My 10th season as a Football Manager (4th at Manchester United)

[Eaglesfan27]

Greetings to everyone reading this. This is the electronic journal of Christopher Engles.

I'm a 38 year old manager who is considered something of a young phenom. I started out my first season of managing professional football at Harrogate Town in the English Conference North back when I was 29. During my first season, I didn't know if I was going to make it through to a second. We had some rocky games in that first season. Fortunately, I showed enough improvement in the 2nd half of the season, that they gave me a chance to come back for another season. You can read about my first season as manager in this thread:

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/...ead.php?t=32963 (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/showthread.php?t=32963)


In my second season as manager, I really developed a system and brought in some good talent. Thanks to their play, I managed to help Harrogate win promotion from the English Conference North. You can read about that season in this thread:

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/...ead.php?t=33340 (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/showthread.php?t=33340)


In my third season, we continued to gather talent and we continued to win. We won the English Conference National Title and were promoted to League Two. You can read about that season in this thread:

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/...ead.php?t=33908 (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/showthread.php?t=33908)


In my fourth season, after some early struggles, the team adapted to League Two play and we went on a tear in the second half of the season. Thanks to our hot play, we won the English League Two Title and were promoted to League One. You can read about that season in this thread:

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/...ead.php?t=34430 (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/showthread.php?t=34430)


In my fifth season, I had to make a very hard decision. The team was struggling in League One as the board had continued to refuse to expand the stadium over the years. We were losing money. We didn't have the money to keep our top players. We were floundering. My status was very high and I was being offered several high profile jobs because of what I had done with Harrogate. I made the hard decision to leave Harrogate in midseason and I moved to Wigan. I suddenly had massive amounts of money. I sent some of it to Harrogate Town for a few of my favorite players. You can read about my fifth season in this thread:

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/...ead.php?t=35300 (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/showthread.php?t=35300)


In my sixth season, I managed to bring in some potent talent to Wigan via Bosman signings. Thanks to that talent, we won the English Championship with a 99 point season in which we had 30 wins, 9 draws, and 7 losses. I was glad to see that my new system worked nicely at this higher talent level. You can read about my sixth season in this thread:

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/...ead.php?t=36645 (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/showthread.php?t=36645)


Then, in my seventh season, I knew that Wigan would have a hard time staying in the EPL and I also knew that Manchester United had a coaching vacancy. It took well over a month, but just before league play started Manchester United approached me and offered me the manager's job. I felt bad leaving Wigan after only a year and a half, but this was the golden ring I had been trying to reach. I quickly took the job. I had moderate to good success in my seventh season as I brought in a few very talented players, including wonderkids Adriano and Craig King. We also brought in the very talented Stewart Downing at left wing. As a result, we improved from the previous finish of 5th place to a 2nd place team. You can read about the seventh season here:

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/...ead.php?t=36968 (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/showthread.php?t=36968)


In my eighth season, we enjoyed great success. We had an early battle with Chelsea for the EPL lead. Eventually, our offense really started popping. Wayne Rooney had his best season ever as a Red Devil. Our defense came together. We won the EPL Title. We also won the English Cup Title. However, we fell short of the quadruple and lost in the final of the Champions League and the English FA Cup. Those were both disappointing losses. A developing story all year long was Wayne Rooney's dissatisfaction that I would not let him go to Milan or another "more prestigious club" that made huge offers for him. You can read about the eighth season here:

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/...ead.php?t=37396 (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/showthread.php?t=37396)


In my ninth season, the big question going in was if I would be able to sign Wayne Rooney or if I would have to sell him. Fortunately, just before I was about to sell him, I managed to sign Rooney to a new deal. Behind the dynamic duo of Wayne Rooney and Adriano at striker, along with a solid defense we finished 1st in the EPL for a second straight year. Perhaps, more importantly, we won the Champions League for my first time as a manager.

Read all about the 9th season here:

http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/showthread.php?t=37735


Now, I start my 10th season. I'm managing England while planning on how to keep Manchester United at the top of their game. We are starting to age significantly in the defensive line. We will slowly be phasing Lucio and Rio Ferdinand out soon. Will Gabriele Marchetti, Salva, and Matias Cahais step up? Also, where should I bolster the team. Will Mikael Schmidt thrive in his first year as a regular starter at left back. Is Alfonso ready to step up and be a regular contributor behind Downing? There are plenty of questions. Perhaps, the biggest question is where should I spend the cash this year to bolster the squad.

I hope you enjoy following along as I try to answer some of these questions in my 10th year of my football managerial career.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 4, 2013 -

Wow! According to news reports, Inter have made an offer of 110 million dollars for Chelsea's Freddy Adu!

[Eaglesfan27]

July 4, 2013 -


I forgot to mention that I had made an offer of 59 million for him last night. Somehow, I suspect my offer will be passed over ;)

[Desnudo]

Run out of sequel titles?

[Eaglesfan27]

July 7, 2013 -

Chelsea rejected my 59 million dollar offer for Freddy Adu. Chelsea has signed Adu to a new 3 year deal worth 27 million dollars.

Club Atletico de Madrid has sacked Rada Benitez. Victor Fernandez is rumored to be the favorite to take over the job.

Later today, we have our first friendly, but I need to decide who to pursue now.

[Eaglesfan27]

Run out of sequel titles?

I thought of a few possiblities, but the 10th season seemed significant enough to feature in the title.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 7, 2013 -

After looking through a variety of possibilities to bolster our striker core, I find too many flaws in the younger players that I'm looking for. Therefore, I decide to make a play for Luke Moore who is Aston Villa's star striker. I doubt they will sell him to me, but I offer 52 million dollars (he is valued at 43 million.) My only downside to him is that he is already 27. Otherwise, he looks like he has everything I look for to be a dominant striker, and I think I would get at least 3 good years out of him.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 7, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Hapoel Ashkelon in Israel in a friendly match. My goal is simply to get guys into shape. As a result, I'm going to rest the guys who played the most in international play and use some guys out of position possibly to see how they do in some unique spots.

It's sunny with temperatures in the low 80's.


GK: Taylor (time to give him more PT)
DL: Schmidt
DC: Marchetti
DC: Salva
DR: Grygera
ML: McFadden (interested to see if he can play here well too.)
MC: Fletcher
MC: Godoy
MR: Schreurs
SC: Smith
SC: Marino (my other strikers are needing rest from international play and don't need PT)

S1: Howard
S2: Cahais
S3: Alfonso
S4: Cook
S5: O'Shea
S6: Duff
s7: Mamam
S8: Lucio
S9: Ortega
S10: Djemba
S11: King
S12: Parker

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Godoy with a great pass to Smith in the box.. the defense blocks his shot.

9 minute mark: McFadden with a corner.. to Salva in the middle of the box.. he heads it.. upper left corner.. the keeper blocks it.

11 minute mark: Fletcher passes to Smith in the box.. he shoots.. over the bar.

11 minute mark: McFadden is tripped just outside the box.. he takes the free kick from just outside the box.. shoots.. strong curving shot.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

17 minute mark: Salva passes to McFadden on the left wing.. he burns a man.. crosses to Fletcher in the box.. Fletcher shoots.. lower left corner.. GOAL!!! 2-0.

19 minute mark: Salva with a long pass to McFadden just outside the box.. he heads it to Smith in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner... GOAL!!!! 3-0.

36 minute mark: McFadden burns his man down the left sideline.. he crosses.. Marino heads it.. over the bar.

41 minute mark: McFadden throws it into Fletcher.. he heads it back to McFadden.. McFadden crosses it.. far post.. Schreurs with a diving header.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-0!


Halftime: 4-0 lead for us. I'm going to bring on some of the subs.


47 minue mark: Alfonso burns three men down the left sideline.. toys with them.. fires a crossing pass.. Marino heads it.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 5-0!



Game over. 5-0 win. We dominated possession, and our guys played with passion. Excellent.

We outshot them 21-1 (11-0 on target) I wish Taylor would have been challenged at least a few times. At least the defense played well.

McFadden won MoM, 10 for form, 18 of 18 passes, 1 of 2 tackles, 4 of 5 headers, 8 runs, 3 fouls drawn, 3 assists, and 1 goal. Granted, this was a weaker team, but I'm shocked at how well McFadden played left wing.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 10, 2013 -

Aston Villa have rejected my offer for Luke Moore.

I've now made an offer for Tottenham's Phillipe Durand who has told the press that he wants to move to a larger club. This 21 year old French Attacking Midfielder is quite talented, and I think he could make the transition to striker. He is currently valued at 24 million dollars, but has a 13.5 million dollar release clause. I offer 13.5 million, triggering his release clause. There are over 2 dozen other clubs interested (including the big buys such as Real Madrid, Inter, and Milan.)

[Eaglesfan27]

July 12, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Israel. They should be a tougher opponent than our last match. Again, I'm looking to get guys in shape who might contribute.

GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Chivu
DC: Salva
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Parker
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Cahais
S3: Cook
S4: Smith
S5: Marchetti
S6: Duff
S7: Stevanovic
S8: Lucio
S9: Ferdinand
S10: Ortega
S11: O'Shea
S12: Godoy

[Eaglesfan27]

6 minute mark: Schreurs crosses to Parker by the far post.. he heads it.. good save by the keeper.

13 minute mark: Howard picked up a minor injury, but I decide to sub Taylor on for him.

20 minute mark: Schmidt throws it into the box to King who heads it to Schreurs in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0!

35 minute mark: Downing dribbles down the left sideline.. crosses to far post.. King heads it.. the keeper blocks it.

36 minute mark: Taylor with a solid save.

38 minute mark: Fletcher passes to McFadden in the box.. he fakes out the keeper.. McFadden shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

42 minute mark: Sulami passes it to Leibovich in the box.. he heads it.. into the upper left corner.. past Taylor. GOAL. 2-1.



Halftime: 2-1 lead for us.


46 minute mark: McFadden is tripped outside the box.. Downing steps up.. shoots.. blistering shot.. upper right corner.. Downing with a goal!!!! 3-1.

52 minute mark: Mesika passes to Rahamim outside the box.. Itsik Rahamim shoots.. it deflects off Salva.. into the left side of the net. GOAL. 3-2.

61 minute mark: Taylor stops a long shot from Rahamim.

61 minute: I bring on the entire second team.


71 minute mark: Ortega passes to Duff outside the box.. Duff passes to Cook in the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper dives.. blocks it partially.. it rolls past him! GOAL!!!! 4-2.

74 minute mark: Taylor stops a shot from Rahamim.



Game over. 4-2 win for us.

We were outshot 13-10 (9-8 on target in our favor)

Schreurs wins MoM, 8 for form, 10 of 14 passes, 4 of 8 tackles, 1 of 4 headers, 6 runs, and 1 goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 12, 2013 -

Aston Villa have offered James O'Connor plus 4.4 million for Mickael Schmidt. It is an easy decision to turn them down.

Aston Villa has offered Paul Anderson, a young left back in exchange for Alfonso. This is also an easy deal to turn down.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 16, 2013 -

Jamie Cook has publicly told the media that he wants a better contract. He is currently only making 50,000/week, and his play is deserving of more. I don't like his negotiation tactic, but I will give him a new deal.

I offer him his requested, 80,000/week and 2.6 million signing bonus.


July 18, 2013 -

Jamie Cook has signed a new deal for 4 years worth 18 million dollars.

Philippe Durand rejected my contract offer! He stated that he wanted to be the star on the team and accepted a deal at Newcastle. Fool.


I now need to decide who to target next.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 18, 2013 -

After some consideration, I realize keeper is the area where I need help the most. Taylor has a major weakness that my coaches have noticed. He is horrible at rushing out and making good decisions about when to rush out. It is the fatal flaw in his otherwise solid keeping. After looking at keeper options, I have decided to approach Brescia with 18 million dollars for the Legendary Brazilian keeper, Diego. Diego has superb aerial ability, superb handling and reflexes. He is good at rushing out. My biggest concern is that he isn't great at One on Ones, but neither is Howard. Diego is 31, so he will only be a stop gap until we acquire a truly great young keeper. However, I think this will be money well spent, moreso than a second rate striker. Furthermore, I think a premier striker would be unhappy at being second fiddle to Rooney and Adriano.


Oh yeah, I did seriously look at Jesus, but he has horrible rushing out ability as well. I think that is Taylor's fatal flaw, so I don't want to bring in another keeper with that flaw.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 19, 2013 -

It has been announced that we will play Bordeaux in the European Super Cup on August 23, 2013.


Today we will play Hajduk in Croatia in our third friendly. This game, I will use my top team to make sure they get some practice together. I've got some interesting moves to see how they work together this game.

GK: Taylor (He is the only non-starter starting this game.)
DL: Schmidt
DC: Salva
DC: Marchetti
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher (likely will be replaced by Djemba in the future)
MC: Godoy (may be replaced by Cook in the future. Depends on early performance.)
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Howard
S2: Alfonso
S3: Parker
S4: Smith
S5: Cahais
S6: Djemba
S7: Cook
S8: Ortega
S9: Mamam
S10: King
S11: Lucio
S12: McFadden

[Eaglesfan27]

5 minute mark: Fletcher gets a yellow card for a trip.

7 minute mark: Schmidt with a great long pass.. Fletcher heads it.. over the bar.

11 minute mark: Downing beats two defenders.. passs to Rooney in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. great save by the keeper.

18 minute mark: Downing dribbles into the box.. centers to Schreurs.. he fakes out a defender.. shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

22 minute mark: Downing with a corner.. to the far post.. Adriano heads it.. over the bar.

26 minute mark: Our midfielders pass it back and forther.. Godoy passes between two defenders.. to Adriano in the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0!

33 minute mark: Taylor pushes a point blank shot over the bar.

43 minute mark: Downing shows good sportsmanship and puts the ball out due to an injured player on the opposition.


Halftime: 2-0 lead for us.


I wanted to put Djemba and Cook on to play with first team for the second half, but I have to pull Schreurs off since he picked up a minor injury. I slide Godoy out to right wing for the moment as well as putting Djemba and Cook on.



50 minute mark: Cook passes to Adriano in the box.. he draws two defenders.. passes back to Cook who shoots.. wide right.

63 minute mark: Schmidt starts the counter attack.. long pass to Adriano.. he fakes out the keeper.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0! Schmidt is an awesome all around defender. I anticipate plenty of plays like that this season.

64 minute mark: Ortega on for Godoy at right wing. King on for Adriano.

70 minute mark: Taylor stops a shot from 25 yards out.

71 minute mark: Rooney steals it at midfield.. plays a through ball into the box.. perfect pass.. King gets to it.. shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-0!

87 minute mark: Rooney dribbles into the left side of the box.. crosses to Ortega outside the box.. Ortega passes to Djemba.. he shoots.. good save by the keeper.


Game over. 4-0 win for us.

We outshot them 13-5 (8-2 on target)

Downing wins MoM, 10 for form, 12 of 13 passes, 4 of 5 tackles, 5 of 7 headers, 1 interception, 13 runs, 1 foul drawn, and 1 assist.

Schmidt, Rooney, and Adriano all had 9's for form.

[Galaxy]

Must be nice. I'm in season two with CC, challenging for the promotion/playoff spots in the Conference National, when the media and the board expected us to battle regulation, as well as defeating a L1 in the FA Cup to reach the third round of play.

[finkenst]

July 18, 2013 -

After some consideration, I realize keeper is the area where I need help the most. Taylor has a major weakness that my coaches have noticed. He is horrible at rushing out and making good decisions about when to rush out. It is the fatal flaw in his otherwise solid keeping. After looking at keeper options, I have decided to approach Brescia with 18 million dollars for the Legendary Brazilian keeper, Diego. Diego has superb aerial ability, superb handling and reflexes. He is good at rushing out. My biggest concern is that he isn't great at One on Ones, but neither is Howard. Diego is 31, so he will only be a stop gap until we acquire a truly great young keeper. However, I think this will be money well spent, moreso than a second rate striker. Furthermore, I think a premier striker would be unhappy at being second fiddle to Rooney and Adriano.


Oh yeah, I did seriously look at Jesus, but he has horrible rushing out ability as well. I think that is Taylor's fatal flaw, so I don't want to bring in another keeper with that flaw.
Iker Casillas for GK! :) He's saved quite a few goals for me. Thanks for pointing him out to me!

Try a premier striker paired with Adriano and use Rooney at AMC if you use that type of formation. Rooney's scored from the far third of the 3rd green patch (keeper line, box in the middle, 3rd green stripe). This is what i've found to work best for me since that keeps Adriano on the left where he seems to be a magical scorer.

Then again i seem to have midfield injuries out the yin-yang with steven downing going own for a month after Duff and Robben just got back.. Cole (LC) was injured earlier in the year...:(

[Eaglesfan27]

July 21, 2013 -

Isn't this a kicker. For whatever reason, the board won't allow me to offer Diego more than 32,000 dollars/week. Diego's agent has told me that isn't even going to be close to what he demands. This is not surprising since, Diego makes over 90,000/week right now. My board just doesn't like some older players. They were willing to let me pay up to 240,000 on my recent extensions.

Oh well, I guess I'll be stuck with Taylor and Harper as my current backups. Harper is actually developing nicely and might take over the top backup spot.


I haven't been reporting on these last few games because I've been letting the AM handle it, but the England U19 team has just qualified for the semi-finals of the Euro U19 Championship. I decide the star striker and keeper from this team will be my two cheap, but potentially very good or even great future Manchester United players.

[Eaglesfan27]

Iker Casillas for GK! :) He's saved quite a few goals for me. Thanks for pointing him out to me!

Try a premier striker paired with Adriano and use Rooney at AMC if you use that type of formation. Rooney's scored from the far third of the 3rd green patch (keeper line, box in the middle, 3rd green stripe). This is what i've found to work best for me since that keeps Adriano on the left where he seems to be a magical scorer.

Then again i seem to have midfield injuries out the yin-yang with steven downing going own for a month after Duff and Robben just got back.. Cole (LC) was injured earlier in the year...:(
My Adriano might be different than the one you are using on the left. He is only 22 in 2013.

As far as Casillas, he is now too old to be a great pickup. Most of the good keepers are in their mid 30's, and I don't see many good regens yet. However, this English Keeper that I'm thinking about, might be good.

However, I have toyed with the idea of using Rooney at AMC.

[Eaglesfan27]

Iker Casillas for GK! :) He's saved quite a few goals for me. Thanks for pointing him out to me!

Try a premier striker paired with Adriano and use Rooney at AMC if you use that type of formation. Rooney's scored from the far third of the 3rd green patch (keeper line, box in the middle, 3rd green stripe). This is what i've found to work best for me since that keeps Adriano on the left where he seems to be a magical scorer.

Then again i seem to have midfield injuries out the yin-yang with steven downing going own for a month after Duff and Robben just got back.. Cole (LC) was injured earlier in the year...:(
My Adriano might be different than the one you are using on the left. He is only 22 in 2013.

As far as Casillas, he is now too old to be a great pickup. Most of the good keepers are in their mid 30's, and I don't see many good regens yet. However, this English Keeper that I'm thinking about, might be good.

[Eaglesfan27]

Must be nice. I'm in season two with CC, challenging for the promotion/playoff spots in the Conference National, when the media and the board expected us to battle regulation, as well as defeating a L1 in the FA Cup to reach the third round of play.

I remember the good old days when I was in the lower leagues. It will make you appreciate it when you reach the upper tiers :)

[Eaglesfan27]

July 22, 2013 -

Today we play West Brom (English Championship team) in a friendly match. We are giving our starters rest this game to an extent, and will look at some of our other guys.

It's raining, windy, and temperatures are in the 70's today.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: O'Shea
DC: Cahais
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Parker
MR: Ortega
SC: McFadden
SC: Marino

S1: Taylor
S2: Godoy
S3: Cook
S4: King
S5: Salva
S6: Duff
S7: Djemba
S8: Marchetti
S9: Stevanovic
S10: Smith
S11: Lucio
S12: Alfonso

As I'm about to start the game, I see they are using an unique 3-3 (defensive midfielders)- 2 (midfielders) - 1 attacking midfielder - 1 striker. They will have 8 to 9 men back at all times it looks like.

[Eaglesfan27]

3 minute mark: Downing gets a yellow card. I'm going to pull him even earlier than planned.

26 minute mark: Howard stops a long range shot from Potter and starts the counter attack.. he passes to Marino... Marino passes to McFadden just outside the box.. McFadden dribbles into the box.. fakes out the keeper.. shoots... lower right corner.. wide right.

28 minute mark: Parker starts a counterattack.. passes long to McFadden.. he dribbles into the box.. alone with the keeper.. dribbles around the keeper.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

35 minute mark: Howard with a solid save of a hard shot by Chopra.

38 minute mark: Parker gets a yellow card for pushing Chopra.


Halftime: 1-0 lead. I sub Alfonso on for Downing, and Cook on for Parker.


53 minute mark: Alfonso passes to Cook outside the box.. he blasts a powerful curling shot.. past the keeper.. it hits the crossbar and bounces back to the keeper who covers it.

65 minute mark: I put most of my second team on.

72 minute mark: Godoy passes to Duff (who I put on as a sub at striker!).. Duff dribbles two steps.. shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0!

90 minute mark: Long pass from Howard to Duff.... he passes to Smith 30 yards out.. Smith shoots from 30 yards out.. soft floating shot.. upper left corner.. the keeper is slow getting to it.. GOAL!!! 3-0.


Game over. 3-0 win for us.

We outshot them 12-5 (4-2 on target)

Duff wins MoM, 8 for form, 6 of 6 passes, 0 tackles, 2 of 3 headers, 1 run, 1 assist, and 1 goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 24, 2013 -

Arsenal has brought in 34 year old legendary keeper Roberto from Sporting.

Diego told me to forget about negotiating further, due to the insulting offer my board made me offer him.


Liverpool have paid 24 million dollars to sign Hatem Ben Arfa from Newcastle.



Tottenham have accepted my offer for the young striker, Kevin Young. I offer him the 11,000/week that he is requesting. Of note, my AM doesn't think he is worth signing. I hope Mr. Queiroz is wrong.

Leeds have rejected my offer for Mark Hunt, the 19 year old talented keeper. I decide to make a new offer of 4.4 million dollars.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 24, 2013 -

Today I'm coaching England's U19 team in the semi-final of the European U19 Championship. Today we play Italy. We will be playing Belgium in the final which beat France 2-1 earlier in the day.


It's sunny with temperatures in the 70's today.


GK: Mark Hunt (the keeper I'm pursuing)
DL: John Berry
DC: Robert Morris
DC: Jamie Adams
DR: Martin Gibbons
ML: Danny Pritchard
MC: Paul Simpson
MC: Kevin Alexander
MR: Andrew Gray
SC: James Gordon
SC: John Mills

S1: Steve Burke
S2: Stephen Turner
S3: David Pearson
S4: Tony Vaughan
S5: Ryan Roberts
S6: Paul Hogg
S7: James Carter

[Eaglesfan27]

12 minute mark: Hunt stops a close range shot from Ledda.


15 minute mark: Hunt stops a powerful blast from Ledda.

17 minute mark: Simpson tripped Mariani in the box.. Mariani steps up for the penalty... shoots.. upper right corner.. Hunt didn't have a chance.. GOAL. Down 1-0.

29 minute mark: Berry is hurt and has to be pulled from the game. I put Turner on at left back.

38 minute mark: Pritchard passes to Gordon in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper saves.


Halftime: Down 1-0.

58 minute mark: Paul Simpson trips Mariani.. that is his second yellow card.. he is ejected.

I put Hogg on for Alexander and switch to a 4-3-2 formation.

62 minute Hogg passes to Gordon in the box.. the defense tackles him before he can shoot.

63 minute mark: Gordon gets the ball just outside the box.. shoots.. the keeper pushes it.. barely wide.

74 minute mark: Mariani is tripped in the box by Turner.. Mariana steps up.. takes the penalty shot.. blasts it into the upper left corner.. GOAL. Down 2-0. Perhaps, I pursued the wrong star young striker.


Game over. 2-0 loss.

We were outshot 8-4 (5-2 on target)

Davide Mariani wins MoM.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 25, 2013 -

My assistant reminds me that there are MANY players whose contract expires after this season. All of the following players have contracts expiring:


Chris Taylor - This 23 year old keeper has me confused. I'm not sure if he is the answer or not. However, I don't want to let him walk until I decide. I contact his agent who tells me that he wants 33,500/week plus a starting job. I decide to offer him the 33,500/week, but let him know that his status would be as a rotation player at this point.

David Harper - My other 23 year old keeper. Mr. Queiroz thinks that David has actually surpasses Chris and suggests that I use him as the primary backup to Howard. He has potential. I decide to contact his agent. He is only requesting 19,000/week and a rotational spot. I offer him both of these.


Defenders:

Zdenek Grygera - This 33 year old right back/centreback still has solid skills. I contact his agent about extending for one more year. Grygera is willing to take a small paycut down to 86,000/week. I agree to this offer.

Wes Brown - This 33 year old right back/centreback still has top notch physical skills, and excellent tackling. He is still a very solid defender. The question is how long will he be? I decide to offer him a 2 year extension. He is willing to take a small paycut to 47,000/week but only wants to sign through this year. I hope that he will take the 2 year extension.

Lucio - This 35 year old centreback is a marvel. He continues to have better speed than 90% of the guys in the game. He has excellent all around physical abilities. He has superb technical skills. Interestingly, his mental attributes are starting to slip slightly. I contact his agent. He is willing to take a slightt paycut, but he wants a Manager/Coach job release clause. How interesting. I agree to a 4.4 million dollar release clause, and hope that he will accept a one year extension.

Rio Ferdinand - This 34 year old centreback is starting to slip physically. He is starting to slip slightly technically as well. Perhaps, I shouldn't but I decide to offer him a 1 year extension. The board will only allow me to offer 87,000 to this player who they view as slipping. There is a good chance he will refuse this.

Cristian Chivu - This 32 year old left back/centreback is starting to lose his footspeed. However, he remains otherwise an elite player. I contact his agent about a 1 year extension. He wants 110,000/week plus 800k signing. I agree.

John O'Shea - This 32 year old leftback/centreback is maintaining his skill level. My Coach doesn't feel he is worthwile to bring back, but he remains a solid stop gap. I decide to offer him the 52,000 he is requesting but let him know he will be a rotation player.

Mikael Silvester - This 35 year old left back/centreback has lost all of his footspeed. He is otherwise still a solid player, but I don't see a use for such a slow player. I'll let him walk.


Midfielders:

Souleymane Mamam - This 28 year old midfielder from Togo is actually a decent player. I hardly ever use him in my crowded midfield, but I wouldn't feel terrible using him for a few games in a pinch. I offer him a slight raise to 31,000/week and let him know he will be a backup if he wants to stay another year.

Michael Wood - This 21 year old midfielder is one of my most valued and sought after young midfielders. I'm not sure he is as good as the hype around the football world believes. However, several clubs want him and I'm not going to just let him walk. I offer him 33,500/week for a 4 year extension as a rotator.

Damien Duff - This 34 year old left winger continues to lose footspeed, technical ability. I'm not going to renew his contract.

Stewart Downing - This 29 year old left winger is in the prime of his career. He wants a slight raise to 86,000/week as well as a 2.6 million dollar signing bonus for a 1 year extension. I offer him that, but I ask him to sign a 2 year extension.

Barry Parker - My 23 year old midfielder is developing nicely. He has become a solid defensive midfielder and I want to keep him around for depth. He wants a 4 year deal for 27,000/week plus 500k signing bonus. I agree to that deal.



Strikers:

James McFadden - This 30 year old striker is starting to show the slightest hints of decline. However, he is still a very good striker. He is requesting a 1 year extension with a 2 million dollar signing bonus and 80,000/week. I offer him this for a 2 year extension.

Alan Smith - This 32 year old striker is starting to show the early signs of decline. However, he still has better speed than most players. He still has good technical abilities and excellent mental abilities. He is requesting a deal for just this year, but I ask him to sign a 1 year extension at his current salary of 83,000/week.

Ernesto Marino - The 27 year old striker has some good abilities. I might have really given him a chance to be a good scorer, if we didn't have so many strikers that were better than him when I took over the team. He is only making 30,000/week. However, I think it is best to let him walk despite only being 27. He can hopefully, find playing time and be more happy.


Key Reserve Players:

Paul Kelly This 21 year old midfielder is looking like he is ready to step up to the first team very soon. He is going on loan to top notch English Championship Teams this year. We'll try to lock him up for a few years as I think he is going to develop into a very good midfielder. I offer him a 4 year extension at 20,500/week which is what he is requesting.

Bob Wright - His contract already expired, but he hangs around. I'm giving him a second look because he is only 21 and he might be a late bloomer. I offer him 20,000/week for 4 years.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 25, 2013 -

Today we have our last true friendly of the season before the Community Shield. Today we are playing Club Brugge which is a solid Belgian squad.

Today we will play all of our planned opening day starters except for our old defender, Lucio.

GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Marchetti
DC: Salva (he is the one I don't expect to start.)
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Harper
S2: Godoy
S3: Parker
S4: Smith
S5: Cahais
S6: Stevanovic
S7: McFadden
S8: Chivu
S9: Ortega
S10: King
S11: Lucio
S12: Alfonso

[Eaglesfan27]

3 minute mark: Salva tripped Kristof Hermans in the box.. Harmans steps up.. shoots.. lower left corner.. Howard dives.. it is past him. GOAL. Down 1-0.

21 minute mark: Schreurs burns two men.. crosses to Rooney.. he shoots.. good save by the keeper.

28 minute mark: Downing beats his man.. crosses to the far post.. Adriano heads it.. over the bar.

33 minute mark: Rooney is tripped just outside the box.. Downing takes the free kick.. curves.. around the wall.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-1.

44 minute Mark: Downing passes to Cook just outside the box.. he blasts a shot.. upper left corner.. very good save by the keeper.


Halftime: 1-1 tie.


58 minute mark: Rooney passes to Cook just outside the box.. he shoots.. into the crossbar.

65 minute mark: Jeroen Schreurs picks up an injury and will have to leave the pitch. I put Ortega on for him.

I also put Smith on for Adriano.

75 minute mark: Djemba passes to Ortega in the box.. he shoots from 15 yards out.. solid save by the keeper.

I bring on most of my second team.

78 minute mark: Marchetti starts the fast break.. passes to Cook at midfield.. he passes to Alfonso who gets into the box.. shoots.. upper right corner.. barely over the bar.


Game over. 1-1 tie.

We outshot them 12-10 (8-4 on target)

Their keeper, Peter Mollez, wins MoM.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 26, 2013 -

Lazio have signed Frank Wolf from Arsenal for 22.5 million dollars.

Zaragoza's 19 year old Spanish keeper, Dani, has accepted the contract offer I made to him. It is too early to tell if he will pan out as a starter, but he has potential.

The 2 million dollar deal has been completed. At the press conference, Dani told the media that he is looking forward to working under me. At least he is a good kiss up.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 27, 2013 -

Paul Kelly has signed a new 4 year deal for 3.6 million dollars.

Cristian Chivu has signed a new 2 year deal worth 10.5 million.

Rio Ferdinand surprised me by accepting the deal for 2 years at 9 million dollars.

Chris Taylor has signed the new 4 year, 7.2 million dollar deal.

Tottenham's Kevin Young has agreed to the contract terms we offered him. I may have overpaid for this player, but the 10 million dollar deal bringing him here is complete. Hopefully, he continues to develop into a top notch scorer.

James McFadden has signed a new 3 year deal worth 12.5 million.

Souleymane Mamam has signed the new 2 year deal worth 2.4 million dollars.

Lucio said that he is going to retire a Manchester United player, and he signed the new 2 year deal.

Barry Parker signed the new 4 year deal worth 5.4 million dollars.

Alan Smith signed the new 2 year deal worth 7.2 million dollars.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 30, 2013 -

Leeds have rejected my 5 million dollar offer Hunt. I'm not going to pursue the young keeper any longer.

John O'Shea signed a new 3 year deal worth 7.2 million dollars.

Zdenek Grygera signed a new 3 year deal worth 7.2 million dollars.

Bob Wright signed the new 4 year deal worth 4.4 million.

Wes Brown signed the new 3 year deal worth 7.2 million dollars.

Stewart Downing has signed the new 3 year deal worth 14 million dollars.

David Harper signed the new 4 year deal worth 3.6 million.

Michael Wood signed a new 4 year deal worth 7.2 million.



Arsenal have signed Fabio Fontana, a 22 year old left back from Torino.




The odds for the EPL have been announced today. We are the favorites at 6-4 odds. Liverpool is second with 2-1 odds. Chelsea is third with 5-2 odds. Arsenal has 10-1 odds, Aston Villa 16-1 odds, and Newcastle 25-1 odds to round out the top 6.


The media are asking me if I think we will win the title this season. I respond, "We have a good chance of winning the title, but the players must stay focused and give their best in every match."


Atletico de Madrid has hired Victor Fernandez to take over as their new boss.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug. 1, 2013 -

Newcastle have offered 14 million dollars for Alfonso. I tell them, "No."


The board is pleased with my performance as manager.

My lone Bosman signing Christian Tiffert has arrived from Siena. I don't really need him with the recent surprising blossoming of Ortega and Godoy, but he will be nice to have if they are injured. Tiffert is a very fast right winger.


Tottenham have signed Xisco from Zaragoza on a Bosman signing.

They have also signed experienced winger Momo from Deportivo.

Tottenham has also signed Attacking Midfielder Cani from Deportivo on a Bosman signing.

[Eaglesfan27]

August 3, 2013 -

NOOOOOO!!!!! Arsenal have paid 16 million to sign Jesus from Newcastle! I think Jesus has a key flaw in his game, but I hate to see if I'm wrong and he thrives for my most hated rivals.

Arsenal have paid Liverpool 16 million dollars and sent Hedwiges Maduro to them in exchange for defender Nigel de Jong from Liverpool. Nigel is a solid 28 year old defender.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 4, 2013 -

Today we play Fulham in the Community Shield. This is for pride, but I'm starting my best despite Fulham have just a good team. Fulham is led by striker Helder Postiga and Collins John. However, Collins is questionable for this game. Enrice Gaede is a solid centreback who is strong and quick. Phil Dunn is a good left winger. Thomas Hizlsperger remains a top notch midfielder.

We are 4-6 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the 70's.

GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Chivu
DC: Marchetti
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Godoy
S3: Cook
S4: Parker
S5: Lucio
S6: McFadden
S7: King

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Chivu with a good defensive play.

2 minute mark: Adriano collides with Enrico Gaede.. Gaede is hurt and has to leave the game.

9 minute mark: Downing gets called for holding Hitzlsperger.. yellow card for Downing.. on the ensuing free kick.. they passe sto Szabics.. he shoots from 25 yards out.. right over Howard's left shoulder.. GOAL. Down 1-0.

17 minute mark: Howard passes to Rooney at midfield.. he dribbles down the pitch.. past three defenders.. into the box.. passes.. behind Adriano.. bad pass.

20 minute mark: Brown with a good defensive play.

32 minute mark: Tonge passes to Postiga in the box.. he fakes out Chivu.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL. Down 2-0.

35 minute mark: Chivu bodychecks Szabics.. Szabics is hurt and has to leave the game.


Halftime: Down 2-0. How embarassing.

54 minute mark: Djemba passes to Rooney who shoots from 30 yards out.. it deflects off a defender.. and stops just short of the goal line. The keeper collects it.

59 minute mark: Fletcher gets a yellow card for a trip on Postiga.

I decide to sub Godoy for Downing who has been playing tentative with the yellow card all day. I also sub Cook for Fletcher who has a yellow card now and King for Adriano who also has a yellow card.

63 minute mark: Godoy gets a yellow card for a hand ball.

75 minute mark: Djemba passes to Cook.. he shoots.. hard curving shot.. upper right corner.. good save by the keeper.

85 minute mark: Marchetti passes long to Djemba.. he shoots.. hard shot.. it deflects off a defender.. into the right side of the net! GOAL!!!! Still down 2-1.

86 minute mark: Marchetti passes long to Djemba who heads it to Cook outside the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. barely wide left.


Game over. 2-1 loss in the Community Shield. How embarassing :(

We were outshot 7-5 (3-2 on target)

Schreurs wins MoM, 8 for form, 22 of 27 passes, 2 of 4 tackles, 0 headers, 8 runs.

Downing was terrible. I hope he doesn't become complacent now that he has signed his likely last big long term deal.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 8, 2013 -

Arsenal is crazy. They offered Domenico Ranieri, a below average right winger and 1 million dollars for Alfonso. No way am I accepting that deal.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 8, 2013 -

Betis have offered 15 million for Alfonso. I decline the offer.

[illinifan999]

How are the younger Americans looking in your game?

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 10, 2013 -

Alfonso has come into my office today and told me that he is really disappointed that I rejected Betis' offer. He said that was one of his favorite clubs as a kid, and he would really hope I would reconsider.


Today we play Charlton at home in what should be an easy EPL opener. Charlton's most talented players are left winger Ryan Smith, attacking midfielder Mohamed Sissoko, and striker Nico. Steve Gardner and Alan Robson are good defenders, but not that talented. Their keeper Stephan Andersen doesn't look to be of particularly high quality.

We are 1-6 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the 80's.

GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Ferdinand
DC: Lucio
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Marchetti
S3: Alfonso
S4: King
S5: Brown

[Eaglesfan27]

How are the younger Americans looking in your game?
I'll let you know as soon as this game is over. :)

[Eaglesfan27]

5 minute mark: Downing steals it at midfield.. passes to Rooney.. he shoots from 30 yards out.. hard banana shot.. the keeper saves it.

12 minute mark: Cook passes to Downing in the left corner of the box.. he shoots.. wide right.

20 minute mark: Fletcher passes to Rooney in the left side of the box.. Rooney fakes out a defender.. dribbles to the baseline.. shoots the ball parallel to the baseline.. it curves.. into the upper right corner! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

26 minute mark: Grygera with a long pass to Downing in the left side of the box.. he centers to Rooney.. he shoots.. over the keeper's left shoulder! GOAL!!!! 2-0! That is Rooney's 100th Career League Goal for us!


Halftime: 2-0 lead for us. We have over 70,000 fans here today.


49 minute mark: Downing with a brilliant dribble around one defender.. splits two other defenders.. into the box.. short cross.. Fletcher by the near post.. heads it.. into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!!! 3-0.

51 minute mark: Adriano passes to Rooney left of the box.. Rooney splits two defenders.. dribbles into the left side of the box.. shoots.. parallel to the endline.. it curves.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!!! 4-0! That is Rooney's hattrick!

56 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in the left side of the box.. he shoots.. hard powerful shot.. curving.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 5-0! That is Rooney's 4th.

61 minute mark: King on for Rooney, Alfonso on for Downing, and Marchetti on for Lucio.

Downing and Rooney both get standing ovations as they leave.

74 minute mark: Long pass from Fletcher to Adriano in the box.. he is alone with the keeper.. tries to fake out the keeper.. the keeper strips the ball from him!

85 minute mark: Howard stops a 15 yard shot from McCormack.


Game over. 5-0 win for us.

We outshot them 12-3 (7-2 on target)

Rooney wins MoM, 10 for form, 5 of 5 passes, 1 of 3 tackles, 2 of 8 headers, 1 interception, 6 runs, and 4 goals.

Downing also had a 10 for form. Fletcher had a 9 for form. The rest of the team had 8's for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Looking at the American National Team I see a few promising young players. Of course, Freddy Adu looks extremely impressive. Gary Shultis, JR. is playing for New England and he looks good as a 22 year old left back/left winger. Randy Peacock is a good 22 year old right winger who also plays for New England in the MLS. Brendan Wilhide is only 20, but has good potential at left wing. He is currently playing for Dallas. David Keyes is a good young midfielder who is playing for San Jose. However, he is only 20 and the USA is in trouble if they rely on him too much. A lot of the old stars are still around, and hopefully the USA will get some good young players when they retire.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 11, 2013 -

Aston Villa have offered Paul Anderson, a 22 year old left winger, and 100,000 dollars for Alfonso. I decline.

Manchester City have signed Wayne Dunn from Aston Villa for 10 million dollars.


QPR have asked to borrow my new young striker, Kevin Young for 3 months. They have good training facilities so I agree.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 15, 2013 -

Gonzalo Abando has been named the new manager of Real Madrid. He had a very successful year at Xerez last year. Xerez will now be looking for a replacement.

Kevin Young has agreed to go on loan to Q.P.R.

Tim Howard played well in the USA's 10-0 win over the Netherlands Antilles in the World Cup Qualifying match.


Cristian Chivu broke his leg in multiple places during practice today. He is expected to miss at least 6 months of the season!

[finkenst]

with good results this year, you should be entering the HOF of england managers. :)

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 17, 2013 -

Today we play at Liverpool's pitch in an early important EPL Match. Liverpool is still led by Cisse and Yakubu at striker. Left winger Hatem Ben Arfa is playing well with his new club. Midfielder Andres D'Alessandro remains a good player at the age of 32. Nuno Ferro is playing well in the midfield as well. Gael Clichy is one of the best left backs in the game. Hedwiges Maduro is playing centreback very well. Chris Kirkland is doing well in goal and should be extra motivated against me today.


We are 6-4 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the mid 70's.

GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Ferdinand
DC: Lucio
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Marchetti
S3: Alfonso
S4: King
S5: Brown

[Eaglesfan27]

with good results this year, you should be entering the HOF of england managers. :)
I actually entered the bottom of the Hall last year. Now it is time to move up :)

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Yakubu gets away with a warning despite holding Cook's jersey.

4 minue mark: Fletcher passes to Rooney in the box.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it.

6 minute mark: Fletcher gets a yellow card for pushing Yakubu.

11 minute mark: Rooney picks up a minor injury after being tripped by Ben Arfa.

12 minute mark: Fletcher passes to Adriano in the box.. hard shot.. the keeper blocks it. Schreurs with the rebound.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it.

27 minute mark: Grygera with a very good defensive play.

40 minute mark: Downing passes to Adriano in the left half of the box.. he fakes right... dribbles left.. shoots.. lower left corner.. the keeper dives.. it's past Kirkland! GOAL!!!! 1-0.



Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. They have over 61,000 fans here today.


47 minute mark: Their defender collides with Adriano.. Adriano is hurt.. he has to come off the pitch. I put King on for him.

51 minute mark: Fletcher bodychecks Cisse.. Cisse is hurt and has to come off the pitch.

54 minute mark: Gerrard passes to Clichy who passes ot Ben Arfa in the box.. he shoots.. lower left corner.. GOAL. 1-1 tie.

60 minute mark: Ben Arfa passes to D'Alessandro in the middle of the box.. I'm fortunate as the shot sails wide right.

71 minute mark: Cook steals it at midfield.. passes it 15 yards up the pitch to Rooney.. he shoots from 30 yards out.. curving power shot.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-1.

75 minute mark: Alfonso on for Downing and Marchetti on for Schmidt who is tired.

77 minute mark: Lucio gets a yellow card for a trip on Yakubu.

80 minute mark: Ben Arfa crosses to Yakubu by the far post.. he heads it.. great save by Howard.

87 minute mark: Lucio with a series of great defensive plays on Yakubu.

91 minute mark: Alfonso passes to Rooney in the left wing.. he draws two defenders over.. passes to King in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. wide left.

92 minute mark: Ferdinand gets a yellow card for tripping Yakubu outside the box. I breath a sigh of relief as the free kick sails just over the bar.


Game over! Important 2-1 win for us on the road! :)

They outshot us 21-11 (9-8 on target in our favor)

Howard wins MoM for his 7 saves. He has a 10 for form.

Downing had a 9 for form as did Rooney.

[finkenst]

other than it being strange seeing your lineup with so many familiar names (Adriano (different from yours), Wayne Rooney, Duff, Downing, others), congrats on the HOF.

Alright, question of the day:

You are coming off the Treble (FA CUP, CL, EPL). You have Joaquin (AM R) and Steven Taylor (D R) coming in to give some more options out there where you're short in numbers, period...

then along comes:
http://www.moosh.net/%7Etimothy/fm2005/portugal.jpg


do you take the job?

[Eaglesfan27]

Depends. Do you have Portugal as an active nation or a retain nation? Do you really want to manage any national team or do you have ideal teams you are waiting for? Since you just came off the Treble, you probably have a good chance of getting your dream job in the near future when it opens.

[finkenst]

Depends. Do you have Portugal as an active nation or a retain nation? Do you really want to manage any national team or do you have ideal teams you are waiting for? Since you just came off the Treble, you probably have a good chance of getting your dream job in the near future when it opens.
that's a very good point.. I can't remember who i have set as retain, but it should be similar to your setup as I recall this is the game i started off of your recommendaitons. http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/cool.gif

i'll have to check my setup and get back to you.

[finkenst]

that's a very good point.. I can't remember who i have set as retain, but it should be similar to your setup as I recall this is the game i started off of your recommendaitons. http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/cool.gif

i'll have to check my setup and get back to you. Dola,

well, checking back through PM's:


All of England (Down to English Conference North/South), Top Division in Italy, Top Division in Spain, Top Division in France, and Top Division in Germany. I run on medium database and only retain a few countries (USA, Brazil, and Iceland)
I may have another country or two in the retain list...

Anyway, here's one of my dream jobs :) :) :) :
http://moosh.net/%7Etimothy/fm2005/brazil.jpg


i think i'm going to accept this one. http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/cool.gif

[Eaglesfan27]

That is what I'm talking about. Congrats :)

[finkenst]

That is what I'm talking about. Congrats :)
I'm pumped! An American in England managing the Brazil National Team! http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/cool.gif

There's a heck of a lot of brazilian talent.. It's insane.. I got about 70 messages from my scout going around brazil... some of it hasn't panned out.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Wayne Rooney and Adriano both suffered damaged shoulders this match. They are both out for about 5 days.


Aston Villa have opened their check book and spent 11 million dollars on Portuguese fullback Joao Dias from Southampton.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 20, 2013 -

Brescia's Diego has signed a new 3 year deal for 14 million dollars.


Howard and Rooney were both selected to the EPL Team of the Week.


Wes Brown injured his knee yesterday and will miss about a week.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 20, 2013 -

Today we host Birmingham in an EPL Match. Birmingham has a good team led by strikers Dmitry Sychev and Robin van Persie who is playing striker for them now. Centrebacks Matthew Upson and Martin Taylor are playing well. Their top keeper, Jose Moreira, is injured and will not be able to play in this game. Eusebiusz Smolarek has played well in the midfield this year despite turning 32.

We are 4-6 favorites.

It's raining with temperatures in the 40's today.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Salva
DC: Marchetti
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Parker
MC: Djemba
MR: ortega
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Cahais
S3: Alfonso
S4: Smith
S5: Godoy

[Eaglesfan27]

5 minute mark: McFadden steals it at midfield.. dribbles past a defender.. another defender comes over.. McFadden with a wonderful cross.. to King in the box.. he is alone with the keeper.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

15 minute mark: Ortega steals it at midfield.. passes to it to McFAdden in the box.. he is whistled for being offside.

17 minute mark: Parker steals it.. passes to McFadden.. he dribbles between two defenders.. into the box.. shoots.. lower left corner.. GOAL!!!!! 2-0.

31 minute mark: Meyer passes to van Persie in the box.. he shoots... upper right corner.. Howard dives.. blocks it.



Halftime: 2-0 lead for us. We have over 74,000 fans here today.



47 minute mark: van Persie passes to Scott Parker in the box.. he shoots.. Howard blocks it.. very nice save.

60 minute mark: Schmidt throws it into King.. King heads it back to Schmidt just outside the box.. he shoots.. strong curving shot.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0! Schmidt's first goal for us ever! He is going to be a very special left fullback.

64 minute mark: Schmidt steals the ball.. passes to McFadden at midpitch.. he passes it to King with a perfect pass into the box.. King settles it.. shoots.. upper right corner.... GOAL!!!!! 4-0! That is King's second of the game!

Alfonso on for Downing, and Cahais on for Marchetti.


Game over. 4-0 win for us.

We outshot them 13-4 (9-2 on target)

McFadden wins MoM, 10 for form, 16 of 23 passes, 1 of 3 tackles, 1 of 7 headers, 10 runs, 3 fouls drawn, 1 assist, and 1 goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 21, 2013 -

The Champions League has been drawn and we will be in Group E along with Lazio, Trabzonspor, and Club Brugge.

We've been given 4.8 million dollars for participating in this phase of the Champions League.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 22, 2013 -

Arsenal have signed 22 year old French midfielder Mathieu Fernandes from Torino for only 8.6 million dollars. He is a promising looking midfielder, and they pulled off a steal here.

Torino fans are said to be VERY upset with the boss for selling their top young player.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 23, 2013 -

Today we play Bordeaux in the European Super Cup. They are a very talented team led by star strikers Johan Vonlanthen and Ivica Olic. They have a good midfielder in Antonio Rio Mavuba. Left back Marco Padalino is a strong powerful player. Centreback Dominique Rodriguez is a very good position defender. Diego is an excellent Brazilian keeper (are there two Brazilian "Diego" keepers?)

We are even odd favorites.

It's raining with temperatures in the high 40's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: Smith
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Marchetti
S3: Alfonso
S4: Stevanovic
S5: Ortega
S6: Godoy
S7: Salva

[Eaglesfan27]

3 minute mark: Vonlanthen passes to Rodrigo in the middle of the pitch just outside the box.. he blasts a shot.. upper left corner.. Howard dives.. it is past him. GOAL. Down 1-0.

8 minute mark: Downing takes a corner kick.. to the near post.. King heads it.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-1!

16 minute mark: King does something I've never seen.. gets it at midfield and starts outrunning players! He runs around one defender.. past another.. shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-1! King has never had that type of footspeed.. wow!

30 minute mark: Flurry of smooth passes to work the ball down the pitch ends with Cook passing to King in the right side of the box.. he shoots.. solid save by the keeper.


Halftime: 2-1 lead for us.



64 minute mark: Ortega on for Schreurs and Alfonso on for Downing.

70 minute mark: Schmidt with a key defensive play.

75 minute mark: Howard with an excellent save of a 20 yard blast.

Godoy on for King! (I'm gong to see what Godoy can do as an occasional striker.)

81 minute mark: Cook passes to Smith who heads it to Godoy's feet.. he shoots.. lower left corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-1! I knew Godoy had a good talent set to play striker! :)


Game over. 3-1 Win! :)

They outshot us 11-7 (6-4 on target)

Downing wins MoM, 9 for form, 18 of 20 passes, 2 of 5 tackles, 2 of 7 headers, 2 interceptions, 10 runs, 2 fouls drawn, and 1 assist. Downing is getting good form ratings, but I don't feel he is as dominant as he was in past seasons.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 23, 2013 -

Bolton have signed 21 year old striker David Jurcik from Liverpool for 4 million dollars. This kid seems to have potential, and he might do well now that Bolton is going to give him PT.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 25, 2013 -

My scout has identfied a young Brazilian striker who he believes could have an amazing career. I decide to make an offer of 1 million for this young 16 year old, but it is likely that he will not be able to come to our organization due to WP issues.


I need to select my English Squad for the upcoming WC matches.



Marseille have signed Mauro Di Mauro away from Everton for 22 million dollars. This striker was a key to Everton's successful season last year and I think this was a foolsh sale.

Marseille's Ahmed Yahiaoui is delighted with the acquisition of Di Mauro.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 26, 2013 -

Grygera and McFadden were both selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

Newcastle have made an offer of 8 million dollars for Mickael Schmidt. That is insane. I wouldn't give him up for 4 times that amount.

Cruzeiro have rejected my 1 million dollar bid for Helio Dias. I decide to counter with a 2 million dollar offer.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 27, 2013 -

Gabriele Marchetti has been called up to Italy's U21 International Team for a match on Aug 30, 2013.

Cruzeiro has agreed to sell Helio Dias for 3.3 million plus 45% of next sale. I agree to their terms, but realize that WP issues will probably cost us this deal.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 28, 2013 -

Gabriele Marchetti injured his calf in practice yesterday, and he will miss about 2 weeks.


Today we travel to play Middlesbrough in an EPL Match. They are currently 17th in the EPL, while we are in 4th, but we are behind the top 3 teams in number of matches played. Middlesbrough has an average team led by striker Porcellis who is their most dangerous scorer. Thorben Marx is a veteran midfielder they added this year who has added a toughness to this squad. Right winger Trond Fredrik Ludvigsen was added from Norway and he is a skilled right winger. Their keeper, Jan Lastuvka, can be dominating at times. Richard Duff will likely be overmatched at centreback.


We are 4-6 favorites.

It's very windy with temperatures in the high 40's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Salva
DR: O'Shea
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Ferdinand
S3: Godoy
S4: King
S5: Grygera

[Eaglesfan27]

9 minute mark: 20 yard strike from Acosta.. Howard saves it.

17 minute mark: Schmidt with a good defensive play.

20 minute mark: Paul Constantin Codrea body checks Fletcher hard.. Red Card for Codrea! He is out of here.

30 minute mark: Schreurs fakes out 3 defenders.. crosses it long.. Rooney heads it.. into the crossbar.


Halftime: 0-0 tie. Very disappointing. They have over 35,000 fans here today.



Downing is being contained by their defense.


75 minute mark: Godoy on for Schreurs and King on for Adriano.

87 minute mark: Godoy crosses.. far post.. Rooney heads it.. the keeper pushes it over the bar.


Game over. Very disappointing 0-0 tie. Not much effort by our guys tonight.

We each had 5 shots. We had 2 shots on target, they had 1.

Leon Andreasen, their centreback, won MoM, 8 for form, 20 of 29 passes, 1 of 2 tackles, 8 of 8 headers, 3 interceptions.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 30, 2013 -

Southampton have signed Manchester City's Belgian Defender Jelle Van Damme for a fee of 8.5 million dollars.


Fulham have signed Dortmund's Spanish Attacking Midfielder Joaquin for 7.4 million dollars.

Newcastle have paid 15 million dollars to sign Roma's 21 year old Brazilian defender Luis Carlos. According to my scout's notes, I think they severely overpaid.


My young Brazilian striker has accepted my contract offer. I just have to hope I somehow get a WP for this very talented young striker.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 30, 2013 -

Today I coach England's U21 team against Andorra in the European U21 Championship qualifying match. Today we are playing at Andorra and we are expected to win by a large margin.

GK: Jon Hooper
DL: Paul Anderson
DC: Charlie Wilson
DC: Robert Morris
DR: Craig Knight
ML: Jason Parsons
MC: Jamie Cook
MC: Michael Wood
MR: Paul Kelly (the last three are all my guys)
SC: Gary Moore (Worthington has been called up to the big squad)
SC: Rob Morgan

S1: Gary Baker
S2: Paul White
S3: David Evans
S4: John Mills
S5: Lee Roberts
S6: Paul Taylor
S7: Bob Wright (my guy)

[Eaglesfan27]

3 minute mark: Knight crosses to Moore in the box.. he heads it.. the keeper catches the header.. bobbles it.. into the net! Own Goal! 1-0 us.

11 minute mark: Kelly unleashes a beautiful pass from midpitch.. into the box.. perfect.. right to Moore's feet.. he fakes out the keeper.. shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

34 minute mark: Morgan steals it at midfield.. passes it to Moore in the box.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it.. the rebound sails to Morgan and he hits it on the half-volley into the open right side of the net! GOAL!!!! 3-0.


Halftime: 3-0 lead for us.



60 minute mark: Peter Taylor on for Cook and Bob Wright on for Moore.



Game over. 3-0 win for us.

We outshot them 15-1 (5-0 on target)

Paul Kelly won MoM, 10 for form, 27 of 36 passes, 4 of 4 tackles, 1 of 3 headers, 2 interceptions, 3 runs, 4 fouls drawn, and 1 assist.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 31, 2013 -

We aren't going to get our young Brazilian striker due to the impending end of the trade window.


Tim Howard helped lead the USA to a 4-0 win over El Salvador in their World Cup Qualifying match today.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 31, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Andorra in the World Cup Qualifying Match. We are expected to beat them by a wide margin.

GK: Paul Robinson
DL: Ashley Cole
DC: Rio Ferdinand
DC: Ben Bennett
DR: Wes Brown
ML: Stewart Downing
MC: Jermaine Jenas
MC: David Prutton
MR: Christopher Eagles
SC: Wayne Rooney
SC: Jermain Defoe

S1: Chris Taylor
S2: Craig King
S3: Luke Moore
S4: Steven Gerrard
S5: Ledley King
S6: Joe Cole
S7: Shaun Wright-Phillips

[Eaglesfan27]

14 minute mark: Downing crosses it to the far post.. Prutton heads it.. over the bar.

16 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in the left side of the box.. he shoots.. over the bar.

20 minute mark: Eagles takes a free kick from outside the box, about 25 yards out.. he shoots.. curves around the wall.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

35 minute mark: Eagles crosses it to the near post.. Defoe heads it.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

44 minute mark: Prutton passes it to Rooney in the middle of the box.. he blasts a shot into the upper left corner.. no chance for the keeper. GOAL!!!! 3-0.


Halftime: 3-0 lead.


I'm going to rest Rooney with the match firmly in hand. I'm putting Craig King onto the pitch.


60 minute mark: Joe Cole on for Downing. Ledley King on for Wes Brown.

87 minute mark: Joe Cole passes to Craig King in the left side of the box.. he shoots.. powerful wicked curving shot.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-0! King is really coming alive!


Game over. 4-0 win for us.

We outshot them 15-0 (7-0 on target)

Eagles wins MoM, 9 for form, 15 of 20 passes, 3 of 3 tackles, 0 of 6 headers, 3 interceptions, 8 runs, 2 fouls drawn, and 1 goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Rio Ferdinand injured his shoulder and will miss about 5 days, and therefore will have to be removed from the English Squad.

I call up Wayne Dunn.



The fans are very pleased with this win.


In other international news:

James McFadden and Darren Fletcher both played well for Scotland, but Spain beat them 2-0 in their World Cup Qualifying match.

John O'Shea played well and scored a goal in Ireland's 6-0 win over San Marino in the World Cup Qualifying match.

Salva played well for Italy in their 2-0 win over Luxembourg in the World Cup Qualifying match.

Michael Schmidt played extremely well for France in their 2-0 win over Macedonia in their WC Qualifying match.

Zdenek Grygera played well for the Czech Republic in their 3-0 win over Armenia in the WC Qualifying match.

Dalibor Stevanovic played well for Slovenia, but they lost to Russia 1-0 in the WC Qualifying match.

[finkenst]

Hey, EF27,

Do you tend to run the same formation/tactics with the England National Team?

Did you rework the entire roster/tactics with your own choices, so to speak? Just trying for a little guidance here with Brazil.

[Eaglesfan27]

September 1, 2013 -

The board is very pleased with my performance as manager.


Stewart Downing has won the EPL Player of the Month award.

Wayne Rooney came in 2nd, and Lukas Podolski of Arsenal came in 3rd.



Arsenal's Anthony Petit has won the EPL Young Player of the Month.

Mickael Schmidt came in 2nd, and Stephane Dalmat of Aston Villa came in 3rd.


Chelsea's Mane has won the EPL Manager of the Month. Steve Coppell of Fulham came in 2nd, and Victor Munoz of Arsenal came in 3rd.



Wayne Rooney had all three top goals of the month! All 3 of them were from his game against Charlton. I've never seen that happen before.

[Eaglesfan27]

Hey, EF27,

Do you tend to run the same formation/tactics with the England National Team?

Did you rework the entire roster/tactics with your own choices, so to speak? Just trying for a little guidance here with Brazil.
I looked at the current national team, and I used value as a rough guideline, and then looked at more specific attributes of the players to decide who to bring up. I only made a few changes. I thought the current talent in England best suited a 4-4-2 or a 3-5-2. Since, I've had recent success with a 4-4-2, I decided to go with it. So far, it has worked out well.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 2, 2013 -

Carlton Cole has injured his leg in practice and has to be removed from the English National Squad. I decide to call up Owen Hargreaves to replace him.

John O'Shea and Downing were both selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 4, 2013 -

Today we host Belarus in a WC Qualifying Match. We are expected the beat them by a good margin today.

GK: Paul Robinson
DL: Gareth Barry
DC: Ledley King
DC: John Terry
DR: Ashley Cole
ML: Stewart Downing
MC: Steven Gerrard
MC: Nigel Reo-Coker
MR: Christopher Eagles
SC: Wayne Rooney
SC: Wayne Worthington

S1: Chris Taylor
S2: Jermaine Jenas
S3: Shaun Wright-Phillips
S4: Luke Moore
S5: Wayne Dunn
S6: Joe Cole
S7: Craig King

[Eaglesfan27]

19 minute mark: Eagles crosses to the near post.. Worthington heads it.. over the bar.

24 minute mark: Eagles takes a corner.. near post.. Worthington heads it.. the keeper blocks it.


Halftime: Disappointing 0-0 first half.



47 minute mark: downing fakes out two defenders.. passes to Gerrard in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

56 minute mark: Eagles with a corner kick.. near post.. Worthington heads it.. over the bar.

57 minute mark: I sit Rooney for Jenas. I also sit Downing for Cole.

69 minute mark: Gerrard passes to Jenas in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0!

75 minute mark: Barry passses to Reo-Coker who heads it to Jenas in the box.. he shoots.. lower left corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0! Jenas has his second goal.



Game over. 3-0 win for England.

We outshot them 29-0 (19-0 on target)

Christopher Eagles wins MoM, 10 for form, 13 of 17 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 1 of 3 headers, 2 interceptions, 13 runs, 2 fouls drawn.

Eagles is playing great. I wonder if he is playing especially well because he is upset I traded him.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 4, 2013 -

The fans seem satisfied with that win - barely.


In other WC Qualifying news:

Dalibor Stevanovic had 2 assists for Slovenia in their 3-0 win over Wales.

John O'shea had an assist for Ireland in their 2-0 win over Bosnia.

Darren Fletcher had 2 assists, and James McFadden had 2 goals in Scotland's 6-0 win over Kazakhstan.

Zdenek Grygera played good defense, but Croatia beat the Czech Republic 2-0.

Tim Howard played well for the USA in their 3-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 10, 2013 -

The Champions League favorites have been announced.

We are the favorites at 4-1 to win it all. Valencia and Real Madrid both have 5-1 odds to win it all. Chelsea has 10-1 odds to win it. Liverpool and Zaragoza round out the top 6 with 11-1 odds to win it all.


Francesco Guarino has told the media that he expects to be in the first team. This 24 year old right back, never really developed into a starting quality defender. He is crazy if he thinks I'm going to play him in any meaningful matches. I decide to transfer list him.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 11, 2013 -

Today we host Club Brugge in an Champions League Group Match. Club Brugge has an average team led by midfielders Luciano Sorriso, Flavio, and Jorn Vermeulen. Dinei is a decent striker, but they don't have much firepower. Their defense is shaky and keeper Peter Mollez can be overrun by shots.


We are 4-6 favorites.

It's overcast with temperatures in the 50's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Salva
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Parker
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Ferdinand
S3: Alfonso
S4: Smith
S5: Godoy
S6: Cook
S7: Ortega

[Tellistto]

Just out of curiousity, why did you have to miss out on that brazilian kid? The FA should have got back to you on the WP issue before the deadline, and would have again if you'd appealed a decision, or have in my experience with the game, past and present. Having said that, though, I'd never buy a kid who needed a WP unless he's 17, to tie up a 5 year deal and give lots of time for him to develop, though it seems in this game that once granted, they don't seem to lose it. I bought a DL brazilian named Felipo when he was 20 or 21, had 1 U21 cap, and set him in the reserves for a season to develop. Brought him up the next season and haven't had a single issue with his WP, even though he hasn't been called up to the full squad.


Tell

[Eaglesfan27]

3 minute mark: Schreurs passes to Parker just outside the box.. he shoots.. wide right.

13 minute mark: Schreurs blasts a shot from 30 yards out.. the keeper saves it.

22 minute mark: Downing crosses to Schreurs in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. De Ly blocks the shot.. nice play by the defender.

24 minute mark: Downing takes the corenr.. to the near post.. King heads it.. the keeper blocks it.. it bounces to Schreurs outside the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0. That is his first goal of the year.

40 minute mark: Fletcher passes to Schmidt who blasts a powerful curving shot from 30 yards out.. upper right corner.. the keeper blocks it.



Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. We have over 69,000 fans here today.



50 minute mark: Downing fakes out two defenders.. passes to Schreurs in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. wide left by inches.

52 minute mark: Fletcher gets a yellow card for arguing an offside call on King.

54 minute mark: Downing burns two defenders.. passes to McFadden in the left side of the box.. McFadden with a spin move on a defender.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!!! 2-0.

60 minute mark: Salva is dominating his man.

63 minute mark: Ortega on for Schreurs, Cook on for Fletcher, and Godoy at striker for King.

Schreurs gets a standing ovation as he leaves the pitch.

67 minute mark: Ortega beats two men.. crosses.. McFadden heads it in the center of the box.. the keeper pushes it over the bar.

78 minute mark: Schmidt dribbles down the left sideline.. he is joining the attack.. he crosses it to the far post.. Ortega heads it.. into the upper left corner with a severely angled header! GOAL!!!! 3-0! That is Ortega's first goal of the year.

81 minute mark: Ortega crosses it from the right corner of the pitch.. Godoy heads it.. over the bar.. poor heading by Godoy there.

92 minute mark: Godoy steals it in the box.. crosses to Cook.. he shoots.. good save by the keeper.


Game over. 3-0 win for us.

We outshot them 19-0 (12-0 on target)

Downing wins MoM, 10 for form, 14 of 15 passes, 1 of 4 tackles, 0 of 1 headers, 28 runs(!), 3 fouls drawn, and 1 assist.


Schreurs and Ortega both had 9's for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Just out of curiousity, why did you have to miss out on that brazilian kid? The FA should have got back to you on the WP issue before the deadline, and would have again if you'd appealed a decision, or have in my experience with the game, past and present. Having said that, though, I'd never buy a kid who needed a WP unless he's 17, to tie up a 5 year deal and give lots of time for him to develop, though it seems in this game that once granted, they don't seem to lose it. I bought a DL brazilian named Felipo when he was 20 or 21, had 1 U21 cap, and set him in the reserves for a season to develop. Brought him up the next season and haven't had a single issue with his WP, even though he hasn't been called up to the full squad.


Tell

It said that the initial WP was denied on the eve of the Deadline. I guess we didn't have time to schedule an appeal since the deadline had occurred as the initial decision was made. There was no option to appeal.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oh yeah, I rarely ever go after a 16 year old, but this kid looked GREAT from my scout's view of his attributes. He might turn out to be even better than Adriano..

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 14, 2013 -

Before our match with them, Newcastle manager Steve Bruce told listeners on his local radio show that he believed Manchester United was going to win the title this year, and that we have too many resources for any other team to stop us from running away with the Championship.


I respond to the reporter that asks me about the comment as follows, "I'm quite confident that if we play every game to our potential, we can win the title."

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 15, 2013 -

Today we host Newcastle in a big EPL Match. We are currently in 3rd, but really in 1st if you factor in we have 2 less games than everyone else. Newcastle is currently in 7th place. Their top striker, Jermain Defoe is injured and is definitely out for this game. They have a very good midfield led by Philippe Durand, James Milner, and Kasper Lorentzen. Their backup striker Roberto is good and will likely work well with Ricardo Oliveira. Their defense is average with Rogerio, their left fullback, being their most consistent Defender. They are using my old keeper, Thomas Heaton in goal lately. He is really a suspect keeper at this level of play and I'm shocked to see him starting regularly. He does have 3 clean sheets, so he is doing better than I suspected he would. However, he has given up 10 goals in his other 3 starts!

We are even odd favorites.

It's overcast with temperatures in the 50's.

GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Cahais
DC: Marchetti
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Cook
S3: Godoy
S4: King
S5: Salva

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Adriano is tripped by Gorlitz.. he gets away with a warning.

4 minute mark: Durand elbows Adriano.. yellow card for Durand.

7 minute mark: Downing dribbles down the left sideline.. beats a defender. crosses to the near post.. Adriano heads it.. over the bar.

9 minute mark: Schmidt dribbles down the left sideline.. he is tripped by Milner.. yellow card for Milner.

11 minute mark: Lorentzen gets a yellow card for pulling Adriano's jersey.

19 minute mark: Roberto gets a breakaway.. into the box.. he shoots.. Howard dives.. blocks it! He gathers the rebound.

21 minute mark: Schmidt with a good defensive play.

22 minute mark: Schmidt with a long pass.. to Rooney in the left side of the box.. he shoots.. Heaton with a good play to push it over the bar.

26 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in the left side of the box.. he fakes out a defender.. shoots.. the keeper blocks it.. Djemba gets the rebound.. has a wide open net! He shoots.. into the crossbar.. Rooney gets the rebound.. shoots.. into the right side of the net! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

37 minute mark: Downing loses it over the endline.

39 minute mark: Schmidt passes long to Schreurs.. he gets it in the right corner of the pitch.. he crosses it 50 yards to the far post.. Downing traps it.. 5 yards out.. blasts a shot.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0! Nice goal by Downing.


Halftime: 2-0 lead for us. We have a full house of 91,000 plus fans here today.



50 minute mark: Kamara with a crossing pass.. Howard misplays it.. the striker misses it.. but it sails into the upper right corner! GOAL. Still up 2-1.

61 minute mark: Downing collides with Durand.. Downing is writhing in pain. He has to come off the pitch. I put Cook on at left wing. I also put Godoy on for Schreurs who is tired.

72 minute mark: Schmidt with a nice pass to Cook.. Cook with a quick beautiful cross to Rooney in the left side of the box.. he blasts a shot.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-1! That is Rooney's second. cook is really one of my best most versatile midfielders.

82 minute mark: Cook gets a yellow card for holding Milner's jersey.


Game over. 3-1 win for us.

We outshot them 18-3 (11-2 on target)

Downing won MoM, 10 for form, 17 of 18 passes, 1 of 3 tackles, 1 of 4 headers, 15 runs, 3 fouls drawn, and 1 goal.

Rooney had a 9 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Downing injured his elbow and will miss about a week.

Our attendance of 91,289 today was our highest total ever according to the team statistician.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 17, 2013 -

Downing and Rooney were selected to the EPL Team of the Week. Wood has returned from his loan, and he really is good enough that I have to get him some midfield action.


WOW!!! Plymouth Argyle (20th in the EC) beat Arsenal today in the 2nd round of the League Cup. They ended regulation 0-0, but they won a shoot out 4-3. Arsenal fans are said to be devasted after this loss.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 18, 2013 -

Birmingham striker Robin van Persie has announced that he will definitely leave the club at the end of his current deal on a Bosman signing. He feels he needs a better challenge with a better team than what he is getting at Birmingham. The 30 year old is very versatile, and I might pursue him for some depth if his contract demands aren't too outrageous.

[daedalus]

Fulham have signed Dortmund's Spanish Attacking Midfielder Joaquin for 7.4 million dollars.Isn't that kind of cheap for Joaquin?Arsenal's Anthony Petit has won the EPL Young Player of the Month.Manu's son! :D

[Eaglesfan27]

Isn't that kind of cheap for Joaquin?Manu's son! :D

Well, Joaquin is getting older and his skills are starting to decline.

As far as the other comment: :D

[Eaglesfan27]

Correction:

This Joaquin is actually a younger talented midfielder who is not very established yet. It's not the Joaquin that we were both likely thinking of.

Speaking of which:

Sep 18, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Fulham. They are currently 6th in the EPL while we are currently in 2nd. They have a solid team led by star striker Helder Postiga and midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger. Collins John is their other skilled striker. Joaquin is a good recent addition to their midfield. Enrice Gaede is their top defender. Michael Rensing is a very steady keeper.

We are 4-6 favorites.

It's overcast with temperatures in the mid 40's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Salva
DR: Grygera
ML: Alfonso
MC: Parker
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: King
S1: Taylor
S2: Cahais
S3: Ortega
S4: Rooney
S5: Godoy

[Eaglesfan27]

9 minute mark: Grygera passes it down the right sideline.. Schreurs gets to it.. dribbles into the right side of the box.. crosses the ball towards the far post.. McFadden with a header.. into the upper left corner... GOAL!!!! 1-0.

11 minute mark: Howard saves a 20 yard shot from Postiga.

30 minute mark: Joaquin passes to John in the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. I let out a deep breath as it sails wide left.

32 minute mark: Hitzsplerger collides with Parker.. Hitzsplerger has to leave the pitch.

44 minute mark: Schreurs passes to McFadden in the box.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it.. Parker gets the rebound.. blasts a shot.. into the crossbar.


Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. They have over 22,000 fans here today.



Schreurs and King are looking winded and will have to be removed soon.



46 minute mark: Howard stops a long range shot from Postiga.

58 minute mark: Postiga passes to Whittingham.. hard shot.. it deflects off Salva 20 yards out.. it redirects to the right side of the net.. Howard races over.. can't get to it. GOAL. 1-1 tie.

60 minute mark: Ortega on for Schreurs, and Godoy on for King.

75 minute mark: Rooney on for McFadden to try to pull out these 3 points..

87 minute mark: Cook passes to Alfonso left of the box.. he crosses to Rooney.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it.


Game over. 1-1 tie.

We were outshot 17-6 (8-3 on target)

Howard wins MoM for his 7 saves with an 8 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 20, 2013 -

Salva injured his groin and will miss about 2 weeks.


WE had a very unfavorable draw for the 3rd round of the English League Cup. We will be hosting Chelsea. One of the two favorites to win the entire Cup will be eliminated.

[Eaglesfan27]

6 minute mark: Djemba dribbles right of the box.. short cross.. to the far post.. Alfonso heads it.. into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0!

14 minute mark: Lucio with a key challenge on Podolski.

23 minute mark: Djemba steals it at midfield.. passes long.. to Rooney's feet.. he dribbles into the box.. shoots.. lower right corner.. it's past the keeper.... GOAL!!!! 2-0!

30 minute mark: Kalou passes to Reyes in the box.. he shoots.. from 15 yards out.. Howard with a very good save.

33 minute mark: Alfonso takes a corner kick.. near post.. Lucio outjumps his man.. heads it.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0!



Halftime: 3-0 lead for us. They have over 60,000 fans here today.



61 minute mark: Marchetti on for Schmidt who is tired, and Ortega on for Schreurs.

66 minute mark: Marchetti with a long pass to Rooney.. he catches up to it just before it crosses the endline.. centers to Adriano.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper with a very good save.

72 minute mark: Intricate series of passes.. ends with a pass from Kalou to Saviola in the middle of the box.. powerful shot.. upper right corner.. it's past Howard.. GOAL. 3-1.

Smith on for Rooney.

84 minute mark: Ortega passes to Djemba just outside the box.. he blasts a shot.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-1!

88 minute mark: Reyes crosses to Blasi.. he shoots.. Howard parries it.. Saviola gets the rebound.. shoots into the open right side of the goal. 4-2 game.



Game over. 4-2 win :)

They outshot us 19-10 (8-7 on target)

Eric Djemba Djemba wins MoM, 10 for form, 16 of 21 passes, 3 of 4 tackles, 1 of 4 headers, 5 interceptions, 1 foul drawn, 2 assists, and 1 goal.

Lucio had a 9 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 22, 2013 -

Kevin Keegan has been sacked by Leicester City Chairman Jim McCahill.

Dave Jones is being listed as the favorite to take this job over.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 23, 2013 -

Lucio and Djemba were both selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

Leicester have hired Jose Carlos Granero. The 50 year old former Espanyol boss brings a significant amount of experience with him to the job.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 24, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Lazio in a Champions League Group Match. Lazuo is currently 18th in Italian Serie A and has been hit hard by injuries early in the year. However, most of their players are back for this match. Valeri Bojinov and Benjamin team up to make a premiere pair of strikers. Andrea Lazzari is a very good left winger. Christian Daniel Ledesma is injured for this game which weakens their midfield. Adriano and Frank Wolf are strong defenders for them. Espn Johnsen is an old veteran keeper who is still quite skilled. He is particularly good at one on ones, and he will be tough to beat.

We are 4-5 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the mid 50's.

GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Marchetti
DC: Cahais
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Wood
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Parker
S3: Godoy
S4: Ortega
S5: Ferdinand
S6: Smith
S7: Adriano

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Schreurs with a beautiful pass to McFadden.. he dribbles past a defender.. into the box.. shoots.. lower left corner.. excellent save by the keeper.

5 minute mark: Bojinov has a breakaway.. he beats Howard.. Marchetti tackles him from behind... cleanly! Marchetti with a sure goal saver.

9 minute mark: McFadden dribbles down the left sideline.. beats a defender.. crosses to King in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives.. catches it.

22 minute mark: McFadden collided with Wolf.. McFadden has to be carried off the pitch! I put Smith on for him.

25 minute mark: King at midfield.. passes it to Smith just outside the box.. Smith with a burst of speed.. dribbles past Wolf.. fakes out the keeper.. is about to shoot.. the keeper trips him! Johnsen is given a red card!!! Penalty shot awarded.. Cook steps up against the backup keeper.. Cook looks confident.. he slams it into the lower left corner! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

Darn! How many Adriano's are there in the soccer world. They have two on the pitch now, as their keeper is called Adriano! This 19 year old Brazilian keeper looks quite talented actually. I might have to have my scouts take a closer look at him.



Halftime: 1-0 lead for us.



55 minute mark: Bojinov with a breakaway.. shoots.. lower left corner.. Howard dives.. catches it!

65 minute mark: Ortega on for Schreurs, and Godoy on for King.

70 minute mark: Downing gets a yellow card for tripping La Cava.

71 minute mark: Lazzari dribbles into the box.. shoots from the left side.. about 20 yards out.. Howard saves it.

83 minute mark: Downing passes to Ortega.. he dribbles into the box.. shoots.. upper left corner.. nice diving save by the keeper. Adriano is having a very good game in goal for a 19 year old keeper. I decide I will definitely have my scout look at this kid after this game.

89 minute mark: Downing passes to smith in the left side of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. Adriano saves it. Another nice play by the young keeper.


Game over. 1-0 win for us.

We outshot them 11-10 (10-5 on target)

Adriano, their backup keeper, won MoM, for his multiple saves.

I tell two of my best scouts to go look at this kid as soon as possible.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 28, 2013 -

Today we host Coventry in an EPL Match. We are currently 2nd while they are 12th in the EPL. They rely on star striker Wayne Worthington who has becme one of the best young strikers in all of England. Shola Ameobi is a veteran striker who can be dangerous. Dani is a good right winger who can set up the other guys on the team. Martin Scott is their right back and the leader of the defense. Gianni Zuiverloon is developing into a good centreback. Marco Tedeschi is one of the better young keepers in the EPL.

We are 4-6 favorites.

It's raining with temperatures in the low 50's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Alfonso
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Stevanovic
S3: Cook
S4: King
S5: O'Shea

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Rooney takes a corner (when did I make him a corner taker?) ... to the near post.. Lucio heads it.. to the far post.. Fletcher heads it.. into the upper left corner! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

4 minute mark: Schreurs dribbles down the right sideline.. past two defenders.. crosses it long.. Alfonso with a diving header by the left post.. connects.. into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

14 minute mark: Schreurs dribbles down the right sideline.. past two defenders.. crosses to the near post.. Adriano with a header.. it hits the post.. and bounces in! GOAL!!!! 3-0.

16 minute mark: Ameobi passes to Worthington 30 yards out.. he blasts an ultra fast curving shot.. into the upper right corner before I could even blink! GOAL. 3-1.

31 minute mark: Rooney steals a pass from the keeper to a centerback.. blasts a shot into the upper left corner before the keeper can react! GOAL!!!! 4-1.



Halftime: 4-1 lead for us. We have over 72,000 fans here today.


53 minute mark: Brown with a long pass to the right side of the box.. Adriano catches up to it just before it crosses the end line.. controls it.. passes to Rooney in the center of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 5-1! That is Rooney's second today and 10th of the year.

63 minute mark: Alfonso crosses to Rooney by the near post.. he heads it.. the keeper blocks it.. right back to Rooney.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 6-1! He has his hattrick. I can now rest him :)

King on for Rooney and Stevanovic on for Fletcher.

Rooney gets a standing ovation. I'm going to praise him in the media after this match as well.



Game over. 6-1 win for us :)

We outshot them 12-1 (8-1 on target)

Rooney wins MoM, 10 for form, 9 of 9 passes, 1 of 3 tackles, 1 of 7 headers, 1 interception, 1 run, 1 foul drawn, and 3 goals.

Schreurs also had a 10 for form.

I praise Rooney in the post match interviews.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

This was a costly win as Jeroen Schreurs hurt his calf and will miss 2 weeks. However, Ortega continues to really impress in practice, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in more action.

The board is very pleased with this big win.

[Eaglesfan27]

October 2, 2013 -

Lucio, Schreurs, and Rooney were all selected to the EPL Team of the Week.


The board is very pleased with my performance as manager.



Liverpool's Hatem Ben Arfa has won the EPL Player of the Month. Rooney came in 2nd, and Jonathan Woodgate of Fulham came in 3rd.


My Adriano has won the EPL Young Player of the Month. Mickael Schmidt came in 2nd, and Stephane Dulmat of Aston Villa came in 3rd.



I've won Manager of the Month. Mane of Chelsea came in 2nd, and Tony Colbert of Liverpool came in 3rd.



Wayne Worthington won goal of the Month for his strike against us.



My scouts have reported that the young keeper Adriano is a wonderkid, and that he has a phenomenal future. I decide to offer Lazio 10 million for him, however, I realize that a WP might be difficult to get for such a young Brazilian keeper.

[Eaglesfan27]

October 2, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Blackburn in an EPL Match before our short international break. Blackburn is 10th in the EPL while we are in 2nd. Blackburn is led by a very good defense, that is let down by a mediocre offense. Starting Strikers Paul Gallagher and Jonathan Stead have difficulty creating goals for the team. The leading scorer is Stead with 3 goals. Liam Miller is a good midfielder, but only has 2 assists and 1 goal. The defense is very solid led by centrebacks Nils-Eric Johansson and Antonio. Samir Handanovic is an inconsistent keeper. He is usually either great or bad. He has excellent ability, and hopefully we will make him have a bad night.


We are 4-7 favorites.

It's raining with temperatures in the high 40's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Ortega
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Godoy
S3: Cook
S4: King
S5: Smith

[Eaglesfan27]

7 minute mark: Howard parries a flurry of shots.

21 minute mark: Howard parries a pair of shots by Stead.

25 minute mark: Josef Adams gets called for tripping Djemba.. Stead argues the call.. Stead gets a yellow card.

35 minute mark: Brown witha long passe to start a breakaway.. Rooney dribbles into the left side of the box.. shoots.. upper left corner.. brilliant save by the keeper.

43 minute mark: Howard stops a long range shot from Stead.



Halftime: 0-0. They have over 31,000 fans here today.



48 minute mark: Downing with a corner to the center of the box.. Ferdinand heads it.. wide right of the net.

61 minute mark: King on for Rooney, Smith on for Adriano, and Cook on for Fletcher.


71 minute mark: Ortega takes it down the right sideline.. crosses to Downing.. he heads it.. the keeper saves it.

73 minute mark: Cook passes to Djemba in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it.

86 minute mark: Howard stops a flurry of shots.

91 minute mark: Cook passes to Downing on the far left side of the pitch.. he crosses it.. beautiful curving cross.. to Smith in the right side of the box.. the keeper rushes to Smith.. Smith chips it.. over the keeper.. into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0! Smith with a huge goal.


Game over. Great 1-0 win on the road.

We were outshot 20-9 (12-6 on target)

Howard has a 10 for form, and wins MoM for his 12 saves.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oct 5, 2013 -

Today we travel to play the Ukraine in our second to last WC Qualifying Match. We've already qualified for the WC, but the Federation expects us to win every qualifying game. The Ukraine is one of the more talented teams we have played and they will be challenging.


We are 4-7 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the 50's.

GK: Paul Robinson
DL: Ashley Cole
DC: John Terry
DC: Wayne Dunn
DR: Wes Brown
ML: Stewart Downing
MC: nigel Reo-Coker
MC: Steven Gerrard
MR: Christopher Eagles
SC: Wayne Rooney
SC: Jermaine Jenas

S1: Chris Taylor
S2: Ben Bennett
S3: Craig King
S4: Carlton Cole
S5: Ledley King
S6: Joe Cole
S7: Owen Hargreaves

[finkenst]

national team manager is an interesting job...

I kinda wish I could resign gracefully because it takes up some time...

[Eaglesfan27]

3 minute mark: Downing dribbles past a defender.. fakes out another.. crosses it long.. Jenas heads it.. over the bar.


They are playing 9 men back and are shutting down our offense.


Halftime: 0-0 tie.



59 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in the left side of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper saves it.

Trying to give the team a spark, I pull out Rooney who is tried and put on King. I also put Joe Cole on for Downing.


69 minute mark: Onyschenko collides with Joe Cole.. Cole is hurt.

71 minute mark: I tell the team to go to an all out attack.

88 minute mark: Cole crosses to King. he shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper saves it.



Game over. 0-0 tie. They played a tough defensive battle.

We outshot them 12-3 (5-1 on target)

Their keeper, Eugene Borovyk won MoM.

[Eaglesfan27]

national team manager is an interesting job...

I kinda wish I could resign gracefully because it takes up some time...

At times, I feel the same way.

Other times, it is exciting. I think it will be very exciting once I actually get to the WC.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

If you've noticed, I've stopped reporting in detail on the U21 and U19 England Teams just because they aren't as interesting, but I'll report on them once we get to the championships.

[finkenst]

Dola -

If you've noticed, I've stopped reporting in detail on the U21 and U19 England Teams just because they aren't as interesting, but I'll report on them once we get to the championships.
i've got to rebuild the u20 and u23 brazillian teams soon..

at the moment, i just promoted all 20+ yo from u20 to u23.


--t

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Despite only getting a draw, fans are jubiliant as it has been officially announced that we are going to the World Cup!


In other WC Qualifying news:

John O'Shea played well but Ireland tied Norway 0-0. Ireland has qualified for the WC!


Dalibor Stevanovic played very well in Slovenia's 1-0 win over Germany. Slovenia still has a chance to qualify depending upon what they do in their next match.


Zdenek Grygera played well, but the Czech Republic tied Georgia 0-0. They don't have a chance of qualifying at this point.


Mickael Schmidt had a poor game before being substituted, but France beat San Marino 6-0. France is questionable for the World Cup at this point.


Darren Fletcher played well for Scotland, but they tied Greece 1-1. Scotland has a very slim chance of qualifying still.


Tim Howard played very well for the USA and they beat Jamaica 3-0. The USA has definitely qualified as they have a very impressive 9-0-0 recoord with 46 goals scored and only 1 goal allowed!

[Eaglesfan27]

Oct 6, 2013 -

Lazio have rejected the 10 million dollar bid for Adriano. I offer them 15 million for the young keeper. I think he is going to become a great keeper.


Parma has sacked Serse Cosmi.

David Harper injured his wrist in practice and will miss about a month. I hope Howard and/or Taylor don't go down with injury...



October 7, 2013 -

Howard and Lucio were selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

[Eaglesfan27]

October 8, 2013 -

England's U21 Team has qualified for the next round of the Euro U21 Championship Qualifying Match.

Gabriele Marchetti played well for Italy in their 2-1 win over Denmark. Italy has also advanced to the next round.


The England U21 team will play France's U21 team in the Championship Qualifying Playoff Match. The first leg will be played on November 15, 2013.



Lazio has countered my offer. They want 11.5 million now, 8.8 million over 6 months, and 30% of next sale. I agree to the terms for this wonderkid keeper. However, it will be odd having two Adriano's on my squad ;)

[finkenst]

October 8, 2013 -

England's U21 Team has qualified for the next round of the Euro U21 Championship Qualifying Match.

Gabriele Marchetti played well for Italy in their 2-1 win over Denmark. Italy has also advanced to the next round.


The England U21 team will play France's U21 team in the Championship Qualifying Playoff Match. The first leg will be played on November 15, 2013.



Lazio has countered my offer. They want 11.5 million now, 8.8 million over 6 months, and 30% of next sale. I agree to the terms for this wonderkid keeper. However, it will be odd having two Adriano's on my squad ;)
or three if you buy chelsea's adriano. :)

[Desnudo]

At times, I feel the same way.

Other times, it is exciting. I think it will be very exciting once I actually get to the WC.

Hopefully they'll improve national team coaching in the next version. I enjoy it, but I think it could be so much better. I think it's one of those areas that lags a bit behind the rest of the game. There's some little niggling things that, if fixed, could make the experience a lot more fun.

[daedalus]

Correction:

This Joaquin is actually a younger talented midfielder who is not very established yet. It's not the Joaquin that we were both likely thinking of.Oops. Sorry. :)

Better start to this season than last.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oops. Sorry. :)

Better start to this season than last.

Much better start. However, I'm leaning on my starters more. Hopefully, it doesn't bite me at the end of the season.

[daedalus]

I'd be more concern about January than the end of the season. :D

[Eaglesfan27]

Oct 9, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Latvia in what I believe to be England's last WC Group Qualifying match. We don't need to win this match, but the fans will be disappointed with anything less than a decisive win. Latvia isn't as good as the last team which tied us, so we should be able to meet expectations.

We are 2-5 favorites.

It's windy with temperatures in the 40's.


GK: Paul Robinson
DL: Ashley Cole
DC: Ben Bennett
DC: Wayne Dunn
DR: Owen Hargreaves
ML: Stewart Downing
MC: Nigel Reo-Coker
MC: Steven Gerrard
MR: Christopher Eagles
SC: Wayne Rooney
SC: Craig King

S1: Chris Taylor
S2: Ledley King
S3: Shaun Wright-Phillips
S4: Carlton Cole
S5: John Terry
S6: Joe Cole
S7: Wayne Worthington

[Eaglesfan27]

6 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney along the endline left side of the box.. Rooney shoots.. parallel to the end line.. it curves.. into the upper right corner! GOAL!!!! 1-0!


Halftime: 1-0 lead. Disappointing. I was hoping to have a commanding lead to pull Rooney and Downing at halftime. I'm going to leave in the starting 11 for a bit more now.



Lazy effort from most of the team. I'm pulling Rooney and Downing to rest them. I put Carlton Cole and Joe Cole on for them.


70 minute mark: Joe Cole passes to Carlton Cole in the left half of the box.. he shoots from 15 yards out.. way over the bar.

73 minute mark: Joe Cole crosses long to King.. he heads it.. inches wide right of the net.

80 minute mark: Reo-Coker passes to Carlton in the box.. he shoots.. over the bar.

I decide to put Worthington on for King who is tired.

86 minute mark: Reo-Coker collides with a midfielder and is hurt. I've used all my subs so we have to go with 10 guys.

89 minute mark: Gerrard steals the keeper's pass.. passes it between two defenders.. Carlton Cole gets to it.. shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.



Game over. 2-0 win.

We outshot them 13-12 (4-2 on target)

Downing has a 9 for form and wins MoM, 10 of 11 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 6 runs, and 1 assist.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Fans are just jubiliant that we are going to the WC.

Darren Fletcher had 2 assists in Scotland's 3-0 win over Azerbaijan.

John O'Shea played well for Ireland in their 0-0 tie with France.

Zdenek Grygera played poorly for the Czech Republic and they lost to Serbia 2-0.

Dalibor Stevanovic played ok for Slovenia in their 2-0 win over Liechtenstein.


Tim Howard had a poor game, and the USA was beat by Costa Rica 2-0.

[Eaglesfan27]

Limited Summary of World Cup Qualifiers:

Europe:

Italy, Germany, Ireland, England, Holland, Spain, Serbia & Mont., Croatia (as the highest second place group finisher), Portugal, and Turkey.


Playoff Teams: Denmark, Slovenia, France, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Bulgaria, and Hungary.



North America:

USA, Jamaica, and Coast Rica. Trinidad & Tobago are a playoff team.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oct. 11, 2013 -

Antonio Ortega had a poor game for Spain and was eventually substituted in their Euro U19 Championship Qualifying match against Iceland.


Lazio have accepted my offer of 20 million for their young wonderkid keeper, Adriano. His agent is requesting 22,000/week plus a 200,000 signing bonus for 3 years. This seems reasonable, and I agree to this request.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oct 12, 2013 -

Matias Cahais played very well for Argentina in their 4-0 win over Peru in the World Cup Qualifying Match. Argentina has a slim chance of making the WC still.

Eric Djemba Djemba had 2 assists for Cameroon in their 3-0 win over Gabon. Cameroon has a chance still to make the WC.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oct 15, 2013 -

Adriano has accepted my offer, but the move is delayed due to a WP hearing. The hearing is scheduled for October 29, 2013. There is no hurry as we can't make the move officially until January 1st, 2014 when the transfer window opens.



Today we host Trabzonspor from the Turkish League in this Champions League Group Match. They have a relatively weak team and should be a relatively easy match for us.


We are 1-2 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the high 40's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Parker
MR: Ortega
SC: McFadden
SC: Smith

S1: Taylor
S2: Godoy
S3: Alfonso
S4: Wood
S5: Salva
S6: Cook
S7: Marchetti

[Eaglesfan27]

23 minute mark: Downing crosses to the near post.. Smith heads it.. wide left.

30 minute mark: They block another shot before it even reachs the keeper. Their defenders are getting in front of our shots.

33 minute mark: Ortega throws it into Parker.. he centers it fo rFletcher in the middle of the box.. Fletcher shoots.. low and to the left corner.. the keeper dives.. partially blocks it.. but it rolls into the net! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

39 minute mark: Ortega crosses it the middle of the box.. Parker shoots.. over the bar.

46 minute mark: Ortega crosses to Smith who heads it to McFadden.. he shoots from 10 yards out.. left side of the box.. shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper blocks it... pounces on the rebound.



Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. We have over 71,000 fans here today.



50 minute mark: Ortega with a corner.. kicks it to the middle of the box.. Ferdinand jumps.. heads it.. into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!!! 2-0!

61 minute mark: Godoy on for McFadden who is very tired, Wood on for Parker, and Alfonso on for Downing.

65 minute mark: Ugur shoots a free kick from 21 yards out.. it deflects off the wall.. into the lower left corner.. GOAL. 2-1 lead.

86 minute mark: Ortega with a great dribble around two defenders.. short cross.. Smith heads it.. the keeper with an excellent save.

90 minute mark: Schmidt throws the ball into Wood at the right edge of the box.. Wood passes it to Godoy in the middle of the 6 yard box.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it.. Godoy shoots the rebound.. right side of the net! GOAL!!!! 3-1. Godoy likes being a backup striker :)



Game over. 3-1 win.

We outshot them 21-4 (13-1 on target)

Ortega wins MoM, 9 for form, 24 of 25 passes, 0 tackles, 4 of 7 headers, 8 runs, 1 foul drawn, and 1 assist.

Fletcher also had a 9 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

October 16, 2013 -

Chelsea's new young uber striker (who has slipped under my radar) Giacomo Santini has suffered a hip injury in training and will miss 2-3 months. This kid had 3 goals in 6 starts.

That reminds me to check on my favorite Chelsea Player, Adu had 2 goals and 7 assists in 13 starts this year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oct 16, 2013 -

Matias Cahais played well for Argentina in their 4-0 win over Ecuador in the WC qualifying Match. That win ensured that Argentina did qualify for the WC. The other definite South American Qualifiers are Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay. Paraguay is in the playoffs.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oct. 20, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Bolton in an EPL Match. They are currently in 15th while we are in 2nd place. Bolton has a good scorer in Filipe Oliveira who has 5 goals to lead the team. However, he has little support. Achille Emana is a quick striker, but he misses the target frequently. Christian Grindheim is a good right winger. Kieran Richardson is an older left winger who is not playing very well this year. David Robinson is playing well in the midfield. Rik Thikssen is having a very good year at centreback to lead the team. Alexandre Negri has had a below average year in goal.

We are 4-7 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the mid 50's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Marchetti
DR: Grygera
ML: Alfonso
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Ortega
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Salva
S3: Cook
S4: Smith
S5: Godoy

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Alfonso steals it at midfield.. passes it long to McFadden.. he catches up to it just before it crosses the endline.. he centers for Ortega.. he shoots.. lower right corner.. great save by the keeper.

4 minute mark: Lucio collides with Olivera. Lucio is hurt bad. I put Salva on for him.

8 minute mark: Brilliant pass down most of the pitch from Ortega to Alfonso.. he centers for McFadden.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. great save by the keeper.

22 minute mark: Weston with a great centering pass.. Grindhelm heads it to Nolan in the center of the box.. Kevin Nolan shoots... upper left corner.. Howard dives.. it is past him. GOAL. Down 1-0.

35 minute mark: Alfonso crosses it long.. Fletcher heads it.. over the bar.

42 minute mark: Alfonso passes to McFadden in the left corner of the pitch.. he draws two defenders over.. centers to Djemba.. good opportunity.. Djemba shoots from 15 yards.. excellent save by the keeper who stops the high shot.


Halftime: Down 1-0. They have over 27,000 fans here today.



King is hurt and is limping noticably. I put Alan Smith on for him.


54 minute mark: Grindhelm shoots from 20 yards out.. Howard blocks it.. Emana gets the rebound.. taps it into the right side of the net. GOAL. down 2-0.

60 minute mark: Ortega has picked up a minor injury, but I decide to put Godoy on for him. I also tell the offense to open it wide up.

62 minute mark: quick series of passes down the pitch from Salva to Djemba to Smith.. to Alfonso just outside the box.. Alfonso dribbles into the box.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! Down 2-1.

64 minute mark: Salva stops an attack.. initiates the counter attack.. long pass to McFadden in the left corner of the pitch.. he crosses to Godoy.. Godoy passes to Alan Smith.. Smith shoots.. the keeper blocks it... Smith gets the rebound.. shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-2!

77 minute mark: Schmidt with a goal saving tackle.

80 minute mark: Djemba steals it at midfield.. passes a perfect through ball into the right side of the box.. Smith gets to it.. shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-2 lead for us!

I tell the guys to resume a more balanced position and not a wide open attack.

84 minute mark: Salva with a key intervention in the box.

86 minute mark: Godoy with a long pass to Alfonso on the left wing.. he passes to Fletcher.. he passes to McFadden in the box.. he shoots.. lower left corner.. great save by the keeper.

88 minute mark: McFadden's pass for Smith sails high over his head.

91 minute mark: Grygera with a key defensive intervention.


Game over. 3-2 win :) I'm disappointed in our play in the first 60 minutes, but I love how the team responded to an ultra aggressive, fast paced attack in the last 30 minutes to score 3 goals and win the game.

We outshot them 15-14 (10-8 on target)

Djemba won MoM, 8 for form, 19 of 22 passes, 6 of 7 tackles, 2 of 4 headers, 2 interceptions, 2 runs, 1 foul drawn, and 1 assist.

Smith also had an 8 for form with his 2 goals.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Lucio damaged his knee and is expected to miss about a week including our upcoming huge match against Chelsea.


Our English U19 Team has had the second qualifying round of the Euro U19 Championship drawn. We are in Group 3 along with Iceland, Israel, and Portugal. Matches will start on May 21, 2014.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oct. 22, 2013 -

Alan Smith was selected to the EPL Team of the Week.


Chelsea Manager Mane stated that he is afraid of the quality of our team and that we might be too good for them, and he is worried how his supporters will feel if Chelsea is knocked out of the League Cup by us.


I decide not to respond to that comment.

[finkenst]

or three if you buy chelsea's adriano. :)
my latest team roster in 2007:

http://moosh.net/%7Etimothy/fm2005/adrianos.jpghttp://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Eaglesfan27]

Hehe. There is actually a good left back Adriano in my universe as well. Probably the same guy. However, given the ubiquitious nature of the name, maybe not ;)

[Eaglesfan27]

October 23, 2013 -

Today we host Chelsea in the 3rd round of the English League Cup. Chelsea is a top quality team that has 11 wins and 1 draw this year. They are 1st in the EPL due to their extraordinary start. They have an extremely talented lineup. However, their best striker, Adriano, is out for this game due to an injury. He leads the team with 12 goals. Instead, they will certainly use Freddy Adu at their main striker position, and he has done very well this year. Joe Cole and Pablo Aimar are a dangerous pair of attacking midfielders. Diego, Rafael van der Vaart, and John Hall are an excellent trio of midfielders. Their defensive line is their weakest link, but it is still solid with Naldo and Vincenzo Guidetti anchoring the line. Petr Cech is on top of his game still at the age of 31 and he is a top flight keeper.


We are 5-4 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the mid 50's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Marchetti
DC: Salva
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Ferdinand
S3: Cook
S4: King
S5: Godoy

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Salva with the initiation of the counter attack.. long pass to Downing.. Downing passes to Schreurs.. Schreurs with an amazing dribble.. around one defender.. between two other defenders.. throws a shoulder fake.. shoots.. into the narrow crease by the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!!! 1-0! Amazing strike!

16 minute mark: Brown gets a yellow card for pulling Joe Cole's jersey.

18 minute mark: John Terry with a nice defensive play on my Adriano to prevent him from dribbling into the box.

20 minute mark: Brown gets called for a trip on Adu in the box.. Penalty shot awarded.. Sneijder steps up.. shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL. 1-1 game. I might have to pull Brown soon if he keeps making bad plays.

24 minute mark: Howard passes long to Rooney.. he shoots.. powerful banana shot from 30 yards.. Cech dives.. catches it.

26 minute mark: Joe Cole passes to Adu in the center of the box.. Adu shoots.. Howard saves it.

41 minute mark: John Terry gets a yellow card for pushing Schreurs.



Halftime: 1-1 tie. We have over 91,000 fans here today.



46 minute mark: Schreurs steals it.. crosses to Rooney in the box.. Rooney tries to fake out Cech.. he backpedals.. Rooney shoots.. Cech blocks it.. Terry clears the rebound.

50 minute mark: Schreurs gets a yellow card for tripping Joe Cole.

53 minute mark: Marchetti starts the counter attack.. long pass to Adriano.. he heads it to Rooney.. the keeper is out.. Rooney chips it.. over the keeper.. it floats just under the bar into the right side of the net! GOAL!!!!! 2-1! Rooney is thrilled with that goal.

59 minute mark: Adu passes to Joe Cole in the left side of the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. Howard dives.. catches it! Great save!

62 minute mark: Godoy on for Schreurs and Cook on for Djemba.

80 minute mark: Adu passes to Rafael van der Vaart in the left side of the box.. strong shot.. lower left corner.. Howard dives.. blocks it wide.

86 minute mark: Brown with a key tackle on Adu in the box.

88 minute mark: Rooney gets a yellow card for a trip on Naldo.

90 minute mark: Schmidt passes it long to Fletcher.. he passes it to Rooney who is 30 yards out.. left of the goal.. Rooney shoots a blistering banana shot.. curving.. Cech dives.. it is past him into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!!! 3-1!



Game over. 3-1 win :)

We each had 13 shots (we had 9 on target, they had 6)

Rooney wins MoM, 10 for form, 13 of 15 passes, 0 of 2 tackles, 2 of 14 headers, 1 interception, 9 runs, 2 fouls drawn, and 2 spectacular goals.

Downing had a 9 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

October 25, 2013 -

Michael Schmidt injured his neck in training and will miss about a week :(

The 4th round of the English League Cup was drawn and we will be hosting Manchester City in the next round. We could have gotten some weak teams like Stoke or Burnley that are still alive, but overall I'm happy with this draw.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oct. 26, 2013 -

Today we host Everton in an EPL match. We are 2nd in the EPL while Everton is currently in 11th. However, their team is reportedly about to revolt against manager Micky Adams and most of the team is reportedly very unhappy. Top scorer Nathan Ellington is out injured. Top midfielder Tim Cahill and Anthony Taylor are out with injuries. Centreback Scott Laird is also out injured. Sean Brady is a top notch young centreback who is very good. Right winger, Cristian Zaccardo, is a very good player. Akin Serhat, my former striker, will likely be a key player for them today. Ceiran Hutcheson is having a good year in goal and has been a key factor in their midtable positioning.


We are 4-7 favorites.

It's overcast with temperatures in the high 40's.



GK: Howard
DL: O'Shea
DC: Cahais
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera
ML: Alfonso
MC: Wood
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Marchetti
S3: Parker
S4: Godoy
S5: Ortega

[Eaglesfan27]

4 minute mark: O'Shea with a long pass to Alfonso.. Alfonso with a very quick cross to Schreurs.. Schreurs is just outside the box.. he shoots.. strong curving shot.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0! Schreurs with an excellent strike. He is a much better scorer than Eagles.

28 minute mark: Cook with a pass to King in the right corner of the pitch.. he crosses it long to Alfonso.. he heads it.. the keeper tips it over the bar.

34 minute mark: Cahais passes down the left sideline.. Alfonso gets to it.. he crosses long to Schreurs.. Schreurs dribbles into the right side of the box.. Schreurs with a quick short cross to McFadden.. McFadden in the left side of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!!! 2-0.

37 minute mark: Cook passes to McFadden just left of the box.. McFadden passes between two defenders... Alfonso has it in the 6 yard box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0.



Halftime: 3-0 lead. We have over 79,000 fans here today.



64 minute mark: Ortega on for Schreurs, Godoy on for King, and Parker on for Wood.

74 minute mark: Ortega dribbles past two defenders.. he passes to Godoy in the right side of the box.. Godoy fakes out a defender.. passes the ball around another defender.. to McFadden on the left side of the box.. McFadden shoots.. lower left corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-0! That is McFadden's 2nd of the game and 5th of the year.


Game over. 4-0 win.

We outshot them 14-2 (6-1 on target)

Alfonso won MoM, 10 for form, 37 of 41 passes, 0 tackles, 8 of 12 headers, 1 interception, 8 runs, 1 foul drawn, 1 assist, and 1 goal.

Schreurs had a 9 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oct. 28, 2013 -

Grygera, O'Shea, and Alfonso were all selected to the EPL Team of the Week.


Oct. 29, 2013 -

Adriano's initial work permit application was turned down. I have appealed the decision.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oct. 30, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Trabzonspor in a CL match. They are a relatively weak team that we should beat easily. Their top player is striker Sezer Ozturk who has 5 goals in 11 starts.


We are 4-7 favorites.

It's cloudy with temperatures in the mid 30's today.


GK: Howard
DL: Ferdinand (O'Shea is ineligible)
DC: Marchetti
DC: Salva
DR: Brown
ML: Alfonso
MC: Wood
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Grygera
S3: Parker
S4: Godoy
S5: Cahais
S6: Ortega
S7: Rooney

[Eaglesfan27]

15 minute mark: Long pass from Ferdinand to King at the edge of the box.. King shoots.. lower left corner.. Good save by the keeper.

18 minute mark: Cook shoots from 25 yards out.. the keeper parries it.. King gets the rebound.. shoots.. upper right corner! GOAL!!!! 1-0. That is King's 5th goal of the year.


Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. They have about 21,000 fans here today.



49 minute mark: Volkan passes to Ali Yusef in the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL. 1-1 tie.

71 minute mark: Salva with a long pass to Schreurs.. he catches up to it.. right of the box.. quick pass to King in the middle of the box.. King shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper had no chance.. GOAL!!!! 2-1.

Godoy on for McFadden who is tired, Ortega on for Alfonso who is slightly hurt, and Parker on for Wood.

83 minute mark: Salva with a series of very good defensive plays.

89 minute mark: Yusef gets the ball in the box.. hard shot.. lower left corner.. Howard dives.. blocks it.


Game over. 2-1 win for us.

We outshot us 15-12 (10-5 on target)

King won MoM, 9 for form, 17 of 19 passes, 1 of 3 tackles, 1 of 9 headers, 2 interceptions, 3 runs, 3 fouls drawn, and 2 goals.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Alfonso stubbed his toe and is expected to miss about 5 days.

That win assured that we qualify for the 1st Knockout round of the CL.

[Eaglesfan27]

Nov. 1, 2013 -

The board is very pleased with my performance as manager.


Arsenal's Salomon Kalou has won the EPL Player of the Month. Hatem Ben Arfa of Liverpool came in 2nd, and Thomas Hassing Skjaerbaek of Sunderland came in 3rd.


Leicester's Herve Remy has won the EPL Young Player of the Month. Sean Brady of Everton came in 2nd, and Antonio Ortega came in 3rd.


Sunderland's Martin Jol has won EPL Manager of the Month. Victor Munoz of Arsenal came in 2nd, and Mane of Chelsea came in 3rd.


Jeroen Schreurs' goal against Everton won goal of the month.

[Eaglesfan27]

Nov. 2, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Aston Villa in an EPL game. They are in 8th place while we are in 2nd place. Aston Villa is suffering due to Luke Moore's injury. Jhon Jairo Mosquera is doing well as his replacement with 8 goals in 13 games. Mourad Meghni is the 2nd leading scorer with 3 goals. Jermaine Jenas is still a very good midfielder who has an all-around game. Stephane Dalmat is also playing well in the midfield. Dion Dickhoff has become a good centreback. Leo Franco is a keeper who can be dominating at times.


We are 4-5 favorites.


It's sunny with temperatures in the low 40's.


GK: Howard
DL: O'Shea
DC: Lucio
DC: Salva
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Ferdinand
S3: Godoy
S4: Ortega
S5: Marchetti

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Rooney gets a yellow card for a trip on Dalmat.

4 minute mark: Dalmat gets a yellow card for a trip on Fletcher.

13 minute mark: Schreurs steals it at midfield.. passes it to Rooney in the left side of the box.. he shoots.. over the bar.

20 minute mark: Rooney dribbles down the left side of the pitch.. he crosses it long to Schreurs.. the keeper comes over to Schreurs.. he passes it over the keeper to a wide open Downing.. Downing heads it in for the goal! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

33 minute mark: Meghni gets a yellow card for pushing Rooney.


Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. They have 42,000 fans here today.


54 minute mark: Jenas gets a yellow card for pulling Djemba's jersey.

66 minute mark: Ortega on for Schreurs and Godoy on for Rooney.

90 minute mark: Downing dribbles down the left sideline.. long cross to Ortega.. he passes it into the right side of the box... Adriano shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.


Game over. 2-0 win.

We outshot them 14-11 (6-4 on target)

Downing won MoM, 10 for form, 31 of 34 passes, 4 of 5 tackles, 5 of 6 headers, 17 runs, and 1 goal.

Djemba had a 9 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Nov 3, 2013 -

YES YES YES!!!! Lazio's Adriano has been granted a conditional work permit to come to Manchester United! I need to decide which young keeper I'm going to move, Harper or Taylor?


Adriano will arrive on January 1st, 2014. According to my scouts, the wonderkid keeper looks good enough to start against some weaker teams immediately.

[Eaglesfan27]

Nov. 5, 2013 -

Downing, Djemba, and Fletcher were all named to the EPL Team of the Week.


Today we host Manchester City in the 4th round of the English League Cup. They are 5th in the EPL and they have a determined team. Striker Benjamin Lauth is having a career year with 10 goals in 14 starts. David Miller is providing solid support as a third striker with 5 goals, and Robert Earnshaw has 5 goals as the second striker. Damien Delaney is the anchor of a good defensive line. Libis Andres Arenas is playing very well in goal for this team. Rob Davis is playing the midfield well.


We are 4-6 favorites.

It's snowing! Holy cow. This will be one of my first sleet/snow games ever! It's in the low 20's today.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Marchetti
DC: Salva
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Rooney (will only play if we get into a deficit)
S3: Cook
S4: Godoy
S5: Lucio

[Eaglesfan27]

11 minute mark: Downing tripped Davies.. yellow card for Downing.

14 minute mark: Djemba gets a yellow card for a handball.

17 minute mark: Long pass from Djemba to King in the right corner of the pitch.. he crosses to the center of the box.. Fletcher shoots.. the keeper blocks it.

23 minute mark: Davies bodychecks Downing.. yellow card for Davies.. Downing is hurt nad has to leave the game! I've used Cook on the left wing in some England U21 games with spectacular results.. I decide to try him there now.

26 minute mark: Djemba pushes Davies.. whistle.. Schreurs argues the call.. yellow card for Schreurs.

31 minute mark: Djemba pushes Davies.. I let out a sigh of relief as he only gets a warning.. I'm pulling Djemba very soon.

36 minute mark: I slide Cook into the middle of the pitch, and put Godoy in at left wing removing Djemba.

44 minute mark: Dave Piper gets a yellow card for tripping Schreurs.


Halftime: 0-0 tie. We have over 91,000 fans here today.



48 minute mark: Grygera passes it down the right sideline.. Schreurs gets to it.. he crosses it short to King in the right side of the box.. King shoots.. the narrow angle.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

52 minute mark: Godoy dribbles down the left sideline.. past a defender.. crosses to Cook outside the box.. Cook curves it.. upper left corner.. the keeper dives.. tips it.. still into the net! GOAL!!!!! 2-0.

58 minute mark: Godoy takes it down the left sideline.. crosses long to Schreurs.. Schreurs with the short cross.. King by the near post.. he and the keeper jump for it.. he outjumps the keeper.. heads it.. into the upper right corner! GOAL!!!! 3-0.

73 minute mark: Salva and Marchetti are dominating their strikers.


Game over. 3-0 win :)

We outshot them 11-7 (6-5 on target)

Schreurs won MoM, 9 for form, 10 of 14 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 0 of 2 headers, 2 runs, and 2 assists.

Howard also had a 9 for form. King had an 8 for form with his 2 goals.


OOC: Darn, I'm on call and just was paged again. Hope to play some more later.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post match info:

Downing strained his knee and is expected to miss about 5 days. Fortunately, we don't have a game for at least a week (and that game may get postponed due to many international callups.)

[Eaglesfan27]

Nov. 9, 2013 -

International Round-up:

Salva played very well in Italy's 2-0 win ver Serbia in a friendly match.


Dalibor Stevanovic played very well with an assist and a goal for Slovenia in their 3-1 win over Bulgaria in a World Cup Qualifying match. If I'm correct, that win should advance Slovenia into the WC!


Mickael Schmidt had an assist for France in their 2-0 win over Switzerland in their WC Qualifying Playoff match.


Tim Howard played very well in the USA's 0-0 tie in a friendly match.

[Eaglesfan27]

November 13, 2013 -

Our EPL Match for today was postponed due to international call-ups. It will now be played January 8, 2014.

Now, I'm going to review my scouts 6 month report on who is progressing and regressing (again thanks to Frogman for his stat tracker)

[Eaglesfan27]

My scouts have listed the following players as the 5 most improved players:

1. Paul Kelly - He has had astonishing development according to our scouts. He has developed into a very good technical player. However, he still doesn't have the most important attributes for what I want in my midfielders. He isn't a top notch passer yet, nor does he have good teamwork.

2. Antonio Ortega - This right winger continues to develop at an excellent rate. It is hard to believe he is only 19. He has become a premier passer. He has excellent first touch, he is becoming a top notch dribbler, and he has BLAZING speed and acceleration. He could take over for Schreurs in a year. At the very least, he is a great rotation player now.

3. Bob Wright - He is developing nicely, albeit late in his career. He is becoming a good shooter. He has excellent physical skills, and his mental attributes are developing nicely. He might become a rotation player soon.

4. Mark Lambert - This young kid is developing nicely, but he is far from being a first team player.

5. Andy Ford - This young striker is continuing to develop technically on our reserve squad. However, his lack of footspeed means that he is unlikely to ever be a good player in the EPL.


5 most regressed players (over last 6 months):

1. Lucio - This centreback is finally starting to show his age. He is losing his footspeed, his acceleration, and his technical abilities. He is still good enough to start some this year, but this could be his last year.

2. Dalibor Stevanovic - He is starting to show signs of decline. Of course, I'm not using him much. He really is a very good passer and good defensive midfielder and I should use him some.

3. Damien Duff - He continues to lose physical abilities, and is now a shell of himself.

4. Cristian Chivu - This serious injury and the resulting time off has caused him to lose most of his speed, balance, acceleration. He also is starting to lose technical ability.

5. Eric Djemba Djemba - Djemba is starting to show decreased technical ability, decreased physical ability, and he may not be a top notch midfielder much longer.


Interestingly, they see no decline in Howard, but they see a slight decline in Rooney from the end of last year.

[Eaglesfan27]

November 15, 2013 -

Today we have the England U21 Championship Qualifying Playoff first leg against France. France is using a 3-3-2-1-1 with 8 guys back in the defensive zone.

GK: Craig James
DL: Paul Anderson
DC: Robert Morris
DC: Jamie Adams
DR: Martin Scott
ML: Jack Lee
MC: Michael Wood
MC: Paul Bennett
MR: Lee Roberts
SC: Tony Vaughn
SC: Mark Tucker

S1: Gary Baker
S2: Richard James
S3: John Hall
S4: Rob Morgan
S5: Craig Knight
S6: Jamie Cook
S7: James Gordon

[Eaglesfan27]

16 minute mark: Girard steals it from our defender.. shoots.. barely wide left.


25 minute mark: Wood passes to Tucker in the right side of the box.. Tucker shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!! 1-0.


Halftime: 1-0 lead. Lee Roberts is tired. I put Jamie Cook in for him.


58 minute mark: Cook dribbles down the right sideline.. past a defender.. crosses it to the near post.. Wood with a diving header.. into the upper right corner! GOAL!!!! 2-0.

72 minute mark: Lee crosses it from the left wing.. to Cook just outside the box.. Cook shoots.. powerful curving shot.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0.


Game over. 3-0 win.

We each had 6 shots, we each had 3 shots on target.

Michael Wood won MoM, 9 for form, 24 of 29 passes, 6 of 9 tackles, 2 of 5 headers, 4 interceptions, 1 run, 1 assist, and 1 goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

Nov. 16, 2013 -

Today we host Manchester City in an EPL match. We are currently 1st in the EPL while they are in 5th. Their top players are the same as our last game.


We are 4-6 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the high 40's.


GK: Howard
DL: Ferdinand
DC: Lucio
DC: Marchetti
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Godoy
MR: Ortega
SC: Rooney
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Parker
S3: Alfonso
S4: Smith
S5: Cahais

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Downing throws it to King in the left side of the box.. King with a spin move.. completely fakes out the defender.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0. Very athletic goal.

6 minute mark: Lucio gets a yellow card for tripping Davies. I hate Davies.

32 minute mark: Downing dribbles past two defenders.. into the box.. he passes to Godoy who is just inside the box.. Godoy shoots.. from 18 yards out.. upper right corner.. Great strike from Godoy.. GOAL!!!! 2-0. Go Godoy!



Halftime: 2-0 lead for us. We have over 91,000 fans here today.



57 minute mark: Delaney gets a yellow card for tripping King.

62 minute mark: Alfonso on for Downing, and Parker on for Djemba.


Game over. 2-0 win for us :)

We outshot them 8-1 (5-1 on target)

Andrew Davies won MoM, 8 for form, 22 of 33 passes, 10 of 15 tackles, 5 of 5 headers, 2 interceptions, 2 fouls drawn.

[Eaglesfan27]

November 19, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Club Brugge in an CL Group Match that is essentially meaningless for us. Club Brugge is a decent team with Rafael anchoring the defense. Dinei is a very good striker who leads the team with 11 goals. Thomas Buffel is a good midfielder. Peter Mollez is a decent keeper who can be tough at times.

We are 4-5 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the high 30's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio (Salva is off playing in Italy)
DC: Marchetti
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Cahais
S3: Alfonso
S4: Smith
S5: Brown
S6: Godoy
S7: Ortega


We have the England U21 Match at the same time, and I will be delegating that to my AM since I can't be in 2 places at once.

[Eaglesfan27]

29 minute mark: Hward with a long kick to McFadden just outside the box.. McFadden settles it.. dribbles between two defenders.. shoots.. lower left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

38 minute mark: Fletcher passes to King in the right side of the box.. he crosses it quickly to McFadden.. he heads it.. wide of the net.


Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. They have about 30,000 fans here today.



46 minute mark: Grygera passes to Djemba about 25 yards out.. Djemba has an open shot.. shoots from 25 yards.. blistering banana shot.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0!

51 minute mark: Alfonso on for Downing and Smith on for King.

75 minute mark: Ortega on for Schreurs.

79 minute mark: Ortega takes a corner kick.. to the middle of the box.. Alfonso outjumps his man.. heads it.. towards the upper left corner.. the keeper dives.. it's past him! GOAL!!!! 3-0! That is Alfonso's 5th goal of the year.

89 minute mark: Howard stops a flurry of shots.



Game over. 3-0 win :)

We outshot them 16-7 (10-3 on target)

James McFadden wins MoM, 9 for form, 20 of 22 passes, 0 of 1 tackles, 3 of 8 headers, 8 runs, and 1 goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post match info:

I've been informed the England U21 Team beat France 1-0 without me to win 4-0 on aggregate. Jack Lee scored the only goal on a penalty shot at the 33 minute mark.


James McFadden injured his neck and will miss about 5 days.

[Galaxy]

Great to hear the continue success. Will you consider leaving ManU if you keep winning, and get a new challenge?
I just completed my second season, after getting promoted from Conference regional divisions in year one. We finished four, and got the second promotion spot to the 2nd division. I got a feeling the jump will be great in talent level then the last promotion. Guessing a "good" player will be rated a "12" in this level? How long do you have wait before you start getting interest from other clubs for your services? Two promotions, when we were predicited to battle regulation both years, should get teams interested. Team USA will fare badly in the WC 2006 I believe, drawing Brazil and Spain in its group. Freddy Abu will likely cross the pond to Europe this year as his contract is nearing expiration (and is refusing new deals with DC), and will turn 18. Should be interesting.

[Eaglesfan27]

Great to hear the continue success. Will you consider leaving ManU if you keep winning, and get a new challenge?
I just completed my second season, after getting promoted from Conference regional divisions in year one. We finished four, and got the second promotion spot to the 2nd division. I got a feeling the jump will be great in talent level then the last promotion. Guessing a "good" player will be rated a "12" in this level? How long do you have wait before you start getting interest from other clubs for your services? Two promotions, when we were predicited to battle regulation both years, should get teams interested. Team USA will fare badly in the WC 2006 I believe, drawing Brazil and Spain in its group. Freddy Abu will likely cross the pond to Europe this year as his contract is nearing expiration (and is refusing new deals with DC), and will turn 18. Should be interesting.

Part of me wants to leave to try to work my way up, however, the much larger part of me wants to stay and see how the two Adrianos develop. I really want to see how I transition over the next few years as all of my older stars retire. So, overall I expect to stay at Manchester United until I either get fired or until the next version of the game is highly stable. Hopefully, people don't get too bored of reading of my continued exploits at Manchester United.

[Eaglesfan27]

Forgot to answer your other questions. Yes, a 12 is good in League Two in my opinion, particularly if it is in key attributes for the position.

I think I started getting attention from other clubs when I entered League Two, but it was mostly interest from clubs in League One.

Your international scene sounds interesting. Keep me updated.

[Eaglesfan27]

Nov. 23, 2013 -

Cardiff (14th in EC) have asked to borrow Paul Kelly. Since I'm not utilizing him, I agree to let him go on loan.

Dortmund have sacked Seppo Eichkorn.

Barcelona has sacked Joan Laporta and there are rumors that Rafa Benitez will be hired to take over the team. Jose Mourinho is also being listed as a favorite.

[Eaglesfan27]

Nov 24, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Chelsea in a big EPL Match. Chelsea is in 2nd place 4 points behind us, so they can't catch us even if we lose this game, but I'd love to win this game and make the margin between us even bigger. Chelsea has been suffering with an injury to Adriano and he is out for this game. Wesley Sneijder is also out for this game. Also, Giacomo Santini and Vincenzo Guidetti are both injured and out for this game. They will be relying on Freddy Adu at striker, Diego and Arjen Robben at the attacking midfield spots, Joe Cole, Rafael van der Vaart, Sanli Tuncay at the midfield, and John Terry and Naldo will anchor the defensive line. Petr Cech will be in goal.


We are 5-4 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the high 30's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Salva
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Brown
S3: Alfonso
S4: King
S5: Ortega

[Eaglesfan27]

5 minute mark: Schreurs burns two men.. dribbles down the right sideline.. to the corner of the pitch.. crosses it.. nice curve.. to the near post.. Adriano with a diving header.. upper right corner... GOAL!!!! 1-0.

12 minute mark: Howard stops a 20 yard shot from Adu.

22 minute mark: Van der Vaart passes to Adu in the box.. Howard stops the shot.

23 minute mark: Howard stops a flurry of shots.

30 minute mark: Howard stops a long range shot from Aimar.


Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. They have over 42,000 fans here today.



61 minute mark: Schmidt has picked up a minor injury, so I put Brown in for him.

I also put Ortega in for Schreurs.


78 minute mark: Adu collides with Salva.. Salva is hurt and has to come off. I now have a problem. I have to put a non-defender in a defensive spot. I move Djemba to left back and slide Brown to centreback. I put on Alfonso in at the midfield spot.

80 minute mark: Howard stops a long range shot from Diego.

85 minute mark: Lucio with a series of excellent defensive plays on Adu.

87 minute mark: Fletcher passes to Rooney in the right side of the box.. Rooney shoots from 15 yards out.. upper left corner.... Cech tips it over the bar.



Game over. 1-0 win!! :)

We were outshot 19-9 (9-8 on target)

Howard wins MoM, 9 for form, with his 9 saves.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Salva strained his ankle, and he will only miss about 5 days.

We are now in 1st place by 7 points :)



Nov. 25, 2013 -

Howard and Grygera were selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

Kelly accepted going to Cardiff on loan.

[Eaglesfan27]

November 27, 2013 -

Barcelona have hired Victor Munoz away from Arsenal. Arsenal will now be looking for a new manager.



Today we host Blackburn in the Quarter Final of the English League Cup. Blackburn is 12th in the EPL while we are in 1st. Blackburn is led by striker Paul Gallagher who has 6 goals. Jonathan Stead has 4 goals as well. Brett Emerton is a good right winger. Morten Gamst Pedersen is playing well at left wing. Antonio and Marvin Elliott anchor the defense. Samir Handanovic is a good keeper.


We are 4-7 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the high 30's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Marchetti
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Parker
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Stevanovic (risky, considering I've rarely used him)
S3: Alfonso
S4: Godoy
S5: Ortega

[Eaglesfan27]

5 minute mark: Brown passes to King in the right side of the box.. King shoots from 20 yards out.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

23 minute mark: Schreurs passes to Cook outside the box.. Cook shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper blocks it.. Downing gets the rebound.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

33 minute mark: Parker gets a yellow card for a trip on Stead.

41 minute mark: Downing dribbles into the left side of the box.. he passes it to Rooney in the center of the box.. Rooney shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives.. blocks it.



Halftime: 2-0 lead for us. We have over 83,000 fans here today.


48 minute mark: Cook gets a yellow card for a trip on Adam. Cook has a minor injury and he is limping a bit, I'm going to pull him now. I put Stevanovic on for him.

58 minute mark: Downing dribbles down the left sideline.. crosses to Rooney in the center of the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives.. blocks it.. King gets the rebound.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0! That is King's second goal of the game.

61 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in the left side of the box.. Rooney with a sharply angled shot.. curves.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-0.

63 minute mark: Alfonso on for Parker who has a yellow card, and Ortega on for Schreurs who is tired.

70 minute mark: Rooney gets the ball.. dribbles down the right sideline.. crosses to King outside the box.. King shoots from 25 yards out.. it hits off a defender.. into the right side of the box.. the keeper dives.. it's past him! GOAL!!!! 5-0! King has his hattrick.


Game over. 5-0 win :)

We outshot them 12-6 (10-1 on target)

King wins MoM, 10 for form, 11 of 13 passes, 0 tackles, 0 of 9 headers, 1 intercetion, 5 runs, and 3 goals.

Rooney also had a 10 for form for his 2 assists and 1 goal.

Downing had a 9 for form.

[daedalus]

Nice win against Chelsea. That margin for error is nice. :)

I would like to see you stay at United. It will be interesting to see the transition to "your" own team. With the exception of Shrek, I think we are most of the way there already with much of the vanguards in the back getting to that "moving on" stage and their replacement mostly in the folds.

Oh, and I still enjoy reading. :D

[gi]

First Frog's and now yours. Finally read the entire dynasty and I'm all caught up. Looking forward to reading about continued success at Man U!

[Eaglesfan27]

Glad to hear that people are still enjoying reading about my work at Manchester United. I'm still greatly enjoying managing there, and I'm really looking forward to making the transition to essentially a new team except for Rooney who has a few more years in him. Most of the defenders are getting old except for the few new guys I've brought in, and I need to find one or two good right backs among other positions. If I don't, I'll have to transition to a 3-5-2. In any case, I think it will be interesting in future seasons. Sometimes, I feel like my writing is becoming stagnant. Mrs. Eaglesfan is home from work tonight, but I'm off for a 4 day weekend!!!! I have to study for my oral boards at least 8 hours each day, but that leaves plenty of time for FM ;)

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Downing has picked up an automatic one match ban for 5 yellow cards.


Nov 28, 2013 -

Newcastle has fired Steve Bruce. Gary Megson and Ernie Tippett are the leading candidates to be hired for the job.

[Eaglesfan27]

November 30, 2013 -

We had the least favorable draw for the English League Cup Semi-final. We will be traveling to play Liverpool. Fulham (EPL) and the Wolves (EC) will be playing in the other semi-final.



Today we host Sunderland in an EPL Match. We are in 1st while they are in 9th place. Their most talented player, midfielder Thomas Hassing Skjaerbaek is out injured for this game. Their leading scorer Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is also out injured. Finally, their top keeper, Luca Brunoni is injured. They will be relying on Chris Gibson in goal. He is a 20 year old with potential, but he is rather raw and should be easy to beat. Marco Streller is a decent striker but nothing special. Mathieu Flamini is just an average midfielder. Julio Arca is the best defender and he is a good left back.


We are 4-7 favorites.

It's raining, windy and temperatures are in the 40's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Marchetti
DC: Lucio
DR: Grygera
ML: Alfonso
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Cahais
S3: Wood
S4: Cook
S5: Godoy

[Eaglesfan27]

OOC Note: I just realized my weekend is actually a 5 day weekend!!! I forgot Monday was Memorial Day :)


12 minute mark: Matt Grant tripped Alfonso in the box.. penalty awarded.. Grygera steps up... shoots.. upper left corner! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

17 minute mark: Schmidt throws it in from the left sideline.. Adriano heads it to Lucio just outside the box.. Lucio passes it to Schreurs just inside the right half of the box.. he shoots.. curving power shot.. upper right corner.. the young keeper dives.. it is past him! GOAL!!!! 2-0.

21 minute mark: Alfonso passes to Rooney left of the box.. Rooney dribbles between two defenders.. draws another defender over.. passes to his right.. Schreurs is open in the center of the box.. he shoots from 10 yards.. upper right corner.. it's past the keeper before he can even react! GOAL!!!! 3-0. That is Schreurs' 5th goal of the year.

42 minute mark: Alfonso crosses to Rooney.. he heads it.. into .. offside called, negating a goal.

44 minute mark: Schreurs passes into the box.. a defender heads it away.. Djemba gets it.. passes it into the box.. Adriano shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-0.


Halftime: 4-0 lead. We have over 74,000 fans here today.
I put Godoy on for Rooney, resting him as he played a long game just 3 days ago.


52 minute mark: Lucio intercepts a keeper kick at midfield.. heads it towards the box.. it rolls into the box.. Godoy outraces two defenders to the ball.. dribbles around the keeper.. shoots.. lower left corner.. GOAL!!!! 5-0.

64 minute mark: Wood on for Fletcher and Cahais on for Lucio.

79 minute mark: Alfonso passes to Godoy in the left edge of the box.. Godoy crosses it towards the far post.. Adriano heads it.. good save by the keeper.

90 minute mark: Godoy takes the corner.. Gibson punches the ball clear of Adriano.. it sails to Cahais in the middle of the box.. he heads it.. into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 6-0! That is Cahais' first goal ever for us!

Game over. 6-0 win :)

We outshot them 19-2 (14-1 on target)

Alfonso wins MoM, 10 for form, 23 of 26 passes, 8 key passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 10 of 11 headers, 13 runs, 3 fouls drawn, and 1 assist.

Schreurs had a 9 for form with his 2 goals. Adriano had a 9 for form with his 1 goal.
Every other starter had an 8 and Godoy also had an 8.

[Eaglesfan27]

December 1, 2013 -

The board is delighted with my performance as manager.



Stewart Downing has won the EPL Player of the Month. Adriano came in 2nd. Wayne Rooney came in 3rd! I think this is the first time my guys have ever swept this award!



Aston Villa's Ville-pekka Luukkonen has won the EPL Young Player of the Month. Antonio Ortega came in 2nd, and Paul Anderson of Aston Villa came in 3rd.



I won Manager of the Month. Tony Colbert of Liverool came in 2nd, and Steve Coppell of Fulham came in 3rd.




Grygera, Schreurs, and Alfonso were all selected to the EPL Team of the Week.


We will be traveling to play Sunderland in the 3rd round of the English FA Cup.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dec. 4, 2013 -

Tottenham's Jesus is complaining that he isn't the starting Keeper, and he is demanding to be traded if he isn't going to be starting.


Today we host Lazio in an essentially meaningless CL group match. We have both qualified for the next round of the Champions League. Lazio's leading scorer is striker, Benjamin. Adriano has been their top centreback. Christian Daniel Ledesma is a very good midfielder who is a creative spark in the midfield. Espen Johnsen is a good keeper.


We are 4-5 favorites.

It's raining, windy, and temperatures are in the 50's.


GK: Taylor (I'm going to give him a start in this meaningless game.)
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Alfonso
MC: Parker
MC: Cook
MR: Ortega
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Howard
S2: Cahais
S3: Salva
S4: Smith
S5: Wood
S6: Godoy
S7: Adriano

[robbgmaier]

what are you still doing up.....? what am I still doing up?

[Eaglesfan27]

5 minute mark: Ortega beats two defenders down the right sideline.. crosses to Cook outside the middle of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. a defender gets in front of it and saves a very likely goal.

19 minute mark: Ortega gets a yellow card for pushing Pengini.

21 minute mark: Parker gets a yellow card for tripping Lazzari.

24 minute mark: Cook steals it at midfield.. passes it long into the box.. King gets it.. shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper dives.. misses it.. GOAL!!!! 1-0!

35 minute mark: McFadden gets a yellow card for tripping Wolf.

39 minute mark: Cook gets a yellow card for pushing Crimi.

44 minute mark: My midfielders pass it back and forth probing the defense.. Parker passes to Alfonso left of the box.. Alfonso crosses it into the box.. Parker with a diving header.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0! Parker's first goal of the year.



Halftime: 2-0 lead.


61 minute mark: Smith on for McFadden and Wood on for Cook.

73 minute mark: Smith collided with Lombardi.. Smith is hurt and has to be carried off the pitch. I put Godoy on for Smith.

77 minute mark: Taylor stops a pair of long range shots.

83 minute mark: Taylor stops a long range shot from Crimi.



Game over. 2-0 win.

We outshot them 14-6 (9-3 on target)


Alfonso won MoM, 9 for form, 28 of 33 passes, 0 tackles, 8 of 9 headers, 11 runs, 2 fouls drawn, and 1 assist.


Ortega also had a 9 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

what are you still doing up.....? what am I still doing up?
I'm off tomorrow :)

However, actually I am becoming very tired so I'm about to save and go to bed.

[daedalus]

It's time to bring Jesus in to mentor young Adriano!!! :D

[Eaglesfan27]

It's time to bring Jesus in to mentor young Adriano!!! :D
If Howard wasn't on top of his game that might not be a bad idea. Then again, my scouts view Jesus and Chris Taylor as comparable players ;)

[Eaglesfan27]

Dec 7, 2013 -

England have been drawn in Group 10 of the European Championship Qualifying along with Greece, Austria, and Cyprus. We will start matches for this torunament in September of 2014.


Our U21 Team is in the same group against the same teams in the European U21 Championship Qualifying Match.



Today we travel to play Tottenham in an EPL Match. We are in 1st while Tottenham is in 8th. Jesus hasn't been starting in goal, instead they have been starting Paul Robinson who is a veteran highly skilled keeper. Ledley King and Kevin Hofland are an outstanding pair of centrebacks and they lead the tough defense which is responsible for most of the wins. This team hasn't scored many goals, but the defense keeps them winning. Daniel Omoya Braaten is the leading scorer with 7 goals and Carlton Cole has chipped in 6 goals.


We are 4-6 favorites.

It's raining, windy, and temperatures are in the 30's.



GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Marchetti
DC: Salva
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: King
S3: Ortega
S4: Godoy
S5: Cahais

[Eaglesfan27]

8 minute mark: Grygera with a long pass down the right sideline.. Schreurs catches up to it.. he crosses it short to Adriano in the right half of the box.. he blasts a shot.. into the crossbar... Ledley King clears the rebound.

30 minute mark: Djemba passes it into the box.. Adriano outraces the defenders.. gets to it.. shoots.. WAY over the bar.

40 minute mark: Ledley King is doing a very good job of guarding Rooney.



Halftime: 0-0 tie. They have over 36,000 fans here today.



46 minute mark: Djemba passes between two defenders into the right half of the box.. Adriano has it.. shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper with a nice save.

55 minute mark: Howard witha brilliant save of a point blank shot from Cani.

61 minute mark: King on for Adriano who is tired and not having a good game. Ortega on for Schreurs who is just tired. I'm going to take a chance and open up the offense. I don't want to settle for a tie. I'll likely either win or lose this one.

66 minute mark: Downing with a long pass to the right side of the box.. Ortega gets to it.. shoots.. the keeper blocks it.. King gets the rebound.. shoots into the open left side of the net! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

68 minute mark: Downing with another long pass from midfield.. brilliant powerful pass.. Ortega gets it at the right corner of the box.. blasts a shot.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!!! 2-0! Ortega with a great strike.

I go back to more of a neutral stance with good defense, and a slower pace.

87 minute mark: Ortega with a perfect pass from deep in our own zone to halfway into the opponent's zone.. right to Rooney's feet.. he fakes out one defender.. dribbles past another defender.. Rooney gives a shoulder shake to the keeper.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0. Rooney's 15th goal of the year.



Game over. 3-0 win for us.

We outshot them 18-13 (8-5 on target)

Rooney wins MoM, 10 for form, 25 of 28 passes, 3 key passes, 0 tackles, 2 of 12 headers, 1 interception, 14 runs, 2 fouls drawn, and 1 goal.

Downing and Fletcher also had 10's for form. Ortega had a 9 for form. I can't believe Ortega is only 19.

Fletcher has played very well lately, and I'm going to praise him to the media.

[Eaglesfan27]

December 8, 2013 -

Wow. I didn't even know this could happen....

The Metro Stars are in the Club World Championship! They beat Julius Berger 2-0 in the first round.



Grygera, Fletcher, and Djemba were all selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

[Eaglesfan27]

December 9, 2013 -

Double Wow! I found out that Manchester United will be playing the Metro Stars in the Club World Championship Semi-Final! I didn't know we were even in this tournament!

[Eaglesfan27]

Dec. 12, 2013 -

Today we play the MetroStars in the Semi Final of the Club World Championship. The MetroStars are a relatively weak team with Madinho and Jonathan Cummins as their two leading scorers. Peter Woods is a good right fullback, and Tim Smith is an adequate keeper, but shouldn't be hard to score against. Jeff Simpson is a decent centreback.


We are 2-5 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the mid 30's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Salva
DC: Lucio
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Wood
S3: Godoy
S4: Cook
S5: Cahais
S6: Alfonso
S7: Ortega

[Eaglesfan27]

6 minute mark: Lucio gets a yellow card for a trip on Cummins.

11 minute mark: Schmidt passes to Downing in the left half of the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. good save by the keeper.

14 minute mark: Downing with a corner kick.. to the near post.. Lucio heads it.. into the crossbar.

18 minute mark: Fletcher passes to Rooney in the left side of the box.. Rooney shoots.. upper right corner.. good save by the keeper.

24 minute mark: Djemba steals a pass from the keeper.. shoots from 25 yards out.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

29 minute mark: Rooney steals a pass from the keeper.. dribbles into the box.. shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

35 minute mark: Djemba passes to Rooney in the box.. the keeper trips Rooney.. yellow card for the keeper.. whistle.. penalty shot awarded... Rooney steps up.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0.

40 minute mark: Downing passes to Fletcher in the left side of the box.. Fletcher shoots a sharply angled shot.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-0.

44 minute mark: Downing witha corner.. the keeper punches it away from King.. right to Lucio.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!! 5-0.


Halftime: 5-0 lead.


Cahais on for Lucio and Alfonso on for Downing.

49 minute mark: Schmidt passes it into the box for Schreurs.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!! 6-0.

54 minute mark: Schreurs with a dribble down the right sideline.. crosses to Fletcher who heads it to Rooney by the left post.. Rooney shoots.. GOAL!!!! 7-0. That is his hattrick. I'll put Godoy on for him now.

80 minute mark: Schreurs passes to King in the right corner of the box.. King plays it back to Schreurs.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it.. Godoy with the rebound.. he shoots.. GOAL!!!! 8-0. That is Godoy's 5th of the year.

82 minute mark: Godoy gets the ball left of the box.. passes to Djemba just outside the center of the box.. he shoots.. GOAL!!!! 9-0.


Game over. 9-0 win.

We outshot them 37-1! 23-1 on target.

Rooney won MoM, 10 for form, 5 of 7 passes, 1 of 3 headers, 2 interceptions, 5 runs, 1 foul drawn, and 3 goals.

Djhemba, Fletcher, and Salva all had 10's for form.

Alfonso, Schreurs, Schmidt, and Grygera all had 9's for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dec. 13, 2013 -

I'm very happy with my 1st knockout round Champions League Draw. We will be playing Benfica which should be a relatively easy opponent for us.


Juventus (4th in Italian Serie A) has fired Pako Ayestaran today. Gianluca Atzori is rumored to be the top candidate to take the job over.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dec 15, 2013 -

Today we host Leeds who are currently 10th in the EPL. Leeds is being led by a very strong defense which starts with excellent play from their keeper Richard McDonald. Billy Jones and Zander Diamond are having career years with their strong defense. Steve Sidwell and Harmen Boven are playing solid all around games in the midfield. Gregory Maury is the leading scorer with 4 goals, and their offense shouldn't give us many problems.


We are 1-2 favorites.

It's overcast with temperatures in the mid 30's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Salva
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Brown
S3: McFadden
S4: King
S5: Marchetti

[Eaglesfan27]

3 minute mark: Downing with a corner kick.. to Adriano in the middle of the box.. he heads it.. Leighton Baines gets in the way.. heads it.. into the far corner of the goal! Own goal charged to Baines! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

7 minute mark: Rooney steals the ball from Diamond in the left side of the box.. he passes it to Adriano who is in the middle of the box.. Adriano shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

25 minute mark: Lucio starts the counter attack.. passes it to Adriano in the middle of the pitch.. he passes it to Rooney just outside the box... Rooney dribbles between two defenders.. fakes out the keeper.. shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0.

43 minute mark: Schreurs dribbles past two defenders.. fakes out a third.. crosses it to Rooney in the center of the box.. he traps it.. shoots.. powerful shot.. over the bar.



Halftime: 3-0 lead. We have over 91,000 fans here today :)



55 minute mark: McFadden on for Rooney who I want to rest with yet another game in 3 days. Marchetti on for Lucio.


Game over. 3-0 win for us.

We outshot them 16-3 (11-1 on target)

Adriano won MoM, 9 for forms, 16 of 20 passes, 0 tackles, 7 of 9 headers, 1 interception, 3 runs, 2 fouls drawn, 2 assists, and 1 goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Report:

Adriano damaged his foot and will miss about a week.

Our attendance of 91,290 was a new record for an EPL Match for us :)

[Eaglesfan27]

Dec. 17, 2013 -

Downing was selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

Luis Rafael of Birmingham has torn knee ligaments and will miss at least 8 months.


Gary Megson has taken over at Newcastle as their new manager.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dec. 18, 2013 -

Today we play San Lorenzo in the Club World Championship Final. San Lorenzo de Almagro is a talented team from Beunos Aires, Argentina. They have a pair of very talented strikers, however, their best striker Lisandro Lopez is out injured for this game. Their second best Striker, Damian Luna is a highly creative player with great flair. However, he lacks great finishing skill. Despite this, he has 9 goals on the year. The defense is strong led by fast powerful centrebacks Daniel Diaz and Jorge Mendoza. Carlos Chavez and Jonathan Santana are both good midfielders.


We are 4-6 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the 40's today.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Marchetti
DC: Salva
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Parker
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Lucio
S3: McFadden
S4: Godoy
S5: Ortega
S6: Alfonso
S7: Smith

[Eaglesfan27]

3 minute mark: Howard stops a long range shot from Moreno.

9 minute mark Schreurs with a cross from the right corner.. the keeper punches it away from King.. right to Marchetti.. he shoots from 20 yards out.. powerful kick.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

23 minute mark: Rooney falls to the ground grasping his leg! He has to come off.. I put McFadden on for him.

27 minute mark: Salva gets a yellow card for tripping Luna.

38 minute mark: Salva gets a 2nd yellow card for pushing Luna! He is ejected!

I put Lucio in for King and switch to a 4-4-1.

43 minute mark: Downing with a corner kick.. to Schreurs who heads it at the goal.. the keeper blocks it.. Schreurs gets the rebound.. shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

44 minute mark: Cook gets a yellow card for pushing Mendoza.


Halftime: 2-0 lead.

53 minute mark: Carlos Chavez with a corner kick.. Daniel Diaz in the middle of the box.. outjumps Lucio.. heads it.. into the upper right corner... GOAL. Up 2-1.

56 minute mark: Jeroen Schreurs dribbles down the right sideline.. past a defender.. draws another defender over.. crosses it to the far post.. McFadden heads it.. into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-1.

61 minute mark: Ojeda passes to Chavez.. he shoots from 25 yards out.. Howard is slow to react.. I think he is thinking it is going to sail wide.. it hits the right post.. and bounces in! GOAL. 3-2 lead.

70 minute mark: Godoy on for Cook who has a yellow card and is tired.

72 minute mark: The keeper trips McFadden in the box.. whistle.. penalty! Lucio steps up.. shoots.. right over the keeper's left shoulder.. GOAL!!!! 4-2.

82 minute mark: Parker passes to McFadden just left of the box.. McFadden passes between two defenders back to Parker.. Parker shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 5-2.

93 minute mark: Parker plays a perfect through ball into the box.. McFadden gets to it.. left side of the box.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!!! 6-2.


Game over. 6-2 win in the Club World Championship :)

We outshot them 13-10 (11-5 on target)

James McFadden won MoM, 10 for form, 11 of 14 passes, 0 tackles, 5 of 10 headers, 2 interceptions, 7 runs, 2 fouls drawn, 2 assists, and 2 goals.

Schreurs and Downing both had 10's for form as well.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

We've been awarded 9 million dollars for winning the Club World Championship!!!!!

Wayne Rooney damaged his calf muscle and will miss about a week.

My physios tell me I need to stop relying on Mickael Schmidt so much and that the kid needs rest. :(



Arsenal suffered a big blow as Jose Antonio Reyes suffered a serious hip injury and is expected to miss at least 3 months.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dec. 21, 2013 -

The World Cup Groups have been drawn. We will be in Group H along iwth South Korea, Ireland, and Uruguay. Overall, I'm quite happy with our grouping.


Today we travel to play Charlton in an EPL Match. They are in 13th while we are in 1st. Charlton is hit hard by injuries right now, and four of their best players are hurt. They will be relying heavily on midfielder Mohamed Sissoko and centrebacks Andy Gibson and Aaron Hughes. Striker Ross McCormack will have to step up to get the offense going. Peter Enckelman is a decent keeper at this stage in his career.



We are 1-3 favorites.

It's windy with temperatures in the mid 50's.


GK: Howard
DL: Cahais (I need someone else able to play left back and I think Cahais should have the skill set.)
DC: Salva
DC: Marchetti
DR: Grygera
ML: Alfonso
MC: Parker
MC: Cook
MR: Ortega
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: O'Shea (he will become our regular spell left back if Cahais can't do it)
S3: Godoy
S4: Smith
S5: Wood

[Eaglesfan27]

4 minute mark: Alfonso dribbles down the left sideline.. past a defender.. crosses it to the far post.. Ortega with the header.. over the bar.

28 minute mark: Parker passes to Alfonso on the left corner.. he centers it short for McFadden.. he shoots.. the keeper punches it over the bar.

33 minute mark: Cahais passes to Parker at midfield.. he plays a nice through pass.. King gets it.. whistle.. offside on King.

34 minute mark: Ortega gets a yellow card for a trip on McCormack.. yellow card.. Ortega argues the call.. second yellow card!! Darn it. I put Godoy on for King who is already showing signs of being tired, and go with a 4-4-1.



Halftime: 0-0 tie. They have over 27,000 fans here today.



47 minute mark: Godoy with a corner kick... to the middle of the box.. Parker heads it.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.


51 minute mark: Godoy passes to McFadden in the middle of the pitch... McFadden shoots from 30 yards out.. it hits a defender.. and sails over the keeper's head... into the goal!!! GOAL!!!!! 2-0. Nice strike from 30 plus yards out.

60 minute mark: Smith on for McFadden and Wood on for Parker.

62 minute mark: Smith gets a yellow card for diving.

74 minute mark: Alfonso passes to Smith in the box.. Smith fakes out a defender.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0.

87 minute mark: Howard gets called for pushing McCormack.. whistle.. penalty awarded.. McCormack steps up.. shoots... upper left corner... GOAL. Still up 3-1.


Game over. 3-1 win.

We each had 10 shots on goal, we had 5 shots on target, they had 4.

Alfonso won MoM, 9 for form, 24 of 32 passes, 1 of 2 tackles, 4 of 6 headers, 2 interceptions, 11 runs, 1 foul drawn, and 1 assist.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dec. 23, 2013 -

Juventus has hired Fabrizio Castori to be their new manager.


Grygera was selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dec. 24, 2013 -

Jamie Cook strained his wrist in practice today and will certainly miss our big game against Liverpool in 2 days. Even worse, Rooney is taking longer than expected to recover from his injury and he will miss the Liverpool match as well.


Coventry are reportedly interested in acquiring Alfonso. I've told them to keep their hands off as he is not for sale at any price.

[daedalus]

Then again, my scouts view Jesus and Chris Taylor as comparable playersYeah, but "Adriano following the teaching of Chris Taylor" is nowhere NEAR as cool. Nor is "Chris Taylor saves!". :DPaul Robinson who is a veteran highly skilled keeper.Sure, sure. Just rub it in.

F'ing reflex tests.

:D

[Eaglesfan27]

Yeah, but "Adriano following the teaching of Chris Taylor" is nowhere NEAR as cool. Nor is "Chris Taylor saves!". :DSure, sure. Just rub it in.

F'ing reflex tests.

:D
:D

[nfg22]

Just to let ya know I follow along still and enjoy it greatly...I just dont reply cause most of the time I am at work and if I log in they will notice the cookie most liekly...

[Eaglesfan27]

Just to let ya know I follow along still and enjoy it greatly...I just dont reply cause most of the time I am at work and if I log in they will notice the cookie most liekly...
Thank you and thanks to everyone else who is reading along. I'm enjoying writing it, and I'm glad people are enjoying reading it :)

[Eaglesfan27]

Dec. 26, 2013 -

Arsenal has sold striker Vincenzo Di Giacomo to Mallorca for 32 million dollars.


Michael Wood suffered a back strain yesterday in practice and will miss 3-4 weeks.



Today we host Liverpool in an EPL match, but we are playing without a few of our best players. We are currently in 1st place. Liverpool is in 3rd place and they are 6 points behind us, but they have played one more game. Liverpool also has a key injury. Cisse is out injured this game. However, they have a very talented team. Left winger Hatem Ben Arfa is having a career year. Andres D'Alessandro is 32, but he shows no signs of slowing down and is still a top flight midfielder. Steven Gerrard is still playing well in the midfield. Aldo Andres Jara is a new striker who is doing well and is the 2nd leading scorer (behind Cisse) with 12 goals. Liam Ridgewell and Hedwiges Maduro are both strong skilled centrebacks. Chris Kirkland continues to play well in goal at the age of 32.


We are 5-4 favorites.

It's raining with temperatures in the 40's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Salva
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Godoy
S3: Alfonso
S4: Rooney (he is doubtful, but I might use him.)
S5: Marchetti

[finkenst]

i've got to not not login to fofc for 5 days at a time..

yours and fm's dynasties almost killed all my computer time. :)

i'm looking forward to getting back into my chelsea game and see if I can get the quad.

Adriano is a Left Back and is probably the same guy as the one in yours...

also, there are a heck of a lot of adriano's.. try searching for that name..

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Schreurs passes it to Fletcher who is 25 yards away... he blasts a banana shot... upper right corner... Kirkland with a good save.

32 minute mark: Fletcher passes to McFadden in the box.. he shoots.. lower left corner... excellent save by Kirkland.

35 minute mark: Gerrard trips Fletcher... yellow card for Gerrard.

36 minute mark: Downing with a corner kick... to the middle of the box.. Lucio heads it.. into the upper left corner... GOAL!!!! 1-0! Lucio with a huge goal!

40 minute mark: Reo-Coker trips Schreurs... yellow card for Reo-Coker.



Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. We have over 91,000 fans here today.


61 minute mark: Godoy on for King.

76 minute mark: Schmidt with a key defensive play.

77 minute mark: Schmidt gets a yellow card for pulling Yakubu's jersey.

78 minute mark: Djemba gets called for pulling D'Alessandro's jersey in the box.. whistle.. penalty.. D'Alessandro steps up.. shoots.. to Howard's left.. he dives right... goal. 1-1.

79 minute mark: Alfonso on for Fletcher who is exhausted and Marchetti on for Schmidt who is tired. Also, perhaps foolishly, I'm not playing for the tie... I tell the offense to open it up in the last 10 minutes.

82 minute mark: Schreurs with a long pass to Godoy.. he passes to McFadden in the box.. hard shot... lower right corner.. the keeper dives.. pushes it wide.

90 minute mark: We have a flurry of shots on goal... their defense and keeper block them all.

91 minute mark: Alfonso with a long pass to Downing.. Downing with a long cross to Schreurs.. he has a diving header.. upper right corner... the keeper saves it.


Game over. 1-1 tie.

We outshot them 10-4 (7-3 on target)

Downing wins MoM, 10 for form, 8 of 9 passes, 0 of 1 tackles, 0 of 7 headers, 2 interceptions, 14 runs, and 1 assist.

[Eaglesfan27]

I awake in the morning to find the following midseason league table:


http://64.17.163.76/images/EPL%20Mid%202013.jpg

[Eaglesfan27]

A few midseason stats:

Our 54 goals for is 1st in the league.

Our 10 goals allowed is 2nd in the league, behind only Chelsea.

Our GD of plus 44 is 1st by 15 goals. Liverpool is 2nd with plus 29.


We have 11 players in the top 20 for Average Form in the League!!

1. Downing - 8.92

4. Rooney - 8.07

6. Djemba - 7.85

7. Schreurs - 7.79

8. Alfonso - 7.77

12. Adriano - 7.67

15. Howard - 7.63

17. Grygera - 7.62

18. Salva - 7.60

19. Fletcher - 7.57

20. Lucio 7.56



Rooney is 2nd in League goals with 13 behind Chelsea's Adriano who has 14.

My Adriano is 22nd with 6 league goals.

McFadden is 25th with 5 league goals.

Alan Smith is 35th with 4 league goals.



We have 3 of the top league assist men.

Downing and Schreurs are tied for 1st with 8 league assists each.

Alfonso is tied for 4th with 6 league assists.

Adriano is tied for 20th with 4 league assists as is Ortega.


Howard is tied for 3rd in the league with 4 MoM awards.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dec. 29, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Birmingham. They are currently 20th in the EPL. Robin van Persie is dangerous whether he is playing striker or left wing. Eusebiusz Smolarek is a talented right winger who has good passing ability. However, the offense doesn't have much beyoun these two who are the leading scorers. The team has only scored 13 goals in 19 games. Their defense is ok and Jose Moreira is playing well in goal, but he eventually gets overwhelmed each game. Matthew Upson is having a bad year and he has let the defense down quite a few times this year.


We are 4-7 favorites.

It's raining with temperatures in the mid 30's.


GK: Howard
DL: Cahais
DC: Lucio
DC: Salva
DR: Brown
ML: Alfonso
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: Adriano
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: O'Shea
S3: Downing
S4: Rooney (probable from his injury)
S5: Marchetti

[Eaglesfan27]

3 minute mark: Alfonso with a sharp pass into the box to King.. he shoots.. wide right.

4 minute mark: King steals it in the midfield.. passes it to Adriano.. he shoots from 30 yards out.. strong curving shot.. the keeper dives.. blocks it.

9 minute mark: Cahais with a corner kick.. he kicks it short to Fletcher.... Fletcher passes to King in the middle of the box.. King shoots... upper right corner... GOAL!!!! 1-0. That is King's 15th of the year. I'm glad I didn't end up trading him for Adu.

16 minute mark: Alfonso passes to Schreurs just outside the right side of the box.... he shoots.. strong curving shot... upper right corner... Good save by the keeper.

30 minute mark: Moreira is stopping a large number of shots.

31 minute mark: Fletcher passes to King in the middle of the box.. King with a shoulder fake.. shoots.. lower right corner.. the keeper dives.. but he is out of position.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.



Halftime: 2-0 lead for us. They have about 30,000 fans here today.



58 minute mark: Cahais with a goal saving tackle... he is playing left back well.

66 minute mark: O'Shea on for the tired Cahais. Marchetti on in the midfield(!) for Fletcher who is exhausted.

89 minute mark: O'Shea throws it in deep in their turf to King in the left side of the box.. he performs a spin move on a defender.. passes it between two defenders to Schreurs in the right side of the box.. Schreurs shoots... upper left corner... GOAL!!!! 3-0.


Game over. 3-0 win.

We outshot them 16-6 (11-3 on target)

Fletcher won MoM, 10 for form, 52 of 58 passes, 8 key passes, 2 of 6 tackles, 2 of 5 headers, 1 run, and 2 assists.

Alfonso had a 9 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dec. 31, 2013 -

Lucio, Fletcher, and Downing were all selected to the EPL Team of the Week.


Silvestre's contract will expire in 6 months.


Marino's contract will expire in 6 months.



I have decided to offer Helder Barbosa a Bosman contract. He is a left winger so this could create a logjam, but this player is a SUPERBLY talented left winger who looks like Downing in his prime except he isn't quite as fast. This kid is from Portugal and is playing for Porto so it will be interesting to see if he accepts my Bosman offer.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 1, 2014 -

The board is delighted with my performance as manager.



Stewart Downing has won the World Footballer of the Year Award! Rooney came in 2nd, and Joaquin of Real Madrid came in 3rd.


Stewart Downing has won the World Player of the Year Award. Joaquin came in 2nd, and Rooney came in 3rd.



Downing has won the European Footballer of the Year Award. Joaquin came in 2nd, and Rooney came in 3rd.



Tim Howard has won the European Goalkeeper of the Year Award!! Stipe Pletikosa of Werder Bremen came in 2nd, and Iker Casillas of Real Madrid came in 3rd.


Inter's Philipp Lahm has won the European Defender of the Year Award. Jorg Walther of Valencia came in 2nd, and Vincent Kompany of Real Madrid came in 3rd.



Downing has won the European Midfielder of the Year Award. Joaquin came in 2nd, and Eric Djemba Djemba came in 3rd!



Wayne Rooney has won the European Striker of the Year Award. Gianpaolo Pazzini of Valencia came in 2nd, and David Villa of Real zaragoza came in 2rd.






Stewart Downing has won the EPL Player of the Month Award. Momo of Tottenham came in 2nd, and Hatem Ben Arfa of Liverpool came in 3rd.


Salva has won the EPL Young Player of the Month! Blackburn's Craig Knight came in 2nd, and Ville-pekka Luukkonen of Aston Villa came in 3rd.



Chelsea's Mane has won the Manager of the Month Award. Tony Colbert of Liverpool came in 2nd, and Martin Jol of sunderland came in 3rd.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 1, 2014 -

Adriano has arrived and is very excited to be here. He is hoping to break into the first team with hard work. He is looking good enough that I will play him very soon. I'm going to leave Taylor as the backup today since Adriano just arrived, but Adriano will be at least the backup in our next match and I will get him a start soon.



Today we host Middlesbrough in an EPL Match. They are in 13th. They have an anemic offense with the leading scorer being Trond Fredrik Ludvigsen with 4 goals. Porcellis is second with 3 goals from the striker position. Chris Riggott and John Yates are good centrebacks but they are getting overwhelmed by the midfield's inability to control ball possession. Thorben Marx is the only midfielder playing really well. Jan Lastuvka is still a good keeper and can get hot at times.



We are 4-6 favorites.

It's raining with temperatures in the mid 30's.


GK: Howard
DL: O'Shea
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Parker
MC: Stevanovic
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney (back from his injury)
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Marchetti
S3: Godoy
S4: King
S5: Ortega

[Eaglesfan27]

19 minute mark: Ferdinand gets a yellow card for a trip on Porcellis.

24 minute mark: Downing dribbles down the left sideline.. beats a defender.. dribbles past a second defender.. passes to Parker who is just inside the box.. Parker with a powerful shot.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.


Halftime: 1-0 lead. We have about 70,000 fans here today.



I put Marchetti on for Ferdinand due to Ferdinand's yellow flag.


63 minute mark: Ortega on for Schreurs and Godoy on for Adriano.


66 minute mark: Parker intercepts at midfield.. passes to Godoy who passes back to Downing.. Downing passes it to Rooney in the left side of the box.. Rooney shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.



Game over. 2-0 win.

We outshot them 19-0 (11-0 on target)

Downing wins MoM, 10 for form, 17 of 18 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 2 of 6 headers, 14 runs, 2 fouls drawn, and 2 assists.

Schreurs had a 9 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan 4, 2014 -

Chelsea has lost John Terry for 2 to 3 weeks due to a leg injury.


Helder Barbosa rejected Porto's offer and has signed a Bosman deal with us! The deal will be completed on July 1, 2014. I'm excited to add this 26 year old left winger with superb passing, flair, technique, and creativity to the team.



Today we travel to play Sunderland in the 3rd round of the English FA Cup. Sunderland is 7th in the EPL. Sunderland is led by the excellent play of striker Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor who leads the team with 11 goals. Marco Streller is a good second striker with 6 goals. However, their left winger and left back are both out injured. They will need Luke Clark to step up at left wing. They also need Alberto Lopo to play excellent team football because Julio Arco is out injured. Luca Brunoni is a good keeper, but he will have his work cut out for him.


We are 4-7 favorites.

It's overcast with temperatures in the high 30's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Marchetti
DC: Salva
DR: Grygera
ML: Alfonso
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: King

S1: Adriano (the keeper)
S2: Brown
S3: Ortega
S4: Godoy
S5: Cook

[Eaglesfan27]

4 minute mark: Schmidt starts the counter attack.... long pass down the length of the pitch.. Rooney gets to it just before it crosses the endline... centers it for Schreurs in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. just left of the keeper.. the keeper reacts too late.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

13 minute mark: Djemba passes it into the box.. Rooney has it. puts a spin move on the defender.. shoots.. lower left corner... wide left.

29 minute mark: Grygera bodychecks Clark.. Clark is injured.. Grygera gets a yellow card.

39 minute mark: Rooney gets a yellow card for a trip on Wilson.


Halftime: 1-0 lead for us.


49 minute mark: Grygera with a long pass diagonally across the pitch the left corner... Rooney gets to it.. centers for Alfonso by the near post.. he heads it.. the keeper saves it.

64 minute mark: We have a flurry of shots stopped by the defenders and their keeper.

66 minute mark: Cook on for Fletcher, Godoy on for Rooney, and Ortega on for Schreurs.

73 minute mark: Marchetti gets a yellow card for a push on Hume just outside our box.

80 minute mark: Alfonso passes into the box to Godoy.. he shoots... upper left corner.. the keeper blocks it.

88 minute mark: Alfonso passes to Godoy in the left side of the box.. Godoy draws two defenders.. passes between them to Ortega.. he shoots.... upper right corner... GOAL!!!! 2-0.


Game over. 2-0 win.

We outshot them 18-13 (11-4 on target)

Fletcher wins MoM, 8 for form, 15 of 18 passes, 3 key passes, 7 of 8 tackles, 3 of 7 headers, 1 interception, 1 run, 2 fouls drawn.

All of my starters had an 8 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

The statistician informs me that our 34 games unbeaten from August 10, 2013 to now is a new team record!

[Eaglesfan27]

January 5, 2014 -

Craig Alexander has left Harrogate Town to become the manager of Peterborough :(

Harrogate has fallen down the English Conference National where they are currently in 5th place.




Tottenham has offered 550,000 dollars immediately, 3.6 million over 2 years, and 40% of next sale for my right back Francesco Guarino. I don't see Francesco as the heir apparent and at the age of 24 he is unlikely to bloom much more. I agree to the offer.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 5, 2014 -

Milan have offered 17 million dollars for Barry Parker! Parker is really developing during this last year and both Fletcher and Djemba are aging. I tell them that I won't let him go for less than 40 million dollars.


Parma have offered 1.25 million up front, 3.8 million over 18 months, and 20% of next sale for Francesco Guarino. I accept their offer.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan. 6, 2014 -

O'Shea, Schreurs, and Downing were all selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

We drew Bolton in the next round of the English FA Cup and will be hosting them.


January 7th, 2014 -

Milan have withdrawn their bid for Barry Parker. :)



January 8th, 2014 -

Sanli Tuncay who was trying to get a new contract from some team tore multiple ligaments in his knee and will miss at least 9 months. Chelsea will miss him this year.


Liverpool have offered 5 million up front for Francesco Guarino. I counter with an offer of 8 million as they are a main rival.


Liverpool have offered 20 million for Barry Parker. I counter with an offer of 50 million dollars.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan 8, 2014 -

We travel to play Liverpool in the 1st round of the English League Cup Semi Final today. Liverpool is at full health now and will be very dangerous. I have to keep a close eye on Cisse who is such a dangerous scorer. Interestingly, they are reported to be considering starting young striker Fabio Liguori alongside him. I'll believe it when I see it. This kid seems to have a great deal of potential, but he is still raw at the age of 23. However, he does have 4 goals in 4 starts. Nigel Reo-Coker, Steven Gerrard, and Hatem Ben Arfa are all dangerous midfield players who can set up their strikers. Djimi Traore and Ryan Roberts are good centrebacks. Chris Kirkland is a very good keeper.


We are 5-4 favorites.

It's raining with temperatures in the 40's.


GK: Howard
DL: O'Shea
DC: Marchetti
DC: Salva
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Djemba
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Adriano (the keeper)
S2: Godoy
S3: Alfonso
S4: King
S5: Cahais

[Eaglesfan27]

16 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in the left side of the box, along the baseline.. Rooney dribbles parallel to the endline.. shoots.. parallel to the endline.. it curves.. upper right corner... GOAL!!!! 1-0! A great Rooney strike.

21 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in the left side of the box.. Rooney fakes out a defender.. shoots... upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0!

33 minute mark: Downing dribbles down the left sideline.. past two defenders... crosses to Adriano in the middle of the box.. Adriano settles.. dribbles around Kirkland.. shoots.. lower right corner... GOAL!!!! 3-0.

38 minute mark: Ben Arfa dribbles past Brown doen the left sideline... centers for D'Alessandro.. he shoots.. it deflects off Marchetti into the left side of the net.. GOAL. 3-1 game.

44 minute mark: Clichy dribbles past Schreurs.. down the left sideline.. crosses it diagonally to the far post.. Aldo Andres Jara heads it.. into the upper left corner.. Howard dives.. it's past him. GOAL. 3-2 game.



Halftime: Up 3-2 in this exciting game. They have over 61,000 fans here today.



46 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney just left of the box.. Rooney draws two defenders.. fires a pass between them.. to Adriano by the far post.. diving header... upper right corner... GOAL!!!! 4-2. That is Adriano's second of the game.

53 minute mark: Long pass from Salva in our own box to the opponent's box.. Adriano catches up to it 10 yards from the goal.... he shoots a sharply angled shot... lower left corner.. Kirkland dives.. it is past him... GOAL!!!! 5-2! That is Adriano's hattrick!

70 minute mark: Rooney steals it from the defender.. dribbles into the box.. shoots.. upper left corner.. Kirkland saves it. That was Rooney's last chance for the hattrick.

Rooney is winded, I put King on for him.

Alfonso on for Downing and Godoy on for Schreurs.

89 minute mark: Liquori steals the ball in our zone... he passes it into the box to Cisse.. Cisse fakes out O'Shea.. shoots.. upper right corner... GOAL. 5-3.



Game over. 5-3 win. Very nice result considering this was the away leg.

We outshot them 15-13 (8-8 on target)

Adriano wins MoM, 10 for form, 22 of 25 passes, 1 of 2 tackles, 10 of 15 headers, 1 interception, 3 fouls drawn, and 3 goals.

Rooney and Downing also had 10's for form.

I'm going to praise Adriano to the media after this game.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 10, 2014 -

Barcelona have made an enquiry about how much we want for Godoy. I respond 40 million dollars.


Guarino rejected Tottenham and has agreed to go to Parma. The deal worth 5 million can be completed now.



I've made the decision that our upcoming game against Fulham is the perfect time to start Adriano (the keeper) since Howard has had many games recently and because Fulham is relatively weak.

(OOC Note: I'm tired but am really excited to see this Adriano in action, hence just one more game before bed :))

[Eaglesfan27]

January 11, 2014 -

Today we host Fulham in an EPL Match. We are in 1st while they are in 9th place. Fulham has a quick attack led by Helder Postiga and Thomas Hitzlsperger and they could give Adriano a good workout in goal. Imre Szabics is also becoming an accomplished scorer. Joaquin (a new and younger version) is becoming a good setup man in the midfield. Peter Whittingham is playing well on the left wing. Jonathan Woodgate has been an exceptional defender the last few weeks. Michael Rensing is a tough keeper.



We are 4-7 favorites.

It's raining with temperatures in the mid 40's.


GK: Adriano (in his debut!)
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Cook
MC: Parker
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Howard
S2: Ortega
S3: Alfonso
S4: Godoy
S5: Marchetti

[Eaglesfan27]

10 minute mark: Adriano stops a long range shot from Baros.

12 minute mark: Downing passes to Cook... Cook draws two defenders over.. short pass to Schreurs just outside the box.. he shoots... upper right corner... GOAL!!!! 1-0.

19 minute mark: Cook gets a yellow card for tripping John.

26 minute mark: Collins John returns the favor with a trip on Cook, earning himself a yellow card.

37 minute mark: Downing gets a yellow card for a trip on Milan Baros.




Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. We have over 66,000 fans here today.




67 minute mark: Baros with a close range shot... Adriano pushes it over the bar.

70 minute mark: Godoy on for Cook, Ortega on for Schreurs, and Alfonso on for Downing.

78 minute mark: Lucio trips John... Lucio gets away with a warning.

83 minute mark: Jay Tabb gets a breakaway... Adriano backpedals.. Jay Tabb shoots.. upper left corner.. Adriano catches it.

86 minute mark: Schmidt with a long throw-in.. into the box.. King gets it.. puts a spin move on the defender, Woodgate.... shoots... upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.


Game over. 2-0 win :)

We outshot them 15-7 (8-2 on target)

Adriano gets an 8 for form in his debut. He made some nice passes.

Downing wins MoM, 8 for form, 16 of 19 passes, 3 key passes, 1 of 2 tackles, 2 of 7 headers, 9 runs, and 1 foul drawn.

[daedalus]

Interesting to see Joaquin and Rooney flip-flop in the awards. That's spiff.

Also interesting to see a Real Madrid defender amongst the awards. A defender! The horror!

I don't know how good Luukkonen is or if that even matters but I think you should buy him just for the sake of having a cool name. :D

[Eaglesfan27]

Interesting to see Joaquin and Rooney flip-flop in the awards. That's spiff.

Also interesting to see a Real Madrid defender amongst the awards. A defender! The horror!

I don't know how good Luukkonen is or if that even matters but I think you should buy him just for the sake of having a cool name. :D
He is a good looking young player, and I like his name too :)

However, it takes me the longest of all the names to type out properly ;)

[daedalus]

He's one Ville-mudder-pekka! :D

[Eaglesfan27]

ROFL :)

January 13, 2014 -

Chelsea have spent 27 million dollars to sign Julien Ribeiro a talented attacking midfielder. I wonder if this means Adu might become expendable? Ribeiro has played well for Marseille during the past 3 years.

Grygera and Lucio were selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

Eric Djemba Djemba has been called up by Cameroon for the African Cup of Nations squad.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 15, 2014 -

Middlesbrough has signed Milan Baros from Fulham on a Bosman deal.


Today we host Southampton in an EPL Match. They are 9th in the EPL while we are in 1st with an ever widening lead. Southampton is led by the excellent play of Robbin Kieft who has 19 goals on the year! Jorge Pina is a very good left winger who has chipped in 9 assists and 7 goals. Stefan de Weerd has 7 goals as well and is a good second striker. Jelle Van Damme leads the defense. Bobby Convey is playing well in the midfield. Iain Turner is a 29 year Scottish Keeper who is having his best year ever.



We are 4-6 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the 30's.


GK: Howard
DL: Cahais
DC: Lucio
DC: Salva
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Parker
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Adriano 2 (as I'm going to start calling the keeper)
S2: O'Shea
S3: Alfonso
S4: Ortega
S5: Godoy

[Eaglesfan27]

11 minute mark: Cahais gets a yellow card for a trip on Kieft.


Howard with a brilliant save on the ensuing free kick by Kieft.

41 minute mark: A long series of probing passes between our midfielders... finally Fletcher moves to the left side of the box.. Fletcher with a short cross to the near post... Adriano with a header... upper left corner.... GOAL!!!! 1-0.

43 minute mark: Schreurs passes it to Adriano in the right side of the box.. Adriano with a crossover dribble around one defender... shoots... lower left corner.. sharply angled shot.. the keeper misses it.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.



Halftime: 2-0 lead for us. We have over 68,000 fans here today.



56 minute mark: Downing dribbles down the left sideline... crosses to Rooney in the middle of the box.. Rooney heads it.. nice save by the keeper.

62 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney who is 30 yards away from the keeper.. Rooney shoots.. long range curving shot.. upper right corner... the keeper dives... saves it.

63 minute mark: Alfonso on for Downing, Godoy on for Rooney, and Ortega on for Schreurs.

82 minute mark: Parker passes it to the right corner of the pitch... Adriano gets to it.. draws over a defender.. passes to Ortega in the right side of the box... Ortega with hard shot towards the lower right corner.. it hits the keeper in the shoulder... and bounces in!!! GOAL!!!!! 3-0.


Game over. 3-0 win :)

We outshot them 16-4 (10-1 on target)

Adriano wins MoM, 10 for form, 17 of 21 passes, 2 key passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 8 of 14 headers, 1 interception, 6 runs, 1 foul drawn, 1 assist, and 2 goals.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 18, 2014 -

Manchester City have signed Owen Hargreaves from FC Bayern for 700,000 dollars. Hargreaves is showing his age, but still has some skills left.


Today we host Bolton in the 4th round of the English FA Cup. Bolton is 13th in the EPL and they have a decent team. Their best player Achille Emana is off on international duty and that will hurt them. Kevin Nolan is a dangerous midfielder who is the leading scorer with 9 goals on the year. Filipe Oliveira is the leading striker with 7 goals. Nasief Morris and Dennis Cagara are leading the defense. Alexandre Negri is 32, but he is still a very good keeper.


We are 1-2 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the high 40's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Marchetti
DC: Salva
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Stevanovic
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Adriano 2
S2: Godoy
S3: O'Shea
S4: Alfonso
S5: Ortega

[Eaglesfan27]

7 minute mark: Downing with a long cross.. the keeper punches it away from King.. Cook gets it.. he shoots from 25 yards out.. powerful banana shot... upper left corner... GOAL!!!! 1-0.

17 minute mark: WOW!!! Downing passes to McFadden in the left side of the box.. McFadden dribbles along the endline.. he shoots.. parallel to the endline.. curving... into the upper right corner... GOAL!!!! 2-0! Could Rooney have shown him how to do that shot? It was the mirror image of Rooney's endline shot :)



Halftime: 2-0 lead for us.



King is totally gassed for some reason, I'm going to watch him for a minute or two to see if he regains his energy in the 2nd half, but if not I'll put Godoy in soon.

49 minute mark: Godoy on for King who is exhausted and Alfonso on for Downing who is very tired.

58 minute mark: Our midfielders are passing it back and forth.. Stevanovic passes to Alfonso left of the box.. he crosses it to Cook in the right edge of the box.. Cook chips it... over a defender and the keeper.. into the upper left corner! GOAL!!!! 3-0.

61 minute mark: Godoy gets a yellow card for a trip on Cagara. Ortega on for Schreurs who is tired.

73 minute mark: Steanovic steals it at midfield.. passes it to Ortega who heads it to Godoy just outside the box.. Godoy fakes out a defender.. dribbles into the box.. shoots from 19 yards... lower right corner.. the keeper dives.. it is out of his reach! GOAL!!!! 4-0! That is Godoy's 5th goal of the year!

79 minute mark: McFadden steals it at midfield.. passes it long to Godoy.. Godoy dribbles between two defenders. into the right half of the box.. shoots... lower left corner.. the keeper dives.. misses it! GOAL!!!! 5-0! Godoy with his second! This kid is magical at times :)


Game over. 5-0 win :)

We outshot them 12-9 (8-4 on target)

McFadden wins MoM, 9 for form, 10 of 11 passes, 2 key passes, 1 of 2 tackles, 2 of 10 headers, 1 interception, 6 runs, 3 fouls drawn, 1 assist, and 1 goal.

Godoy has a 9 for form with 2 goals. Ditto for Cook.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 20, 2014 -

Blackburn fans are in shock after Brett Emerton tore ligaments in his right knee. He will miss the remainder of the season and part of next season.


Fletcher, Downing, and Adriano were all selected to the EPL Team of the Week.



We will travel to play Manchester City in the 5th round of the English FA Cup.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan. 21, 2014 -

Newcastle have paid 22 million to land Dion Dickhoff from Aston Villa. Dickhoff can play sweeper, defender, or midfielder and he is a very skilled player, but he is 28 already and I think they overpaid a bit.



Jan 22, 2013 -

Today we play Liverpool in the 2nd leg of our English League Cup Semi-Final. Liverpool are the holders of this, but we are up 5-3 on aggregate. We just need to hold serve at home. However, I'm taking nothing for granted and pulling out most of my best players.


We are 5-4 favorites.


It's sunny with temperatures in the low 40's.


GK: Howard
DL: Schmidt
DC: Lucio
DC: Salva
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Fletcher
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Adriano, GK (I decided I don't like Adriano 2)
S2: Godoy
S3: Ortega
S4: King
S5: Marchetti

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Gerrard passes to Cisse in the left side of the box.. Cisse with a powerful curving shot... upper right corner... Howard dives.. blocks it!

7 minute mark: Cisse with a long range shot.. Gerrard gets teh rebound.. passes it back to Nino Ferro.. Ferro blasts a curving shot... upper left corner... It's out of Howard's reach. GOAL. Down 1-0 (5-4 our lead on aggregate.)

24 minute mark: Downing passes it to Rooney in the enemy's zone... Rooney fakes out Maduro.. he fakes out Holmes.. dribbles into the box.. shoots.. lower right corner... past the keeper... GOAL!!!! 1-1! That is Rooney's 20th goal of the year.

25 minute mark: Cook steals the ball... passes it to Adriano who heads it to Rooney outside the box... Rooney dribbles between two defenders... fakes out the keeper... shoots.. lower left corner... GOAL!!!! 2-1.

40 minute mark: Kirkland stops a flurry of our shots.


44 minute mark: Grygera gets a yellow card for tripping Cisse.



Halftime: 2-1 lead (7-4 on aggregate.) We have over 91,000 fans here today screaming loudly!



Schreurs picked up a minor injury and is limping badly. I'm putting Ortega in for him.



46 minute mark: Grygera picks up a serious injury and falls to the ground grabbing his ankle. I put Marchetti on for him.

51 minute mark: Wayne Bridge with a long diagonal cross to the far post... Ferro outjumps Salva and Howard... heads it... into the upper right corner.. GOAL. 2-2 game.

58 minute mark: Fletcher collides with Bridge and Fletcher is hurt. He has to come off. I put Godoy in for him.

61 minute mark: Rooney gets the ball at midfield.. dribbles down the left sideline.. past two defenders.. cuts towards the post.. dribbling along the baseline.. is he going to shoot.. draws another defender over.. fires a pass to the far post.. Ortega heads it.. the keeper dives.. gets a hand on it.. but it bounces in! GOAL!!!! 3-2! That is Ortega's 5th of the year.

76 minute mark: Rooney tries a 30 yard banana shot from midfield.. the keeper has a nice save.



Game over. 3-2 win for us :) 8-5 win on aggregate.

We outshot them 14-12 (10-6 on target)

Rooney wins MoM, 10 for form, 12 of 14 passes, 1 key pass, 0 tackles, 5 of 9 headers, 1 interception, 8 runs, 1 foul drawn, 1 assist, and 2 goals.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

We've been given 900,000 for winning the English League Cup Semi Final.

We will be playing Fulham in the League Cup Final. Fulham beat the Wolves 3-1 on aggregate.


Grygera has a partially torn calf muscle and will miss about a month.


Fletcher has a gash in his shin and is expected to miss our next game.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 25, 2014 -

WOW! Liverpool have offered 54 million immediately for Craig King. This former wonderkid is not as fast as I would like, but he has really become my third best striker this year, and he is only 24 and still might get a bit better. He has 17 goals for me in 19 starts and 8 reserve appearances. I'm going to reject this offer and counter with 110 million as my asking price. I don't want to lose this kid. Hopefully, I can keep him happy as a 3rd option.


Auxerre has signed Robin van Persie on a Bosman deal.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 26, 2013 -

Inter have offered 12 million for Alfonso. I counter with an offer of 36 million as I really don't want to lose him, but I would let him go at that price because I have my other left winger coming in and Alfonso is becoming a bit restless for more 1st team action. Of course, I don't expect them to pay 36 million for him and I'd be happy to keep Alfonso.


Chelsea have paid Southampton 22 million for striker Stefan De Weerd. Stefan is 27 and is a very good, but not great striker. I'm a little surprised at this move. Again, I wonder if Adu might be available soon :)


Rostock has signed Jonathan Spector from Leicester for 1.5 million dollars. Spector never lived up to his enormous potential.


Arsenal has lost Kolo Abib Toure after this year as the player has decided to go to Chievo on a Bosman signing.

[Eaglesfan27]

3 minute mark: I look on in shock as Miguel steals it at midfield.. passes it to Durand who heads it to Bernard in teh middle of the box.. Benjamin Bernard shoots.. lower right corner.. Howard dives.. it is past him! GOAL. Down 1-0.

16 minute mark: Alfonso dribbles down the left sideline.. passes to Parker who is just inside the left half of the box.. Parker shoots.. upper right corner.. it's past the keeper.. GOAL!!!! 1-1.



Halftime: 1-1 tie.



63 minute mark: Godoy on for King who is tired, and Wood on for Cook. I also tell the offense to go wide open.

66 minute mark: Gorlitz gets a yellow card for tripping Alfonso.

70 minute mark: Lucio gets a yellow card for tripping Defoe.

71 minute mark: Woof gets a yellow card for pushing Luis Carlos.. Godoy argues the call.. he gets a yellow card.


73 minute mark: Gorlitz pushes Alfonso.. he gets his second yellow card.. Gorlitz is sent off.

78 minute mark: Alfonso passes to Wood outside the box.. he blasts a shot.. upper right corner... the keeper saves it.

86 minute mark: Alfonso passes to Ortega in the right side of the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper saves it.

89 minute mark: Alfonso passes over Godoy's head and we miss a good opportunity.

92 minute mark: Alfonso passes to McFadden in the left side of the box.. McFadden crosses it to the far post.. Ortega traps.. shoots... upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-1! Durand has to be carried off the pitch due to an injury.


Game over. 2-1 win :)

We outshot them 18-4 (9-2 on target)

Ortega wins MoM, 10 for form, 30 of 36 passes, 7 key passes, 1 of 2 tackles, 2 of 5 headers, 1 interception, 7 runs, 2 fouls drawn, and 1 goal.

Alfonso also had a 10 for form.

(Hmm, I seem to have forgotten to post my prematch summary. Newcastle is in disarray and is in 17th in the EPL!!! They are in serious danger of being relegated. They are also on the point of mutiny.)