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FM2011 - Interactive Dynasty
The dynasty starts here.
Eleven 17 year olds, potentially the best of their generation, will have their careers tracked. Write-ups below for the start of the game along with starting stats. Updates will likely be on a half year basis to track their movement. |
Dean Hoo, Striker
Club: No club Value: 0 Code:
None Achievements: None |
Marc Vaughan, Defensive Midfielder / Midfielder (C)
Club: No club Value: 0 Code:
None Achievements: None |
Rob Nielsen, Striker
Club: No club Value: 0 Code:
None Achievements: None |
Daniel Ertmann, Striker
Club: No club Value: 0 Code:
None Achievements: None |
Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper
Club: No club Value: 0 Code:
None Achievements: None |
Julio O'Donnell, Defender (C)
Club: No club Value: 0 Code:
None Achievements: None |
Bernard Blaze, Midfielder (R) / Attacking Midfielder (R)
Club: No club Value: 0 Code:
None Achievements: None |
Frank Justice, Attacking Midfielder (C) / Midfielder (C)
Club: No club Value: 0 Code:
None Achievements: None |
Path Twelve, Defensive Midfielder / Midfielder (C)
Club: No club Value: 0 Code:
None Achievements: None |
Ubaldo Geronimo, Striker
Club: No club Value: 0 Code:
None Achievements: None |
Will Brown, Striker
Club: No club Value: 0 Code:
None Achievements: None |
August update:
Dayne Ho signed for Leeds United in the nPower Championship, where he has played 1 competitive cup game and scored a goal. Marc Vaughan signed for Norwich in the nPower Championship. He is currently in the U-18 team but he has made a couple of appearances for the first team as well (average rating of 7.7). Julio O'Donnell signed for Birmingham in the English Premier League but is in the U-18 team. Bernard Blaze signed for Watford in the nPower Championship and he is already playing in the first team. 3 games so far with 2 Man of Match awards and 1 assist (average rating of 8.03). Frank Justice also signed for Norwich and is in the U-18 team. Similarly, he has also made 2 first team appearances with 1 goal and a 7.0 rating. Path Twelve signed with FC Mulhouse, a semi-professional French team. He has made 1 appearance so far and has a 6.6 rating. Will Hunter has not signed a contract yet but is attracting interest from Cardiff, Hull and Watford. Ubaldo Geronimo has not signed a contract yet but is attracting interest from Hull. Rob Nielsen has not signed a contract yet but is attracting interest from Swansea, Hull and Watford. Jace Hunter has not signed a contract yet but has been offered a contract by Barcelona's B-team and Hull. Bunch of other clubs interested as well but no offers from them as yet (including Derby and Barnsley). Daniel Ertmann has not signed a contract yet but has been offered a trial by Liverpool. |
2010/2011 Half-Season Update
Dean Hoo is considered an important first team player for Leeds United (currently 21st in the Championship). He has made 14 appearances in all, scoring 5 goals and a 6.61 rating. Currently valued at 1.5 million pounds. He has been described as a model professional and is part of the England U-19 set-up. Marc Vaughan is a promising midfielder with an evasive and volatile style of handling the media. Valued at 1.6 million, he is considered to be indispensable to Norwich (23rd in the Championship). No surprise since he has appeared in 26 games so far and managed a 7.21 rating (1 goal and 3 assists, 4 MOMs). Rob Nielsen eventually signed with nPower League 1 side Bournemouth (18th place). He signed late, only joining the side on 11 January 2011. After making 3 appearances (scoring 1 goal in the process, 6.47 rating), he twisted his ankle and is expected to miss about 3-4 weeks of action. Valued at 625k, he is a star for the US youth side, with 8 goals in 7 appearances and has publicly stated he only wants to play for the US. Daniel Ertmann signed for Liverpool and is valued at 2 million. He has been very good for the U-18 side, scoring 12 goals and making 6 assists in 20 appearances. He has also appeared in 3 games for the full team (1 goal, 6.60 rating), including a game in the Euro Cup where he scored the only goal against Braga. Currently listed for loan but he feels he is too good to be loaned out. Jace Hunter signed a contract with the Barcelona Atletic team, which is Barcelona's B team in the Liga Adelante. However, he is only joining them in March 2011 so nothing much to report at this time. He is a youth international for Canada. Julio O'Donnell is worth 975k and has been sent on loan to Watford (16th in the Championship) by Birmingham. He hasn't made any first team appearances for Watford yet but has played well in 2 reserve games (8.00 rating, 1 MOM). He has been dubbed the new Michael Dawson and is part of the England U-21 team. Bernard Blaze is a regular first team player for Watford. Valued at 1.1 million, the England U-19 international has appeared in 29 games, scored 1 goal and made 10 assists and there are rumour Manchester City is interested in him. He also won the Championship Young Player of the Month award for August 2010. Frank Justice is also part of the Norwich first team where he has played in 14 games (2 goals, 1 assist, 6.86 rating). His performances have drawn the eye of both Manchester United and Manchester City and there is speculation they may try to purchase the 1.2 million pound valued youngster. Path Twelve has performed solidly for FC Mulhouse so far (23 games, 1 goal, 2 assists, 2 MOMs, 7.00 rating). His disciplinary record has been appalling though, with 8 yellow cards and 1 red card so far. Valued at 500k right now. Ubaldo Geronimo is another one who left it late before signing a contract, with non-league side Luton Town (1st in the Blue Square Premier). He was immediately given his first team debut where he managed a 7.00 rating. Valued at 475k. Will Brown also just signed for Stevenage (15th in League 2) and is valued at 300k. He was also given an immediate debut and he managed a 6.30 rating in his first game. He is another star for the US youth team (8 goals in 5 appearances). |
2010/2011 End of Season Update:
Dean Hoo scored 7 goals in 30 appearances for Leeds United and a 6.50 rating. Now part of the England U-21 team, Dean Hoo has been transfer listed at his request as Leeds United were relegated from the Championship. Whether another club will try to pick him up will be one development to keep an eye on in the summer. Marc Vaughan played a total of 43 games for Norwich (1 goal, 5 MOMs, 5 yellow cards, 7.20 rating) and helped Norwich to 18th place in the Championship. He is happy to stay on at the club and there is no indication of any interest from other sides as yet. Also part of the England U-21 team. Rob Nielsen appeared in 10 games for Bournemouth, scoring 2 goals and assisting on 2 more (6.45 rating). His efforts were not enough and Bournemouth were relegated from League 1. However, Rob is happy to stay on at Bournemouth for next season. Daniel Ertmann was a star for the Liverpool U-18 squad as he scored 20 goals and created 9 more in 29 appearances. He appears to have had a change of heart and is now looking forward to a loan move to get first team experience next season. Part of the England U-21 team. Jace Hunter has been touted as the next Lars Hirschfield. He started out with the Barcelona B team where he made 7 appearances but conceded 14 goals (1 clean sheet, 6.33 rating). He was then moved to the Barcelona U-19 squad for next season. Julio O'Donnell was a very good player for Watford (9th place in the Championship) while on loan and his first team experience will serve him in good stead for next season. He made 13 apperances with 2 assists and 1 MOM (7.32 rating). However, he also accumulated 7 yellow cards in those games, a quick appalling number. Part of the England U-21 set-up but he is serving a 3 match ban for a red-card incident. Bernard Blaze finished the season with 45 appearances for Watford (2 goals, 16 assists, 6 MOMs, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.10 rating). Man City is still supposedly interested in the youngster, who is an England U-19 international. He won the August Young Player of the Month award in the Championship and was named to the Championship Team of the Week twice this season. Frank Justice ended up falling out with his club's management after February as he only played 2 games thereafter (16 games, 2 goals, 1 assist, 2 yellows, 6.89 rating). The youngster is upset at the lack of playing time and has indicated he wants to leave the club and Manchester City are monitoring the sitaution. However, he hasn't formally put in a transfer request yet. Path Twelve enjoyed his first season with FC Mulhouse (41 games, 3 goals, 8 assists, 4 MOMs, 13 yellows, 2 reds, 6.98 rating). No interest from any professional sides yet in the young Frenchman but he doesn't seem to be affected by that as yet. Ubaldo Geronimo is proving to be a club favourite at Luton Town (1st in BSP), which was promoted to League 2 as BSP champions. He managed 6 goals in 20 games, to go with 3 assists and 1 MOM award (6.82 rating). That included an assist in the Hatters 2-1 win of the FA Trophy over Crawley, which makes Ubaldo the first youngster to win a competition. Will Brown scored 5 goals in 14 starts for Stevenage (15th in League 2) and was named to the League 2 team of the week once. His performances are attracting the attention of Wolves and a move might be on the cards for the youngster, although he has indicated he is enjoying his time with Stevenage. |
Season 2011/2012 Start of Season Update:
Dean Hoo left Leeds United for Blackburn Rovers (Premier League) for 675k. It's not clear if he will play any real part for Blackburn this year but he is supposed to be part of the squad rotation. Marc Vaughan remains at Norwich where he has really impressed in the pre-season friendlies (5 gams, 4 assists, 1 MOM, 7.66 rating). Rob Nielsen left Bournemouth for Bolton (Premier League) for 450k. Similar to Dean Hoo, it's unclear how much impact he will have this season although he has impressed in his first friendly (2 goals, 7.80 rating). Daniel Ertmann is given the no. 11 shirt at Liverpool. Does this mean he has a chance at regular first team football this year? He has appeared in 5 friendly games and scored 2 goals (6.96 rating) so maybe there's a chance. Jace Hunter is with the Barcelona U-19s. However, he has indicated he wants to leave because he is expected to sit on the bench for the U-19 squad this year and he is too ambitious for that. Julio O'Donnell is back at Birmingham but he may be off again on a loan. He's part of the reserve team but 3 Championship clubs (Huddersfield, Portsmouth and Reading) want him on loan. One issue though is that Julio feels he is too good to be loaned out so we'll have to see how that pans out. Bernard Blaze ... the big move happened and he signed for Man City for 2.5 million. Whether it's a good move will have to be seen because he's been put in the reserves and listed for loan. The only club interested right now is Coventry City (League 1), which would be football at a lower level than what Bernard Blaze experienced at Watford last season. Frank Justice is apparently happy at Norwich again and is no longer looking for a move. He has played in 4 pre-season friendlies (1 assist, 7.32 rating) so it could mean regular football for him this year. Path Twelve did make a move after all as Sunderland paid 475k to FC Mulhouse for his services. He's now in the reserve team but has been listed on loan and he's keen to leave for first team experience. Ubaldo Geronimo is considered indispensable to Luton Town. He played in 6 pre-season games (2 goals, 1 assist, 6.63 rating) and will likely be spear-heading the Luton attack. Rumours of Napoli being interested in him though. Will Brown also left for a bigger club as Wolves paid 325k for his services. Similar to some of the other youngsters, he's been listed for loan and he's looking forward to spending time at a club where he can get first team football before returning to the Premier League side. |
Ouch, struck out hugely on physical stats plus team work and work rate. Hopefully those aren't quite as important as they are in EHM :)
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Like the way I'm playing, but hope my guy didn't screw himself by moving up too soon.
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I may be slow but apparently I'll knock the crap out of the opposition.
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Clearly I have created the world's most exciting footballer.
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As with the test run, looks like I'm not all that great in league games, but I rock the world stage.
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Seems like my guy has got a decent start. 7 yellow cards in just 13 games, and already thinking he's too good to go on loan! The 15 points in dirtiness and controversy as a trait is already paying off!
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Should probably do an update on the winners of trophies last season.
English Premier League Winner: Arsenal 2nd place: Man Utd 3rd place: Chelsea FA Cup: West Ham beats Arsenal League Cup: Nottingham Forest beats Hull Italian Serie A Winner: Roma 2nd place: Genoa 3rd place: Inter Italian Cup: Lazio beats Napoli Spanish La Liga Winner: Atletico Madrid 2nd place: Barcelona 3rd place: Real Madrid Spanish Cup: Atletico Madrid beats Getafe French Ligue 1 Winner: PSG 2nd place: Lyon 3rd place: Auxerre French Cup: Montpellier beats Le Mans Coupe de la Ligue: Rennes beats ESTAC Troyes German Bundesliga Winner: Leverkusen 2nd place: Wolfsburg 3rd place: Stuttgart German Cup: Hoffenheim beast Schalke Champions League Real Madrid beats Man Utd Euro Cup Porto beats Man City Summary: An interesting season in Spain as Atletico Madrid puts together a strong season to do a double, which is a very unexpected result. Real Madrid did restore some pride by winning the Champions League though. The city of Manchester was left with a sense of a missed opportunity as their clubs lost in 2 European finals and Man Utd also came in 2nd in the Premier League. Arsenal nearly did a double but lost to West Ham in the finals of the FA Cup. On the other hand, surprising League Cup final as it was an all Championship affair and Nottingham Forest prevailed in that event. In Germany, Bayern was nowhere to be found amongst the trophy winners as Leverkusen won the title. Roma was another surprise winner in Italy, finishing ahead of a surprising Genoa team. |
2011/2012 Mid-season Update:
Dean Hoo is a squad player at Blackburn and he has made 9 league appearances so far. However, his returns have been poor, just 1 goal and 1 assist in those 9 starts and a 6.60 rating. Marc Vaughan has made a 2.6 million pound move to Manchester City. Was it the right move? He's currently in the reserves where he has been playing well (7 games, 1 goal, 3 assists, 1 MOM, 7.36 rating) but it remains to be seen if he can break into the first team squad at some point, what with Gareth Barry, Yaya Toure, Nigel De Jong all ahead of him in the pecking order. Rob Nielsen is having difficulty adjusting to the pace of the Premiership. While he is with the first team, his performances have been spotty so far (5 games, 6.10 rating). If not for 2 decent cup performances, his rating would be terrible (5.87 in 3 Premiership starts). His performance in the reserves is impressive though (8 games, 6 goals, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 7.23 rating). Daniel Ertmann made 1 cup appearance for Liverpool in the first half of the season before being sent out on loan to Coventry. He has started well there, scoring 2 goals in 4 starts (7.20 rating, 1 MOM). Jace Hunter is the starter for the Barcelona U-19s but he still wants to leave the club. Great performances though, conceding just 10 goals in 25 games and having 17 clean sheets and 2 MOMs (7.26 rating). Barcelona may try hard to keep him at the club. Julio O'Donnell just returned from a loan with Doncaster (League 1) where he performed well again (22 games, 2 assists, 5 MOMs, 6 yellows, 1 red, 7.59 rating). He has since started appearing for Birmingham and is showing himself to be rocksteady at the back (3 games, 3 yellos, 7.13 rating). He was named to the League 1 team of the week 4 times and was the young player of the month for League 1 in August. Bernard Blaze has been sent out on loan to Coventry as well and the club will be hoping he strikes up a good partnership with Daniel Ertmann. He's appeared in 18 games so far and has played really well (3 goals, 4 assists, 3 MOMs, 7.42 rating). He has been named to the League 1 team of the week once and was young player of the month in January. Frank Justice is an important first team player at Norwich now. He has appeared in 26 games (3 goals, 4 assists, 2 yellows, 7.00 rating) but had to lay off for 4 weeks in December with strained ankle ligaments. Path Twelve is also at Norwich, sent on loan by Sunderland to get first team experience. He's played decently (7 games, 1 assist, 6.80 rating) but the kid is injury prone. In 2 seasons so far, he has suffered a twisted ankle (5 weeks out), a concussion (10 days out), a broken arm (6 weeks out), a torn groin muscle (7 weeks out) and a twisted knee (4 days out). Ubaldo Geronimo did make his move to Napoli in the end but then things kinda fell apart. He had made 3 appearances for Luton (3 goals, 1 assist, 7.30 rating) then he made one substitute appearance for Napoli (5.90 rating) ... and for some reason was sent out on loan to Chateauroux. However, he can't play any more professional games because a player can only play for 2 clubs in 1 season! A wasted year for Ubaldo. Will Brown is at Wolves. While he's part of the main squad, he has only made 1 cup appearance so far (1 goal, 7.60 rating) but he's been fantastic in reserve games (13 appearances, 11 goals, 1 assist, 4 MOMs, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.48 rating). |
Ow!
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Those sons of bitches.
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2011/2012 End of Season update
Dean Hoo finishes his first season with Blackburn Rovers (14th in the Premier League). The England U-21 international (4 caps, 3 goals) had an average year but it's important to remember that all of the youngsters are only 18. 15 starts, 2 goals, 1 assist and a 6.49 rating for Dean. Marc Vaughan did not go out on loan and spent his year playing mostly for the Man City reserves (Man City finished 13th in the league). He played 3 games, starting 1, in the Premier League (6.70 rating) and held his own during the limited game time. He was impressive in the reserve league (12 appearances, 1 goal, 5 assists, 2 MOMs, 7.25 rating) as well. Currently being mentored by Yaya Toure, he is regularly called up to the England U-21 team but has not been capped as yet. Rob Nielsen played a total of 6 games for Bolton (1 goal via a penalty, 6.53 rating). Bolton finished 10th in the Premier League. He began to play better after his bad start and he has hopes of playing more regularly next year. He is with the US national team and is hoping for his first cap soon. Daniel Ertmann spent a few months at Coventry (16 starts, 7 goals, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 1 yellow, 7.03 rating) before returning to Liverpool. Coventry only managed 11th place in League 1 though. He is with the England U-19 squad as well. Jace Hunter is the Canadian U-20 team vice-captain (5 caps). He is still miserable at Barcelona even though he won the Spanish U-19 Group 2 with them. Good season for him, just 13 goals conceded in 32 games and 22 clean sheets (7.20 rating). Julio O'Donnell had a good season overall, playing for both Doncaster (22 games, 2 assists, 5 MOMs, 6 yellows, 1 red, 7.59 rating) and Birmingham (13 games, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 7 yellows, 1 red, 6.92 rating). Birmingham finished 16th in the Premier League. Julio is an England U-21 international (4 caps) but he needs to work on staying on the pitch. That disciplinary record is .... atrocious to say the least. Bernard Blaze also had a good season. With Coventry, he was unstoppable at times (30 games, 6 goals, 9 assists, 9 MOMs, 7.56 rating) and he also made his league debut for Man City late in the season (1 goal, MOM, 8.40 rating). Bright times ahead for Bernard Blaze it looks like. He added another young player of the month for League 1 and 1 more team of the week award for League 1. He was also named to the Premier League team of the week for his debut performance. Part of the England U-21 set-up but not capped yet. Frank Justice had a pretty good season with Norwich (37 games, 5 goals, 6 assists, 2 yellows, 6.99 rating), helping the club to 14th place in the Championship. There are rumours that Watford are interested in signing him but that might not be a big step up (Watford was 8th in the Championship). Frank is called up to the England U-19 squad regularly but not capped yet. Path Twelve's injuries resulted in a start-stop season for him. He managed 15 games for Norwich (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 yellows, 6.84 rating) and also came on as a sub for Sunderland in a cup game (6.40 rating) but he needs to work on not getting hurt so much. He has been compared to Rio Mavuba (a French international that currently plays for Man Utd in this game). This is Ubaldo Geronimo's lost season. He played decently for the Chateroux reserve side (2 goals in 8 games, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 3 yellows, 6.90 rating) but that's not what he expected when he joined Napoli. Will Brown had an ok season with a Wolves team that finished 7th in the league (8 games, 2 goals, 6.70 rating). What's exciting for him though is that there are rumours Real Madrid are interested in signing him. |
2011/2012 winners
English Premier League Winner: Arsenal (2x in a row) 2nd place: Man Utd (2x in a row) 3rd place: Everton FA Cup: Man Utd beats Arsenal 2-0 League Cup: Chelsea beats Man City 5-0 Footballer of the Year: Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal (1st), Wayne Rooney - Man Utd (2nd), Andrey Arshavin - Arsenal (3rd) Manager of the Year: Chris Hougton (Newcastle) Player's Player of the Year: Frank Lampard - Chelsea (1st), Giuliano - Man City (2nd), Gareth Bale - Tottenham (3rd) Player's Young Player of the Year: Steven N'Zonzi - Blackburn (1st), Jack Collison - West Ham (2nd), Jonny Evans - Arsenal (3rd) Top Scorer: Wayne Rooney - Man Utd (24 goals), Steven Fletcher - Wolves (20 goals), Djibril Cisse - Everton (18 goals) Italian Serie A Winner: Roma (2x in a row) 2nd place: Juventus 3rd place: Inter (2x in a row) Italian Cup: Juventus beats Palermo 1-0 Spanish La Liga Winner: Barcelona 2nd place: Real Madrid 3rd place: Atletico Madrid Spanish Cup: Barcelona beats Atletico Madrid 2-1 Player of the Year: Sergio Aguero - Atletico Madrid (1st), Xabi Alonso - Real Madrid (2nd), Pedro - Barcelona (3rd) Top Goalscorer: Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid (27 goals), David Villa - Barcelona (26 goals), Fernando Llorente - Athletic (23 goals) French Ligue 1 Winner: AS Monaco 2nd place: Lyon (2x in a row) 3rd place: PSG French Cup: Lyon beats Caen 4-2 Coupe de la Ligue: Rennes beats ESTAC Troyes 1-0 German Bundesliga Winner: Wolfsburg 2nd place: Schalke 3rd place: Leverkusen German Cup: HSV beats Hoffenheim 1-0 (Hoffenheim fail to defend their cup) Champions League Chelsea beats Real Madrid 3-1 (Real Madrid fail to defend their cup) Euro Cup Tottenham beats Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 Summary: In England, Arsenal defend their title but again fail to do the double by losing in the FA Cup final to Man Utd. A surprise 3rd placed finish by Everton, led by Djibril Cisse's goals. Disappointment of the year was probably a Man City team that failed to qualify for Europe and got whacked in the League Cup final. Chelsea won 2 cups, the League Cup and, more importantly, the Champions League. Tottenham also won the Euro Cup, making that a sweep of the European competitions and a marked change from last season when both losing finalists were from England. A case of London being better than Manchester? Roma defended their title in Italy and Inter again come in 3rd. Juventus managed to win a trophy this year and will look to challenge again next season. Normalcy is restored in Spain as Barcelona do the double. Real Madrid had a disappointing season as they came in 2nd in the league as well as the Champions League. In France, Monaco are back at the top after a long absence. Lyon again come in 2nd although they did manage to win the French Cup as consolation. The German league is all about parity as Wolfsburg take the title this year. Bayern finished 6th in the league, another disappointing year for them. |
Euro Championship 2012 Round Up
The 2012 Euro Championship saw 16 European nations take part to claim the title of European Champions. In the group stages, Croatia, Poland, Italy, England, France, Holland, Germany and Serbia qualified for the quarter-finals. The shock upset was Spain coming in 3rd in their group behind Germany and Serbia. In the quarter-finals, England beat Croatia 2-1, Italy beat Poland 3-0, France beat Serbia 2-1 and Germany beat Holland 2-1, so no real upsets there. In the semi-finals, England beat arch-rivals Germany 3-1 and Italy beat France 3-1, to set-up another match between two teams that had qualified from the same group. Italy prevailed in the finals, 3-1, with goals from Giampaolo Pazzini (2) and Giorgio Chellini in the first half being enough. A consolation goal from Theo Walcott in the 2nd half was not enough. This was a deserved victory from Italy though as it had 17 shots on goal (7 on target) compared to England's 8 (4 on target). England had a slight edge in terms of possession (53-47) but were simply not incisive enough. |
2012/2013 Start of Season Update
Dean Hoo remains a Blackburn player but the 19-year old is now considered an important first team player. He has played 3 games so far and scored 1 goal (6.83 rating) and is valued at 2.5 million pounds. Marc Vaughan is still a Man City player but has been loaned out for the season to Fulham. However, there is an agreement in place that Fulham can acquire Marc if they pay 7 million pounds at the end of the loan. Valued at 2.5 million pounds. Rob Nielsen is now a full-US international (2 caps, 1 goal). He is also regarded as an important first team player for Bolton and he will be looking forward to more playing time this year. Valued at 2.8 million pounds. Daniel Ertmann has been loaned out to West Ham for the season, where he is slated to be a squad rotation player. Valued at 2.1 million pounds. Jace Hunter did not re-sign with Barcelona and left on a free transfer. Sampdoria gleefully snapped him up and Jace is confident he will succeed in Italy. Valued at 725k, he is also a full Canadian international (3 caps). Julio O'Donnell is happy playing at Birmingham, where he is regarded as an important first team player. The 2 million pound rated defender has played in 2 games so far (7.00 rating). Bernard Blaze is listed for loan again at Man City and is being tutored by James Milner. He has made one cup appearance (1 assist, 8.20 rating) and believes that he could make a difference if given the chance. Valued at 2.4 million pounds. Frank Justice is now viewed as an indispensable part of the Norwich team and his performances prove it (5 games, 2 goals, 1 assist, 7.38 rating). The 1.3 million pound rated teenager is enjoying his time at Carrow Road but the question is whether a move is on the cards in the future, especially if Norwich continues to play in the Championship. Path Twelve has been sent back to Norwich on loan again and he will be hoping that he will not be struck down by injuries. 2 games so far for the Canaries (6.20 rating) and he will need to improve on that. Ubaldo Geronimo is back at Napoli but, in an interesting twist, he is now co-owned by Roma. This will expire in 2014, which is when the clubs will have to decide who gets to buy him. He is in the reserves for now but is tearing it up (6 games, 7 goals, 7.96 rating). Will Brown is going to be devastated that he broke his collarbone after a proising start to the season (4 games, 2 goals, 6.85 rating). He was already regarded as an important first team player but he will now have to rehab from this injury before re-starting his campaign. |
2012/2013 Winners
2011/2012 winners English Premier League Winner: Man Utd 2nd place: Arsenal 3rd place: Liverpool FA Cup: Stoke beats Portsmouth 2-0 League Cup: Chelsea beats Wigan 2-0 (Chelsea x2 in a row) Footballer of the Year: Giuliano - Man City (1st), Wayne Rooney - Man Utd (2nd), Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal (3rd) Manager of the Year: John Toshack (West Ham) Player's Player of the Year: Antonio Valencia - Man Utd (1st), Ashley Cole - Chelsea (2nd), Franck Tabanou - Sunderland (3rd) Player's Young Player of the Year: Jack Rodwell - Everton (1st), Steven N'Zonzi - Blackburn (2nd), Gareth Bale - Tottenham (3rd) Top Scorer: Wayne Rooney - Man Utd (27 goals), Ched Evans - West Ham (19 goals), Javier Hernandez - Man Utd (18 goals) Italian Serie A Winner: Palermo 2nd place: Juventus (2x in a row) 3rd place: Roma Italian Cup: Inter beats Lazio 2-0 Spanish La Liga Winner: Real Madrid 2nd place: Atletico Madrid 3rd place: Barcelona Spanish Cup: Sevilla beats Barcelona 2-1 (Barcelona fail to defend cup) Player of the Year: Andres Iniesta - Barcelona (1st), Sergio Aguero - Atletico Madrid (2nd), Paulo Henrique - Sevilla (3rd) Top Goalscorer: Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid (27 goals), Fernando Llorente - Atheletic (26 goals), David Villa - Barcelona (23 goals) French Ligue 1 Winner: Lyon 2nd place: AS Saint-Etienne 3rd place: Bordeux French Cup: Saint Etienne beats Nimes Olymipque 2-1 Coupe de la Ligue: Marseille beats Sochaux-Montbe 4-1 German Bundesliga Winner: Leverkusen 2nd place: Bayern 3rd place: Wolfsburg German Cup: Leverkusen beats Bayern 4-0 Champions League Lyon beats Arsenal 1-0 Euro Cup CSKA Moscow beats PSG 2-2 (5-3 on penalties) Summary: In England, Manchester United finally break Arsenal's 2-year reign as league champions behind the goals of Rooney and Hernandez. This was a year when the top 6 was roughly what you would expect, with Chelsea, Man City and Tottenham rounding up the 4th to 6th places. Stoke won the FA Cup, ending the run of Championship side Portsmouth. Chelsea also defended their League Cup with a routine win over Wigan in the final. In Italy, Palermo also ended another 2-year reign at the top as Roma dropped to 3rd. Palermo's win was a very convincing one as they finished 10 points clear at the top! Inter's wait for a trophy ended when the took home the Italian Cup this year. In Spain, it was Real Madrid's turn to win the title and Barcelona came in 3rd behind Atletico Madrid. Barcelona ended the season empty handed when they lost to Sevilla in the finals of the Spanish Cup. Lyon finally won the Ligue 1 title after 2 frustrating years and did so in style ... 17 points clear of 2nd place St Etienne. They also won the Champions League title to wrap up a very satisfactory season for the French side. St Etienne did manage a French Cup victory over Nimes while Marseille won the League Cup. Leverkusen won their 2nd title in 3 years in the Bundesliga, pipping Bayern by 1 point. It's been 3 years since Bayern appeared in the top 3 and they will look to regain their title next year. Leverkusen underscored their dominance this season with a crushing win over Bayern in the German cup as well. Could there be a minor resurgence in Russian football? Second year in a row that a Russian team has reached the Euro Cup finals and this time CSKA Moscow won it. Having said that, this is also a year when French teams reached both finals so the same could be said for French football. |
Dean Hoo, Striker
Club: Blackburn Rovers (Premier League) Value: 4,800,000 pounds Code:
History: 2010-11: Leeds United 30 appearances (5 as sub), 7 goals, 4 yellow cards, 6.50 rating 2011-12: Blackburn Rovers 15 appearances, 2 goals, 1 assist, 6.49 rating 2012-13: Blackburn Rovers 23 appearances (5 as sub), 6 goals, 4 assists, 1 yellow card, 6.78 rating Achievements: None Summary: The 20 year old has settled in well at Blackburn Rovers and is slowly becoming one of the regulars in the team. He is very fast and has good finishing ability but is held back by the fact that he finds it hard to last the full 90 mins. He isn't going to beat a keeper with screamers but he will be the typical fox in the box that can thrive in certain systems. He is also a star for the England U-21 side, with 18 goals in 16 appearances. |
Marc Vaughan, Defensive Midfielder / Midfielder (C)
Club: Manchester City Value: 3,800,000 Code:
History: 2010-11: Norwich 43 appearances, 1 goal, 5 assists, 5 MOMs, 5 yellows, 7.20 rating 2011-12: Norwich 5 appearances, 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 7.54 rating Man City 3 appearances (2 as sub), 6.70 rating 2012-13: Fulham (loan) 29 appearances (4 as sub), 1 goal, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 7 yellow cards, 6.96 rating Achievements: None Summary: The England U-21 international (5 caps) has shown that he is capable of playing in the Premier League as he performed capably for Fulham ... though they did get relegated at the end of the year. He is a good passer of the ball, strong in the tackle and is able to run all day, pretty much the quintessential English midfielder. His biggest drawback is probably the fact he can't really mark opponents effectively for a defensive midfielder and is perhaps not aggressive or brave enough. |
Rob Nielsen, Striker
Club: Bolton Wanderers Value: 3,000,000 pounds Code:
2010-11: Bournemouth 10 appearances, 2 goals, 2 assists, 2 yellow cards, 6.45 rating 2011-12: Bolton 6 appearances, 1 goal, 6.53 rating 2012-13: Bolton 5 appearances, 3 goals, 1 yellow, 7.04 rating Achievements: None Summary: Rob's club career hasn't really taken off yet although he has played reasonably in the few opportunities he has been granted (21 games, 6 goals). His technical and mental attributes haven't really developed much although he has developed in the physical aspect quite a bit. He is a good finisher that is fast but he can't do much else beyond that. On an international level, he was capped by the US at age 19 and he has since earned 5 caps and scored 3 goals. |
Daniel Ertmann, Striker
Club: Liverpool Value: 3,200,000 pounds Code:
2010-11: Liverpool 3 appearances (2 as sub), 1 goal, 6.60 rating 2011-12: Liverpool 1 appearance (6.40 rating) Coventry (loan) 16 appearances, 7 goals, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 1 yellow card, 7.03 rating 2012-13: West Ham (loan) 4 appearances (1 as sub), 6.17 rating Achievements: European U-19 Championship runner-up Summary: Daniel's career kinda stalled this year when his loan spell at West Ham was a waste of time. He will have a career in football as evidenced by his performance in League 1 with Coventry, the only question is whether he will be able to play at the Premier League level. Daniel is another fast striker with good finishing ability and he just needs the opportunity to showcase his talents. He is also an England U-21 international with 4 goals in 6 caps. |
Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper
Club: Sampdoria Value: 875,000 pounds Code:
2010-11: Barcelona B 7 appearances, 14 conceded, 1 clean sheet, 6.33 rating 2011-12: Barcelona 0 appearances 2012-13: CS Sedan Ardennes (Ligue 2 side, loan) 19 games (1 as a sub), 12 conceded, 11 clean sheets, 7.22 rating Achievements: Won Spanish U-19 Group 2 with Barcelona U-19 Helped CS Sedan Ardennes to get promotion to Ligue 1 Twice names to Ligue 2 team of the week Summary: It's not often that leaving Barcelona can be good for your career but that appears to be the case for Jace Hunter. He joined Sampdoria but was immediately loaned out to a Ligue 2 side for first team experience and he really shone there, helping them to promotion to Ligue 1. Jace will be looking forward to pushing for the No. 1 shirt in Sampdoria next season. He is a good shot-stopper and is brave and aggressive. He does have to work on some of the technical aspects of goalkeeping where he is just average but he is young still. Jace has been capped 6 times for Canada. |
Julio O'Donnell, Defender (C)
Club: Birmingham Value: 2,600,000 Code:
2010-11: Birmingham 3 appearances (2 as sub), 7.15 rating Watford (loan) 13 appearances, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 7 yellows, 7.32 rating 2011-12: Birmingham 13 appearances (2 as sub), 2 assists, 1 MOM, 7 yellows, 6.92 rating Doncaster (loan) 22 appearances, 2 assists, 5 MOMs, 6 yellows, 1 red, 7.59 rating 2012-13: Birmingham 30 appearances, 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 11 yellows, 1 red, 7.25 rating Achievements: League 1 Player of the Month League 1 Team of the Week 4 times Premier League Team of the Week 2 times Summary: Another England U-21 international (13 caps), Julio is also part of the U-19 team that was runners-up in the Euro U-19 Championships. Julio has really stepped up this year and was a rock for Birmingham at the back and he thrills fans with the fact he is a ball-playing centreback rather than just hoofing it up. His drawback could be that he lacks real pace and so a fast striker can potentially expose him. Well, there's also his horrendous disciplinary record. |
Bernard Blaze, Midfielder (R) / Attacking Midfielder (R)
Club: Man City Value: 2,700,000 pounds Code:
2010-11: Watford 45 appearances, 2 goals, 16 assists, 6 MOMs, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.10 rating 2011-12: Man City 1 appearance, 1 goal, 1 MOM, 8.40 rating Coventry (loan) 30 appearances, 7 goals, 9 assists, 9 MOMs, 7.56 rating 2012-13: Man City 1 appearance, 1 assist, 8.20 rating Achievements: Euro U-19 Championship runner-up with England Premier League Team of the Week once nPower Championship Young Player of the Month nPower Championship Team of the Week twice League 1 Young Player of the Month twice League 1 Team of the Week Twice Summary: Another England U-21 international (7 caps, 2 goals) that had a disappointing season. He failed to break into the Man City team and was also not sent out on loan and could only play in a few reserve games. Not conducive for his development. Bernard has a lot of the traits you want in a winger .. he's fast, he's creative, he's great at crossing. Drawbacks are that his technique isn't good and he tends to drift in and out of games a lot, plus he gets pushed off the ball way too easily. |
Frank Justice, Attacking Midfielder (C) / Midfielder (C)
Club: Man Utd Value: 3,600,000 Code:
2010-11: Norwich 16 appearances, 2 goals, 1 assist, 2 yellows, 6.89 rating 2011-12: Norwich 37 appearances, 5 goals, 6 assists, 2 yellow cards, 6.99 rating 2012-13: Norwich 24 appearances, 7 goals, 9 assists, 1 yellow card, 7.29 rating Man Utd: 0 appearances Achievements: nPower Championship Young Player of the Month nPower Championship Team of the Week Summary: Frank did make his move to a bigger club when Man Utd came in to sign him during the January transfer window. This was clearly a move for the future because they proceeded to dump him in the reserves for the rest of the campaign. Frank is fantastic at attacking, with the ability to make the right decisions, pass the ball well and really see play develop in front of him. The drawback is that he will be a liability when it comes to defending but you can't always have it both ways. He is one of the few players not capped for his country at the youth level. |
Path Twelve, Defensive Midfielder / Midfielder (C)
Club: Sunderland Value: 1,400,000 pounds Code:
2010-11: FC Mulhouse 41 appearances (2 as sub), 3 goals, 8 assists, 4 MOMs, 13 yellows, 2 reds, 6.98 rating 2011-12: Sunderland 1 appearance (1 as sub), 6.40 rating Norwich (loan) 15 appearances (3 as sub), 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 yellows, 6.84 rating 2012-13: Norwich (loan) 17 appearances (7 as sub), 1 assist, 2 yellows, 6.53 rating Achievements: None Summary: There is a real suspicion that Path's career may not last long. He is a very physical player that some have accused of being dirty. This style of play has resulted in him being injured often (this season he missed 16 weeks with assorted injuries). Underneath all that physical play though, there is some evidence of a classy player as he has good technique and has shown real flair on occasion. He has been capped once by the French U-21 team. |
Ubaldo Geronimo, Striker
Club: Co-owned by Napoli and Roma Value: 1,400,000 Code:
2010-11: Luton 20 appearances, 6 goals, 3 assists, 1 MOM, 3 yellow cards, 6.82 rating 2011-12: Luton 3 appearances, 3 goals, 1 MOM, 1 yellow, 7.30 rating Napoli 1 appearance (1 as sub), 5.90 rating 2012-13: Napoli 0 appearances Achievements: Blue Square Premier champion FA Trophy champion Summary: It's hard to figure out where Ubaldo's career is headed at this point. He went from playing for Luton to Napoli, where he has promptly been left in the reserves and not played a competitive match for nearly 1.5 seasons. At the same time, he's ridiculously good in reserve games (32 goals in 38 appearances) and he appears to have been told he has a bright future ahead of him because he is enthusiastic of his future in Naples. He is fast, he is creative and he can finish .. a real South American striker. He is part of the Mexico U-20 team (5 caps, 3 goals). |
Will Brown, Striker
Club: Wolves Value: 3,100,000 Code:
2010-11: Stevenage 14 appearances, 5 goals, 1 MOM, 2 yellow cards, 6.84 rating 2011-12: Wolves 8 appearances (3 as sub), 2 goals, 6.70 rating 2012-13: Wolves 8 appearances (2 as sub), 2 goals, 6.47 rating Southampton (loan, League 1) 10 appearances, 8 goals, 3 assists, 2 MOMs, 3 yellow cards, 7.40 rating Achievements: League 1 Team of the Week League 2 Team of the Week Summary: Will Brown is another fast striker that can finish. Similar to his compatriot Rob Nielsen, he is very limited in other aspects though. However, Will did show that he can play football at a League 1 level as a minimum when he really impressed in a short loan stint at Southampton. He has been called up to the US national team and he was a real star for the U-20s (14 goals in 8 appearances). There are rumours he may be leaving Wolves though because Aston Villa has indicated they want to purchase him and he is now unsettled and considering his options. |
At least I'm still showing up well in the US games.
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This is awesome.
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Geronimo is quickly contemplating a life in the Cartels over the sham that his European soccer.
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Just wait till Geronimo makes it to the big boy national team.
...and gets shown up by the USA's numero uno badass striker. |
2013/14 Start of Season update
Dean Hoo is now valued at 5 million and remains at Blackburn. 3 starts in the league so far and 1 goal (6.47 rating). He has 22 goals in 18 caps for the England U-21s and won the European U-21 Championship. He scored the winning goal in the 2-1 final over France (Daniel Ertmann got the other). Marc Vaughan (4 million) is another member of the England U-21 team that won the European U-21 Championship. He's part of the Man City reserves still and his push for first team recognition will be hampered by a hip injury that requires specialist treatment. Rob Nielsen has started the season well for Bolton (2 games, 1 goal, 7.20 rating). The 3.9 million pound striker was part of the US team that came in 2nd in the North American Gold Cup ... where they lost 1-0 to Mexico. A little embarrassing for the striker, who had talked some trash in the US papers before the finals. He came on in the 72nd minute but was unable to make a difference. Daniel Ertmann was the other goalscorer in England's win over France in the European U-21 Championship. Valued at 3.6 million pounds, he is listed for loan and in the Liverpool reserves but he isn't totally happy about that as he feels he is too good to go on loan. Jace Hunter is at Sampdoria still but he is unhappy again about playing time and wants to leave. Sense a pattern building here. He is the 3rd choice keeper hence his unhappiness. He also played terribly in a cup game (conceded 3, 5.20 rating). Valued at 925k. Julio O'Donnell is also part of the England team that won the European U-21 championship. He is happy at Birmingham and has been given the no. 4 shirt. Valued at 3.8 million. Bernard Blaze is yet another member of the England team that won the European U-21 championship. Part of the Man City reserves but interested in going out on loan and rumours are that Blackburn might be interested. Valued at 2.9 million. Path Twelve is on loan to Norwich yet again. The 1.5 million pound midfielder will hope for a good loan spell although his early performances have not been fantastic (3 appearances, 6.27 rating). Ubaldo Geronimo is now fully owned by Napoli again when Napoli paid Roma 1.34 million for their 50% share. Valued at 1.6 million, Ubaldo has made 1 substitute appearance so far this year and created a goal (7.10 rating). Will Brown made a 6.75 million pound move to Aston Villa where he has been given the no. 9 shirt. He has made 1 substitute appearance so far but no rating as it was for a few minutes only. He is also part of the US team that lost in the North American Gold Cup finals. |
2013/2014 Winners
English Premier League Winner: Arsenal 2nd place: Tottenham 3rd place: Man City FA Cup: Liverpool beats Wolves 2-0 League Cup: Arsenal beats Everton 3-1 Footballer of the Year: Ezequiel Lavezzi - Arsenal (1st), Wayne Rooney - Man Utd (2nd), Carlos Tevez - Man City (3rd) Manager of the Year: David Moyes (Tottenham) Player's Player of the Year: Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal (1st), Jack Wilshire - Arsenal (2nd), Edom Dzeko - Tottenham (3rd) Player's Young Player of the Year: Moussa Sissoko - Chelsea (1st), Neymar - Chelsea (2nd), Jonjo Shelvey - Liverpool (3rd) Top Scorer: Edin Dzeko - Tottenham (25 goals), Darren Bent - Sunderland (21 goals), Gabby Agbonlahor - Aston Villa (21 goals) Italian Serie A Winner: Inter 2nd place: AC Milan 3rd place: Palermo Italian Cup: Catania beats Genoa 3-1 Spanish La Liga Winner: Barcelona 2nd place: Real Madrid 3rd place: Atletico Madrid Spanish Cup: Barcelona beats Sevilla 3-2 (Barcelona gets revenge for last season's loss) Player of the Year: Cicinho - Sevilla (1st), Paulo Henrique - Sevilla (2nd), Andres Iniesta - Barcelona (3rd) Top Goalscorer: Sergio Aguero - Atletico Madrid (22 goals), Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid (19 goals), David Villa - Barcelona (18 goals) French Ligue 1 Winner: Lyon (2x in a row) 2nd place: PSG 3rd place: Montpellier French Cup: Lyon beats Lille 2-0 Coupe de la Ligue: Marseille beats Havre AC 2-0 (2x in a row) German Bundesliga Winner: Leverkusen (2x in a row) 2nd place: Wolfsburg 3rd place: Bayern German Cup: Bayern beats Leverkusen 3-2 (Bayern gets revenge for last season's loss) Champions League Chelsea beats Barcelona 1-0 (Chelsea's 2nd win in 3 years) Euro Cup Tottenham beats Napoli 1-1 (4-3 on penalties) Summary: Arsenal regain their Premier League title this year and also the League Cup. It was the tightest race in years however as they only won the title on the last day on goal difference over Tottenham. Tottenham did manage to beat Napoli in the Euro Cup final though (their 2nd win in 3 years). Liverpool won the FA Cup but Daniel Ertmann did not feature in that game. Chelsea won their 2nd Champions League title in 3 years, which makes up for their 4th place finish in the league. Inter finally wins the title after 4 years. Palermo slip to 3rd after last season's successful campaign. Catania was the Italian Cup winner and they also managed 4th place in the league. Over in Spain, the revolving door at the top continues as Barcelona won the title as well as the Spanish Cup. They nearly made it a treble but lost to Chelsea in the Champions League final. The title race in France was closer this year but Lyon defended their title successfully, just 1 point ahead of PSG. Jace Hunter's club last season (CS Sedan Ardennes) went straight back down to Ligue 2, coming in 19th out of 20 places. Lyon did a domestic double in France while Marseille defended their League Cup. Leverkusen won their 3rd title in 4 years in the Bundesliga, this time by a convincing 11 points. Bayern did manage some revenge though by winning the German Cup but that is a minor consolation for a side used to winning major trophies. |
2014/2015 End of Season Update
Dean Hoo has a decent season for Blackburn Rovers (8th in the Premier League), scoring 10 goals in 30 games (6.74 rating) to go with 7 yellow cards and 1 red card. The highlight of his season has to be the fact he was called up for England and got his first cap in a 2-1 win over the US (a match in which Will Brown scored for the US). However, all is not well as Dean wants to leave Blackburn because they have transfer-listed one of their best players, Steven N'Zonzi. Marc Vaughan had a poor season with Man City because he couldn't get much first team football. He only made 2 substitute appearances (6.55 rating). However, he has also been called up to the England squad and got his first cap in the 2-1 win over the US. He also got a 3rd place medal in the U-20 World Cup. Rob Nielsen had an average season for Bolton (19 games, 4 goals, 1 MOM, 6.44 rating), which narrowly avoided relegation (17th place). He is a regular in the US national team though (7 goals in 16 caps). Daniel Ertmann made a big money move from Liverpool to Sporting in the Portugese league, where he scored 3 goals in 15 games (6.67 rating). He was part of the England U-20 team that came in 3rd but was also sent off in the 3rd place play-off in extra time. He is knocking on the England full team's door as he was called up recently but did not actually get any game time. Jace Hunter is still at Sampdoria but is now co-owned by Roma. This has made him more optimistic about his future. The Canadian international (11 caps) played just 1 game for Sampdoria and conceded 3 goals (5.20 rating) but has played well for Canada this year (5 games, 4 conceded, 2 clean sheets, 7.46 rating). Julio O'Donnell is Mr Birmingham. He was named as the Supporter's Player of the Year for 2012/13 and was outstanding at times this year (one Premier League Team of the Week award, Young Player of the Month for November). He made 26 appearances in all (3 assists, 4 MOMs, 7 yellow cards, 1 red card, 6.90 rating) and is a regular in the England U-21 team. He also won the 3rd place medal with England in the U-20 World Cup. Bernard Blaze is another England starlet languishing in the Man City reserves. Just 1 game for the senior team (6.60 rating) but a bunch of appearances for the reserves. He is part of the England team that came in 3rd in the U-20 World Cup. Frank Justice has taken well to the Premier League this year (18 games, 5 goals, 2 assists, 1 yellow, 7.24 rating) with Man Utd (7th). He is now part of the England U-21 set-up and also won the Community Shield with Man Utd. He is described as a wonderkid and the future is bright for him. Path Twelve had a disappointing year with Norwich (19 games, 2 yellows, 6.47 rating). He simply hasn't been able to perform regularly and had a bit of a falling out with the Norwich management. Ubaldo Geronimo is a star for the Mexico U-20 team (10 goals in 17 caps). However, his career is still floundering. He made one appearance for Napoli (1 assist, 7.10 rating) but was then sent out for loan at Kaiserslautern in January 2014 where he was not given much opportunity to play even though he did well whenever given the chance (3 games, 3 goals, 1 MOM, 7.30 rating, 1 Team of the Week award). It's just odd. Will Brown enjoyed his move to Aston Villa, especially playing next to Gabby Agbonholar. The US international (8 caps, 2 goals) managed 8 goals in 20 appearances (2 yellows, 1 red, 6.81 rating) this season and will be looking forward to another good season next year. |
World Cup 2014:
The biggest tournament in football took place in Spain. 32 teams started in 8 groups and the 16 qualifiers for the quarter-finals were Spain, Paraguay, France, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, USA, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland, Colombia, Cameroon, Senegal, England, Serbia and Iran. The most shocking exit was Argentina (only 1 point in a draw with Haiti and losses to Iran and Serbia). In the last 16, Spain beat Belgium 1-0, France crushed Paraguay 5-0, Brazil smacked Turkey 4-0, Germany beat the US 2-0, Italy beat Cameroon 1-0, Colombia beat Switzerland on penalties, Senegal beat Iran 3-0 and England beat Serbia 4-2. The quarter finals saw Spain beat Germany on penalties, France beat Brazil 3-1, Italy beat England 3-0 and Senegal beat Colombia 2-1. Spain beat Senegal 1-0 in the semi-finals and Italy beat France 1-0 as well. France came in 3rd by beating Senegal 4-0. Spain then defended their World Cup title by beating Italy on penalties after the game ended 2-2. Related player news: The US came in top of their group with 7 points out of 9. Will Brown made 3 appearances while Rob Nielsen made 2 appearances. England came in 2nd in their group and Frank Justice started one game in the 1-0 loss to Italy in the quarter-finals. |
Bastard ownership.
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Some predictions based on what I've seen in the game up to this date:
a) it looks like Frank Justice is going to have the best career amongst the lot; b) Bernard Blaze and Marc Vaughan look to have some potential but they may not be able to develop at Man City; c) out of the strikers, Daniel Ertmann might have the best career (just a gut feel). Ubaldo might have the least satisfying one. Dean, Rob and Will look to be lower-level Premier league strikers; d) Julio O'Donnell looks steady but I'm not sure he will move; e) Jace Hunter could be very good if given the chance; f) Path Twelve looks like a candidate for the "worst" career in the sense he may never be more than a lower league player. |
Quote:
I was shooting for talented but aggressive and controversial. In retrospect I would have put pace in my starting attributes instead of something like long shots because being slow will not get you to the top leagues. Though it seems that the injury-proneness isn't helping either. |
2014/15 Winners
English Premier League Winner: Arsenal (2x in a row, 4 in the last 5 years) 2nd place: Man Utd 3rd place: Tottenham FA Cup: Arsenal beats Chelsea 2-1 League Cup: Man City beats Everton 3-2 Footballer of the Year: Wayne Rooney - Man Utd (1st), Miguel Veloso - Man Utd (2nd), Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal (3rd) Manager of the Year: Edwin van der Sar (Man Utd) - former GK for Man Utd Player's Player of the Year: Carlos Tevez - Man City (1st), Aaron Ramsey - Arsenal (2nd), Edin Dzeko - Tottenham (3rd) Player's Young Player of the Year: Jonjo Shelvey - Liverpool (1st), James McCarthy - Wigan (2nd), Joe Basford - Middlesborough (3rd) Top Scorer: Carlos Tevez - Man City (26 goals), Edin Dzeko - Tottenham(24 goals), Frederico Macheda - Man Utd (23 goals) Italian Serie A Winner: Roma 2nd place: Inter 3rd place: Genoa Italian Cup: Inter beats Napoli 2-0 Spanish La Liga Winner: Barcelona 2nd place: Real Madrid 3rd place: Sevilla Spanish Cup: Barcelona beats Sevilla 3-0 (Barcelona-Sevilla rematch, Barcelona 2x in a row, 3x in 4 years, 4 finals in a row) Player of the Year: Andrea Poli - Real Madria (1st), Jose Manuel Mata - Valencia (2nd), Cicinho - Sevilla (3rd) Top Goalscorer: Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid (28 goals), Nene - Almeria (24 goals), Lionel Messi - Barcelona (19 goals) French Ligue 1 Winner: Lyon (3x in a row) 2nd place: Nantes 3rd place: PSG French Cup: Rennes beats Lille 3-1 (Lille's 2nd losing final in a row) Coupe de la Ligue: Lyon beats Montpellier 3-0 German Bundesliga Winner: Bayern 2nd place: Leverkusen 3rd place: Schalke German Cup: Bochum beats Dortmund on penalties Champions League Arsenal beats Real Madrid 1-0 Euro Cup Man Utd beats Sevilla 1-0 Summary: Arsenal are the new dominant force in the English Premier League it appears as they win their 4th title in 5 years and doing a treble by winning the FA Cup and Champions League as well. Man Utd come in 2nd and also managed to win the Euro Cup. Tottenham were 3rd, Man City 4th, Liverpool 5th and Chelsea 6th. Blackburn were 7th, Bolton 9th, Villa 13th and Birmingham 14th. Roma is back at the top in Italy with a 12 point lead over Inter. Inter did manage to win a trophy by winning the Italian Cup, their 2nd in 3 years. Sampdoria came in 9th. Over in Spain, Barcelona bucks the recent trend of new champions by retaining their league title and their Spanish Cup. Real Madrid came in 2nd and there is a new entrant into the top 3 as an exciting Sevilla side crash the party. Both Real Madrid and Sevilla were losing finalists in European finals, losing to English clubs both times. Lyon is unstoppable in the French League as they do another double (League and League Cup). In surprising news, St Etienne, which was runners-up a few seasons back was relegated. Bayern is finally back at the top in Germany, winning the title comfortably over arch-rivals Leverkusen. |
2014/15 End of Season Update
Dean Hoo had a pretty decent season with Blackburn (33 games, 12 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 6.80 rating). He was also named as Premier League Young Player of the Month in November. There is speculation he may not be at Ewood Park next season because he only has 1 year left on his contract and he has not re-signed yet. Arsenal is reportedly sniffing around. Marc Vaughan had another frustrating season with Man City in the reserve team. He only made 1 substitute appearance for the first team (6.5 rating) and Celtic is considering whether to try and sign him. Rob Nielsen will not be having a break this summer as he heads off with the US national team to the Gold Cup again. He had an average season with Bolton (16 games, 2 goals, 4 assists, 2 yellows, 6.45 rating). Daniel Ertmann was spectacular in Portugal (29 games, 21 goals, 4 assists, 2 MOMs, 1 yellow, 7.20 rating). He has been called up to the England national team and will be hoping to get his first cap soon. Jace Hunter is still optimistic about his future at Sampdoria, despite limited playing time (2 games, 3 conceded, 6.60 rating). He is a regular for Canada (18 caps) and is with the Gold Cup team as well. Julio O'Donnell had a steady season but he was perhaps just a bit less effective this year (20 games, 7 yellows, 2 reds, 6.90 rating). He was recognised as one of the better young players in the Premier League though (3 Young Player of the Month awards, 1 Premier League Team of the Week award). Bernard Blaze is suffering the same fate as Marc Vaughan, i.e. a lack of playing time in the first team (3 games, 1 goal, 6.60 rating). He is optimistic about his future at the club as well but he might be losing important development time on the pitch if this continues. Frank Justice had fewer chances to impress with Man Utd this year (20 games, 3 goals, 1 assist, 2 yellows, 7.13 rating) as the formation was changed to a very defensive 5-3-2 formation that featured 1 defensive midfielder and 2 central midfielders. He did not feature in the Euro Cup finals that Man Utd won either. He did win a Young Player of the Month award though. Path Twelve had his best season with Norwich so far (19 games, 1 assist, 4 yellows, 6.70 rating). He is making some progress and will hope to get more chances next season (quite possibly with Norwich again as they have a long-term tie-up with Sunderland). Ubaldo Geronimo spent the season out on loan with an Austrian club, SC Wiener Neustadt, where he played very well (24 games, 13 goals, 6 assists, 1 MOM, 7.37 rating). Playing for an obscure club though meant that Ubaldo was not called up to the Mexico team for the Gold Cup. Will Brown had a season of regression with Villa (12 games, 3 goals, 2 assists, 2 yellows, 6.72 rating). For whatever reason, he became less of a regular in the side and Villa has made him available for loan. What's worse is that he did not get called up to the US squad for the Gold Cup because of his lack of playing time this year and he's devastated by it. |
My owners are gonna' get it.
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So how do we get in this one?
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Sorry Mr Bug, sign-ups were closed a little while back in the sign-up thread.
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Gold Cup 2017 summary:
The US crashed out in the quarter finals in a shock upset to the Honduras. Rob Nielsen had started the first game and scored 2 goals in a 3-0 win over El Salvador. However, things fell apart from them thereafter when they lost 1-0 to Costa Rica (Rob played badly), followed by a 2-0 win over Haiti (Rob did not play) and the loss to Honduras (Rob did not play). Canada on the other hand actually made it to the finals but lost 2-0 to Mexico in the finals. Jace Hunter played in all 6 games for Canada and was impressive all the way until the finals, where he might be a little disappointed with his peformance (6.5, although he did face 20 shots on goal (9 on target, 4 clear cut chances)). His average rating for the tournament was 7.2. |
2015/16 Start of Season update
Dean Hoo left Blackburn but not for Arsenal. Instead, he signed for Rangers. Not sure if that's a step up or not but we'll see how things progress for him. He has 4 England caps (4 goals). Marc Vaughan was sent on a season-long loan to Premier League side Nottingham Forest, where he has already impressed early in the season (3 games, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 7.47 rating). The England international has 2 caps. In an unexpected move, Rob Nielsen was acquired by Valencia for 8.75 million pounds. The US striker will be looking to impress in the Spanish League this year (2 games, 1 goal, 6.65 rating so far). Daniel Ertmann seems to be perfectly playing in Portugal for Sporting right now. No interest from other clubs suggests he may be there for a little while more. Still not capped by England yet. Jace Hunter is fresh off some heroics at the Gold Cup and is happy about life in Sampdoria. Still just a backup to the first team though. Not entirely sure what is going on with Julio O'Donnell right now. Mr Birmingham is reportedly unsettled and lacking match practice right now. Could a move be on the cards? Bernard Blaze is actually in the Man City first team now, although used in rotation system. Perhaps he will finally have a chance to prove his ability this year. Frank Justice is happy at Old Trafford (1 game, 1 goal, 7.7 rating so far). He is part of a squad rotation system as well but he is young still (21 years old). Path Twelve is actually with Sunderland this year but with the reserves. There's a bit of an impasse as Sunderland want to loan him out but he thinks he's too good to be loaned out. We'll have to see how that pans out this year. Ubaldo Geronimo is reportedly still optimistic about his future at Napoli, even though he is still in the reserves. We'll see if he gets any real football time this year. Will Brown appears to have resolved his issues with the Villa management and is now regarded as an important part of the first team (2 games, 2 goals, 7.50 rating). |
Viva Espana!
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Italy is lame.
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2015/16 Winners
English Premier League Winner: Arsenal (3x in a row, 5 in the last 6 years) 2nd place: Man Utd (2x in a row) 3rd place: Man City FA Cup: Arsenal beats Wigan 2-0 (Arsenal 2x in a row) League Cup: Chelsea beats Man Utd 3-2 Footballer of the Year: Wayne Rooney - Man Utd (1st), Jack Wilshire - Arsenal (2nd), Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal (3rd) Manager of the Year: Gordon Strachan (Birmingham) Player's Player of the Year: Giuliano - Man City (1st), Carlost Tevez - Man City (2nd), Darren Fletcher - Man Utd (3rd) Player's Young Player of the Year: Danny Wilson - Arsenal (1st), Marc Vaughan - Nottingham Forest (2nd), Mensur Hila - Everton (3rd) Top Scorer: Wayne Rooney - Man Utd (28 goals), Gabby Agbonholar - Aston Villa (23 goals), Frederico Macheda - Man Utd (20 goals) Italian Serie A Winner: Palermo 2nd place: AC Milan 3rd place: Genoa (2x in a row) Italian Cup: Genoa beats Lazio 4-2 Spanish La Liga Winner: Barcelona (3x in a row) 2nd place: Real Madrid 3rd place: Atletico Madrid Spanish Cup: Valencia beats Atletico Madrid 2-1 (Rob Nielsen came on after 11 minutes, 6.6 rating) Player of the Year: Cicinho - Sevilla (1st), Mesut Ozil - Real Madrid (2nd), Balazs Dzsudzsak - Atletico Madrid (3rd) Top Goalscorer: Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid (24 goals), Carlos Vela - Valladolid (21 goals), Salomon Rondon - Villareal (18 goals) French Ligue 1 Winner: Lyon (4x in a row) 2nd place: PSG 3rd place: Rennes French Cup: PSG beats US Orleans 3-1 Coupe de la Ligue: Marseille beats FC Lorient 2-0 German Bundesliga Winner: Bayern (2x in a row) 2nd place: Leverkusen (2x in a row) 3rd place: Dortmund German Cup: Dortmund beats Bochum on penalties Champions League Real Madrid beats Bayern 2-0 (Real's 2nd final in a row) Euro Cup Liverpool beats Palermo 4-0 Summary: Arsenal continue to dominate in the Premier League as they win their 5th title in 6 years and 3rd in a row. Man Utd came in 2nd again and were also losing finalists in the League Cup. Arsenal did the double by winning the FA Cup. Birmingham came in 7th to qualify for Europe next year, Sunderland was 8th, Villa was 10th and Nottingham Forest 14th. Liverpool won the Euro Cup to make up for their 5th place position. Palermo wins their 2nd title in 4 years over in Italy. Sampdoria came in 9th in the league and Napoli was 11th. Palermo thought they could have a double but were absolutely crushed by Liverpool in the Euro Cup finals. Inter came in a disappointing 5th. Barcelona are now the big club in Spain again, winning their 3rd title in a row. Atletico Madrid make it back to the top 3, finishing 3 points ahead of 4th place Sevilla. Valencia had a decent season, coming in 5th and winning the Spanish Cup. Real Madrid lift the coveted Champions League title after being the losing finalists last year. Lyon continues to dominate in France, their 4th title in a row was achieved this season. 2nd placed PSG ended the fairy tale run of non-league side US Orleans in the French Cup in the finals. Marseille won their 3rd League Cup in 4 years (4 in 7 years if you go back a little further). Bayern defended their title against Leverkusen again, while 3rd placed Dortmund did manage to add some silverware by winning the German Cup. Bayern's Champions League campaign nearly came to fruition but was ended in the finals by Real Madrid. Looks like Bayern is back at the top for now. |
2015/2016 End of Season Summary
Dean Hoo (23 years old) had a good season at Rangers (29 games, 14 goals, 4 yellows, 7.07 rating). He also has a phenomenal record for England (5 caps, 6 goals). He has indicated he is happy in Scotland but Italian champions Palermo are reportedly interested in him. Marc Vaughan (22 years old) was finally able to show what he could do when he impressed during his season long loan at Nottinghan Forest (36 games, 1 goal, 14 assists, 5 MOMs, 5 yellows, 7.26 rating). He also has 3 caps for England and was the runner-up in the Premier League Young Player of the Year award. Next season will be interesting ... will he be given a chance at Man City? Or will he be loaned out again, which will make him unhappy? Rob Nielsen's (23 years old) first season in Spain is a successful one (37 games, 11 goals, 1 assist, 5 yellows, 6.76 rating) as he wins the Spanish Cup with Valencia. He is an important first team player for both Valencia and the USA (25 caps, 11 goals). Daniel Ertmann made another big money move during the January transfer window when Chelseas forked out 17.5 million to sign him from Sporting (18 games, 15 goals, 3 assist, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 1 red, 7.36 rating). He fit right into the Chelsea first team (17 games, 10 goals, 1 MOM, 7.22 rating) and won the League Cup with them, scoring the 84th minute winner in the 3-2 win over Man Utd. Surprisingly still not capped for England yet. Jace Hunter (23 years old) had another frustrating year at Sampdoria and is now considering leaving the club. He is a regular for Canada (30 caps) but simply isn't getting regular playing time for his club side. Julio O'Donnell has indicated he wants to leave Birmingham. Not entirely clear why but there are suspicions he feels that he isn't getting the right recognition despite his performances (35 games, 2 assists, 2 MOMs, 10 yellows, 7.15 rating) because England does not want to call him up. Was named to the Premier League Team of the Week once. Bernard Blaze spent the season on the fringes of the Man City first team (9 games, 1 goal, 2 assists, 6.76 rating). The limited game time he has had gives him confidence he can succeed next year at Man City but we'll see if that's true. Frank Justice again saw limited playing time (19 games, 3 goals, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 2 yellows, 7.18 rating) but impressed whenever given the chance. He is happy at Old Trafford still even though he wasn't in the team for the League Cup final. Path Twelve's time at Sunderland is probably over. He made one substitute appearance (1 goal, 7.60 rating) but that was it and he has been transfer listed. Luckily there is some interest from Newcastle so maybe he will find a better fit soon. Ubaldo Geronimo also had limited chances this year with Napoli (4 games, 1 yellow, 6.47 rating). However, there are a number of clubs that may be willing to meet his 1.6 million pound valuation, including Wigan, Stuttgart and Udinese. Will Brown had a terrrible year because he had torn cruciate ligaments and was out for 8 months. As a result, he only made 2 appearances (2 goals, 7.50 rating) which was a waste as it might have been a really good year for him if he had maintained his goalscoring record. |
Been a few seasons...another player card run?
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Dean Hoo, Striker
Club: Arsenal (Premier League) International: England (5 caps, 6 goals) Value: 12,000,000 pounds Code:
History: 2010-11: Leeds United 30 appearances (5 as sub), 7 goals, 4 yellow cards, 6.50 rating 2011-12: Blackburn Rovers 15 appearances, 2 goals, 1 assist, 6.49 rating 2012-13: Blackburn Rovers 23 appearances (5 as sub), 6 goals, 4 assists, 1 yellow card, 6.78 rating 2013-14: Blackburn Rovers 30 games (1 as sub), 10 goals, 7 yellows, 1 red, 6.74 rating 2014-15: Blackburn Rovers 33 games, 12 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 6.80 rating 2015-16: Rangers 29 games, 14 goals, 4 yellows, 7.07 rating Career Totals: 160 games (11 as sub), 51 goals, 6 assists Achievements: 2013: European U-21 Champions 2016: Community Shield winner (Arsenal) 1x Premier League Young Player of the Month 1x Premier League team of the week Summary: Dean has moved on to potentially bigger and brighter things after his successful season at Rangers, signing for Arsenal in a 12 million pound deal. It's a dream move for the 23 year old who supported them from a young age and joins a very dominant side. He has developed well over the years and is an incredible physical specimen and has a lot of the abilities a manager looks for in a top striker. There is some criticism though that he isn't always a team player and that he can be lazy on the pitch. |
Marc Vaughan, Defensive Midfielder / Midfielder (C)
Club: Manchester City (Premier League) International: England (3 caps) Value: 4,400,000 Code:
History: 2010-11: Norwich 43 appearances, 1 goal, 5 assists, 5 MOMs, 5 yellows, 7.20 rating 2011-12: Norwich 5 appearances, 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 7.54 rating Man City 3 appearances (2 as sub), 6.70 rating 2012-13: Fulham (loan) 29 appearances (4 as sub), 1 goal, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 7 yellow cards, 6.96 rating 2013-14: Man City: 2 games (2 as sub), 6.55 rating 2014-15: Man City 1 game (1 as sub), 6.50 rating 2015-16: Nottingham Forest (loan) 36 games, 1 goal, 14 assists, 5 MOMs, 5 yellows, 7.26 rating Career Total: 76 games (9 as sub), 3 goals, 17 assists Achievements: 2013: European U-21 Championship winner 2013: U-20 World Cup 3rd place 2015: League Cup winner (Man City) 2016: English Young Player of the Year Runner-Up Summary: After one season out on loan to show his ability, Marc is back with Man City and he finally looks to have earned the trust of his manager to play regularly in the first team. The defensive midfielder is a real workhorse but he also has a very technically capable side to him as he can pass well, has an eye for the incisive pass and is constantly in the right place at the right time. |
Rob Nielsen, Striker
Club: Valencia (Spanish Liga BBVA) International: USA (25 caps, 11 goals) Value: 6,250,000 pounds Code:
2010-11: Bournemouth 10 appearances, 2 goals, 2 assists, 2 yellow cards, 6.45 rating 2011-12: Bolton 6 appearances, 1 goal, 6.53 rating 2012-13: Bolton 5 appearances, 3 goals, 1 yellow, 7.04 rating 2013-14: Bolton 19 games (1 as sub), 4 goals, 1 MOM, 6.44 rating 2014-15: Bolton 16 games, 2 goals, 2 yellows, 6.45 rating 2015-16: Valencia 37 games (8 as sub), 11 goals, 1 assist, 5 yellows, 6.76 rating Career Totals: 93 games (9 as sub), 23 goals, 3 assists Achievements: 2013: North American Gold Cup runners-up 2016: Spanish Cup winner (Valencia) Summary: Rob is a physical freak and is real handful to handle upfront. His ability to finish moves is also a real plus for Valencia, which is why they consider him indispensable. It was a shock that Valencia came in for him but he has shown he could develop into a really special striker. Setback at the start of this season though as he broke his arm during pre-season training and will miss the first few games as he rehabs the injury. |
Daniel Ertmann, Striker
Club: Chelsea International: England (22 U-21 caps, 16 goals) Value: 13,000,000 pounds Code:
2010-11: Liverpool 3 appearances (2 as sub), 1 goal, 6.60 rating 2011-12: Liverpool 1 appearance (6.40 rating) Coventry (loan) 16 appearances, 7 goals, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 1 yellow card, 7.03 rating 2012-13: West Ham (loan) 4 appearances (1 as sub), 6.17 rating 2013-14: Sporting 15 games (2 as sub), 3 goals, 1 yellow, 6.67 rating 2014-15: Sporting 29 games, 21 goals, 4 assist, 2 MOMs, 1 yellow, 7.20 rating 2015-16: Sporting 18 games, 15 goals, 3 assists, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 1 red, 7.36 rating Chelsea 17 games (1 as sub), 10 goals, 1 MOM, 7.22 rating Career Totals:103 games (6 as sub), 57 goals, 9 assists Achievements: 2012: European U-19 Championship runner-up 2013: European U-21 Championship winner 2013: U-20 World Cup 3rd place 2016: League Cup winner (Chelsea) Summary: Daniel will be looking to build on a successful 2nd half of last season this time around and hopefully push for the full England squad. He has an astounding goal-scoring record, averaging a goal every 1.8 games. He is slightly less of a physical specimen compared to Dean and Rob but he makes up for it with a more rounded set of abilities. |
Jace Hunter, Goalkeeper
Club: Sampdoria International: Canada (32 caps) Value: 825,000 pounds Code:
2010-11: Barcelona B 7 appearances, 14 conceded, 1 clean sheet, 6.33 rating 2011-12: Barcelona 0 appearances 2012-13: CS Sedan Ardennes (Ligue 2 side, loan) 19 games (1 as a sub), 12 conceded, 11 clean sheets, 7.22 rating 2013-14: Sampdoria 1 game, 3 conceded, 5.20 rating 2014-15: Sampdoria 2 games, 3 conceded, 6.60 rating 2015-16: Sampdoria 0 games Career Totals: 29 games (1 as sub), 32 conceded Achievements: 2012: Spanish U-19 Group 2 winner 2013: Helped CS Sedan Ardennes to get promotion to Ligue 1 2015: North American Gold Cup 2nd place 2x Ligue 2 Team of the Week Summary: Jace Hunter's career has stalled at this stage. He is still only a back-up for Sampdoria and he may be destined to being a career back-up. There is some slight degradation of stats already but hopefully that's just a lack of playing time and not a sign of bad things to come. |
Julio O'Donnell, Defender (C)
Club: Birmingham International: England (29 U-21 caps) Value: 5,250,000 Code:
2010-11: Birmingham 3 appearances (2 as sub), 7.15 rating Watford (loan) 13 appearances, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 7 yellows, 7.32 rating 2011-12: Birmingham 13 appearances (2 as sub), 2 assists, 1 MOM, 7 yellows, 6.92 rating Doncaster (loan) 22 appearances, 2 assists, 5 MOMs, 6 yellows, 1 red, 7.59 rating 2012-13: Birmingham 30 appearances, 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 11 yellows, 1 red, 7.25 rating 2013-14: Birmingham 26 games, 3 assists, 4 MOMs, 7 yellows, 1 red, 6.90 rating 2014-15: Birmingham 20 games (2 as sub), 7 yellows, 2 reds, 6.90 rating 2015-16: Birmingham 35 games, 2 assists, 2 MOMs, 10 yellows, 7.15 rating Career Totals: 162 games (6 as sub), 2 goals, 12 assists Achievements: 2012: European U-19 Championship 2nd place 2013: European U-21 Championship winner 2013: U-20 World Cup 3rd place 1x Birmingham Supporters Player of the Year 4x Premier League Young Player of the Month 7x Premier League Team of the Week 1x League 1 Young Player of the Month award 4x League 1 Team of the Week Summary: Julio is regarded as one of the best young centrebacks in England right now and you can understand why. He's fast, strong, tackles well ... perhaps the biggest criticism against him is that he can be a bit passive at times but that's if you really want to split hairs. He's wondering when England will cap him but at least he's happy again at Birmingham. |
To be continued.
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Ahhh, my teamwork rating is right where it should be. Just give him the damn ball and get out of his way.
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Bernard Blaze, Midfielder (R) / Attacking Midfielder (R)
Club: Man City International: England (24 U-21 caps, 5 goals) Value: 2,400,000 Code:
2010-11: Watford 45 games, 2 goals, 16 assists, 2 MOMs, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.10 rating 2011-12: Man City 1 game, 1 goal, 1 MOM, 8.40 rating Coventry (loan) 30 games, 7 goals, 9 assists, 9 MOMs, 7.56 rating 2012-13: Man City 1 game, 1 assist, 8.20 rating 2013-14: Man City, 1 game, 6.60 rating 2014-15: Man City, 3 games, 1 goal, 6.60 rating 2015-16: Man City, 9 games, 1 goal, 2 assists, 6.76 rating Career Totals: 90 games, 12 goals, 28 assists Achievements: 2012: European U-19 Championship runners-up 2013: European U-21 Championship winner 2013: U-20 World Cup 3rd place 1x Premier League Team of the Week 1x Championship Young Player of the Month 2x Championship Team of the Week 2x League 1 Young Player of the Month 2x League 1 Team of the Week Summary: Bernard has had a difficult past few years as he was unable to get regular first team football. He maintained a good attitude though and is on the cusp of regular first team football this year. Whenever given the chance, he has delivered on most occasions and that boils down to the fact that he has a really ideal skill set as a winger (fast, creative, good crossing and passing). He is never going to be terribly useful on the defensive end though. Bernard broke his arm at the start of this season and will be out for a few weeks. |
Frank Justice, Attacking Midfielder (C) / Midfielder (C)
Club: Man Utd International: England (1 cap) Value: 5,250,000 Code:
2010-11: Norwich 16 appearances, 2 goals, 1 assist, 2 yellows, 6.89 rating 2011-12: Norwich 37 appearances, 5 goals, 6 assists, 2 yellow cards, 6.99 rating 2012-13: Norwich 24 appearances, 7 goals, 9 assists, 1 yellow card, 7.29 rating 2013-14: Man Utd 18 games, 5 goals, 2 assists, 1 yellow, 7.24 rating 2014-15: Man Utd, 20 games, 3 goals, 1 assist, 2 yellows, 7.13 rating 2015-16: Man Utd, 19 games, 3 goals, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 2 yellows, 7.18 rating Career Totals: 134 games, 25 goals, 21 assists Achievements: 2013: English Community Shield winner 1x Premier League Young Player of the Month 1x Premier League Team of the Week 1x Championship Young Player of the Month 1x Championship Team of the Week Summary: Frank was given the no. 6 shirt this season and hopes were high he was going to be a first team regular. Oddly though, he has not played any competitive games so far. He is a very well-regarded player because he brings so much offensive talent when on the pitch because he can dribble, hold the ball, pass, be creative and makes the right decisions. His drawback is that he isn't the most defensive player around as he has limitations in that aspect of his game. |
Path Twelve, Defensive Midfielder / Midfielder (C)
Club: AJ Auxerre (French Ligue 1) International: France (5 U-21 caps) Value: 1,100,000 pounds Code:
2010-11: FC Mulhouse 41 appearances (2 as sub), 3 goals, 8 assists, 4 MOMs, 13 yellows, 2 reds, 6.98 rating 2011-12: Sunderland 1 appearance (1 as sub), 6.40 rating Norwich (loan) 15 appearances (3 as sub), 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 yellows, 6.84 rating 2012-13: Norwich (loan) 17 appearances (7 as sub), 1 assist, 2 yellows, 6.53 rating 2013-14: Norwich (loan) 19 games (3 as sub), 2 yellows, 6.47 rating 2014-15: Norwich (loan) 19 games (2 as sub), 1 assist, 4 yellows, 6.70 rating 2015-16: Sunderland 1 game (1 as sub), 1 goal, 7.60 rating Career Totals: 113 games (19 as sub), 5 goals, 11 assists Achievements: None Summary: On the bright side, Path hasn't suffered any serious injuries the past few seasons. On the flip side though, he hasn't been able to establish himself in England, hence his transfer back to France to Auxerre for 1.1 million pounds. Hopefully he gets registered for the first team squad because he is currently not registered at all, which would mean another wasted year. Path is the quintessential "water carrier", the role that Deschamps made famous. He isn't going to be the player that hogs the attention but he will work hard on the pitch, get the ball and then pass it to another teammate. |
Ubaldo Geronimo, Striker
Club: Napoli International: Mexico (15 U-21 caps, 14 goals) Value: 1,200,000 Code:
2010-11: Luton 20 appearances, 6 goals, 3 assists, 1 MOM, 3 yellow cards, 6.82 rating 2011-12: Luton 3 appearances, 3 goals, 1 MOM, 1 yellow, 7.30 rating Napoli 1 appearance (1 as sub), 5.90 rating 2012-13: Napoli 0 appearances 2013-14: Napoli 1 game (1 as sub), 1 assist, 7.10 rating Kaiserslautern (loan) 3 games, 3 goals, 1 MOM, 7.30 rating 2014-15: SC Wiener Neustadt (loan) 24 games, 13 goals, 6 assists, 1 MOM, 7.37 rating 2015-16: Napoli 4 games (1 as sub), 1 yellow, 6.47 rating Career Totals: 56 games (3 as sub), 25 goals, 10 assists Achievements: 2012: Blue Square Premier champion 2012: FA Trophy champion 1x German First Division Team of the Week Summary: Ubaldo's career is still a mystery. He's finally fed-up at Napoli and is now transfer listed at his request. Not much interest in his services though although there is a report that Bursaspor in the Turkish League is interested in signing him. When he has been given the chance, he has played well, as evidenced by his good goal/game ratio. This is largely down to the fact that he has pace and skill to beat his man and get into goalscoring positions. However, he just hasn't been able to convince the Napoli staff that he deserved a chance. |
Will Brown, Striker
Club: Aston Villa International: USA (16 caps, 5 goals) Value: 3,600,000 Code:
2010-11: Stevenage 14 appearances, 5 goals, 1 MOM, 2 yellow cards, 6.84 rating 2011-12: Wolves 8 appearances (3 as sub), 2 goals, 6.70 rating 2012-13: Wolves 8 appearances (2 as sub), 2 goals, 6.47 rating Southampton (loan, League 1) 10 appearances, 8 goals, 3 assists, 2 MOMs, 3 yellow cards, 7.40 rating 2013-14: Aston Villa, 20 games (5 as sub), 8 goals, 2 yellows, 1 red, 6.81 rating 2014-15: Aston Villa, 12 games (1 as sub), 3 goals, 2 assists, 2 yellows, 6.72 rating 2015-16: Aston Villa, 2 games (1 as sub), 2 goals, 7.50 rating Achievements: 2013: North American Gold Cup 2nd place 1x League 1 Team of the Week 1x League 2 Team of the Week Summary: Will is happy at Villa right now and is looking forward to a good season with the club. He missed out most of the last season with torn cruciate ligaments and it may take him a while to get back to goalscoring form. Luckily it doesn't appear to have robbed him of his pace. Will is a finisher, plain and simple, and you really can't expect him to add much more to the team. |
2016 European Championship Summary
It was a shocking result in the 2016 European Championship when Belgium beat Russia on penalties in the finals. (Not summarising because I think there might be a problem with the Euro Championship. 16 teams out of 24 qualified for the next round, which doesn't seem right) |
2016/17 End of Season Summary
Dean Hoo had a good first season with Arsenal (46 games, 21 goals, 1 MOM, 7 yellows, 6.97 rating). While they didn't win the League (2nd place), they did manage to win the Champions League title. Marc Vaughan finally had a full season with the Man City first team (32 games, 5 goals, 3 assists, 1 MOM, 2 yellows, 7.30 rating) and he played really well. No trophies this year though Man City managed 4th place in the league. Rob Nielsen's Valencia came in 6th in Liga BBVA and there were no trophies for Rob this year either. However, he managed to play well for his club (32 games, 12 goals, 8 yellows, 6.83 rating) and is tutoring a youngster called Jonathan. Daniel Ertmann earned his first cap for England this year and he now thinks of Alan Shearer (the England manager) as his favoured personnel. Good yaer for Daniel with Chelsea (31 games, 15 goals, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 2 yellows, 1 red, 7.05 rating) but no trophies and a 5th placed finish will make it a little less satisfying. Jace Hunter did not play at all for Sampdoria again and his contract is running down. Sampdoria have placed a contract on the table but it's an open question whether he will re-sign. Julio O'Donnell had another really good year for Birmingham (29 games, 6 MOMs, 7 yellows, 7.45 rating) but he wants out again as the club isn't a real achiever (11th in the Premier League). Birmingham will not want to sell but if Leverkusen comes in with a real offer, it might be hard for them to resist. Bernard Blaze also had his first full season with Man City's first team and performed well (22 games, 5 goals, 6 assists, 1 MOM, 6.95 rating). He should be getting called up for England soon if he can keep getting regular playing time. Frank Justice was a regular for the Man Utd team after all (34 games, 5 goals, 8 assists, 4 yellows, 7.33 rating) but they only managed 3rd place in the league. They did win the FA Cup though. It will be a little disappointing for Frank that he still only has that one cap for England so far. Path Twelve had an ok season with Auxerre (14th in Ligue 1), managing 16 games, 2 assists, 6 yellow cards and a 6.34 rating. He is regarded as an important first team player and he will be looking to build on this season. Ubaldo Geronimo's nightmare spell at Napoli is finally coming to an end after this season. He only played 3 games (2 goals, 2 yellows, 7.13 rating) and despite playing well, still wasn't given regular playing time. He finally had enough and was given a practically free transfer to West Bromwich Albion (14th in the Premier League). Will Brown had an ok season with Villa (20 games, 6 goals, 1 assist, 3 yellows, 6.61 rating). He would probably like more playing time but is still content with life at the club, especially since he likes playing upfront with Gabby Agbonholar. |
2016/17 Winners
English Premier League Winner: Liverpool (first time in 27 years) 2nd place: Arsenal 3rd place: Man Utd FA Cup: Man Utd beats Tottenham 2-0 League Cup: Blackburn beats Liverpool 3-1 Footballer of the Year: Miguel Veloso - Man Utd (1st), Jack Wilshire - Arsenal (2nd), Pato - Liverpool (3rd) Manager of the Year: Stuart Pearce (Liverpool) Player's Player of the Year: Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal (1st), Sergio Busquets - Liverpool (2nd), James McCarthy - Wigan (3rd) Player's Young Player of the Year: Mensur Hila - Everton (1st), Frank Justice - Nottingham Forest (2nd), Martin Kokoska - Huddersfield (3rd) Top Scorer: Pato - Liverpool (31 goals), Wayne Rooney - Man Utd (19 goals), Gabby Agbonholar - Aston Villa (17 goals) Italian Serie A Winner: Juventus (1st in 13 years) 2nd place: Catania 3rd place: Palermo Italian Cup: Catania beats Lazio 2-0 (Catania's 2nd in 4 years, Lazio's 2nd successive loss in the finals and 3rd in 5 years) Spanish La Liga Winner: Real Madrid 2nd place: Sevilla 3rd place: Barcelona Spanish Cup: Sevilla beats Osasuna 2-1 Player of the Year: Mesut Ozil - Real Madrid (1st), Gerard Pique - Barcelona (2nd), Cicinho - Sevilla (3rd) Top Goalscorer: Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid (22 goals), Sergio Aguero - Atletico Madrid (19 goals), Joao Silva - Deportivo (18 goals) French Ligue 1 Winner: Lyon (5x in a row) 2nd place: PSG (2x in a row) 3rd place: Montpellier French Cup: Lyon beats Angers 2-1 Coupe de la Ligue: Marseille beats St Etienne 2-0 (Marseille's 4th in 5 years) German Bundesliga Winner: Hoffenheim (1st ever) 2nd place: Leverkusen (3x in a row) 3rd place: Bayern German Cup: HSV beats Koln 2-0 Champions League Arsenal beats Lyon on penalties (1-1 after extra time, 8-7 on penalties) Euro Cup Barcelona beats Benfica 2-0 Summary: Liverpool finally win the league after a 27 year wait, pipping Arsenal by 1 point. Man Utd rounded out the top 3. Arsenal did manage to win the Champions League by the skin of their teeth, beating Lyon, while Man Utd also added some silverware with a FA Cup win over Tottenham. Man City were 4th, Chelsea 5th, Villa 6th and Birmingham 11th. In Italy, Juventus also broke a 13 year duck by winning the Serie A. Catania was a surprise package, coming in 2nd and also winning the Italian Cup. Sad news for Parma as it was relegated this year. Real Madrid finally won a league title and Barcelona underperformed in 3rd place. Sevilla, a revelation in recent years, were 2nd and also won the Spanish Cup. Barcelona did manage to regain some pride by winning the Euro Cup. Over in France, Lyon continues to be the team, winning their 5th successive title as well as a French Cup. They nearly managed a treble but Arsenal beat them in the finals. The League Cup should be renamed the Marseille Cup as they won their 4th cup in 5 years. Auxerre was 14th placed (out of 20) but were never in real dange of being dragged into the relegation fight (15 points clear of 18th place). A surprising win for Hoffenhein in Germany as they win a historic first ever Bundesliga title. Leverkusen came in 2nd for another year running and Bayern dropped to 3rd. |
2017/18 Start of Season Update
Dean Hoo is one of the first names down on the team sheet at Arsenal and will be looking to lead the team back to the top of the Premier League. Worth 23 million now and capped 12 times for England (11 goals). Marc Vaughan is also a regular at Man City and he will want to drive the team to some silverware this year. Valued at 3.3 million and capped 4 times for England. Rob Nielsen is another player that will be looking to win some silverware this year with Valencia but it will always be hard against the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid. The US international is valued at 6.25 million and was recently inducted into the Valencia all-time best 11. Daniel Ertmann may be challenging for the top scorer award this year in England and Chelsea will need his goals if they want to improve on last year's standing. The England international (8 caps, 9 goals) is valued at 11.5 million. In shocking news, Jace Hunter now has no club. He refused to sign a contract with Sampdoria but, after leaving as a free agent, he has found that no one is interested in signing him as yet. There are indications Portsmouth (Championship) and non-league German side SVW Mannheim are interested in him though. Julio O'Donnell did leave Birmingham for Leverkusen in a 11.5 million pound move, as Leverkusen strengthened their squad to regain their German league title. He has been really good in early games for his new club. Bernard Blaze forms part of the Man City midfield with Marc Vaughan. He has been playing really well early in the season and is currently valued at 3.9 million. Frank Justice is one of the key figures in the Man Utd midfield and he will be their creative force again this year. Valued at 7.75 million. Path Twelve is very well regarded in Auxerre and he is considerd indispensable. Now valued at 2.7 million pounds and he will need to play well to keep Auxerre safe. Ubaldo Geronimo's West Brom adventure is beginning. He has managed 1 cup appearance so far (1 assist, 7.40 rating) but has not featured in the league as yet. He was finally capped by Mexico in a game against Canada (but he only came on for a few minutes). He was part of the Mexico Gold Cup winning team. Will Brown is a squad player in Aston Villa now. He isn't match fit because he could not take part in the pre-season games after taking part in the US Gold Cup campaign. Valued at 3.9 million. |
2017 Gold Cup summary
A tournament which was won by Mexico comfortably in the end, 2-0 over Trinidad and Tobago. Mexico had disposed of the US in the semi-finals 2-1 but the US managed to win the 3rd place play-off 4-1 over El Salvador. The US campaign went as follows: 3-1 over Panama (Rob Nielsen scored 1) 1-2 loss to Jamaica 2-1 win over Haiti (Rob Nielsen scored 1) 4-0 win over Guatemala in the quarter finals (Rob Nielsen scored 3) 2-1 loss to Mexico in the semi-finals (Rob Nielsen scored 1) 4-1 win over El Salvador in the 3rd place play-off (Rob Nielsen scored 3) As can be seen, Rob Nielsen was a standout for the US team, with 9 goals in 6 games in the tournament. Canada on the other hand lost in the quarter finals to Mexico (4-0). Their campaign results: 3-2 loss to El Salvador 3-2 loss to Honduras 3-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago 4-0 loss to Mexico Jace may have conceded a lot of goals but he was actually keeping Canada in games. He had an overall rating of 7.13 which was dragged down by his 6.1 performance in the horrible loss to Mexico. |
We are not losing to Mexico again.
The Spanish siestas and vats of sangria are quite nice in my league play, though. |
Very pleased with the move to Leverkusen. Hopefully the move to a top team that also plays in the Champions League will make a call up for the national team a bit more likely.
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What are we now age wise...23/24ish?
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Quote:
You only scored vs Mexico because I had a spread to make. |
Spoken from someone so bad he can't even play for West Freakin' Brom.
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Nielsen's lucky I'm not a keeper this time around.
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What, you would actually want to be known as the keeper who gave up 10 goals in one match to the same person?
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All around 25/26 years old.
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2017/18 Winners
English Premier League Winner: Man Utd (first time in 5 years) 2nd place: Man City 3rd place: Arsenal FA Cup: Man City beats Swansea (Championship) 3-0 (Marc Vaughan came on after 70 mins, 6.5 rating; Bernard Blaze not in the squad) League Cup: Arsenal beats Man Utd 4-0 (Dean Hoo scores the 4th goal, 8.1 rating; Frank Justice 6.9 rating) Footballer of the Year: Wayne Rooney - Man Utd (1st), Jack Wilshire - Arsenal (2nd), Andrea Poli - Birmingham (3rd) Manager of the Year: Edwin van der Sar (Man Utd) Player's Player of the Year: Cicinho - Liverpool (1st), Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal (2nd), Moussa Sissoko - Chelsea (3rd) Player's Young Player of the Year: Ibrahim Sangul - Tottenham (1st), Alan White - West Ham (2nd), Mensur Hila - Everton (3rd) Top Scorer: Wayne Rooney - Man Utd (29 goals), Daniel Ertmann - Chelsea (21 goals), Franco di Santo - Fulham (21 goals) Italian Serie A Winner: Inter (1st in 4 years) 2nd place: Catania (2x in a row) 3rd place: Juventus Italian Cup: Napoli beats Juventus 2-1 after extra time Spanish La Liga Winner: Real Madrid (2x in a row) 2nd place: Sevilla (2x in a row) 3rd place: Barcelona (2x in a row) Spanish Cup: Almeria beats Barcelona 1-0 (Almeria's first ever major trophy) Player of the Year: Eden Hazard - Real Madrid (1st), Juan Manuel Mata - Valencia (2nd), Mauricio Pereyra - Atletico Madrid (3rd) Top Goalscorer: Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid (26 goals), Lacine Traore - Sevilla (23 goals), Bruno - Almeria (18 goals) (Ronaldo's 6th scoring title in 7 years!) French Ligue 1 Winner: Lyon (6x in a row) 2nd place: PSG (3x in a row) 3rd place: Montpellier (2x in a row) French Cup: AS Nancy Lorraine beats Bordeux 3-2 Coupe de la Ligue: Lyon beats Marseille 3-1 German Bundesliga Winner: Leverkusen 2nd place: Hoffenheim 3rd place: Bayern (2x in a row) German Cup: Karlsruhe beats Leverkusen 2-1 (Julio O'Donnell not in the squad) Champions League Arsenal beats Atletico Madrid 3-1 (Arsenal 2x in a row; Dean Hoo 6.6 rating) Euro Cup Chelsea beats CSKA Moscow 2-0 (Daniel Ertmann scores 1st goal, 7.6 rating) Summary: Over in England, Man Utd is back at the top after a long absence, winning the league by 4 points over Man City. Arsenal dropped to 3rd but they managed to defend their Champions League title and win the League Cup. Man City also won silverware, winning the FA Cup by beating Championship side Swansea in the finals. Chelsea ended in 4th place but managed to win the Euro Cup, Villa in 7th and West Brom was 11th. In Italy, another big club finally won the league title, as Inter won the Serie A. Catania continued its recent fine form, coming in 2nd for a second year while last year's winner Juventus dropped to 3rd. In Spain, it was a repeat of last season's finish, as Real won the title ahead of Sevilla and Barcelona. Barcelona suffered a shock upset in the Spanish Cup finals when unfancied Almeria beat them to win their first major trophy ever. Valencia came in 5th. Lyon continue to dominate the French League, winning the title by 18 points over perennial 2nd place PSG. The French Cup was won by AS Nancy Lorraine and Lyon did a mini-domestic double when they beat Marseille in the League Cup final. Auxerre nearly got relegated, coming in 17th and only avoiding relegation by goal difference. Leverkusen regained their German League title, finishing 1 point ahead of last year's winner, Hoffenheim. Bayern came in 3rd again. Leverkusen were not able to complete a double as they were beaten in the German Cup final by unfancied Karlsruhe. |
2017/18 End of Season Summary:
Dean Hoo had a pretty good year for Arsenal (52 games, 21 goals, 4 assists, 1 MOM, 8 yellows, 7.01 rating) but one wishes he would score a tad more. He won the Champions League, the League Cup and the European Super Cup with the Gunners this year and was on the shortlist for the World Golden Ball (essentially the World's best player). He was also named to the Champions League Dream Team. Marc Vaughan had another steady season for Man City (37 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 yellows, 7.15 rating) and was part of the Man City side that won the FA Cup. Rob Nielsen had a decent season with Valencia (32 games, 14 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 5 yellows, 6.89 rating) but was unable to push Valencia to any silverware this year. Daniel Ertmann was spectacular this season (45 games, 33 goals, 4 assists, 1 MOM, 5 yellows, 7.38 rating). He was a real star for Chelsea and his partnership with Eyan Derdiyok is scary for opposition teams. He won the Euro Cup this year and was also the runner up in the Premier League Golden Boot as well as being named to the Premier League Team of the Year as a starter. Jace Hunter still has no club even though there is a bunch of interest from clubs to sign him (Bristol Rovers, Bari, Brescia, Livorno are the more notable ones). He has 50 caps for Canada. Julio O'Donnell was fantastic in his first year with Leverkusen (42 games, 4 assists, 8 MOMs, 16 yellows, 1 red, 7.51 rating), anchoring the defence of the league champions. His performances finally got him a call-up to the England team as well. He was named to the German League Team of the Year as a starter and was also awarded the Defender of the Year title. Bernard Blaze was good for Man City but might not have gotten as much playing time as he liked (23 games, 5 goals, 7 assists, 1 MOM, 7.06 rating). So far, he has never been part of any Man City squad in a cup final, unlike his teammate Marc Vaughan, which will be a bit disappointing for Bernard. Frank Justice was a key part of the Man Utd team that won the Premier League (34 games, 9 goals, 6 assists, 1 MOM, 7 yellows, 7.26 rating). He also received a runners-up medal for the League Cup, a game he will want to forget. Still only capped once for England though. Path Twelve was a regular for an Auxerre side that nearly got relegated (28 games, 2 goals, 3 assists, 6 yellows, 1 red, 6.40 rating). He is a little frustrated as he feels the team is underperforming but he hasn't indicated he wants to leave. Ubaldo Geronimo's first season in England with WBA is a tad disappointing (16 games, 2 goals, 2 assists, 2 yellows, 2 reds, 6.70 rating). His disciplinary record was appalling enough that he was dropped for a bit but he looks happy enough to stay on at WBA. Will Brown showed he has an eye for goal (25 games, 10 goals, 2 assists, 2 MOM, 4 yellows, 6.88 rating) with Aston Villa. No trophies for Villa this year and they just missed out on a place in Europe as well. |
2018 World Cup summary
Spain, Japan, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, Turkey, Brazil, Egypt, USA, Denmark, England, Paraguay, France, Colombia, South Korea and Argentina qualified from the group stages for the last 16. The most surprising elimination was Holland, while Canada was also eliminated (played 3, lost 3, scored 1, conceded 6). In the last 16, Mexico beat Spain 1-0, Italy beat Japan 1-0, Switzerland beat Egypt 2-0, Brazil beat Turkey 1-0, USA beat Paraguay 3-1, England beat Denmark 3-1, Argentina beat France 1-0 and Colombia beat South Korea on penalties. The quarter finals saw Mexico beat Brazil 1-0, Italy beat Switzerland 3-0, Colombia beat the US 2-1 and England beat Argentina 2-1. England then beat Mexico 3-1 in the semi-finals and Italy beat Colombia 2-1. Mexico ended in 3rd place, beating Colombia 2-1 in the 3rd place play-off. England won the World Cup, beating Italy 3-1 in the finals after extra time. Dean Hoo and Daniel Ertmann started upfront for England and Dean Hoo scored the 3rd goal. Ubaldo Geronimo was in the squad but did not get any playing time. For the US, in the group stages, they drew 1-1 with South Africa, beat Denmark 2-0 and drew with Croatia 2-2. Rob Nielsen, who started every game, scored a goal in the 3-1 win over Paraguay and the consolation goal in the 2-1 loss to Colombia. Will Brown also appeared in a couple of group games. For England, they beat Paragruay 3-1 (Dean Hoo 2 goals), Iran 3-1, and the Czech Republic 3-0 in the group stages.They then beat Denmark 3-1, Argentina 2-1, Mexico 3-1 (Daniel Ertmann 2 goals, Dean Hoo), and Italy in the finals (Dean Hoo). Marc Vaughan and Frank Justice were also part of the World Cup winning team. The World Cup's best player was Ramires but Dean Hoo was 2nd placed. Dean Hoo was named as a starter in the World Cup Dream Team while Daniel Ertmann was named as a sub. |
This dynasty rocks. Would love to get in if/when you do a new batch at some point.
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Thanks RPI-Fan but not sure I'll download any editors to add players. May start another one after this one dies, we'll see how it goes.
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Start of Season 2018/19
Dean Hoo is a superstar now after his exploits at the 2018 World Cup. Valued at 29 million, he will be looking to drive Arsenal to a league title this year. To show how serious the Gunners are, they recently signed Hila Mensure, a standout fullback at Everton for 18.5 million, and 33 year old Cristiano Ronaldo for 9.25 million. Marc Vaughan has been given a rest after the World Cup but he is going to hope that this rest does not become an extended one because Aaron Ramsey signed for Man City on a free transfer and is now one of the first choice central midfielders. Man City also signed a young Brazilian star in Leandrinho, who can play as a fullback or midfielder on both wings. Rob Nielsen wears the no.9 shirt in Valencia and is one of the first choice forwards (his partner is Mame Biram Diouf). The club's big signing for the off-season was once promising Frenchman Henri Saivet, a winger, and there are hopes he can deliver threatening balls into the box for Rob to attack. Daniel Ertmann has started the season in ridiculous fashion (6 goals in 5 games) and he may win the scoring title this year. He is another superstar in football and he will be looking to resume his fruitful partnership with Eren Derdiyok. The big transfer for Chelsea this year was Ivan Parada, a young Spanish international rightback. Jace Hunter finally has a chance to be the no.1 keeper after he signed with Livorno in Serie A. Hopefully he can prove his worth otherwise he might find himself out of work again. Julio O'Donnell is possibly the best defender in Germany and he is going to want to keep that title as well as help his club retain their league title. The big transfer for Leverkusen was Zakaria Labayad, a Dutch international midfielder. Bernard Blaze is also a squad rotation player at Man City. He has played very well in 1 game so far (1 goal, 7.90 rating) and hopes that will be enough for him to keep a starting spot. Technically speaking though, 30 year old Brazilian Renato Augusto is ahead of him in the pecking order. Frank Justice will continue to be the creative lynchpin for the Man Utd midfield. He finds himself paired with Ghanian international Kwadwo Asamoah, with Kwadwo focusing more on defence. Man Utd signed a Dutch international defender (Ricky van Hout) as well as a surprising signing in Junior Stanislas from Sunderland. Surprising because Junior isn't exceptional but Man Utd paid 13 million for him. Path Twelve is at Auxerre and he is a first choice central midfielder for the club. Auxerre play very defensively and have paired him with another defensive midfielder in 30 year old Stanislas Oliviera, a Portugese journeyman. Ubaldo Geronimo is showing signs of settling down at WBA (1 game, 1 goal, 7.80 rating so far). However, there is a reason why Ubaldo does not get as much game time ... WBA play a one-striker formation and he competes with 34 year old Nelson Valdez (a Paraguay international with 117 caps!) for the starting spot. The big transfer for WBA is the 3.7 million pound signing of Serge Aurier, a right back from AC Milan. Will Brown is going to be hoping that he isn't going to be relegated to the bench again this year as he hasn't been given any playing time and is lacking match fitness. The current starting line up for Villa is Gabby Agbonholar (31 year old England striker) and Chris Malonga (31 year old Congo striker). The most expensive signing for Villa this year was 27 year old Brice Dja Djedje for 4 million from Kayserispor. |
2018/19 Winners
English Premier League Winner: Man Utd (2x in a row) 2nd place: Chelsea 3rd place: Liverpool FA Cup: Everton beats Tottenham 2-1 League Cup: Arsenal beats Birmingham 1-0 (Dean Hoo 6.8 rating) Footballer of the Year: Wayne Rooney - Man Utd (1st), Edinson Cavani - Tottenham (2nd), Jack Wilshire - Arsenal (3rd) Manager of the Year: Thorstein Helstad (Wolves) Player's Player of the Year: Moussa Sissoko - Chelsea (1st), Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal (2nd), Cicinho - Liverpool (3rd) Player's Young Player of the Year: Ibrahim Sangul - Tottenham (1st), Mensur Hila - Arsenal (2nd), Frederico Maggi - West Ham (3rd) Top Scorer: Wayne Rooney - Man Utd (24 goals), Edin Dzeko - Tottenham (24 goals), Edinson Cavani - Tottenham (21 goals) Italian Serie A Winner: Juventus (2nd in 3 years) 2nd place: Catania (3x in a row) 3rd place: Roma Italian Cup: AC Milan beats Catania 3-2 Spanish La Liga Winner: Sevilla (2nd in its history, first one in 1946) 2nd place: Real Madrid 3rd place: Barcelona (3x in a row) Spanish Cup: Atletico Madrid beats Real Madrid 2-1 Player of the Year: Alexis Sanchez - Barcelona (1st), Juan Manuel Mata - Valencia (2nd), Gerard Pique - Barcelona (3rd) Top Goalscorer: Iker Muniain - Athletic (24 goals), Sergio Aguero - Atletico Madrid (22 goals), Lacine Traore - Sevilla (17 goals) French Ligue 1 Winner: Lyon (7x in a row) 2nd place: PSG (4x in a row) 3rd place: Monaco French Cup: Lyon beats Lille 3-2 Coupe de la Ligue: Montpellier beats Lyon 3-2 German Bundesliga Winner: Bayern 2nd place: Leverkusen 3rd place: Frankfurt German Cup: Bayern beats Hannover 2-1 Champions League Real Madrid beats Bayern 3-2 Euro Cup Hoffenheim beats Dynamo Kyiv 2-1 Summary: Man Utd defend their title in England with a 2 point margin over Chelsea. Liverpool and Man City were 3rd and 4th, both 3 points behind Man Utd, in a really tight race. Arsenal were a distant 5th on 69 points, very disappointing for them. Villa were 7th and again miss out on Europe next year. West Brom were relegated in 19th place, pretty much on the last day of the season. Juventus win Serie A for their 2nd title in 3 years. Catania were again runners-up and they will definitely feel hard done by because they were level on points with Juventus and had a superior +10 goal difference ... the problem is that Serie A looks at the head-to-head record as a tie-breaker first and that gave Juventus the title. Ridiculously close. AC Milan beat Catania in the Italian Cup final to add more salt to injury. Sevilla are the surprise winners in the Spanish La Liga, only their 2nd title in their history. Real Madrid were level on points but lost the title on goal difference. Valencia came in 4th, 12 points behind Sevilla and Real Madrid. Atletico Madrid won a fiercely contested Spanish Cup finals against arch-rivals Real but Real made up for all this with a win over Bayern in the Champions League final. In France, Lyon remain unstoppable as they win their 7th title in successive years. PSG are a very distant 2nd, 22 points behind Lyon. Lyon also nearly managed a domestic treble, winning the French Cup but losing in the League Cup to Montpellier (12th in Ligue 1). Auxerre (17th) again flirted with relegation but escaped on the last day. Bayern regained their title in the Bundesliga, edging Leverkusen on goal difference on the last day. They did the domestic double by winning the German Cup as well. Hoffenheim came in 4th in the German league but won the Euro Cup to continue their recent fine form. |
2018/19 End of Season Summary:
Dean Hoo will probably be disappointed with this season (49 games, 18 goals, 4 assists, 1 MOM, 11 yellows, 6.98 rating) because Arsenal failed to win any of the trophies that mattered. The League Cup, Club World Championship and European Super Cup are minor trophies and the worst part is the 5th placed finish in the league. He did have a good rapport with Cristiano Ronaldo though as they pair finished with 45 goals between them. Marc Vaughan had a season to forget (17 games, 3 goals, 2 assists, 1 yellow, 7.14 rating). It's not that he didn't play well when he got on the pitch, it's just that he had such few chances. It didn't help that he broke his collarbone in August and missed 6 weeks (plus a few weeks more to get back into game shape). Rob Nielsen also had limited appearances this year (17 games, 10 goals, 1 assist, 2 MOMs, 4 yellows, 7.03 rating) because he missed 4 months with knee tendinitis. Hopefully it's not going to be an issue for him going forward. He did have a really good scoring record this season and is going to be looking to push the US to Gold Cup glory. Daniel Ertmann is recognised as one of the top European strikers (runner-up in the European Striker of the Year award) and one of the world's best (named in the 2019 World Team of the Year). He was also shortlisted for the 2018 World Golden Ball and named to the Champions League Dream Team. It's understandable since he's just plain good (46 games, 27 goals, 6 assists, 1 MOM, 8 yellows, 1 red, 7.16 rating). Jace Hunter is looking to leave Livorno after just 1 season, largely because Livorno was relegated (19th place). No real interest in him yet but a good Gold Cup campaign might help, especially since he was pretty bad at club level (20 games, 32 conceded, 4 clean sheets, 6.38 rating). Julio O'Donnell continues to be the best defender in Germany (39 games, 4 assists, 9 MOMs, 14 yellows, 1 red, 7.61 rating) but he will be disappointed the club didn't defend its title or win any trophy this year. He has signed a new 5 year contract with the club so it looks like he's going to be in Germany for the foreseeable future. Bernard Blaze had another season of quality limited appearances for Man City (17 games, 5 goals, 5 assists, 2 MOMs, 7.30 rating). He might be better served playing for another club where he would get more opportunities. Frank Justice is another player who signed a new 5 year contract after leading his club to the League title (42 games, 8 goals, 7 assists, 2 MOMs, 1 yellow, 7.41 rating). It's surprising he isn't getting more recognition in other awards because he has been a standout for Man Utd all year long. Path Twelve continues to be a stalwart at Auxerre and had the experience of another relegation dogfight. He played decently (24 games, 5 assists, 8 yellows, 1 red, 6.43 rating) and is regarded as one of the veterans in the team (tutoring a youngster). Ubaldo Geronimo's career continues to stall (13 games, 2 goals, 1 MOM, 6.38 rating) as WBA get relegated. It's just surprising he can't get more game time and there is some speculation he might be offloaded in the off season. Will Brown again faced the frustration of Villa not being able to break into the top 6 of the Premier League even though he played well (27 games, 12 goals, 1 MOM, 2 yellows, 6.86 rating). He will be hoping to partner Rob Nielsen upfront in the Gold Cup. |
2019 Gold Cup Summary
The 2019 Gold Cup was hosted by the US and hopes were high they could win the trophy on home soil. Rob Nielsen and Will Brown were in the US squad while Jace Hunter was the Canadian keeper. Ubaldo Geronimo was not called up for the competition. In the group stages, the 3 teams that topped their groups were the US, Mexico and Costa Rica. The other 5 teams to make up the quarter finals were Honduras, Canada, El Salvador, Cuba and Guatemala. The quarter finals saw Mexico beat Guatemala 3-0, the US beat El Salvador 4-0, Costa Rica beat Canada 3-2 and Cuba beat the Honduras 2-0. In the semi-finals, Mexico again beat the US 4-3 while Costa Rica beat Cuba 2-1. The US came in 3rd by beating Cuba 3-1. In the finals, it was Mexico that won again as they beat Costa Rica 3-1 after extra time. For the US, their tournament results as follows: 2-0 win over Surinam (Rob Nielsen 6.7 rating) 3-1 win over Barbados (Will Brown 1 goal, 7.8 rating) 1-0 loss to the Honduras (Rob Nielsen 6.5 rating) 4-0 win over El Salvador in the quarter finals (Rob Nielsen 7.1 rating) 4-3 loss to Mexico in the semi-finals (Rob Nielsen 1 goal, 8.2 rating) 3-1 win over Cuba in the 3rd place play-off (Will Brown 2 goals, 8.5 rating, MOM) For Canada, their tournament results as follows: 3-1 win over El Salvador (Jace Hunter 7.0) 2-1 win over Panama (Jace Hunter 7.0) 3-1 loss to Mexico (Jace Hunter 5.0) 3-2 loss to Costa Rica after extra time in the quarter finals (Jace Hunter 6.4) |
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