FM – From Semi-Pro Minnows to Champions League Glory: Dover Athletic FC - Page 11

NoSkillz · 08-11-2014, 02:23 PM

Transfer Window Opens

-- The Premier League transfer window reopens and our first problem to come up is an internal one: longtime goalkeeper Ingo Wilke approaches me to say he feels he’s accomplished everything he can at Dover and “wants a new challenge”. This is interesting - Wilke is a legend here, our all-time games played leader by a long way but he’s just turned 30 and I envision our future with Manuel Perez in goal. I still wanted to keep Wilke around a little while longer though so I tell him I feel he’s a big part of our plans and that I expect to continue growing as a club. He’s on board with that for now, thankfully.

-- Early rumours see Jurgen Klinsmann chasing our very own Rayane Hamon and other targets include Arsene Bamba and Claudio Contreras.

Transfer Market - Needs

-- Okay, what are we looking for this year? With only about £5 million in our transfer kitty from last year, we don’t have a lot of ammunition. My main goal when our budget is announced is to start finding some long term replacements for our starters who are approaching 30. Mostly, I’m looking for a young left midfielder to learn the position from Arsene Bamba, who is 27 years old right now. We could also be looking at a depth striker, as Shanon Andrea wasn’t impressive at all last year and I can likely find an upgrade in the transfer market.

Transfer Market Fun

-- United make an official offer for Rayane Hamon, offering us £11 million for the fine central defender. I have no intention whatsoever of selling him, let alone to one of our main rivals but I stall on the offer and will wait it out for the full seven days before declining the bid.

-- I have my eyes on a 25 year old American international striker who is playing in Switzerland. He’s got incredible intangibles and absolutely lights up the scoreboard in league play but my paltry £4.5 million offer is flatly rejected. I’ll come back after him once my budget is established.

NoSkillz · 08-11-2014, 03:01 PM

Transfer List

-- I place Shanon Andrea on the transfer list. There could be some negative fallout here, as Andrea is “favoured personnel” for our supporters but he’s on the wrong side of 20 and his production was in serious decline last year. I also have an offer accepted for that American striker I was mentioning in a previous post so I’ll need money to make that deal. Andrea is a surplus to requirements right now.

European Club Rankings

-- We move up 18 more places on the European Club rankings list, landing in 15th position with 105.230 coefficient points. Manchester United retain first place on the club coefficient list, FC Bayern are in second and Champions League finalists Barcelona are in third. We’ll continue to climb on this list for two more years, as we still have “counting” co-efficient scores from seasons we didn’t play in Europe in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

Transfer Market Fun

-- Manchester City means business right out of the gates, as they spend £65 million on two players: Tottenham’s MC Lamine Faye and Inter AM Jonathan Bottone. Wow!

NoSkillz · 08-11-2014, 03:58 PM

European Golden Boot

-- The honours keep piling in for superstar Paul Moses, as he is awarded European Golden Boot winner! Juventus striker Julio comes in second and Man United’s Yaya Sanogo comes in third. What an honour for young Moses!

Preseason Friendlies

- We accept a lucrative offer from France’s Olympique Lyonnais to play a friendly in their stadium so we’ll choose France as our destination for this year’s preseason foreign tour. We started this practice of conducting a two-game foreign preseason tour in 2018/19 and in past years, we’ve visited Brazil (three times), Scotland, Italy, Germany and Holland.

Transfer Talk

-- A few teams come calling for Shanon Andrea and I accept offers from Sevilla and Evian TG FC. Andrea is unhappy that I decline a bid from Espanyol but it was two million pounds less than I wanted. Too bad.

—In the “You’ve GOT to be Kidding Me” files, the young American striker I was chasing decides to go to Sunderland and rejects our contract offer. Damn. This throws a wrench into the proceedings.

Alf · 08-11-2014, 04:07 PM

Yay, NoSkillz back at it ! Excellent news.

NoSkillz · 08-11-2014, 05:10 PM

Premier League Sponsorship

-- Manchester United continue to bring in sponsorship money at a ridiculous rate, netting £59 million while our new kit sponsorship agreement finally sees us exceed a million pounds. Blackpool generated £275k to finish last in the Premier League.

England Season Summary

Here's a look at the FourFourTwo Season Summary report on all the English leagues, with a full recap of the Premier League and just a quick look at the promotions/relegations in the other leagues.

Barclays Premier League 2023/24
Winners - Dover
Relegated - Birmingham, Norwich, Fulham
Top Goalscorer - Paul Moses, Dover - 34
Most Assists - Miguel Sousa, Chelsea - 22
Highest Average Rating - Paul Moses, Dover - 7.88 (32 apps)
Overachievers - Dover
Underperformers - Sheffield Wednesday
Signing of the Season - Dover's Paul Moses (£19m)
Worst Signing of the Season - Liverpool’s Vyacheslav Yunusov (£13m)

npower Championship
Winners - Derby
Promoted - Derby, Sheffield United, Burnley
Relegated - West Brom, Bristol Rovers, Coventry

npower League 1
Winners - Portsmouth
Promoted - Portsmouth, West Ham, Colchester
Relegated - Plymouth, Brentford, Hereford, Gillingham

npower League 2
Winners - Notts County
Promoted - Notts County, Barrow, Crawley, Yeovil
Relegated - Burton, Hartlepool

Blue Square Bet Premier
Winners - York
Promoted - York, Cambridge
Relegated - FC Halifax, Wrexham, Altrincham, Macclesfield

Blue Square Bet North
Winners - Port Vale
Promoted - Port Vale, Matlock
Relegated - Banbury, Northwich, Buxton

Blue Square Bet South
Winners - Newport County
Promoted - Newport County, Sutton United
Relegated - Tiverton, Boreham Wood, Bromley

Other Winners
FA Cup - Manchester City
League Cup - Dover (Second Year in a Row)
Community Shield - Newcastle
Johnstone's Paint Trophy - Stockport
FA Trophy - Ebbsfleet

Europe Qualification
Champions League Group Stage - Dover, Manchester City, Tottenham, Manchester United
Europa League Fourth Qualifying Round - Chelsea, Liverpool
Europa League Third Qualifying Round - Arsenal

-- Ha! Overachievers?! Love it. Great to see them notice Paul Moses as a bargain buy!

Preseason Foreign Tour

-- As indicated, we decide to travel to France this year for our annual foreign preseason tour, with matches scheduled against Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain.

NoSkillz · 08-11-2014, 05:45 PM

Dover Fans' Player of the Year

-- This was pretty much a foregone conclusion but the supporters rightfully name striker Paul Moses as their choice for player of the year.

Dover Best Eleven for 2023-24

-- As usual, there are a couple of major surprises here but that’s what happens when average rating seems to trump games played or other stats:

GK - Manuel Perez - 19 apps 0g 7.23 avg
DL - Renato Gaucho - 47 apps 2g 7.25 avg
DC - Rayane Hamon - 37 apps 6g 7.34 avg
DC - Saber Nasri - 35 apps 5g 7.41 avg
DR - Salim Loucif - 48 apps 0g 7.17 avg
MC - Jose - 43 apps 2g 7.37 avg
MC - Neil Cairney - 42 apps 7g 7.28 avg
ML - Arsene Bamba - 46 apps 14g 7.57 avg
MR - Gianluca Bolis - 33 apps 4g 7.19 avg
ST - Paul Moses - 49 apps 59g 7.95 avg
ST - Zoltan Bardi - 26 apps 12g 7.42 avg

Other notables: GK Ingo Wilke 39 apps 0g 7.05; DC Claudio Contreras 46 apps 7g 7.30; DC Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz 11 apps 5g 7.61; DC Andrea Rocca 35 apps 4g 7.19; MC Emmerson Harvey 14 apps 2g 7.17; ST Chiquinho 41 apps 23g 7.38; ST Shanon Andrea 18 apps 8g 7.13

A bit surprising to see Contreras and Chiquinho only make the backup squad but again, their average rating was below Nasri’s and Bardi’s, hence their inclusion in the starting eleven.

Let's take a look at our overall Best Eleven since I took over management of the franchise:

Dover Best Eleven - Overall

GK - Ingo Wilke - 335 apps 0g 7.02 avg
DL - Renato Gaucho - 202 apps 4g 7.14 avg
DC - Olly Schulz - 120 apps 18g 7.32 avg
DC - Rayane Hamon - 151 apps 10g 7.16 avg
DR - Salim Loucif - 178 apps 1g 7.16 avg
ML - Arsene Bamba - 282 apps 56g 7.28 avg
MC - Neil Cairney - 184 apps 32g 7.27 avg
MC - Andrea Rocca - 260 apps 44g 7.25 avg
MR - Abdeltareck Sakali - 176 apps 50g 7.14 avg
ST - Alexander Rattke - 125 apps 55g 7.13 avg
ST - Aaron Green - 141 apps 65g 7.18 avg

Rayane Hamon is the only newcomer to the best overall eleven, replacing long-time favourite Oliver Nicholas.

Substitutes:
GK - Liam O'Brien - 219 apps 0g 6.84 avg
DC - Oliver Nicholas - 316 apps 28g 7.14 avg
DC - Claudio Contreras - 148 apps 14g 7.12 avg
ML - Ismael Fofana - 206 apps 38g 6.98 avg
MR - Gianluca Bolis - 194 apps 43g 7.13 avg
ST - Ben Hunt - 156 apps 70g 7.12 avg
ST - Zoltan Bardi - 244 apps 86g 7.09 avg

Claudio Contreras gets onto the list for the first time as a substitute.

2024-25 Barclays Premier League Fixture List Announced

-- We’ll open the Premier League season as big favourites on the road versus newly promoted Sheffield United. Our first home match will be against Newcastle. We’ll play Arsenal on Boxing Day and also close out our season against the Gunners.

-- As usual, we are given £40,000,000 spread over 12 months for Premier League television rights.

Start of Season Expectations

-- The board’s minimum expectation is that we qualify for Europe again. Screw that - we’re gunning for another title so they bump up the money a bit. For that they'll offer the following:

2024/25 TRANSFER BUDGET - £52,000,000 (Last Year: £23,500,000)
2024/25 WAGE BUDGET - £1,000,000 (Last Year: £950,000/week)

HUGE increase to our transfer budget! We don’t need an awful lot but I can go hard after a few key players now.

Community Shield

-- Another perk to winning the Premier League sees us take part in the Community Shield, essentially a high-profile preseason friendly that kicks off the Premier League season. We’ll face FA Cup winners Manchester City at Wembley and look forward to another big payday!

Youth Intake - U18 Club

-- I simply don’t understand how all of these years into the dynasty, I still have NEVER produced a good-looking youth player from our academy. All 0.5 star guys again this year. Very disappointing.

Transfer OUT

-- Well, it’s with a bit of sadness that we bid adieu to striker Shanon Andrea, who accepts a contract with Evian TG FC in French Ligue 1 in a transfer deal worth £8,250,000. We picked up Andrea from FC Bayern in July 2021 for £5.5 million and he played three seasons with our club, providing many goals and lots of delight for our supporters. He scored 24 goals and added 10 assists in his first year with us, 21 goals and 15 assists in year two but started regressing severely last year, with 8 goals and 2 assists. Overall, in 92 games with our club, he produced 53 goals and 27 assists and we wish the 28 year old the best in France. We will need to find a replacement for him, although we do have Andy Broomes along with two loanees on their way back to Dover in Giorgos Gesios and Orlando Scolari

Transfer Clause Activated

-- We sold fine young DC Abdallaye Kokaina back in 2022 for £6 million to SK Rapid Wien and smartly built in a sell-on clause. He’s just been sold to AS Monaco FC for £7.5 million and we will collect 20% of that (!!), so we’ll be getting about £1.475 million spread out over the next 20 months. Super cool.

NoSkillz · 08-15-2014, 11:27 PM

Attendance Record Broken

-- We continue to break attendance records, with our average of 21,342 last year destroying the 18,109 mark set last year. Our stadium holds 23,000 but our board refuse to look at building a new one so I expect we’ll come close to selling out most of our contests this year.

Transfer Talk

-- We come to a deal with a young left midfielder but it’s held up due to a work permit issue. We’ll chat more about it if and when the permit gets granted.

Barclays Premier League Odds for 2024-25

-- Manchester City once again are made favourites to take home the Premier League title with 6-4 odds given by Bet365. Shockingly enough, Tottenham are the second choice at 7-4, United is third at 6-1 and we are expected to finish fourth with odds of 8-1. Last year we were given 25-1 odds with a predicted 7th place finish so that’s a heck of an improvement but an obvious one based on our huge treble winning year. The other top teams are Chelsea at 20-1 and Liverpool at 25-1.

Preseason Friendlies

-- We finalize our preseason schedule, with an intersquad game and eight other friendlies, one less than usual due to the Community Shield. We have a cupcake game at the end against Folkestone, an old rival and our foreign tour, as indicated previously, will take us to France for the first time.

July 12 vs. Dover U18
July 16 vs. Inter (Italy Serie A)
July 19 at St. Pat’s Athletic (Ireland)
July 22 at Olympique Lyonnais (France Ligue 1)
July 25 at Paris Saint-Germain (France Ligue 1)
July 28 vs. Aberdeen (Scotland Premier)
August 2 vs. AS Monaco FC (France Ligue 1)
August 5 vs. Rangers (Scotland Premier)
August 7 at Folkestone (England Non-League)

Season Ticket Update

-- Tickets are selling briskly to start, with over 1810 already sold and expectations are that our season ticket base will be close to 7900 by the beginning of the season. We had only 5317 season ticket holders last year so that would be a substantial increase if we even get close to that number.

NoSkillz · 08-16-2014, 07:36 PM

Dover Player Retirements and Other Departures

-- For the first time that I can remember, we have absolutely no players either retiring or leaving the club without a deal. We do give outright releases to six U18 players: ST Eddie Robinson, ST Jim Ryan, MR/ST Pete Smith, MC Phil Whitbread, DL Shane Holmes and MC Jay Doyle all are released without contract offers. None of these players suited up for our senior team and won’t be missed. Expect a few more former U18 players to get released soon as well.

Transfer Market Plans

-- After a treble winning season and no major player departures, we have very few holes and will only be looking to add some depth and perhaps add a few talented youngsters that could possibly take over for some of our slightly aging starters.

-- I will need to replace Shanon Andrea, who essentially was our #3 or #4 striker last year but I do have two players that have returned from loan spells in Orlando Scolari and former huge signing Giorgos Gesios. I may give them each a chance to stick around but if I find a really talented player, I’ll definitely look to make a splash.

-- Another big need is a backup left midfielder for the excellent Arsene Bamba. After selling Helder Cruz last year, we essentially made due with Rafinha as a backup there but he’s a natural fullback and better suited along the back four. We could also use additional depth at right fullback and central midfield.

World's Richest Club List

-- Real Madrid maintain their status as the world’s richest club for a third straight season, with an estimated value of £797 million, DOWN a whopping £53 million compared to last year. Barca are at £700 million (down £30 million from last year and down a monstrous 119 million in the last two years). Manchester United climb up the list and are the highest valued English club at £418 million (up 21 million from last year). City climb from 8th to fifth at £410 million, up 69 million over last year! Arsenal fall to sixth, Chelsea are in 8th and Tottenham is 11th. We continue to move up the list, going from 27th up to 23rd with a value of £136 million, up £24 million from last year.

July Board Confidence Update

-- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership. Our Champions League win continues to be the highlight while our sale of fan favourite striker Shanon Andrea is a slight disappointment.

-- We recorded a loss last month of £2.26 million in June.

Transfer News

-- We have an offer come in for MC Shaun Spall, who was loaned out last year after I had a falling out with him over playing time, or lack thereof. He’s under contract for one more year and Wolves offer me £2 million plus clauses but no up front money. I offer out Spall to other clubs and we’ll see if I get a better offer but I’m likely going to accept the deal.

-- We also get NINE offers for our third string goalkeeper Mathis Imbert, with all nine clubs offering me £2.5 million plus clauses. I accept eight of the nine offers, with only Villarreal’s rejected due to lack of up front money.

Contract Status

- We have a number of key players in the last year of their contract: DC Rayane Hamon is the only starter and I’ll look to get him extended soon. Of the others, we’ll look at extending ST Zoltan Bardi, MC Andrea Rocca, young DC Mwemere Mutesa, DC Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz and U18 sensation ML Felix Hernandez. Others with expiring deals include ST Giorgos Gesios, ST Orlando Scolari, MC Rafael Ramirez, MC Shaun Spall and DL Carlos Guzman.

Manager, Team & Stadium Status and Media Expectations

I’m in the third year of a four year contract paying me over £2.2 million per season. My loyalty to players rating hits 100% for the first time, as I’ve essentially had the same starting lineup for two plus years. On the other hand, my domestic player bias drops to 25%.

We raise our single ticket prices by almost £3.00, a pretty large increase. Similarly, we really hike the season ticket price, with a whopping 20%+ price increase! Our estimated value continues to increase and our transfer budget is at record high levels this year.

We upgraded both our training and youth facilities last year and plans are underway to do the same thing again. I’ve struck out in trying to get a new stadium built and unless we sell out the majority of our games this year, I don’t see much hope in the future of this getting done. Additionally, it looks like we’ve run out of room at our current ground to expand.

NoSkillz · 08-16-2014, 07:43 PM

Transfer IN

-- We add a youngster to our U18 program in DL Dennis Richter, a 0.5/1.5 prospect who was recently released by Karlsruher SC in Germany. He won’t play for the senior team but I always like trying to win the U18 league so Richter will help there.

Contract Extension

-- And just like that, we come to an agreement with stellar DC Rayane Hamon on a two year extension that will see him get a slight raise to £68,000 per week (up from £59,000). His new deal expires in 2027, at which time he’ll be 29 years old.

Transfer IN

-- We make our first big splash of the offseason, bringing in 21 year old left midfielder Mads Pedersen from Chelsea in a £10.25 million transfer.

Pedersen has been with Chelsea since 2020-21 and had loan spells at Crystal Palace that year (17apps 2g 3a), Hull in 2021-22 (34apps 2g 4a), FC Kobenhavn in his native Denmark in 2022-23 (46apps 5g 8a) and last year spent the season at Newcastle, scoring 6 goals and adding 10 assists in 42 appearances. He’s a Danish international (3 goals in only 8 international appearances) and is currently rated 3.0/3.5. He’s got incredible flair and is solid across the board and will step in immediately as a key backup to Arsene Bamba and will likely start pushing him for increased playing time in the near future. I remember Pedersen playing very well against us last year during our Newcastle games so I’m delighted to get him!

Transfer OUT

-- We bid adieu to third string goalkeeper Mathis Imbert, who comes to terms with Valencia after negotiating with eight clubs in a deal worth £2.5 million plus potential clauses. We picked Imbert up on a free from Olympique Lyonnais last offseason but he obviously had no chance to unseat Manuel Perez or incumbent Ingo Wilke but still got into two games for our club, allowing one goal. This was an easy move for us and it’s nice to make some money on a guy we picked up for nothing only last year.

Transfer IN

-- Signings are coming fast and furious now, as we welcome a highly rated prospect to our U18 club in Eneko Remirez, a 16 year old right fullback who joins us in a £2 million transfer deal with Athletic Club Bilbao.

Remirez is super young but has 3.5 star potential (current rating between 0.5 and 1 star according to my coaches), good speed and great determination. It wasn’t an expensive move and one of those gambles you hope pays off in the end, whether it’s here or somewhere else after a transfer. He’ll spend the next two years with our U18s and maybe get a cup game with our senior team at some point.

Potential MAJOR TRANSFER

-- I’ve had my eyes on this young German central midfielder for about a year or so but obviously, it isn’t a position of need right now with Neil Cairney, Jose, Andrea Rocca, etc all hanging around. This guy never was interested in coming here anyway but a recent news item indicated his discontent at Schalke and I had my scouts start sniffing around. Well, they came back saying he’d be interested in coming here so I started transfer talks - Schalke was open to a major deal that would see a lot of money come their way PLUS they wanted striker Giorgos Gesios thrown in. Gesios has spent two consecutive years away on loan and he’s not needed here so I had no issues including him in the offer. Gesios has come to me asking for £16,750/week in compensation for the next twelve months, as he will have to take a pay cut in Germany. I agree to pay the compensation and now, we wait on a player that will give us the greatest of problems - too many talented midfielders! We’ll keep our fingers crossed - this guy looks to be ridiculous!

NoSkillz · 08-16-2014, 08:55 PM

Another Potential Transfer

-- I have another big money transfer all set for a 22 year old 6’ 4” Mexican striker who looks quite solid but we need a work permit to be granted. I have a contingency plan in place for another young striker, just in case.

2024 European Championship

-- Germany beat Spain 2-0 to win the 2024 European Championship. We didn’t have anyone playing on either of the finalists but did have a number of players participating in the event. Barcelona superstar Enrique wins the Golden Boot and player of the tournament.

U18 Signing

-- We sign 18 year old Holland D/MC Fouad van der Horst on a free after he was released by PSV. van der Horst will play for the U18’s this year.

Contract Extension

-- We give a three-year contract to 19 year old youth team graduate Adam Betts, a central defender. He’s got little talent (0.5/2.0) but he performed admirably in his only senior team game last year and I’ll look to loan him out this year with hopes of eventually selling him off.

Transfer IN

Well, here it is! We pay £23.5 million AND give up striker Giorgos Gesios for 22 year old German MC Benedikt Raab!!! Check out THIS guy -

This guy is INCREDIBLE! He’s rated either 4.0 or 4.5 stars currently by my coaching staff and world class doesn’t even begin to describe this guy’s talent. He’s a pure stud who has been with Schalke his whole career, coming up through their youth system. He’s had loan spells in Austria at First Vienna FC along with a one year loan spell at NEC in the Eredivisie but he’s spent the last three seasons with Schalke’s senior team, playing 112 games, scoring 23 goals and adding 28 assists during that time. He’s unquestionably one of the best players in the world and when you add him to our current midfield of Neil Cairney, Jose, Andrea Rocca, Emmerson Harvey and Rafael Ramirez, I can easily say we have the best midfield in the world. Just a sensational addition to our squad!

Of course, we have to bid farewell to Giorgos Gesios and while he never really panned out for us, I have very fond memories of the guy who was really our first “major” transfer here at Dover. We bought him from Arsenal in 2019 for a whopping £14.25 million, easily a record transfer for us at the time and he was destined to be our main threat up front for the future. He battled numerous injuries in that first season and was largely a disappointment until exploding for 23 goals in 38 games the following year. We figured he was just getting started but he battled poor form and more injuries in year three, getting passed on the first team by newcomer Shanon Andrea and his 8 goals in 34 games was a monster letdown. With Andrea taking our main role up front, Gesios was expendable and spent the last two seasons on loan, first in Spain with Sevilla and last year with Hoffenheim in Germany. Now, he heads to German rival Schalke. Gesios played 98 games for Dover, scoring 41 goals and adding 21 assists. We wish Gesios well with his new team.

NoSkillz · 08-16-2014, 10:45 PM

Training Camp Begins

-- The players return from their vacation and there are no fitness concerns whatsoever from my assistant manager and no injuries. Cool!

-- In our team meeting, my coaches give me the low-down on where we stand in relation to other teams in the league. Boy, have things flipped quickly after our huge season last year:

Concentration - Highest in the League (High last year)
Flair - High (was only average last year)
Dribbling - Poor (Same as last year)
First Touch - Good (was only average last year)
Height - Good, among the tallest squads in the league (Same as last year)
Speed - Highest in the league (High last year)
Passing - Good (was only average last year)
Fitness - Best in the League (FOURTH year in a row)
Technique - Good (was only average last year)
Age - Youngest team in the League (We've been the youngest squad all seven years in the Premier League)

Transfers IN

-- We sign another youngster for our U18 team in ST Neil Evans. Nothing to see here.

Transfer IN

-- We continue to add to our embarrassment of riches at central midfield, signing 22 year old Italian Paolo Secchi on a free after he wasn’t given a contract extension by Barcelona.

Secchi was signed by Barca for £6.75 million from Olympique Lyonnais in 2021 but played only one senior level game for the club, getting an assist in the contest. He played three full seasons for Barcelona’s “B” team, FC Barcelona Atletic and he was incredibly prolific - last year alone, in 35 appearances, he scored 13 goals and added 17 assists! He was equally as productive the two other years and this was a no-brainer for me, picking him up on a free. I’m in the midst of trying to sell Rafael Ramirez but Secchi won’t see much playing time with our senior team this year. I’d like to send him away on loan but I’m guessing he’ll resist.

Loan OUT

-- 20 year old Austrian right midfielder Marcel Quade, one of our former U18 players, is sent to Colchester on a season-long loan. I pick up a bit of up front money and they will pay his modest wages for the whole year. He’s not in our long-term plans.

Transfer OUT

-- ST Orlando Scolari accepts a contract with Udinese in Italian Serie A and that completes a £3.6 million transfer that includes some bonus clauses. We signed the young striker in July 2022 on a free and he went on two, season-long loans. He battled injuries in 2022/23 with Leverkusen and only played 11 games, scoring twice but he blossomed last year with Girondins Bordeaux in French Ligue 1, scoring 22 goals in 36 games. He could have been a depth forward for us but we have some irons in the fire, so to speak, on a couple of potential stars so Scolari was expendable.

Pitch Perfect

-- As usual, we have our pitch relayed before the start of the season and the playing surface is now in perfect condition.

NoSkillz · 08-17-2014, 12:03 AM

Fri. July 12, 2024

-- We play our annual intrasquad game between our reserves/backups and our U18 team.

Preseason Friendly
Dover 5 - 0 Dover U18
Dover Goals - Stuart Cousins OG, Andy Broomes (8.2), Emmerson Harvey (8.9), Lyubomir Kunchev (8.1), Zoltan Bardi (8.1)
Dover Assists - Mads Pedersen 2 (8.4), Emmerson Harvey, Andy Broomes, Norberto Vazquez (6.9)
Man of the Match - Emmerson Harvey
Other Notables: Takfarinas Madani (7.5), Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (7.5), Mwemere Mutesa (7.9), Carlos Guzman (7.5), Benedikt Raab (7.0)

U18 Goals -
U18 Assists -
Other U18 Notables - Eneko Remirez (4.8), Fouad van der Horst (4.9), Dennis Richter (5.6), Sean Woolley (5.7), James Campbell (5.6), Dominic Beard (5.7), Neil Evans (5.4), Matthew Neil (5.7)

-- Our backups/reserves/newcomers stormed out to an early 4-0 lead then stepped off the gas. New ML Mads Pedersen is really going to be fun to watch, as he has more flair than any player I’ve ever signed and looked like Ronaldo out there today. Raab was average but had a few good chances in his first game.

Transfer OUT

-- We sell newly promoted U18 player Norberto Vazquez to Dortmund for £3.3 million plus clauses, a very modest profit over our purchase price of £2.7 million last season from Boca. Vazquez scored at will for the U18s last year and suited up for a meaningless late season game last year for our senior team. He’s a good prospect but he won’t amount to much here so I’m okay with sending him away.

-- I also release five scrubs from our weak 2024 U18 recruitment class. As usual, I cut any kids without potential and I lose close to £30,000 in severance fees.

Transfers OUT

-- We move young central midfielder Rafael Ramirez to Club Deportivo Cruz Azul in his native Mexico for an initial £6.5 million with the potential to pick up another £1.5 million in future clauses. The 21 year old is very talented but is expendable because of our incredible depth and recent acquisitions. We bought him last year from OM in France for £5.25 million and he only played in one game for our senior team. We did send him on loan to Dynamo Kyiv for half a season and he played great for them. I expect him to be a pretty darned good player eventually but again, with so much depth, he was a luxury at best and we needed the money for future transfers. Good luck to Ramirez in Mexico.

-- We also send 19 year old fullback Takfarinas Madani away to Hercules in Spain for £700,000. We picked the youngster up on a free last year from AJ Auxerre and at 0.5/1.5, he wasn’t going to amount to anything here. I’m delighted to get this much for him.

Loans OUT

-- In a bit of a gamble, we send two more backup DR’s away on season-long loans. We get close to £325,000 up front for allowing Steve Reed to go to MK Dons in the Championship. As our third string DR last year, Reed saw action in five senior team games. We also send out Hans Briers on loan for a second consecutive year, with Hull, also in the Championship, his new team for the next 12 months. We may have to eventually look at picking up another right fullback but it’s not a major need at the moment.

-- Newly signed U18 graduate Adam Betts will spend the year at Bournemouth in League Two on loan. Hopefully he plays well enough to become sellable in the future.

Season Ticket Sales Update

-- We continue to move tickets and are up to 4123 packages sold, with expectations that we’ll eventually sell approximately 7900.

Injury Update

-- Emmerson Harvey suffers a pulled hamstring in training and will miss the next three weeks.

Transfer IN

-- In another move to bolster our U18 team, we pick up 18 year old striker Alberto Velazquez from Pumas in Mexico for £325,000.

Like Norberto Vazquez before him, this young man has immense potential (0.5/3.5) and should score goals by the bushel load for our U18s this year and potentially be a saleable asset in the future.

-- We also scoop up 18 year old Swiss goalkeeper Luigi Nicoletti on a free. He’s currently injured and only a 0.5/1.5 prospect so he’s only here to help the U18s.

Major Transfer IN

-- We make yet another HUGE splash, spending £19 million to bring 22 year old Mexican striker Manuel Lugo to Dover from Feyenoord!

The permitting process seemed to take forever here but we finally get it done just before our first main preseason game! Lugo is a lethal finisher, has good speed and is tall and physically gifted. He scored 10 goals in 22 games last year for Feyenoord after coming over from SK Sturm Graz in Austria for £12.75 million. I LOVE the fact that he’s left footed and with a current rating of either 2.5 or 3.0, depending on the coach and a potential rating of 3.5, he’s going to fit in superbly here at a #3 striker and perhaps will eventually take over from Chiquinho if he shows the goal scoring touch I expect. Another very exciting signing and we have a trifecta of great ones with Mads Pedersen and Benedikt Raab.

That should be our last major signing, although I have an offer in on an interesting right fullback candidate but it will be much more modest of a deal if it goes through.

NoSkillz · 08-17-2014, 01:06 AM

Tue. July 16, 2024

Preseason Friendly
Dover vs. F.C. Internazionale (Italy Serie A)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Inter are a solid club, having finished fifth last year in Serie A but we should be able to handle them. Gian Marco Fanfoni, who played the last two years here at Dover on loan, starts for Inter today.

We are playing with a pretty strong lineup today. The major newcomers are all starting as we look to get them assimilated with our squad. Benedikt Raab doesn’t speak English but Mexican striker Manuel Lugo is completely fluent so he should fit in a bit faster.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - R. Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, Rafinha
M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, B. Raab, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, M. Lugo

Dover 1 - 1 Inter
Goals - Paul Moses (8.2)
Assists - Neil Cairney (7.1)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.1), Mads Pedersen (7.3)
Attendance - 23,000

This game was FAST and I loved the way we played but we just couldn’t get enough shots on target. We edged them in possession but outshot them 28-6 (6-3 on target). Moses looked fantastic, as usual. Newcomer Lugo missed a complete sitter from in close and that was the difference.

Next Up

-- We head to Ireland to face St. Pat’s Athletic in a preseason friendly.

NoSkillz · 08-17-2014, 08:04 PM

Fri. July 19, 2024

Preseason Friendly
St. Pat’s Athletic (Ireland) vs. Dover
Richmond Park, Dublin, Ireland

Ireland’s Premier Division isn’t playable in my gaming world so I have no idea how these guys have been faring over the years. I expect that they’ll be in tough today.

The only player getting a second consecutive start is new striker Manuel Lugo. We continue to rotate the squad in order to get everyone fully fit.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - C. Guzman, M. Yilmaz, S. Nasri, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, Jose, A. Rocca, G. Allan
S - M. Lugo, Chiquinho

St. Pat’s 0 - 6 Dover
Goals - Chiquinho 4 (9.8), Jose (9.0), Graham Allan (8.9)
Assists - Andrea Rocca 2 (9.2), Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (8.7), Arsene Bamba (8.1), Adam Hyde (6.9)
Man of the Match - Chiquinho
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.1), Salim Loucif (8.8), Saber Nasri (8.2), Carlos Guzman (8.2)
Attendance - 4,842

We were a bit sluggish early but then Chiquinho turned on the skill and put on an incredible, vintage performance, with 11 shots (!!!) by him alone. He was everywhere. Manuel Lugo was the only starter with a rating below 7.0 and he looked LOST - not good at all for our £19 million man. Adam Hyde is a recent graduate of our U18 program and will only feature with the reserves this year.

Transfer News

-- Out of favour midfielder Shaun Spall REJECTS a contract offer from Wolves and he’s still hanging around here. I put him back on the market and one team offers to bring him in on loan while Wolves come calling again too. Good luck with that guys! I accept both offers but expect Spall to take the loan offer.

-- The last of my major targets agrees to terms with us but will need a work permit. The 19 year old right fullback looks to be full of promise and hopefully the permit is granted.

U18 Transfer IN

-- We continue to add talent to our U18 roster, signing M/AM RC Vlastimil Silhavy on a free after he was recently released by Jablonec. He’s a 1.0/2.5 type of guy but comes in with a value of £1.4 million so perhaps he can be sold in the future. He should perform well for our youth squad.

Pitch Size Alterations

-- We have used the largest possible pitch in every year I’ve been a manager and with the highest speed in the league, there is no reason to change my philosophy now. No changes are made!

Next Up

-- We head to France for our two game foreign tour. We’ll face Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain.

NoSkillz · 08-19-2014, 07:28 PM

Mon. July 22, 2024

Preseason Friendly
Olympique Lyonnais (France Ligue 1) vs. Dover
OL Land, Decines-Charpieu, France

OL are one of the biggest clubs in the world and haven’t finished outside the top two in Ligue 1 in ELEVEN years. They finished second last year to their main rival, OM. They were Champions League runners up in 2022, Europa League winners in 2021 and have won their domestic league 15 times. 27 year old Brazilian striker Tiago is valued at over £31 million and has spent seven years scoring in bushel loads for the club.

We’re going with a half strength lineup at best, as we continue to try to get our players fit for the start of the season. I’m even giving U18 graduate Gary Archer a start at midfield today. Rayane Hamon will also start as he returns to his home country.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, M. Mutesa, R. Hamon, Rafinha
M - M. Pedersen, G. Archer, B. Raab, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Z. Bardi

Olympique Lyonnais 6 - 3 Dover
Goals - Andy Broomes PEN (6.9), Gianluca Bolis (8.1), Andrea Rocca (7.4)
Assists - Mwemere Mutesa (6.5), Gianluca Bolis, Mads Pedersen (6.9)
Man of the Match - Alejandro Garcia (Olympique Lyonnais MC - 9.4)
Other Dover Notables - Rafinha (5.7), Renato Gaucho (4.8), Gary Archer (5.8), Paolo Secchi (5.8), Alberto Velazquez (5.8)
Attendance - 57,926

So yeah, this was a MASSACRE!!! I don’t remember the last time we were beaten this badly but in front of a huge French crowd, we completely laid an egg. OL dominated in every facet - this was pretty embarrassing and I’ll be sure to start a MUCH better lineup in our next game in order to save a bit of face on this foreign tour. Adding injury to insult, new MC Benedikt Raab got hurt and needed to come off during the match but thankfully, it was just a gashed leg and he should be fine in about two weeks.

Transfer News

-- We have another deal cancelled involving out of favour midfielder Shaun Spall! This time, Valladolid can’t come up with the money to pay for him! Unreal. For a third time, I offer him around.

Thu. July 25, 2024

Preseason Friendly
Paris Saint-Germain (France Ligue 1) vs. Dover
Parc des Princes, Paris, France

PSG finished fourth in Ligue 1 last year to get back into European play for the first time in three years. It’s been a long while since they last won the league (1994) and they usually are just a tier below the powerhouses like OL and OM. They’ve been very quiet in the transfer window thus far and they don’t have a lot of high priced talent on their roster. I do notice that one of their keepers is Youssouf Sylla, who we sold to them three years ago after one very lacklustre season with our club. Sylla is their main starter and I expect him to play today.

No more messing around here. After our embarrassing loss the other day to Olympique Lyonnais, we need to show our true capabilities to the French fans and we’ll be starting a much stronger team today. The only backups playing today are Carlos Guzman, Saber Nasri and Graham Allan. I expect a much better performance from this lineup and despite this being preseason, I tell the team I expect a win today.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - C. Guzman, C. Contreras, S. Nasri, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Allan
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho

Paris Saint-Germain 0 - 5 Dover
Goals - Paul Moses 2 (8.9), Neil Cairney PEN (8.5), Chiquinho (8.1), Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (7.3)
Assists - Jose (7.5), Neil Cairney, Arsene Bamba (8.1), Paul Moses, Lyubomir Kunchev (6.9)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.0), Salim Loucif (8.3), Saber Nasri (7.7), Claudio Contreras (7.7), Carlos Guzman (8.0)
Attendance - 21,665

That’s much better. A dominating performance from the get-go and we held 54% of possession and a 27-4 (9-0 on target) shot advantage. Moses is unstoppable and only injury (knock on wood) will keep him from tormenting our opposition this year. We head back to the US with our confidence restored!

Transfer Talk

-- Tottenham come to us with an official enquiry for Chiquinho and I tell them to bugger off. He has a minimum release clause of £31.5 million so Spurs can get him to the bargaining table if they are so inclined.

Preseason Televised Game

-- An upcoming preseason friendly against AS Monaco will be televised nationally. That will be the fourth preseason game (out of eight total) of ours that is televised this season.

Season Ticket Update

-- We’ve already eclipsed last year’s total of season tickets sold, as we reach 6272 packages for 2024/25 after having only 5317 subscribers last year. We’re still expected to get close to 7900 subscribers before the year begins.

Next Up

-- We host Aberdeen in a preseason friendly here at Crabble Athletic Ground.

NoSkillz · 08-19-2014, 10:58 PM

Sun. July 28, 2024

Preseason Friendly
Dover vs. Aberdeen (Scotland Premier League)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Talk about consistency! Here are Aberdeen’s finishes over the past ten years in Scotland’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League: 4th, 6th, 5th, 6th, 5th, 4th, 6th, 5th, 4th, 4th. Hilarious. They locked up a Europa League spot with last year’s finish, which tied their team record for points with 65. This is a much smaller team than we are and they don’t have many stars but I smile when I notice a former Dover U18 player on their roster in midfielder Luke Hendrie, who last played for our club in 2014/15 when we were in League 1.

We’re back to using a lesser side today, as we’ll save most of our best players for another home game coming up in two days. I really want to see a performance out of new striker Manuel Lugo today - I have him playing a target man role today which may suit his skill-set a bit more than our advanced striker role. Zoltan Bardi is opposite him. Lyubomir Kunchev, newcomer Paolo Secchi and Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz will also get starts.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - Renato Gaucho, M. Yilmaz, R. Hamon, Rafinha
M - M. Pedersen, P. Secchi, A. Rocca, L. Kunchev
S - Z. Bardi, M. Lugo

Dover 3 - 1 Aberdeen
Goals - Rayane Hamon 2 (9.2), Paolo Secchi (8.0)
Assists - Andrea Rocca 2 (7.5), Mads Pedersen (7.6)
Man of the Match - Rayane Hamon
Other Dover Notables - Renato Gaucho (7.1)
Attendance - 9,058

Not impressive whatsoever, as we gave up the first goal on a penalty shot after Rafinha tackled a man down inside our area. Secchi scored to even things up almost right away then two Hamon goals off corner kicks sealed the win. I continue to really worry about Manuel Lugo - when you pay that much for a striker, you expect immediate results. The guy is 22 years old, speaks English and has a record of goal scoring but he’s kind of slow, both with his feet and with his head. I’m not going to panic yet but it’s quite clear that he will need some time in the reserves and maybe some low-key cup games before I starting trusting him on the bigger stage.

Transfer OUT

-- Midfielder Shaun Spall agrees to a move to Wolves but in order to make the transfer happen, we have to bridge the gap between what we were paying him and his new contract. So we make up the £2100/week difference and that closes the books on Spall and a £2.3 million transfer deal. We brought Spall over from Peterborough in July 2020 for £500,000 and he played two seasons with our club and spent last year on loan with Norwich. In all, he started 14 games and played in 44 games overall for our club, scoring 2 goals and adding 5 assists. We wish him well but he won’t be missed!

Players in Last Year of Contract

-- A few key players are in their last year of their contracts with us, including ST Zoltan Bardi, MC Andrea Rocca, ML Felix Hernandez, DC Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz and DC Mwemere Mutesa. We’ll likely try to extend them all at some point soon.

Squad Win Bonuses

-- As usual, I agree to give the players higher squad bonuses for all competitions and that makes them all delighted.

August Update

-- We have three more preseason friendlies, with home match-ups against AS Monaco and Rangers then a road matchup against non-league Folkestone. We head to Wembley to start the season against Manchester City in the Community Shield then start the Premier League season with match ups against Sheffield United (road) and Newcastle (home). We’ll also have a League Cup match and face Dortmund in the European Super Cup at the end of the month. Lots of action to start the season.

-- We get positive training notices for Mwemere Mutesa and U18 player Robbie Welsh along with a negative notice for Paul Moses. I’ll start worrying about Moses if he suddenly stops scoring.

August Board Confidence Update

-- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership of the team. Our stature increase is the main reason for their happiness but they are still disappointed that I sold Shanon Andrea.

-- We recorded a loss of £56.61 million in July. OUCH.

Injury Update

-- Midfielder Emmerson Harvey returns to full training after missing three weeks with a pulled hamstring.

Transfer News

-- In some good news, Tottenham spend £25.5 million on Dutch striker Peter Jansen, who spent most of his career with Stuttgart. The 28 year old will be expected to lead the charge from the front for Spurs but this can only mean that they will stop sniffing around Chiquinho.

-- Then again, right after that we hear rumours that Spurs are going to make a bid for Arsene Bamba. Boy, these guys have a lot of money!

Transfer IN

-- It took some patience but we finally get a work permit approved for Brazilian right fullback Emerson, thus completing a £5.75 million transfer with Avai FC in Brazil!

Emerson just turned 20 a couple of days ago and was only at Avai for a year after starting his career at Palmeiras. The 2.5/3.5 rated youngster has very good speed and a well-balanced skill set and should give us even more depth at fullback behind Salim Loucif and Rafinha.

Olympics 2024

-- Egypt is hosting the 2024 Summer Games and we have four players called up to take part, with Arsene Bamba (Ivory Coast), Manuel Perez and Manuel Lugo (Mexico) and youngster Vlastimil Silhavy (Czech Republic) all getting the call. This means we will be without two key players in Bamba and Perez to start our season.

Next Up

-- We play host once again, this time to French outfit AS Monaco FC in preseason friendly action.

NoSkillz · 08-20-2014, 12:28 AM

Fri. August 2, 2024

Preseason Friendly
Dover vs. AS Monaco FC (France Ligue 1)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

We have history versus this club, as they were our first ever Champions League opponent. We’d knock them off in the Best Placed Playoff in 2021 8-3 on aggregate. They had a bit of an average season last year, finishing fifth in the league and are destined for Europa League play. They’ve won Ligue 1 nine times (most recently in 2012), were runners up in the 2004 Champions League and are two-time Europa League runners up (2016 and 2021). Once again, we’ll face another former Dover player in DC Abdallaye Kokaina, who just got signed by the French side this year from SK Rapid Wien for £7.5 million.

We start a reasonably strong lineup today, going with Andy Broomes up front alongside Chiquinho. Young left midfielder Felix Hernandez gets his first crack at starting in the preseason after being away on international duty. Newcomer Emerson is on the bench to start but I’ll get him in the lineup at some point tonight. Andrea Rocca is still trying to get match fit so he gets a second consecutive start today.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Rafinha, C. Contreras, S. Nasri, S. Loucif
M - F. Hernandez, N. Cairney, A. Rocca, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho

Dover 1 - 0 AS Monaco FC
Goals - Andy Broomes (7.6)
Assists - Neil Cairney (7.1)
Man of the Match - Andy Broomes
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.1)
Attendance - 22,344

Well, the scoreline doesn’t flatter us but we held 53% of overall possession and had a large 21-4 (5-2 on target) shot advantage. Broomes has been very impressive in preseason and has outplayed both Manuel Lugo and Zoltan Bardi so I’ll be giving him more consideration for future starts in the coming weeks.

Injury Update

-- Young midfielder Felix Hernandez got hurt on a challenge during the game, hurting his elbow. He’ll miss about two weeks but he’s destined for our U18 squad either way.

Transfer News

-- Yeovil Town just got promoted to League 1 and have asked if we’re interested in loaning 17 year old right fullback Eneko Remirez for five months. They are willing to pay his full wages and indicate he’d play a starting role on their club. Yes, I’m interested - I negotiate the deal and ask that they take him for the full season and they accept my terms. Now, it’s up to Remirez.

-- If he goes, we’ll have no right fullbacks on our U18 team so I scout a few young scrubs to fill his spot.

Season Ticket Update

-- We continue to sell a whole bunch of season ticket packages, now exceeding 7400 subscribers. We’re still expected to sell around 7900, which again would be a huge increase over last year’s total.

Next Up

-- In our second last preseason friendly, we welcome Scottish powerhouse Rangers to Crabble Athletic Ground.

NoSkillz · 08-20-2014, 01:17 AM

Mon. August 5, 2024

Preseason Friendly
Dover vs. Rangers (Scotland Premier League)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Rangers are coming off a third place finish in last year’s Scottish Premier League and they have qualified for the Europa League. We have only one career meeting and it was a friendly three years ago that we won 3-1. They are 61 TIME SCOTTISH CHAMPIONS and last won the title in 2021. They’ve also finished runners up in the Europa League twice (2008 and 2020). They are the media’s choice to finish on top of their league this year.

For all intents and purposes, this will be our final tuneup for our starters today, as I plan to start all backups in our last preseason game against Folkestone. The only exceptions are Arsene Bamba and Manuel Perez, who both are away playing at the Olympic Games in Egypt.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Allan
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho

Dover 3 - 1 Rangers
Goals - Paul Moses (8.0), Chiquinho (8.0), Jose (8.1)
Assists - Paul Moses, Chiquinho, Jose
Man of the Match - Jose
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.0), Rayane Hamon (7.2)
Attendance - 16,724

Not quite as dominating as I would have liked but it will suffice. We’re starting to suffer a bit from overconfidence after our treble last year so I’ll be watching that dynamic closely as the season begins. We held 52% of the ball and outshot them 22-8 (7-3 on target). And no one got hurt, although Ingo Wilke did get banged up during the game - we’ve been very fortunate not to have many goalkeeper injuries throughout this dynasty.

On-Field Leadership

-- We stick with the same leaders as last year, as Salim Loucif retains the captaincy and Saber Nasri keeps his vice captain role.

International Update

-- Manuel Perez got a clean sheet as Mexico beat Finland 3-0 in Olympic play.

Next Up

-- We face non-league rival Folkestone in our final preseason friendly, giving our young backups a chance to shine.

Alf · 08-20-2014, 04:48 AM

Yay. More FM !

NoSkillz · 08-22-2014, 08:03 PM

Wed. August 7, 2024

Preseason Friendly
Folkestone (England Non-League) vs. Dover
The New Pavillion, Folkestone, UK

Folkestone are an old rival but are a non-league team that couldn’t put up a fight against our U18 squad, let alone our main squad.

Most of our main starters will not dress tonight but guys like Benedikt Raab, Gianluca Bolis, Emmerson Harvey and Rafinha will play. Anyone who is a main backup will get about 60 minutes at most in an attempt to avoid injury before our season begins. Reserves starting today include goalkeeper Steven Potter, ML Adam Hyde and DC Mwemere Mutesa.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - S. Potter
D - Rafinha, M. Yilmaz, M. Mutesa, Emerson
M - A. Hyde, E. Harvey, B. Raab, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Z. Bardi

Folkestone 0 - 6 Dover
Goals - Andy Broomes 3 (9.5), Benedikt Raab (9.3), Alberto Velazquez (7.4), Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (9.3)
Assists - Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz, Gianluca Bolis (8.3), Benedikt Raab, Emmerson Harvey (8.1), Adam Hyde (8.0), Zoltan Bardi (7.9)
Man of the Match - Andy Broomes
Other Dover Notables - Steven Potter (7.1), Emerson (8.4), Mwemere Mutesa (7.6), Rafinha (8.1)
Attendance - 4,587

We dominate, as expected, with 65% of possession and a 27-2 (11-0 on target) shot advantage. All eleven starters had a rating of over 7.0. Broomes has been sensational all preseason and has elevated himself into a prime backup role to Paul Moses - Manuel Lugo will struggle to find playing time early. And it was great seeing a two point performance from Benedikt Raab, who scored on a spectacular, curling free kick from distance in this one. Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz got banged up in the game and had the dreaded cross of doom but there was no ill-effects after the match and he’ll be just fine.

-- We close out the preseason 6-1-1, with the loss being the big one to Olympique Lyonnais.

U18 Transfers IN

-- We continue to add some scrubby depth to our U18s, with DC Robert Hoffmann, DC Danny Hope and DR Darren Beckett agreeing to terms.

-- In a previous post, I mentioned that Yeovil Town were looking to add our young right fullback Eneko Remirez on a season-long loan. That is kiboshed by Remirez, as he rejects the offer and prefers to stay here. No problem with me!

International Roundup

-- We have four players taking part in the 2024 Olympic Games. U18 prospect Vlastimil Silhavy came on as a substitute in a 3-1 Czech Republic loss to South Korea. Meanwhile, new striker Manuel Lugo scores twice and Manuel Perez plays well in goal as Mexico beats China 4-1. Arsene Bamba is also playing for Ivory Coast and they draw against Finland 1-1.

2024-25 Dover Athletic Squad

-- We head into our opener with 28 first team players, one more than last year. Here's a look at a breakdown of our senior team along with notes on our reserves, players on loan and key U18 personel. Preferred starters are noted in bold.

GOALKEEPERS -
Manuel Perez, Ingo Wilke

IN:
OUT: Mathis Imbert (Valencia - £2.8m)

It’s a changing of the guard somewhat, as we expect third year Mexican international Perez to take the majority of starts this year over longtime incumbent Wilke. It’s a slight concern that Perez still hasn’t mastered the English language but that hasn’t hindered his performance thus far, as he’s been sensational in most of his starts. Wilke, the club’s all-time leader in games played, will still be around and likely play about a third of the games. We’re very strong in goal with these two.

DEFENDERS -
Claudio Contreras, Emerson, Carlos Guzman, Rayane Hamon, Salim Loucif, Mwemere Mutesa, Saber Nasri, Rafinha, Renato Gaucho, Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz

IN: Emerson (Avai - £5.75m)
OUT: Steve Reed (MK Dons - Loan), Hans Briers (Hull - Loan), Takfarinas Madani (Hercules - £950k), Adam Betts (Bournemouth - Loan)

Our starting four remain unchanged for the last few years and this young group continue to play at a very high level. Hamon and Contreras both had their best seasons of their careers thus far while our two fullbacks Renato Gaucho and Salim Loucif provide skill and great leadership. Our depth was already incredible last year, with Nasri, Yilmaz and Rafinha all having stellar seasons but we’ve added to that depth with Mutesa returning to the club after a year-long loan spell and the signing of Brazilian youngster Emerson. They join Carlos Guzman to provide us with unparalleled depth.

MIDFIELDERS -
Graham Allan, Arsene Bamba, Gianluca Bolis, Neil Cairney, Emmerson Harvey, Jose, Lyubomir Kunchev, Mads Pedersen, Benedikt Raab, Andrea Rocca, Paolo Secchi

IN: Mads Pedersen (Chelsea - £10.25m), Benedikt Raab (Schalke - £23.5m), Paolo Secchi (Barcelona - Free)
OUT: Marcel Quade (Colchester - Loan), Rafael Ramirez (Cruz Azul - £8m), Helder Cruz (Palermo - £9.5m), Gian Marco Fanfoni (Returned to Inter from loan), Shaun Spall (Wolves - £2.3m)

We saw a slight change in our starting four in the middle last year, as newcomer Jose acclimated himself quickly to English football and didn’t take long to unseat incumbent Rocca, who still played at a high level himself when given the chance to play. As expected, Neil Cairney couldn’t quite follow up his sensational performance from the 22/23 season but still was excellent, giving up many of his scoring opportunities to Jose. We got a huge year out of Arsene Bamba and hope he can continue to produce at that same level this year. Gianluca Bolis has continued to be inconsistent at best in recent years and gave up considerable playing time to fellow right winger Graham Allan. We added one of the best players in football to our midfield in the offseason, bringing in Schalke star Raab, who will undoubtedly make a push for a starting job this year. At 22 years of age, he’s the future of the club. I’m intrigued about the potential of Mads Pedersen, who brings incredible skill and flair to the left midfield position and will give us excellent depth behind Bamba. Emmerson Harvey continues to grow but will continue to be brought along slowly as our fifth option in the middle and he’ll battle with newcomer Secchi for playing time. In fact, there is a very real chance I’ll eventually loan one of those two out to another club to ensure they get the proper amount of playing time. I truly believe we have the best midfield in all of football.

STRIKERS -

Zoltan Bardi, Andy Broomes, Chiquinho, Manuel Lugo, Paul Moses

IN: Manuel Lugo (Feyenoord - £19m)
OUT: Shanon Andrea (Evian TG FC - £8.25m), Giorgos Gesios (Schalke - P/Ex), Orlando Scolari (Udinese - £3.8m), Norberto Vazquez (Dortmund - £3.3m)

Chiquinho was coming off a huge first year with our club and Shanon Andrea started alongside him to start the year but it became quickly apparent that our best option in attack was 19 year old Paul Moses, who we just signed to a large deal from Manchester United after two successful years as a loaner. Moses has a legendary season, scoring 59 goals and won accolades throughout the year, culminating in the European Golden Boot. The only thing that can stop him is injury - he’s turning into the best player in all of football. Chiquinho was inconsistent last year, going through many dry spells but we were able to overcome them due to Moses’ brilliance. Andrea lost a step and a half and was deemed expendable in the offseason, as Bardi outplayed him and took over as our third option in attack by the end of the year. Broomes wasn’t given many opportunities but continues to grow as a player and has Moses-like speed - he’ll play more this year. We made a big splash in adding Lugo, a lethal finisher with great size but he’ll take some time getting used to English football and we’ll be sure not to put too much pressure on him, a difficult task with such a large transfer fee. Gesios leaves in the Benedikt Raab deal and Scolari and Vazquez were talented youngsters that would have had trouble breaking into our lineup. It’s debatable whether we’re as strong up front as last year with the departure of Andrea but with Moses seemingly scoring at will, this is undoubtedly another position of strength for us.

RESERVE TEAM -

GK Steven Potter, ML Adam Hyde, MC Gary Archer, MR Steven Miller, MC Warren Ward

We actually have a few players that graduated from our U18 program that will stay on board to play for our reserves team when necessary. None of these players will amount to anything here and all have contracts that will expire at the end of this year without being renewed.

U18 SQUAD -

GK Luigi Nicoletti, GK Robbie Welsh, DL Dennis Richter, DC Danny Hope, DC Robert Hoffmann, DR Darren Beckett, DR Eneko Remirez, DL Stuart Cousins, DC Fouad van der Horst, ML Felix Hernandez, MC Dominic Beard, MR Sean Woolley, MC James Campbell, MC Nathan Protheroe, MR Vlastimil Silhavy, ML Joshua Stokes, MC Edward Smith, AML Matthew Neil, ST Ben Patterson, ST Neil Evans, ST Alberto Velazquez, ST Freddie Laird

We have a few good looking youngsters, with Remirez, Hernandez and Velazquez all having 3.5 star potential.

PLAYERS AWAY ON LOAN -

DC Adam Betts, DR Hans Briers, DR Steve Reed, MR Marcel Quade

None of these players are in our long-term plans.

There is no question in my mind that despite winning the treble last year, we are even STRONGER this year. As such, I have set the following goals:

1. Repeat as champions in the Barclays Premier League
2. Repeat as champions in the Champions League
3. Win the FA Cup for the first time

Another goal would be to go undefeated in league play but I’m not going to get greedy!

Next Up

-- We take advantage of our Premier League win last year to play in our first Community Shield, heading to Wembley to face off against Manchester City, the defending FA Cup champs.

NoSkillz · 08-23-2014, 08:08 PM

Alright, we're about to begin our season and I'm going to keep doing game-by-game write-ups but in order to keep things going, I won't be writing up full play-by-play highlights. Instead, I'll just recap the goals for both teams while still doing the pre-game and post-game write-ups.

Hope that's okay - I doubt many of you read through that other stuff anyway!

On to the season...

NoSkillz · 08-23-2014, 09:28 PM

Sun. August 11, 2024

Community Shield
Dover vs. Manchester City
Wembley, London, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 13-8 Draw: N/A Manchester City: 6-4 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 3W 2D 8L

Jose Mourinho took over management at City late last year and they went unbeaten in all 12 games he managed so needless to say, he’s been able to “right the ship” after the ill-advised sale of superstar striker Enrique to Barcelona. City won the FA Cup last year (beating Spurs 2-1) to qualify for this game. They brought in five players in July, spending an absurd £113 million - 26 year old AM/ST Jonathan Bottone from Inter (£36 million), 25 year old WB Victor Talavera from Barcelona (£34.5 million) and 24 year old MC Lamine Faye from Spurs (£29 million) are the notable additions. They still have a potent strike force in Jelle Hoegee and Ryan Bonin but usually play with one striker and three attacking mids.

We are taking this contest very seriously and will start all of our preferred eleven, minus Manuel Perez and Arsene Bamba, who both are still in Egypt playing in the Olympics. ML Mads Pedersen gets his first ever Dover start today. I go with Gianluca Bolis on the right side and keep Graham Allan on the bench, as he can play both sides of the field and is better suited as a sub for this game with Bamba away on international duty.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, B. Raab, A. Rocca, G. Allan, Z. Bardi, A. Broomes

City come out in their 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) formation with all three new signings in the lineup. Interestingly enough, it’s Vaclav Kadlec in at striker - Bonin is on the bench and Hoegee isn’t in the lineup at all. Antonio is their keeper. I tell the team to go out and bring home this trophy for our supporters.

3’ - GRRRRRR. Paul Moses goes down and has the dreaded “cross of doom” above his head. His fitness doesn’t take a big hit and he can keep playing but we’ll have to hope for the best after the game. NOT GOOD!

25’ - We win a corner and it’s Jose taking it. It’s sent to the far post and Claudio Contreras goes up and heads it forcefully toward goal. Antonio makes the stop but the rebound is right to Chiquinho and he calmly slots it home and we lead! DOVER GOAL 1-0

39’ - We get a great chance off a Moses pass to Jose but Antonio makes the save and play carries on. We have Bolis running down the right flank and he’s taken down hard by newcomer Talavera and there is a free kick just outside the area. It’s Jose taking it and again, he delivers the ball to Contreras and our 6’6” centreback heads it past Antonio and in! Beautiful! DOVER GOAL 2-0

HALFTIME - We’re doing very well here, with 54% of possession and a 10-8 (6-3 on target) shot advantage. Mads Pedersen got knocked up a bit and his fitness is down so we’ll have to watch him. I’m not going to keep Moses in much longer either, as he’s carrying the injury cross and I don’t need him getting hurt more.

City come out in a 4-3-1-2 formation to start the second half. The high-scoring Ryan Bonin is in at striker alongside Kadlec now.

55’ - Moses gets taken down halfway in City territory and draws a foul. Jose takes the free kick from distance and it’s a perfect feed into the area to Gianluca Bolis, who dives and heads the ball past Antonio and we’re on cruise control! DOVER GOAL 3-0

58’ - It looks like we have six possible substitutions in today’s game so I’ll use three right now, taking out Paul Moses, Neil Cairney and Mads Pedersen, bringing in Andy Broomes, Benedikt Raab and Rafinha.

78’ - We continue to dominate and use two more substitutions, taking out the excellent Jose and Chiquinho and bringing in Andrea Rocca and Zoltan Bardi. Jose was the architect of all three goals today.

City revert back to a 4-2-3-1 formation.

87’ - City with some great passing that ultimately sees Brito sending a through ball into Miralem Pjanic and he’s in all alone and makes no mistake, tapping it past Ingo Wilke to get City on the board. Too little, too late for the Citizens. MANCHESTER CITY GOAL 3-1

Good start to the season, as we take home another trophy!

Dover 3 - 1 Manchester City
Goals - Chiquinho (7.9), Claudio Contreras (8.9), Gianluca Bolis (7.8)
Assists - Jose 2 (8.7), Claudio Contreras
Man of the Match - Claudio Contreras
Other Dover Notables - Rayane Hamon (7.1), Renato Gaucho (7.3), Mads Pedersen (7.0), Paul Moses (7.0)
Attendance - 90,000 (Sell-out)

We held 51% of the ball and outshot City 23-14 (12-4 on target). Contreras and Jose were great today, as was Bolis.

DOVER HAVE WON THE 2024 COMMUNITY SHIELD

-- Thankfully, the news is good regarding Paul Moses and his injury. He only suffered a strained neck and will only miss 5-7 days. He may be ready for our Premier League opener next week. Big sigh of relief! DOVER INJURY: Paul Moses (Strained Neck - one week)

Transfer News

-- Sevilla offer £15 million for Arsene Bamba and it’s swiftly rejected. He’s going nowhere. Bamba’s agent is looking for a new contract, I reject the request and then have to speak to Bamba by phone over his displeasure but he’s ultimately fine in the end.

-- Man City must be mad at me, as they come after one of my top coaches. I quickly offer him a new contract and just give him what he wants in hopes he stays here. A couple days later, he accepts the deal. I’m paying him more than some of my players!

International Update

-- Mexico beats Ivory Coast 4-1 but Arsene Bamba scores a goal in a losing effort. Manuel Perez and Manuel Lugo were unused substitutes for Mexico in this game. Bamba heads back to Dover, as Ivory Coast are eliminated from the competition.

Dover U18 Update

-- Our youth team starts the season with a fine 2-1 win over Arsenal in the first round of the U18 Cup, a title we won last year. Newcomer Alberto Velazquez scored both goals and I’m guessing he’ll score at least 30 times this season for the youth squad. Unheralded midfielder James Campbell notched both assists.

Next Up

-- We begin our quest to repeat as Premier League champions with a road trip to face newly promoted Sheffield United.

NoSkillz · 08-23-2014, 11:46 PM

Sat. August 17, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Sheffield United vs. Dover
Bramall Lane, Sheffield, UK

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

Sheffield United finished second in the Championship last year to earn automatic promotion and are back in the Premier League for the first time in six years. In fact, their last season in the Premier League was 2018/19 which means they promoted up with us, as that was our first year in the top league. Strange I didn’t remember that until looking it up! Prior to that, Sheff United only spent one other year in the Premier League since 1994 and that was in 2006/07. So this is only their third year in the Premier League in the last 31 years. Wow. They spent a modest £6.75 million in the transfer market, with their big splash being 25 year old DR Michele Mandelli, a £2.8 million transfer from Odense Boldklub (OB) in Superliga. Their top goal scorer for the last two seasons has been Marcello Trotta, who scored 22 last year. He’s 31 years old so he’ll have trouble keeping up that scoring pace in this league. These guys will have lots of trouble staying up.

We welcome back Arsene Bamba from his Olympics experience but will miss Paul Moses today, as he’s still recovering from his neck injury. He’ll be ready for our next game, thankfully. Andy Broomes has earned the chance to start in his place alongside Chiquinho. No other changes today from our Community Shield lineup.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, B. Raab, A. Rocca, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, Z. Bardi

Sheffield United come out in a 4-2-2-2, with 2 DMCs and 2 wide midfielders. Trotta is up front with Angel Egana and Adrian Smith is their keeper. I recognize none of these names and we should easily handle them. Thankfully, my assistant doesn’t seem to think that complacency or overconfidence is an issue today. Good. I tell the team I expect a win today, a request they usually respond well to.

40’ - Took us long enough! We get a bit of a counter with Andy Broomes leading the charge up field. He passes into the area to Chiquinho but his low shot is stopped by Smith. The rebound is available and Gianluca Bolis shoots off the diving keeper and it’s in! Finally! DOVER GOAL 1-0

HALFTIME - Sheffield are not really coming forward much but the scoreline is still very dangerous. We only held 52% of possession but had a wide shot advantage, 18-4 (8-0 on target). Their keeper has been sensational so far. I decide to encourage them at half time in the dressing room.

56’ - We have control and it’s Bamba feeding Broomes just outside the area. He turns on the speed, jets past his marker and runs into the box, shooting low past Smith and into the net! DOVER GOAL 2-0

68’ - We have a little stretch of undisciplined play that sees two quick yellows given to Jose and Claudio Contreras but get the ball back again. We have a free kick from distance and it’s Jose sending in the ball in a carbon copy of our Community Shield game and there is Bolis heading it past Smith and IN. Bolis with two goals today and three already on the year! DOVER GOAL 3-0

72’ - We make a double substitution, taking out Jose and Contreras and bringing in Andrea Rocca and Saber Nasri.

76’ - Sheffield United midfielder Conor Clifford takes the ball from well out and rifles a ROCKET BLAST into the top left corner of our goal past a diving Wilke. That was a 30 yarder! What a shot and United is on the board. SHEFFIELD UNITED GOAL 3-1

Sheffield actually pressed pretty well near the end but we hold them off for the opening day win.

Sheffield United 1 - 3 Dover
Goals - Gianluca Bolis 2 (8.9), Andy Broomes (7.7)
Assists - Jose (7.2), Arsene Bamba (7.2), Chiquinho (7.0)
Man of the Match - Gianluca Bolis
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.0), Rayane Hamon (7.1), Claudio Contreras (7.6), Renato Gaucho (7.2)
Attendance - 30,664

Possession ended up dead even but we outshoot them 28-8 (11-2 on target). It’s great to see Bolis playing so well after a few years of pedestrian play - yes, it’s early but he’s been excellent thus far. He only scored four goals ALL SEASON last year and now has three in two games. Yeah, pretty good start, I’d say!

-- Not many surprises to start the Premier League season, as City hammer Reading 5-0, Man United win 4-0 over Burnley, and Chelsea beat Sheffield Wednesday 4-1. Also winning are Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Newcastle.

Dover U18 Update

-- The U18s win 5-1 over Hampton & Richmond in their league season opener. Freddie Laird scored twice and we get singles from Nathan Protheroe, Neil Evans and a H&R own goal. Matthew Neil had two assists.

-- Young DR Eneko Remirez got hurt in the game and will miss four weeks with fractured ribs.

International Update

-- Manuel Lugo scores for Mexico and Manuel Perez played well in goal but they lose 2-1 to Holland and are eliminated from the Olympics in the quarterfinals. Both will be returning to Dover and should be available for selection in our next game if needed.

Transfer News

-- A bit of a surprise to see that Tottenham sell former Dover striker Gerardo Escobar to Atletico Madrid for £6.75 million. Escobar was Spurs’ leading scorer last year with 16 goals but they have Jean Junior and newcomer Peter Jansen starting so Escobar became surplus to requirements.

Season Ticket Update

-- We end up selling 7467 season ticket packages, up significantly from last year’s total of 5317. Good stuff.

International Update

-- U18 midfielder Vlastimil Silhavy plays the whole game in Czech Republic’s 4-1 loss to Brazil in the Olympics. Pretty cool that Silhavy is playing such a large role for his country at such a tender age.

Dover Reserves Update

-- The reserves get their first chance to play this year and it’s a massacre, as we destroy Reading’s reserves 8-0! 19 million pound man Manuel Lugo, who struggled in our preseason friendlies but played well in the Olympics for Mexico, notches a hat trick, as does right winger Lyubomir Kunchev. Also scoring are Zoltan Bardi and Alberto Velazquez. Emmerson Harvey had three assists and Felix Hernandez had two helpers in the blowout.

Injury Update

-- Left fullback Renato Gaucho strains his wrist during weight training and will miss the next 1-2 weeks. Rafinha will suit up in his place.

Next Up

-- Our home opener is up next, as we welcome Newcastle to Crabble Athletic Ground.

Rawhide · 08-24-2014, 02:54 AM

Still reading, still brilliant. Go Dover!

NoSkillz · 08-27-2014, 10:02 PM

Sat. August 24, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Dover (1-0-0, 3 points, 6th) vs. Newcastle (1-0-0, 3 points, 9th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 4-6 (Favourites) Draw: 9-4 Newcastle: 7-2
Past Meetings: 7W 1D 2L

We’ve won our last seven games against Newcastle and they will be in tough against us today in our home opener. They beat Aston Villa 2-1 in week one as they look to improve upon a 12th place finish last year. They did a little spending in July, dishing out £14 million on nine new players, with the largest fee spent on Leverkusen midfielder Miguel Angel Bravo, a 26 year old Mexican native. Stanislas Vigneau has led their team in scoring for four consecutive seasons and is the favourite to do so again.

Paul Moses is healthy after missing our last game with a neck injury and will start. Also starting is goalkeeper Manuel Perez, who is back from taking part in the Olympics for Mexico. Rafinha will also get his first start at left fullback for the injured Renato Gaucho.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - Rafinha, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - C. Guzman, S. Nasri, B. Raab, E. Harvey, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, A. Broomes

Newcastle are in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Vigneau up front and longtime keeper Jak Alnwick in goal. New signing Bravo also starts in midfield.

15’ - We have already gotten two yellow cards for unsportsmanlike conduct (diving), given to chronic diver Chiquinho and also to Gianluca Bolis. We are a bit unglued as Newcastle have possession and it’s midfielder David Foster, taking a back-heel pass from Vincenzo Scala and driving a 20 yard shot past a diving Manuel Perez and it’s in! Not a good start. NEWCASTLE GOAL 0-1

HALFTIME - This is a stunning half of football, as we only hold 43% of possession but outshoot them 13-3 (3-2 on target). We are putting up a complete turd in front of our home crowd. Riot act time! I question the team’s passion to win this game.

50’ - On a Alnwick goal kick, Jose heads the ball over the defence and Paul Moses gets there first. He rounds the keeper and he has an empty net to shoot at. No mistake is made and Moses has his first goal of the year. DOVER GOAL 1-1

67’ - We need a shake up so I take out Neil Cairney and bring in Benedikt Raab.

74’ - Chiquinho hasn’t been good and he comes off for Andy Broomes.

86’ - Last change, as we bring on Graham Allan for Gianluca Bolis and switch to an overload mentality.

90’+2 - Newcastle get two corner kicks and are milking time, hoping for the whistle but do one better, as the corner is headed in by centre back Fraser Baxter. DISASTER! NEWCASTLE GOAL 1-2

Umm, are you kidding me?!?!

Dover 1 - 2 Newcastle
Goals - Paul Moses (7.8)
Assists - Jose (7.7)
Man of the Match - Jak Alnwick (Newcastle GK - 8.2)
Other Dover Notables -
Attendance - 23,000 (Sell-Out)

This is an epic loss, as Newcastle out-possess us 56%-44% but we hammer them in shots 30-7 (11-4 on target). GK Alnwick was sensational for them. I absolutely tear into the team in the dressing room - we only lost two games all season last year and here we lose at home to a mid-table constant.

-- Aston Villa surprise Man City but Everton, Middlesbrough, Chelsea, Arsenal and United all win.

Dover U18 Update

-- The U18s win 5-2 over Reading, with goals scored by Ben Patterson, Alberto Velazquez, Felix Hernandez, Nathan Protheroe and Freddie Laird.

Champions League Update

-- Teams are battling to join us in the Group Stage and Manchester United destroy Ajax 7-0 on aggregate to advance. Also moving on are Young Boys, Partizan, Sheriff, Atletico Madrid, Palermo, Le Mans FC, Schalke, SK Sturm Graz and Omonoia.

-- We are given £6,174,000 for our future participation in the Champions League Group Stage.

Dover Reserves Update

-- The backups continue to dominate, destroying Sheffield United 8-1. Andy Broomes, Manuel Lugo and Mads Pedersen all scored twice while Emerson and Felix Hernandez notched singles. Broomes also had two assists for a four point night and fullback Carlos Guzman had three assists.

Champions League Group Stage Draw

-- For the first time, we are a first seed in Champions League group play - according to co-efficient, we are the worst #1 seed but that number is deflated due to two qualifying years where we weren’t playing in Europe. Lets see who we get:

GROUP A
Manchester City
OM
AZ
Young Boys

GROUP B
FC Bayern
Atletico Madrid
Club Brugge
Partizan

GROUP C
Dover
Palermo
Hoffenheim
Hibernian

GROUP D
Real Madrid
Galatasaray
Juventus
Sheriff

GROUP E
Barcelona
HSV
Panathinaikos
Tottenham

GROUP F
Sevilla
Sampdoria
Le Mans FC
Schalke

GROUP G
Manchester United
CSKA Moscow
Porto
Omonoia

GROUP H
Olympique Lyonnais
Shakhtar
Bursaspor
SK Sturm Graz

-- Palermo is the second highest rated 2nd seed behind Atletico Madrid, Hoffenheim are the fifth rated 3rd seed and Hibernian are the fifth rated 4th seed. We should advance with ease but I guess anything can happen after that last game we played!!

Next Up

-- Another perk from our Champions League win last year is getting to take part in the UEFA Super Cup, a match between the Champions League winner and the Europa League winner. We’ll face Dortmund Borussia at Stade Louis II in Monaco as we look for another trophy.

NoSkillz · 08-27-2014, 11:57 PM

Fri. August 30, 2024

UEFA Super Cup
Borussia Dortmund vs. Dover
Stade Louis II, Fontvieille, Monaco

Betting Odds: Dortmund: 7-4 Draw: N/A Dover: 5-4
Past Meetings: 1W 0D 1L

This is our first competitive match against this German club, as our two previous match ups were preseason friendlies. Dortmund finished fifth in the German First Division last year to qualify for the Europa League once again, a year after defeating Bayern Munich in the finals. These guys have one of the finest strikers in the world in Mexican international Hugo Cruz, who has scored an astonishing 84 goals in 94 games for his country. He is coming off a 32 goal season for Dortmund last year. They just purchased our U18 graduate Norberto Vazquez but he is playing for their “B” team and I don’t expect him to play tonight. Their biggest offseason signing was Napoli fullback Dingaan Campbell, a South African international for over £16 million.

We are making some changes after our putrid loss against Newcastle at home last weekend. Sitting today out will be Neil Cairney, Manuel Perez and Rayane Hamon and taking their place are Benedikt Raab, Ingo Wilke and Saber Nasri. Raab and Wilke are both German and I thought they deserved a chance against a club from their home country. Hamon hasn’t been sharp so far so I’m giving Nasri a shot today. We’ll stick with a control mentality as favourites today.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Rafinha, C. Contreras, S. Nasri, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - Emerson, M. Yilmaz, A. Rocca, E. Harvey, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, A. Broomes

The 4-2-3-1 formation has given us fits so far and Dortmund are also using it, with Cruz alone up front. Their keeper is Julio Cesar Cejas and their big signing Dingaan Campbell is playing left fullback today. I tell the team to bring home another trophy for our supporters.

22’ - We’re gifting possession to them all over the field but we seemingly strike first, as Arsene Bamba crosses over to the molten hot Gianluca Bolis and he scores! But wait…OFFSIDES is the call. The replay confirms it wasn’t even close and hence, a good call. No goal.

24’ - Shortly after, we have the ball in their end. Bamba’s attempted cross hits a Dortmund defender and bounces back to Rafinha. He crosses to the near post to Paul Moses, who makes a great move at the byline to get to his stronger foot and his shot is off another defender and IN! There we go! DOVER GOAL 1-0

35’ - We earn a corner and Benedikt Raab goes to the near post to Saber Nasri. He can’t get it on net so he passes back to Jose, who is lurking outside the area. His low blast hits Moses then redirects once again off Dortmund midfielder Eduardo Gallardo and it’s past Cejas and IN! It’s officially an own goal but we’ll take it! DOVER GOAL 2-0

HALFTIME - Our possession numbers are once again atrocious, as Dortmund hold 56% of the ball but we outshoot them 14-11 (7-3 on target) in a wide open first half. We are outnumbered in the midfield against this tactic and that must be the reason for our lack of possession. We’ll take a two goal lead though without complaint! We’re having lots of trouble with Hugo Cruz’s speed and will have to watch out for that in the second half.

47’ - Dortmund start with the kick off and it’s Cruz sending a little ball up to midfielder Oscar. He cuts through our defence and attempts an audacious lob over Wilke and it WORKS. Wilke is not able to get back and the ball is IN. What a terrible start to the half for us. DORTMUND GOAL 2-1

Interestingly enough, Oscar is immediately taken out after the goal and Dortmund move to a flat 4-4-2.

52’ - There’s a 50/50 ball about 10 yards outside the Dortmund area and one of their central defenders tackles it back toward their keeper, away from Moses. The ball is slowly making its way to Cejas but Moses gets up and gets to the ball at the same time as the keeper. Moses is able to knock the ball away, beat him back to it and calmly deposits it into the empty net. Terrible play by Cejas there, as his initial indecision costs his club a key goal. DOVER GOAL 3-1

66’ - Dortmund continue to control possession by a wide margin but Gallardo gets nailed for a diving call in our area and gets a second yellow card, knocking him out of the game and Dortmund is down to ten men. DORTMUND RED CARD - Eduardo Gallardo

70’ - Emmerson Harvey is on for Jose.

82’ - Graham Allan comes on for Gianluca Bolis.

84’ - Geez. Cruz is given the ball at midfield and he just SPEEDS past Contreras and Nasri and is in on goal. His low shot beats Wilke and is IN. We still have a game despite them having only ten men. DORTMUND GOAL 3-2

90’ - We try to milk the clock, bringing in Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz and taking out Contreras.

90’+1 - We switch to a counter attacking mentality.

90’+3 - And there is something REALLY WRONG with our club, as Cruz turns on Yilmaz and just speeds past him before sending a ROCKET BLAST into the top corner and IN! TEN MEN DORTMUND DRAW LEVEL. DORTMUND GOAL 3-3

We switch back to a control mentality. This is incredible.

FULLTIME - I don’t know what to say. Shots are DEAD EVEN at 21-21 and they have the possession edge. Dortmund pull back to a 4-2-1-1-1 formation to start extra time. Cruz is SENSATIONAL - his speed is breathtaking.

102’ - We have already seen a Raab shot hit the crossbar and a Cruz goalpost coming the other way in the first ten minutes of extra time. We have possession with Bamba and he passes to Harvey in the middle. He sends a delicious through ball to Chiquinho and he rounds the keeper and puts the ball into the net! Dortmund appeal for offsides but the ref pushes them away. We re-take the lead! DOVER GOAL 4-3

Dortmund is back to a 4-3-2 formation.

We hold on this time. Man…what a match!

Dortmund 3 - 4 Dover
Goals - Paul Moses 2 (8.8), Eduardo Gallardo OG, Chiquinho (7.6)
Assists - Rafinha (7.0), Jose (7.0), Emmerson Harvey (6.9)
Man of the Match - Hugo Cruz (Dortmund ST - 9.2)
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.8), Arsene Bamba (7.2)
Attendance - 18,524

Despite playing half the game with only ten men, Dortmund held a 52% possession edge in the contest but we outshoot them 29-25 (10-12 on target) in a wild, WILD game. Cruz was RIDICULOUS for them, with two goals and an assist in an astonishing performance. His speed matches Moses but at 27 years old, he’s fully developed and was a TREAT to watch. We’re VERY lucky to prevail but again, there’s something not quite right about our team - our defence especially looks slow and disorganized and I’m a bit concerned. That said…

DOVER WIN THE UEFA SUPER CUP

-- Hey, more prize money too! We’re awarded £2,174,000 for the victory.

League Cup - Third Round Draw

-- We are two-time defending champions in this competition and we get a great draw to start despite it being a road game, as we head to Leicester to face the League 1 side. Interestingly enough, our board don’t care at all about this competition this year and we’ll definitely play a full squad of backups/reserves in our first game.

Premier League Update

-- Newcastle and Middlesbrough continue their shockingly good early season form, with both winning to move to the top of the table with a perfect nine points each. Man United knock off Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday upset Liverpool and Arsenal squeeze past Sheffield United.

September Update

-- September sees an international break but we’ll be busy with four Premier League games: Manchester City (away), Derby (home), Burnley (away) and Huddersfield (home). We also have a Champions League group stage game at home versus Hibernian and our League Cup third round game against Leicester. So six games this month.

-- Six players train well in August, including senior team members Arsene Bamba, Andy Broomes and Mads Pedersen and U18 players Dominic Beard, Edward Smith and Nathan Protheroe. We get negative reports for Rafinha, Gianluca Bolis and Emmerson Harvey. I’ll talk with all three of those guys.

Premier League Monthly Awards

-- Middlesbrough striker Roland Hoxha wins player of the month honours after scoring seven goals in three games.

-- Claudio Contreras wins the Premier League Young Player of the Month award for August while Paul Moses comes in third.

-- Man United’s Jurgen Klinsmann wins manager of the month for August.

International Update

-- We have 21 players called up for international play. No need to name them all right now.

Board Confidence Update

-- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership of the team. Our stature increase is the main positive and our awful loss to Newcastle is the negative.

-- We made a profit of £1.08 million last month, mostly due to prize money.

Champions League Group Stage Registration

-- We register the squad without much difficulty but I have to leave off one player (Paolo Secchi) because I can’t meet the home grown requirements. No big deal there…we still have five other central midfielders registered.

Transfer Window Closes

-- The window shuts and we don’t lose any of our main players. Spurs spend over £131 million on new players, the largest outlay among Premier League teams. Meanwhile, we add the most players, bringing in 15 newcomers, many of whom are playing for our U18s.

Dover Injury Update

-- Zoltan Bardi is out for another two months with a dislocated shoulder while reserve midfielder Adam Hyde (damaged heel) is close to returning.

Next Up

-- We once again face Manchester City only weeks after defeating them in the Community Shield. This time, it’s league play at the Etihad.

NoSkillz · 08-29-2014, 11:30 PM

Wed. September 4, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Manchester City (1-0-1, 3 points, 11th) vs. Dover (1-0-1, 3 points, 13th)
Man City Stadium, Manchester, UK

Betting Odds: Manchester City: Evens (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Dover: 11-5
Past Meetings: 4W 2D 8L

We just beat City a few weeks ago in the Community Shield at Wembley but I’m guessing they will be much tougher today at home, with a full strength squad. Like us, they just suffered a shock loss, dropping a 1-0 decision to Aston Villa. I expect Jelle Hoegee to be playing today up front and he is very dangerous.

We’ll go with our main starting lineup but we’ll stick with Ingo Wilke in goal today. Renato Gaucho also returns to the starting lineup after missing a couple weeks due to injury. We are also going to play a counter attacking style - we’ll likely need to play a bit close to the vest against these guys at the Etihad. Our two major offseason signings, MC Benedikt Raab and ST Manuel Lugo won’t even dress today. They are still struggling to settle in and I’ll feed them reserves games and lower profile games as a means of getting used to English football. This game doesn’t qualify!

Dover: 4-4-2 Counter
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, A. Rocca, E. Harvey, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, A. Broomes

Like many of our recent opponents, City play a 4-2-3-1 formation and have Hoegee up front. Antonio is their goalkeeper. Lets play well for the travelling support today.

HALFTIME - Well, I guess this is what we want, as we’re scoreless through 45 minutes and giving up LOADS of possession once again. I simply don’t understand why our talented team can’t hold the ball. City have an incredible 63% of possession in that half and outshoot us 9-9 (5-1 on target). We need to be better than this. I tell the team they can win this game!

67’ - Neil Cairney has NOT been sharp so far this season and I pull him in favour of Andrea Rocca.

75’ - Another player not looking sharp to start is last year’s stalwart Arsene Bamba. I pull him in favour of Mads Pedersen.

89’ - I remember a graphic upon advancing through a recent day stating that we have gone over 40 games in a row with at least one goal in Premier League play. I’m resigned to the fact that the streak is going to end when we hit on a rare counter attack in this game, with Paul Moses storming down field on a two-on-one with Chiquinho. The defender shades towards Moses, opening up a passing lane and he makes the perfect feed to his strike partner. Chiquinho is in on goal, makes a little move then left foots the ball past Antonio and it’s IN!!! WOOO! DOVER GOAL 1-0

90’+1 - With three extra minutes of injury time, we try to milk it a bit by bringing in Emmerson Harvey for Jose.

That’s it! Big early season win!

Manchester City 0 - 1 Dover
Goals - Chiquinho (7.4)
Assists - Paul Moses (7.3)
Man of the Match - Capitao (Manchester City DR - 7.9)
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.1), Rayane Hamon (7.5), Renato Gaucho (7.3)
Attendance - 63,634

City hold 59% of the ball but we end up playing a bit better in the second half and edge them in shots 20-19 (7-8 on target). Cairney (6.1) wasn’t good but I was impressed with our defence today, as we really shut down the fast and shifty Jelle Hoegee. He was a non-factor. Renato Gaucho’s absence in the past couple of weeks obviously was a factor in our poor play. It’s also great to see Chiquinho on a good run of form to start the year after a very inconsistent season last year.

International Update

-- After having 21 players initially called up by their respective countries, we get six more added as the international break begins, bringing our total allotment to 27 players! Nice!

-- Gaining youth caps are Emerson (Brazil U20 - four assists in two games!), Andy Broomes (England U21- four goals in two games!), Marcel Quade (Austria U21 - one assist in two games), Neil Evans (England U19 - one goal), Felix Hernandez (France U21), Hans Briers (Belgium U21), Alberto Velazquez (Mexico U20 - one goal), Vlastimil Silhavy (Czech Republic U21) and Steven Potter (England U20).

-- Gaining senior caps are Lyubomir Kunchev (Bulgaria), Arsene Bamba (Ivory Coast - one assist), Neil Cairney (Scotland - one goal in two games), Graham Allan (Scotland - one goal in two games), Saber Nasri (Tunisia), Salim Loucif (Algeria), Mwemere Mutesa (Rwanda), Mads Pedersen (Denmark - one goal in two games), Gianluca Bolis (Italy - one assist), Paul Moses (England - three goals in two games), Emmerson Harvey (England), Chiquinho (Belgium - two goals in two games), Jose (Brazil - one assist) and Manuel Perez (Mexico).

-- Emmerson Harvey’s cap for England was his first international senior level appearance and he gives an emotional interview, thanking me for helping his development. I also notice that they call Harvey a “wonderkid”, the first time I’ve ever seen him with that designation!!! WOO! That gives us four wonderkids at Dover, including Neil Cairney, Paul Moses and Rafinha. It’s also great seeing Gianluca Bolis finally get another cap for Italy, his fourth senior cap and first in quite some time. He’s been very good so far this season, a much better start for him. In all, 23 of the 27 players we sent on International duty ended up gaining caps.

Dover U18 Update

-- With a much weaker squad than usual due to the international break, our U18s lose 2-1 to Wycombe, with Freddie Laird scoring our only goal.

Champions League Title Odds

-- Barcelona are made 4-1 favourites to capture this year’s Champions League title. Man United are at 5-1, Sampdoria are at 15-2, Man City are at 8-1, Real Madrid are 9-1 and Atletico Madrid are at 10-1. We are just behind at 12-1 to repeat.

Dover Injury Update

-- Zoltan Bardi is our only injury and he will miss another 6-8 weeks with a separated shoulder.

Dover Reserves Team Update

-- We get two goals from Manuel Lugo and U18 player Ben Patterson, along with singles from Benedikt Raab and Steven Miller in a 6-0 whitewash over Watford’s Reserves. Adam Hyde had two assists and we had four players (Raab, Hyde, Patterson and Lugo) with ratings over 9.2!

Next Up

-- We face newly promoted Derby County in Premier League action at Crabble Athletic Ground, as we hope to put together a better performance this time in front of our home supporters.

NoSkillz · 08-30-2014, 12:51 AM

Sat. September 14, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Dover (2-0-1, 6 points, 6th) vs. Derby (0-0-3, 0 points, 19th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 4-7 (Favourites) Draw: 5-2 Derby: 4-1
Past Meetings: 10W 0D 2L

Derby spent four straight years in the top flight between 2019 and 2022 but finished 18th in 2022/23 and got sent down to the Championship. It was a quick turnaround, as Derby went out and won the league in their first year back and gained immediate promotion back into the Premier League this year. They added nine players during the transfer period, with the largest signing being 24 year old fullback Douglas Rodriquez in a £2.4 million deal with Hercules. The Guatemala born Rodriguez hasn’t suited up for the senior team as he attempts to settle into the squad. Stuart Cousins was another nice bargain addition by Derby, coming over for £1.9 million from Chelsea. Cousins is an English U21 prospect and looks to have loads of potential on the left wing. Derby’s leading scorer last year was Joao Henriques Almeida with 28. Another guy to watch will be fellow striker Hallam Hope.

We have a number of tired players after the long international break, with many of our top players taking part in two games this past week for their countries. With Derby being recently promoted and us having a mid-week Champions League group stage match coming up, I’ll be rotating the squad today. Perhaps a dangerous decision but I’m sure we won’t put up another dud against a newly promoted club. Not even dressing today are Paul Moses, Neil Cairney, Rayane Hamon or captain Salim Loucif. Getting his first ever start up front is Manuel Lugo, who has been very sharp in recent reserves games. Chiquinho will line up alongside the young Mexican and wear the captain’s armband for the first time for our club. Mads Pedersen, Emmerson Harvey and Benedikt Raab will start in the midfield along with Gianluca Bolis. On defence, we line up with Renato Gaucho and Claudio Contreras, regular starters but coming in to join them are backups Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz and Rafinha. Back to a control mentality at home.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, M. Yilmaz, C. Contreras, Rafinha
M - M. Pedersen, E. Harvey, B. Raab, G. Bolis
S - M. Lugo, Chiquinho
Bench - Emerson, S. Nasri, A. Rocca, Jose, L. Kunchev, A. Bamba, A. Broomes

Derby are in a flat 4-4-2 with Almeida and Hope up front. Cousins is playing left midfield and former Dover keeper Fraser Forster is in goal. My assistant tells me the team looks overconfident and cocky, especially newcomers Raab and Lugo. For goodness sakes…lets put together a better game for our home supporters today and lets keep the ball a little bit today!

2’ - We have a corner and it’s Benedikt Raab crossing to the middle and there is Mads Pedersen heading it past Forster and IN! Pedersen’s first goal in a Dover uniform and we strike right away! DOVER GOAL 1-0

5’ - Now it’s Derby with a corner and Emmerson Harvey misses a chance to clear, as Hallam Hope takes advantage and heads it past Wilke and in. Ugh. DERBY GOAL 1-1

17’ - Derby with a goal kick and Forster’s boot is headed back up field by Renato Gaucho. A Derby defender is in position but whiffs on the header and Chiquinho runs onto the ball. He’s in on goal and makes no mistake, putting his fourth of the year past Forster and we have the lead once again. DOVER GOAL 2-1

HALFTIME - Possession is dead even but we outshoot Derby 11-3 (3-2 on target). We’ve had numerous chances in close but have missed the net a couple of times and also hit a goal post. I encourage the team and pull aside a nervous Manuel Lugo to say there is no pressure on him today while also telling Harvey (5.5 at half time due to the Derby goal being blamed on him) that I have faith in his ability. Lets score a couple more goals, boys!

50’ - Chiquinho carries the ball into the area and is tackled by a Derby defender and does his patented flop. I’m expecting a yellow card for Chiquinho but the ref allows play to continue without incident. The ball was sent to the right flank and Rafinha gets there and immediately crosses to the far post and there is MADS PEDERSEN, heading his second goal of the game past Forster! DOVER GOAL 3-1

63’ - Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz got banged up pretty good so I take him out and bring in Saber Nasri.

66’ - We have possession inside their territory and Chiquinho works a lovely give-and-go with Harvey. Chiquinho takes the return feed, works himself into a better shooting angle and easily deposits the ball past Forster and IN. A brace for Chiquinho and we lead comfortably! DOVER GOAL 4-1

79’ - We have a throw in deep down the left side and Pedersen throws it to Manuel Lugo. He sends a pass into the middle of the area to Raab and he lofts a left footed shot that is PERFECTLY placed into the right corner of the net past a sprawling Forster! That’s Raab’s first goal in a Dover uniform as well and this is now a laugher! DOVER GOAL 5-1

81’ - On a perfectly innocent looking play, Derby’s Almeida casually strolls past midfield and sends a SCREAMER from over 30 yards that curls violently into the right side of the net past a stunned Wilke. What a SHOT! DERBY GOAL 5-2

82’ - I make a change, giving young fullback Emerson his senior debut, as he replaces Rafinha.

Decent.

Dover 5 - 2 Derby
Goals - Mads Pedersen 2 (9.2), Chiquinho 2 (8.8), Benedikt Raab (8.9)
Assists - Rafinha (7.6), Renato Gaucho (8.2), Benedikt Raab, Emmerson Harvey (7.6), Manuel Lugo (7.8)
Man of the Match - Mads Pedersen
Other Dover Notables - Claudio Contreras (7.0), Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (7.0)
Attendance - 22,587

We dominated that second half and ended up with 56% of possession and a 27-4 (8-3 on target) shot advantage. I don’t like giving up two goals at home to a team like Derby but that second goal was one hell of a shot. Great to see guys like Raab and Lugo with good games, along with fellow new addition Pedersen. Solid all around today. With a pretty easy schedule the next month, I feel that we are just about to start hitting our stride…

-- In other matches, City beat up on Everton, Arsenal knock off upstart Newcastle, Spurs beat Sheffield Wednesday, Man United storm past Blackpool and Chelsea destroy Middlesbrough 6-1. We move up into fourth spot on the table.

Dover U18 Update

-- The young lads beat up on Eastleigh 5-1 behind a hat trick from striker Neil Evans and a brace from strike partner Alberto Velazquez. Midfielder Dominic Beard notched two assists coming off the bench.

Next Up

-- Champions League group stage play begins, as we host the defending Scottish champions Hibernian.

NoSkillz · 08-30-2014, 02:50 AM

Tue. September 17, 2024

UEFA Champions League - Group C
Dover (England Premier League) vs. Hibernian (Scotland Premier League)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 4-7 (Favourites) Draw: 5-2 Hibernian: 4-1
Past Meetings: 0W 0D 0L

Hibernian have always been a solid club but surprised many by winning the Clydesdale Bank Premier League in Scotland last year to qualify for Champions League play. While they dominated last year, they are on a shocking run of poor form to start this season, with no wins at all, even in preseason friendly play. They are 0-2-2 in league play, sitting 11th in the 12 team league and perhaps their attention is focused on this competition. They spent a paltry £625,00 in the July transfer market, bringing two players in on loan while selling eight. Their leading scorer last year was Alberto Libertazzi with 31 but the 32 year old is scoreless so far this season. They have a large squad and I don’t recognize any of their names.

We can’t be complacent today but in reality, this team doesn’t have the class to match up against us and we should be easy winners today. That said, I’m starting a pretty full-strength lineup: Andy Broomes will spell the excellent Chiquinho today and line up alongside Paul Moses. Our regular midfield is in today with the exception of Scottish international Graham Allan, who will start in place of Gianluca Bolis. On defence, we’ll give a start to Saber Nasri in the middle and give a breather to Claudio Contreras. Manuel Perez gets his second start of the year and hopes to bounce back after taking the loss against Newcastle.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - Renato Gaucho, S. Nasri, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Allan
S - P. Moses, A. Broomes
Bench - Rafinha, C. Contreras, A. Rocca, B. Raab, G. Bolis, M. Pedersen, Chiquinho

Hibs will play a conservative 4-1-4-1 with a DMC. Adam Morgan is alone up front and Roman Chovan is their goalkeeper. Thankfully, overconfidence is NOT an issue today and I tell the team to play attractive football for the fans today.

30’ - We’ve been absolutely dominating this game thus far but Hibernian are doing a good job of defending and forcing us into longer shots. We get a corner and Jose’s cross is headed out to Neil Cairney, who is lurking outside the area. He passes back into the area to Rayane Hamon and his quick turnaround effort deflects off a Hibs defender and is past Chovan and in! We finally break them down! DOVER GOAL 1-0

32’ - Hibs kick off and we take possession back in our end and work up field with Graham Allan. He sends a pass through to Jose and his low rocket is saved very well by Chovan. Jose has his hands on his head but there is a rebound and Jose recovers and shoots hard again, this time getting it past the keeper and it’s in! Jose’s first of the year! DOVER GOAL 2-0

42’ - Jose with a corner kick sent to the near post and it’s Hamon AGAIN, this time heading it home. Hamon has two and we have a big lead! DOVER GOAL 3-0

HALFTIME - Pure domination, as we had at least three other incredible shots that were saved in spectacular fashion by their keeper just to keep the scoreline respectable. 59% of possession and a 22-3 (7-2 on target) shot advantage? Yeah, that’s solid!

69’ - We’re doing fine but just can’t get enough shots on goal. I take out Jose, who was excellent again, and bring in Andrea Rocca, as we start thinking of our next game.

80’ - Renato Gaucho is out and Rafinha is in.

87’ - UNREAL. He’s not having a great game but Paul Moses gets taken down and needs to come off. That did NOT look good. I move Rayane Hamon up to striker to try to get him his hat trick and bring in Claudio Contreras.

I wish we scored more but we thoroughly dominated them.

Dover 3 - 0 Hibernian
Goals - Rayane Hamon 2 (9.3), Jose (8.7)
Assists - Jose, Neil Cairney (7.3)
Man of the Match - Rayane Hamon
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.4), Saber Nasri (7.5), Renato Gaucho (7.3), Graham Allan (7.0), Arsene Bamba (7.1)
Attendance - 21,780

We held 57% of the ball and an outlandish 35-4 (11-2 on target) shot advantage. Our strikers were both non-existent: Moses had some good chances thwarted by the Hibs keeper in the first half but Broomes was largely invisible on the big stage. Please don’t be hurt Moses!!!

-- And WE ARE FUCKED. Paul Moses suffers a torn calf muscle on a challenge and will miss 3-4 MONTHS. Oh dear God - I think I’m going to be sick. DOVER INJURY: Paul Moses (torn calf muscle: 3-4 months)

-- We’re given £696,000 for the win. Don’t care…

-- In other Group C action, Hoffenheim upsets Palermo in Italy 2-1! That’s a nice turn of events. In Group A, OM shocks Man City 1-0 in Manchester while in Group B, Club Brugge wins 1-0 over Bayern Munich in Germany in a MONSTER upset. That’s nuts! Juventus also beats Real Madrid on a night of shocking upsets. The next night is much more straight forward, with only Sevilla’s 3-0 win over Sampdoria qualifying as a bit nutty.

Dover Reserves Update

-- We knock off Chelsea’s reserves 3-0, getting goals from Alberto Velazquez, Adam Hyde and Emmerson Harvey. We lose another striker in this one, as young Ben Patterson suffers a torn hamstring and will miss 2-3 months as well. Sheesh.

Next Up

-- We head on the road to face another recently promoted club in Burnley in Premier League action.

Alf · 08-30-2014, 07:31 AM

3-4 months at that time of the season is going to be awfully long. Damn !

NoSkillz · 08-30-2014, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alf

3-4 months at that time of the season is going to be awfully long. Damn !

For sure - he will miss a LOT of key games. Our depth will be severely tested and our splashy new signing Manuel Lugo will have to step up a bit quicker than anticipated.

NoSkillz · 08-30-2014, 04:40 PM

Sat. September 21, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Burnley (0-2-2, 2 points, 17th) vs. Dover (3-0-1, 9 points, 4th)
Turf Moor, Burnley, UK

Betting Odds: Burnley: 11-5 Draw: 11-5 Dover: Evens
Past Meetings: 2W 0D 2L

This is a bit of a trap game, as Burnley are the last team to gain promotion last year from the Championship and we’ll have played all three after five games of the new season. This is their fifth trip back to the Premier League in 16 years but only once did they last for more than one season and that was a two year run from 2016 through 2018. Burnley finished sixth last year in the Championship but won the playoff to gain promotion. Haris Seferovic has led the team in scoring for five consecutive seasons, scoring 30 last year. The 32 year old striker is still here but his effectiveness is muted in the top flight. They reinforced their lineup with 9 additions, most notably spending £1.7 million on Dutch midfielder Kees van den Berg, who has blazing pace.

With the major injury to Paul Moses and with fellow striker Zoltan Bardi still on the shelf, we only have three healthy strikers on the senior team right now. We’ll need to be careful and also start considering one striker formations. The lads are prepared to move to a 4-2-3-1 should the need arise but for now, I’ll stick with a flat 4-4-2. Full lineup of starters today, with Andy Broomes taking Moses’ spot and Manuel Lugo is on the bench and could come on as a substitute for the first time in a league game. Manuel Perez is in goal for a second consecutive game. We have a League Cup match midweek and will be using all backups in that game so our starters today can go hard.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho
Bench - Emerson, S. Nasri, A. Rocca, B. Raab, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, M. Lugo

Burnley are in a flat 4-4-2 with Seferovic and Harry Kane leading the strike force. Former Dover player Cameron Murray is starting at left midfield and Dwayne Miller is their keeper. We hope that complacency won’t be an issue and I tell the team to perform well for the travelling support.

45’+2 - Another poor first half effort, as we seem to be sitting back and losing the midfield battle but we strike first. Andy Broomes weaves through the middle of the field and spots Gianluca Bolis getting past his man on the right. He leads him into the box with a great feed and Bolis makes no mistake, continuing his fine early season attacking play. DOVER GOAL 1-0

HALFTIME - Boy, we simply can’t hold onto the ball these days, as a Championship side from last year holds a whopping 58% of the ball but we outshoot them 7-3 (2-1 on target). Not impressive whatsoever from our main starters. While there is no outward complacency issues, there is something amiss here. I encourage the team to keep pressing in the second half.

46’ - Right off the opening kick off, we attack on a mistake, stealing possession in midfield and Jose sends a pinpoint pass up to Broomes. His first touch is a bit heavy and the Burnley keeper charges out but Broomes has blazing speed, just like Paul Moses, and he wins the race and has a wide open net to shoot at. Lovely goal and Broomes is impressing in Moses’ absence. DOVER GOAL 2-0

54’ - I’m not entirely sure what happened but Burnley striker Harry Kane is whistled for a foul and gets a straight red card! Burnley are down to ten men. BURNLEY RED CARD - Harry Kane

Burnley move to a 4-4-1 formation.

67’ - We pull out Jose and bring in Andrea Rocca.

77’ - Gianluca Bolis has a yellow and just got whistled for another foul so I pull him out before he loses his discipline and bring in Graham Allan.

We were in complete control in the second half and while more goals would have been nice, we’ll take the three points.

Burnley 0 - 2 Dover
Goals - Gianluca Bolis (7.7), Andy Broomes (8.7)
Assists - Andy Broomes, Jose (7.5)
Man of the Match - Andy Broomes
Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.0), Salim Loucif (7.1), Rayane Hamon (7.0), Renato Gaucho (7.3), Arsene Bamba (7.0)
Attendance - 22,290

After only 42% possession in the first half, we must have held the ball almost the entire second half, as we end the game with 56% of possession and a huge 21-5 (9-3 on target) shot advantage. Certainly, the Burnley red card early in the second half contributed to those numbers. We didn’t do much with our chances and our shots were mostly from distance. I’m not impressed at all with Neil Cairney this year and he’s soon going to be threatened for playing time by big offseason signing Benedikt Raab if this continues.

-- In other action, Spurs lose a shocker to Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Newcastle, after losses last week, get back to their winning ways and United beat Liverpool. Man City and Arsenal battle to a draw as do Chelsea and Reading.

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 5 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Manchester United - 15 points
2. Arsenal - 13 points
3. Dover - 12 points
4. Middlesbrough - 12 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Newcastle - 12 points
6. Chelsea - 10 points
7. Tottenham - 8 points
----------------------------------------------------

Transfer News

-- Umm, wow. Olympique Lyonnais make a bid for our midfielder Jose, offering us a whopping £23,446,000 for his services! That would easily be the largest sale in our team’s history. That said, I’ll be rejecting the offer, as I paid £16.5 million for him last year and I’d need at least £30 million to start thinking about it.

Premier League Team of the Week

-- GK Manuel Perez and MR Gianluca Bolis both make the team of the week.

Next Up

-- We are two-time defending League Cup champions and we start our defence again today in third round action, heading to Leicester to face the League One minnows.

NoSkillz · 08-30-2014, 06:02 PM

Tue. September 24, 2024

League Cup - Third Round
Leicester (1st in League 1) vs. Dover (3rd in Premier League)
Walkers Stadium, Leicester, UK

Betting Odds: Leicester: 9-1 Draw: N/A Dover: 1-4 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 2W 1D 0L

We are huge favourites as we face the current leaders of League 1 in League Cup play. Leicester have fallen on hard times after being relegated from the Premier League most recently after the 2015/16 season. They spent three years in the Championship but got relegated to League 1 in 2019. They’d win right away to gain promotion back to the Championship the next year but finished 22nd in 2022/23 and dropped back down again. They were very poor in their first year back in the third tier, finishing 15th but they are playing well to start this season despite being tabbed as mid-table contenders by the media. Their leading scorer from the past three seasons was Jamie Booth but he left for Birmingham on a free during the offseason so Leicester will rely on Fernando Forestieri for goals this year.

Against third tier competition, I’m going with an entire lineup of backups and U18 players today but our depth should be more than enough to win convincingly. Notables include young fullback Emerson getting his first senior team start for our club and Manuel Lugo will be alone up front as we play a 4-2-3-1 formation today. Andrea Rocca will slot in behind him in an attacking midfield role, with Emmerson Harvey and Benedikt Raab playing central midfield. On the bench, Mwemere Mutesa, U18 prospect Vlastimil Silhavy and Paolo Secchi all have chances to play in their first game in a Dover kit.

Dover: 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Rafinha, M. Yilmaz, S. Nasri, Emerson
M - E. Harvey, B. Raab
AM - M. Pedersen, A. Rocca, G. Allan
S - M. Lugo
Bench - C. Guzman, M. Mutesa, V. Silhavy, P. Secchi, L. Kunchev, F. Hernandez, A. Broomes

Leicester will try to put up the barricades on us, playing a 4-1-4-1 formation with David Goldsmith at striker and David Stockdale in goal. Forestieri is on the bench today. My assistant says that Manuel Lugo is overconfident today, not a good sign. Lets put on a performance for the fans today!

1’ - We have the kick off and move the ball slowly up field. Emerson delivers a short pass to Graham Allan and he avoids a tackle and dribbles in from the right side. His shot is weak but eludes Stockdale, hits off the goal post and goes in. Fantastic start! DOVER GOAL 1-0

HALFTIME - Well, I expected more than this, especially after the first minute goal but Leicester are just sitting back, allowing us to hold the ball and we can’t break them down. We have 64% of possession and an 8-5 (3-1 on target) shot advantage but we need more than this. We’ll take out Andrea Rocca at half, bring in Andy Broomes and move to a flat 4-4-2 to give ourselves more attacking options.

51’ - And the addition to the lineup makes an immediate impact, as Emmerson Harvey sends a long ball through to Andy Broomes and our in-form striker makes no mistake, drilling a low shot past Stockdale and IN. DOVER GOAL 2-0

69’ - Graham Allan has been excellent today, with countless great chances but he has a yellow card and I decide to take him out in favour of Lyubomir Kunchev.

74’ - The ball is in Leicester territory and Manuel Lugo steals it from a defender and dribbles toward the area. He passes in to Broomes and he immediately left foots a weak shot past Stockdale and it’s in. That’s two for Broomes. DOVER GOAL 3-0

80’ - With a big lead, I take out Benedikt Raab and bring in Paolo Secchi to give him his first senior team action.

88’ - Leicester has a prolonged period of possession and a cross into the box hits Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz and deflects right to substitute striker Lorenzo Lanoix and he sends the ball off a diving Wilke and it’s in. Brutal. LEICESTER GOAL 3-1

We move on.

Leicester 1 - 3 Dover
Goals - Andy Broomes 2 (8.7), Graham Allan (7.7)
Assists - Emerson (8.2), Emmerson Harvey (7.1), Manuel Lugo (6.9)
Man of the Match - Andy Broomes
Other Dover Notables - Saber Nasri (7.1), Rafinha (7.1), Benedikt Raab (7.3), Mads Pedersen (7.4)
Attendance - 31,948

Well, we held 63% of the ball and outshot them 20-6 (8-2 on target). So the stats look good but we weren’t particularly sharp, something I guess I should expect when I’m playing all backups. Broomes coming on at half was the difference and he earns man of the match honours for his 45 minutes of fine play.

Dover U18 Update

-- Our U18s destroy Ebbsfleet 7-0 in the 2nd round of the U18 Cup. Striker Alberto Velazquez scores a hat trick and we get singles from Vlastimil Silhavy, Robert Hoffmann, Freddie Laird and Felix Hernandez. Hernandez also had two assists in a man of the match performance.

League Cup - 4th Round Draw

-- Fortune is on our side again, as we draw Queens Park Rangers in the 4th round of League Cup play. The game will take place at Loftus Road at the end of October.

Next Up

-- We’re back at home to face mid-table constant Huddersfield in Premier League action.

NoSkillz · 08-30-2014, 08:05 PM

Sat. September 28, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Dover (4-0-1, 12 points, 3rd) vs. Huddersfield (2-0-3, 6 points, 13th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 2-5 (Favourites) Draw: 11-4 Huddersfield: 13-2
Past Meetings: 9W 2D 3L

Once again, we are monster favourites at home to Huddersfield, who are in their 10th consecutive year in the top flight in England. Huddersfield barely escaped relegation last year, finishing 16th only one season after being FA Cup finalists. Nelson Oliveira has been a constant up front for years at Huddersfield and has led the team in goals no less than 7 times, most recently in 2022/23. At 33 years old, he’s starting to slow down but once again leads the team with 2 goals in 3 games so far this year. They did bring in ten players in the offseason, spending £12.25 million overall, with £4.6 million spent on defender Carlos Phillips from Hercules and another £4.3 million on fellow fullback Brian Zakazaka, who was brought in from Girondins Bordeaux.

We’ll revert back to our main starting eleven, minus the injured Paul Moses, of course. The molten hot Andy Broomes starts in his place once again. My patience is wearing thin on Neil Cairney, who has been very poor this year and Arsene Bamba also has started very slowly. I’d like to see better performances from them tonight. Flat 4-4-2 and a control mentality today.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, E. Harvey, B. Raab, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, M. Lugo

Huddersfield start with a 4-1-3-2 formation with one DMC. David Caldwell, Huddersfield’s leading scorer last year, is up front with veteran Paul Lumsden. Dennis Lotters is a solid midfielder, as is Antonio and both are starting. Alex Smithies is the goalkeeper. The team always responds well to team talks that deal with entertaining our fans so I continue to ride that while also pulling aside Jose and Neil Cairney for personal chats.

26’ - We’re completely dominating this game but just can’t get the ball in the net. We look like we strike for one, as a Neil Cairney shot deflects off the crossbar before Chiquinho heads the rebound in but the assistant has his flag up before the ball even crosses the line. Chiquinho is ruled offsides and it’s no goal.

40’ - We have a corner and Jose’s cross is headed out to Cairney, who immediately feeds Jose near the left byline. Jose takes a step into the box and curls a shot from a ludicrous angle that goes past Smithies into the near side of the goal. RIDICULOUS strike from Jose and we get on the board. DOVER GOAL 1-0

HALFTIME - We’re not scoring an awful lot but I guess that’s to be expected when a guy who scored 59 last year is injured for 3 months. That said, we hold 63% of the ball in a commanding first half performance and outshoot them 12-1 (4-0 on target). Huddersfield aren’t moving forward at all right now but we would like one more goal to gain a bit of comfort. I encourage them to keep pressing forward.

67’ - Andy Broomes is having a poor game so we pull him out and bring in Manuel Lugo.

72’ - And all of a sudden, Huddersfield are all over us, with Manuel Perez making two spectacular stops and then Paul Lumsden takes a pass inside the area and scores. But wait…it’s called offsides! No goal!

75’ - Oh JOY. Manuel Lugo gets hurt and needs to come off. He’s got the dreaded cross above his head so we’ll hope for the best, as we will be in dire straits if another striker is out for a lengthy period of time. I bring in Graham Allan to play striker in his place. DOVER INJURY - Manuel Lugo

Huddersfield have moved to a flat 4-4-2 in an attempt to tie this game up.

83’ - The referee awards a PENALTY SHOT to Huddersfield when Renato Gaucho makes an ill-advised tackle in the area on a ball no where near a danger area. It’s substitute striker Martin Bekking on to take the kick and he fires one past a diving Perez and Huddersfield draw level to stun our crowd. HUDDERSFIELD GOAL 1-1

We take out Jose and bring in Benedikt Raab.

90’+1 - With four minutes of injury time, we switch to an overload mentality.

Another poor result at home.

Dover 1 - 1 Huddersfield
Goals - Jose (7.7)
Assists - Neil Cairney (7.3)
Man of the Match - Antonio Guzzetti (Huddersfield DC - 7.7)
Other Dover Notables - Claudio Contreras (7.1)
Attendance - 22,307

We ended up with 61% of the ball and a 23-5 (5-4 on target) shot advantage. Not enough quality in front of the goal with Broomes and Chiquinho and now we wait on Manuel Perez, hoping that a third striker isn’t hurt…

-- And it’s becoming apparent that we’re jinxed or something this year, as Manuel Lugo suffers a broken foot and will miss FOUR MONTHS. So Lugo, Zoltan Bardi and Paul Moses are all on the long-term injury list and that leaves us with Chiquinho and Andy Broomes as our only healthy natural strikers. Graham Allan, normally a winger, can play in a pinch and we have top prospect Alberto Velazquez on the U18 squad but he’s just a kid. Bardi is the closest to returning and should be back in training in about 3 weeks but it will be awhile after that to get him up to full fitness. DOVER INJURY: Manuel Lugo (Broken Foot - 4 months)

-- In other action, winners include Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United (over Spurs), Middlesbrough and Man City.

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 6 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Manchester United - 18 points
2. Arsenal - 16 points
3. Middlesbrough - 15 points
4. Chelsea - 13 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Dover - 13 points
6. Newcastle - 13 points
7. Reading - 11 points
----------------------------------------------------

Dover U18 Update

-- We get two goals from both Alberto Velazquez and Felix Hernandez in a 5-0 win over Brighton U18. Joshua Stokes notches the other goal and striker Matthew Neil adds two assists.

October Update

-- Another reasonably quiet month due to international play, with three league match-ups (Chelsea on the road, Blackpool at home and Liverpool on the road), Champions League games against Hoffenheim (road) and Palermo (home) and a 4th round League Cup game at QPR. So six games once again.

-- We get positive training reports for Andy Broomes, Mwemere Mutesa and U18 players Matthew Neil, Dennis Richter and Robert Hoffmann. Negative reports come in for Rayane Hamon and Paolo Secchi and i have a chat with both.

Premier League Monthly Awards

-- Chelsea midfielder Luis Carballo wins the Player of the Month award for September.

-- Claudio Contreras wasn’t even good in September from my recollection but wins Young Player of the Month once again. Mads Pedersen comes in third.

-- Andy Broomes finishes in second in the goal of the month award for a strike against Burnley. First place went to Derby’s Joao Henriques Almeida for a screamer he scored against us.

-- Man United’s Jurgen Klinsmann wins manager of the month once again and I finish in second.

Board Confidence Update

-- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership. Our stature increase is the positive and our loss to Newcastle is the negative.

-- We lost £2.16 million last month.

Champions League Update

-- Barcelona and Spurs battle to a 1-1 draw, as do Man United and Porto. Winners include HSV, Sevilla, Sampdoria, Olympique Lyonnais and Shakhtar.

Next Up

-- We head to Germany for Champions League group stage play, taking on Hoffenheim.

NoSkillz · 08-30-2014, 10:30 PM

Wed. October 2, 2024

UEFA Champions League - Group C
Hoffenheim (1-0-0, 3 points, 2nd) vs. Dover (1-0-0, 3 points, 1st)
Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim, Germany

Betting Odds: Hoffenheim: 6-4 (Favourites) Draw: 2-1 Dover: 13-8
Past Meetings: 0W 0D 0L

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim finished 3rd in the German First Division behind powerhouses FC Bayern and HSV but the club is off to a poor start this season, sitting with only six points through six games and way back in 12th place in the 18 team league. They did win the league a year earlier, in 2023 so there is some pedigree and they spent a TON of money in the transfer market, bringing in nine players and splashing £80 million to do it! The highest transfer fee went for DC Ali Ben Ahmed, a 26 year old Tunisian international. Their top goal scorer for the last seven years has been Federico Castro and the 29 year old is at it again this year. He’s got great pace and technical ability but he’s injured and will miss today’s game.

We’re going to make a couple changes today, starting in goal by putting in German Ingo Wilke and also starting countryman Benedikt Raab in place of in-form Jose. I just wanted to give him a break today but he’ll be available should the need arise. Lyubomir Kunchev is on the bench today and Graham Allan will be our striker substitute if needed.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, B. Raab, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, E. Harvey, Jose, L. Kunchev, M. Pedersen, G. Allan

Hoffenheim are in a 4-4-2 diamond formation with Jose Guzman and Luciano up front and David Ospina in goal. I tell the team this is a winnable affair.

3’ - We come out guns ablazin’ right away with a Benedikt Raab shot off the crossbar then eventually win a corner. Raab takes the kick and sends it to the far post to Claudio Contreras and he heads it off a defender and IN! Great start men! DOVER GOAL 1-0

10’ - Hoffenheim now have a corner but it’s headed out by Neil Cairney and Chiquinho takes it. They only have two men back and Chiquinho sends a long ball forward over the defence and Andy Broomes gets there first. He’s in on goal and beats Ospina with the shot and it’s just inside the post and IN! Wow! DOVER GOAL 2-0

12’ - Renato Gaucho has the ball and makes a horrific gaffe, giving the ball straight to Ibrahim Sanogo, Hoffenheim’s talented right midfielder. Sanogo immediately feeds Guzman at the top of the area and he sends a quick shot past WIlke and it’s in. That’s two games in a row that Renato Gaucho has made a bad play resulting in a goal for the opposition. Awful. HOFFENHEIM GOAL 2-1

16’ - We have another corner and it’s headed out. Raab gets it again and against claims of a handball, he sends a pass into the area to Arsene Bamba, who absolutely RIFLES a shot into the top of the net past Ospina. Hoffenheim complain but it counts. What a shot by Bamba, his first goal of the year and this game is nuts already! DOVER GOAL 3-1

HALFTIME - Hoffenheim played well the last fifteen minutes of the half but despite them holding a 53% possession edge, we were the far more dangerous team that half. We outshot them 15-9 (9-2 on target). Raab was superb that half, which is great to see! I’m pleased overall so far.

48’ - WHAT IS GOING ON!?!?! Now Andy Broomes gets tackled hard and has the cross of doom above his head. Thankfully, he can continue for now but my goodness, this is absolutely RIDICULOUS. We simply can’t keep withstanding injuries to our strikers.

50’ - Renato Gaucho is having a shocking game, as he makes an ill-advised pinch and that opens up a passing lane to the dangerous Sanogo. He cuts in on goal and shoots low past Wilke and it’s in. Holy smokes. HOFFENHEIM GOAL 3-2

55’ - This goalkeeper Ospina has been SENSATIONAL, making two point blank saves on Bamba and Chiquinho within minutes. My goodness.

58’ - I’m at a loss for words, as now Rayane Hamon is taken down on a vicious tackle and he calls for the bench. Hamon has always been injury prone and this isn’t a good development. He needs to come out and Saber Nasri is in. DOVER INJURY - Rayane Hamon

70’ - Andy Broomes comes out and in comes Graham Allan. Again, Broomes was able to continue after his injury but he will be evaluated after the game.

86’ - Out comes Arsene Bamba and in comes Mads Pedersen.

Man, what a game. The injuries…oh my the injuries. Please be gentle…

Hoffenheim 2 - 3 Dover
Goals - Claudio Contreras (7.8), Andy Broomes (7.5), Arsene Bamba (7.6)
Assists - Benedikt Raab 2 (8.3), Chiquinho (7.6)
Man of the Match - Benedikt Raab
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.2)
Attendance - 24,662

Hoffenheim held 52% of the ball but we outshoot them in a wild affair 24-18 (14-5 on target). Their keeper was excellent and Benedikt Raab was a deserved Man of the Match winner for his stellar breakout performance.

-- We are given £696,000 for the win, as usual.

-- Oh my, the injuries. The initial word on Andy Broomes is that it isn’t serious - he’ll miss about a week and a half with a gashed leg. Thankfully, the news is also good on Rayane Hamon, as he suffered a bruised shin. I could get him through the Chelsea game with an injection but I don’t believe in them and will just leave it to the physios. He’ll miss about a week. Whew!

DOVER INJURY: Andy Broomes (Gashed Leg - 10 days)
DOVER INJURY: Rayane Hamon (Bruised Shin - 6 days)

-- In other Group C action, Palermo knocked off Hibernian 2-0 and they are now tied with Hoffenheim for second in the group. Also winning in other group play are OM, Man City, the surprising Club Brugge, Real Madrid (destroyed Galatasaray 6-0) and Juventus.

Premier League Update

-- We have a Sunday matinee versus Chelsea and watch as Sheffield Wednesday upset Manchester United 3-1 on Saturday. City can only manage a draw against upstart Newcastle, the team that beat us early in the year.

Dover U18 Update

-- Alberto Velazquez continues to tear it up for the U18s, scoring two more goals in our 5-0 win over Brentford. Freddie Laird also bagged a brace and Neil Evans added a single.

International Update

-- 21 of our players are called up by their countries for the upcoming international break.

Next Up

-- We travel to London and face a stiff test against Chelsea in Premier League play.

Alf · 08-31-2014, 08:08 AM

Tough series of injuries.

NoSkillz · 08-31-2014, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alf

Tough series of injuries.

You're not kidding!

We started the season with five healthy strikers and we're down to one now! Pretty unlucky...

NoSkillz · 09-05-2014, 09:38 PM

Sun. October 6, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Chelsea (4-1-1, 13 points, 5th) vs. Dover (4-1-1, 13 points, 6th)
Zola Stadium, London, UK

Betting Odds: Chelsea: 5-4 (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Dover: 7-4
Past Meetings: 3W 4D 7L

We’re currently in a dead heat with Chelsea on the table but they are ahead due to better goal differential. After winning the league in 2022/23, they fell back a bit last year, finishing in fifth place and dropping down to the Europa League this term. Romelu Lukaku has led the team in scoring six years in a row and in nine of the past 12. He’s 31 years old but still producing, with 7 goals through 9 games this year already. Chelsea added six players in the transfer window, spending £38 million, with £22 million spent on Hoffenheim DC Makarani Mumbara. They will be missing influential winger Miguel Sousa today due to injury.

Our own injury woes are well-documented, as we are down to one healthy striker in Chiquinho, as Zoltan Bardi, Paul Moses, Manuel Lugo and now Andy Broomes are all sidelined. Broomes should be back after the upcoming international break so he’ll only miss today’s game. The others are all on the long-term injury list, with Bardi the closest to returning. Normal right midfielder Graham Allan is going to play up front with Chiquinho today in our flat 4-4-2. I’ve also called up 18 year old Alberto Velazquez from the U18s - he’s been absolutely lighting it up with the youngsters and may come on as a substitute. Benedikt Raab was sensational last game and will get a second consecutive start, this time spelling Neil Cairney. Rafinha will play at DL today, as Renato Gaucho has been mistake-prone in our last two games and will get the day off. Saber Nasri is in for the injured Rayane Hamon - Hamon should also be back on the pitch after the international break. Manuel Perez is in goal. We’re going to start with a counter attacking mentality on the road today.

Dover: 4-4-2 Counter
GK - M. Perez
D - Rafinha, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - G. Allan, Chiquinho
Bench - Emerson, M. Yilmaz, E. Harvey, A. Rocca, L. Kunchev, M. Pedersen, A. Velazquez

Chelsea play a 4-2-3-1 and Lukaku is alone up front with seven goal man Luis Carballo sitting in behind. Rafael Romo is in goal - he always plays great against us. Lets play well for the travelling support!

26’ - We started out well but Chelsea have dominated possession the last fifteen minutes. We get a corner and Benedikt Raab crosses to the near post. Saber Nasri heads it towards goal and it first hits Chelsea midfielder Ignacio Villa then deflects off Tony Nijhuis and just barely crosses over the goal line! An own goal and we lead! DOVER GOAL 1-0

29’ - Now it’s Chelsea with a corner and the cross is also to the near post. The ball hits off the back of midfielder Ronald Gimenez and goes IN. Geez. CHELSEA GOAL 1-1

33’ - We have a throw in down the right flank and Bolis sends it in to Chiquinho. He delivers a quick pass to the outer edge of the area to Jose and our midfielder sends a quick SWERVING blast that curls off the finger tips of a diving Romo and it’s IN! “We’ll be seeing that goal for some time”, bellows the announcer! A world-class strike from Jose and we’re back in the lead! DOVER GOAL 2-1

HALFTIME - Chelsea held 52% of possession but we outshoot them 10-6 (2-2 on target). Not a bad half. Graham Allan looks lost playing striker though. I try to encourage the team - I don’t think a one goal lead is enough right now.

67’ - And I’m right, as Romelu Lukaku shows his class with a turnaround shot from some 30 yards out that is past a diving Perez and into the corner of the goal. Sensational strike there. CHELSEA GOAL 2-2

75’ - Gianluca Bolis is tired so I move Allan to his position and bring in 18 year old Alberto Velazquez for his first senior level game. Against Chelsea…not ideal but we need some inspiration up front.

78’ - Chelsea with another corner and Luis Carballo’s cross is headed in by new signing Mumbara and Chelsea now LEAD. CHELSEA GOAL 2-3

We take out Arsene Bamba and bring in Mads Pedersen. We move to an overload mentality as well.

VERY disappointing loss. We’re only seven games into the new season and we’ve already lost as many games as we did ALL OF LAST YEAR.

Chelsea 3 - 2 Dover
Goals - Tony Nijhuis OG, Jose (8.3)
Assists - Saber Nasri (6.5), Chiquinho (7.2)
Man of the Match - Jose
Other Dover Notables -
Attendance - 54,144

Possession ended dead even and we outshot them 19-12 but they had six shots on goal and we only had 2. Not good enough and a very disappointing result. The injuries to our strikers are killing us, as our attack lacked cutting edge today. Ugh. This isn’t going to be easy…

-- Arsenal and Middlesbrough both win to keep their spots in the top four and we’re starting to lose touch with that top grouping due to our early season losses.

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 7 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Arsenal - 19 points
2. Manchester United - 18 points
3. Middlesbrough - 18 points
4. Chelsea - 16 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Newcastle - 14 points
6. Dover - 13 points
7. Manchester City - 11 points
----------------------------------------------------

Premier League Team of the Week

-- Jose makes the team of the week for his fine game against Chelsea.

Dover Injury Update

-- Deep breath…Andy Broomes (gashed lower leg) and Rayane Hamon (bruised shin) are close to returning and should be back when this international break is over. Zoltan Bardi (dislocated shoulder) is a couple weeks from resuming training while Paul Moses (torn calf muscle) and Manuel Lugo (broken foot) are both on the long term injury list. We won’t see Moses until late December at best and Lugo likely won’t return until January.

Dover Reserves Update

-- We get a brace from Paolo Secchi, normally a midfielder but playing striker today due to our injuries, as a very weak squad due to international play is able to defeat Fulham’s reserves 4-2. Warren Ward and Neil Evans notch singles.

-- Oh wonderful, another injury to a striker, as U18 star Alberto Velazquez suffers a pulled hamstring and will miss 2-3 weeks. So now we have FIVE STRIKERS injured. Truly bonkers.

Injury Update

-- Woo! Two players return to full training: striker Andy Broomes and Rayane Hamon return but both head away on international duty for England and France respectively. DON’T GET HURT!

International Update

-- Gaining youth caps are Felix Hernandez, Hans Briers, Emerson (one assist in two games), Vlastimil Silhavy, Andy Broomes (two goals) and Marcel Quade.

-- Gaining senior level caps are Mwemere Mutesa (one assist), Salim Loucif, Neil Cairney, Graham Allan, Jose, Chiquinho (three goals in two games), Saber Nasri, Lyubomir Kunchev (one goal in two games), Manuel Perez and Mads Pedersen (two goals and one assist in two games).

Dover U18 Update

-- Despite missing most of our key players due to injury or international fixtures, the U18s wallop Sutton United 5-0. Freddie Laird and Neil Evans both bagged braces while young fullback Eneko Remirez scores as well.

Injury Update

-- OH MY GOD WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!?! Now it’s Graham Allan, a natural wide midfielder equally adept at playing striker getting hurt while playing for Scotland. He breaks his arm and will miss 3-4 weeks. Seriously…we’re back to five strikers being hurt. I’ve never seen anything like this before - we’ve been bleeding for weeks and we’ve almost bled out.

DOVER INJURY: Graham Allan (fractured arm - 3 Weeks)

Dover Reserves Update

-- Showing good scoring ability at striker, normal midfielder Paolo Secchi notches a superb hat trick and now is up to five goals in his last two reserves games as we stroll to a 6-0 win over Arsenal’s reserves. U18 striker Neil Evans scores two goals and Mwemere Mutesa scores a single. Evans also had two assists.

Next Up

-- We try to end a two game winless streak in league play against cellar-dwellers Blackpool in a game at Crabble Athletic Ground.

NoSkillz · 09-05-2014, 11:18 PM

Sat. October 19, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Dover (4-1-2, 13 points, 6th) vs. Blackpool (0-2-5, 2 points, 20th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 1-6 (Favourites) Draw: 5-1 Blackpool: 10-1
Past Meetings: 4W 0D 0L

We have a perfect record against Blackpool, who were promoted to the Premier League last year and avoided the drop by a single point. At this point, I’d likely tip them for the drop, as their early season schedule hasn’t been that bad but they are winless in their first seven. 30 year old Greek striker Lazaros Sentementes has led the team in goal scoring for five consecutive years and has 5 already this year. Blackpool actually spent a decent amount of money in July, dishing out £19.5 million on 12 players, with Giresunspor’s Kassim Abdallah commanding £4.2 million of that. The 29 year old Tanzanian has been ever-present at right fullback for Blackpool so far.

We are in desperate need of a win here to get back on track in the league and we are huge favourites today. We have a mid-week Champions League game at home against Palermo so I’ll be playing a few of our regular backups today to ensure we’re fresh for that contest. Up front, I’ve moved Chiquinho into our advanced forward role, something he rarely plays for us. Andy Broomes returns from injury and will play to his right. In midfield, Mads Pedersen starts on the left side and Neil Cairney is back in the starting lineup as well. On defence, Rayane Hamon returns after missing one game due to injury and also starting is Emerson on the right side. Saber Nasri will wear the captain’s armband today, as we give Salim Loucif the night off. Also resting today is Claudio Contreras. We’ll give Manuel Perez another chance in goal - he’s been very average this year but I noticed he FINALLY has started to gain basic knowledge of English. Back to a control mentality as favourites today.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - Renato Gaucho, S. Nasri, R. Hamon, Emerson
M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis
S - Chiquinho, A. Broomes
Bench - Rafinha, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, B. Raab, L. Kunchev, A. Bamba, P. Secchi

Eww. Blackpool are in a very defensive 4–2-1-2-1 look, with two defensive central midfielders, two wide attacking midfielders and a lone striker in Sentementes. Nathan Potter is their goalkeeper. It’s frustrating to see guys like Benedikt Raab looking overconfident in warmups - he’s on the bench today but that’s ridiculous. No fooling around today - I expect a win and I tell the players as much in the pre-game team talk.

20’ - Blackpool with a goal kick and Renato Gaucho heads the ball back over the defence and Chiquinho latches onto it. His speed is too much and he’s able to gain an angle on Potter and slot the ball just into the corner of the net. Good start. DOVER GOAL 1-0

HALFTIME - Dull half, as Blackpool are keeping everyone back and we’re having trouble breaking them down. We DOMINATE the half, with 68% of possession and outshoot them 13-0 (3-0 on target). Like I said, they had no intention of moving forward at all. We need to be careful here but I encourage the players to keep pushing.

64’ - We simply can’t break them down right now. I take out Neil Cairney, who has been VERY disappointing this year and bring in Benedikt Raab.

77’ - We complete a GORGEOUS pass play, with Chiquinho firing a great pass into the box from the left flank to Gianluca Bolis and he makes a move and puts the ball past Potter and IN. But wait…offsides? That’s a WOEFUL call. We aren’t catching ANY breaks right now. No goal.

90’ - We take out Jose and bring in Emmerson Harvey.

Man. That’s just ugly.

Dover 1 - 0 Blackpool
Goals - Chiquinho (7.6)
Assists - Renato Gaucho (7.5)
Man of the Match - Chiquinho
Other Dover Notables - Emerson (7.1), Rayane Hamon (7.4), Saber Nasri (7.2)
Attendance - 22,247

Well, we should be smoking a team like Blackpool but it’s becoming painfully obvious that the loss of Paul Moses to injury is almost impossible to overcome. Blackpool never even tried to venture forward and we completely skunked them on the stat page, with us holding 68% of the ball and an outrageous 29-0 (5-0 on target) shot advantage. We just couldn’t break down their 10 man defence and shots on goal were almost impossible to come by. I continue to be very disappointed with Neil Cairney.

-- United and Sunderland battle to a draw as do division leaders Arsenal and Huddersfield. Middlesbrough are shocked at home by Sheffield Wednesday and Newcastle continue their fine play with a convincing win over Derby. City and Chelsea also win.

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 8 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Arsenal - 20 points
2. Chelsea - 19 points
3. Manchester United - 19 points
4. Middlesbrough - 18 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Newcastle - 17 points
6. Dover - 16 points
7. Manchester City - 14 points
----------------------------------------------------

Pedersen Unhappy

-- In a definite first, I get a note that newcomer Mads Pedersen is unhappy and wants to talk to me about my team talks. Now this should be interesting! In the Blackpool game, I demanded a win prior to the game, encouraged the team at half then told them the result wasn’t good enough afterwards. So I tell him I have no concerns about my team talks, nor should he and his retort is priceless - “I think you’re in denial about your man management skills”. Haha. I look for the option about winning multiple trophies and a Champions League title but that’s not available to me and I hold my breath before telling him he’s being unprofessional. Thankfully, he backs off. Then, hilariously, the press brings it up in the ensuing press conference, asking “will you be delegating that responsibility to a more inspirational speaker?”. God, I love this game!

Dover U18 Update

-- James Campbell scores two goals and we get singles from Joshua Stokes, Neil Evans, Robert Hoffmann and Felix Hernandez in a convincing 6-1 win over Southampton in U18 play. Stuart Cousins notched two assists coming off the bench in the win.

Dover Injury Update

-- Zoltan Bardi (dislocated shoulder) will be returning to full training soon, thankfully. Graham Allan (fractured arm) is a few weeks from returning while Paul Moses and Manuel Lugo are both months away.

Champions League Update

-- In Group E action, Spurs, despite being a number four seed, have taken the lead in a group with Barcelona, HSV and Panathinaikos. Crazy! Sevilla and Sampdoria are on top in Group F so far, United and Porto lead the way in Group G and OL and Shakhtar are ahead in Group H as expected.

Injury Update

-- Zoltan Bardi returns to full training after eight weeks on the sidelines with a dislocated shoulder. He’ll need lots of time to get back into game shape.

Next Up

-- We are slight favourites as we welcome Italian club Palermo to Crabble Athletic Ground in Group C Champions League action.

NoSkillz · 09-06-2014, 12:35 AM

Wed. October 23, 2024

UEFA Champions League - Group C
Dover (2-0-0, 6 points, 1st) vs. Palermo (1-0-1, 3 points, 3rd)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 5-4 (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Palermo: 7-4
Past Meetings: 1W 1D 0L

We played Palermo in group play last year as well, going 1-1-0 against them on our way to finishing first in the pod. They are a very consistent club, finishing last year with one more point than the year previous and maintaining their hold on 3rd place in Serie A. They last won their league in 2016/17 and are three-time Europa League champions, winning in 2023. Striker Robin Franz has led the club in scoring over the past two years and again is in the lead with 7 goals from 12 matches. He’s healthy today and will likely be a starter. They brought in an INCREDIBLE 25 players during the last 12 months, including buying Helder Cruz from us for £9.5 million. Their big purchase during the most recent window was Udinese star defender Juan Manuel Gutierrez, one of the great centre halfbacks in the game, for a whopping £22 million.

Zoltan Bardi is back to full training but in absolutely no shape to even suit up today. With only two healthy strikers and deep backup Paolo Secchi ineligible for this stage of the competition, I have to be conservative and play a one striker formation today. We’re gambling a bit in placing newcomer Benedikt Raab at AMC today, a position he is just starting to train for. I hope his skill overcomes his ineffectiveness at the position at the moment. That said, I’m also starting Andrea Rocca today at central midfield and he IS capable of playing in the #10 role - I just like Raab’s dynamism and want to see what he can do - if he doesn’t adapt early, I can always drop him back and move Rocca into the #10. Neil Cairney, who has been very pedestrian for us thus far, sits on the bench today. Our other starters are all playing today, including Arsene Bamba, captain Salim Loucif and DC Claudio Contreras.

Dover: 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Control
GK - M. Perez
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - Jose, A. Rocca
AM - A. Bamba, B. Raab, G. Bolis
S - Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, L. Kunchev, M. Pedersen, A. Broomes

Palermo are in a 3-4-1-2 formation, a rare sighting, with Rodrigo Bovo playing AMC behind Franz and fellow striker Albert Falix. Pierpaolo Bartoli is in goal - I remember him on Newcastle in past seasons and also in a game last year against us with Palermo where he was sensational. No overconfidence today thankfully. I tell the lads to play well for the home supporters.

32’ - My assistant notes that Raab is “playing nervously” and that’s likely due to the fact he’s playing out of position. I move him back to his natural central midfield position and move Andrea Rocca up into the AMC slot.

HALFTIME - Lots of action for a scoreless game so far, as we hold 54% of possession and a 13-11 (4-5 on target) shot advantage. This one striker formation isn’t working against their 3-4-1-2 so I introduce Andy Broomes for the second half and take out Andrea Rocca, moving us to a flat 4-4-2.

Of course, we make a change and Palermo follow suit, moving to a flat 4-4-2 as well. Interesting.

66’ - Boy, we are just PILING ON PRESSURE but can’t score. Bartoli has made about four incredible diving saves in the last ten minutes alone.

79’ - Bamba took a bit of a knock so I bring in Mads Pedersen.

85’ - Our last change sees the yellow carded Raab come out for Emmerson Harvey.

90’ - Sigh. Andy Broomes gets a breakaway and Jonas Ramalho brings him down just BEFORE he hits the penalty area. Ramalho is given the straight red card and Palermo are down to ten men. We needed the penalty shot but missed by a few feet. PALERMO RED CARD - Jonas Ramalho

We have four minutes with an extra man and can do nothing with it. Bartoli was sensational in goal for them but another disappointing offensive performance from our team.

Dover 0 - 0 Palermo
Goals -
Assists -
Man of the Match - Pierpaolo Bartoli (Palermo GK - 9.4)
Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.0), Salim Loucif (7.2), Rayane Hamon (7.3), Claudio Contreras (7.1), Renato Gaucho (7.0)
Attendance - 23,000 (Sell-Out)

Well, we were the better team but their keeper just was awesome and deservedly gets man of the match honours. We outshoot them 28-12 (10-5 on target) and hold 53% of possession but again, our scoring is way down without the sensational Paul Moses.

-- We earn £348,000 for the draw.

-- Real Madrid embarrass Shefiff 8-0 in other Champions League play. Ouch! In other Group C play, Hibernian hold Hoffenheim to a draw to gain their first point in the Group Stage. We still lead the group by three points.

-- We get a note that gate receipts for the Palermo game totalled £775,000, a new team record for a match, breaking the old mark by £50k, set in last year’s quarterfinal against Ajax.

Dover U18 Update

-- Neil Evans continues his fine play with two goals as we cruise again in U18 play with a 6-0 win over Oxford. Robert Hoffmann, Freddie Laird and Alberto Velazquez also score and we also benefit from an Oxford own goal. Unheralded midfielders Joshua Stokes and Dominic Beard both nab two assists.

Premier League Update

-- We have a Sunday matinee this weekend so we watch as Newcastle, Man City, Man United and Middlesbrough all win to continue to push ahead of us. Boy, things are tough this year…

Next Up

-- We head to Liverpool to take on the struggling Reds in Premier League play.

NoSkillz · 09-06-2014, 01:44 AM

Sun. October 27, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Liverpool (2-3-3, 9 points, 13th) vs. Dover (5-1-2, 16 points, 7th)
Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, UK

Betting Odds: Liverpool: 13-8 Draw: 2-1 Dover: 6-4 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 6W 3D 9L

Liverpool are struggling a bit and manager Michael Laudrup is under severe pressure to turn things around quickly. We won’t take them lightly, as the Reds handed us one of our two losses last year, at home no less and will come out firing today. They qualified for Europa League play and are currently 2-0-1 in Group play. The club sold last year’s leading scorer Cheikh Bocande to Real Madrid in a huge £36.5 million transfer deal and spent £19.25 million of that on Lazio striker Oliver Hammeri, who hasn’t even started a game for them yet. Liverpool have major injury issues right now, with cultured English international Adam Hill and many others out of the lineup today. We need to take advantage of that…

We will go with a pretty full strength lineup today. I move Andy Broomes back into an advanced role up front with Chiquinho in a holding role. Neil Cairney is back at midfield alongside Jose. We also have Zoltan Bardi available on the bench today. Flat 4-4-2 and a control mentality on the road as slight favourites. We have a mid-week League Cup match against Championship side QPR coming up and I’ll be playing backups in that game. Therefore, we can go full out today with our starters.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, E. Harvey, B. Raab, L. Kunchev, M. Pedersen, Z. Bardi

Liverpool are in a 4-5-1 today with veteran striker Piotr Parzyszek alone up front. Chris Dunn is their keeper - he’s been around forever as well. Lets play well today for our supporters!

9’ - My goodness. Parzyszek just bursts past our defence and into the area but his shot is saved by Perez. There’s a rebound and Renato Gaucho just tackles Parzyszek to the ground and that’s an easy PENALTY! That’s the second bloody penalty Renato Gaucho has been called for in the last month and he’s reprimanded by the referee before Bo Quattara steps up to take the kick. He goes right and Perez guesses correctly and MAKES THE SAVE!!! Wow!

14’ - Just a note to say we are completely on our heels right now and Liverpool is just man-handling us, dominating possession and they already have a few shots on Perez. Not good at all…

17’ - Off a failed Liverpool corner, they get the ball back and a cross is booted home by Axel Parisot but the assistant’s flag is up. Offsides and NO GOAL. Geez…lets go guys!

36’ - Renato Gaucho gets a yellow card and that gives us FOUR already for the match thus far. This is just a terrible display right now, as we look a step slow against these guys.

HALFTIME - Liverpool are in control here, with 53% of the ball and a 7-5 (3-2 on target) shot advantage. I’m sick of these performances - I completely go nuts in the room at halftime and try to wake them from their slumber. This could backfire but I’m sick of it.

Well, the first impressions are good out of half, as my assistant notes that seven of our starting eleven are now “looking motivated”. Lets see if it pays off.

51’ - BOOM! We have a free kick just to the right of the penalty area and Jose’s cross is booted home at the far post by Claudio Contreras! Finally. DOVER GOAL 1-0

76’ - We make a double substitution, bringing in Benedikt Raab and the returning Zoltan Bardi, taking out Jose and Andy Broomes, both of whom had yellow cards.

81’ - We switch to a counter attacking mentality.

89’ - One last change, as we take out Gianluca Bolis and bring in Lyubomir Kunchev.

Again, not overly impressive but we get the three tough points on the road.

Liverpool 0 - 1 Dover
Goals - Claudio Contreras (8.4)
Assists - Jose (6.9)
Man of the Match - Claudio Contreras
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.2), Renato Gaucho (7.0)
Attendance - 60,254

A bit better in that second half but Liverpool still held 53% of possession while we outshot them 18-12 (6-5 on target). We were very fortunate to get the three points there, considering that they missed a penalty AND had a goal called back. We just can’t put the ball in the net right now.

-- In the other Sunday game, Chelsea and Arsenal battle to a 1-1 draw. We’re now within three points of first place but have five teams ahead of us still.

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 9 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Manchester United - 22 points
2. Arsenal - 21 points
3. Middlesbrough - 21 points
4. Chelsea - 20 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Newcastle - 20 points
6. Dover - 19 points
7. Manchester City - 17 points
----------------------------------------------------

Premier League Team of the Week

-- Claudio Contreras makes it into the team of the week after his fine game against Liverpool.

Next Up

-- We head to London and to Loftus Road to face Championship side Queens Park Rangers in the fourth round of the League Cup.

NoSkillz · 09-06-2014, 01:32 PM

Tue. October 29, 2024

League Cup - 4th Round
QPR (9th in the Championship) vs. Dover (6th in the Premier League)
Loftus Road, London, UK

Betting Odds: QPR: 4-1 Draw: N/A Dover: 4-7 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 2W 0D 1L

We haven’t faced Queens Park Rangers since a 3-1 win in the 4th round of the 2020 FA Cup. In-game, QPR haven’t been to the Premier League since 1995/96 and are in their 11th straight year in the second tier. Conor Ramsay has led the team in scoring for the last four years but at 31, he’s perhaps starting to slow down a bit. Still, he has 5 goals in 12 games, just behind their leader Tom Purewal, who has nine goals. I don’t recognize any of their players and we should win this game handily, even with reserves playing.

We’re going with a full lineup of backups and reserves today, as we rest our starters and look for a bit of a scoring spark from perhaps some hungrier players. We’re going with a one striker formation today in our 4-2-3-1, with Andy Broomes playing up front and Zoltan Bardi, still a mile away from full fitness, playing in behind him. Lyubomir Kunchev gets a rare start at AMR, Emmerson Harvey is at MC and getting his first ever senior level start on defence is Mwemere Mutesa. Felix Hernandez, Vlastimil Silhavy and Alberto Velazquez are all called up from the U18s for bench duty today.

Dover: 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Rafinha, M. Mutesa, S. Nasri, Emerson
M - E. Harvey, B. Raab
AM - M. Pedersen, Z. Bardi, L. Kunchev
S - A. Broomes
Bench - C. Guzman, M. Yilmaz, A. Rocca, P. Secchi, V. Silhavy, F. Hernandez, A. Velazquez

QPR are in a flat 4-4-2 with Ramsay and Purewal up front and Jack Butland in goal. Mads Pedersen “isn’t looking particularly focused” and “is displaying an overconfident attitude” according to my assistant. Man, what is it with this guy? I tell the team to perform well for the fans and pull aside the cocky Pedersen to tell him I expect a great performance from him today.

36’ - After a poor first fifteen minutes where QPR dominated, we’ve been all over them for the last twenty and it’s Benedikt Raab with a corner kick. He delivers a beauty to the far post and young Mwemere Mutesa heads the ball off Andy Broomes and it’s IN. Give it to the striker Broomes and we finally take the lead! DOVER GOAL 1-0

HALFTIME - We’ve had plenty of great chances but again our lack of quality up front is costing us. 55% of possession and a huge 16-3 (9-1 on target) shot advantage yet we hold a slim one goal lead. I tell the team i’m pleased with their play thus far.

60’ - We build a play nicely from the back, with young fullback Emerson feeding up the right flank to Lyubomir Kunchev. He’s unmarked and cuts into the penalty area before feeding a pass to an oncoming Zoltan Bardi. Our out of shape striker sends a one-time blast into the goal past Butland and we have a little cushion! DOVER GOAL 2-0

70’ - Andy Broomes is sprung on a break and just like our last Champions League game, he’s taken down from behind on a horror tackle JUST outside the area. Literally, a spitting image of the play in the Palermo game. Their man is given the straight RED CARD and QPR are down to ten men for the last twenty minutes. QPR RED CARD - Scott Harris

77’ - We bring in Paolo Secchi and take out Zoltan Bardi.

79’ - We win a corner and Raab crosses to the far post again but this time, Mutesa heads the ball into the net himself. A goal on his debut! What a game for young Mwemere Mutesa!!! DOVER GOAL 3-0

85’ - We take out Raab and bring in U18 star Felix Hernandez.

A bit better against admittedly poor competition.

QPR 0 - 3 Dover
Goals - Andy Broomes (7.9), Zoltan Bardi (7.4), Mwemere Mutesa (9.0)
Assists - Mwemere Mutesa, Benedikt Raab (8.2), Lyubomir Kunchev (7.3)
Man of the Match - Mwemere Mutesa
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.4), Emerson (7.7), Saber Nasri (7.5), Rafinha (7.3), Emmerson Harvey (7.1)
Attendance - 18,200

We held 56% of possession and a 24-4 (12-2 on target) shot advantage. Pretty solid performance and the only starter to get a rating less than 7.0 was the cocky and overconfident Mads Pedersen. Funny how that works. Good to get a nice 3 goal win with backups today.

Dover Reserves Update

-- Felix Hernandez and Gary Archer score in a narrow 2-1 win over Derby’s reserves. Paolo Secchi had two assists in a game where we started lots of U18 players due to just playing our backups a day earlier in the League Cup match.

November Update

-- Business REALLY picks up in November, with SIX Premier League games: Tottenham (home), Sheffield Wednesday (away), Sunderland (home), Manchester United (away), Middlesbrough (home) and Reading (away). That’s brutal! We also have two Champions League matches: Palermo (away) and Hibernian (away) so that’s EIGHT competitive matches this month.

-- Getting positive training reports are Emmerson Harvey, Mwemere Mutesa and reserve midfielder Steven Miller, along with U18 players Edward Smith, Neil Evans and Felix Hernandez. Getting poor notices are Chiquinho and U18 player Fouad van der Horst. I have a little chat with the two.

Premier League Monthly Awards

-- Middlesbrough striker Robert Stoll wins Player of the Month for October after scoring three goals in as many games.

-- Huddersfield Town’s Martin Bekking wins Young Player of the Month. Our very own young fullback Emerson finishes in second.

-- Jose’s delightful goal against Chelsea is the second best of the month in Premier League play behind a Giorgos Spanoudakis strike for Man City.

-- Sheffield Wednesday’s Neil Lennon wins Manager of the Month for October.

November Board Confidence Update

-- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership of the team. Our stature increase is the positive and the sale of Shanon Andrea is the negative. It would be nice to have him around right now with our injury issues, that’s for sure.

-- The club lost £1.17 million last month.

League Cup - Quarter Final Draw

-- With Man United, Tottenham and Arsenal still alive, we get a home match against Sheffield Wednesday as we continue our quest to become three time League Cup champs.

Buy Out Clauses Activated

-- We’re given the chance to accept a negotiated buyout for three clauses built into two recent transfers and end up pocketing £1.475 million combined for clauses relating to the sales of Mathis Imbert and Takfarinas Madani. Easy money!

Next Up

-- We are huge favourites, surprisingly enough, as we host the struggling Tottenham Spurs in Premier League play.

NoSkillz · 09-06-2014, 03:02 PM

Sat. November 2, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Dover (6-1-2, 19 points, 6th) vs. Tottenham (3-2-4, 11 points, 12th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 1-2 (Favourites) Draw: 13-5 Tottenham: 9-2
Past Meetings: 7W 4D 2L

We are surprisingly MONSTER FAVOURITES at home against Spurs, who admittedly are struggling to start the season, languishing in mid-table. Coming off a wonderful 3rd place finish in last year’s Premier League, perhaps Champions League play has been on their mind. They are a fourth seed yet lead their group, which also has powerhouse Barcelona in it. Needless to say, this is a very strong team just going through some early season troubles and we’ll need to be sharp today despite the strong odds in our favour. Their leading scorer last year was former Dover striker Gerardo Escobar but he was sold to Atletico Madrid in July. Spurs spent a ridiculous £131 million reinforcing their squad for European play, with the largest outlay on Stuttgart striker Peter Jansen in a £35 million deal. The 28 year old Dutch international has rewarded them with 8 goals in 13 matches to lead the team thus far. Spurs also spent £28.5 million on Man City DR Gustavo Mercado and £28 million more on 22 year old midfielder Komlan Gbati from Hoffenheim. Boy…lots of money! Spurs are completely healthy and I can’t really fathom why we’re favoured so greatly here.

Both of us have Champions League games coming up this week so I need to be mindful of that. That said, we’re going with all of our top options in a flat 4-4-2. Zoltan Bardi is still working on his fitness and will be on the bench again today but will likely start in our upcoming Champions League match.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, B. Raab, M. Pedersen, L. Kunchev, Z. Bardi

Spurs are starting a full compliment of starters, including all of their big signings. Jansen is up front with Jean Junior and Angel Detry is in goal. Lets score some goals today!

1’ - Right off the opening kick, Chiquinho sends a ball through to Andy Broomes and there is no one marking him. He’s in on goal and the ball is delivered just inside the far post for the stunning goal only 13 SECONDS INTO THE GAME!! Holy crap!!! DOVER GOAL 1-0

7’ - This is nuts. We’re completely dominating early and a Jose corner is booted in on the volley by Claudio Contreras! WOW! DOVER GOAL 2-0

19’ - We earn another corner and Jose’s cross is to the near post this time and Rayane Hamon. His header deflects off a Spurs defender, then off Detry before finding the golden boot of Andy Broomes and he taps it home for his second of the game. DOVER GOAL 3-0

29’ - We have a free kick from 25 yards out and it’s Jose again, curling a rocket that deflects off Spurs defender Dillon Alexander and it’s past Detry and IN. This is getting out of hand! DOVER GOAL 4-0

HALFTIME - One of the great halves we’ve played in quite some time. We held 52% of the ball and hold a 19-7 (9-1 on target) shot edge. Simply superb! Keep it going - I will likely start resting some key players early in the second half as we want to ensure they are rested for our Palermo game in a few days.

56’ - Jose gets a standing ovation as he’s taken off in favour of Emmerson Harvey.

62’ - We make another substitution, taking out Chiquinho and bringing in Zoltan Bardi.

73’ - Play is much more even this half but I’m okay with that up four goals! We make our last substitution, taking out Gianluca Bolis and bringing in Lyubomir Kunchev.

77’ - We’ve taken out three of our better players and Spurs are taking it to us. Jansen goes on an innocent rush but Hamon and Contreras get crossed up a bit to open up some space. For some reason, goalkeeper Manuel Perez is way out near the top of the area and Jansen hits a 30 yard lob and it’s an easy goal. Sheesh. TOTTENHAM GOAL 4-1

Not the greatest second half but it was a comprehensive win.

Dover 4 - 1 Tottenham
Goals - Andy Broomes 2 (9.2), Claudio Contreras (7.8), Jose (9.0)
Assists - Rayane Hamon (8.8), Jose, Neil Cairney (7.1), Chiquinho (7.4)
Man of the Match - Andy Broomes
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.6), Renato Gaucho (7.2), Gianluca Bolis (7.1), Arsene Bamba (7.1)
Attendance - 23,000 (Sell-Out)

We hold 52% of possession and a 32-15 (11-4 on target) shot advantage. All of our starters except for keeper Perez were over 7.0 ratings but Bamba wasn’t very impressive, nor was Renato Gaucho. Cairney played a lot better today, which was great to see.

-- Tottenham fire manager Robert Kelly immediately after the match. Sorry about that pal!

-- In other action, City destroy Burnley 6-0, Newcastle draw against Huddersfield and Chelsea, Arsenal and Man United all win.

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 10 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Manchester United - 25 points
2. Arsenal - 24 points
3. Chelsea - 23 points
4. Dover - 22 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Newcastle - 21 points
6. Middlesbrough - 21 points
7. Manchester City - 20 points
----------------------------------------------------
8. Sheffield Wednesday - 18 points
9. Reading - 18 points
10. Huddersfield - 13 points
11. Liverpool - 12 points
12. Sunderland - 12 points
13. Tottenham - 11 points
14. Aston Villa - 9 points
15. Wolves - 8 points
16. Everton - 7 points
17. Sheffield United - 7 points
----------------------------------------------------
18. Derby - 3 points
19. Burnley - 3 points
20. Blackpool - 2 points

Premier League Team of the Week

-- Rayane Hamon, Jose and Andy Broomes all lock up places on the Premier League team of the week.

Dover Injury Update

-- Graham Allan is close to returning to full fitness after breaking his arm. Reserves midfielder Warren Ward hurt himself recently and is a couple weeks away from returning but he won’t ever be a factor for our senior team. Paul Moses and Manuel Lugo are still close to two months away from returning.

Next Up

-- We head to Italy to face Palermo in a return matchup in Group C Champions League play.

NoSkillz · 09-12-2014, 12:53 AM

Tue. November 5, 2024

UEFA Champions League
Palermo (1-1-1, 4 points, 3rd) vs. Dover (2-1-0, 7 points, 1st)
Renzo Barbera, La Favorita, Palermo, Italy

Betting Odds: Palermo: 5-4 (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Dover: 7-4
Past Meetings: 1W 2D 0L

We face Palermo only two weeks after they held us to a scoreless draw on our home turf. Striker Rodrigo Bovo is still hurt and won’t play but Robin Franz will need to be stopped.

We have some tired players after our Premier League game three days ago but they can rest afterwards! I only make one change, bringing in Benedikt Raab in place of Neil Cairney. Cairney was good in our last game but he’s the most tired of the bunch and we’ll have him available on the bench, if needed. We have a three point lead in the group and we’re in good shape to move on so I’ll maintain a control philosophy.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, N. Cairney, A. Rocca, M. Pedersen, L. Kunchev, Z. Bardi

Palermo again come out in a 3-4-1-2 formation with Franz and Albert Falix up front and the stellar Pierpaolo Bartoli in goal. He’s always at his best it seems in games against our club. I tell the team this is a winnable game.

12’ - Geez. Already, both of our central midfielders have yellow cards (Benedikt Raab and Jose) and now Jose commits another foul…I’m fearing the worst but the ref just has a prolonged talk and ticks him off. I immediately ask both Raab and Jose to dial down the aggression.

16’ - Chiquinho holds a ball up at midfield then sends a ball up to strike partner Andy Broomes. Broomes spots Arsene Bamba streaking into the area and feeds the ball over to the left. Bamba hits a wicked curling shot that starts wide but bends into the top corner of the goal past a sprawling Bartoli. Sensational strike from Bamba and we finally break Palermo down for a goal after 105+ minutes! DOVER GOAL 1-0

Palermo drops into a 5-2-1-2. Weird.

31’ - Palermo give up the ball in our end and we work all the way up field with Perez feeding Renato Gaucho, who then feeds Benedikt Raab near midfield. Raab sends a touch to Andy Broomes and then the MAGIC HAPPENS, as Broomes dribbles past a defender and into the area. He cuts back against the grain and sends an arching shot past the outstretched Bartoli and it’s IN THE NET. Now THAT is a goal Paul Moses would be proud of! Holy CRAP!!! DOVER GOAL 2-0

HALFTIME - Well, that was a bloody fantastic half of football, as Broomes was EVERYWHERE and our whole team is playing with speed and passion. We’re causing turnovers all over the pitch and it’s been a pleasure to watch so far. We only edge them in possession but hold a 14-5 (5-4 on target) shot advantage.

65’ - Andy Broomes is exhausted so out he comes and in comes Zoltan Bardi.

67’ - On an innocent looking play, Rayane Hamon has a head ball attempt but sends it into open space. The dangerous Robin Franz latches onto it as Hamon TRIPS OVER HIS OWN FEET and Franz dribbles in from the midfield stripe. His rocket is past Perez and in the net. Ugly sequence there. PALERMO GOAL 2-1

71’ - I take out Jose and bring in Andrea Rocca.

73’ - We switch to a counter attacking mentality.

89’ - We’re holding them off well and get to the last minutes when we have a horrific defensive breakdown in the middle and there is Franz all alone again, dribbling in on goal and shooting past Perez and IN. Our players are furious, thinking Franz was offsides but he wasn’t. Just terrible defending by Hamon, who has been shockingly bad this half and Palermo come back from two goals down. PALERMO GOAL 2-2

We switch back to a control mentality, looking for a winning goal.

90’+3 - There are three minutes of injury time and we just get into the last minute of play as Bartoli sends a ball upfield. Contreras wins it in the air and it’s over the head of the Palermo defensive line and the fresh legs of Zoltan Bardi latch onto the ball. He’s in and shoots low and it is past Bartoli and IN THE NET! What a stunner!!! DOVER GOAL 3-2

We immediately take out Rayane Hamon and bring in Saber Nasri to waste some time. We also switch back to a counter mentality.

And that’s all! Wild.

Palermo 2 - 3 Dover
Goals - Arsene Bamba (7.9), Andy Broomes (8.3), Zoltan Bardi (7.2)
Assists - Claudio Contreras (8.3), Benedikt Raab (6.9), Chiquinho (6.8)
Man of the Match - Robin Franz (Palermo ST - 8.8)
Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.2), Salim Loucif (7.3), Rayane Hamon (7.0)
Attendance - 44,257

Possession was dead even but we outshot them 24-12 (9-8 on target). Franz gets man of the match honours and rightfully so but Broomes was equally dangerous for us. Hamon’s grade didn’t reflect the mistakes he made out there - he wasn’t very good today.

-- As usual, we earn £696,000 for the Champions League win. Most importantly, we move to ten points in Group C and with two games to go in Group play, we have guaranteed qualification to the knockout stages! Awesome stuff - now we can play our depth players for the last two games, get them some experience while resting our main starters for Premier League play. Superb!!

-- With two games remaining in Group Stage play, things are starting to become a bit more clear. In Group A, OM and Man City have guaranteed themselves spots in knockout stage play and AZ and Young Boys will just play out the string. In Group B, it’s Club Brugge shocking everyone by going 3-1-0 thus far and they will move on. Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid will battle for the second spot and Partizan is done. In our group, we’ve moved on and the next spot will go to either Palermo or Hoffenheim, who beat Hibernian to move to 7 points. In Group D, Juventus is a perfect 4-0-0 and are in to the knockout round while Real Madrid need only a draw in their last two games to hold off Galatasaray, who would need to win out. Group E and F are still wide open - Barcelona and Tottenham look good in Group E but have work to do while Group F will see Schalke, Sevilla and Sampdoria battle for two spots. Finally, in Group H, Olympique Lyonnais moves on while Shakhtar and SK Sturm Graz will battle it out for the last spot.

-- Benedikt Raab has picked up three yellow cards in the competition and will miss our next Champions League match, which is coming up against Hibernian later this month.

Injury Update

-- Graham Allan is back to full training after missing four weeks with a broken arm. He should be able to play on Saturday in our next game as a substitute, if needed.

Dover Reserves Update

-- It looks like Zoltan Bardi is ready for more of a role after coming back from injury, as he notches a hat trick in our 4-1 win over Aston Villa’s reserves. Mwemere Mutesa scores our other goal and Andrea Rocca notches two assists in the victory.

Heading to Italy?

-- Our last league game saw us beat Tottenham 4-1 and as a result, their manager got sacked. Spurs hire Quiqui Flores as their new manager, hiring him away from Sampdoria, who are leading Italian Serie A. The rumours about me leaving Dover start flying right away and the next day, I’m offered the job, with a ridiculous transfer budget of £89 million and a wage budget close to three times higher than ours at £3.2 million/week. Pretty cool but no thanks!

Next Up

-- Another road game, as we head to Hillsborough to face Sheffield Wednesday in Premier League play.

NoSkillz · 09-12-2014, 02:05 AM

Sat. November 9, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Sheffield Wednesday (5-3-2, 18 points, 8th) vs. Dover (7-1-2, 22 points, 4th)
Hillsborough, Sheffield, UK

Betting Odds: Sheffield Wednesday: 13-8 Draw: 2-1 Dover: 6-4 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 9W 4D 4L

Sheffield Wednesday had a nightmarish season last year - after qualifying for Europa League the year previous, they struggled to make an impact in the league and finished in 14th place with only 39 points. Injuries took their toll and the club, thinking they were better than their record, essentially stood pat during this summer’s transfer window, spending only £7.25 million on seven players, with the biggest move being a £4.5 million deal for Stoke defender Craig Murray. They also signed former Dover left midfielder Simon Bouwman on a free - Bouwman last played for our club in 2017-18 when we were in the Championship but he is a depth player with Sheffield now. Their danger man, as always, is English international Steve Pates, who always seems to battle injuries but he’s healthy now. Darijo Jukic is also a talented forward and I am guessing they will both start today.

We make sweeping changes to the lineup today - Ingo WIlke is in goal, Rafinha, Saber Nasri and Emerson are on defence and Mads Pedersen is in at left midfield. Neil Cairney is back in today, as is Benedikt Raab, as we give Jose a much needed day off. Graham Allan must have been running quite a bit while injured, as he’s already match fit despite missing the last four weeks - he’ll start at right midfield today but will not make it through the game due to stamina issues. Up front, Zoltan Bardi has regained match fitness after some great work in reserves games and off the bench the last couple weeks - he’ll spell Chiquinho today. Control mentality as favourites on the road.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Rafinha, C. Contreras, S. Nasri, Emerson
M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, B. Raab, G. Allan
S - A. Broomes, Z. Bardi
Bench - C. Guzman, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, A. Rocca, A. Bamba, L. Kunchev, Chiquinho

Pates and Jukic are up front in Sheffield’s flat 4-4-2. Fernando Cardoso is in goal. Lets do it for the fans today.

37’ - Sheffield look to have controlled possession for the most part but chances have been in our favour it seems. However, Jukic is sprung on a partial breakaway and just as he enters our penalty area, he’s taken down by Rafinha. The ref doesn’t hesitate and points to the spot. It’s a PENALTY! Rafinha is given a yellow and dangerous wide midfielder Eugenio Balestra steps up to take the kick. He goes right but it’s high and hits the crossbar and bounces out! Oh my!!!

45’+2 - Our defence has made a couple of blunders when covering for each other and it happens again, as Saber Nasri closes down a midfielder and that allows a through ball to be sent to a wide open Balestra and this time he makes no mistake and it’s IN! Disaster. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY GOAL 0-1

HALFTIME - Not good at all. Sheffield holds 53% of possession but we outshoot them 10-4 (7-2 on target). We just can’t beat Cardoso, who has been hot lately but even so, we could easily be down two due to that missed penalty. I tell the lads I expect way more and for now, I pull back into a 4-2-3-1 formation to switch things up a bit, with Bardi dropping back into an attacking central midfielder role.

48’ - We have a corner but it’s cleared to midfield. Zoltan Bardi gets the ball and sends a pass to Andy Broomes - with his back to the goal, he turns on the defender, makes a bit of space and fires a rocket that’s past Cardoso and into the net! Great strike - Broomes is up to ten goals on the year already and we pull level! DOVER GOAL 1-1

68’ - We make a double substitution, bringing in Carlos Guzman and Chiquinho while taking out a very tired Rafinha and Zoltan Bardi. We move back to a flat 4-4-2.

87’ - Graham Allan is exhausted and I bring in young Lyubomir Kunchev.

Boy, we had a lot of chances but just couldn’t finish.

Sheffield Wednesday 1 - 1 Dover
Goals - Andy Broomes (7.3)
Assists - Zoltan Bardi (6.8)
Man of the Match - Fernando Cardoso (Sheffield Wednesday GK - 7.7)
Other Dover Notables - Saber Nasri (7.0), Claudio Contreras (7.0), Benedikt Raab (7.1)
Attendance - 43,284

Well, this is a disappointing result and I tell the team as much. We only held 43% of the ball, a terrible number but outshoot them 18-9 (11-4 on target). Their keeper was excellent and wins man of the match honours. Mads Pedersen wasn’t very good in this game. We’re lucky to get a point. If anything, I’m likely to blame for starting such a weak lineup on the road. Not smart and we lose two potential points.

-- In other action, as usual, most of our main rivals win, with United cruising over Reading 4-0, Middlesbrough beating Wolves 2-0 and City battling to an entertaining 3-3 draw against Huddersfield. The one shocker was seeing Liverpool knock off Arsenal 2-1.

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 11 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Manchester United - 28 points
2. Arsenal - 24 points
3. Middlesbrough - 24 points
4. Chelsea - 23 points (after 10 games)
----------------------------------------------------
5. Dover - 23 points
6. Manchester City - 21 points
7. Newcastle - 21 points (after 10 games)
----------------------------------------------------

Dover U18 Update

-- Young left midfield super prospect Felix Hernandez strikes for three goals in a 6-0 dismantling of AFC Wimbledon. Vlastimil Silhavy, James Campbell and Alberto Velazquez also score singles. Velazquez also had two assists in the contest.

Dover Injury Update

-- Strikers Paul Moses and Manuel Lugo are still on the long-term injury list and we’re looking at about a month before Moses returns to training. Lugo is further away and won’t be back until the new year most likely.

Premier League Update

-- We have a Wednesday game coming up but six teams are in action on Tuesday and the big news is Aston Villa drawing against first place Manchester United 1-1 only days after firing their manager. Man City win a huge 3-0 game over Chelsea to jump all the way into second place from 6th! Everton also knock off Sheffield Wednesday 3-0.

Next Up

-- We’re finally headed home to face Sunderland in Premier League play.

NoSkillz · 09-13-2014, 03:56 PM

Wed. November 13, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Dover (7-2-2, 23 points, 6th) vs. Sunderland (4-3-4, 15 points, 11th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 4-7 (Favourites) Draw: 5-2 Sunderland: 4-1
Past Meetings: 6W 2D 5L

Sunderland were one of the few teams to beat us last year, albeit in the 5th round of the FA Cup. This is their 13th consecutive season in the top flight of English football and they’ve finished anywhere from 6th to 16th during that span, settling comfortably into the mid table in recent years. Last year they finished 11th, a position they occupy at this moment as well. Craig Flett has led the club in scoring 6 of the last 7 years and the 31 year old striker is tied for the team lead once again with four goals through nine matches. I’ve always been fond of Matt Barber, a fine midfielder who I always seem to look at buying. The club spent £23.5 million in July with £10 million of it spent on US international striker Jeremy Russell, a man I went after hard but lost out on, something that was inexplicable to me at the time. Russell has played decently for Sunderland thus far and is tied for the club lead in goals with Flett.

I obviously didn’t take Sheffield Wednesday seriously enough on the weekend and I won’t make the same mistake today, as we start a full strength lineup. I continue to look for more from cultured striker Chiquinho, who only has six goals in 16 matches thus far - he has to be more prolific in the absence of Paul Moses. Thankfully, young Andy Broomes has picked up the slack and is up to 10 goals from 15 matches.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - M. Perez
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, A. Rocca, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, Z. Bardi

Sunderland are in a 3-5-2 formation and are likely to eventually drop into a 5-3-2. Flett and Russell are up front and Sam Cowler is in goal. I tell the team I expect a win today and pull aside Chiquinho to say I expect a performance from him.

7’ - We have a throw in down the left and Bamba sends it into Renato Gaucho. Our fullback passes into the box to Jose and from the left corner of the area, he strikes a low blast that surprises Cowler and goes past him into the left side of the net. What a strike from Jose!!! DOVER GOAL 1-0

17’ - Sunderland have a free kick from just outside our area and a big wall is formed. Usually, the kick is just sent into the wall and headed away but in a definite first for me, I watch as the kick is taken softly and headed by one of Sunderland’s attackers, Tarek Farouk, lined up on the wall toward goal and it’s past Perez and IN. Wow…seriously, I’ve never seen that before and Sunderland pull level. SUNDERLAND GOAL 1-1

I notice that Sunderland drop back into a 5-3-2 after the goal, as expected.

41’ - We’ve been going after Craig Flett with some hard tackling today and there is a sequence that sees him go down twice in a fifteen second period and we end up regaining possession. Chiquinho is down the right flank near midfield and sends a GREAT ball over the defence and Andy Broomes latches onto it. He rounds the keeper and left foots the ball into the open net. We needed that one! DOVER GOAL 2-1

HALFTIME - I’m uneasy with the scoreline despite us controlling play. We held 54% of possession and a 10-4 (2-2 on target) shot advantage. Neil Cairney has look awful again today - I’m starting to tire of his pedestrian displays, as he’s been careless with the ball and taking ill-advised shot attempts. I tell Cairney to go out and prove a point while encouraging the rest of the squad.

48’ - Ugh. Arsene Bamba is tackled hard and has the dreaded cross of doom above his head. He needs to come off and I’m forced into a substitution, with Mads Pedersen coming in. DOVER INJURY: Arsene Bamba

53’ - We earn a corner and Jose’s cross is to the near post and Rayane Hamon. His header is off the crossbar and then Mads Pedersen attempts a header before Sunderland defender Jamie Holt comes sliding in but his attempt to clear ends up going past Cowler and into his own goal. We’ll take it! DOVER GOAL 3-1

69’ - With a two goal lead, I take out the excellent Jose and bring in Andrea Rocca.

88’ - We have possession deep in their end and Chiquinho takes a pass and sends the ball to the middle to Cairney. Our maligned midfielder sends a rocket that goes past a diving Cowler but hits the woodwork. The ball deflects off the back of Cowler and goes back into the net!!! A second Sunderland own goal! DOVER GOAL 4-1

A good result today.

Dover 4 - 1 Sunderland
Goals - Jose (7.5), Andy Broomes (7.7), Jamie Holt OG, Sam Cowler OG
Assists - Rayane Hamon (8.1), Renato Gaucho (7.9), Neil Cairney (7.2), Chiquinho (7.4)
Man of the Match - Rayane Hamon
Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.0), Claudio Contreras (7.3), Gianluca Bolis (7.1)
Attendance - 22,971

Just short of a sell-out today as possession ends dead even but we outshoot them 19-11 (6-4 on target). Cairney was much better in the second half as we pull away with a solid win.

-- Key players continue to be felled by injury, as Arsene Bamba sprains an ankle and will miss approximately four weeks. Mads Pedersen will get the majority of starts and I may have to call on Felix Hernandez from the U18s for help. DOVER INJURY: Arsene Bamba (Sprained Ankle - Four Weeks)

-- In other action, Spurs do everyone a big favour by shocking Arsenal at Emirates 3-0. Newcastle also continue their fine play with a home win over Blackpool. We vault all the way from six place into second with the win.

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 12 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Manchester United - 29 points
2. Dover - 26 points
3. Middlesbrough - 25 points
4. Manchester City - 24 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Newcastle - 24 points (after 11 games)
6. Arsenal - 24 points
7. Chelsea - 23 points (after 11 games)
----------------------------------------------------

Dover U18 Update

-- We continue to romp in U18 action, with a 5-0 win over Bristol Rovers in the U18 Cup fourth round. Alberto Velazquez notches a superb hat trick and we get singles from Felix Hernandez and Joshua Stokes. Hernandez and Neil Evans both had two assists in the contest.

International Update

-- We have 22 players get call ups by their respective countries for the upcoming international break. The one big piece of news there is that young Andy Broomes gets his first ever call from England for their senior squad. Hopefully he gains his first senior cap! Great news for the youngster who has filled in very well for countryman Paul Moses.

Premier League Update

-- We have a HUGE Sunday matinee versus league leaders Manchester United so we can settle in and watch some football on Saturday. Man City beats cellar-dwellers Blackpool 2-0 to leap frog us into second place while Chelsea knock off Derby 2-1. Arsenal continue their free-fall with a 3-1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday. Newcastle draw at Liverpool and Middlesbrough also battle to a draw against Aston Villa.

Dover U18 Update

-- The young lads win 3-1 over Portsmouth, with Felix Hernandez, Matthew Neil and Alberto Velazquez scoring our goals.

Next Up

-- It’s an early season monster matchup, as we face league leaders Manchester United at Old Trafford.

NoSkillz · 09-13-2014, 08:01 PM

Sun. November 17, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Manchester United (9-2-1, 29 points, 1st) vs. Dover (8-2-2, 26 points, 3rd)
Old Trafford, Manchester, UK

Betting Odds: Manchester United: Evens (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Dover: 11-5
Past Meetings: 6W 4D 9L

We played United five times last season and went 3-2-0 against them, with two Premier League games, the League Cup final and a two-leg Champions League semi-final. They are doing well this year after two consecutive fourth place finishes in the league and they are also set to cruise into the knockout stages of the Champions League once again. Yaya Sanogo is absolutely on fire this year and already has an astonishing 26 goals across all competitions, including 15 in only 12 league games. At 31 years young, he’s on the downside of a great career but is obviously still producing at an amazing clip. You will not believe this but United spent NO MONEY AT ALL in the July transfer window - that’s right, one of the largest clubs in the world bought ZERO PLAYERS!!! Truly bizarre! The club has former Dover players Cristian Rodriguez and Said Henni, although Henni is suspended today and will miss the game.

We make only one change to our lineup after the 4-1 win over Sunderland and that’s by necessity, as Arsene Bamba is hurt and will miss the next month of action. Mads Pedersen is in at left midfield in his place. We will be playing a counter attacking style today on the road as underdogs.

Dover: 4-4-2 Counter
GK - M. Perez
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, E. Harvey, A. Rocca, B. Raab, G. Allan, Z. Bardi

United is in a flat 4-4-2 as well and Sanogo is up front alongside Tom Bull. Liviu Dragomir is in goal. I tell the team this is a winnable fixture despite the odds.

22’ - United has been the better team thus far and they take advantage. Mads Pedersen, in for Arsene Bamba, makes his second poor pass of the game and it’s intercepted. United move up the pitch and it’s Omar Hernandez taking a pass from fellow midfielder Bogdan Marinescu. Hernandez is about five yards outside the area and hits a brilliant, low and hard shot that Perez gets a piece of but not enough. It’s in and we’re behind. MANCHESTER UNITED GOAL 0-1

HALFTIME - We are very mistake-prone today and you can’t do that against a top club. Possession is dead even and United outshot us 11-5 (3-1 on target) - we generating very little thus far. I switch to a control mentality in hopes of opening things up a bit and I tell the team I want to see much more from each of them in the second half.

62’ - We’re playing much better here but can’t get that elusive goal. I make a double substitution, bringing in Zoltan Bardi and Benedikt Raab and taking out Andy Broomes and Neil Cairney.

89’ - We move to an overload mentality for the last few minutes (3 minutes of injury time) and also bring in Graham Allan for Gianluca Bolis.

We get a great chance on a Jose shot from just outside the area but Dragomir makes a brilliant save. That’s all - we’re barely a few months into the year and we’ve already lost more games than we did all of last season. Boy, we continue to miss Paul Moses…

Manchester United 1 - 0 Dover
Goals -
Assists -
Man of the Match - Bogdan Marinescu (Manchester United MC - 8.0)
Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.5), Renato Gaucho (7.0), Rayane Hamon (5.8)
Attendance - 73,408

Possession ends up dead even and shots are in United’s favour, 17-15 (6-6 on target). A better second half but Chiquinho (who has gone eight games and over ten hours without a goal), Mads Pedersen and Neil Cairney continue to disappoint. Three losses in league play already - a tough season so far without our superstar scorer up front.

-- There was only one other game on Sunday and it was Reading and Wolves battling to a 2-2 draw.

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 13 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Manchester United - 32 points
2. Manchester City - 27 points
3. Chelsea - 26 points (after 12 games)
4. Dover - 26 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Middlesbrough - 26 points
6. Newcastle - 25 points (after 12 games)
7. Arsenal - 24 points
----------------------------------------------------

International Update

-- Gaining youth caps are Eneko Remirez (Spain), Hans Briers (Belgium), Emerson (Brazil) and Felix Hernandez (France - one assist).

-- Gaining senior team caps are Jose (Brazil), [b]Lyubomir Kunchev/b] (Bulgaria), Mads Pedersen (Denmark - one goal), Saber Nasri (Tunisia), Salim Loucif (Algeria), Zoltan Bardi (Hungary), Emmerson Harvey (England - one assist), Chiquinho (Belgium - one goal), Rayane Hamon (France), Neil Cairney and Graham Allan (Scotland) and Claudio Contreras (Argentina).

-- Claudio Contreras gets his first ever senior team cap for Argentina in that game! Very cool - he’s really blossomed into a top line central defender after coming here as an 18 year old. Andy Broomes didn’t get in the game for England so he is still looking for his first senior team cap.

Club World Championship?

-- I guess there is yet another perk to winning the Premier League, as I have a number of fixtures rescheduled due to us playing in the FIFA Club World Championship. Crazy.

Injury Update

-- Reserves midfielder Warren Ward returns from injury and then we lose goalkeeper Manuel Perez to a flu bug he caught while on international duty with Mexico. He’ll miss about a week. Paul Moses, Arsene Bamba and Manuel Lugo are all still a ways away from returning.

Dover Reserves Update

-- 18 year old Alberto Velazquez continues to dominate in non-competitive games, scoring two goals and adding an assist as we beat Reading’s Reserves 3-2. Velazquez is already up to 23 goals in 18 non-competitive games!

Next Up

-- Middlesbrough visit Crabble Athletic Ground for a Premier League matchup.

NoSkillz · 09-13-2014, 09:48 PM

Sat. November 23, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Dover (8-2-3, 29 points, 4th) vs. Middlesbrough (8-2-3, 26 points, 5th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Betting Odds: Dover: 4-5 (Favourites) Draw: 2-1 Middlesbrough: 3-1
Past Meetings: 8W 2D 4L

Middlesbrough are in their 14th straight year of top flight play and are coming off one of their finest seasons yet, finishing 8th last year with 61 points. Roland Hoxha has really come into his own and already has 15 goals and 4 assists in only 13 games. That’s exceptional form. The club spent £18.75 million in the transfer market including £7.5 million on veteran striker Robert Stoll (from Valladolid) and £6.5 million on defender Jorge Galeano from Koln in Germany. Middlesbrough are tied on points with us and will be a tough matchup.

We have a few tired players in the squad due to the international break. Notably, we’ll be starting 18 year old midfielder Felix Hernandez, who has been sensational for our U18 club - Mads Pedersen is on the bench today. We’ll play a 4-2-3-1 formation with Andy Broomes up front and Zoltan Bardi in behind. Chiquinho, very much out of form at the moment, will be on the bench if needed. Benedikt Raab will play midfield and Ingo Wilke is in goal for the flu-ridden Manuel Perez.

Dover: 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - B. Raab, Jose
AM - F. Hernandez, Z. Bardi, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes
Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, N. Cairney, A. Rocca, M. Pedersen, G. Allan, Chiquinho

Middlesbrough are playing a 4-2-3-1 with three AMC’s. Hoxha is alone up front and Mark Robinson is in goal - he must be new. I want to see a good performance for the home fans today.

24’ - We are NOT playing well here but have held them off so far. We have a throw in deep in their end and the ball comes to Zoltan Bardi. He sends a touch pass through the area and our leading scorer Andy Broomes runs in, makes a little move and easily slots the ball past Robinson and in! DOVER GOAL 1-0

32’ - We move the ball up to Broomes at midfield and he puts on a SUPERB DISPLAY of skill, weaving through four defenders, getting into the area and shooting with his weaker foot past Robinson and IN. WHAT A GOAL! DOVER GOAL 2-0

Middlesbrough are forced into an early change and switch to a flat 4-4-2 looking for goals.

35’ - You simply can’t stop him! We have a free kick and Bardi touches a pass to Benedikt Raab. He touches a pass to Broomes, who moves back to his left again and RIPS ANOTHER LEFT FOOTED SHOT into the top corner past a sprawling Robinson! HAT TRICK FOR ANDY BROOMES!!! DOVER GOAL 3-0

HALFTIME - A simply ridiculous first half performance from Andy Broomes! He was everywhere and actually had two other great chances. We held 55% of possession and outshot them 11-5 (4-2 on target). We have a Champions League game in a few days but will be playing almost exclusively backups in that game so we don’t have to be too careful here. I’m pleased after a rough start…

56’ - YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME! Andy Broomes gets slugged down from behind and has the cross of doom over his head. NOOOOOOOOOO!!! He can stay in the game for now but this is NOT GOOD.

59’ - We take Broomes out, move Bardi up to striker and bring in Andrea Rocca to play AMC. Please be okay Andy!

80’ - Jose is exhausted so I move Felix Hernandez to the middle and bring in Rafinha to play AML.

90’ - Middlesbrough work up field and our defence leaves acres of space for Martin Marosi to run down the left flank. He cuts in and sends a pass into the middle to a completely unmarked Zeli Ismail and he easily slots the ball past a non-moving Ingo Wilke to get Middlesbrough on the board. Disgusting defence. Ugh. MIDDLESBROUGH GOAL 3-1

90’+1 - We have possession off the kick off and Rafinha sends a ball up to Bardi. He avoids a tackle and runs in on goal, slotting one into the far right corner past Robinson to restore our three goal cushion. Okay, I feel better now. DOVER GOAL 4-1

Please don’t be hurt Andy!!!

Dover 4 - 1 Middlesbrough
Goals - Andy Broomes 3 (9.6), Zoltan Bardi (8.4)
Assists - Ingo Wilke (7.6), Benedikt Raab (7.6), Zoltan Bardi, Rafinha (6.9)
Man of the Match - Andy Broomes
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.2), Rayane Hamon (7.7), Claudio Contreras (7.4), Renato Gaucho (7.3)
Attendance - 21,689

We hold 53% of possession and a 23-9 (8-4 on target) shot advantage. Broomes was absolutely “Moses-Like” in this game, with incredible burst and vision.

-- THANK GOODNESS! Andy Broomes suffers a bruised rib on that challenge but will only miss about five days. WHEW! I wasn’t going to play him against Hibernian in the Champions League anyway so he should be fine for our next league match. DOVER INJURY: Andy Broomes (Bruised Rib - Five Days)

-- We don’t get much help throughout the league, as Man City beat Liverpool 4-1, United wallop Everton 5-0 and Chelsea beat Burnley 1-0. That said, Arsenal continue their shocking free fall, dropping their fourth straight league game in a 3-1 loss at Emirates to Sunderland. Crazy. Arsenal were in first a month ago and now are barely holding on to 7th.

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 14 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Manchester United - 35 points
2. Manchester City - 30 points
3. Dover - 29 points
4. Chelsea - 29 points (after 13 games)
----------------------------------------------------
5. Newcastle - 26 points (after 13 games)
6. Middlesbrough - 26 points
7. Arsenal - 24 points
----------------------------------------------------

Premier League Team of the Week

-- Making the team of the week are Zoltan Bardi and Andy Broomes.

Dover Injury Update

-- Andy Broomes (bruised rib) will be ready to return in our next league game. Arsene Bamba is a couple weeks from returning from his sprained ankle. Paul Moses (torn calf muscle) and Manuel Lugo (broken foot) are still at least a month or so away.

Next Up

-- We head to Scotland to face Hibernian in Champions League Group C action. We’ve already guaranteed our place in the knockout stages so this game will see plenty of reserves playing.

NoSkillz · 09-13-2014, 11:30 PM

Tue. November 26, 2024

UEFA Champions League - Group C
Hibernian (0-1-3, 1 point, 4th) vs. Dover (3-1-0, 10 points, 1st)
Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland

Betting Odds: Hibernian: 11-5 Draw: 11-5 Dover: Evens (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 1W 0D 0L

Hibernian are done and will be preparing for the drop to the Europa League, as they only have one point from four games. They are in decent form now and have crawled back into contention in the Scottish Premier League, now sitting in sixth. Strikers Adam Morgan (8 goals) and Vladimir Sunjic (5 goals) lead the way.

We have already qualified for the knockout stages so we can afford to rest key players today. That said, I’m starting a decent lineup - we’ll continue to go with a one striker formation due to the fact we have so many injuries at the position. Out of form Chiquinho will start and he’s desperate for goals - he’s gone eight games without one for us but did score for Belgium during the international break last week. With the exception of Zoltan Bardi, our entire midfield is different from the Middlesbrough win - Mads Pedersen, Andrea Rocca and Scottish natives Neil Cairney and Graham Allan will play today. Benedikt Raab is suspended today for yellow card accumulation…a good game to miss! All four defenders are changed as well, as Rafinha, Mwemere Mutesa, Saber Nasri and Emerson hold the line at the back. Getting a call up for the bench is U18 striker Alberto Velazquez.

Dover: 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Rafinha, M. Mutesa, S. Nasri, Emerson
M - N. Cairney, A. Rocca
AM - M. Pedersen, Z. Bardi, G. Allan
S - Chiquinho
Bench - C. Guzman, M. Yilmaz, S. Loucif, E. Harvey, F. Hernandez, L. Kunchev, A. Velazquez

Hibernian are in a flat 4-4-2 with Morgan and Alberto Libertazzi up front and Roman Chovan in goal. I tell the team this is a winnable game - lets see it!

9’ - We’re dominating possession early and earn a corner. Andrea Rocca takes the kick and it’s to the near post and Zoltan Bardi, who heads it forcefully into the back of the net!! Great start! DOVER GOAL 1-0

21’ - We work a swift counter attack after stealing possession and it’s Bardi again, sending a delightful through ball to Chiquinho. Our struggling striker runs in on goal and absolutely RIPS A LOW BLAST into the corner of the goal! Great strike and Chiquinho FINALLY scores! DOVER GOAL 2-0

HALFTIME - The last 20 minutes of the half was ALL Hibernian and they end up holding 53% of the ball but we outshoot them 10-5 (5-1 on target). I want to see more from our guys so I encourage them to keep pushing forward.

61’ - Including the end of the first half, Hibernian have been dominating for the last half hour. I’m ready to switch tactics and move to a flat 4-4-2 in order to perhaps help with our possession numbers when we hit them on another quick counter. This time, it’s Mads Pedersen on the left and he feeds the ball up to Chiquinho and he’s in on a clean breakaway. Chiquinho bares down on goal and rifles a shot past Chovan and that’s his second of the game! We lead by three. DOVER GOAL 3-0

We switch to the flat 4-4-2 immediately after the goal.

65’ - You could tell it was coming but Hibernian get a corner and striker Adam Morgan scores on a head ball, as Andrea Rocca gets pushed down and the ref doesn’t call a foul. HIBERNIAN GOAL 3-1

76’ - We make a double substitution, taking out Andrea Rocca and Rafinha and bringing in Emmerson Harvey and Carlos Guzman.

79’ - Boy, this isn’t good. Hibernian with another corner and it’s to the near post and Allan McLean, who is completely unmarked and simply heads the ball into the empty net. Sickening and Hibs are shockingly within a single goal. HIBERNIAN GOAL 3-2

85’ - We win a corner and it’s Graham Allan taking it. He sends it to the middle and Neil Cairney heads the ball toward goal. On the way there, it’s headed again by CHIQUINHO and it’s past Chovan and IN! That’s Chiquinho for you…eight games without a goal then a bloody hat trick. DOVER GOAL 4-2

We take out the hat trick hero and bring in U18 star Alberto Velazquez.

90’+1 - We have another corner and it’s Allan again, this time going near post to Saber Nasri and he heads it in as well! Nasri’s first of the year! DOVER GOAL 5-2

It wasn’t pretty but we end up dominating the scoreboard with a bunch of backups. And Chiquinho finally broke out of his slump. So all is good…

Hibernian 2 - 5 Dover
Goals - Chiquinho 3 (9.5), Zoltan Bardi (8.8), Saber Nasri (8.0)
Assists - Graham Allan 2 (8.5), Andrea Rocca (7.8), Zoltan Bardi, Mads Pedersen (8.4)
Man of the Match - Chiquinho
Other Dover Notables - Emerson (7.0), Mwemere Mutesa (7.4), Rafinha (7.0), Neil Cairney (7.0), Ingo Wilke (5.8)
Attendance - 20,131

Hibs held 51% of the ball but we end up outshooting them 20-13 (12-4 on target). Wilke took the blame for the second goal against, as he made a poor judgement call and obviously cost us.

-- As usual, £696k comes our way for the group stage win.

-- Boy, I must say I’m VERY impressed with Club Brugge, who continue to shock the world, beating Bayern Munich 2-0 to lock up Group B. They are only a £60 million club and they are destroying both Bayern and Atletico Madrid, who will have to battle for the consolation prize of second place. Crazy!

Premier League Update

-- Chelsea and Newcastle play their makeup game and they draw at Stamford Bridge 1-1. Newcastle has been impressive this year and own a win against us in our own park.

Club World Championship Registration

-- We have to register 23 players for this competition and we do so, even registering Paul Moses, as he may be back by then.

Next Up

-- Another road game, as we head to Reading for a Premier League matchup.

NoSkillz · 09-19-2014, 09:58 PM

Sat. November 30, 2024

Barclays Premier League
Reading (6-5-3, 23 points, 10th) vs. Dover (9-2-3, 29 points, 4th)
The Madejski Stadium, Reading, UK

Betting Odds: Reading: 13-8 Draw: 2-1 Dover: 6-4 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 9W 2D 3L

Reading are in their 14th straight year in the top flight, having last won promotion in 2010/11 and after a few years of adjustment, have become a very consistent mid-table side. Looking for proof? How about this for their last eight seasons (from most recent season all the way back to 2016/17) - 9th, 9th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 9th, 9th, 9th. Incredible! Striker Hani Megahed has led (har har) the club in scoring five of the last six seasons and is at it again, with an impressive 14 goals in only 15 games. No one else is even close so he’ll be the man we need to stop today. The club brought in 11 players during a busy offseason, spending £18.75 million , with £5.25 million spent on former Dover loanee Simon Woodman, a midfielder. Woodman hasn’t impressed thus far and may not even start today.

We’re back to a pretty strong lineup today - we do have a final group stage Champions League match coming up later this week against Hoffenheim but we’ve already clinched our spot in the knockout stages and won’t need to field a full strength lineup in that contest. With so many injured strikers, we’ll continue to play a 4-2-3-1 today, with Chiquinho alone up front and Zoltan Bardi sitting in behind at AMC.

Dover: 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Control
GK - M. Perez
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - B. Raab, Jose
AM - M. Pedersen, Z. Bardi, G. Bolis
S - Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, N. Cairney, A. Rocca, F. Hernandez, G. Allan, A. Broomes

Reading come out in the exact same formation as us so I like our chances here. Megahed is alone up front and the dangerous James Hunter sits behind him at AMC. Lets play well for the travelling supporters!

7’ - It’s snowing as Mauricio Vargas is given a long ball down the left flank. He’s past Salim Loucif and bares in on goal. His shot is stopped by Manuel Perez but the huge rebound is gobbled up by James Hunter and his shot finds the back of the net. Loucif thinks the play is offsides but the goal counts. Poor start. READING GOAL 0-1

10’ - Reading have a throw in and after a few passes, the ball is sent into the area and Hani Megahed is completely unmarked. He easily taps it past Perez and it’s IN - oh my GOD, what is WRONG WITH US?!?! READING GOAL 0-2

17’ - Reading have one more incredible chance and Perez has to make a brilliant save. This is just a MESS - Claudio Contreras tackles Megahed and the Reading striker is hurt and needs to come off. No foul call for Contreras.

34’ - We win a corner and Benedikt Raab’s cross is headed by Chiquinho, past goalkeeper Chris Davies and it’s in. That’s ten goals for Chiquinho and we’re on the board. DOVER GOAL 1-2

HALFTIME - Despite the goal, that was one of the WORST halves I’ve seen us play in years. Reading own 58% of possession and an 8-3 (6-2 on target) shot advantage. Perez was BRILLIANT to keep us within a goal, with at least three point blanks saves during the half. I tell the team I expect much more from them in the second half - our defence is atrocious here, and Reading’s attacking pace has not been managed well by our back four. I move to a flat 4-4-2 to start the second half.

54’ - It continues to snow hard and there is a weird sequence where Raab enters the area and the Reading defender attempts to tackle him. He misses and Raab just stands there with the ball, figuring out what to do before finally laying it out wide to Renato Gaucho. Our pinching fullback fires a cross in and there is Gianluca Bolis, unmarked, walking the ball into the net. We pull back from two down! DOVER GOAL 2-2

61’ - Zoltan Bardi has been shaken up twice during this game and his fitness takes a big hit. I bring on Andy Broomes to take his place up front.

73’ - Jose hasn’t been very good today and I take him out in favour of Neil Cairney.

80’ - We work the ball upfield and Chiquinho, who has been a one man wrecking crew for us today, sends a glorious through ball to Broomes. Our in-form striker is in alone but Davies makes the great save. But there is a rebound and CHIQUINHO pounces on it and delivers a shot to the back of the net. We’ve scored three straight and have taken the lead!!! DOVER GOAL 3-2

Reading immediately change to a 4-2-4.

83’ - We switch to a counter attacking mentality.

90’ - We attempt to waste some time, making our third and final substitution, bringing in Graham Allan for Gianluca Bolis.

Crazy!

Reading 2 - 3 Dover
Goals - Chiquinho 2 (8.8), Gianluca Bolis (7.8)
Assists - Renato Gaucho (6.9), Benedikt Raab (7.6), Andy Broomes (6.8)
Man of the Match - Chiquinho
Other Dover Notables - Claudio Contreras (7.1)
Attendance - 22,162

A much better second half but Reading still held 54% of the ball. We end up outshooting them 15-13 (9-7 on target). Chiquinho was fantastic.

-- In other action, Spurs and City battled to a scoreless draw, Chelsea and Huddersfield ended up knotted at 2 goals apiece, Everton shocked Middlesbrough 5-2 and Sheffield Wednesday knocked off Newcastle 3-1. Meanwhile, United beat Arsenal 3-1 to maintain their grip on the top spot and the Gunners continue their SHOCKING FREEFALL, with five losses in a row in Premier League play!!!

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 15 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Manchester United - 38 points
2. Dover - 32 points
3. Manchester City - 31 points
4. Chelsea - 31 points
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5. Newcastle - 27 points
6. Sheffield Wednesday - 26 points
7. Middlesbrough - 26 points
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8. Huddersfield - 24 points
9. Sunderland - 24 points
10. Arsenal - 24 points
11. Reading - 23 points
12. Tottenham - 22 points
13. Liverpool - 22 points
14. Wolves - 15 points
15. Everton - 13 points
16. Sheffield United - 11 points
17. Aston Villa - 11 points
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18. Blackpool - 6 points
19. Burnley - 6 points
20. Derby - 4 points

Bolis Unhappy

-- Gianluca Bolis’s agent approaches me after the game in an attempt to open up contract talks. Bolis has cooled off considerably since a molten hot start, with this goal today being his first in 12 games. He only has four goals in 19 appearances, with no assists. With Bolis locked up until June 2026, I have no interest in opening talks and Bolis requests a meeting. He fires back at me when I say I won’t be granting his request and after I call him out for being unprofessional, he finally backs down. Graham Allan may be getting more playing time soon…

Dover U18 Update

-- We get two goals from Vlastimil Silhavy in a 4-2 win over Aldershot. Also scoring are Freddie Laird and Robert Hoffmann.

December Update

-- We have four Premier League matches in December, with three of them in the last eight days of the month: we’re home against Aston Villa, Wolves, Arsenal and Sheffield United - four matches and ALL AT HOME. We also face Hoffenheim in our last Champions League group stage match at home and are home for a League Cup quarterfinal match against Sheffield Wednesday. So six scheduled games so far and ALL ARE AT HOME! We’ll also have two matches in the Club World Championship, as we are guaranteed to start in the semi-finals and even if we lose that game, we’ll be forced to play in a third place playoff. So EIGHT games this month!

-- Too many passengers in training last month, as negative notices come in for Renato Gaucho, Jose, Felix Hernandez and U18 player Edward Smith. I have chats with each of them to say I expect more. Training well in November were Andy Broomes, Emerson, Steven Potter and U18 prospects Freddie Laird, Eneko Remirez and Alberto Velazquez.

Premier League Monthly Awards

-- It was a sensational month for young striker Andy Broomes and he’s awarded as the Premier League’s best player for November! Awesome honour for young Andy!

-- The Young Player of the Month was Reading’s Jason Stevenson and our own Mads Pedersen comes in third.

-- Man United manager Jurgen Klinsmann wins Manager of the Month once again.

Board Confidence Update

-- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership. They are happy with the stature increase but slightly disappointed in the departure of Giorgos Gesios?!?! Ha! Gesios didn’t even play for us the previous two years, as he was on loan. He’s scored six goals in 12 games so far for Schalke since I sold him as part of the deal to bring fine midfielder Benedikt Raab to Dover. Can’t keep everyone happy I guess!

-- We earned a profit of £1.39 million last month.

FIFA Ballon d’Or Shortlist Announced

-- We won practically EVERYTHING last year yet have no one on the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or? Crazy. Paul Moses should have been considered but his long-term injury obviously hurt his chances.

FA Cup - Third Round Draw

-- Not a brutal draw, as we will host Championship side Norwich in the third round of the FA Cup in mid-January.

Dover Injury Update

-- Finally some progress!!! Paul Moses and Arsene Bamba are a couple weeks away from a return to full training. Manuel Lugo is still on the long-term injury list.

Dover Reserves Team Update

-- With a Premier League game just two days earlier and a Champions League match coming up the next night, we start a team full of U18 players yet destroy Sheffield United’s Reserves 5-0! U18 striker Neil Evans scores three goals and we get singles from reserve midfielders Gary Archer and Steven Miller.

Next Up

-- We host Hoffenheim in our final Group Stage Champions League match, with the result meaning nothing in the grand scheme of things, having already locked up first place.

08-11-2014, 02:23 PM	#501
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Transfer Window Opens -- The Premier League transfer window reopens and our first problem to come up is an internal one: longtime goalkeeper Ingo Wilke approaches me to say he feels he’s accomplished everything he can at Dover and “wants a new challenge”. This is interesting - Wilke is a legend here, our all-time games played leader by a long way but he’s just turned 30 and I envision our future with Manuel Perez in goal. I still wanted to keep Wilke around a little while longer though so I tell him I feel he’s a big part of our plans and that I expect to continue growing as a club. He’s on board with that for now, thankfully. -- Early rumours see Jurgen Klinsmann chasing our very own Rayane Hamon and other targets include Arsene Bamba and Claudio Contreras. Transfer Market - Needs -- Okay, what are we looking for this year? With only about £5 million in our transfer kitty from last year, we don’t have a lot of ammunition. My main goal when our budget is announced is to start finding some long term replacements for our starters who are approaching 30. Mostly, I’m looking for a young left midfielder to learn the position from Arsene Bamba, who is 27 years old right now. We could also be looking at a depth striker, as Shanon Andrea wasn’t impressive at all last year and I can likely find an upgrade in the transfer market. Transfer Market Fun -- United make an official offer for Rayane Hamon, offering us £11 million for the fine central defender. I have no intention whatsoever of selling him, let alone to one of our main rivals but I stall on the offer and will wait it out for the full seven days before declining the bid. -- I have my eyes on a 25 year old American international striker who is playing in Switzerland. He’s got incredible intangibles and absolutely lights up the scoreboard in league play but my paltry £4.5 million offer is flatly rejected. I’ll come back after him once my budget is established. __________________ 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

08-11-2014, 03:01 PM	#502
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Transfer List -- I place Shanon Andrea on the transfer list. There could be some negative fallout here, as Andrea is “favoured personnel” for our supporters but he’s on the wrong side of 20 and his production was in serious decline last year. I also have an offer accepted for that American striker I was mentioning in a previous post so I’ll need money to make that deal. Andrea is a surplus to requirements right now. European Club Rankings -- We move up 18 more places on the European Club rankings list, landing in 15th position with 105.230 coefficient points. Manchester United retain first place on the club coefficient list, FC Bayern are in second and Champions League finalists Barcelona are in third. We’ll continue to climb on this list for two more years, as we still have “counting” co-efficient scores from seasons we didn’t play in Europe in 2019/20 and 2020/21. Transfer Market Fun -- Manchester City means business right out of the gates, as they spend £65 million on two players: Tottenham’s MC Lamine Faye and Inter AM Jonathan Bottone. Wow! __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-11-2014 at 03:03 PM.

08-11-2014, 03:58 PM	#503
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	European Golden Boot -- The honours keep piling in for superstar Paul Moses, as he is awarded European Golden Boot winner! Juventus striker Julio comes in second and Man United’s Yaya Sanogo comes in third. What an honour for young Moses! Preseason Friendlies - We accept a lucrative offer from France’s Olympique Lyonnais to play a friendly in their stadium so we’ll choose France as our destination for this year’s preseason foreign tour. We started this practice of conducting a two-game foreign preseason tour in 2018/19 and in past years, we’ve visited Brazil (three times), Scotland, Italy, Germany and Holland. Transfer Talk -- A few teams come calling for Shanon Andrea and I accept offers from Sevilla and Evian TG FC. Andrea is unhappy that I decline a bid from Espanyol but it was two million pounds less than I wanted. Too bad. —In the “You’ve GOT to be Kidding Me” files, the young American striker I was chasing decides to go to Sunderland and rejects our contract offer. Damn. This throws a wrench into the proceedings. __________________ 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

08-11-2014, 04:07 PM	#504
Alf Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Rennes, France	Yay, NoSkillz back at it ! Excellent news. __________________ FOFL - GML - IHOF - FranceStats

08-11-2014, 05:10 PM	#505
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Premier League Sponsorship -- Manchester United continue to bring in sponsorship money at a ridiculous rate, netting £59 million while our new kit sponsorship agreement finally sees us exceed a million pounds. Blackpool generated £275k to finish last in the Premier League. England Season Summary Here's a look at the FourFourTwo Season Summary report on all the English leagues, with a full recap of the Premier League and just a quick look at the promotions/relegations in the other leagues. Barclays Premier League 2023/24 Winners - Dover Relegated - Birmingham, Norwich, Fulham Top Goalscorer - Paul Moses, Dover - 34 Most Assists - Miguel Sousa, Chelsea - 22 Highest Average Rating - Paul Moses, Dover - 7.88 (32 apps) Overachievers - Dover Underperformers - Sheffield Wednesday Signing of the Season - Dover's Paul Moses (£19m) Worst Signing of the Season - Liverpool’s Vyacheslav Yunusov (£13m) npower Championship Winners - Derby Promoted - Derby, Sheffield United, Burnley Relegated - West Brom, Bristol Rovers, Coventry npower League 1 Winners - Portsmouth Promoted - Portsmouth, West Ham, Colchester Relegated - Plymouth, Brentford, Hereford, Gillingham npower League 2 Winners - Notts County Promoted - Notts County, Barrow, Crawley, Yeovil Relegated - Burton, Hartlepool Blue Square Bet Premier Winners - York Promoted - York, Cambridge Relegated - FC Halifax, Wrexham, Altrincham, Macclesfield Blue Square Bet North Winners - Port Vale Promoted - Port Vale, Matlock Relegated - Banbury, Northwich, Buxton Blue Square Bet South Winners - Newport County Promoted - Newport County, Sutton United Relegated - Tiverton, Boreham Wood, Bromley Other Winners FA Cup - Manchester City League Cup - Dover (Second Year in a Row) Community Shield - Newcastle Johnstone's Paint Trophy - Stockport FA Trophy - Ebbsfleet Europe Qualification Champions League Group Stage - Dover, Manchester City, Tottenham, Manchester United Europa League Fourth Qualifying Round - Chelsea, Liverpool Europa League Third Qualifying Round - Arsenal -- Ha! Overachievers?! Love it. Great to see them notice Paul Moses as a bargain buy! Preseason Foreign Tour -- As indicated, we decide to travel to France this year for our annual foreign preseason tour, with matches scheduled against Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain. __________________ 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

08-11-2014, 05:45 PM	#506
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Dover Fans' Player of the Year -- This was pretty much a foregone conclusion but the supporters rightfully name striker Paul Moses as their choice for player of the year. Dover Best Eleven for 2023-24 -- As usual, there are a couple of major surprises here but that’s what happens when average rating seems to trump games played or other stats: GK - Manuel Perez - 19 apps 0g 7.23 avg DL - Renato Gaucho - 47 apps 2g 7.25 avg DC - Rayane Hamon - 37 apps 6g 7.34 avg DC - Saber Nasri - 35 apps 5g 7.41 avg DR - Salim Loucif - 48 apps 0g 7.17 avg MC - Jose - 43 apps 2g 7.37 avg MC - Neil Cairney - 42 apps 7g 7.28 avg ML - Arsene Bamba - 46 apps 14g 7.57 avg MR - Gianluca Bolis - 33 apps 4g 7.19 avg ST - Paul Moses - 49 apps 59g 7.95 avg ST - Zoltan Bardi - 26 apps 12g 7.42 avg Other notables: GK Ingo Wilke 39 apps 0g 7.05; DC Claudio Contreras 46 apps 7g 7.30; DC Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz 11 apps 5g 7.61; DC Andrea Rocca 35 apps 4g 7.19; MC Emmerson Harvey 14 apps 2g 7.17; ST Chiquinho 41 apps 23g 7.38; ST Shanon Andrea 18 apps 8g 7.13 A bit surprising to see Contreras and Chiquinho only make the backup squad but again, their average rating was below Nasri’s and Bardi’s, hence their inclusion in the starting eleven. Let's take a look at our overall Best Eleven since I took over management of the franchise: Dover Best Eleven - Overall GK - Ingo Wilke - 335 apps 0g 7.02 avg DL - Renato Gaucho - 202 apps 4g 7.14 avg DC - Olly Schulz - 120 apps 18g 7.32 avg DC - Rayane Hamon - 151 apps 10g 7.16 avg DR - Salim Loucif - 178 apps 1g 7.16 avg ML - Arsene Bamba - 282 apps 56g 7.28 avg MC - Neil Cairney - 184 apps 32g 7.27 avg MC - Andrea Rocca - 260 apps 44g 7.25 avg MR - Abdeltareck Sakali - 176 apps 50g 7.14 avg ST - Alexander Rattke - 125 apps 55g 7.13 avg ST - Aaron Green - 141 apps 65g 7.18 avg Rayane Hamon is the only newcomer to the best overall eleven, replacing long-time favourite Oliver Nicholas. Substitutes: GK - Liam O'Brien - 219 apps 0g 6.84 avg DC - Oliver Nicholas - 316 apps 28g 7.14 avg DC - Claudio Contreras - 148 apps 14g 7.12 avg ML - Ismael Fofana - 206 apps 38g 6.98 avg MR - Gianluca Bolis - 194 apps 43g 7.13 avg ST - Ben Hunt - 156 apps 70g 7.12 avg ST - Zoltan Bardi - 244 apps 86g 7.09 avg Claudio Contreras gets onto the list for the first time as a substitute. 2024-25 Barclays Premier League Fixture List Announced -- We’ll open the Premier League season as big favourites on the road versus newly promoted Sheffield United. Our first home match will be against Newcastle. We’ll play Arsenal on Boxing Day and also close out our season against the Gunners. -- As usual, we are given £40,000,000 spread over 12 months for Premier League television rights. Start of Season Expectations -- The board’s minimum expectation is that we qualify for Europe again. Screw that - we’re gunning for another title so they bump up the money a bit. For that they'll offer the following: 2024/25 TRANSFER BUDGET - £52,000,000 (Last Year: £23,500,000) 2024/25 WAGE BUDGET - £1,000,000 (Last Year: £950,000/week) HUGE increase to our transfer budget! We don’t need an awful lot but I can go hard after a few key players now. Community Shield -- Another perk to winning the Premier League sees us take part in the Community Shield, essentially a high-profile preseason friendly that kicks off the Premier League season. We’ll face FA Cup winners Manchester City at Wembley and look forward to another big payday! Youth Intake - U18 Club -- I simply don’t understand how all of these years into the dynasty, I still have NEVER produced a good-looking youth player from our academy. All 0.5 star guys again this year. Very disappointing. Transfer OUT -- Well, it’s with a bit of sadness that we bid adieu to striker Shanon Andrea, who accepts a contract with Evian TG FC in French Ligue 1 in a transfer deal worth £8,250,000. We picked up Andrea from FC Bayern in July 2021 for £5.5 million and he played three seasons with our club, providing many goals and lots of delight for our supporters. He scored 24 goals and added 10 assists in his first year with us, 21 goals and 15 assists in year two but started regressing severely last year, with 8 goals and 2 assists. Overall, in 92 games with our club, he produced 53 goals and 27 assists and we wish the 28 year old the best in France. We will need to find a replacement for him, although we do have Andy Broomes along with two loanees on their way back to Dover in Giorgos Gesios and Orlando Scolari Transfer Clause Activated -- We sold fine young DC Abdallaye Kokaina back in 2022 for £6 million to SK Rapid Wien and smartly built in a sell-on clause. He’s just been sold to AS Monaco FC for £7.5 million and we will collect 20% of that (!!), so we’ll be getting about £1.475 million spread out over the next 20 months. Super cool. __________________ 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

08-15-2014, 11:27 PM	#507
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Attendance Record Broken -- We continue to break attendance records, with our average of 21,342 last year destroying the 18,109 mark set last year. Our stadium holds 23,000 but our board refuse to look at building a new one so I expect we’ll come close to selling out most of our contests this year. Transfer Talk -- We come to a deal with a young left midfielder but it’s held up due to a work permit issue. We’ll chat more about it if and when the permit gets granted. Barclays Premier League Odds for 2024-25 -- Manchester City once again are made favourites to take home the Premier League title with 6-4 odds given by Bet365. Shockingly enough, Tottenham are the second choice at 7-4, United is third at 6-1 and we are expected to finish fourth with odds of 8-1. Last year we were given 25-1 odds with a predicted 7th place finish so that’s a heck of an improvement but an obvious one based on our huge treble winning year. The other top teams are Chelsea at 20-1 and Liverpool at 25-1. Preseason Friendlies -- We finalize our preseason schedule, with an intersquad game and eight other friendlies, one less than usual due to the Community Shield. We have a cupcake game at the end against Folkestone, an old rival and our foreign tour, as indicated previously, will take us to France for the first time. July 12 vs. Dover U18 July 16 vs. Inter (Italy Serie A) July 19 at St. Pat’s Athletic (Ireland) July 22 at Olympique Lyonnais (France Ligue 1) July 25 at Paris Saint-Germain (France Ligue 1) July 28 vs. Aberdeen (Scotland Premier) August 2 vs. AS Monaco FC (France Ligue 1) August 5 vs. Rangers (Scotland Premier) August 7 at Folkestone (England Non-League) Season Ticket Update -- Tickets are selling briskly to start, with over 1810 already sold and expectations are that our season ticket base will be close to 7900 by the beginning of the season. We had only 5317 season ticket holders last year so that would be a substantial increase if we even get close to that number. __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-15-2014 at 11:28 PM.

08-16-2014, 07:36 PM	#508
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Dover Player Retirements and Other Departures -- For the first time that I can remember, we have absolutely no players either retiring or leaving the club without a deal. We do give outright releases to six U18 players: ST Eddie Robinson, ST Jim Ryan, MR/ST Pete Smith, MC Phil Whitbread, DL Shane Holmes and MC Jay Doyle all are released without contract offers. None of these players suited up for our senior team and won’t be missed. Expect a few more former U18 players to get released soon as well. Transfer Market Plans -- After a treble winning season and no major player departures, we have very few holes and will only be looking to add some depth and perhaps add a few talented youngsters that could possibly take over for some of our slightly aging starters. -- I will need to replace Shanon Andrea, who essentially was our #3 or #4 striker last year but I do have two players that have returned from loan spells in Orlando Scolari and former huge signing Giorgos Gesios. I may give them each a chance to stick around but if I find a really talented player, I’ll definitely look to make a splash. -- Another big need is a backup left midfielder for the excellent Arsene Bamba. After selling Helder Cruz last year, we essentially made due with Rafinha as a backup there but he’s a natural fullback and better suited along the back four. We could also use additional depth at right fullback and central midfield. World's Richest Club List -- Real Madrid maintain their status as the world’s richest club for a third straight season, with an estimated value of £797 million, DOWN a whopping £53 million compared to last year. Barca are at £700 million (down £30 million from last year and down a monstrous 119 million in the last two years). Manchester United climb up the list and are the highest valued English club at £418 million (up 21 million from last year). City climb from 8th to fifth at £410 million, up 69 million over last year! Arsenal fall to sixth, Chelsea are in 8th and Tottenham is 11th. We continue to move up the list, going from 27th up to 23rd with a value of £136 million, up £24 million from last year. July Board Confidence Update -- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership. Our Champions League win continues to be the highlight while our sale of fan favourite striker Shanon Andrea is a slight disappointment. -- We recorded a loss last month of £2.26 million in June. Transfer News -- We have an offer come in for MC Shaun Spall, who was loaned out last year after I had a falling out with him over playing time, or lack thereof. He’s under contract for one more year and Wolves offer me £2 million plus clauses but no up front money. I offer out Spall to other clubs and we’ll see if I get a better offer but I’m likely going to accept the deal. -- We also get NINE offers for our third string goalkeeper Mathis Imbert, with all nine clubs offering me £2.5 million plus clauses. I accept eight of the nine offers, with only Villarreal’s rejected due to lack of up front money. Contract Status - We have a number of key players in the last year of their contract: DC Rayane Hamon is the only starter and I’ll look to get him extended soon. Of the others, we’ll look at extending ST Zoltan Bardi, MC Andrea Rocca, young DC Mwemere Mutesa, DC Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz and U18 sensation ML Felix Hernandez. Others with expiring deals include ST Giorgos Gesios, ST Orlando Scolari, MC Rafael Ramirez, MC Shaun Spall and DL Carlos Guzman. Manager, Team & Stadium Status and Media Expectations I’m in the third year of a four year contract paying me over £2.2 million per season. My loyalty to players rating hits 100% for the first time, as I’ve essentially had the same starting lineup for two plus years. On the other hand, my domestic player bias drops to 25%. We raise our single ticket prices by almost £3.00, a pretty large increase. Similarly, we really hike the season ticket price, with a whopping 20%+ price increase! Our estimated value continues to increase and our transfer budget is at record high levels this year. We upgraded both our training and youth facilities last year and plans are underway to do the same thing again. I’ve struck out in trying to get a new stadium built and unless we sell out the majority of our games this year, I don’t see much hope in the future of this getting done. Additionally, it looks like we’ve run out of room at our current ground to expand. __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-16-2014 at 07:46 PM.

08-16-2014, 07:43 PM	#509
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Transfer IN -- We add a youngster to our U18 program in DL Dennis Richter, a 0.5/1.5 prospect who was recently released by Karlsruher SC in Germany. He won’t play for the senior team but I always like trying to win the U18 league so Richter will help there. Contract Extension -- And just like that, we come to an agreement with stellar DC Rayane Hamon on a two year extension that will see him get a slight raise to £68,000 per week (up from £59,000). His new deal expires in 2027, at which time he’ll be 29 years old. Transfer IN -- We make our first big splash of the offseason, bringing in 21 year old left midfielder Mads Pedersen from Chelsea in a £10.25 million transfer. Pedersen has been with Chelsea since 2020-21 and had loan spells at Crystal Palace that year (17apps 2g 3a), Hull in 2021-22 (34apps 2g 4a), FC Kobenhavn in his native Denmark in 2022-23 (46apps 5g 8a) and last year spent the season at Newcastle, scoring 6 goals and adding 10 assists in 42 appearances. He’s a Danish international (3 goals in only 8 international appearances) and is currently rated 3.0/3.5. He’s got incredible flair and is solid across the board and will step in immediately as a key backup to Arsene Bamba and will likely start pushing him for increased playing time in the near future. I remember Pedersen playing very well against us last year during our Newcastle games so I’m delighted to get him! Transfer OUT -- We bid adieu to third string goalkeeper Mathis Imbert, who comes to terms with Valencia after negotiating with eight clubs in a deal worth £2.5 million plus potential clauses. We picked Imbert up on a free from Olympique Lyonnais last offseason but he obviously had no chance to unseat Manuel Perez or incumbent Ingo Wilke but still got into two games for our club, allowing one goal. This was an easy move for us and it’s nice to make some money on a guy we picked up for nothing only last year. Transfer IN -- Signings are coming fast and furious now, as we welcome a highly rated prospect to our U18 club in Eneko Remirez, a 16 year old right fullback who joins us in a £2 million transfer deal with Athletic Club Bilbao. Remirez is super young but has 3.5 star potential (current rating between 0.5 and 1 star according to my coaches), good speed and great determination. It wasn’t an expensive move and one of those gambles you hope pays off in the end, whether it’s here or somewhere else after a transfer. He’ll spend the next two years with our U18s and maybe get a cup game with our senior team at some point. Potential MAJOR TRANSFER -- I’ve had my eyes on this young German central midfielder for about a year or so but obviously, it isn’t a position of need right now with Neil Cairney, Jose, Andrea Rocca, etc all hanging around. This guy never was interested in coming here anyway but a recent news item indicated his discontent at Schalke and I had my scouts start sniffing around. Well, they came back saying he’d be interested in coming here so I started transfer talks - Schalke was open to a major deal that would see a lot of money come their way PLUS they wanted striker Giorgos Gesios thrown in. Gesios has spent two consecutive years away on loan and he’s not needed here so I had no issues including him in the offer. Gesios has come to me asking for £16,750/week in compensation for the next twelve months, as he will have to take a pay cut in Germany. I agree to pay the compensation and now, we wait on a player that will give us the greatest of problems - too many talented midfielders! We’ll keep our fingers crossed - this guy looks to be ridiculous! __________________ 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

08-16-2014, 08:55 PM	#510
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Another Potential Transfer -- I have another big money transfer all set for a 22 year old 6’ 4” Mexican striker who looks quite solid but we need a work permit to be granted. I have a contingency plan in place for another young striker, just in case. 2024 European Championship -- Germany beat Spain 2-0 to win the 2024 European Championship. We didn’t have anyone playing on either of the finalists but did have a number of players participating in the event. Barcelona superstar Enrique wins the Golden Boot and player of the tournament. U18 Signing -- We sign 18 year old Holland D/MC Fouad van der Horst on a free after he was released by PSV. van der Horst will play for the U18’s this year. Contract Extension -- We give a three-year contract to 19 year old youth team graduate Adam Betts, a central defender. He’s got little talent (0.5/2.0) but he performed admirably in his only senior team game last year and I’ll look to loan him out this year with hopes of eventually selling him off. Transfer IN Well, here it is! We pay £23.5 million AND give up striker Giorgos Gesios for 22 year old German MC Benedikt Raab!!! Check out THIS guy - This guy is INCREDIBLE! He’s rated either 4.0 or 4.5 stars currently by my coaching staff and world class doesn’t even begin to describe this guy’s talent. He’s a pure stud who has been with Schalke his whole career, coming up through their youth system. He’s had loan spells in Austria at First Vienna FC along with a one year loan spell at NEC in the Eredivisie but he’s spent the last three seasons with Schalke’s senior team, playing 112 games, scoring 23 goals and adding 28 assists during that time. He’s unquestionably one of the best players in the world and when you add him to our current midfield of Neil Cairney, Jose, Andrea Rocca, Emmerson Harvey and Rafael Ramirez, I can easily say we have the best midfield in the world. Just a sensational addition to our squad! Of course, we have to bid farewell to Giorgos Gesios and while he never really panned out for us, I have very fond memories of the guy who was really our first “major” transfer here at Dover. We bought him from Arsenal in 2019 for a whopping £14.25 million, easily a record transfer for us at the time and he was destined to be our main threat up front for the future. He battled numerous injuries in that first season and was largely a disappointment until exploding for 23 goals in 38 games the following year. We figured he was just getting started but he battled poor form and more injuries in year three, getting passed on the first team by newcomer Shanon Andrea and his 8 goals in 34 games was a monster letdown. With Andrea taking our main role up front, Gesios was expendable and spent the last two seasons on loan, first in Spain with Sevilla and last year with Hoffenheim in Germany. Now, he heads to German rival Schalke. Gesios played 98 games for Dover, scoring 41 goals and adding 21 assists. We wish Gesios well with his new team. __________________ 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

08-16-2014, 10:45 PM	#511
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Training Camp Begins -- The players return from their vacation and there are no fitness concerns whatsoever from my assistant manager and no injuries. Cool! -- In our team meeting, my coaches give me the low-down on where we stand in relation to other teams in the league. Boy, have things flipped quickly after our huge season last year: Concentration - Highest in the League (High last year) Flair - High (was only average last year) Dribbling - Poor (Same as last year) First Touch - Good (was only average last year) Height - Good, among the tallest squads in the league (Same as last year) Speed - Highest in the league (High last year) Passing - Good (was only average last year) Fitness - Best in the League (FOURTH year in a row) Technique - Good (was only average last year) Age - Youngest team in the League (We've been the youngest squad all seven years in the Premier League) Transfers IN -- We sign another youngster for our U18 team in ST Neil Evans. Nothing to see here. Transfer IN -- We continue to add to our embarrassment of riches at central midfield, signing 22 year old Italian Paolo Secchi on a free after he wasn’t given a contract extension by Barcelona. Secchi was signed by Barca for £6.75 million from Olympique Lyonnais in 2021 but played only one senior level game for the club, getting an assist in the contest. He played three full seasons for Barcelona’s “B” team, FC Barcelona Atletic and he was incredibly prolific - last year alone, in 35 appearances, he scored 13 goals and added 17 assists! He was equally as productive the two other years and this was a no-brainer for me, picking him up on a free. I’m in the midst of trying to sell Rafael Ramirez but Secchi won’t see much playing time with our senior team this year. I’d like to send him away on loan but I’m guessing he’ll resist. Loan OUT -- 20 year old Austrian right midfielder Marcel Quade, one of our former U18 players, is sent to Colchester on a season-long loan. I pick up a bit of up front money and they will pay his modest wages for the whole year. He’s not in our long-term plans. Transfer OUT -- ST Orlando Scolari accepts a contract with Udinese in Italian Serie A and that completes a £3.6 million transfer that includes some bonus clauses. We signed the young striker in July 2022 on a free and he went on two, season-long loans. He battled injuries in 2022/23 with Leverkusen and only played 11 games, scoring twice but he blossomed last year with Girondins Bordeaux in French Ligue 1, scoring 22 goals in 36 games. He could have been a depth forward for us but we have some irons in the fire, so to speak, on a couple of potential stars so Scolari was expendable. Pitch Perfect -- As usual, we have our pitch relayed before the start of the season and the playing surface is now in perfect condition. __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-16-2014 at 10:47 PM.

08-17-2014, 12:03 AM	#512
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Fri. July 12, 2024 -- We play our annual intrasquad game between our reserves/backups and our U18 team. Preseason Friendly Dover 5 - 0 Dover U18 Dover Goals - Stuart Cousins OG, Andy Broomes (8.2), Emmerson Harvey (8.9), Lyubomir Kunchev (8.1), Zoltan Bardi (8.1) Dover Assists - Mads Pedersen 2 (8.4), Emmerson Harvey, Andy Broomes, Norberto Vazquez (6.9) Man of the Match - Emmerson Harvey Other Notables: Takfarinas Madani (7.5), Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (7.5), Mwemere Mutesa (7.9), Carlos Guzman (7.5), Benedikt Raab (7.0) U18 Goals - U18 Assists - Other U18 Notables - Eneko Remirez (4.8), Fouad van der Horst (4.9), Dennis Richter (5.6), Sean Woolley (5.7), James Campbell (5.6), Dominic Beard (5.7), Neil Evans (5.4), Matthew Neil (5.7) -- Our backups/reserves/newcomers stormed out to an early 4-0 lead then stepped off the gas. New ML Mads Pedersen is really going to be fun to watch, as he has more flair than any player I’ve ever signed and looked like Ronaldo out there today. Raab was average but had a few good chances in his first game. Transfer OUT -- We sell newly promoted U18 player Norberto Vazquez to Dortmund for £3.3 million plus clauses, a very modest profit over our purchase price of £2.7 million last season from Boca. Vazquez scored at will for the U18s last year and suited up for a meaningless late season game last year for our senior team. He’s a good prospect but he won’t amount to much here so I’m okay with sending him away. -- I also release five scrubs from our weak 2024 U18 recruitment class. As usual, I cut any kids without potential and I lose close to £30,000 in severance fees. Transfers OUT -- We move young central midfielder Rafael Ramirez to Club Deportivo Cruz Azul in his native Mexico for an initial £6.5 million with the potential to pick up another £1.5 million in future clauses. The 21 year old is very talented but is expendable because of our incredible depth and recent acquisitions. We bought him last year from OM in France for £5.25 million and he only played in one game for our senior team. We did send him on loan to Dynamo Kyiv for half a season and he played great for them. I expect him to be a pretty darned good player eventually but again, with so much depth, he was a luxury at best and we needed the money for future transfers. Good luck to Ramirez in Mexico. -- We also send 19 year old fullback Takfarinas Madani away to Hercules in Spain for £700,000. We picked the youngster up on a free last year from AJ Auxerre and at 0.5/1.5, he wasn’t going to amount to anything here. I’m delighted to get this much for him. Loans OUT -- In a bit of a gamble, we send two more backup DR’s away on season-long loans. We get close to £325,000 up front for allowing Steve Reed to go to MK Dons in the Championship. As our third string DR last year, Reed saw action in five senior team games. We also send out Hans Briers on loan for a second consecutive year, with Hull, also in the Championship, his new team for the next 12 months. We may have to eventually look at picking up another right fullback but it’s not a major need at the moment. -- Newly signed U18 graduate Adam Betts will spend the year at Bournemouth in League Two on loan. Hopefully he plays well enough to become sellable in the future. Season Ticket Sales Update -- We continue to move tickets and are up to 4123 packages sold, with expectations that we’ll eventually sell approximately 7900. Injury Update -- Emmerson Harvey suffers a pulled hamstring in training and will miss the next three weeks. Transfer IN -- In another move to bolster our U18 team, we pick up 18 year old striker Alberto Velazquez from Pumas in Mexico for £325,000. Like Norberto Vazquez before him, this young man has immense potential (0.5/3.5) and should score goals by the bushel load for our U18s this year and potentially be a saleable asset in the future. -- We also scoop up 18 year old Swiss goalkeeper Luigi Nicoletti on a free. He’s currently injured and only a 0.5/1.5 prospect so he’s only here to help the U18s. Major Transfer IN -- We make yet another HUGE splash, spending £19 million to bring 22 year old Mexican striker Manuel Lugo to Dover from Feyenoord! The permitting process seemed to take forever here but we finally get it done just before our first main preseason game! Lugo is a lethal finisher, has good speed and is tall and physically gifted. He scored 10 goals in 22 games last year for Feyenoord after coming over from SK Sturm Graz in Austria for £12.75 million. I LOVE the fact that he’s left footed and with a current rating of either 2.5 or 3.0, depending on the coach and a potential rating of 3.5, he’s going to fit in superbly here at a #3 striker and perhaps will eventually take over from Chiquinho if he shows the goal scoring touch I expect. Another very exciting signing and we have a trifecta of great ones with Mads Pedersen and Benedikt Raab. That should be our last major signing, although I have an offer in on an interesting right fullback candidate but it will be much more modest of a deal if it goes through. __________________ 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

08-17-2014, 01:06 AM	#513
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Tue. July 16, 2024 Preseason Friendly Dover vs. F.C. Internazionale (Italy Serie A) Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK Inter are a solid club, having finished fifth last year in Serie A but we should be able to handle them. Gian Marco Fanfoni, who played the last two years here at Dover on loan, starts for Inter today. We are playing with a pretty strong lineup today. The major newcomers are all starting as we look to get them assimilated with our squad. Benedikt Raab doesn’t speak English but Mexican striker Manuel Lugo is completely fluent so he should fit in a bit faster. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - M. Perez D - R. Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, Rafinha M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, B. Raab, G. Bolis S - P. Moses, M. Lugo Dover 1 - 1 Inter Goals - Paul Moses (8.2) Assists - Neil Cairney (7.1) Man of the Match - Paul Moses Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.1), Mads Pedersen (7.3) Attendance - 23,000 This game was FAST and I loved the way we played but we just couldn’t get enough shots on target. We edged them in possession but outshot them 28-6 (6-3 on target). Moses looked fantastic, as usual. Newcomer Lugo missed a complete sitter from in close and that was the difference. Next Up -- We head to Ireland to face St. Pat’s Athletic in a preseason friendly. __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-17-2014 at 08:04 PM.

08-17-2014, 08:04 PM	#514
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Fri. July 19, 2024 Preseason Friendly St. Pat’s Athletic (Ireland) vs. Dover Richmond Park, Dublin, Ireland Ireland’s Premier Division isn’t playable in my gaming world so I have no idea how these guys have been faring over the years. I expect that they’ll be in tough today. The only player getting a second consecutive start is new striker Manuel Lugo. We continue to rotate the squad in order to get everyone fully fit. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - I. Wilke D - C. Guzman, M. Yilmaz, S. Nasri, S. Loucif M - A. Bamba, Jose, A. Rocca, G. Allan S - M. Lugo, Chiquinho St. Pat’s 0 - 6 Dover Goals - Chiquinho 4 (9.8), Jose (9.0), Graham Allan (8.9) Assists - Andrea Rocca 2 (9.2), Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (8.7), Arsene Bamba (8.1), Adam Hyde (6.9) Man of the Match - Chiquinho Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.1), Salim Loucif (8.8), Saber Nasri (8.2), Carlos Guzman (8.2) Attendance - 4,842 We were a bit sluggish early but then Chiquinho turned on the skill and put on an incredible, vintage performance, with 11 shots (!!!) by him alone. He was everywhere. Manuel Lugo was the only starter with a rating below 7.0 and he looked LOST - not good at all for our £19 million man. Adam Hyde is a recent graduate of our U18 program and will only feature with the reserves this year. Transfer News -- Out of favour midfielder Shaun Spall REJECTS a contract offer from Wolves and he’s still hanging around here. I put him back on the market and one team offers to bring him in on loan while Wolves come calling again too. Good luck with that guys! I accept both offers but expect Spall to take the loan offer. -- The last of my major targets agrees to terms with us but will need a work permit. The 19 year old right fullback looks to be full of promise and hopefully the permit is granted. U18 Transfer IN -- We continue to add talent to our U18 roster, signing M/AM RC Vlastimil Silhavy on a free after he was recently released by Jablonec. He’s a 1.0/2.5 type of guy but comes in with a value of £1.4 million so perhaps he can be sold in the future. He should perform well for our youth squad. Pitch Size Alterations -- We have used the largest possible pitch in every year I’ve been a manager and with the highest speed in the league, there is no reason to change my philosophy now. No changes are made! Next Up -- We head to France for our two game foreign tour. We’ll face Olympique Lyonnais and Paris Saint-Germain. __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-17-2014 at 08:05 PM.

08-19-2014, 07:28 PM	#515
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Mon. July 22, 2024 Preseason Friendly Olympique Lyonnais (France Ligue 1) vs. Dover OL Land, Decines-Charpieu, France OL are one of the biggest clubs in the world and haven’t finished outside the top two in Ligue 1 in ELEVEN years. They finished second last year to their main rival, OM. They were Champions League runners up in 2022, Europa League winners in 2021 and have won their domestic league 15 times. 27 year old Brazilian striker Tiago is valued at over £31 million and has spent seven years scoring in bushel loads for the club. We’re going with a half strength lineup at best, as we continue to try to get our players fit for the start of the season. I’m even giving U18 graduate Gary Archer a start at midfield today. Rayane Hamon will also start as he returns to his home country. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - I. Wilke D - Renato Gaucho, M. Mutesa, R. Hamon, Rafinha M - M. Pedersen, G. Archer, B. Raab, G. Bolis S - A. Broomes, Z. Bardi Olympique Lyonnais 6 - 3 Dover Goals - Andy Broomes PEN (6.9), Gianluca Bolis (8.1), Andrea Rocca (7.4) Assists - Mwemere Mutesa (6.5), Gianluca Bolis, Mads Pedersen (6.9) Man of the Match - Alejandro Garcia (Olympique Lyonnais MC - 9.4) Other Dover Notables - Rafinha (5.7), Renato Gaucho (4.8), Gary Archer (5.8), Paolo Secchi (5.8), Alberto Velazquez (5.8) Attendance - 57,926 So yeah, this was a MASSACRE!!! I don’t remember the last time we were beaten this badly but in front of a huge French crowd, we completely laid an egg. OL dominated in every facet - this was pretty embarrassing and I’ll be sure to start a MUCH better lineup in our next game in order to save a bit of face on this foreign tour. Adding injury to insult, new MC Benedikt Raab got hurt and needed to come off during the match but thankfully, it was just a gashed leg and he should be fine in about two weeks. Transfer News -- We have another deal cancelled involving out of favour midfielder Shaun Spall! This time, Valladolid can’t come up with the money to pay for him! Unreal. For a third time, I offer him around. Thu. July 25, 2024 Preseason Friendly Paris Saint-Germain (France Ligue 1) vs. Dover Parc des Princes, Paris, France PSG finished fourth in Ligue 1 last year to get back into European play for the first time in three years. It’s been a long while since they last won the league (1994) and they usually are just a tier below the powerhouses like OL and OM. They’ve been very quiet in the transfer window thus far and they don’t have a lot of high priced talent on their roster. I do notice that one of their keepers is Youssouf Sylla, who we sold to them three years ago after one very lacklustre season with our club. Sylla is their main starter and I expect him to play today. No more messing around here. After our embarrassing loss the other day to Olympique Lyonnais, we need to show our true capabilities to the French fans and we’ll be starting a much stronger team today. The only backups playing today are Carlos Guzman, Saber Nasri and Graham Allan. I expect a much better performance from this lineup and despite this being preseason, I tell the team I expect a win today. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - M. Perez D - C. Guzman, C. Contreras, S. Nasri, S. Loucif M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Allan S - P. Moses, Chiquinho Paris Saint-Germain 0 - 5 Dover Goals - Paul Moses 2 (8.9), Neil Cairney PEN (8.5), Chiquinho (8.1), Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (7.3) Assists - Jose (7.5), Neil Cairney, Arsene Bamba (8.1), Paul Moses, Lyubomir Kunchev (6.9) Man of the Match - Paul Moses Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.0), Salim Loucif (8.3), Saber Nasri (7.7), Claudio Contreras (7.7), Carlos Guzman (8.0) Attendance - 21,665 That’s much better. A dominating performance from the get-go and we held 54% of possession and a 27-4 (9-0 on target) shot advantage. Moses is unstoppable and only injury (knock on wood) will keep him from tormenting our opposition this year. We head back to the US with our confidence restored! Transfer Talk -- Tottenham come to us with an official enquiry for Chiquinho and I tell them to bugger off. He has a minimum release clause of £31.5 million so Spurs can get him to the bargaining table if they are so inclined. Preseason Televised Game -- An upcoming preseason friendly against AS Monaco will be televised nationally. That will be the fourth preseason game (out of eight total) of ours that is televised this season. Season Ticket Update -- We’ve already eclipsed last year’s total of season tickets sold, as we reach 6272 packages for 2024/25 after having only 5317 subscribers last year. We’re still expected to get close to 7900 subscribers before the year begins. Next Up -- We host Aberdeen in a preseason friendly here at Crabble Athletic Ground. __________________ 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

08-19-2014, 10:58 PM	#516
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Sun. July 28, 2024 Preseason Friendly Dover vs. Aberdeen (Scotland Premier League) Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK Talk about consistency! Here are Aberdeen’s finishes over the past ten years in Scotland’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League: 4th, 6th, 5th, 6th, 5th, 4th, 6th, 5th, 4th, 4th. Hilarious. They locked up a Europa League spot with last year’s finish, which tied their team record for points with 65. This is a much smaller team than we are and they don’t have many stars but I smile when I notice a former Dover U18 player on their roster in midfielder Luke Hendrie, who last played for our club in 2014/15 when we were in League 1. We’re back to using a lesser side today, as we’ll save most of our best players for another home game coming up in two days. I really want to see a performance out of new striker Manuel Lugo today - I have him playing a target man role today which may suit his skill-set a bit more than our advanced striker role. Zoltan Bardi is opposite him. Lyubomir Kunchev, newcomer Paolo Secchi and Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz will also get starts. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - M. Perez D - Renato Gaucho, M. Yilmaz, R. Hamon, Rafinha M - M. Pedersen, P. Secchi, A. Rocca, L. Kunchev S - Z. Bardi, M. Lugo Dover 3 - 1 Aberdeen Goals - Rayane Hamon 2 (9.2), Paolo Secchi (8.0) Assists - Andrea Rocca 2 (7.5), Mads Pedersen (7.6) Man of the Match - Rayane Hamon Other Dover Notables - Renato Gaucho (7.1) Attendance - 9,058 Not impressive whatsoever, as we gave up the first goal on a penalty shot after Rafinha tackled a man down inside our area. Secchi scored to even things up almost right away then two Hamon goals off corner kicks sealed the win. I continue to really worry about Manuel Lugo - when you pay that much for a striker, you expect immediate results. The guy is 22 years old, speaks English and has a record of goal scoring but he’s kind of slow, both with his feet and with his head. I’m not going to panic yet but it’s quite clear that he will need some time in the reserves and maybe some low-key cup games before I starting trusting him on the bigger stage. Transfer OUT -- Midfielder Shaun Spall agrees to a move to Wolves but in order to make the transfer happen, we have to bridge the gap between what we were paying him and his new contract. So we make up the £2100/week difference and that closes the books on Spall and a £2.3 million transfer deal. We brought Spall over from Peterborough in July 2020 for £500,000 and he played two seasons with our club and spent last year on loan with Norwich. In all, he started 14 games and played in 44 games overall for our club, scoring 2 goals and adding 5 assists. We wish him well but he won’t be missed! Players in Last Year of Contract -- A few key players are in their last year of their contracts with us, including ST Zoltan Bardi, MC Andrea Rocca, ML Felix Hernandez, DC Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz and DC Mwemere Mutesa. We’ll likely try to extend them all at some point soon. Squad Win Bonuses -- As usual, I agree to give the players higher squad bonuses for all competitions and that makes them all delighted. August Update -- We have three more preseason friendlies, with home match-ups against AS Monaco and Rangers then a road matchup against non-league Folkestone. We head to Wembley to start the season against Manchester City in the Community Shield then start the Premier League season with match ups against Sheffield United (road) and Newcastle (home). We’ll also have a League Cup match and face Dortmund in the European Super Cup at the end of the month. Lots of action to start the season. -- We get positive training notices for Mwemere Mutesa and U18 player Robbie Welsh along with a negative notice for Paul Moses. I’ll start worrying about Moses if he suddenly stops scoring. August Board Confidence Update -- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership of the team. Our stature increase is the main reason for their happiness but they are still disappointed that I sold Shanon Andrea. -- We recorded a loss of £56.61 million in July. OUCH. Injury Update -- Midfielder Emmerson Harvey returns to full training after missing three weeks with a pulled hamstring. Transfer News -- In some good news, Tottenham spend £25.5 million on Dutch striker Peter Jansen, who spent most of his career with Stuttgart. The 28 year old will be expected to lead the charge from the front for Spurs but this can only mean that they will stop sniffing around Chiquinho. -- Then again, right after that we hear rumours that Spurs are going to make a bid for Arsene Bamba. Boy, these guys have a lot of money! Transfer IN -- It took some patience but we finally get a work permit approved for Brazilian right fullback Emerson, thus completing a £5.75 million transfer with Avai FC in Brazil! Emerson just turned 20 a couple of days ago and was only at Avai for a year after starting his career at Palmeiras. The 2.5/3.5 rated youngster has very good speed and a well-balanced skill set and should give us even more depth at fullback behind Salim Loucif and Rafinha. Olympics 2024 -- Egypt is hosting the 2024 Summer Games and we have four players called up to take part, with Arsene Bamba (Ivory Coast), Manuel Perez and Manuel Lugo (Mexico) and youngster Vlastimil Silhavy (Czech Republic) all getting the call. This means we will be without two key players in Bamba and Perez to start our season. Next Up -- We play host once again, this time to French outfit AS Monaco FC in preseason friendly action. __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-22-2014 at 04:19 PM.

08-20-2014, 12:28 AM	#517
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Fri. August 2, 2024 Preseason Friendly Dover vs. AS Monaco FC (France Ligue 1) Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK We have history versus this club, as they were our first ever Champions League opponent. We’d knock them off in the Best Placed Playoff in 2021 8-3 on aggregate. They had a bit of an average season last year, finishing fifth in the league and are destined for Europa League play. They’ve won Ligue 1 nine times (most recently in 2012), were runners up in the 2004 Champions League and are two-time Europa League runners up (2016 and 2021). Once again, we’ll face another former Dover player in DC Abdallaye Kokaina, who just got signed by the French side this year from SK Rapid Wien for £7.5 million. We start a reasonably strong lineup today, going with Andy Broomes up front alongside Chiquinho. Young left midfielder Felix Hernandez gets his first crack at starting in the preseason after being away on international duty. Newcomer Emerson is on the bench to start but I’ll get him in the lineup at some point tonight. Andrea Rocca is still trying to get match fit so he gets a second consecutive start today. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - I. Wilke D - Rafinha, C. Contreras, S. Nasri, S. Loucif M - F. Hernandez, N. Cairney, A. Rocca, G. Bolis S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho Dover 1 - 0 AS Monaco FC Goals - Andy Broomes (7.6) Assists - Neil Cairney (7.1) Man of the Match - Andy Broomes Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.1) Attendance - 22,344 Well, the scoreline doesn’t flatter us but we held 53% of overall possession and had a large 21-4 (5-2 on target) shot advantage. Broomes has been very impressive in preseason and has outplayed both Manuel Lugo and Zoltan Bardi so I’ll be giving him more consideration for future starts in the coming weeks. Injury Update -- Young midfielder Felix Hernandez got hurt on a challenge during the game, hurting his elbow. He’ll miss about two weeks but he’s destined for our U18 squad either way. Transfer News -- Yeovil Town just got promoted to League 1 and have asked if we’re interested in loaning 17 year old right fullback Eneko Remirez for five months. They are willing to pay his full wages and indicate he’d play a starting role on their club. Yes, I’m interested - I negotiate the deal and ask that they take him for the full season and they accept my terms. Now, it’s up to Remirez. -- If he goes, we’ll have no right fullbacks on our U18 team so I scout a few young scrubs to fill his spot. Season Ticket Update -- We continue to sell a whole bunch of season ticket packages, now exceeding 7400 subscribers. We’re still expected to sell around 7900, which again would be a huge increase over last year’s total. Next Up -- In our second last preseason friendly, we welcome Scottish powerhouse Rangers to Crabble Athletic Ground. __________________ 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

08-20-2014, 01:17 AM	#518
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Mon. August 5, 2024 Preseason Friendly Dover vs. Rangers (Scotland Premier League) Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK Rangers are coming off a third place finish in last year’s Scottish Premier League and they have qualified for the Europa League. We have only one career meeting and it was a friendly three years ago that we won 3-1. They are 61 TIME SCOTTISH CHAMPIONS and last won the title in 2021. They’ve also finished runners up in the Europa League twice (2008 and 2020). They are the media’s choice to finish on top of their league this year. For all intents and purposes, this will be our final tuneup for our starters today, as I plan to start all backups in our last preseason game against Folkestone. The only exceptions are Arsene Bamba and Manuel Perez, who both are away playing at the Olympic Games in Egypt. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - I. Wilke D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Allan S - P. Moses, Chiquinho Dover 3 - 1 Rangers Goals - Paul Moses (8.0), Chiquinho (8.0), Jose (8.1) Assists - Paul Moses, Chiquinho, Jose Man of the Match - Jose Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.0), Rayane Hamon (7.2) Attendance - 16,724 Not quite as dominating as I would have liked but it will suffice. We’re starting to suffer a bit from overconfidence after our treble last year so I’ll be watching that dynamic closely as the season begins. We held 52% of the ball and outshot them 22-8 (7-3 on target). And no one got hurt, although Ingo Wilke did get banged up during the game - we’ve been very fortunate not to have many goalkeeper injuries throughout this dynasty. On-Field Leadership -- We stick with the same leaders as last year, as Salim Loucif retains the captaincy and Saber Nasri keeps his vice captain role. International Update -- Manuel Perez got a clean sheet as Mexico beat Finland 3-0 in Olympic play. Next Up -- We face non-league rival Folkestone in our final preseason friendly, giving our young backups a chance to shine. __________________ 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

08-20-2014, 04:48 AM	#519
Alf Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Rennes, France	Yay. More FM ! __________________ FOFL - GML - IHOF - FranceStats

08-22-2014, 08:03 PM	#520
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Wed. August 7, 2024 Preseason Friendly Folkestone (England Non-League) vs. Dover The New Pavillion, Folkestone, UK Folkestone are an old rival but are a non-league team that couldn’t put up a fight against our U18 squad, let alone our main squad. Most of our main starters will not dress tonight but guys like Benedikt Raab, Gianluca Bolis, Emmerson Harvey and Rafinha will play. Anyone who is a main backup will get about 60 minutes at most in an attempt to avoid injury before our season begins. Reserves starting today include goalkeeper Steven Potter, ML Adam Hyde and DC Mwemere Mutesa. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - S. Potter D - Rafinha, M. Yilmaz, M. Mutesa, Emerson M - A. Hyde, E. Harvey, B. Raab, G. Bolis S - A. Broomes, Z. Bardi Folkestone 0 - 6 Dover Goals - Andy Broomes 3 (9.5), Benedikt Raab (9.3), Alberto Velazquez (7.4), Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (9.3) Assists - Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz, Gianluca Bolis (8.3), Benedikt Raab, Emmerson Harvey (8.1), Adam Hyde (8.0), Zoltan Bardi (7.9) Man of the Match - Andy Broomes Other Dover Notables - Steven Potter (7.1), Emerson (8.4), Mwemere Mutesa (7.6), Rafinha (8.1) Attendance - 4,587 We dominate, as expected, with 65% of possession and a 27-2 (11-0 on target) shot advantage. All eleven starters had a rating of over 7.0. Broomes has been sensational all preseason and has elevated himself into a prime backup role to Paul Moses - Manuel Lugo will struggle to find playing time early. And it was great seeing a two point performance from Benedikt Raab, who scored on a spectacular, curling free kick from distance in this one. Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz got banged up in the game and had the dreaded cross of doom but there was no ill-effects after the match and he’ll be just fine. -- We close out the preseason 6-1-1, with the loss being the big one to Olympique Lyonnais. U18 Transfers IN -- We continue to add some scrubby depth to our U18s, with DC Robert Hoffmann, DC Danny Hope and DR Darren Beckett agreeing to terms. -- In a previous post, I mentioned that Yeovil Town were looking to add our young right fullback Eneko Remirez on a season-long loan. That is kiboshed by Remirez, as he rejects the offer and prefers to stay here. No problem with me! International Roundup -- We have four players taking part in the 2024 Olympic Games. U18 prospect Vlastimil Silhavy came on as a substitute in a 3-1 Czech Republic loss to South Korea. Meanwhile, new striker Manuel Lugo scores twice and Manuel Perez plays well in goal as Mexico beats China 4-1. Arsene Bamba is also playing for Ivory Coast and they draw against Finland 1-1. 2024-25 Dover Athletic Squad -- We head into our opener with 28 first team players, one more than last year. Here's a look at a breakdown of our senior team along with notes on our reserves, players on loan and key U18 personel. Preferred starters are noted in bold. GOALKEEPERS - Manuel Perez, Ingo Wilke IN: OUT: Mathis Imbert (Valencia - £2.8m) It’s a changing of the guard somewhat, as we expect third year Mexican international Perez to take the majority of starts this year over longtime incumbent Wilke. It’s a slight concern that Perez still hasn’t mastered the English language but that hasn’t hindered his performance thus far, as he’s been sensational in most of his starts. Wilke, the club’s all-time leader in games played, will still be around and likely play about a third of the games. We’re very strong in goal with these two. DEFENDERS - Claudio Contreras, Emerson, Carlos Guzman, Rayane Hamon, Salim Loucif, Mwemere Mutesa, Saber Nasri, Rafinha, Renato Gaucho, Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz IN: Emerson (Avai - £5.75m) OUT: Steve Reed (MK Dons - Loan), Hans Briers (Hull - Loan), Takfarinas Madani (Hercules - £950k), Adam Betts (Bournemouth - Loan) Our starting four remain unchanged for the last few years and this young group continue to play at a very high level. Hamon and Contreras both had their best seasons of their careers thus far while our two fullbacks Renato Gaucho and Salim Loucif provide skill and great leadership. Our depth was already incredible last year, with Nasri, Yilmaz and Rafinha all having stellar seasons but we’ve added to that depth with Mutesa returning to the club after a year-long loan spell and the signing of Brazilian youngster Emerson. They join Carlos Guzman to provide us with unparalleled depth. MIDFIELDERS - Graham Allan, Arsene Bamba, Gianluca Bolis, Neil Cairney, Emmerson Harvey, Jose, Lyubomir Kunchev, Mads Pedersen, Benedikt Raab, Andrea Rocca, Paolo Secchi IN: Mads Pedersen (Chelsea - £10.25m), Benedikt Raab (Schalke - £23.5m), Paolo Secchi (Barcelona - Free) OUT: Marcel Quade (Colchester - Loan), Rafael Ramirez (Cruz Azul - £8m), Helder Cruz (Palermo - £9.5m), Gian Marco Fanfoni (Returned to Inter from loan), Shaun Spall (Wolves - £2.3m) We saw a slight change in our starting four in the middle last year, as newcomer Jose acclimated himself quickly to English football and didn’t take long to unseat incumbent Rocca, who still played at a high level himself when given the chance to play. As expected, Neil Cairney couldn’t quite follow up his sensational performance from the 22/23 season but still was excellent, giving up many of his scoring opportunities to Jose. We got a huge year out of Arsene Bamba and hope he can continue to produce at that same level this year. Gianluca Bolis has continued to be inconsistent at best in recent years and gave up considerable playing time to fellow right winger Graham Allan. We added one of the best players in football to our midfield in the offseason, bringing in Schalke star Raab, who will undoubtedly make a push for a starting job this year. At 22 years of age, he’s the future of the club. I’m intrigued about the potential of Mads Pedersen, who brings incredible skill and flair to the left midfield position and will give us excellent depth behind Bamba. Emmerson Harvey continues to grow but will continue to be brought along slowly as our fifth option in the middle and he’ll battle with newcomer Secchi for playing time. In fact, there is a very real chance I’ll eventually loan one of those two out to another club to ensure they get the proper amount of playing time. I truly believe we have the best midfield in all of football. STRIKERS - Zoltan Bardi, Andy Broomes, Chiquinho, Manuel Lugo, Paul Moses IN: Manuel Lugo (Feyenoord - £19m) OUT: Shanon Andrea (Evian TG FC - £8.25m), Giorgos Gesios (Schalke - P/Ex), Orlando Scolari (Udinese - £3.8m), Norberto Vazquez (Dortmund - £3.3m) Chiquinho was coming off a huge first year with our club and Shanon Andrea started alongside him to start the year but it became quickly apparent that our best option in attack was 19 year old Paul Moses, who we just signed to a large deal from Manchester United after two successful years as a loaner. Moses has a legendary season, scoring 59 goals and won accolades throughout the year, culminating in the European Golden Boot. The only thing that can stop him is injury - he’s turning into the best player in all of football. Chiquinho was inconsistent last year, going through many dry spells but we were able to overcome them due to Moses’ brilliance. Andrea lost a step and a half and was deemed expendable in the offseason, as Bardi outplayed him and took over as our third option in attack by the end of the year. Broomes wasn’t given many opportunities but continues to grow as a player and has Moses-like speed - he’ll play more this year. We made a big splash in adding Lugo, a lethal finisher with great size but he’ll take some time getting used to English football and we’ll be sure not to put too much pressure on him, a difficult task with such a large transfer fee. Gesios leaves in the Benedikt Raab deal and Scolari and Vazquez were talented youngsters that would have had trouble breaking into our lineup. It’s debatable whether we’re as strong up front as last year with the departure of Andrea but with Moses seemingly scoring at will, this is undoubtedly another position of strength for us. RESERVE TEAM - GK Steven Potter, ML Adam Hyde, MC Gary Archer, MR Steven Miller, MC Warren Ward We actually have a few players that graduated from our U18 program that will stay on board to play for our reserves team when necessary. None of these players will amount to anything here and all have contracts that will expire at the end of this year without being renewed. U18 SQUAD - GK Luigi Nicoletti, GK Robbie Welsh, DL Dennis Richter, DC Danny Hope, DC Robert Hoffmann, DR Darren Beckett, DR Eneko Remirez, DL Stuart Cousins, DC Fouad van der Horst, ML Felix Hernandez, MC Dominic Beard, MR Sean Woolley, MC James Campbell, MC Nathan Protheroe, MR Vlastimil Silhavy, ML Joshua Stokes, MC Edward Smith, AML Matthew Neil, ST Ben Patterson, ST Neil Evans, ST Alberto Velazquez, ST Freddie Laird We have a few good looking youngsters, with Remirez, Hernandez and Velazquez all having 3.5 star potential. PLAYERS AWAY ON LOAN - DC Adam Betts, DR Hans Briers, DR Steve Reed, MR Marcel Quade None of these players are in our long-term plans. There is no question in my mind that despite winning the treble last year, we are even STRONGER this year. As such, I have set the following goals: 1. Repeat as champions in the Barclays Premier League 2. Repeat as champions in the Champions League 3. Win the FA Cup for the first time Another goal would be to go undefeated in league play but I’m not going to get greedy! Next Up -- We take advantage of our Premier League win last year to play in our first Community Shield, heading to Wembley to face off against Manchester City, the defending FA Cup champs. __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-22-2014 at 08:05 PM.

08-23-2014, 08:08 PM	#521
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Alright, we're about to begin our season and I'm going to keep doing game-by-game write-ups but in order to keep things going, I won't be writing up full play-by-play highlights. Instead, I'll just recap the goals for both teams while still doing the pre-game and post-game write-ups. Hope that's okay - I doubt many of you read through that other stuff anyway! On to 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

08-23-2014, 09:28 PM	#522
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Sun. August 11, 2024 Community Shield Dover vs. Manchester City Wembley, London, UK Betting Odds: Dover: 13-8 Draw: N/A Manchester City: 6-4 (Favourites) Past Meetings: 3W 2D 8L Jose Mourinho took over management at City late last year and they went unbeaten in all 12 games he managed so needless to say, he’s been able to “right the ship” after the ill-advised sale of superstar striker Enrique to Barcelona. City won the FA Cup last year (beating Spurs 2-1) to qualify for this game. They brought in five players in July, spending an absurd £113 million - 26 year old AM/ST Jonathan Bottone from Inter (£36 million), 25 year old WB Victor Talavera from Barcelona (£34.5 million) and 24 year old MC Lamine Faye from Spurs (£29 million) are the notable additions. They still have a potent strike force in Jelle Hoegee and Ryan Bonin but usually play with one striker and three attacking mids. We are taking this contest very seriously and will start all of our preferred eleven, minus Manuel Perez and Arsene Bamba, who both are still in Egypt playing in the Olympics. ML Mads Pedersen gets his first ever Dover start today. I go with Gianluca Bolis on the right side and keep Graham Allan on the bench, as he can play both sides of the field and is better suited as a sub for this game with Bamba away on international duty. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - I. Wilke D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis S - P. Moses, Chiquinho Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, B. Raab, A. Rocca, G. Allan, Z. Bardi, A. Broomes City come out in their 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) formation with all three new signings in the lineup. Interestingly enough, it’s Vaclav Kadlec in at striker - Bonin is on the bench and Hoegee isn’t in the lineup at all. Antonio is their keeper. I tell the team to go out and bring home this trophy for our supporters. 3’ - GRRRRRR. Paul Moses goes down and has the dreaded “cross of doom” above his head. His fitness doesn’t take a big hit and he can keep playing but we’ll have to hope for the best after the game. NOT GOOD! 25’ - We win a corner and it’s Jose taking it. It’s sent to the far post and Claudio Contreras goes up and heads it forcefully toward goal. Antonio makes the stop but the rebound is right to Chiquinho and he calmly slots it home and we lead! DOVER GOAL 1-0 39’ - We get a great chance off a Moses pass to Jose but Antonio makes the save and play carries on. We have Bolis running down the right flank and he’s taken down hard by newcomer Talavera and there is a free kick just outside the area. It’s Jose taking it and again, he delivers the ball to Contreras and our 6’6” centreback heads it past Antonio and in! Beautiful! DOVER GOAL 2-0 HALFTIME - We’re doing very well here, with 54% of possession and a 10-8 (6-3 on target) shot advantage. Mads Pedersen got knocked up a bit and his fitness is down so we’ll have to watch him. I’m not going to keep Moses in much longer either, as he’s carrying the injury cross and I don’t need him getting hurt more. City come out in a 4-3-1-2 formation to start the second half. The high-scoring Ryan Bonin is in at striker alongside Kadlec now. 55’ - Moses gets taken down halfway in City territory and draws a foul. Jose takes the free kick from distance and it’s a perfect feed into the area to Gianluca Bolis, who dives and heads the ball past Antonio and we’re on cruise control! DOVER GOAL 3-0 58’ - It looks like we have six possible substitutions in today’s game so I’ll use three right now, taking out Paul Moses, Neil Cairney and Mads Pedersen, bringing in Andy Broomes, Benedikt Raab and Rafinha. 78’ - We continue to dominate and use two more substitutions, taking out the excellent Jose and Chiquinho and bringing in Andrea Rocca and Zoltan Bardi. Jose was the architect of all three goals today. City revert back to a 4-2-3-1 formation. 87’ - City with some great passing that ultimately sees Brito sending a through ball into Miralem Pjanic and he’s in all alone and makes no mistake, tapping it past Ingo Wilke to get City on the board. Too little, too late for the Citizens. MANCHESTER CITY GOAL 3-1 Good start to the season, as we take home another trophy! Dover 3 - 1 Manchester City Goals - Chiquinho (7.9), Claudio Contreras (8.9), Gianluca Bolis (7.8) Assists - Jose 2 (8.7), Claudio Contreras Man of the Match - Claudio Contreras Other Dover Notables - Rayane Hamon (7.1), Renato Gaucho (7.3), Mads Pedersen (7.0), Paul Moses (7.0) Attendance - 90,000 (Sell-out) We held 51% of the ball and outshot City 23-14 (12-4 on target). Contreras and Jose were great today, as was Bolis. DOVER HAVE WON THE 2024 COMMUNITY SHIELD -- Thankfully, the news is good regarding Paul Moses and his injury. He only suffered a strained neck and will only miss 5-7 days. He may be ready for our Premier League opener next week. Big sigh of relief! DOVER INJURY: Paul Moses (Strained Neck - one week) Transfer News -- Sevilla offer £15 million for Arsene Bamba and it’s swiftly rejected. He’s going nowhere. Bamba’s agent is looking for a new contract, I reject the request and then have to speak to Bamba by phone over his displeasure but he’s ultimately fine in the end. -- Man City must be mad at me, as they come after one of my top coaches. I quickly offer him a new contract and just give him what he wants in hopes he stays here. A couple days later, he accepts the deal. I’m paying him more than some of my players! International Update -- Mexico beats Ivory Coast 4-1 but Arsene Bamba scores a goal in a losing effort. Manuel Perez and Manuel Lugo were unused substitutes for Mexico in this game. Bamba heads back to Dover, as Ivory Coast are eliminated from the competition. Dover U18 Update -- Our youth team starts the season with a fine 2-1 win over Arsenal in the first round of the U18 Cup, a title we won last year. Newcomer Alberto Velazquez scored both goals and I’m guessing he’ll score at least 30 times this season for the youth squad. Unheralded midfielder James Campbell notched both assists. Next Up -- We begin our quest to repeat as Premier League champions with a road trip to face newly promoted Sheffield United. __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-23-2014 at 09:43 PM.

08-23-2014, 11:46 PM	#523
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Sat. August 17, 2024 Barclays Premier League Sheffield United vs. Dover Bramall Lane, Sheffield, UK Betting Odds: Sheffield United: 3-1 Draw: 2-1 Dover: 4-5 (Favourites) Past Meetings: 3W 2D 2L Sheffield United finished second in the Championship last year to earn automatic promotion and are back in the Premier League for the first time in six years. In fact, their last season in the Premier League was 2018/19 which means they promoted up with us, as that was our first year in the top league. Strange I didn’t remember that until looking it up! Prior to that, Sheff United only spent one other year in the Premier League since 1994 and that was in 2006/07. So this is only their third year in the Premier League in the last 31 years. Wow. They spent a modest £6.75 million in the transfer market, with their big splash being 25 year old DR Michele Mandelli, a £2.8 million transfer from Odense Boldklub (OB) in Superliga. Their top goal scorer for the last two seasons has been Marcello Trotta, who scored 22 last year. He’s 31 years old so he’ll have trouble keeping up that scoring pace in this league. These guys will have lots of trouble staying up. We welcome back Arsene Bamba from his Olympics experience but will miss Paul Moses today, as he’s still recovering from his neck injury. He’ll be ready for our next game, thankfully. Andy Broomes has earned the chance to start in his place alongside Chiquinho. No other changes today from our Community Shield lineup. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - I. Wilke D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, B. Raab, A. Rocca, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, Z. Bardi Sheffield United come out in a 4-2-2-2, with 2 DMCs and 2 wide midfielders. Trotta is up front with Angel Egana and Adrian Smith is their keeper. I recognize none of these names and we should easily handle them. Thankfully, my assistant doesn’t seem to think that complacency or overconfidence is an issue today. Good. I tell the team I expect a win today, a request they usually respond well to. 40’ - Took us long enough! We get a bit of a counter with Andy Broomes leading the charge up field. He passes into the area to Chiquinho but his low shot is stopped by Smith. The rebound is available and Gianluca Bolis shoots off the diving keeper and it’s in! Finally! DOVER GOAL 1-0 HALFTIME - Sheffield are not really coming forward much but the scoreline is still very dangerous. We only held 52% of possession but had a wide shot advantage, 18-4 (8-0 on target). Their keeper has been sensational so far. I decide to encourage them at half time in the dressing room. 56’ - We have control and it’s Bamba feeding Broomes just outside the area. He turns on the speed, jets past his marker and runs into the box, shooting low past Smith and into the net! DOVER GOAL 2-0 68’ - We have a little stretch of undisciplined play that sees two quick yellows given to Jose and Claudio Contreras but get the ball back again. We have a free kick from distance and it’s Jose sending in the ball in a carbon copy of our Community Shield game and there is Bolis heading it past Smith and IN. Bolis with two goals today and three already on the year! DOVER GOAL 3-0 72’ - We make a double substitution, taking out Jose and Contreras and bringing in Andrea Rocca and Saber Nasri. 76’ - Sheffield United midfielder Conor Clifford takes the ball from well out and rifles a ROCKET BLAST into the top left corner of our goal past a diving Wilke. That was a 30 yarder! What a shot and United is on the board. SHEFFIELD UNITED GOAL 3-1 Sheffield actually pressed pretty well near the end but we hold them off for the opening day win. Sheffield United 1 - 3 Dover Goals - Gianluca Bolis 2 (8.9), Andy Broomes (7.7) Assists - Jose (7.2), Arsene Bamba (7.2), Chiquinho (7.0) Man of the Match - Gianluca Bolis Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.0), Rayane Hamon (7.1), Claudio Contreras (7.6), Renato Gaucho (7.2) Attendance - 30,664 Possession ended up dead even but we outshoot them 28-8 (11-2 on target). It’s great to see Bolis playing so well after a few years of pedestrian play - yes, it’s early but he’s been excellent thus far. He only scored four goals ALL SEASON last year and now has three in two games. Yeah, pretty good start, I’d say! -- Not many surprises to start the Premier League season, as City hammer Reading 5-0, Man United win 4-0 over Burnley, and Chelsea beat Sheffield Wednesday 4-1. Also winning are Arsenal, Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Newcastle. Dover U18 Update -- The U18s win 5-1 over Hampton & Richmond in their league season opener. Freddie Laird scored twice and we get singles from Nathan Protheroe, Neil Evans and a H&R own goal. Matthew Neil had two assists. -- Young DR Eneko Remirez got hurt in the game and will miss four weeks with fractured ribs. International Update -- Manuel Lugo scores for Mexico and Manuel Perez played well in goal but they lose 2-1 to Holland and are eliminated from the Olympics in the quarterfinals. Both will be returning to Dover and should be available for selection in our next game if needed. Transfer News -- A bit of a surprise to see that Tottenham sell former Dover striker Gerardo Escobar to Atletico Madrid for £6.75 million. Escobar was Spurs’ leading scorer last year with 16 goals but they have Jean Junior and newcomer Peter Jansen starting so Escobar became surplus to requirements. Season Ticket Update -- We end up selling 7467 season ticket packages, up significantly from last year’s total of 5317. Good stuff. International Update -- U18 midfielder Vlastimil Silhavy plays the whole game in Czech Republic’s 4-1 loss to Brazil in the Olympics. Pretty cool that Silhavy is playing such a large role for his country at such a tender age. Dover Reserves Update -- The reserves get their first chance to play this year and it’s a massacre, as we destroy Reading’s reserves 8-0! 19 million pound man Manuel Lugo, who struggled in our preseason friendlies but played well in the Olympics for Mexico, notches a hat trick, as does right winger Lyubomir Kunchev. Also scoring are Zoltan Bardi and Alberto Velazquez. Emmerson Harvey had three assists and Felix Hernandez had two helpers in the blowout. Injury Update -- Left fullback Renato Gaucho strains his wrist during weight training and will miss the next 1-2 weeks. Rafinha will suit up in his place. Next Up -- Our home opener is up next, as we welcome Newcastle to Crabble Athletic Ground. __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-23-2014 at 11:49 PM.

08-24-2014, 02:54 AM	#524
Rawhide High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Australia	Still reading, still brilliant. Go Dover! __________________ Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, will make me sleep again; and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches ready to drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.

08-27-2014, 10:02 PM	#525
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Sat. August 24, 2024 Barclays Premier League Dover (1-0-0, 3 points, 6th) vs. Newcastle (1-0-0, 3 points, 9th) Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK Betting Odds: Dover: 4-6 (Favourites) Draw: 9-4 Newcastle: 7-2 Past Meetings: 7W 1D 2L We’ve won our last seven games against Newcastle and they will be in tough against us today in our home opener. They beat Aston Villa 2-1 in week one as they look to improve upon a 12th place finish last year. They did a little spending in July, dishing out £14 million on nine new players, with the largest fee spent on Leverkusen midfielder Miguel Angel Bravo, a 26 year old Mexican native. Stanislas Vigneau has led their team in scoring for four consecutive seasons and is the favourite to do so again. Paul Moses is healthy after missing our last game with a neck injury and will start. Also starting is goalkeeper Manuel Perez, who is back from taking part in the Olympics for Mexico. Rafinha will also get his first start at left fullback for the injured Renato Gaucho. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - M. Perez D - Rafinha, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis S - P. Moses, Chiquinho Bench - C. Guzman, S. Nasri, B. Raab, E. Harvey, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, A. Broomes Newcastle are in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Vigneau up front and longtime keeper Jak Alnwick in goal. New signing Bravo also starts in midfield. 15’ - We have already gotten two yellow cards for unsportsmanlike conduct (diving), given to chronic diver Chiquinho and also to Gianluca Bolis. We are a bit unglued as Newcastle have possession and it’s midfielder David Foster, taking a back-heel pass from Vincenzo Scala and driving a 20 yard shot past a diving Manuel Perez and it’s in! Not a good start. NEWCASTLE GOAL 0-1 HALFTIME - This is a stunning half of football, as we only hold 43% of possession but outshoot them 13-3 (3-2 on target). We are putting up a complete turd in front of our home crowd. Riot act time! I question the team’s passion to win this game. 50’ - On a Alnwick goal kick, Jose heads the ball over the defence and Paul Moses gets there first. He rounds the keeper and he has an empty net to shoot at. No mistake is made and Moses has his first goal of the year. DOVER GOAL 1-1 67’ - We need a shake up so I take out Neil Cairney and bring in Benedikt Raab. 74’ - Chiquinho hasn’t been good and he comes off for Andy Broomes. 86’ - Last change, as we bring on Graham Allan for Gianluca Bolis and switch to an overload mentality. 90’+2 - Newcastle get two corner kicks and are milking time, hoping for the whistle but do one better, as the corner is headed in by centre back Fraser Baxter. DISASTER! NEWCASTLE GOAL 1-2 Umm, are you kidding me?!?! Dover 1 - 2 Newcastle Goals - Paul Moses (7.8) Assists - Jose (7.7) Man of the Match - Jak Alnwick (Newcastle GK - 8.2) Other Dover Notables - Attendance - 23,000 (Sell-Out) This is an epic loss, as Newcastle out-possess us 56%-44% but we hammer them in shots 30-7 (11-4 on target). GK Alnwick was sensational for them. I absolutely tear into the team in the dressing room - we only lost two games all season last year and here we lose at home to a mid-table constant. -- Aston Villa surprise Man City but Everton, Middlesbrough, Chelsea, Arsenal and United all win. Dover U18 Update -- The U18s win 5-2 over Reading, with goals scored by Ben Patterson, Alberto Velazquez, Felix Hernandez, Nathan Protheroe and Freddie Laird. Champions League Update -- Teams are battling to join us in the Group Stage and Manchester United destroy Ajax 7-0 on aggregate to advance. Also moving on are Young Boys, Partizan, Sheriff, Atletico Madrid, Palermo, Le Mans FC, Schalke, SK Sturm Graz and Omonoia. -- We are given £6,174,000 for our future participation in the Champions League Group Stage. Dover Reserves Update -- The backups continue to dominate, destroying Sheffield United 8-1. Andy Broomes, Manuel Lugo and Mads Pedersen all scored twice while Emerson and Felix Hernandez notched singles. Broomes also had two assists for a four point night and fullback Carlos Guzman had three assists. Champions League Group Stage Draw -- For the first time, we are a first seed in Champions League group play - according to co-efficient, we are the worst #1 seed but that number is deflated due to two qualifying years where we weren’t playing in Europe. Lets see who we get: GROUP A Manchester City OM AZ Young Boys GROUP B FC Bayern Atletico Madrid Club Brugge Partizan GROUP C Dover Palermo Hoffenheim Hibernian GROUP D Real Madrid Galatasaray Juventus Sheriff GROUP E Barcelona HSV Panathinaikos Tottenham GROUP F Sevilla Sampdoria Le Mans FC Schalke GROUP G Manchester United CSKA Moscow Porto Omonoia GROUP H Olympique Lyonnais Shakhtar Bursaspor SK Sturm Graz -- Palermo is the second highest rated 2nd seed behind Atletico Madrid, Hoffenheim are the fifth rated 3rd seed and Hibernian are the fifth rated 4th seed. We should advance with ease but I guess anything can happen after that last game we played!! Next Up -- Another perk from our Champions League win last year is getting to take part in the UEFA Super Cup, a match between the Champions League winner and the Europa League winner. We’ll face Dortmund Borussia at Stade Louis II in Monaco as we look for another trophy. __________________ 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

08-27-2014, 11:57 PM	#526
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Fri. August 30, 2024 UEFA Super Cup Borussia Dortmund vs. Dover Stade Louis II, Fontvieille, Monaco Betting Odds: Dortmund: 7-4 Draw: N/A Dover: 5-4 Past Meetings: 1W 0D 1L This is our first competitive match against this German club, as our two previous match ups were preseason friendlies. Dortmund finished fifth in the German First Division last year to qualify for the Europa League once again, a year after defeating Bayern Munich in the finals. These guys have one of the finest strikers in the world in Mexican international Hugo Cruz, who has scored an astonishing 84 goals in 94 games for his country. He is coming off a 32 goal season for Dortmund last year. They just purchased our U18 graduate Norberto Vazquez but he is playing for their “B” team and I don’t expect him to play tonight. Their biggest offseason signing was Napoli fullback Dingaan Campbell, a South African international for over £16 million. We are making some changes after our putrid loss against Newcastle at home last weekend. Sitting today out will be Neil Cairney, Manuel Perez and Rayane Hamon and taking their place are Benedikt Raab, Ingo Wilke and Saber Nasri. Raab and Wilke are both German and I thought they deserved a chance against a club from their home country. Hamon hasn’t been sharp so far so I’m giving Nasri a shot today. We’ll stick with a control mentality as favourites today. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - I. Wilke D - Rafinha, C. Contreras, S. Nasri, S. Loucif M - A. Bamba, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis S - P. Moses, Chiquinho Bench - Emerson, M. Yilmaz, A. Rocca, E. Harvey, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, A. Broomes The 4-2-3-1 formation has given us fits so far and Dortmund are also using it, with Cruz alone up front. Their keeper is Julio Cesar Cejas and their big signing Dingaan Campbell is playing left fullback today. I tell the team to bring home another trophy for our supporters. 22’ - We’re gifting possession to them all over the field but we seemingly strike first, as Arsene Bamba crosses over to the molten hot Gianluca Bolis and he scores! But wait…OFFSIDES is the call. The replay confirms it wasn’t even close and hence, a good call. No goal. 24’ - Shortly after, we have the ball in their end. Bamba’s attempted cross hits a Dortmund defender and bounces back to Rafinha. He crosses to the near post to Paul Moses, who makes a great move at the byline to get to his stronger foot and his shot is off another defender and IN! There we go! DOVER GOAL 1-0 35’ - We earn a corner and Benedikt Raab goes to the near post to Saber Nasri. He can’t get it on net so he passes back to Jose, who is lurking outside the area. His low blast hits Moses then redirects once again off Dortmund midfielder Eduardo Gallardo and it’s past Cejas and IN! It’s officially an own goal but we’ll take it! DOVER GOAL 2-0 HALFTIME - Our possession numbers are once again atrocious, as Dortmund hold 56% of the ball but we outshoot them 14-11 (7-3 on target) in a wide open first half. We are outnumbered in the midfield against this tactic and that must be the reason for our lack of possession. We’ll take a two goal lead though without complaint! We’re having lots of trouble with Hugo Cruz’s speed and will have to watch out for that in the second half. 47’ - Dortmund start with the kick off and it’s Cruz sending a little ball up to midfielder Oscar. He cuts through our defence and attempts an audacious lob over Wilke and it WORKS. Wilke is not able to get back and the ball is IN. What a terrible start to the half for us. DORTMUND GOAL 2-1 Interestingly enough, Oscar is immediately taken out after the goal and Dortmund move to a flat 4-4-2. 52’ - There’s a 50/50 ball about 10 yards outside the Dortmund area and one of their central defenders tackles it back toward their keeper, away from Moses. The ball is slowly making its way to Cejas but Moses gets up and gets to the ball at the same time as the keeper. Moses is able to knock the ball away, beat him back to it and calmly deposits it into the empty net. Terrible play by Cejas there, as his initial indecision costs his club a key goal. DOVER GOAL 3-1 66’ - Dortmund continue to control possession by a wide margin but Gallardo gets nailed for a diving call in our area and gets a second yellow card, knocking him out of the game and Dortmund is down to ten men. DORTMUND RED CARD - Eduardo Gallardo 70’ - Emmerson Harvey is on for Jose. 82’ - Graham Allan comes on for Gianluca Bolis. 84’ - Geez. Cruz is given the ball at midfield and he just SPEEDS past Contreras and Nasri and is in on goal. His low shot beats Wilke and is IN. We still have a game despite them having only ten men. DORTMUND GOAL 3-2 90’ - We try to milk the clock, bringing in Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz and taking out Contreras. 90’+1 - We switch to a counter attacking mentality. 90’+3 - And there is something REALLY WRONG with our club, as Cruz turns on Yilmaz and just speeds past him before sending a ROCKET BLAST into the top corner and IN! TEN MEN DORTMUND DRAW LEVEL. DORTMUND GOAL 3-3 We switch back to a control mentality. This is incredible. FULLTIME - I don’t know what to say. Shots are DEAD EVEN at 21-21 and they have the possession edge. Dortmund pull back to a 4-2-1-1-1 formation to start extra time. Cruz is SENSATIONAL - his speed is breathtaking. 102’ - We have already seen a Raab shot hit the crossbar and a Cruz goalpost coming the other way in the first ten minutes of extra time. We have possession with Bamba and he passes to Harvey in the middle. He sends a delicious through ball to Chiquinho and he rounds the keeper and puts the ball into the net! Dortmund appeal for offsides but the ref pushes them away. We re-take the lead! DOVER GOAL 4-3 Dortmund is back to a 4-3-2 formation. We hold on this time. Man…what a match! Dortmund 3 - 4 Dover Goals - Paul Moses 2 (8.8), Eduardo Gallardo OG, Chiquinho (7.6) Assists - Rafinha (7.0), Jose (7.0), Emmerson Harvey (6.9) Man of the Match - Hugo Cruz (Dortmund ST - 9.2) Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.8), Arsene Bamba (7.2) Attendance - 18,524 Despite playing half the game with only ten men, Dortmund held a 52% possession edge in the contest but we outshoot them 29-25 (10-12 on target) in a wild, WILD game. Cruz was RIDICULOUS for them, with two goals and an assist in an astonishing performance. His speed matches Moses but at 27 years old, he’s fully developed and was a TREAT to watch. We’re VERY lucky to prevail but again, there’s something not quite right about our team - our defence especially looks slow and disorganized and I’m a bit concerned. That said… DOVER WIN THE UEFA SUPER CUP -- Hey, more prize money too! We’re awarded £2,174,000 for the victory. League Cup - Third Round Draw -- We are two-time defending champions in this competition and we get a great draw to start despite it being a road game, as we head to Leicester to face the League 1 side. Interestingly enough, our board don’t care at all about this competition this year and we’ll definitely play a full squad of backups/reserves in our first game. Premier League Update -- Newcastle and Middlesbrough continue their shockingly good early season form, with both winning to move to the top of the table with a perfect nine points each. Man United knock off Chelsea, Sheffield Wednesday upset Liverpool and Arsenal squeeze past Sheffield United. September Update -- September sees an international break but we’ll be busy with four Premier League games: Manchester City (away), Derby (home), Burnley (away) and Huddersfield (home). We also have a Champions League group stage game at home versus Hibernian and our League Cup third round game against Leicester. So six games this month. -- Six players train well in August, including senior team members Arsene Bamba, Andy Broomes and Mads Pedersen and U18 players Dominic Beard, Edward Smith and Nathan Protheroe. We get negative reports for Rafinha, Gianluca Bolis and Emmerson Harvey. I’ll talk with all three of those guys. Premier League Monthly Awards -- Middlesbrough striker Roland Hoxha wins player of the month honours after scoring seven goals in three games. -- Claudio Contreras wins the Premier League Young Player of the Month award for August while Paul Moses comes in third. -- Man United’s Jurgen Klinsmann wins manager of the month for August. International Update -- We have 21 players called up for international play. No need to name them all right now. Board Confidence Update -- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership of the team. Our stature increase is the main positive and our awful loss to Newcastle is the negative. -- We made a profit of £1.08 million last month, mostly due to prize money. Champions League Group Stage Registration -- We register the squad without much difficulty but I have to leave off one player (Paolo Secchi) because I can’t meet the home grown requirements. No big deal there…we still have five other central midfielders registered. Transfer Window Closes -- The window shuts and we don’t lose any of our main players. Spurs spend over £131 million on new players, the largest outlay among Premier League teams. Meanwhile, we add the most players, bringing in 15 newcomers, many of whom are playing for our U18s. Dover Injury Update -- Zoltan Bardi is out for another two months with a dislocated shoulder while reserve midfielder Adam Hyde (damaged heel) is close to returning. Next Up -- We once again face Manchester City only weeks after defeating them in the Community Shield. This time, it’s league play at the Etihad. __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-28-2014 at 12:04 AM.

08-29-2014, 11:30 PM	#527
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Wed. September 4, 2024 Barclays Premier League Manchester City (1-0-1, 3 points, 11th) vs. Dover (1-0-1, 3 points, 13th) Man City Stadium, Manchester, UK Betting Odds: Manchester City: Evens (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Dover: 11-5 Past Meetings: 4W 2D 8L We just beat City a few weeks ago in the Community Shield at Wembley but I’m guessing they will be much tougher today at home, with a full strength squad. Like us, they just suffered a shock loss, dropping a 1-0 decision to Aston Villa. I expect Jelle Hoegee to be playing today up front and he is very dangerous. We’ll go with our main starting lineup but we’ll stick with Ingo Wilke in goal today. Renato Gaucho also returns to the starting lineup after missing a couple weeks due to injury. We are also going to play a counter attacking style - we’ll likely need to play a bit close to the vest against these guys at the Etihad. Our two major offseason signings, MC Benedikt Raab and ST Manuel Lugo won’t even dress today. They are still struggling to settle in and I’ll feed them reserves games and lower profile games as a means of getting used to English football. This game doesn’t qualify! Dover: 4-4-2 Counter GK - I. Wilke D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis S - P. Moses, Chiquinho Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, A. Rocca, E. Harvey, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, A. Broomes Like many of our recent opponents, City play a 4-2-3-1 formation and have Hoegee up front. Antonio is their goalkeeper. Lets play well for the travelling support today. HALFTIME - Well, I guess this is what we want, as we’re scoreless through 45 minutes and giving up LOADS of possession once again. I simply don’t understand why our talented team can’t hold the ball. City have an incredible 63% of possession in that half and outshoot us 9-9 (5-1 on target). We need to be better than this. I tell the team they can win this game! 67’ - Neil Cairney has NOT been sharp so far this season and I pull him in favour of Andrea Rocca. 75’ - Another player not looking sharp to start is last year’s stalwart Arsene Bamba. I pull him in favour of Mads Pedersen. 89’ - I remember a graphic upon advancing through a recent day stating that we have gone over 40 games in a row with at least one goal in Premier League play. I’m resigned to the fact that the streak is going to end when we hit on a rare counter attack in this game, with Paul Moses storming down field on a two-on-one with Chiquinho. The defender shades towards Moses, opening up a passing lane and he makes the perfect feed to his strike partner. Chiquinho is in on goal, makes a little move then left foots the ball past Antonio and it’s IN!!! WOOO! DOVER GOAL 1-0 90’+1 - With three extra minutes of injury time, we try to milk it a bit by bringing in Emmerson Harvey for Jose. That’s it! Big early season win! Manchester City 0 - 1 Dover Goals - Chiquinho (7.4) Assists - Paul Moses (7.3) Man of the Match - Capitao (Manchester City DR - 7.9) Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.1), Rayane Hamon (7.5), Renato Gaucho (7.3) Attendance - 63,634 City hold 59% of the ball but we end up playing a bit better in the second half and edge them in shots 20-19 (7-8 on target). Cairney (6.1) wasn’t good but I was impressed with our defence today, as we really shut down the fast and shifty Jelle Hoegee. He was a non-factor. Renato Gaucho’s absence in the past couple of weeks obviously was a factor in our poor play. It’s also great to see Chiquinho on a good run of form to start the year after a very inconsistent season last year. International Update -- After having 21 players initially called up by their respective countries, we get six more added as the international break begins, bringing our total allotment to 27 players! Nice! -- Gaining youth caps are Emerson (Brazil U20 - four assists in two games!), Andy Broomes (England U21- four goals in two games!), Marcel Quade (Austria U21 - one assist in two games), Neil Evans (England U19 - one goal), Felix Hernandez (France U21), Hans Briers (Belgium U21), Alberto Velazquez (Mexico U20 - one goal), Vlastimil Silhavy (Czech Republic U21) and Steven Potter (England U20). -- Gaining senior caps are Lyubomir Kunchev (Bulgaria), Arsene Bamba (Ivory Coast - one assist), Neil Cairney (Scotland - one goal in two games), Graham Allan (Scotland - one goal in two games), Saber Nasri (Tunisia), Salim Loucif (Algeria), Mwemere Mutesa (Rwanda), Mads Pedersen (Denmark - one goal in two games), Gianluca Bolis (Italy - one assist), Paul Moses (England - three goals in two games), Emmerson Harvey (England), Chiquinho (Belgium - two goals in two games), Jose (Brazil - one assist) and Manuel Perez (Mexico). -- Emmerson Harvey’s cap for England was his first international senior level appearance and he gives an emotional interview, thanking me for helping his development. I also notice that they call Harvey a “wonderkid”, the first time I’ve ever seen him with that designation!!! WOO! That gives us four wonderkids at Dover, including Neil Cairney, Paul Moses and Rafinha. It’s also great seeing Gianluca Bolis finally get another cap for Italy, his fourth senior cap and first in quite some time. He’s been very good so far this season, a much better start for him. In all, 23 of the 27 players we sent on International duty ended up gaining caps. Dover U18 Update -- With a much weaker squad than usual due to the international break, our U18s lose 2-1 to Wycombe, with Freddie Laird scoring our only goal. Champions League Title Odds -- Barcelona are made 4-1 favourites to capture this year’s Champions League title. Man United are at 5-1, Sampdoria are at 15-2, Man City are at 8-1, Real Madrid are 9-1 and Atletico Madrid are at 10-1. We are just behind at 12-1 to repeat. Dover Injury Update -- Zoltan Bardi is our only injury and he will miss another 6-8 weeks with a separated shoulder. Dover Reserves Team Update -- We get two goals from Manuel Lugo and U18 player Ben Patterson, along with singles from Benedikt Raab and Steven Miller in a 6-0 whitewash over Watford’s Reserves. Adam Hyde had two assists and we had four players (Raab, Hyde, Patterson and Lugo) with ratings over 9.2! Next Up -- We face newly promoted Derby County in Premier League action at Crabble Athletic Ground, as we hope to put together a better performance this time in front of our home supporters. __________________ 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

08-30-2014, 12:51 AM	#528
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Sat. September 14, 2024 Barclays Premier League Dover (2-0-1, 6 points, 6th) vs. Derby (0-0-3, 0 points, 19th) Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK Betting Odds: Dover: 4-7 (Favourites) Draw: 5-2 Derby: 4-1 Past Meetings: 10W 0D 2L Derby spent four straight years in the top flight between 2019 and 2022 but finished 18th in 2022/23 and got sent down to the Championship. It was a quick turnaround, as Derby went out and won the league in their first year back and gained immediate promotion back into the Premier League this year. They added nine players during the transfer period, with the largest signing being 24 year old fullback Douglas Rodriquez in a £2.4 million deal with Hercules. The Guatemala born Rodriguez hasn’t suited up for the senior team as he attempts to settle into the squad. Stuart Cousins was another nice bargain addition by Derby, coming over for £1.9 million from Chelsea. Cousins is an English U21 prospect and looks to have loads of potential on the left wing. Derby’s leading scorer last year was Joao Henriques Almeida with 28. Another guy to watch will be fellow striker Hallam Hope. We have a number of tired players after the long international break, with many of our top players taking part in two games this past week for their countries. With Derby being recently promoted and us having a mid-week Champions League group stage match coming up, I’ll be rotating the squad today. Perhaps a dangerous decision but I’m sure we won’t put up another dud against a newly promoted club. Not even dressing today are Paul Moses, Neil Cairney, Rayane Hamon or captain Salim Loucif. Getting his first ever start up front is Manuel Lugo, who has been very sharp in recent reserves games. Chiquinho will line up alongside the young Mexican and wear the captain’s armband for the first time for our club. Mads Pedersen, Emmerson Harvey and Benedikt Raab will start in the midfield along with Gianluca Bolis. On defence, we line up with Renato Gaucho and Claudio Contreras, regular starters but coming in to join them are backups Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz and Rafinha. Back to a control mentality at home. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - I. Wilke D - Renato Gaucho, M. Yilmaz, C. Contreras, Rafinha M - M. Pedersen, E. Harvey, B. Raab, G. Bolis S - M. Lugo, Chiquinho Bench - Emerson, S. Nasri, A. Rocca, Jose, L. Kunchev, A. Bamba, A. Broomes Derby are in a flat 4-4-2 with Almeida and Hope up front. Cousins is playing left midfield and former Dover keeper Fraser Forster is in goal. My assistant tells me the team looks overconfident and cocky, especially newcomers Raab and Lugo. For goodness sakes…lets put together a better game for our home supporters today and lets keep the ball a little bit today! 2’ - We have a corner and it’s Benedikt Raab crossing to the middle and there is Mads Pedersen heading it past Forster and IN! Pedersen’s first goal in a Dover uniform and we strike right away! DOVER GOAL 1-0 5’ - Now it’s Derby with a corner and Emmerson Harvey misses a chance to clear, as Hallam Hope takes advantage and heads it past Wilke and in. Ugh. DERBY GOAL 1-1 17’ - Derby with a goal kick and Forster’s boot is headed back up field by Renato Gaucho. A Derby defender is in position but whiffs on the header and Chiquinho runs onto the ball. He’s in on goal and makes no mistake, putting his fourth of the year past Forster and we have the lead once again. DOVER GOAL 2-1 HALFTIME - Possession is dead even but we outshoot Derby 11-3 (3-2 on target). We’ve had numerous chances in close but have missed the net a couple of times and also hit a goal post. I encourage the team and pull aside a nervous Manuel Lugo to say there is no pressure on him today while also telling Harvey (5.5 at half time due to the Derby goal being blamed on him) that I have faith in his ability. Lets score a couple more goals, boys! 50’ - Chiquinho carries the ball into the area and is tackled by a Derby defender and does his patented flop. I’m expecting a yellow card for Chiquinho but the ref allows play to continue without incident. The ball was sent to the right flank and Rafinha gets there and immediately crosses to the far post and there is MADS PEDERSEN, heading his second goal of the game past Forster! DOVER GOAL 3-1 63’ - Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz got banged up pretty good so I take him out and bring in Saber Nasri. 66’ - We have possession inside their territory and Chiquinho works a lovely give-and-go with Harvey. Chiquinho takes the return feed, works himself into a better shooting angle and easily deposits the ball past Forster and IN. A brace for Chiquinho and we lead comfortably! DOVER GOAL 4-1 79’ - We have a throw in deep down the left side and Pedersen throws it to Manuel Lugo. He sends a pass into the middle of the area to Raab and he lofts a left footed shot that is PERFECTLY placed into the right corner of the net past a sprawling Forster! That’s Raab’s first goal in a Dover uniform as well and this is now a laugher! DOVER GOAL 5-1 81’ - On a perfectly innocent looking play, Derby’s Almeida casually strolls past midfield and sends a SCREAMER from over 30 yards that curls violently into the right side of the net past a stunned Wilke. What a SHOT! DERBY GOAL 5-2 82’ - I make a change, giving young fullback Emerson his senior debut, as he replaces Rafinha. Decent. Dover 5 - 2 Derby Goals - Mads Pedersen 2 (9.2), Chiquinho 2 (8.8), Benedikt Raab (8.9) Assists - Rafinha (7.6), Renato Gaucho (8.2), Benedikt Raab, Emmerson Harvey (7.6), Manuel Lugo (7.8) Man of the Match - Mads Pedersen Other Dover Notables - Claudio Contreras (7.0), Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (7.0) Attendance - 22,587 We dominated that second half and ended up with 56% of possession and a 27-4 (8-3 on target) shot advantage. I don’t like giving up two goals at home to a team like Derby but that second goal was one hell of a shot. Great to see guys like Raab and Lugo with good games, along with fellow new addition Pedersen. Solid all around today. With a pretty easy schedule the next month, I feel that we are just about to start hitting our stride… -- In other matches, City beat up on Everton, Arsenal knock off upstart Newcastle, Spurs beat Sheffield Wednesday, Man United storm past Blackpool and Chelsea destroy Middlesbrough 6-1. We move up into fourth spot on the table. Dover U18 Update -- The young lads beat up on Eastleigh 5-1 behind a hat trick from striker Neil Evans and a brace from strike partner Alberto Velazquez. Midfielder Dominic Beard notched two assists coming off the bench. Next Up -- Champions League group stage play begins, as we host the defending Scottish champions Hibernian. __________________ 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

08-30-2014, 02:50 AM	#529
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Tue. September 17, 2024 UEFA Champions League - Group C Dover (England Premier League) vs. Hibernian (Scotland Premier League) Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK Betting Odds: Dover: 4-7 (Favourites) Draw: 5-2 Hibernian: 4-1 Past Meetings: 0W 0D 0L Hibernian have always been a solid club but surprised many by winning the Clydesdale Bank Premier League in Scotland last year to qualify for Champions League play. While they dominated last year, they are on a shocking run of poor form to start this season, with no wins at all, even in preseason friendly play. They are 0-2-2 in league play, sitting 11th in the 12 team league and perhaps their attention is focused on this competition. They spent a paltry £625,00 in the July transfer market, bringing two players in on loan while selling eight. Their leading scorer last year was Alberto Libertazzi with 31 but the 32 year old is scoreless so far this season. They have a large squad and I don’t recognize any of their names. We can’t be complacent today but in reality, this team doesn’t have the class to match up against us and we should be easy winners today. That said, I’m starting a pretty full-strength lineup: Andy Broomes will spell the excellent Chiquinho today and line up alongside Paul Moses. Our regular midfield is in today with the exception of Scottish international Graham Allan, who will start in place of Gianluca Bolis. On defence, we’ll give a start to Saber Nasri in the middle and give a breather to Claudio Contreras. Manuel Perez gets his second start of the year and hopes to bounce back after taking the loss against Newcastle. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - M. Perez D - Renato Gaucho, S. Nasri, R. Hamon, S. Loucif M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Allan S - P. Moses, A. Broomes Bench - Rafinha, C. Contreras, A. Rocca, B. Raab, G. Bolis, M. Pedersen, Chiquinho Hibs will play a conservative 4-1-4-1 with a DMC. Adam Morgan is alone up front and Roman Chovan is their goalkeeper. Thankfully, overconfidence is NOT an issue today and I tell the team to play attractive football for the fans today. 30’ - We’ve been absolutely dominating this game thus far but Hibernian are doing a good job of defending and forcing us into longer shots. We get a corner and Jose’s cross is headed out to Neil Cairney, who is lurking outside the area. He passes back into the area to Rayane Hamon and his quick turnaround effort deflects off a Hibs defender and is past Chovan and in! We finally break them down! DOVER GOAL 1-0 32’ - Hibs kick off and we take possession back in our end and work up field with Graham Allan. He sends a pass through to Jose and his low rocket is saved very well by Chovan. Jose has his hands on his head but there is a rebound and Jose recovers and shoots hard again, this time getting it past the keeper and it’s in! Jose’s first of the year! DOVER GOAL 2-0 42’ - Jose with a corner kick sent to the near post and it’s Hamon AGAIN, this time heading it home. Hamon has two and we have a big lead! DOVER GOAL 3-0 HALFTIME - Pure domination, as we had at least three other incredible shots that were saved in spectacular fashion by their keeper just to keep the scoreline respectable. 59% of possession and a 22-3 (7-2 on target) shot advantage? Yeah, that’s solid! 69’ - We’re doing fine but just can’t get enough shots on goal. I take out Jose, who was excellent again, and bring in Andrea Rocca, as we start thinking of our next game. 80’ - Renato Gaucho is out and Rafinha is in. 87’ - UNREAL. He’s not having a great game but Paul Moses gets taken down and needs to come off. That did NOT look good. I move Rayane Hamon up to striker to try to get him his hat trick and bring in Claudio Contreras. I wish we scored more but we thoroughly dominated them. Dover 3 - 0 Hibernian Goals - Rayane Hamon 2 (9.3), Jose (8.7) Assists - Jose, Neil Cairney (7.3) Man of the Match - Rayane Hamon Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.4), Saber Nasri (7.5), Renato Gaucho (7.3), Graham Allan (7.0), Arsene Bamba (7.1) Attendance - 21,780 We held 57% of the ball and an outlandish 35-4 (11-2 on target) shot advantage. Our strikers were both non-existent: Moses had some good chances thwarted by the Hibs keeper in the first half but Broomes was largely invisible on the big stage. Please don’t be hurt Moses!!! -- And WE ARE FUCKED. Paul Moses suffers a torn calf muscle on a challenge and will miss 3-4 MONTHS. Oh dear God - I think I’m going to be sick. DOVER INJURY: Paul Moses (torn calf muscle: 3-4 months) -- We’re given £696,000 for the win. Don’t care… -- In other Group C action, Hoffenheim upsets Palermo in Italy 2-1! That’s a nice turn of events. In Group A, OM shocks Man City 1-0 in Manchester while in Group B, Club Brugge wins 1-0 over Bayern Munich in Germany in a MONSTER upset. That’s nuts! Juventus also beats Real Madrid on a night of shocking upsets. The next night is much more straight forward, with only Sevilla’s 3-0 win over Sampdoria qualifying as a bit nutty. Dover Reserves Update -- We knock off Chelsea’s reserves 3-0, getting goals from Alberto Velazquez, Adam Hyde and Emmerson Harvey. We lose another striker in this one, as young Ben Patterson suffers a torn hamstring and will miss 2-3 months as well. Sheesh. Next Up -- We head on the road to face another recently promoted club in Burnley in Premier League action. __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-30-2014 at 02:50 AM.

08-30-2014, 07:31 AM	#530
Alf Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Rennes, France	3-4 months at that time of the season is going to be awfully long. Damn ! __________________ FOFL - GML - IHOF - FranceStats

08-30-2014, 04:40 PM	#532
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Sat. September 21, 2024 Barclays Premier League Burnley (0-2-2, 2 points, 17th) vs. Dover (3-0-1, 9 points, 4th) Turf Moor, Burnley, UK Betting Odds: Burnley: 11-5 Draw: 11-5 Dover: Evens Past Meetings: 2W 0D 2L This is a bit of a trap game, as Burnley are the last team to gain promotion last year from the Championship and we’ll have played all three after five games of the new season. This is their fifth trip back to the Premier League in 16 years but only once did they last for more than one season and that was a two year run from 2016 through 2018. Burnley finished sixth last year in the Championship but won the playoff to gain promotion. Haris Seferovic has led the team in scoring for five consecutive seasons, scoring 30 last year. The 32 year old striker is still here but his effectiveness is muted in the top flight. They reinforced their lineup with 9 additions, most notably spending £1.7 million on Dutch midfielder Kees van den Berg, who has blazing pace. With the major injury to Paul Moses and with fellow striker Zoltan Bardi still on the shelf, we only have three healthy strikers on the senior team right now. We’ll need to be careful and also start considering one striker formations. The lads are prepared to move to a 4-2-3-1 should the need arise but for now, I’ll stick with a flat 4-4-2. Full lineup of starters today, with Andy Broomes taking Moses’ spot and Manuel Lugo is on the bench and could come on as a substitute for the first time in a league game. Manuel Perez is in goal for a second consecutive game. We have a League Cup match midweek and will be using all backups in that game so our starters today can go hard. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - M. Perez D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho Bench - Emerson, S. Nasri, A. Rocca, B. Raab, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, M. Lugo Burnley are in a flat 4-4-2 with Seferovic and Harry Kane leading the strike force. Former Dover player Cameron Murray is starting at left midfield and Dwayne Miller is their keeper. We hope that complacency won’t be an issue and I tell the team to perform well for the travelling support. 45’+2 - Another poor first half effort, as we seem to be sitting back and losing the midfield battle but we strike first. Andy Broomes weaves through the middle of the field and spots Gianluca Bolis getting past his man on the right. He leads him into the box with a great feed and Bolis makes no mistake, continuing his fine early season attacking play. DOVER GOAL 1-0 HALFTIME - Boy, we simply can’t hold onto the ball these days, as a Championship side from last year holds a whopping 58% of the ball but we outshoot them 7-3 (2-1 on target). Not impressive whatsoever from our main starters. While there is no outward complacency issues, there is something amiss here. I encourage the team to keep pressing in the second half. 46’ - Right off the opening kick off, we attack on a mistake, stealing possession in midfield and Jose sends a pinpoint pass up to Broomes. His first touch is a bit heavy and the Burnley keeper charges out but Broomes has blazing speed, just like Paul Moses, and he wins the race and has a wide open net to shoot at. Lovely goal and Broomes is impressing in Moses’ absence. DOVER GOAL 2-0 54’ - I’m not entirely sure what happened but Burnley striker Harry Kane is whistled for a foul and gets a straight red card! Burnley are down to ten men. BURNLEY RED CARD - Harry Kane Burnley move to a 4-4-1 formation. 67’ - We pull out Jose and bring in Andrea Rocca. 77’ - Gianluca Bolis has a yellow and just got whistled for another foul so I pull him out before he loses his discipline and bring in Graham Allan. We were in complete control in the second half and while more goals would have been nice, we’ll take the three points. Burnley 0 - 2 Dover Goals - Gianluca Bolis (7.7), Andy Broomes (8.7) Assists - Andy Broomes, Jose (7.5) Man of the Match - Andy Broomes Other Dover Notables - Manuel Perez (7.0), Salim Loucif (7.1), Rayane Hamon (7.0), Renato Gaucho (7.3), Arsene Bamba (7.0) Attendance - 22,290 After only 42% possession in the first half, we must have held the ball almost the entire second half, as we end the game with 56% of possession and a huge 21-5 (9-3 on target) shot advantage. Certainly, the Burnley red card early in the second half contributed to those numbers. We didn’t do much with our chances and our shots were mostly from distance. I’m not impressed at all with Neil Cairney this year and he’s soon going to be threatened for playing time by big offseason signing Benedikt Raab if this continues. -- In other action, Spurs lose a shocker to Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Newcastle, after losses last week, get back to their winning ways and United beat Liverpool. Man City and Arsenal battle to a draw as do Chelsea and Reading. BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS (ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 5 GAMES UNLESS NOTED) 1. Manchester United - 15 points 2. Arsenal - 13 points 3. Dover - 12 points 4. Middlesbrough - 12 points ---------------------------------------------------- 5. Newcastle - 12 points 6. Chelsea - 10 points 7. Tottenham - 8 points ---------------------------------------------------- Transfer News -- Umm, wow. Olympique Lyonnais make a bid for our midfielder Jose, offering us a whopping £23,446,000 for his services! That would easily be the largest sale in our team’s history. That said, I’ll be rejecting the offer, as I paid £16.5 million for him last year and I’d need at least £30 million to start thinking about it. Premier League Team of the Week -- GK Manuel Perez and MR Gianluca Bolis both make the team of the week. Next Up -- We are two-time defending League Cup champions and we start our defence again today in third round action, heading to Leicester to face the League One minnows. __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-30-2014 at 04:44 PM.

08-30-2014, 06:02 PM	#533
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Tue. September 24, 2024 League Cup - Third Round Leicester (1st in League 1) vs. Dover (3rd in Premier League) Walkers Stadium, Leicester, UK Betting Odds: Leicester: 9-1 Draw: N/A Dover: 1-4 (Favourites) Past Meetings: 2W 1D 0L We are huge favourites as we face the current leaders of League 1 in League Cup play. Leicester have fallen on hard times after being relegated from the Premier League most recently after the 2015/16 season. They spent three years in the Championship but got relegated to League 1 in 2019. They’d win right away to gain promotion back to the Championship the next year but finished 22nd in 2022/23 and dropped back down again. They were very poor in their first year back in the third tier, finishing 15th but they are playing well to start this season despite being tabbed as mid-table contenders by the media. Their leading scorer from the past three seasons was Jamie Booth but he left for Birmingham on a free during the offseason so Leicester will rely on Fernando Forestieri for goals this year. Against third tier competition, I’m going with an entire lineup of backups and U18 players today but our depth should be more than enough to win convincingly. Notables include young fullback Emerson getting his first senior team start for our club and Manuel Lugo will be alone up front as we play a 4-2-3-1 formation today. Andrea Rocca will slot in behind him in an attacking midfield role, with Emmerson Harvey and Benedikt Raab playing central midfield. On the bench, Mwemere Mutesa, U18 prospect Vlastimil Silhavy and Paolo Secchi all have chances to play in their first game in a Dover kit. Dover: 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Control GK - I. Wilke D - Rafinha, M. Yilmaz, S. Nasri, Emerson M - E. Harvey, B. Raab AM - M. Pedersen, A. Rocca, G. Allan S - M. Lugo Bench - C. Guzman, M. Mutesa, V. Silhavy, P. Secchi, L. Kunchev, F. Hernandez, A. Broomes Leicester will try to put up the barricades on us, playing a 4-1-4-1 formation with David Goldsmith at striker and David Stockdale in goal. Forestieri is on the bench today. My assistant says that Manuel Lugo is overconfident today, not a good sign. Lets put on a performance for the fans today! 1’ - We have the kick off and move the ball slowly up field. Emerson delivers a short pass to Graham Allan and he avoids a tackle and dribbles in from the right side. His shot is weak but eludes Stockdale, hits off the goal post and goes in. Fantastic start! DOVER GOAL 1-0 HALFTIME - Well, I expected more than this, especially after the first minute goal but Leicester are just sitting back, allowing us to hold the ball and we can’t break them down. We have 64% of possession and an 8-5 (3-1 on target) shot advantage but we need more than this. We’ll take out Andrea Rocca at half, bring in Andy Broomes and move to a flat 4-4-2 to give ourselves more attacking options. 51’ - And the addition to the lineup makes an immediate impact, as Emmerson Harvey sends a long ball through to Andy Broomes and our in-form striker makes no mistake, drilling a low shot past Stockdale and IN. DOVER GOAL 2-0 69’ - Graham Allan has been excellent today, with countless great chances but he has a yellow card and I decide to take him out in favour of Lyubomir Kunchev. 74’ - The ball is in Leicester territory and Manuel Lugo steals it from a defender and dribbles toward the area. He passes in to Broomes and he immediately left foots a weak shot past Stockdale and it’s in. That’s two for Broomes. DOVER GOAL 3-0 80’ - With a big lead, I take out Benedikt Raab and bring in Paolo Secchi to give him his first senior team action. 88’ - Leicester has a prolonged period of possession and a cross into the box hits Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz and deflects right to substitute striker Lorenzo Lanoix and he sends the ball off a diving Wilke and it’s in. Brutal. LEICESTER GOAL 3-1 We move on. Leicester 1 - 3 Dover Goals - Andy Broomes 2 (8.7), Graham Allan (7.7) Assists - Emerson (8.2), Emmerson Harvey (7.1), Manuel Lugo (6.9) Man of the Match - Andy Broomes Other Dover Notables - Saber Nasri (7.1), Rafinha (7.1), Benedikt Raab (7.3), Mads Pedersen (7.4) Attendance - 31,948 Well, we held 63% of the ball and outshot them 20-6 (8-2 on target). So the stats look good but we weren’t particularly sharp, something I guess I should expect when I’m playing all backups. Broomes coming on at half was the difference and he earns man of the match honours for his 45 minutes of fine play. Dover U18 Update -- Our U18s destroy Ebbsfleet 7-0 in the 2nd round of the U18 Cup. Striker Alberto Velazquez scores a hat trick and we get singles from Vlastimil Silhavy, Robert Hoffmann, Freddie Laird and Felix Hernandez. Hernandez also had two assists in a man of the match performance. League Cup - 4th Round Draw -- Fortune is on our side again, as we draw Queens Park Rangers in the 4th round of League Cup play. The game will take place at Loftus Road at the end of October. Next Up -- We’re back at home to face mid-table constant Huddersfield in Premier League action. __________________ 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

08-30-2014, 08:05 PM	#534
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Sat. September 28, 2024 Barclays Premier League Dover (4-0-1, 12 points, 3rd) vs. Huddersfield (2-0-3, 6 points, 13th) Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK Betting Odds: Dover: 2-5 (Favourites) Draw: 11-4 Huddersfield: 13-2 Past Meetings: 9W 2D 3L Once again, we are monster favourites at home to Huddersfield, who are in their 10th consecutive year in the top flight in England. Huddersfield barely escaped relegation last year, finishing 16th only one season after being FA Cup finalists. Nelson Oliveira has been a constant up front for years at Huddersfield and has led the team in goals no less than 7 times, most recently in 2022/23. At 33 years old, he’s starting to slow down but once again leads the team with 2 goals in 3 games so far this year. They did bring in ten players in the offseason, spending £12.25 million overall, with £4.6 million spent on defender Carlos Phillips from Hercules and another £4.3 million on fellow fullback Brian Zakazaka, who was brought in from Girondins Bordeaux. We’ll revert back to our main starting eleven, minus the injured Paul Moses, of course. The molten hot Andy Broomes starts in his place once again. My patience is wearing thin on Neil Cairney, who has been very poor this year and Arsene Bamba also has started very slowly. I’d like to see better performances from them tonight. Flat 4-4-2 and a control mentality today. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - M. Perez D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, Jose, G. Bolis S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, E. Harvey, B. Raab, G. Allan, M. Pedersen, M. Lugo Huddersfield start with a 4-1-3-2 formation with one DMC. David Caldwell, Huddersfield’s leading scorer last year, is up front with veteran Paul Lumsden. Dennis Lotters is a solid midfielder, as is Antonio and both are starting. Alex Smithies is the goalkeeper. The team always responds well to team talks that deal with entertaining our fans so I continue to ride that while also pulling aside Jose and Neil Cairney for personal chats. 26’ - We’re completely dominating this game but just can’t get the ball in the net. We look like we strike for one, as a Neil Cairney shot deflects off the crossbar before Chiquinho heads the rebound in but the assistant has his flag up before the ball even crosses the line. Chiquinho is ruled offsides and it’s no goal. 40’ - We have a corner and Jose’s cross is headed out to Cairney, who immediately feeds Jose near the left byline. Jose takes a step into the box and curls a shot from a ludicrous angle that goes past Smithies into the near side of the goal. RIDICULOUS strike from Jose and we get on the board. DOVER GOAL 1-0 HALFTIME - We’re not scoring an awful lot but I guess that’s to be expected when a guy who scored 59 last year is injured for 3 months. That said, we hold 63% of the ball in a commanding first half performance and outshoot them 12-1 (4-0 on target). Huddersfield aren’t moving forward at all right now but we would like one more goal to gain a bit of comfort. I encourage them to keep pressing forward. 67’ - Andy Broomes is having a poor game so we pull him out and bring in Manuel Lugo. 72’ - And all of a sudden, Huddersfield are all over us, with Manuel Perez making two spectacular stops and then Paul Lumsden takes a pass inside the area and scores. But wait…it’s called offsides! No goal! 75’ - Oh JOY. Manuel Lugo gets hurt and needs to come off. He’s got the dreaded cross above his head so we’ll hope for the best, as we will be in dire straits if another striker is out for a lengthy period of time. I bring in Graham Allan to play striker in his place. DOVER INJURY - Manuel Lugo Huddersfield have moved to a flat 4-4-2 in an attempt to tie this game up. 83’ - The referee awards a PENALTY SHOT to Huddersfield when Renato Gaucho makes an ill-advised tackle in the area on a ball no where near a danger area. It’s substitute striker Martin Bekking on to take the kick and he fires one past a diving Perez and Huddersfield draw level to stun our crowd. HUDDERSFIELD GOAL 1-1 We take out Jose and bring in Benedikt Raab. 90’+1 - With four minutes of injury time, we switch to an overload mentality. Another poor result at home. Dover 1 - 1 Huddersfield Goals - Jose (7.7) Assists - Neil Cairney (7.3) Man of the Match - Antonio Guzzetti (Huddersfield DC - 7.7) Other Dover Notables - Claudio Contreras (7.1) Attendance - 22,307 We ended up with 61% of the ball and a 23-5 (5-4 on target) shot advantage. Not enough quality in front of the goal with Broomes and Chiquinho and now we wait on Manuel Perez, hoping that a third striker isn’t hurt… -- And it’s becoming apparent that we’re jinxed or something this year, as Manuel Lugo suffers a broken foot and will miss FOUR MONTHS. So Lugo, Zoltan Bardi and Paul Moses are all on the long-term injury list and that leaves us with Chiquinho and Andy Broomes as our only healthy natural strikers. Graham Allan, normally a winger, can play in a pinch and we have top prospect Alberto Velazquez on the U18 squad but he’s just a kid. Bardi is the closest to returning and should be back in training in about 3 weeks but it will be awhile after that to get him up to full fitness. DOVER INJURY: Manuel Lugo (Broken Foot - 4 months) -- In other action, winners include Arsenal, Chelsea, Man United (over Spurs), Middlesbrough and Man City. BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS (ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 6 GAMES UNLESS NOTED) 1. Manchester United - 18 points 2. Arsenal - 16 points 3. Middlesbrough - 15 points 4. Chelsea - 13 points ---------------------------------------------------- 5. Dover - 13 points 6. Newcastle - 13 points 7. Reading - 11 points ---------------------------------------------------- Dover U18 Update -- We get two goals from both Alberto Velazquez and Felix Hernandez in a 5-0 win over Brighton U18. Joshua Stokes notches the other goal and striker Matthew Neil adds two assists. October Update -- Another reasonably quiet month due to international play, with three league match-ups (Chelsea on the road, Blackpool at home and Liverpool on the road), Champions League games against Hoffenheim (road) and Palermo (home) and a 4th round League Cup game at QPR. So six games once again. -- We get positive training reports for Andy Broomes, Mwemere Mutesa and U18 players Matthew Neil, Dennis Richter and Robert Hoffmann. Negative reports come in for Rayane Hamon and Paolo Secchi and i have a chat with both. Premier League Monthly Awards -- Chelsea midfielder Luis Carballo wins the Player of the Month award for September. -- Claudio Contreras wasn’t even good in September from my recollection but wins Young Player of the Month once again. Mads Pedersen comes in third. -- Andy Broomes finishes in second in the goal of the month award for a strike against Burnley. First place went to Derby’s Joao Henriques Almeida for a screamer he scored against us. -- Man United’s Jurgen Klinsmann wins manager of the month once again and I finish in second. Board Confidence Update -- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership. Our stature increase is the positive and our loss to Newcastle is the negative. -- We lost £2.16 million last month. Champions League Update -- Barcelona and Spurs battle to a 1-1 draw, as do Man United and Porto. Winners include HSV, Sevilla, Sampdoria, Olympique Lyonnais and Shakhtar. Next Up -- We head to Germany for Champions League group stage play, taking on Hoffenheim. __________________ 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

08-30-2014, 10:30 PM	#535
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Wed. October 2, 2024 UEFA Champions League - Group C Hoffenheim (1-0-0, 3 points, 2nd) vs. Dover (1-0-0, 3 points, 1st) Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim, Germany Betting Odds: Hoffenheim: 6-4 (Favourites) Draw: 2-1 Dover: 13-8 Past Meetings: 0W 0D 0L TSG 1899 Hoffenheim finished 3rd in the German First Division behind powerhouses FC Bayern and HSV but the club is off to a poor start this season, sitting with only six points through six games and way back in 12th place in the 18 team league. They did win the league a year earlier, in 2023 so there is some pedigree and they spent a TON of money in the transfer market, bringing in nine players and splashing £80 million to do it! The highest transfer fee went for DC Ali Ben Ahmed, a 26 year old Tunisian international. Their top goal scorer for the last seven years has been Federico Castro and the 29 year old is at it again this year. He’s got great pace and technical ability but he’s injured and will miss today’s game. We’re going to make a couple changes today, starting in goal by putting in German Ingo Wilke and also starting countryman Benedikt Raab in place of in-form Jose. I just wanted to give him a break today but he’ll be available should the need arise. Lyubomir Kunchev is on the bench today and Graham Allan will be our striker substitute if needed. Dover: 4-4-2 Control GK - I. Wilke D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, B. Raab, G. Bolis S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho Bench - Rafinha, S. Nasri, E. Harvey, Jose, L. Kunchev, M. Pedersen, G. Allan Hoffenheim are in a 4-4-2 diamond formation with Jose Guzman and Luciano up front and David Ospina in goal. I tell the team this is a winnable affair. 3’ - We come out guns ablazin’ right away with a Benedikt Raab shot off the crossbar then eventually win a corner. Raab takes the kick and sends it to the far post to Claudio Contreras and he heads it off a defender and IN! Great start men! DOVER GOAL 1-0 10’ - Hoffenheim now have a corner but it’s headed out by Neil Cairney and Chiquinho takes it. They only have two men back and Chiquinho sends a long ball forward over the defence and Andy Broomes gets there first. He’s in on goal and beats Ospina with the shot and it’s just inside the post and IN! Wow! DOVER GOAL 2-0 12’ - Renato Gaucho has the ball and makes a horrific gaffe, giving the ball straight to Ibrahim Sanogo, Hoffenheim’s talented right midfielder. Sanogo immediately feeds Guzman at the top of the area and he sends a quick shot past WIlke and it’s in. That’s two games in a row that Renato Gaucho has made a bad play resulting in a goal for the opposition. Awful. HOFFENHEIM GOAL 2-1 16’ - We have another corner and it’s headed out. Raab gets it again and against claims of a handball, he sends a pass into the area to Arsene Bamba, who absolutely RIFLES a shot into the top of the net past Ospina. Hoffenheim complain but it counts. What a shot by Bamba, his first goal of the year and this game is nuts already! DOVER GOAL 3-1 HALFTIME - Hoffenheim played well the last fifteen minutes of the half but despite them holding a 53% possession edge, we were the far more dangerous team that half. We outshot them 15-9 (9-2 on target). Raab was superb that half, which is great to see! I’m pleased overall so far. 48’ - WHAT IS GOING ON!?!?! Now Andy Broomes gets tackled hard and has the cross of doom above his head. Thankfully, he can continue for now but my goodness, this is absolutely RIDICULOUS. We simply can’t keep withstanding injuries to our strikers. 50’ - Renato Gaucho is having a shocking game, as he makes an ill-advised pinch and that opens up a passing lane to the dangerous Sanogo. He cuts in on goal and shoots low past Wilke and it’s in. Holy smokes. HOFFENHEIM GOAL 3-2 55’ - This goalkeeper Ospina has been SENSATIONAL, making two point blank saves on Bamba and Chiquinho within minutes. My goodness. 58’ - I’m at a loss for words, as now Rayane Hamon is taken down on a vicious tackle and he calls for the bench. Hamon has always been injury prone and this isn’t a good development. He needs to come out and Saber Nasri is in. DOVER INJURY - Rayane Hamon 70’ - Andy Broomes comes out and in comes Graham Allan. Again, Broomes was able to continue after his injury but he will be evaluated after the game. 86’ - Out comes Arsene Bamba and in comes Mads Pedersen. Man, what a game. The injuries…oh my the injuries. Please be gentle… Hoffenheim 2 - 3 Dover Goals - Claudio Contreras (7.8), Andy Broomes (7.5), Arsene Bamba (7.6) Assists - Benedikt Raab 2 (8.3), Chiquinho (7.6) Man of the Match - Benedikt Raab Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.2) Attendance - 24,662 Hoffenheim held 52% of the ball but we outshoot them in a wild affair 24-18 (14-5 on target). Their keeper was excellent and Benedikt Raab was a deserved Man of the Match winner for his stellar breakout performance. -- We are given £696,000 for the win, as usual. -- Oh my, the injuries. The initial word on Andy Broomes is that it isn’t serious - he’ll miss about a week and a half with a gashed leg. Thankfully, the news is also good on Rayane Hamon, as he suffered a bruised shin. I could get him through the Chelsea game with an injection but I don’t believe in them and will just leave it to the physios. He’ll miss about a week. Whew! DOVER INJURY: Andy Broomes (Gashed Leg - 10 days) DOVER INJURY: Rayane Hamon (Bruised Shin - 6 days) -- In other Group C action, Palermo knocked off Hibernian 2-0 and they are now tied with Hoffenheim for second in the group. Also winning in other group play are OM, Man City, the surprising Club Brugge, Real Madrid (destroyed Galatasaray 6-0) and Juventus. Premier League Update -- We have a Sunday matinee versus Chelsea and watch as Sheffield Wednesday upset Manchester United 3-1 on Saturday. City can only manage a draw against upstart Newcastle, the team that beat us early in the year. Dover U18 Update -- Alberto Velazquez continues to tear it up for the U18s, scoring two more goals in our 5-0 win over Brentford. Freddie Laird also bagged a brace and Neil Evans added a single. International Update -- 21 of our players are called up by their countries for the upcoming international break. Next Up -- We travel to London and face a stiff test against Chelsea in Premier League play. __________________ 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 Last edited by NoSkillz : 08-30-2014 at 10:34 PM.

08-31-2014, 08:08 AM	#536
Alf Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Rennes, France	Tough series of injuries. __________________ FOFL - GML - IHOF - FranceStats