[NoSkillz]

Sat. December 28, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Dover (12-3-3, 39 points, 4th) vs. Sheffield United (4–2-13, 14 points, 17th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 1-6 (Favourites) Draw: 5-1 Sheffield United: 10-1
Past Meetings: 4W 2D 2L

We begin the second half of the season at home against Sheffield United, who are back in the Premier League for the first time in six years and only for the second time since 2007! They are just above the relegation zone but are in dire straits today, with SIX injured players, one suspended player and a couple of ineligible players. Their leading scorer, striker Marcello Trotta, is doubtful for today’s game and if so, the scoring will be left in the hands of Angel Egana, who has 5 markers on the year.

After playing only two days ago, we’ll be rotating the squad and only Chiquinho is a holdover from last game. He’s been pretty poor lately and I’m expecting a big game today against weaker opposition. Zoltan Bardi will also start up front. Mads Pedersen, Benedikt Raab, the in-form Andrea Rocca and Gianluca Bolis start in midfield. On defence, we have Carlos Guzman getting a rare start along with Mwemere Mutesa, Rayane Hamon and Rafinha. Paul Moses is on the bench again today and we’ll attempt to get him about 40 minutes of playing time in the second half.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - C. Guzman, M. Mutesa, R. Hamon, Rafinha
M - M. Pedersen, B. Raab, A. Rocca, G. Bolis
S - Chiquinho, Z. Bardi
Bench - Emerson, M. Yilmaz, P. Secchi, E. Harvey, A. Bamba, L. Kunchev, P. Moses

Eww. Sheffield come out in a 4-2-2-2 formation with two defensive central mids and it’s obvious they are going to sit back today. They start Jason Silva (3 goals) and Max Clayton (0 goals!) up front and Egana isn’t even on the bench today! Adrian Smith is their keeper. I may eventually move to an attacking formation but I’ll start in control and see if we can break them down. Lets score some goals for the home fans!

14’ - Andrea Rocca has the ball at midfield and passes up to Zoltan Bardi. He finds strike partner Chiquinho about ten yards outside the area. Our out-of-form striker cuts to the middle and unleashes a blast from just outside the box and it curls past Smith and is in! Great shot! DOVER GOAL 1-0

17’ - Chiquinho is playing the advanced forward role today and it looks good on him, as he sends another shot at Smith that he’s forced to bump over the goal, giving us a corner. Rocca sends a cross into the area and it’s Rayane Hamon heading it into the net for his fifth goal already this year! DOVER GOAL 2-0

31’ - Rafinha gets hurt trying to make a tackle and needs help. He can stay in for now but has the cross of doom over his name.

36’ - Mads Pedersen has the ball in the area and attempts a cross but it’s deflected back to him. He then passes to Benedikt Raab, who immediately shoots and the ball first hits a Sheffield defender, then Chiquinho and bounces IN! For some reason the goal is awarded to Raab but we’ll take it! DOVER GOAL 3-0

HALFTIME - Fantastic effort, as we hold 55% of possession and a 14-3 (9-1 on target) shot advantage. I am pleased!

55’ - We take out Zoltan Bardi and in comes Paul Moses, as we continue to try to work him back into shape.

61’ - We have a free kick near the byline on the right and Rocca crosses it in. Mwemere Mutesa gets a header that is blocked but the loose ball comes right back to him. He rifles a shot at goal and it hits Paul Moses and deflects into the net! That IS credited to Moses, his first goal since his return from injury and we’re well ahead! DOVER GOAL 4-0

66’ - We take out the excellent Andrea Rocca and bring in Paolo Secchi for a rare appearance.

72’ - Hamon heads the ball from the midfield stripe back up field and Raab wins the ball. It bounces and from hip level, he hits a 30 yard shot ON THE VOLLEY and it screams into the corner of the goal! SENSATIONAL, world-class strike from distance from Raab, his second goal of the game! WOW!!! DOVER GOAL 5-0

77’ - Rafinha saves a ball from going out on the right flank and sends it back into the middle to Paolo Secchi. He finds Moses in the area and our star’s one timer is blazed past the beleaguered United goalkeeper and IN! Moses now has two! DOVER GOAL 6-0

We bring in Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz for Rayane Hamon, our last change.

86’ - Ugh. United win a corner and the cross is headed in by their striker Jason Silva. Manuel Perez continues to let in too many goals. SHEFFIELD UNITED GOAL 6-1

90’ - Raab almost notches his hat trick off a free kick from distance but Smith makes a brilliant save to keep it out. We do earn a corner and Raab’s cross is headed by young central defender Mutesa and IN! What a rout! DOVER GOAL 7-1

Superb!

Dover 7 - 1 Sheffield United
Goals - Benedikt Raab 2 (9.5), Paul Moses 2 (8.6), Chiquinho (9.0), Rayane Hamon (9.2), Mwemere Mutesa (9.3)
Assists - Mwemere Mutesa, Andrea Rocca (7.7), Benedikt Raab, Mads Pedersen (8.9), Zoltan Bardi (7.2), Paolo Secchi (7.1)
Man of the Match - Benedikt Raab
Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.3), Rafinha (8.1), Carlos Guzman (8.0), Gianluca Bolis (7.8)
Attendance - 22,111

Domination of the highest order despite them keeping six men back! We hold 54% of the ball and a 26-8 (16-4 on target) shot advantage. 13 players, including all eleven starters, get ratings over 7.0 today! Raab was fantastic and he needed to be, as Neil Cairney was awesome last game and will be threatening his playing time again.

-- Rafinha suffered a thigh strain and will miss about 10 days or so. No big deal! DOVER INJURY - Rafinha (Thigh Strain - 10 days)

-- The top teams continue to roll, with United, City, Middlesbrough and Spurs all winning with ease while Sheffield Wednesday and Chelsea battle to a 1-1 draw. I laugh as Liverpool, who just hired Tony Mowbray away from Middlesbrough, get smoked 5-0 by Wolves…so funny.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 20 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Manchester United - 51 points
2. Manchester City - 42 points
3. Dover - 42 points (after 19 games)
4. Chelsea - 42 points
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5. Arsenal - 36 points
6. Middlesbrough - 35 points
7. Tottenham - 33 points
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8. Sheffield Wednesday - 32 points
9. Newcastle - 31 points
10. Sunderland - 30 points
11. Huddersfield - 26 points
12. Liverpool - 25 points
13. Reading - 24 points
14. Wolves - 22 points
15. Aston Villa - 20 points
16. Everton - 19 points (after 19 games)
17. Sheffield United - 14 points
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18. Derby - 11 points
19. Blackpool - 8 points
20. Burnley - 6 points

-- We’ve played one less game but have essentially reached the halfway point of the season. Interestingly enough, we are only four points back of our pace from last year, as we had 46 points through 19 games in our Premier League winning year. We have 47 goals after scoring seven against Sheffield United, which is still nine less than last year at this time. We’ve also given up one more goal (20) than last year. So we’re a bit behind in all areas.

Lets look at some Barclays Premier League stat leaders:

GOALS -
1. Yaya Sanogo, Manchester United, 24
2. Roland Hoxha, Middlesbrough, 21
3. Jelle Hoegee, Manchester City, 19
4. Hani Megahed, Reading, 15
5. Andy Broomes, Dover, 10
6. Peter Jansen, Tottenham 9
7. Boakye, Arsenal, 9
8. Darijo Jukic, Sheffield Wednesday, 9
9. Robert Stoll, Middlesbrough, 9
10. Stefano Zeno, Wolves, 9

Chiquinho is tied for 11th with 8 goals. Gianluca Bolis and Jose have four goals apiece and that ties them for 41st in the league.

ASSISTS -
1. Robert Stoll, Middlesbrough, 12
2. Luis Carballo, Chelsea, 10
3. Eugenio Balestra, Sheffield Wednesday, 9
4. Mario Brito, Manchester City, 9
5. Giorgos Spanoudakis, Manchester City, 9
6. Omar Hernandez, Manchester United, 9
7. Jonathan Bottone, Manchester City, 8
Five Players Tied with 7

Benedikt Raab, Jose and Chiquinho are tied for the club lead in league assists with five each, placing them in a tie for 17th. Neil Cairney and Renato Gaucho have four assists to tie them for 28th and Zoltan Bardi has three with ties him for 46th place.

AVERAGE RATING -
1. Yaya Sanogo, Manchester United, 8.09
2. Luis Carballo, Chelsea, 7.63
3. Roland Hoxha, Middlesbrough, 7.61
4. Salah Abbes, Manchester City, 7.57
5. Jelle Hoegee, Manchester City, 7.54
6. Luiz Carlos, Manchester United, 7.52
7. Robert Stoll, Middlesbrough, 7.52
8. Cristian Rodriguez, Manchester United, 7.49
9. Mario Brito, Manchester City, 7.48
9. Rayane Hamon, Dover, 7.48

Benedikt Raab is in 13th at 7.44, Mads Pedersen is in 17th at 7.35 and Andy Broomes is right behind in 19th at 7.31. Jose is in 21st at 7.30, Renato Gaucho is at 7.27, good for 24th and Chiquinho is in 26th at 7.26. We also have Claudio Contreras at 7.21, good for 32nd and finally Gianluca Bolis is in 43rd place at 7.18. So nine players in the top 50…not bad!



U18 Update

-- We DESTROY Hampton & Richmond 9-0, with Felix Hernandez and Jason Campbell bagging braces. We get singles from Nathan Protheroe, Freddie Laird, Alberto Velazquez, Neil Evans and a Graham Gill OG.



Contract Extensions

-- We are delighted to come to terms on contract extensions for both Zoltan Bardi and Mwemere Mutesa! Bardi gets a slight raise and will stick around now until 2028 while young centre halfback Mutesa gets a significant raise and also will be here another three years. Mutesa is filled with potential and has been stellar in limited play so far this year while Bardi continues to be unheralded here but always produces when called upon.

-- A couple days later, we get young midfielder Felix Hernandez to sign on the dotted line on a three year extension. Hernandez has been lighting it up for our U18s with 14 goals and 15 assists thus far in 22 non-competitive appearances.



Premier League Team of the Week

-- You’d expect us to fill this team after scoring seven goals in a game and indeed, we get SIX players named to this week’s team, including Ingo Wilke, Mwemere Mutesa, Rayane Hamon, Mads Pedersen, Benedikt Raab and Neil Cairney.



Injury Update

-- We finally see progress on striker Manuel Lugo, who is now only a couple weeks away from returning to full training. Rafinha will be out about a week and a half with his thigh strain.



Dover Reserves Update

-- Paul Moses gets another 70 minutes of playing time and scores twice, as does young defender Mwemere Mutesa to lead us to a 6-0 win over Wolves in a reserves matchup. We get singles from Paolo Secchi and Alberto Velazquez. Secchi also had FOUR ASSISTS in the game for a five point night! WOW!



January Update

-- We have six Premier League games this month, with games against Newcastle (away), Manchester City (home), Derby (away), Everton (away), Huddersfield (away) and Burnley (home). We also host Norwich in FA Cup action and will play our League Cup semifinal in the middle of the month. So eight matches this month!

-- We get positive training reports for Emmerson Harvey, Manuel Perez, Emerson and U18 players Matthew Neil, Robert Hoffmann and Alberto Velazquez. Only one negative report and it’s for U18 player Adam Hyde.



December Awards

-- Manchester United superstar Yaya Sanogo scores seven goals in six games to win Barclays Premier League player of the month.

-- Jose Alberto Gonzalez from Aston Villa wins young player of the month.

-- Yawn. Jurgen Klinsmann wins Manager of the Month for the upteenth time.



2024 Year-End Awards

-- Paul Moses once again is named to England’s Best Eleven for 2024.

-- Barcelona star Enrique wins European Striker of the Year and also wins the Ballon d’Or. His teammate Juan Ramon Vazquez wins World Player of the Year.

-- Real Madrid’s Zonzamas Garrido wins European Goalkeeper of the Year while teammate Emiliano Moreno wins the midfielder award.

-- Sampdoria’s Juan Pablo Garcia Ramos wins Defender of the Year.



Transfer Window Re-Opens

-- I’ve already had one subpar offer for Chiquinho that is swiftly rejected and I expect offers to come in on a few players.



Board Confidence Update

-- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership. They are delighted with our Club World Cup win over Heartland but still slightly disappointed over the sale of Giorgos Gesios.

-- We made £2.8 million in profit last month.



Next Up

-- We look to gain revenge for an early season loss, as we head on the road for the first time in over a month in league play to take on suddenly struggling Newcastle.