Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - FM – From Semi-Pro Minnows to Champions League Glory: Dover Athletic FC

NoSkillz · 07-19-2014, 07:47 PM

Wed. May 1, 2024

UEFA Champions League - Semi Final Second Leg
Manchester United (0) vs. (2) Dover
Old Trafford, Manchester, UK

Betting Odds: Manchester United: 4-5 (Favourites) Draw: 2-1 Dover: 3-1
Past Meetings: 6W 3D 9L

Okay here we go! We have a two goal lead heading into Old Trafford for the second leg. United are expending energy to stay in the top three of the Premier League in a very tight three way race with Spurs and City. United currently are one point back of second placed Tottenham but only a point up on fourth placed City. Yaya Sanogo is pretty tired but I’m guessing he’ll still start today. They are still missing key players in Said Henni and Omar Hernandez.

Chiquinho will start up front with Paul Moses today and Saber Nasri is in for the injured Rayane Hamon. Graham Allan also starts for an ineffective Gianluca Bolis. We will start in a counter attacking mentality today. I hope to score an away goal today but I’ll be equally pleased with a scoreless draw!

Dover: 4-4-2 Counter
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, S. Nasri, S. Loucif
AM - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Allan
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - M. Perez, Rafinha, M. Yilmaz, G. Fanfoni, A. Rocca, G. Bolis, Z. Bardi

WOW! Yaya Sanogo is NOT starting today!!! WOW. They’ll go with Sandro and Ishak Belfodil up front in their flat 4-4-2. What a development! Liviu Dragomir is in goal once again. My assistant feels I should go with the “Pressure is Off” team talk but screw that - that is for poor teams going up against powerhouses - I decide to encourage the team.

2’ - Chiquinho with an early yellow card.

20’ - Not much happening in the way of good chances so far but we get a good one on a counter, as Paul Moses is running down field with Cristian Rodriguez chasing. Dragomir comes out to challenge and Moses attempts the lob and it is over the United keeper but hits the post!

21’ - United come right back down field and it’s Sandro weaving into our area. He gets to the byline and passes inside to Belfodil and he sends a rocket past Wilke into the top corner. Porous defending. MANCHESTER UNITED GOAL 0-1 (2-1 AGGREGATE)

25’ - We come back and win a corner but United defend well and clear. We retain possession with Cairney and he fees the ball up to Moses, who has his back to goal from at least ten yards outside the area. He simply turns and sends a curling shot to the far post that is past a diving Dragomir, deflects off the goal post and is IN! HOLY CRAP! What a SHOT! DOVER GOAL 1-1 (3-1 AGGREGATE)

26’ - Moses is everywhere all of a sudden and after taking a pass from Chiquinho, he cuts in toward goal, beating Dragomir but it’s off the post AGAIN and out this time! Three posts for Moses already with one positive deflection and two poor ones!

32’ - United with a corner and it’s into the middle of the area when Saber Nasri is called for a foul?! The ref points to the spot and awards a PENALTY! Our team surrounds the ref on the brutal call, as the ball was no where near the guy and Graham Allan picks up a yellow card during the argument. Bogdan Marinescu takes the kick and puts it into the top corner. This is going to be a long game. MANCHESTER UNITED GOAL 1-2 (3-2 AGGREGATE)

45’+1 - United continue to put incredible pressure on and we are generally playing like we have two left feet, with lots of giveaways. We get to injury time and send a ball up to Moses. He’s got a 1 on 2 but uses his speed to somehow get past the United defenders and he’s in on goal. He rounds Dragomir and shoots low and the ball is IN THE NET! OH MY GOODNESS!!! Moses you ANIMAL! DOVER GOAL 2-2 (4-2 AGGREGATE)

HALFTIME - United are pushing forward and leaving themselves wide open for counter attacks. They held 58% of possession as we sat back and a 12-11 (3-4 on target) shot advantage. With us already scoring two away goals here, United will need to win by THREE today to advance! So just play defence guys! I pull back even more with my tactics. Saber Nasri with a putrid 4.9 first half rating after committing the foul in the penalty area.

United have already gone into panic mode! 4-2-4 to start the second half and Yaya Sanogo is on the pitch.

64’ - We are doing a PHENOMENAL job maintaining possession with United playing four strikers! No big chances until Sanogo sends a little touch pass into Belfodil but Wilke makes the big save!

67’ - I contemplate moving to five defenders but we’re doing well so no tactics changes yet. But I start making some moves with our players, taking out Graham Allan and bringing in Gianluca Bolis.

75’ - Absolutely NOTHING GOING ON and I LOVE IT!!! Zoltan Bardi now is brought on for Chiquinho.

77’ - Arsene Bamba with great work to feed the ball up to Moses and he’s got a full breakaway. He’s in the area and shoots and again, it’s OFF THE POST! Ohhhhhhh!!!

85’ - Incredible. Moses hits his FIFTH goal post of the game and again it bounces away from harm.

90’ - Sanogo with a rocket off the crossbar!

OH MY! DOVER HAVE ADVANCED TO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL!!!

Manchester United 2 (2) - (4) 2 Dover
Goals - Paul Moses 2 (9.1)
Assists - Salim Loucif (7.3), Neil Cairney (7.2)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Jose (7.1), Saber Nasri (5.6), Claudio Contreras (5.9)
Attendance - 73,468

With United playing four strikers the entire second half, we started to dominate the possession and ended up with 49% of the ball throughout the game. United outshot us 19-18 (4-4 on target). Simply put, a MONUMENTAL effort by our club to hold off this powerhouse and we advance to our FIRST EVER CHAMPIONS LEAGUE final against Barcelona!!! Tough ratings for our two central defenders today.

-- We earn £3,652,000 for participating in the Champions League semis!

-- Devastating news for Chiquinho, as he reaches the yellow card limit and will miss the Champions League finals versus Barcelona. He’s not playing well these days so we should be able to get by without him.

-- The Champions League final will take place on Saturday May 25th at Stade Velodrome in Marseille, France.

Dover Reserves Team Update

-- Arsenal’s reserves lose to Chelsea and that allows us to mathematically lock up a fifth consecutive Reserve League championship. Everyone parties like it’s the Champions League crown!

Another Dover Record for Moses

-- Paul Moses now has 16 Man of the Match performances this year, eclipsing the former record of 15 set in 2010-11, my first year of management, by stalwart DC Olly Schulz.

Next Up

-- We host relegation candidates Blackpool at Crabble Athletic Ground in our second-last Premier League game of the season.

07-19-2014, 07:47 PM	#483
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Wed. May 1, 2024 UEFA Champions League - Semi Final Second Leg Manchester United (0) vs. (2) Dover Old Trafford, Manchester, UK Betting Odds: Manchester United: 4-5 (Favourites) Draw: 2-1 Dover: 3-1 Past Meetings: 6W 3D 9L Okay here we go! We have a two goal lead heading into Old Trafford for the second leg. United are expending energy to stay in the top three of the Premier League in a very tight three way race with Spurs and City. United currently are one point back of second placed Tottenham but only a point up on fourth placed City. Yaya Sanogo is pretty tired but I’m guessing he’ll still start today. They are still missing key players in Said Henni and Omar Hernandez. Chiquinho will start up front with Paul Moses today and Saber Nasri is in for the injured Rayane Hamon. Graham Allan also starts for an ineffective Gianluca Bolis. We will start in a counter attacking mentality today. I hope to score an away goal today but I’ll be equally pleased with a scoreless draw! Dover: 4-4-2 Counter GK - I. Wilke D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, S. Nasri, S. Loucif AM - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Allan S - P. Moses, Chiquinho Bench - M. Perez, Rafinha, M. Yilmaz, G. Fanfoni, A. Rocca, G. Bolis, Z. Bardi WOW! Yaya Sanogo is NOT starting today!!! WOW. They’ll go with Sandro and Ishak Belfodil up front in their flat 4-4-2. What a development! Liviu Dragomir is in goal once again. My assistant feels I should go with the “Pressure is Off” team talk but screw that - that is for poor teams going up against powerhouses - I decide to encourage the team. 2’ - Chiquinho with an early yellow card. 20’ - Not much happening in the way of good chances so far but we get a good one on a counter, as Paul Moses is running down field with Cristian Rodriguez chasing. Dragomir comes out to challenge and Moses attempts the lob and it is over the United keeper but hits the post! 21’ - United come right back down field and it’s Sandro weaving into our area. He gets to the byline and passes inside to Belfodil and he sends a rocket past Wilke into the top corner. Porous defending. MANCHESTER UNITED GOAL 0-1 (2-1 AGGREGATE) 25’ - We come back and win a corner but United defend well and clear. We retain possession with Cairney and he fees the ball up to Moses, who has his back to goal from at least ten yards outside the area. He simply turns and sends a curling shot to the far post that is past a diving Dragomir, deflects off the goal post and is IN! HOLY CRAP! What a SHOT! DOVER GOAL 1-1 (3-1 AGGREGATE) 26’ - Moses is everywhere all of a sudden and after taking a pass from Chiquinho, he cuts in toward goal, beating Dragomir but it’s off the post AGAIN and out this time! Three posts for Moses already with one positive deflection and two poor ones! 32’ - United with a corner and it’s into the middle of the area when Saber Nasri is called for a foul?! The ref points to the spot and awards a PENALTY! Our team surrounds the ref on the brutal call, as the ball was no where near the guy and Graham Allan picks up a yellow card during the argument. Bogdan Marinescu takes the kick and puts it into the top corner. This is going to be a long game. MANCHESTER UNITED GOAL 1-2 (3-2 AGGREGATE) 45’+1 - United continue to put incredible pressure on and we are generally playing like we have two left feet, with lots of giveaways. We get to injury time and send a ball up to Moses. He’s got a 1 on 2 but uses his speed to somehow get past the United defenders and he’s in on goal. He rounds Dragomir and shoots low and the ball is IN THE NET! OH MY GOODNESS!!! Moses you ANIMAL! DOVER GOAL 2-2 (4-2 AGGREGATE) HALFTIME - United are pushing forward and leaving themselves wide open for counter attacks. They held 58% of possession as we sat back and a 12-11 (3-4 on target) shot advantage. With us already scoring two away goals here, United will need to win by THREE today to advance! So just play defence guys! I pull back even more with my tactics. Saber Nasri with a putrid 4.9 first half rating after committing the foul in the penalty area. United have already gone into panic mode! 4-2-4 to start the second half and Yaya Sanogo is on the pitch. 64’ - We are doing a PHENOMENAL job maintaining possession with United playing four strikers! No big chances until Sanogo sends a little touch pass into Belfodil but Wilke makes the big save! 67’ - I contemplate moving to five defenders but we’re doing well so no tactics changes yet. But I start making some moves with our players, taking out Graham Allan and bringing in Gianluca Bolis. 75’ - Absolutely NOTHING GOING ON and I LOVE IT!!! Zoltan Bardi now is brought on for Chiquinho. 77’ - Arsene Bamba with great work to feed the ball up to Moses and he’s got a full breakaway. He’s in the area and shoots and again, it’s OFF THE POST! Ohhhhhhh!!! 85’ - Incredible. Moses hits his FIFTH goal post of the game and again it bounces away from harm. 90’ - Sanogo with a rocket off the crossbar! OH MY! DOVER HAVE ADVANCED TO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL!!! Manchester United 2 (2) - (4) 2 Dover Goals - Paul Moses 2 (9.1) Assists - Salim Loucif (7.3), Neil Cairney (7.2) Man of the Match - Paul Moses Other Dover Notables - Jose (7.1), Saber Nasri (5.6), Claudio Contreras (5.9) Attendance - 73,468 With United playing four strikers the entire second half, we started to dominate the possession and ended up with 49% of the ball throughout the game. United outshot us 19-18 (4-4 on target). Simply put, a MONUMENTAL effort by our club to hold off this powerhouse and we advance to our FIRST EVER CHAMPIONS LEAGUE final against Barcelona!!! Tough ratings for our two central defenders today. -- We earn £3,652,000 for participating in the Champions League semis! -- Devastating news for Chiquinho, as he reaches the yellow card limit and will miss the Champions League finals versus Barcelona. He’s not playing well these days so we should be able to get by without him. -- The Champions League final will take place on Saturday May 25th at Stade Velodrome in Marseille, France. Dover Reserves Team Update -- Arsenal’s reserves lose to Chelsea and that allows us to mathematically lock up a fifth consecutive Reserve League championship. Everyone parties like it’s the Champions League crown! Another Dover Record for Moses -- Paul Moses now has 16 Man of the Match performances this year, eclipsing the former record of 15 set in 2010-11, my first year of management, by stalwart DC Olly Schulz. Next Up -- We host relegation candidates Blackpool at Crabble Athletic Ground in our second-last Premier League game of the season. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo