10 minute mark: Downing passes to Djemba.. he shoots.. the keeper tips it over the bar.

19 minute mark: Lucio with a good defensive header.. gets it to Rooney at midfield.. Rooney with a perfect 40 yard pass that lands just ahead of McFadden.. he dribbles around the one defender.. dribbles into the box.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

21 minute mark: Arca with a free kick curves.. hits the crossbar.. it bounces to Hume.. who powers it past Howard with a strong shot.. GOAL. 1-1 tie.

39 minute mark: Howard with a solid save of a long shot.

44 minute mark: Howard saves a long shot.. kicks it long.. it bounces past the defender.. McFadden outraces the defender.. gets it just outside the box.. fakes left.. dribbles right.. fires a shot into the lower right corner.. it's past the keeper.. GOAL!!!! 2-1.

46 minute mark: Fletcher with a good pass into the box for Rooney.. he fakes out the defender.. shoots.. good save by the keeper.


Halftime: 2-1 lead. Sunderland has over 48,000 fans here today.


47 minute mark: Downing with a great dribble down the left sideline.. crosses for McFadden.. he misses the header.. the keeper falls on the pass.

53 minute mark: Downing with a nice pass down the left sideline.. McFadden gets it.. crosses to Rooney who heads it.. past the keeper, but a defender heads it away!

56 minute mark: Downing with a few moves.. gets deep into enemy turf.. crosses to Rooney who heads it.. the keeper blocks it.

60 minute mark: Downing gets it at midfield.. plays an amazing pass that stops right in the middle of the box right in front of Rooney.. he fakes out the keeper.. shoots.. the keeper dives backwards.. Amazing recovery.. blocks the shot!

70 minute mark: Lucio joins the attack.. has a hard shot.. keeper barely tips it over the bar.. Downing on the ensuing corner.. looking for McFadden.. Ryan Warner jumps.. tries to head it away.. heads it into goal! Own Goal for Warner! 3-1 lead.

I sub out Rooney who is tired for Alan Smith. I also sub out Fletcher and put Cook in because Fletcher is tired.

76 minute mark: Cook passes it to Downing in the box.. shoots.. just wide right.

80 minute mark: Lucio with a good header.


Game over. 3-1 Win!

We outshot them 12-10 (but 7-5 on target in their favor)

James McFadden had a 10 for form and wins MoM, 25 of 27 passes, 1 of 4 tackles, 4 of 13 headers, 1 interception, 14 runs, 2 goals.

Downing also had a 10 for form. Lucio, Silvestre, Ferdinand, Fletcher, Djemba, and Rooney all had 8's. The rest of the team had 7's.

The only reason I want to move him is because he has complained repeatedly that I won't let him move. He wants to go to Valencia. If he wasn't complaining, I wouldn't be trying to move him.

Post Match Info:

David Gill was thrilled with our win over Sunderland.

Aug 30, 2010 -

Damien Duff and James McFadden were selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

I'm also exploring acquiring several young talented players to bolster the potential of our youth and reserve squads.

Aug 31, 2010 -

The first round of the Euro Cup was drawn today, and we will be hosting Dnipro from the Ukraine. We will be playing them on Sep. 16, 2010.


On the eve of the transfer deadline, Sevilla's Craig King has agreed to the contract offer we made. He rejected an offer from FC Bayern.

Craig King is a 20 year old English striker who has 6 U21 goals. He has a great deal of potential, and is known as a very hard worker. He is currently valued at 15 million dollars and we acquired him for 20 million dollars. We feel he could be a potential superstar, and that his value is likely to appreciate. We don't need him this year, but when Ruud van Nistelrooy retire in a year or so, and Saha retires, he will become very important. I'm going to get him some first team football this year too.

Just curious,
Whats the Euro Cup Also, how do reserve teams work compare to loaning players out? One option better then the other? Can you control the reserve/youth teams and what teams do they play against?

Sep 1, 2010 -

Miguel Angel Ruiz Diaz's transfer to the club was cancelled as our application for a work permit was turned down.

Jorge Cobian's transfer from San Lorenzo was cancelled as his application for a work permit was turned down. Both were young talented players from South America who I thought might get WP's approved.


The board is still hopeful of a long and successful era with me at the helm.


Liverpool's Luis Garcia won the EPL Player of the Month. James McFadden came in 2nd! Gael Clichy of Liverpool came in 3rd.


Liverpool's Jordi has won the young player of the month. Chris Robson of Sunderland came in 2nd, and Craig Scott of Newcastle came in 3rd.


Fulham's Peter Taylor has won the EPL Manager of the month. Fernando Vazquez of Newcastle came in 2nd, and that darned Ciriaco Cano of Blackburn came in 3rd.


James McFadden won goal of the month for his long dribble down the length of the pitch past 5 Leicester players before he hit a well placed shot.

The Euro Cup is a prestigious tournament (not as prestigious as the European Championship Cup) that places various top teams from leagues throughout Europe against each other. Typically the top 4 EPL teams play in the European Championship Cup while the next 3 or so play in the Euro Cup. Since Manchester United finished out of the top 4, but in the next 3 in the EPL last year, this is the tournament they ended up in.

You can't schedule the main reserve/youth squad games, but you can arrange friendlies for them. If you are sending a player out to a good team, it is probably better to loan them out. However, if you are sending a player out to a team with poor training facilities or a poor staff, it is better to just keep them IMHO. My new young striker will not be loaned, unless it is to a top notch team in the European Championship. I'll get him plenty of PT on my reserve squad as well as some first team football.

Sep 4, 2010 -

Craig King and Jamie Cook were both selected to the England U21 team for a match against the Romania U21 team.

Sep 7, 2010 -

Port Vale (14th in League One) has asked to loan our young right fullback, Daniel Rowland for 3 months. They have good facilities, and I think the experience will do him good, so I agree to their offer in which they will pay 100% of his salary while he is gone (600/week.)

Sep 7, 2010 -

My AM reports that 21 year old wonderkid Craig King played well for England in the Euro U21 Championship Qualifyer today. Craig scored a goal and created a goal in a 2-0 win! The best thing is that my AM called Craig a "wonderkid!" I didn't even realize that he had this description before I acquired him. His value has skyrocketed to 30 million dollars already :)

Jamie cook also played and did well in this match.

September 8th, 2010 -

Multiple players were involved in international play today. All of the matches were European Championship Qualifying matches:

34 year old Ruud van Nistelrooy played as a substitute and did well in a 2-0 win Holland over Serbia & Mont.

33 year old Mikael Silvestre played well for France in a 1-0 win over Greece.

24 year old Worldclass striker Wayne Rooney played well but didn't excel in a 0-0 tie with Romania. Stewart Downing also started and played well without excelling.

Flamboyant forward James McFadden had a hattrick in an 8-1 win for Scotland over Azerbaijan. Darren Fletcher also played well in the match.

Sep. 10, 2010 -

Daniel Rowland agreed to go to Port Vale on loan for 3 months.

Wayne Rooney is complaining that he isn't fit yet. As a result, I pull him out of my starting plans for next week and put Alan Smith in the slot.

EURO Cup = UEFA Cup
Euro Champions Cup = Champions League

They are just renamed for licensing issues.

Well done EF, great dynasty. :)

Sep 11, 2010 -

Today we host Arsenal in a televised match. Wayne Rooney has told me that he is too tired to play in this game which is disappointing. Arsenal's very talented team is led by left winger Jose Antonio Reyes who is world class. Midfielder Patrick Vieira continues to play well despite his advancing age. Strikers Thierry Henry and Javier Saviola are the best pair of strikers we will ever face. Their two best defenders Joseph Yobo and Sonkaya Faith are both injured for this match. Left fullback Ashley Cole has had a slow start this year, but he has the talent to be dominating. Their keeper Manuel Almunia has won many awards and is tough to beat.

GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: Ferdinand
DC: Lucio
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Duff (experiment in which he will slide inside for our biggest games.)
MC: Fletcher (Djemba is away on international duty still.)
MR: Eagles
SC: McFadden
SC: Alan Smith (since Rooney is unhappy and states he is exhausted.)

S1: Barthez
S2: O'Shea
S3: Neville
s4: Cook
s5: King (the wonderkid may get some PT today.)


Arsenal's Lineup is as follows:

GK: Almunia
DL: Ashley Cole
DC: Philippe Senderos
DC: Frank Wolf
DR: Fabrice Plet
ML: Reyes
MC: Manuele Blasi
MC: Vieira
MR: Jermaine Pennant
SC: Henry
SC: Saviola

Thanks :)

2 minute mark: Lucio with an excellent defensive tackle on Saviola.

15 minute mark: Reyes burns Brown with speed.. strong cross to Saviola in the box.. Lucio is on him.. he shoots.. hard shot.. Howard with an impressive save.

16 minute mark: Downing crosses to Fletcher.. he shoots.. barely wide left.


25 minute mark: Howard stops a long shot from Vieira.

27 minute mark: Reyes burns Brown.. gets into the box.. shoots.. upper left corner.. GREAT save by Howard!


Halftime: 0-0 tie. Generally an evan match, but we are very fortunate that Howard made a few very big saves. We have over 75,000 fans here today!


60 minute mark: Eagles takes a corner kick.. finds Lucio in the middle of the box.. he heads it.. great header.. Alumnia barely tips it over the bar.

72 minute mark: I put Cook on for Fletcher and King on for Alan Smith who is tired.

81 minute mark: Reyes crosses to Henry who heads it to Saviola in the box.. Saviola fakes out Ferdinand.. dribbles to his left.. fires it up into the upper right hand corner of the net. GOAL. Down 1-0.

88 minute mark: Downing crosses to King who shoots.. Almunia punches it over the bar.


Game over. 1-0 loss :(

They outshot us 9-8 (6-3 on target)

Jose Antonio Reyes won MoM, 8 for form, 20 of 27 passes, 0 of 1 tackles, 2 of 7 headers, 1 interception, 6 runs, 3 fouls drawn.

Lucio had an 8 for form. The rest of the team had 7's.

Thanks, that clears it up.

International Round Up:

Eric Djemba Djemba had a goal and played a solid game for Cameroon in 3-0 win over Sierra Leone in the African Nations Qualifying match.

Sep 16, 2010 -

Today we host Dnipro in our first round Euro Cup match. Dnipro doesn't really have many quality players. Their best players are their keeper Igor Shevchuk who has played well this year. Timofei Kalachev has been a good midfielder. Olexandr Melnyk is a decent centreback. Roman Melnyk is a good striker.

We are heavy 2-5 favorites.

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


GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: Ferdinand
DC: Lucio
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Eagles
SC: Smith
SC: Rooney (he needs a great game against this bad team to boost his morale.)

S1: Barthez
S2: O'Shea
S3: Neville
S4: Ruud van Nistelrooy
S5: Craig King
S6: McFadden
S7: Cook

11 minute mark: Eagles takes the corner kick.. sends it to the middle of the box.. Ferdinand jumps.. the centreback pushes him down.. Penalty shot awarded! Lucio steps up to take it, powerful strike into the upper right corner of the net (Lucio is my best penalty shooter!)

15 minutte mark: Fletcher intercepts it at midfield.. passes it to Djemba Djemba.. he passes to Eagles.. Eagles passes back Djemba-Djemba.. he shoots a banana shot from 25 yards out.. it curves into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

18 minute mark: Downing with a brilliant dribble down the left sideline.. crosses to Rooney in the box.. powerful shot on the half-volley.. the keeper saves it.

21 minute mark: Eagles passes to Rooney in the center of the box.. hard shot.. the keeper saves it.

40 minute mark: Fletcher passes to Rooney in the box.. he shoots.. powerful shot.. the keeper blocks it! The rebound sails out to Djemba.. he shoots from 25 yards out.. curving shot.. upper left corner of the net.. GOAL!!!! 3-0.

44 minute mark: Downing with a long cross to Eagles.. he passes it into the box.. Rooney with a close range shot.. and the keeper stops it again! Rooney is looking a little frustrated.


Halftime: 3-0 lead. I thought we'd be winning by a larger margin, and I was hoping Rooney would have a few goals so I could rest him soon. I'll rest him no matter what at the 60 minute mark, despite us not having a game for 10 more days. We have over 62,000 fans here today.


47 minute mark: Brilliant dribble by Downing past three defenders.. he finally crosses to Djemba in the box.. Djemba blasts it.. over the bar.. just misses his hattrick.

60 minute mark: I put Ruud van Nistelrooy on for Smith, and King on for Rooney. I also put Cook on for Fletcher.

81 minute mark: A boring second half is finally more exciting as Djemba Djemba passes to Jamie Cook who hits a half volley from 25 yards out that sails into the upper left corner of the net! GOAL!!!! 4-0. That is Cook's first goal for Manchester United.



Game over. 4-0 win.

We outshot them 20-1 (14-1 on target)

Eric Djemba-Djemba won MoM, 10 for form, 29 of 33 passes, 0 tackles, 2 of 7 headers, 2 runs, 1 assist, and 2 goals.

Downing also had a 10 for form. Eagles had a 9 for form. The rest of the team had 8's except for Rooney who only had a 7.

Well my name was linked as a possible manager to take over Man City. I wasn't a favorite but still being named is pretty cool. Too bad I have Man Utd as my favoured clubs. ;)

dola

it went to Jurgen Klinnsmann. Man I remember watching him a long time ago. He was my favorite player for awhile.

I'm sure you'll get one of the big jobs soon. As for me, with our slow start, I'm afraid I might not last at Manchester United for long. If I survive this season, and we don't come close to winning the title this year, I'll probably switch to a 3-5-2 next year (a very similar one to what I ran last year at Wigan.)

Is a 3-5-2 a pretty tough tatic to run?

Boy you were right. Just a couple weeks after not being chosen for the Man City job, the US National Team comes up and offers it to me. Wow.

It requires good holding midfielders to maintain possession, otherwise you run the risk of getting shredded down the wings. If you can't control the ball, then you will lose, generally.

i just wanted to add as i run a 3-5-2

getting 4 decent fullbacks can be a hard job, and if they have arrows and can contribute offensively they may need to get some games off.

You don't want to have a couple guys in your back line that your not comfertable with playing against Giggs, C Rondaldo, Robben, Duff, Downing, Shaun Wright-Philips as they will create chances at will (those guys will create chances vs just about anyone)

He might not have been tagged that prior to the transfer. Going to a club like Manchester United does wonder for your reputation. [I belief reputation plays a fairly significant part in the "Wonderkid" tag, along with ability and potential.]Sorry but, uhhh, I cheered that a little bit. But just a little, though.

Ahhhhh, the wonders of Ash and JAR. Wonder where they'll be plying their trade next season.

Congrats! :)

I'm still waiting to be offered a national team job.

So true. I think it is easier to find a good number of good midfielders, then it is to find a decent number of good fullbacks. Then again, that might be just me? In any case, I've had success with the 3-5-2 with a few different clubs, including Manchester Utd in my CM 03/04 game. However, right now I definitely don't have the personel to run it. I need at least 3 more very good midfielders which I'm hoping to acquire in the upcoming offseason. For now, we are married to the 4-4-2 or a variant for better or for worse.

Ahhh, that makes sense :) I hope he lives up to that "Wonderkid" tag :)

It's ok. I would cheer the Eagles if you did an FOF dynasty in which they beat your team :) Hopefully, the Arsenal loss doesn't contribute towards me getting fired ;)

Just curious, what type of tatics do AC Milan and the Italian teams use, and what's ype of talent do they require (I mean in real life)?

I don't know enough about Milan or the Italian teams to comment on what those teams use IRL. Hopefully, someone else can answer this question.

Sep 24, 2010 -

Today the draw for the third round of the English League Cup occured. We will be facing Millwall on their pitch on Oct 27, 2010.

Our second leg Euro Cup match on Sep 30, 2010 has been chosen for live TV coverage.

Here's a bit of a story about AC Milan. Italian teams have been accused many times of playing catenaccio, or scoring one goal and then playing extremely negatively and trying to "kill" the clock.

Ancelotti, a likeable man from the Northern Italian countryside, tends to favour 4-4-2 but with a midfield diamond as opposed to two wide men and two operating centrally.

Sep 26, 2010 -

Today we travel to play Wigan! This match will be televised. We are currently in 11th place but we have played two less games than most of the top teams and we are only 8 points out of 1st despite that team playing two more games. Wigan is currently in 17th despite having played one more game than us. Their current record is 1 win 1 draw, and 5 losses. They are doing the intersting thing of playing Frode Mansare (the guy I acquired to play left wing) at striker! They are starting Wellington Paulista alongside him. Fode Mansare is the team's leading scorer with 4 goals in 8 games. Benayoun has 1 goal from his AMC spot. Wall and Osorio continue to play well. They have gone to a 4-3-1-2 and Rolfes has been a key player in the midfield.

We are heavy 4-7 favorites.

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

GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: Ferdinand
DC: Lucio
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Eagles
SC: McFadden
SC: Rooney (he is finally in superb fitness, but still feels he isn't.)

S1: Barthez
S2: O'Shea
S3: Neville
S4: Cook
S5: King

4 minute mark: Paulo is starting with Mansare up front. Mansare passes it up front to Paulo who unleashes a hard shot.. the keeper saves it.

8 minute mark: Lucio picks up a minor injury that he will try to play through.

21 minute mark: McFadden dribbles between Wall and Osorio.. into the box.. hard shot.. upper right corner.. Paddy stops it.

29 minute mark: Djemba passes it long to Rooney.. he has a breakaway.. Whistle.. offside on Rooney called.

33 minute mark: McFadden gets a pass from Eagles on the left wing.. burns Jarzebowski.. dribbles into the box.. is fairly far wide of the net.. shoots.. a curving shot it flies parallel to the end line.. and curves into the upper right corner of the net!!!! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

39 minute mark: Lucio heads the ball to McFadden at midfield.. he plays a perfect through ball towards the box for Rooney.. Rooney beats the defender to it.. Paddy rushes towards it.. Rooney just beats him.. dribbles around him.. fires it into the net! GOAL!!!! 2-0.

42 minute mark: McFadden crosses to Rooney in the box.. powerful shot.. upper left corner.. Paddy saves it.

44 minute mark: Ambourouet crosses to Benayoun who heads the ball to Rix in the box.. Benayoun was drawing attention.. Rix is open.. hard shot.. upper right corner.. It's past Howard.. GOAL. Still up 2-1.

45 minute mark: McFadden takes it down the left side of the pitch.. crosses to Eagles.. he heads it.. barely wide of the net.


Halftime: Up 2-1. Wigan has over 25,000 fans here today.


47 minute mark: Ambourouet throws it into Longthorn who heads it to Rolfes.. Rolfes with a hard shot.. it deflects off Fletcher (what was he doing back there).. sails into the left side of the net. GOAL. 2-2.

59 minute mark: McFadden takes it up the left side.. burns Jarzebowski.. crosses into the middle of the box.. Eagles heads it.. Paddy with a great save to punch it over the bar.

62 minute mark: Downing makes a great move on Longthorn.. burns Jarzebowski who comes up to meet him.. passes to McFadden on the left corner of the pitch.. McFadden dribbles towards the box.. the keeper comes over to guard the left post.. McFadden crosses long.. far post.. Rooney comes running up.. diving header.. into the right side of the net!! GOAL!!!! 3-2.

64 minute mark: Ferdinand turns away an offensive burst.. starts the counter attack.. gets it to Rooney at midfield.. passes it up the pitch to McFadden.. he burns the two defenders that are back there.. shoots.. upper left corner.. Paddy with an excellent save.

70 minute mark: I'm going to give McFadden and Rooney a chance to get Rooney his hattrick.. I do decide to bring in Cook for Fletcher who is getting tired.

75 minute mark: Howard stops a long shot from Longthorn.

85 minute mark: Eagles crosses to Rooney.. hard shot.. great save by Paddy.

90 minute mark: Eagles crosses to Rooney.. hard shot.. lower right corner.. great save by Paddy.


Game over. 3-2 win for us.

We outshot them 19-12 (12-8 on target)

Rooney wins MoM, 10 for form, 20 of 21 passes, 2 of 2 tackles, 2 of 4 headers, 5 runs, 2 fouls drawn, 2 goals.

McFadden, Downing, and Eagles all had 10's for form! Djemba and Ferdinand both had 8's. The rest of the team had 7's.

Sep. 27, 2010 -

Downing, Rooney, and McFadden were all selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

Sep. 28, 2010 -

Rooney is still very tired from his match 2 days ago. It seems the previous manager might have overused him and he is frequently tired. I'm going to have to be careful about how I use him.

I'm sure the World Cup also left him more tired than usual.

That actually, technically, sounds like a 5-3-2 with two wingbacks. If I understand what you're describing correctly.


The wonderkid tag comes soley from ability and potential. I believe you need at least a 160 in ability and 180 in potential. It's possible the guy could have been right on the edge and "popped."

Sep 30, 2010 -

Today we face Dnipro in the 2nd leg of the 1st round of the Euro Cup. We will try to rest a few our guys today as we have a 4-0 lead going into this leg of the match.

We are 1-2 favorites.

It's very windy today with temperatures in the mid 60's.


GK: Howard
DL: O'Shea
DC: Ferdinand
DC: Lucio
DR: Grygera
ML: Duff
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Eagles
SC: Smith
SC: King

S1: Barthez
S2: Silvestre
S3: Neville
S4: Cook
S5: Saha
S6: Ruud van Nistelrooy
S7: Downing

Thanks for the clarification on the wonderkid tag.. hopefully he plays well in his first start in the Euro Cup today :)

11 minute mark: Lucio with a long pass to King.. he plays a great pass across the box to Duff who shoots.. the keeper barely blocks it.. it trickles towards the goal line.. a defender clears it at the last second.

25 minute mark: Lucio gets a yellow card for a trip on the striker.

28 minute mark: Alan Smith gets a yellow card for a trip on Vitaliy Ivanov.

34 minute mark: Craig king gets a yellow card for tripping a player.

41 minute mark: Their keeper stops a flurry of shots by Smith, King, and Djemba.


Halftime: 0-0 tie. Dnipro has over 24,000 fans here today.


50 minute mark: Eagles has had a bad game. I pull him for Cook.

62 minute mark: King has picked up a minor injury. I put on Ruud van Nistelrooy for him. Fletcher is tired, I put Neville on for him.

64 minute mark: O'Shea passes it long down the left sideline.. Duff can't quite get to it before it sails out of bounds.

69 minute mark: Karpenko passes to Melnyk in the box.. he shoots.. hard shot.. upper right corner.. it's past Howard.. GOAL. Down 1-0.

82 minute mark: Djemba feeds it down the left sideline to Alan Smith.. he crosses for Ruud van Nistelrooy.. the pass curves.. into the upper right corner of the net! He didn't mean that one! GOAL!!!! 1-1.


Game over. 1-1 tie. We win 5-1 on aggregate.

We each had 9 shots. We had a 5-3 advantage for on target shots.

Eric Djemba Djemba won MoM, 8 for form, 26 of 34 passes, 2 of 2 tackles, 3 of 8 headers, 3 interceptions, 1 assist.

Post Match Info: We won 110,000 dollars for winning against Dnipro in the Euro Cup.

We have been placed in Group D of the Euro Cup along with Real Sociedad, CSKA, FC Kobenhavn, and Sparta Prague.

We have been given 800,000 for playing in the Euro Cup Group Stage.

Oct 1, 2010 -

The Manchester Board is still hopeful of a long and successful run with me at the helm.


Arsenal's Jose Antonio Reyes has won the EPL Player of the Month award. Tim Borowski of Manchester City came in 2nd, and Sanli Tuncay of Chelsea came in 3rd.


Liverpool's Jordi has won the EPL Young Player of the Month. John Yates of Middlesbrough came in 2nd, and Alan Thomas of Tottenham came in 3rd.


Arsenal's Arsene Wenger won Manager of the Month as he led the team to three victories in four of their least league games. Tony Colbert of Liverpool came in 2nd, and Richard Money of Manchester City came in 3rd.


James McFadden won the goal of the month for his impressive goal against Wigan on September 26 in which he ran around an opponent and scored on a powerful curling shot.


Bruce Arena, coach of Aston Villa, has told Skysports.com that he doesn't think my side is good enough to end the season as champions. Arena did concede that, given a few quality signings, Manchester United might be a contender next season.

I reply by telling Soccernet.com that "I am very confident our team has the ability to go all the way."

Oct. 2, 2010 -

Watching the players has caused me to make a slight tweak to our basic tactics, but I will be continuing to run the 4-4-2.

Oct. 2, 2010 -

I've gotten about a half dozen agents approaching me with videos of their clients, but this is the first one that intrigues me. Dalibor Stevanovic is currently playing for Bradford City in League One, but he is being very dominant at that level. He looks like he might be able to play quite nicely as a rotator here. I don't plan on him being a long term solution, but he is only valued at a million dollars. I'm going to make an offer of 1.05 million for him as it meets his release clause.

An agent for David Vaughan has also approached me. He is currently playing for Preston and looks quite good both in practice according to my agents and in this video tape. I've ignored most of these pleas to come join us, but he would fit nicely in our midfield. He is currently valued at 2 million dollars.

Palace was relegated on the last day of the season. :(

There were only 2 or 3 out of dozens possible scenarios where we got relegated, but the disastrous happened!

Ah, well, I've got AJ and Routledge, though both are starting to do a little chirping.:(

Hope you can continue to string together a few wins! I'm sure a run to the semis or finals of the UEFA Cup would do a lot towards keeping your job!

~rpi-fan

Oct 3, 2010 -

Today we host Aston Villa in a televised game. Aston Villa has an explosive scorer in Luke Moore. He is only 24, but he is quickly becoming one of the top strikers in the game. He already has 6 goals in 7 EPL league games. His partner Robbie Keane is also quite good. Their defensive line is quite good with centrebacks Liam Ridgewell and Olof Mellberg leading the way. Their keeper Leo Franco is a top notch keeper. Their midfield has been average this year with right winger Salomon Kalou being the most consistent this year.

We are even odd favorites.

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


GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: Ferdinand
DC: Lucio
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Eagles
SC: McFadden
SC: Rooney

S1: Barthez
S2: Grygera
S3: Neville
S4: Cook
s5: van Nistelrooy