Soccer Superstar - a New Star Soccer dynasty

[Radii]

Originally Posted by indoorsoccersim

BTW...your dynasty forced me to buy the game.

thanks! or sorry! or, uhh, yeah I love this game.

[Radii]

DEc 2006

Nothing to see here. Injured and bored!


Jan 2007

This will be good. The transfer window opens up and I "will be sold during January"

-- I get an offer from a Dutch league team and reject it, preferring to stay in England if I can. Its somewhat tempting as the team offering is 2nd in the top Dutch League and would be competing for a champions league spot.

-- I turn down two offers from Italian Serie A teams, and from Bayern Munich in germany, WOW. I'm a hot commodity!

-- Ipswich is my first English offer, but they have a demanding manager. Tempting, but no.

-- I reject about 5 more international offers, and am asked if I want to come off the transfer list. I say no.

TRANSFER

wowow.

Richard Dixon, welcome to Arsenal, 3rd in the Premier League with a motivating manager.

I will make $11,524 per week for 4 years, with a goal bonus of $1,000 and an assist bonus of $1,300.

Arsenal has two goal scorers in the top 5 of the Premiership list, including Thierry Hinry(HEnry right, misspelled for licensing reasons?)

You were sold for $1,786,000
You receive a signing on fee of $178,600


Final Exeter Stats
61 appearances, 43 goals, 0.7 goals per game, 22 assists, 8 man of the match awards.


-- My new value is $3,940,000.

-- The media knows who I am now! 51% media recognition rating.


Sponsorship
Kappa, a clothing company, offers me $1,668,000/yr for 3 years to wear their stuff. I of course accept, and I'm RICH. $2,470,000 in he bank, and my value is up to 4.6 million. To celebrate, I spend $1 million on a country cottage.


Sponsorship
PEPSI! They offer me $2,135,000/yr for 3 years. I take it. I now have $3.614 mil int he bank, and am worth $5.26 mil.


JAn 22
-- I am no longer injured!!!

-- I train positioning 3 times. I'm gonna have to go nuts training for awhile it seems.


Jan 27 - GAMEDAY
Chelsea vs Arsenal - Gee, welcome to the big time. Chelsea leads Arsenal by 2 points at the top of the premiership.

-- holy crap!!! These guys are good. And I am not. Ok, first priority, max strength. I was tackled instantly every time I touched the ball for the first 70 minutes. I got off 2 passes. The ball flew across the pitch, the keepers CAUGHT shots at them instead of deflecting everything. Damn. We win 1-0 on a Hinry free kick in the 58th minute. I get a 1 rating with my two passes.


End of Month

What is there to say? Instead of being the best player in my entire league I'm one of the youngest and least experienced. Arsenal is already otu of the champions league and english cup, or else I might get some playing time in those. But I'm going to struggle if these other teams are anywhere near Chelsea's quality.

[Radii]

Feb 2007


-- crap! I somehow deleted my notes for February so far, through the 23rd. Well, basically, I'm outmanned, outgunned, outclassed beyond belief. I sat out a few matches before Hinry got injured, then I was back in, earning another 1 rating. I maxxed out my strength rating first, I get tackled the second I get touched, the strength should help some. Next I'm going to be maxxing out my dribbling, as I get caught the second I touch the ball too. After that, probably passing, that will take me well into next season.

Feb 26
-- Dribbling is up to 19, then 20. Just cone drills.


Mar 2007

-- my selection prospects for the national team are "Doubtful" which is unfortunate, we had a nice break and an international match on March 3rd. Nope, not selected.

Mar 6

-- I train Dribbling to 21, then 22 in the previous week. My confidence is low so i had a drink. Also I failed dribbling 23, ran into a cone, oops.


Mar 7 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Newcastle - 2nd/3rd matchup here.

-- This game is fast, but I'm adjusting some finally. My dribbling rating I can tell is helping me, as I have a split second now to make a decision before I get tackled, and if I can receive the ball with a little space I'm not run down instantly. This allows me to get a pass to Riyis in the 14th minute, he scores our first goal, and that's my first assist in the premiership!! In the 27th minute I take a shot off a throwin that's on target but didn't have much of a chance. I blow two passes in the first half to an open Riyis, both are too weak. In the 2nd half I get a great shot on goal but can't finish, and in the 82nd and 88th minutes both, I get in the box and receive a lob and try to head the ball into the net. The first one was killer, 82nd minute, off the post 88th was saved by the keeper, but we do get the win!

-- 5 shots, 1 assist, 3 passes, 2 tackles, and a 6 rating. That's drastically improving on anything else I've done so far at this level.


Mar 9
-- Dribbling up to 23, a tough cone drill, made it with 1 second to spare.

Mar 11
-- Failed on level 24 for dribbling, I would have not made it, I hit the last cone but time was up anyway. I hesitated for just a second(but literally probably a full second) as I figured out which direction to start in and that killed me.



Mar 7 - GAMEDAY
Man City vs Arsenal - They're 15th out of 20 teams, while our win has us tied for first with Chelsea again.

-- Man City scores early on us, in about the 15th minute, and I'm just not on today. I misfire on a shot that was open, take a bit too long to make a decision with the ball in the box, tackled away, and miss a header off a free kick *just* wide. WE give up another goal in the 2nd half and lost 2-0. A poor 2 rating for me.


Mar 7 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Ipswich - They're in 16th, they offered me a contract earlier in the year bt I didn't like their manager.

-- This is the last game of the season. A tie clinches the Premiership title for us. We are still even with Chelsea despite the loss last match. Chelsea plays #10 Blackburn today.

-- I'm a sub in this one, Riyis gets two goals in the first half and we're dominating 2-0 by the time I come in. I play most of the second half, I have one wide open shot that the keeper saves, and one successful pass, a 4 rating to end the season.


May 7
-- The final time I'm allowed to train before the offseason, I take 3 shots at Dribbling level 24 before I finally get it.

END OF SEASON

This is going to be hard. I need to finish my training, badly, to have a shot to make a consistant positive impact for this team, but I'm excited, I play for a team that gets a ton of matches in between the English Cup, Champions League and Premiership, so I should get a number of chances along the way.


Here are my stats and skills to end the season:

Skills
Stats

[fantastic flying froggies]

Could you post some media reviews sometimes? I find they add to the immersion.

Not necessarily every week, as they do seem to get repetitive, but every once in a while would be nice...

[Radii]

Aug 2007

-- I get the same boost I did last season, two points in each grouping. The skills points are easy, dribbling. I also add to Control, and positioning.


Aug 6
-- Dribbling 27 is to dribble between some cones while someone tries to take the ball and is easy. Dribbling 28 is to dribble from one penalty box to the other in 15 seconds through cones, I try this one twice but panic right away and hit a cone.


Aug 11 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Manchester United - lets get things kicked off in style.

-- I don't start, and this is a scoreless match at the half, with neither team having seriously threatened. Arsenal switches to a 4-3-3 in the 2nd half and it helps us get a lot more chances. I'm brought in to play the middle attacking spot in the 56th minute. In minute 70 there's a cross from the left side, I take it on the bounc and volley it into the net!!! GOAL!!!! We take a 1-0 lead, could my first premiership goal defeate Man U? Looks like it. 91st minute I get a great pass from the midfield, skirt one defender and fire a shot from 23 yards out, bend it a bit right and its in the side of the net, GOAL!!!!

-- We win this one 2-0. 2 goals, 3 shots, 1 tackle in 34 minutes for me.


Aug 12
-- I finally get dribbling level 28 on my 2nd try today, that's 6 tries total. Dribbling 29 is to dribble between some cones while 2 men try to tackle me. I fail on the first attempt.

Aug 16
-- Dribbling level 29 is completed on my first try today, 2nd try overall, just one more to go! Level 30 is like level 28, but only 2 more cones. I almost got it on the first try though, I timed out. I'll get it soon enough.


Aug 18 - GAMEDAY
Plymouth vs Arsenal

-- Whew, a very frustrating match, I play the entire thing alongside Hinry, but Plymouth controls this thing a lot more than one would expect. They have 58% of the posession and its very noticible. I make 5 passes, and that's it. No tackles, no shots, no nothing. Poor performance individually by me, but an equally poor team performance.


Aug 21
-- Dribbling level 30 is completed! It took two tries but I got it with less than a second to spare!! Passing next.


Aug 25 - GAMEDAY
Liverpool vs Arsenal

-- Liverpool's defense is stiff, but we control posession the entire first half it feels, its certainly in their defensive end. I make a number of good passes(and a couple of poor ones) to Hinry but he can't score. I take 4 shots myself too, only one I felt good about. In the 62nd minute I am out on the wing and try to lob the ball into the box to Hinry. It's a bad lob, too far forward, but something weird happens, the keeper dives after it, and apparently I've bent the ball past him and it rolls into the net, GOAL!!!!!!! In the 72nd minute I get a 1 on 1 shot and fire my shot off the post, so close! In the end I get 1 goal in 8 shots, with 9 passes to go with it. We beat Liverpool 1-0.

Media Review
-- Dixon Passed the ball around well, nicely put away by Dixon, extrodinary performance, numerous shots at goal

-- This is a new one. "The boss is pleased with your work rate and clals you into his ofice. He asks you what area of your game you feel you need to improve on because he wants the coaching staff to spend an extra couple of hours working with you on thet raining ground"

-- I select Technique, and get one free point, which I put in flair. Neat!


Aug 28 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Everton

-- I get one great shot but shoot it right at the keeper, I need to work on lobbing/passing the ball when I can really aim well and from close distance. The rest of the match I fight hard but can't make anything happen. I finish the match with 4 shots and 7 passes, good for a 5 rating, which I'm happy with in a match where I don't score/assist. In the 89th minute Hinry takes a volley from 30 yards and scores, the only goal of the match in our 1-0 win!

-- Early on we're 3rd with 9 points, behind Chelsea and West Brom

Media Reviews
-- Just one goal separated them, Dixon was reliable on the ball, Dixon wasted his chance, he was nothing special.

I like the 'reliable on the ball' comment!

END OF Month

I'm happy with my play this month, I don't feel like I've permanently earned a spot on the first team or anything, but I can tell I'm progressing. Actually my numbers are solid, 3 goals in 4 matches to start the year!

Sept 1 is a USA match, and my selection prospects are "good" so I'm excited to see what hapepns next, too bad I have to go out for a bit

[Radii]

Originally Posted by fantastic flying froggies

Could you post some media reviews sometimes? I find they add to the immersion.

Not necessarily every week, as they do seem to get repetitive, but every once in a while would be nice...

media reports are back as of August 2007, I didn't realize anyone was interested in those

[Radii]

Sep 2007

International Play

Sep 1 - GAMEDAY
El Salvador vs United States

-- I'm starting in a 4-4-2 along with "Freddy Ada". We've already qualified through our group in the Continental Cup, so this game is meaningless, but boy is it fun! El Salvador is bad, and this is like a conference game...

MINUTE:

4: I pass, Ada scores, but I don't get the assist, one bounce too many off a player along the way.
7: I shoot *just* wide
13: I shoot off the crossbar, Ada gets the rebound and scores, again no assist b/c of one bounce
20: I take a shot off a corner, its saved, Ada scores his 3rd goal, again no assist, but I was important in all 3 of these goals
26: GOAL!!! Easy wide open chance, easy finish. My first international goal.
29: Ada scores on his own
33: GOAL!!! I rebound my own shot and put it in
44: Ada goal, I got the assist this tiem
49: Ada goal, I again get the assist
56: Ada goal, I get assist #3

I'm subbed out in the 78th minute, Ada gets one more goal and the US wins 11-0. 2 goals for Dixon, 9 goals for Ada. I finish with 2 goals on 14 shots(can't believe I didn't score more) with 3 assists, 4 passes, 2 tackles. WOW.

-- I of course earn a 10 rating and hopefully a permanent spot on the international squad!

Media Reviews
-- Passing was average, had 14 shots, has that rare ability to create goals for others, an outstanding international debut, Dixon's performance was outstanding

-- WOOHOO. Average passing?!


Sep 2

The club sold 84 shirts with your name on it. "Dixon" Arsenal shirts, alright! $840 for me.


Sep 5 - GAMEDAY
-- Its going to be a busy couple of months, Champions League Group Stage starts today. We're in a group with Tottenham Hotspur, KVC Westerlo, and Aberdeen.

-- Aberdeen vs Arsenal

-- I just felt off in that one, I don't know if it was the change of speed between the el salvador team or what. I couldn't complete a pass, couldn't run on to the ball correctly, couldn't do squat. Hinry scored early to give us a 1-0 lead, Aberdeen tied it up in the 70th minute or so. Hinry scored on his own in the 84th minute, then we steal the ball and I feed Hinry in the 88th for his hat trick, and finally I get something right with an assist. We win 3-1, 4 shots, 1 assist, 4 passes and a 5 rating today.



Sep 8 - GAMEDAY
Chelsea vs Arsenal - a key matchup, 1st and 2nd last year, and sitting 1st and 3rd early on right now.

-- I haven't been able to train at all yet, September is busy.

-- Awful performance by all. 1 shot, 4 passes for a 2 rating on the game. I actually felt better about my play early on but this one was just a defensive struggle, no openings, no space, the rare chance was wasted on both sides. 0-0 draw.

Media Reviews

--didn't gain any respect, Dixon's passing was average, Dixon just couldn't score



Sep 12 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Bolton - we're now 5th with 10 points, Bolton is 8th with 7 points. Everyone above us has 13 or 11 points, still close of course.

-- I'm starting to play better, and remember that Hinry is a mean goal scorer. If I don't have a wide open shot my goal is to feed Hinry. I get 6 passes in the match, and he gets a few but not really in great position. It's 0-0 at the half. We open the second half switching to a 4-3-3 which ends up getting us more chances. In the 77th minute off a free kick the ball is down in our end, I call for the ball in the box, and get a lob, and head it home, GOAL!!! Unfortunately Bolton ties it up 4 minutes later, and we finish it off 1-1, but I got the goal, which is great. 1 goal, 3 shots, 6 passes, 7 rating.

Sep 15 - GAMEDAY
Aston Villa vs Arsenal - at the moment Villa tops the tables, just 3 points ahead of us, we need this one!

-- am I ever going to get to train again, this is crazy!

-- Ugh, I feel so inconsistant! 4 shots, though 3 of them are late and in desparation, 1 pass, that's it! 2 rating, terrible, terrible game on my part. Villa's defense is good, very good, but wow, we were stuck. We lose 1-0.

-- My confidence is low(21%) and I have a couple of drinks to keep it high. I'll have to rest off the alcohol though.


--"A football website anounces a top ten list of Premier League underachievers." I am number 7.


Sep 19 - GAMEDAY
-- CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
-- Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur

-- 7th minute the ball is lobbed ahead of me, Spurs defenders are out of position, I get a one on one attempt and put it in the net! GOAL!!! Unfortunately I get another attempt like that in the 20th minute and my shot goes high. That's about all there is here. 1 goal on 6 shots, NO passes. Gotta correct that. I end up with a 5 rating, and the Spurs tied it up in the 75th minute. We still lead our group though with 4 points.


Media Review
-- Dixon will need to learn the basics like simple passing, Dixon is still young and will get better, nicely put away by Dixon.



Sep 23 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Wigan - Currently we're 8th, mired in the middle of the table. Wigan doesn't belong here, 0 points through 7 matches.

-- And right after i write about how terrible Wigan is, they score on the opening kickoff, 3 minuets in. In the 13th minute I fire a shot just wide to the left, and later on in the 70th minute I hit the crossbar with a shot. Hinry misses a few shots too and we fall, 1-0, to the worst team in the league. Uhoh.

Sep 26 - GAMEDAY
-- Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal -- the Spurs now lead the Premiership, while we're 11th, we have got to get a win here, this is getting bad.

-- Hinry was ready there, 10th minute he takes a ball played from midfield and scores from 25 yards out, 1-0 Arsenal! 21st minute though the Spurs tie it up. 24th minute one of our midfielders gets a goal from the right side of the box. 2-1 us. 28th minute I place a shot *just* high, and much later, 86th minute I have a great chance and put it inches wide. But we do win 2-1, despite my close calls. 6 shots/5 passes for me.

Sep 29 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Portmouth - We're 8th, they're 16th, but only separated by 4 points. We need wins.

-- 15th minute I get the ball, 1 on 2, I scoot from the left side of the net to the right, fire a straight shot and bend it into the right side of the net, GOAL! 28th minute I have a note but I can't read my handwriting. It says "sowed cls" Or maybe it doesn't. wow I have no idea!! 46 minute I have a wide open shot at a tough angle and its saved. Going into the 2nd half Portmouth can't do anything against us. In the 74th minute I find Hinry in a perfect position and he scores, assist for me, 2-0 lead! 85th minute I take the ball at midfield, run towards the goal and fire a shot from 20 yards out, GOAL!!! I haven't done that in a long time, those long runs are rarely possible. I'm subbed out after that goal and we win 3-0.

2 goals/9 shots/1 assist/6 passes/1 tackle.

Media Reviews
-- lovely finishing by Dixon on both occasions. Dixon passed the ball well. a prodigious performance by Dixon. Dixon looked dangerous.

WOOHOO.


END OF Month


What a month! I didn't get to train a single time, that was insane. One international match, two champions cup matches, and a bazillion league matches. I had a mediocre run in the middle there but my numbers really look solid, I have played 12 times for my club, and have 7 goals, 2 assists.

October will be as rough as September was. Between the champions league, english cup and our division, we will play 9 matches in the month.

[RPI-Fan]

Do you notice positioning being more important at the high levels of play? In the Conference I, and I'm sure you as well, could just run freely to receive the ball and make plays. Is it the same way still?

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Radii

Sep 2

The club sold 84 shirts with your name on it. "Dixon" Arsenal shirts, alright! $840 for me.

Maybe, uhhh, the fans thought they were buying Lee's old kit?

[Radii]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

Do you notice positioning being more important at the high levels of play? In the Conference I, and I'm sure you as well, could just run freely to receive the ball and make plays. Is it the same way still?

yeah, it is much much more important. If I want to run back to the midfield i'll get the ball more often, but i'm certainly not going to be getting the ball at midfield and running forward and scoring all by myself very often. Most of the time when I receive the ball I have at most 2 seconds to do something with it or I'm going to get tackled, even with 30 speed/30 dribbling now, so its important that I receive the ball in the right spot and am right ready to pass/shoot.

[Radii]

Oct 2007


Oct 2

140 shirts with my name on it are sold in September, that's $1400 for me.


Oct 3 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
--Arsenal vs KVC Westerlo - We lead the group, they're 4th, its very early of course but we can give ourselves a great edge towards advancing with a win here.

-- 18th minute, Hinry passes ahead to me, I am open from 25 yards, and fire a shot by the keeper! 1-0 Arsenal! 42nd minute I get a shot from inside the box, its off the crossbar, but the keeper dove and it comes back to me, open net, easy goal, 2-0!!! 51st minute we get a 2-on-1 break, and I end up making the last pass, Hinry with the goal. 3-0!!! I'm subbed out in the 80th or so.

-- 2 goals, 4 shots, 1 assist, 5 passes


Oct 6 - GAMEDAY
Newcastle vs Arsenal - We're back up to 5th right now, with 17 points(4 out of 1st). Newcastle is 7th, just one point behind us.

-- like many of our matches, there was no major action in the first 45 minutes, but after the 0-0 1st half, we did something baffling... we pulled back, 4-5-1 formation for the entire second half. I ran my ass ragged, and got Hinry the ball once but he couldn't finish. In the 90th minute I got open for a long shot, 35 yards or so, but if I had shot inches to the right it would have been the game winner, instead it went wide, 0-0 draw. 5 shots, 2 passes, 2 tackles on the day.

Oct 10 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Manchester City - We're 6th with 18 points, they're 12th with 13 points.

-- 25th minute, hinry passes(tries to pass to me), the ball goes to a defender, who tries to pass, but that ball goes right to me, I fire a quick shot and its in, GOAL! 44th minute Man City gets it back and ties it up, and in the 51st minute Man City goes up 2-1. I feel bad, I had two great chances to tie the game in the last 20 minutes, but failed on two shots. In the end, we lose 2-1, fall to 8th in the table. I have 1 goal on 6 shots, 6 passes and two tackles. I get a solid 9 rating but wish we could have won.


Oct 13 - GAMEDAY
Ipswich vs Arsenal - We're 8th, they're 13th. We're a full 8 points out of 1st, so we have a lot of work to do.

-- 7th minute, a quick goal from Hinry. 16th, Hinry passes to me, I let go with a diving header, their keeper has to dive himself to save it, but he does. At the half I have 2 shots and 4 passes, I'm very happy with my play even though I have no numbers yet. The 2nd half is the Thierry Hinry show, 65th, 73rd, and 82nd minute goals, he comes up big with 4 goals on the day in our 4-0 win. I have 5 shots, 6 passes and a 5 rating. I'm ok with that.

Oct 15
-- Passing up to 14, in my first training in a month and a half.



Oct 17 - GAMEDAY
-- CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
-- Arsenal vs Aberdeen Halfway through the group stage, we have 7 points, Hotspur has 5, Aberdeen 3 and Westerlo 1. We can all but crush Aberdeen's hopes here, and can clinch advancement with a win.


-- No crushing of hopes, but the extra point we earn will be helpful. I end this 0-0 draw with 5 shots, 1 pass, and 1 tackle. I think Hinry got hurt, we'll see if hes out there next match.


Oct 20 - GAMEDAY
ENGLISH CUP
-- Wigan vs Arsenal - we draw a fellow premier league team for the opening, that sucks.

-- We shoot 11 times in the first half, they shoot once. I took 6 shots, Hinry 5. The score is 0-0, how frustrating! A Lot of my shots were open, a lot of Hinry's shots were open. Finally in the 57th minute I get open from 25 yards out and fire a straight shot past the keeper! 1-0 Arsenal, and that's how we finish up. I take 8 shots, score one, 2 passes, 1 tackle.



Oct 25 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace - We're back to 6th, they're 13th.

--6th minute I make a perfect lob to Hinry in the box, he takes it, turns and scores. 34th minute another very good pass by me, hinry takes it and scores easily. Both of those were awesome, a rare occasion where I had an idea that I'd get my guy the ball at a certain spot, and I got it to him precisely where I intended to, and he scored. Perfect. 64th minute the ball it lobbed into the box, I am there to volley it home, GOAL! 71st I get a solo goal from about 18 yards out. I come out in the 76th minute, and Hinry gets another goal after I leave. We win this one big, 5-0. I have 2 goals on 5 shots, and 2 assists in 5 passes for a solid 10 rating.


Media Reviews
-- clinical finishing from Dixon. Dixon is a precocious talent. Dixon will need to pass better than that if he is to make his mark.

Oct 25 - GAMEDAY
Charlton vs Arsenal - We're 6th with 24 points, they're 5th with 25 points, we need this one!

-- 21st minute Hinry gets a great goal by himself, and he does it again in the 35th minute. We lead 2-0 at the half and I'm doing absolutely nothing at all, a 3 rating by the 80th minute when Charlton scores to make it a 1 goal game. 88th minute, I pass the ball out wide, take a cross coming back my way and head it into the net!!! GOAL! 3-1 Arsenal, 1 goal on 2 shots, 2 passes and 1 tackle, a 6 rating despite the goal since I didn't appear active otherwise.

-- That win vaults us to 4th, a key spot as the top 4 teams make the champions league the next season.

Oct 31 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Spurs vs Arsenal - We win the group with a win, and clinch advancement no matter what if Aberdeen doesn't win.

--Well in the 16th minute we fall behind 1-0, our keeper looked like crap allowing a big goal through there. 20th minute I fire a volley a few feet wide to the right. 29th minute Hinry gets a solo goal to tie the match up 1-1! 38th minute I am 28 yards out and get a lob pass from near midfield, I volley it and it goes by the keeper and into the side of the net!!! We take a 2-1 lead. We score again to open the 2nd half, Hinry and I with a nice little give n go play, I get the assist, he gets the goal. Hinry scores two more goals in this one, and I am subbed out in the 76th minute. We win 5-1.

-- 1 goal on 3 shots, 1 assist on 3 passes for me.

Media Reviews
-- Dixon occasionally passed the ball, Dixon's finish was clinical, Dixon showed some class setting up a goal, Dixon looked accomplished on the field.


END OF Month

Another extremely busy month. We fall a bit but rise back up to 4th in the premier league, and I am putting up some pretty kickass stats in the champions league individually.

November will be more of the same, as we have 8 matches between the league cup and champions league and the division.

Individually, I am now worth $16.8 million. In 21 club appearances I have 15 goals and 6 assists, quite successful numbers. I suspect that I'll dominate even the premier league when I get my stats up all the way, but I intend to play out a full game on pro and then move to expert for my next career to see how the challenge compares(of course I'm only in my 3rd season so that will take awhile).

Hinry is leading Arsenal with 17 goals right now, though suprisingly my 6 assists is leading the team(two others have 5, and there must be a lot of solo goals going on here). Hinry and I lead the league in goals, we're running 1/2, though that seems to be counting champions league goals too,and I have 4 of those(which would drop me to 3rd in league goals). I'm also 3rd in the premiership in assists.

[Radii]

Nov 2007


Nov 2

420 shirts with my name on it are sold in October, netting me $4,200


Nov 3 - GAMEDAY
--Arsenal vs Blackburn - we're 4th, blackburn is 18th and fighting relegation.

-- We spend most of this one attacking, and in the 23rd minute Hinry gets a solo goal to take us up 1-0. In the 27th minute I'm brought down from behind in the box, penalty! Hinry is the PK taker, but he misses, and 3 minutes later Blackburn ties it up. I have one hopeful chance late in the game, in the 70th minute I get a lob in the box but my header is easily cleared by the number of defenders there. We end up tied 1-1. I get 1 shot, 9 passes and a 4 rating on the day.

Nov 5
-- I won't be 100% next match but I want the training. Flair is up one to 16.

-- My boot contract with Lotto expires. I thought it was a multi-year thing. My other two renew in January and should be good through 2010, we'll see what happens with that.


Nov 7 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Sunderland - They're 7th, and in the middle of a 6 team pack all within one point of each other. A win here is important.

-- 20th minute, I put a header way wide. 33rd minute I have a header saved by their keeper. 44th minute I get 1 on 1 vs the keeper and have an AWFUL shot, I was trying to direct it and pass it by the keeper and just put it wide by a lot. 53rd miute I make a great pass to hinry and he misses his shot, and in the 89th minute I get a diving header off a cross that is saved... 0-0 draw, that's what it was like. 5 shots, 4 passes, 2 tackles, 5 rating.

Media Review
-- Dixon just couldn't score, Dixon tried to pass the ball, a mere glimpse of Dixon's potential

Nov 10 - GAMEDAY
West Brom vs Arsenal - Another team we're in the middle of the mix with. That draw dropped us to 6th last match, and WBA is 8th.

-- 16th minute, Hinry passes the ball up to me, I make a small move to line up a shot and fire it by the keeper, 1-0, much needed goal for me personally(2 mediocre games behind me) and for our team! 70th minute I blow a 1v1 chance vs the keeper, I kick it right to him, but in the 78th minute I take a pass and volley it in from 23 yards out, my best goal ever I think, the shot went just over the outstretched arms of the keeper!! That's a 2-0 win, all me! 2 goals on 6 shots, 1 pass and 1 tackle, a 10 rating.

The win moves us back into 4th on the table. 2 points behind 2nd but 7 points behind first, a ways from having a shot at winning the league.

Nov 14 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
KVC Westerlo vs Arsenal

--We've clinched the group title, and we beat these guys 3-0 last time we played them. We've dominated this group, 12 goals for/3 against in 5 matches.

-- Boring first half until the 45th minute when I get a solo goal!! Got the ball around 35 yards out, ran up a bit and fired it in. 54th minute though, they tied it up. 70th minute I feed Hinry on the right side of the box and he puts a great shot in past the keeper!! Assist Dixon! Hinry adds another goal late and we win this one 3-1 to end the group stage of the Champions League.

-- Champions League Stage 2 is set. We have a very tough matchup in Germany's Bayer Leverkusen. Matches will be December 19th and 26th. All four English teams advanced(Newcastle, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur) through the group stages.


Sponsorship
Say hello to Nike!! $5,330,000/yr for 3 years. Yea I'll wear your shoes for that.

-- After payment for the year I have over $9 million, and its mid-november, should be a few more million to come when other sponsors renew


Nov 17 - GAMEDAY
-- English Cup
-- Arsenal vs Luton Town - Luton Town is 4th in League One(two steps down from us)

-- Luton played like a team in a league two steps below us. It took a bit for the first goal, which I got myself in the 21st minute on a rebound, and the first half was tight other than that. I don't know if its stamina or what, but the goals were flowing in the second half, and being against a weak team I decided to be selfish about it. I get solo goals in the 57th, 65th, 72nd and 78th minutes before being subbed out. 5 goals!!! on 8 shots/2 passes for man of the match.

-- Its down to 16 teams in the league cup, half or maybe a bit more than half are in the premiership. I'll play Aston Villa in December in the next round.

Nov 18
-- Another precious training point, this one goes into Flair as well.

-- A friend offers me performance enhancing drugs, I turn them down.


Nov 21 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Reading - 4th vs 19th, we hope to cruise here.

-- 25th minute I have a header off a free kick saved by a defender, 34th minute they go up 1-0. That's how the half ends, and its a bit frustrating, it feels like they're outplaying us in midfield and getting the ball down to our end more often than most teams do. 51st minute we steal the ball in midfield, the ball is fed up to me, I turn and fire a quick shot from 18 yards, GOAL, 1-1! 63rd minute Hinry passes to me, I run up a bit, and fire in a 2nd goal!! 87th minute I almost score again, my shot is saved by their keeper, but we win this one 2-1, whew. 2 goals, 6 shots, 3 passes, 1 tackle on the day!

-- This win moves us into a 4 way tie for 2nd place, and we are 7 points behind the Spurs(who we destroyed in champions league play). We would earn 2nd based on goal differential.


Nov 24 - GAMEDAY
Manchester United vs Arsenal - They're 8th, 4 points behind the pack tied for 2nd.

-- 2nd minute, I have the ball and an open shot, but I bend it a bit too far and my shot goes off the left post. 19th minute I pass the ball 20 yards forward to Hinry, he takes it on the run and scores, 1-0 us! In the rest of the first half I have one shot that I should have scored on, and a pass to Hinry that he should have scored on, but it's 1-0 halftime. 84th minute Hinry gets a solo goal to put it away for good. 2-0 Arsenal. 8 shots, 1 assist, 6 passes, 8 rating for me today.

Media Reviews
-- Dixon had a hand in it, numerous shots at goal, showing what he is capable of, Dixons' passing was average, Dixon's finishing was poor.

-- Interesting. I'm asked to pose nude in a magazine for charity. I say no, and the media speculates that I don't want to appear alongside Jerome Hieumet (who?)


Nov 28 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Plymouth We're 2nd, 7 points back of 1st. Plymouth is 6th, 4 points behind us.

-- Whoa. This hasn't happened to Arsenal yet. 5th minute, 1-0 Plymouth. 11th, 2-0 Plymouth. 21st, I find Hinry perfectly and he scores, assist me, 2-1 Plymouth. 24th, 3-1 plymouth. 44th, 4-1 Plymouth. 68th, I get an open shot but bend it just a bit far to the right, its wide.

-- 6 shots/1 assist/4 passes for me, only 2 shots of mine had any chance.

Media Reviews
-- a five goal thriller, Dixon had plenty of chances, dixon had chances but couldn't score, dixon will need to pass better than this if he is to make his mark, dixon set it up


-- "The Club have asked if they can sell a range of mugs featuring your face and the words "There's only one". You will receive a one time payment of $45,800. Yah, sure.


Birthday
-- "You receive signed boots - Christian Vieri for your birthday from the boss"

-- I'm 20 now.


END OF Month

We rose to 2nd for a bit but are 3rd in the table now. I didn't get to train much in November, so lets look at December. Champions League knockout stage matches are Dec 19/26, cup match is Dec 15, and we have 5 league matches. We do have a break from Dec 1st through Dec 8th, so I'll get some training in there.

Thanks to my cup/champions league play(and hogging the ball) I now lead the league in goals scored. Hinry is 2nd with 23, no one else is close. We are in a 4 way tie(hinry and I both) with 9 assists.

[Radii]

Dec 2007


Dec 1 - GAMEDAY
-- Arsenal vs Liverpool - Liverpool is 19th and struggling. We need a win after the drubbing at the hands of Plymouth we just took.

-- 4th minute, our opening posession, I pass ahead to Hinry, he scores! That's my 10th assist. 14th minute they tie it right back up, ugh. I get a few solid shots on goal but can't finish, then in the 58th minute Hinry gets the game winning goal and we win it 2-1, a much needed win. 0 goals on 6 shots today, 1 assist/5 passes, 1 tackle and an 8 match rating.



Dec 2

800 shirts with my name on it are sold in last month, I get $8000


Dec 3
-- Tackling is trained to 5, and then 6. On Dec 6th its up to 7. I'm working on my weakest skills right now, I guess maybe I should try to get passing to 30 next but I am wondering if I won't see more match benefit by working on my two weakest skills, tackling and heading, first.


Dec 8 - GAMEDAY
--Everton vs Arsenal

-- They score a goal in the 24th minute to go up 1-0. We have two injuries in the midfield that are hurting us bad(I think it's explained some of the league struggles lately honestly), and we have a hard time getting set up for anything here. In the 82nd minute, still trailing 1-0, I'm able to get my head on a cross and put it into the net, tying the match at one! Its lookingl ike a tie, but we get a counterattack in the 90th minute, a midfielder feeds it up to me, and I make a solid strike from 25 yards out, GOAL!! 2-1 victory on two goals in the final 10 minutes!

-- 2 goals/3 shots/5 passes/1 tackle/10 rating there.

-- Tottenham draws a match, allowing us to catch up to the top spot a bit. We're still 3rd, 1 point behind Chelsea for 2nd, 6 points out of first.


Dec 12 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Chelsea - the battle for 2nd place. We ran 1st/2nd last season, a little rivalry here.

-- 7th minute I'm against one defender near the right sideline. I make him miss(get arond him w/ the dribble somehow) and get into the box and lift a soft shot over the keeper and into the right side of the net!!! And, that's about it.. 82nd minute I get a solid assist too, I pass it up to Hinry, he gets goal #2 on the day. We made the most of some very very limited chances. Chelsea outshot us 13-4. 1 goal/3 shots/3 passes/1 assist/1 tackle/8 rating. That win of course propels us into 2nd.


Dec 15 - GAMEDAY
ENGLISH CUP
Aston Villa vs Arsenal - a good matchup, we're 2nd in the top league, they're 5th.

-- 24th minute, we get a counter attack, I get an easy solo goal. 34th we get a counter attack, I get an easy solo goal. 50th, we get a counter attack, I get an easy solo goal. 63rd they score to make ti 3-1, and 80th, Hinry and I get a 2 on 2 break, I get the ball last and score, his assist. I'm pulled in the 80th minute after four goals!! One of my best performances ever, 4 goals on 6 shots(wow!), 3 passes, 1 tackle, 10 rating, man of the match!

I now have 32 goals in 33 appearances, but so much of that is due to the English Cup dominance.

Dec 17
-- Tackling is up to 8 now.


Dec 19 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Arsenal vs Bayern Leverkusen - this should be fun.

-- tough match in the rain today. No one can do much early, in the 43rd minute I have a 1 on 1 go at the keeper but he saves my shot. 49th minute I get a good volley that goes inches wide. 56th minute there's a good ball played in by the midfield and I head it in, 1-0! 71st minute I get the ball with some space outside the box and fire a shot in past the keeper, 2-0! But it comes crashing down hard. Goals in the 76th and 83rd minutes tie it up at 2, and we finish tied 2-2, so the game next week will be what decides it.

-- 2 goals/10 shots/2 passes/1 tackle for me today, 10 rating, disappointing ending.


Dec 22 - GAMEDAY
-- Bolton vs Arsenal - we'rd 2nd, they're 13th, we hope for a big edge here.

-- 8th minute I feed Hinry for a goal, assist! 12th minute I am dragged down in the box, penalty! Hinry makes it and I get an assist(should I?). That's it until the 81st minute when Bolton scares me with a goal to cut the lead, but we hang on to win.

-- 1 shot, 2 assists on 7 passes, and 1 tackle for an 8 rating today.


Dec 26 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS CUP
Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal - winner advances, simple as that.

This was the ultimate "just one more game" game... I needed to sleep 30 minutes ago, before the first Champions League leg. But after I played that I had to finish this one up to see what happened. And it was worth it. 15th minute, I have a header saved. 23rd minute their keeper is *way* out of position, and I get a cross from the left side, easiest header of my life, 1-0! 41st minute Hinry has it and puts a nice lob over his man to me, I fire a goal, 2-0!! 66th minute I make a pass to Hinry but its a bad pass, a defender gets there first. Hinry tackles the defender, the ball squirts out to me, I shoot and score!! 78th minute they score to make it 3-1. 89th minute I make a nice cross into the box, Hinry can't reach it but a midfielder can and he puts it in, 4-1!!

-- I win man of the match honors, and of the 6 goals we scored vs Leverkusen, I got 5 goals/1 assist in the two matches. I wonder if they have Champions League MVP or something, I have 10 champions league goals so far, and a few assists too.

-- January 16th and 23rd is the quarterfinals. We will play a 2 leg series vs Barcelona, a much stronger team than LEverkusen I believe. They are 2nd in the Spanish top league right now.


Spending
-- I decide that I want to see how this whole girlfriend thing works in the game, the first thign I do is buy a car and a house, and I go nice here, I buy a Porsche Carrera for $450,000 and an Italian Villa for over $7 million. I still have 1.4 million banked and will be getting bigtime sponsor money soon.

Dec 29 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Aston Villa - we beat them in the english cup, but this will likely be tougher. We're 2nd, they're 5 points back in 4th.

10th minute I make a steal of a poor pass in the box and score an easy goal, 1-0! 19th minute Hinry gets a goal by himself. 42nd minute they get one back to make it 2-1. In the 2nd half I have two great chances to score, one shot goes over the bar, the other is saved, rebound shot also saved. Finally in the 89th minute we score a 3rd goal(Hinry solo) to win it. I have 1 goal on 8 shots, 1 pass, 1 tackle and just a 7 rating today.



END OF Month

The Champions League series against LEverkusen is probably the most exciting couple of matches of my career so far.

A couple of people have asked me elsewhere... my value is currently at 19.5 million.

We have an incredible 9 matches in January with the league heating up and Arsenal still in the cup and champions league.

[Pumpy Tudors]

OK, this dynasty has convinced me to give the game another shot. Great stuff, Radii!

[klayman]

Damn. I knew better then to read this dynasty. At least when the gf complains, I can blame you, Radii.

[oykib]

You got me a week ago.

Right now I'm destroying the J-League with Vissel Kobe. I've requested a tranfer. But I've started my third year in Japan still waiting.

I've torn up all the weak sisters that I've played while on the US nat'l team as well-- 4 Caps, 4 hat tricks from the central midfield.

My value is up to 20.5 million dollars.

[Radii]

Thanks for the comments all, glad to see this is interesting to some

[Radii]

Jan 2008


Jan 2 - GAMEDAY
-- Wigan vs Arsenal - we tied these guys last time I think, and that's pretty embarrassing. +24 goal diff for us, -23 for them.

-- This is more like it. 6th minute I make a long run and get a trivially easy solo goal. 10th minute I make the same run but hit the post. 16th Wigan ties the game up on a freak rebound header from 20 yards out.18th minute we take it right back down and score, my solo goal. 23rd I do the same, hat trick, 3-1 Arsenal! 28th minute I shoot, Hinry puts in the rebound which is an assist for me. 51st minute a midfielder of ours, Hlib, scores a goal, and in the 61st minute they get one to make it 5-2, that's how it ends. I'm subbed out in the 75th minute.

3 goals/8 shots/1 assist/1 pass/1 tackle/10 rating for me.

-- Tottenham is still on fire, and we're still 6 poitns behind them.

1476 shirts with my name on it are sold in last month, I get $14760


Jan 5 - GAMEDAY
-- Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur - a critical match, they're the team up 6 poitns on us. After today there are only 10 matches left in the season, we can't lose and fall back by 9 points for sure, and we need to win.

-- This team is good, I have a very hard time and at the half have a 4 rating with just a couple of passes. Hlib finds Hinry in the 38th minute to put us up 1-0 though! In the 51st minute I put a volley off the crossbar and over, and Tottenham comes back and ties it up with a quick goal. 67th minute They go up 2-1, uhoh. 81st minute I get the ball 30 yards out with a defender on my ass, I'm *just* fast enough to not get tackled, and I get to the box and fire a shot that barely bends into the net, GOAL, and that's good enough to tie this thing up a 2.

-- 1 goal/4 shots/4 passes/2 tackles/7 rating. Not the result I wantec, but so close to a loss, so its good that we at least got a point there.

-- "Your family are very sad tht you play football in another country. They miss you and want to know if you'll conisder returning to the United States." Are you kidding? I tell them I'll return when I retire. They are sad. Family relations down to 58%, hooray for money. $50,000 or so spent on a car and some jewelry for the family, back to happy again.

Sponsor Money
-- I am paid by my clothing sponsor, Kappa, $1.6 million. I can probably make more there but I don't want to cancel a contract(can I even do that?). Pepsi pays me in a few days too, and I'll be set.


Jan 9 - GAMEDAY
Portsmouth vs Arsenal - They're 14th, we hope for an easy win.

-- We were losing 2-0 here, but i had to quit the game and save to take care of a little family emergency(kid/dog bite/he's fine no worries!) - Anyway that's a loss for us, we were very likely goign to lose anyway.


-- next day, family emergency nothing to worry about, here we go.

Transfer Offers

I get an offer to move to spain, and turn it down, the offer is from Real Valladolid, in the middle of the top spanish table.


WOMEN, UGH
-- A woman approaches me at the grocery store asking me to go back to her place for some fun. Being more ameniable to women, I say ok this time. The woman was a call girl working for a newspaper, and reports everything to the paper. Manager from 100% to 76%. Teammates from 100 to 56. Fans from 100 to 56. Sponsors from 100 to 46. Family from 80+ to 43. Friends from 80+ to 41.

-- I immediately buy my family and friends back to 100%. Costs about $250,000.

Sponsor Money
-- Pepsi pays me my money for the year, $2.1 million, putting me back over $5 million.


Jan 12 - GAMEDAY
ENGLISH CUP
Arsenal vs Charlton - nothing would make the world forget about a little sex more than a hat trick in the Cup. Charlton is 4th in the premiership so this is not going to be easy or anything.

-- holy crap!!! I'm not on the roster. I got benched!

-- Arsenal wins 3-2 in extra time. We'll play Bolton in the semis in early February.




Jan 16 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Barcelona vs Arsenal - am I going to play today? I'm a bit worried now.

-- Once again, I sit this one out. I wonder if this is from the 'forfeit' or from the sex. I'm a single man! If I want to go home and get laid, I should be able to!

-- Arsenal wins 2-0.

-- I take advantage of the time off and train tackling to 9, 10, and 11.

-- I get a transfer offer from Atalanta Bergamasca in Serie A, they're 10th. I can't play there b/c I'd kill myself typing their name in the dynasty.

Jan 19 - GAMEDAY
-- Arsenal vs Newcastle

-- UGH. 1 shot, 2 passes, out in the 68th minute, exhausted in the snow, we lose this one 3-0.


-- Also, I think that perhaps we were running a 4-5-1 offense in the last couple of matches, just one striker, it wasn't Riyis, our #3 forward starting in my place, it was a midfielder.


-- A friend asks me to help him move. It'll kill my friends rating if I don't. I shouldn't, b/c I can just buy it back up, but without thinking I do. And it kills my energy.

Jan 23 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS CUP
Arsenal vs Barcelona - I'm only at 74% going into this game, this is a problem.

-- I'm not starting, and I was wrong about the reason. 5-3-2, Riyis/Hinry. I'll work through it.

-- Arsenal wins 1-0, 3-0 aggregate, on to the semis. We will face fellow English team Newcastle. Reggina and SV Werder Bremen in the other matchup.

-- With the day off I train once, but just once this time, heading is up to 2.


Jan 26 - GAMEDAY
Man City vs Arsenal - we're now tied for 2nd, 10 points behind Tottenham. Looks like we're playing for 2nd at this point.


-- Dear lord, this is bad, I'm down to 27 pace due to fans or someone being upset w/ me I think, and I'm not getting the ball on the pitch very often. 32nd minute, we give up a goal to fall down 1-0. I have one great pass to Hinry but he can't finish. 71st minute he finds me and I get an open shot and nail it, GOAL! Hopefully that'll fix things. Uhhgghggghhhh, 87th minute I'm tackled and am injured. 1-1 tie.

-- Injury is listed as minor, I'll be ready for the next match.

-- 1 goal/3 shots/3 passes/1 tackle, just a 6 rating despite the goal, but on the way up hopefully.



Jan 30 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Ipswich - I'm 100% and ready to go.


-- In the first 20 minutes I feed Hinry twice with solid crosses, but he can't finish. 25th minute I get a shot but its saved. 34th minute I fire a shot inches wide. Finally in the 2nd half, 54th minute Hinry feeds it up to me, I run forward 10 yards or so, shoot, GOAL!! 1-0. Frustrating as I miss a shot wide in the 64th minute and Ipswich comes back with the tying goal in the 69th, and we can't get any more good chances.

-- I get a 9 rating, 1 goal on 8 shots, 4 passes/1 tackle. The good performance causes noticible gains in all my relationships, and I sign autographs after the match to get a little extra boost from the fans.

END OF Month


We advanced everywhere, so February will be nuts. Obviously the 'big deal' this month was the sex scandal. Hopefully I will have fully ridden that out and can be on the pitch full time again by the Champions Cup matches this month.

We do have a problem. We can't win the league, we're in a 3 way tie for 2nd, and 3 more teams are within 3 points of us. There is a 6 team race for 2nd/3rd/4th, the spots that earn you a champions league place next season. We must finish top 4. Our goal differential helps, but even that isn't outrageous, +23 for us, a couple of other teams are +18/+19. This is a major focus the rest of the year.

[Radii]

Feb 2008

-- Which month has 28 days? Well, as my son would say, "ALL OF THEM" followed by hysterical laughter. I don't think he gets it, but still. This is a short month, so 5 league matches + 1 cup match + 2 champions league matches are going to make this a very very busy month.

Feb 2 - GAMEDAY
-- Crystal Palace vs ARsenal - Palace is not one of the teams in that top 7 danger zone. We have to beat the teams that are far below us, and these guys are in 10th, an average team in the Premier League.

-- 7th minute, I find Hinry in traffic and he puts in a great goal, 1-0! We get a ton of 1st half chances, and just can't get any more goals. Right when I'm worrying that we're going to pay for not being able to build a bigger lead, they score a 46th minute goal to tie. Opening the 2nd half, 48th minute, they go up 2-1. I get two shots that I miss that kill me. One wide open straight vs the keeper, I shoot soft and he saves, the other coming in at an angle, in the box, keeper out of position. I'm not good at those, and I put it wide.

we lose a critical match 2-1. 6 shots/1 assist/3 passes for a 6 rating today.

-- We're 4th now, in a 3 way tie for 4th, but we have a +2 goal diff over newcastle. Just 1 point out of 2nd, still a big bunch.


880 shirts with my name on it are sold in last month, I get $8880, down from last month.


Feb 6 - GAMEDAY
-- Arsenal vs Charlton - They're 6th, tied with us. Must win if there ever was. This would knock us out of 4th.

-- 17th minute I get a great solo goal, 1-0! 25th I almost score, just high. 41st I make a bad volley, should have had one there. 42nd though I get a tackle off the free kick, Hinry picks it up and scores, 2-0! 48th one of our midfielers makes 3 tackles and scores a solo goal, don't see that often! 60th I get another goal, and I get yanked in the 78th of a blowout win. We score 1 more and win 5-0!!

2 goals/10 shots/2 passes/1 tackle for a 10 rating and a big win for us. We're still 4th but 1 point ahead of 5th now, a little breathing room.

Feb 9 - GAMEDAY
ENGLISH CUP
Arsenal vs Bolton - They're 11th in the premiership, I've been sitting these out lately, lets see.

39th minute, we lose a man to a red card, a hard foul near the box by one of our defenders, dumb. We get a few long ball counter attack type chances, and in the 59th miute I hit a hard shot but the keeper saves it. 61st I get another hard shot but it goes sailing over the bar, finally, in the 81st minute I get a pass from Hinry and SCORE!! GOAL!! That does it, the only goal in a 1-0 win.

-- 1 goal/6 shots/3 passes/3 tackles/8 rating

-- We're going to meet Newcastle in the finals to be played March 8th.

Feb 12 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Newcastle vs Arsenal - speaking of Newcastle, bring it on. They're good, just 2 points behind us in the premiership.

-- 10th minute, we steal a pass from newcastle, a midfielder feeds me on the corner of the box, I take a hard shot from an angle(I'm real bad at these) and nail it right into the top corner of the net!!! 42nd minute Hinry gets a solo goal and we go up 2-0! 46th minute Hinry takes a shot, I am right there for the rebound, GOAL! 67th minute Hinry takes a pass from me, he shoots, and scores after he rebounds his own miss, 4-0!! But Newcastle is trying to give themselves a chance, two goals in 66 and 77th minutes make it 4-2. 90th minute I cross into the box, Hinry shoots hard, he hits the post but the ball bounces to a midfielder on the other side of the net, he has a wide open goal and puts it in, we finish up a big, big 5-2 win.

-- 2 goals/8 shots/7 passes/1 tackle for a 10 rating today.


Feb 16 - GAMEDAY
Blackburn vs Arsenal - Even after an energy drink I'm only 85%. Blackburn is 18th in the table, we are expected to win here.

-- 15th minute I pass the ball to Hinry and he fires a quick shot into the net. 41st I pass to Hinry, he scores a very easy goal. 47th minute, he scores a hattrick off a free kick. I pass more than I shoot today, and it worked well. 5 shots/2 assists/7 passes/10 rating in an easy 3-0 win. Still 4th, still 1 point behind 2nd, but 2 points ahead of 5th now(over our friends Newcastle)

Feb 20 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
-- Arsenal vs Newcastle

Solo goals by me in the 28th and 57th minute are all we get today in a dominating 2-0 win! I am man of the match with 2 goals on 8 shots, 5 passes, and 2 tackles.

-- We crush Newcastle 7-2 aggregate, and we will play Reggina in the finals.

-- On that win my value tops $20 million for the first time.

Feb 23 - GAMEDAY
Sunderland vs Arsenal - Sunderland is 8th, 12 points behind us. We're 4th and just need someoen above us to choke to move up to 3rd or even 2nd. But we have to keep winning. Newcastle, 2 points behind us, plays Everton today, near the bottom of the table. They should win.


-- 20th minute, I get an easy solo goal! 43rd minute I should have had goal #2 but I put an open net header wide, leaving it 1-0 at the half. 2nd half I am largely a non factor, but Hinry gets our 2nd goal in the 60th minute. Sunderland gets one back in the 70th, but we hang on for the 2-1 win. I get 1 goal on 4 shots and 4 passes for an average 6 rating, but we got the win.

-- damn teams above us. Chelsea and Aston Villa both win, again, leaving us in 4th still, BUT, Newcastle ties everton, and we now have a 4 point lead over 5th place with just 2 matches left in the season, we should be champions league bound again next year now.



-- I meet a woman who is interested in homely things. I ask her out, she says I don't own enough homely things and rejects me. My confidence goes in the trash, 39%. I have a drink to work on it.


Feb 27 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs West Bromich Albion. West Brom is 8th, we're 4th and wrap up 4th or better with a win, or a tie and anything but a win by Newcastle. Newcastle faces #2 chelsea.

-- 12th minute, they score. 52nd minute, they score. We'd taken 1 shot at this point. It gets a bit better and in the 77th minute I make a long run with the ball and put a goal in, but,we can't get that last goal for one more point. It would have moved us to 3rd, argh.

-- 1 goal on 2 shots, 3 passes, 3 tackles, 7 rating. They outshot us 12-5 on the match.


Mar 1 - GAMEDAY
Reading vs ARsenal - we're 1 point ahead of plymouth. They play Blackburn and can win easily. Reading luckily, is in 18th place, we should crush them. Win and we're 4th or better. Lose and we may well miss the champions league next season.


-- CHOKEJOB. 8th minute I put a 1-on-1 shot wide. 119th minute Hinry puts an open net shot wide. 64th we give up a goal, and we drop back into a 4-5-1 formation. Why in the hell do we do that??? Well, it hurts us, and we don't have a prayer at scoring again, and we lose.

-- That's that, Plymouth wins, and we finish 5th, no champions league next season, so I'll get lots of training in.


-- The English Cup is the 8th, Champions League 19th, so I have some training time. Heading goes up to 3, then 4, before the english cup.


Mar 8 - GAMEDAY
ENGLISH CUP FINAL
Arsenal vs Newcastle

-- In the entire first half, we shoot 3 times, Newcastle only shoots once. Luckily for us one of those shots was a pass by me to Hinry where he fired it in, 1-0 Arsenal at the half. In the 2nd half the game opens up a bit more, but Newcastle can never score. In fact, I get goals in the 69th and 80th minutes to lead us to a 3-0 win! I am man of the match with 2 goals/6 shots/1 assist/4 passes/1 tackle.

Arsenal has won the English Cup


-- Damn, the game skips ahead here, no extra training.

Mar 17 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
Arsenal vs Reggina

-- Hinry is out today, suspended(for something in the last Champions match or for something in the cup final after I was subbed out, I do not know)

-- We are better than this team, its very obvious early, but we don't get a goal until the 31st minute, Riyis with a solo goal there. 43rd minute I get my own solo attack on the net and score, 2-0 at the half, and we don't let up. We keep the pressure on and in the 75th minute I get another goal myself!!!

-- We outshoot Reggina 17 to 2, winning 3-0. I get 2 goals on 7 shots, 3 passes and 1 tackle, a 10 rating.

Arsenal have won the Champions League


END OF Season

Tottenham dominates the league, and we finish a very, very disappointing 5th.


I had a very good season individually but I think my numbers are quite skewed. It looks like I am a machine, 57 goals in 54 matches, over a goal a match, but I scored 16 champions league goals, where some of the first round competition was very weak. I also dominated the English Cup. If Premier League stats alone were separated, I think I would have looked much more human, so there is some improving for me to do.

I will need to take advantage of all of the games we're not playing next year by missing out on the Champions League, I need to train like mad.


Skills
Standings
Stats

[Radii]

Summer 2008

The CONCACAF Continental Cup is this summer, and it'll be short. Only four teams are listed(despite 6 being shown as having qualified... lets see what happens).

Mexico vs Honduras and Jamaica vs US are listed as the semis. Costa Rica and Trinidad and Tobago are also shown to have qualified, so I dunno whats up there.

Jun 2 - GAMEDAY
Jamaica vs United States - lets see if this is as easy as my first national team match.


-- Well, they're harder than a conference level opponent, but probably about League One quality in England? I get goals in the 5th, 25th and 59th, "Ada" (Freddy Adu) scores in the 62nd, I go off in the 82nd and we win 4-0.

-- Honduras upsets Mexico, which is a shame, I wanted to play them.


Jun 14 - GAMEDAY
Honduras vs United States


-- Well, for about 25 minutes this looked like a reasonable challenge. I never felt that we'd lose but it was 0-0, we weren't getting terribly easy chances, one guy in their midfield was fast enough to chase me down... then:

26 - solo goal Dixon
37 - solo goal dixon
41 - dixon shot, ada rebound, ada goal(assist dixon)
46 - solo goal Dixon
57 - Ada goal
61 - Dixon goal
76 - Dixon goal
-- I'm subbed out here, and Ada shows how great he is too, 3 more goals in 8 minutes to close out the match. Ada and I both score 5 goals, and we win 10-0.


United States has won the Continental Cup

Awards
WHOA.

You have won the Premier League Young Player of the Year award

Richard of Arsenal has won the World Player of the Year Award

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


-- hell of a summer... off to the new season.

[oykib]

I think the league cup is also supposed to get a free pass to Europe.

Congrats on the World Player of the Year!

[MrBug708]

Nice season

[Radii]

Aug 2008


Aug 7
-- I contiue working on heading, its up to 5 now. I want all my stats at 10, then I'll look at what should go up next.


Aug 9 - GAMEDAY
-- Liverpool vs Arsenal - lets get off to a good start

-- Well, that was easily the best, most well rounded premiership match i've played yet. On the opening posession I get two tackles and I seem to be doing that much better. I have two great passes to Hinry in the first half but he can't score. In the 53rd minute I get a little opening and fire in a shot to give us the 1-0 lead. More shots, more passes, and best of all, more tackles come later on. We win 1-0, I earn a 10 rating for 1 goal on 8 shots, with 7 passes and 6 tackles. I'd like to have scored again, and I could have, but the passing and tackling to go along with all the shots is great.


Aug 12
-- between games I train heading to 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Aug 16 - GAMEDAY
-- Arsenal vs Manchester United -- Oops, I trained too late there, 68% health going into this one. Look for me to get 60-70 minutes max no matter what here.

-- Man U loses a defender to a red card in the 17th minute, I was about 2 inches outside of the penalty box when I got tackled hard from behind. We can't take advantage until the 45th minute, Hinry feeds a great ball up to me, I get by one defender and put in a shot, 1-0!! 61st minute Man U ties it, but we go ahead for good in the 82nd minuet when I get a solo goal. I'm exhausted at that point, no way I could have scored vs a full team. Riyis, the guy who subs me out, gets a goal to make it 3-1 before the end.

-- 2 goals/4 shots/5 passes/1 tackle for a 10 and man of the match today!

Aug 17
You meet a woman.
She is tall with very short light brown hair and darkly tanned skin.
She has radiant blue eyes and is wearing your teams football shirt.
She is impressed by cars and very ambitious.

-- I ask her out, she says yes. I have a girlfriend, hooray.

I take her out on a date, then spend about $40,000 on her to get her rating up from 50% to 77%.

-- I fail on training heading to 10. score a header vs the goalie in 20 shots. Will take a little practice, I'm really bad at these.


Aug 23 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Everton

-- pretty tight game here in the first half, their midfield controls things pretty well, and its 0-0 at the half. 2nd half we get a little more forward movement after we switch to a 4-3-3, and finally in the 71st minute I feed Hinry and he scores, 1-0, assist Dixon! 79th minute our 3rd forward, a midfielder named Fabreges that moved up at the half, gets a nice goal for 30 yards out, 2-0, and thats how it ends!

-- Average match for me, 0 goals on 5 shots, 1 assist on only 2 passes. Just a 5 rating today.


-- I help my friend move. I use up some energy and hurt myself while moving, I lose 1 point in set pieces from the injury. Stupid friends.


Aug 27 - GAMEDAY
Chelsea vs Arsenal - Two typical powerhouses here.

I'm pretty ineffective here. 21st minute Hinry scores a very nice goal. I get 5 shots in the first half though 3 of them are wild b/c I had nothing else I could do with the ball. Chelsea ties it up in the 54th minute and we fall back into a 4-5-1 for some reason, and we get ahead a bit more but can't get the winning goal, that's a draw.

-- 8 shots, 6 passes for me.


-- After buying my girlfriend a gold bracelet, her rating is up to 100%, and I say screw it, marry me baby. She says yes, and I spend $1,000,000 on the wedding. Well, that was fast, and easy.



Aug 30 - GAMEDAY

Arsenal vs Bolton - We're 1st, they're 11th so far. We don't want to ever give up first, after what Tottenham did last year in the league.

-- I get 6 shots, 2 of which really should have been goals, but I screwed up. This is a tight game though it feels like we should be in control. Instead, we fall behind 1-0 int he 53rd, but Hinry quickly gets that back in the 57th, 1-1 draw today, and we end the month in a 3 way tie for first. with 11 points(3 wins, 0 losses, 2 draws)


END OF Month

Well, I got married, quickly. We'll see how that goes, it might be a huge money sink, and I haven't pushed to re-negotiate my contract so I'm making about 1/4 of what I could make. My sponsor deals should carry me either way. With only the league to worry about I should have some more time to train, I did in August, though not as much as I'd like thanks to maintaining relationships a couple of times.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by oykib

I think the league cup is also supposed to get a free pass to Europe.

Congrats on the World Player of the Year!

Thanks (and thanks MrBug in the next post down too).

Looks like in this the league cup winner doesn't get anything special, no champions league for us. that might be the UEFA cup though instead? And that isn't implimented in this game.

[hawk4669]

Been reading this since the beginning. Loving every minute of it.

Kudos on a job well done!

Cheers!

[Radii]

thanks for the kind words

[Radii]

Sep 2008


Sep 1
-- Heading to 10, got it on the 2nd shot attempt tonight, much better.

-- All my stats are now at least 10. I wonder what I'd benefit most from next. Probably passing. It's at 15 now, i'll get it to 20 and see if I want to take it to 30 or not.

-- Passing to 16, knock over 3 cones, place 3 passes within a target within 30 seconds.

Sep 2
84 shirts with my name on it for $840.


Sep 6 - GAMEDAY
-- Aston Villa vs Arsenal - We're 1st, they're 8th. This early only 3 points separates 1st from 10th, so lets keep winning.

-- 8th minute we give the ball away in our own end, and fall behind 1-0. 18th minute I get an assist, I'm 35 yards out, pass the ball up to Hinry who scores from 25 yards out, great shot on his part, 1-1! 35th minute we give it up again and fall behind 2-1, but in the 44th minute I get a ball off a free kick(kick taken from midfield) and evade one defender before firing a perfect shot in! 2-2!

-- Unfortunatley, I am taken down hard in the 51st minute and am injured. We end up tying 2-2, I have 1 goal on 2 shots, 1 assist on 1 pass.

-- I am injured for 2 weeks.


Sep 13 - GAMEDAY
-- Arsenal vs Wolverhampton

I'm injured so I'm not in the lineup. We lose to this team 1-0, a terrible result. They had 2 points coming into the match. We're down to 5th in the table now.

Sep 15
-- The most frustrating thign about the injury is that I missed at least 4 chances to train.

-- I raise passing to 17 but fail on #18, because I misunderstood the directions. I had a "bounce target" to hit, I thought that meant lob a pass that settles in the target, but it doesn't, I should lob and the first bounce of the ball needs to be in the target, oops.


Sep 17
-- Instead of playing in a champions league match, I raise passing to 18.

Sep 20 - GAMEDAY
Tottenham Hotspur vs ARsenal - Spurs are 1 point above us in 4th. We must crush them.

-- we're missing our best defender today, and it shows. 7th minute, down 1-0. I get a goal in the 21st minute to tie it up, a nice header off a cross from the right side. But that's all, down 2-1 in the 28th, 3-1 in the 43rd, 4-1 in the 54th. We get one back late, 64th minute we make it 4-2 but can't ever creep any closer. We are now down to 11th in the table, that was embarrassing.

-- 1 goal/6 shots/4 passes/1 tackle

Media Reviews
-- Dixon looked dangerous, Dixon at times was brilliant, Dixon will need to pass better than that


Sep 24 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Plymouth - we're 11th, they're 7th, 1 piont separates us. win win win, come on.

-- I get two great chances in the first 25 minutes, open shots on goal, one is saved, the other is wide. 34th minute we fall behind 1-0, and this feels frustrating!!! 59th minute FINALLY a goal. I fire it in from 20 yards out, 1-1! 64th minute we're in some trouble as midfielder Hlib goes out with a red card, but never fear, 84th minute I steal a pass at midfield, make a run up to the penalty box, evade 2 defenders and fire a shot home!!!!!! 2-1, and that's the game, WHEW. I just couldn't feed Hinry for shit today, I tried a few times, but it was on me to score in the end.

-- 2 goals/11 shots/1 pass/1 tackle - 10 rating, and we're back to 5th in the table.


Sep 27 - GAMEDAY
Middlesbrough vs Arsenal - last match of the month, they're 18th, -8 goal diff, we're 5th. CRUSH THEM.

-- Well, I was worried early on. 14th minute I fire a shot off the post. 23rd minute I hit a shot off the crossbar, the keeper dives, the rebound comes to me, the net is wide open, and somehow I push the ball wide. DOH. 28th minute though I make up for it with a goal, and 40th minute I get my 2nd goal. Hinry scores in the 54th and I score again late to wrap up a rout. 4-0 final.

-- 3 goals/11 shots/3 passes, that's a hat trick and man of the match!

-- We move up to 3rd with that big win.

END OF Month

We started the month in 1st, ended in 3rd after a big fall and climb back up. I have 10 goals, 1 hat trick and 2 man of the match awards in 9 appearances. I can't complain about that!

There's a cup match and an international match in October.

[Radii]

Oct 2008


Oct 1
-- Passing to 17 - hit 10 cones in 30 seconds, 30 balls to try. I failed on 18. 5 cones, 2 bounce targets, 2 pass targets. I was on the last bounce target when I ran out of attempts. Only 15 balls to try with.


Oct 2
320 shirts with my name on it for $3200.


Oct 4 - GAMEDAY
INTERNATIONAL MATCH
CONCACAF Qualifying
USA vs Guatemala - This should be trivially easy. The second round might be a bit more interesting.

-- This would be like ARsenal playing a conference level team. I score in the 7th,13th, 16th, 20th, 38th, 43rd, 55th, 64th, and 82nd minutes. NINE goals. I also get an assist to Ada. two midfielders also score. 12-0 win.

-- 9 goals on 17 shots, 1 assist on 6 passes, and 8 tackles. Silly.


Oct 8 - GAMEDAY
-- Arsenal vs Man City - We're 3rd, they're 9th. 3 points separate us. We're 5 points behind newcastle in first.

-- this one we dominate from the start. 17th minute I put in a great cross that Hinry finishes, 1-0, assist dixon! That's it for the first half, and we could certainly falter here but we're controlling all aspects of play. We break away in the 2nd half, I get a counter attacking goal in the 60th minute, a breakaway from midfield w/ no one in front of me. 64th I get a second goal, and 72nd I get an assist to midfielder hlib. We win this one going away, 4-0.

-- 2 goals on 5 shots/ 2 assists on 5 passes, 1 tackle, another 10 rating.

-- That is my 4th straight 10 rating!



Oct 11 - GAMEDAY
Ipswich Town vs Arsenal - some dumb friend had me help him move between games, and I'm only at 67% going into the game. I'll be taken out early for sure. We're tied with Ipswich in poitns so far with 21, 3rd/4th place.

We get a weird, weird goal in the 16th minute, a header from way out left, their keeper runs back and forth as the ball rolls by. A pathing bug for sure. 1-0! 19th minute, no bug here. I get a great ball from Hlib, and make a good run on a counterattack to score a wide open goal to make it 2-0! Unfortunately, we let in a goal 6 minutes later, 2-1. We have one or two pretty good chances the rest of the way but can't finish, and Ipswich gets the tying goal in the 61st minute. We had a chance there but failed, its a 2-2 draw.

-- 1 goal/5 shots/2 passes/2 tackles today.

-- Tottenahm just doesn't lose. They're 6 points ahead of us in 1st already. We can't let them get so far ahead this year.


Media Reviews
-- Dixon tried to pass the ball, that's 13 goals for Dixon this season, dixon showed glimpses of brilliance.


Oct 12
-- "You were randomly tested today for the use of prohibited substances. No traces were found" That's once in 3+ years. I guess you can get away with that stuff most of the time?


-- Passing level 18, that's a toughie, I got it with 2 balls remaining. 2 bounce targets/2 pass targets/5 cones/20 balls I think.

-- Whew, level 19 is tougher. same as before, but no time limit, but only 15 balls. I struggled with one of the passing targets and failed. The 2nd try though, I get it, only missing once. Muuuch better. Passing to 19.



Oct 18 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace - we're 3rd, they're 13th.

-- damn, how frustrating. We fall behind 1-0 in the 8th minute. I cannot get a ball to Hinry, and I can't get around their defense. It isn't until the 48th minute that anything else of note happens, then, I put a shot off the crossbar. 78th minute, I do it again, but this time the rebound comes back to me and I put it in the empty net!!! laksjdf;ioewfjqe;fdslaj 89th minute. Penalty on us. They score. 2-1 final, we lose.

-- 1 goal on 5 shots, 5 passes. bah.

-- we're down to 6th in the loss. Tottenham lost too, we blew a chance there.


HAHAHAHA
Oct 19
-- You are going to an awards banquet with your wife and want to remain unnoticed. Your wife suggests you wear an American Football shirt to throw people off. "Yes" means your wife will be happy, "no" says she will be unhappy. Well duh. Wear the stupid Cowboys shirt(or whatever it is)

"You appear in the middle pages of some daily newspapers. The fans aren't happy. They hate American Football."

-- For some reason that had me laughing pretty hard. Fans relationship down to 80% but I score more than enough to get that back. No problem.


Oct 22 - GAMEDAY
Charlton vs Arsenal - big game, they're 4th, 1 point ahead of us. We're 6th.

-- 12th minute, I get a solo goal! 18th minute, I'm tackled hard and injured. We go on to win 2-0, but i'll miss a week w/ an achilles injury.

-- 1 goal/1 shot/1 pass - 8 rating.


Oct 25 - GAMEDAY
ENGLISH CUP
Colchester vs Arsenal

-- I'm injured, but I shouldn't be needed here against this League One team(they are a very good League One team, but still). We win 2-1 and advance.

Oct 28
-- I'm not injured anymore. I fail twice at passing level 20, it's very hard. 2 targets to land on, two to lob onto, 5 cones, 15 balls, 30 seconds. I decide to train both feet up to at least get something out of the day(being injured, I was at 100% energy).


END OF Month

We started in 3rd, and we end in 3rd. Tottenham has opened a 6 point lead over us, so we want to reel them back in and not let it get out of hand like it did last season. We have 7 wins, 3 losses, 4 draws.

I've played in 13 league matches, and have 15 goals, more than 1 a game. 4 assists, 2 man of the amtch awards, and 1 hattrick. I'm doing much much better this year than last so far. Last season I scored 57 goals in 54 matches, but a large number of those were in rolling over cup competition. If I'm healthy for the rest of the cup matches I could score 57 goals in a lot less matches this year(no champions league).

[Radii]

Nov 2008


Nov 1 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Birmingham City - we're 3rd, they're 17th. Another supposedly easy game that we can't choke on. Tottenham play Chelsea, the #4 team, so we should get something good out of this either way.

-- This is a pretty hard fought first half. We're the better team but they're not as bad as they look. 5 passes but only 1 shot for me in the half. 0-0. Finally, 52nd minute Hinry gets an assist to hlib off a corner kick and we go up 1-0! That opened it up, as I get an assist to Hinry in the 58th minute, then Hlib gets an assist to me in the 68th. 3-0 win. 1 goal on 5 shots, 1 assist on 6 passes, 2 tackles and a 10 rating.

-- Big day there. Newcastle(in 2nd) loses, Tottenham and Chelsea tie. We move up into 2nd, 4 points behind the spurs now.


Nov 2
576 shirts with my name on it for $5760.


Nov 5 - GAMEDAY
Portsmouth vs Arsenal - We're 2nd, they're 15th. They have the second worst goal diff in the league(-12). We have the best.

-- I shoot 5 times in the first half, but really only feel good about one of them, and that one was off the post. But they don't seriously threaten adn we go into the half 0-0. 57th minute, after falling back to a 4-5-1(but more importantly, Portsmouth went into an attacking formation), we are able to get a goal as I get out on a breakaway and put one in! I try to pass more after that, and succeed a bit but can't get an assist. 79th minute though, I get my second goal, and we win this one 2-0!

-- 2 goals/8 shots/7 passes, a 10 rating and man of the match for the 3rd time this year.

-- Tottenham ties again and we're only 2 points out of first!


Nov 6
-- Stupid friends. Looking after this dude's cat took 25% of my energy. I'm way short going into our next match.

Nov 8 - GAMEDAY
-- West Brom vs Arsenal - We're 2nd, they're 13th, hopefully the 50 or 60 minutes I can go is enough here.

-- This team is just bad. It takes 11 minutes for me to get free and get an easy, easy goal. I get a 2nd one late in the first half, and a 3rd one in the 56th minute. I didn't move around much in the first half, scoring my 2 goals on 3 shots, nothing else. In the 2nd I was more active, 3 goals/8 shots/2 passes on the day.

-- This is my 2nd hattrick and 4th man of the match award this season!


Nov 10
-- Passing to 20! These are real challenging. 2 balls left when I completed this one. Passing to 21, it seemed the same as level 19? It said 3 targets of each kind, but there were only two...


Nov 15 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Sunderland - They're 7th, a respectable team, but one we should beat if we're to win the league.

-- Easier than I expected. hinry gets a great goal in the 29th, and again its 1-0 at the half, but we break away in the 2nd half. 52nd minute Hinry feeds me and I score. 69th minute I shoot, the ball squirts off to the right, I reach it first, and find Hlib in front of the goal, assist to me. 78th I get my second goal and we roll, 4-0.

-- 2 goals/9 shots/1 assist/6 passes - 10 rating.

-- Tottenham loses and we are in first! We have 37 points. Newcastle and Tottenham are tied at 36.


Media Reviews
-- "Dixon scored a brace", "a marvelous display from Dixon, Dixon had a hand in it, Dixon looked sharp, Dixon's passing was solid.


-- The competition hasn't been terribly difficult, but we are rolling right now. That is 4 10 ratings in a row for me again. 23 goals in 17 matches, 6 assists.

-- I get paid my sponsor money from Nike. $5.3 million.

-- I also train up my flair. I wanted something I coudln't fail at here.

Nov 18
-- My wife is pregnant! Hooray.


Nov 19 - GAMEDAY
Newcastle vs Arsenal - The battle for 1st place! This will see how well we're able to play against the best competition.


-- What a match! 17th minute I open the scoring after a pass from my favorite teammate, Hlib. 1-0! 25th minute they tie it up. 50th minute Ljungburg gives us a 2-1 lead(he's a midfielder, moved up in a 4-3-3 formation). 63rd minute they tie it back up, 2-2. 73rd minute I get the game winning goal, 3-2 Arsenal!

-- 2 goals/7 shots/4 passes - 10 rating

-- I now have an average rating of 10. That is a 10 in my last 5 matches in a row.

-- Tottenham won so they remain just 1 point behind.


Nov 22 - GAMEDAY
ENGLISH CUP
West Ham vs Arsenal -- time to pad the stats? Maybe not. These guys are dominating the Championship league(one below us) and will likely be in the Premiership next year.

-- For a little while I really was planning on saying that this was a fairly good team and that they could challenge us if we didn't execute well... but its just not true. I score in the 5th, 10th, 44th and 52nd minutes. Hinry scores in the 30th and 70th. We win 6-0. With 4 goals and 2 assists, I am the man of the match.



Nov 26 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Liverpool

-- We're 1st, they're last.

-- 9th minute, I'm tackled just as I enter the box. PK Hinry, he makes it. The game gives me an assist for this. 26th minute. I'm tackled just as I enter the box. PK Hinry. He makes it. 2 assists. 63rd minute I actualyl pass the ball to Hinry, and he scores. Assist! 79th I get a goal, and we crush Liverpool 4-0.

-- 1 goal on 2 shots, 3 assists on 8 passes. I earn my 6th man of the match award this year!

Nov 29 - Happy 21st Birthday
-- I receive a signed ball of Andriy Schevchenko for my birthday.

Nov 29 - GAMEDAY
Man U vs Arsenal - lets celebrate my 21st with a win, shall we? We're first, Man U is 6 points back, in 3rd.

-- This is tight early. In the 35th minute Van Nilstelroy scores the single best lookign goal I've ever seen in this game. From about 30 yards out, a shot that looks way high and way wide that curves perfectly into the top corner. Too bad he doesn't play for us though. But its ok, 49th minute I feed Hinry and he ties it. 55th minute I feed Hinry and he gives us the lead. 61st minute I make it 3-1 myself. 66th I make it 4-1 myself. 70th I feed Hinry to make it 5-1. 73rd I'm about to get an open shot to make it 6-1 when I'm hit hard from behind. This is a straight red card for my opponent. But, I'm hurt. I'm out. We give up a goal but win 5-2.

-- 2 goals/9 shots/3 assists/7 passes/1 assist. 10 rating and man of the match. That is my 7th 10 rating in a row!!

Injury
-- I'm out for 6 weeks with a groin injury. Damn!

END OF Month

Until the injury, that was an incredible month. We are dominating premier league teams. It seems like we just have higher stamina. We seem to play close for a half then roll anyone and everyone. We're first with 46 points after 21 matches, 3 games over tottenham. Our +32 goal differential is nearly 20 better than anyone else. We're just crushing everyone.

The 6 week injury will put a damper on my numbers, but 21 appearances, 32 goals, 13 assists is amazing. I got 5 assists in my last two matches alone. I've been man of the match 7 times. This is just awesome.

I lead the league in goals and assists both now. Hinry is second with 18 goals(I have 32) and Hlib is second with 11 assists(I have 13). Crazy stuff.

[thealmighty]

I probably missed it in a previous post and am too lazy to look, but what does it do for you when you appease your friends or family?

[Radii]

Originally Posted by thealmighty

I probably missed it in a previous post and am too lazy to look, but what does it do for you when you appease your friends or family?

You get bonuses to some of your abilities if your friends/family/fans are happy with you. Also, I belive if they are sufficiently unhappy with you then you can suffer penalties in those skills. I forget off the top of my head which ones affect which stats though. I'll check the help next time I have the game loaded.

[Radii]

Ok, I checked the(suprisingly good) help files:

supporters: If the fans like you, your fitness abilities go up. If they are very unhappy then they can go down. These are pace/stamina/strength.

friends and family: these two combine to determine if your technique abilities will be boosted on gameday. These are flair, control, and both feet.


I pretty consistantly get a +3 or +4 to all technique abilities and a +5 to all fitness abilities each match.

[Radii]

Dec 2008


Dec 2
1280 shirts with my name on it for $12800.

I'm hurt for the entire month, so here's a summary of my teams matches.

Dec 4: USA 2, St Kitts & Nevis 0
Dec 6: Arsenal 2, Everton 2
Dec 10: Arsenal 2, Chelsea 1
Dec 13: Bolton 2, Arsenal 0
Dec 17: Arsenal 2, Aston Villa 2
Dec 20: Newcastle 2, Arsenal 1 (ENGLISH CUP - more time to train the rest of the way I guess)
Dec 27: Wolverhampton 3, Arsenal 2


We finish the month tied with Tottenham for first. Our first match of January is vs Tottenham, but its not til Jan 7th and I should be healthy by then.

[Radii]

Jan 2009


Jan 2
1280 shirts with my name on it for $12800.


Jan 3 - GAMEDAY
CONCACAF QUALIFYING
Cuba vs United States

-- Still injured. USA wins 2-0.

Jan 7 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Tottenham - WOOHOO - Healthy!

-- This is HUGE. We're 6 points ahead of 5th, so regardless of this we're still in a strong position for a champions league spot, but at this point, we're looking for the league title.

-- This one is tough, but we get a lot more shots off. I take a number of them in the first half though most don't have a chance. 21st minute though Hinry makes a tackle, I pick up the loose ball and score, 1-0!!! 40th they tie it up, we're 1-1 at the half. It's very close throughout the second half and I spend some time in defense to make sure we dont give up a goal, but finally we get a little breakaway with an interception in midfield. hinry feeds a beautiful ball through two defenders to me, and I shoot and SCORE!!! 2-1 win!!!

-- 2 goals/10 shots/2 passes (1 foul). I win man of the match honors.

Jan 8
-- I get my sponsor money for clothing, just 1.8 million.


Jan 10 - GAMEDAY
-- Plymouth vs Arsenal -- 1st vs 11th. CRUSH.

-- 12th minute, Hinry gets a goal to put us up early. We struggle after that though, allowing the tying goal in the 36th minute. I score right before halftime to make it 2-1, and we just can't put the game away, allowing the tying goal in the 84th minute, tie game, 2-2.

-- Tottenham wins and we're now just 1 point up on them.

-- 1 goal on 9 shots, 11 passes for me today. That's another 10 rating. How many in a row is that now? A ton!


Jan 12
-- Pepsi pays me my $2.1 million. All of these contracts expire in 2010, so I'm in the last year of the clothes and drink contracts.

Jan 14 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Middlesbrough - 1st vs 17th, seems like a big mismatch.

-- This is the first time this year that a team has taken more shots than we have. They score in the 20th, 50th, and 67th minutes in what may be the most frustrating match I've played. 4 shots, only one of them with a reasonable chance to go in, 6 passes, most in midfield, and 3 tackles, for a 6 rating. We lose 3-0.

-- We drop to 2nd in the loss, 2 points ahead of Man U in 4th.



Media Reviews
-- "Dixon wash very ordinary", "Dixon was reliable on the ball", "the defense managed to control Dixon"


Jan 17
-- I decide to get Tackling up to 20 next. Tackling levels 12, 13, and 14 are all trivially easy. I work on this while the other teams still alvie are playing in the English Cup.

Jan 19
-- My wife wants to have my family over for dinner. Sure, why not. Food is good, everyone's happy.

Jan 20
-- Tackling to 15 and 16 are trivially easy.


Jan 24 - GAMEDAY
Man City vs ARsenal - They're 12th, we're 2nd. We gotta win, I don't like being 3 points from being out of the champions league. We must, if nothing else, remain in the top 4. I'd rather win the league, but the top 4 is a must.


-- This is what we needed, a slower, less talented team by far. My tackling skill seems to be helping, i got 5 tackles and it seems like tackling is something that'll benefit me immediately as I work it up higher. I get an assist to Hinry in the 33rd minute. 43rd I score off a pass from Hlib. 50th Hinry scores a beautiful bending goal. I'm pulled in the 74th or so and we win 4-0 after one final goal.

-- 1 goal on 5 shots, 1 assist on 7 passes, 5 tackles for a 10 rating.


Jan 26
-- I fail twice on tackling level 17. That was a tougie. 12 cones in 20 seconds. I try again 2 days later and miss it by 1 cone. DOH.

Jan 31 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Ipswich - 2nd sv 6th. We're 6 points ahead of them, 4 points ahead of 5th. Just keep winning.

-- One of the more exciting gamesI have seen:

-- 4th minute - we fall behind 0-1 on Ipswich's first posession.
-- 9th minute - down 0-2, 2 shots, 2 goals for them.
-- 18th minute - Hinry gets a goal to make it 1-2, I had no involvement
-- 36th minute - 1-3, where the hell is the defense?!
-- 54th minute - 1-4, its over, huh?
-- 58th minute - Hinry feeds me and I get a good shot that goes in, 2-4
-- 69th minute - we counter attack, I get a pass at midfield and break away from everyone, taking it all the way myself and scoring! 3-4!!!
-- 79th - JUST high, I should have had that one.
-- 90th - Dixon is open, a defender near but he can't impact this shot, its fired, and OFF THE POST. The keeper had no chance had it been on line. DOH!!!!!

-- we lose 4-3. 2 goals on 8 shots and just 1 pass(and a few failed passes), 10 rating but damn we need to win.

END OF Month

I recovered from my injury to briefly see Arsenal in first. It's tight, we're 3 points out of first, but also only 3 points out of 5th(out of the champions league).

[Radii]

Feb 2009


Feb 2
1368 shirts with my name on it for $13680.

-- I failed at Tackling level 17 again.

Feb 4 - GAMEDAY
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal - 13th vs 2nd.

-- Hinry and I are faster than anyone on their team. I score in the 6th minute on a pass from Piris, a middie(I think, maybe defender?). It's frustrating for a bit, I should have scored about 4 times in the next 20 minutes but keep missing, an din the 37th minute on their first shot, they tie the damn thing up. But we're ready, 41st minute I score easily, 2-1. 44th minute I get another easy goal, I rebound my own shot and put one in. It's 3-1 at the half and we have outshot them 12-1. 2nd half is just pure domination. We go on a tear where they just totally wear down, Hinry and I can catch their entire team. He gets the tackle I get the ball and boogie. In the 65th I get tackled in the box, PK. Hinry goal (ast to me). 68th minute I get the assist to Hinry. 71st and 77th minutes I get easy goals before getting subbed out.

-- 5 goals on 13 shots, 2 assists on 4 passes, 1 tackle. I am man of the match in this 7-1 drubbing.

-- We remain 3 behind the suprs, and 3 ahead of 5th.

FEb 7 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Charlton - We'er 2 points ahead of them, they're in 4th. Big, big contest.

-- I didn't score in the first half of this one, but I felt I played a major factor. Hlib gets a goal in the 26th minute, thanks to some great tackling the midfielders were further up than normal here. They tie it up int he 33rd minute, 1-1. At the half I have FIVE!! tackles. 49th minute HInry gets an amazing goal, again I'm not involved. We are the clear agressor here and in the 77th minute I get in the action with a great cross that Hinry puts in, 3-1! 81st minute I get a goal, 4-1! I am subbed out there, RIyis, my backup, scores and we win 4-1.

-- 1 goal on 7 shots, 1 assist on 3 passes, 6 tackles.

-- Tottenham lose, we are tied for first again! 4 points ahead of 5th still, tight tight.


Feb 11 - GAMEDAY
-- Birmingham vs Arsenal - 16th vs 1st. Teehee.

We're playing great together. This is just a blowout. I score in the 4th, 12th, 23rd, and 80th minutes. Hlib gets one in the 37th and Hinry gets one in the 50th. I assist Hinry. this is a 6-0 final.

4 goals, 12 shots, 1 assist, 3 passes, 2 tackles.

Tottenham loses again. We're 1 point up on Man U, 3 on tottenham/ipswich tied for 3rd/4th.


Feb 15
-- Damn. 3 more failures at 17 tackling. I may just have to auto that in the offseason.

Feb 18
-- Lets do something easy. Flair and Both Feet both up by 1.


Feb 21 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Portsmouth 1st vs 19th. Another blowout?

-- yup. 5-0. 3 goals, 1 assist. Slowish start, only 1-0 in the first 35 minutes but we just wear them down and tear it up late.

-- I win man of the match.


-- Thanks to some other losses, we now have a 3 point lead on 2nd place. Still only 4 points up on 5th though.

-- Only 3 more matches to go this season, we can hang on for the win here!

Media Reviews
-- "Dixon had a hand in it", "dixon played some glorious football", "Dixon completed a stunning hat-trick", "Dixon got man of the match"

Feb 25
-- Over a couple of free days, I train flair and both feet up a little more.


Feb 28 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs West Brom - 1st vs 13th

-- we took 20 shots. They took none. 3 quick goals from me in the 40-50 minute range and a late Hinry goal(91st minute) in this easy, easy 4-0 win.


-- We play two more matches in March. One point in the two matches clinches 4th. 2 points clinches first.


Mar 4 - GAMEDAY
CONCACAF Qualifying
Guatemala vs USA

-- I forgot about this and am only at 50% energy. Oh well, lets see how much I can score in a half.

-- I score in the 10th, 28th, 31st and 37th minutes to put us up 4-0. I'm taken out in the 44th minute, Ada scores 3 more goals as we go on to win 7-1.

-- 4 goals/12 shots/5 passes/4 tackles.



training
During my free time before our next league match I work on a mix of flair, both feet, and vision. I plan on putting a point into tackling and a point into
passing in the offseason to hopefully get me past a couple of difficult ones.



Mar 11 - GAMEDAY
Sunderland vs Arsenal - 9th vs 1st. A win clinches first for us.

I'm only at 75% going into this one.

-- We win the Premier League!!! 4-0, easy win, I score two goals, Hinry scores 2. I get a 10 rating in 2 goals/7 shots/6 passes/2 tackles.


Mar 11 - GAMEDAY
Newcastle vs Arsenal - We've won it all, they're in 8th.

-- 3 goals, man of the match, 3 goals/8 shots/6 passes/4 tackles in an easy 3-0 win.


That's the end of the regular season, but we do have one international match in May.


May 3 - GAMEDAY
USA vs St Kitts & Nevis

Yeah, just to see if I could.. I scored in the 5th minute, got the ball babck and decided to just go running around. I ran with the ball until halftime untuoched. Then I did the same until the 90th minute, when I scored a second goal. 2-0 USA. 2 goals on 2 shots for me. 98% posession USA.



END OF Season

This has started to get just a little boring. You can see in my last number of games where I just scored, not at will except in international matches, but where I was almost guarenteed 2 or 3 solid goals a game.

Arsenal earns 79 points, 24 wins, 7 losses, 7 ties, 104 goals for/41 against to win the premiership. Man U, 23/9/6 and 75 points is 2nd. Tottenham and Chelsea earn the other two champions league spots for next season.


I'd like to play this career at least through the world cup, but reporting will be pared down as me scoring over and over just isn't that interesting.

After the World Cup, I have to decide if I want to finish this career or start a new one at a higher level. If I play this career, do I leave Arsenal? For what kind of situation? What goals should I set?

If I start a new career it will certainly be on the toughest difficulty level. I am considering a midfielder where I don't allow myself to score very often even if I could, to prevent from being moved to attacker, to see if I could eventulaly lead the league in tackles and passes and assists from the midfield. Or I could go real boring and try a defender.

Anyway, I'll do at least through the world cup, but with limited reporting. Any suggestions after that?

[Radii]

2008/09 Stats

33 appearances
33 starts

59 goals
236 shots
4.00 shots per goal
1.79 goals per game
19 assists
154 passes
41 tackles
13 man of the match awards
1 yellow card
8 hattricks


Career Stats

154 appearnces
151 starts
3 on as a sub

159 goals
821 shots
5.16 shots/goal
1.03 goals/game
61 assists
641 passes
262 tackles
27 man of the match awards
1 yellow card
0 red cards
16 hattricks
16 champions league goals


Awards

You have won the Premier League Young Player of the Year award!

Richard of Arsenal has won the World Player of the Year award!


That's my 2nd World Player of the Year Award, and my 3rd young player of the year award. We are League Champs for the first time.

I only have holes in runner up spots, World Cup winner, World Cup Golden Boot, and League Player of the Year (only young player so far...)

[daedalus]

You could try to see if you and Titi can take Arsenal to the elusive Treble (League, FA Cup and Champion's League). Or the Quad (add in the Carling Cup).

Originally Posted by Radii

Piris, a middie(I think, maybe defender?).

I don't know if you're interested but that is probably Robert Pires, a French winger.

'Fabreges' is Francesc Fabregas, a young Spanish midfielder. 'Hinry' is obviously Thierry Henry. Your backup, 'Riyis', is Jose Antonio Reyes, a Spanish forward. Your buddy, 'Hlib', is Aliaksander Hleb, a Belarussian midfielder.

[Radii]

Thanks for the info daedalus, and that reminds me of something else. I think I can get a 'real names' pack, before I start my next game(whenever that is) I will probably look into that.

[Radii]

Aug 2009

-- Tackling Level 19 is easy, steal the ball from a guy before he gets to the box. 20 is a cone drill and i fail on it.


Aug 8 - GAMEDAY
Plymouth vs Arsenal - hoping to get off to a start as good as I ended last season.

-- I score 2 goals in a 2-0 win for man of the match.


-- Passing level 23, hit 5 bounce targets in 15 balls, over a line of cones. Piece of Cake. Level 24 is going to be tough. 20 cones in 25 seconds, 25 balls max. I had 6 left the first try.


Aug 15 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Sunderland

-- I get 2 goals and 2 assists(both to Hinry) in a 4-2 win. They scored when we were up 3-0 in the 66th and in injury time when we were up 4-1, so it was never close.


-- I train up both feet one point in between matches.


Aug 22 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Middlesbrough - We're both 2-0-0 early on.

A terrible performance by both myself and Hinry. We outshoot Middlesbrough 17-4 but somehow end up in a 2-2 tie. I take 8 shots, no goals, Hinry had a number of others. We got two great goals from the midfield today, including the equalizer in the 84th.

Aug 26 - GAMEDAY
Man City vs Arsenal - we're in a 6 way tie for first with 7 points(2 wins/1 tie/0 losses). Man City is tied with us too.

-- I score my first hattrick of the year, getting my 3rd goal in the 56th minute. Man City scores one, then Hinry scores one, then I score my 4th goal. Man City makes it 5-2 but we dominate that one.

-- Annnnd, I find a nice little bug. After the game is asved it's listed as 0-0. WTF!



Aug 29 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Everton -- we drop to 4th after that bug gives us a tie.


This game is closer than the 3-1 final appears. We only outshot them 12-9 on the game. I had 2 assists and one goal in this one.


END OF Month
September is going to be busy, this is when everything starts. I have an international match on 9/2, and Champions Cup play begins.

We're in a 4 way tie for the league lead early on, unfortunately after that stupid draw bug.


I have 5 goals in 5 matches so far, 4 assists, 1 man of the match award.

[Radii]

Sep 2010


Sep 2 - GAMEDAY
INTERNATIONAL - USA vs Cuba

This one is irrelevant. We are through to the next World Cup Qualifying round regardless of the result here.

6 goals and 1 assist as we show the commies who is boss in a 7-0 win.

Sep 2 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - Beveren vs Arsenal

I'm playing an international match here, so I'm not available. We have a 2-2 draw to open this up. Chelsea and SC Heerenveen are the other two teams in this group.

Sep 5 - GAMEDAY
Chelsea vs Arsenal - 1st vs 8th early on.

-- These guys are good. Hinry scores early, I score in the 66th minute but Chelsea scoers two goals in the last 20 minutes to leave with a 2-2 draw.


Sept 6

I train set pieces up to 12. I don't know if I'm going to be able to get the next passing/tackling ones without usnig the extra points after the season. I get level 13 before our next match as well.


Sep 12 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Blackburn - 2nd vs 20th (we're 1 point back now of Charlton)

-- Its closer than it should be for most of this match. Blackburn scores early, 11th minute to go up 1-0. I assist Hinry about 2 minutes later to tie it up. Its not until the 66th minute that we can go ahead for good, I get my 2nd assist, again to Hinry. I tack on a goal in the 87th minute to seal it, 3-1.


Sponsorships

My clothing sponsor, Kappa, wants to extend my deal. I say no, as I only get $1.8 mil from them and I know I can get a lot more.

Sep 16 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Arsenal vs Chelsea - our likely competition for the top spot in our group.

-- This is not a match to worry about individual stats. I only come out of this with a 7 rating, but I get one assist and make a few tackles to keep posession on our side late. Chelsea is very, very good and very fast and anything we can do to beat them is great. 2-1 win here.


Sep 19 - GAMEDAY
Ipswich vs Arsenal - 12th vs 2nd.

This is one of my best games ever as far as passing and tackling goes. 8 tackles, 8 passes. Most importantly though, I score the only goal of the match by either team in the 55th minute to give us the 1-0 win.


Sep 23 - GAMEDAY
WBA vs Arsenal - 14th vs 2nd. Charlton just won't lose.

-- 2 assists and a goal in this blowout. 10 passes, 9 tackles, I appear to have changed a little about my game in these past few matches.


Sep 26 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Tottenham - 2nd vs 4th, over the past few seasons Tottenham and Chelsea have consistantly been my biggest competition.

-- Wow, great game. Scoreless at halftime, each team has 3 shots only. I have none. In fact, I have a 4 rating with just 2 passes in the books. I have been helping my team out with Tackles a lot more lately, but today, nothing. Finally in the 73rd minute, it apepars the Spurs defense is slowing, and I get by the last defender and score a goal. Tottenham evens it up in the 84th, but again, their defense was realyl slowing, I was able to elude two defenders to get a shot off for the winning goal in the 88th minute for a huge Arsenal 2-1 victory!

-- Charlton finally loses and that puts us back in first.

Sep 30 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
SC Heerenveen vs Arsenal -- This looks like it should be the 'easy win' of the group. They're 0-2 so far. We're tied for first with 1 win/1 tie, while chelsea has 3 points, 1 win/1 loss. We need a win here to stay on top.


-- I was right, this was the easy win of the group. I open the scoring at 15 minuets, and by halftime it's 3-0. We end up 4-0, hinry gets a hat trick, but i get 2 assists to him. I also get 7 total passes and a tackle and earn man of the match honors with 1 goal/2 assists.

END OF Month

It looks like its going to be awhile before I get to train again, between the champions league, world cup qualifying and the english cup(which starts in OctobeR) I have a ways to go before I have more than a day or two off.


Personally my stats are good. 12 goals and 11 assists in 12 games so far. Hinry leads the leageu with 14 goals, my 12 is second. I lead in assists, Hinry is 2nd with only 6.

On a team level, we are in great shape to advance in the champions league, but we are still only halfway through group stages. Arsenal has 24 points in 10 league matches, with an awesome 7 wins, 0 losses, 3 draws. We have a +14 goal differential. Charlton is 2nd, with 22 points. Man U 3rd with 20 points, Tottenham 4th with 18. Everton, in 5th(the first spot out of champions league qualifying) is a full 8 points behind with only 16. We look great right now.

[Radii]

Oct 2010


Oct 3 - GAMEDAY
Portsmouth vs Arsenal - 19th vs 1st. Should be fun

My second man of the match award in a row, and my most impressive individual stat line vs Premier League competition(albeit poor competition). 4 goals, 11 shots, 8 passes, 8 tackles. I had a hat trick in the first 30 nintutes. I tried to get Hinry to score a number of times, I thought I was going to end up with an easy assist on 3 different occasions, oh well.


Oct 5 - GAMEDAY
CONCACAF QUALIFYING - Cuba vs USA

-- this should be easy of course.

-- To show just how much I hate communism, I decide to score as much as possible. The Cuban players were so slow that generally me or Ada tackled the ball away from the forwards within a second of kickoff, and on 5 or 6 different occasions, I took the ball from that tackle and scored. I scored 13 goals in 66 minutes. Beesley came on and scored 2 more after that, and the US wins 15-0. I have 13 goals on 18 shots, and am, not suprisingly, man of the match.


Oct 7 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Newcastle - I expect to only play a half here. I go into the game at 69% energy. This is 1st place vs 10th.

-- I score two goals in the first half, on my only two good runs. Hinry gets the assist on one, I forget the other. All is well until our defense collapses for just a few minuets... Newcastle goals in the 72nd and 75th minutes tie it up. I have one great chance to win it in the 80th, but I kick the ball over the net. I'm exhausted and am brought out at that point. 2-2 draw. Charlton wins and we're now tied, but of course we have the massive goal differential lead.

-- I am named man of the match for the 3rd straight league contest.


Oct 10 - GAMEDAY
Man U vs Arsenal - Man U has gone cold and is down to 6th in the table. I'm at 82% energy now.

I score two early goals, one on a corner kick(assist to hinry) and another on a long counter attacking run. I'm injured in the 25th minute and come off. We win 2-1 to stay in 1st.

Injury

-- I have an ankle injury that will keep me off the field for 5 weeks


In my abscence:

INTERNATIONAL: Mexico 3, USA 2
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: KSK Beveren 1, Arsenal 0
LEAGUE: Arsenal 2, Liverpool 0 (we now have a 5 point lead over Charlton in 2nd)
ENGLISH CUP: Wigan 2, Arsenal 1 (what? We now hate wigan)
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Arsenal 1, Chelsea 1 (Nov 11th vs SC Heerenveen is all thats left. Win and we're in. tie/lose and it depends on the Chelsea-KSK Beveren match. Chelsea leads the group with 10 points, we have 8, Beveren has 7).
LEAGUE: Arsenal 1, Crystal Palace 0


END OF Month

Injuries suck!

We are doing awesome in league play. 37 points, 15 matches without a loss(11 wins/4 draws). We're 5 points ahead of Charlton, and 9 ahead of Chelsea/Tottenham/Plymouth, all tied for 3rd through 5th).

I may miss the next CONCACAF match which hurts more than anything. We can probably be spotted 2 or 3 losses and still pull it out, the competition is so bad, but I'd rather not take any chances.

[Radii]

Nov 2010

The rest of my injury time:

LEAGUE: Charlton 1, Arsenal 0 - more than any other match, I would not have wanted to miss this. This would have been a chance to open up an 8 point lead on second place! Instead we're 2 up.
LEAGUE: Aston Villa 0, Arsenal 0 - tied now with Charlton... ARGH.
WORLD CUP QUALIFIER: Jamaica 2, USA 2 - I am healthy again but was only at 42% energy. I wanted to play in this but I didn't want to kill myself, so I requested, and got, the day off.

Skill loss

-- I babysit for a family member. While babysitting, the baby drops a cup on my leg. I lose 1 point of pace... that's a big stat, gotta get that back up ASAP.


Nov 11 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs SC Heerenveen - hopefully an easy one. A win and we're into the second phase of Champions play

-- UGGGGGHHHHHHHH. I get hurt on a tackle in the 15th minute. I have a head injury and will miss 2 weeks.

-- We win 2-1 and advance through Champions League group play.

-- We'll play Malaga B in a home/home 2 game match in December. Are they russian?



While Injured
LEAGUE: West Ham 2, Arsenal 1 - we're now in 2nd.
WORLD CUP QUALIFIER: USA 2,Trinidad & Tobago 0
LEAGUE: Arsenal 1, Watford 0 - back in 1st after a Charlton loss



-- I annoy my sponsors some. They want me to wear new boots. I am told they may improve my skills or may hurt them. I'm not willing to take the chance and decline.


Nov 25 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Plymouth - back from injury, and just in time. Plymouth is 9 points behind us but in 7th, they're a quality team.


-- WOW. Our midfield just got owned in the first half. I got off 1 shot, Hinry 1, neither good, in the half. We trailed 3-0 at the half. Goals in the 75th and 90th minute by myself made it 3-2 but we still lost. I had 4 chances to score in the second half, but coming through on 100% of my chances is rare.

-- Chelsea has gotten hot and they now take over 1st in the league.


Nov 28 - GAMEDAY
Sunderland vs ARsenal - 8th vs 2nd - every game is critical now with us having floundered a big lead away this month.

-- I don't say this often, but I feel like I singlehandedly won this game for us. Sunderland scores in the 5th minute and we're in trouble early for the 2nd match in a row. But I score in the 11th, 18th and 30th to put us ahead 3-1. Sunderland scores again early in the 2nd half to close it to 1 goal again, but I immediately end their hopes with my 4th goal of the match. We win this one 4-2, I have 7 tackles on the game to go on top of my goals and shots.

Birthday

I'm 22. I receive a signed picture of Ruud Gullit for my birthday from a friend.


END OF Month

I went on a goal scoring rampage when I wasn't hurt. Now in 18 appearances I have 26 goals, when after 12 games I had 12 goals. I still have 11 assists.

We are in the mix of a tight race now in the premier league. Chelsea leads with 46 points after 21 matches. We're 2nd with 44. Charlton has 42, and Tottenham 41 to round out the top 4. Man U and Everton have 40, just barely on the outside lookingin.


In CONCACAF Qualifying, after 4 matches(out of 10 total) Costa Rica has 10 points, MExico 8, and the USA 7. If I can go a week without getting hurt, we play Costa Rica Dec 7th and can change all of that drastically.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Radii

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: KSK Beveren 1, Arsenal 0

This made me giggle a bit as Beveren has a relationship with Arsenal.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by daedalus

This made me giggle a bit as Beveren has a relationship with Arsenal.

How so?

If I don't recognize the team in the champions cup I just have to cycle through all of the nations to find the team, and I'm usually too lazy to do that(or to pull up Google I guess) so I don't know where they're from.

[daedalus]

They have a working relationship. Like, sort of a feeder club. Some of the younger players will sometimes go on loan to Beveren. I believe we have first option on their players. A lot of time, younger prospects from ASEC Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire will go there and establish themselves until they can get an EU permit (whether via national team or Belgian passport) before moving on.

[daedalus]

Here is the Wikipedia entry on Beveren.

[Radii]

Dec 2009


Dec 2 - GAMEDAY
Middlesbrough vs Arsenal -- We're 2nd, they're 17th

-- I havent playd in almost 2 weeks, so lets see how off I am.

-- I earn a 4 in a terrible 1-0 loss, but I blame my computer. It was crawling, but once the game starts, if you exit you forfeit anyway, and I didn't want to power off and risk corruption. Reboot time!


Dec 5 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Man City - We fell to 3rd after that last match, Man City is 16th, hopefully this is an easy win.

-- We allow two freak goals but I score two myself and we leave w/ a 2-2 tie, but something is wrong w/ the game or with my computer, even after a fresh reboot something is moving very, very slowly.



Dec 7 - GAMEDAY
-- still attempting to figure out this stupid Computer problem, I end up quitting a Costa Rica/USA match

Dec 9 - GAMEDAY
Everton vs Arsenal - we're 4th, they're 6th, just 2 points back, obviously a huge match, with a loss we're out of the top 4.

-- I score two goals in a big 3-0 win.


Dec 11 - GAMEDAY
Chelsea vs Arsenal - 1st vs 4th, this is huge

-- my PC seems ok now. I upgraded to the most recent version and did a couple of windows updates, though I don't know why either of those things would have sped gameplay up.

-- I get the only goal in a huge 1-0 win here. The new patch is a bit different, keepers are better(though possibly just at lower levels) and there was a lot ore action in the air, more headers and competition for long balls. We move to 3rd with the win. Chelsea has 55 points, Charlton 54, Arsenal 51, Tottenham 50


Dec 14 - GAMEDAY
CONCACAF QUALIFYING
USA vs Cuba - we should win this by about 40.

-- I score 3, we win 1-0. After the 20th minute I put the game on high speed and run around in circles until its over.


-- There is actually about 10 days between matches here. I train set pieces up one, and train pace back to 30(it had fallen in an injury earlier).


Dec 23 - GAMEDAY
EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS - 2nd round knockout stages
Arsenal vs Malaga B

-- a scoreless first half in the rain gives way to 4 goals in the 2nd half. I score 2, assist on one. Malaga B scores the final goal and we win 3-1. That's a 10 rating for me and gives us a big edge, we'd have to get crushed next week not to advance.

Dec 26 - GAMEDAY
Blackburn vs Arsenal - 20th, dead last, vs 3rd. They have 9 points this entire year. We better win this one.

I score 3 goals and we win this one going away, 4-0.


Dec 30 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - Malaga B vs Arsenal
We won 3-1 in the first leg, so we're in extremely good shape here.

I score the opening goal early, Malaga comes back to take a 2-1 halftime lead though, and I'm worried. The second half workso ut well as I score a goal and we get one more to win 3-2, more than enough to advance.


END OF Month

This month took a looooong time to play. I'm not on the desktop as often as I used to be, and I'm not staying up as late(look at how many of my updates are at like 2am...). But I'm still playing this a bit.

Entering January we are 3rd in the league standings, 1st is in sight with 12 matches to go still. We'll be playing Atletico Madrid in the Champsions League Quarters, and the US team has two international matches towards world cup qualifiying in January(+2 more in Feburary to lock up a world cup spot).

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Radii

Dec 14 - GAMEDAY
CONCACAF QUALIFYING
USA vs Cuba - we should win this by about 40.

-- I score 3, we win 1-0.

That was a neat trick.

Glad to see the dynasty updating again, by the way.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Katon

That was a neat trick.

Glad to see the dynasty updating again, by the way.

Looking back through the schedule, that was actually 4-0, oops

[Radii]

Jan 2010


Jan 2 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Ipswich - we're up 18 points on them, 3rd vs 9th. Charlton(2nd place) has an easy game but Chelsea(1st) plays Tottenham(4th) today in a game that will have a big impact on our place in the standings.

-- We play a *terrible* first half, trailing 1-0 after they score in the 28th minute. I cnanot get open for a shot at all, I have 3 pass attempts to set up Hinry but all fail miserably. We come around just enough in the 2nd half. Its a dogfight but we get two breakaways, and I'm able to finish both, goals in the 61st and 8th minute give us a 2-1 win. Tottenham and Chelsea tie. Charlton is upset.

Table:
Chelsea 59 pts
Arsenal 57
Charlton 57
Tottenham 54
Man U 50

Jan 4 - GAMEDAY
Mexico vs United States - I'm excited about this game b/c this is our only legitimate competition in North America. I want to see how they compare to tough Premiership teams.

-- Well, we pick up a solid 4-2 win, but it wasn't the easiest win I've had. If the euro teams are filled with players of premiership quality, I think the US can advance past the group stage on my skill alone, but will likely not make it any further than that.


Jan 6 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs West Brom

-- I'm at 53% energy and ask to sit out instead of playing for 30 minutes and getting exhausted. We win 2-0 and stay within 2 of Chelsea. We're firmly in 2nd as Charlton loses second straight match.


-- My clothing endorsement contract has expired. Lets see what I get offered this time around.

Jan 9 - GAMEDAY
Tottenham vs Arsenal - a big match, 2nd vs the team tied for 3rd. Chelsea plays a struggling newcastle today.

-- FRUSTRATING. We trail 1-0 at the half. Arsenal has 9 shots, Tottenham 1. We dominate posession, Hinry and I are working our asses off, but can't get it done. Then, while fighting to come back in the 2nd half, I get injured. I'm off, we lose 2-0, and I'm out 2 weeks with a shin injury


-- While injured:

Jamaica 2, USA 0 - this is uncomfortably close, all b/c of my injuries.

USA 16 pts
Costa Rica 16 pts
Mexico 15 pts

top 2 qualify. 2 matches to go. We play Trinidad & Tobago and Costa Rica. As long as I'm healthy we're fine. I'll certainly be over this injury by then.

Arsenal 0, Portsmouth 0 - This one drops arsenal into a tie for 3rd/4th. *gulp*

-- luckily, the english cup was in this stretch so these are the only two games I missed. It's also a short 2 weeks on that injury.

Jan 20 - GAMEDAY
EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS - Quarterfinals
Atletico Madrid vs Arsenal

-- I put 3 shots over the bar early in the rain, I'm not sure if its the weather or what, but that sucked. They play great defense the rest of the way and win a big header for a goal late in the match. We fall 1-0 and have a lot of work to do.


Jan 23 - GAMEDAY
Newcastle vs Arsenal -- we need to get winning again. We're 2 points behind 2nd. Newcastle is 13th.

-- We needed a confidence booster like this. I assist Hinry in the 3rd, he feeds it to me in the 7th, and I get a goal in the 22nd to give us an early 3-0 lead. That's the final score. Big win for Arsenal to get us back on track. Check out the race up top now:

1. Chelsea - 66 pts
2. Arsenal - 64 pts
3. Tottenham - 64 pts
4. Charlton - 64 pts
5. Man U - 59 pts


Jan 27 - GAMEDAY
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid

-- We trail 1-0 here. Big, big matchup.

-- Proving that the first match was no fluke, we're shut out 1-0 again. That ends our Champions League run.


Jan 30 - GAMEDAY
Arsenal vs Man U - we'rd in this big 3 way tie for 2nd, they're in 5th. Big, big match here.

GAH. The game hangs, I have to exit and I come out of an auto-sim with a 3-2 loss. *sigh*


END OF Month
A rough month on the whole. Had we won that last match we'd be tied for first right now, instead we're in 3rd. We also got eliminated from Champions Cup play, but hopefully that will allow me to train some the rest of the way.