[Butter]

Newcastle United fire their head man, Steve Bruce... as Newcastle are listed as my favored team, I am asked by the press of my level of interest in the job. I quash the rumors by saying I am not interested in moving. The board release a statement confirming their happiness in keeping me on, and talking about how glad they are that I'm not going anywhere.

The Mascherano to Milan deal falls through, as we can't get a deal with Fabio Piroli... I try again, offering him to Milan for $34 million flat. Intending to remove Piroli from the list of requests if they try the same deal as before.

We sign GK 19 year old Ricardo Galo to a contract, as he has entered his Bosman period... 6 months prior to the expiration of his contract. He will join us on June 2nd, 2012. He will be a reserve joining us from Porto's reserve team.

Carlton Cole is picked in the Team of the Week.

Arenas signs a new 4 year deal, worth a total of $7.3 million. He'll get a nice signing bonus, and $1.65 million per season through 2015. Arenas has kept 14 clean sheets in 20 starts in all competitions this year, and hopefully this will calm his nerves.

The draw for the FA Cup Third Round (which is the opening round for the Premiership clubs) is made... and as the teams dwindle down, I notice that only a few Premiership teams remain with 20 still to draw... I make the determination that we will end up playing one of them on the road... and lo and behold, we draw a road trip to Tottenham Hotspur on the first Saturday of the new year.

Dec. 6, Champions League Match Day 6 - Televised
Posh have clinched Group C
@ AC Milan (2-1-2, 2nd place in Group C)
Fav: Rossoneri, Evens

We start a group of players that is essentially our second string, so injuries don't matter much to us here, as this game is purely cosmetic. We would play even more 2nd/3rd stringers than this, but we're limited to picking from our declared 25 man European roster. Milan need a win badly in this game to ensure their safety, so I'm sure they'll be pleased with our squad selection.
Lineup:
GK: Grant
Def: Jensen, Svensson, Kargbo, Sarr
Mid: Jesus, Mngomeni, Bellomo, Kranjcar
Str: Vagner, Wallner

6'- Kaka with a 15 yard shot that screams past the right post.

7'- Forward Daniele Bezzo with a shot off a Fabio Piroli cross... Bezzo's shot is tipped by Grant, then ricochets off the post, and Sarr clears.

10'- Again, a short cross comes in, Grant tries to fist it away, but it deflects out to DMC Christian Daniel Ledesma, who heads it back at goal, and past Grant into the net. 1-0, Milan.

19'- Striker Marco Borriello beats Sarr badly on the left side, then charges at Grant, and hits a ferocious 8 yard strike into the back of the net. 2-0, Milan.

Milan is content to pull back after that, and we stay defensive as well...

60'- Wallner comes off, rating a 4 after an hour... very poor. Bosko Balaban on for him.

71'- Nicolas Anelka with a 35 yard chip attempt, and it lands on top of the net.

73'- Finally, we get a good attack going, Mngomeni down the right side, plays it into the middle for Bellomo, who one touches it left to a wide open Sarr, who is forward in attack for some reason... his shot forces a tip out for a corner kick.

Not much else gets going, and we take the 2-0 loss. Milan clinches advancement with the win... but held the tiebreakers against Deportivo anyway, so likely would have advanced even with a Depor win over Young Boys. Grant with a 5, Wallner with a 4, and Svensson with a 6... lots of poor performances today.

Loss, 2-0
Shots/on target: ACM 12/5, Posh 8/6
Poss: 55-45, Rossoneri
A: 73,925

Champions League Group Stage - Final Standings
Group A: Roma 13, Bayern Munich 13, M. Haifa 6, Austria Vienna 3
Group B: Olympiakos 12, Sporting Lisbon 10, Red Star 5, Barcelona 4
Group C: Peterborough United 13, AC Milan 10, Deportivo 7, Young Boys 4
Group D: Man U 14, Porto 13, Paris SG 5, Anderlecht 1
Group E: Ajax 12, Grazer AK 10, Leverkusen 5, Panathinaikos 5
Group F: Inter Milan 13, Chelsea 10, Dinamo Bucharest 6, Dinamo Kiev 6
Group G: Basel 12, Lyon 9, Benfica 7, PAOK 2
Group H: Werder Bremen 12, Valencia 8, M. Tel-Aviv 7, Juventus 5

We sign an impressive looking youngster from Slavia Prague who'll join us in the January transfer window... 19 year old AM/F-RLC Jan Karsnak will join us for an $800k transfer fee... and signs for a fairly low wage, considering that I'm figuring to keep him up with the big club. Karsnak's only concern is that he has an "unsporting" reputation. Karsnak has wonderful physical attributes (rating a 15 or above (out of 20) in the following attributes: Acceleration, Jumping, Fitness, Pace, Stamina, and Strength)... he also is already a gifted passer, and a very determined midfielder, which is a key attribute I look for... Andy Monkhouse dominated the Championship from midfield for us 5 years ago on nearly his iron will alone. As he improves, he should grow into a dominant player in a few years.

EPL mid-week fixture
So'ton 1:3 Arsenal