FM2007 Interactive - 6th season ongoing [Archive]

law90026

01-09-2007, 11:52 PM

Summary and Overview:

Mike Schaplowsky - Chelsea U-18s
The sky's the limit for the young Polish forward, who is already valued at 8 million pounds. He may be in the U-18s now but most believe he will be moved up sooner rather than later.

Mike has incredible finishing for a 17 year old (20). He is also incredibly composed (18) and has tons of flair (19). Combined with his dribbling ability (15), acceleration (16), agility (15) and pace (15), it is little wonder he is expected to set the U-18 team alight.

B.B. Gunn - Portsmouth U-18's
The English defensive midfielder is recognised for his physical attributes at this time, which promise him a bright future. With great acceleration (17), agility (16), balance (16), jumping (17), pace (17) and strength (15), he is well-placed to be able to take on the demanding role of a central midfielder. Coupled with his bravery (19), creativity (15), decision making ability (18), determination (16), positioning (17), marking (19) and tackling (19), it's little wonder the 17 year-old is already worth 3.4 million pounds.

Frank Justice - West Ham U-18's
The big burly English striker is valued at 3.2 million pounds. Not fully developed clearly but with great potential, he is one to watch out for. He has a finely honed sense of where the goal is (finishing 17) and he is the ideal target man with his heading (19), jumping (17) and strength (16). Very composed for a 17 year old (19), the big man is also a good passer of the ball (17) and has some tricks up his sleeve (flair 15).

Sean Treacy - Liverpool U-18's
The midfielder is outstanding when it comes to tackling (18), making decisions (18) and having great vision on the pitch (creativity 20). However, while he is decent in other areas of the game, he isn't particularly outstanding yet ... hence his value of 2.4 million pounds.

Charles Schexnayder - Arsenal U-18s
The 15 year-old* is in the Arsenal U-18 team, not surprising considering how youthful he is. Still, he's showing great potential and is likely to be a handful in the future down the left wing. Good acceleration (16), balance (15), pace (16), aggression (15), anticipation (16), composure (15), decision making ability (15), determination (15), off the ball movement (15), positioning (19) and tackling (16) suggests that he will be a very good defender/wing back. For a 15 year old, being valued at 1.4 million pounds isn't bad at all.

*=mistake in editing, he's 15 instead of 17. My bad.

Owen Hunter - FC Bayern U-19's
The German sweeper/defender will spend some time in the U-19 squad before moving up. He's established that he is a good header of the ball (16), marker (16), passer (18) and tackler (19), leading some to believe he may be able to follow in the footsteps of great German sweepers like Matthias Sammer and Lothar Matthaus. However, his lack of physical attributes at this time is a drawback but hopefully this will develop over time. This may account for his 625,000 pound valuation.

Al Mighty - Sevilla First Team
The 17 year old is training with the first team, a great experience for him. Some believe he has the ability to play now if required and this may be true since Al has good handling (15), reflexes (15), a keen sense of when to rush out (19), bravery (19), agility (19) and balance (18). Of course, whether he will be given the chance to is a different matter. Valued at 375,000 pounds.

Bud Wiser - Birmingham U-18's
This youngster is a great crosser of the ball (17) and dribbler (19). Along with his anticipation skills (16), flair (15), teamwork (16) and pace (17), he has potential to be a good winger. The fact that he's in a lesser team is hurting his value though, only 130,000 pounds.

Jace Hunter - Blackburn U-18s
The Scottish lad is only valued at 75,000 pounds but he has time to change that. It's surprising since he has really good skills such as his aerial ability (19), command of area (15), communication (19), one on ones (15), reflexes (20), throwing (16) and decision making ability (16). Blackburn may have found a nice keeper here.

law90026

01-10-2007, 12:08 AM

I bypassed most of July since these were friendly games and stats were not available for most of the fixtures. August is when the games start, including U-18 games. I'll post updates on the leagues and fixtures as and when they are interesting as well.

law90026

01-10-2007, 04:19 AM

Chelsea beats Liverpool 2-1 in the Community Shield.

In a very close game (8 shots on goal, 4 on target, for each team, 49% possession to Chelsea), a brace from new boy Adriano was enough to lead Chelsea to victory with Liverpool's goal coming from Harry Kewell. Man of the Match was Jaime Carragher.

law90026

01-10-2007, 04:27 AM

Transactional Summary

15 August 2006
Frank Justice leaves West Ham on a 5 month loan to Championship side Q.P.R.

16 August 2006
Mike Schapolowsky leaves Chelsea on a 5 month loan to Championship side Leicester City.

25 August 2006
Jace Hunter leaves Blackburn on a 5 month loan to Championship side Barnsley.

29 August 2006
Owen Hunter leaves FC Bayern on a season long loan to Burghausen, who play in the German Second Division. This will be disappointing for the 17 year old, who had made 3 first-team appearances for FC Bayern already this season, with an average rating of 6.67 and managing one assist in those 3 games.

law90026

01-10-2007, 05:03 AM

Report for August 2006

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Loan to Leicester
In his first 2 games for Leicester, Mike has averaged a rating of 8.00, scoring one goal and earning a Man of the Match award in the process. He started games against West Brom and Barnsley (where he got the goal and MOM).

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth U-18's
The captain of the U-18 side has not been spectacular yet. In 2 games for the U-18's, he's averaging about 6.00. However, BB Gunn did start a game for the first team in a 2-0 win over West Ham, getting a 7 in the process.

Frank Justice - Striker, Loan to QPR
Frank started his first 2 games for QPR and has been erratic, with a 6.50 average rating to go with a booking.

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Liverpool U-18's
The youngster has been the subject of multiple loan bids and it's a certainty he's moving in September.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U-18's
Already the captain of the Arsenal U-18's at age 15, Charles started all 3 U-18 games played in August and managed to get a MOM in the process.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Loan to Burghausen
No appearances for his new club yet. Before leaving on his loan, Owen Hunter managed to make 3 first team appearances for FC Bayern, with an average rating of 6.67 as well as with one assist.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
Al's been riding the bench, being the first choice reserve keeper. That's a good thing or bad thing, because while Al is in the first team, he may not play very much at all.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Barnsley
One game, 7.0 rating, 2-1 win over Leicester ... but the goal was conceded to Mike Schaplowsky.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Birmingham
Promoted to the first team, Bud started one game and came off the bench for another, for a 6.50 average rating. However, Bud has since gotten injured, cracking some ribs and is expected to be out for anything between 1 to 4 weeks.

condors

01-10-2007, 05:25 AM

Hopefully Bud will be back in 1st team action soon :(

law90026

01-10-2007, 05:42 AM

September 2006 Transactions and News
2 September 2006
Sean Treacy joins Championship side Preston on a 5 month loan. He rejected offers from Leicester (where he would have been playing with Mike Schaplowsky), Derby and Sheff Wed.

12 September 2006
BB Gunn joins Sheffield Wednesday on a 5 month loan.

16 September 2006
Leicester Manager Robert Kelly is delighted with Mike Schaplowsky's form, claiming that some of his performances have been magical. Mike has been playing really well lately and the praise is well deserved.

In response, Mike agreed with the praise and felt that he was at the top of his game.

law90026

01-10-2007, 06:04 AM

September 2006 report:

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Leicester (loan)
8 games, 5 goals, 2 MOMs, 7.63 average rating, Mike is proving to be really good, at least at the Championship level. That means 6 games and 4 goals for Leicester in September, an awesome record for any striker, let alone a 17 year old.

One flaw to point out? No assists in 8 games. A bit of a ball hog is our Mike.

Frank Justice - Striker, QPR (loan)
8 games, 4 goals, 2 MOMs, 7.25 average rating, as Frank is proving to be the equal of Mike Schaplowsky. That also means Frank had 4 goals in 6 games for QPR in September.

Couple of issues with Frank's performances though. First, 0 assists as well. More importantly, Frank's a bit of a hothead, with 2 more bookings in 6 games, bringing him to 3 yellow cards for the season already.

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Preston (loan)
5 games for his new club and Sean's managed 1 goal and 1 assist to go with a 7.20 rating. However, that hasn't helped Preston much, who are 22nd out of 24 teams in the Championship.

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Sheff Wed (loan)
6.50 rating in 4 games for the Owls and BB Gunn has also picked up his first yellow card.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U-18s
In shocking news, Charles broke his left ankle in a U-18 game and is out of action for 2 months. Let's hope he makes it back without losing any of his pace.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
And Al Mighty played 3 games for the first team this month, starting 2 games and coming on for the last 10 mins against Real Madrid. More impressively, Al was the MOM for the game against Espanyol for his performance in the first 19 mins, which Sevilla lost 4-1 ... all 4 goals came after Al Mighty came off and it appears his MOM award was recognition of that. He's got a 7.67 rating, with 1 goal conceded and 2 clean sheets to his name.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Burghausen
In his first 4 games for Burghausen, Owen Hunter has proven to be a stalwart in defence. 8.00 average rating with 2 MOMs and an assist, Owen is also averaging an astonishing 7.50 tackles a game, leading the German Second Division.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Barnsley
The young keeper has played 7 games for Barnsley and conceded 10 goals with 1 clean sheet. He's also got 2 yellow cards, which is scary for a goalkeeper, suggesting his temperament may not be the best. However, Jace isn't playing badly, as indicated by his 7.57 rating ... its not his fault his defence sucks.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Birmingham U-18's
Sadly, after recovering from his injury, Bud lost his place in the first team squad and was sent back to the U-18's, where he has performed decently but not spectacularly.

law90026

01-10-2007, 07:08 AM

October 2006 Report

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Leicester (on loan)
Mike cooled down after his hot start, playing 6 more games in October but not managing to add to his 5 goals this season. But he did get a first ... his first red card in a game against Ipswich, a 2-0 loss.

Frank Justice - Striker, QPR (on loan)
Frank's jaded and in need of a rest. Question is whether he'll get it. Apparently he's not quite ready for the exertions of a full season yet. 5 games with 1 goal and 1 assist and a MOM award .. and yet another yellow card.

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Preston (on loan)
Sean also recorded his first red card in October, in a 2-0 loss to Burnley. No other quantifiable contributions to note.

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Sheff Wed (on loan)
4 more games for the Owls this month and BB scored his first goal as well, a 9th minute goal against Leicester which ended 1-1.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U-18's
Still seeing a specialist, 3 more weeks to go before he can start training again.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
Al started 2 more games this month, a 1-0 win over Deportivo in the Primera Liga and a 2-1 win over Universidad LP in the 1st leg of the 4th round of the Spanish Cup. More importantly, Al has built up a good relationship with the current first choice keeper, 33 year old Andres Palop, who is currently tutoring Al.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Burghausen
Owen started 3 more games for Burghausen, recording 2 more assists and 1 more MOM. It apepars Owen is proving to be capable of changing defence to attack with his passing. Still with an astonishing 7.29 tackles a game.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Barnsley
4 games in October for Barnsley, another 6 goals conceded. His rating is slipping somewhat, down to 7.36 from 7.57 last month. It should also be reported that Jace is currently the first choice Scotland U-19 keeper and has appeared in 3 friendlies this year.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Swansea (on loan)
On 26 October, Bud Wiser was sent to League One team Swansea on a 3 month loan. Bud appeared in one game for Swansea at the end of the month, a 1-0 win over Rotherham and got a 6 rating.

law90026

01-10-2007, 07:24 AM

November News:
5 November 2006
Sevilla's manager praises Al Mighty's performances. Osasuna's manager also praises Al Mighty's performance in a 3-1 loss to Sevilla.

Al Mighty agreed that he was playing well and felt he was at the top of his game.

26 November 2006
Leicester's manager, Robert Kelly, sacked. Will this affect Mike Schaplowsky?

28 November 2006
Dave Penney appointed as new manager of Leicester.

law90026

01-10-2007, 07:43 AM

November Report

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Leicester (on loan)
Mike played 4 games this month for Leicester and scored 4 more goals, bringing his season's tally to 9. Astoundingly, he still hasn't recorded an assist yet. 17 games played, 9 goals, 3 MOMs and 7.35. He missed one game because of injury in November.

Frank Justice - Striker, QPR (on loan)
Frank is still tired but he's soldiering on. 5 more games and 1 more goal this month. Season so far, 18 games played, 6 goals, 1 assist, 3 MOMs, 4 yellow cards and 7.11.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Burghausen (on loan)
Another 5 more games in the German Second Division and 2 more MOMs for the month. 12 games, 3 assists, 6.81 tackles a game and a 7.75 rating.

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Preston (on loan)
Sean played in all 5 of Preston's games in November but again didn't record any key statistics. You get the feeling Sean is the midfielder that does all the dirty work but gets none of the glory. His best performance this month was against Leicester (8 rating), a game which Preston lost 4-0 (Mike Schaplowsky scoring 2). 14 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 6.79.

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Sheff Wed (on loan)
BB was ever present for all 6 leagues games that Sheff Wed played in October. 14 appearances, 1 goal and a disappointing 6.21 rating thus far for the Owls.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U-18s
The 15-year old finally makes it back from injury and is trying to reclaim a spot in the starting 11 for the team.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
6 games started for Al as he's beginning to push for a regular starting spot ... until he twisted his ankle and is out for 2-3 weeks. He's proving to be slightly injury prone, this being his third injury already this season. Still, Al has been good in goal for Sevilla when given the chance, playing 11 games (starting 9), conceding just 4 goals and with 7 clean sheets, and an average rating of 7.73.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Barnsley (on loan)
The injury bug also strikes Jace as he breaks a finger, putting him out of action for 1 - 2 months. 4 games for Barnsley this month and 6 more goals conceded. Season thus far: 16 games, 23 goals conceded, 2 clean sheets, 3 yellow cards, 7.25.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Swansea (on loan)
Injured again, this time with a twisted ankle, Bud is out for anything between 2 days to 4 weeks (damn those inferior physios). Bud appeared in just one game in November prior to the injury (suffered in training) and played badly, getting a 5 rating. Bud's another player that looks injury prone. His injury list to date:
Fracture ribs (out for a month in August)
Gashed Head (out for a week in October)
Facial Injury (out for a week in October)
And now the twisted ankle.

law90026

01-10-2007, 07:47 AM

Sidenote:
The reason why the players' position on the updates fluctuate is due to their changing value, with the highest valued players on top. As can be seen, Owen Hunter is beginning to get some recognition for his performances as his value has gone up significantly in the past month, jumping over 4 players in November.

condors

01-10-2007, 08:24 AM

argh not exactly a dream start for Bud Wiser

cschex

01-10-2007, 09:56 AM

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U-18s
In shocking news, Charles broke his left ankle in a U-18 game and is out of action for 2 months. Let's hope he makes it back without losing any of his pace.

Ouch! What's worse, that's exactly the injury that happened to me in high school (though while it was playing baseball, it ended my soccer-playing days). This game is eerie sometimes.

st.cronin

01-10-2007, 12:25 PM

\
Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Preston (on loan)
Sean also recorded his first red card in October, in a 2-0 loss to Burnley. No other quantifiable contributions to note.

That's right, I'm nasty.

Sublime 2

01-10-2007, 12:52 PM

law90026

01-10-2007, 08:58 PM

December News
1 December 2006
David Villa wins World Player of the Year. Juan Roman Riquelmen was 2nd and Steven Gerrard was 3rd.

2 December 2006
Charles Schexnader breaks his foot in a match against the Brentford U-18s and will be out for about 4 months. This is devastating for the 16 year old, who had just returned from a broken ankle recently.

7 December 2006
Sheff Wed have asked to extend BB Gunn's loan by another 3 months as they feel he would become a valuable member of the first team. The 17 year old defensive midfielder is valued at 2.9 million pounds. The offer was accepted on 8 December 2006 and BB Gunn's loan is extended to 11 March 2007.*

*= No idea why the timing is off since the initial loan was for 5 months.

31 December 2007
Stephen Gerrard wins World Footballer of the Year. Miroslav Klose was 2nd and Thierry Henry was 3rd.

law90026

01-10-2007, 09:20 PM

December update:

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Leicester (on loan)
Mike's loan expires on 15 January 2007 and no word from Leicester whether they intend to extend it. For December, Mike played 6 games and scored 3 goals, while recording 0 assists in the process. Mike was named young player of the month in December.

Quick update: Mike Schaplowsky came in 3rd for Goal of the Month in November (an audacious chip).

Frank Justice - Striker, QPR (on loan)
Similarly, Frank's loan is up soon, on 14 January 2007. He's currently recovering from a strained back suffered early on in December. Prior to this injury, Frank managed 1 game in December and had an assist (against Sheff Wed in a 1-0 win).

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Burghausen (on loan)
The German League is having its winter break now and will resume games on 26 January 2007. Owen appeared in Burghausen's last 3 games before the break and remains a rock in their defence.

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Preston (on loan)
Sean Treacy appeared in 7 games for Preston in December without notching up any goals or assists. His passing percentage so far this year is 72%, which places him 49th in the English Championship.

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Sheff Wed (on loan)
BB made 3 appearances for the Owls in December before fracturing his ribs. He is expected to be out for another 2 weeks to 2 months. He did manage his first MOM award though in the 1-0 loss to Leicester. The injury was suffered in the 80th minute of a 2-1 win over Southend.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U-18s
The youngster is patiently waiting to recover from his injury. Specialists have informed him that he will be out for the next 3 months.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
Al has just come back from his injury and will be looking at establishing himself again.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Barnsley (on loan)
Jace is still out with a broken finger. Estimates for recovery are anything between a day to 3 weeks. Barnsley played 6 games in December while Jace was out and replacement keeper, 33 year old Nick Colgan, conceder 9 goals without keeping a clean sheet.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Swansea
Bud made it back from his injury and made 4 appearances for Swansea in December. He has not been performing well though as his rating of 5.83 suggests. Still, Swansea are 2nd in League 1. The trend for Bud is that he's been substituted in every game he's appeared in during December, normally early in the 2nd half.

law90026

01-10-2007, 09:31 PM

Half-Year Update on the World at Large
At the half-way point of the 06-07 season, Manchester United currently lead the English Premier League with 46 points, a full 10 points ahead of 2nd and 3rd placed teams Liverpool and Everton. Arsenal and Chelsea are 5th and 7th respectively. The bottom 3 are Watford, Fulham and Charlton.

In the Championship (an update here since a large number of players are playing in this league), West Brom, Stoke and Crystal Palace all have 49 pts, just 2 ahead of Norwich and 3 ahead of Sunderland. QPR (Frank Justice) are 7th with 44 pts, Sheff Wed (BB Gunn) are 17th with 33 pts, Leicester (Mike Schaplowsky) are 20th with 31 pts, Preston (Sean Treacy) are 22nd with 31 pts and Barnsley (Jace Hunter) are 24th and last with 28 pts.

Over in Germany, FC Bayern (Owen Hunter's team) lead the First Division with 38 pts. Kaiserslautern lead the Second Division with 36 pts and Burghausen (Owen Hunter) are 7th with 29 pts.

In Serie A, Roma are top with 33 pts, followed by Chievo, Inter, Milan and Torino. Juventus are 20th in Serie B but this is taking into account their 17 pt deduction, without which they would be 4th in Serie B.

In the Primeria Liga, Real Madrid are first with 40 pts, 7 pts ahead of Barcelona. Sevilla (Al Mighty) are 4th with 30 pts, just one point behind 3rd place team Deportivo (31 pts).

law90026

01-10-2007, 09:54 PM

Half Year Update on the Kids

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Leicester (on loan from Chelsea)
The young Pole has demonstrated that he will be very good in the future, if not already. Valued at 8.75 million pounds, Mike is the top goalscorer for Leicester but this hasn't been enough to help Leicester's league position. There probably are questions whether Mike could break into the Chelsea first team at this time, considering Chelsea's strikers are Adriano, Didier Drogba, Shevchenko and Saloman Kalou.

Grade: A

Frank Justice - Striker, QPR (on loan from West Ham)
The big man/kid is now valued at 7.5 million pounds and is joint topscorer for QPR, who are doing decently in the Championship. Will there be a future for Frank back at West Ham? It's hard to tell, since West Ham's forwards are Carlos Tevez (11 goals this season), Dean Ashton (9 goals), Marlon Harewood (12 goals) and Bobby Zamora, all of them relatively young as well.

Grade: A-

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Burghausen (on loan from FC Bayern)
The 3.8 million pound defender will be very good in the future. He's probably the best defender in the German Second Division already as he's leading in average rating as well as number of tackles per game. The players ahead of him at FC Bayern are likely to be first-choice centrebacks Lucio and Daniel Van Buyten.

Grade: A

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Preston (on loan from Liverpool)
This 17 year old is valued at 3.2 million pounds, largely based on his potential since his on-field appearances for Preston haven't been scintillating. A 6.62 average rating thus far makes Sean just slightly better than average. Unless there's some marked improvement in the future, it's hard to see Sean having a career at Liverpool, considering there are players like Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Luis Garcia and Harry Kewell ahead of him.

Grade: C+

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Sheff Wednesday (on loan from Portsmouth)
The defensive midfielder (3 million valuation) has also not performed brilliantly so far, just a 6.29 average rating. Maybe things are starting to pick up though, since he recently got his first MOM award. The injury he suffered will hurt though since he's out of commission for a quite a bit. It's a real possibility BB Gunn will be able to return to Portsmouth and get some playing time as there are no real names ahead of him except for Manuel Fernandes and Gary O'Neil (don't ask me who this is but his stats are good and he's valued at 10+ million).

Grade: C

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U-18s
The 16 year old is worth 1.7 million pounds but he hasn't been able to show what he can do yet, not with the injuries he has suffered.

Grade: Incomplete

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
A good signing for Sevilla, though that isn't necessarily reflected in his value (1.7 million pounds). He's played well when given the chance to do so and he'll only get better over time.

Grade: A

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Barnsley (on loan from Blackburn)
Jace has nothing to be ashamed of this year. He's increased his value about 10 times (775,000 pounds) and he's been capped twice by the Scotland U-21 team. Great signing by Blackburn if Jace can continue to develop.

Grade: B+

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Swansea (on loan from Birmingham)
Possibly the most disappointing of the kids so far, Bud's injuries have not helped him at all this year. He's struggling to play well in League One, which casts into doubt whether he has what it takes to become a Premiership player for Birmingham. His value has increased marginally, from 130,000 pounds to 300,000 pounds.

Grade: C

law90026

01-10-2007, 10:31 PM

January 2007 News
10 January 2007
Swansea Manager Kenny Jackett thinks Bud Wiser has been playing reasonably well of late althought there was quite a lot of room for improvement. Bud was happy with the comment and felt pleased with his recent performances and is really enjoying his football at the moment.

13 January 2007
Mike Schaplowsky's loan with Leicester extended for 3 months to 14 April 2007.

14 January 2007
Frank Justice returns to West Ham U18's.

23 January 2007
Bud Wiser's loan with Swansea extended for 2 more months to 24 April 2007.

24 January 2007
Jace Hunter returns to Blackburn.

28 January 2007
Jace Hunter joins Hearts on loan until the end of the season.

29 January 2007
Sean Treacy's loan with Preston extended for 2 more months to 30 March 2007.

1 February 2007
Arbroath (Scottish Division 3, 140 pounds a week) and Brescia (Serie B, 10,750 pounds a week) offer me a job :D Wonder if I should bother?

Sublime 2

01-10-2007, 10:37 PM

I love this dynasty so far...great job!

law90026

01-10-2007, 10:38 PM

1 February 2007
I accept the offer from Arbroath, just for fun (I can always quit in a bit :P).

Sidenote:
Let me know if there are other things you would like to see in the dynasty or any thoughts you might have.

Edit: Heh, I decided it would be too much work to manage a club and I wasn't sure I would enjoy it much anyway taking into context what I'm doing in this game. Press Report follows:

"There has been shock and disbelief at Gayfield Park today after new Arbroath manager Dayne Ho sensationally quit the club just hours after being appointed. With Arbroath officials refusing to comment, it is still too early to guess the reasons for Ho's dramatic decision". LOL

law90026

01-10-2007, 11:31 PM

January Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Leicester (on loan from Chelsea)
4 games for Leicester this month but just one goal and no assists for Mike.

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Maybe being recalled wasn't a bad thing for Frank as he has managed 2 substitute appearances for West Ham, in a 2-1 win over Charlton and a 0-0 draw against Wigan. His rating of 5.50 is far from the best though.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Burghausen (on loan from FC Bayern)
Owen returns from the winter break to pick up where he left off. 2 games, 2 8 ratings, 2 more assists, 7.05 tackles/game and a pass success rate of 91%.

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Preston (on loan from Liverpool)
Sean made 3 appearances for Preston in January, not recording any goals or assists and averaging 6.33 but playing the full game each time. Results for Preston in those games were a 2-1 loss to Luton, a 1-1 draw with Southend and a 0-0 draw with Sunderland.

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Sheff Wed (on loan from Portsmouth)
BB has just recovered from his injury and is looking to get fit again. For what it's worth, Sheff Wed consider BB to be an important first team player so he should get his starting spot back once he's got some training under his belt.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
Al started 4 games for Sevilla in January, though he conceded 4 goals in those 4 games (one goal each game). When Adres Palop returned from his 3 month injury, Al Mighty went back to the bench.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U-18s
2 more months of recovery for Charles.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Hearts (on loan from Blackburn)
Jace has recently joined Hearts but it looks like he isn't the first choice keeper (he's behind Craig Gordon, a Scotland International). Before leaving Barnsley, Jace did manage one more game for them, a 2-1 win over Cardiff and recorded a 7 rating.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Swansea (on loan from Birmingham)
Maybe all he needed was some time. Bud played 5 games for Swansea in January and managed to get a 9 rating as well as the MOM award in a 2-0 win over Northampton. There's clearly still room for improvement but at least he has dragged his rating up to 6.50 in 10 appearances for Swansea.

bbgunn

01-10-2007, 11:36 PM

Ugh, the injuries hurt, but football world, just you wait...

law90026

01-10-2007, 11:40 PM

18 February 2007
Burghausen boss is delighted with Owen Hunter's performances, claiming they have been nothing short of magical. Owen agreed with his boss's comments and was looking forward in anticipation to every match.

law90026

01-10-2007, 11:56 PM

February Update

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank is now the highest valued player of the kids, at 9.75 million pounds. This is helped by the fact that he started a Premiership game for West Ham (laying on an assist in a 3-1 win over Everton on TV) as well as appeared as a substitute in West Ham's first leg loss to Lens in the EURO Cup (West Ham won the 2nd leg 3-1). In other news, Frank also got his first U-21 cap and scored on his debut against the Paraguay U-20s.

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Leicester (on loan from Chelsea)
As the season wears on , Mike appears to be slowing down. No goals in February for Leicester (to be fair, he only played 2 games for Leicester; the other 2 games were cup games which Mike is not allowed to play in under the terms of his loan).

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Burghausen (on loan from FC Bayern)
6 games, 1 assist, more MOMs for Owen Hunter as he maintains his numbers. 7.17 tackles a game, 91% pass success rate, 7.81 rating.

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Sheff Wed (on loan from Portsmouth)
BB reclaims his starting spot in Sheff Wed's midfield and starts 4 games for the Owls, with an average rating of 6.50. BB did go up against Sean Treacy in a 1-1 draw between Sheff Wed and Preston, ooth players managing only a 6 rating.

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Preston (on loan from Liverpool)
Sean started 5 out of 6 games for Preston in February. The reason for the missed game? Automatic suspension for a red-card, Sean's 2nd of the season. An average rating of 6.02 in February has to be improved on.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla,
Al rode the bench this month as his mentor is back and playing.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U18s
3 more weeks to go.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Hearts (on loan from Blackburn)
Jace managed to get one start in February, conceding 2 goals in a 2-1 loss to Falkirk and getting a 6.0 rating.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Swansea (on loan from Birmingham)
Bud started all 5 of Swansea's games in February, even getting his first goal in a 2-1 win over Scunthorpe. However, besides the Scunthorpe game, he hasn't played well and his overall rating for February is around 6.02.

law90026

01-11-2007, 12:31 AM

March News
9 March 2007
BB Gunn's loan with Sheff Wed extended for another month and will now expire on 8 April 2007.

24 March 2007
Bud Wiser returns to Birmingham.

30 March 2007
Simon Treacy returns to Liverpool.

law90026

01-11-2007, 01:04 AM

March Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Leicester (on loan from Chelsea)
Mike played in 4 out of 5 games for Leicester in March, managing 3 more goals. His stats so far this year are 35 starts, 17 goals, 0 assists, 4 MOMs and a 7.29 rating. Mike also earned his first U-21 cap against the Andorra U-21's.

Mike was named to the English Championship Team of the Week on 5 March.

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank failed to play any games for West Ham in March, though he managed to start for the England U-21s against the Isreal U-21s.

By way of update, Frank Justice was named to the English Championship Team of the Week twice with QPR, on 16 October and 11 September.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/defender, Burghausen (on loan from FC Bayern)
Owen's played 24 games for Burghausen this year, with 6 assists, 8 MOMs, a yellow card and a red card. He's averaging 6.95 tackles a game, 91% pass rate and a 7.75 rating. Owen got his first two caps for the German U-21 team as well.

Owen was named to the German Second Division Team of the Week on 4 previous occasions.

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Sheff Wed (on loan from Portsmouth)
22 starts for the Owls this season, 1 goal, 1 MOM, 3 yellow cards and a 6.32 rating.

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Liverpool Reserves
Sean finished his loan spell with Preston having started 32 games for them and managing to get 1 goal and 1 assist, along with a 6.47 rating. Sean's been promoted to the Liverpool Reserves team.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U18s
Young Charles is back again from injury and his potential is starting to get recognised as he recorded his first U-19 cap for Germany.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
Al started one game in March, bringing his season stats to 16 games (14 started), 10 goals conceded, 7 clean sheets, 3 MOMs and a rating of 7.44.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Hearts
Jace started 2 games for Hearts in March, conceding 3 goals in the process. His stats for Hearts so far are 3 games started, 5 goals concded, 1 yellow card and a 6.33 rating. Jace also has 5 Scotland U-21 caps for the season.

Jace has a new favoured club, Barnsley.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Birmingham Reserves
Bud returned from his loan to Birmingham, where he was sent to the Reserves. His stats at Swansea were 18 appearances, 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 MOM and 6.39, along with one League One Team of the Week Award.

law90026

01-11-2007, 02:32 AM

April News
8 April 2007
BB Gunn returns to Portsmouth.

14 April 2007
Mike Schaplowsky returns to Chelsea.

law90026

01-11-2007, 02:55 AM

April Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Chelsea U18s
Returning to Chelsea after nearly an entire season on loan to Leicester, Mike has been sent to the U18 team. He played well while at Leicester, starting 37 games and scoring 17 goals with an average rating of 7.27, very impressive numbers for a 17 year old.

Birmingham and Southampton are showing interest in Mike.

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham U18s
It's been a bit of a roller-coaster for Frank. He appeared in 6 games for the first team, 5 of them as a substitute, but after suffering a concussion, he was sent down to the U18s. Perhaps West Ham want to make sure Frank doesn't suffer any long lasting injury, since he still has many years ahead of him.

Leicester are showing an interest in Frank.

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth
Since returning to Portsmouth, BB has worked his way so that he's a regular on the subs bench. He still hasn't played much yet, but at least he's in a position to do so. He's made one appearance as a substitute and got a 6 for that.

Barnsley, Cardiff, Colchester, Doncaster, Hull, Luton, Preston, Southend and Wolves have expressed an interest in BB Gunn.

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Liverpool U18s
Playing in the U18s for Liverpool, Sean's highlight so far would be coming on as a sub for 20 mins in the 2nd leg of Liverpool's European Cup tie against Arsenal. For the record, Liverpool beat Arsenal and are presently facing Manchester United in the semi-finals.

Colchester, Doncaster and Luton have expressed an interest in Sean Treacy.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Burghausen (on loan from FC Bayern)
Owen played 3 games for Burghausen in April and got another assist, bringing him to 7 for the season.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U18s
Similar to Sean Treacy, the 16 year old's highlight is the same game against Liverpool in the 2nd leg of the European Cup Quarterfinals. Charles came on with 15 mins left and got a 6, becoming one of the youngest ever players to play for the Arsenal senior team.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
Al continues to sit on the bench, though he is still being mentored by the No. 1 keeper.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Hearts
No further appearances for Jace in a Hearts shirt in April.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Birmingham U18s
Bud appeared in 4 Championship games for Birmingham before being sent back to the U18s. He is presently being tutored by Damien Johnson.

law90026

01-11-2007, 03:14 AM

May News
4 May 2007
FC Bayern wins the German First Division.

12 May 2007
Man Utd win the English Premier League. The top 4 are already determined, it's just a question of final positioning for 3rd and 4th. Chelsea have confirmed 2nd place with 72 pts, Liverpool have 67 pts and Arsenal have 66 pts. 5th place Tottenham are at 60 pts.

12 May 2007
Celtic win the Scottish Premier League.

13 May 2007
Arsenal take 3rd as they draw 2-2 with West Ham on the last day of the Premiership and Liverpool lose 2-0 to Blackburn.

13 May 2007
Real Madrid win the Spanish Primera Liga.

16 May 2007
Werder Bremen wins the Euro Cup with a 3-0 win against Rangers.

19 May 2007
Chelsea win the FA Cup, beating Manchester City 1-0. Manchester City were also relegated from the Premier League, making this a double blow.

20 May 2007
Burghausen boss praises Owen Hunter's form. Owen responded that while he was pleased, he believed he could up his performance still.

23 May 2007
Barcelona win the European Cup with a 1-0 win over Man Utd.

26 May 2007
Celtic win the Scottish Cup with a 3-0 win over Hibernian, completing their double.

26 May 2007
FC Bayern beat Borussia Dortmund 1-0 to win the German Cup, completing their double.

27 May 2007
Roma win Serie A.

law90026

01-11-2007, 04:16 AM

End of Season Update

English Premier League
Manchester United win the title with 78 pts, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool coming in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Tottenham and Newcastle come in 5th and 6th, qualifying for the Euro Cup next season. Manchester City, Wigan and Fulham were relegated.

Top Goalscorers were Kanu, Anelka (Bolton) and Drogba with 19 goals each.

Steven Gerrard led all players with 12 assists.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), with Henry (Arsenal) and Kanu (Portsmouth) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Footballer of the Year was Xabi Alonso (Liverpool), with Berbatov (Spurs) and Tim Cahill (Everton) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player's Young Player of the Year was Collins John (Fulham) with Al Bangura (Watford) and Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Alex Fergurson (Man Utd) and Mourinho (Chelsea) and Jol (Tottenham) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Bundesliga
FC Bayern won the title with Leverkusen and Werder Bremen coming in 2nd and 3rd. Frankfurt, Cottbus and Mainz were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Roy Makaay (FC Bayern) with 19 goals.

David Jarolim (HSV) led all players with 9 assists.

Player of the Year award went to Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen), with Ivan Klasnic (Werder Bremen) and Vahid Hashemian (Hannover) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Hans-Jorg Butt of Leverkusen.

Youth Player of the Year was Eugen Polanski (Gladbach) with Marcell Jansen (Gladbach) and Gonzalo Castro (Leverkusen) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Felix Magath (FC Bayern) and Michael Skibbe (Leverkusen) and Thonas Schaaf (Werder Bremen) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Burghausen (Owen Hunter) came in 8th in the German Second Division but they had the 3rd best defence.

Serie A
Roma won the Serie A, with Inter, Milan and Chievo coming 2nd, 3rd and 4th (European Cup places). Lazio, Udinese and Atalanta qualified for the Euro Cup. Ascoli, Reggina and Cagliari were relegated.

Interesting point: Milan had 65 pts, after having 8 pts deducted. Without that, they would have 73 pts, more than Roma. That's what happens when you cheat.

Top Goalscorer was Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter) with 18 goals.

Top Assist was Andrea Pirlo (Milan) with 9.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Marco Storari of Messina.

Defender of the Year was Alessandro Nesta of Milan.

Foreign Player of the Year was Sebestian Frey (GK for Fiorentina).

Italian Player of the Year was Ighli Vannucchi of Empoli and Iaquinta (Inter) and Barone (Torino) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Luciano Spalletti (Roma) with Ancelotti (Milan) and Mancini (Inter) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Luca Toni (Fiorentina) and Mancini (Roma) and Lucarelli (Livorno) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Paco Sanchez (Livorno), with Gyan Asmoah (Udinese) and Didier Digard (Empoli) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Sidenote: Juventus came in 13th in Serie B. Even they had their 17 pts restored, they would not have been promoted. That's what happens when you cheat :D

La Liga
Real Madrid won the title, with Sevilla coming in 2nd and Deportivo 3rd. Barcelona came in 7th, very disappointing for them. Real Sociedad, Gimnastic and Racing were relegated.

Top goalscorere was Fernando Torres (Atletico) with 23 goals.

Top Assist was David Beckham (Real Madrid) with 12.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Iker Casillas.

Manager of the Year was Fabio Capello with Sevilla's Juande Ramos coming in 2nd.

Player of the Year was Fernando Torres.

law90026

01-11-2007, 04:40 AM

Season 1 Summary

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Chelsea U18s
Mike ends the season valued at 10.5 million pounds. Over the course of the season, he spent most of his time at Leicester City, where he scored 17 goals. He appeared in 2 games as a substitute for Chelsea, averaging 6.50 and scoring his first ever Premiership goal against Newcastle in a 2-0 win.

Mike is a hot prospect for the future and he'll be hoping to get some Premiership experience soon, whether with Chelsea or another club. 1 U-21 cap for England. *

Grade: A- (inability to get many first team games at Chelsea brings it down slightly)

*= Explanation: I couldn't get Mike to appear in the game unless I gave him England as a secondary nation. Apologies for that.

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Also valued at 10.5 million pounds, the big target man appeared in 6 games for West Ham, getting an assist and a 6.33 rating. Frank will look back to his time with QPR as a good time, during which he scored 7 goals.

Frank is part of the West Ham squad rotation and has been compared to one of his fellow West Ham strikers, Marlon Harewood. 2 U-21 England caps with 1 goal.

Grade: A- (similarly, inability to break into West Ham first team pulled this down slightly)

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth
BB Gunn is valued at 7.25 million pounds but he'll look back on this season as a disappointment, considering some of the expectations on him. 23 appearances for the Owls was decent but not his 6.35 rating. He made one substitute's appearance for Portsmouth.

BB Gunn is considered part of the squad rotation in Portsmouth at this time.

Grade: B (has great mental and physical attributes but needs more technical ability to reach the next grade)

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Liverpool U18s
Sean Treacy made 3 appearances for the Liverpool first team and did really badly, 5.67 rating. His time with Preston was better overall, 32 appearances and a 6.47 rating with 1 goal and 1 assist.

Valued at 4.4 million pounds, Sean Treacy is considered promising and a hot prospect for the future. But whether that future is at Liverpool will remain to be seen.

Grade: B- (simply didn't perform that well this season)

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, FC Bayern
The 4.4 million pound defender played in 29 games for Burghausen, marshalling the 3rd best defence in the Second Division. He managed 8 assists (joint 2nd in the Second Division) and 9 MOM awards (No. 1) to go with a 7.69 rating (No. 1).

Owen Hunter won the German Second Divison Youth Player of the Year award and also acquired 3 U-21 German caps.

Grade: A (while not playing in the First Division, Owen was absolutely brilliant with Burghausen)

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U18s
Injuries took their toll on Charles and he'll be hoping to do better next year. He's capped at the German U-19 level at this time but it's hard to evaluate how he did since he didn't play that many noteworthy matches.

Grade: Incomplete

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
Al finishes the season with 18 games under his belt and a 7.39 rating. He's currently valued at 2 million pounds and already has a European Super Cup Runner's up medal.

Grade: B+ (great potential for the future and he played well at the highest level when required to do so)

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Birmingham
Injuries also took their toll on Bud Wiser and he never really got started for the first 5-6 months of his career. Things are slowly beginning to pick up for the 975,000 pound winger as he made 4 apperarances for Birminghim in the Championship. He'll look back at his time with Swansea (18 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 6.39) as a wasted opportunity.

Grade: C+ (not playing that well in the Championship is alarming)

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
Now valued at 925,000 pounds, Jace will be looking for more first team experience next year. He probably recognises that he made a mistake joining Hearts since he only played 3 games for them but the call of home was too strong at the time. 5 U-21 caps for Scotland.

Grade: B- (did decently at Barnsley but the lack of playing time in the latter part of the season hurt Jace)

law90026

01-11-2007, 05:27 AM

Pre-Season News

5 June 2007
Mike Schaplowsky and Frank Justice both come off the bench in a 1-0 win for the England U21s over Estonia U21s.

Jace Hunter picked up his 6th U-21 cap for Scotland in a 4-0 win over Faroe Islands U21s.

Al Mighty gets his first U-21 cap for Italy in a 2-0 win over Lithuania U-21s.

21 June 2007
Mike Schaplowsky joins Celtic on a season long loan.

30 June 2007
Owen Hunter gets his first cap for Germany in a 4-0 win over Japan in the Confederations Cup 3rd place play-off.

2 July 2007
Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen) wins European Footballer of the Year, with Steven Gerrard coming in 2nd and Ronaldinho (Barcelona) 3rd.

5 July 2007
BB Gunn rejects Portsmouth's offer of a new 3 year contract. He wants substantial bonuses for his appearance in the first team.

15 July 2007
Frank Justice rejects West Ham's contract offer as he wants an appearance fee bonus.

17 July 2007
Bud Wiser signs a new contract wih Birmingham, which will expire on 30 June 2009. His new contract increases his weekly wage from 2,200 pounds to 3,000 pounds but his appearance bonus is only 300 pounds now, along with a 150 pound goal bonus and a 750 pound win bonus. This contract is meant to reflect Bud Wiser's new status as an important first team player. Oh .. and Bud's injured again, with strained knee ligaments, out for another 1-3 weeks.

30 July 2007
West Ham Manager, Alan Pardew, is reportedly chasing after Liverpool midfielder Sean Treacy.

1 August 2007
Petr Cech (Chelsea) wins European Goalkeeper of the Year, Shay Given (Newcastle) and Marco Amelia (Livorno) come in 2nd and 3rd.

Andrea Baragli (Palermo) wins European Defender of the Year, William Gallas (Arsenal) and Dani Alves (Sevilla) come in 2nd and 3rd.

Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) wins European Midfielder of the Year, Ronaldinho (Barcelona) and Joaquin (Valencia) come in 2nd and 3rd.

Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen) wins European Striker of the Year, David Villa (Valencia) and Thierry Henry (Arsenal) come in 2nd and 3rd.

Liverpool manager, Rafa Benitez, indicates that he is prepared to sell Sean Treacy, who is not in his manager's plans this season and has been asked to seek opportunities elsewhere. Upon hearing this news, Blackburn makes an offer to loan Sean Treacy.

bbgunn

01-11-2007, 05:35 AM

This is amazing! Keep it up!

law90026

01-11-2007, 05:46 AM

August News
8 August 2007
Birmingham sells Bud Wiser to Fulham for 1.7 million pounds. Bud's new contract pays him 7,250 pounds a week, with a 1,800 pound appearance bonus, 375 pound goal bonus and 1,800 pound win bonus, and will be used as part of the squad rotation. Bud is excited about the move.

9 August 2007
Sean Treacy joins Blackburn on a season long loan. In particular, he turned down an offer to join Arsenal.

12 August 2007
Chelsea win the Community Shield 3-0 on penalties against Manchester United. It was 1-1 at full time. Drogba had given Chelsea a 16 min lead but Saha equalised in the 42nd min.

24 August 2007
Werder Bremen win the Euro Super Cup with a 3-1 win over Barcelona.

law90026

01-11-2007, 05:53 AM

This is amazing! Keep it up!

Thanks for the kind words :D

law90026

01-11-2007, 06:46 AM

2007/2008 Pre-season Report

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank is now valued at 11.5 million pounds and hopes to feature in the first team more prominently this year. He's honoured that he's playing with Javier Mascherano.

Ability: In terms of abilities, Frank has definitely improved after his first season. His finishing has gotten better (19) and he's one of the best headers of the ball (20). On the ground, his passing is impeccable (19). Composed (20) and tricky (flair 17), Frank is also fast (16 accelration, 17 pace), strong (strength 18) and with great jumping ability (19). He would be great for a team that plays a direct style of football.

Verdict: Very talented 18 year old, the question is whether he'll get much playing time this year. While Carlos Tevez may have left the club for 31.5 million pounds (to Roma), Frank still has to compete with Dean Ashton, Marlon Harewood and Bobby Zamora for a spot, made more difficult by the fact that West Ham play a 4-4-1-1 formation.

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Celtic (on loan from Chelsea)
And Mike finds himself out on a long-term loan again. Still, that's probably a better option for Mike, rather than languishing in the U18s team. Playing for Celtic, Mike will get some valuable top-level experience as well as the opportunity to play in the Champions League. Currently valued at 10.5 million pounds.

Ability: Mike retains his keen sense of where the goal is (finishing 20) and has improved his dribbling as well (18). His hard work in the off-season also allowed him to improve his first touch to a very high level (15). Mike is also composed (20), creative when he has the ball (17), with loads of flair (20) and he always provides options even when not on the ball (off the ball 17). Physically, Mike is one of the fastest players around (pace 18, acceleration 19) and his agility (18) and balance (16) mean that he's able to do things other lesser athletes can't. He's worked on his stamina (15) as well and will be able to last longer in matches.

Verdict: A great opportunity for Mike to learn the trade at Celtic. Indications are that Mike will be one of the two first choice strikers at Celtic and this experience can only help his development.

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth
It looks like BB Gunn's going to be kept around in Portsmouth this season as one of the first 16 players. Whether this will be good for him remains to be seen as it will depend on how much playing time he gets. Valued at 7.25 million pounds.

Ability: Technically, BB is a good corner taker (16) and does his defensive duties well (20 tackling, 20 marking). But his other technical abilities are lacking, which are a concern (not a good passer of the ball and a poor first touch stand out). Both mentally and physically though, BB is great. He's brave (20), creative (16 - which doesn't help much when he can't carry out what his mind tells him to do), makes good decisions (20), is determined (16), influences the game well (15), has good positioning (20) and is one of the most well developed physical specimens around (7 out of 8 physical stats are at least 15).

Verdict: BB will have every opportunity to prove himself at Portsmouth. He looks like he could be a good player but if he can't improve his techical ability, there are questions how effective he can be. Right now, he's like a poor man's Ray Parlour, all effort, little skill.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, FC Bayern
Another player who is being kept around in the first team, it'll be interesting to see what happens. Suspicion is that Owen may not play that much in the first team but it may be beneficial for him to learn from his seniors. Already an international player at age 18, the sky's the limit for him. Valued at 5.5 million pounds.

Ability: He has the abilities required of a good/great sweeper, since he heads well (18), is a good marker (18), tackles ferociously (20) and his passing is impeccable (20). Aggressive (15), Owen also knows where the ball is (anticpation 16, off the ball 16, positioning 16). Physically is where Owen is more lacking, since he's only really outstanding at jumping (16). Some issues with Owen though are his lack of bravery (1), his poor balance (5) and he isn't always a team player (team work 6).

Verdict: Owen will likely be a sub over the course of the season. It looks like there are at least 2-4 central defenders ahead of Owen in the pecking order.

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Blackburn (on loan from Liverpool)
Sean left Liverpool on a season long loan with hopes of proving he has what it takes to play in the Premiership. Long suspected that he might not have a future at Liverpool, that was confirmed by his manager before the season started. The 4.9 million pound midfielder will have something to prove.

Ability: Sean's technical ability is lacking as he's really only outstanding at tackling (19). Similar to BB Gunn, he's well developed mentally (good aggression (15), bravery (15), creativity (20), decisions (19), work rate(16)) and decent physically (15 acceleration, 15 balance, 15 jumping).

Verdict: Sean doesn't have a lack of suitors as they see a lot of potential in him. Blackburn is a place where Sean can show what he can do but again, the lack of technical ability might hurt him a lot. He's a poor-mans version of BB Gunn :D

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
The 18 year old Scottish U-21 keeper is now valued at 4.2 million pounds as scouts begin to realise how much talent he has.

Ability: Good in the air (20), commands the area (17), communicates well (20), good at one-on-ones (17), catlike reflexes (20), knows when to punch (16), huge throw (18), Jace's only real flaw is that his kicking is really bad. He also makes good decisions (19) and has great agility (20), balance (20), acceleration (16) and jumping (15).

Verdict: Can Jace beat out Brad Friedal for the no. 1 goalie spot? It's the age-old question of whether experience (Brad's 36) or youth (Jace is 18) should win out.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U18s
Sigh. Injured in the pre-season, Charles strained his knee ligaments. Will he ever be healthy? Valued at 2.5 million pounds.

Ability: Technically, Charles isn't outstanding at anything yet, since it's hard to improve whey you're constantly on crutches. Mentally, Charles is aggressive (15), anticipates well (15), is composed (15), determined (16) and positions himself well in games (17), while being fast (acceleration 16 and pace 16) with good balance (15).

Verdict: No one knows what to make of Charles. Maybe he's just too frail to take on professional soccer. Eyes will be on him to see how his body holds up this season.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
The Italian U-21 keeper will be looking for more playing time this year. Interestingly, he's no longer being tutored by Andres Palop.

Ability: Al commands his area well (16), handles the ball well (16) and has good reflexes (16) as well as knowing when to rush out (20). He's brave (19) and determined (15) plus he's agile (20), balanced (19), has great jumping ability (16) and good strength (15). All in all, Al has the package to be a good imposing keeper.

Verdict: Expect more of the same as last season, stretches of games where Al will play but don't expect him to be the no. 1 keeper this season.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Pleased to have moved from Birmingham to Fulham, Bud will be looking to play better this year and help Fulham regain its Premiership status. Valued at 1.6 million pounds.

Ability: Bud's a great crosser (18), dribbler (20) and even can mark his man (15). What he can't do is control the ball (technique 7, first touch 4). He anticpates the ball well (18) and works well with his teammates (team work 17) while being tricky (flair 16). He's also one of the fastest players around (pace 20).

Verdict: Not sure what to expect from Bud to be honest. On one hand, Fulham must like something about him to purchase him, yet on the other, Bud just doesn't look ready. Expect a roller-coaster season.

Travis

01-11-2007, 10:27 AM

Great stuff, very fun to follow! Here's hoping for less bad team decisions on Jace's part, heh.

cschex

01-11-2007, 10:43 AM

*sigh* Even in the virtual world I can't stay healthy.

thealmighty

01-11-2007, 04:07 PM

Awesome dynasty so far. Loving it. First thing I look for now on FOFC.

Keep it up!

law90026

01-11-2007, 08:37 PM

Some Major Signings in the off-season:
Arsenal sign Gabriel Heinze (29 year old Defender) from Man Utd for 15.5 million pounds.

Atletico Madrid sign Robin van Persie (Attacking Midfielder/Forward) from Arsenal for 10.5 million pounds.

Man Utd sign David Trezeguet (Forward) from Juventus for 34 million pounds.

Liverpool sign Eidur Gudjohnsen (Forward) from Barcelona for 13.25 million pounds and Vicente (Left Winger) from Valencia for 43.5 million pounds.

Chievo sign Luis Garcia (Midfielder) from Liverpool for 13.25 million pounds.

Chelsea sign Julio Baptista (Attacking Midfielder/Forward) from Real Madrid for 26.5 million pounds.

Fiorentina sign Saloman Kalou (Attacking Midfielder/Forward) from Chelsea for 13 million pounds.

Real Madrid signs Khalid Boulahrouz (Defender) from Chelsea for 12.75 million pounds.

Marseille sign Nicolas Anelka (Forward) from Bolton for 17 million pounds.

Inter sign Forward Luca Toni from Fiorentina for 27 million pounds.

Roma signed Forward Carlos Tevez from West Ham for 31.5 million pounds and Defender Pascal Chimbonda from Tottenham for 10.5 million pounds.

Barcelona pay 71 million pounds for Fernando Torres (Forward) from Atletico.

Sevilla sign Forward Javier Saviola from Barcelona for 19.25 million pounds. They also sign Winger Mauro Camoransi from Juventus for 11.5 million pounds.

law90026

01-11-2007, 09:25 PM

August Update

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank made 4 starts in the pre-season friendlies for West Ham, scoing 1 goal and getting 1 assist. However, when the actual games started, Frank found himself watching the games from the stands ... he wasn't even on the substitutes bench in August. Dean Ashton is the first choice forward, with Bobby Zamora being the sub. Marlon Harewood, the player that Frank is compared to, is currently starting on the right wing.

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Celtic (on loan from Chelsea)
6 games and 3 goals for the Bhoys, a good start to the season for Mike. 2 goals have come in the Scottish Premier League while 1 has come in the Champions League (against Sparta Prague in the first leg).

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth
BB appeared in one game as a substitute for Portsmouth and did really badly (5). He's currently dropped from the first team and will be waiting to be given another chance. The players ahead of him are 21 year old Portugese Midfielder Manuel Fernandes and 24 year old English midfielder Gary O'Neil.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, FC Bayern
Owen is currently one of the regular subs on Bayern's bench. He has made one substitute's appearance so far and managed a 7.0 in that game. Peter Niemeyer (23 year old German), Valerien Ismael 31 year old Frenchman) and Lucio (29 year old Brazilian) are likely choices ahead of Owen this season.

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Blackburn (on loan from Liverpool)
Sean's started Blackburn's first 2 games in the Premiership, a 3-1 loss to Middlesborough and a 1-0 win over new boys Southampton. A 6.50 rating in 2 games is decent but no other stats though. Sean thinks he works well with Robbie Savage (32 year old Welsh Midfielder) and Manager Mark Hughes agrees apparently, since the 2 start in the middle of the park for Blackburn.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
So experience wins out as Jace starts on the bench for Blackburn. He's managed one substitutes appearance so far, a 1-0 win over Southampton, when Brad Friedal was injured in the 24th minute. Jace managed an 8 and kept a clean sheet.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U18s
Out with strained knee ligaments. It's been one year since he turned "professional" (he's technically not a pro yet) and Charles has been out of action for more than half that time (6 months before this with a broken foot and broken ankle).

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
Al hasn't appeared in the La Liga yet. However, the Sevilla manager is clearly keen to give Al some continued first team experience as Al was given the start in Sevilla's 2 Champions League Qualifier matches against Slavia Prague (winning 1-0 and 4-1).

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud has made 2 Championship appearances off the bench for Fulham and managed a 5.0 average rating. Unless he starts to play better, Bud's position on the bench may be in trouble.

law90026

01-11-2007, 09:55 PM

September Update

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank makes his first 2 appearances for the season, off the bench for West Ham. He managed a 7 in both apperances and will be hoping to get more playing time based on that. This may be difficult though since Dean Ashton and Marlon Harewood are both England internationals. Frank also made 2 more appearances for the England U-21s, scoring his second international goal in the process.

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Celtic (on loan from Chelsea)
Mike appeared in 4 more games for Celtic this month, and his season so far is 10 games, 5 goals ...and 0 assists (4 games, 1 goal in September, the goal coming in a 4-1 loss to Olympiakos in a Champions League Group game). Will he ever pass the ball? Mike picked up his first red card of the season as well. Surprisingly, Mike was not called up for the 2 England U-21 games in September.

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth
Despite his poor performance in August, BB has been given another opportunity to prove himself. He started a Premiership game (1-1 draw against West Ham) as well as the League Cup 2nd Round win over Derby County. 3 games this year, with a 6.67 average rating.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, FC Bayern
Owen continues to come off the bench as he made 2 more substitutes appearances for Bayern this month, including a Champions League match against Benfica (3 subs appearances so far this year). Owen also came off the bench in the 24th minute for Germany in a 3-0 win against Wales, his second cap (3 subs in the 24th minute as Germany were up 3-0 in the first 17 minutes).

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Blackburn (on loan from Liverpool)
3 more appearances for Blackburn this month, 2 of them off the bench. He's averaging 6.20 in 5 games so far and has a pass percentage of 70%. His starting spot has been taken by Mathieu Flamini, who was out for 5 months with a broken thigh bone.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
Nothing much to report for Jace this month other than the fact that he dislocated his jaw in the 12th minute of a Scotland U-21 game against France. He had let in one goal at the time and Scotland conceded 3 more after Jace came out. Jace now has 8 U-21 caps for Scotland.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U18s
Guess who's back? Charles recovers from his injury and is back to playing with the U18s, where he's performed quite well. He's trying desperately to stay healthy since 7 months out with assorted injuries in a year is a horrible record.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
Al made one substitute's appearance in September, when Andres Palop was injured in the 51st minute againt Atletico (2-2 draw) and Al managed an 8 rating (keeping a clean sheet in the process). It's a minor injury though, so Al probably won't get much playing time because of it.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud started Fulham's game against Sheff Utd in the League Cup 2nd round and also came off the bench on 2 other occasions for Fulham. His rating has increased to 5.60, still not very good. Fulham are struggling, 19th in the Championship, so maybe it's not all Bud's fault.

law90026

01-11-2007, 11:13 PM

October Update

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Franks starts one game for the Hammers (a 2-1 win over West Brom) and came on as a sub in a 2-1 loss to Tottenham (where he scored the only goal). His average rating of 7 is quite nice. Frank also played 2 more U-21 games for England and scored against Estonia U21s.

Mike Schaplowsly - Striker, Celtic (on loan from Chelsea)
Mike scored 2 goals in September while starting 6 games for Celtic. He's formed a good partnership with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, his 29 year old strike partner as they have combined for 16 goals between them for Celtic this season.

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth
6 appearances for Portsmouth this season, 2 of them as a substitute. The reason for this appears to be that Gary O'Neil twisted his knee, opening a spot up in the starting 11 for BB. BB is averaging 6.17 .. but only 5.75 in the Premiership.

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Blackburn (on loan from Liverpool)
Sean's played 8 games for Blackburn this year, 3 of them coming off the bench. He's currently being paired with Mathieu Flamini in midfield as Robbie Savage is injured. 6.13 rating for the season so far.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, FC Bayern
The young German gets his 3rd international cap but doesn't make any appearances for Bayern this month. With Lucio back from international duty and Daniel Van Buyten finding favour with the manager, Owen has been dropped from the bench and is strictly a backup at this time.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
Jace really needs to stop playing for the Scotland U-21 team as he picks up another injury while on international duty, this time a twisted ankle. Still, it's the only real game experience he's getting as Brad Friedal remains the no. 1 choice. Brad is also tutoring Zak Jones, the Blackburn Reserves Keeper .. not Jace. Tension?

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal U18s
While continuing to train with the U18 side, Charles made a substitutes appearance for the first team in a 2-0 loss to Sevilla in the Champions League. He managed a 6 for that game.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
Still with only one Italy U21 cap, Al played quite a bit in October for Sevilla, managing 2 league starts and 1 Champions League start. His stats this season are 7 games played (2 as a sub) with 4 goals conceded and 3 clean sheets. Disturbingly however, the last game Sevilla played, the U18 keeper was asked to start and Al was on the bench. Potential rivalry maybe. First choice keeper Andres Palop is out for a month with strained knee ligaments.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
He's continuing to improve as his rating is now at 5.83. 1 start and 5 sub appearances this season but he's passing really badly, just a 41% success rate.

st.cronin

01-11-2007, 11:22 PM

Treacy is pulling for his teammate, Jace. He's a tough bugger.

law90026

01-11-2007, 11:38 PM

November Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Celtic (on loan from Chelsea)
19 games, 7 goals, no assists (still). Mike suffers a damaged foot in November and misses Celtic's last 2 games in the month. He's out for another week. November was not a good month for Mike overall as he didn't add to his season tally. His average rating at this time is a low 6.58.

On the bright side, there is a reason why Mike hasn't been playing for the England U-21s as he celebrates his first cap for Poland and manages to score on his debut as well, in a 2-1 win against Ireland in a friendly game.

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank starts another game for West Ham this month, a 1-1 draw against Chelsea. He maintains his 7.00 rating for the season and has appeared in 5 games for West Ham so far (3 as a sub).

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth
BB celebrates his call-up to the England U21s this month and has been named captain of the squad. He was MOM for England U21s in the second leg of their Playoff against Spain U21s for a spot in the European U21 Championships (England won 5-2 on aggregate).

On the pitch for Portsmouth, BB has managed 8 appearances for Portsmouth so far (2 as a sub) and has a 6.25 rating (started 2 games for Portsmouth in November).

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Blackburn (on loan from Liverpool)
Sean is currently recovering for a twisted knee, which will keep him out of action for anything between 2 days to 2 weeks. Sean didn't play in any games this month because of the injury.

Owen Hunter - Sweeoer/Defender, FC Bayern
Owen started another game for Germany and was named MOM in the 3-0 win over Cyprus. At club level, Owen Hunter made his first start of the season in a 2-0 loss to Dortmund.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
And the string of niggly injuries continue, this time Jace has a groin strain. He now has 11 caps for the Scotland U-21s.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
In great news for the 17 year old (who signed his professinal contract recently), Charles is now training with the Arsenal first team. He managed his first subs appearance in the Premiership and got a 5 rating.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
It'll be disappointing for Al that he didn't manage to get any games this month for Sevilla, considering the manager is playing the U18 keeper instead. Al did get to train with the Italian national team though he wasn't given a chance to play.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud's improving steadily as his rating in 10 games (8 as a sub) is now 6.10. Since his bad start to the season, Bud's been playing better and this month he averaged 6.33 in 4 games.

law90026

01-11-2007, 11:46 PM

December News
26 December 2007
Mark Hughes, manager of Blackburn Rovers, told Football365.com that he was disappointed with the form of Sean Treacy, especially since he was expecting more from the youngster. Sean Treacy agreed as he feels he hasn't been performing anywhere near an acceptable level.

1 January 2008
In surprising news, Sean Treacy signs a new contract with Liverpool, which will keep him with the Reds until 30 June 2010. This new contract will pay him 8,250 pounds a week and has a 16,500 pound appearance bonus, a 210 pound goal bonus and a 2100 pound win bonus. Despite Rafa Benitez's earlier comments this season, it appears the Reds no longer want to lose Sean Treacy.

law90026

01-12-2007, 12:07 AM

December update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Celtic (on loan from Chelsea)
The 18 year old is going through a bit of a goal drought right now. He makes 4 more appearances for Celtic but doesn't score any goals. Chelsea has offered him an extension to his current contract and Mike is currently considering it

Season Stats: 23 games, 7 goals, 6.65 rating

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank makes another start for West Ham this month (it looks like he's getting a game a month :D) and scores in the 2-2 draw with QPR. What's interesting is that Frank was on loan at QPR last season, where his goals helped QPR in its promotion to the Premier League. Frank is looking forward to getting more games for the Hammers as Dean Ashton and Marlon Harewood are both injured (Dean is out for another month).

Season Stats: 6 games (3 as a sub), 2 goals, 7.00 rating

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth
BB is proving to be a workhorse for Portsmouth, appearing in 7 out of 8 games that Portsmouth played in December. He wasn't outstanding but at least he did his job competently. BB has been offered a new contract by Portsmouth.

Season Stats: 15 games (3 as a sub), 6.27 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Blackburn (on loan from Liverpool)
Sean will be pleased to have signed a new contract with Liverpool. Hopefully it's a sign of better things to come for the 18 year old. Sean appeared in 4 games for Blackburn after recovering from his injury but Blackburn's manager has been less than enthused with his performance.

Season Stats: 12 games (3 as a sub), 6.08 rating

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, FC Bayern
Owen Hunter is back on the substitute's bench at least, though starting appears to be out of his reach for now.

Season Stats: 5 games (4 as a sub), 5.05 tackles/game, 88% pass rate, 6.50 rating

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
Finally recovered from his injuries, Jace makes 2 appearances for Blackburn in December, starting the League Cup Quarterfinal against Southend and being named MOM (8 shots saved).

Season Stats: 3 games (2 as a sub), 0 goals conceded, 3 clean sheets, 8.67 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
The 17 year old starts for Arsenal in its 2-1 League Cup Quarterfinal win over Ipswich, getting a 7. Good to see Charles being kept in the Arsenal first team, which will be a good experience for him. For some reason though, Charles thinks Manuel Almunia, the reserve keeper is a really good player.

Season Stats: 3 games (2 as a sub), 6.00 rating

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla
Al started a game in December, a 1-0 loss to Barcelona. He got injured in training though, straining a wrist. More disturbingly, it appears Al is now 3rd choice on the team, with Andres Palop back from injury and Vincent Degre being promoted from the U18 team to be the first choice substitute.

Season Stats: 8 games (2 as a sub), 5 conceded, 3 clean sheets, 7.00 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Wing, Fulham
Bud picks up his first MOM award of the season in a 1-1 draw against Coventry. Bud appears to be the new first choice winger for Fulham now.

Season Stats: 13 games (9 as a sub), 1 MOM, 6.31 rating.

law90026

01-12-2007, 12:16 AM

Mid-Season Look Around the World

England:
Chelsea lead the league with 33 pts but Liverpool are just behind on goal difference. Shockingly, Arsenal is 18th with just 18 pts.

Portsmouth (BB Gunn) are currently 6th, West Ham (Frank Justice) are 11th and Blackburn (Sean Treacy and Jace Hunter) are 13th.

Sidenote - Fulham (Bud Wiser) who were once 19th in the table are now 4th, due to an amazing sequence of games ... since the start of October, Fulham have won 10 games, drawn twice and lost three times, 32 pts out of a possible 45.

Germany:
Dortmund lead the league with 33 pts but FC Bayern (Owen Hunter) are just behind on goal difference as well (shocking parallel to the Premier League).

Serie A:
Milan have 29 pts at the top of the table, followed by Lazio with 28. Inter are underachieving with 22 pts and are 9th while last season's winner, Roma, are 13th with 19 pts.

Sidenote - Juventus lead Serie B with 38 pts.

Scotland:
Celtic (Mike Schaplowsky) are running away with the title with 41 pts, 10 ahead of Rangers and Hibernian.

Spain:
Real Madrid lead with 33 pts and Getafe are 2nd with 31 pts. Sevilla (Al Mighty) have 18 pts and are 13th.

cschex

01-12-2007, 12:34 AM

Nice to see Charles getting some run and being healthy. Any chance you happen to know whether he's being played at left back or left wing?

bbgunn

01-12-2007, 12:36 AM

Portsmouth (BB Gunn) are currently 6th, West Ham (Frank Justice) are 11th and Blackburn (Sean Treacy and Jace Hunter) are 13th.

Go Portsmouth!

law90026

01-12-2007, 01:40 AM

January News
1 January 2008
BB Gunn signs a new deal with Portsmouth, which will keep him there till 30 June 2010. His new contract pays him 3,500 pounds a week, a 975 pound appearance bonus, a 95 pound goal bonus and a 975 pound win bonus.

11 January 2008
Jace Hunter signs a contract with Blackburn which will expire on 30 June 2010. He will be paid 2,700 pounds a week and receive a 750 pound appearance bonus, 750 pound win bonus and 900 pound clean sheet bonus.

13 January 2008
Mike Schaplowsky signs a new contract with Chelsea, and it will expire on 31 June 2010. The new contract pays 4,800 pounds a week and has a 9,500 pound appearance bonus, a 475 pound goal bonus and a 1,200 pound win bonus.

17 January 2008
In the first big money move for any of the kids, Leverkusen signed Owen Hunter from FC Bayern for 6.5 million pounds. Owen Hunter is expected to be an important first team player for Leverkusen and the young German international will be paid 12,250 pounds a week with a 1,200 pound appearance bonus and a 3,100 pound win bonus.

Owen Hunter was finding it hard to break into the first team at FC Bayern and this move gives him a chance to get regular first team experience at another top German club, who finished 2nd last season, behind FC Bayern.

Leverkusen makes the move to bring in the German international in an attempt to kick start its season. Currently 7th in the First Division, Leverkusen still has time to make a move up the table. Owen willl also strengthen the middle of their defence, where they only had 3 central defenders before, 4.3 million pound Cesare Bovo, 1.1 million pound Kim Falkenberg and 3.8 million pound Karim Haggui.

Verdict: Good move for both Owen Hunter and Leverkusen, at least in terms of potential. Owen Hunter is, on paper, Leverkusen's best central defender and will be able to bring the ball out of defence with his passing. Leverkusen not only sign a talented young defender, they also weaken FC Bayern in the process.

However, there is some controversy about the signing. Owen Hunter has a reputation for not being a great teammate and Leverkusen fans voices their uneasiness about the signing, worried Owen will disrupt the team. In a press conference, Owen Hunter didn't make any friends when he condemned the supporters for pre-judging him. Having said that, Owen is eager to start playing for Leverkusen.

20 January 2008
Gordan Strachan, Celtic manager, informed the press that he was pleased with the form of 18 year old striker Mike Schaplowsky, and expected him to maintain it. The explosive striker responded that he was very pleased with his form and was really enjoying his football at the moment.

22 January 2008
Frank Justice has rejected West Ham's latest contract offer as he feels he deserves a bonus based on appearances. This puts West Ham under some pressure as Frank's contract expires in June 2009 and failure to agree to terms may allow another club to sweep in and sign Frank.

law90026

01-12-2007, 01:41 AM

Nice to see Charles getting some run and being healthy. Any chance you happen to know whether he's being played at left back or left wing?

At least where he started (the League Cup game), Charles played as a left back.

law90026

01-12-2007, 02:19 AM

January Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Celtic (on loan from Chelsea)
Mike played very well in January, being named in the Team of the Week twice (21 January and 28 January). He was also awarded the Young Player of the Month Award. Mike played 3 games this month and scored 4 goals.

Season Stats: 26 games played, 11 goals, 2 MOMs, 6.81 rating.

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank is currently squabbling with West Ham over the terms of a new contract. Frank was ever present for West Ham in January, playing in 7 games and scoring 3 goals in the process. West Ham should be wary about losing Frank if

Season Stats: 13 games (4 as a sub), 5 goals, 1 MOM, 7.08 rating

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth
BB played in 3 games for Portsmouth in January and has slipped slightly. He also suffered a twisted knee which kept him out of action for a week. Still, he's performed well enough to be awarded with a one year extension to his contract.

Season Stats: 18 games (4 as a sub), 6.17 rating

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
Owen has started 3 games for Leverkusen since his move and managed a healthy 7.00 rating. He hasn't displayed any of the deadly passing ability yet (0 assists) but he's doing his job well with 7.61 tackles a game and a pass rate of 93%.

Season Stats: 3 games, 7.61 tackles/game, 93% pass rate, 7.00 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Blackburn
Sean started 3 games for Blackburn in January as he has regained his position in the starting 11. Much like last season, Sean isn't the kind of player who will get goals or assists and will play competently but not spectacularly.

Season Stats: 18 games (3 as a sub), 6.11 rating

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
Finally Jace gets the chance to start in the Premiership on a regular basis, aided in part by Brad Friedal being out with a strained neck for 2 weeks in January. He's performed really well as most of the goals he has conceded came in cup games (5 against Arsenal in a 5-0 aggregate loss in the League Cup Semi-finals).

Season Stats: 10 games (3 as a sub), 9 goals conceded, 5 clean sheets, 2 MOMs, 7.80 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
2 more appearances as a substitute this month for the 17 year old, in both legs of the Semi-Final League Cup win over Blackburn. Disappointingly, Charles got a 5 in both games. Charles has recently been called up to the German U-21 team to train with them but no cap as yet.

Season Stats: 5 games (4 as a sub), 5.60 rating

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla Atletico
In disappointing news, Al was sent to the Sevilla reserve team. Oddly enough, Andres Palop has decided to start tutoring him again. Damn those jealous senior keepers.

Season Stats: 0 games for Sevilla Atletico

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
6 games for Fulham, 2 as a sub, as Bud Wiser continues to show slight improvement in terms of his performance on the pitch.

Season Stats: 19 games (11 as a sub), 2 MOMs, 6.37 rating

law90026

01-12-2007, 02:42 AM

February News
2 February 2008
Blackburn boss, Mark Hughes, praised Jace Hunter's form, stating that some of his performances were magical. Jace agreed and is really enjoying his football at this time.

law90026

01-12-2007, 03:48 AM

February Update
Mike Schaplowsky – Striker, Celtic (on loan from Chelsea)
It may have taken nearly 2 seasons but Mike finally got an assist. 5 games for Mike in February but just 1 goal scored.
Season Stats: 31 games, 12 goals, 1 assist!!!!, 2 MOMs, 6.90 rating

Frank Justice – Striker, West Ham
Frank started 2 more games for West Ham this month and notched up an assist. His contract is still not resolved yet and he will be able to sign a pre-contract with another club relatively soon unless something is done.
Season Stats: 15 games (4 as a sub), 5 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 7.07 rating

BB Gunn – Defensive Midfielder, <ST1:pPortsmouth
BB didn’t play much in February as he’s been relegated back to the bench. Gary O’Neil and Manuel Fernandes are back as the first choice midfielders.
Season Stats: 19 games (5 as a sub), 3.37 tackles/game, 6.11 rating.
<O:p
Owen Hunter – Sweeper/Defender, <ST1:p
3 more starts for Owen as he shows why Leverkusen </ST1:pwere prepared to pay for his services. He’s been steady and consistent at the back for his new team and there have been no complaints about him from his teammates.
Season Stats: 6 games, 1 yellow, 6.71 tackles/game, 91% pass rate, 7.17 rating
<O:p
Sean Treacy – Midfielder, Blackburn (on loan from <ST1:pLiverpool</ST1:p)
Not many games for Blackburn this month, just 4 games (including 2 cup games), and Sean appeared in both Premiership games (Sean can’t play in cup games for <ST1:pBlackburn</ST1:p). Still no goals or assists for the season yet.
Season Stats: 19 games (4 as a sub), 1 yellow card, 6.11 rating.
<O:p
Jace Hunter – Goalkeeper, <ST1:pBlackburn</ST1:p
Jace played 3 more game in February for <ST1:pBlackburn </ST1:p(out of 4) and conceded just one goal. He appears to have firmly established himself as the no. 1 choice for <ST1:pBlackburn </ST1:pnow.
Season Stats: 13 games (4 as a sub), 10 conceded, 7 clean sheets, 7.77 rating
<O:p
Charles Schexnader – Left Wing, Arsenal
3 more games for Arsenal this month as he’s floating in and out of the substitute’s bench. The ability is there (maybe) but he just doesn’t seem ready yet as he hasn’t played well at all.
Season Stats: 8 games (7 as a sub), 5.63 rating
<O:p
Al Mighty – Goalkeeper, Sevilla
Al’s an optimist, gotta give him that. Despite being sent to the reserves, he’s still feeling optimistic about his future at the club.
Season Stats: 0 games for the Reserves.
<O:p
Bud Wiser – Left Winger, Fulham
Bud continues to feature regularly in the Fulham side and by this time, the fans know what they’re going to get: a fast winger who passes badly.
Season Stats: 22 games (12 as a sub), 2 MOMs, 1 yellow card, 6.36 rating

law90026

01-12-2007, 04:51 AM

March Update - Season is drawing to a close

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Celtic (on loan from Chelsea)
Mike hits a crazy purple patch, 7 goals in 6 games. He's got 19 goals for the season, just 2 behind Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. 40 goals between the 2 strikers is great news for Celtic. Mike is named to the Team of the Week once in March and also gets his 2nd cap for Poland.

Season Stats: 37 games, 19 goals, 1 assist, 3 MOMs, 7.03 rating

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank comes off the the bench 3 times in March and grabs his 6th goal of the season.

Season Stats: 18 games (7 as a sub), 6 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 7.06 rating

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth
BB gets his first assist of the season as he plays another 5 games for Portsmouth. His 3.18 tackles a game is 43rd in the Premiership. This may sound low .. but that's the highest position a midfield player has.

Season Stats: 24 games (6 as a sub), 1 assist, 6.13 rating

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
Owen is starting to get his passing range with Leverkusen as he creates 2 goals this month. Owen is named to the German First Division Team of the Week twice in March. Unfortunately, Owen has twisted his knee and is out for 2-3 weeks.

Season Stats: 11 games, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 2 yellow cards, 7.55 rating

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
Jace continues to play well as his manager sings his praises. Jace is now viewed as a wonderkid and indispensable for Blackburn.

Season Stats: 18 games (4 as a sub), 16 goals conceded, 8 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 1 yellow, 1 red card, 7.78 rating.

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Blackburn (on loan from Liverpool)
Sean plays decently in March and Blackburn view him as an indispensable part of the team. Well, buy him then. Sean is now playing for the England U19s. He is also the no.2 midfielder in the Premiership in terms of tackles/game, behind BB Gunn.

Season Stats: 25 games (4 as a sub), 1 assist, 6.38 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Charles played 5 games for Arsenal in March, including another start (against Blackburn). His rating isn't great yet, but he's actually playing decently in the Premiership, where he's averaging a 6. His performances in the Cups and the Champions League are what's pulling him down.

Season Stats: 13 games (10 as a sub), 5.85 rating

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla Atletico
Al is playing for the Reserves team and he's doing alright.

Season Stats: 10 games, 10 goals conceded, 3 clean sheets, 1 MOM, 7.3 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud scores his first goal of the season and is turning out for the U19s as well. He's currently suffering from a pulled hamstring and is waiting to resume playing.

Season Stats: 25 games (13 as a sub), 1 goal, 2 MOMs, 6.36 rating

law90026

01-12-2007, 12:36 PM

April Update - Season is drawing to a close

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Celtic (on loan from Chelsea)</ST1:p
Mike slows down in April as Celtic romp to the Scottish Premier League Title. He played 5 games for Celtic and added just one more goal, his 20<SUP>th</SUP> of the season. Mike is named to the Team of the Week once in April.<O:p

Season Stats: 42 games, 20 goals, 1 assist, 4 MOMs, 7.02 rating<O:p

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham<O:p
As the seasons draws to a close, Frank is beginning to start regularly for West Ham. 4 starts this month with 2 goals as Frank shows that he’s more than capable of starting for a Premiership team.<O:p

Season Stats: 22 games (7 as a sub), 8 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 7.09 rating<O:p

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth</ST1:p
BB Gunn starts 3 games for Portsmouth</ST1:p in March and maintains his 3.11 tackle/game record, still best in the Premiership for any midfielder.<O:p

Season Stats: 27 games (6 as a sub), 1 assist, 6.11 rating<O:p

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comhttp://www.operationsports.com/fofc/ /><st1:City w:st=<ST1http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/ /><st1:City w:st=<ST1http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/ /><st1:City w:st=<ST1http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/ /><st1:City w:st=<ST1:pLeverkusen</ST1:p</st1:City>
Owen recovers from his injury to play 2 games for <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:pLeverkusen</ST1:p</st1:City> in April. He doesn’t create any more goals but does pick up his 2<SUP>nd</SUP> MOM of the season. <O:p

Season Stats: 13 games, 2 assists, 2 MOM, 2 yellow cards, 7.62 rating<O:p

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, <ST1:pBlackburn</ST1:p
Jace starts 4 games for <ST1:pBlackburn</ST1:p and lets in 4 goals but keeps one clean sheet. The wonderkid will be pleased that he’s established himself as the no. 1 keeper at <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Ewood</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Park</st1:PlaceType> and will be hoping to do that soon for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><ST1:pScotland</ST1:p</st1:country-region>
<st1:country-region w:st="on"></st1:country-region>
Season Stats: 18 games (4 as a sub), 20 goals conceded, 9 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 1 yellow, 1 red card, 7.69 rating.<O:p

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Blackburn (on loan from Liverpool)</ST1:p
Sean continues to play decently for <ST1:pBlackburn</ST1:p and he’ll be returning to Anfield soon. One wonders whether he’ll feature for <ST1:pLiverpool</ST1:p next year or whether he’ll be moved again. <O:p

Season Stats: 25 games (4 as a sub), 1 assist, 6.38 rating<O:p

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal<O:p</O:p
Charles doesn’t feature in any games in April as the Arsenal regular first team begins to gel. Still Charles can look back at this season and be proud that he’s one of the youngest ever players to play for Arsenal.<O:p

Season Stats: 13 games (10 as a sub), 5.85 rating<O:p

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla Atletico<O:p</O:p
7 more games in the reserves for Al Mighty. While he still seems pleased to be at Sevilla, how much longer will that last if he isn’t given a chance at the first team?<O:p

Season Stats: 17 games, 16 goals conceded, 6 clean sheets, 2 MOM, 7.41 rating<O:p

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham<O:p</O:p
Bud returns from his hamstring injury and will be hoping to get a few more games before the season comes to an end.<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p
Season Stats: 23 games (12 as a sub), 1 goal, 2 MOMs, 6.36 rating<O:p

Note: Some statistical issues, not sure what happened. The stats posted here are the player’s latest stats though.

Travis

01-12-2007, 01:42 PM

Good stuff thus far. Now for Jace to get a hold on his temper and quit getting carded.

law90026

01-15-2007, 12:14 AM

May Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Celtic (on loan from Chelsea)
The season draws to a close and Mike will be pleased with his performance this year. Mike has shown that he is a good player, not just a player with potential, and while his performance may have come in a "lesser" league, it's hard to dispute that Mike could probably start for a number of Premiership teams.

Season Stats: 46 games, 22 goals, 1 assist, 5 yellow cards, 1 red card, 5 MOMs, 7.00 rating
Named to the Scottish Premier League of the Team Week 4 times, named Young Player of the Month for January and Runner-Up for Young Player of the Year (he lost to Carlos Vela, on loan from Arsenal, who managed 25 goals in 48 games for Aberdeen and a 7.13 rating).

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
It was stated at the start of the season that Frank's performance would be dependent on how many games he got to play for West Ham. The U-21 striker did not disappoint as he proved to be a capable striker for the Hammers. The question now is whether Frank will be with the Hammers much longer as he has just one year left on his contract and will be available to sign a pre-contract with other clubs in 6 months time.

Season Stats: 23 games (7 as a sub), 8 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 2 yellow cards, 1 red card, 7.09 rating

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth
As the season went on, people started to notice BB's performances. Never pretty, but always with 100% effort, BB was rewarded with his call-up to the England U-21 team, where is is the captain. BB will probably never be a player to razzle dazzle the other side but he's the guy that will get stuck in at the middle of the park doing the dirty work.

Season Stats: 29 games (6 as a sub), 1 assist, 3.12 tackles/game (best Premiership Midfielder), 6.24 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Liverpool
Sean enjoyed his stint at Blackburn, where he was often a first choice for the team. However, Sean returns to Liverpool, where he signed a new contract and the question remains whether he will be given a chance there.

Season Stats: 29 games (4 as a sub), 1 assist, 2 yellow cards, 2.86 tackles/game (2nd best Premiership Midfielder), 6.34 rating

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
The German International made a mid-season move to Leverkusen and it was a move that worked out well for him. Given the opportunity to display his abilities, Owen rapidly became the cornerstone of the Leverkusen defence and his performances never disappointed.

Season Stats: 15 games, 4 assists, 2 MOMs, 4 yellow cards, 6.61 tackles/game, 90% pass rate, 7.60 rating
Named to German First Division Team of the Week twice.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
The Scottish U-21 keeper continued to improve as he season drew on and he eventually took over the no. 1 position for Blackburn. His performances on-field were solid, the only question lingering about Jace is whether he's a little too fragile to be a keeper.

Season Stats: 23 games (4 as a sub), 23 goals conceded, 9 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 1 yellow card, 1 red card, 7.61 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
It's been an odd season for Charles. On one hand, highlights are the fact that he was called up to the U-21 squad, that he is in the Arsenal first team and that he has recovered from his injuries that threaten to derail his career. On the other hand, his performances this year were far from convincing and Arsenal did not perform well overall. Hopefully it'll be a better season next year for Charles.

Season Stats: 13 games (10 as a sub), 5.85 rating

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Sevilla Atletico
And Al's story is a tragic one. At one time expected to be the new no.1 in Sevilla, Al has since been relegated to the reserve team. It's an odd situation at Sevilla right now and Al will want to have this sorted out as soon as possible.

Season Stats: 4 games, 3 conceded, 1 clean sheet, 6.75 rating (for Sevilla)

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Did Bud make a huge difference for Fulham? Probably not. But did Bud contribute? Yes. The 19 year old had pressure on him when he signed for Fulham at the start of the season, especially since he had not performed well at all previously. But Bud managed to perform decently and while not a star (yet), Bud is an integral part of the Fulham team that finished 4th in the Championship.

Season Stats: 28 games (16 as a sub), 1 goal, 2 MOMs, 1 yellow card, 6.36 rating.

law90026

01-15-2007, 01:25 AM

Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Liverpool win the title with 80 pts with Chelsea, Man Utd and Tottenham coming in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Arsenal (Charles Schexnader), who as the mid-point of the season were in relegation trouble, finish the season 5th. Newcastle, QPR and Everton were relegated.

West Ham (Frank Justice) came in 10th, Blackburn were 9th (Sean Treacy, Jace Hunter), Portsmouth were 7th (BB Gunn).

Top Goalscorer was Drogba (Chelsea) with 20 goals. (Frank Justice was 52nd)

Girogio Chiellini (Tottenham) and Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) led all players with 9 assists.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), with Lampard (Chelsea) and Dean Ashton (West Ham) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Footballer of the Year was Thierry Henry (Arsenal), with Berbatov (Tottenham) and John Hartson (West Brom) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player's Young Player of the Year was Giovanni Torre (Portsmouth) with Charles-Andrew Doudin (Aston Villa) and Kjartan Henry Finnbogason (QPR) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Rafa Benitez (Liverpool) and Mourinho (Chelsea) and Gareth Southgate (Middlesborough) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Fulham (Bud Wiser) were 4th in the Championship but did not get promoted.

Bundesliga
Dortmund won the title with FC Bayern and Schalke coming in 2nd and 3rd. Leverkusen (Owen Hunter) were 4th. Offenbach, Nurnberg and RW Essen were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Alexander Frei (Dortmund) with 19 goals.

Hasan Salihamidzic (FC Bayern and one of Owen Hunter's favoured personnel btw), Torsten Frings (Werder Bremen) and Sergio Pinto (Aachen) led all players with 8 assists. Owen was 39th.

Player of the Year award went to Alexander Frei (Dortmund), with Rick Hoogendorp (Wolfburg) and Benjamin Auer (Bochum) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Roman Weidenfeller of Dortmund.

Youth Player of the Year was Kevin Prince Boateng (Hertha BSC) with Fabian Schonheim (Hannover) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was bert van Marwijk (Dortmund) and Michael Skibbe (Leverkusen) and Thonas Doll (Schalke) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Serie A
Inter won the Serie A, with Milan, Lazio and Parma coming in 2nd, 3rd and 4th (European Cup places). Inter had 70 ots and Milan and Lazio both had 69 pts, close race this year. Roma, Fiorentina and Verona qualified for the Euro Cup. Siena, Livorno and Messina were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Luca Toni (Inter) with 20 goals.

Top Assist was Patrick Viera (Inter) with 9.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Jerzy Dudek of Parma.

Defender of the Year was Alessandro Nesta of Milan, his consecutive win.

Foreign Player of the Year was Jerzy Dudek (GK for Parma), second season in a row a keeper wins it.

Italian Player of the Year was Gionatha Spinesi of Catania and Simone Vegassola (Siena) and Alberto Gilardino (Milan) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Roberto Mancini (Inter) with Renzo Gobbo (Palermo) and Carlo Ancelotti (Milan) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Patrick Viera (Inter) and Simone Barone (Torino) and Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Paco Sanchez (Livorno), his consecutive win, with Damian Tissone (Atalanta) and Charles N'Zogbia (Fiorentina) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

La Liga
Villareal win the La Liga, with Barcelona coming in 2nd and Real Madrid 3rd. Sevilla (Al Mighty) were 15th this year. Almeria, Celta and Ciudad Murcia were relegated.

Top goalscorere was Robin van Persie (Atletico) with 19 goals.

Top Assist was Tobias Linderoth (Mallorca) with 13.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Victor Valdes (Barcelona).

Manager of the Year was Javier Manjarin (Villareal) with Athletic's Felix Sarriugarte coming in 2nd and Frank Rijkaard of Barcelona coming in 3rd.

Player of the Year was Ronaldinho (Barcelona).

Scottish Premier League
Celtic (Mike Schaplowsky) romped to the title, 19 pts ahead of 2nd place Hearts. Rangers came in a disappointing 6th.

Top Goalscorer was Kris Boyd (Rangers) and Roman Bednar (Hearts) with 21 goals. Mike's striker partner, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink was 3rd with 19 and Mike was joint 4th with Ross McCormack (Dundee Utd) with 18.

Barry Ferguson has 9 assists to lead the league.

FW Player of the Year was Barry Ferguson (Rangers), Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Celtic) was 2nd and Jim Hamilton (Kilmarnock) was 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Gordan Strachan of Celtic. 2nd was Tony Mowbray of Hibernian and 3rd was Gus McPherson of St. Mirren.

Player of the Year (no idea what is the distinction) was Roman Bednar (Hearts). Kris Boyd (Rangers) and Ross McCormack (Dundee Utd) were 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Carlos Vela (Aberdeen), Mike Schaplowsky was 2nd and Calum Elliot (Hearts) was third.

law90026

01-15-2007, 02:24 AM

15 June 2008
Palermo sign Al Mighty from Sevilla for 3,200,000 pounds.

Al Mighty will breathe a sigh of relief that this transfer took place as it appeared he was no longer rated at Sevilla. He joins Palermo, which finished 14th in Seria A last season. His competition at this time are 2 former Italian U-21 keepers, Federico Agliardi (who was first choice last year) and Carlo Zotti (who played 0 games).

This is an opportunity for a fresh start for Al Mighty and hopefully he can prove himself in Palermo.

law90026

01-15-2007, 03:35 AM

29 June 2008
In an interesting development, Liverpool rejected an offer by Celtic to loan Sean Treacy for the season. While no information was available for the rejection, there are murmurings whether this means that Sean Treacy will be part of the regular set-up in Liverpool this year.

law90026

01-15-2007, 03:54 AM

29 June 2008
In a surprise, Switzerland beat France 3-1 to win the European Football Championship.

The Best Player was Miroslav Klose (Germany), David Villa (Spain) was 2nd and Marco Streller (Switzerland) was 3rd.

Golden Boot winners were Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Holland) and Miroslav Klose, each with 6 goals. David Villa had 5.

Dream Team:
GK: Jussi Jaaskalainen, Finland and Bolton
DR: Christian Zaccardo, Italy and Palermo
DL: Ashley Cole, England and Chelsea
DC: Michael Jakobsen, Denmark and Aab
DC: Andre Ooijer, Holland and Blackburn
MR: Wesley Sneijder, Holland and Ajax
ML: Nani, Portugal and Valencia
MC: Patrick Viera, France and Inter
MC: Hakan Yakin, Switzerland and Espanyol
FC: Miroslav Klose, Germany and Werder Bremen
FC: David Villa, Spain and Valencia
Subs:
GK Petr Cech, Czech Republic and Chelsea
Johan Djourou, Switzerland and Zaragoza
Michael Carrick, England and Man Utd
Tomas Rosicky, Czech Republic and Villareal
Marco Streller, Switzerland and Stuttgart

law90026

01-15-2007, 04:02 AM

6 July 2008

BB Gunn signs a new contract with Portsmouth. The important first team player's contract will now run till 30 June 2011 and pay him 13,250 pounds a week with a 1,300 pound appearance bonus, 325 pound goal bonus (which will hardly ever be paid out) and a 3,300 pound win bonus.

law90026

01-15-2007, 04:04 AM

7 July 2008

Jace Hunter signs a new 5-year deal worth 3,800,000 pounds. Blackburn moved quickly to secure the long term services of Jace Hunter and will pay him 12,500 pounds a week, a 1,200 pound appearance bonus, 3,000 pound win bonus and 3,600 pound clean sheet bonus.

law90026

01-15-2007, 04:11 AM

Mike Schaplowsky bidding war - 12 July 2008

Mike Schaplowsky was any normal 17 year old 2 years ago ... well save for the fact that he was widely regarded as one of the best potential footballers of his generation. Trained at a famed academy which has since shut down, Mike signed for Chelsea and has yet to play a game for the Blues.

This summer however, the bidding war for Mike Schaplowsky has begun. Plenty of offers to loan him have come in, which would be interesting for Chelsea if they intend to keep him for the long-term. However, some clubs have been eying Mike's ability, proven by his performance at Celtic last season where he scored 18 goals in the Premier League and 22 goals in all competitions, and now the offers have started to come in.

Rumours are that Barecelona has placed a 30 million pound bid, Inter has bidded 31 million, Lyon 32.5 million and Man Utd 25.5 million. Will Chelsea bite? We'll let you know the moment once an announcement is made.

law90026

01-15-2007, 04:17 AM

12 July 2008

Frank Justice signs a new 3 year deal worth 3,800,000 pounds. There was speculation a deal would not get done by Frank finally signs his new deal with the Hammers, which will pay him 24,500 pounds a week, 6,750 apperance bonus, 2,700 pound goal bonus and a 6,750 pound win bonus.

law90026

01-15-2007, 04:22 AM

18 July 2008

Mike Schaplowsky signs for Lyon. The initial fee is 21.5 million pounds but incentives could increase this figure to 32.3 million pounds.

The 19-year old was delighted at the press conference as he informed the French media that he can't wait to break into the first team at the Stade de Gerland.

Interstingly, Mike rejected offers from bigger clubs such as Barcelona and Roma as well as Celtic, as he appears to have made a decision to play for a biggish club that can offer him plenty of playing time, rather than just going for a huge club where he might be frozen out of the first team.

His new contract pays him 18,250 pounds a week, with a 4,600 pound appearance bonus, 1,800 pound goal bonus and a 4,600 pound win bonus.

law90026

01-15-2007, 04:38 AM

28 July 2008

Owen Hunter signs a 3 year deal with Leverkusen worth 3,800,000 pounds. Owen is relieved to have signed a new contract, which pays him 27,000 pounds a week, 2,700 pounds per appearance and a 6,750 pound win bonus.

law90026

01-15-2007, 05:16 AM

31 July 2008

Tottenham are desparate to sign England U-21 starlet BB Gunn and have made a bid of 19,380,000 pounds.

.. which is accepted on 2 August 2008.

law90026

01-15-2007, 06:09 AM

Pre-Season Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Lyon, 21.5 million pounds
It's hard to tell where Mike Schaplowsky stands in the Lyon team. Before the season starts, this is a team that is carrying 9 strikers in the first team .. and they play just one man up-front.

Ability: Mike is a good dribbler with the ball (18), finishes well (20) and has a good first touch (16). He is composed in front of goal (20), is creative (18), tricky (flair 20), influences the game (15), moves well without the ball (17) and is a great physical specimen. Where he is lacking though is his passing, as seen by his lack of assists in his first 2 seasons. His teamwork isn't the best either and he can't shoot from long range.

Verdict: Iffy situation for Mike, who may not actually get as much playing time as he might have thought.

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham, 11.5 million pounds
Frank signed a new contract but has admitted that he wouldn't be averse to moving to a bigger club at some point. In terms of competition for spots, it remains largely the same, Dean Ashton, Marlon Harewood, Bobby Zamora and Carlton Cole.

Ability: As stated before, Frank is the ideal target man (finishing 20, heading 20, passing 20, jumping 19, pace 17, strength 19, composure 20). For him though, his issues are that his first touch and technique simply aren't very good and his decision making ability is less than optimal. He also lacks stamina and natural fitness.

Verdict: Much the same as before, Frank finds himself in a competition for a striking spot. Last year he managed to get some games in and play well enough. Can he improve on that?

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Liverpool, 7.75 million pounds
Apparently Rafa has changed his mind and Sean has a future at Anfield after all. During the pre-season, Sean is in the first 22 players at least and he'll be hoping to do well enough to get a place on the subs bench. It might be hard to start though, considering Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso are ahead of him.

Ability: A good passer of the ball (15) and ferocious tackler (20), creative (20) and makes good decisions (20) and never stops running (17). Physically decent, Sean Treacy has the tools to be a good midfielder. He has to work on his dribbling though and his first touch is poor for a central midfielder.

Verdict: The season at Blackburn appears to have done Sean a world of good as he has developed into a player with some skills. The rejection of a season-long loan offer from Celtic suggest that Sean is viewed as part of the Liverpool first team now.

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Portsmouth (soon to be Spurs?), 7.75 million pounds
BB, described as an England U21 starlet, caught attention with his performance in the middle of the park for Portsmouth last year. He's got the makings of a great defensive midfielder, the guy who does the dirty work and dishes out pain, the kind of player some managers love.

Ability: Marking and tackling are his forte and his excellent physical attributes just make him all the better at his task of clamping down in the middle of the park. Braver, creative, good decision-maker, determined, influential and never out of position, BB would be a great captain for any side. Still, his inability to develop his technical abilities like his passing and dribbling are what prevents him from being one of the best in the world.

Verdict: Rumours of a big money move to Tottenham are rampant. Wherever he ends up, BB will probably start and play a lot of games.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen, 6.5 million pounds
Owen will be disappointed he didn't get into the German team for Euro 08 and will want to prove the coach he was wrong. It's hard to see Owen being displaced from the first team in Leverkusen and he'll want to perform well weekly.

Ability: Good at heading, marking, passing, tackling, anticipating the ball, positioning, off the ball movement and strong, Owen looks like a really good sweeper/defender. He will be able to win the ball and distribute it out quickly, what every team needs. However, his lack of bravery is a definite minus as he tends to pull out of 50-50 challenges, which thankfully hardly ever happen thanks to his superior reading of the game.

Verdict: Expect good performances weekly from Owen and maybe a big money move in the near future.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn, 6.25 million pounds
Jace will be disappointed if he's dropped back to the bench this year, especially after signing a long term contract. Jace's targets this year would probably be to play well for Blackburn and get called up to the Scotland main team.

Ability: He's great in just about every goalkeeping ability there is and his physical attributes are very good as well. It's hard to argue that he looks like a perfect speciment for a goalkeeper honestly, save that his kicking is poor, he isn't terribly brave and he has been considered eccentric at times.

Verdict: Should be no. 1 for Blackburn this year. Question is whether this will eventually mean anything as Blackburn is hardly one of the biggest clubs in the world .. will Jace want to move eventually to win titles?

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal, 5 million pounds
At least during the pre-season, Charles has been the first choice left-back. Does that mean anything? We'll find out when the season starts. Charles is helped out by the fact that the only other left sided defender in the Arsenal team is Gabriel Heinze, but he has been a fixture at central defence for the past year.

Ability: A good tackler and marker, with good anticipation and decision making ability, determined and hardly ever caught out of position as well as willing to work off the ball, very fast and agile, Charles has the attributes to be a very good wing player, whether as a defender or winger. He has a lot of holes though, such as his poor first touch, horrible crossing, bad dribbling and low work rate.

Verdict: Charles should play a lot more this year .. but whether it's because he's ready or out of necessity will remain to be seen.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Palermo, 3.2 million pounds
Al will have a fresh start at Palermo where it looks like he will start as the no. 1 sub again. Is this going to be a hallmark of Al's career, the ideal backup who never gets to start regularly?

Ability: Agile, jumps high, great sense of balance, determined and brave, commands his area, handles the ball well, cat-like reflexes and great at rushing out .. Al has the potential for sure. He isn't as complete a package as Jace, at least on paper but he's no slouch.

Verdict: Another uphill struggle for Al to prove himself again it looks like.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham, 1.7 million pounds
The least celebrated of the kids, Bud remains stuck playing in the English Championship for another season. He may want to move eventually but he'll have to play better to justify any club wanting to buy him.

Ability: Great dribbler and crosser, tricky and great team player, fast and agile, Bud is the typical winger with the ability to get to the byeline to put in good crossers. The problem is that Bud can't contribute much beyond that.

Verdict: Bud will probably continue to play lots of games for Fulham and hope to catch the eye of a bigger club.

law90026

01-15-2007, 06:16 AM

4 August 2008
BB Gunn signs for Tottenham Hotspurs, who paid 15 million pounds for his services. BB's new contract is for 37,500 pounds a week, 9,250 pounds per appearance, 925 pounds per goal and 9,250 pounds per win.

BB gives Spurs bite in midfield if he gets a chance to play. In terms of competition, there a number of players who play in the middle of the park as well, most notably Tom Huddlestone (21, 7 million pounds, England U21), Teemu Tainio (28, 4.2 million pounds, Finnish International), Steed Malbranque (28, 11.25 million pounds, French International) and Sanli Tuncay (26, 10 million pounds, Turkish International).

Honestly, if the Spurs Manager decides to go with 2 offensive midfielders, BB will have no chance. But if Spurs want some balance in the centre of the park, BB's main rival is likely to be Tom Huddlestone, his England U21 teammate.

law90026

01-15-2007, 06:28 AM

23 August 2008
Germany U23s win the Olympics, beating Brazil U23s 2-1 in the finals. Owen Hunter was on the bench for the finals while Charles Schexnader was in the team but dislocated his shoulder in an earlier group match.

law90026

01-15-2007, 07:56 PM

August Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Lyon
Mike has started 2 games for Lyon this year and has failed to get on the scoresheet so far, though he managed to perform well in both games. (Sidenote: it may be hard to give detailed updates for Mike since I'm not running the French league, we'll see how that goes).

Season Stats: 2 games, 7.00 rating

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Tottenham
BB proves to his manager that he deserves a starting place and starts 5 games for Tottenham, which essentially means all of Spurs' games in August. He helped Spurs beat Artmedia 7-0 on aggregate in a Champion's League qualifier.

Season Stats: 5 games, 2.85 tackles/game, 6.60 rating

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank has played phenomenally well in the first month of this season. He's appeared in 5 games and scored 5 goals and has easily been the Hammer's best striker.

Season Stats: 5 games (1 as a sub), 5 goals, 1 assist, 2 MOMs, 1 yellow card, 8.40 average rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Liverpool
Sean has not appeared for Liverpool yet this year, largely because he sprained an ankle in training on 29 July 2008 and has only just returned to training.

Season Stats: Nothing yet

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
Owen will be doubly disappointed that he did not start for the German U23 team at the Olympics, adding further insult to injury that he wasn't involved for Germany in Euro 2008. During the Olympics, he was away and has only just returned to club duties.

Season Stats: 1 game, 8 tackles/game, 8.00 rating

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
Jace will be disappointed with his first month as the Blackburn No. 1. He appeared in 3 games and conceded 3 goals, failing to keep a clean sheet. His average rating of 6.67 is low for his standards. (sidenote: To put in context, I find that goalkeepers tend to do very well in FM2007 in terms of rating .. 6.67 is not good)

Season Stats: 3 games, 3 goals conceded, 0 clean shseets, 1 yellow card, 6.67 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Not the start Charles was looking for as his joy at being called up to the German U23 Olympic team turned into tears when he dislocated his shoulder and is out for an extended period. William Gallas has returned and is likely to be the left back for the Arsenal team, a wasted opportunity for Charles (sidenote: in the pre-season, Gallas was not in the first team, no idea why. He's back now though).

Season Stats: Injured

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Palermo
Al might have won the no. 1 jersey when he started in Palermo's 2-0 loss to Inter in the Italian Super-cup (like the English Community Shield). Hopefully the fact that he let in 2 goals won't change that.

Season Stats: 1 game, 2 goals conceded, 0 clean sheets, 6.00 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud is playing well this first month of the season and he's the fourth best Fulham player, at least in terms of ratings. He'll be wanting to push Fulham to regain its Premiership status this year but Fulham have started slowly again, lying 19th in the table.

Season Stats: 7 games, 1 MOM, 7.14 rating

law90026

01-15-2007, 08:07 PM

22 September 2008
Mark Hughes is delighted with Jace Hunter's recent performances, some of which were nothing short of magical.

Jace responded in agreement, declaring himself pleased with his recent performanaces as well and that he was really enjoying playing for Blackburn.

bbgunn

01-17-2007, 12:04 AM

Wow, BB signs a new contract with Portsmouth at the beginning of July, then transfers to the Spurs at the end of the month and is starting for them? Wow.

law90026

01-17-2007, 11:15 PM

September Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Lyon
After 5 games, Mike has scored 2 goals for Lyon and averaged a 7.40 rating. Thus far, Mike looks to be worth every cent Lyon paid for him. He also played for Poland and has 3 caps to his credit, along with 2 goals.

Season Stats: 5 games (1 as a sub), 2 goals, 7.40 rating

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Tottenham
BB has been ever-present for Spurs since his big money move, appearing in all 10 games. He's averaging 3.11 tackles a game and has a 6.50 rating thus far, while playing with Tim Cahill in midfield and Ledley King just behind the two of them in a holding rold.

Season Stats: 10 games, 3.11 tackles/game, 6.50 rating

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank's continuing his great form for West Ham early in the season as he now has scored 6 goals thus far in just 8 games. He's also now training with the England national team, though he hasn't gotten a cap yet.

Season Stats: 8 games (3 as a sub), 6 goals, 1 assist, 2 MOMs, 1 yellow card, 8.00 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Liverpool
Sean makes his first appearance for the Reds this season as he comes off the bench ... and promptly gets a 5 rating. Sean is now in the England U21 team.

Season Stats: 1 game (1 as a sub), 5.00 rating

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
Jace will be very pleased with himself. He's improved his performance for Blackburn dramatically and this has also resulted in him being named as the new national keeper for Scotland.

Season Stats: 8 games, 8 conceded, 1 clean sheet, 1 yellow card, 7.25 rating

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
Owen is playing very well since his return from national duties. He's definitely Leverkusen's best performer and once he gets enough league games for the season, he'll also be one of the best performers in the Budesliga. Owen was named in the Team of the Week once in September.

Season Stats: 7 games, 3 assists, 1 MOM, 1 yellow card, 7.43 tackles/game, 92% pass rate, 7.86 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Still receiving treatment for a dislocated shoulder, he should be back in about 4 weeks time.

Season Stats: Injured

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Palermo
Al takes the No. 1 keeper spot for Palermo and he'll hope to keep it this time without a repeat of what happened in Sevilla. He's played decently so far.

Season Stats: 8 games, 5 conceded, 5 clean sheets, 1 yellow card, 7.13 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud slows down a little in September as his average rating takes a slight dip. He still hasn't contributed any notable stats at this time save that he's been ill-disciplined in September (red carded!!).

Season Stats: 13 games, 1 MOM, 2 yellow cards, 1 red card, 6.69 rating

law90026

01-17-2007, 11:35 PM

October Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Lyon
And Mike should be very disappointed with himself this month. He only played 2 games for Lyon largely because he received 2 red cards on separate occasions, resulting in suspensions. Rumour has it that he is on the verge of breaking up with a young French starlet, hence the anger on the pitch.

Season Stats: 7 games (1 as a sub), 3 goals, 2 red cards, 7.29 rating

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Tottenham
Still ever-present for Spurs, BB will be disappointed that Spurs did not manage to progress in the Champions League. After 4 games, they are already out, as Barcelona and PSV qualify.

Season Stats: 17 games, 3.08 tackles/game, 6.53 rating

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank's form dipped in October and this showed as he failed to score in any of the 6 games he played. Still, he's a regular in the side and only Dean Ashton is keeping him out from starting every game.

Season Stats: 14 games (6 as a sub), 6 goals, 1 assist, 2 MOMs, 2 yellow cards, 7.36 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Liverpool
And thus far Sean is starting for Liverpool. Honestly though, the fans don't understand why, considering how underwhelming Sean's performances have been in the middle of the park. Pundits recognise that Sean adds a defensive and physical quality in the middle of the park but frankly, Sean just hasn't played well.

Season Stats: 5 games (1 as a sub), 1 yellow card, 2.93 rating, 5.60 rating

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
Scotland's No. 1 remains steady in his performances this year. He'll be a little upset at the number of goals conceded so far though as well as the red card he received.

Season Stats: 12 games, 14 goals conceded, 1 clean sheet, 1 MOM, 1 yellow, 1 red card, 7.17 rating.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
Owen will wonder what he's done to piss off the German national coach as has not been called up for some time now. This is especially odd considering Owen's performances this season. Named in the Team of the Week once in October.

Season Stats: 13 games, 5 assists, 3 MOMs, 1 yellow card, 7.31 tackles/game, 92% pass rate, 7.85 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
He's finally back from his shoulder injury but he now has to get match fit.

Season Stats: Nothing yet

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Palermo
Another month as the no. 1 for Palermo will give Al confidence. He's been consistent for Palermo this season though Palermo's 15th place in Seria A is a concern.

Season Stats: 14 games, 11 conceded, 7 clean sheets, 1 yellow card, 7.21 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud continues to give his 100% every game but there are questions whethere he will be able to take his game to the next level.

Season Stats: 18 games, 1 MOM, 3 yellow cards, 6.72 rating

law90026

01-17-2007, 11:36 PM

2 November 2008
Palermo's boss, Renzo Gobbo, declares that he is pleased with Al Mighty's performances. Al agreed with his boss's praise and was looking forward to every game.

law90026

01-17-2007, 11:41 PM

16 November 2008
WBA boss, Steve McClaren, declared that his team would have to find some way of stopping Frank Justice in the upcoming game against West Ham, as Frank's reputation and performances begin to have teams preparing plans to contain him.

For the record, Frank started on the bench for West Ham and was not called upon during the game. Guess WBA's plan worked after all :P

law90026

01-17-2007, 11:48 PM

29 November 2008
Rafa's patience wearing thin?

In an interview with Liverpool's gaffer, Rafa pulled no punches as he publicly declared that Sean Treacy was playing terribly. In a stark warning, Rafa stated that Sean was in real danger of being dropped out of the team completely if he didn't start performing.

The rumours we hear at 4-3-3 magazine are that Rafa did not want Sean back in Liverpool this year but was overruled by his board, who really like the amenable 19 year old and who offered Sean a new contract without Rafa's approval. Looks like trouble in Anfield.

When asked for a response, Sean admitted that he wasn't playing well at all and attributed it to the pressure he felt wearing the famous Liverpool jersey as well as playing alongside Steven Gerrard.

law90026

01-17-2007, 11:50 PM

30 November 2008
Leverkusen manager, Michael Skibbe, publicly declared how pleased he was with Owen Hunter's recent performances. Owen agreed with his boss's assessment and was looking forward to every game.

law90026

01-18-2007, 12:05 AM

November Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Lyon
And Mike's poor performance in October really costs him as he is nearly completely dropped from the first team in November. Just one game played, though he did score in that game.

Season Stats: 8 games (1 as a sub), 5 goals, 2 red cards, 7.38 rating.

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Tottenham
24 games played for Spurs and BB brings the same thing he has always brought thus far in his career, ferocious play in midfield. Definitely not a glamour player but much appreciated by his teammates.

Season Stats; 24 games, 3.04 tackles/game, 6.50 rating

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank gets his first cap for England this month, coming on as a sub in a friendly against Slovakia. His overall performance continues to dip though as he again fails to score.

Season Stats: 17 games (8 as a sub), 6 goals, 1 assist, 2 MOMs, 2 yellow cards, 7.18 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Liverpool
After 10 games in which he has failed to perform, Rafa came out to rip Sean in the press. Will this get Sean to buck up?

Season Stats: 10 games (4 as a sub), 3.05 tackles/game, 5.60 rating

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
While Jace is still highly rated, he's letting goals in at an alarming rate. They are not all his fault but still, it looks bad, at least on paper.

Season Stats: 17 games, 21 conceded, 1 clean sheet, 1 MOM, 1 yellow card, 1 red card, 7.12 rating

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
Owen is still playing at a very high level but admits that he's feeling very tired. Owen will celebrate the fact that he's finally back in the German national team though. Names to the First Division Team of the Week once.

Season Stats: 20 games, 7 assists, 6 MOMs, 2 yellow cards, 7.40 tackles/game, 92% pass rate, 7.95 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
And after getting match fit, Arsenal's boss, Pat Rice, puts Charles into the first team as a left winger. Charles will be delighted with that, though his performances aren't quite there yet.

Season Stats: 4 games (1 as a sub), 1 yellow card, 6.25 rating

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Palermo
Continuing to look steady between the posts for Palermo, Al's career appears to finally be taking the right track. Named in the Seria A Team of the Week once.

Season Stats: 21 games, 20 conceded, 10 clean sheets, 1 MOM, 2 yellow cards, 7.43 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud is entrenched in the first team for Fulham though some have started to wonder why. Bud plays well enough no doubt but he doesn't add that much in terms of offense, which is what Bud is supposed to add to.

Season Stats: 22 games, 1 MOM, 3 yellow cards, 1 red card, 6.68 rating

law90026

01-18-2007, 12:10 AM

6 December 2008
Tottenham 1 - 4 Liverpool
Ignore the score. For us at 4-3-3 magazine, this game was about the battle in midfield between Tottenham Hotspur's hardman BB Gunn against Liverpool's oft-maligned midfielder Sean Treacy.

Coming from the same academy, both players have seen their careers take slightly different turns in recent months. On one hand, BB Gunn made a surprising move to Spurs for 15 million pounds and is widely regarded as one of England's promising players. Sean, who was regarded as BB's peer before this season, was recently condemned by his own manager for his poor performances.

Well, for at least one night, Sean Treacy got the last laugh as he out-played BB Gunn (8 rating to 6 rating) and managed to contribute an assist.

Editor: Ironically, Sean Treacy got sent off in his next game for Liverpool.

law90026

01-18-2007, 12:12 AM

7 December 2008
Palermo keeper continues Mighty performances
Al Mighty continues to receive the plaudits after his team's 1-0 win against Catania in Seria A. Both bosses acknowledged that Al Mighty was by far the best player on the pitch as Al Mighty registered a clean sheet and kept out 4 shots on target while being a commanding presence throughout.

law90026

01-18-2007, 12:20 AM

1 January 2009
Blackburn are desperate to sign Sean Treacy, who played for them on loan last season, and have reportedly made a bid of 23,370,000 pounds. This comes as a surprise, considering Sean hasn't played well this season.

law90026

01-18-2007, 08:49 PM

December Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Lyon
Mike is returned to the starting line-up in December and plays 3 games for Lyon. However, he fails to score any goals in the games he played.

Season Stats: 11 games (1 as a sub), 5 goals, 2 red cards, 7.,27 rating

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Tottenham
BB is really holding up well this season as he proves to be an ironman. He's playing just about every game for Spurs, though the season has been a disappointment thus far (10th in the league).

Season Stats - 31 games, 1 yellow card, 3.03 tackles/game, 6.52 rating

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
December was a good month for Frank as he starts regularly alongside Marlon Harewood, a player he has often been compared with. 4 goals in 7 starts is a good return for a striker.

Season Stats: 24 games (8 as a sub), 10 goals, 1 assist, 4 MOMs, 2 yellow cards, 7.25 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Liverpool
Sean continues to feature somewhat regularly in the starting lineup for Liverpool as he starts 3 games in December for the Reds. He may not be at Anfield much longer though as rumours have it that Blackburn want to buy him and apparently Chelsea and Newcastle are considering bids as well, surprising based on his current level of performance.

Season Stats: 13 games (4 as a sub), 1 assist, 1 yellow, 1 red, 2.86 tackles/game, 5.85 rating

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
The temperamental keeper gets sent off again in December. He also concedes 5 goals in 4 games, though he does get only his 2nd clean sheet of the season. The Scottish keeper has caught the eye of Valencia.

Season Stats: 21 games, 26 conceded, 2 clean sheets, 1 yellow, 2 red, 7.10 rating

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
Despite the fact that Owen is still jaded and needs a break, Leverkusen can't afford to let him go on a vacation because he's now considered indispensable for them. Owen will have to struggle somehow to improve Leverkusen's league position as they are 7th at this time. Named to First Division Team of the Week once.

Season Stats: 23 games, 7 assists, 6 MOMs, 2 yellow, 7.17 tackles/game, 91% pass rate, 7.74 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Charles scores his first ever goal for Arsenal, the only goal in a 1-0 win over WBA. He appears to be settling down better this year as his performances are significantly better from last season.

Season Stats: 12 games (1 as a sub), 1 goal, 1 yellow, 6.50 rating

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Palermo
Al is now considered indispensable for Palermo and he is enjoying his time in the first team. Al keeps a lot of clean sheets but it appears that he lets goals in in bunches as well.

Season Stats: 26 games (1 as a sub), 25 conceded, 12 clean sheets, 2 MOMs, 3 yellow, 7.46 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud has been offered a new contract by Fulham and he will be wondering whether to accept it. The suspicion is that he will as there doesn't seem to be that many other teams interested in his services if he leaves on a free.

Season Stats: 28 games, 1 MOM, 3 yellow, 1 red, 6.64 rating

law90026

01-18-2007, 08:51 PM

1 Jan 2009 - Later that same day

Newcastle offered 21.47 million pounds for Sean Treacy.

And on 2 Jan 2009, Chelsea offer 16.91 million pounds.

law90026

01-18-2007, 09:16 PM

15 January 2009
Charles Schexnader signs a new 2-year deal with Arsenal, stating that the main reason was his love for the club.

12,250 pounds a week, 27,000 pound appearance bonus, 675 pound goal bonus and a 3,400 pound win bonus makes Charles a very rich teenager.

Bud Wiser also signs a new deal with Fulham, which will keep him there till 30 June 2011.

7,750 pounds a week, 4,400 pound appearance bonus, 425 pound goal bonus and a 2,200 pound win bonus for Bud.

law90026

01-18-2007, 09:24 PM

16 January 2009
Sean Treacy signs for Chelsea and is delighted to be working for Jose Mourinho.

In a surprising move, Chelsea pays 20.5 million pounds for the teenager, a lot of money for a player who has shown glimpses of potential but hasn't performed anywhere close to expectations on the pitch.

Sean will be pleased with his move as he gets to learn from his idol, Frank Lampard, while leaving Anfield under reportedly less than cordial circumstances. It is little secret that he and Rafa Benitez did not get along, which may be a reason for his lackluster performances in a Reds jersey. Sean will be paid 28,500 pounds a week, with a 57,000 pound appearance bonus, a 700 pound goal bonus and a 7,250 pound win bonus.

In terms of competition for spots in Chelsea, Sean will be up against regulars Estaban Cambiasso (28 year old Argentinian international) and Julio Baptista (27 year old Brazilian international). Other central midfielders in the squad are Michael Ballack (32 year old German international), Michael Essien (26 year old Ghanian international), Michael Woods (20 year old Englishman) and Frank Lampard (30 year old England international). Very stiff competition indeed and it'll be interesting to see how many games Sean gets to play.

Editor: Shortly after printing, Chelsea played its first match with Sean in the side. Sean started against WBA and got a 6 rating.

st.cronin

01-19-2007, 01:24 AM

law90026

01-19-2007, 08:55 AM

hater

Can't be a hater if it's the truth :D

law90026

01-26-2007, 02:23 AM

Apologies, work has picked up to an incredible level, I don't have time to do monthly updates anymore. I'll do season updates though, if anyone's still interested.

condors

01-26-2007, 09:44 AM

i am still interested

Travis

01-26-2007, 10:23 AM

Still reading no matter how you recap, fun stuff thus far.

cschex

01-26-2007, 10:36 AM

Same here. I finally scored a goal! Plus I'd like to see if I could go a whole season without a major injury.

mrkilla22

01-26-2007, 11:12 AM

Definately interested in this great read. You are doing an awesome job.

law90026

01-28-2007, 08:50 PM

Season End - 2009

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Lyon
Mike's first season in France ends with mixed results. He managed to appear in 15 games and scored 5 goals but more was expected of him to be honest. Mike is now a regular in the Polish national team and has 4 international goals to his name.

Season Stats: 15 games (1 as a sub), 5 goals, 1 yellow, 2 red, 7.13 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Chelsea
Sean is a lucky lucky teen. After a big money move to Chelsea, he manages to pick up a Premier League medal while appearing in 8 games for the Blues. There are still questions why Sean gets to play ahead of others when he never seems to perform.

Season Stats: Chelsea: 8 games (2 as a sub), 1 assist, 2 yellow, 2.94 tackles/game (2nd best Premiership midfielder), 5.63 rating

All games: 17 games, 2 assists

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Tottenham
The ironman of the team, BB appeared in 49 games over the course of the season. While he never really contributed a stat of note, BB was hired to do a holding role in midfield, one he does decently enough.

Season Stats: 49 games, 2 yellows, 2.72 tackles/game (3rd best Premiership midfielder), 6.51 rating

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
The big target man shone this season as he played a lot more games for the Hammers and did not disappoint. 19 goals in all competitions is a great performance for a 19 year old and Frank will be disappointed he didn't get more than one cap for England this year.

Season Stat: 41 games (12 as a sub), 19 goals (14 in the Premiership, joint 10th), 3 assists, 6 MOMs, 5 yellows, 7.32 rating

2008/2009 Premier League Young Player of the Year.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Scotland
In his first full season as a starter, Jace performed capably and Blackburn have their keeper for the foreseeable future. The Scottish international will get to play in Europe next year as Blackburn came in 5th in the Premiership and that will be a new challenge for him. His penchant to get sent off needs to be curbed though.

Season Stats: 37 games, 42 conceded, 5 clean sheets, 2 MOMs, 4 yellows, 4 reds, 7.16 rating.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Another up and down season for Charles. The bright spots for Charles are that he's at least a back-up for the first team. The bad part is that he's just on the fringes of first team action and isn't called on for some of the really big games, like Arsenal's 2-0 win over Lazio in the Euro Cup (not the Champions League). He's young yet though, just 18 years of age, and should have plenty more opportunities in the future.

Season Stats: 31 games (5 as a sub), 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 1 yellow, 2.15 tackles/game (this is an odd one since Charles plays anywhere on the left. As a defender, he wouldn't rate highly but as a midfielder, that's 4th best in the Premiership), 6.74 rating.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Palermo
Al will be pleased to be back in his homeland and holding down the starting spot for Palermo. Unfortunately, this was not a good season for Palermo, who finished 15th in Serie A.

Season Stats: 46 games (1 as a sub), 49 conceded, 18 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 3 yellows, 1 red, 7.39 rating.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
The best defender no one has heard of, that's the label Owen should have. Despite being one of the best players in the Bundesliga this year, Owen's value is just 7 million pounds. Nonetheless, the German international is very well-regarded by his manager and will be a lynchpin in the Leverkusen defence for a long time, unless a big money move arises in the future.

Season Stats: 43 games, 1 goal, 12 assist (9 in the Bundesliga for joint 2nd), 11 MOMs (1st), 4 yellows, 7.02 tackles/game (1st), 91% pass rate (1st), 7.63 rating (2nd best)

2009 German First Division Youth Player of the Year, Named in 2009 German First Division Team of the Year, Named to German First Division Team of the Week 8 times

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Back to the Premiership Bud goes as Fulham come in 2nd in the Championship to gain automatic promotion. This will hopefully give Bud a bigger platform to showcase his abilities next year. Bud remained solid for the year and appeared in most of Fulham's games.

Season Stats: 44 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 2 red, 6.68 rating

law90026

01-28-2007, 09:14 PM

2008/2009 Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Chelsea (Sean Treacy) win the title with 78 pts and Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal (Charles Schexnader) come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Southampton, Watford and Reading were relegated.

Blackburn (Jace Hunter) come in 5th and qualify for the Euro Cup, while Tottenham (BB Gunn) come in 12th but qualify for the Euro Cup by winning the League Cup (a game BB Gunn missed). West Ham (Frank Justice) were 9th.

Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) was the top scorer with 21 goals.

Steed Malbranque (Tottenham) had 10 assists to lead all other players.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Arjen Robben (Chelsea), with Steed Malbranque (Tottenham) and Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) coming in 2nd and 3rd. This is the first time in 3 years that Steven Gerrard didn't win this award.

Footballer of the Year was Danny Webber (Sheffield United), with Darren Bent (Charlton) and Yakubu (Middlesborough) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player's Young Player of the Year was Frank Justice (West Ham) with Jamie Mole (West Brom) and Fabrice Muamba (Reading) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) and Alex Ferguson(Man Utd) and Rafa Benitez (Liverpool) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Fulham (Bud Wiser) were 2nd in the Championship but were promoted.

Bundesliga
Werder Bremen won the title with Schalke and Gladbach coming in 2nd and 3rd. Leverkusen (Owen Hunter) were 4th for the 2nd year running. Bochm, Bielefeld and Dusseldorf were relegated.

Top Goalscorers were Markus Schroth (Duisburg) and Lukas Podolski (Bayern) with 17 goals.

Fabian Ernst (Schalke) led all players with 10 assists.

Player of the Year award went to Alexander Frei (Dortmund) for a 2nd yea running, with Borja Oubia (HSV) and Ivan Klasnic (Werder Bremen) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Tim Wiese of Werder Bremen.

Youth Player of the Year was Owen Hunter (Leverkusen) with Kevin Prince Boateng (Hertha BSC) and Eugen Polanski (Gladbach) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Marcello Lippi (Werder Bremen) and Bert van Marwijk (Dortmun) and Andreas Thom (Koln) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Serie A
Lecce (!!!) won the Serie A, with Lazio, Inter and Milan coming in 2nd, 3rd and 4th (European Cup places). Lecce had 67 pts and Lazio, Inter and Milan all had 65 pts, with Roma on 64 pts, yet another close race for the Serie A title. Empoli, Fiorentina and Torino were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Alberto Gilardino (Inter) with 20 goals.

Top Assist was Andrea Pirlo (Milan) with 9.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Gianlugi Buffon of Juventus.

Defender of the Year was Hannu Tihinen of Catania.

Foreign Player of the Year was Hanny Tihinen (Defender for Catania).

Italian Player of the Year was Marco Borriello of Bologna and Alberto Gilardino (Milan) and Sergio Pellissier (Chievo) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Sinisa Mihajlovic (Lecce) with Roberto Mancini(Inter) and Luciano Spalletti (Roma) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Emiliano Bonazzoli (Sampdoria) and Coro (Verona) and Francesco Totti (Roma) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Victor Obinna (Chievo) with Gyan Asamoah (Udinese) and Didier Digard (Empoli) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

La Liga
Osasuna win the La Liga, with Real Madrid coming in 2nd and Atletico 3rd. Sevilla were 9th this year. Barcelona were 7th. Levante, Getafe and Recreativo were relegated.

Top goalscorer was Robinho (Real Madrid) with 19 goals.

Top Assist was Mikel Araburu (Real Sociedad) with 10.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Ricardo (Osasuna).

Manager of the Year was Falko Gotz (Osasuna) with Real Madrid's fabio Cappello coming in 2nd and Frank Rijkaard of Barcelona coming in 3rd.

Player of the Year was Rafael Sobis (Betis).

law90026

01-28-2007, 09:49 PM

26 June 2009

Sean Treacy joins Celtic on a season long loan from Chelsea. Sean continues his pattern of frequent moves in his career, which has seen him play for Blackburn, Liverpool, Preston, Chelsea and now Celtic in the space of 4 years.

In an interesting twist, Tottenham wanted to sign Sean Treacy but they were firmly rebuffed by Chelsea. If this had happened, it would have paired Sean Treacy with BB Gunn in the Spurs midfield.

law90026

01-28-2007, 10:03 PM

1 July 2009

BB Gunn signs a new 3 year deal with Spurs, worth 5.75 million pounds. This will pay him 37,500 pounds a week, 3,700 pounds per appearance, 925 pounds per goal and 9,250 pounds per win.

6 July 2009

Bud Wiser signs a 3 year deal with Fulham worth 2.8 million pounds. He will be paid 19,250 pounds a week, 1,900 pounds per appearance, 950 pounds per goal and 4,800 pounds a win.

law90026

01-28-2007, 10:16 PM

11 July 2009

Frank Justice signs a new 3 year deal worth 7.5 million pounds, paying him 45,500 pounds a week, 12,750 pounds per appearance, 5,000 pounds per goal and a 12,750 pound win bonus.

Mike Schaplowsky signs a 5 year deal worth 11.5 million pounds, paying him 40,500 pounds per week, 4,000 pounds per appearance, 4,000 pounds per goal and 10,000 pounds per win.

law90026

01-28-2007, 10:22 PM

18 July 2009

Charles Schexnader signs a 3 year deal worth 1.9 million pounds and will be paid 11k pounds a week, 24.5k per appearance, 600 pounds per goal and 3k per win.

20 July 2009

Owen Hunter signs a new 5 year contract with Leverkusen. He will be paid 46.5k per week, 4.5k per appearance and 11.25k per win.

law90026

01-28-2007, 10:32 PM

29 July 2009

Nou Camp elated - but is it really worth it?
Editorial by 4-3-3 magazine

So the news has finally been announced that Barcelona have signed Mike Schaplowsky from Lyon for an estimated 84 million pounds, with incentives possibly making it as large as 100 millionn pounds. At the press conference held to announce the signing, there was a visible air of excitement and the fans outside the stadium were chanting and singing, as if heralding the second coming of .. someone great.

The question we at 4-3-3 magazine have is whether this move made any sense whatsoever. Sure, the young Polish striker is widely regarded as the real deal and there's no doubt he's a good player. But 84 million pounds for a player that wasn't able to hold down a first team spot in Lyon? 84 million pounds for a player whose one good season thus far was at Celtic and the Scottish Premier League? Hardly an indication Mike is a world beater in our opinion.

Parallels have been drawn between Mike and a former Barcelona favourite, Ronaldo. Both were young explosive strikers and both came from relatively smaller clubs before joining the Nou Camp. Hopefully Barcelona will get the same performance out of Mike as they try to improve their lackluster performances the past 2 seasons.

For Mike, this was a move he could have had last summer when he left Chelsea. He opted for Lyon instead and it appears he's grown tired of French soccer .. or was it the other way around? A great opportunity for Mike but there'll be a lot of pressure on him to perform. He'll definitely be expected to score more than 5 goals, which was his total return for Lyon last year.

Ultimately, the winner seems to be Lyon. They have made at least 4 times what they initially paid Chelsea for and can now strengthen their team considerably with the sale proceeds, all this for a player that hardly featured for them due to reported clashes with management.

Post editorial comment: We wish Mike all the best as we hear he has broken his ankle during pre-season training and will be out for up to 2 months.

law90026

01-29-2007, 03:39 AM

14 January 2009

Al Mighty gets a new 4 year contract worth 9.5 million pounds, and will earn 39.5k a week, 3.8k per appearance, 9.5k per win and 11.25k per clean sheet.

In separate news, rumours have it that Blackburn may sell Jace Hunter. It appears at least one big money bid has come in for the Scottish keeper.

law90026

01-29-2007, 03:48 AM

22 January 2009

Goodbye Ewood, Hello San Siro - Fairytale story comes true for Jace Hunter
Exclusive 4-3-3 Editorial

3 years ago, Jace Hunter was an 18 year old goalkeeper, fresh out of an academy which has since closed its doors ... and a complete unknown. And now, Jace Hunter is going to put on the famed Milan jersey as Blackburn reluctantly sell their keeper for 10.25 million pounds.

It's been a true fairytale for Jace, who signed for Blackburn in 2006 but was never expected to progress far. But his performances kept getting him noticed, from the time he spent on loan at Barnsley (still one of his favoured clubs), to his first season back at Ewood Park where he had to compete with Brad Friedal for playing time, till his first full season between the sticks for Blackburn, his caps for Scotland ... and now he stands poised to appear for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

This is a great move for Milan as well, whose no.1 keeper, Dida, is 36 years old. While he's still brilliant, the fact remains that he isn't getting any younger .. and in football, youth often wins out.

For Blackburn, this was a financial move. They get 10.25 million pounds to spend on reinforcements, something they desperately need since they're 19th in the Premier League. Brad Friedal regains the no.1 spot and will perform capably. It puts Blackburn's goalkeeping future in greater uncertainty but honestly, if Blackburn get relegated, that'll be the least of their concerns.

Post Editorial Comment: And Jace is thrown into the fire right from the start as he appears for Milan on 27 January 2009 in the 2nd leg of the Italian Cup, winning the MOM award in the process while leading Milan to a 3-1 win. Of 5 Genoa shots on target, Jace kept 4 out, only letting one in.

Travis

01-29-2007, 10:46 AM

Wow, that's awesome. Now hopefully he learns to curb his temper a bit and not get run out of town because of it.

law90026

02-01-2007, 02:52 AM

Season 4 - Year End Summary

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Barcelona
At season's end for Mike Schaplowsky, it's hard to say whether he did well. For a 21 year old, 10 goals in 29 games for one of the biggest clubs in the world can't exactly be called a failure. But taken in context of his huge transfer fee, perhaps more was expected. For what it's worth though, Mike was named the Spanish Young Player of the Year.

Season Stats: 29 games (6 as a sub), 10 goals, 2 yellows, 7.31 rating
2010 Spanish Young Player of the Year

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
A slightly worse year for Frank Justice than the last as his output was slightly lower. 11 goals in 27 games, which to be fair, isn't terrible for a striker.

Season Stats: 27 games (4 as a sub), 11 goals, 3 assists, 2 MOMs, 3 yellows, 7.11 rating

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Palermo
In a very interesting change, Al appeared for England in 2 games, by virtue of his great great great grand-mother's husband. Rated as one of the best goalkeepers in the world now, Al looks to have a very bright future ahead of him.

Season Stats: 33 games, 36 conceded, 9 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 4 yellows, 7.33 rating

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Milan
Another of the best keepers in the world and a regular for the Scottish team (16 caps so far), it looks like a healthy competition is building up between Jace and Al for title of best young keeper in Serie A.

Season Stats: 21 games, 17 conceded, 8 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 3 yellows, 7.43 rating
Named to Seria A Team of the Week once

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Regarded as one of the brightest young prospects in the world, young Charles is enjoying his time with the Arsenal first team. Now for the bad news: his performance is only about average but time will probably improve that and he still suffers from niggling injuries (8 weeks out this season through 3 injuries).

Season Stats: 30 games (9 as a sub), 1 goal, 4 assists, 4 yellows, 6.50 rating
European Super Cup Medal

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Celtic (on loan from Chelsea)
Another year of unfulfilled promise for Sean. Despite being highly rated, his performances on the pitch still leave a lot to be desired. The fact that he only managed a 6.43 rating at Celtic begs the question whether Sean is overrated. Still, it was a career year of sorts for Sean with 2 goals and 3 assists.

Season Stats: 42 games (1 as a sub), 2 goals, 3 assists, 3 MOMs, 4 yellows, 6.43 rating
Scottish Premier League Medal
Named to Scottish Premier League Team of the Week once.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud helped Fulham achieve a very respectable 6th place in the Premier League this year. While he is a regular in the first team, he needs to contribute more overall if he wants to take his game to the next level.

Season Stats: 30 games (1 as a sub), 1 goal, 2 yellows, 6.40 rating

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
The accolades continue to pour in for Owen as he wins the German Young Player of the Year award again, while being named Supporter's Player of the Year for 2008/2009. A 2 month hip injury limited his performances this year though.

Season Stats: 29 games, 4 goals, 5 assists, 5 MOMs, 2 yellows, 1 red, 6.68 tackles/game, 90% pass rate, 7.59 rating
Named to German First Division Team of the Weak twice.
2010 German Youth Player of the Year (repeat)
2008/2009 Supporter's Player of the Year

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Tottenham
Another rugged season for BB Gunn, who appeared in 45 games for Tottenham. Nothing spectacular from him, which is what the Spurs fans have come to expect, just the guy holding down the middle of the park for his team.

Season Stats: 45 games (8 as a sub), 1 goal, 4 yellows, 1 red, 6.47 rating

law90026

02-01-2007, 03:11 AM

Pre-World Cup 2010:

Al Mighty named as the no. 1 choice for England.
Owen Hunter named in the German team and will sit on the bench.

law90026

02-01-2007, 03:48 AM

25 June 2007

BB Gunn signs a new deal with Spurs for 5 years, worth 13.25 million. He will be paid 45k per week, 4.3k per appearance, 1.1k per goal and 10.75k per win.

law90026

02-01-2007, 04:36 AM

2009/2010 Season End - Around the World (Ugh: Forgot to check and some of the information was lost due to the season resetting)

English Premier League
Man Utd win the title and Chelsea (Sean Treacy) and Arsenal (Charles Schexnader) come in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Blackburn and Wigan were relegated (can't find which is the 3rd team).

Fulham (Bud Wiser) was 6th, West Ham (Frank Justice) were nearly relegated at 17th and Tottenham (BB Gunn) were 11th.

Collins John (Fulham) was the top scorer with 23 goals.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Arjen Robben (Chelsea), with Jaime Mole (West Brom) and Giovanni Torre (Sheff Utd) coming in 2nd and 3rd. This is Robben's 2nd consecutive win.

Footballer of the Year was Calum Elliot (Doncaster), with Dean Ashton(West Ham) and Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player's Young Player of the Year was Mitchell Bryant (Preston) with Conor McCormack (Preston) and Micah Richards (Portsmouth) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Marcello Lippi (Man Utd) and Pat Rice (Arsenal) and Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) coming in 2nd and 3rd. Marcello Lippi is proving to have the golden touch as he won the German Manager of the Year award last season.

Bundesliga
Werder Bremen defended their title with Leverkusen (Owen Hunter) and Schalke coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Top Goalscorer was Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen) with 22 goals.

Player of the Year award went to Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen), his 3rd such title in 5 years, with Claudio Pizzaro (Leverkusen) and Nando Rafael(Gladbach) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Roman Weidenfeller of Dortmund.

Youth Player of the Year was Owen Hunter (Leverkusen) for a 2nd year in a row.

Manager of the Year was Paul Le Guen (Werder Bremen) and Michael Laudrup (FC Bayern) and Thomas Doll (Schalke) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Serie A
Inter won the Serie A, with Milan (Jace Hunter) and Roma coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Palermo (Al Mighty) flirted with relegation, eventually coming in 15th. Lecce, Atalanta and Napoli were relegated.

Btw, Inter promptly fired their coach, Roberto Mancini, after winning the Scudetto .. nice.

Top Goalscorer was Carlos Tevez (Roma) with 20 goals.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Gianlugi Buffon of Juventus, his 2nd straight title. He is also probably the best keeper of all time in Serie A as he has won this title 6 times in the past 8 years.

Defender of the Year was Johan Djorou of Palermo.

Foreign Player of the Year was Carlos Tevez (Striker for Roma).

Italian Player of the Year was Francesco Totti of Roma and Amauri (Palermo) and Christian Bucchi (Napoli) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Ruud Gullit (Milan) with Thomas Schaaf (Roma) and Walter Bonacina (Sampdoria) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Carlos Tevez (Roma) and Sasa Bjelanovi (Ascoli) and Alberto Gilardino (Milan) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Victor Obinna (Chievo), his 2nd title, with Steve Pinau (Verona) and Schumacher (Udinese) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

La Liga
Real Madrid win the La Liga, with Valencia coming in 2nd and Espanyol a distant 3rd. Barcelona were 8th, even worse than their 7th place finish last year. Deportivo, Racing and Real Sociedad were relegated.

Top goalscorers were Robinho (Real Madrid) and Javier Portillo with 19 goals each.

Top Assist was Lauren (Espanyol) with 12, not bad for a 33 year old right back!!

Goalkeeper of the Year was Jose Manuel Pinto (Valencia).

Manager of the Year was Fabio Capello (Real Madrid) with Jose Antonio Camacho (Espanyol) and Irureta (Valencia) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Ronaldinho (Barcelona).

Scottish Premier League: (because Sean Treacy played here this season)

Celtic win yet another title, their 5th in a row and 9th in the past 13 years. Rangers no longer appear to be able to challenge them effectively.

law90026

02-01-2007, 04:49 AM

30 June 2010

Sean Treacy rejoins Celtic on a season-long loan. Chelsea are apparently taking the view that Sean isn't ready for first team action in the Premier League and want him to continue learning his trade in a "lesser" league.

law90026

02-01-2007, 07:13 AM

Germany win 2010 World Cup

In a close encounter, Germany win the 2010 World Cup, beating Argentina 3-2 on penalties after the game ended 1-1. In a surprising show of poor penalty taking, Germany had 2 penalties saved or missed, while Argentina missed 3 of their own (3rd, 4th and 5th attempts).

Owen Hunter gets a World Cup Winner's medal, though he played no actual part in the finals.

law90026

02-01-2007, 07:17 AM

22 July 2010

Charles Schexnader signs a new 3 year deal with Arsenal, which will pay him 12.75k a week, 28k per appearance, 700 per goal and 3.5 k per win.

24 July 2010
Frank Justice signs a 3 year deal with West Ham worth 7.5 million, which pays him 47.5k per week, 13.25 k per appearance, 5.25k per goal and 13.25k per win. While Frank expressed his happiness, rumours are that he would move to a bigger club if given the chance, especially considering how close West Ham came to relegation last year.

law90026

02-01-2007, 09:33 AM

Another year, Another Big Money Move
4-3-3 Editorial

So Mike Schaplowsky apparently is the best striker in the world for some reason. Last year it was Barcelona forking out big bucks for him. This year, it was Man Utd paying 114 million pounds for the 21 year old.

That's a lot of money for a player who scored 10 goals last year in our opinion.

Mike was surplus to Barcelona's requirement after Barcelona signed Anderson, a 22 year old Brazilian striker, for 78 million pounds.

law90026

02-02-2007, 04:33 AM

23 February 2011

Leverkusen 2-0 Celtic

Owen Hunter led his team to victory over Sean Treacy's Celtic in the first leg of the Champions Leagues Quarter Finals. Owen started the game with a goal in the first minute and Celtic were always on the backfoot thereafter. Celtic's cause was not helped when they had 3 players injured in the first 36 minutes of the game, forcing coach Martin O'Neill to use up all his substitutions early in the game.

Tobias Riedl's 41st minute strike then gave Leverkusen a comfortable 2-0 lead headed into the 2nd leg, which will be played in Scotland.

Sean Treacy played decently, getting a 7 rating while Owen Hunter had a 8.

9 March 2011

Celtic 1-0 Leverkusen

Celtic win the 2nd leg 1-0 but crash out 2-1 on aggregate. Celtic never really looked like overturning the 2-0 deficit they faced as the game was very evenly matched. Sean Treacy managed another 7 rating, which was matched by Owen Hunter.

law90026

02-02-2007, 05:09 AM

17 April 2011

Arsenal 2-0 Tottenham

Charles Schexnader and Arsenal beat Spurs 2-0 in a good ol' North London derby. Goals from Mark Gonzalez and Wesley Sneijder were enough to see Spurs off. BB Gunn was missing from the game and could only watch from the stands as he is recovering from a pulled hamstring. Charles managed a 7 rating.

law90026

02-02-2007, 05:27 AM

23 April 2011

West Ham 2-3 Arsenal

Despite Frank Justice's best efforts, West Ham fall to Arsenal 3-2 at home. 2 goals from MOM Frank were not enough as Arsenal won a game that wasn't as close as the scoreline indicated. West Ham only had 2 shots at goal and Frank scored from both.

Charles Schexnader had a 7 while Frank was MOM with a 9.

law90026

02-02-2007, 05:55 AM

Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal lift the Champions League Cup, edging out Chelsea 1-0 after extra time. A 95th minute goal from Theo Walcott proved to be the difference between the 2 sides.

Charles Schexnader started at leftback for the Gunners and played well, recording an 8, though he also received a yellow card in the game.

This win will be sweet revenge for Arsenal, who finished 2nd in the Premier League, 12 points behind Chelsea.

law90026

02-02-2007, 06:19 AM

2008/2009 Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Chelsea retain the title with 89 pts and Arsenal(Charles Schexnader) , Liverpool and Middlesborough come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Coventry, Watford and Fulham (Bud Wiser) were relegated.

West Ham (Frank Justice) come in 6th and qualify for the Euro Cup, while Tottenham (BB Gunn) come in 8th, just missing out on the Euro Cup. Man Utd (Mike Schaplowsky) had a very disappointing season, finishing 10th.

Arjen Robben (Chelsea) was the top scorer with 24 goals. Frank Justice had 12 goals, coming in joint 24th.

Giorgio Chiellini (Man Utd) had 12 assists to lead all other players.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Arjen Robben (Chelsea), with Xabi Alonso (Liverpool) and Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham) coming in 2nd and 3rd. This is Arjen Robben's 3rd consecutive title.

Footballer of the Year was Freddy Eastwood (Newcastle), with Jamie Mole(West Brom) and Garry O'Connor (Portsmouth) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player's Young Player of the Year was Frank Justice (West Ham), his second title in 3 years, with Francisco Merida (Coventry) and Terry Dixon (Aston Villa) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) and Rafa Benitez (Liverpool) and Pat Rice (Arsenal) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Bundesliga
FC Bayern finally return to form, winning their first title in 4 years. Leverkusen and Schalke come in 2nd and 3rd. This is the 2nd year in a row Leverkusen (Owen Hunter) were runners-up. Dusseldorf, Wolfsburg and Aachen were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Alexander Frei (Dortmund) with 19 goals.

Fabian Ernst (Frankfurt) led all players with 12 assists. Owen Hunter had 8 and came in 3rd.

Player of the Year award went to Miroslav Klose (Dortmund) for a 2nd year running, his 4th award in 6 years. Borja Oubina (HSV) and Alexander Frei(Dortmund) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Michael Rensing of FC Bayern.

Youth Player of the Year was Owen Hunter (Leverkusen), his 3rd consecutive award.

Manager of the Year was Martin Jol (FC Bayern) and Thomas Doll (Schalke) and Michael Skibbe (Leverkusen) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Serie A
Inter retain the Serie A title, pipping Juventus and Roma on the last day. Milan (Jace Hunter) came in 4th. Palermo (Al Mighty), Chievo and Siena were relegated.

Top Goalscorers were Fred (Juventus) and Lukas Podolski (Milan) with 20 goals.

Top Assist went to Florent Malouda (Roma) and Giampiero Pinzi (Udinese) with 11.

Goalkeeper of the Year was David Cobeno of Catania. Al Mighty was 2nd and Jace Hunter was 3rd.

Defender of the Year was Michael Jakobsen of Fiorentina.

Foreign Player of the Year was Fred (Striker for Juventus).

Italian Player of the Year was Alberto Aquilani of Lazio and Simone Tiribocchi (Bologna) and Giampiero Pinzi (Udinese) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Frank Rikjaard (Inter) with Walter Alfredo Novellino (Roma) and Gianluca Vialli (Juventus) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Fred (Juventus) and Nilmar (Juventus) and Carlos Tevez (Roma) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Gay Assulin (Verona) with Fernando Forestieri (Fiorentina) and Bojan (Roma) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

La Liga
Real Madrid retain their title and Barcelona are resurgent, coming in 2nd. Malorcan and Villareal round out the top 4. Alaves, Levante and Athletic were relegated.

Top goalscorer was Luca Toni (Espanyol) with 21 goals.

Top Assist was Dani Alves (Villareal) with 8.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Victor Valdes (Barcelona).

Manager of the Year was Paul Le Guen (Real Madrid) with Thomas Schaaf (Barcelona) coming in 2nd and Felix Magath of Villareal coming in 3rd.

Player of the Year was Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona).

Scottish Premier League
Celtic (Sean Treacy) win yet another title.

law90026

02-02-2007, 06:43 AM

2010/2011 Summary

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Man Utd
By most standards, Mike's season should be considered a good one. 16 goals in the Premier League, 27 goals in all competitions, that's a good return for a 21 year old. The problem is that Man Utd paid a lot for his services and expectations were always going to be ridiculously high, coupled with Man Utd's poor performance this season, meant that Mike will be viewed, whether fairly or unfairly, as not being worth it.

Season Stats: 49 games (3 as a sub), 27 goals, 1 assist, 3 MOMs, 3 yellow, 1 red, 7.02 rating
Club World Championship Winner
European Super Cup Winner

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank is becoming a semi-regular in the England team as he now has 4 caps to his name. Voted the best young player in England, Frank is beginning to show a well-rounded facet to his game as he managed 15 goals and 9 assists in all competitions. He needs to curb his aggression though, 6 yellow cards is a tad high.

Season Stats: 33 games (7 as a sub), 15 goals, 9 assists, 6 MOMs, 6 yellows, 7.45 rating
2011 Young Player of the Year

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Milan
A good year individually for Jace as he is regarded as the 3rd best keeper in Serie A, though perhaps not as great a year for Milan as a team. Coming in 4th in Serie A and runners-up in the Italian Super Cup, it was a year of "almosts" for Jace and his team.

Season Stats: 49 games (1 as a sub), 49 conceded, 22 clean sheets, 8 MOMs, 4 yellows, 7.43 rating
2011 Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year - 3rd place
Named twice to Serie A Team of the Week
Italian Super Cup Runner-up

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Palermo
Heartbreak for Al as he fails to keep Palermo from being relegated. His valiant efforts were not dismissed though as he was voted 2nd best keeper in Serie A. 7 caps for England thus far in his career though lately he's been sitting on the bench for the Lions.

Season Stats: 45 games, 55 conceded, 15 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 2 yellows, 7.58 rating
Italian Cup Runner Up
2011 Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year - 2nd place
Named to Serie A Team of the Year
Named to Serie A Team of the Week 3 times

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Slowly, Charles is beginning to improve his overall performances for the Gunners. He averaged a 6.85 rating this year, his best record in his career thus far. He'll be pleased to have won a Champions League medal this year as well.

Season Stats: 27 games (6 as a sub), 3 goals, 1 assist, 2 MOMs, 5 yellows, 6.85 rating
2011 Champions League Winner
Premier League Young Player of the Month for April

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
The ever reliable Owen Hunter continues to perform well for Leverkusen, though he may be a little frustrated that he has failed to win anything of note at club level. Internationally though, Owen has a World Cup Medal and an Olympic Medal, not bad for a 21 year old.

Season Stats: 44 games, 2 goals, 10 assists, 8 MOMs, 7 yellows, 7.66 rating
World Cup Winner
2011 German First Division Youth Player of the Year (3rd in a row)
Named in German First Division Team of the Year
German Player of the Month for November
Named to German Team of the Week 5 times

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Celtic
Another player that appears to be getting more comfortable with his game, Sean Treacy had a career year in terms of his average rating. He'll hope to continue improving as he didn't do too badly this year at all, though he'll also be the first to admit he has room to improve still.

Season Stats: 49 games (2 as a sub), 1 goal, 3 assists, 3 MOMs, 2 yellows, 6.94 rating
Scottish Premier League Winner
Scottish League Cup Winner
Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month for December

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Tottenham
Ol' Reliable wasn't so reliable this year. The Spurs fans are used to seeing Jersey no. 22 ever game but it appears all that hard work is catching up with BB, as he missed 6 weeks of action this year with niggling injuries. Still, he managed to appear in 36 games, 3rd most for the club.

Season Stats: 36 games, 3 goals, 4 yellows, 6.69 rating.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Disaster for Bud this year as he found himself sitting on the bench a lot. Worse, Fulham got relegated, a major disappointment considering they came in 6th last season. Bud has made it clear he isn't happy and is looking for a way out.

Season Stats: 17 games (13 as a sub), 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 1 yellow, 6.24 rating

law90026

02-02-2007, 07:46 AM

22 July 2011

Man Utd splash out for BB Gunn
In a bold move, Man Utd acquire the services of BB Gunn from Spurs for 53 million pounds. BB has been a regular first-teamer for Spurs and does his job, holding the midfield, decently.

Having said that, it's a lot of cash to splash out on a 22 year old defensive midfielder who does only the dirty work. It'll be interesting to see if this gamble pays off for the Reds.

BB Gunn teams up with former Academy trainee Mike Schaplowsky. Mike though is out for 3 months with a broken ankle sustained during pre-season training.

law90026

02-02-2007, 09:44 AM

3 January 2012

Leverkusen sells their star defender to Atletico Madrid for 23.5 million pounds - Fans on both sides react in horror!!

In surprising news, Leverkusen sell Owen Hunter to Atletico Madrid for 23.5 million pounds. Leverkusen fans were visibly upset as Owen Hunter had been a brilliant performer for them for the past 5 years and was one of the best players in the Bundesliga.

On the other side, Atletico's fans were less than pleased with the signing, worried that Owen Hunter would disrupt the team. This brought a sense of deja vu back to Owen Hunter, who faced a similar reaction from Leverkusen's fans when he joined them 5 years ago. Hopefully he wins Atletico's fans around the same way he did for Leverkusen.

law90026

02-02-2007, 09:55 AM

22 January 2012

Al Mighty leaves Palermo

With a heavy heart, Al Mighty left Palermo to join West Ham for a fee of 17.5 million pounds. The move was expected, since the England international was languishing in Serie B, but still, he made his move with some sadness as Palermo was the club that gave him a second chance early on his career.

Al Mighty joins former Academy teammate Frank Justice in West Ham.

Sublime 2

02-02-2007, 10:46 AM

Woah! Owen out of the Bundesliga...

cschex

02-02-2007, 11:01 AM

Wow, the transfer fees are crazily inflated in this version of FM. 100 million pounds! That's insane.

Oh, and Champs League, baby!

law90026

02-02-2007, 11:14 AM

Wow, the transfer fees are crazily inflated in this version of FM. 100 million pounds! That's insane.

Oh, and Champs League, baby!

Yeah, that really is one of my issues with the game. The transfer fees are simply exorbitant if you want to buy a "name" player and it's just about never worth it.

In my Arsenal game I play on the side, I sold Kolo Toure for 65 million pounds to Chelsea and used those funds to buy 3 good/great players who were lesser known to replace him. Silliness (though I did splash out 75 million pounds for Lionel Messi :D )

bbgunn

02-04-2007, 06:40 AM

Man U? NOOOOO!

law90026

02-05-2007, 08:27 AM

Treacy has the last laugh

Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool

On a windy night in Athens, Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Champions League final in extra time, with goals from Julio Baptista and Adriano. Valeri Bojinov's regular time equaliser not being enough for the Reds. It was made even more frustrating by the fact that Adriano scored in the very last minute of extra time, ruining Liverpool's chance of doing a Premiership and Champions League Double.

Sean Treacy came on in the 73rd minute and got a 7 rating. This will be sweet revenge for Sean, who had a torrid time at Anfield early on in his career, who was consistently being called out by manager Rafa Benitez in the media (not without justification though).

st.cronin

02-05-2007, 09:28 AM

holla

law90026

02-05-2007, 09:28 AM

Season 2011/2012 End of Season Summary

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Man Utd
A good second season for Mike Schaplowsky at Old Trafford. 18 goals in 30 games is a good goal scoring record and he was consistently recognised for that (7 MOMs). Having said that, it's clear Man Utd overpaid for his services as Mike's value has falled to a more realistic 57 million pounds.

Season Stats: 30 games, 18 goals, 7 MOMs, 6 yellows, 7.43 rating
Premier League Player of the Month for April

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Man Utd
BB Gunn acquired his first 2 caps for England this year. One of the most expensive midfielders in the world, there are still doubts whether he really is worth that much, considering his distinctly average performance for Man Utd (6.49 rating) and the fact that Man Utd didn't do that well this year.

Season Stats: 41 games, 2 goals, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 2 yellows, 6.49 rating

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Atletico Madrid
Owen played decently for Atletico but it was a far cry from his normal high standards. Adjustment required to a different team and play style? Or just that the Spanish La Liga is of a higher standard? Next season will be a good indication.

Season Stats: 22 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 1 yellow, 1 red, 7.18 rating
2010/2011 Leverkusen Supporter's Player of the Year
Named in German First Division Team of the Week once before his move

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, West Ham
Al handled his move to the Premier League well as he showed why he is an England international. A 7.40 rating is nice as is the 8 clean sheets he kept in 25 games.

Season Stats: 25 games, 26 conceded, 8 clean sheets, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 7.40 rating
English League Cup Runner-Up Medal

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank had his regular consistent season, playing well and banging in goals on a regular basis. His record of 5 goals for England (in 10 games) shows he is a world class striker. Still, he may be wondering what he has to do to get more recognition, considering he managed to contribute more than his rival Mike Schaplowsky.

Season Stats: 42 games (4 as a sub), 22 goals, 5 assists, 3 MOMs, 1 yellow, 7.17 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Winger, Arsenal
This was the year Charles becames a German international as he got his first cap against Australia at age 20. He didn't manage to get any club level trophies but he did get a Confederations Cup medal with Germany.

Season Stats: 37 games (2 as a sub), 2 goals, 9 assists, 3 MOMs, 4 yellows, 6.92 rating
Name to the Premier League Team of the Week 3 times
Premier League Young Player of the Month for March 2012

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Milan
Jace picks up his second Italian Cup medal with Milan this year, who again failed to win Seria A. What makes it worse is that arch-rivals Inter won it for the 3rd year running. The Scottish international played decently this year though probably not as well as he might have liked.

Season Stats: 45 games, 43 conceded, 13 clean sheets, 4 yellows, 7.18 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Chelsea
An up and down season for Sean Treacy this year. He managed to get a Champions League medal but he didn't do that much all year in terms of performances, though he managed 6 assists in all competitions. More is expected of him though it looks like he may never live up to his potential.

Season Stats: 29 games (2 as a sub), 6 assists, 2 yellows, 6.45 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Despite rumours Bud was leaving Fulham, he buckled down this year and played hard and well, as he managed his career year thus far (6.73 rating).

Season Stats: 45 games (4 as a sub), 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 5 yellows, 6.73 rating

law90026

02-05-2007, 09:48 AM

2011/2012 Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Liverpool win the Premier League this year and Middlesborough, Bolton and Chelsea (Sean Treacy) come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Sheffield United, Wigan and Derby were relegated.

Man Utd (Mike Schaplowsky, BB Gunn) improved from last season to finish 6th but that surely isn't enough for their fans. West Ham (Al Mighty, Frank Justice) were 7th while Arsenal (Charles Schexnader) were a disappointing 8th.

Adriano (Chelsea) was the top scorer with 22 goals. Mike Schaplowsky had 12 goals, coming in joint 17th, while Frank Justice had 13, coming in joint 19th.

Tobias Linderoth (Charlton) had 12 assists to lead all players. Charles Schexnader had 6 and was joint 10th.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Arjen Robben (Chelsea), his 4th in a row, with Freddy Eastwood (Newcastle) and Xabi Alonso (Liverpool) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Footballer of the Year was Mauricio Pinilla (Blackburn), with Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham) and Darren Bent (Charlton) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player's Young Player of the Year was Richard Pawlak (Derby), with Wade Watt (Bolton) and Magnus Wolff Eikrem (Reading) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Rafa Benitez (Liverpool) and Jose Mourinho(Chelsea) and Alan Pardew (West Ham) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Bundesliga
HSV win the Bundesliga. Werder Bremen and FC Bayern come in 2nd and 3rd. Leverkusen (formerly Owen Hunter) were 6th. Koln, Duisburg and Rostock were relegated.

Serie A
Inter retain the Serie A title for a 3rd year, beating Roma, Ascoli and Milan (Jace Hunter). Inter and Roma were tied on points and goal difference, believe it or not, but Inter win by virtue of their 2-1 aggregate performance over Roma during the season (a 1-0 win at Roma and a 0-0 draw at home). Reggina, Catania and Modena were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Carlos Tevez (Roma) with 21 goals.

Top Assist went to Christian Ledesma (Verona) with 7.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Sebestian Frey of Fioretina.

Defender of the Year was Michael Dingsdag of Verona.

Foreign Player of the Year was Sebestian Frey (Goalkeeper for Fiorentina).

Italian Player of the Year was Rolando Bianchi of Fiorentina and Matteo Brighi (Parma) and Luca Cigarini (Reggina) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Frank Rikjaard (Inter) with Ruud Guillit (Milan) and Giuseppe Pillon (Ascoli) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Carlos Tevez (Roma) and Alberto Gilardino(Milan) and Goran Pandev (Lazio) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Fernano Forestieri (Fiorentina) with Eli Zizov(Verona) and David Aranzubia (Verona) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

La Liga
Real Madrid win their 3rd consecutive title and Barcelona are 2nd for a 2nd year. Celta and Villareal round out the top 4. Ciudad Murcia, Gimnastic and Castellon were relegated. Athletico (Owen Hunter) came in 14th.

Top goalscorer was Luis Fabiano (Sevilla) with 22 goals.

Top Assist was Dani Alves (Villareal) and Joaquin with 9.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Victor Valdes (Barcelona) for a 2nd straight year.

Manager of the Year was Paul Le Guen (Real Madrid) again with Thomas Schaaf (Barcelona) coming in 2nd (again) and Marcos Alnoso of Celta coming in 3rd.

Player of the Year was Anderson (Barcelona), the striker that replaced Mike Schaplowsky at Barcelona.

law90026

02-06-2007, 02:05 AM

"Of course I'm worth it", says European Striker of the Year

1 August 2012

In a sometimes angry media interview, the new European Striker of the Year, Mike Schaplowsky, acknowledged his new standing as the number 1 striker in Europe. He also took the opportunity to chide his critics who had claimed he was overrated and overpriced.

"Of course I'm worth it. Some of you #*@&$ (#*@&$)*#* keep claiming that I'm overrated. Well so there, this award shows how right you are. You know what? It's not my fault Lyon, Barcelona and Man Utd wanted to spend big bucks on me. They saw something they liked and were willing to pay for it. It's a free market, something you guys obviously don't understand.

Look at my record. 74 goals in 159 league games. That's bloody awesome and I'm going to keep getting better."

When asked about his inability to make players around him better and allegations that he was selfish (0 assists in the same 159 league games), Mike had this to say,

"Who cares about that? I'm paid to score and that's what I do. I carry that burden for the team and I'm willing to own up when I don't find the net. Why should I be judged by how many people I help score goals when that is the job I'm paid to do?"

And his final words were "Watch out. I'm getting better and I'm going to show all of you how much more I can do. People forget that I was injured early last season with a broken ankle but I still came back to do what I do best, score goals. This year, I'm going to be no. 1."

For the record, Milan's strikers, Lucas Podolski and Alberto Gilardino came in 2nd and 3rd.

law90026

02-06-2007, 03:35 AM

2012/2013 End of Season Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Man Utd
The reigning European Striker of the Year upped his performance this year by a tad, as he scored 22 goals in all competitions. He also succeeded in proving he was number 1 by being voted the 2013 English Footballer of the Year and being selected to the Premier League Select Team.

Season Stats: 47 games (2 as a sub), 22 goals, 6 MOMs, 3 yellows, 2 reds, 7.40 rating
Euro Cup runners-up (Man Utd lost 1-0 to West Brom and Mike got a 6 rating)
2011/2012 Man Utd Supporter's Player of the Year
2012 European Striker of the Year
2013 English Footballer of the Year
Premier League Select Team

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Atletico
Better performance this year for Owen Hunter but just off the incredible performances he used to have for Leverkusen. Don't get it wrong, Owen Hunter is playing well consistently (7.38 rating in the league), just that he used to perform better at least in terms of ratings (his high with Leverkusen ws 7.78).

Season Stats: 29 games, 3 goals, 3 assists, 4 MOMs, 5 yellows, 7.38 rating
Named to Spanish First Division Team of the Week 3 times
Named to Spanish First Division Team of the Season

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Man Utd
BB continues to show how durable he is as he played another 49 games this year. Average performances week in and week out have seen his value drop somewhat but he is regarded as a vital cog of the Man Utd team.

Season Stats: 49 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 yellows, 1 red, 6.55 rating (also most tackles/game in the Premier League for a pure midfielder)
Euro Cup Runners-up

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, West Ham
Al wins his first trophy this year as West Ham win the League Cup (2-0 win over Aston Villa and a 9 rating). This is a nice change for Al, who has 4 runners-up medals thus far his career (Italian Cup, Italian Supercup, European Supercup, English League Cup).

Season Stats: 45 games, 51 conceded, 14 clean sheets, 6 MOMs, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.62 rating
Named to Premier League Team of the Week once

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
This is the year Frank matured as his manager asked him to tutor 18 year old reserve striker David Bird. Frank played well this year but didn't really improve much from last season. Frank also won his first medal this year, the League Cup medal and he scored West Ham's 2nd goal in the win over Aston Villa.

Season Stats: 37 games (2 as a sub), 15 goals, 5 assists, 1 MOM, 3 yellows, 1 red, 7.05 rating
(Note: I just realised there's a bug with Frank Justice. His achievements with West Ham are not updating as that screen shows he has left West Ham when he first went on loan at QPR. Ugh)

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Charles took his game to the next level this year, with a 7.21 rating. He remains disappointed that the club he loves has not really managed to achieve much success in recent years however, though he was recognised as the best leftback in the Premier League.

Season Stats: 38 gamed, 3 goals, 5 assists, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 7.21 rating
Named in English Premier League Select

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Milan
Another disappointing year for Jace, both individally and at team level. While Jace played well this year, he failed to be recognised for his performances. Milan also did badly by its high standards, coming in 5th in Serie A and not doing that well in other cups.

Season Stats: 40 games (2 as a sub), 33 conceded, 19 clean sheets, 1 MOM, 5 yellows, 7.50 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Chelsea (Ugh, another bugged player because his Chelsea achievments are not updating)
Is the shine coming off Sean Treacy at Stamford Bridge? In similar fashion to his time at Liverpool, his boss (Jose Mourinho) complained that Sean was not performing to a standard expected of him. Having said that, Sean managed to get another Premiership winner's medal this year as well as his first 2 caps for England.

Season Stats: 31 games (6 as a sub), 2 assists, 5 yellows, 6.16 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Fulham again get promoted back to the Premiership, coming in 2nd in the Championship. Bud played well this campaign and is acknowledged as being an integral part of the effort. Now for both Fulham and Bud Wiser to maintain their performance next season.

Season Stats: 40 games (2 as a sub), 2 goals, 3 assists, 2 MOMs, 1 yellow, 1 red, 6.85 rating
Named to English Championship Team of the Week once.

law90026

02-06-2007, 04:09 AM

2012/2013 Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Chelsea (Sean Treacy) win the Premier League this year and Bolton, Man Utd (Mike Schaplowsky, BB Gunn) and Arsenal (Charles Schexnader) come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Luton, Doncaster and Newcastle were relegated.

West Ham (Al Mighty, Frank Justice) came in 12th but will be in Europe next year by virtue of their League Cup win.

Garry O'Connor (Portsmouth) was the top scorer with 20 goals. Mike Schaplowsky had 16 goals, coming in joint 12th, while Frank Justice had 12 goals, coming in joint 27th.

Etinene Didot (West Ham), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea) and James Davis (Blackburn) had 10 assists to lead all players. Charles Schexnader had 5 and was joint 16th.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Arjen Robben (Chelsea), his 5th in a row!! Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham) and Sven Walter (Bolton) came in 2nd and 3rd.

Footballer of the Year was Mike Schaplowsky (Man Utd), with Garry O'connor (Portsmouth) and Goran Slavkovski (Coventry) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player's Young Player of the Year was Christian Bong (Newcastle), with James Davis (Blackburn) and Goran Markovic (Southend) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) and Iain Dowie (Charlton) and Micky Adams (Tottenham) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Bundesliga
Werder Bremen win the Bundesliga. FC Bayern and Stuttgart come in 2nd and 3rd. Leverkusen (formerly Owen Hunter) were 7th. Hertha BSC, Aachen and Freiburg were relegated.

Serie A
Palermo win Serie A, which is amazing considering they just got promoted last season. Inter, Roma and Milan (Jace Hunter) come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Sampdoria, Siena and Napoli were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Fred (Juventus) with 21 goals.

Top Assist went to Mamadi Keita (Bologna) with 10.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Dieter Raynaert of Empoli.

Defender of the Year was Christian Zaccardo of Milan.

Foreign Player of the Year was Dieter Raynaert of Empoli.

Italian Player of the Year was Christian Zaccardo of Milan and Amauri (Palermo) and Angel Siniscalchi (Bologna) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Maurizio D'Angelo (Palermo) with Walter Bonacina(Juventus) and Frank Rikjaard (Inter) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Paco Sanchez (Livorno) and Gari Uranga (Empoli) and Schumacher (Udinese) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Fernano Forestieri (Fiorentina) for a 2nd year with Eli Zizov(Verona) (also a 2nd year) and Mamadi Keita (Bologna) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

La Liga
Valencia win the title, breaking Real's stranglehold of the past 3 years. Real came in 2nd and Barcelona were 3rd. Atletico came in 10th (Owen Hunter). Almeria, Lleida and Salamana were relegated.

Top goalscorer was Anderson (Barcelona) with 21 goals.

Top Assist was Joaquin (Valencia) with an amazing 17.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Manolo Reina (Recreativo) .

Manager of the Year was Jost Antonio Camacho (Valencia) with Paul Le Guen (Real Madrid) coming in 2nd and Thomas Schaaf (Barcelona) coming in 3rd.

Player of the Year was Joaquin (Valencia).

law90026

02-06-2007, 04:29 AM

1 July 2013

Man Utd sign Owen Hunter for 20.5 million pounds.

Clearly Man Utd understand that the Academy "kids" are good as they splash out to buy their 3rd, Owen Hunter, who now joins Mike Schaplowsky and BB Gunn at Old Trafford.

It's a sudden move for Owen Hunter, who had only been at Atletico for a season and a half. However, he's likely to be pleased as Atletico was a club going nowhere fast.

Man Utd get one of the best defenders in the world in this transaction and next season will be well-poised to wrest the Premier League title away from Chelsea.

law90026

02-06-2007, 04:30 AM

1 August 20013

Jace Hunter comes in 3rd in the voting for European Goalkeeper of the Year, losing out to Igor Akinfeev of Man Utd and Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus.

In other news, Mike Schaplowsky does not win the European Striker of the Year award ... and is not 2nd or 3rd either.

law90026

02-11-2007, 09:03 PM

31 December 2013

Mike Schaplowsky wins World Footballer of the Year.

law90026

02-12-2007, 12:19 AM

2013/2014 - End of Season Summary

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Man Utd
Another good season for Mike Schaplowsky as he begins to win his critics over. Recognised as the World Player of the Year, Mike also managed to score 26 goals in all competitions. Unfortunately, despite his personal performances, Mike still has not tasted real club level success.

Season Stats: 44 games, 26 goals, 5 MOMs, 7 yellows, 7.55 rating
2012/2013 Supporter's Player of the Year
Named to English Premier League Team of the Week once
2013 World Footballer of the Year
Premier League Select Team

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Man Utd
Owen's first season in the English Premier League is a solid one. He continues to do what he does best, marshal the defence and create goals. Man Utd will be glad to have acquired him, though they didn't achieve any successes of note this year.

Season Stats: 48 games, 4 goals, 10 assists, 3 MOMs, 4 yellows, 7.23 rating
English Premier League Player of the Month for March
Named to Premier League Team of the Week once

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Man Utd
The third of the Man Utd trio, BB had his usual season, ok but not spectacular. He continues to appear in a lot of matches, 52 games this year, and only missed one league game.

Season Stats: 52 games, 2 goals, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 6.50 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
A good year for Charles as he helps Arsenal win the Premier League after a long long time. A regular in the German National Team (5 goals and 32 caps), Charles is one of the best German players in the world (along with Owen Hunter).

Season Stats: 58 games, 6 goals, 9 assists, 5 MOMs, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.28 rating
English Premier League Champions
FA Cup Runners-Up
Named to English Premier League Team of the Week once

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
A somewhat below average season for Frank Justice this year. While he played better than ever (7.40 rating) and managed his usual tally of goals (14), he failed to get as many assists as he would have expected (just 2), which is part of his role as a target man.

Season Stats: 30 games (6 as a sub), 14 goals, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 2 yellows, 2 reds, 7.40 rating

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, West Ham
Al is the most popular player at West Ham as he was named the 2012/2013 Supporter's Player of the Year. Unfortunately, Al (and his teammate Frank) have not been able to achieve much club success at this time.

Season Stats: 49 games, 51 conceded, 15 clean sheets, 7 MOMs, 3 yellow, 1 red, 7.43 rating

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Milan
Regarded as the 3rd best goalkeeper in Europe, Jace Hunter has a good season at Milan, who come in 3rd in Serie A. Jace was named in the European Champions League Dream Team as well.

Season Stats: 51 games, 54 conceded, 14 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 5 yellows, 7.37 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Chelsea
Another average season for Sean Treacy, who continues to play regularly for Chelsea, without ever performing spectacularly save for rare occasions when things seem to click for him.

Season Stats: 48 games, 2 goals, 5 assists, 1 MOM, 5 yellows, 6.38 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud managed to help Fulham stave off relegation, as they finish 16th in the Premier League. In one of his "major" awards, Bud Wiser was named to the English Premier League Team of the Week once this season, a first for him.

Season Stats: 41 games, 1 goal, 5 assists, 1 MOM, 2 yellow, 6.56 rating

law90026

02-12-2007, 01:47 AM

2013/2014 Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Arsenal (Charles Schexnader) win the Premier League after 9 long years. Man Utd (Mike Schaplowsky, BB Gunn, Owen Hunter), Portsmouth and Bolton come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Leicester, Reading and Ipswich were relegated.

Chelsea (Sean Treacy) came in 5th this year and will play in the Euro Cup next season. West Ham (Al Mighty, Frank Justice) came in 7th. Fulham (Bud Wiser) were 16th.

Valeri Bojinov (Liverpool) was the top scorer with 23 goals. Mike Schaplowsky had 12 goals, coming in joint 15th, while Frank Justice had 9 goals, coming in joint 33rd.

Kevin Nolan (Bolton) and Stewart Downing (Middlesborough) had 10 assists to lead all players. Owen Hunter (Man Utd) had 6 to come in joint 10th while Charles Schexnader had 5 to come in joint 17th.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Valeri Bojinov (Liverpool), breaking Robben's stranglehold on this award. Silva (West Ham) and Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham) came in 2nd and 3rd.

Footballer of the Year was Fernando Torres (Arsenal), with Tommaso Vailatti (Leicester) and Darren Bent (Charlton) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player's Young Player of the Year was Mark Finnigan (Reading), with Nathan Robinson (Ipswich) and Neil Neville (Portsmouth) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Juande Ramos (Arsenal) and Brian Eastick(Liverpool) and David Moyes (Bolton) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Bundesliga
Werder Bremen retain the Bundesliga title. Schalke and Leverkusen come in 2nd and 3rd. Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Osnabruck were relegated.

Serie A
Inter win Serie A, their 4th title in 5 years. Genoa, Milan and Messina (Jace Hunter) come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Cesena, Parma and Pisa were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Kerlon (Juventus) with 22 goals.

Top Assist went to Pedron Ortega (Lazio) with 11.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Libis Arenas of Lazio.

Defender of the Year was Gonzalo Rodriguez of Inter.

Foreign Player of the Year was Kerlon of Juventus.

Italian Player of the Year was Rolando Bianchi of Fiorentina and Nicola Iachemet (Verona) and Pedro (Ascoli) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Frank Rikjaard (Inter) with Walter Alfredo Novellino (Roma) and Gian Piero Gasperini (Genoa) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Kerlon (Juventus) and Alberto Bueno (Ascoli) and Samuel (Bologna) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Simone Bosio (Atalanta) with Eli Zizov(Verona) taking 2nd for a 3rd consecutive year. Pedron Ortega (Lazio) came 3rd.

La Liga
Barcelona win the title for the first time in 8 years. Real came in 2nd and Valencia were 3rd. Atletico came in 16th (former Owen Hunter). Malaga, Gimnastic and Mallorca were relegated.

Top goalscorer was Anderson (Barcelona) with 21 goals.

Top Assist was Chipi (Getafe) with 11.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Francisco Guillermo Ochoa (Valencia) .

Manager of the Year was Thomas Schaaf (Barcelona). Jose Antonio Camacho (Valencia) and Paul Le Guen (Real Madrid) came in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Anderson (Barcelona), his 2nd title in 3 years.

law90026

02-12-2007, 03:38 AM

2 July 2014

Mike Schaplowsky wins the European Footballer of the Year award. Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) and Fernando Torres (Arsenal) came in 2nd and 3rd.

law90026

02-12-2007, 03:52 AM

6 July 2014

England 1-0 Germany

England win the World Cup in the Nou Camp, Barcelona. An extra time goal from Kieran Lee was just enough for England to edge out Germany. While possession on both sides was just about even, England deserved to win this match as they peppered the German goal with 22 shots, 11 of which were on target. England even had the luxury of missing a 37th minute penalty.

For Germany, both Charles Schexnader (7 rating) and Owen Hunter (6 rating) played in defence and will be disappointed not to win a World Cup medal.

On England's side, Al Mighty started the finals and got an 8. BB Gunn played in midfield (7 rating) but was substituted in the 72nd minute. Frank Justice started up front for England (7 rating) but was also taken off in the 72nd minute after suffering a minor knock.

law90026

02-12-2007, 03:54 AM

2014 World Cup Summary

Golden Boot/Top Goalscorer: Frank Justice with 5 goals

Best Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas (Spain). Al Mighty came in 2nd.

Best Player: Antonio Cassano (Italy). BB Gunn was 2nd and Frank Justice was 3rd.

Dream Team: BB Gunn, Frank Justice, Al Mighty and Owen Hunter were all named to the Dream Team.

law90026

02-12-2007, 03:57 AM

1 August 2014

Mike Schaplowsky wins European Striker of the Year for the 2nd time in 3 years.

Sublime 2

02-12-2007, 05:02 PM

Still am loving this law!

thealmighty

02-12-2007, 06:09 PM

Still am loving this law!

""

law90026

02-12-2007, 08:23 PM

7 years in - A recap
4-3-3 exclusive editorial

7 years ago, there was widespread interest in the last batch of kids graduating from the Academy. Reputed to be the most talented of their generation, clubs were scrambling to sign them. 7 years later, the "kids" are 25, save for Charles Schexnader (who is 23) and it's a good time to see whether they have lived up to their fabled reputations.

We start with Mike Schaplowsky, the 60 million pound striker who plays for Manchester United in the English Premier League. Mike is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the world, as evidenced by the awards he has won recently (2 European Striker of the Year awards, 1 European Footballer of the Year award, 1 World Footballer of the Year award). Having said that, Mike hasn't always had the best reputation as he is reportedly aloof at times. On the pitch, while he has a good goalscoring record (104 goals in 225 league games), Mike is also one of the most selfish players we have ever seen (0 assists in the same 225 leagues games).

Next up is the defensive workhorse, BB Gunn, who also plays at Manchester United and is valued at 32.5 million pounds. BB is one of those players that never catches a fan's eye because he is not flashy. All he does is hold the ball up, break up the other side's offense and work his socks off week in and week out. BB is the consummate professional, as evidenced by the fact that he hardly ever misses any games (258 league games played in 7 seasons).

Rounding out the Manchester United trio is Owen Hunter, the 20.5 million pound German sweeper/defender. Owen draws comparisons to the greatest German defenders in history, like Sammer and Matthaus, by virtue of his great reading of the game, his consistency and his ability to pass the ball with great precision ( 47 assists in 277 league games). Owen has achieved personal success in most of the clubs he has been with, having been named to the German First Division Team of the Year with Leverkusen, the Spanish Team of the Season with Atletico and even the World Cup Dream Team.

7 years ago, people wondered whether Charles Schexnader would be able to have a career. Frequent serious injuries meant that Charles missed a lot of playing time when young and there were concerns whether he would lose his natural athletic ability as well. Charles has since bounced back to be regarded as one of the best left-sided players in the world. Valued at 16.25 million pounds, Charles is able to play in defence or midfield and does both roles well for his beloved Arsenal and Germany.

Frank Justice was Mike Schaplowsky's rival, at least at the start of their careers. Since then, while Mike has achieved global recognition, Frank continues to toil away at West Ham. Don't get us wrong, Frank is a real talent and is appreciated (15.25 million pound valuation) but he will have to wonder why he doesn't have the same adulation as Mike. News flash Frank, join a bigger club. Still, Frank won the Golden Boot at the recent World Cup and this may yet lead him to bigger and better things.

Al Mighty's career started off in rocky fashion. The young goalkeeper was mysteriously sent to the reserves at Sevilla, despite being their best keeper (at least on paper). No one understands why that happened to this day, least of all Al. Since then, Al's career has continued to progress somewhat, though not in dramatic fashion. He spent some time in Palermo until they got relegated, whereupon he left for West Ham. The proud winner of a World Cup medal for England, Al is another player that will be looking for more success at club level.

The other keeper from the Academy is Jace Hunter. The 13.75 million pound keeper plays for Milan in the Serie A, fabulous for a kid who was one of the least regarded amongst his peers. Since his move to the Serie A however, Jace hasn't been able to lead Milan to any real success, which will be disappointing to him as well as the Milan fans.

Where do we begin with Sean Treacy? His ability in training is intoxicating, which is why various managers were keen to sign him. Sean has spent time at Celtic, Blackburn, Liverpool and now Chelsea. However, he never seems to be able to translate that into actual performances on the pitch, which frustrates his managers and the fans no end. Just as you're about to write him off though, he comes up with a good/brilliant performance .. and then tails off again.

The last member of the Academy is Bud Wiser. Sadly, Bud is the least successful of his peers, though not for want of trying. Bud has been stuck with Fulham for the past 7 years and has played in both the Premier League as well as the Championship. Last season though, Bud appeared to have brought his game to a new slightly higher level and if he can maintain it, perhaps Bud can find greater success.

Overall Stats (League games only)
Mike Schaplowsky: 225 games, 104 goals, 20 MOMs, 7.26 rating
BB Gunn: 258 games, 9 goals, 1 assist, 3 MOMs, 6.48 rating
Owen Hunter: 237 games, 16 goals, 47 assists, 37 MOMs, 7.50 rating
Charles Schexnader: 159 games, 8 goals, 19 assists, 7.00 rating
Frank Justice: 203 games, 83 goals, 25 assists, 17 MOMs, 7.21 rating
Al Mighty: 237 games, 270 conceded, 70 clean sheets, 18 MOMs, 7.43 rating
Jace Hunter: 233 games, 250 conceded, 68 clean sheets, 16 MOMs, 7.34 rating
Sean Treacy: 221 games, 6 goals, 15 assists, 5 MOMs, 6.38 rating
Bud Wiser: 244 games, 10 goals, 7 assists, 8 MOMs, 6.57 rating

law90026

02-12-2007, 09:58 PM

2014/2015 - End of Season Recap

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Manchester Utd
Some club success for Mike this season as he scores a magnificent hattrick in a 4-1 win over Coventry in the FA Cup finals. Mike was also named as the 2014 European Striker and Footballer of the Year and was 3rd place as the English Premier League Player's Player of the Year. Rounding out his personal accoldades was being named to the Premier League Select team for 2014/2015 as well as the European Champions League Dream Team.

Season Stats: 42 games, 27 goals, 1 assist, 10 MOMs, 7 yellows, 7.74 rating
2014 European Footballer of the Year
2014 European Striker of the Year
Premier League Player's Player of the Year 3rd place
2014/2015 Premier League Select
2014/2015 European Champions League Dream Team

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Manchester United
Similarly, BB Gunn wins an FA Cup medal with Manchester United this season, as well as a European Super Cup runner's up medal. No awards for BB in the league but he has proven himself as a world class player based on his performances in the World Cup.

Season Stats: 54 games, 3 goals, 2 assists, 7 yellows, 6.89 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Chelsea
Something clicked this year for Sean as he had his best season ever. For once, Sean wasn't criticised in the media and was in fact praised by his boss for his performances.

Season Stats: 46 games, 1 goal, 5 assists, 2 MOMs, 3 yellows, 7.15 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
A season to remember for Charles as he wins a Premier League medal as well as European Champions League medal. Arsenal also completed a mini-treble by winning the League Cup, though Charles didn't appear in that game. Charles also won a number of personal awards, such as being named to the English Premier League Select and the European Champions League Dream Team.

Season Stats: 53 games, 6 goals, 6 assists, 2 MOMs, 3 yellows, 1 red, 7.30 rating
2014/2015 English Premier League Select
2014/2015 European Champions League Dream Team
Named to English Premier League Team of the Week 5 times

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank helped West Ham achieve 5th place in the Premier League this year as he scored 17 Premier League goals in 30 games. Frank was also 2nd placed in the voting for Player's Player of the Year, edging out Mike Schaplowsky, and was voted to the Premier League Select as well.

Season Stats: 31 games, 17 goals, 2 assists, 5 MOMs, 3 yellows, 7.71 rating

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Milan
Another season of coming in 2nd for Jace Hunter as Milan come in 2nd in both Serie A as well as the Champions League (losing to Arsenal). Still, Jace managed to get named to the Champions League Dream Team.

Season Stats: 47 games, 47 conceded, 16 clean sheets, 4 MOMs, 6 yellows, 1 red, 7.30 rating

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Manchester United
His first English medal as he wins the FA Cup with Manchester United. Owen also managed to get named to the English Premier League Select in what was a good year for him.

Season Stats: 44 games, 2 goals, 7 assists, 2 MOMs, 4 yellows, 1 red, 7.41 rating

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, West Ham
A solid, albeit unspectacular, year for Al Mighty as he does his part in helping West Ham come in 5th in the Premier League. No personal accolades for him this year but he may be satisfied with his performances overall.

Season Stats: 33 games, 40 conceded, 8 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 2 yellows, 7.39 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
A year of struggle for Bud Wiser and Fulham, as has been their joint history. Bud was average this year and so were Fulham (14th place).

Season Stats: 36 games (2 as a sub), 2 goals, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 6.36 rating

law90026

02-12-2007, 10:11 PM

2014/2015 Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Arsenal (Charles Schexnader) retain the Premier League. Chelsea (Sean Treacy), Liverpool and Blackburn come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Doncaster, Aston Villa and Crewe were relegated.

Man Utd (Mike Schaplowsky, BB Gunn, Owen Hunter) came in a disappointing 7th. West Ham (Al Mighty, Frank Justice) came in 5th, just missing out on a Champions League slot. Fulham (Bud Wiser) were 14th.

Valeri Bojinov (Liverpool) was the top scorer with 25 goals, the 2nd straight year he has led the league. Frank Justice had 17 goals to come in joint 3rd while Mike Schaplowsky had 15 and was 10th.

James Davis (Blackburn) had 11 assists to lead all players.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Valeri Bojinov (Liverpool) for a 2nd straight year. Frank Justice and Mike Schaplowsky were 2nd and 3rd.

Footballer of the Year was Sone Aluko (Tottenham), with Darren Bent(Charlton) and Sergio Aguero (Chelsea) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Juande Ramos (Arsenal) for a 2nd straight year and Brian Eastick(Liverpool) and Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Bundesliga
Gladbach win the Bundesliga title. Werder Bremen and Schalke come in 2nd and 3rd. Leverkusen were 4th. RW Essen, Kaiserslautern and Braunschweig were relegated.

Serie A
Inter win Serie A, their 5th title in 6 years. Milan (Jace Hunter), Genoa and Atalanta come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Ascoli, Livorno and Bologna were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Fred (Lazio) with 18 goals.

Top Assist went to Samuel (Genoa) with 9.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Sebestian Frey of Fiorentina.

Defender of the Year was Per Mertesacker of Milan.

Foreign Player of the Year was Kerlon of Juventus, his 2nd straight title.

Italian Player of the Year was Luca Ferri of Ascoli and Andrea Pirlo (Atalanta) and Marco Donadel (Juventus) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Frank Rikjaard (Inter) with Gian Piero Gasperini (Genoa) and Mauro Tassoti (Milan) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Kerlon (Juventus) for a 2nd straight year and Nacer Barazite (Livorno) and Hugo Almeida (Lazio) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Simone Bosio (Atalanta) for a 2nd straight year with Giovanni Viviano (Lecce) taking 2nd. Ivan Kostov (Ascoli) came in 3rd.

La Liga
Betis win the title while Barcelona, Real Madrid and Espanyol come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Atletico came in 16th again (former Owen Hunter). Athletic, Zaragoza and Salamanca were relegated.

Top goalscorer was Okaka (Villareal) with 21 goals.

Top Assist was Christian Giacomini (Castellon) with 11.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Diego Barreto (Osasuna) .

Manager of the Year was Jose Luis Oltra (Betis). Jose Antonio Camacho (Valencia) and Thomas Schaaf (Barcelona) came in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Gay Assulin (Levante).

law90026

02-12-2007, 10:46 PM

2 July 2015

BB Gunn wins his first major award as he is named the European Footballer of the Year. Mike Schaplowsky, his Man Utd teamate, came in 2nd. Carlos Vela of Milan was 3rd.

In his acceptance speech, BB paid homage to the various managers who had continued to show faith in his ability despite the fact he played a thankless position.

law90026

02-12-2007, 10:47 PM

1 August 2015

BB Gunn second in voting for European Midfielder of the Year, losing to Hamburg's Adriano Coletti.

Mike Schaplowsky wins another European Striker of the Year award, edging out his own teamate, Wayne Rooney.

law90026

02-12-2007, 11:28 PM

1 August 2015

BBids goodbye to Old Trafford

In an effort to regain their past glories, AC Milan splashed out 139 million pounds to acquire the services of BB Gunn, the reigning European Footballer of the Year.

Milan's fans flocked to the airport and stadium to welcome the latest signing as they hope that BB can help Milan beat arch-rivals Inter, who have been the most dominant side in Italian soccer for the past 6 years.

BB brings a measure of steel to the Milan midfield, a role he has carried out for a number of years now. Questions may be asked whether he really is worth that much but only time will tell.

Man Utd will be disappointed to lose BB but the offer was simply too good to refuse. In replacement, they signed Santos, a 27 year old Brazilian defensive midfielder from Werder Bremen, for 79 million pounds. Good business if you ask us.

law90026

02-12-2007, 11:29 PM

1 December 2015

BB Gunn wins the World Player of the World award as the accolades continue to flow in for the 26 year old. It's been a fairytale year for BB Gunn, who had never really won any major awards prior to last season, and it is great that his efforts are finally being recognised.

law90026

02-12-2007, 11:30 PM

31 December 2015

Adriano Colleti of Hamburg wins the World Footballer of the Year award. BB Gunn of Milan came in 2nd while Mike Schaplowsky was 3rd.

law90026

02-12-2007, 11:32 PM

1 February 2016

The phones were ringing last night at Upton Park as Lyon and Werder Bremen tried desperately to complete the signing of Frank Justice from West Ham. Unfortunately, the negotiations proved to be too protracted as West Ham only accepted Werder Bremen's offer near midnight.

By then, it was too late for Frank to accept a contract and he will have to resign himself to another year at West Ham.

law90026

02-13-2007, 12:03 AM

10 May 2016

Sean Treacy leaves Chelsea, says hello to the San Siro ...

No, Sean Treacy didn't join former Academy teammates Jace Hunter and BB Gunn at Milan. Instead, Sean signed for Inter, setting up some potentially interesting games next season.

Sean leaves Chelsea on a high as he helped them win the English Premier League title before his move, which cost Inter 112 million pounds. The move will be finalised in July when players are allowed to transfer again.

law90026

02-13-2007, 01:17 AM

Season 2015/2016 - End of Season Summary

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, AC Milan
What a year for BB. World Player of the Year, European Player of the Year, a big money move to Milan ... the only downside was the fact that Milan did horrendously this year, coming in 9th in Serie A.

Season Stats: 48 games, 1 MOM, 5 yellows, 6.81 rating
World Player of the Year
World Footballer of the Year runner-up
European Player of the Year
European Midfielder of the Year runner-up

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Manchester United
Another less than fulfilling season for Mike as Manchester United again fail to win any real honours. He maintains his reputation as one of the best strikers in the world, although rumours of a potential move may have distracted him a little this year.

Season Stats: 41 games, 19 goals, 4 MOMs, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.46 rating
Community Shield Winner
World Footballer of the Year 3rd place
European Striker of the Year
European Footballer of the Year runner-up
2014/2015 Supporter's Player of the Year

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Chelsea (soon to be Inter)
Sean will be leaving Stamford Bridge for the San Siro soon. He leaves Chelsea with another Premiership medal. While his performances this year were not as good as last season, he is at least beginning to show some consistent form.

Season Stats: 42 games, 2 goals, 5 assists, 1 MOM, 3 yellows, 2 reds, 6.74 rating
Premier League Winner

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Arsenal may have lost the Premiership title this year but they retained their Champions League title. Charles was again instrumental in this achievment and was named to the Dream Team.

Season Stats: 36 games (1 as a sub), 4 goals,3 assists, 3 MOMs, 4 yellows, 1 red, 7.17 rating
Champions League Winner
European Super Cup Runner-up
Community Shield Runner-up
Champions League Dream Team

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank nearly left West Ham at mid-season and may still move in the summer. West Ham will be grateful they didn't let him go though as Frank helped them to a 4th place finish in the Premiership and a Champions League place next season as well as a runner-up spot in the Euro Cup.

Season Stats: 40 games (11 as a sub), 13 goals, 2 assists, 4 MOMs, 3yellows, 7.05 rating
Euro Cup Runner-up

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Milan
Not much happened for Jace this year, who played well but wasn't able to lead Milan to any success. It's a tad disappointing as more was expected this year, especially after the acquisition of BB Gunn.

Season Stats: 43 games, 40 conceded, 11 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 7 yellows, 7.26 rating
Named to Serie A Team of the Week 3 times

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Man Utd
Is there tension building up at Old Trafford? Owen Hunter was only used sparingly this year and Owen was clearly displeased, to the extent that he actually proclaimed such displeasure to the media midway through the season. He'll have more than enough suitors if he decides to move.

Season Stats: 28 games (9 as a sub), 3 goals, 6 assists, 5 MOMs, 4 yellows, 7.25 rating
League Cup Runner-up

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, West Ham
Al will be pleased that he also helped West Ham to a Champions League place next season. He was solid between the sticks and was easily one of the best goalies in the Premier League. He also managed to get a runners-up medal in the Euro Cup.

Season Stats: 48 games, 42 conceded, 19 clean sheets, 11 MOMs, 2 yellows, 7.50 rating
Euro Cup Runner-up

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Fulham continue to improve slightly in terms of their overall Premiership position (12th this year). Bud on the other hand hasn't show the same improvement, as he averages a 6.46 this year.

Season Stats: 28 games (6 as a sub), 2 goals, 2 assists, 3 yellows, 2 reds, 6.46 rating

st.cronin

02-13-2007, 11:58 AM

Inter, interesting.

flere-imsaho

02-13-2007, 12:08 PM

law90026

02-13-2007, 08:25 PM

2015/2016 Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Chelsea (Sean Treacy) win the Premier League. Manchester United (Mike Schaplowsky, Owen Hunter), Arsenal (Charles Schexnader) and West Ham (Al Mighty, Frank Justice) come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Manchester City, Derby and Sunderland were relegated.

Fulham (Bud Wiser) were 12th, a 2 place improvement over last season.

Theo Walcott (Arsenal) was the top scorer with 20 goals. Mike Schaplowsky had 14 and was joint 14th, while Frank Justice had 11 and was joint 26th.

5 players had 8 assists to lead the league.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Darren Bent (Charlton). Jean II Makoun and Jermain Defoe were 2nd and 3rd.

Footballer of the Year was Kevin Doyle (Derby), with Ben Sahar (Coventry) and John Terry (Chelsea) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Ruud Gullit (Chelsea) and Paul Jewell (Portsmouth) and Martin O' Neill (Man Utd) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Bundesliga
Dortmund win the Bundesliga title. Gladbach and HSV come in 2nd and 3rd. Leverkusen were 11th. Hannover, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt were relegated.

Serie A
Inter win Serie A again, their 6th title in 7 years. Genoa, Napoli and Lecce come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Cesena, Vicenza and Mantova were relegated.

Milan (BB Gunn, Jace Hunter) were 9th.

Top Goalscorer was Maxi Lopez (Messina) with 19 goals.

Top Assist went to Carlos Saez (Palermo) with 11.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Andreas Isaksson of Inter.

Defender of the Year was Naldo of Lazio.

Foreign Player of the Year was Andreas Isaksson of Inter.

Italian Player of the Year was Luca Cigarini of Verona and Luca Camilluzzi (Empoli) and Diego Souza (Udinese) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Frank Rikjaard (Inter), a 3rd consecutive award and 5th in 6 years, with Mauro Tassoti (Milan) and Gian Piero Gasperini (Genoa) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Carlos Saez (Palermo), who had won this award twice before with Roma, and Oliver Hofmann (Vicenza) and Eli Zizov (Verona) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Giovanni Vivianno (Lecce), who finally wins it. Simone Bosio (Atalanta) was 2nd, after having won it for the past 2 years. Ivan Lacasa (Verona) came in 3rd.

La Liga
Barcelona win the title while Betis, Real Madrid and Espanyol come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Almeria, Cadiz and Osasuna were relegated.

Top goalscorers were Okaka (Villareal) and Rafael Sobis (Betis) with 22 goals.

Top Assist was Tomas Yanez (Recreativo) with an astonishing 17.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Nacho Marelli (Betis) .

Manager of the Year was Thomas Schaaf (Barcelona). Marcos Alonso(Mallorca) and Jose Luis Oltra (Betis) came in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Okaka (Villareal).

law90026

02-13-2007, 08:44 PM

2 July 2016

Mike Schaplowsky win the European Footballer of the Year Award. BB Gunn was 2nd.

law90026

02-13-2007, 08:49 PM

30 July 2016

Owen Hunter moves again

Last season, the polished defender found himself on the fringes of the Man Utd first team, a position he has not been accustomed to. Every team that Owen played for previously made him the focal point of their defence in order to take advantage of his tremendous ability. For reasons best known to the Man Utd manager, Owen Hunter was not utilised that much. For what it's worth though, Man Utd did come in 2nd in the Premier League.

Consequently, there was some unhappiness at Old Trafford, including a public declaration that Owen wanted to leave if not played more regularly. As a result, it didn't come as a surprise that Owen left Old Trafford in the summer and he will be joining Roma in the Serie A for 31.5 million pounds.

Just a little while back, it seemed that Man Utd had 3 of the best players in the world from the Academy on their books. In the blink of an eye, they are left with just Mike Schaplowsky, as BB Gunn had left last season for Milan.

This move marks the 4th different league that Owen Hunter will be playing in. He had previously appeared in the Budesliga for Bayern and Leverkusen, La Liga with Atletico Madrid and the Premier League with Manchester United.

law90026

02-13-2007, 08:53 PM

1 August 2016

European Goalkeeper of the Year is Oscar Ustari of Valencia. Al Mighty came in 2nd.

Andres Guardado of Real Madrid won the European Midfielder of the Year award. BB Gunn came in 2nd.

Mike Schaplowsky wins the European Striker of the Year award.

law90026

02-13-2007, 08:53 PM

Dayne Ho announced as manager of China :D

Note: I'll actually take on this job since it's a national job and isn't as demanding as a club role.

law90026

02-13-2007, 09:36 PM

China 2-0 India

New manager Dayne Ho led the China team to a 2-0 win over India in a World Cup Asian Qualifying match. China always dominated and were never in any danger of losing.

The first half ended 0-0, despite China dominating the game. Things changed quickly at the start of the 2nd half when a great through ball from midfielder Qin Siwei put striker Chen Jiawei through on goal. The extra yard of space the Jiawei had was enough to give him time to slot the ball past the India keeper from the edge of the penalty box.

In the 60th minute, it got worse for India. An innocuous ball was played forward by the China midfield ... but defender Bains played the ball off his thigh past his own keeper, who had it covered. China striker Mao Jianqing delightedly hammered the ball home into an empty net.

With 2 games left, this win leaves China in first place in group 5 of the qualifiers, 6 pts ahead of both Uzbekistan and Indonesia with just 2 games left. China should make it to the next stage with ease.

law90026

02-13-2007, 09:57 PM

China 2-1 Uzbekistan

Despite some concerns before the match that China might lose, such fears failed to materialise, although to be fair, it was a very close game.

China started the game very brightly in the first half, with Chen Jianwei scoring 2 goals (6th and 43rd minute). Both goals came down the China left flank, the first a cross from Qin Siwei and the second yet another cross from Mao Jianqing. Chen Jianwei gleefully headed both home.

It was Uzbekistan's game in the 2nd half though and if their strikers had been able to finish, the result would likely have been different. In the 69th minute, Alexandr Kurbonov managed to dive and connect with a cross to put it in the China goal and this made the game 2-1. Uzbekistan bombarded the China goal thereafter but the Chinese were able to hold out and qualify from Group 5.

bbgunn

02-14-2007, 01:56 AM

Hahaha... China, eh?

Man, is B.B. Gunn turning into a fantastic player! European Player of the Year? Wow.

flere-imsaho

02-14-2007, 10:31 AM

Manager of the Year was Ruud Gullit (Chelsea) and Paul Jewell (Portsmouth) and Martin O' Neill (Man Utd) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Ruud back at Chelsea?! Woo-Hoo!!! I was a big fan of Ruud & Gianluca Vialli the first time around.

By the way, great dynasty! If you ever do another one of these, I'd love to get in.

law90026

02-15-2007, 01:28 AM

12 November 2016

Bangladesh 0-3 China

China took the chance to play some newer faces in a friendly match against Bangladesh. The result was never ever in doubt and China ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.

Goals from debutant Liu Yu, Xu Yong and star striker Chen Jianwei were enough to give manager Dayne Ho a 100% record thus far in his career.

law90026

02-15-2007, 01:48 AM

16 November 2016

China 4-0 Vietnam

China romped to another easy win over Vietnam in Shenzhen. Within the first 13 minutes, the game was over, as China were up 3-0 (2 from Liu Xin and one from Chen Jun). A 41st minute own goal sealed Vietnam's fate and China were content to take their feet off the pedal and stroll to victory.

law90026

02-15-2007, 02:36 AM

China drawn with Australia, Bahrain and Japan in Group B of the final round of Asian World Cup Qualifiers.

China may have an uphill task ahead of them as only the top team from the Group will qualify. Australia and Japan are both considered stronger than China, at least on paper, and manager Dayne Ho will need to be at his best to ensure his team doesn't falter.

law90026

02-20-2007, 07:35 PM

End of Season - 2016/2018 (11th season)

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Inter
Sean's first season in Serie A is less than fabulous as Inter only manage a 4th place finish. In terms of performance, Sean's overall performance took a slight dip as he tries to get acclimatised to the slower, more deliberate style of the Serie A. Sean did manage to win the European Supercup (a minor cup) and was part of the England team that came in 2nd in the Euro Championships.

Season Stats: 44 games, 1 goal, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 3 yellows, 1 red, 6.45 rating
European Supercup Winner
European Championship Runner-up (England)

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Man Utd
A good season for Mike this year as he leads Man Utd to the Premiership title. Mike's personal accolades also continue to grow as he won a number of individual titles.

Season Stats: 37 games, 19 goals, 4 MOM, 7 yellows, 7.62 rating
English Premiership Champions
2015/2016 Supporter's Player of the Year
2016 European Striker of the Year
2016 European Footballer of the Year
2016 World Player of the Year runner-up
2016 World Footballer of the Year 3rd place
2017 Euroopean Champions League Best Player 3rd place
2017 European Champions League Dream Team

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Milan
A good year individually for BB but another off year for Milan, who finished 6th in Serie A. Thus far, the idea of pairing BB Gunn with Jace Hunter to anchor the defence isn't working as well as Milan would have hoped. BB played consistently well this year though.

Season Stats: 48 games, 3 goals, 3 assists, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.08 rating
Italian Super-cup Runner-up
European Championship Runner-up (England)
2016 European Footballer of the Year 2nd place
2016 European Midfielder of the Year 2nd place
2016 World Footballer of the Year

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Roma
Owen is enjoying his stint in Serie A and his performances show it. However, Roma only managed 5th in Serie A and their fans are getting impatient for success. Owen was recognised as one of the best defenders at the European Championship where he played for Germany.

Season Stats: 34 games, 2 goals, 6 assists, 6 MOM, 4 yellows, 2 reds, 7.44 rating
Named to Serie A Team of the Week 4 times
Named to European Championship (Germany) Dream Team

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
The only player in the academy who has played for only one club his entire career, Charles is a rarity in the often money-driven world of professional football. Arsenal will be glad for that however, as Charles continued to play well for them. Little success for Arsenal this year save for winning the Club World Championships (which is really irrelevant).

Season Stats: 46 games, 5 goals, 5 assists, 6 MOM, 4 yellows, 2 reds, 7.07 rating
Named in 2017 Premier League Select at Leftback
Named to Premier League Team of the Week 4 times

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Milan
A solid year for Jace in terms of his own performance, though he may be a tad unhappy he let in more goals (50) than the games he appeared in (48). Jace has been capped 52 times for Scotland thus far in his career.

Season Stats: 48 games, 50 conceded, 13 clean sheest, 10 MOM, 8 yellows, 1 red, 7.48 rating
Named to Serie A Team of the Week 3 times

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, West Ham
Al will be sorely disappointed that he was injured early in the finals of the European Championship (6th minute), which England eventually lost 1-0, as he will wonder what might have been if he had stayed on. Al does manage to pick up a League Cup medal, his 2nd with West Ham.

Season Stats: 38 games (1 as a sub), 46 conceded, 10 clean sheets, 2 MOM, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.21 rating
2016 European Goalkeeper of the Year runner-up

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank wants out of West Ham and he wants out now. In a surprising development, Frank went from first choice striker to a substitute on the bench and he saw the number of games he played in plummeting. To be fair though, the 2 new first choice strikers for West Ham managed 51 goals between them (26 and 25), which is more than what Frank has managed in any season.

Season Stats: 16 games (13 as a sub), 6 goals, 3 yellows, 6.63 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Fulham narrowly escape relegation this year as they finish 17th. Bud had quite possibly his best season so far as he managed to lay on 5 assists for his teammates.

Season Stats: 31 games (5 as a sub), 1 goal, 5 assists, 2 MOM, 1 yellow, 6.65 rating

law90026

02-20-2007, 07:47 PM

2016/2017 Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Man Utd (Mike Schaplowsky) win the Premier League. Liverpool, West Ham (Al Mighty, Frank Justice) and Doncaster come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Portsmouth, Leicester and Swansea were relegated.

Arsenal (Charles Schexnader) were 6th and Fulham (Bud Wiser) were 17th.

Nicolas Millan (Arsenal) was the top scorer with 21 goals. Mike Schaplowsky had 13 and was joint 18th.

Sylvain Martin (Doncaster) had 14 assists to lead the league.

Player's Player of the Year award went to James Brown (Cardiff). Bojan (Man Utd) and Ben Sahar (Coventry) were 2nd and 3rd.

Footballer of the Year was Craig Lindfield (Aston Villa), with Jean II Makoun (West Brom) and Henry Liversidge (Leicester) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Jose Luis Oltra (Man Utd) and Mike Newell(West Ham) and Joachim Low (Liverpool) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Bundesliga
Werder Bremen win the Bundesliga title. Aue and HSV come in 2nd and 3rd. Mainz, Bielefeld and Duisburg were relegated.

Serie A
Verona win Serie A. Messina, Empoli and Inter (Sean Treacy) come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Bologna, Arezzo and Udinese were relegated.

Roma (Owen Hunter) were 5th and Milan (BB Gunn, Jace Hunter) were 6th.

Top Goalscorer was Fred (Messina) with 21 goals.

Top Assist went to Carlos Saez (Palermo) again with 13.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Raul Escribano of Atalanta.

Defender of the Year was Stephane Boulabiar of Sampdoria.

Foreign Player of the Year was Stephane Boulabiar of Sampdoria.

Italian Player of the Year was Simone Bosio of Atalanta and Raffaele Palladino (Sampdoria) and Giuseppe Genchi (Livorno) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Massimo Ficcadenti (Verona, with Stefano Civeriati (Empoli) and Gordon Strachan (Milann) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Antonio Valencia (Empoli), and Carlo Saez (Palermo) and Lorenzo Sarti (Fiorentina) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Alexey Stepanyan (Atalanta). Luigi Cavasin(Sampdoria) was 2nd. Francisco Borja Romero (Napoli) came in 3rd.

La Liga
Real Madrid recapture the title this year while Barcelona, Betis and Valencia come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Zaragoza, Tenerife and Mallorca were relegated.

Top goalscorers were Marouane Chamakh (Recreativo) with 22 goals.

Top Assist was Rodrigues (Tenerife) with 10.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Iker Casillas (Real Madrid). The 36 year old last won this title way back in 2006/2007, 10 year ago.

Manager of the Year was Vicente Fuesalida (Real Madrid). Thomas Schaaf(Real Madrid) and Jose Mourinho (Betis) came in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Maraoune Chamakh (Recreativo).

law90026

02-20-2007, 09:22 PM

2 July 2017

BB Gunn (Milan) wins European Footballer of the Year award, his 2nd title in 3 years.

Former teammate, Mike Schaplowsky (Man Utd), came in 2nd and Alexis Jose Cichero of Hamburger SV came in 3rd.

law90026

02-20-2007, 09:23 PM

1 August 2017

Iker Casillas wins European Goalkeeper of the Year award.

Jace Hunter (Milan) came in 2nd and Davide Tonelli of Palermo was 3rd.

BB Gunn wins European Midfielder of the Year award, to go with his European Footballer of the Year award.

Mike Schaplowsky (Man Utd) wins the European Striker of the Year award.

law90026

02-22-2007, 09:42 PM

1 December 2017

BB Gunn wins the World Player of the Year award. This by the way is BB's 3rd consecutive award.

BB Gunn also won the World Footballer of the Year award.

condors

02-23-2007, 07:09 AM

Bud Wiser is pacing himself don't want to be one of those 1 year wonders :rolleyes:

law90026

03-02-2007, 01:10 AM

2017/2018 - End of Season

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Milan
A strong personal season for BB Gunn as he won a number of individual titles, just about everything a football player could win. He also picked up a Confederations Cup medal with England. At club level, Milan came in 3rd in Serie A. BB remains one of the most incredible physical specimens in the world and at 28 years of age, looks to have at least another 3-4 more good years ahead.

Season Stats: 48 games, 3 goals, 1 assist, 2 MOM, 6 yellows, 6.85 rating
2017 World Footballer of the Year
2017 World Player of the Year
2017 European Midfielder of the Year
2017 European Footballer of the Year
Confederations Cup winner (England)

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Man Utd
Mike retained his title as Europe's best striker by winning the Striker of the Year Award as well as coming in 2nd place in the voting for European Player of the Year. Other than that though, a somewhat disappointing season for Mike as he didn't really lead Man Utd to much success at all.

Season Stats: 33 games, 15 goals, 5 MOM, 5 yellows, 7.27 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Inter
You have to give it to Sean, he does win titles and medals wherever he goes, even if one could dispute the actual quality of this appearances. A Serie A title is won this year and that will sit pretty with his Premiership medal. Sean also won a Confederations Cup medal with England.

Season Stats: 47 games, 2 goals, 4 assists, 1 yellow, 2 reds, 6.60 rating
2017/2018 Serie A Winner
Confederations Cup winner (England)

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Another good season for Charles as he continues to be a consistent performer for the Gunners. A disappointing season by Arsenal does put a damper on Charles overall performances however as he wasn't able to help Arsenal win anything.

Season Stats: 40 games, 4 goals, 4 assists, 7 yellows, 1 red, 7.00 rating
Named to Premier League Team of the Week 3 times

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Roma
An incredible year for Owen Hunter as he put in brilliant performance after brilliant performance, as evidenced by his overall rating of 7.75 in 53 games!! He'll hope to be recognised for this in the personal awards that will be given out next season. Owen led Roma to Euro Cup success as well. Owen was named to the Serie A Team of the Year, and was also Best Defender and Best Foreign Player.

Season Stats: 53 games, 2 goals, 7 assists, 12 MOM, 4 yellows, 7.75 rating
Euro Cup Winner
Named to Serie A Team of the Week 6 times
Named to 2018 Serie A Team of the Year
2017/2018 Defender of the Year and Foreign Player of the Year

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Milan
A rough season for Jace, at least injury wise. Multiple injuries caused him to miss extended periods of the season, including a torn hamstring that led to his season ending prematurely. He'll hope to bounce back next season stronger than before.

Season Stats: 36 games, 31 conceded, 16 clean sheets, 3 MOM, 2 yellows, 7.56 rating
2016/2017 Supporter's Player of the Year
2017 European Goalkeeper of the Year 2nd place

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, West Ham
So close to real success at club level for Al Mighty this year as they come in runners-up in both the FA Cup as well as the European Champions League. Al did manage to pick up a Confederations Cup medal with England though.

Season Stats: 48 games, 58 conceded, 14 clean sheets, 7 MOM, 7 yellows, 7.42 rating
Named to Premier League Team of the Week once

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Once one of the brightest stars amongst the "kids", Frank finds his career at a standstill. He is still a good player but he just lacks real recognition for his abilities. On the bright side, Frank went back to starting again this year.

Season Stats: 46 games (1 as a sub), 18 goals, 4 assists, 5 MOM, 3 yellows, 1 red, 7.04 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud was named to the English Premier League Team of the Week twice this year, just about the only highlight really as Fulham were relegated from the Premier League.

Season Stats: 26 games (6 as a sub), 1 goal, 3 assists, 2 yellows, 1 red, 6.69 rating

law90026

03-02-2007, 01:23 AM

2017/2018 Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Tottenham win the Premier League, the first time in a long time (about 23 years) one of the big 4 havent won it. Man Utd (Mike Schaplowsky) Doncaster and Charlton come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Fulham (Bud Wiser), Southend and Coventry were relegated.

Arsenal (Charles Schexnader) were 5th and West Ham (Al Mighty, Frank Justice) were 11th.

Bojan (Man Utd) was the top scorer with 27 goals.

Sylvain Martin (Doncaster) had 10 assists to lead the league, 2nd season in a row.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Carlos Elias (Liverpool). Craig Linfield (Aston Villa) and Bojan (Man Utd) were 2nd and 3rd.

Footballer of the Year was Jaime Mole (West Brom), with Sone Aluko (Tottenham) and David N'gog (Aston Villa) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Micky Adams (Tottenham) and Stuart Gray (Doncaster) and Jost Luis Oltra (Man Utd) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Bundesliga
HSV win the Bundesliga title. Werder Bremen and Schalke come in 2nd and 3rd. Dresden, Stuttgart and 1860 Munchen were relegated.

Serie A
Inter (Sean Treacy) regain their Serie A title. Messina, Milan (Jace Hunter, BB Gunn) and Roma (Owen Hunter) come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Cagliari, Livorno and Chievo were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Eli Zizov (Verona) with 19 goals.

Top Assist went to Sven Walter (Inter) with 10.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Samir Handanovic of Messina.

Defender of the Year was Owen Hunter of Roma.

Foreign Player of the Year was Owen Hunter of Roma.

Italian Player of the Year was Simone Bosio of Atalanta for a 2nd year and Marco Zei (Padova) and Adriano Colleti (Roma) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Chris Hutchings (Inter), with Bruno Giordano (Fiorentina) and Walter Bonacina (Messina) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Oliver Hoffman (Vicenza), and Eli Zizov (Verona) and Aaron Niguez (Milan) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Carlos (Verona). Scott Gray (Milan) was 2nd. Akinci Baris (Vicenza) came in 3rd.

La Liga
Barcelona win the title this year while Betis, Real Madrid and Getafe come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Villareal, Rayo and Sevilla (former Al Mighty) were relegated.

Top goalscorers was Rafael Sobis (Betis) with 22 goals.

Top Assist was Mateusz Karwan (Gimanastic) with 10.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)again, at age 37 and it is his 2nd in a row.

Manager of the Year was Thomas Schaaf (Barcelona). Vincente Fuensalida (Real Madrid) and Jose Mourinho (Betis) came in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Maraoune Chamakh (Recreativo) for a 2nd season running.