just slipped passed his flailing hands and went in for the amazing final second equalizer! Three seconds after the ball went in--at 93:16--the ref blew the whistle and we luckily escaped the City of Manchester Stadium with a draw. Tamworth 1, Manchester City 1

Despite having a man advantage for most of the match, we had just as many shots as City (6-6), and were worse on goal (4-5). We moved possession toward their third (27% to 20% in our own), but I think that was because of their loss of a man more than anything. So I am alreayd tinkering with this tactic, I think.

League News

After league matches on Saturday, Third Division Mansfield became the first English club relegated this year, clinching a fall to the Nationwide Conference and out of the League.

At the other end of the Third Division table, Torquay won promotion to the Second Division on Saturday, becoming the first squad promoted in England this year.

On Sunday, Fulham hired three-time English league loser Micky Adams to replace Ruud Gullit, who left the Cottagers on March 30 to return to his old job with Scotland's Rangers. The merry-go-round continues between the EPL and SPL in that respect. Gullit was hired away from the Rangers by Fulham last August, and the Scottish power hired former Middlesbrough boss Steve McLaren. McLaren was hired back into the Premiership on March 19 by Southampton, opening the job again for Gullit, who apparently has quickly tired of trying to turn around the perennial mid-table Cottagers.

Are you confused yet? Leicester City also hired the well-regarded John McDermott from the other Scottish power Celtic in January, a move that has been considered one of the bigger stories in the League this year, as Leicester has played very ell and gotten to the FA Cup Final.

Leicester City happens to be a former employee of Fulham's new manager Adams. He ran the Foxes for the first two years of this dynasty, leading them to 10th and 14th in the Premiership. He was let go after that disappointing 2004-05 season, but hired by First Division West Ham in November in an attempt to turn around a dismal season to that point. He kept them r4espectable, finishing 12th that season in the First Division, but the squad faltered mightily the next year and Adams was let go in March, 2007. A month after that, he was hired by another First Division squad in Derby. He held the reigns over the end of the 2006-07 season, which saw Derby finish 10th--seven spots ahead of Adam's former bosses in West Ham. He then had perhaps his best season as a manager, leading Derby to 6th in the First Division in 2007-08 and a spot in the playoffs. It was "what have you done for me lately, though" when Derby got to an awful start this past year. Adams was fired in November, and as of right now, Derby appears headed for relegation to the Second Division.

Adams, 47, has no league wins, but he does have a cup one, finishing as one of three winners of the Inter-Toto Cup competition with Leicester City in 2004. In his career in this dynasty, he has a 91-56-102 record, with 362 goals scored against 397 conceded, in 249 matches. He has pretty good skills and prefers a cautious 4-4-2, but, not surprisingly, he is thought to have a very poor reputation.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Trevor Benjamin (Colchester)-- 2 G, 9 rat vs BRI
SC Milan Baros (Birmingham)-- 2 G, MoM, 9 rat vs CHE
MF Gaetano D'Agostino (Man Utd)-- 1 G, 1 A, 8 rat vs NOT
MF Shaun Neville (Southampton)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs BLK
MF Jesper Gronkjær (Everton)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs TOT
MF Rafael van der Vaart (Liverpool)-- 1 G, MoM, 9 rat vs LIV
DF Daniele Bonera (Arsenal)-- 8 rat vs LIV
DF Peter Canero (Southampton)-- 8 rat vs BLK
DF Darren Kenton (Southampton)-- MoM, 8 rat vs BLK
DF Michael Jakobsen (Arsenal)-- 8 rat vs LIV
GK Mark Brown (Bristol City)-- 7 sav, 8 rat vs COL

CR

Chief Rum

08-09-2004, 02:43 AM

Tuesday, April 14 To Monday, April 20

We have just one match this week, a visit from relegation candidate Blackpool on Saturday. It's nice to have a lighter week. We have been doing heavy work now for a while (although admittedly it is because we have been very successful in cup competitions).

I plan on some adjustments on my tactic for 16th-placed Blackpool. We'll see if they work out or not. Of course, I'm not sure if I will be able to tell right away, with an entirely new team starting (it will be a second eleven match). It's harder to contrast two matches when you start a completely different eleven.

Partridge Unhappy

For some players, it's just a matter of time. Yakubu and Johnnier Montaño are examples of this. And so is Richie Partridge.

Late Monday (of the previous week), the second eleven right winger complained about not seeing regular time again. As usual, the lack of playing time has nothing to do with an intent to do so, but is related to his international play.

He was not scheduled for the first match against Milan, then he was too tired from his duties with Ireland to start against Chelsea in his scheduled spot in the FA Cup semifinal. I included him as a sub, but I didn't have a use for him. Because he didn't play against Chelsea and because the second Milan match was pretty critical, I had him as a sub again for Milan, too, but again didn't find a need for him.

He played against Manchester City, but the report about his unhappiness came about before that match. I told him he would be played when the time was right, as suggested by my assistant manager Terry Gennoe.

On Tuesday, Partridge said he is happy with his role, and pleased I am starting to appreciate his value to the first team blah blah blah.

I know that these complaints are largely a result of my carrying a large first team, but the fact is that the solution to that problem is to cut down on the number of players I have here. And you can take a quick guess who will go first...yup, see ya whiners...

UEFA Quarterfinals Second Leg

The Champions League may not resume until next week, but the UEFA wrapped up its quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Coming into the match, Ukrainian High League squad Tavria beat Dutch power PSV at home, 3-2; Aston Villa defeated Bundesliga squad Schalke 04, 5-3, in England; Newcastle pounded Greek squad, 3-0, at St. James Park; and Belenenses edged Alavés, 2-1, in a matchup of teams from the Iberian Peninsula.

Tavria continued its Cinderella run by drawing with PSV in Holland, 2-2. That gave them a 5-4 aggregate victory to advance to the semifinals.

Aston Villa had a built in a two goal lead over Schalke o4, but that didn't stop them from beating the German club on the road, 3-2. The Villans won their quarterfinal with ease, 8-5 on aggregate.

PAO held powerful Newcastle to a scoreless draw in Greece, but that doesn't do you much good when you lost 3-0 in the first leg. Newcastle advances to the semis, giving England two clubs in the final four.

The closest quarterfinal was between Portugal's Belenenses and Spain's Alavés. The Primera Liga squad beat the Superleague squad, 3-2, at home to draw level on aggregate, but Belenenses' two away goals beat out Alavés' one away goal, giving the Portuguese club the tiebreaker in a 4-4 aggregate score.

Belenenses will meet Newcastle in the semifinals, while Tavria will play Aston Villa. The semifinal first leg will be played on April 23.

My Tactic Against Blackpool

For the most part, I kept the same tactic as I had against Man City, but I decided to make a small adjustment to it. Here's how it turned out:

<font=courier>
F--> ^ <--F
^ | ^
\ F /
\ /
W ^ W
^ | ^
| M |
| |
F D D F

G


The adjustment is small, but I think it could be key. Defensively, we seemed to be just fine. So I changed what I didn't like about the first tactic. I reversed the side forwards from starting inside the penalty area and moving out to the touches, to vice versa. Now they start from the touches and move in toward the goal, which makes more sense to me. Now, I have all three forwards running forward to the net, and it also doesn't group the side forwards with the left and right central midfielders (my wingers) in the corners of the pitch. Basically, as the forwards move up toward the net, the midfielders move to fill in their positions on the pitch to facilitate ball movement. Then on defense, everyone returns to their original spots, which are better able to inhibit ball movement by the opponent.

Or at least that's my theory. ;)

Blackpool

Blackpool is one step lower than Manchester City in the table, so this is about the same strength of an opponent. This one is at the Lamb Ground, though.

In fact, Blackpool is very similar to Man City, in that they are about avergae offensively, and they rank among the worst clubs in the league defensively.

The offense has a star up front whom has recently exploded on the scene, winning the Premiership's Player of the Month in March. Veteran forward Brett Ormerod leads the team by far with 15 goals. The offense has been limited by forward Omar Daley's broken leg, but the former leading Blackpool playmaker wasn't having a good season anyway (3 G in 22 mat as of injury in February). The next best talents are striker John Murphy (7 A), Latvian midfielder Imants Bleidelis (4 G, 6 A) and Scottish star winger Ricky Waddell (6 G, 5 A, 7.12 rat). The defense is clearly the weak point of this squad, and Lee Camp (51 GC in 33 mat) has not been very good.

This is a first eleven match, but we are short a starter, with Yakubu away at Nigeria. Since Emmanuel Olisadebe can't play against Juventus in the next scheduled second eleven match, we go ahead and insert him in Yakubu's place. This is also fullback Trond Erik Bertelsen's return to the first eleven starting lineup after being limited by fatigue from international play in a couple of recent matches.

The match didn't start off so well for us, although this was entirely unrelated to the new tactic, but instead falls completely on one of goalkeeper Jon Masalin's occasional incredibly dumb gaffes. In the 7th minute, midfielder Lee Canoville sent a cross-pitch pass on a counterattack to Murphy, on the run toward the box. Murphy was not alone--Leon Cort was with him and had a step between him and the goal. So why is Masalin running out of the penalty area and intot he middle of the defensive pitch to try and intercept the ball and Murphy? Good Gawd, how stupid. :( Murphy headed Canoville's ball forward and then just edged the ball away from the goalkeeper into the box. Ormerod came up on the loose ball and blasted it into the empty net for the agonzingly stupid easy goal.

Fortunately, the tactic itself worked just fine, and we demonstrated that with a three-goal stretch in the middle of the first half. Oskarsson started it in the 29th minute, going on a run through the right end of the penalty area to set up a short crossing pass to Olisadebe. The Polish striker easily put the ball into the net past Camp. Then in the 31st minute, we put together a play that was reminiscent of the uber tactic, as Michael Stewart found Montaño splitting the defense up the middle. The midfielder, alone on goal, put in a shot just inside the left post for the go ahead. Then in the 33rd minute, Montaño sent in a corner right into the middle of the area, and Olisadebe redirected the high pass into the right corner of the net with a well-timed header.

We pretty much rolled from there, getting a second half own goal from young midfielder Michael McGrath to wrap it up. Tamworth 4, Blackpool 1

We didn't dominate in shots taken (10, 6 on goal), but in defense (only 2 shots allowed) and making good on our chances (three of six goal shots in the net). We also dominated possesson (31% in Blackpool's end to 18% in ours).

League News

Last week, the first English league promotion and relegation was just the kicker to this week's action, which saw the fates of a good many more squads determined.

The big news was the long expected relegation of Colchester from the Premiership. They may be the worst Premiership squad I have ever seen. They have just four wins in 33 matches, to go with just 18 points and a -52 goal differential. I wonder how José Alexander Amaya feels about that? ;)

Plymouth joined last week's Third Division relegation squad Mansfield on the route to the Conference, which lost the services of Canvey Island on Saturday.

The one promotion came to the Bees of Barnet, which became the first Second Division promotee to the First Division.

In Germany, Dortmund clinched the Bundesliga championship, becoming the first winner of a major league this season. We aren't too far off ourselves, with a 12 point lead on Man Utd and six matches left (five for Man Utd). Arsenal, with a match in hand and a 21-point deficit can technically still catch us in points, but that would require us to lose all of our remaining matches, them to win all of theirs, and make up 42 points in goal differential--aside from whatever Man Utd does during this stretch. So we basically have our automatic Champions League spot for next year sewn up.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Shola Ameobi (Newcastle)-- 2 G, MoM, 9 rat vs COL
SC Tommy Wright (Leicester)-- 2 G, MoM, 10 rat vs SOU
MF Jermaine Jenas (Newcastle)-- 2 A, 8 rat vs COL
MF David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro (Tamworth)-- 1 G, MoM, 9 rat vs MAN
MF Dean Marney (Leicester)-- 1 G, 1 A, 8 rat vs SOU
MF Gaetano D'Agostino (Man Utd)-- 1 G, MoM, 10 rat vs ARS
DF Lucas Neill (Blackburn)-- 8 rat vs NOT
DF Clayton Fortune (Bristol City)-- 8 rat vs SFW
DF Tieme Klompe (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs MAN
DF Jonathon Woodgate (Newcastle)-- 9 rat vs COL
GK Fabien Barthez (Man Utd)-- 4 sav, clean, 9 rat vs ARS

Seems a little odd that our two entrants to this week's Team of the Week came from our draw with Man City, instead of our strong win over Blackpool. Go figure.

CR

Chief Rum

08-09-2004, 03:58 AM

"The Poison Chalice"

I had a good laugh while watching the real life Charity Shield today. The announcers called the tournament trophy the "poison chalice" because since Newcastle won it in 1994, no team that had won the trophy had also won the league that year.

So I decided to see how this holds up in the current Tamworth dynasty.

Here are the Community Shield winners in this dynasty:

2003: Man Utd
2004: Arsenal
2005: Arsenal
2006: Arsenal
2007: Tamworth
2008: Man Utd

and here are the following league winners:

2003-04: Man Utd
2004-05: Arsenal
2005-06: Man Utd
2006-07: Chelsea
2007-08: Tamworth
2008-09: Tamworth?

Well, the streak was broken in 2004, when Man Utd won both the Shield and the Premiership. Then Arsenal did it in 2005. It didn't work out for Arsenal the next two years, though, starting a new mini-streak. Then my club's arrival broke that streak, as I won the Shield as a new Premiership squad (and only in the thing becuase of my FA Cup success) and went on to win the league.

I put a question mark by this year, of course, because the season is not yet completed. That said, it seems very unlikely that I won't end up on top. If so, given that I lost the Shield this year to Man Utd, it looks like the Poison Chalice strikes again.

Basically, assuming things go as expected the rest of the way here, there is an even three-three split of Shield winners also taking home the silverware in the Premiership (and not doing so).

CR

Katon

08-09-2004, 05:33 AM

I forgot to mention this in the EPL thread, but it was Blackburn who last pulled of the Charity Shield/Premiership double. Newcastle haven't won the top division in several decades.

Chief Rum

08-09-2004, 07:06 AM

I forgot to mention this in the EPL thread, but it was Blackburn who last pulled of the Charity Shield/Premiership double. Newcastle haven't won the top division in several decades.

Ah...credit that one to the dumbass announcers then of the Shield (or my lousy ears for British accents). I coulda sworn they said Newcastle. Perhaps Blackburn beat Newcastle in the Shield? Who knows what I really heard.

Is Newcastle the Boston Red Sox/Chicago Cubs of the Premiership? :)

CR

Chief Rum

08-09-2004, 07:14 AM

dola, I may have figured it out. Although I am going on what CM says. Remember it has historic winners of the current leagues and trophies and cups.

According to that, Blackburn won the Premiership in 1994-95, about the time you mention. You're off in the Shield, though--they lost to Man Utd and Everton in consecutive years in 1994 and then 1995, and they haven't won a Shield since 1912.

It appears the last time it happened was in 1996-97 with Man Utd. They won the 1996 Community Shield and then went on to win the 1996-97 league championship. And guess who they beat in that Shield? Newcastle... ;)

CR

Chief Rum

08-09-2004, 07:17 AM

double dola,

As I expected, you were dead on with Newcastle's failures in the Premiership. They haven't won the league championship since 1927. Ouch.

CR

daedalus

08-10-2004, 12:36 AM

That's okies . . . Manchester United's double of league and Shield should be broken this year. :D

Chief Rum

08-10-2004, 03:30 AM

That's okies . . . Manchester United's double of league and Shield should be broken this year. :D

Man U's double is already pretty much broken...oh wait, you mean in real life. :D

CR

Chief Rum

08-10-2004, 07:01 AM

Tuesday, April 21 To Monday, April 27

We have a huge match and a lowest-of-the-low match this week.

On Wednesday, we begin our Champions League semifinal with mighty Juventus, a match up I expect to give as much or even more trouble than Milan did. They, also, are tremendously skilled and deep.

On Saturday, we end the week on a bit of a downer: a road visit to talent-challenged Colchester, recently relegated from the Premiership and merely playing out the string. This is the kind of squad I play backups in (although I won't this time, with the new tactics needing to be learned).

Still, there is something on the line--we could clinch the Premiership title. We have a match in hand on Man Utd and we're 12 points up on them. Man Utd has five matches left, so if we get to 15 points up on them (or more than 12, really) after this round, we will have clinched the Premiership for the second year in a row (and started a new "Poison Chalice" streak, since Man Utd won the Shield last August).

Juventus

Like AC Milan, this is a squad that is literally stocked with worldclass players from front to back. They have won three straight Serie A titles, and are currently in second place (behind Milan by three points) in their run at a fourth.

They have also really turned it up with the return of superstar French striker David Trezeguet. The star striker, who has dominated the Serie A for years, missed four months this season with a shin injury, but the club has been very good since his return in late February. He has 11 goals in 21 matches (along with 7 A and a 7.21 rat). Juventus were no slouches without him--they still have veteran Italian star Alessandro Del Piero (15 G, 9 A), and Brazilian striker Nenê (team leading 16 G, 7.21) blossomed as Trezeguet's replacement, and is Del Piero's heir apparent.

The midfield is also still ridiculously skilled. They have one of the best pairs of wingers in the world, even if both are on the wrong side of 30. Star Czech winger Pavel Nedved (6 G, 7 A) doesn't have the physical skills anymore, but he remains one of the smartest players in football. On the other side, Italian vet Mauro Germán Camoranesi (5 G, 18 A, 7.24) has been the Italian side's most important offensive element. The team is strong defensively in the middle with Matteo Brighi (4 G, 6 A, 7.21) and Enzo Maresca (4 G, 3 A, 7.03).

The defense is led by Croatian superstar vackliner Igor Tudor (7.24), who made a big name for himself in leading Croatia's tough defense as they won the cup at Euro 2008. On the outside, Alessandro Birindelli (3 G) is the veteran fullback. Argentinian Juan Pablo Sorin (1 G, 4 A) is the best offensive defender on the squad, and Marco Zanchi is a steady partner for Tudor int he middle.

Of course, the biggest reason Juventus's D is so strong (among the best in Serie A) is superstar goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who is in his prime right now at 31. Buffon (42 GC in 46 mat, 21 cleans, 7.00) is probably the best netminder in football right now.

Against all of that, we are marching out our second eleven. We did make one change. Emmanuel Olisadebe usually starts here, but he is ineligible to play in European matches for us because he was on Hertha BSC's international roster. So we are starting Yakubu in his place. Yakubu missed his scheduled start against Blackpool because of being away with Nigeria, so I figure this is a good way to forestall his inevitable complaints about playing time. I was short of top condition subs who were on the eligible roster for this match, so I put normal first eleven fullback Trond Erik Bertelsen ont he sub list with the usual characters (Giovanny Hernáandez, Adam Wilde, Mark Hicks, Lionel Morgan, etc.).

I almost regret starting off at the Lamb Ground. There was comfort in knowing I was coming back from Itlay against Milan with just a one-goal deficit. I felt I could make that up at home. Now, if we don't get a good result in this match against Juventus, we would face the unenviable challenge of trying to get the upperhand on them at Delle Alpi.

Right off the bat, this one didn't start off too well for us. Tudor went in hard on David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro in one play in the 8th minute. He took our star midfielder down, and unfortunately, Pizarro didn't leap back up. He was hurt, and had to leave the match. Pizarro is a primary reason our second eleven has been, really, our first eleven, if you know what I mean. Losing him is horrible news, and I just had this this back-of-the-mind impression that the injury wouldn't be a day-to-day one either. I decided to put Morgan in as a replacement since, while he is a left winger, he has the sort of skills I like at this spot and has done well here before. Also, I didn't have as much confidence in my normal backup forward midfielder Hernández, a fine player but not always consistent.

We seemed to counteract that injury well in the 14th minute, when Yakubu volleyed a long header pass from Richie Partridge along the right touch right into the left side of the net, seemingly catching Buffon by surprise. Unfortunately the attack came so fast, Louis Saha was caught slightly offsides and the goal was waved off. Just a minute later, Morgan got a little too neat on an easy goal score possibility. He took a pass from Saha right in front of the goal, but decided to try and chip it over Buffon instead of the more conventional direct kick. Buffon anticipated the kick and drifted back to the right post, where the ball fell harmlessly into his arms.

We got a scare in the 22nd minute ourselves, when fullback Giourkas Seitaridis went on a run toward the box and then moved the ball up to Trezeguet--with a step on the defense. That's a scary thing. Fortunately, Trezeguet was off in the left of the area, and Thomas Heaton was able to clutch his long shot from the side.

There was no denying the star for long, though. In the 27th minute, Tieme Klompe headed a Juventus throw in to the middle of the pitch and Morgan. Maresca intervened, though, and sent a pass forward to Trezeguet, just outside of the box. Turning the situation into a mind-boggler, Trezeguet's marker, Jmes McEveley inexplicably charged off to the middle of the pitch (seeking a phantom striker?) as the ball moved to Trezeguet. The striker was pretty much all alone on goal with Heaton. The goalkeeper rushed out and got a piece of Trezeguet's shot from the edge, but it squeaked by him and rolled slowly into the net for the first goal of the match. Not exactly the way I saw our home match starting (and this is with the uber tactic!).

It looked like we might equalise it in the 41st minute. Hermann Hreidarsson intercepted a half-pitch clear out by Buffon and sent it right back toward the box and Saha. As he did in Morgan's other great chance to score, Saha headed the ball to the midfielder as he ran into the penalty area. Morgan returned it to Saha to the left of the goal to complete the give-and-goal, but Saha was off with his kick, blasting the ball into the side netting.

In the 44th minute, we were moved to the point of despair. Trezeguet beat Klompe with a header in the middle of their offensive pitch, moving the ball down to Del Piero on the right side edge of the penalty area. Del Piero took the ball just along the right side of the area before sending a low, back-curling cross into the box. Trezeguet was closely marked by McEveley, but he snuck in closer to the incoming pass than the defender and sent a low volley shot inside the right post. It seemed to freeze Heaton, who never even made a move toward the shot as the ball sailed into the net for the two-goal Juventus lead.

Thus began perhaps my lowest point in this dynasty. For all the success I have had, I never realized how much I wanted to capture the Champions Cup until now. It was upsetting me and frankly pissing me off that we couldn't do better at our own ground. I wasn't without hope at this point, but I was despondent and frustrated. Despite playing at home, we were being outshot (4-3, and 4-2 in shots on goal) at halftime. The only thing I could take to heart was that we had a commanding 34% to 13% offensive-third advantage over the Italian team, meaning we were largely controlling the ball play, but falling short when it comes to shots. And the way Buffon and the defense was playing, I wasn't sure we could even begin to make headway here, and even if we did, we would have to do it all over again in Italy in a couple weeks. Ugh. And that's on top of my suspicion Pizarro would be out for a while.

This feeling would only deepen as we progressed into the second half. Our play was characterized by plays like Morgan's in the 47th minute, where he had a good look at the net from the right, but, like Saha in the first half, he kicked the ball into the side netting. Thirty minutes into the second half, we only had one more shot on goal (the Morgan shot), although we had also kept Juventus from getting any shots at all in the second half up to then.

In the 65th minute, I decided to make some more lineup changes. Morgan was putting up a 7 rating in replacement of Pizarro, but he just wasn't playing all that well when it came to creating offense. In addition, Carl Motteram was having an awful match (4 rating) as he tried to keep a lid on Camoranesi (and it wasn't working). So I put Hernández in Morgan's spot and moved Morgan to his traditional left wing spot, replacing Motteram. The deposed winger was not happy; he was, in fact, furious at leaving the pitch. Well, play better than, Carl. I also put in Bertelsen at defensive midfielder, as Landzaat had picked up a small knock that dropped his conditioning to below 50. I really didn't have too many other options there.

If there were any positives to the changes, they weren't immediately obvious. I was just praying to get a goal at this point, any score to help defray what I would have to do at Juventus to pull this one off.

We finally took the shot lead just before the 76th minute, moving ahead 6-5 in total shots, while matching Juventus' 4 shots on goal. Of course, since no shots had gone in, that was a hollow victory. That sixth shot did get us a corner, though, which Morgan sent in from the right spot. The low corner pass was reached first by midfielder Manuele Blasi, a sub, but he misplayed it and deflected into the center of the box in front of the net. Hreidarsson stepped up in heavy traffic and blasted a low shot past a stunned Juventus defense and into the lower right corner for the late 76th minute score!

I can't tell you what a relief this was, to see us score at this point. It took an odd deflection to do it, and it went to a player whom had not yet scored a goal for us in almost two seasons of regular time, but we finally got that score I was looking for. One goal deficits, even on the road, are much more doable than two-goal deficits.

That seemed to trip a switch, though, and we started to get more shots on goal. In the 81st minute, Bertelsen found Hernáandez with a pass up the pitch toward the box. Hernáandez took the ball into the area and tried to dodge around Buffon. The goalkeeper still got to the shot and deflected it back across the right goal line, but it was a good sign to even take a relatively high percentage shot.

That led to another corner. Instead of a cross into the box, Morgan sent a pass out to the middle of the offensive pitch. After a couple pass backs between Richie Partridge and Klompe, Partridge saw Saha with a chance at a step on the defense in the left end of the area. He put a perfect pass just over seemingly both teams gathered near the edge of the area and onto Saha's foot to the left of the goal. Saha took a step and then blasted the ball at the right side of the net. The shot flew over Buffon's shoulder and into the corner for the amazing equalizer! We have fought back in the 82nd minute!

In the 86th minute, we were fighting an endless interception game with Juventus, as both sides struggled to advance on the other's goal. Bertelsen ended up with the ball just in front of the centerline and sent a pass toward the right side of the pitch. The ball was well-placed, as Yakubu was on the far side of his marker Alexey Korneev and could get to the ball first. The striker took the ball into the right end of the area and seemed prepared to send a pass back into the box (as he usually does). Instead, though, he turned and fired a long shot right on goal. He squeezed the shot into a tight angle inside the right post and it somehow evaded Buffon and slammed into the back of then net. OMG, we took the lead with our third goal in ten minutes!

Even then, we weren't done. In injury time, Kevin Gorman passed the ball to Partridge at the centreline along the right touch, and the winger decided to take off on a run toward the right end of the area, with Birindelli trying to chase him down or get an angle on his approach to the net. Partridge ran deep into the penalty area, curling in toward the box (and coming perilously close to Birinidelli and another Juventus defender) before unleashing a high shot that just blasted right past Buffon for our fourth goal in 16 minutes.

Thus wrapped up the most amazing blitzkrieg of scoring and critical comeback that I have ever witnessed in a CM03/04 match. Just...wow. Tamworth 4, Juventus 2

Juventus took one shot, off goal, in the entire second half. From the point of Hreidarsson's 76th minute score, we took eight shots, seven of which went on goal and four went in.

Champions League Semifinal First Leg Aftermath

What is there to say after a match like that?

Two things, actually. One, we drew 32,013 to the Lamb Ground, just 17 short of our record (and 32 less than full capacity). At Champions League prices, that beat out our previous $1.8 M gate receipts record, set two weeks ago when we hosted Milan in this very same event. Technically, both receipts were listed as $1.8 M, but obviously we got slightly more from the Juventus match to set the new record.

The second thing was something I almost forgot about it in the aftermath of that amazing comeback. My physio came back with a report on Pizarro's injury, and, unfortunately, I was right. The Chilean midfielder broke his shoulder and will be out for four weeks. Well, the time missed isn't as bad as I had feared, but it seems likely Pizarro will not play for us again this season.

In the interim, I will start Hernández in the second eleven forward midfielder spot, and both Morgan and Darren Birchall will be taking primary backup duties at the position (as well as their current winger reserve duties).

Werder Bremen-Bodo/Glimt

There was another Champions League semifinal on Wednesday, of course. Werder Bremen was hosting surprising Bodo/Glimt at Weserstadion in Bremen. Werder Bremen won the shot war (12-5 total) and the possession war (21% in own third to 31% in Bodo/Glimt's), but they only put 5 shots on goal to 4 by the Norwegian club. The result? The team exchanged first half goals, and ended up with a 1-1 draw.

This one will have to be decided in Norway on May 6, the same day we go to Delle Alpi to wrap our semifinal with Juventus.

UEFA Semifinals First Leg

On Thursday, the UEFA played the first leg of its semfinal stage as well.

Newcastle rode goals by Shola Ameobi and Darren Ambrose, and should have won by far more in absolutely obliterating Belenenses in the Portuguese squad's own stade. The Magpies took 27 shots, 15 on goal, while allowing just one off-goal shot to Belenenses in beating them 2-0. Ouch.

In the other match, Aston Villa didn't have the same quality as league partner Newcastle, in a visit to surprising Ukrainian High League squad Tavria. Of course, it doesn't help that a key defender, Seth Johnson, broke his arm in the 22nd minute, and then centreback Jonathon Bewers picked up two yellows in three minutes and was sent off in the 30th minute, both times on frustrated retaliatory pushes on Tavria striker Mikhail Axionov. Tavria centreback Sergio Moreno scored in the 57th minute to put in the only goal in the match, as the Villans lost, 1-0.

The second leg for both matches will be played on May 7.

Yakubu Called Up

Africa is certainly busy with its international play.

On Saturday, we got notice again that Nigeria will be calling up our first eleven striker Yakubu for a World Cup qualifier against Liberia on May 2.

We play Newcastle at St. James Park that day, so, obviously, he will not be available for that match.

Colchester

I have noted a number of times that Colchester is probably the worst Premiership squad I have ever seen. They have already been relegated, so Saturday's match is pretty much meaningless for them. They have the worst offense (31 goals) barely and the worst defense (85 goals) by a ton. It doesn't get much worse than -54 goal differential, and just 18 points in 34 matches (four wins total on the season thus far).

Popular international Aussie striker Joshua Kennedy (10 G, 4 A) seems to be the leading offensive talent on the team. He is joined by former Leicester forward Trevor Benjamin (5 G), who is not having a great season (6.14). Our good friend José Alexander Amaya (3 G, 5 A) has stepped it up after a poor start, but it's sad that he is probably their top midfielder. He gets help from winger Karl Duguid (3 G, 3 A). Tested and cagey old veteran English international Ian Walker isn't exactly playing out the twilight of his career in top form. Although credit deserves to go to an awful backline, Walker has allowed 86 goals in 35 matches.

We started our first eleven. Bertelsen is a fast recoverer, so he was at full conditioning for his regular start, despite playing a good chuck of the Juventus match. I started Adam Wilde in Yakubu's place, as the striker wasn't nearly as rested. Not willing to switch Yakubu and Olisadebe in their eleven spots, though, I did put Yakubu on the sub list. Olisadebe will go two matches without playing, but he hasn't yet shown himself to be a whiner like Yakubu. It does seem terrible to basically benefit Yakubu for whining, but I need to be sure to shut him up (at least until I decide if I want to move him).

Despite running our 4-3-3 tactic (instead of the uber "diablo" tactic), it was pretty clear we weren't going to have any problems with these guys. In the 21st minute, Orri Frey Oskarsson intercepted an ill-advised Colchester backpass and took the ball in on goal. He blasted a hard shot over a charging Walker for the first score. In the 40th minute, Leon Cort put in a glancing header off of a Johnnier Montaño corner pass to put us up two goals. And that's how it ended. Tamworth 2, Colchester 0

We outshot Colchester 16-4, and 9-2 on goal.

Tamworth Retains Premiership Title

Man Utd lost to Birmingham, 2-0, on the road on Saturday, so in combination with our win over Colchester, we had the necessary margin to clinch our second straight Premiership title.

We have scored the impressive double, and we could still end up with both the Champions League and FA Cup trophies as well.

Storbæk Hurt

Backup winger and fullback Jarl Ander Storbæk broke some ribs in an apparently tough training session on Sunday, and will likely miss the rest of the season.

Like Pizarro, Storbæk is expected to be out of action for four weeks.

I seriously doubt this will have any real effect on my rotations.

League News

With another round of league play on Saturday, we also had some noew relegations and promotions, as well as the first English league championships.

On the same day we clinched the Premiership, the already promoted Second Division Barnet won the division title. Down in the Conference, Carlisle clinched both the top non-league table title and a promotion to the League and the Third Division.

Burton Albion and Stockport essentially switched places. Burton Albion became the second Third Division squad to win promotion to the Second Division, along with Torquay. Stockport was relegated to the Third Division from the Second on Saturday.

On a slightly higher scale, First Division Wigan became the first victim of its division, and was relegated to the Second Division on Saturday.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Dean Ashton (Blackburn)-- 3 G, MoM, 10 rat vs ARS
SC Adam Ward (Fulham)-- 1 G, MoM, 10 rat vs LIV
MF Tommy Doherty (Bristol City)-- MoM, 8 rat vs NEW
MF Paul Scott (Tottenham)-- 7.50 rat in 2 matches
MF Karl Duguid (Colchester)-- 8 rat vs TAM
MF Mark Bresciano (Liverpool)-- 8 rat vs FUL
DF Sun Jihai (Man City)-- MoM, 8 rat vs TOT
DF Nils-Eric Johansson (Blackburn)-- 8 rat vs ARS
DF Steven Reid (Blackburn)-- 8 rat vs ARS
DF Brett Emerton (Blackburn)-- 1 A, 9 rat vs ARS
GK Yves Makubu Ma Kalambay (Sheff Wed)-- 8 sav, clean, 9 rat vs SOU

CR

SirFozzie

08-10-2004, 09:19 AM

Nice to see you mention former Cambridge player Trevor Benjamin..

any chance I can get a "where are they now" update on Cambridge United? :D

Foz

SplitPersonality1

08-10-2004, 09:47 AM

Great win over Juventus. Excellent comeback.

Isn't amazing how involved you can get in an "important" game in a computer sports sim. Nice job.

Chief Rum

08-10-2004, 03:19 PM

Nice to see you mention former Cambridge player Trevor Benjamin..

any chance I can get a "where are they now" update on Cambridge United? :D

Foz

Sure, who you want me to locate? :)

CR

Chief Rum

08-10-2004, 03:20 PM

Great win over Juventus. Excellent comeback.

Isn't amazing how involved you can get in an "important" game in a computer sports sim. Nice job.

lol...kinda sad to, eh? :)

But, yeah, getting onvolved liek that, that level of immersion, is what these games are all about. Plus, that's why CM is the king of text sims.

CR

SirFozzie

08-10-2004, 03:28 PM

Sure, who you want me to locate? :)

CR

Sorry.. was unclear.. wanted to know how they were doing, their highest value player, whether they are a buying or selling club, etcetera :D

Chief Rum

08-10-2004, 04:44 PM

Heh heh sure thing...

They were promoted from the Third Division after the 2003-04 season (the first in this dynasty). They finished in 2nd that year.

They started off very strong in the Second Division as well, finishing 4th in 2004-05.

Unfortunately, it went downhill from there. They went from a playoff spot in 2005 to mid-table (10th) in 2005-06, edge of relegation (18th) in 2006-07, and then actual relegation (21st) in 2007-08. :(

Currently, they are 12th in Third Division with a 15-17-12 record and a +7 GD.

As it turns out, Foz, Cambridge and my own Lambs have a bit of a history. In the 2004/05 season, which was my first (and last) in the Third Division and was the year Cambridge got to the Second Division playoffs, we played four times in three separate cup competitons! I remember thinking it was one of the stranger oddities I had ever seen, to keep drawing Cambridge like that.

On September 28, 2004, we edged out Cambridge, 2-1, in the League Cup second round. Then a month later, on October 27, we again beat Cambridge, 3-2, in the Vans Trophy Sout first round. On November 13, we drew with Cambridge at the Lamb Ground (which was little at the time), 1-1, in the FA Cup first round. So we had to replay them at their place, and lost on November 24, 1-0.

The thing I remember most from those matches was my impression that Cambridge was a very good team. All of the matches, as you can see each within one on the final tally, were tight, close affairs that either team could win.

Next year, although we would eventually play our way back into the Second Division playoff for advancement to the First Division. Cambridge, our cup nemesis, pulled the double on us, beating us 1-0 in August, 2005, at the Lamb Ground, and then edging us 3-2 at their place in January, 2006. It was the only season we were in the same division with one another.

The highest valued player now ont he team is MC Darren Brady ($85,000). He came to Cambridge via the Raith Rovers and Watford.

Centreback Stevland Angus (a name you no doubt know) is second ont he team at $80,000, and is a popular players with the supporters.

Carl Cort, formerly of Newcastle and the Wolves, is Cambridge's premier offensive talent. The 31-year-old has 24 goals and 11 assists this season, and has been a top player for Cambridge saince 2006.

Australian Danny Alsopp is Cort's partner and the former star of Cambridge in the Second Division. He scored 23, 23 and 21 goals from 2005-08. He is second on the team this year with 12 goals. He was with Hull and Notts County before joining Cambridge in 2005.

Vet Danny Dicchio gives Cambridge three thirtysomething strikers with good ability. He has 11 goals this year and has scored double digits in goals in two of the previous three seasons, prior to this one. He comes from Milwall and W.B.A.

Cort and Dicchio are two of the best passers, but the top creative playmaker is right winger Andy Hughes (6 goals, 14 assists), who came to Cambridge this past offseason from Coventry. He also played with Reading and was Alsopp's teammate at Notts County in 2000-01.

Goalkeeper Danny Clark (22 years old) looks like a good young netminder (59 GC in 47 mat, 15 cleans). He is a product of Cambridge's youth system, first coming into existence here in 2004.

In the first year, the top transfer out was of striker Dave Kitson to Reading for $240K. GK Shaun Marshall ($70K to Plymouth), AMC George Fotheringham ($70K to Gillingham), and young striker John Turner ($40K to W.B.A.) were the other significant transfer outs.

In 2005-06, Cambridge sold striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake to Motherwell for $200K, but you probably don't know him, as he was brought in from Man Utd's youth team the year before.

The top guy sold you would know would be striker Daniel Chillingworth. He was sold to Darlington for $95K in August, 2006. Another dynasty-starting Cambridge player who left was Luke Guttridge, sold to Scunthorpe for $20K in March, 2007.

Cambridge's reputation is regional and their finances Insecure. Former Fulham manager Graham Westley is currently managing them. He was sacked by Fulham after a short stint last May. He wasn't hired by Cambridge until February this year (since they fired their previous guy). You might know Westlkey as the manager of Stevenage, where he was a long time before getting the call from the Cottagers.

CR

Chief Rum

08-11-2004, 02:15 AM

Tuesday, April 28 To Monday, May 4

This week we return to finishing off our Premiership schedule. With the league championship locked up, we can concentrate on running out these tactics and seeing what comes up.

We play two league matches this week. On Wedensday, we host likely relegation candidate Bristol City, and then on Saturday, we put the tactic to a serious test when we visit Newcastle at St. James Park.

Injuries

We seem to be getting hit with a late run of injuries.

On Tuesday, winger Jim Corbett hurt his neck in training. He will be out for about a week, and miss his scheduled start against Newcastle on Saturday.

Later that day, reserve defender Graham Porter also hurt himself in training, breaking his wrist. He will miss three weeks, so that will pretty much put him out for the season.

Bristol City

Bristol City hasn't yet been relegated, but they seem on their way. Only Colchester is worse in points, and Bristol City has a long way to go to catch the next squad Blackburn (who is also a relegation candidate right now).

The defense isn't great, ranking in the bottom half, but it's not more than a solid player or consistent backline play from being at least decent. Goalkeeper Mark Brown (55 GC in 39 mat, 7.28) has a handful of Premiership League Team of the Week appearances this season for stonewalling opponents.

The offense, however, has been awful, scoring more than only Colchester in league. Lee Miller (10 G, 7 A) is the top talent up front, where he is paired with Leroy Lita (8 G, 5 A). They are essentially the only scorers to be concerned about it on this squad. They also happen to be the best passers on the team, so you know you have to watch.

This was a second eleven match for us, with most of the usual suspects in place. Giovanny Hernández gets his first official second eleven start in palce of the injured David Marcelo Pizarro. Emmanuel Olisadebe returns to his starting role at the right forward spot, as he had to skip the last one because of being ineligible to play against Juventus.

God bless Denny Landzaat. He has been wonderful for us this year. But for some reason on this night at the Lamb Ground, he fell in love with his long shot. I don't know if the midfielders didn't feel they could get the ball inside to the strikers or what, but Landzaat just kept launching them from outside of the area. It forced me to remove "take long shots" from the tactics instructions because I saw offensive rush after rush ended because of pointless long balls sailing over and/or wide of the net. Landzaat ended up with 16 shots in this match, and only six of them went on goal.

Overall, we took 29 shots, with 10 on goal. Brown was typically wonderful, stopping us when he had to, although to be honest, even the ones we got on goal were really long shots. Our three forwards took just five shots, with only one on goal. If the shots didn't profess to our otherwise dominance of the pitch, our amazing 43% to 11% time advantage in our opponents' third of the pitch should do the trick. They only got three shots total, two on goal, which proved easy enough for Thomas Heaton to stop to pick up the easy clean sheet.

A lot of shots were taken, but pretty much nothing happened. Tamworth 0, Bristol City 0

I have to be concerned about the tactic if I can't score after taking 29 shots against a relegation candidate at home. From what I saw on the pitch, the problem was where the shots were coming from, their chance of going in, as opposed to generating shots (which obviously wasn't a problem).

Board Confidence Update

We got the same message as usual when the new month rolled around on Friday.

April Premiership Awards

Leicester City continues to rack up the awards with its late season play.

On Friday, the Premiership awarded the Foxes' striker Tommy Wright with the Premiership Player of the Month award. Wright had two goals and an 8.50 rating in four matches.

John McDermott, Lecister's new boss, won his second straight Premiership Manager of the Month award, as the Foxes won three of their four matches, drawing in the only one they didn't win.

Strangely enough, the award the Foxes usually win--Young Player of the Month, generally to superstar striker James Graham--was the one that didn't go to them this time. Instead, Southampton midfielder Shaun Neville won the award, with a goal and an assist to go along with an 8.00 rating in three matches. It was the first time since December that Graham did not win the award.

Tamworth did not figure into any goals of the month, for good or bad.

Newcastle

The Magpies are playing well in the UEFA, as they have the edge in their semifinal there. And they are no slouches with their resources and sitting at sixth in the Premiership right now. So even with the uber tactic, this wouldn't be an easy match.

Newcastle is solid on both offense and defense, but they aren't especially close to the top of the league on either end. Shola Ameobi (31 G, 14 A, 7.93 rat) is once again perhaps the best player in the league. He and Mateja Kezman (21 G, 14 A) form one of the most explosive striker combos in recent Premiership history. The midfield is very talented, with Barry Ferguson (7 G, 3 A) and Jermaine Jenas (7 G, 7 A< 7.16) in the middle, and Hugo Viana (10 A) and Darren Ambrose (6 A) on the sides. The defense is led by fullback Aaron Hughes (2 G, 3 A, 7.20) and centrebacks Titus Bramble (7.21) and Jonathon Woodgate (3 A, 7.18). Shay Given (57 GC in 50 mat, 21 cleans, 7.18) entered the season as one of the more consistent goalkeepers in the league and has done little to dispel that notion.

This was a first eleven match, but we had to make some adjustments. With Corbett hurt, we needed a new right winger and started Darren Birchall. Up front, Yakubu was away with Nigeria, so we started Mark Hicks at the left forward spot.

We made some small adjustments here, removing the take long shots option from the central midfield position and adding forward runs to the side forwards. The first one is an obvious change arising from the propensity of our midfield to take unnecessary long shots, while the second one was to get our side forwards more involved in the offense.

This match was very defensive, thanks to the fact we controlled the ball possession, and Newcastle controlled the quality of shots taken. By the end of the match, we had a 31% to 17% time advantage in our opponent's third of the pitch (there has got to be a more succinct way of saying that...).

We weren't able to turn our ball control into shots this time, like we did against Bristol City. We remained strong in our own end, though, and limtied Newcastle's shots. Unfortunately, the Magpies are a little more talented than Bristol City, and make much better use of their limited chances.

In the 13th minute, Kezman put one in that almost seemed like a fluke. Jenas headed forward an Andy O'Brien freekick into the penalty area, up to Kezman on the other side of the area, about even with the left post. He was man-marked by two defenders, but got to the ball first, heading a soft lob at the right post. Jon Masalin was guarding for the more likely shot inside the left post and seemed frozen by the surprise header. The ball fell easily into the right corner of the net, just barely making it inside the right post.

In the 60th minute, Hughes went on a run up the left touch and then sent a pass into the left end of the area for Viana. The winger turned and blasted a shot inside the left post. Masalin was on it, but he let out a rebound in front of the net. Ameobi jumped on it first and put it into the right end of the goal for Newcastle's second score.

We outshot Newcastle 7-5, and 5-4 on goal, but we couldn't solve Givens. Although we didn't have the wasted long shots in this one, and we had some interesting points where we seemed close to generating scores, we never really seemed to put it together to get a goal. Newcastle 2, Tamworth 0

Obviously, this wraps up our worst week of the year for matches, as we didn't get a win in either of our league matches. I don't think it's coincidence this happens with the new tactic.

The new tactic is good at controlling the ball and limiting opponent shots, but I think the jury is very much out on generating quality shots. We have too much offensive talent to get zero goals in two league matches.

It's tough to say what's real, though. With this same tactic, we scored two goals against Colchester. But it was against Colchester. Then it's conceivable that our poor performance the past couple matches is due to running into a hot goalkeeper (Brown) and playing a fine defensive club ont he road (Newcastle). It could also be we're not used to the tactic yet.

That's the thing about CM. By the time you figure out if a tactic works or not, you might have sunk your season (not a concern for us this seaosn, but certainly something to think about for next year). Ugh.

Trond Erik Bertelsen picked up a knock late in the match, but my physio says he will only miss three days with a thigh bruise.

Tamworth Sign Kiss

Months ago, we signed a young Slovakian centreback named Péter Kiss to a Bosman transfer. On Sunday, he officially joined us on free transfer from his old employer, Banska Bystrica of the Slovak Second Division.

Kiss is a 19-year-old U21 player for Slovakia who joins a growing cadre of youth talent from that central European club on our U-19 squad. Kiss joins fellow young countrymen Roman Boldyrev and defender Andrey Gorbunov on our youth squad.

Kiss appeared in 28 matches for Banska Bystrica and played well, putting up a 7.39 average rating. He also had an assist and four Men of the Match.

Physically, Kiss is very fast and well-built. He also has a good attitude to getting better and in his approach to the pitch, and he has winger quality crossing abilities. He has a ways to go in his technical skills, though, and his handle on the mental part of the game also needs a lot of work.

Saha Hurt In Training

On Monday, Louis Saha became our third player to succumb to a training injury. Saha strained some knee ligaments and will be out about a week. That certainly puts him out for the Juventus match.

Considering we already can't use Olisadebe, this will put us at a disadvantage against the powerful Italian club on offense (thank God we'll be using the uber tactic). At least we should have Yakubu back.

League News

Three more clubs had moves cemented by league play on Saturday.

Huddersfield joins Canvey Island in being relegated from the Nationwide Conference. Chester joins Torquay and Burton Albion in the Second Division, while Exeter dropped from the Second Division.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Clinton Morrison (Birmingham)-- 2 G, MoM, 9 rat vs LEI
SC Jon Macken (Man City)-- 1 G, 2 A, MoM, 9 rat vs LIV
MF Shaun Neville (Southampton)-- 1 G, 1 A, MoM, 8 rat in 2 matches
MF Matthew Oakely (Southampton)-- 1 G, 7 rat in 2 matches
MF Jermaine Jenas (Newcastle)-- 2 A, 8 rat in 2 matches
MF Olivier Bernard (Newcastle)-- 1 G, 8 rat vs SFW
DF Peter Canero (Southampton)-- 1 A, 8 rat in 2 matches
DF Christoffer Andersson (Aston Villa)-- 1 A, 7.50 rat in 2 matches
DF Luke Young (Aston Villa)-- 1 A, 8 rat vs AST
DF John Terry (Chelsea)-- 2 MoM, 8.5 rat in 2 matches
GK Fabien Barthez (Man Utd)-- 3 sav, clean, 8 rat vs FUL

CR

Chief Rum

08-11-2004, 07:22 AM

Tuesday, May 5 To Monday, May 11

We again have two matches this week, but the first one is circled.

On Wednesday, we go to Italy to play the second leg of our Champions League semifinal. With just a two-goal lead and having given them two away goals, this is far from a sure thing.

Then on Saturday, we play our third to last Premiership match of the season, when we host mid-table squad Sheffield Wednesday. Given how we have done with our tactics so far, I approach that one with some trepidation, but I do have some changes in mind that I am hoping will have a positive effect.

Juventus, Second Leg of Champions League Semifinal

We enter this match at Delle Alpi in Torino, Italy with a 4-2 aggregate lead. I think it's fair to say that Juventus showed through most of the match at the Lamb Ground, though, that they are very much a match for us. I don't feel safe with a two-goal lead at all, especially going into their place.

Juventus did get a big injury a couple days before our match when star centreback Igor Tudor went down with a groin strain, and he will not be in this one. Of course, we're missing Louis Saha, so there are hurts on both sides.

Tudor will be replaced by veteran Italian defender Nicola Legrottaglie, a solid player, but, IMO, a step down from Tudor. Otherwise, their lineup remains the same.

For us, it is again a second eleven match. As I mentioned, Saha is hurt, so I replace him with Adam Wilde. At the other forward spot, I go with Yakubu, fresh off his international with Nigeria. The striker missed his scheduled start against Newcastle, so it seemed only right to get him a start here, where he can replace the ineligible Emmanuel Olisadebe. Giovanny Hernáandez is back for another start in place of the injured David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro.

Since this is a key cup competition match, we are using the ole uber tactic. Not that it did us much good for most of the last matchup with these guys.

Juventus immediately showed how dangerous they could be. At the beginning of the 3rd minute, Alessandro Del Piero took a pass from Mauro Germán Camoranesi as he went into right end of the area. Tieme Klompe raced to cut him off, while Hermann Hreidarsson charged up from behind. Del Piero sent a hard cross back across the area, but Kevin Gorman intervened on the dangerous cross. Gorman was stuck int raffic in front of the net, though, and couldn't clear it. The ball skipped up to the lethal David Trezeguet, almost right in front of Thomas Heaton. James McEveley made a last ditch tackle at the ball before the French superstar could kick it, and freed it up to clear it out of the box.

We responded in the 8th minute. Yakubu took a long ball to the right goal line and sent a high pass to the far post. Marco Zanchi out-jumped Hernáandez and cleared it out just beyond the edge of the penalty area. Richie Partridge was first on it, though, and took it right back in. He dodged a couple markers to come in at the goal from just beyond the right post before kicking it from up close. Gianluigi Buffon was ready for it, though, and the class keeper clutched the shot to end the threat.

Trezeguet continued to create his chances, as he tends to. In the 18th minute, he ran under a throw in from fullback Alessandro Birindelli into the left end of the area. With just a touch of a step on the defense, Trezeguet proceeded on goal from the left. He fired a shot at the goal, but went wide, hitting the side netting for a goal kick.

Following the form of the match so far, we had the next best chance. In the 20th minute, Partridge got the ball on a clear out at the centreline. He moved it forward to Yakubu, and the striker moved the pass on the run to Wilde, who was distancing himself from Zanchi as he ran toward the left end of the penalty area. Wilde blasted a shot on goal as he crossed the edge of the area. Buffon rebuffed the hard shot, but it ricocheted back out to the edge. LeGrottaglie was first on it and cleared it out past the touch.

Finally, we broke through in the 22nd minute. Denny Landzaat got the ball just in front of the centrecircle before firing a dart of a pass to Wilde, just inside the edge of the left end of the area. Wilde volleyed the pass to the front of the goal mouth, perfectly setting it up for Hernández, who well-timed a run into the box. Buffon ran up to trya nd intercept the ball, but he was too late. Hernández blasted a shot into the left end of the net for the first score of the match.

We have been picking up a lot of injuries, and that trend struck us again in the 26th minute. Yakubu collided with Zanchi on a run toward the box and took a knock. The striker had to be helped off of the pitch. He was replaced with Mark Hicks, giving us a front twosome of Hicks and Wilde. While these longtime Lambs certainly have the skilsl to be here, it was the first time this season, I think, that we had two strikers that weren't a part of either of our top two elevens. In fact, taking into consideration the injured Andrei Pereplyotkin, they were the sixth and seventh strikers on our depth charts. Pretty important matcht o be left with that, but what can you do? On the ensuing freekick that resulted from Zanchi's hit on Yakubu, Hernández fired a shot that just curled wide of the left post.

Juventus almost got that goal back in the 34th minute. Del Piero and Pavel Nedved were playing a passing game along the edge of the area when the Czech winger sent a hard shot up to Matteo Brighi, standing enar the center of the edge. Brighi one-timed the pass and blasted a hard shot right on goal. Fortunately, Heaton got a good look at it and got in the way. The hard shot tore him up, though, and deflected up at the crossbar. The shot rebounded high off the bar and back into the center of the area. Trezeguet was first to it and fired a shot on the volley, but McEveley got in the way and deflected the ball out of bounds for the corner (which went for naught).

We tried to pad our lead in the 38th minute. Wilde got a clear out pass along the left touch and found Hernández free of his defense and on a run toward the box. He sent the ball forward to the Colombian midfielder, but Hernández took his shot from beyond the area, sending it high over the left post for a harmless goalkick.

Hernández didn't make a bad decision a few minutes later. In the 41st minute, Hreidarsson played a wonderful ball for Hernández as he ran into the box, alone on goal. The midfielder took the ball to the right of the rushing out Buffon and looked odds on to score. The Italian star netminder made an amazing save, though, deflecting the shot with a dive. The rebound was cleared by Legrottaglie.

There were a lot of shots in the first half, but not much going on for either side. We had a 7-6 shots advantage, but the important stat was our 4-1 lead in on-goal shots. Of course, given our one-goal lead, this is just to our liking. It will be difficult for Juventus to overcome a three-goal aggregate deficit in a match like this.

We continued to press the issue in the second half. In the 53rd minute, Partridge went on a run at the goal from the right end of the area. He had an open look at the goal, and fired a high angle shot. Buffon rejected it, though, out to the middle of the box. Zanchi cleared it into the stands. In the 59th minute, Hicks did much the same thing from the other side, only he took the ball past two defenders to charge in on goal from the left side, and Buffon's only option was to delfect the backup forward's shot over the bar for the corner.

That was really our best weapon in this one. We kept the pressure up, so Juventus didn't have a chance to strike back. There is no prevent defense on this football pitch (and if there was, I wouldn't go to it anyway).

We kept Juventus away from good shots on goal, and won a hard fought match in front of a hostile Italian crowd and against a worldclass lineup. Tamworth 1, Juventus 0

On aggregate, we move on to the Champions League Final with a 5-2 aggregate win. Wow, Milan and Juventus? They couldn't have made our latest path in this competition much harder, but we have survived it. Now imagine us doing it with last week's tactics. No, on second thought, don't. I'm just going to enjoy the moment.

We outshot Juventus 12-9, with a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal. Showing the talent we were going up against, we didn't have much of an advantage in ball time in their end of the pitch, just 30% to their 27% (the ball did not spend a lot of time in the middle of the pitch obviously).

We were rewarded with $3.6 M for our win in the Champions League round.

We got another good bit of news when there wasn't even one mention of Yakubu's injury. He appears to be fine, as it ended up just being a knock.

Werder Bremen-Bodo/Glimt

The other Champions League semifinal entered their second leg knotted up in a one-goal draw. So this match in Norway was for all the marbles.

Werder Bremen has a dangerous forward rotation, and they used it strike quickly and early. Lincoln scored in the 15th minute to give them the early 1-0 lead.

Bodo/Glimt didn't get this far by quailing under pressure against "superior" teams, though. They stunned Werder Bremen with a blitz of goals in and around half time. In the 42nd minute, young Even Knutsen put in the equalizer. Then star forward Anders Askheim moved Bodo/Glimt ahead in stoppage time of the first half. They finally put it away with a penalty kick int he 52nd minute by Knutsen, his second goal of the match.

Werder Bremen outshot Bodo/Glimt, 13-8 and 8-6 on goal, but they couldn't solve goalkeeper Tor Egil Horn. Bodo/Glimt continues to amaze on their Cinderella run, beating the Bundesliga club, 4-2, on aggregate.

I plan on turning Bodo/Glimt's fairy carriage into a pumpkin, though.

Champions League Final Set

Not surprisingly, we found out the details of the Champions League final just after our semifinal wins.

We will meet Bodo/Glimt in a winner-take-the-whole-continent match at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, France on May 27. It will be our final match of the season, four days after the FA Cup final and 10 days after our final league match.

UEFA Semifinals Second Leg

A day after the Champions League semifibals wrapped, the UEFA also held their last home-and-home round. Newcastle had a 2-0 advantage and were playing at St. James Park against Belenenses. The test was tougher for Aston Villa, which also have a home match, but are fighting from behind a 1-0 deficit to Ukrainian High League squad Tavria.

The Magpies dominated their match, not that you could tell from the final score. They won, 1-0, with the only goal coming from midfielder Jermaine Jenas in the 74th minute. They outshot the Portuguese club 17-1, and didn't allow a shot on goal.

Aston Villa was in a tighter affair. They got the scoring started early, with a 2nd minute strike by Wlesh veteran forward John Hartson. Tavria's Andriy Holovko equalized in the 36th minute, though, putting immense pressure on the Villans. Because Tavria scored at Villa Park, Aston Villa could no longer count on making up the one goal deficit from the first match--they would now lose out on away goals. So they needed to win by two.

In the second half, Spanish striker David Villa got them one closer, scoring in the 48th minute. It was almost shortlived, though, as Tavria got a penalty in the 54th minute. Fortunately for the Villans, young and inexperienced goalkeeper Robert Olejnik made the unlikely save on striker Mikhail Axionov, which was just desserts after the striker provoked centreback Jonathon Bewers into two yellow cards in the last match.

Aston Villa finally completed the comeback in the 69th minute, when midfielder Steed Malbranque scored to give them the edge they needed. They held on for the 3-1 win, and edged Tavria, 3-2 on aggregate.

Newcastle and Aston Villa will play for the UEFA championship at the Olimpico in Rome, Italy, on May 20. After that, we will no longer be the defending UEFA champions (duh).

Pereplyotkin Resumes Light Training

Well, after more than three months of nursing along his broken leg, our star Ukrainian striker Pereplyotkin finally begun light training to get himself back into form on Saturday.

I doubt it matters much. He is still listed as being four weeks away from full health, and with my forward depth, I don't see a need to rush him back for the last match or two, no matter how important they are.

Sheffield Wednesday

This is somewhat of a revenge match for us, since this squad beat us around Christmas time, 2-0.

They are a bit better than they were given credit for in the early going. They currently sit at 14th in the table, although they are well away from relegation. They have spent most of the season in the middle of the table before a recent set of bad form dropped down two or three spots.

They are a little like a mirror image of Newcastle, in that they aren't among the worst in either offense or defense, but they are comfortably mediocre at both. ;)

Striker Kim Olsen (16 G, 5 A, 7.47) has been great up front this year, where he is paired with Francis Jeffers (10 G). They do almost all of the squad's scoring. Winger Matthew Hamshaw (3 G, 12 A) is the primary creative force in the midfield and has ocasionally found his way on some Teams of the Week. The best player in the middle is Nigerian Dickson Etuhu (2 G, 4 A, 7.06). Centreback Richard Wood and fullback Derek Geary seem to be the top players on a weak backline. Chelsea loan goalkeeper Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay seems to be doing better than regular netminder Allan McGregor, and it seems to be a toss up right now who generally goes. Against us, it will be McGregor.

This is a first eleven match for us, although, as usual, we have to make some changes. Jim Corbett is just wrapping up his healing from his little injury last week, and I decided to keep him on the bench for this one, going again with Darren Birchall. I moved Orri Frey Oskarsson to Yakubu's side, since the striker is still a little tired from the Juventus match, and started Olisadebe at the left forward spot. European play, for which the Polish striker is ineligible, have deprived him of two starts now with his regular eleven, so I start him where I can. I still have Yakubu on the sub list, too, but I won't use him unless I have to--my usual striker backups, Hicks and Wilde, are both heavily fatigued from playing most or all of the Juventus match.

I said I would make some tactical changes, and I did. I basically started from scratch, although my direction was similar to before. I went with the conventional 4-3-3 this time, without moving players around or adding forward arrows, or changing the arrow directions of the side forwards and midfielders. I kept the backline as I had it in diablo, all stand off, zonal and defensive, with the fullbacks jumping forward to help out the offense.

While I didn't model the positioning, I did take some of the positional instructions from the diablo tactic. It just so happens that some of the things the tactic emphasizes (winger runs, lots of through balls, always closing, short passing, down both flanks, etc.) are what I seek from my team (and those were ideals cemented in previous dynasties like Kettering and Middlesbrough, well before I had ever heard of diablo, much less used it).

So the midfielders will try through balls, and I will encourage the wingers (left and right central midfielders actually) to go out on the touches to go on runs, and to accept passes from the fullbacks. I did make some adjustments to the three-forward set, which didn't fit so smoothly with the diablo positioning instruction tactic. I made crossing, forward runs, runs with the ball, and through balls as emphasizes for the side forwards, while I had the centre forward (my old attacking midfielder) hold up the ball and try through balls himself to the other forwards.

The main differences from the tactic I have been trying the past couple weeks, other than the return to normal positioning and the lack of any arrows not already present in the computer-original gameplan, is the short passing, the zonal marking and stand off closing on the backline, and the employ of a counterattack. The short passing should better fit our skills, as it will force us to use teamwork to move the ball, but hopefully set us up better in front of the goal. The closing down and marking I only changed because that's how diablo had it, and I wanted the backline to pretty much play as it did before. The counterattack is simply to inject our tactic with a little quick strike, something which takes advantage of the pace and acceleration I have been emphasizing in my player acquisitions for several seasons now.

After saying all that, I plan on having this game report a short one.

I was very pleased to see the new tactic bring about immediate dividends. In the 3rd minute, Michael Stewart put a perfect pass on the foot of Olisadebe as the striker timed a step past the defense, and he shot the ball into the right end of the net for the first score. Olisadebe also figured in the next score, in the 24th minute. He took a header pass from Johnnier Montaño in the middle of the pitch and ran to the right goal line before sending a sharp cross in front of the goal mouth to the far post. Oskarsson positioned himself perfectly and slammed the ball inside the left post on the volley. I have to say, it was a very well-run play.

Montaño took a pass from Olisadebe in the 35th minute, and maneuvered for some distance between himself and the defense to work open for a shot as he ran into the penalty area in the 35th minute. He kicked a high shot into the back of the right side of the net than McGregor couldn't reach. Montaño would add a second goal in the second half on a header of yet another Olisadebe pass to cap an impressive victory for the Lambs. Tamworth 4, Sheffield Wednesday 0

Our ball possession advantage wasn't as high (28% to 20%), but we had a strong shots difference (14, 8 on goal, versus 2, 1 on goal), and got great play from the backline.

We did get a bit of a worry when left winger (or left central midfielder or what have you) Andy Williams had to leave the pitch with an injury in the 50th minute. Williams was hurt in a scrum in front of the goal on a corner kick, and had to be replaced by Gaël Clichy. Fortunately, the injury was minor, as Williams picked upa groin strain that won't keep him out of training for more than a day.

Hendriks Hurt In Training

It's a good thing I haven't needed my reserve depth on the backline because it wouldn't be there if I did.

A week after Graham Porter went down, veteran centreback Reinder Hendriks tore a groin muscle in training and will be out for two months. Since he is at the end of his contract and retiring, this pretty much means Hendriks has left the pitch for good.

I will, of course, use the physios to help him get back up and rehabilitated, but mostly, I bid him a fair adieu and a thank you for his service with us, particularly in our First Division championship two seasons ago.

League News

Not surprisingly, as we get closer to the end of the season, the relegation and promotion news is coming fast and heavy.

Torquay, which clinched promotion to the Second Division weeks ago, wrapped up the Third Division championship on Saturday. They passed Bournemouth, on its way down to the Third Division after being relegated on Saturday. In one of the other nice rags-to-riches stories, former Conference squad Farnborough earned a promotion to the First Division on Saturday. And sadly for Split Personality, his Dag & Red squad was relegated from the Conference and to the nether regions of lower league football in England.

Another round of fixtures on Sunday brought about another set of league adjustments. The biggest was in the Premiership, where Bristol City finally lost its fight to stave off the inevitable, a return to the First Division. We found out two of our new league members on Sunday, and they are both old friends to this league. West Bromich Albion clinched both promotion and the First Division championship on Sunday, and former Premiership power Leeds United will make its return to the top league as well next season.

Wimbledon, a former Premiership squad, and Stevenage, who once bitterly fought us for a Conference title in 2003-04 (and almost won), both dropped from the First Division to the Second Division.

In world news, Juventus ended the week better than it began, winning its fourth straight Serie A championship, just endging out AC Milan by a point. They became the third of the big four leagues (five if you count France) to clinch their championship, after Dortmund and ourselves did it last month.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Johnnier Montaño (Tamworth)-- 2 G, MoM, 9 rat vs SFW
SC Jack Howells (Tottenham)-- 2 G, 1 A, MoM, 10 rat vs NEW
MF Michael Stewart (Tamworth)-- 1 A, 9 rat vs SFW
MF Stefano Mauri (Leicester)-- 2 G, MoM, 9 rat vs FUL
MF Orri Freyr Oskarsson (Tamworth)-- 1 G, 9 rat vs SFW
MF Rafael van der Vaart (Liverpool)-- 2 G, MoM, 10 rat vs BKP
DF Christoffer Andersson (Aston Villa)-- 8 rat vs BRI
DF Darren Ryan (Nottingham Forest)-- 1 G, 9 rat vs ARS
DF Emiliano Moretti (Man Utd)-- 8 rat vs EVE
DF Luke Young (Aston Villa)-- 1 G, MoM, 8 rat vs BRI
GK Antti Niemi (Nottingham Forest)-- 11 sav, MoM, 10 rat vs ARS

CR

Chief Rum

08-12-2004, 12:55 AM

Tuesday, May 12 To Monday, May 18

This week we wrap up our league fixture for the season, including the much-delayed visit to Ashburton Grove.

On Wednesday, we will finally play the match against Arsenal that has been postponed twice now because of conflicts with our Champions League fixture. It was originally supposed to be played in March.

On Sunday, we host Tottenham in our final league match of the season. It is, of course, also our final match at the Lamb Ground this season.

It's hard to believe we have finally gotten to the end of a long league season. I can barely remember the Community Shield.

Arsenal

This will be our first matchup with the Gunners since that amazing English League Cup match which required penalty kicks to decide. It is also our first visit to Ashburton Grove this season, as the League Cup match was played at the Lamb Ground.

Arsenal is fourth in the league, just a couple points behind Liverpool. Only Man Utd and Tamworth have scored more goals, and they rank among the league's top ten squads on defense. And, of course, they have a worldclass lineup.

Superstar strikers Thierry Henry (26 G, 10 A, 7.80) and Hernán Crespo (26 G, 13 A, 7.35) are perhaps the most powerful combo up front in the world, much less the Premiership. French striker Jérémie Alaidière (9 G) is a dangerous player off of the bench. Crespo and Henry create much of the Gunners' offense passing back and forth between each other, but this is team is still very deep here, even after allowing Gennaro Ivan Gattuso to go to Milan in January. English international Owen Hargreaves (3 G, 9 A, 7.14) and Brazilian Denílson (6 A) do much of the creative work from the wings, and another Brazilian Edu (6 G, 6 A, 7.15) is a top notch offensive player that tends to get overshadowed by the other stars on the squad. This is a team that also has top players like José Antonio Reyes, Claudio Reyna, Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Pires as backups or part time starters. Veteran international Sol Campbell still leads the backline, but the best defensive player is now Daniele Bonera (6.96). Ashley Cole (8 A, 6.93) remains as the best attacking fullback on the squad. Goalkeeper Tony McDermott (59 GC in 51 mat, 20 cleans, 7.04) has done little to dispel the nation that he is the next great superstar goalkeeper.

This is a second eleven match for us, although we have to go with substitutes at our front three forward spots. Emmanuel Olisadebe isn't ready to return to the pitch following his play against Sheffield Wednesday, so Yakubu will get the call to replace him at the left forward spot. Louis Saha is still recovering from his minor injury last week, so I will go with Adam Wilde today. And, once again, Giovanny Hernández returns to the middle forward spot in place of the injured David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro. Otherwise, the second eleven remains the same.

This match started off as a tight one in which both sides were taking runs on goal, but neither showing yet to be stronger than the other. In the 13th minute, Hargreaves sent a cross right in front of the goal. Crespo volleyed it on the net and was rejected by Heaton. He was there for the rebouund, though, and got Arsenal on the board with an easy tap in. We answered in the 22nd minute, when Hernández nodded on a clear out pass to Wilde on a run around the left end of the backline. McDermott was prepared for Wilde's shot from the left of the goal, but the ball came off of him and dribbled into the net for the equalizer.

Through the first third of the match, Arsenal had three shots, all on goal, while we had five shots but just two required McDermott to make a move. That's when the whole tenor of the match was changed by an awful decision by Arsenal fullback Dion Dickhoff. Dickhoff slid in a bit too hard on Wilde as the two converged on a clear out, and drew a yellow card. He argued a bit too much on the call and earned his second yellow and an early bath.

Not surprisingly, we took over from that point, and it started to get ugly. In the 33rd minute, Kevin Gorman sent a pass on the spot in the box for Hernández, who blasted it past McDermott for the go ahead goal. Then Hernández added another in first half stoppage time, putting a shot into the right corner of the net off of a nice Wilde centering pass.

The second half was more of the same. In the 49th minute, Hernández sent a crossing pass off of a freekick to the right of the penalty area, and James McEveley beat the defense in the air and headed the ball off of McDermott's hands and into the net. A couple minutes later, Richie Partridge set up Wilde's second score of the match with a centering pass from the right goal line. Then Lionel Morgan finished off the scoring with a chip in of a Yakubu centering pass. Henry got one back late for the Gunners, but this is one they would sooner rather forget. Tamworth 6, Arsenal 2

Who needs the uber tactic? Well, okay, I know this one was created by the man advantage. We were playing very even in this one before Dickhoff got himself booted. After his departure, Arsenal had just three shots, one on goal, while we put up nine shots, with six on goal.

Hernández had a great match, but he did have to leave the match not long after halftime. He picked up a calf strain that will sideline him for a week. That may or may not put his participation in the FA Cup final at risk, although it's tough to say for sure right now. Heck, Pizarro might be back by then (he seems to be progressing just fine).

Bid For Costanzo Rejected

With $4 M in transfer funds left and nearing the end of the season, I began to look for ways to spend what was left of transfer budget. The way I figure it, if I allow that money to stay on the books, it will like as not never be used, or at least got shunted off to some shareholders.

So I started to look around for big name goalkeepers that could be had for that price. Generally, prices for goalkeepers are depressed compared to other positions, so I thought I could get a good one this way. My first target was Argentinian power River's Franco Costanzo, a 28-year-old tremendously skilled player with 11 appearances on the books for the strong Argentinian national squad.

On Friday, River came back with a rejection of my offer of $4 M for the goalkeeper. I submitted an enquiry to see how much it would cost. At this point, I don't even know if he would pass a work permit, but I can certainly hope. He is currently listed on Argentina's national roster.

Tottenham

We entered this last home match with nothing to prove by playign starters, and little to gain outside of risking injury to our stars. So I resolved to give some backups a shot in this match.

I wasn't thinking it through, though, when doing this, as I was making a big faux pas with regards to the Premiership relegation race. Entering the match, Tottenham was tied with Blackpool for the final relegation spot at 39 points. Fulham and Blackburn sat at 40, as well, so going into the last round, that last spot was very much still in contention. By starting a backup squad, I was giving Tottenham a huge opportunity to avoid relegation that I hadn't given to the other three squads when they came to the Lamb Ground.

Alas, this did not occur to me until after I had gone to the match.

Before I get to that, here' s a look at Tottenham. They are actually a decently respectable squad, with just a -5 goal difference. The defense is poor, but not bottom of the league poor. The offense is actually veru solid, and ranked in the league's top ten. Hélder Postiga (18 G, 6 A, 7.41) was the leading scorer, and he was paired up front with Paul Gallagher (11 G, 7 A). Young Jack Howells (7 G, 6 A, 7.25) has established himself as a young star on the rise, as well, giving the Spurs a nice scoring trio. German winger Christian Tiffert (3 G, 11 A) is the primary playmaker in the midfield, but the midfield is solid elsewhere with another German Fabian Ernst and Irish international Robbie Keane (5 G). This is an area that was a concern overall, though. The defense is led by South African fullback Mbulelo Mabizela (7.29), who has been very solid this year. The rest of the backline has been less so, though, which hasn't been helped by the youth of the talented Nick Robinson (38 GC in 24 mat).

The mystery Tamworth lineup is as follows. We brought Casper Nelis back up to handle the net duties. He is playing behind Mark Warren and Mark Phillips at centreback, Justin Skinner at left back and Jon Otsemobor on the right. David Prutton will play the defensive midfield positon, with Chris Booth and Morgan handling the right and left central midfield spots. The front three forward spots are manned by Olisadebe and Saha on the sides, and Birchall in the central forward spot.

This one was a very defensive match, and it just goes to show that we don't have that much margin for error with these new tactics when our quality of play drops so far with a backup squad. Despite playing at the Lamb Ground, we were outplayed in front of the net, putting just one of four total shots on goal. The Spurs were better (although not by much). They took eight shots, and put five on goal. We again dominated possession in the opponent's third--that seems to be something we're always good at.

Still, you can guess that goals were hard to come by in this one. We seemed on our way to a scoreless draw when the 65th minute came around. Gallagher intercepted a Louis Saha header near the centre circle that came off of a clear out. He found Howells timing a step on the defense and sent the ball up to the striker as he approached the box. Phillips was making up ground on Howells and Nelis was closing in from the net, but Howells struck a low shot to Nelis' left and it just evaded the goalkeeper to run intot he net inside of the right post.

That would end up being the lone goal in the match. Tottenham 1, Tamworth 0

Mark Hicks also picked up an injury in the match and had to leave the pitch in the 68th minute. Since we had used all of our subs at that point, we pretty much played the rest of the way a man down. Hicks' injury was a light one, an arm injury that put him out for just a day.

Fortunately, our mess up with the lineups didn't end up hurting the relegation race any. Blackpool lost to Man Utd, 2-1, to stay at 39 points. Even if we had beaten Tottenham, they had a ten-goal advantage on Blackpool in goal differential. In order for Blackpool to avoid relegation, they pretty much had to win their match, no matter what the Spurs, Fulham or Blackburn did.

Skinner's appearance reset the club record for the oldest player to appear on the pitch for Tamworth at a regular match. Skinner, 36 and eight months, replaced himself in the record books when he played for us on Saturday. He was alreayd the oldest player to play for Tamworth when he had his three previous appearances this season.

Despite his age, Skinner still has not announced his retirement, but his contract with the Lambs ends on June 30.

Premiership Wrap Up

We had clinched the league championship weeks ago, but it wasn't in the books until today. We wrapped up our second straight Premiership title today, finishing with 91 points, 14 up on second place Man Utd.

The English Football Association gave us $16 M for our league win, making our bottom line look awful rosey right now.

League News

Blackpool was the only major relegation/promotion in England on Sunday. There are still playoffs to determine the last promotion spots from the Conference up to the First Division.

In world news, surprising Alavés not only clinched the Primera Liga championship, but they have the lead by 11 points right now. They are the last of the major leagues to be determined, although the mid-major La Ligue in France still has yet to be resolved.

Here is the Premiership League Team of the Week:

SC Sylvain Perrin (Newcastle)-- 3 G, MoM, 9 rat in 2 matches
SC Jack Howells (Tottenham)-- 1 G, MoM, 9 rat vs TAM
MF Nicolás Medina (Blackpool)-- 1 G, 8 rat in 2 matches
MF Rafael van der Vaart (Liverpool)-- 1 G, MoM, 8 rat vs COL
MF David Prutton (Tamworth)-- 8 rat vs TOT
MF Richie Partridge (Tamworth)-- 1 A, 9 rat vs ARS
DF Joe Burnell (Bristol City)-- 2 A, 8 rat vs CHE
DF James McEveley (Tamworth)-- 1 G, MoM, 9 rat vs ARS
DF David Cooper (Everton)-- 1 G, 1 A, MoM, 10 rat vs LEI
DF Chris Griffiths (Birmingham)-- 1 G, 2 A, MoM, 10 rat vs NOT
GK Fabien Barthez (Man Utd)-- 6 sav, MoM, 9 rat vs BKP

CR

Chief Rum

08-12-2004, 05:01 AM

Premiership Table, May 18, 2009

| Pos | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D.| Pts |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1st-C | Tamworth | 38 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 116 | 40 | +76 | 91 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2nd | Man Utd | 38 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 72 | 41 | +31 | 77 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 3rd | Liverpool | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 65 | 44 | +21 | 66 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 4th | Arsenal | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 66 | 47 | +19 | 66 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 5th | Newcastle | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 64 | 51 | +13 | 61 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 6th | Chelsea | 38 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 62 | 48 | +14 | 60 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 7th | Aston Villa | 38 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 67 | 56 | +11 | 60 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 8th | Birmingham | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 59 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 9th | Southampton | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 51 | 58 | -7 | 53 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 10th | Leicester | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 51 | 60 | -9 | 53 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 11th | Everton | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 41 | 48 | -7 | 48 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 12th | Man City | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 51 | 55 | -4 | 47 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 13th | Nottm Forest | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 39 | 56 | -17 | 46 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 14th | Sheff Wed | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 42 | 55 | -13 | 44 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 15th | Fulham | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 43 | 61 | -18 | 43 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 16th | Tottenham | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 52 | 56 | -4 | 42 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 17th | Blackburn | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 50 | 69 | -19 | 41 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 18th-R| Blackpool | 38 | 11 | 6 | 21 | 47 | 63 | -16 | 39 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 19th-R| Bristol City | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 37 | 53 | -16 | 36 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 20th-R| Colchester | 38 | 4 | 8 | 26 | 33 | 93 | -60 | 20 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------|

Comments: I was beginning to pull away in early March the last time I put up the table. So it should come as no surprise that I continued along that pace. I don't know if I should call the next five a surprise. Really, theya ren't--they are exactly what you would expect in any given year in the Premiership. What is a surprise is that it ended up that way after so many upstarts--Aston Villa, Birmingham, Southampton--made runs to the top five of the table. Man Utd was almost as head-and-shoulders over the rest of the league, as we were over the Red Devils. Newcastle finally overcame three-quarters of a season of underachieving and stormed back to fifth. Chelsea has to be a bit disappointed, as they always aim to finish higher than 6th--and even then they needed a tie brekaer to edge Aston Villa. I don't think the Villans will be too disappointed in missing out on the top five, considering they have been very strong this season. Birmingham, Southampton and Leicester City are also very competent squads that round out the top ten. Leicester, in particular, charged up from relegation contention to finish very respectably. Everton and Manchester City were somewhat disappointments with where they should have finished. Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday were relegation possiblities that played better than expected, to earn mid-table spots. Although the top remains the same, the bottom shows that only a few teams seem truly safe from relegation. Three longtime stalwarts of the Premiership, Blackburn, Fulham and Tottenham, all came perilously close to being relegated, right down to the last day of the season. All three of last year's First Division promotees were relegated this season, although it was a close one.

My Predictions

Here was my prediction at the beginning of the season:

1. Man Utd--C
2. Arsenal
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool
5. Tamworth
6. Newcastle
7. Aston Villa
8. Man City
9. Tottenham
10. Fulham
11. Southampton
12. Blackburn
13. Leicester
14. Everton
15. Birmingham
16. Bristol City
17. Nottingham Forest
18. Blackpool--R
19. Sheff Wed--R
20. Colchester Utd--R

Comments: Well, I was wrong about the championship--happily. Of course, I also didn't pick myself out of modesty, although I al;ways thought I would contend for the title. I guess it's not too hard to pick generally right for the next five squads, considering it's always the same ones. I was proud to have guessed Aston Villa's run to the top, and Everton's fall to the lower half of the table. Obviously, I missed the boat on Tottenham, Fulham and Blackburn--they were much worse than I expected. Birmingham also played significantly better than I thought they would. I missed out on one of the relegation candidates, and Sheffield Wednesday was the only team I picked for the fall that didn't follow suit. Altogether, not bad, but not that great either.

CR

daedalus

08-12-2004, 11:49 PM

Hooray for Costanzo! :D

He was my superstud goalkeeper in 01/02 for a LOOOOOOOONG time. After he retired, he became an awesome Assistant Manager for me.

Chief Rum

08-16-2004, 04:23 AM

It would be nice for me to get Costanzo. I like Heaton, and Masalin is a talented keeper (although his occasional huge gaffes are really annoying), but a guy like Costanzo is the true star in the net I have been waiting to get. I don't even know if he can get a work permit, though. :(

Having already started my goalkeeper search, it's amazing how hard it has been for me to find a guy I feel comfortable with that has skills in the areas I like. More on that within the dynasty, though.

Speaking of which, you guys probably wondered where I went. Have no fear--I have been working on getting some info down from all of the Premiership squads so that I can write a season review. I'm hoping to get that up in a day or so.

CR

Chief Rum

08-16-2004, 05:27 AM

Final Premiership League Leaders, 2008-09 Season

Here are the notable league leaders in individual categories for the season. These stats are only from league matches, of course (so cup, European and international stats don't count).

Goals

1. Hernán Crespo (Arsenal) 24
2. Thierry Henry (Arsenal) 23
3. Shola Ameobi (Newcastle) 21
4. Adrian Mutu (Chelsea) 19
5t. Darius Vassell (Aston Villa) 18
5t. Milan Baros (Birmingham) 18
5t. Nicolas Anelka (Man Utd) 18
5t. Ivica Olic (Southampton) 18
9t. Hélder Postiga (Tottenham) 17
9t. Darren Huckerby (Nottingham Forest) 17
9t. Brett Ormerod (Blackpool) 17

Assists

1. Hernán Crespo (Arsenal) 15
2. Miroslav Klose (Man Utd) 13
3t. Matthew Hamshaw (Sheff Wed) 12
3t. James Beattie (Southampton) 12
5t. Mateja Kezman (Newcastle) 11
5t. Arjen Robben (Chelsea) 11
5t. Christian Tiffert (Tottenham) 11
5t. Gaetano D'Agostino (Man Utd) 11
5t. Peter Lovenkrands (Blackburn) 11

Rating

1. Adrian Mutu (Chelsea) 8.10
2. Miroslav Klose (Man Utd) 7.94
3. James Graham (Leicester) 7.92
4. Thierry Henry (Arsenal) 7.78
5. Johnnier Montaño (Tamworth) 7.64
6. Shola Ameobi (Newcastle) 7.61
7. Hernán Crespo (Arsenal) 7.56
8. Mike Duff (Tamworth) 7.53
9. Kim Olsen (Sheff Wed) 7.50
10. Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd) 7.40

Goals Conceded Per Match
Minimum 20 appearances

1. Jon Masalin (Tamworth) 0.90
2. Carlo Nash (Birmingham) 1.00
3. Fabien Barthez (Man Utd) 1.08
4. Jerzy Dudek (Liverpool) 1.09
5. Richard Wright (Everton) 1.24
6. Tony McDermott (Arsenal) 1.24
7. Petr Cech (Chelsea) 1.26
8. Shay Given (Newcastle) 1.34
9t. Nicky Weaver (Man City) 1.39
9t. Mark Brown (Bristol City) 1.39

Rating, Attackers

1. Adrian Mutu (Chelsea) 8.10
2. Miroslav Klose (Man Utd) 7.94
3. James Graham (Leicester) 7.92
4. Thierry Henry (Arsenal) 7.78
5. Johnnier Montaño (Tamworth) 7.64
6. Shola Ameobi (Newcastle) 7.61
7. Hernán Crespo (Arsenal) 7.56
8. Kim Olsen (Sheff Wed) 7.50
9. Hélder Postiga (Tottenham) 7.39
10. Nicolas Anelka (Man Utd) 7.34
11. El-Hadji Diouf (Liverpool) 7.30
12. Sidney Govou (Man Utd) 7.29
13. Jack Howells (Tottenham) 7.27
14. James Beattie (Southampton) 7.24
15. Tommy Wright (Leicester) 7.20
16. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd) 7.16
17. Emile Heskey (Liverpool) 7.14
18. James McFadden (Everton) 7.09
19. Mido (Chelsea) 7.04
20. Darius Vassell (Aston Villa) 7.03

Rating, Midfielders

1. Michael Stewart (Tamworth) 7.33
2. Mark Bresciano (Liverpool) 7.31
3. Ryan Giggs (Birmingham) 7.26
4. Stilian Petrov (Aston Villa) 7.26
5. Rafael van der Vaart (Liverpool) 7.20
6. Lucas Neill (Blackburn) 7.17
7. Dickson Agyeman (Man City) 7.15
8. Mark Hicks (Tamworth) 7.15
9. Ricky Waddell (Blackpool) 7.14
10. Joe Cole (Chelsea) 7.14
11. Edu (Arsenal) 7.13
12. Jermaine Jenas (Newcastle) 7.13
13. Owen Hargreaves (Arsenal) 7.11
14. David Fox (Sheff Wed) 7.10
15. Peter Canero (Southampton) 7.10
16. Fredy William Thompson (Aston Villa) 7.08
17. Darren Carter (Birmingham) 7.06
18. Scott Parker (Chelsea) 7.06
19. Brett Emerton (Blackburn) 7.05
20. Claudio Ercoli (Tottenham) 7.05
21. Omar Daley (Blackpool) 7.05

Rating, Defenders

1. Mike Duff (Tamworth) 7.53
2. Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd) 7.40
3. John Terry (Chelsea) 7.37
4. Sam Jones (Leicester) 7.33
5. John O'Shea (Man Utd) 7.31
6. Martin Taylor (Birmingham) 7.30
7. David Raven (Tamworth) 7.30
8. Mbulelo Mabizela (Tottenham) 7.28
9. Aaron Hughes (Newcastle) 7.24
10. Darren Kenton (Southampton) 7.24
11. Gareth Barry (Aston Villa) 7.22
12. Matthew Upson (Birmingham) 7.21
13. Anthony Gardner (Tottenham) 7.21
14. Leon Cort (Tamworth) 7.21
15. Steve Wilkinson (Fulham) 7.19
16. Rincón (Aston Villa) 7.18
17. Joseph Yobo (Everton) 7.18
18. Kevin Amankwaah (Bristol City) 7.17
19. Robert Huth (Chelsea) 7.16
20. Titus Bramble (Newcastle) 7.13
21. Sun Jihai (Man City) 7.13

Rating, Goalkeepers
Minimum 20 appearances

1. Mark Brown (Bristol City) 7.29
2. Carlo Nash (Birmingham) 7.23
3. Fabien Barthez (Man Utd) 7.21
4. Antti Niemi (Nottm Forest) 7.21
5. Jerzy Dudek (Liverpool) 7.17
6. Nicky Weaver (Man City) 7.05
7. Tony McDermott (Arsenal) 7.03
8. Shay Given (Newcastle) 7.00
9. Richard Wright (Everton) 6.89
10. Petr Cech (Chelsea) 6.79

Yellow Cards

1t. Jonathon Woodgate (Newcastle) 13
1t. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) 13
3t. Alan Smith (Fulham) 11
3t. Zatyiah Knight (Fulham) 11
3t. Stephan Kling (Tottenham) 11
6t. Michael Jakobsen (Arsenal) 10
6t. Dkimi Traoré (Liverpool) 10
6t. Anthony Réveillère (Man City) 10
6t. Derek Geary (Sheff Wed) 10
6t. Anthony Gardner (Tottenham) 10
6t. Mark Reilly (Leicester) 10

Men of the Match

1. Adrian Mutu (Chelsea) 12
2t. Antti Niemi (Nottm Forest) 9
2t. Miroslav Klose (Man Utd) 9
4t. Thierry Henry (Arsenal) 8
4t. Mark Brown (Bristol City) 8
4t. Shola Ameobi (Newcastle) 8
7t. Jerzy Dudek (Liverpool) 7
7t. Hernán Crespo (Arsenal) 7
7t. James Beattie (Southampton) 7
7t. Richard Wright (Everton) 7

CR

Chief Rum

08-17-2004, 06:04 PM

2008-09 EPL Season Review

Arsenal

League Record: 20-6-12, 66 pts
League Finish: 4th
GF (Rk): 66 (4th)
GA (Rk): 47 (5th)
GD (Rk): +19 (4th)

Europe Record: 3-1-2
Cup Record: 5-2-1

Manager: Mark Bowen
Top Goal Scorers: ST Thierry Henry (27), ST Hernán Crespo (26), ST Jérémie Aliadière (9)
Top Passers: Crespo (13), Henry (10), WG Owen Hargreaves (9)
Top Rating: Henry (7.80), Crespo (7.35), MF Edu (7.15)
Top Defender: FB Daniele Bonera (6.96)

Overall: This season was a complete mess for the talented Gunners. They had three different managers, including an interim one. They didn’t get out of qualifying in the Champions League, nor did they get far in the UEFA. They failed to get any silverware in cup competition, although they did reach the FA Cup semis. They finished the season on a frighteningly mediocre trend. And despite all that, they still finished fourth in the league, and only missed out on third by tiebreakers. Expectations are always high at Ashburton Grove, though—new manager Mark Bowen is going to be feeling the pressure if the squad that shows up in August is anything like it was in the last two months of the season, dropping six of its last ten league matches. Despite a wealth of talent, Bowen managed the team to just a 7-2-7 record after taking over on January 30. Bowen is a risky move for club chairman Peter Hill-Wood, as Bowen did little to impress in a short stint with Middlesbrough last year. Bowen’s hire became a necessity when Bert van Marwijk inexplicably left the squad for Blackburn in December. The best “manager” was actually van Marwijk’s assistant, Rafi Ali, who went undefeated in seven matches between his former boss’s departure and Bowen’s hire. After not being considered for the top spot, Ali left the club in February to take over First Division Charlton Athletic.

Offense: Henry and Crespo remain the top scoring tandem in the Premiership, scoring an amazing 53 goals between them in all club competitions. Argentinian superstar Crespo is a frontrunner for the Premiership Player of the Year, as the August transfer from Chelsea led the league in both goals and assists. Henry has nothing to be ashamed of in making way for Crespo. The longtime French star had the fourth best rating in the league, and only Crespo had more league goals. Still, Arsenal finished behind three other squads in league goals, primarily because of little scoring help from the midfield. Edu was the top scorer from the center, with 6 G. Hargreaves (9 A) and fullback Ashley Cole (8 A) joined Edu (6 A) to provide many of the feeds to the powerful front duo. The offense was hurt when Ali sent midfielder Gennaro Ivan Gattuso in a big transfer deal to AC Milan in January. He was replaced by American centreman Claudio Reyna, but the midfielder, at 35, is well past his best playing days.

Defense: The defense was solid, if not at the normally spectacular level it usually is. The fullbacks, Cole and top defender Daniele Bonera, were terrific all year. The problems were in the middle, where the Gunners got an aged performance from Sol Campbell. Like Reyna, Campbell’s age (34) is beginning to seriously erode his skills. Considering Reyna and Campbell both played primary roles in Arsenal’s defense up the middle, it’s not surprising this was an area that suffered a bit. The problems in the centre defense limited young star netminder Tony McDermott. The goalkeeper still ranked among the better players wearing the #1 in the league this year, but he is used to being at the top.

Aston Villa

League Record: 18-6-14, 60 pts
League Finish: 7th
GF (Rk): 67 (3rd)
GA (Rk): 56 (15th tied)
GD (Rk): +11 (7th)

Europe Record: 11-5-5
Cup Record: 2-1-2

Manager: Tord Grip
Top Goal Scorers: ST Darius Vassell (24), ST David Villa (19), ST Peter Crouch (11 G)
Top Passers: Vassell (16), WG Fredy William Thompson (13), WG Steed Malbranque (11)
Top Rating: Vassell (7.24), Thompson (7.23), MF Stilian Petrov (7.19)
Top Defender: FB Gareth Barry (7.15)

Overall: In most ways, the folks at Villa Park have to consider this season very much a success. But the naysayers will point out the Villans still ended up about where they were expected, and that they failed to capitalize on opportunities when it came to them. Manager Tord Grip has at the very least met expectations after being hired midway through the 2007-08 season. Grip, a former Villan assistant manager who returned to Villa Park from a solid two-year stint with First Division Leeds, has done everything that has been asked of him and put the club on the brink of more. At one point around Christmas, Aston Villa was third in the league, ahead of stalwarts like Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. And they went on an incredible run in Europe, qualifying for the UEFA tournament via the Inter-Toto Cup, and earning a visit to the UEFA Final with leaguemate Newcastle. Indeed, winning the UEFA would be the crowning achievement for just about any team in Europe, and that goal is still well within reach. And at one point in the season, they ran off seven straight league victories. The problem, though, is an iffy defense lent them a lot of inconsistency. From the point they were third in the league, they lost four of their next five matches, and finished the season 7-3-10 after starting it 11-3-4.

Offense: The goal-scoring unit for Aston Villa was better than every club in the league besides traditional superpower Manchester United and league champ Tamworth. As usual, that offense begins with superstar Vassell, who led the team in goals, assists and rating. Vassell finished fifth in the league in goals. He was partnered with Villa, who himself had an underappreciated season, with 9 assists as well, in support of the English star. Aston Villa was amazingly diversified in its scoring sources. While Vassell, Villa and Crouch form one of the top trios of strikers in the league, the Villans also get terrific creative playmaking from the midfield (20 G, 34 A from the four starters) and the best scoring backline in the league (13 G, 11 A). That doesn’t even mention fourth striker John Hartson (7 G, 7 A) and fullbacks Rincón (3 G, 5 A), Seth Johnson (4 G, 5 A) and Christoffer Andersson (1 G, 7 A). Only goalkeeper Thomas Sorenson and centreback Olaf Mellberg weren’t threats to score on this squad.

Defense: The Villans created much of their offense with an aggressive attack that, as can be seen, provided a lot of offense from numerous different sources. The problem is that that left Sorenson alone a bit too often, as backliners went forward far too much. The longtime netminder had an inconsistent year, fending off odd-man rushes, and put up one of the lower starting keeper ratings in the league. It didn’t help that the one defensive standout, Mellberg, didn’t have his best season either (although it was at least average by league terms--just not his). Still, this is one of the top collections of fullbacks ever put together. If they put as much effort into defense next year as they do offense, this will be a scary squad to face.

Birmingham City

League Record: 17-8-13, 59 pts
League Finish: 8th
GF (Rk): 47 (13th tied)
GA (Rk): 42 (3rd)
GD (Rk): +5 (8th)

Europe Record: DNP
Cup Record: 5-0-3

Manager: Neil Cameron
Top Goal Scorers: ST Milan Baros (21), ST Jason Roberts (11), ST Kanu (8 G)
Top Passers: WG Ryan Giggs (11), Kanu (5), WG Damien Johnson (5), Roberts (5)
Top Rating: Giggs (7.30), FB Martin Taylor (7.30), FB Matthew Upson (7.20)
Top Defender: Taylor

Overall: The Blues had two seasons, and one of them could have cost Neil Cameron his job. Three months and change into the season, Cameron was looking at a 5-3-7 record and was in the midst of a horrible five-match stretch in November that saw Birmingham lose all five contests by multiple-goal tallies. It was a pivotal point of the season. Whatever Cameron told the squad in early December, though, it worked. The club ran off a four-match win streak in January and finished 12-5-6 after the horrible start. They have even put themselves in line for a spot in Europe, which hardly looked like a possibility nigh of Christmas. Basically, Birmingham did it with defense, behind the impressive showing of veteran goalkeeper Carlo Nash. Nash easily had the best season of his career, and the Blues were stingier to opponents than everyone except Manchester United and Tamworth.

Offense: Sure, the defense was great. The offense was less so. What problems the Blues had resided in putting the ball in the net, although no one is going to take Czech star Baros to task for it. His job is to score goals, and he did. He didn’t get much help, though. Giggs is showing he isn’t done yet, as he was probably the most dynamic player on the team. He keyed the offense from the left wing and showed that his 35-year-old legs still have some life in them. The offense was hurt when midfield playmaker Darren Carter went down with a groin injury for two months, but was otherwise largely healthy—just lacking in real offensive talent.

Defense: Not only was Nash incredible this past season, he may have been the best goalkeeper in the league. Bristol City’s Mark Brown could have an argument about that, and guys like Fabien Barthez and Jon Masalin have some gaudier stats, but Nash had a much lower goals-per-match average than Brown, and a lesser quality backline than either United or Tamworth. Not that the corners of that backline were bad--Taylor and Upson formed one of the best defensive fullback duos in the league. It would have been even better, had Taylor not missed four months with repeated groin injuries. The central defense has issues, though, as young Belgian Vincent Kompany had a horrible year in front of Nash. The defense somewhat sheltered the struggling defender, though, with solid players elsewhere, including strong defensive midfielder Aliou Cissé.

Blackburn

League Record: 10-11-17, 41 pts
League Finish: 17th
GF (Rk): 50 (12th)
GA (Rk): 69 (19th)
GD (Rk): -19 (19th)

Europe Record: DNP
Cup Record: 5-0-2

Manager: Bert van Marwijk
Top Goal Scorers: ST Peter Lovenkrands (16), Matt Jansen (15), WG Brett Emerton (8)
Top Passers: Lovenkrands (13), Jansen (5), Emerton (5)
Top Rating: FB Lucas Neill (7.29), Emerton (7.12), Lovenkrands (7.02)
Top Defender: Neill

Overall: This once proud club has hit upon hard times this season. Just tossing out the numbers can’t even begin to spell out the problems the Rovers had this season. They had just 10 points with 15 matches on the season, leading to the sacking of popular England coach Sam Allardyce. They finished just outside of relegation—as in, literally, the lowest you could place without earning the drop. Their goal differential was worse than every squad except for Colchester—perhaps the worst team in Premiership history—and that includes a lower mark than the other two relegatees, Bristol City and Blackpool. Only a last day loss by the latter squad kept the Rovers from the First Division, which would have been an ignoble result for a club that once considered itself a threat to break into the league’s upper echelon squads. For all of that, the Rovers end the season with a bit of hope after all. New manager Bert van Marwijk, who surprisingly left Ashburton Grove to help Blackburn stave off relegation, made an immediate impact. Van Marwijk was hired two weeks after Allardyce was fired, and led the Rovers to wins in five of their next nine matches. The squad seemed to be playing much more consistent under van Marwijk and, other than a poor early spring stretch, the squad was very competitive the rest of the way, finishing with a 9-7-8 mark under the new manager. The key to the turnaround was in the net. Van Marwijk preferred the young Neil Miles to longtime vet Brad Freidel, and the switch turned out to be a resounding success. Freidel was awful in the early going, while Miles showed good ability as he learned on the job in the latter months of the season.

Offense: Although no one is going to say the offense was very good (it wasn’t), this wasn’t the real problem area for the Rovers. Lovenkrands and Jansen form a competent, if less than enthralling, duo up front. Emerton remains a terrific playmaker at the right wing, and was Blackburn’s offensive star and true creative threat. Much like the forwards, Steven Reid and Lee Bowyer were a solid, but not spectacular, midfield duo. This is one of those squads that could benefit from the addition of a couple true stars, but the groundwork is otherwise in place for a solid offensive squad. The left wing was an issue all year, and was only partially settled by the arrival of Banfield transfer Francesco Tognon in January.

Defense: To say the defense was atrocious doesn’t even begin to spell it out. Under Allardyce, the defense might as well have been taking a bath off-pitch for all the stopping ability they had. Freidel, at 38, was clearly showing his age, allowing 33 goals in 15 matches. He didn’t get much help from the backline, which featured one top notch player in Neill, and one decent centreback in Nils-Eric Johansson. The left back spot was a turnstile until the Rovers loaned in Birmingham’s Matthew Sadler for the last half of the season. The second centreback spot was the true sore point, with Irish 19-year-old barely-older-than-a-schoolboy Chris McConnell splitting time with slow-footed American Franklin Scimek. Both displayed bad form all season, exposing both Freidel and later Miles to a number of on-goal chances for the opposition. Miles himself had a steady first season. It wasn’t great, but it was an effort for the 20-year-old to build on as a growing talent in net for Blackburn.

Blackpool

League Record: 11-6-21, 39 pts
League Finish: 18th (relegated)
GF (Rk): 47 (13th tied)
GA (Rk): 63 (18th)
GD (Rk): -16 (15th tied)

Europe Record: DNP
Cup Record: 2-0-2

Manager: Steve McMahon
Top Goal Scorers: ST Brett Ormerod (18), WG Ricky Waddell (6), ST Ian Armstrong (5), MF Imants Bleidelis (5)
Top Passers: ST John Murphy (9), Bleidelis (7), Waddell (6)
Top Rating: Waddell (7.10), DC Nicky Hunt (7.05), MF Omar Daley (7.00)
Top Defender: Hunt

Overall: The Seasiders’ supporters have to be upset with how this season turned out, because there couldn’t have been a worse turn of luck for one club. From the very beginning, the club was besieged with injuries. They lost two of their top three strikers for extended periods, both starting midfielders missed at least a month (with Daley suffering a season-ending broken leg in February), and the defense was crippled by injuries to the fullbacks and to the club’s goalkeeper, Lee Camp. The squad was maddeningly inconsistent, going an at least above relegation-worthy 5-3-7 in the first three months, but following it up with nine losses in 11 matches (and punctuated by the Daley injury, which hit right in the middle of it). Then, like some higher power playing a joke with them, Blackpool rode a strong March by Ormerod to four straight wins and won clear of relegation—only to fall apart completely in April, losing six of their last eight matches, and allowing Blackburn to catch up with them by the last day of the season. For all their troubles and injuries, Blackpool still ended up with a better goal differential than Blackburn, Fulham and Nottingham Forest, all of whom will return to the Premiership next season. It’s never easy for new promotees to make a splash, but it seems like this season was one long, cruel joke for Pool. They now return to the First Division to try to win their way back.

Offense: The offense, limited by both injuries and questionable talent, had at best a subpar year. Ormerod was the Premiership’s best player in March, but that’s also when he scored seven of his 18 goals, leaving precious few for the other nine months of the season. The inconsistent Ormerod also did little but score, unwilling or perhaps incapable of helping out on defense, and passing it in to him was like aiming into a blackhole—he only had three assists. Troubling the issue was that his partners were Murphy and the oft-injured Armstrong. Armstrong was a star in the First Division, but was shelved four separate times for injuries during this term. And even when he was playing, it showed he wasn’t acclimated to the speed of the Premiership game. Murphy is another guy who did well in the First Division, and when he wasn’t hurt, he played solid football. He was the team’s best passer and the highest rated striker. The problem is he only scored twice, and his rating was a good half-a-drop point from his First Division showing in 2007-08. Strikers who can’t score (even if they do other things) aren’t going to break a team out of the doldrums too often. At least the Seasiders can take with them the knowledge that the midfield seemed up to the task of playing at a higher level, albeit none of them as stars. Winger Ricky Waddell established his credentials as a top playmaker on the wing. Daley didn’t score as he had in the past, but he showed the ball control and poise that has been a trademark of his performances with Blackpool for years. Bleidelis turned in a fine creative show when Daley’s injury forced him to be more involved with the offense. And right winger Tony Dunne didn’t embarrass himself either. Health and better quality up front would have made a huge difference at Bloomfield Road this season.

Defense: Often enough, recent promotees do poorly on defense, as former First Division backliners and keepers get used to the premier talents that play at this level. This was very much in evidence for the Seasiders this year, as they tried to overcome, yet again, injuries and a poor transitional period from goalkeeper Lee Camp. The netminder was very inconsistent, putting up 10 clean sheets in 36 starts, but he also was one of the worst in the league at allowing goals per match (1.56). Considering that outside of a troublesome right back spot, the backline did fairly well, Camp has to take a significant amount of blame for heading one of the worst defenses in the Premiership. Former Bolton Premiership defender Nicky Hunt showed he can be one of the better defenders in any league in England, and he and Lee Canoville formed a tough, no-nonsense centre defense in front of Camp. Young Richard Swift, just 17, is a huge rising talent at left back who did not embarrass himself at all. The right back, which was constantly being changed for injury or poor performance, is a huge sore spot for an otherwise strong backline.

CR

Chief Rum

08-18-2004, 04:34 AM

Bristol City

League Record: 9-9-20, 36 pts
League Finish: 19th (relegated)
GF (Rk): 37 (19th)
GA (Rk): 53 (9th)
GD (Rk): -16 (15th tied)

Europe Record: DNP
Cup Record: 1-0-2

Manager: Danny Wilson
Top Goal Scorers: ST Lee Miller (11), ST Leroy Lita (10), ST Alex Holmes (3), MF Lee Bell (3)
Top Passers: Miller (8), Lita (5), WG David Vaughan (4)
Top Rating: GK Mark Brown (7.24), FB Kevin Amankwaah (7.19), DC Paul Warner (7.06)
Top Defender: Amankwaah

Overall: The Robins showed the Premiership they weren’t going to go quietly when faced up with the superior talent in the League, but that doesn’t mean they made any headway. This squad developed a persona of tough defense, headlined by the surprisingly strong Brown, who led all league netminders in average rating this past season. The problem is, you have to score to actually get a win, and this squad averaged less than a goal per league match. No matter what sort of defense you put up, that’s not going to get you a lot of wins. Bristol City started off fairly well for a recent promotee, going 2-2-1 in their first five matches. Starting in late September, though, the Robins went into a complete spiral, and by the time they pulled out of it in late January, they had just one win in 23 league matches (they also drew five times). They had three separate streaks of at least five losses, and it took a last day win for them to get within three points of 18thplace Blackpool—which was also relegated.

Offense: You know a team has problems scoring when the only players on the team with a hint of a chance to score or create scoring chances are the strikers—and they were average at best. Miller and Lita were average for a low-end league team, and well below average for Premiership strikers, despite both ending up with double digits in goals scored. They were also the squad’s best passers, meaning they had to play a lot of back and forth to generate anything. Both Tommy Doherty and Bell played strong defensive;y in the middle, but the Robins need one of those guys to step it up as a creative force, rather than having two defenders in the midfield. Vaughan was the best playmaking midfielder, but he would have looked better if the forwards were better able to convert his plays. Across the board, this was a very pedestrian offensive crew.

Defense: Not only was Brown the highest rated keeper in the league, he did it in front of perhaps the worst central defense in the league. At one spot, Louis Carey had an awful season, and missed almost three months to a knee injury. At the other, no one players ever seemed to settle in as the starter, although the squad did get a good performance from Warner in limited appearances (18 app). The fullbacks were solid, particularly Amankwaah, but considering the club’s offensive problems, they really could have been much stronger in generating offensive chances. If this team can find an offense, it might have a shot at getting back to the Premiership next season. Of course, first, it will have to fight off the clubs that will no doubt make bids on Brown.

Chelsea

League Record: 18-6-14, 60 pts
League Finish: 6th
GF (Rk): 62 (7th)
GA (Rk): 48 (6th tied)
GD (Rk): 14 (5th)

Europe Record: 1-0-3
Cup Record: 4-2-1

Manager: Erland Johnson
Top Goal Scorers: ST Adrian Mutu (20), ST Michael Chopra (12), ST Arjen Robben (9)
Top Passers: Robben (11), WG Damien Duff (9), Mutu (7), Chopra (7)
Top Rating: Mutu (7.89), DC John Terry (7.32), Chopra (7.25)
Top Defender: Terry

Overall: Most squads would kill to be where the Blues are. They aren’t rich and powerful Chelsea, though. This is a squad that has thrust itself into the elite of the Premiership, but the fan base is beginning to get a little frustrated at the squad’s inability to escalate to the top with teams like Manchester United and Tamworth. Making it even more galling is some of the decisions by management that may have stripped this club of any real chance to contend for the league title this season. In the beginning of the year, somehow, Hernán Crespo becomes surplus to requirements and is shipped off to Arsenal—exactly where you don’t want him. He, of course, has the best season of his career. Then, just when it is looking like Mutu and Chopra can combine to make supporters begin to forget about Crespo’s absence, the club moves Chopra to Italy. So while Crespo is a league player of the year candidate across town and Chopra is toiling in Italy, Mutu is struggling to provide enough offense for an otherwise top notch squad that falters to the lowest among the Premiership’s “elite” teams. Mutu, Crespo and Chopra might have been the best trio of forwards in the history of the game, and the Blues would probably be celebrating a championship right about now.

Offense: His partners may have changed addresses, but Mutu himself looks to be the top contender for league player of the year. He finished fourth in the league in goals, and was the highest rated player in England. He had three more men of the match than the next player and was the only player selected as Player of the Month more than once. He was dominating in the middle of Chelsea’s 4-3-3 frontline. It shows how critical Chopra was to the team, considering he finished as the obvious second best player on the squad, even after leaving the club halfway through the season. That does take away from Robben, though, who was a perfect fit as a creative forward in this tactic. He ranked among league leaders in assists. Still, he was inconsistent and didn’t score enough, and neither Mido nor January transfer Jermain Defoe ever come anywhere close to filling Chopra’s shoes, much less Crespo’s. Manager Erland Johnson also made the odd decision to leave supreme playmaking midfielder Damien Duff as a primary sub off of the bench. If Akiaksandr Hleb, Scott Parker and Joe Cole translated that into a superior defense, then that might be one thing, but Chelsea was at best a solid defensive team, instead of the superior play you expect from a team with this talent. This is all relative, of course—the top five midfielders (including Christian Poulsen) would have fit into the top XI’s of just about every other team in the league.

Defense: You can’t say the defense was bad. It certainly wasn’t, tied for a very respectable sixth in the league. But you just get the feeling it could have and should have been better. Terry and Robert Huth form one of the top centreback duos in the world, and Terry once again established himself on a level that few other defenders in the Premiership can reach. The fullback corps was solid and deep, although the squad could have used more playmaking from them, outside of Glen johnson’s five assists. The defense was solid enough that, despite not always having his best stuff, Petr Cech still had an amazing 20 clean sheets and a very respectable 1.25 goals per match average.

Colchester United

League Record: 4-8-26, 20 pts
League Finish: 20th (relegated)
GF (Rk): 33 (20th)
GA (Rk): 93 (20th)
GD (Rk): -60 (20th)

Europe Record: DNP
Cup Record: 2-0-2

Manager: Phil Parkinson
Top Goal Scorers: ST Joshua Kennedy (10), ST Trevor Benjamin (5), MF José Alexander Amaya (3), WG Karl Duguid (3)
Top Passers: Amaya (5), Kennedy (4), Duguid (3)
Top Rating: Duguid (6.94), DC Sergei Baltacha (6.86), Kennedy (6.71)
Top Defender: Baltacha

Overall: Where does one begin to describe the misery that was this season for the U’s? Colchester entered the league with hope, just like the other promotees from last year, but they just never got unhitched. The talent on this team is simply on a completely lower level from the rest of the league, and isn’t even a fair comparison to fellow relegatees Bristol City and Blackpool. It has been put up this might be the worst team in Premiership history. They had the worst offense, the worst defense (both by far), and their goal differential is of an epic record-level. Colchester won just four matches all year. They lost 26 of their 38 league matches, most badly. They didn’t earn their first win until December (Tottenham was the luckless victim). They were relegated before March was up. It’s a shocker that manager Phil Parkinson even still has a job, regardless of the fact he has managed the dquad for years now and led them to this level in the first place.

Offense: The one good move Colchester did was bringing in 1.FC Köln’s Aussie striker Kennedy. His solid debut in the Premiership helped ease over the fact that once vaunted Colchester striker Benjamin clearly was having about as poor a term for form as one can have. Benjamin’s horrible season was punctuated in the final month when he broke his ankle, which will affect him into next season’s First Division campaign. Colchester made a big move to get 2007-08 Premiership star midfielder Amaya from Tamworth, but the Salvadoran player didn’t start playing very strongly until the end of the season. That left the creative end of things mostly to Duguid, who has proven in the past to be a solid talent on the wing for the U’s. In fact, Duguid nearly breaking 7.00 on the average rating scale is very impressive—but that doesn’t make Colchester any better of an offensive squad.

Defense: Compared to the defense, the offense looks scintillating. The backline and goalkeeper Ian Walker took turns trying to out-bad each other. Walker probably deserves better credit, though, considering the shots he had to face off. For a team this low on the table, his 6.68 rating is actually decent, although you might doing hima favor to call him an average Premiership netminder at this point. The best defender was easily Baltacha—and he only played part time. Veteran Dominic Matteo is clearly past his prime, as he practically greased the way to the goal with his play. He and young Adam Eckersley played more often than Baltacha, and Eckersley didn’t even match Matteo’s numbers. Paul Payne was another youth at fullback that had a very poor season. Outside of Baltacha, all of the backups had sub-6.00 ratings. That is how bad this defense was this season.

Everton

League Record: 12-12-14, 48 pts
League Finish: 11th
GF (Rk): 41 (17th)
GA (Rk): 48 (6th)
GD (Rk): -7 (11th tied)

Europe Record: DNP
Cup Record: 2-0-2

Manager: Claudio Ranieri
Top Goal Scorers: ST Elvis Hammond (10), ST David Cooper (8), ST Wayne Rooney (6)
Top Passers: Hammond (6), MF Li Tie (6), WG Jesper Gronkjær (6)
Top Rating: DC Joseph Yobo (7.21), Cooper (7.15), WG James McFadden (7.11)
Top Defender: Yobo

Overall: If the Toffees were to play to their talent level on offense, they might be playing in Europe next year. As it is, they still finished a respectable mid-table 11th, courtesy of a strong defensive performance. And that included a midseason manager switch. The man at the helm made little difference on this season, though—no squad in the Premiership was as consistently average as the Toffees. In no two-month period did they ever earn more than 12 or less than eight points. Only once did they have more than one-match difference between wins and losses (when they went 2-2-4 in February and March). Gianluca Vialli left the squad in early November for First Division Bradford City, after compiling a 4-2-4 record with the Toffees. Assistant manager Alan Irvine guided Everton to a 1-2-1 record during a brief three-week tenure, and then former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri finished off the season with a 7-8-9 record. The numbers on this team don’t look all that impressive, but the talent is here to make a run into the top ten. It might have been as simple as health for star striker Rooney, although he has proven to be anything but a sure thing.

Offense: If Rooney appeared in a full term of matches, he might have sent in 15-20 goals. Rooney was hit hard by chronic groin injuries and missed more than half of the season. He played well enough when he was in, but you’re not doing your club much good in the training room. Rooney has long been the great hope of Everton, but injuries and inconsistency and youth have all gotten in the way of that happening. If he breaks into the top ten in scoring, this club would finally put to good use the solid creative skills of a playmaking midfield and significantly reduce the club’s reliance on the steady, but mediocre Hammond. One thing Rooney’s injury problems did do was give more time to Cooper, who proved he could be an able partner with Rooney when given the chance. He was one of the highest rated players on the squad. McFadden and Gronkjær’s opportunities to impress were limited by a lack of finishing on the part of the frontline, but don’t mistake that for a lack of talent—they can both create some action in the opponent’s end. Tie and Daniel Cruz are also solid in the middle, and play both ends of the pitch well. This is an offense waiting for a true star to step up and take in their feeds. Will Rooney ever be the guy who fills that role? Until he or someone does, this club will remain near the bottom of the league scoring charts.

Defense: When one thinks of sharp centreback-goalkeeper combos, one thinks of Ferdinand-Barthez and Terry-Cech. The fact is, longtime Toffees Yobo and Richard Wright have both been underrated for years. Yobo is the strength of the backline and is one of the top five or six centrebacks in the league. On the few occasions he fails, Wright has shown himself to be able to put up a strong wall, a role he replayed last season with aplomb. 13 clean sheets, seven men of the match, 1.29 gpm average and a 6.88 rating were all top numbers in the Premiership netminder rankings. Yobo was ably if not spectacularly supported in the middle by the combination of Peter Clarke and Declan Power. Matt Hill put in a solid performance at left back as well, giving Everton strength at three backline spots. Alas, the right back spot was miserable all season, as Tony Hibbert was awful

Fulham

League Record: 11-10-17, 43 pts
League Finish: 15th
GF (Rk): 43 (15th)
GA (Rk): 61 (17th)
GD (Rk): -18 (18th)

Europe Record: DNP
Cup Record: 2-1-2

Manager: Micky Adams
Top Goal Scorers: ST Collins John (15), ST Alan Smith (10), WG Sean Doherty (5)
Top Passers: Smith (7), WG Demetrius Williams (7), John (4), MF David Dunn (4)
Top Rating: DC Steve Wilkinson (7.23), DC Zatyiah Knight (7.11), FB Carlos Bocanegra (7.04)
Top Defender: Wilkinson

Overall: The Cottagers were another of the longtime Premiership squads that had to scramble to stay away from relegation this past season.. They finished in the bottom rankings of both offense and defense, and there is little reason to think the talent on the roster didn’t deserve exactly that. Surprisingly, Ruud Gullit played an average season into a new job with Rangers in late March. New manager Micky Adams, formerly of Leicester and Derby, fared little better. In fact, his squad did a little worse, although he did successfully avoid relegation. There are still some big names on this team, but the fact is, they are either too old or too inconsistent to be a threat to break into the top ten, at least short of an amazing upturn in the quality of their play.

Offense: John and Smith have done some damage in their careers, and both remain threats. Still, neither is quite at the level they were once thought to be, particularly Smith. They are exactly the kind of players you would hope could achieve better, but since they didn’t, this squad’s offense went right into the dumps. The problem was exasperated by an inconsistent midfield. The best midfielders were the oft-injured Sylvain Legwinksi and Michael Essien in the middle—who specializes in defense. Fellow middleman Dunn is too inconsistent, and Williams gave away as many runs on his side of the pitch as he did create them, putting up a ridiculously bad 5.76 rating.

Defense: The defense had some of the club’s stronger players, including the a tough trio of Wilkinson, Knight and Bocanegra. The problem was in the net, where longtime netminder Edwin van der Sar was awful. At 38, van der Sar is long past his best days in this league. It wasn’t helped when inconsistency on the wings and at fullback allowed opponents to just bypass the stronger defensive areas of the Cottagers to take potshots right at van der Sar. Former standout fullback Phil Neville never seemed to stop enough players on his side, and Giuseppe Ruggeri was awful on the left side (the same side as Williams, making for atrocious defense along that touch). At least Neville created some offense (2 G, 4 A).

CR

Chief Rum

08-20-2004, 05:15 AM

Leicester City

League Record: 15-8-15, 53 pts
League Finish: 10th
GF (Rk): 51 (9th)
GA (Rk): 60 (16th)
GD (Rk): -9 (13th)

Europe Record: DNP
Cup Record: 5-4-1

Manager: John McDermott
Top Goal Scorers: ST Tommy Wright (18), ST James Graham (15), WG Dean Marney (9)
Top Passers: MF Muzzy Isset (14), Stefano Mauri (8), Graham (8)
Top Rating: Graham (7.91), Wright (7.36), DC Sam Jones (7.32)
Top Defender: Jones

Overall: Few teams will ever have a season like the Foxes, in which they sunk to the depths of despair, and yet somehow clawed back not only to mid-table, but to a European place as well. Leicester was about as dead in the water as they come around Christmas time, but now they have the look of a hot and rising team of the future. It’s amazing what a new manager and a little health can do. Former manager Ronald Koeman grew tired of trying to get the most out of the Foxes, so he took a job with the Bundesliga’s Gladbach club in January. He left Leicester with a relegation-worthy 4-7-11 record. In desperation, the club shopped around for a manager to try and save the season—and they hit the jackpot. At the end of January, they lured McDermott, a well-regarded manager on the rise who was at the time leading powerful Scottish club Celtic. McDermott’s approach was well-received by the squad. After a transitional loss to tough Tamworth in McDermott’s first league match, the Foxes ripped off seven straight league matches. They shot up the table and played in the FA Cup as well. By the end of the season, the squad had improbably earned a spot in the FA Cup Final and went 11-1-4 under McDermott in league.

Offense: The numbers on offense don’t look so good across the term, as the club finished in the middle of the league in goals scored. That’s not entirely fair, though, considering young superstar Graham missed four months to troublesome groin tears. Not coincidentally, Graham got healthy just before this squad really heated up. He was the third-highest rated player in the Premiership and a full slate of matches would have made him a threat to score 25 goals. Graham’s injury did have one benefit—his partner Wright had to emerge from the shadows to take over some of the scoring load, and emerge he certainly did. Graham and Wright, at 21 and 24 years old, are the most exciting young duo to develop in the league in years. With that kind of talent up front, it can be a little difficult to assess the true skill of the midfield. The numbers look good, though. The wings, Marney and Mauri, were the pair of scoring wingers in the league, and also played key creative roles. Marney had the better alla round year, while Mauri was a dynamic passer. Izzet had a terrific season passing the ball up front, finishing among league midfield leaders in assists. If there is an issue in the offense, it is here in the middle, where the top three players are all 32 and older. Additionally, Ricardo Scimeca was just passable at the spot next to Izzet, and this group is better in the opponent’s end than in its own.

Defense: It’s easy to overlook the defense with this team’s multi-faceted offense, but even in the lower end of the league rankings, there is good reason to be optimistic. Take out 11 goals scored in two dreadful losses to powerful Tamworth, and you have a squad that allowed just 49 goals in the other 36 league matches. That optimism starts in the central defense, where the 17-year-old Jones showed that Graham wasn’t the only young rising star on the team. Despite his youth, Jones finished the season not just rated best among young defenders, but also in vaunted territory with legendary names like Ferdinand and Terry. That’s how good he was, finishing fourth in rating among league defenders, and contributing to both sides of the pitch. Jones isn’t the only young hopeful on the backline. Lee Atkinson and Birmingham transfer Mark Reilly, both 21 and under, turned in solid performances at fullback. Atkinson was hurt for much of the season, and Reilly was limited by the presence of veteran wingback Cosmin Contra, a January transfer from Spain who did not have a solid stint with the Foxes. Contra’s problems, along with those of Jones’ central defense partner Matt Heath and inconsistency in the net, were the primary sources of Leicester’s defensive problems. Joe Murphy and Shaun Allaway split the net duties and performed similarly, but Murphy was rated much higher and might be the longterm answer there.

Liverpool

League Record: 19-9-10, 66 pts
League Finish: 3rd
GF (Rk): 65 (5th)
GA (Rk): 44 (4th)
GD (Rk): +21 (3rd)

Europe Record: 4-1-3
Cup Record: 4-1-2

Manager: Alex McLeish
Top Goal Scorers: ST El-Hadji Diouf (20), ST Michael Owen (18), ST Anthony Le Tallec (9)
Top Passers: Diouf (15), Le Tallec (10), ST Emile Heskey (9)
Top Rating: WG Mark Bresciano (7.30), Diouf (7.19), WG Rafael van der Vaart (7.19), Heskey (7.19)
Top Defender: FB John Arne Riise (7.10)

Overall: Tamworth and Manchester United were well ahead of the pack at the end of the season, but were it not for a mediocre showing down the stretch of the season, the Reds might have been right there with the Red Devils at least. Pool finished a not altogether awe-inspiring 5-6-4 from February on, after starting off 14-3-6. Even so, they still held on to third place, winning out over Arsenal by tie breakers. It’s not usually easy to pin down a turning point of the season for a team, but in this case, it could very well be a late transfer and a series of meetings with champ Tamworth in January. Manager Alex McLeish shipped off longtime star winger Harry Kewell to AC Milan for a boatload of cash in the midseason window, and then Liverpool showed poor form and unsporting style in going 0-1-2 against Tamworth in a two week stretch near the end of the month. The Reds lost a league match in which Djimi Traoré was sent off prematurely, and then both Diouf and midfielder Steven Gerrard were sent off early in the clubs’ next meeting, the first leg of the English League Cup semifinal. Liverpool lost both matches. The Reds would draw with Tamworth with a full squad in the second leg of the semifinal in early September, but the damage was done. That stretch of bitter losses may have been the primary reason the club dropped in form a bit the rest of the season.

Offense: Diouf is still listed as one of the most highly-regarded and valuable players in the world, but he hadn’t ever really had the sort of season to justify that reputation. That said, Diouf did appear to take his game to a higher level this season, leading the squad in both goals and assists, and finishing the season as the highest rated striker at Anfield. His season could have looked even better, but Diouf generally played a side forward position in McLeish’s 4-3-3, which puts more emphasis on Diouf’s creative abilities and downplays finishing skills in comparison to a more traditional 4-4-2. The point man, of course, was the Reds’ longtime prolific scorer Owen, who didn’t rate as strongly as he should, but scored effectively. The front crew was strong and deep, with Le Tallec a versatile forward on the other side, and with a backup forward group of Heskey, Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Louay Chanko that put up a collective 17 goals, 10 assists and a 6.91 average rating. No one is going to question the skills of the middle three on a normal club, but Liverpool may have gotten a touch less than they are used to. Longtime midfield anchor Gerrard wasn’t as consistent this year as he usually is, and his offensive numbers were a little down. The left spot was also a little in flux with Kewell’s departure. The Aussie star was turning in a strong season, marred only by a two-month stretch on the sideline, courtesy of a broken foot, before being moved to Italy. Gis replacement, van der Vaart, looked terrific at times in his stead, and could be a star on the rise, but he was less rated than Kewell and finished with lower goals and assists than the latter was on pace to reach over the course of a full season. The right spot is in steady hands with the creative Bresciano. One could argue he was the Reds’ best player this season.

Defense: The backline was fairly inconsistent this past season, so it goes to show just how good Jerzy Dudek was in the net to place Liverpool as high as they did in the Premiership’s defensive rankings (above and beyond the fact that a 4-3-3 naturally sacrifices a bit of defense for offense). Dudek placed among league leaders in all of the major categories, including rating, and it’s clear he hasn’t lost much at the age of 36. Speaking of age, a key issue with the quality of play of the backline was the decline of former star defender Sami Hyypïa. The Finn centreback was the lowest-rated starter, and it might be the time for the 35-year-old vet to graciously step back into a reserve role. If he does, the Reds will be much better served by his likely replacement in Traoré, who was very strong as the top backline reserve, out-rating everyone except for Riise. Hyypïa’s partner J’Lloyd Samuel is a solid player, but could be better. On the ends, Riise remains a premier attacking fullback, and Jamie Carragher is solid on the right. Both could be better defensively. Not helping matters is the lack of quality depth. Outside of Traoré and Hyypïa perhaps switching, Liverpool has the competent but aging Steve Finnan at wingback, the inconsistent Igor Biscan in the middle, and the younger Carl Medjani, who had a very poor season in limited appearances.

Manchester City

League Record: 11-14-13. 47 pts
League Finish: 12th
GF (Rk): 51 (9th tied)
GA (Rk): 55 (11th tied)
GD (Rk): -4 (9th tied)

Europe Record: DNP
Cup Record: 2-1-2

Manager: Pär Zetterberg
Top Goal Scorers: ST Aruna (15), ST Stéphane N’Guéma (9), FB Wayne Bridge (6)
Top Passers: WG Jesús Arellano (6), FB Anthony Réveillère (6), ST Bruce Webber (5)
Top Rating: MF Dickson Agyeman (7.11), DC Sun Jihai (7.08), DC Richard Dunne (7.00)
Top Defender: Jihai

Overall: City has been a solid Premiership club for a decade now, but no one would ever confuse it with the elite. And usually, only the elite squads can get away with sacking their managers at midseason and avoid the drop. Manchester City proved otherwise, though, perhaps sensing Simon Smith’s mediocrity early enough to make a change for the better. Smith was shown the door in late October after the squad garnered just one victory in its first nine league matches. To show how awful that is, consider that Smith’s assistant manager Phil Green led the club to two wins and a draw with tough Tamworth in the brief three-match interim between Smith’s sacking and the hiring of new manager Pär Zetterberg. Zetterberg took over in mid-November and proceeded to lead the squad to a level more commensurate with its level of talent—midtable and an even record the rest of the way. That’s a return on the season the supporters are more used to. And credit club chairman John Wardle for recognizing the need for change and early enough to avoid relegation.

Offense: One of Smith’s few good moves last season was bringing in striker Aruna. The Ivorian forward isn’t a world beater, but where someone had to step up to score goals, he was the one who did. Aruna is not a great passer and was rated fairly low—he’s usually best used as a complementary piece. It seemed like he was the only guy capable of providing a spark up frontm though. The other striker spot was troubled by injury, age and ineffectiveness. Key reserve and potential starter Jon Macken hurt his knee and missed all but seven matches. Mark Viduka, 33, showed his age last season. Lewis Guy showed his age, too—at 23, he apparently isn’t quite ready. In the end, the other spot was mostly held by N’Guéma, who provided the best finishing but rated very poorly, until Webber was brought in from Middlesbrough in late January. Webber was the first partner Aruna had that seemed capable of providing serious help to the offense. Despite playing in juts over a third of the club’s matches, Webber finished one short of the team lead in assists, and fourth in goals. The frontline didn’t get much help from the midfield, which was either too young, too old or too defensive. Veteran winger Arellano tied for the club lead in assist and showed enough to prove he still hasn’t lost it at 36. But he’s obviously not a longterm solution. On the other side, young Michael Parensen still has some learning to do, and did not have a terrific year. Another youth who has done well is midfielder Agyeman, who may indeed have been the club’s best player. His offensive numbers from the middle will only improve when and if the club gets some legitimate talent up front. Jurica Vranjes was average at both ends at the other spot.

Defense: The backline was fairly solid, so if you’re going to look for the source of the club’s defensive mediocrity, you’ll have to take a hard look at Nicky Weaver. The goalkeeper has long been thought to have good talent and occasionally flashes it around some, but he can also be very inconsistent. Three of the four backline spots were solid in City’s own end. Jihai remains a tough centreback leader in the middle, and Dunne turned in a very capable season as his partner. Both need to stay on the pitch more (neither started as many as 30 matches), because depth is not strong. Is it more of an indictment of the offense that a fullback finishes third on the team in goals, or is Bridge that good? It’s a little of both, as Bridge is a proven player in both ends. The other wingback spot was ably handled by Réveillère, who provided a nice creative spark. He wasn’t strong defensively, though, and was Man City’s noted weakness on defense.

Manchester United

League Record: 23-8-7, 77 pts
League Finish: 2nd
GF (Rk): 72 (2nd)
GA (Rk): 41 (2nd)
GD (Rk): +31 (2nd)

Europe Record: 2-0-4
Cup Record: 7-0-2

Manager: Joop Hiele
Top Goal Scorers: ST Nicolas Anelka (29), ST Miroslav Klose (21), WG Cristiano Ronaldo (10)
Top Passers: Klose (16), MF Gaetano D’Agostino (14), WG Sidney Govou (11)
Top Rating: Klose (7.88), Anelka (7.49), DC Rio Ferdinand (7.38)
Top Defender: Ferdinand

Overall: If this weren’t Manchester United, no one would bat an eye at the season they had. At Old Trafford, though, anything short of the league championship and a a strong run in Europe is a miserable failure. So one of the better Red Devils squads in recent years may forever instead be remembered for failing to topple the suddenly monstrous Tamworth. The reality is that this club was second in everything. They could score, they could defend, they could dominate, and did. New manager Joop Hiele showed no signs of having to acclimate himself to the Premiership, earning two Manager of the Month awards, including in November when Manchester United was just wrapping up an eight-straight match winning streak. The boys at Old Trafford also went to the League Cup final before falling to a familiar foe—yes, Tamworth, which is becoming quite the nemesis for them. About the only thing that could fairly be called a disappointment was Manchester United’s stunning falter in the Champions League group stage. They went in to the competition considered among the best entered, but didn’t even earn a third place spot and the automatic UEFA spot that goes with it in the group stage.

Offense: Newcastle and Arsenal have better striker duos, but no one in Manchester is going to complain too much about the quality up front of this squad. Since coming over from Germany in a big money transfer, Klose has established himself as a true superstar. He once again led the offense with his amazing ability to generate offense, both on his own and to others. He led the squad in assists, and finished second on the squad in goals. He ended the year rated behind only Chelsea’s Adrian Mutu in premiership action. Only next to a guy like Klose could a tremendous talent like French superstar Anelka be overshadowed. He finished the season among league leaders in goals scored and almost scored 30 in all competitions for the Red Devils. He was also among the highest rated players in the Premiership. There was little drop off when Ronaldo or Govou would be moved up front. Although they mostly spent their time on the wing, they also served as primary backups for the strikers. On their own, they would be veritable superstars. Ronaldo is the better striker, while Govou is more suited to play wide. Keiran Richardson handles the other side, where he is solid, although by Man Utd’s standards he is probably upgradeable. Italian star Gaetano D’Agostino is one of the best passing midfielders in the world, and put up a team-high 14 assists this year. Erik Djemba-Djemba is a solid two-way midfielder who allows D’Agostino to move forward and create offense.

Defense: You would think that at 37, Fabien Barthez would be slowing down. The French international is giving no signs that is happening, though, as he turned another one of his top notch seasons. He was in the top two or three spots in just about every major goalkeeping stat. As if he needs the help, he also has perhaps history’s finest backline working in front of him. Legendary centreback Ferdinand had another one of him typically dominating seasons, finishing as the second highest rated defender in the Premiership, behind only Tamworth’s Mike Duff. John O’Shea was also terrific, giving the Red Devils the best centreback duo in the league. Emiliano Moretti was a defensive force on the left side. The only spotty position was on the right, where Kasper Bogelund might have been the worst starter on the top XI (although there’s a lot of room underneath this level of talent). In fact, if there’s an issue with the defense, it is that the reserves need to step up and provide better support, so the club doesn’t need to rely on Bogelund. Patrice Evra played well in his spots, but he spent much of the season shelved by injuries. Gary Neville is past his prime, and centreback Phillip Bardsley and fullback Bernd Korzynietz were inconsistent.

Newcastle United

League Record: 17-10-11, 61 pts
League Finish: 5th
GF (Rk): 64 (6th)
GA (Rk): 51 (8th)
GD (Rk): +13 (6th)

Europe Record: 12-1-0
Cup Record: 2-1-2

Manager: Michael van Praag
Top Goal Scorers: ST Shola Ameobi (33), ST Mateja Kezman (25), MF Jermaine Jenas (8), MF Barry Ferguson (8)
Top Passers: Kezman (16), Ameobi (15), WG Hugo Viana (10)
Top Rating: Ameobi (7.88), FB Aaron Hughes (7.22), Jenas (7.18)
Top Defender: Hughes

Overall: Among the traditional powers of the Premiership, it has been the folks at St. James Park that often seems about to drop behind an upstart or two to the lower end of the top ten. They never quite do it, though, constantly remaining on the fringe of being one of England’s superpowers. This year, they did one better, moving ahead of Chelsea into fifth, although that still gets them the same thing they got last year—a spot in the UEFA. Of course, given their success in that competition, that might suit the Magpies and their supporters just fine. In just a few days, they will play Aston Villa for the prestigious UEFA Cup, in what may be a season’s worth of retribution for their seeming inability to make a break for the top in league. Newcastle’s run to the UEFA Cup final is all the more amazing in that they have won all but one of their 12 international matches (and drew the only other time). That’s quite a feat at any level This is still a very dangerous club with some of the best players in the world on its roster. England isn’t always the easiest place to win a league, though.

Offense: Who is the Premiership’s best striker? Mutu? Crespo? Klose? Anelka? Henry? In all honesty, you have to give this one to Shola Ameobi, who made it five straight 30-goal seasons this year. The striker is simply dominating, even on a team that generally dominates from front to back. He alone moves them to an elite level. Kezman is the perfect foil next to Ameobi. He has the excellent passing skills to set up Ameobi, and is a world class finisher himself. He could be rated higher, though. The midfield hasn’t seen turnover in years, and why should it, with top talents Jenas and Ferguson remaining in place and at top form. The two centremen can both score and set up the offense, and neither are they slouches on defense. No true midfield in the league put up the numbers they did this season (16 G, 13 A). If there is a weakness for Newcastle, it is on the wings. Viana is a terrific passer and, with the midfielders, gives the club incredibly versatile flow up to the super duo up front. He needs to be stronger defensively, though, which has resulted in less than impressive ratings. At least he has the assists—his cross-pitch partner Darren Ambrose isn’t as effective a ball mover, but he’s just as inconsistent in his own end. Their issues stand out even more because the backline fullbacks don’t provide much offensive support, meaning both ends of the pitch are feeling the pressure to contribute to their touchline partners.

Defense: The team may be a touch to aggressive on offense, because they have both a strong-looking line, and a good goalkeeper, and yet still ended up with disappointing defensive numbers, at least for them. Hughes is one of the better fullbacks in the league now, but his partner Aimo Stefano Diana needs to step it up at both ends. Jonathon Woodgate is still one of the best defenders in the league, and he leads the backline from the middle. His partner Andy O’Brien is also very good, and the centreback duo is effectively supported by Titus Bramble—who deserves to start somewhere. Netminder Shay Given entered the season as the highest-valued keeper in the league, and he did little to take away from that reputation. He was rated highly, finished well among the goalkeeping totals, and led the league with 23 clean sheets.

CR

daedalus

08-21-2004, 01:00 AM

Cool writeup. :)

Chief Rum

08-21-2004, 04:36 AM

Thanks. ;)

I'm just glad it's done. It was fun getting to know the teams, but my attention to detail can be a real downer sometimes.

I will be doing offseason plans for all teams in a little bit, too, but I don't expect that to be nearly as long.

The next post will be the final five squads.

CR

Chief Rum

08-21-2004, 04:37 AM

Nottingham Forest

League Record: 12-10-16, 46 pts
League Finish: 13th
GF (Rk): 39 (18th)
GA (Rk): 56 (12th tied)
GD (Rk): -17 (17th)

Europe Record: DNP
Cup Record: 4-1-2

Manager: Walter Smith
Top Goal Scorers: ST Darren Huckerby (20), FB Darren Ryan (5), ST David Johnson (4), MF Bruno Pedretti (4)
Top Passers: Johnson (8), WG Diego Martinez (5), MF Brynjar Gunnarsson (4), FB Robbie Stockdale (4), ST Marian Pahars (4)
Top Rating: GK Antti Niemi (7.09), Huckerby (6.95), DC Michael Dawson (6.89)
Top Defender: Dawson

Overall: The Reds started the season well and were solidly mid-table through the first few months with a 6-5-4 record. They even looked like they had an outside chance to make a break on a European place. Eventually, though, the club’s inability to score goals caught up with them. The offense was never a strong point, and the defense finally faltered a bit, which led to Forest putting up just a 6-5-12 record the rest of the season. With age in its best players becoming an issue, Nottingham Forest might be reaching a critical moment in its history, and it will take a lot of manager Walter Smith’s skills to keep them from the drop if they continue to play as they did at the end of the season.

Offense: Only two league squads scored less goals than Forest, and they were both relegated. Oddly enough, though, the Reds have a top notch goal scorer in Huckerby. Few times have high-level clubs avoided the drop by relying so much on one individual striker as Nottingham Forest has. Huckerby isn’t just the focus of the offense, he is the offense. It’s more of a team-wide recognition of this that has led to the confluelce of goals at Huckerby’s feet and assists to his partners. Huckerby had just two assists to his 20 goals, because he knows he’s the only who can score. His primary opposite, Johnson, led the team in assists, more or less by setting up Huckerby. Key reserve striker Pahars had four assists doing the same. Smith did attempt to rectify the situation by loaning in HSV’s Benjamin Lauth in January. The German striker was a proven scorer in the Bundesliga, but he was simply awful in the Premiership. He scored just one goal in 13 matches and rated an unbelievably miserable 5.43. He didn’t even get off an assist to Huckerby. The midfield is in solid hands with Gunnarsson at one spot, although he’s on the downside of his career. The other spot was a constant source of problems. Former Manchester United defensive midfielder Roy Keane is still passable, but he’s injury prone and 37 years old. Gareth Williams is largely ineffective. The best longterm option may be rising talent Bruno Pedretti, who was an offensive spark on the pitch. Pedretti, though, is more of an offensive midfielder and the heir apparent to Gunnarsson—pairing the two may not be the best defensive move. The wings were also troubled. Martinez contributed well to the offensive flow, but he is a poor defensive winger and very lowly-rated. Andy Reid was solid on the other side, but he missed more than two months to injuries. The offense is poor enough that fullback Ryan ranked among team leaders in goals, and the other starting fullback Stockdale was among the better passers.

Defense: The Reds were a mediocre defensive squad—and that was with one of the better goalkeepers in the league. Niemi was fantastic at times, finishing among the top end of league goalkeepers in rating, and earning his share of nods for the league teams of the week. The fullbacks was just decent defensively, and earned most of their plaudits trying to make up for the lackluster offense. Stockdale was rated pretty poorly, although Ryan was closer to the upper end of league fullbacks. Centreback Michael Dawson was solid in the middle defensively, and contributed surprisingly often on offense, too. His partner Chris Doig was decent, but not good enough to raise the play of the backline above its current level.

Sheffield Wednesday

League Record: 11-11-16, 44 pts
League Finish: 14th
GF (Rk): 42 (16th)
GA (Rk): 55 (10th tied)
GD (Rk): -13 (14th)

Europe Record: DNP
Cup Record: 1-0-2

Manager: Chris Turner
Top Goal Scorers: ST Kim Olsen (17), ST Francis Jeffers (10), WG Matthew Hamshaw (3), WG Alan Quinn (3)
Top Passers: Hamshaw (12), Olsen (5), MF Dickson Etuhu (4)
Top Rating: Olsen (7.49), ST David Fox (7.10), Etuhu (6.97)
Top Defender: DC Richard Wood (6.92)

Overall: Outside of a strong stretch in the middle of the year, this was mostly a down season for the Owls. Indeed, were it not for them going 7-3-6 from October to January, they might have been relegated. Outside of that decent showing, they put up a 4-8-10 record. In many ways, Sheffield Wednesday is similar to Nottingham Forest. They are a very poor offensive squad, and at best an average defensive team. They rely on getting much of their scoring from one player, dangerous striker Kim Olsen. They aren’t nearly as locked into Olsen as the Reds are to Huckerby, though, and they also have the advantage of being significantly younger as well. No less than seven key players (counting Chelsea loan-in keeper Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay) are 23 and under. So given that, rather than being a sign of the end as it might be for Forest, it is instead a season to build on for the future.

Offense: Olsen was a very strong offensive player this season, easily leading the squad in goals, finishing among the team leaders in assists, and ending up among Premiership leaders in rating. He is a lethal scorer that needs to be accounted for. He had to counterbalance the questionable performances of longtime striker Jeffers, though. Although the presence of the proven Jeffers makes Sheffield Wednesday much less of a single-shooter squad, he played very poorly otherwise, rating lower than 6.00. No one else on the squad scored more than three goals, and two of the three key reserve strikers rated even worse than Jeffers (while producing much less in the way of goals). The midfield has its problems, which contribute to the difficulties in producing goals, but they do have a handful of solid players in place. Hamshaw was brilliant as a creator on the right side, and Quinn was a strong defensive presence on the other side (although his lack of offensive ability is a key reason for the offensive doldrums). In the middle, Dickson Etuhu is a solid two-way midfielder, and he is backed up by Fox, who should be on the pitch more. One of the reasons Fox didn’t play so much, though, was the January acquisition of Hamit Altintop from Leverkusen. Unfortunately, Altintop did not handle the transition well and was very inconsistent after coming over.

Defense: The key player on defense is Wood, who at 19 is already a strong presence in the middle of the defense. He contributes on both ends and is a solid leader on the pitch. He isn’t the problem—it’s the other spots. His partner, Leigh Bromby, was the poorest starting defender who often undid through his own ineffectiveness much of the defensive work of Wood. The fullbacks, Derek Geary and Lee Webb, were neither particularly strong offensively or very effective in their own end. Faced with those backline issues, it’s no surprise starting goalkeeper Allan McGregor turned in an inconsistent season. For what he was given, he had some fairly strong performances. It should be noted, though, that Kalambay came in from Chelsea in the latter half of the season and outplayed McGregor behind that same backline.

Southampton

League Record: 15-8-15, 53 pts
League Finish: 9th
GF (Rk): 51 (9th tied)
GA (Rk): 58 (15th)
GD (Rk): -7 (11th tied)

Europe Record: 4-2-2
Cup Record: 2-0-2

Manager: Steve McLaren
Top Goal Scorers: ST Ivica Olic (23), ST James Beattie (18), MF Shaun Neville (4), DC Darren Kenton (4)
Top Passers: Beattie (14), Olic (13), Neville (10)
Top Rating: Beattie (7.40), Kenton (7.30), FB Peter Canero (7.10)
Top Defender: Kenton

Overall: The Saints are a squad in flux. There a lot of things to like about this club. They, with Aston Villa and Birmingham, fairly consistently contend for European places and nip at the heels of the big boys. They have some top talent on their team. They won through the Inter-Toto tournament last season to get to the UEFA Cup competition. They have some terrific young talent, like midfielder Neville and goalkeeper Fon Williams, among others. But they always seem to fall just short of breaking into the top five or playing into a serious role in Europe. Despite their success, they lost their manager this season to Celtic. They make odd hiring decisions, such as the surprising hire of Steve McLaren, whom has done nothing to prove he deserves more chances to manage after failed stints at Middlesbrough and Derby. Despite their obvious talent, they still went the full term with a negative goal differential—and it wasn’t even close to being positive. This club is the annual enigma in this league, and you never know what you’re going to get. Really, this year was no different than any other. McLaren didn’t wow with a 2-2-4 record in his short stint to the end of the season, but eight matches is hardly long enough to get a read on someone. Before replacing Leicester City’s John McDermott at Celtic, former manager Pat Rice went 11-4-10, which is solid, but not necessarily awe-inspiring either.

Offense: Everyone knows about the top striker duos with the big clubs. That of the Saints tends to fly under the radar, but they aren’t much worse. Olic turned in a terrific year, leading the squad in goals and flashing some terrific passing abilities. He should have rated higher, though, which is a concern. His partner has no such difficulties—Beattie has been the center of Southampton’s offense for several seasons now. Not only is he a top scorer, he is also the squad’s best passer. Outside of a troublesome left wing spot, the midfield complements the front line well with strong creative and playmaking skills. Neville is a star on the rise. Despite being just 21, he finished among league leaders in assists by midfielders and also came forward to occasionally chip in a goal. His defense work still needs to round into better form, but he is already one of the better overall players at his position in the league. Next to him, defensive midfielder Matthew Oakley turned in a solid, blue-collar performance. On the right wing, Nolberto Solano has better talent than his rating would show, but he’s 34 and on his way down. The left wing never had a consistent starting presence, and few who took a crack at it really established themselves. These guys can score, but they aren’t so good defensively, and that puts a lot more pressure on the backline.

Defense: Kenton and Danny Higginbotham form one of the more underrated central defense duos in the league. Kenton rated among the best defenders in the Premiership last year, and chipped in four goals as well. Higginbotham was no slouch as the true defensive presence beside Kenton. Left back is ably held down by Canero, who is a strong creative presence and a solid defensive player. Right back is as problematic as left wing, with Maurice Ross earning the club a search for a proper replacement, given his poor performance defensively this past season (6.53). The squad brought in Manchester United’s Paul Tierney to help out for the last few months, although he’s going back to Old Trafford now. There is some solid looking help on the bench for the position, with Stephen Crainey and Nyron Nosworthy possibilities to remove Ross. In net, Fon Williams is a player with great upside, but he was somewhat inconsistent this season. He’s good, but he hasn’t yet taken it to the next level. This season, the 22-year-old netminder was about middle of the pack.

Tamworth

League Record: 29-4-5. 91 pts
League Finish: 1st
GF (Rk): 116 (1st)
GA (Rk): 40 (1st)
GD (Rk): +76 (1st)

Europe Record: 12-0-2
Cup Record: 9-2-1

Manager: Matthew Kieta
Top Goal Scorers: MF Johnnier Montaño (24), ST Yakubu (21), MF David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro (19)
Top Passers: MF Michael Stewart (15), ST Orri Freyr Oskarsson (13), Montaño (13)
Top Rating: Montaño (7.97), Pizarro (7.88), Oskarsson (7.80)
Top Defender: FB Kevin Gorman (7.62)

Overall: The Tamworth phenomenon has rolled on through Year Two. One season after shocking Europe by winning the domestic double and the UEFA Cup, the Lambs have firmly established themselves as a superpower, with the League Cup and the Premiership locked up and silverware from the FA Cup—which they now have a chance to win three straight times—and from the vaunted Champions League still a distinct possibility. It’s not just that they have done so well—it’s that they have dominated. Their ridiculous offense was off the charts this season, and they have scored triple digits in goals four straight seasons. Their defense was always a little bit suspect, so it was somewhat of a surprise when Manchester United allowed a couple goals in the final match of the season and allowed the Lambs to slip ahead of them to the top of the league’s defensive rankings. Many observers view Tamworth as a fluke built around a tactic that has been difficult for opposing managers to pin down, but manager Matthew Kieta has already given indications the club will run a more conventional tactic next season (perhaps Chelsea’s 4-3-3, which Tamworth run a little toward the end of this season). Not all was rosy in the engine room, though. The club’s incredible quality depth is one of the primary reasons they have done well this past season, but the competition and the spread of playing time led to a lot of complaints from notable players, including Montaño, Yakubu, wingers Lionel Morgan and Richie Partridge, and fullback Trond Erik Bertelsen.

Offense: Where does one start to describe an offense that put up an amazing 116 goals? Tamworth won’t rank too high on totals lists because of their use of two starting squads this season, but despite that, they had a number of players put up spectacular individual efforts. The key to the offense is at the attacking midfield position, which was manned by Montaño and Pizarro. Both players were terrific this season, as was their backup Giovanny Hernández. Up front, there were no less than five players to score at least 11 goals, including Yakubu, Louis Saha (18), Oskarsson (18), Andrei Pereplyotkin (15) and Adam Wilde (11). They also have Emmanuel Olisadebe (7 G) around from a January transfer, and Pereplyotkin was on the verge of a monster season when he went down with a broken leg. He could be on the verge of superstardom once completely healed. The three midfield spots around the key spot were also deeply manned. On the right, Partridge was one of the highest rated players on the squad (7.88), and he wasn’t too far ahead of the other right wing starter Jim Corbett (7.63). The left wing was a little more troubled. Carl Motteram was one of the few regulars to have a lower than 7.00 rating (6.67), and he only had two goals and one assist in an offense for which racking up stats in these categories is almost too easy. He was paired with Andy Williams, who missed half the season while recovering from a major knee injury from last year’s FA Cup final. Williams didn’t display anywhere near the terrific playmaking skills he did a year ago, although he rated very strongly. Morgan could be the answer here. There should be no complaints about the defensive midfield position, where Stewart and Denny Landzaat were both uniformly excellent and finsiehd among the team and league leaders in assists.

Defense: The two starting squads also each had their own goalkeeper. Jon Masalin, who started part time last season, held down one spot and put up some superb stats. But he was also very poorly rated and made some embarrassing gaffes, including leaving his net enough for Man Utd’s Bresciano to score an amazing half-pitch shot in a September match. Thomas Heaton’s stats were just as strong as Masalin’s, except he didn’t make any embarrassing mistakes, and if he had enough starts, his ratring would qualify among some of the best in the league. Heaton seems likely to be the future here. Longtime Lambs leon Cort and David Raven were both very solid in central defense, although they were both outplayed by backup centreback James McEveley, who will probably start on the first squad this season. Mike Duff finished the season as the highest qualified defender in the league and also contributed on offense—and was overshadowed by his backup Kevin Gorman, who finished the season as the highest-rated defender on the squad. Big ticket January transfer Bertelsen had injury and attitude problems and was somewhat inconsistent at left back.

Tottenham Hotspur

League Record: 10-12-16. 42 pts
League Finish: 16th
GF (Rk): 52 (7th)
GA (Rk): 56 (12th tied)
GD (Rk): -4 (9th tied)

Europe Record: DNP
Cup Record: 0-1-2

Manager: Eddie Gray
Top Goal Scorers: ST Hélder Postiga (18), ST Paul Gallagher (11), ST Jack Howells (7)
Top Passers: WG Christian Tiffert (11), Gallagher (7), Postiga (6), Howells (6)
Top Rating: Postiga (7.41), FB Mbulelo Mabizela (7.29), DC Anthony Gardner (7.22)
Top Defender: Mabizela

Overall: The Spurs needed a huge win over Tamworth of all clubs to ensure they would not be relegated on the last day of the season. Fortunately for the Spurs, the Lambs sent out a reserve squad in what was, for them, a match of no value except for the possibility of injuries to their stars in the days leading up to the FA and Champions cup finals. And it ended up being moot anyway, as Blackpool, with whom Tottenham was tied, also lost, and had a far worse goal differential. Still, to come so close to the drop is a frightening prospect for this longtime Premiership squad. They had the ignominy of failing to win as many matches as they lost during any two-month period last season, and were basically a consistent loser all term. Despite that, they had a goal differential of just -4, demonstrating that perhaps there was more than a little simple bad luck in the Spurs coming so close to relegation. They really seem to be a much better squad than their record would indicate (although by that I mean midtable perhaps).

Offense: Postiga is still a premier scorer, so the Spurs still have a class source of offense up front. He also rated very highly. His partner was usually Paul Gallagher, himself a double-digit goal scorer, and a decent passer, too, which is always a positive when you share the frontline with a high quality scorer. That said, Gallagher rated very poorly, and it seems likely he will be replaced by the young and talented Howells, who won a Young Player of the Month and had some moments of brilliance last year. Projected out to a full season, Howells numbers might have even rivaled Postiga, which would have given Tottenham as strong a front duo as all but the top squads. The midfield was pretty inconsistent and could use an upgrade. Fabian Ernst was decent enough, but just barely, and Mathieu Bodmer had a poor season. Neither were particularly strong in the defensive end, and both did very little to facilitate the offense, which usually needed to go around them via the wings. Speaking of which, the Spurs got a terrific playmaking performance from Tiffert, who led the squad in assists. Rohan Ricketts on the other side was defensively solid, but didn’t do much more passing than the midfield. He was often replaced by young superstar on the rise Claudio Ercoli in the late season, and might be replaced this year. Ercoli is much more inclined to produce offense. It shows the quality of the strikers that with three-fourths of the midfield and both of the fullbacks rather than limited in creative ability, the club’s scoring ability was still fairly strong for its spot in the table.

Defense: The issue here was obvious—Nick Robinson had a poor season. He is just 21, so he still has a way to go, but he should have gotten more than four clean sheets behind the Spurs’ very solid backline. His faltering in the net may be to the benefit of fellow youth competitor Ian Naylor. Naylor was across the board better than Robinson in limited appearances, rated much higher, and had one more clean sheet—in eight less appearances. Three spots on the backline are in excellent hands. Mabizela finished the season as one of the Premiership’s top defensive wingbacks. Gardner leads the defense from the middle with a strong presence. He is partnered with Ledley King, who is now slouch himself. The only spot where mediocrity creeps in is at left back, where Kling was just passable on defense and did very little to generate any offense. The Spurs don’t really have an able replacement in line to take over, though (veteran Stephen Carr had a very poor season, and is not a serious option at this point).

CR

MIJB#19

08-21-2004, 01:30 PM

A little bit offtopic, but what the heck, this team by team review is inspiring for my Merchantmen IHOF dynasty...

Chief Rum

08-21-2004, 02:22 PM

A little bit offtopic, but what the heck, this team by team review is inspiring for my Merchantmen IHOF dynasty...

Are you doing a team-by-team review of the IHOF? That would be a cool read. ;)

Glad you're taking something from this.

CR

MIJB#19

08-21-2004, 02:57 PM

Are you doing a team-by-team review of the IHOF? That would be a cool read. ;)

Glad you're taking something from this.

CRNot quite sure what I'll do, preview or review, but review would be neat, by division so I can do the last two as the Bowl game is played.
Not 100% I'll do it, 32 teams is a lot of work and I dunno if I am inspired enough to write 32 reviews, nor do I know what kind of format I'm looking for.

If it's written, it'll pop-up in the Merchantmen dynasty.

BTW, I sent you a PM recently on the Euro FFL, CR.

Chief Rum

08-21-2004, 03:20 PM

Oh yeah, I forgot to respond to that. I have been checking in regularly there, so it hasn't mattered whether I get official notice. Delays are usually because of work or because I am sleeping while many of you guys are awake.

I think I will actually stay off the list because I would probably still keep getting messages even after the owner of the Dwarves comes back, and I wouldn't want that. ;)

BTW, is the Dwarves' owner an FOFC member? I don't even know who I am drafting for. :)

CR

Alf

08-21-2004, 03:42 PM

CR, the Dwarves is owned by Pim (a french friend of mine), he even signed up here at FOFC and has amde a few posts.

MIJB#19

08-21-2004, 04:16 PM

Enough ot stuff for now, back to Tamworth talk. :D

Chief Rum

08-23-2004, 03:37 AM

I agree, back to Tamworth. ;)

CR

Chief Rum

08-23-2004, 08:03 AM

Tuesday, May 19 To Monday, May 25

The Premiership season may be over, but there's still a lot of football left around the world, including for our own Lambs.

On Saturday this week, we meet up with the Foxes of Leicester at Wembley Stadium, where we will attempt to do the threepeat for the FA Cup.

UEFA Cup Final

A year ago, we beat Parma in this competition for the second most prestigious club title in Europe. Our reign as the UEFA Cup champion is about to come to an end. On Wednesday, Newcastle and Aston Villa do battle at the Olimpico in Rome to capture the 2008-09 UEFA Cup.

It will be nice to see the trophy remain in English hands, no matter how the match turns out. It is also redemption for two league squads that didn't fare as well as they might have hoped in the Premiership. Both are fine stories in this one.

Aston Villa have not only gotten to the league final, they did it the hard way--winning through the Inter Toto competition. Basically, they had a whole other tournament to win before they even got into this one, sorta like an NCAA collegiate basketball squad that didn't have the season to get an at-large bid, but won through via the conference tournament--and then proceeded to win their way all the way to the Final. Sure, Aston Villa isn't quite as relatively bad to the competition as such an NCAA team would be, but it's still quite an accomplishment.

Newcastle, meanwhile, may not have gotten here the hard way, but they went on quite a run in their own right. In this competition, with home-and-home legs in each round, it's possible to draw and even lose matches and still move on. For Newcastle to win 11 of its 12 UEFA matches, with only a draw to mar the record, that is also a very impressive achievement and makes them the favorite in this one (as well as them slightly bettering the Villans in league).

The Magpies had essentially their starting lineup ready for this one. Unfortunately, the Villans come into this one limping a bit, missing star striker Darius Vassell and playmaking midfielder Stilian Petrov to injury. They are also starting reserve fullback Rincón over Luke Young at right back, but that appears to be a managerial choice. John Hartson is starting in place of Vassell, and Igor Demo gets the call at Petrov's spot.

Newcastle got off to a quick start. In just the 2nd minute, they forced a corner from the left spot. Left winger Anders Svensson sent a high corner kick floating down to the far end of the goal. Superstar striker Shola Ameobi beat out his marker and got his head to the ball, firing it at the right corner of the net. Villa netminder Thomas Sorenson was positioned closer to the left post and couldn't get over in time. The ball slammed into the corner of the net for the first score.

Aston Villa dodged a bullet in the 13th minute. Midfielder Barry Ferguson found striker Mateja Kezman behind the defense in the box, and he headed it down to Ameobi. The striker's shot got past the charging Sorenson, but he was off a touch, and the ball hit the right post and bounded away and harmlessly across the nearby goal line.

The match took on a new dynamic in the 20th minute, though. Apparently frustrated at a physical exchange with Andy O'Brien, Villan winger Fredy William Thompson aimed a vicous kick at the defender--and the ref caught a look at it. Thompson was sent off with the professional foul, putting Aston Villa at both a man and goal disadvantage.

The Magpies took immediate advantage. Ameoba collected the ball on a throw-in shortly after the foul was called and sent a long ball to Kezman on the run toward the box at the other end of the pitch. Kezman was closely marked by centreback Olaf Mellberg, so he moved to the right end of the pitch as he approached the area. Sorenson charged out to meet him, and Mellberg was ready for a move back to center, so Kezman launched a high chip shot from beyond the edge of the area, over Sorenson's head. The beautiful shot dropped softly into the left corner of the net for Newcastle's second goal of the match.

With that disadvantage and short a man, it's not surprising that Aston Villa didn't put up much of a fight the rest of the way. Their best shot came in the 37th minute--and it led to another Newcastle tally. Shay Given turned away a point blank shot by David Villa, and Newcastle took back control from the clear out. They proceeded to go on a run to the other end, where Svensson and Ameobi hooked up again. The midfielder sent a sharp back-cross into the box from the right goal line, and Ameobi volleyed it into the left corner for his secodn goal of the match, and the 3-0 lead.

At the end of the match, Newcastle outshot Aston Villa, 11-3 (and 7-3 on goal) and breezed through to the UEFA Cup. Newcastle 3, Aston Villa 0

Goalkeeper Search

We got some responses from our enquiries about goalkeepers early this week. Unfortunately, it seems that our targets' clubs are very interested in keeping them all in the fold.

River turned down our request for a price on Franco Costanzo. They insist he is staying in place. If I want to bring him in, it looks like I will have to wait until I get my new transfer budget and try blowing them away with an offer.

My enquiries into the availability of Caen's Benoît Benvegnu and young Marco Serena of Piacenza were turned down. I have long thought Benvegnu would be a good goalkeeper to get, based on his production, but it's always hard to tell when he's mostly facing National and La Ligue 2 competition. Caen is also about to rise up to La Ligue 1, so I suppose they would want to keep around one of the primary reasons they finally succeeded in doing so.

Serena is a nice looking Italian U-21 goalkeeper who looks like he is a rising young player. I wasn't too surprised they turned down my interest, although, like Costanzo, I may try to force the issue with cold, hard cash. ;)

The one enquiry I did get a return offer for was Leicester's Shaun Allaway, and I was iffy on him int he ifrst place. That if turned into a big 'no' when I saw the Foxes were seeking around $4 M for the guy. He just isn't that good.

Bertelsen Unhappy

Well, all season I have gotten indications that my pricey acquisition Trond Erik Bertelsen is a bit of a headcase. Here's the latest:

In the hours leading up to the FA Cup final, Bertelsen told me he was dismayed at not being a part of the first team. Well, he meant as a regular--I certainly didn't remove him to the reserve squad.

Once again, it is partly a result of my lineup decisions/two starting elevens, and partly the fact he's a needy nutjob like Richie Partridge, Johnnier Montaño and Yakubu. He hasn't played in the last two matches. He didn't play against Arsenal, because it was a second eleven match, and he didn't play in our final league match against Tottenham because I started an all-backup squad (the whole first eleven pretty much got the day off).

Reason being, of course, I was saving them for today's match. All very frustrating.

In any case, now Bertelsen wants to leave the club. Considering I plan on whittling down my lineups next season and am not interested in caving to a bitchy player, Bertelsen isn't going anywhere, and, in fact, will be in today's lineup against Leicester.

FA Cup Final, Leicester City

Team turmoil aside, this is a big day for us. We have the opportunity to win our third straight FA Cup title, a feat that has been performed just twice in the League's history, with both times coming in the 1800s. Blackburn last completed this feat from 1884-86. Wow.

We don't draw an easy opponent in Leicester. They have been one of the hottest clubs in the league over the past few months, and I figure we will be severely tested.

The Foxes' offense is better than their current league rank would suggest, now that they have James Graham back. He and Tommy Wright form a powerful striker duo. Muzzy Izzet is a fine creative midfielder, and Dean Marney and Stefano Mauri both bring it from the sides.

Their defense is less strong, although Sam Jones is terrific, and goalkeeper Joe Murphy is better than Allaway has been.

As I suggested previously, we are going with the first eleven in this match. There are no surprises in this lineup other than one error of my own doing. I accidentally stuck in Denny Landzaat at defensive midfielder instead of Michael Stewart. Oh well, Stewart will just start in the Champions League final with the second eleven.

The Foxes put a scare in us from the very beginning. In the 1st minute of play, shortly after the kickoff to start the match, Graham beat Mike Duff on a header in the left of the area, setting up Mauri on a run through the middle of the area. He blasted it to the right end of the goal, but Jon Masalin sidestepped at the right moment and deflected the shot off to the right. It was cleared by Bertelsen.

Then in the 5th minute, Izzet took the ball in the center of the offensive pitch and placed a perfect pass on the foot of Wright as headed into the goal center from the right. Wright had a slight step on David Raven, but he whizzed his shot over the goal.

We nearly struck back a few minutes later. In the 9th minute, a left touchline pass from Bertelsen to Yakubu drew a lot of defensive attention, and allowed Montaño to take off on a free runt oward the box. Yakubu moved the ball up to him from out of the crowd, allowing the Colombian to go it on goal alone. Murphy charged out at Montaño, so the striker fired it early. He aimed too far left, though, and the ball hit the side netting for the goalkick.

We got the first tally in the 15th minute. Leon Cort got to a half-pitch clear out by Murphy, and headed it right back at the goal. Jones tried to get his head to it, but he missed, and that allowed Yakubu to slip right by him and onto the ball as it went toward the goal. Murphy started to come off of his line, but it would have been hard for him to stop. Yakubu got to the ball just inside the area and blasted a low, hard shot right by the goalkeeper for the first goal of the match.

Our lead was shortlived. In the 19th minute, Riccardo Scimeca moved the ball from the centre-circle up to Izzet, who went on a run up the middle of the pitch. Cort rather oddly committed to getting in front of Izzet, even as Raven was already positioned to do so. All this did was allow the dangerous Graham to get a step on the defense. Izzet has been perfect passing the ball all season,a nd he was on the mark here, too. Masalin ran out of the box and almost reached Graham before the striker fired it. Too late, though, as Graham's shot simply blew by the rushing Masalin and into the net to draw Leicester level.

Leicester would soon display more of the skill that has made them so lethal of late. In the 24th minute, they earned a corner from the right spot. Izzet sent a slightly out-swinging corner onto the near end of the box. Graham beat Andy Williams and Montaño for the ball and headed a shot at the far corner of the net. The shot sailed over Masalin and into the net for the score. Leicester had charged back to a 2-1 lead before I could even pronounce their name correctly.

Maddeningly enough, their defense proved to be solid enough to keep us off of dominating the shots. We wouldn't score the rest of the first half, and they outshot us 5-4 (and 4-2 on goal).

We started off the second half more spirited. In the 47th minute, Montaño poked the ball away from Scimeca near the centre-circle, initiating a good run by Jim Corbett. Corbett set up Orri Freyr Oskarsson to the right of goal. Despite being tightly marked by centreback Lee Atkinson, Oskarsson got a good look at the near post and fired a shot. Murphy stepped over and made a fine save to block the shot down the goal line, where it was then cleared.

We got another terrific chance in the 51st minute. Landzaat removed the ball from Izzet in their end of the pitch and moved a pass up toward the box in anticipation of Montaño running onto it. The forward was closely followed by Jones, but would have been well within his rights to blast a shot at goal. Instead, he made the even better shot to chip pass it down to Oskarsson in the center of the goal area. Oskarsson's shot went just to Murphy's left, though, and once again, the netminder was able to move over and knock it away. Atkinson cleared it from danger.

In the 61st minute, I thought for sure we would get a score. Oskarsson headed a long touch-length pass from Corbett up to Montaño at the edge of the area. Montaño took the ball ona short roundabout run toward the right end the area before unleashing a hard shot on goal. Murphy deflected it back out to the right--where Oskarsson had stepped in to fill the void. He blasted a hard shot right back at Murphy, but the goalkeeper made a great save, clutching the hard shot to end the chance. I'm beginning to think our number is up in this one.

Not only are they keeping us out of goal, they very nearly put it out of reach in the 79th minute. Graham fell under a Mauri pass along the right touch and then took off on a run to challenge his marker, Cort. He beat Cort to the edge as they ran into the left end of the area, and skipped past the centreback up the line toward the goal. At that moment, it was just him and Masalin. He fired a shot point blank, but Masalin was right there and sent the hard shot right back out at Graham (in fact, past him). Cort got to it first and sent it clear.

Now that we're in the last ten minutes of the match, of course, I don't have much help. Still, we keep plugging away.

In the 83rd minute, we forced a corner from the right spot. Sub Giovanny Hernández sent a high corner toward the far post, almost straight up the line and over the goal mouth. Landzaat beat Marsh in the air and headed it back across the goal mouth, although anything that close is very dangerous. Murphy tipped it away before it could accidentally cross the line. He should have tried better to collect it, though. Montaño jumped out from the colelction of players in front of the goal and tapped the loose ball into the net for the late equaliser! I breathed a huge sigh of relief and prepared for likely extra time.

Extra time looked far away in the 86th minute. Montaño and Oskarsson played a bit of a give-and-go from just outside of the area. The forward moved the ball down to the striker in the right end of the area. Oskarsson took it on goal, closely marked by Atkinson. He seemed likely to take the shot, but he found Montaño creating space in the middle. He moved it up to Montaño, who volleyed a shot at the right corner of the net. Murphy just got his fingertips to it, and then the ball delfected up and off the right post. Oskarsson leaped on the reobund, which came right onto him, but Atkinson stepped in and made the critical challenge, putting the ball across the line for the corner (which came to naught).

We got down to the nitty gritty, and I was anticipating another 30 minutes of football tacked onto this one. We got another great chance, though, in the 90th minute (the real one, not in injury time). Hernández got to a clear out in our own end along the right touch and sent a long pass almost the length of the pitch to Oskarsson, who was trying to create space away from Atkinson and fullback Mike Clarke. Oskarsson won free for the ball, but didn't have an open lane to the goal. So he took it to the right goal line before sending a sharp back cross toward the front of the goal mouth center. Yakubu hit the pass with a glancing header, despite fullback Mark Reilly being between him and the net. He hit the header toward the right end of the goal. Murphy was on it and leaped up for the high shot. It struck off his hand, though, bounced up to edge the crossbar and fell back into the net for the go ahead goal! Holy Crap, we did it again! We came back to take the lead!

We didn't give them another serious chance at it, and we won an exhilarating match to take our third consecutive FA Cup. Tamworth 3, Leicester 2

Two goals in the last ten minutes to pull off the stunning comeback. Terrific fun to watch, of course, although it was a serious nailbiter, too.

This is the same competition that saw us score three goals in the last 13 minutes of a semifinal match with Newcastle two years ago, on our way to our first FA Cup (and when we were just a lowly First Division squad). We have certainly had our scares in this one.

Hats off to Leicester. I really think they could be on their way to breaking the Big Six (us, Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, Liverpool) next year with this kind of talent.

FA Cup Aftermath

I have to let this sink in. We just won the FA Cup for an amazing third time in a row, and the first time such a threepeat has been done in this competition in 123 years!

In winning, we also wrapped up the treble, one of the greatest accomplishments a club can pull off in England. We won both the FA and League cups, and we took the Premiership. The last team to do it was Manchester United in 2003-04.

We received $3.2 M from the English Football Association, which just gave us a check for $16 M for our league championship a few days ago. I like that money pipeline there.

The in-game news reports suggested we were "seldom put under any real pressure" and refered to our effort as our "second gear", amking it out like it was an easy match. I don't know what match they were watching, but it wasn't the one my squad just played.

I also got lots of love from the board of directors and from the supporters, of course. Long live Kieta! :)

Storbæk Returns To Health, Dodds Hurt

Our depth got a little better when fullback, defender, midfielder and winger Jarl Ander Storbæk returned to full training on Sunday from his fractured ribs injury.

Storbæk had been out since late April, when he hurt himself in training.

His return matters little, though--Storbæk is not on our international roster and, so, is ineligible for the Champions League final.

A day after Storbæk got the clearance to return to the pitch, reserve defender Ian Dodds broke his ribs in training. The injury is less severe than Storbæk's was, though, and Dodds will only be down two weeks.

Dodds only played with the reserves this year, and I don't regard the 25-year-old with any serious help he will be able to help us at this level. So this injury means little (not to mention we don't play any matches at the reserve level, and just the CL Final for the first team).

Kolo Abib Touré

Remember this guy? I know daedalus does. :)

It came over the news that attacking defender Kolo Abib Touré of Arsenal has been the target of a transfer offer from Fulham. Touré is just 28 and, value-wise, still seems to be well-regarded (value about $12 M). With his speed, mental abilities and offense (winger like skills), he seems a very solid addition for me to consider. Only his lackluster defensive abilities (they are just decent, instead of great) would give me pause at all about him.

In any case, I still have $4 M burning a hole in my transfer pocket, money that, if not spent by mid-June, when the new budget is announced, will probably go into some shareholders' pocket. I have been trying to use it on a goalkeeper, but given the problems I have had in that area, it makes sense I might be able to instead use it to secure Touré's services. Despite his high value, Arsenal had drawn little interest in him and had dropped their transfer request to about $3.8 M.

I felt Touré would allow me to freely let Cort and Duff go, my two leading defenders that are just a month and change away from free transfers. So I went to make a bid for him.

Alas, I was thwarted by the game! Touré was loaned out by Fulham months ago, and as part of the loan deal, they negotiated a loan fee with Arsenal, whereby they would get a shot at signing him. Well, the game would not give me a choice to make an offer to Arsenal for him and with a year left on his contract, Touré wasn't eligible for a Bosman transfer to circumvent that.

I think the game actually has it (in a bug) that loaned players can't be offered transfer deals. At least that's how it was in a couple cases here at the end of this season.

So Fulham had Touré on the squad, had already negotiated a transfer deal (the $5 M they had agreed to with the Gunners previously when they loaned him), and were already offering the Ivorian defender a contract. And I couldn't offer a transfer deal. Ugh.

My only hope, if I am serious in obtaining him (and I am), is to hope he reaches the end of his loan period without accepting the offer from Fulham. If that happens, he goes back to Arsenal, where he will still consider Fulham's offer, but would then be able to be offered for a transfer by others--such as Tamworth. That loan period was scheduled to end on June 3, just 10 days away.

I had just one thing I could do in the hopes of delaying the move-- I announced my interest in acquiring Touré to the media.

Touré Interest Aftermath

Basically, the shit hit the fan a little.

First of all, the Lamb supporters continued to show me love, because they were absolutely thrilled with the notion of Kolo coming to the Lamb Ground. They saw him as a perfect addition to the squad and lauded my good vision for focusing on acquiring him. Good to see the fans know their footy. ;)

That was about the only good thing to happen, at least immediately. While the fans lit up the boards with support for the move, my backup centreback Jon Otsemobor was less than enthusiastic with the move. He sees the acquisition of Touré as a threat to his spot and role with the team.

Otsemobor seems oblivious to the fact that Cort and Duff are nearing the end of their contracts, and that Touré is more accurately a replacement for one of them. In a sense, though, he is right. Were I to let Duff go, Otsemobor would be among the primary candidates to help fill the right back spot. Sure, Kevin Gorman would almost certainly be the anointed starter, but I would liekly need a solid defensive fullback, too, and Otsemobor would fit the bill there.

Oh yeah, and Otsemobor found out the news from the Daily Star. That's gotta hurt.

When approached, I played Otsemobor's concerns off like a grandparent, saying I understood him and symnpathized with him. That seemed to help a little, although he is still unhappy. My assistant manager Terry Gennoe wanted me to tell him to shove it, more or less, so I took quite an enlightened position on his complaints, I think. I have always beena bit of a player's coach, though (see how I don't have the heart to out and out cut anyone?).

That was the outward aftermath, but Cort himself was also less than thrilled by the announced interest. He was already on the edge of unhappiness because of his soon to expire contract, and the Touré rumours dropped him to full unhappiness and worry about being replaced. Unlike Otsemobor, his concerns are more valid and likely to come to pass. Fortunately, he doesn't complain publically, so I don't have to deal with that right now.

On Monday, Arsenal manager Mark Bowen said he is ready to listen to offers for Touré. How about that for a 'DUH' moment? You only been listing him since you were hired, and dropped your asking price by more than 50%, bro.

Not that that matters-- the week ends with Touré still on Fulham, and unable to take on transfer offers from anyone else. Stay tuned.

Makabu Ma Kalambay Receives Bid

Chelsea reserve goalkeeper and member of the All-Name squad Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay (Belgian, in case you're wondering) received a bid from his loaning team on Sunday as well. Sheffield Wednesday have agreed to Chelsea's $1.7 M transfer fee, as worked out in the original loan agreement, and have offered a contract to the young goalkeeper.

MMK is a young netminder I was keeping my eye on after noting that he had done well behind a substandard Sheff Wed backline, and that he seemed to be a product of Chelsea's youth system--which I assume is as good as most youth academies for rich and powerful clubs like them. I don't think of him as a first team contender right now--he's just 20, but I thought of him as a nice insurance pickup and a future backup goalkeeper at the very least.

So when Sheffield Wednesday made the offer, I was on top of this one as well. As with Touré, I did not have the option to offer this player. I still don't know if it's really a bug in the game, or if this is a requirement of the loan fee that was arranged between Sheff Wed and Chelsea.

There was one difference here-- MMK was about a month away from the end of his contract and eligible to be the offer of a Bosman transfer.

The problem with Bosman transfers in situations like this is that you have to pay the former employees fees for developing young players, and the tag on MMK was $1.7 M. I didn't especially want to pay $1.7 M, not for a backup backup potential goalkeeper. But I had to keep him out of Sheff Wed's hands, and if I waited for the end of his loan period (also June 3), then I would risk the same fate that might take place in Touré (he could sign with the club without ever leaving the squad).

Also, Chelsea had had MMK listed for a while and was seeking just $35,000 for a direct transfer now. That's a far cry from $1.7 M.

So I made a Bosman transfer offer to basically "distract" MMK from his Sheff Wed offer. If he accepts my offer, thus locking me into the $1.7 M payment, I will simply delay the transaction a week until his loan period runs out, then work out a much cheaper direct transfer with Chelsea. This all assumes an offer from me can dissuade him from signing with Sheffield Wednesday, and that there is no bad blood from the transfer pull out that will have to necessarily be a part of my less than up front plan. Pretty devious, eh? :p

League News

The transfer window is nearing with each passing day (June 3), so the news is starting to come hot and heavy of announced interests and what not. The Touré and MMK situations were just a part of that. Here's a sample of some other bits and pieces from the Premiership this week.

--Birmingham is interested in bringing in PSV striker Johan Vonlanthen. The 23-year-old Colombian is currently out of favour at the Dutch power. He is currently unsettled and angry that manager Guus Hiddink doesn't see him as a first team regular. The striker was once a rising up-and-comer for PSV Eindhoven in 2005-06, when he scored eight goals in 31 appearances (only nine starts). Since then, though, he has only subbed in five matches for the club, all in the 2007-08 season. That means he played two of the last three seasons entirely with the PSV reserves (six goals in 23 apps this season), and is watching his playing days go by without actual playing time.

Hiddink wasn't too keen to move him, though. On the same day, he announced that Vonlanthen was not available and warned clubs to stay away from him. That's rather odd, considering the lack of pitch time for the young striker. Of course, IMO, Vonlanthen probably can't qualify for a work permit anyway--he's only been capped for Colombia at the U21 level.

--Chelsea centreback Marc Parker announced his desire to get a new contract from Chelsea. Parker is a 19-year-old England Under-21 player who seems to have a bright future ahead of him. Despite his youth, he appeared in 13 matches for the Blues this season (five starts). He held up pretty well with one assist and a 6.85 rating, although his numbers in seven league appearances were less impressive.

Parker is apparently concerned he may have to leave Stamford Bridge to get regular first team football. I have assigned a scout to catch a look at him to see if he might be worth a visit to the Lamb Ground.

--On Sunday, Nottingham Forest officially followed through on rumors that had been running around for a bit, and made a huge offer for HSV striker Benjamin Lauth, whom has been on loan with the Reds since January.

I was rather surprised at the price they offered: $11.25 M. Forest is actually listed as a rich club, but it seemed exorbitant, even for a proven Bundesliga scorer. I think what made it a little silly was Lauth's own performance since he came over to the Reds. I mean, one goal and a 5.43 rating in 14 appearances. Uuuuugly! I guess they are hoping he gets better as he gets used to the League. The German striker is 27, and has three caps with once mighty Germany.

--Fulham isn't just after Touré, as they are flashing some money around, too. On Sunday, Soccernet.com reported that they are chasing a highly regarded Italian midfielder named Guido Giglio. Giglio is currently a top 20-year-old player on Swiss Super League club Delémont.

The Soccernet.com article says Delémont would settle for nothing less than $8.5 M for Giglio, and that's assuming they would move him at all, I am guessing. Giglio, surprisingly for someone subjected to this sort of transfer rumor, has not been capped with Italy at the Under-21 level, but he did put up a solid two goals, six assists and 7.22 rating in 28 appearances with Delémont this season. He was even better last season, with five goals, eight assists and a 7.60 rating. I don't have him scouted, so I don't have a clue how good this kid really is.

--Premiership relegatee Blackpool is looking at Southampton fullback Jason Fox. The 20-year-old defender, who is currently loan listed by the Saints, only played with the reserves this season, although he played pretty solid at that level (one goal, seven assists, 6.90 rating in 21 apps).

Fox is an Irishman, and valued at $1.7 M, but, once again, I don't have him scouted. Too little, too late for Blackpool, though.

--In world news, Dortmund pulled off the domestic double on the same day we took the impressive English treble.

Dortmund beat FC Schalke 04, 2-0, in the German Cup Final at the Olympiastadion in Belrin (which hosted the 2006 World Cup final) to wrap a season in which it also ran away with the Bundesliga championship.

On Sunday, Vallodolid was relegated from the Primera Liga One, and Levante won Spain's second division championship to secure promotion to the top flight.

CR

Chief Rum

08-24-2004, 03:50 AM

English League Playoffs

Silly me, I forgot to update you guys on the goings-on in the English league promotion playoffs at the various levels. A few matches of importance have been played already, although no new promotion shave been offered yet.

Here is what has gone down. I'll start from the lowly Conference and move up.

Nationwide Conference

(2) Southend vs (5) Morecambe
(3) Scarborough vs (4) Wrexham

The Conference features a two-leg semifinal, followed by a one-match final for the spot. Conference champion Carlisle has already been promoted to the Third Division. Southend looks like a much more solid squad than Morecambe. Scarborough had the second best goal differential in the league (behind Carlisle) and should beat out Wrexham.

May 16 Results

Wrexham 3, Scarborough 0

--Shows what I know. This happened at Scarborough.

Southend 1, Morecambe 0

--This shouldn't have been this close, especially at Southend.

May 20 Results

Wrexham 4, Scarborough 1

--Scarborough should be ashamed of themselves for their effort in this. Wrexham looks much better than anticipated.

Southend 1, Morecambe 1

--Well, they didn't win easy, but Southend did take this one on aggregate.

Wrexham 7, Scarborough 1
Southend 2, Morecambe 1

Wrexham will meet Southend on May 29 in Wembley Stadium.

Third Division

(4) Rochdale vs (7) Brentford
(5) Bristol Rovers vs (6) Reading

Like the Conference, the Third Division runs a semifinal with two legs before ending with a one-match final. Unlike the Conference, there is more club exchange between the Third and Second divisions, with the top three squads already promoted. They are, in order of finish, Torquay, Burton Albion and Chester.

Rochdale looks like the better overall team in the first matchup, but Brentford seems very capable of both scoring and allowing goals. That kind of potency can lead to wild matches. Like Scarborough in the Conference, Bristol has the look of a top squad, with the third best goal differential in the league (tied). Hopefully for the Rovers' sake, they won't follow the Boro's example. Reading looks like the worst of the four playoff entrants, but they are also a former First Division club, so who knows?

May 16 Results

Rochdale 1, Brentford 0

--Rochdale got off to a solid start on the road, edging out Brentford.

Reading 4, Bristol 0

--Ouch, just like Scarborough. At least this one was on the road, but a four-goal deficit will be awfully hard to make up.

May 20 Results

Brentford 4, Rochdale 0

--Who wants home cooking anyway? Wow, Brentford came back in style, and put a hurting on Rochdale on the road.

Reading 2, Bristol 1

--Reading wasn't as dominant in this one, but they didn't have to be. It looks like neither home pitch advantage nor final league placement matters much here.

Brentford 4, Rochdale 1
Reading 6, Bristol 1

Brentford will meet Reading at Wembley on June 2. This will be the final match of the English league season.

Second Division

(3) Chesterfield vs (6) Barnsley
(4) West Ham vs (5) Wycombe

Now we're getting into the nitty gritty. The winner of this tourney goes up to the First Division, which is starting to mean something on a national scale.

The Second Division sends its top two squads automatically, in this case, former Conference squads Barnet and Farnborough. Nice to see some other small clubs make runs to the top.

Chesterfield is another former small club. Their matchup with Barnsley looks like a terrific showdown between two very even squads. In the other one, West Ham is interesting. They are a former Premiership and First Division squad, but they not only have the worst goal differential of the playoff squads, they are actually negative (-1). Wycombe was tied for the second highest goal differential, so that should also be a very intriguing matchup.

May 16 Results

Barnsley 3, Chesterfield 1

--Barnsley may be the sixth-place squad in this one, but they ended up tied with Wycombe for the second highest goal differential in the Second Division. They start off well by holding serve on their own ground.

West Ham 3, Wycombe 0

--Apparently, the Hammers still have some of that top level talent around. I wonder where they were during the season?

May 20 Results

Chesterfield 1, Barnsley 0

--Chesterfield got a point back, but it's too little, too late. They needed a bigger win to overcome Barnsley's lead.

Wycombe 0, West Ham 0

--Wycombe played better at their own place, but it wasn't enough. Despite the low goal differential, West ham will get a shot to return to the First Division.

Barnsley 3, Chesterfield 2
West Ham 3, Wycombe 0

Barnsley will meet up with West Ham at Wembley on May 30.

First Division

(3) Ipswich vs (6) Norwich
(4) Coventry vs (5) Wolves

Now we're talking. This is the tournament with something truly special on the line--a berth in the Premiership.

The First Division has already sent on the champion West Bromich Albion and Leeds United. Both are former Premiership squads returning to top flight football.

Ipswich looks like a very strong team, with the best goal differential in the league (including the top two promotees). They have been a First Division contender from the get-go. Norwich is a former smaller squad trying to make it big.

Coventry is another longstanding First Division club that hasn't quite gotten to the top, while the Wolves are the only former Premiership squad involved. This looks like it's going to be a tight fight.

May 16 Results

Norwich 2, Ipswich 0

--Ouch, Ipswich drops the ball to open it up, not that Norwich is a slouych (and playing at home, to boot). Ipswich will have to make a good run at home to advance.

Wolves 1, Coventry 0

--As expected, this one was very close. Wolves edge out Coventry at home, and I am expecting much the same at the other end of this matchup.

May 20 Results

Ipswich 3, Norwich 0

--Ipswich needed a three-goal win to avoid tiebreakers, and in true strong fashion, they got it. They punch their ticket to the final.

Coventry 1, Wolves 1

--Well, I certainly called this one. The small one-goal difference in the first match proves to be the pivotal point here.

Ipswich 3. Norwich 2
Wolves 2, Coventry 1

Couldn't ask for two closer semifinals (well, maybe if they had been decided by penalty kicks...). Ipswich and Wolves will play at Wembley on May 31.

Promotion Finals Recap

Conference: Wrexham vs Southend (May 29)
Third Division: Brentford vs Reading (June 2)
Second Division: Barnsley vs West Ham (May 30)
First Division: Ipswich vs Wolves (May 31)

CR

Chief Rum

08-24-2004, 05:02 AM

2009 EPL Offseason Primer

Here's a look at what the 17 remaining Premiership squads will likely be looking to improve upon in the offseason. I will take a look at the new Premiership squads when we discover which club will nab that third promotion spot. Well, actually, I will also take a close look at Tamworth and possible offseason moves later on in its own post (and after I post the week witht he Champions League final).

Arsenal

Manager: Mark Bowen
Finances: Rich
2008-09 Finish: 4th

Key Players Leaving: None

Frontline: Thierry Henry and Hernán Crespo are on the wrong side of 30, but quality younger backups like José Antonio Reyes and Jérémie Aliadière are already in place. Scoring goals was not a problem for the Gunners, so unless Bowen goes for the "rich club buyeth all" approach, there shouldn't be any big buys here.

Midfield: No one seems to like Edu all that much, but he had a very solid season in the middle. Owen Hargreaves and Denîlson are also solid on the sides. The only issue is aged defensive midfielder Claudio Reyna. This could be a target for improvement.

Backline: Although the Gunners' defense wasn't bad, this was the primary cause of their lackluster finish. None of the back four particularly impressed, although they were all solid. Daniele Bonera is the best defender, and he will probably be in the middle next year with rising talent Michael Jakobsen. Sol Campbell is on his last legs and likely to be dropped to a reserve role--which will probably call for a replacement.

Goal: No problems with Tony McDermott, who is both young and great. Kevin O'Sullivan is unhappy as the backup, so he might be moved and reserve Michal Postulka elevated.

Aston Villa

Manager: Tord Grip
Finances: Rich
2008-09 Finish: 7th

Key Players Leaving: MF Igor Demo

Frontline: The top three strikers, Darius Vassell, David Villa and Peter Crouch are all in their prime. Scoring was not a problem for the Villans this season.

Midfield: Like the forwards, the midfield is primarily manned by players in their prime. Stilian Petrov is very good at one spot in the middle, and the wings are very strong with Fredy William Thompson and Steed Malbranque. The only questionable spot is the second midfield spot. Michael Carrick could elevate to fulltime starter with Demo's departure, but he didn't play very well. This might be a primary area for the Villa to improve its poor defense.

Backline: There is some quality here, considering how the team did on defense. It is more offensively oriented, though. The only consistent defensive player is Olof Mellberg, and he is 31. Also, the backline, outside of Mellberg and star fullback Gareth Barry, is very young (although talented). This might be a situation the Villans simply wait on, as the young talent grows, or maybe they make a move here.

Goal: Thomas Sorenson is just 32, which is decently young for a goalkeeper. He wasn't always very consistent, though, and was a big reasont he defense did poorer than expected. backup Robert Olejnik is young, but he may not be the goalkeeper of the future.

Birmingham City

Manager: Neil Cameron
Finances: Rich
2008-09 Finish: 8th

Key Players Leaving: DC Chris Griffiths

Frontline: The offense was rather lackluster last season, so this area might be a target for improvement. Milan Baros is 27, but the other top three strikers are all 31 and older. Also, Baros scored a lot of goals, but rated low. He might need a different partner than Kanu to draw the best from him.

Midfield: Darren Carter provided some offense from one mid spot, but he could improve. Aliou Cissé is purely a defensive option, and he is 33. Key backup Andy Ferrell has youth (25), but doesn't look top flight. On top of that, the wings are 30-somethings, with Ryan Giggs bound to be falling off soon, and there is absolutely no quality wing depth. Forward help might have to make way for help here first.

Backline: Griffiths is leaving for Benfica, and he was the only key youth on the backline. Top fullback Martin Taylor may slide over to the middle. Griffiths' partner Vincent Kompany had an awful year and might be upgraded. Regardless, at least one spot here could use better personnel and maybe even two.

Goal: Carlo Nash is coming off of his best season, but things could fall apart if he regresses to previous form. Also, he's 36. So the Blues may be looking for a reliable goalkeeper who can be ready to step in if needed. That's assuming backup Colin Doyle isn't the answer (he actually looks like he could be fairly solid).

Blackburn

Manager: Bert van Marwijk
Finances: Rich
2008-09 Finish: 17th

Key Players Leaving: None

Frontline: Peter Lovenkrands and Matt Jansen were both solid players and largely responsible for what few offensive fireworks the Rovers put up. They could use some depth, but are probably themselves good enough to keep in place. A super sub scorer would be very useful.

Midfield: Brett Emerton remains a top wing, even at 32, and Francisco Tognon is a talented youth on the left that should only improve (and he better--he was the worst midfield starter). Lee Bowyer, like Emerton, is 32, so depth in the midfield might be something Blackburn is looking for.

Backline: Problems in the central defense were key to the Rovers' awful play in its own end. Young Chris McConnel was learning on the job, and showed he has a long way to go. Nils-Eric Johansson is no great stuff either. Although star fullback Lucas Neill is 31, and Tottenham's Stephen Carr is already signed to come in and take over the other spot. A couple strong acquisitions in the middle would go a long way to helping the Rovers' defense.

Goal: Blackburn would be looking for a new goalkeeper if young Neil Miles faltered. Fortunately, he didn't and looks to build ona solid first season. The Rovers might be looking for a backup after the venerable Brad Freidel turned in an awful season and is 38.

CR

Chief Rum

08-24-2004, 05:55 AM

Chelsea

Manager: Erland Johnsen
Finances: Rich
2008-09 Finish: 6th

Key Players Leaving: GK Petr Cech

Frontline: In the Blues' three-man front, they have some strong playrs by normal standards. Adrian Mutu is in his prime and the best player on the squad. Arjen Robben is still pretty young and also very good. Still, Jermaine Defoe is relatively unproven, and Mido is proven mediocre. Plus, there is little depth after that. So expect Chelsea to pursue more scoring, which kinda like letting a bunch of kids loose in a candy store.

Midfield: This part of the squad seems to be in order. Joe Cole, Aliaksandr Hleb and Scott Parker are all in their mid-to-late 20's and coming off fine seasons. They are also ably backed up by Damien Duff and Christian Poulsen, neither of whom are older than 30.

Backline: In Chelsea's world, they may think the fullbacks need upgrading, although the reality is that Glen Johnson and Diego Placente are both solid wingbacks. January transfer Aleksandre Amisulashvili is ready to step in for Placente, 32, when he calls it quits, and Johnson is just 24. John Terry is one of the Premiership's best centrebacks and in his prime, while another rising star, partner Robert Huth, is just 24. What problems there are on defense, it doesn't seem to be coming from the backline.

Goal: This might be the spot that led to Chelsea's lower than top end defensive finish (although 6th in the league isn't bad). That is further backed that the club has yet to re-up starting goalkeepr Cech. If Cech is on his way out, the club will have to go searching, because they don't have any replacement ready to step in.

Everton

Manager: Claudio Ranieri
Finances: Secure
2008-09 Finish: 11th

Key Players Leaving: None

Frontline: Everton finished the year as one of the worst offensive squads in the Premiership, but they may not have to go out and get help. They just need Wayne Rooney to stay healthy, and for David Cooper, who played well in limited time, to supplant Elvis Hammond. That would give the Toffees a solid look up front. They could use better quality depth, though, especially given Rooney's injury history.

Midfield: There is reason to be optimistic here, as better quality up front would make this position look much stronger (and it already looks pretty solid). James McFadden is in his prime on one wing, and Daniel Cruz looks like a strong midfielder in his prime. The problem is Jesper Gronkjær on one wing and Li Tie at the other mid spot are in their early 30s, and the backups are mid-30's vets (Robbie Savage, Thomas Gravesen). This might be the offseason to secure both heir apparents at those spots and young depth (which, fortunately, can double up in the same players).

Backline: Joseph Yobo is in his prime as the leader of the defense. His partner Peter Clarke is also passable, and left back Matt Hill is solid. Still, both of those latter spots can be improved upon, and right back Tony Hibbert was just awful and is screaming to be replaced.

Goal: Richard Wright is in his prime, and Stuart Taylor is a quality backup. This is the primary reason (with Yobo) that Everton did well defensively, despite having some backline issues. There should be no need to get help here.

Fulham

Manager: Micky Adams
Finances: Okay
2008-09 Finish: 11th

Key Players Leaving: FB Carlos Bocanregra, WG Sylvain Legwinski

Frontline: Fulham finished midtable, but they were really a very poor squad and fortunate to finish where they did. With a limited transfer budget, underacheiving talent issues and departing vets, this squad coul dbe looking at the drop next season. It starts up front, where Collins John needs to realize his star potential, and Alan Smith be more consistent. They can get by with these guys as their strikers, but they need to play better and there is pretty much no quality depth at all.

Midfield: The wings could be a huge issue. Playmaking wing Legwinksi and top touchline reserve Sean Doherty are headed out the door, and the other starting wing, Demetrius Williams, finished with a sub-6.00 rating. Michael Essien is solid at one middle spot, but otherwise, the midfield is a mess, with a similar lack of quality depth as the wing and up front.

Backline: Bocanegra didn't end the season as a starter, but he should have. He was the team's best wide defender, and now he's leaving. Charlton transfer Gary Naysmith will help a little (although he's not nearly as good as Bocanegra). On the other side, Phil Neville isn't getting any younger. The central defense, manned by defensive leader Zatyiah Knight and young rising star Steve Wilkinson, is the one part of the team that doesn't need upgrading.

Goal: Edwin van der Sar is coming off of one of his worst seasons of his career and he's 38. You can read the writing on the wall here. It's uncertain whether backup David Hudson is ready to take over, so this is yet another area that could use some help.

Leicester City

Manager: John McDermott
Finances: Rich
2008-09 Finish: 10th

Key Players Leaving: None

Frontline: The Foxes feature the best young striker duo in the league in James Graham and Tommy Wright. As long as they stay healthy, things should be looking up. That's a big if for the fragile Graham, though, and the depth is manned by mid-30-somethings Juan Pablo Angel and James Scowcraft. Some younger depth would be nice.

Midfield: The wings looks solid. Stefan Mauri and Dean Marney are both in their 20s and coming off of solid seasons. The midfield also looks overall solid on the ptich, but this is an area that may need some dressing up. Muzzy Izzet is still playing terrific ball, but he's 34. His partner Riccardo Scimeca is 33, and he's not playing such great ball. So a lot of help in the middle could be needed in the near future.

Backline: The two best backliners--centreback Sam Jones and fullback Lee Atkinson--are also the best defenders on the squad. That gives the Foxes something to build on here. The other spots have issues, though. Matt Heath is in his prime at the other centreback spot, but that doesn't mean he's any good. And not only is Cosmin Contra 33 years old, he also played very poorly after coming over from Spain in January. So two of the four backline spots--and some depth--are serious needs this offseason.

Goal: Joe Murphy showed enough to get a legit shot at the solo starting job, although former starter Shaun Allaway is still thought to have some good talent. Allaway isn't producing like Murphy is, though, and if he continues to underachieve, might even need replacing as the backup. Overall, both goalkeepers could probably play a little better than they did last year (and an improved backline would help a lot here, too).

CR

Chief Rum

08-24-2004, 07:58 PM

Liverpool

Manager: Alex McLeish
Finances: Secure
2008-09 Finish: 3rd

Key Players Leaving: None

Frontline: The Reds may not have a player quite as good as Chelsea's Adiran Mutu, but they are otherwise better situated to run the three-man frontline, including better depth. The three starters, El-Hadji Diouf, Michael Owen and Anthony Le Tallec are in their 20s playing well. Emile heskey is the best reserve, and he's just 31. There is young talent, too, particularly in Florent Sinama-Pongolle. This is not an area Liverpool seriously needs to address at this point.

Midfield: The starting threesome remain very strong and in their prime. Mark Bresciano might be the best winger in the Premiership (although he plays a side-leaning midfielder in this tactic). Steven Gerrard is coming off his worst season (still good by most standards), and should bounce back next season. Rafael van der Vaart was terrific at times in replacing Harry Kewll. There are depth issues-- moving Kewell and midfielder Benoît Pedretti have left the cupboard a little bare behind the stars.

Backline: The club's defensive numbers were very strong, but it seems likely that had as much or more to do with a fantastic season from goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek as it did with the backline. The fact is that all of the primary defenders, including key backups are 28 and older, and most are actually above 31. Former centreback star Sami Hyypïa has clearly lost a step. Neither J'Lloyd Samuel nor Jamie Carragher are especially exciting players. John Arne Riise remains the star back here, but often for his offensive exploits. So this might be a position the club could make some moves to improve.

Goal: The only issue here is Dudek's age. He was fantastic last season, but he's 36 and isn't getting any younger. Netminders often stay in the game until their late 30s, so he may not be walking out the door soon, but now is the time for the club to prepare. It doesn't help that young backup Paul Walter looks, at best, as a longterm reserve Premiership goalkeeper.

Manchester City

Manager: Pär Zetterberg
Finances: Secure
2008-09 Finish: 12th

Key Players Leaving: None

Frontline: The problem here isn't depth, or even talent, but quality of play. Some of these guys just need to play better. Aruna was a solid goal scorer, but he can be much better. Stéphane N'Guéma and Bruce Webber are relatively unproven talents who also can step it up. There are another three or four strikers on this squad that could make an impact, although none excite. So the issue is getting them to play to their talent, not really bringing in new players. One of the few 30-somethings, Jon Macken would help matters considerably if he returns to his fine early season form before a knee injury put him down for the year.

Midfield: Dickson Agyeman is a rising star at one mid spot, but the other one is troublesome. Jurica Vranjes could play better, and his reserves aren't locks to over take him either. Jesús Arellano is a fine winger--except he's 36. And Michael Parensen might be the longterm answer at the other wing, but he's just 22 and still cutting his teeth. Former City star Shaun-Wright Phillips has collapsed into a bad form shadow of his former self and, depsite being just 29, doesn't look like a serious solutionm either. So while the club seems content to let Parensen learn ont he job, and Agyeman is just 23, there is reason to believe that changes (or at least better quality depth) could be coming at the other two spots.

Backline: The backline has solid talent across the board and decent depth. Defensive issues this past season were leargely a result of goalkeeper Nicky Weaver's inconsistency. Wayne Bridge and Anthony Réveillère were an integral part of the offense and very solid on defense. Richard Dunne and Sun Jihai both turned in 7.00-plus ratings in central defense. Jihai is 31, while the other three are all 29. Not exactly spring chickens, but a good long way from decaying either.

Goal: After a brilliant three-year stretch from 2003-2006, Weaver has been rather pedestrian in net. Last year was his worst, and he is just 30. It will be interesting to see if the club continues to stick by their one time star in the net, or if they finally have reached the conclusion he needs to be replaced. It should be noted that he still has the skills of a top notch goalkeeper. Regardless, City will be looking for a goalkeeper-- backups Kasper Schmeichel and Arni Gautur Arason appear to be headed out the door.

Manchester United

Manager: Joop Hiele
Finances: Rich
2008-09 Finish: 2nd

Key Players Leaving: GK Luke Steele

Frontline: Such is the wealth of depth at power Manchester United that a solid scorer like Guiseppe Sculli, and a rising talent like Hussaine are looking to leave. With the January purchase of Eidur Gudjohnsen, the Red Devils have three 30-year-old scorers at the top of their games in Gudjohnsen, Nicolas Anelka and Miroslva Klose. Sidney Govou and Cristiano Ronaldo switch back forth from the wing to the front to provide even more depth. This shouldn't be an area Hiele addresses, but with as much money as Man Utd has lying around, it wouldn't surprise if they brought some superstar in anyway.

Midfield: Ronaldo and Keiran Richardson are both 24 and already excellent wings. Gaetano D'Agostino might be the best midfielder in the league, and he's just 26. The solid Eric Djemba0Djemba is the starting unit's "elder" statesman at 28. Govou and Gilberto Silva provide quality depth, among others. This isn't an area that needs addressing either.

Backline: I have said before that this unit might be the best backline in the world, and I still believe that, even though the right back was less than consistent this year. It has a star (Rio Ferdinand). It has a powerful defensive presence (John O'Shea). It has young rising talent (centreback Phillip Bardsley) and veteran depth (Gary Neville and Vincent Candela). There is no reason for the Red Devils to go outside of the organization to get more help here, even to buffer Kasper Bogelund's poor season at right back. But that doesn't mean they won't.

Goal: Like Dudek with Liverpool, Fabien Barthez is an aging goalkeeper who still seems to be at the top of his game. That, however, is a dangerous thing to count on. Barthez is 37 and had a very strong season in net, but he may be even closer to the end. And backup Luke Steele is finally fed up with Barthez's lognevitiy and is due to depart Old Trafford, so the Devils might be looking high and low for not only a backup netminder, but an heir apparent to Barthez.

Newcastle United

Manager: Michael van Praag
Finances: Secure
2008-09 Finish: 5th

Key Players Leaving:

Frontline: There are few striker duos better than Shola Ameobi and Mateja Kezman. If they stay healthy, the scoring should still be coming. Even so, the depth is either proven to be short of stardom (Craig Bellamy) or unproven (Sylvain Perrin) or over the hill vets (Sylvain Wiltord) or out-and-out youth reservists (not proven enough to even be named at this point). So the Magpies might be searching for a supersub type of addition.

Midfield: There is depth here, and quality talent as well. the question is whether the players in the fold have what it takes to elevate this club to the level of Manchester United and beyond. No one questions Jermaine Jenas, one of the finer young midfielders in the game. The other mid spot, though, is manned by Barry Ferguson, a fine player but 31, and backed up by the even older Anders Svensson. Neither is likely to be a true longterm answer. Age isn't an issue on the wing--performance is. Hugo Viana was a dynamic playmaker, but he was rated very low for a winger with that much offensive skill on a squad this good. And Darren Ambrose on the other side copies the rating, but doesn't generate nearly the offense. Is this a unit that needs to be upgraded or is it a waiting game where the Magpies will hope their young stars turn the corner and "get it" one day? Only van Praag knows right now.

Backline: Andy O'Brien and longtime centreback star Jonathon Woodgate are both playing well and just 29. Aaron Hughes on one side was Newcastle's best defender last year and also is 29. Key centreback reserve Titus Bramble is a top quality player and just 27. Fullback Olivier Bernard is an offensive creator at fullback. There are few issues here. The only one seems to be right back Aimo Stefano Diana. At 31 and the least rated by far of Newcastle's starting back four, he would seem to be a logical target for an upgrade.

Goal: Shay Given had another typically fine season last year and, at 33, is in his prime as a goalkeeper. There are no issues with starters here. Young Steve Howell, who serves as the backup, might not be the answer, though, if Given goes down for any serious length of time. He is unproven at just 19.

CR

Chief Rum

08-25-2004, 01:07 AM

Nottingham Forest

Manager: Walter Smith
Finances: Rich
2008-09 Finish: 13th

Key Players Leaving: ST Marian Pahars

Frontline: Darren Huckerby is a solid offensive player and one of the better goal scorers in the league. It pretty much goes sharply downhill from there. The Reds put up the worst offensive numbers in league of any squad that is returning to the Premiership next year. They scored just 39 goals, a bunch of them by Huckerby. Huckerby's partner was David Johnson, who wasn't scoring or rating well. It gets worse--Huckerby is 33, and Johnson 32. The top reserve striker Pahars is retiring (and didn't do well anyway), and loanee Banjamin Lauth turned from a solid Bundesliga scorer into an absolute zero at the City Ground. So this is definitely a huge area for Forest to address.

Midfield: The midfield, for all the club's offensive problems, has at least some decent talent. Diego Martinez on one wing had a poor rating, but he has talent and is creative. Andy Reid is a nice young wing who needs to stay healthy to contribute more. And veteran Brynjar Gunnarsson was the club's best player in this unit, although he's 33. The second mid spot is a sore spot. No one player ever really held the spot. Gareth Williams and Gerald Forschelot didn't play well. Longtime vet Roy Keane is 37 and a shell of his former self. The best young player, Bruno Pedretti, is currently in line to leave the club at the end of June, and the Reds haven't made a move to resign the youngster yet. So with age and inconsistency throughout this unit, it would not be a surprise to see Nottingham Forest make a run at some quality midfielders or wingers. They do have Wolves' defensive midfielder Patrick Ochs signed up on a Bosman, and he played well this season int he First Division, but who knows how his 7.00 rating there will translate in top-flight footy?

Backline: The defense wasn't spectatcular, but it wasn't anywhere near as awful as the offense. The backline was mostly responsible for what inconsistency there was in the Reds' own end, at least that which can't be attributed to the offense's utter lack of ability to keep the ball off opponents' feet. The left back spot has exciting young talent Darren Ryan, who was one of the best offensive players on the team (not that that is hard to do), rated pretty well and is just 18. He outplayed Robbie Stockdale on the other side, 11 years his senior, and Stockdale was the worst rated of the four starters. Michael Dawson was the best player on the backline, and at 25, has a bright future. His partner Chris Doig is in his prime, but that just means he doesn't embarrass himself. The depth is of questionable quality as well, so this unit could use an import or two.

Goal: Antti Niemi came over from Southampton last season and had a solid season. He is the primary reason for whatever defensive plaudits Forest got this season, which also means he is the key to them avoiding the drop this past season. He is 36, though, so you have to be wary of his longevity at this point. His backup is tested, but hardly any younger-- Darren Ward in 35. Unless 19-year-old Danny Clarke is the answer for the future, the Reds may be looking for an heir apparent to Niemi.

Sheffield Wednesday

Manager: Chris Turner
Finances: Rich
2008-09 Finish: 14th

Key Players Leaving: None

Frontline: The similarities between Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest is palpable. Like the Reds, the Owls rely primarily on one player to fuel their offense, which, also like Forest, was one of the worst in the Premiership. Kim Olsen is even better than Huckerby, coming off of a terrific season. He's also younger, still in his prime at 30, if not exactly a spring chicken. After that the frontline was a mess--just like a certain squad in Nottingham. Francis Jeffers, Louis Dodds and David Johnson (yes, Sheffield Wednesday has one, too) all rated lower than 6.00, which is abominable, although the latter two at least have the excuse of youth (they are both 21). This is an obvious unit in need of new blood.

Midfield: When and if the problems up front get fixed, the midfield looks prepared to feed in the ammo. Right now, their quality passes are falling limply at the feet of substandard strikers (outside of Olsen). Matthew Hamshaw is an underrated playmaker in his prime on one wing, and steady vet Alan Quinn is strong defensively on the other side. Dickson Etuhu is a quality midfielder whose numbers will only get better with better talent in front of him. Hamit Altintop was the lone trouble spot, as he made a poor transition to the Premiership after coming to Hillsborough. He will need to imporve his play, and the Wols might look to have someone ready in case he doesn't. For the most part, this is a solid midfield in its prime, with Etuhu and Hamshaw possibly stars with a little better talent around them.

Backline: Only one player--centreback Richard Wood--played above average Premiership football on the backline or in the net for Sheffield Wednesday, so it's a bit of a mystery how they ended up in the midtable defensive rankings. Wood is just 23, and looks like he has a bright future. He needed to make up for the poor play of his partner, though, in Leigh Bromby. Bromby is a candidate to be replaced. The fullbacks were passable, but that's about it. Derek Geary is a vet 28-year-old with solid talent, but not eye-popping stats. Lee Webb is a much more enticing player, as he outplayed everyone but Wood, despite his tender age of 19. There is little depth here, so help will have to come from outside.

Goal: One reason the Owls may have ended up better defensively was because they rented Chelsea's young reserve goalkeeper Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay for the last few months of the season. He played much better in net than regular starter Allan Mcgregor, a well-regarded but inconsistent netminder. They may make a run at bringing him in permanently. McGregor is still around in either case, but he may have proven this season he isn't the longterm answer anymore. There is a deep cadre of young reserve goalkeepers, too, so McGregor's job may not be safe, even if Sheffield Wednesday fails to bring in MMK.

Southampton

Manager: Steve McLaren
Finances: Rich
2008-09 Finish: 9th

Key Players Leaving: None

Frontline: The top two strikers aren't a problem. Ivica Olic could have been rated better, but he had a team-leading 23 goals and 13 assists. James Beattie remains a dangerous playmaker and scorer. At 29 and 31, they are still young enough to be considered to be in their prime. There is almost no depth on the squad, though. Ole Gunnar Solskjær is 36 and has virtually none of his old top ability left. January transfer David McConnell could be a rising star, as he has dominated the First Division the past three seasons and played well in four limited appearances late in the season for the Saints--but that's a lot to ask of a 19-year-old player at this point.

Midfield: MClaren prefers to use a 3-5-2, and utilized it with Southampton after taking over in March. At the moment, it's unclear whether McLaren will use fullbacks at the two defensive wing spots, or traditional wings, or if he will move last year's regular wingers inside to share duties in the three-man central midfield. What is set is that the midfield has some depth to it. There seems to be a sharp delineation between the new and old guards among the midfielders. Veterans Nolberto Solano, on the wing, and Matthew Oakley, as defensive central midfielder, were the top players for the Saints' middle last season. Solano, 34, is a playmaker. and Oakley, 31, was a defensive stalwart as the highest rated midfielder. Key midfield reserve Rory Delap, 32, also played well. They lend experience and solidity to the middle, but they also don't have longterm futures at St. Mary's Stadium, which might affect their use in the future. The young guard is led by Shaun Neville, who at 21 is already a terrific passer and solid all-around player. He and Oakley are locks for two of starting midfield spots. The third one could go to Solano, or other members of the young end of the club, including inconsistent but just 21-year-old winger Stefano De Luca, and well-regarded Bristol City future transfer winger David Vaughan, who will arrive in July. If Delap or another vet like Lee Hendrie takes the third spot, Vaughan, De Luca and Solano could end up at the defensive wing positions, where they will contend with the squad's fullbacks for time. You see why this is confusing?

Backline: The fullback position is ridiculously deep, and as mentioned, that could impact the defensive wing spots are the left and right central defense starters, either of which could take on fullback-styled players. The top foursome last season are all 27 or 28 and in their prime. The top player is Peter Canero, who has been a solid all around wingback for years now. He is a lock to start somewhere, and if I had to guess, I would put him at one of the defensive wing spots to take better advantage of his offensive skills. Maurice Ross, who started at the other fullback spot last year, Stephen Crainey and Nyron Nosworthy round out this group, but I think they are more likely to provide depth at both spots, and in the central defense. Speaking of the central defense, two spots are locked down for sure, with proven vets Darren Kenton and Danny Higginbotham in their prime. Kenton is one of the best centrebacks in the league and almost certainly will man the central spot in the backline. With Higginbotham on one side, Crainey is probably the favorite to grab the other. Point being after all this? Southampton doesn't really need to add more midfield or defensive help--they have too many players here as it is.

Goal: Owain Fon Williams went from being a top young goalkeeper two years ago to a very inconsistent 22-year-old this past season, and that may open up competition a little bit. He still has tremendous upside, but with another young proven player in Jason Ryan--just 17, but a past winner of a Premiership Player of the Month award with Tottenham--sitting behind him, the Saints aren't likely to wait and see how Fon Williams pans out if he starts off poorly. It's unlikely the Saints will bring in anyone at this position.

Tottenham Hotspur

Manager: Eddie Gray
Finances: Okay
2008-09 Finish: 16th

Key Players Leaving: FB Stephen Carr

Frontline: Despite finishing just outside of relegation, Tottenham was a very solid team last year, with just a -4 goal differential. They just had some bad breaks and faltered ins ome matches they probably should have won. If they maintain that level of play, the breaks might go their way next year and the Spurs would probably shoot up the table. Hélder Postiga was a top target up front and, at 26, may be on the cusp of superstardom. Paul Gallagher wasn't as solid beside Postiga, though, and longtime Spur Robbie Keane hasn't ever proven to be strong enough to be a difference maker at this level. That could open the door for 19-year-old Jack Howells, who looked brilliant in limited time and won a Premiership Young Player of the Month this year. Gallagher and Keane are good enough to be solid reserves, so if Howells moves to the start, there might not be a need for a move here.

Midfield: There is some talent here, but there is also garing holes and questions at spots. No problems on the right wing--Christian Tiffert was a dynamic playmaker there and is just 27. Fellow German Fabien Ernst is a solid defensive midfielder in his prime at 29. Now come the question marks. French midfielder Mathieu Bodmer not only didn't play well at the offensive midfielder position this season, he is actually a defensive midfielder. The best midfield backup, Tobias Linderoth, is also a defendive midfielder. The actual top option might be 20-year-old Paul Scott, but he is unproven. On the right wing, the Spurs loaned in Rohan Ricketts from HSV, but Ricketts is going back to Germany, leaving a hole over there. This would be an easy decision with wonderkid (it actually says this on his player card) Claudio Ercoli ready to take over and coming off of a solid season, except that the club has yet to resign him--and his contract ends in June. So this could be a unit where nothing happens--or everything does.

Backline: The backline formed the core of a solid defense last season. Right back Mbulelo Mabizela was one of the best defensive fullbacks in the league last year. His partner Stephan Kling--another German-- was the worst, but he was still fairly decent at the left back spot. His primary competition, Stephen Carr, is leaving for Blackburn in July. The central defense features Ledley King and Anthony Gardner, both of whom rated over 7.00 last year. Mabizela, King and Gardner are all 28 and playing the best football of their careers. Other than seeking out some depth, it's doubtful the Spurs will need to add anything here.

Goal: Like Southampton, the net at White Hart Lane features a battle between two well-regarded young talents. Nick Robinson, 21, got most of the starts this season, but he was outplayed by Ian Naylor, 20. Naylor had the better season this year, and was rated solidly as the starter last year, but he also allowed as high a goals-per-match average last year as Robinson did this year. It seems we still don't know which one, if either, is the real deal at this point, although Naylor's stronger performance may get him in the net to start the season. Regardless, the Spurs are fine in net here.

CR

Chief Rum

08-26-2004, 06:38 AM

Tuesday, May 26 To Monday, June 1

Here is the final week involving match play for the Tamworth Lambs. And it's a big one.

On Wednesday, we travel to the south of France to play Bodo/Glimt in the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille for the ultra-prestigious Champions Cup. I'm frothing at the mouth already. :)

We will also officially embark on the offseason here, as this week takes us right up to the opening of the close transfer window.

Player Called Up For International Play

Usually when just one player is called up, it's Yakubu being called up to Nigeria to particpate in Africa's oddball international schedule. And that's what it was again on Wednesday, when the striker got the patriotic call to play against Uganda.

Nigeria will meet Uganda in an African Cup of Nations qualifying match on June 3. This, of course, is well beyond our last match (which is the same day as we got this notice), so I don't have to worry about it butting up into club fixtures.

Champions League Final, Bodo/Glimt

The time has come. What we have strived for all year. And I wouldn't in a million years have predicted who my opponent would be today. Bodo/Glimt is so out of nowhere, it's amazing. They are truly a Cinderella story.

It's kinda strange to face them, because unlike the usual clubs that get this far, they are actually in the middle of their season. In fact, since the beginning of the Champions League for them--which started in the third round of qualifying last August--they have finished a regular season, gone through an offseason, and started a new season. And their candidacy in this competition came from being the champs of the Norwegian Premier Division two years ago--in 2007.

Bodo/Glimt runs the same 4-3-3 that Chelsea and Liverpool run, and that I have been dabbling with, although I will be using the diablo tactic in this one. The top player in the three-man front is Anders Askheim. He has seven goals and eight assists to go along with an 8.00 rating in 200 appearances this year, and had a dominating 25 G, 17 A, and 8.17 rating last year. He starts at the left forward spot. Kristian Ystaas, who is 27 like Askheim, is another returning starter from last year. The right side forward scored 13 goals and dished off nine assists last year, but is off to a poor start this season (2 G, 1 A in 18 appearances). The targetr man in the middle is a new addition to the starting eleven, although he was with the squad last year. Eirik Markegàrd, 24, scored two goals in 17 appearances, mostly as a sub, last season, but has scored five goals this season in 15 appearances, with 12 starts.

The three-man midfield is headed by defensive midfielder Even Knutsen. Knutsen is a rising young talent at 19 whom has been playing regularly with the Bodo/Glimt first eleven since last year. He has five goals, three assists and a 7.40 rating in 20 matches this year, while he scored nine goals last year. Trond Olsen and Christian Berg appear to be solid wings at the edges of the midfield. Olsen has five goals, four assists, and a 7.00 rating in 15 appearances, while the older Berg has played a more defensive role, with a goal, four assists and a 7.11 rating in 19 matches.

Kjetil Eriksen is a passable centreback for Bodo/Glimt and, despite his young age of 22, has already been starting on the club's backline for years now. He has put up a 6.71 rating. His new partner is Morten Strand, a 19-year-old transfer from Norway's Second Division Traff who is still just settling in (just two matches so far). The fullbacks were both reserves last year hwom have taken bigger roles this season. Rune Eira, another 19-year-old, provides an offensive spark at left back, scoring three goals and posting a 7.00 rating in 12 appearances. Jahn Ove Wiik starts on the right, and hasn't played particularly well (6.67 rating).

Veteran goalkeeper Tor Egil Horn, 33, has the look of a dominating presence in the Norwegian Premier Division, although your guess is as good as mine as to how effective he can be against top league players (which I guess is silly to see, considering we're preparing for the Champions League final). Horn has been in net for Bodo/Glimt since 1996. He has conceded 20 goals in 16 matches this season.

This is a second eleven match, and that is mostly the squad that is out there. Michael Stewart is starting in place of Denny Landzaat at the defensive midfield spot to rectify for my error in starting the Dutchman in the FA Cup final against Leicester City. Adam Wilde is starting for Emmanuel Olisadebe because the Polish striker is still cup tied to Hertha BSC. I also am using some better subs for several reasons, including the importance of the match, the fact that it is the last match of the season and because the international roster limits my choices as it is.

The stadium was packed with some 57,000 fans for this one, although that's nothing compared to some of the crowds I have seen in Wembley.

We started pressing from the very begiining. In the very first minute, Carl Motteram sent a pass toward Adam Wilde near the left end of the penalty area. Wilde moved the ball on on a header to David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro, on a run into the center of the goal area. Pizarro volleyed the pass into a chip attempt, but it sailed over Horn and the goal for a goalkick.

That actually was the only significant shot in the first while, as both clubs settled into a defensive match. The next close shot came in the 19th minute, when Pizarro blazed a swerving freekick just wide of the left post. Bodo/Glimt made a nice run in the 21st minute. Ystraas stepped in between James McEveley and Hermann Hreidarsson to intercept a defensive pitch pass from the former, and went on a run on goal, with Hreidasrsson and Tieme Klompe trailing. Klompe was closing in, and Thomas Heaton charged out, so Ystaas lifted up a chip shot of his own from beyond the area. Liek Pizarro, though, he kicked it too hard and it sailed out of bounds.

Bodo/Glimt got another good chance in the 24th minute. Eira had the ball at the left centreline. He sent a pass forward to Markegård, who went on a run into the left end of the penalty area. Markegard put it on goal, but Heaton deflected it. He wasn't able to gather it cleanly, though, as it went back out into a busy box. Richie Partridge eventually own control of the ball and cleared it.

In the 27th minute, Partridge found WIlde on a run up the middle of the pitch and sent him forward a pass that sailed over Strand and onto the striker on the run. Horn charged out to stop Wilde, and the approach was tight, so Wilde kicked a beautiful, slightly swerving shot--just enough to get around Horn--that sailed back in line and inside the left goal post for the first score of the match! We have the 1-0 lead!

It didn't take Wilde long to strike again. Pizarro ended up with the ball following a freekick in the right wing near the goal line. He sent a high crossing pass into the zone that fell to Wilde, up against Strand and Eriksen. Wilde beat the two defenders in the air and deflected the shot perfectly intot he net, just inside the right post. We took the 2-0 lead with two strikes just three minutes apart.

We entered halftime with the two-goal lead and a 7-3 shot advantage (5-2 on goal).

Bodo/Glimt began trying to chip away at our lead in the 48th minute. Strand tooka backpass in the defensive zone and sent a cross-pitch pass to a streaking Askheim, trying to split through the defense between McEveley and Kevin Gorman. Aksheim beat McEveley in the air for the ball, and headed it on into the goal area. He charged onto it as Heaton tried to close. The Norwegain striker fired a hard shot that looked good enoguh to make it in, but it sailed over the crossbar for the goalkick.

Wilde almost finished off the hat trick in the 53rd minute, kicking a shot at the right post from beyond the area. It got past Horn, but sailed wide of the post. Bodo/Glimt responded almost immediately a minute later. Strand sent a high freekick from the centre-circle directly in front of the net. Knutsen beat McEveley int he air and headed a shot right on goal. Heaton parried it back out and Stewart cleared it.

Askheim skied another shot just over the crossbar in the 61st minute, as the Norwegian club continued to desperately try to get back into this one.

In the 65th minute, Stewart moved a pass up to the edge of the area in front of the goal. Louis Saha fought off a defender for the ball and chipped it forward to Pizarro, just a step into the box. Pizarro blasted a shot on goal, but Horn, charging out, got in the way and sent it back. Unfortunately, it went right to Pizarro, who pounced on the ball and rocketed it into the left side of the net for the insurmountable 3-0 goal.

That's pretty much where it went from there. We outshot Bodo/Glimt 14-6, with a 10-3 on-goal advantage, and took the Champions Cup! Tamworth 3, Bodo/Glimt 0

Wow, I can't believe it. I actually won the most prestigious club tournament in the world.

The news media said we ran out to an easy victory, courtesy to dominating possession.

Champions League Cup Final Aftermath

The UEFA gave us a cool $7.25 M for our win in the Champions Cup final.

What came next shocked me, though, as I only expected reward money. We were given $21.5 M for Champions League television revenue! Holy crap!

Now I see why this thing is such a cash cow. Wow. The club coffers are now approaching an amazing $100 M, far more than we have ever had before.

The Champions Cup win will also earn us a ticket into our second straight Super Cup, and also into the Inter-Continental Cup in December, in which we will play the South American Champions League winner.

With that, our playing season and fixture is officially complete, and we have had perhaps the greatest season in club history. Now we get to see if I can do it again without the uber-tactic (my guess is...no...but it will be fun trying).

Kolo Speaks

A day after we wont he Champions Cup, one of our priamry transfer targets spoke to Football365.com about our interest in him.

Arsenal defender Kolo Abib Touré told the sporting Web site that he needs to consider his options in light of media speculation linking him to us.

Kolo wants the matter wrapped up as fast as possible. I would be obliged to do so myself, but that choice is out of my hands--Touré still has another week left on his contract with Fulham, and I still don't even have the right to negotiate a transfer offer for him.

Meanwhile, he is already looking at an offer from Fulham. I'm not sure we can pull this one out unless he sits on the offer for a bit--and a week is a long time to do that.

Makabu Ma Kalambay Agrees To Deal

The first shoe dropped in our other transfer dealing.

On Thursday, Chelsea's young reserve goalkeeper Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay has agreed to our offer, which was what he asked for (a three-year contract in the five-hundred-thousands or so). He took our offer over a similar one from Sheffield Wednesday.

And with that taken care of, we officially dropped the other show and asked to delay the transfer for a week. I am hoping the goalkeeper will be off of his loan deal with Sheffield Wednesday by then (he should be), which will allow me to make a proper transfer offer for him that does not include the $1.7 M fee I would be required to pay to Chelsea if I allowed the deal to go through as it is now.

Raven Agrees To Extension

Months ago, I told 24-year-old centreback David Raven that I would negotiate a contract extension with him at the end of the season. His original deal was due to expire next June.

After the Bodo/Glimt win, I offered a contract to Raven, a three-year deal for $850,000 per season. It was somewhat less than the close to $1 M he was seeking, but I felt what I was offering was sensible enough.

Apparently Raven thought so, too. On Thursday, he agreed to the deal and is now signed up with us through 2012.

Raven had five assists in 32 matches, with 31 starts. He posted a 7.06 average rating.

Touré's Agent Offers To Broker Deal

Well, this is new.

On Friday, Touré's agent approached us at The Lamb Ground to induce us to make an offer on the defender. We have been mentioned by the defender as being on a list of teams he would be interested in joining, and the agent encourgaed us to make an offer.

Better yet, the news item came with a window to actually make an offer! Yes, we have a chance to circumvent the loan process! We made our $3.8 M offer to Arsenal, which was what they had Touré listed as ebing available for.

Now we sit and wait. If Arsenal is fast, we might be able to get our contract offer in before Touré decides. I like our chances then, as most players will choose the league contender over the also-ran.

Four Players Called Up For International Play

With the regular season ending, another serious round of international play is about to start up. On Friday, we got the call up for some of the U-21 squads.

Fullback Kevin Gorman was called up to the Republic of Ireland U-21s, and defender Andrey Gorbunov, on our U-19 squad, was brought up to Solvakia's U-21 squad. Both have represtented their countries before.

I got a kick out of the two new additions to the list, though. Recently acquired centreback Péter Kiss was also called up, along with Gorbunov, to Slovakia's U-21 squad.

And, then, much to my happiness, promising winger Chris Booth was called up to England's U-21 team. I was really ecstatic to get a player on one of the best youth squads in the world.

All four players will be playing in matches in early June, in tandem with the top teams carrying out World Cup qualifying.

Bigné Loan Finishes

I almost forgot about Yoann Bigné. On Friday, the French winger's full season loan with La Ligue One squad Nîmes ended, and he returned to the Lamb Ground.

I picked up Bigné from Bordeaux prior to my first season in the Premiership, but then he became somewhat surplus to requirements when I also landed Partridge and Motteram. He also ended up on loan with Nîmes last season (they were in La Ligue Two at the time).

In any case, he is now 31 and while a solid enough player, he has really been outpaced by our progression, and I no longer see him as someone I need to keep around. I will probably list him in the offseason.

He didn't play much with Nîmies, which makes you wonder why they loaned him out in the first place. In eight matches (five of them starts), he scored two goals and posted a 6.00 rating.

In his only time with us last season, Bigné played decently well as a wing reserve, with an assist and 6.87 rating in 15 appearances.

Touré Accepts Fulham Offer

Sorry daedalus. I tried. :(

Later on Friday, on the very day his agent called us to make an offer, Touré accepted the contract offer from Fulham, completing the $5 M transfer deal between the Cottagers and Arsenal.

Hey, power to them. They certainly needed the help. I was disappointed to see my "tactics" fail in this instance, but there was little I could do at this point. I hadn't counted on (or known) that the loan fee situation would shut me out of the bidding process.

I still think if we had gotten to the contract offer stage, we could have brought Touré aboard.

Conference Promotion Final

Second place Southend met fourth place Wrexham at Wembley Stadium on Friday for the right to advance to the League and the Third Division.

The Wales-based Wrexham squad won out in a tight 1-0 contest in front of a crowd of 11,921.

Striker Mark Pritchard provided the only score in the match, putting through a shot in the 73rd minute that proved to be the difference. Wrexham outshot Southend 10-6 (6-4 on goal).

Wrexham joins Conference champion Carlisle in the Third Division.

Fourteen Lambs Called Up To National Teams

I believe this is a record for most players called up at once, and this doesn't include ANdrei Pereplyotkin, who is close to full health, but apparently not enough for the Ukraine coach. On Saturday, we got a lot of calls at the Lamb Ground.

Here they are. Most of them are familiar, I am sure.

Chile: midfielder David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro
Colombia: midfielder Giovanny Hernández and forward Johnnier Montaño
Scotland: midfielder Michael Stewart
Norway: fullback Trond Erik Bertelsen
Republic of Ireland: winger Richie Partridge and striker Mark Hicks
Wales: winger Andy Williams
France: striker Louis Saha
Poland: striker Emmanuel Olisadebe
Northern Ireland: fullback Mike Duff
Iceland: fullback Hermann Hreidarsson and forward Orri Freyr Oskarsson
Holland: midfielder Denny Landzaat

No one on this list is a first timer to international play, although Hicks is probably still getting used to being called up to Ireland's team (the March round of internationals were his first call up to the big Irish squad).

Obviously, both South America and Europe will be holding World Cup qualifiers in early June.

Second Division Promotion Final

On Saturday, sixth place Barnsley took on fourth place West Ham, at one time a Premiership squad, in the final match for a coveted spot in the First Division. Wembley Stadium was packed to the full with almost 87,000 fans.

Young fullback Andy Stannard put his Hammers in a bad spot by arguing his way into a ticket off the pitch in the 12th minute. Forward James Hayter put Barnsley up in the 21st minute, and then fellow forward Kevin Betsy added another in the 56th minute. Still, West Ham moved within one when winger Stephen Doherty scored in the 70th minute, and they actually played even with Barnsley for most of the match. Still they couldn't break through and fell to Barnsley, 2-1.

I have a feeling Stannard isn't very popular with the supporters at Upton Park in London.

Barnsley, which barely snuck into the playoff tournament in the first place, won through to the First Division, joining league champion Barnet and Farnborough.

Boldyrev Called Up To Under-21 Squad

Apparently an injury or some other calamity has opene dup another spot on the Slovakia U-21 squad, and they came calling for our troubled U-19 striker Roman Boldyrev.

Boldyrev will go join the Slovakia U-21's and his teammates Kiss and Gorbunov in international competition next week.

All told, this puts us at an amazing 20 players in international play at some level,a nd that doesn't include the injured Pereplyotkin. Way to go, guys. Stay healthy. ;)

One Month Left For Several Contracts

We got notice Sunday of the impending termination of several contracts for Tamworth players. I am still uncertain on some of them, but most of these players are not going to be brought back.

The most significant are first team defenders Leon Cort and Duff. Key midfield reserve Darren Birchall and emergency reserve goalkeeper Casper Nelis, a former starter, are also headed out as of right now.

They join first teamers fullback Justin Skinner and centreback Mark Warren, as well as Tamworth Reserve players centreback Reinder Hendriks, fullback Jamie Fullarton, winger Luke Rowlett, midfielder Brett Darby and striker Stephen McGowan. Rowlett and Darby were both with the Lambs when I was hired in 2003, and are the last remaining members of the original squad (although Hicks was a member of that squad, brought in near the end of the close window in 2003).

Coaches Jorge Humberto Rodriguez and John Connolly are also nearing the end of their contracts.

Sheffield Wednesday Make Bid On Montaño

Having noticed that Sheffield Wednesday was interested in troubled forward Montaño, I made a current value offer of the player to them earlier on the week. On Sunday, the Owls made a counter offer.

They offered fullback Derek Geary, who is currently on my shortlist, and a 20% cut of Montaño's future transfer fee take for the Colombian forward.

This one actually gave me pause, although I can't say it impressed me at first. Geary is a player I shortlisted because he is a smart player with winger level skills. Unfortunately, Geary is also slower than I like (although on the whole of it, he's not slow at all), and his defensive skills are also below what I want from the position. Plus, Montaño is 26-year-old forward coming off of a 24 goal season and has a value of $11.75 M, while Geary is 28, had a poor season (6.61 rating, just two assists in 38 matches), and is valued at just $3.7 M. I can't even begin to get a handle on what the 20% value is worth.

So this wasn't an offer I was going to take. I didn't want to let a chance to unload Montaño go, though, so I made a counter offer. I tried to adjust the offer to exclude Geary, but it seems that wasn't something I had as an option. So I counteroffered without the 20%, and put in the Owls' young centreback leader Richard Wood. Wood is a strong and smart defensive player, although his speed is about the same as Geary's. He was their best defender last year (6.92 rating in 38 starts) and is just 23. His value, $8.25 M, is also closer to Montaño's listed value.

Hopefully they will like the offer, but I am not too hopeful, given that I had to keep Geary in. A Wood deal alone (my preferred deal) might have been acceptable, while asking for Geary and Wood is almost certainly too much.

Wood would go a long way to easing the pain of losing Touré to Fulham, and it would also make my decision on the future of Cort much simpler.

First Division Promotion Final

This one is for all the marbles--that final spot in the Premiership.

Past Premiership squad Wolverhampton will took on Ipswich on Sunday. Ipswich hasn't been to the top level recently, but they had a much stronger season than the Wolves, finishing in third place and a First Division-best +36 goal differential. The Wolves finished in fifth place.

Almost a fullhouse, around 90,000, packed Wembley for the high profile match.

Neither team was making much headway in this match. It took a near freebie to get the scoring going. In the 23rd minute, Ipswich centreback Darren Purse, a former Birmingham City defender, was called for a push on fullback Isaac Okoronkwo on a corner kick, and the ref pointed to the spot. Midfielder Kevin Bennett fired it home to give the Wolves 1-0 lead.

After that, the Wolves' defenders took care of business, keeping Ipswich away from even shooting on goal. By the end of the match, Ipswich had just two total shots, only one of which went on goal. Striker David Taylor clinched the win for Wolverhampton in the 87th minute, putting the finishing touches on a 2-0 victory.

The Wolves are returning to the Premiership, joining two other former Premiership squads in First Division champion West Bromich Albion and second place Leeds United.

Board Confidence Update

Guess. Go ahead. I dare ya.

Transfer News

It's time to give this part of the news its own little section. Here are the rumors, transfers and what not from the Premiership this past week. It's getting really busy out there with the next transfer window opening on June 3.

Giglio Update

Last week, Delémont midfielder Guido Giglio was the subject of rumors that Fulham was attemtping to bring the exciting Italian player to Craven Cottage.

On Tuesday, two days after a Soccernet.com report broke news of Fulham's interest, Delémont manager Michel Renquin said Giglio wasn't going anywhere, and warned other clubs to stay away.

The Soccernet report indicated a general consensus that if Giglio were to be brought over to England, it would require at least an $8.5 M transfer offer to the Swiss Super League squad.

Giglio has put up solid numbers in Switzerland, but it's tough to tell how that will translate to the Premiership, were he coming.

Renquin's announcement notwithstanding, the midfielder told Soccernet.com on Friday that a move to the Cottagers would be too good to turn down. He also said, though, that it would be tough to leave Delémont because of his strength of feeling for the club and its supporters.

Vitesse Rules Out Vink Move

On Wednesday, Blackburn received a similarly worded message in regards to 17-year-old Dutch striker Fred Vink.

Eridivisie club Vitesse, Vink's current employers, told the Rovers and all other clubs to back off from the striker on Wednesday, stating he wasn't going anywhere.

Vink would appear to be a youth club target for Blackburn, as he hasn't played very many matches for Vitesse, nor particularly impressed when he did. He also has yet to appear internationally for Holland. He is considered a promising striker.

Nonetheless, Vitesse manager Co Adriaanse said the club had big plans for the reserve striker.

A day later, Vink himself said he was extremely flattered at the interest from the Premiership club. He told a Dutch national newspaper that he would consider any offer they made him. It doesn't look like Adriaanse is going to let that happen, though.

Ward Not Going Anywhere

First Switzerland. Then the Netherlands. And now Ireland.

On Thursday, Irish Premier Division squad Limerick and its boss Michael Kerley said "hands off" central defender David Ward, whom has recently attracted the attentions of powerful Liverpool.

The 21-year-old reserve centreback is apparently thought to have a lot of upside by the Reds. He has three appearances with Ireland's U-21 squad (and shares backline duties with Tamworth's own Gorman). Ward has been dominant force for Limerick since he was 16, never raring lower than 7.41. He has been a regular backline starter for the past six seasons, the first of which Limerick played in Ireland's First Division.

The squad was promoted to the IPD this past offseason, and Ward is playing even better, posting an 8.00 rating in nine matches so far (Ireland's season runs from April to November).

Sounds like I should scout this guy at least. :)

McLaren Says Fox Isn't Available

On Thursday, Southampton manager Steve McLaren said Irish 20-year-old defender Jason Fox is not available. His comments were in response to rumors that relegated Premiership squad Blackpool is taking a look at the 20-year-old player.

Fox played with the Saints' reserves this past season, and it is unclear whether he will play a role with the first team this season. My eye says he's not quite ready yet. He put up seven assists and a 6.90 rating in 21 appearances with the Southampton reserve team.

McLaren isn't the only one not interested in moving Fox. The defender himself told Football365.com on Sunday that he was not interested in moving to the Seasiders. In fact, he said that if he were ever to leave St. Mary's Stadium, it would not be to Blackpool that he would head.

I figure that probably puts the kibosh on that.

Parker Expects To Be First Team

A few days after expressing his desire for a new contract, Chelsea's young defender Marc Parker told The Guardian he was unsatisfied with manager Erland Johnsen's decision to leave him off of the first team.

The 19-year-old England U-21 central defender was solid in limited appearances with the Blues, but that's never an easy lienup to break into.

In the interview, reported on Thursday, Parker suggested Johnsen was inexperienced and didn't know a good player when he saw one.

I have to laugh at that first part. Not experienced? Johnson has been Chelsea's manager since the 2006-07 season, and before that managed powerful Scottish Premier League squad Celtic.

Ah, the impetuousness of youth.

Benfica Sign Birmingham's Griffiths

Portuguese Superleague power Benfica officially signed away Birmingham City defender Chris Griffiths.

The Bosman transfer was agreed to months ago and only made official on Friday.

Griffiths' departure, while known for a while now, is bad news for the Blues, who lack quality in their central defense. Griffiths, 20, put up a strong 6.97 rating in 40 appearances with Birmingham, including 23 starts. He also produced more offense than centrebacks usually do, with two goals and three assists.

He is also a nine-time capped member of Ireland's U-21 squad (so, I guess he's another significant member of Ireland's backline youth squad, with Limerick's Ward and Tamworth's Gorman).

Griffiths departure leaves the underwhelming Vincent Kompany as the only returning central defender for the Blues.

Birmingham Interested In Everton's Foster

With Griffiths off to Portugal, the Blues maybe seeking backline help from Everton.

The same day Griffiths' transfer became official, Everton manager Claudio Ranieri said he would listen to offers for his 19-year-old central defender Alan Foster. Birmingham reportedly has some interest in Foster, a member of the Toffees' reserve squad.

Ranieri's interest in moving him is not surprising, as Foster has apparently been found lacking. He is currently transfer listed and Everton has actually dropped the price to a pittance at $16,000.

Hopefully Birmingham is just looking for youth depth, because this kid doesn't look ready to play any sort of role with the Blues' first team, much less replace a quality young player like Griffiths. Foster put up just a 6.19 rating in 21 appearances with the Toffee Reserves, although he did score three goals. Foster, a product of Everton's youth academy, has never appeared in an official match for the first team.

Blackpool Targets Everton's Moogan

Ranieri wasn't just fielding inquiries on Foster.

Relegated club Blackpool is reputedly looking to add 25-year-old Everton midfielder Alan Moogan.

Moogan played decently well as a backup with Everton from 2006-08, but he was determined to be surplus to requirements last season, barely seeing the pitch and landing on the club's transfer list. The midfielder, valued at $3 M, has had his price dropped to some $1.5 M for lack of interest.

Moogan himself is unsettled at Goodison Park, which seems understandable, considering his falling status with the club. He appeared in just two matches with the first team this past season, scoring a goal and posting a 6.00 rating.

As with Foster, Ranieri was anxious to move the little-used midfielder, saying he would certainly take offers for Moogan on Sunday.

Oddly enough, Moogan himself seems to love playing with the Liverpool-based Toffees, even as a member of their reserve team. Moogan has never played professional football outside of Everton, and wants the supporters to know he would resist a move away from Goodison Park because of his loyalty to them and love for the club.

Moogan said he feels he is being dogged by the Blackpool rumors, in the report on Sunday.

Blackpool just can't win apparently.

Leicester's McDermott Looking To Schmeichel

Leicester manager John McDermott admitted he was looking at possibly bringing in Manchester City's reserve goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel on Saturday. McDermott believes Schmeichel would vastly improve his squad.

Schmeichel, 22, is a Danish U-21 player whom has apparently fallen out of favor at the City of Manchester Stadium. He subbed into just one match for the first team, and didn't play too well once there, conceding two goals and posting a 6.00 rating. It was the second straight season for City that he made just one substitute appearance on the season, but two seasons ago, he held up well in 12 appearances with Man City, conceding nine goals, but putting up seven clean sheets during that stretch.

Schmeichel, a product of City's youth academy, is out of a contract at the end of June and is eligible to be signed via a Bosman transfer, although it will cost bidding teams $1.1 M to do so (youth development fee to Man City).

For what it's worth, Schmeichel dominated in the reserve league, posting a 7.47 rating and conceding just 9 goals in 17 matches, 11 of them starts. He put up 10 clean sheets for the Citizen Reserves.

The growing list of suitors is actually growing. Beyond Leicester, there is also Fulham, Bundesliga power Leverkusen, Spanish clubs Córdoba, Racing Santander and Levante, and...Tamworth.

More on that later, as I entered as a possible bidder after one of my scouts gave Schmeichel a favorable rating. This media report about McDermott triggered the interest on my own part.

Man City added fuel to the fire on Monday when manager Pär Zetterberg said the goalkeeper could leave the club if he wants to. The City boss said he would willingly move the netminder for the right price.

Lauth Signs With Forest

Well, you just had to know HSV wasn't going to turn down $11.25 M. One week after the Reds offered that amount to the Bundesliga club for the German striker, Benjamin Lauth agreed to terms with Forest on Saturday.

Lauth loaned with Nottingham Forest for the last four months of the season, although he did not impress (one goal, a horrible 5.43 rating in 13 appearances). Lauth is a proven scorer in Germany, though, so Nottingham Forest is clearly hoping he will acclimate himself to top flight football here in England and help them out with their woeful offensive problems.

The transfer will officially go through next week on June 2.

League News

There was no significant Premiership news outside of the transfer signings and speculation.

Genoa won the Italian Cup, Italy's version of the FA Cup, on Saturday, beating Torino, 2-1 in aggregate.

On Sunday, Zaragoza and Las Palmas switched places in the Primera Liga. Las Palmas dropped to La Liga 2, while Zaragoza, a former top squad, promoted to La Liga 1.

CR

MIJB#19

08-26-2004, 07:03 AM

Matt,

Please clarify something to me about three of the managers stated above in the season review:
Blackburn - Bert van Marwijk
Man United - Joop Hiele
Newcastle - Michael van Praag
Bert van Marwijk at Blackburn I can see, but how on earth did those other two men land that job?

Hiele has been a keepers trainer for the last 5 to 10 years if I recall correctly, while Van Praag has been the Ajax chairman and nothing close to a coaching job.

Chief Rum

08-26-2004, 11:16 PM

Matt,

Please clarify something to me about three of the managers stated above in the season review:

Bert van Marwijk at Blackburn I can see, but how on earth did those other two men land that job?

Hiele has been a keepers trainer for the last 5 to 10 years if I recall correctly, while Van Praag has been the Ajax chairman and nothing close to a coaching job.

You can see Marwijk at Blackburn, but can you see him at Arsenal? :) That was his previous posting--and he left Ashburton Grove for Ewood Park.

Marwijk was signed by Olympiakos to serve as assistant manager in Januray, 2004, before being hired to manage Hibs in the Scottish Premier League in 2006. He didn't win league championships at Hibs, but was the league's third-placed manager of the year in 2007, and also led the squad to a runner up in the Scottish Cup. That apparently got him the tryout with the Gunners when Wenger was sacked last year (I know, I know, like that last would actually happen).

Marwijk has never been fired actually. He was hired away from Hibs, and then from Arsenal by Blackburn and has won far more matches than he has lost. The Rovers also improved under his tutelage int he second half of the season.

But then, he wasn't really the guy who surprised you. ;)

One of the problems with CM's opening histories is they don't tell you where these guys were before their first hirings in the dynasty. Hiele doesn't have a listed occupation prior to January, 2005, but I assume he was in whatever role you know him as. He was listed as being brought in to Aston Villa from free transfer. I couldn't tell you how he ended up in Man Utd. He was hired by the Villans as assistant manager, and six months later, Sir Alex called it quits. Man Utd's worldwide search apparently ended up with Hiele.

He was brought on in July, 2005, and obviously, the club hasn't looked back, as he is now in control of the squad for four years. You know how quickly CM Sours on guys, so with expectations as they are at Old Trafford, he must be doing well. As you would guess for a guy whom has only run man Utd in his career, he has a sominating win loss record, two cup wins and a league victory.

Incidentally, he is rated a '20' in coaching goalkeepers. :)

Van Praag may be the real life chairman of Ajax, but he didn't start that way in this CM dynasty roster set. John Jaakke has been the chairman of Ajax for the entire dynasty. Van Praag began the dynasty as an out of work manager/asst manager. He was hired almost immediately (in June, 2003, just a week or two into the game) as assistant manager of Tottenham.

A year later, apparently he was deemed an appropriate replacement for Sir Bobby Robson. He has been in control of the Magpies ever since. He has a strong record as well, and two cup wins (including the UEFA this year).

The week he was hired by Newcastle, in July, 2004, was one heck of a week for him. Six days after taking on the task at St. James Park, he was also hired to coach his homeland Dutch national squad. He apparently replaced the guy who, in real life, was just removed from Holland's team. In both real life and the dynasty, they were sacked for poor results in Euro 2004.

He led Holland to a second round showing in Germany 2006 and was leading them through qualification for Euro 2008 when he was hired away by Australia in July, 2007. He is still the manager of Australia now (why he would leave his home country's team for Australia is a puzzle for CM programmers to consider).

CR

Chief Rum

08-26-2004, 11:21 PM

Since I have reached the end of the club's fixture, I will now take a look at our squad and post some stats and other stuff.

Then I'll get going with the offseason.

CR

Chief Rum

08-26-2004, 11:53 PM

Final Tamworth Season Stats, 2008-09

<font=courier>
Keepers Age Wage Value Apps Con AvgR

Jon Masalin 23 $35 K $1.6 M 32 34 6.44
Thomas Heaton 23 $100 K $2.7 M 31 (1) 31 7.13
Casper Nelis 32 $35 K $230 K 2 2 6.00

Defenders Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Leon Cort 29 $110 K $4.1 M 31 (1) 3 4 1 7.09
David Raven 24 $75 K $4.3 M 31 (1) 0 5 0 7.06
Mike Duff 31 $575 K $2.5 M 31 0 6 0 7.42
Hermann Hreidarsson 34 $825 K $375 K 30 (1) 0 0 0 7.19
Kevin Gorman 21 $160 K $3.0 M 30 0 5 0 7.63
James McEveley 24 $1.0 M $6.25 M 30 1 0 1 7.37
Tieme Klompe 33 $625 K $575 K 30 1 1 0 6.93
Gaël Clichy 23 $160 K $3.8 M 16 (7) 0 6 1 7.39
Trond Erik Bertelsen 25 $1.3 M $11.25 M 11 (3) 0 1 0 7.39
Jon Otsemobor 26 $65 K $3.2 M 5 (11) 0 0 0 6.75
Jarl Andre Storbæk 30 $85 K $1.9 M 4 (11) 2 0 0 7.13
Mark Phillips 27 $300 K $3.8 M 4 (8) 0 0 0 6.83
Peter Castle 22 $100 K $2.6 M 3 (11) 1 0 0 6.93
Justin Skinner 36 $40 K $35 K 3 (1) 0 0 0 6.75
Mark Warren 34 $75 K $35 K 2 (3) 0 1 0 6.75

Midfielders Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Michael Stewart 28 $230 K $12.5 M 32 3 15 2 7.47
Johnnier Montaño 26 $775 K $12.0 M 30 (2) 24 13 7 7.97
Denny Landzaat 33 $850 K $2.4 M 29 (2) 3 12 2 7.58
Richie Partridge 28 $400 K $6.75 M 28 (5) 4 12 1 7.82
Jim Corbett 28 $80 K $4.5 M 27 0 7 3 7.63
Carl Motteram 23 $900 K $8.0 M 25 2 1 0 6.72
David Pizarro 30 $500 K $12.75 M 24 (3) 20 6 9 7.93
Lionel Morgan 26 $825 K $7.5 M 19 (9) 3 8 5 7.39
Andy Williams 31 $500 K $1.0 M 14 4 1 0 7.57
Darren Birchall 30 $85 K $950 K 12 (11) 7 5 1 7.26
Chris Booth 19 $60 K $625 K 10 (7) 2 7 1 7.41
Giovanny Hernández 32 $725 K $2.4 M 6 (18) 12 3 1 7.46
Danny Prutton 27 $1.1 M $6.5 M 3 (17) 0 0 0 7.00

Forwards Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Louis Saha 30 $625 K $4.4 M 29 18 8 6 7.55
Orri Freyr Oskarsson 28 $950 K $2.4 M 26 (5) 18 13 5 7.77
Yakubu 26 $1.2 M $17.0 M 25 (6) 21 11 4 7.39
Andre Pereplytokin 23 $475 K $11.0 M 18 (1) 15 5 1 7.32
Emmanuel Olisadebe 30 $850 K $4.7 M 14 (1) 7 10 1 7.27
Adam Wilde 30 $400 K $1.7 M 13 (15) 13 7 0 7.25
Mark Hicks 27 $450 K $9.5 M 5 (25) 7 5 1 7.13


CR

Chief Rum

08-27-2004, 12:47 AM

All-Tamworth Squads

This is my own little invention. These are my picks for the best performers in the various competitions we were in this season. This is particularly doable this season, because of how deep the squad is, and how varied my rotations were.

League Play

FC: Yakubu (13 G, 7 A, 7.75)
FC: Orri Freyr Oskarsson (12 G, 9 A, 7.67)
AMC: David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro (10 G, 4 A, 8.15)
DMC: Michael Stewart (2 G, 9 A, 7.33)
MR: Richie Partridge (2 G, 7 A, 7.94)
ML: Lionel Morgan (2 G, 4 A, 7.47)
DC: James McEveley (1 G, 7.50)
DC: David Raven (5 A, 7.30)
DR: Kevin Gorman (3 A, 7.56)
DL: Gaël Clichy (4 A, 7.13)
GK: Jon Masalin (18 GC in 20 apps, 9 CL, 6.45)

Tamworth League POY: Yakubu

Cup Play

FC: Louis Saha (2 G, 2 A, 7.38)
FC: Emmanuel Olisadebe (4 G, 4 A, 7.67)
AMC: David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro (8 G, 1 A, 8.38)
DMC: Denny Landzaat (6 A, 7.80)
MR: Richie Partridge (1 G, 3 A, 7.43)
ML: Lionel Morgan (1 G, 2 A, 7.67)
DC: James McEveley (7.38)
DC: Leon Cort (1 A, 7.00)
DR: Kevin Gorman (1 A, 7.78)
DL: Gaël Clichy (2 A, 8.00)
GK: Thomas Heaton (6 GC in 9 apps, 5 CL, 7.00)

Tamworth Cup POY: Pizarro

European Play

FC: Yakubu (5 G, 3 A, 7.00)
FC: Orri Freyr Oskarsson (3 G, 2 A, 7.75)
AMC: Johnnier Montaño (9 G, 5 A, 9.00)
DMC: Michael Stewart (1 G, 4 A, 7.88)
MR: Richie Partridge (1 G, 2 A, 7.89)
ML: Andy Williams (1 G, 1 A, 7.75)
DC: Leon Cort (1 G, 2 A, 6.89)
DC: James McEveley (7.00)
DR: Kevin Gorman (1 A, 7.60)
DL: Hermann Hreidarsson (1 G, 7.25)
GK: Thomas Heaton (5 GC in 6 apps, 2 CL, 7.67)

Tamworth European POY: Montaño

Overall

FC: Yakubu (21 G, 11 A, 7.39)
FC: Orri Freyr Oskarsson (18 G, 13 A, 7.77)
AMC: Johnnier Montaño (24 G, 13 A, 7.97)
DMC: Denny Landzaat (3 G, 12 A, 7.58)
MR: Richie Partridge (4 G, 12 A, 7.82)
ML: Lionel Morgan (3 G, 8 A, 7.39)
DC: James McEveley (1 G, 7.37)
DC: Leon Cort (3 G, 4 A, 7.09)
DR: Kevin Gorman (5 A, 7.63)
DL: Gaël Clichy (6 A, 7.39)
GK: Thomas Heaton (31 GC in 32 apps, 12 CL, 7.13)

Manager's Choice Tamworth POY: Montaño

CR

daedalus

08-27-2004, 03:07 AM

Damn it, Kolo! Good try, though, Matt.

Funny that Montaño ended up the team PoY, given how grumpy he started and how badly we wanted to get rid of him.

Good season! :)

Chief Rum

08-27-2004, 03:17 AM

Tamworth Reserves & Under 19 Squads

I feel I should also talk a little bit about the reserve and Under-19 squads. For the most part, these players will never get to Tamworth's first team (or won't again, if they have already been there). But you never know when someone is going to work out after all.

Reserves

Generally, the Reserve squad consisted of past discarded former Lamb first teamers at lower levels and youths who had simply grown beyond the eligible age to play with our Under-19 squad. This team also regularly imported several players from the Under-19 squad and stuck them into the lineup.

The Reserves finished fourth in their 13-squad division, with a 12-4-8 record. They scored 34 goals and allowed 21, for a +13 goal differential and 40 points. Newcastle's reserves dominated on the way to an eight-point lead and a league-high +32 goal differential.

The Lambs had the best defense in the reserve league by a good stretch. They were coached by assistant manager Terry Gennoe. Despite the fact several Under-19 players were regularly used on the reserves, I will only speak of those players 21 and older in the Reserves section.

Strikers

The best players up front were 23-year-old Belgian striker Ged Kimmins (15 G, 4 A, 7.08 in 26 apps) and 24-year-old Scotsman Stephen McGowan (9 G, 7 A, 6.57 in 28 apps).

Despite their relatively youthful age and fairly strong performances, I don't see either player as a potential first teamer. Both were signed prior to our First Division campaign three seasons ago, but determined to not be as strong as players on the roster.

Che Stadhart, 32, used to play a major role with the Lambs in the lower divisions, scoring 29 goals in the Second and Third Divisions years ago. He ran into the same talent wall that kept McGowan and Kimmins from contributing in the First Division and beyond. Stadhart's play fell off sharply this season (4 G, 1 A, 6.48 in 21 apps) and he announced his intention to retire at the end of the season.

David McDonald, a 21-year-old former Under-19 Lamb, never really developed into the player I thought he could when he first came out of our youth academy in the Third Division season. That's a shame, too, because he was really something on the U-19 level. This season he was solid (7 G, 6 A, 7.21 in 24 apps) and I haven't entirely given up hope that he can develop into something. But not enough to keep him around--his contract ends in June.

Midfielders

This was an area that saw a lot of imports from the Under-19 squad, as depth was very thin here.

The two season-long holdovers were original Lambs midfielder Brett Darby and winger Luke Rowlett, both of whom have appeared with the club's first team at the lower levels. The 25-year-old Darby (1 A, 6.80 in 15 apps) played in three Tamworth matches as a young hopeful in the English Conference, but sicne then he has been outpaced by the club's league progression and his own slow development. I only kept him in the hopes he might turn the corner some day. Luke Rowlett (6.67 in 3 apps) actually started for the Lambs at the Conference level, and the 26-year-old also played a significant substitute role at the Third Division. He was always a bit of an overachiever and that was way back in the lower levels. He and Darby at the end of contracts they signed three seasons ago purely to serve as emergency depth.

Yoann Bigné is the only other midfielder on the reserve squad, and he spent the whole year playing a backup role with La Ligue One squad Nîmes. He never appeared in a match with the reserves, but is probably the best player at the position on the team. The 31-year-old French winger is emergency depth for the first team.

Defenders

The backline was well-stocked with former lower level Lambs.

Reinder Hendriks, 36, is probably the most respected of the reserve players as a once significant backline player for a good First Division Tamworth squad. The Dutchman (2 A, 6.28 in 29 apps) saw regular team with the 2006-07 FA Cup winning squad. Since then, he has been an emergency backup. He has announced his retirement at the end of the season.

Jamie Fullarton, a 34-year-old Scottish fullback, was also brought to the lamb ground prior to the First Division seaon. Fullarton (1 G, 3 A, 7.00 in 26 apps) started along side Hendriks that year, and he also played a backup role on our first Premiership squad. Like Hendriks, he is retiring at the end of the year.

Graham Porter, 34, has been with the Lambs since he was brought to the squad to improve the central defense prior to our Third Division campaign. Porter (1 G, 2 A, 6.87 in 23 apps) was a key part of our lower level defenses, starting on our Third and Second Division squads. He is retiring after the season.

Swedish defender Patrik Schultz and centreback Ian Dodds were younger players brought in with an eye to developing them into first team players, only to see them fall short of the club's fast-rising standards. Schultz (1 A, 6.63 in 24 apps) is 24 years old and was brought in prior to the Second Division season. He has never cracked the first team. Dodds, 25 (6.52 in 21 apps) has been with Tamworth since being a late season acquisition in the Conference year, so he has been with the club for a long time. He saw major time with the club in the Second Division, but that's it.

Goalkeepers

Former first team starter Casper Nelis and insurance policy Kees Kostwinder split net duties for the reserve squad.

Nelis (17 GC in 15 apps, 6 CL, 6.33), a 32-year-old Dutchman, came to the club as a challenger to lower league netminder Juan José Gomez. Nelis outplayed Gomez for the First Division squad, forcing the Salvadoran player to the reserve squad. Then in our first Premiership season, Nelis was himself outplayed by Jon Masalin, and forced to a reserve role this year. Nelis is the only reserve player to see time with the first team this season.

Kostwinder (13 GC in 18 apps, 9 CL, 6.72), another Dutchman, was signed as additional competition going into the First Division and lost out to both Nelis and Gomez. He has since toiled with the reserves squad. At 27, he is still a decent player with a future somewhere, but certainly no longer here at the Lamb Ground.

Under 19 Squad

What young talent we have is here. The Under-19 squad did very well in their 12-team division, finishing in second place with 49 points, seven behind, again, Newcastle, which seems to have quite the reserve and youth system.

The young Lambs once again had easily the best defense, allowing just 11 goals in 22 matches, while posting a 14-7-1 record. That's right--they onbly lost once. Newcastle didn't lose at all. The Lambs scored 39 goals and posted a second-best +28 goal differential.

Former Salvadoran international Jorge Humberto Rodriguez, who joined the coaching staff after retiring as a player following our Second Division season, is excellent with younger players and coached this squad.

As I noted before, many of these players saw significant time with the Reserves.

Strikers

The best striker was 18-year-old Ian Collins (4 G, 8 A, 7.30 in 30 apps), a pacey player who already has the skills to contribute to a Premiership squad at a backup spot at least. Collins also has the skills to become a top winger, and it's uncertain where his future lies. Collins was brought in as a young talent from Third Division Nuneaton Borough two years ago.

The best overall talent on the team is Mark Hooper (4 G, 1 A, 6.36 in 11 apps), although the 18-year-old has been somewhat inconsistent this year. Hooper isn't as physically talented as Collins, but he is a much smarter, steadier player and his technical skills are well-advanced. He might enter the forward picture for Tamworth next season. Hooper went on two loan stints with First Division Leeds United (recently promoted), and he put up four goals, three assists and a 6.40 rating in 20 matches with the Whites.

Striker Phil Smart (7 G, 6.75 in 24 apps), a 20-year-old of medium talent, was the highest scoring forward on the squad, but it doesn't appear he has the skills to ever break into Tamworth's first team. Smart came out of the first Tamworth youth class prior to the Third Division campaign, a class that included current first teamer and England Under-21 player Chris Booth.

Troubled Slovakian striker Roman Boldyrev (5 G, 2 A, 6.39 in 23 apps) has had difficulty settling into England since being brought over from Slovakia early this season. The 19-year-old also still has a long way to go in his development as a football player, although he was just invited to join the Slovakia Under-21 team.

Midfielders

Alan Elliott (22 G, 9 A, 7.52 in 46 apps) dominated play at both the Under 19 and Reserve levels this season, serving in the same offensive role as Johnnier Montaño and David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro for the first team. As such, his dominant stats may be more the result of the uber tactic, also used at the lower levels, and not an indication of his talent. Elliott, 20, has some decent skills, but doesn't seem to be developing much and my staff is telling em he's aboiut as good as he's going to get--which isn't good enough. That's too bad for a kid that has always been a superior player for the reserve squads, going back to his arrival from the youth academy prior to the First Division season.

Kris Jenkins (2 G, 7 A, 6.88 in 32 apps) is a subpar-talent 17-year-old player who has a long way to go before he's going to make a break from this level. He is still young, so there is certainly a chance he will get a lot better, but I'm nto holding out much hope. My coaches have never thought much of him, and historically, they are usually right.

Stephen O'Brien (2 G, 2 A, 7.40 in 10 apps) is the notable transfer I brought to the Lamb Ground in March. The Irish 19-year-old midfielder came over to us from Belgian First Division AA Gent on a free transfer. As you can see, O'Brien was very solid, although he didn't play as creative a role in the offense as I would have liked. He also isn't nearly as fast as I like, but he is a smart player with very strong mental skills in the areas of playmaking. His technical skills are far along, behind perhaps only Hooper on the team, and he could be on the first team in another year or two.

Defenders

There are three standout players here.

Two of them are members of the Slovakia Under-21 squad, a nation we brought over a lot of young talent from earlier this season. The first of that signings was Andrey Gorbunov, and Péter Kiss came over in May.

Gorbunov (2 A, 7.07 in 45 apps) was the Under-19's best defender. The 20-year-old didn't have nearly the problems his countryman Boldyrev coming over earlier this season, and seems to have a future. He has eight Under-21 caps with Slovakia, and seems like a smart player with solid physical skills. He still has some development in the technical areas, which will hold him back for at least another season.

The 19-year-old Kiss (2 A, 7.33 in 3 apps) seems to be even more well-regarded, although he is a good deal behind Gorbunov at this point in their careers. Kiss is a top notch physical talent, but isn't nearly as mentally adept on the pitch as Gorbunov is, and his technical skills are far behind. He has four Under-21 caps with Slovakia.

The third notable defender is right back Pat Davenport (6.67 in 9 apps), who had a shot at regular first team play at the beginning of the season. Unfortunately for the 19-year-old Englishman, he suffered a string of groin injuries that eventually required surgery and rehabilitation in November. Recovery put him out until April and his chance to play with the first team was gone. In reality, he's not ready anyway, although he's not far off. Davenport does have first team experience--he was a regular on the First Division champion three seasons ago. Davenport is a heady player with slightly better physical skills than Gorbunov, and much better technical skills than Kiss. The overall combination makes it likely he will beat either of the other players to the Lamb Ground first team pitch.

A pair of 17-year-olds, centreback Tony Foley and left back Wayne Otto, are younger players with decent, but not spectacular talent. It's unclear yet if either one will develop into a quality player. Otto and Foley joined Davenport and Elliott in the First Division youth academy class. Otto (3 A, 7.03 in 29 apps) is a smart player with decent physical skills and poor technical abilities, while Foley (1 G, 1 A, 7.03 in 30 apps) has solid physical skills, but is well behind the grade curve in his mental and technical understandings of the game.

Goalkeepers

There were no top players in net for the Under-19 squad, as they were forced to rely on little-used local netminders to man the defense. None of these lesser keepers are good enough to have a future in football.

CR

Chief Rum

08-27-2004, 03:21 AM

Damn it, Kolo! Good try, though, Matt.

Funny that Montaño ended up the team PoY, given how grumpy he started and how badly we wanted to get rid of him.

Good season! :)

Thanks.

Montaño's choice, you understand, was my own and not the game's. I haven't seen the Supporter's POY yet (haven't gotten to that point).

I considered not giving it to Montaño because of his continuous attitude problems, but it can't be denied he had the best statistical season on the team. He was absolutely dominant in continental play, and that's earned this club a lot of money and prestige.

My decision to name him as such hasn't lessened my desire to usher him out of the Lamb Ground permanently, especially if I can get something good for him.

CR

Alf

08-27-2004, 04:31 AM

CR : I now understand bette why your players get disgruntled at time, you carry 38 players on your squad, that's over 3 full teams....

Chief Rum

08-27-2004, 05:07 AM

CR : I now understand bette why your players get disgruntled at time, you carry 38 players on your squad, that's over 3 full teams....

Yup...it's a number I plan to cut down quite a bit this offseason. Although I haven't exactly figured out the best way to go about it just yet.

I would like to go somewhere between 25-30 players at most.

CR

MIJB#19

08-27-2004, 06:35 AM

You can see Marwijk at Blackburn, but can you see him at Arsenal? :) That was his previous posting--and he left Ashburton Grove for Ewood Park.

Marwijk was signed by Olympiakos to serve as assistant manager in Januray, 2004, before being hired to manage Hibs in the Scottish Premier League in 2006. He didn't win league championships at Hibs, but was the league's third-placed manager of the year in 2007, and also led the squad to a runner up in the Scottish Cup. That apparently got him the tryout with the Gunners when Wenger was sacked last year (I know, I know, like that last would actually happen).

Marwijk has never been fired actually. He was hired away from Hibs, and then from Arsenal by Blackburn and has won far more matches than he has lost. The Rovers also improved under his tutelage int he second half of the season.

But then, he wasn't really the guy who surprised you. ;)

One of the problems with CM's opening histories is they don't tell you where these guys were before their first hirings in the dynasty. Hiele doesn't have a listed occupation prior to January, 2005, but I assume he was in whatever role you know him as. He was listed as being brought in to Aston Villa from free transfer. I couldn't tell you how he ended up in Man Utd. He was hired by the Villans as assistant manager, and six months later, Sir Alex called it quits. Man Utd's worldwide search apparently ended up with Hiele.

He was brought on in July, 2005, and obviously, the club hasn't looked back, as he is now in control of the squad for four years. You know how quickly CM Sours on guys, so with expectations as they are at Old Trafford, he must be doing well. As you would guess for a guy whom has only run man Utd in his career, he has a sominating win loss record, two cup wins and a league victory.

Incidentally, he is rated a '20' in coaching goalkeepers. :)

Van Praag may be the real life chairman of Ajax, but he didn't start that way in this CM dynasty roster set. John Jaakke has been the chairman of Ajax for the entire dynasty. Van Praag began the dynasty as an out of work manager/asst manager. He was hired almost immediately (in June, 2003, just a week or two into the game) as assistant manager of Tottenham.

A year later, apparently he was deemed an appropriate replacement for Sir Bobby Robson. He has been in control of the Magpies ever since. He has a strong record as well, and two cup wins (including the UEFA this year).

The week he was hired by Newcastle, in July, 2004, was one heck of a week for him. Six days after taking on the task at St. James Park, he was also hired to coach his homeland Dutch national squad. He apparently replaced the guy who, in real life, was just removed from Holland's team. In both real life and the dynasty, they were sacked for poor results in Euro 2004.

He led Holland to a second round showing in Germany 2006 and was leading them through qualification for Euro 2008 when he was hired away by Australia in July, 2007. He is still the manager of Australia now (why he would leave his home country's team for Australia is a puzzle for CM programmers to consider).

CRWow, thanks, that was really interesting and fun to read!

The Van Marwijk story sounded like it could happen in real life.

The Hiele story did too, as you said he was an assistent manager first. At least it makes sense that a former Oranje goalkeeper was brought in somewhere as assistent and replaced the manager at some point.

The Van Praag story, well, it's probably one of the most interesting CM stories I heard/read, really. The real life Van Praag stepped down as Ajax chairman not so long ago and got replaced by John Jaakke, which explains him being out of job as the start of the dynasty. I doubt that he will ever be a manager for a football team, let alone coaching a national team, but it's a good story, even if you don't put the real life aspects into it. (Australia hiring away the Oranje coach, and then still staying wioth Newcastle. :)).

Anyway, carry on with the career.

Chief Rum

08-29-2004, 02:41 AM

Tamworth Positional Review

Left Forward

<font=courier>
Left Forwards Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Louis Saha 30 $625 K $4.4 M 29 18 8 6 7.55
Yakubu 26 $1.2 M $17.0 M 25 (6) 21 11 4 7.39
Adam Wilde 30 $400 K $1.7 M 13 (15) 13 7 0 7.25

Season Review: When Saha and Andrei Pereplyotkin played together, they formed our most consistent and powerful striker duo. Saha was simply an underrated pickup, and I remain I was able to sign him, seemingly unwanted, on a free. Yakubu was brilliant at times. Few players on the squad took over matches like he did on occasion. And he's just 26. The problem is that he is a bit of a primadonna with an egotistical attitude. He complained more than anyone else on the team, including Johnnier Montaño. Wilde is just a proven veteran commodity. He doesn't have anywhere near the talent of Saha and Yakubu, but all he does is show up and play well.

Offseason Outlook: Going to a three-man front will somewhat counter the playing time problems that I expect to arise from switching down to just one regular starting lineup. Rationally, Saha would be a good player to move, since he is older and coming off of a strong sdeason that could inflate his value. But I just can't see moving such a consistent and attitude-free player. Yakubu, my most valuable player, is the guy I want to move, but I know that it isn't smart to get rid of 26-year-old 20-goal scorers, no matter how bitchy they are. Plus, he is popular with the fans and might end up the Supporters' Player of the Year. Among dependable backups, Wilde is more likely to be moved than Mark Hicks, his similar right-sided partner, because he is 30, and Hicks is 27. That said, Wilde's iffy all around talent in some areas makes him less likely to draw interest and, considering his quiet dependability and versatility to play in the midfield as well. It might not be smart for me to move him. Basically, it's likely that all three of these players will return.

Right Forward

<font=courier>
Right Forwards Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Orri Freyr Oskarsson 28 $950 K $2.4 M 26 (5) 18 13 5 7.77
Andre Pereplytokin 23 $475 K $11.0 M 18 (1) 15 5 1 7.32
Emmanuel Olisadebe 30 $850 K $4.7 M 14 (1) 7 10 1 7.27
Mark Hicks 27 $450 K $9.5 M 5 (25) 7 5 1 7.13

Season Review: At the time of his injury, Pereplyotkin looked like he was on the cusp of superstardom, as the target man in his partnership with Saha. The Ukrainian striker was the squad's leading goalscorer when he went down. I am hopeful he is fully recovered from his broken leg and can be the young star on our frontline. All Oskarsson does is produce. He can both score and pass, and he tore it up in this tactic the past three seasons. He is in his prime at 28. Olisadebe is a veteran player with a good goal-scoring pedigree over the course of his career. He was very inconsistent with us, though, at least in putting balls in the net. He did show off some fine passing skills. Hicks has been with us since the Conference, and, like Wilde, he is a steady reserve. Still, he hasn't ever shown he can start at the Premiership level, and he was the lowest rated of our first team forwards.

Offseason Outlook: Pereplyotkin obviously isn't going anywhere. He isn't a terrific passer, but his speed and finishing skills make him an ideal target man in the middle of a three-man front. That isn't so sure a thing with the other three. I have no beef with Oskarsson except that I feel his presence is sorta like a game "cheat", a player of iffy talent in some respects who produces perhaps because of tactical loopholes. I think he's great, but I may want to move him to give my regular tactic run next year more legitimacy. Olisadebe's passing expertise could make him well-suited to the right forward spot, but his inconsistency and age makes me wonder if I should instead just move him. Hicks may be a smarter reserve to keep over Wilde because of his age, but he is also much more valuable and would likely draw a more valuable return. Don't be surprised if two of the three end up leaving the club this year.

Attacking Midfielder

<font=courier>
Attack Midfielders Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Johnnier Montaño 26 $775 K $12.0 M 30 (2) 24 13 7 7.97
David Pizarro 30 $500 K $12.75 M 24 (3) 20 6 9 7.93
Darren Birchall 30 $85 K $950 K 12 (11) 7 5 1 7.26
Giovanny Hernández 32 $725 K $2.4 M 6 (18) 12 3 1 7.46

Season Review: Our tactic pretty much focuses around this key position, and can turn good players here into stars. That is basically what we have here, so it comes as no surprise that the position on review looks particularly strong. Montaño may have had the best season of anyone on the squad, and, in fact, I even picked him as our player of the year based on his stats. Montaño was inconsistent and troubled by personal problems early on, but he really went on a role in the second half of the season. He was also just dynamite in European competition. Montaño’s issues weren’t talent or performance-related, but a result of his attitude. I still have no idea what his “personal problems” early in the season were, but they seemed to just be par for the course for the temperamental forward. He constantly complained about the two-starting-eleven system and his role, and he also made stupid decisions of anger on the pitch, often arguing with refs. Compared to Montaño, Pizarro was a gold mine. The Chilean midfielder was consistent and great all year. Our offense never clicked better than when he was playing just behind Saha and Pereplyotkin on the second eleven. He isn’t a pure score—much more of a midfield type—but he filled the active role I had for him very well. He is over 30, but he’s still in his prime. Hernández was a veteran player I brought in from Man Utd to serve as a primary attacking midfield backup, and he filled it admirably. He showed he can handle the position and was a strong member of our backup squad. His detractions are the fact he is 32, and that it seems like half the time has a problem with his attitude, that it could provoke disharmony, although Hernández himself never gave me any issues. Birchall has played a key role for us since the Second Division, but he has never proven he can really make it work as a start at this level. It shouldn’t be a surprise that I haven’t renewed his contract. I figure I would miss his versatility were it not for the fact my squad is already so ridiculously deep.

Offseason Outlook: This is a very key focus of the offseason. First off, the position itself may not exist anymore, and where these players fit into the new tactic is as yet undetermined. They are midfielders with forward skills, and where they lean on that scale may determine if they are candidates for one of the three forward positions, dropped back to the central midfield spots, or dumped from the squad altogether. Montaño is, no doubt about it, a target man. He has the kind of attitude to be the focus of a team from the middle of the three-man front anyway. The problem is he has pretty much earned his ticket out of Tamworth, despite his age and relative youth. I am already fielding offers for him. Pizarro is next in line here, but he is not a target man type. Could he handle it? Probably, but I am more inclined to give the middle front man role to a pure striker, which is why guys like Pereplyotkin and Yakubu are terrific fits there. Pizarro has the creative skills to handle pretty much any of the other midfield and frontline spots, and he could end up anywhere. His consistency and the lack of such from some others at these spots pretty much assures he will return in some role to the team, and probably start. Hernández is a nice insurance policy to have, as he has proven his ability on the pitch, but given his attitude issues with other players, his age and my need to cut down the roster, I think hr won’t be in Tamworth in August. I currently have no plans to bring back Birchall.

Defensive Midfielder

<font=courier>
Holding Midfielders Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Michael Stewart 28 $230 K $12.5 M 32 3 15 2 7.47
Denny Landzaat 33 $850 K $2.4 M 29 (2) 3 12 2 7.58
Danny Prutton 27 $1.1 M $6.5 M 3 (17) 0 0 0 7.00

Season Review: While the forward midfield spot seems to be a spot fraught with turmoil, I couldn’t ask for a more consistent pair of defensive midfielders than Stewart and Landzaat. Stewart has quietly become my best all around player, when you consider the whole package (youth, skills, talent, attitude). The game seems to realize this, too—he is my second-highest valued player, behind only Yakubu. Landzaat makes some flashy, eye-opening passes, but it’s Stewart that leads the squad in assist. He is great in both ends, and has been ever since I brought him aboard two years ago. Landzaat was almost as perfect a signing for this spot as Pizarro was for the forward spot. Landzaat is the steady vet with fine playmaking skills. He is a touch behind Stewart in most respects, and he is 33, so he won’t be around forever. But considering he plays without an attitude and is so consistent, I certainly can’t complain about him. Prutton is older than I like a “young and up-and-coming” player to be, but he continues to be another very consistent player who doesn’t complain about his lack of playing time. He is a step below the starters, but then, that’s why he is a backup.

Offseason Outlook: Stewart isn’t going anywhere. He is perfect for the middle defensive spot in the new tactic. I don’t plan on moving Landzaat either, because I don’t think he will complain about a backup role, and he’s a great insurance option. Prutton’s time is almost certain to drop sharply, especially if I move Pizarro back to this position as well (as he is better suited to this spot than he is the target man spot). Given that, I may need to move Prutton, because I don’t know how he will take that. Also, at 27, I am less certain he has more than a future as a backup for us, and with a need to drop the roster size, why should I keep a player like that?

Right Winger

<font=courier>
Right Wingers Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Richie Partridge 28 $400 K $6.75 M 28 (5) 4 12 1 7.82
Jim Corbett 28 $80 K $4.5 M 27 0 7 3 7.63
Chris Booth 19 $60 K $625 K 10 (7) 2 7 1 7.41

Season Review: Right wing was an interesting position to watch this season. Partridge never seemed to dominate from his position or do particularly better than other players there, but at the end of the season, he was our highest-rated non forward, was among our assist leaders and had much better overall numbers than anyone else on the right wing. Partridge, of course, was a member of the all-Whine team, but it was always about playing time. Since I plan to play him as a starter next year, that hopefully won’t be a problem. Corbett has been one of my most consistent players for years now, but he was always of only decent overall talent. He created opportunities with his speed and ability to cross the ball. Since he’s just 28, he’s still in his prime, although I think it’s clear from the numbers that Partridge is the better player. It was nice to have both of them as options on the right. Booth turns this position into a real winner, as he is finally starting to realize his potential. He was one of our top backups last year. He isn’t as good as Partridge and Corbett right now, but he might be some day soon.

Offseason Outlook: Like the attacking midfield spot, this position is changed significantly, if not removed outright, in the new tactic. With the four man midfield moving to a three-man central midfield, there are now no players out wide in the middle. This means that for these players to translate well to the right central midfield spot, they will have to be a little bit better defensively and as passers and dribblers, and a little less dependent on crossing and creating opportunities from the outside. This shouldn’t be a problem for Partridge, who has tremendous skills and has occasionally served as an emergency attacking midfielder. For that reason, he should fit in at the right spot quite well. Corbett’s similar age to Parridge and the presence of Booth makes him a much more likely candidate to be moved, although his lack of attiude and long loyalty to the squad suggests he could be a perfect backup, and like Landzaat, an excellent option in case Partridge falters or gets hurt. Still, the problem with Corbett and to an extent Booth as well is that they are both ideal wingers, but don’t translate so well to a central midfield spot. At this point, I’m not sure I see them as longterm solutions here. Booth at 19 is pretty much safe, but I might end up having to move Corbett.

Left Winger

<font=courier>
Left Wingers Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Carl Motteram 23 $900 K $8.0 M 25 2 1 0 6.72
Lionel Morgan 26 $825 K $7.5 M 19 (9) 3 8 5 7.39
Andy Williams 31 $500 K $1.0 M 14 4 1 0 7.57

Season Review: The left wing wasn’t nearly as solid and steady as the right wing. Motteram simply didn’t get the job done here when he started, and he started more than anyone else here. He was very inconsistent, didn’t create anywhere near enough offense, and doesn’t seem to have been very strong on defense wither. Motteram is an attacking midfielder and forward, so that would suggest he might be better suited on the frontline, but I have tried him at those spots before, and he has never done well there either. I would say he was one of my biggest disappointments this season. Considering Motteram’s difficulties, my long unfulfilled desire to bring in an old favorite from my Middlesbrough dynasty in Morgan turned out to be a stroke of genius. Still young himself, while not as young as Motteram, Morgan provided the top notch offense I expected from Motteram, and he was also very consistent. Williams was dominating for us a year ago, but that knee injury at the end of it ruined his season this year. It kept him out of the lineup until January, and although he scored a lot of goals as our primary penalty scorer, he was no where near as solid a playmaker as he was last year. Williams has been with us a long while, though, and has earned the benefit of the doubt. One good point was his rating—Williams may not have put up the assist numbers I like, but he was our highest-rated left winger.

Offseason Outlook: Like the right wing, this position is in flux, essentially moved inside to the left central midfield position. Like Partridge, Morgan should have no problems moving in. He also has had some time at the attacking midfield spot and has the skills to be a fine central midfielder. Williams could be a concern, though, as he, like Corbett, is an ideal winger who lacks some of the skills I might need for more central midfielders. Given he’s also 31, he has to be considered a candidate to be moved. Besides his good rating and longtime loyalty and performance, though, Williams has one other thing going for him—Motteram does me more good in the transfer market, I think, than he does here. He has been targeted by some big clubs in the past, and I have seen enough that I think I could move him without feeling I am missing out on a star. If I move Motteram, obviously, I would need to keep Williams around as an insurance policy behind Morgan. Of course, even that is not certain—I could easily use the fit-everywhere Pizarro, the incoming transfer Emilio Mora, Partridge switching over to the left (which he can do) or attacking fullback Trond Erik Bertelsen here.

Right Centreback

<font=courier>
Right Centrebacks Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Leon Cort 29 $110 K $4.1 M 31 (1) 3 4 1 7.09
James McEveley 24 $1.0 M $6.25 M 30 1 0 1 7.37
Jon Otsemobor 26 $65 K $3.2 M 5 (11) 0 0 0 6.75
Mark Warren 34 $75 K $35 K 2 (3) 0 1 0 6.75

Season Review: Three years ago, when I brought in Cort, he wasn’t getting a lot of respect, although he seemed to be a tremendously skilled physical centreback. He was rated too low mentally to start, I thought. That is, until he played his way into a starting role on my First Division champion. He has been with us, starting on the first eleven ever since. He was solid again this year, and provided a fair amount of offense, as well, which is difficult to do form central defense. Still, he remains just competent at this level, and I sometimes I think I give up a little bit here with him in, as he occasionally will make a mistake that players at this level can take advantage of. Of course, he also has the physical and technical skills to make up for those gaffes with amazing recoveries. McEveley was our best defender last year. He didn’t produce Cort’s offense, but he is rated highly there (he is actually as much of a left back as a centreback). He’s not as physical as Cort, but he’s good there, too, and he’s a much more consistent and intelligent defender. He’s also just 24. Jon Otsemobor was a do-everything reserve defender last year. He has great physical skills, much like Cort, but he lacks in the technical areas. His inconsistency shows in his rating. Warren is staving off retirement for the year, something he announced he would do at the end of this season.

Offseason Outlook: At this position, I aim to bring in the quicker defenders, the guys who will man-mark the fastest strikers and be the closing, harassing “force” in the defense. Cort is the kind of physical defender who does that. The fact is, though, that I have a ready replacement for him (McEveley) who is better and younger now than Cort is, I have a need to reduce the roster size, and Cort’s contract is about up, meaning I don’t have to do a thing to move him. What gives me pause is the fact there is just very little behind McEveley. Otsemobor is useful enough, but he really has shown he isn’t the answer, perhaps even as a backup, and he’s already 26. Warren is about to leave the game. So I may end up resigning Cort anyway, if another suitable backup can’t be found. The best news for Cort was the failure of the Kolo Abib Touré deal and the unsatisfactory Derek Geary dela from Sheffield Wednesday. If the Owls like my Richard Wood offer, though, Cort will have to be looking for employment elsewhere. I would figure this will be a position I will look to add to, although I might get help from the defensive centrbacks at the other spot.

Left Centreback

<font=courier>
Left Centrebacks Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

David Raven 24 $75 K $4.3 M 31 (1) 0 5 0 7.06
Tieme Klompe 33 $625 K $575 K 30 1 1 0 6.93
Peter Castle 22 $100 K $2.6 M 3 (11) 1 0 0 6.93
Mark Phillips 27 $300 K $3.8 M 4 (8) 0 0 0 6.83

Season Review: David Raven is a steady consistent player who plays like a veteran, despite his young age. I always have a bias against slower players, and Raven is one of my slower defenders (note this is relative—he is still above average in speed for an English leaguie defender), but he is technically proficient and gets the job done. He also has pretty solid offensive ability, as shown by his central defense-leading assists. I promised him a new contract at the end of the season, and I just gave him one. Klompe was unfortunately not as solid as I had hoped. Like Landzaat and Pizarro in the midfield, he looked like a nice addition all around on the backline. Once on the pitch, though, he was inconsistent and largely the one responsible when someone got free on our goal. Given his age, Klompe has to be looking over his shoulder with his performance. Castle is at a crossroads, because he didn’t show that he is necessarily ready to elevate to the next level. He rated the same as Klompe and I never saw he had anymore ability than most back there. That is disappointing, considering I really thought he could move up and challenge for a starting spot at this time last year. Phillips is a decent little reserve to keep around, but he has proven himself to be at best a mediocre Premiership player.

Offseason Outlook: This spot is the defensive sweeper position, the guy who is supposed to hang back while his defensive partner takes on the ball mover. He is the last line of defense in front of the goal. As such, speed and physicality aren’t needed so much as defensive smarts, positioning and consistency at this position. Raven looks to be perfect in that respect, and is obviously returning. He isn’t necessarily locked into a starting spot, though—if Cort is brought back, I might just start McEveley at this spot and have Cort and McEveley as the starters, with Raven as a primary backup. Castle is young enough to get another chance, and even an increased role next year, but he will bear watching. Klompe and Phillips aren’t so safe. With age and performance and a full roster all at issue, Klompe has to be one of the top guys I think of moving. Phillips is simply not worth keeping around if he can’t help me too much here, or is, at best, a pedestrian backup. Once again, this might be a position I look to add some help.

Right Fullback

<font=courier>
Right Fullbacks Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Mike Duff 31 $575 K $2.5 M 31 0 6 0 7.42
Kevin Gorman 21 $160 K $3.0 M 30 0 5 0 7.63
Jarl Andre Storbæk 30 $85 K $1.9 M 4 (11) 2 0 0 7.13

Season Review: It doesn’t seem fair to have not one, but two great wingbacks at one position. But that’s what I had this year. Duff has been one of my most consistent and productive defenders for some years now. He has started at centreback and defensive midfielder as well, and has the skills to excel at all of them. He was creative and solid at the right wingback spot and, among qualified league defenders, he had the highest league rating in the Premiership. The only reason Gorman wasn’t rated higher than Duff in the league ranks is because he fell a match or two short of qualifying. He actually outplayed Duff from the second team, and was very effective on offense. He doesn’t look to have the same level of skills in some areas as Duff, particularly mentally, but he is terrific offensively, and what can you say, he puts up. At 21, he is one of the brightest young talents on the team. Depth was never nailed down to one person, as Storbæk and Otsemobor and Phillips were all used as reserves here. Storbæk was a nice fit here, as he worked himself into numerous positions on the pitch with his versatility. He isn’t as skilled as the top guys and is no threat for the first eleven, but he is useful enough to keep around.

Offseason Outlook: What happens in the offseason here hinges on Duff’s contract resolution. The starting spot shouldn’t, though—I have already decided I will give Gorman the chance to start here, no matter what happens to Duff. That’s a shame for Duff, though, as he has done nothing to earn a demotion. Gorman has simply played too good. I am torn on Duff, whose contract is almost up. I would like to allow him to leave, not only because of my roster issues, but because I feel he should be starting somewhere. But I have no real trust in the backups at this point. Were I to have taken on Geary or signed Touré, once again, Duff would likely not be coming back. Since I didn’t though, and I don’t expect Sheffield Wednesday to accept my Montaño for Geary and Wood deal, Duff is much more likely to return, as I would rather bring back the guy I know than force myself to scramble for a replacement. Duff would be my top reserve defender then, and likely see plenty of playing time all over the pitch. If Duff returns, Storbæk may not. Much of the versatile role that Duff would fill is currently handled by Storbæk. I like the guy enough, but why keep a 30-year-old backup around who will hardly play?

Left Fullback

<font=courier>
Left Fullbacks Age Wage Value Apps G A MoM AvgR

Hermann Hreidarsson 34 $825 K $375 K 30 (1) 0 0 0 7.19
Gaël Clichy 23 $160 K $3.8 M 16 (7) 0 6 1 7.39
Trond Erik Bertelsen 25 $1.3 M $11.25 M 11 (3) 0 1 0 7.39
Justin Skinner 36 $40 K $35 K 3 (1) 0 0 0 6.75

Season Review: This position always struck me as needing upgrading and, yet, looking back, I was really quite solid here. The notable name, of course, is Bertelsen. It’s not a stretch to say I am pretty disappointed in what I have gotten from the very talented fullback and winger. He came in hurt and missed another month and change before I got him back and healthy. And then once there, he wasn’t nearly as consistent offensively as I liked. He did rate very well, and I didn’t notice bad defensive errors, so obviously he held his own defensively quite well. Despite that, his lack of offensive performance at the end of the year (even including me moving him up to wing on occasion) and his complaint about playing time has me more than a little worried. Hreidarsson started the season as my first eleven left back and was one of my most consistent defensive backliners. He was steady as they come, even if he didn’t do much offensively. He didn’t make mistakes and played well. He didn’t earn a demotion down to the second eleven squad at all. That move was mostly unfair, though, to Clichy, who really finished our year as our best left back—even as the primary reserve there. He was one of our big surprises. He created a lot of opportunities offensively, tying for the backline lead in assists in limited appearances, and he rated as high as Bertelsen. Skinner, like Warren, is an aging veteran playing out the string until he retires.

Offseason Outlook: I might not need to bring anyone in here, but I will certainly be watching this position. Bertelsen has earned himself a close watching. If I sense he isn’t going to perform, I may move quickly to put Clichy in the lineup, and damn anything Bertelsen says about it. That, of course, would mean the end of Bertelsen’s short career at the Lamb Ground, as I get the sense he would quickly become a source of distraction a la Montaño. Before I brought him in from Mallorca, I perceived he was not the greatest with his limited time there either, so his attitude here is not a shock. Hreidarsson is solid, but he is 34. Right now, he’s a nice insurance policy for if Bertelsen implodes and I need a backup to Clichy. Skinner is supposed to be retiring, so he won’t be around to help out if I need him to. But that was rare anyway. McEveley can also bounce outside here, and Bertelsen may see some time at the left central midfield spot, although his offensive skills are more wing-related (like Williams and Corbett) than central midfielder quality.

Goalkeeper

<font=courier>
Keepers Age Wage Value Apps Con AvgR

Jon Masalin 23 $35 K $1.6 M 32 34 6.44
Thomas Heaton 23 $100 K $2.7 M 31 (1) 31 7.13
Casper Nelis 32 $35 K $230 K 2 2 6.00

Season Review: It seems odd to think I am and have been concerned about this position, even though both of my regular starters turned in statistically stellar years. I just feel like I should have a real stud back here, and I’m not sure I do. Masalin had some of the best numbers in the league, but the poor rating and his embarrassing defensive lapses make me wonder if he really has a future as a top flight goalkeeper. Heaton is the guy I like, as he is steadier, stops just as many shots and he rates as highly as some of the best goalkeepers in the Premiership. He also doesn’t make mistakes like Masalin did, rarely getting caught out of position. I have already decided he will be the main starter, although I am unhappy at what that likely means for Masalin, who maybe makes dumb errors, but he seems like a good guy and is enthusiastic about his future with us. I don’t mind moving the idiots or bad attitudes—it’s harder when a guy has not onl done little to displease you, but he even rates among the better young players at his position. Nelis was just an emergency netminder, and his contract is about to run out. I don’t plan to bring him back and have already made noises about his possible replacements.

Offseason Outlook: I am still looking for a stud here. Costanzo, Kirkland, Howard, Casillas, who knows? Cech? His contract is running out and Chelsea doesn’t seem interested in bringing him back for whatever reason. Going after a guy like that is a luxury, though, because I think Heaton is ready. He has been unhappy for a year now about his limited role, and I am hoping a regular starting spot will brighten the guy up some. That continuing unhappiness and his slightly lesser goalkeeper ratings compared to Masalin are the only reasons I would consider replacing him. Masalin is in danger. I want to bring in a big name goalkeeper, and it doesn’t make sense to keep this many first team guys. Masalin’s move just makes sense in that respect. Obviously, considering my interest in Kasper Schmeichel and Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay, I am already looking for replacements for Nelis and possible competition with Heaton, should I not land a star here.

CR

Chief Rum

08-29-2004, 06:49 PM

Overall Offseason Plan

I spoke of each position above what I plan to do, but I figure it would be a good idea to encapsulate things abit in a new post concentrated just for future reference.

First, I have to consider finances. Right now, I am $5 M under my wage budget and still have about $4 M left in the transfer fee account. The club has made a ton of money the past couple seasons, and is up to over $90 M--and that's before we get our television payment for next season, which is generally about $20 M.

With less than half that in the bank last year, we got a $24 M transfer fund account, so I am thinking I should get a gargantuan one this time around. :)

My guess is $35-40 M, maybe even more.

So I could go for some real stars, but I won't be able to get a look at my actual transfer account for next year for another couple weeks or so.

Transfer listing players is often a bad idea, given the emotional reactions that often can occur from that, so I will likely instead look to simply offer players to other teams and see if they bite. Prominent players likely to have this happen to them are Johnnier Montaño (already drawing offers), Giovánny Hernandez, Carl Motteram, Hermann Hreidarsson, Jon Otsemobor, Tieme Klompe, and Jon Masalin.

I will also likely look to see what interest I can drum up in long time loyal Lambs like Orri Freyr Oskarsson, Adam Wilde, Mark Hicks, Andy Williams and Jim Corbett.

I won't do this until the turn of the offseason, and the new transfer fund is announced, though, as it makes little sense to draw attention for these players now, when most teams don't have the money to buy them.

Obviously, my offseason, both how much I can spend and the targets (their level and their position) are both very dependent on who I move. Some guys I move will not need a replacement, but some others might call for one.

Here is a list of areas I expect to bring in players for:

1. Passing midfielder to serve as Pizarro's primary backup.
2. Attacking centreback (I need more depth at the shutdown defender spot, and would like to bring in a legit centreback star if I can find one).
3. Right back, preferably defensive (I need depth here, regardless, but I am hoping to get a defensive counterbalance to Gorman/Duff, who are more offensive-minded).
4. Reserve goalkeeping and maybe a top starter, too (I will look for a top notch goalkeeper, but I won't overpay for him).
5. Youth for the reserve teams (my reserves are largely older leftovers from the lower divisions and slow-developing former Tamworth FC Youth Academy products).

I have more or less decided to offer to bring back Cort and Duff, although I will be trying to bring them on "discounts" from their requested packages (both want close to $1 M per year).

I am already bringing in Mexican forward Emilio Mora from the Bundesliga. He figures to play a prominent reserve role in the central midfield and at the left forward position. I am currently pursuing young goalkeepers Kasper Schmeichel and Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay, and am working on a Montaño deal which would bring back Derek Geary and Richard Wood.

And that's where things stand.

CR

Chief Rum

08-30-2004, 03:49 AM

Tuesday, June 2 To Monday, June 8

The offseason has begun, even if the actual season change hasn't occurred yet. And that means transfer speculation and international play. Should be fun. :)

I will deal with the international play in its own post after this week. Europe returns to World Cup qualifying this weekend, and then play another round on June 10.

Start of the Transfer Window

We got official notice early on Tuesday that the 2009 close window has begun. English clubs will now be able to buy players until around about the end of August.

Motteram Hurt In Training

Hmmm...I thought this was a rest time for my players...

Winger Carl Motteram got tackled hard in an overloading exercise on Tuesday and fell hard to the ground. Unforutnately, his shoulder took the brunt of the damage. He suffered a fracture in his shoulder and will be sidelined from training for the next three weeks.

He might even be on another club by the time he heals. ;)

Sheffiedl Wednesday Withdraw Bid On Montaño

I am guessing my offer was too high for them. They rejected the offer of Johnnier Montaño for fullback Derek Geary and centreback Richard Wood, much as I expected.

They also didn't wish to continue negotiations. I may make a money offer anyway--I was limited in what I could do with that exchange response offer, and it wasn't entirely what I wanted to do.

Third Division Promotion Final

On Tuesday, the final English league match of the 2008-09 season was played, once again at Wembley.

The Third Division is the only division in English football that has yet to determine its final promotion candidate.

Former First Division squad Reading took on seventh place Brentford, one spot behind them in the league table, in front of almost 60,000 supporters. Reading and Brentford scored 172 goals in 92 league matches, and were both among the top offensive squads in the Third Division.

Reading was just a year off of being relegated from the Second Division and still even had some of their old First Division talent. They struck first, with an 8th minute score by Mark Quigley. Veteran Canadian winger Jason Bent contributed another in the 32nd minute, lending new pressure on Brentford. They were unable to get shots past goalkeeper Ben Homer. Midfielder Paul Hammond finished off a dominating first half of Reading, with a stoppage time score just before halftime.

That first half would carry Reading through to the win, 3-0, even though they actually lost the shot battle (8-7). They just made good on their opportunities.

Reading returns to the Second Division, joining past promotees league champ Torquay, Burton Albion and Chester.

Boro Offer To Loan Hooper

On Wednesday I got an offer from First Division Middlesbrough to loan out burgeoning talent Mark Hooper for three months. I have never understood a club's willingness to loan a player at this point of time, when they will simply be training with the squad for two of the three months, before competitive matches actually begin in mid-August.

Still, unless I had a compelling reason, I would usually let little used or reserve players go on such loans, as I had no use for them myself, figured they could get better experience with those squads, and would also have their wages covered by those clubs during that time.

For Hooper, though, I have a compelling reason to keep him. It is my suspicion he will fit into a key backup role for my rightside forward on the first team this season. I want to keep him around not only for that, but to also work within our new tactic and with other first teamers.

So I turned the Boro down, despite my allegiance to them in real life.

Tamworth Sign Novotny

On Wednesday, our Bosman transfer of Inter Bratislava's promising winger Petr Novotny went through.

Novotny could quickly rise to the top of our U-19 squad and will not likely be long behind Hooper on the road up to the first team.

The 19-year-old Slovakian has high quality if not explosive speed, and is an all around physically powerful player. He is a smart player as well, and has the best ratings in areas I like for my entire team to be high, such as Teamwork and Work Rate. Most of his tehcnical skills are also in the double digits, but this is the area he needs to work on with the lower teams.

Also, as a nominal winger, Novotny doesn't fit directly into the current tactic, so I will have to say if he can handle a central midfield role. My intuition says yes--his all around talent is too good to stop him here.

Novotny appeared in 18 matches for Inter Bratislava, a top Slovak First Division club, posting one goal, three assists and a 6.67 rating in that time.

Derby Want Booth On Loan

Just hours after I turned down Boro's loan offer for Hooper, I got a similar offer from Derby in regards to winger Chris Booth.

Obviously, Booth is already an established first teamer, and one I expect to see play a key reserve role for us. So I turned down the loan offer.

I regularly get three or four loan offers for Booth every year.

Piacenza Bid On Montaño

At the same time I was negotiating an offer from Sheffield Wednesday for Montaño, I noticed that Serie A squad Piacenza was also interested. Obviously, moving the talented forward out of the Premiership would appeal to me, plus the Serie A is a rich league that is likely capable of buying Montaño outright, something I suspect a few of the Premiership squads would balk at. So days ago, I submitted a full value offer ($11.75 M) in return for Montaño.

On Thursday, I got a negotiation offer from the Italian team. They offered me a full $12 M for the forward. Much of it was deferred, though, with a $3 M up front payment, followed by $9 M doled out in 24 monthly payments across the next two years. They also offered a 20% return on Montaño's future transfer fees, which I also liked (the way these players move among rich clubs in Italy and Spain, I could get a very tidy return on that).

So despite the deferred nature of much of the deal, I agree to it and allow the Italian club to begin contract negotiations with the Colombian forward. It would be nice if all of my transfer moves this offseason are so simple (and crossing my fingers saying so doesn't jinx it).

Makabu Ma Kalambay Deal Falls Apart

On Thursday, our transfer offer for Chelsea's young goalkeeper Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay fell apart--as I planned. ;)

It came up for finalization again on Thursday, after the agreed upon delay of a week had passed that I had requested. I again asked for a delay, and as expected, Chelsea grew furstrated with this and cancelled the transfer altogether.

All this was, though, was a ploy to secure the goalkeeper's signature for much cheaper. Makabu Ma Kalambay was on loan at Sheffield Wednesday until Wednesday (ugh, sorry for the double, it's the truth, though) and I was only able to negotiate directly with the player, currently available on a Bosman transfer, as his contract ends at the end of this month.

My offer was merely to keep the goalkeeper available through the end of his loan period, for once it ends, I can make a direct transfer offer to Chelsea for much less. Chelsea was only seeking about $20,000 for him, a drop in the bucket, but if I had bought Makabu Ma Kalambay, I would have owed Chelsea a full $1.7 M youth development fee.

After Chelsea pulled out of the Bosman transfer of the player, I submitted a new direct transfer offer to the Blues--for $20,000. :)

Sheffield Wednesday Say No To Montaño

Days after rejecting my exchange offer involving Montaño, the Owls more or less officially turned their back on an offer for the forward on Friday, turning down my straight money offer of $9 M in return for him.

It didn't surprise me that they did this--they showed they're not really prepared to commit to money for him (although I suspect that could change when the new transfer budgets are announced).

Fortunately, the Piacenza offer, which I have already accepted, gives me little reason to care at the moment that my demands may have outpriced the Owls.

Three Players Called Up For Confederations Cup

Even now, my international players are with their national squads, preparing for a fresh round of international play on Saturday.

So they probably found out from their national team managers before I did at the Lamb Ground, when three of them were officially requested to be present later in the month for the Confederations Cup.

The cup competition is an all around international tournament that brings in the various cup winners of the major continental tournaments in a sorta pseudo-world championship every two years (always in odd years so as not to run into those very same major tournaments or the World Cup).

As the defending World Cup champion, France gets an entry, as does Tamworth's Louis Saha with them. And Colombia is the host, meaning that Montaño and Giovanny Hernández will also be at the tournament. Montaño's last actions as a Tamworth Lamb will almost certainly be in service to his country at the Confederations Cup.

Pereplyotkin Resumes Full Training

At last!

Almost a full five months after breaking his leg, star Ukrainian striker Andrei Pereplyotkin is finally at full health, resuming regular training on Saturday.

His return to health is, unfortunately, too late to allow him to play with his native Ukraine's national team, although I am certain he will be back with them at the next round in September.

Pereplyotkin figures to be a key player on our frontlione, and might man the critical central target man spot in the middle of that front line. He was our leading goalscorer when he went down and, at 23, is a rising star.

Montaño Draws Offer From Reggina

The Montaño sweepstakes just got a bit juicier when Piacenza's league-mate Reggina weighed in on Saturday with a similar $12 M offer of their own for the services of the 26-year-old Colombian forward.

It was exactly the same as Piacenza's offer, so I accepted it and allowed the Serie A club access to Montaño to begin negotiations on a new deal.

I don't see any problems with leaving this one up to Montaño. Either one gets him off of the squad and out of England, and they provide insurance on one another that a deal will get done.

I am now certain Montaño will be leaving the club within a month.

Skinner Announces Retirement

On Monday, left back Justin Skinner announced his retirement again at the end of the season. This is actually something he has done before.

Skinner has done us good service in his time at the Lamb Ground, but I hope this isn't a case where he is essentially extending his stay for another year.

He is no longer a useful member of the squad, and just clogs the roster. So I hope his announcement is in reference to the end of this season--in the very near future.

Well, I suppose it matters little, though--his contract runs out at the end of June.

Schmeichel Accepts Offer, Rejects Man City

On Monday, we got big news when Man City's young reserve goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel accepted our offer over a contract extension from Manchester City.

The Danish goalkeeper said he was lookinmg forward to working with me, ehich is always nice to read.

The Bosman transfer, which will go through on July 1, will cost us $1.1 M in developmental fees for the goalkeeper.

Schmeichel, 22, has played very little on the Manchester City first team the past couple years, but in the 2006-07 season, he went on a terrific run as a fill in, allowing just nine goals in 12 matches, and putting up seven clean sheets. He has been capped with Denmark's Under-21 team, but has yet to be invited to the big squad.

Schmeichel has some excellent ratings in several key goalkeeping area. Physically, he is near elite, with 19 Agility, and is all around a top physical player. He can't get any better with One-on-Ones (20), and he is both commanding (18) and a good communicator (18) with his backline. He also has just a 2 for Eccentricity, which is nice--this isn't a position I necessarily like a player to take risks.

He has just two skills under 15 in the goalkeeping technical skills, with a 14 Aerial Ability and 12 in Tendency To Punch.

Schmeichel speaks five languages (if you care, I thought it was sorta neat). He was also drawing interest from Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, and Córdoba, Racing Santander and Levante in the Primera Liga, in addition to ourselves and his original employers Man City.

Schmeichel was a product of Manchester City's youth system, first playing professional football in 2002-03.

At this point in time, I expect Schmeichel to be Thomas Heaton's primary reserve, with Jon Masalin being shipped out. If I get a big name goalkeeper, there is a chance Schmeichel will drop to the reserve team, although I don't think he will be happy about that. Shhhh...don't tell him. ;)

Montaño Saga Ends

The week came to a big end on Monday when Montaño finally decided his future post-Tamworth.

The midfielder-forward came to an agreement with Piacenza, turning down a contract offer from Reggina. The $12 M transfer will officially go through on July 1, with, I assume, $3 M plus the first $375,000 monthly payment, which will continue for two years.

The 26-year-old Colombian international will now leave for the Serie A. I wish him well, but I am not unhappy to see him gone. I also think I negotiated a pretty good deal for him, although I would have preferred to get more upfront money.

League News

There was, of course, a round of transfer signings and speculation this week from various clubs in the Premiership.

Touré, Lauth Deals Officially Go Through

With Tuesday's opening of the transfer window, Arsenal defender Kolo Abib Touré and HSV striker Benjamin Lauth officially changed addresses.

Touré went from the Gunners to Fulham for $5 M, while Lauth drew an amazing $11.25 M from Nottingham Forest.

Touré, of course, was a target we went after ourselves, but we got in too late, thanks to the loan fee the Cottagers negotiated with Arsenal on Touré's stint with them this year.

The 28-year-old Ivorian defender appeared in 17 matches with Premiership squads last year, with 13 of them coming with Fulham in the last few months of the season. He put up a 6.76 rating in those appearances.

Lauth, 27, should help the offensively-starved Reds on the frontline, although he's going to have to do better than he did on his atrocious loan period with the club (1 G, 5.43 rat in 14 apps). They must have seen something they liekd in his play, or believe he will acclimate himself to the English game, considering they dropped a ton of cash on him, and then signed him to a deal ($2.1 M per annum) that outpaces every player on my roster (not that that is really all that hard to do).

Lauth may not have done well for the Reds in his half-season loan, but he did score 31 goals with HSV in the previous one-and-a-half seasons.

Wolves Sign Stewart

Wolverhampton is looking to the holdover squads to raise up its wing group to Premiership standards. On Thursday, the club successfully negotiated a Bosman transfer for Leicester winger Jordan Stewart.

The longtime Fox was a key component of the club's First Division squad in 2006-07, helping them climb right back into the Premiership after one year on the drop. The 27-year-old winger had seven goals and 10 assists in that First Division championship season, but he has seen his role drop sharply since the club returned to the top flight.

In the Foxes' first year back, Stewart appeared in just over one-third of the matches he was a part of the year before, although he posted a respectable 7.05 rating. This past season, though, he was confined to the reserve squad and never appeared with the first team.

Stewart was frustrated as a reserve, and will likely look to get first team football with the Wolves.

The deal will go through on July 1, a day after Stewart's current contract with Leicester runs out.

Tottenham Looking To Move Slabber

In response to interest from Leicester, Tottenham boss Eddie Gray told reporters he is ready to sell 24-year-old striker Jamie Slabber.

Slabber is not a high profile move at this point, although he has valued decently high ($4.6 M). I don't have him scouted, so I don't know how good he rates.

He hasn't exactly lit the world on fire in limited appearances with the Spurs. Last season, Slabber scored one goal in ten appearances, only one of which was a start. He put up a 6.70 rating. He did do a bit better the previous year, with two goals in three appearances in 2007-08.

Liverpool Make Offer On Ward

Despite the warning of Limerick manager Michael Kerley, the Reds submitted a free transfer offer for the club's star defender David Ward on Saturday.

It's likely the offer included a percentage return on future transfer fees, since I can't see Limerick being interested in a straight free, especially from a club with Liverpool's resources.

As I noted when Kerley issued his hands off warning last week, Ward had been a very strong player for the Irish Premier Division club. The 21-year-old Ireland Under-21 youth international has been a dominating force for Limerick since he was 16, starting 26 matches in 2004. He hasn't ever had less than a 7.41 rating for Limerick,a nd in their first year at Ireland's top level, he is putting up a career-high 8.00 rating in 10 matches.

In fact, it's good enough that, even without scouting, I am interested myself. I submitted a full value offer of $65,000 shortly after hearing of Liverpool's offer.

The matter was still unresolved by the end of the week.

CR

Chief Rum

08-31-2004, 04:10 AM

Non-World Cup Qualifying International Play

With China 2010 just a calendar year away, most continental associations are deep into qualifying, with Asia, Europe and South America all conducting qualifying matches in and around June 6-10.

That said, there are international competitions going on this summer. The ongoing African Cup of Nations qualifying resumes this week, with a round of matches on June 3. The Confederations Cup featuring the major cup winners of the past couple years will be conducted in Colombia from June 17-28. And the CONCACAF Gold Cup will be held from July 10-25.

Here is a rundown or table aetting for these competitions.

African Cup Of Nations Qualifying

This is a competition we have already talked some about. The June 3 matches are a resumption of the fixture that has been delayed since late January. Africa is the only continent which schedules a major cup competition in the same year as the World Cup, and holds its qualifying for both at the same time.

This is the fourth round of the qualifying fixture. Every three or four team group plays home-and-homes with its respective two or three fellow group members, and the group champion moves on to the actual cup competition. There are 13 groups.

Here is what happened in the June 3 matches, by group.

Group A

Table going into matches: Angola 9, Congo 3, Niger 3, Djibouti 3

Niger 3, Djibouti 1
Angola 3, Congo 1

New table: Angola 12, Niger 6, Congo 3, Djibouti 3

Angola is the 34th-ranked national squad by FIFA, so their sweep of their first four matches is no surprise here. They can clinch a spot in the next round with a draw or point in either of the two remaining matches.

Group B

Table going into matches: Togo 9, Algeria 6, Sudan 3, Equatorial Guinea 0

Equatorial Guinea 0, Sudan 0
Togo 1, Algeria 1

New table: Togo 10, Algeria 7, Sudan 4, Equatorial Guinea 1

Togo and Algeria are the two big names here, and their match was a pivotal one for this group. Both nations are ranked by FIFA in the 40s, with Algeria at 40 and Togo at 42. They didn't decide much here, though, drawing to maintain the group status quo.

Group C

Table going into matches: Mali 9, Zambia 6, Malawai 3, Chad 0

Mali 4, Malawi 0
Zambia 3, Chad 2

New table: Mali 12, Zambia 9, Malawi 3, Chad 0

Not surprisingly, 58th-ranked Mali is dominating on its way to the top of this group. Zambia is now slouch, though, at 96th, and putting on the heat. They nearly dropped the ball, though, before escaping from lowly Chad with a close win.

Group D

Table going into matches: Zimbabwe 9, Egypt 6, Guinea-Bissau 3, Lesotho 0

Guniea-Bissau 4, Lesotho 1
Zimbabwe 2, Egypt 0

New table: Zimbabwe 12, Egypt 6, Guinea-Bissau 6, Lesotho 0

Egypt, the highest-ranked squad at 50, squandered a chance to catch 61st-ranked Zimbabwe this round, losing on the road. The key win puts Zimbabwe on the edge of qualifying for the next round with a point in any of the next two matches.

Group E

Table going into matches: Ghana 9, Burkina Faso 6, Tanzania 3, Central African Republic 0

Ghana 4, Central African Republic 0
Burkina Faso 2, Tanzania 1

New table: Ghana 12, Burkina Faso 9, Tanzania 3, Central African Republic 0

Ghana is one of the top squads in Africa, at 17th overall in the world, but they are having trouble putting away 51st-ranked Burkina Faso. Both squads won to keep the race for the group's top spot tight.

Group F

Table going into matches: Cameroon 6, Namibia 6, Republic of Congo 6, Somalia 0

Namibia 2, Somalia 0
Republic of Congo 0, Cameroon 0

New table: Namibia 9, Cameroon 7, Republic of Congo 7, Somalia 0

Cameroon is one of two African nations in the world's top ten, at 10th overall. So drawing with the Repiublic of Congo (a respectable 67th itself) and falling into a tie for second behind unexpected group leader Namibia was not result they were looking for. This group should be an intriguing one to watch down the stretch.

Group G

Table going into matches: Tunisia 9, Mozambique 6, Libya 3, Eritrea 0

Tunisia 3, Mozambique 0
Libya 4, Eritrea 0

New table: Tunisia 12, Mozambique 6, Libya 6, Eritrea 0

Libya and Mozambique are both in the world's top 100 (89 and 92, respectively), but Mozambique's loss to Tunisia might remove both from moving around. That said, it's not much of a surprise, given that Tunisia itself is one of the better non-top 100 national squads on the continent.

Group H

Table going into matches: South Africa 9, Rwanda 6, Gabon 3, Burundi 0

Rwanda 3, Gabon 1
South Africa 4, Burundi 0

New table: South Africa 12, Rwanda 9, Gabon 3, Burundi 0

The South Africans are one of the better squads in Africa, at 26th overall, and their pasting of lowly Burundi at home was no shocker. 91st-ranked Rwanda, though, kept the pressure up by beating Gabon. They remain within shot of the South Africans for the group title.

Group I

Table going into matches: Nigeria 7, Sierra Leone 6, Uganda 4, Swaziland 0

Sierra Leone 3, Swaziland 1
Nigeria 3, Uganda 0

New table: Nigeria 10, Sierra Leone 9, Uganda 4, Swaziland 0

Nigeria comes into this competition as the best squad in Africa, 6th overall in the world, but they are getting a test from 45th-ranked Sierra Leone. The latter national squad beat Swaziland on the road to stay with Nigeria, which beat a Uganda squad that itself was in range of second in the group.

Tamworth's Yakubu starred, scoring two very late goals and capturing the Man of the Match to lead his compatriots to victory. Yakubu is the only African international player currently playing for the Lambs.

Group J

Table going into matches: Ivory Coast 7, Guinea 7, Gambia 3, Botswana 0

Guinea 2, Gambia 0
Ivory Coast 5, Botswana 0

New table: Ivory Coast 10, Guinea 10, Gambia 3, Botswana 0

A tight battle between the top-100 ranked squads continues. Ivory Coast, at 22nd overall, came in as the favorite and dealt the expected thrashing to Botswana. Guinea, at 65th, continued to match the Ivorians step-for-step, though, in beating Gambia.

Group K

Table going into matches: Liberia 6, Ethiopia 3, Mauritius 0

Liberia 4, Mauritius 0

New table: Liberia 9, Ethiopia 3, Mauritius 0

Liberia, as the only ranked squad in the group, has jumped out to a big lead with its defeat of lowly Mauritius. Ethiopia has a wall to climb to catch the 47th-best squad in the world, but they have also played one less match than the Liberians.

Group L

Table going into matches: Cape Verde 4, Benin 3, Mauritania 1

Cape Verde 2, Mauritania 0

New table: Cape Verde 7, Benin 3, Mauritania 1

Cape Verde took a strong lead in the group, and likely dashed the hopes of Mauritania by winning this one. Benin, like Ethiopia in Group K, still has a strong shot at it, though, as they have played one less match than the group leader.

Group M

Table going into matches: Kenya 6, Madagascar 3, Seychelles 0

Seychelles 1, Madagascar 1

New table: Kenya 6, Madagascar 4, Seychelles 1

Madagascar faced a tough test in trying to keep up with 52nd-ranked Kenya, and it did itself no favors by drawing with Seychelles in this round. They needed this win to stay with Kenya, and now the top ranked squad has both the group lead and a game advantage on its competition.

Confederations Cup

The eight-team Confederations Cup brings together the six continental cup winners, the previous Confederations Cup champion, and the host of the event every two years. Starting on June 17, two four-squad groups will begin three-match fixtures, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the competition semfinals. The final will be held on June 28.

The first group has 5th-ranked Gold Cup winner United States, 7th-ranked Copa America champ Argentina, 16th-ranked Asian Cup holder China and host Colombia--the third-ranked squad in the world (and, stunningly, the only one without any international silverware in the last couple years).

The second group has 2nd-ranked Confederations and World cups holder France, 9th-ranked OFC Nations Cup winner Australia, 12th-ranked African Cup of Nations champion Senegal and surprising Euro 2008 champion Croatia, currently ranked 21st in the world.

CONCACAF Gold Cup

One month after its previous champion participates in the Confederations Cup, the Confederation of North and Central American Football will host its Gold Cup in the United States.

The tournament adds top-ranked Brazil and 11th-ranked South Korea to round out a field that includes ten North and Central American, and Carribean nations. Among other notable squads will be 5th-ranked United States, 8th-ranked Mexico, and 49th-ranked Canada. The most notable absence is that of 22nd-ranked Trinidan & Tobaggo, one of the surprise darlings of Germany 2006.

Two squads will come out of each of four three-nation groups and entered into a quarterfinal, with matches starting on July 10. The final will be played on July 25.

The world's most powerful squad, Brazil, headlines Group One, which includes 87th-ranked Costa Rica and the British Virgin Islands.

The other extra-regional entry, South Korea, is the favorite from Group Two. Their big test will come from 74th-ranked Honduras, with the Bahamas rounding out the group.

The 5th-ranked Gold Cup holders and hosts Americans lead Group Three. They should win through easily here, as neither of their opponents, El Salvador and Anguilla, are in the world Top 100 (although the Salvadorans are just outside, at 110th).

Group Four may have the best matchup, with the powerful Mexican squad likely coming head-to-head with the 49th-ranked Canada. Central Amrican squad Belize could get caught in the middle of this battle.

CR

Alf

08-31-2004, 04:29 AM

CR in the Confederation Cup you have Senegal as champion of both Africa (correct) and Asia (wrong)

Chief Rum

08-31-2004, 05:19 AM

World Cup Qualifying, Africa

There were no matches in Africa's qualifying for China 2010 in the past week, but there have been two more rounds played since the last update of international play.

Five groups of five squads are currently in the midst of an eight-match, round-robin fixture. The top squad in each group will earn a spot at China 2010.

Matches were played on April 18 and May 2, giving most squads their fifth and sixth matches of the fixture.

Group One

Table two rounds ago: Senegal 10, Cameroon 9, Egypt 6, Sierra Leone 2, Guinea 1

April 18

Senegal 2, Sierra Leone 0
Cameroon 3, Guinea 1

May 2

Sierra Leone 2, Guinea 2
Egypt 3, Senegal 0

Table now: Senegal 13, Cameroon 12, Egypt 9, Sierra Leone 3, Guinea 2

Senegal and Cameroon are easily the top two squads in this group, with Egypt a respectable third as a past traditional power. Things kept to form in the first round, with both Senegal and Cameroon proceeding to easy victories. The second round, though, featured what could be a group-changing match. Egypt shocked Senegal on the road, 3-0. Not only does thrust the Egyptians back into the picture, but it allowed idle Cameroon to remain just a point behind Senegal with match in hand. Since Egypt also has a match in hand on the group leader, this should be a tight group to the end.

Group Two

Table two rounds ago: South Africa 12, Zimbabwe 7, Angola 5, Algeria 3, Kenya 1

April 18

South Africa 6, Zimbabwe 0
Algeria 2, Kenya 1

May 2

Zimbabwe 4, Kenya 0
Angola 1, South Africa 1

Table now: South Africa 16, Zimbabwe 10, Algeria 6, Angola 6, Kenya 1

South Africa very nearly have clinched a spot at China 2010 by crushing its closest competitor in surprising Zimbabwe. Algeria and Angola actually entered the tournament as South Africa's closest likely challengers, but they have underachieved their way to distant third ro fourth place spots. Even with a match each in had on South Africa and Zimbabwe, only a miracle would get them back in this one.

Group Three

Table two rounds ago: Ivory Coast 10, Nigeria 8, Liberia 4, Guinea-Bissau 3, Togo 2

April 18

Nigeria 2, Togo 0
Guinea-Bissau 1, Liberia 1

May 2

Ivory Coast 2, Guinea-Bissau 1
Nigeria 3, Liberia 1

Table now: Nigeria 14, Ivory Coast 13, Liberia 5, Guinea-Bissau 4, Togo 2

Nigeria's two strong wins have propelled the top squad in Africa to the top of this group. They still have a long way to go, though, with just a single point lead over another strong team in Ivory Coast. The Ivorians also have a match in hadn on Nigeria. Togo came in as the third-highest ranked squad in the group, but they continue to be a big disappointment. This one is definitely down to a two-squad race.

Tamworth's Yakubu started up front for Nigeria in both of their matches and was a key contributor to their victories. He scored a goal in each match, and his 9 rating in the Liberia match earned him the Man of the Match. Yakubu is the only Lamb playing in African international play.

Group Four

Table two rounds ago: Tunisia 12, Ghana 9, Libya 6, Rwanda 3, Gambia 0

April 18

Tunisia 3, Rwanda 1
Libya 2, Gambia 0

May 2

Tunisia 3, Libya 0
Ghana 4, Rwanda 1

Table now: Tunisia 18, Ghana 12, Libya 9, Rwanda 3, Gambia 0

Tunisia entered recent international competition as a lower end squad, but their performance in both the African Cup of Nations and World Cup Qualifying is beginning to turn some heads. They beat two top 100 world squads in Rwanda and Libya to extend their lead here. It's not over by a far cry, though--17th-ranked Ghana is still within reach and has played one less match than the Tunisians. They have a mountain to climb, though.

Group Five

Table two rounds ago:

April 18

Morocco 6, Namibia 0
Malawi 2, Cape Verde 1

May 2

Namibia 2, Malawi 2
Morocco 3, Equatorial Guinea 0

Table now: Morocco 18, Cape Verde 7, Malawi 6, Namibia 5, Equatorial Guinea 3

Morocco, one of the best squads in Africa at 14th-ranked in the world, was handed one of the easiest qualifying groups in history, with not one other top 100 team in their group. Not surprisingly, Morocco swept through the first six matches of their fixture, and the others beat up on each other, allowing the North African nation to become the first country to claim a spot in China 2010. China, as host, is the only other nation currently assured of entry to football's greatest international tournament.

CR

Chief Rum

08-31-2004, 05:22 AM

CR in the Confederation Cup you have Senegal as champion of both Africa (correct) and Asia (wrong)

What? You mean Senegal, a West African nation, doesn't compete in Asia?!? :)

Sorry about that. When I originally typed it out, I accidentally stuck Senegal in the wrong group and went back and fixed the reference. Unfortunately, I musta had a brainfart and forgot to change the actual name of the nation that won the Asian Cup. :)

I edited it to correctly reflect China as the Asian Cup holder and entry to that group.

CR

Chief Rum

08-31-2004, 06:32 AM

World Cup Qualifying, Asia

Asia was the last continent to kick off its qualifying for the World Cup. Amazingly, the Asia's federation fits in two rounds of group fixtures, followed by two rounds of playoffs in just seven months to determine its entrants to China 2010. China itself, of course, as the host, is not participating, but 39 other Asian nations are, stretching from North Korea to Guam to Lebanon.

The first round, with ten groups of mostly four teams each, began their group fixtures on May 3 and run through June 21. The top nation in each group advances to the next round, which commences in September.

Here is a look at those Asian countries currently ranked in the FIFA's World Top 100:

11. South Korea
16. China PR
23. Saudi Arabia
25. Iran
38. Iraq
57. Qatar
62. India
63. Uzbekistan
66. Japan
80. Kuwait
86. Jordan
88. Indonesia
90. Thailand

In the space of a month, all ten groups have already played four sets of matches, and are deep into the first round. On June 7, they play their fifth set. Here's a look at how it has played out so far.

Group One

Table going into June 7: Saudi Arabia 12, Lebanon 9, Nepal 3, Laos 0

June 7 Results

Lebanon 4, Laos 0
Saudi Arabia 5, Nepal 0

Table now: Saudi Arabia 15, Lebanon 12, Nepal 3, Laos 0

From the very beginning, you knew this one would come down to powerful Saudi Arabia and upstart Lebanon, whihc resides just outside of the World Top 100. Saudi Arabia edged out Lebanon at home, 2-1, on May 24. This one will likely come down to those two squads meeting in Lebanon on June 21.

Group Two

Table going into June 7: Hong Kong 12, Bahrain 9, Indonesia 3, Bangladesh 0

June 7 Results

Bahrain 3, Bangladesh 0
Hong Kong 2, Indonesia 2

Table now: Hong Kong 13, Bahrain 12, Indonesia 4, Bangladesh 0

Perhaps eyeing the chance to compete for the World Cup in Hong Kong's sovereign China, the little Chinese island is making a run at the next round. By drawing with the highest-ranked squad in Indonesia, the Hong Kong team has maintained its lead over Bahrain, a tough squad that is just outside the World Top 100. In fact, Hong Kong's draw was the first match they have lost in this round so far. Indonesia has been a big disappointment.

Group Three

Table going into June 7: Thaliand 10, Japan 8, Maldives 4, Chinese Taipei 0

June 7 Results

Chinese Taipei 1, Maldives 0
Japan 5, Thailand 1

Table now: Japan 11, Thailand 10, Maldives 4, Chinese Taipei 3

Japan entered as one of the continent's better squads, but they were looking up at another solid squad in Thailand before dominating them at home in the most recent round of matches. This is clearly going to come down the wire between these two squads, but Thailand is going to have to hope one of the other squads can beat or draw Japan, because they have already exhausted their two shots at the 66th-ranked squad.

Group Four

Table going into June 7: India 12, South Korea 6, North Korea 4, Macau 1

June 7 Results

India 4, Macau 0
North Korea 2, South Korea 0

Table now: India 15, North Korea 7, South Korea 6, Macau 1

Which glutton for punishmentr put this group together? Hey, let's lump to the sides of a divided country together, and throw them into a group with 62nd-ranked India. All they needed to do was replace Macau with Pakistan, and this one would have been fought with nukes. What it really is, though, as the scene of powerful South Korea's exit from contention for a spot in China 2010. Not only is Asia's top squad failing to stay with undefeated India, they aren't even beating their rival countrymen to the north, including a 2-0 loss in the latest round. India has clinched a spot in the next round of qualifying.

Group Five

Table going into June 7: Kuwait 8, Qatar 7, Singapore 6, Mongolia 1

June 7 Results

Qatar 2, Kuwait 1
Singapore 3, Mongolia 1

Table now: Qatar 10, Singapore 9, Kuwait 8, Mongolia 1

This might be the group of little countries (and Mongolia), but they play big on the pitch (and strangely enough, Mongolia plays small). Qatar is one of the better squads in Asia, at 57th-ranked in the world, and their close 2-1 win over 80th-ranked Kuwait gives them the edge now. Still, Kuwait is right there with eight points, and so is a solid squad in Singapore, in between Qatar and Kuwait. This should go down to the wire.

Group Six

Table going into June 7: United Arab Emirates 12, Jordan 6, Malaysia 4, Cambodia 1

June 7 Results

Jordan 5, Cambodia 1
United Arab Emirates 1, Malaysia 0

Table now: United Arab Emirates 15, Jordan 9, Malaysia 4, Cambodia 1

Jordan came in as the highest-regarded team in this group, but United Arab Emirates has proven to be too tough. They have won all five of their matches, including two 3-0 wins over Jordan, to clinch a spot in the next round.

Group Seven

Table going into June 7: Tajikstan 10, Uzbekistan 10, Kyrgyzstan 3, Myanmar 0

June 7 Results

Myanmar 4, Kyrgyzstan 0
Tajikstan 3, Uzbekistan 2

Table now: Tajikstan 13, Uzbekistan 10, Myanmar 3, Kyrgyzstan 3

Myanmar? Turkmenistan needs to be in the 'Stan group. Uzbekistan is the top 100 squad here, but Tajikstan was just outside of it, and won the showdown in this past round to take the group lead. The two clubs drew, 2-2, in Tajikstan, so the Tajiks' one-goal win over the Uzbeks on the road this round could be the difference here.

Group Eight

Table going into June 7: Iran 10, Oman 10, Vietnam 1, Phillipines 1

June 7 Results

Iran 4, Oman 0
Vietnam 2, Phillipines 1

Table now: Iran 13, Oman 10, Vietnam 4, Phillipines 1

Iran is one of the top squads in the world, and not just Asia. Nevertheless, they found themselves in a tight fight with Oman. In this past round, the Iranians finally put an exclamation on their claim to the group lead, soundly beating Oman at home.

Group Nine

Table going into June 7: Iraq 12, Syria 5, Yemen 3, Bhutan 1

June 7 Results

Iraq 2, Syria 0
Yemen 2, Bhutan 2

Table now: Iraq 15, Syria 5, Yemen 4, Bhutan 2

Iraq was clearly the best squad in this group, with only Syria seeming likely to challenge them. The Iraq squad put an end to that in the last fixture, beating Syria 2-0 to clinch a spot in the next round.

Group Ten

Table going into June 7: Palestine 9, Turkmenistan 3, Guam 0

June 7 Results

Turkmenistan 3, Guam 1

Table now: Palestine 9, Turkmenistan 6, Guam 0

While Turkmenistan has only gotten points from wins over weak little Guam, this one is going to come down to a tough one at the end. Palestine just edged out Turkmenistan at home, 1-0, and now has to go to Turkmenistan and beat them there to ensure advancing to the next round.

CR

Chief Rum

08-31-2004, 06:49 AM

World Cup Qualifying, CONCACAF & Oceania

Both CONCACAF and the Oceania region are in their regional finals, each with six squads entered. CONCACAF will send the top four in their field to China 2010, while the weaker Oceania will send just one.

CONCACAF

The North and Central American, and Carribean footballing nations complete their qualifying with a ten-match round-robin fixture, and they are currently four rounds into it.

Only one round has been played since the last update in late March.

April 19 Results

Jamaica 4, Honduras 1
United States 2, Guatemala 1
Haiti 0, Mexico 0

This was a round of surprises. Jamaica not only beat Honduras on the road, they dominated them. The United States had unusual trouble with Guatemala before putting them away on the road. And then little Haiti shocked powerful Mexico by drawing them at home.

Table now: United States 10, Mexico 8, Jamaica 6, Guatemala 4, Honduras 4, Haiti 1

As expected, the United States and Mexico are leading the group, and are generally expected to easily sweep to spots art China 2010. If so, that leaves two other tightly-contested spots for everyone else, with the probable exception of little Haiti (short of a continuing miracle run).

Oceania

Like CONCACAF, the Oceania region has six nations competing for a spot in CHina 2010, but this time only one country will get in.

Prior to this week, the region had not played an international round since May 28. Two rounds of their ten-match fixture were played on June 6 and June 10, bringing them up to six matches played each. Here is what happened:

Table going into matches:

June 6 Results

New Zealand 2, Tahiti 0
Tonga 0, Solomon Islands 0
Cook Islands 3, Australia 2

June 10 Results

New Zealand 2, Cook Islands 2
Tonga 1, Tahiti 0
Australia 3, Solomon Islands 1

Table now: Australia 15, New Zealand 10, Cook Islands 10, Tonga 8, Solomon Islands 7, Tahiti 1

Let's face it, the story of the last week has been not-so-dimunitve Cook Islands. They stunned Australia at hoem, 3-2, and then drew New Zealand on the road. That allowed them to catch New Zealdn and keep Australia from running away with it. That said, the strong Aussies still have a commanding lead at this point.

CR

Chief Rum

08-31-2004, 07:50 AM

World Cup Qualifying, South America

While Asia has the shortest qualifying, South America has the longest. With ten nations entered into their federation, South America plays a full round-robin fixture between all of the countries, an 18-match schedule played out over almost three years.

After their last round, on April 1, South America's World Cup Qualifying had played 13 of their 18 matches. They met again on June 6 and June 10, bringing them within sight of the end of their fixtures.

Setting The Table

After the April 1 matches, there were four clear leaders in the table, with the fifth spot being a tightly contested one with several contenders.

Colombia and Argentina, both top ten world squads, lead the continent with 29 points. Powerful Brazil and upstart Peru are right behind them with 26 points apiece. All four squads are virtually assured of spots in China 2010 at this point.

Uruguay currently has a hold on that pivotal fifth spot, with 17 points. But they have some company. Ecuador is right behind them with 16 points. Paraguay is in range of a win of catching Ecuador, with 13 points, and Chile and Venezuela are just behind them with 12 points. Only 5-point Bolivia is pretty much out of it.

Tamworth is represented by three players here, all midfielders. Johnnier Montaño and Giovanny Hernández play (and usually start) for Colombia, while David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro plays a key role with Chile.

June 6

The top two remaining contenders for that last spot don't get breaks today. Fifth-place Uruguay goes to Argentina, while Ecuador plays Brazil on the road. Chile will have to overcome Peru to continue their attempt to stay within sight of the bottom spot, while Vanezuela and Paraguay play a winner stays in, loser likely falls out match. Colombia rounds it out with a likely easy round match against cellar-dwelling Bolivia.

Argentina proved to be too much for Uruguay, 2-1. Boca forward Carlos Tevez scored both goals for Argentina, including a tie-breaker in the 71st minute. Uruguay was handcapped in its comeback attempts by the 82nd minute send off of Peñarol defender José Oscar Herrera.

That gave Ecuador a chance to move past the Uruguayans if they could beat Brazil on the road. As unlikely as that might have seemed, the Ecuadorans brought their A game to this one. Geel striker César Tenorio scored early on, and then Emelec's netminder Daniel Viteri made it stand up, shutting out the potent Brazilians to prove the one-goal victory.

So Ecuador moves up to 19 points, two ahead of Uruguay, and into fifth.

Chile didn't get the win it needed, but it did get a morale boost from drawing with Peru on the road, 2-2. It proved to be an agonizing draw, though, with how close they came to victory. Santiago Wanderers veteran goalkeeper Alex Varas misplayed a pickup and accidentally sent the ball into his own net for the equalising own goal in the 82nd minute. Pizarro started and put up a 7 rating.

Venezuela went into Paraguay and came out a 2-1 winner in a key match of two squads on the fringe. Venezuela got two goals in four minutes from Atlante's striker Daniel Rivero in the second half, including a 68th minute go ahead penalty. The tallies wrapped around a 65th minute goal by Paraguay's famous FC Bayern striker Roque Santa Cruz, who quickly brought his nation even after Rivero's first strike.

As expected, Colombia manhandled Bolivia, 3-0. Tamworth's Montaño scored a late goal to cap the scoring, and had an 8 rating, and an assist as well. Hernández started on the wing and put up a 7 rating.

The wins by Argentina and Colombia, combined with Uruguay's loss, clinched two spots for the South American powers in China 2010. The two nations become the third and fourth countries to earn entry to the competition, after host China and Africa's Morocco.

Both Colombia and Argentina have 32 points. Peru is third with 27 points, followed by Brazil, underachieving a little with 26 points. Ecuador is fifth with 19 points, two up on Uruguay. Venezuela leaped up to seventh with 15 points, while Chile drew level with Paraguay in eighth with 13 points. Bolivia still has five points.

June 10

Ecuador gets to defend its newfound fifth-place spot with a home match against Colombia, while Uruguay tries to keep up in a tough road match against Peru. Venezuela, on the fringe, gets a good shot at climbing back into it if both of the midtable squads lose, as the Venezuelans visit weak Bolivia. Argentina will try to warm up for China 2010 with a match at home against desperate Paraguay, while Brazil tries to finally clinch its spot by holding up at home against Chile.

It couldn't have played out better for Venezuela. As expected, they pounded Bolivia, 3-0. Both Ecuador and Uruguay lost their tough matches.

Ecuador has to be kicking themselves. They had a one goal lead going into the final 15 minutes, but they allowed an equaliser to Lens forward Oscar Eduardo Villareal. Then, after Alavés forward Luis Moreira was sent off in the 81st minute, they allowed Villareal to score again at the death. It was an agonizing loss for Ecuador, which could have taken a commanding lead for the fifth playoff spot. Montaño had a poor match, with a 6 rating, for Colombia, while Hernández rated another 7 from the wing.

Uruguay had the chance, then, to regain their fifth place spot. They ran into a tough Peru squad at home, though. FC Bayern's Claudio Pizarro scored almost right off of the kickoff, and then added another in the 25th minute to lead the Peruvians to both a 3-0 victory, and to a clinched spot in China.

Venezuela's win vaulted them past Uruguay and into sxith with 18 points, just one behind Ecuador. Uruguay is just behind Venezuela with 17 points.

Brazil's strange offensive problems continue, as they draw at home with Chile, 0-0, and fail again to clinch that fourth spot to China. Tamworth's David Pizarro had a 7 rating for Chile in the match.

Argentina and Paraguay played to a 1-1 draw, meaning little to Argentina and hurting Paraguay's chances at playing their way back into it.

Table After 15 Matches

Here is the table with three matches left for each squad, and three spots in China already locked up. The clinched spots are bolded, while the top two contenders for the last spots are asterisked.

Colombia 35 (+24 GD)
Argentina 33 (+12 GD)
Peru 30 (+15 GD)
*Brazil 27 (+15 GD)
* Ecuador 19 (-4 GD)
Venezuela 18 (-10 GD)
Uruguay 17 (-12 GD)
Chile 14 (-2 GD)
Paraguay 14 (-2 GD)
Bolivia 5 (-25 GD)

The remaining South American fixtures will be played on September 5, October 10 and October 14.

CR

Chief Rum

08-31-2004, 07:39 PM

World Cup Qualifying, Europe

Along with qualifying and international competition all around the world, of course, Europe was also involved in their qualifying for China 2010. They played two rounds during this stretch, on June 6 and June 10. Going into this action most squads have completed half of their ten-match fixtures (the few that haven't are in smaller groups with eight-match fixtures).

We had several players involved.

Setting The Table

Here's a quick look at the tables of the nine groups.

Group One

Table: Scotland 11, Ukraine 10, Hungary 9, Spain 7, Cyprus 4, Malta 0

Spain is the power here, but they also have a rich history of underachievement. That would seem to continue to be the case here. This is a very tight group still, and any of the top four squads could still take it.

The big match on June 6 is Spain hosting the Ukraine with a chance to leap back up into contention. Then all four top squads meet in a showdown on June 10, with Spain travelling to group leader Scotland, and the Ukraine hosting Hungary.

Group Two

Table: Croatia 13, Greece 9, Albania 8, Luxembourg 6, Czech Republic 5, Kazakhstan 1

Euro 2008 champion Croatia is showing that wasn't a fluke win with their strong showing here so far. Right now, Greece and Albania finish off a Balkans region-heavy battle for the second spot. Dangerous Czech Republic still lurks in the shadows.

The big June 6 match will come between Croatia and Albania. Croatia can virtually put away at least a playoff spot, if not an outright CHina 2010 bid, with a win in this one. The Czech Republic may get just one more chance to sneak back into contention when they go to Greece on June 10.

Group Three

Table: Ireland 13, Portugal 9, Norway 8, Faroe Islands 7, Wales 4, Latvia 1

I'm not sure what the bigger sotry is, Ireland's surprsiing rush out ahead in this group, or Faroe Islands stunning rise to within reach of a second place spot. Norway came in as a favorite, but have underachieved a bit. Ireland looks likely to get in now, but the fight for the second place spot could be bitter.

The first round of matches on June 6 could be big, with Ireland facing off with their kinsmen Welsh, whom have underachieved to a very low run in this group so far, and Portugal can become a legit threat with a win on the road over the Faroe Islands--or vice versa. Depending on what happens in that first round, Ireland travelling to the Faroe Islands could be big, as could Wales travelling to Norway.

Group Four

Table: Italy 13, Bulgaria 12, FYR of Macedonia 9, Moldova 6, Liechtenstein 3, Sweden 1

Italy leading this one, with Bulgaria contending, is about what one might expect. Sweden in dead last, behind even little Liechtenstein, is not. Macedonia is going to need to keep up the pressure to ensure this isn't a run away for the Italians and Bulgarians.

They will get their first big chance on June 6, when they host Bulgaria. There are few other key matchups, although Italy and Sweden on June 10 should be interesting, if not pivotal at this point.

Group Five

Table: France 13, Romania 9, Poland 9, Northern Ireland 8, Georgia 4, Andorra 0

Powerful France doesn't get automatic entry into China 2010 anymore, as past World Cup holders had, but they don't seem to be sweating it. They lead a tough group. Gemrnay 2006 third-place finisher Romania is in a tight fit with Poland and the upstart Northern Irish for at the very least that second-place spot.

Poland will host Romania on June 6 in a big showdown that could go a long way to determining who will be coming out of this one with France. Then on June 10, Northern Ireland will travel to France to see if their dream is alive, or if they are just being foolish.

Group Six

Table: Denmark 12, Slovakia 10, Germany 9, Austria 7, Bosnia & Herzegovina 5, San Marino 0

Denmark was expected to contend, but it was thought their primary contender would be the once-powerful Germany. The German squad continues to underachieve since its World Cup hosting job in 2006, and one wonders at this point if they would have been able to qualify even then, had they been required to. This remains one of the tighter groups in qualifying.

Denmark hosts Bosnia on June 6, in the latter squad's last chance to thrust itself back into the middle of the action. Germany hosts Austria on the same day, in a Deutschland battle that should provide Slovakia with their primary competition for the runner up spot. The top two squads meet on June 10 in the big match there, while Germany hosts Bosnia.

Group Seven

Table: Slovenia 12, England 12, Belgium 10, Iceland 6, Estonia 4, Azerbaijan 0

Belgium and England came in as the favorites, but a solid Slovenia squad has engineered a run to the top, where they are tied with the English. It's tough to say at this point if England is actually underachieving because they aren't running awya with this, or if they are doing well, because they are still tied for the group lead.

England travels to Belgium in a criticxal match for both squads on June 6, while Iceland will try to get back into things wit a win over Slovenia on their Atlantic island. The June 10 Belgium and Slovenia could be a matchup of the top two clubs in the group if results fall a certain way four days prior.

Group Eight

Table: Serbia & Montenegro 12, Israel 7, Finland 6, Turkey 4, Armenia 0

This was supposed to be a group that would be tightly-contested between traditional power Turkey and recent rising power Serbia. Alas, the Turks have yet to really show up for this, and the Serbs are beginning to run away with it. The battle for the second spot is shaping up to be a doozie right now.

Turkey will get one last shot at redemption on June 6, when they travel to Serbia & Montenegro. They also get to play second place Israel at home on June 10, so this is pretty muc Turkey's last chance to climb back into range.

Group Nine

Table: Lithuania 7, Russia 7, Holland 6, Switzerland 5, Belarus 2

This group has gone topsy-turvy so far. Holland was the clear favorite, and they are struggling for a spot. Belarus was the next best squad, but they are pulling a "Sweden". Still, the range of point difference means every squad in the group is still alive and kicking.

Holland's visit to Belarus on June 6 was a showdown match before Belarus crapped on their play. So the highlight match here is more liekly to be the Swiss travelling to group leader Russia. Holland and Russia then get together in the Netherlands for a big match on June 10. Surprising group co-leader Lithuania will take its turn on Belarus on the same day.

June 6

Group One

Hungary 3, Malta 1
Spain 5, Ukraine 2
Cyprus 1, Scotland 1

This group just got a lot more interesting. Scotland's surprising draw with Cyprus allowed Hungary to draw level witht hem for the group lead at 12 points. Spain's thrashing of the Ukrainians has put them back in range with 10 points, tied with those very same Ukrainians. With the top four all facing off with each other on June 10, this next round could be the most critical in this group's fixture.

Tamworth's Michael Stewart started and put up a 7 rating in Scotland's draw with the Cypriots.

Group Two

Croatia 3, Albania 0
Greece 2, Luxembourg 0
Czech Republic 4, Kazakhstan 0

Albania's loss to Greece, combined with Greece's expected win over little Luxembourg, has widened out this group considerably. Croatia now has an eight point lead on third place with four matches to go, while Greece itself has a four-point lead on third. The Czech Republic's strong win is looking like too little, too late. Still, it sets up a big match at Greece on June 10.

Group Three

Norway 3, Latvia 0
Wales 1, Ireland 0
Portugal 4, Faroe Islands 0

The June 6 fixture may go down as the most critical one in the group. Ireland's surprising home loss to Wales have allowed the pack to close in, and now this one has the look of a free-for-all. Portugal put a dagger in Faroe Island's Cinderella dreams with a demolition on their own turf. This looks like a tight three-squad race now. June 10 may not clear it up any--none of the top three teams play each other.

Tamworth's Trond Erik Bertelsen started at keftback for Norway and garnered an assist and a 7 rating in the Norwegian's win. Richie Partridge started on the wing for Ireland and posted a 7 rating as well. Neither Ireland's Mark Hicks nor Wales' Andy Williams were selected for the team today.

Group Four

Italy 3, Liechtenstein 0
Sweden 2, Moldova 0
Bulgaria 2, FYR of Macedonia 0

The wins by Italy and Bulgaria, especially the latter, have only served to widen the gulf between the top two squads and everyone else, and ensure that Itlay and Bulgaria will be coming out of this one. Bulgaria, as the second place squad, now has a six point lead on thrid place Macedonia. The fight for the coveted top spot is still one, though--Italy has just a one point lead.

Group Five

France 5, Georgia 0
Poland 0, Romania 0
Northern Ireland 1, Andorra 0

France's expected victory combined with the draw between closest contenders Poland and Romania ahve given the defending World Cup champs a solid lead in the group. The Northern Irish continue to impress, jumping into second place with their win, but they have to be concerned they barely got by little Andorra. A big match at France on June 10 looms.

Polish Lamb Emmanuel Olisadebe started up front for his homeland and put up a respectable 7 rating, even if he didn't score what would have been a difference-making goal. Mike Duff started at centreback for Northern Ireland, but did not particularly impress (6 rating). As usual, Louis Saha was not selected for France's easy win over Georgia.

Group Six

Denmark 2, Bosnia 2
Slovakia 2, San Marino 0
Germany 2, Austria 1

The Danes' surprising draw with Bosnia has allowed Slovakia and Germany to jump right back into it with wins in their respective matches. Just one point separates the two from Denmark now. Slovakia and Denmark will now have a showdown on June 10, while Germany looks to take advantage by hosting Bosnia.

Group Seven

England 2, Belgium 0
Slovenia 1, Iceland 0
Estonia 1, Azerbaijan 0

England got the big win it needed over Belgium to give it a needed edge over the pack. Slovenia remained as the co-group leader, though, by beating Iceland on the road. With a five-point lead on third palce, the two squads have a strong lead going down the stretch. Belgium could get back into it with a road win over Slovenia on June 10.

Both Orri Freye Oskarsson and Hermann Hreidarsson started for the Icelanders. Oskarsson started up front, while Hreidarsson manned the leftback spot. Both Tamworth players put up 7 ratings.

Group Eight

Serbia & Montenegro 3, Turkey 0
Israel 4, Armenia 2

The Serbs pretty much dashed the Turks' remaining hopes here, and also gave themselves a commanding five-point group lead. Israel itslef also took a good lead in its win, with four points on Finaldn. One caveat--Finland has a match in hand on the Israelis.

Group Nine

Russia 2, Switzerland 0
Holland 3, Belarus 1

Lithuania's idle schedule has allowed Russia to take the group lead alone with their win, while Holland leaped past the Lithuanians into second palce with their big win. Lithuania has a match in hadn on both of the top squads, though. Holland and Russia now meet in a key match on June 10.

Tamworth midfielder Denny Landzaat was not selected to the team for today's match with Belarus.

June 10

Group One

Cyprus 4, Malta 0
Scotland 3, Spain 1
Ukraine 0, Hungary 0

Table now: Scotland 15, Hungary 13, Ukraine 11, Spain 10, Cyprus 8, Malta 0

Scotland regained its lead in one of the toughest of ways, beating talented Spain. With Hungary and the Ukraine playing to a draw, that allowed the Scots to take back the lead. Spain itself pretty much undoes everything which came with its strong defeat over the Ukraine on June 6. Neither spot is anywhere near clinched with three matches left.

Tamworth's Michael Stewart scored his first international goal ever (in his 11th cap) in the 34th minute, and it turned out to be the game winner. He also put up an impressive 8 rating.

Group Two

Croatia 2, Kazakhstan 0
Greece 0, Czech Repbulic 0
Albania 1, Luxembourg 0

Table now: Croatia 19, Greece 13, Albania 11, Czech Republic 9, Luxembourg 6, Kazakhstan 1

The combination of Croatia's win with Greece's draw with the Czechs have almost certainly handed the Euro 2008 champs a spot in China 2010. Anything win in their last three matches, or three draws, or virtually anything short of two wins in three matches by Greece will clinch it for the Croatians. Albania's expected win have moved them back within range of Greece for the second place spot.

Group Three

Norway 0, Wales 0
Ireland 4, Faroe Islands 1
Latvia 5, Portugal 4

Table now: Ireland 16, Norway 12, Portugal 12, Wales 8, Faroe Islands 7, Latvia 4

Norway's draw with Wales, and Portugal's stunning yet thrilling loss to Latvia ina high-scoring affair have allowed Ireland to take a bit of a lead here. The Irish pretty much wrapped any remaining Faore Islands upset hopes in this group with their strong win. Dropping a match to the group's bottom team will not endear Portugal to its homeland supporters, but they are still in a tight battle for second with Norway, and not even eliminated for the top spot.

Both Bertelsen and Williams started out of position for their respective squads. Bertelsen put up a 7 rating from the centreback position for Norway, while Williams, a left winger, rated a 7 from Wales' rightback spot.

Partridge capped Ireland's scoring in the 82nd minute, nabbing his second ever international goal from his wing position. He was very strong in Ireland's win, getting an 8 rating and the Man of the Match. Lamb and national teammate Hicks was again not selected to the team.

Group Four

Bulgaria 4, Liechtenstein 0
Moldova 2, FYR of Macedonia 2
Italy 2, Sweden 0

Table now: Italy 19, Bulgaria 18, FYR of Macedonia 10, Moldova 7, Sweden 4, Liechtenstein 3

Italy and Bulgaria were easy picks to win their matches against the worst squads in the group table, and had Macedonia fallen to Moldova, Italy would have at least a second-place spot clinched. As it is, the wins of the top two squads put both of them on the verge of clinching at least playoff spots, and puts them right up against each other for the group's automatic spot to China.

Group Five

Romania 2, Georgia 0
Poland 3, Andorra 0
France 2, Northern Ireland 0

Table now: France 19, Romania 13, Poland 13, Northern Ireland 11, Georgia 4, Andorra 0

The top two group leaders met in France today, and the result changed the face of the group. France's win not only pushed them to the brink of clinching their spot in China, it allowed both Romania and Poland to overtake Northern Ireland for second place. This one stil has a long way to go.

Olisadebe didn't score, but he did start and assisted on one of Poland's goals. He also garnered a strong 8 rating. Duff had a very poor match at centreback for Northern Ireland, with a 5 rating. Saha was actually selected this time by France, but he was not used.

Group Six

Slovakia 3, Denmark 3
Austria 3, San Marino 0
Bosnia 4, Germany 1

Table now: Denmark 14, Slovakia 14, Germany 12, Austria 10, Bosnia & Herzegovina 9, San Marino 0

Welcome to Group Crazy. The draw between the two group co-leaders doesn't do anything to move them too far ahead of the pack. But Germany inexplciably dropped the ball at home, losing badly to Bosnia to stay in third. That allows both Austria and Bosnia to sneak up behind, and now just five points separates five squads.

Group Seven

England 2, Azerbaijan 0
Iceland 2, Estonia 1
Belgium 1, Slovenia 0

Table now: England 18, Slovenia 15, Belgium 13, Iceland 9, Estonia 7, Azerbaijan 0

This played out just the way England needed it to. They won both of their matches in this stretch, and Belgium held back Slovenia to allow them to get the group lead. Belgium's key win on the road also moved them back within range of Slovenia for that second place spot. Iceland's win moves them up to a respectable nine points, but it likely won't be enough.

Strangely enough, Oskarsson was dropped all the way back to centreback for this one, and he held up well, with a 7 rating. Hreidarsson also put up a 7 rating from the leftback spot.

Group Eight

Finland 2, Armenia 0
Turkey 2, Israel 0

Table now: Serbia & Montenegro 15, Israel 10, Finland 9, Turkey 7, Armenia 0

The Serbs didn't even play, but they may have just been handed a spot in China. Israel was closest, but the Turks finally showed up just in time to derail Israel's hopes of catching Serbia & Montenegro. Now the Serbs have a five-point lead and a match in hadn on second-place Israel. The Israelis have to be far more concerned for their second-place spot now, with Finland now just a point behind them and having played one less match than them. Don't look now, but Turkey has snuck back within a win's range as well.

Group Nine

Lithuania 1, Belarus 1
Holland 2, Russia 1

Table now: Holland 12, Russia 10, Lithuania 8, Switzerland 5, Belarus 3

Holland edged out Russia in the showdown between the group's top squads. The Dutch, who came into this qualifying as easy favorites, finally have the lead. Lithuania blew a big chance by drawing with Belarus, and now they remain behind both Holland and Russia. This one seems liekly to go down to the wire.

Landzaat was again not selected for today's match.

All ten groups play two of their last three matches on September 5 and September 9, before wrapping the group fixtures altogether on October 10.

CR

Chief Rum

08-31-2004, 08:52 PM

Tuesday, June 9 To Monday, June 15

We are now nearing the official in-game end of the season. This will be the last full week of the season, although there are a few days after this week before the official changeover is done.

Chelsea Negotiates Over Makabu Ma Kalambay

Chelsea has goalkeeper Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay listed as available for $20,000, which is what I offered for him last week.

The Blues decided to play hardball with us on Tuesday, requesting $24,000.

After five separate meetings with the club chairman, three credit checks and a visit to the phone booth in front of the Lamb Ground to feel around for change, we agreed to the increased offer.

Ward Bid Rejected

Also on Tuesday, Irish Premier Devision club Limerick rejected our $65,000 offer for David Ward. That was the bad news.

The good news is they apparently also rejected Liverpool's offer for the young centreback, and the Reds are no longer listed as being interested in acquiring him. That's terrific, because that now means I can scout this guy out some more and determine how big of an offer I want to make, if any at all.

Chelsea Accepts Makabu Ma Kalambay Offer

On Thursday, the Blues officially accepted our $24,000 bid for Makabu Ma Kalambay.

We are now free to negotiate with the goalkeeper, and we make a multi-year contract offer to the 23-year-old Belgian player.

Makabu Ma Kalambay is already certainly slated for the reserve team as our emergency goalkeeper, and as a long term possibility in net for us. I will likely try and work him into a few Premiership matches on occasion to appease him for this role.

That's assuming we can come to an agreement on with him, which I don't doubt we will.

Duff, Cort Sign New Deals With Tamworth

On Thursday and Friday, our two high-profile backliners heading for free agency have agreed instead to contract extensions.

Leon Cort agreed to our offer on Thursday, a $925,000 per year deal that will keep him in Tamworth through June, 2012. Cort was one of our better centrebacks and also provided a surprising level of offense for us from the position.

On Friday, veteran right back Mike Duff, freshly returned from international action, agreed to a $750,000 two-year deal, which will tie him to Tamworth through June 2011.

Both players figure to play key roles for the squad next year, although Kevin Gorman will liekly start at right back, and the team is actively seeking another centreback who might start with James McEveley in the middle. Until that player materializes, Cort is the likely starter there.

Williams Announces His Retirement

Saturday was a sad day today at the Lamb Ground.

Former star winger Andy Williams, whom has just returned from international play with Wales, has announced he will retire at the end of the 2009-10 season.

The announcement is a bit of a shock, as Williams is just 31 and still seems to be a very strong player with a 7.57 rating last year. Williams did, however, miss most of last year with a knee injury, and he wasn't nearly as strong of a playmaker as he was previously.

I had been considering transfer-listing him to make room, but now I see no reason to move him. I will keep around as depth and hope we can send him out a winner. Sometime down the road, I may ask him to reconsider his retirement, but I haven't decided that for sure yet.

Connolly, Rodriguez Accept Offers

On Saturday, 41-year-old scouting coach John Connolly agreed to return to the Lamb Ground. Connolly has been our primary talent and skills guy on the coaching staff, providing me with valuable input on the progress of my players in their skills development and talent evaluation.

He was originally hired in June, 2006. His new contract, for $300,000 per year, will carry him through to June 2012.

One day after Connolly inked his extension, we came to an agreement on an extension with Jorge Humberto Rodríguez, our Under-19 coach. Rodriguez, 38, is excellent with youngsters and led our young squad to a second-place finish in our Under-19 division.

Rodriguez is a former Salvadoran international defensive midfielder that first came to us in August 2005, along with fellow Salvadorans forward José Alexander Amaya and Juan José Gómez. While Amaya and Gómez went on to play key roles for us, Rodriguez got trapped in a work permit snafu and never appeared on the pitch as a player for the Lambs. He retired the following June and agreed to sign on as a coach.

His new deal will pay him $325,000 per year and keep him at Tamworth until June 2012.

Makabu Ma Kalambay Rejects Offer

I kinda thought I might be offering him too low.

Makabu Ma Kalambay was not enamored of our offer to him. He was seeking over $400,00 per year and a prominent role on the squad. I offered $325,000 per year and a backup role.

Makabu Ma Kalambay feels he is more deserving of a better basic salary, and wants a stronger indication of playing time from me. I upped up his salary to $350,000 per year through June 2013, and gave him a rotation role. Since he wont' really be getting that, I hope he's not too upset if he's on the reserve team.

Of course, I don't even know if this is acceptable to him. Hoepfulyl it will be. I make another offer and await a response.

Warren Announces Retirement...Again

Like Justin Skinner last week, veteran centreback Mark Warren also announced his retirement at the end of the season. Considering he announced this last year, I can only hope, again, that this is referring to the end of this season and not the next one.

Like Skinner, though, the 34-year-old defender's contract runs out at the end of June, so it matters little to the club whether he retires now or a year from now.

League News

There was very little in the way of league news this week, at least that didn't involve us.

On Thursday, Manchester United's veteran fullback Vincent Candela announced that he will retire at the end of the season.

The well-travelled 35-year-old French international has played with a who's who string of top superpowers, including Roma, Barcelona and Real Madrid, before moving to Old Trafford last year. He appeared in just four matches for the Red Devils, posting a 6.75 rating.

Candela appeared in 62 international matches with France and played on both the 1998 and 2006 World Cup champions. He scored three goals for France.

Candela first played porfessional football with Toulouse in 1991-92. He also played with Guingamp before embarking on his big club career with Roma in 1996-97.

The only other bit of news came on Sunday, when Primera Liga squad Espanyol was officially relegated to the La Liga 2.

CR

Chief Rum

08-31-2004, 09:53 PM

Tuesday, June 16 To Friday, June 19

This is the short week which will wrap up the official season before the game switches over.

Makabu Ma Kalambay Accepts Offer

After nearly a month of the ongoing Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay saga, we have finally completed the signing of the young goalkeeper on Tuesday.

Makabu Ma Kalambay has agreed to our latest contract offer, a four-year deal worth $350,000 per year. Because it is an immediate transfer deal, he will move over to the Lamb Ground immediately.

Makabu Ma Kalambay comes to us from Chelsea, where it didn't seem he was going to ever end up in their plans. The 23-yerar-old goalkeeper played strongly in an eight-match stint with Sheffield Wednesday while on loan. He conced eight goals, had two clean sheets and put up a 6.88 rating--all much better than the Owls' incumbent netminder Allan McGregor behind the same backline. Using a devious Bosman transfer deal, we managed to get around the Owls' loan fee agreement with Chelsea to get a shot at the Belgian goalkeeper. He eventually signed with us over Sheffield Wednesday.

Makabu Ma Kalambay also appeared in two matches with Chelsea, one of them as a sub. He allowed two goals, put up a clean sheet and posted a 6.50 rating.

The Belgian player, formerly capped with Belgium's U-21 squad, has appeared in a handful of matches with the Blues going back since he was just 19. He has eight clean sheets in 33 career appearances, only 16 of which were starts. He has conceded 29 goals, less than a goal per appearance, and has a career 6.67 rating.

The young goalkeeper said he is looking forward to working under me, which is always nice to hear.

It may have been a small amount, but the $24,000 transfer fee for Makabu Ma Kalambay adds to our already record transfers spent this year. We are now at $24.5 M for the year.

Rayo Offers Merino

On Wednesday, La Liga 2 squad Rayo offered us defender and midfielder Carlos Merina for $625,000. Merino was a player brought to our attention more than two years ago by one of our scouts, and he has been on our shorltist ever since.

Unfortunately, we have moved beyond our need to take ona player at this level now, so I turn down the Rayo offer.

Merino is also coming off of a less than spectacular year (5 assists, 6.59 in 39 matches) and is slower than I like my defenders to be now, even though his ratings seem to be pretty solid.

League News

A small handful of information tidbits came through during this small period.

Southampton Signs Italian Under-21 Player Izzo

On Thursday, the Saints agreed to a Bosman transfer for Italian Under-21 winger Alessio Izzo of the Primera Liga's Lleida.

The 19-year-old left winger will officially move over to St. Mary's Stadium on June 30.

Izzo saw limtied time with Lleida last season, but from 2006-08, he was a starter for Lleida, despite his young age. He had eight assists in 68 matches during that stretch, but didn't get an assist in 13 appearances last season, only one of which was a start. He posted a 6.62 rating.

Man City's Arellano Announces Retirement

Manchester City's 36-year-old forward Jesús Arellano announced on Friday that he was retiring at the end of the season.

Arellano, 36, started on the right wing for City this year, although he has bounced between there and the frontline in his career.

This past season, Arellano collected 6 assists in 25 appearances, with 14 starts. and posting a 6.84 rating.

This was his second season with City. In 2007-08, he put up four goals, six assists and a 6.88 rating in 34 appearances.

Arellano also had stints with Liverpool and with Monterrey and Chivas of the Mexican First Division in a career that began in 1993-94.

Arellano has long been a key contributor to Mexico's national team, starting on the Germany 2006 finalist. He scored nine international goals in 106 international appearances.

Fulham's Legwinski Calls It Quits

On the same day Arellano announced his retirement, Fulham's longtime midfielder Sylvain Legwinksi also announced his retirement at the end of the season.

The French 35-year-old defensive midfielder and winger has been with the Cottagers since 2001-02.

Legwinksi appeared in 36 matches this past season, but saw his offensive production drop sharply. He scored just two goals and collected one assist, posting a still respectable 6.94 rating.

Prior to this season, Legwinksi put up 14 goals and 13 assists and a 7.00-plus rating in the two previous campaigns with Fulham. He has been one of the better offensive wingers and midfielders in the league for years now.

Legwinksi started his career in 1992-93 with Monaco of the Championnat. After a brief stretch with Bordeaux from 1990-2001, he moved over to Fulham, where he blossomed into one of the club's top offensive performers.

Legwinski was never called up to France's powerful World Cup teams.

CR

Chief Rum

09-01-2004, 01:42 AM

2008/09 Season Around The World

Major League Results

English Premier League: Tamworth, Man Utd, Liverpool
Primera Liga (Spain): Alavés, Betis, Córdoba
Serie A (Italy): Juventus, Milan, Parma
Bundesliga (Germany): Dortmund, FC Bayern, Leverkusen
Le Championnat (France): Nîmes, Montpelier, Lens
Casino Eridivisie (Holland): PSV, Ajax, NEC
Superliga (Portugal): Gil Vicente, U. Lamas, Porto
Superligaen (Denmark): FC Kobenhavn, Herfolge, Koge
National A Division (Greece): Iraklis, PAOK, Olympiakos
Belgian First Division: Anderlecht, Genk, Cercle Brugge
Scottish Premier League: Aberdeen, Rangers, Hibs
Turkush Premier Division: Galatasaray, D. Bakirspor, Denizlispor
High League (Ukraine): Shakhtar, Dinamo Kiev, Arsenal Kiev

Other European Champions: Austria Vienna (Austria), Varteks (Croatia), Sparta Prague (Czech Republic), HJK* (Finland), Hungary (Pécs), Bohemians* (Ireland), Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Israel), Glenavon (Northern Ireland), Bodo/Glimt* (Norway), Amica (Poland), CSKA Moscow* (Russia), Sartid (Serbia & Montenegro), Inter Bratislava (Slovakia), Husqvarna* (Sweden), Young Boys (Switzerland), Cefn Druids (Wales)

*-- season runs from winter to fall, instead of summer to spring; champion is from last complete campaign

National Cups

English FA Cup: Tamworth over Leicester City
English League Cup: Tamworth over Man Utd

Spanish Cup: Celta over Mallorca
Italian Cup: Genoa over Torino
German Cup: Dortmund over Schalke 04
French Cup: Montpelier over Paris-SG
Dutch Cup: Ajax over Go Ahead
Portuguese Cup: Sporting Lisbon over O. Moscavide

European Club Competitions

Champions League: Tamworth over Bodo/Glimt
UEFA: Newcastle United over Aston Villa

Top Transfers Of The 2008-09 Season

SC Fernando Cavenaghi (ARG) from River to Inter for $32.5 M on August 28, 2008
SC Kapo (FRA) from Auxerre to Barcelona for $32 M on August 12, 2008
LW Harry Kewell (ENG) from Liverpool to Milan for $28.5 M on January 29, 2009
MF Gennaro Ivan Gattuso (ITA( from Arsenal to Milan for $26 M on January 29, 2009
DC William Gallas (FRA) from Chelsea to Roma for $24 M on July 20, 2008
FB Gianluca Zambrotta (ITA) from Juventus to Milan for $24 M on July 30, 2008
LW Denílson (BRA) from Roma to Arsenal for $24 M on August 31, 2008
MF Barry Ferguson (SCO) from Blackburn to Newcastle for $23.5 M on August 28, 2008
DC Mikaël Silvestre (FRA) from Man Utd to Milan for $21 M on July 26, 2008
SC Ronaldhino (BRA) from Roma to Dortmund for $20.5 M on July 12, 2008
FB Diego Placente (ARG) from Deportivo to Chelsea for $19.25 M on July 18, 2008
SC César Delgado (ARG) from Cruz Azul to Parma for $18.75 M on August 7, 2008
MF Johann Vogel (SWI) from PSV to Juventus for $18.5 M on August 25, 2008
SC Tristán Diego (SPA) from Deportivo to Barceolna for $17.75 M on August 22, 2008
SC Eric Veld (SWI) from Cottbus to Atalante for $17.5 M on January 3, 2009
SC Hernán Crespo (ARG) from Chelsea to Arsenal for $17.25 M on August 26, 2008
SC [b]Wilson (BRA)[/b[ from Vasco to Roma for $17.25 M on January 30, 2009
FB Willy Sagnol (FRA) from FC Bayern to Dortmund for $17 M on August 3, 2008
MF Gérson (BRA) from Bahia to PSV for $16.5 M on August 15, 2008
SC Bobo (BRA) from Grêmio to Juventude for $16.25 M on August 30, 2008
DC Sylvain Distin (FRA) from Milan to Roma for $15 M on July 27, 2008
FB Juan Pablo Sorin (ARG) from Deportivo to Juventus for $15 M on August 25, 2008
SC Jermain Defoe (ENG) from Roma to Chelsea for $14.75 M on January 16, 2009
MF Richard Blonk (NED) from Feyenoord to Ajax for $14 M on August 29, 2008
RW Mario Alberto Santana (ARG) from Chievo to FC Bayern for $14 M on August 31, 2008
LW Dámian Luna (ARG) from San Lorenzo to Boca for $14 M on December 29, 2008
FB Maxwell (BRA) from Rostock to FC Bayern for $14 M on January 18, 2009
FB Wayne Bridge (ENG) from Chelsea to Man City for $13.75 M on June 30, 2008
SC Sylvain Perrin (FRA) from Auxerre to Newcastle for $13.5 M on August 17, 2008
SC Eidur Gudjohnsen (ICE) from Dortmund to Man Utd for $13 M on January 31, 2009
MF Kieron Dyer (ENG) from Chelsea to Roma for $12.5 M on July 1, 2008
MF Riccardo Montolivo (ITA) from VfB Stuttgart to FC Bayern for $12.5 M on August 12, 2008
RW Javier León (SPA) from Athletic Bilbao to Benfica for $12.25 M on July 15, 2008
SC Michael Chopra (ENG) from Chelsea to Napoli for $12.25 M on January 17, 2009
SC Martín Silva (ARG) from Aguascalientes to River for $12.25 M on February 11, 2009
MF Benoît Pedretti (FRA) from Liverpool to Genoa for $12 M on January 23, 2009
MF Leonardo Ponzio (ARG) from Zaragoza to Chelsea for $12 M on January 27, 2009
SC Aruna (IVO) from Anderlecht to Man City for $11.75 M on August 30, 2008
RW Simao (POR) from Benfica to Deportivo for $11.25 M on August 25, 2008
SC Ronaldo (BRA) from HSV to Real Madrid for $11 M on August 24, 2008
SC Jaime Alfonzo Ruíz (COL) from Cortuluá to Basel for $10.75 M on June 30, 2008
SC Bae Sang–Joon (SKR) from Chonbuk to Daejeon for $10.5 M on January 3, 2009
MF Christoph Preub (GER) from Valencia to VfB Stuttgart for $10 M on July 31, 2008
MF Cristiano Zanetti (ITA) from Liverpool to Liverpool for $10 M on August 30, 2008
RW Roberto Bordignon (ITA) from Cottbus to Braunschweig for $10 M on January 22, 2009
SC Klaus Salmutter (AUT) from Sturm Graz to Wolfsburg for $10 M on January 29, 2009

CR

daedalus

09-01-2004, 02:32 AM

90. ThailandRepresent! :) :) :)

Not terribly well against Japan. But representin' nonetheless. :D

daedalus

09-01-2004, 02:36 AM

As an aside, I know I neglect to say it at times but excellent writeup as usual. This thread is one of my daily "must-reads".

Thanks. :)

Chief Rum

09-01-2004, 03:31 AM

Represent! :) :) :)

Not terribly well against Japan. But representin' nonetheless. :D

Are you of Thai descent, daedalus? :)

I sometimes find myself rooting for the Polish and Irish because of my mixed descent (in addition to England and the U.S.).

Thailand honestly should be playing better, but Japan is a solid team itself. There's no shame in losing to them.

It just sucks when you only have one shot at this every four years, you know? :)

As an aside, I know I neglect to say it at times but excellent writeup as usual. This thread is one of my daily "must-reads".

Thanks. :)

I always like to hear that, I must admit.

That said, don't worry about it if you're not constantly saying it. I know you and the other regular readers here are enjoying it. I am, too, and am just as interested as a "reader" as you guys are (since I don't have much better of a clue what is going on then you guys ;) ).

Glad you're enjoying it. We're entering a very intriguing time for me, as I am a tinkerer at heart--I like to shuffle my roster a lot. And the idea of trying to tackle a season without the uber tactic is a big challenge for me, too. I'm really looking forward to this.

CR

Chief Rum

09-01-2004, 09:05 PM

English Premier Division Select

Hey all, CM03/04 is a wonderful game. Obviosuly, considering how much fun I am getting out of it. Now that that's out of the way, time to bitch.

For three versions now, the awards in this game have been mucked up. They were in CM02/03, they were in CM4, and they are here. For whatever reason, the game doesn't select an English Premier Division Select squad (or any level, to my knowledge). It's very annoying, but there is little I can do.

So I am naming my own teams and award winners. :)

Individual Awards

Player of the Year: ST Hernán Crespo (Arsenal)

I have to give it up to the guy who leads the league in both goals and assists. That's quite an accomplishment.

Most Valuable Player: ST Adrian Mutu (Chelsea)

Forgive the "American" award. Chelsea would have been dust without Mutu. He was dominant for long stretches of this season and was literally carrying them. Were he not hurt for half the season, Leicester's James Graham would also be a strong candidate for this award.

Striker of the Year: Hernán Crespo (Arsenal)

Self-explanatory.

Midfielder of the Year: Michael Stewart (Tamworth)

He didn't play as many matches because of my two-team system, but I don't think Stewart should be ignored here because of it. He was the top rated midfielder in the Premiership, was a terrific passer and headlined the midfield defense of the stingiest club in the league.

Defender of the Year: Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)

I could make an argument for Chelsea's John Terry or my own Mike Duff, but Ferdinand was truly worldclass this season. He was the best defender on the best backline and rated as the second best defender.

Goalkeeper of the Year: Mark Brown (Bristol City)

Fabien Barthez put up the best numbers, but played behind the best backline. Jon Masalin put up great goal numbers, but rated low and started only half of the matches. Brown did it all, playing behind a leaky backline, nabbing four Player of the Week goalkeeper spots, finishing atop goalkeeper ratings, and generally being one of the more consistent players in the league last year.

English Premier Division Select

Team One

SC Hernán Crespo (Arsenal)
SC Adrian Mutu (Chelsea)
MF Michael Stewart (Tamworth)
MF Mark Bresciano (Liverpool)
MF Stilian Petrov (Aston Villa)
MF Matthew Hamshaw (Sheffield Wednesday)
DF Mike Duff (Tamworth)
DF Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)
DF John Terry (Leicester)
DF Gareth Barry (Aston Villa)
GK Fabien Barthez (Manchester United)

Team Two

SC Miroslav Klose (Manchester United)
SC Shola Ameobi (Newcastle United)
MF Rafael van der Vaart (Liverpool)
MF Ryan Giggs (Birmingham City)
MF Gaetano D'Agostino (Manchester United)
MF Orri Freyr Oskarsson (Tamworth)
DF Sam Jones (Leicester)
DF John O'Shea (Manchester United)
DF Luke Young (Aston Villa)
DF Aaron Hughes (Newcastle United)
GK Mark Brown (Bristol City)

Team Three

SC Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
SC James Graham (Leicester City)
MF Christian Tiffert (Tottenham)
MF Dickson Agyeman (Manchester City)
MF Joe Cole (Chelsea)
MF Edu (Arsenal)
DF Martin Taylor (Birmingham City)
DF Mbulelo Mabizela (Tottenham)
DF David Raven (Tamworth)
DF Darren Kenton (Southampton)
GK Antti Niemi (Nottingham Forest)

CR

Chief Rum

09-01-2004, 11:22 PM

Season Changeover

Official Beginning Of The 2009-10 Season

Here are the details of the changeover from the 2008-09 season to the 2009-10 season. The official switch happened on June 20, and herein will be detailed anythign that was announced with that switch.

Tamworth Fans' Player of the Yyear

The supporters have spoken. The Tamworth Supporters Player of the Year is...Johnnier Montaño.

Montaño led the squad with 24 goals and a 7.97 average rating. He also ranked among team leaders with 13 assists and seven Men of the Match, all coming in a total of 32 matches (30 starts).

I'm not too terribly surprised. The supporters always love the stats over the personalities, so when a player has provided them with joy and success, he will be popular. My guess is he won it over Yakubu (the other gaudy number guy), Michael Stewart (has been popular for a while now), Orri Freyr Oskarsson (two-time SPOY) and maybe Mark Hicks (three-time SPOY).

I hope they won't filet me too bad on July 1--when Montaño leaves for Piacenza. I don't rightly know just how the game reacts when a squad's SPOY is shipped out just a couple weeks after he is so named.

That said, I won't miss him, and I don't even have a good fit for a spot for him in my tactic anymore anyway.

Tamworth Given EPL TV Money For 2009-10

You have to love making it to this level. They just pay gobs and gobs of cash for the television rights to this league.

Today, the league handed chairman Bob Andrews a check for $19.25 M, the same as last season. We are already very healthy financially, but adding that sort of moulah can't hurt.

Community Shield Draw, Fixture Announced

Our entire league fixture, plus the 2009 Community Shield, has been announced.

We will have a rematch with Manchester United for the "Poison Chalice" at Wembley Stadium on August 9.

The Red Devils beat us 5-3 last year, starting a new streak for the Not-So-Silverware Cup. The previous year we beat Chelsea in the traditional opener and then went on to win the Premiership, so obviously that particular curse occasionally takes a day off. :)

We open our season on August 15 at playing the Spurs at Tottenham's White Hart Lane. Our home opener at the Lamb Ground comes a few days later on August 19, when we tale on Fulham.

Here are other key matches in our fixture:

Aug. 22: @Leicester City (up-and-coming squad)
Sep. 26: @Birmingham City (derby matchup)
Oct. 3: Liverpool (3rd place last season)
Oct. 17: @Manchester United (always tough trip)
Nov. 11: @Arsenal (any visit to the Grove is big)
Dec. 12: @Aston Villa (our other road derby matchup)
Feb. 3: Birmingham (second half of derby)
Feb. 6: @Liverpool (Anfield in winter)
Feb. 20: Manchester United (this is our "league" rival)
Mar. 13: Arsenal (could be a key match)
Mar. 20: @Chelsea (stamford Bridge another tough place to visit)
Apr. 3: @Newcastle (St. James Park visit finishes toughest stretch of season)
Apr. 24: Aston Villa (second end of our other derby, we will rule Birmingham again!)
May 16: @West Bromich Albion (last match of the season)

Board To Expand Stadium

This caught me out of left field. I have manually manipulated the numbers at and around the Lamb Ground to reflect the level I had ascended to. Then the piddling little expansion the board gave me a couple years ago finalyl came through. That put me up to about 32,000 seats, with undersoil heating (and a top youth academy to boot).

So I wasn't expecting an expansion this year. But that's what I got.

The board announced an expansion of 14,605 seats, bringing us to 46,653 total capacity. That's still well short of hallowed grounds like Old Trafford and Ashburton Grove, but it will be in the upper end of Premiership grounds as far as capacity. We can't do much about the lack of tradition, but we're working on that. ;)

It's not all positive, though. The south stand of the ground will be closed during the expansion, and reduce our capacity to 29,161 in the meantime. The expansion is scheduled to be completed on December 6, about six months, so we will have to go about half of our season, including probably the entire Champions League group phase, with smaller crowds.

Also, judging by the ground maintenance section of our costs sheet, it appears this expansion will cost us a cool $21 M. While we certainly have the money, that takes quite a big chunk out of the bank.

Shareholders Dividend

It didn't used to be that we gace out shareholder dividends. We did last year, though, and we did again this yer, so I guess we must have incorporated.

Shareholder dividends totalled $6.25 M, taking another big bite of the ole corporate account.

I expected this, though, so it's not a surprise.

2009-10 Transfer Budget Announced

"After your extravagant spending last season the Tamworth board have chosen to limit this season's transfer funds to $20M."

Huh? Extravagant spending?

Now I am annoyed. This is maybe half of what I expected, and this club made a ton of money last year. The year before, we had around $42 M or so in the pokey, and they gave me a $24 M transfer kitty. This year, we have about $86 M-- even after ground expansion fees and shareholders' dividends are taken out--and I get $20 M? What a crock.

This harkens back to the early days of this board. More on that later.

Anyway, I also have the use of the vast majority of the monies I generate through transfer fees, so hopefully I can bring in soem money that way. Clearly, though, any extravagant plans I had are out the window.

It should be noted that, while last year's amount was indeed a club record spent on transfers, I also didn't spend all that they had alotted me, with still about $4 M left when the season ended.

Board Appraisal

They bitch and moan about the cost, but that doesn't mean they aren't happy with the results (and rich, too).

The board said they were delighted with my performance as manager this season.

They raised their expectations, though. Last year, I was to challenge for the league title. This year, nothing less than bringing in the silverware will satisfy them.

The supporters thought I should win the Premiership last season, so it's no shocker they still expect that this year.

Tamworth Attendance Record

Perhaps fueling the board's desire to expand, we set a new club record with our average attendance of 27,969, about 87% capacity.

That should be no surprise, though, given our ground this year was about eight times as big as it has ever been. Even with the reduced ground for half of the season, we should break that record this year as well.

Rumblings In The Manager's Office

In front of the cameras, I put on a good face. In fact, I have risen up to a 20 in Media Handling. I can put on a good show when I need to. And this latest pill may take a good acting job.

This seasonal transition has frustrated me. The ground expansion makes little sense, especially sicne we only came close to selling out the place a handful of times all season. The comments on the transfer budget also blew, especially considering I didn't even use all that they had given me to use. And for years now, they have constantly limited what I could offer per year to players, limiting who I could approach that would otherwise be able to join the Lambs.

Stars in this league and around the world are paid millions of dollars per year, at least two million and often enough close to five million or more per annum. The board, though, is very picky about what contracts they will give out. I rarely see the max exceed $2 M per year. That's not even competitive for the top players in the world, and I believe we have reached the level where we should expect we can draw those sorts of players to the Lamb Ground--except that they won't come here for chump change. I can't tell you how often I see the "doesn't believe Tamworth has the resources to meet his demands" message.

Moving all of this into the sublime is that I have been far lower than my wage budget each of the last two years.

It's not the board's fault, but I also wonder why we didn't get a crop of kids from the youth academy this year. I was counting on that, since we haven't had anyone come up from the youth academy since before our First Division campaign. I got one set prior to the Third Division, and one before the First Division. I should have had one at the end of the last campaign (the first Premiership season), but it didn't come. So I felt for sure I would get it this time--nope, again. So by the time next year rolls around, it will have been four full years since I last got anything from my "top youth academy".

Powerful clubs like Manchster United and Arsenal turn out young, developing studs from these places, and I don't even get ghosts. Very frustrating.

So the slights by the board, the ridiculous frugality with contracts, and even simple boredom have contrived to make me consider the end of my Tamworth career for the first time.

At this moment, I am staying at the Lamb Ground. I don't have any big offers right now anyway. But I have been offered by the likes of Arsenal and Milan. I wouldn't be without a job for long. And I might like to go to a club where there aren't these ridiculous restrictions on a big club, which we are now. I am sick of getting outbid for players by more than my entire transfer budget.

But this I am keeping to myself, keeping it in the office, while smniling before the cameras and when I talk to the club chairman. Hopefully they will pull their heads out before I am pushed to choosing to do so.

Now that that melancholy is over with, back to the season... ;)

CR