Manchester United: Building on Success

[daedalus]

Even better . . . when his contract comes unprotected, rescue Adu from Stamford Bridge.

And I agree with Rob M.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

July 20, 2012 -

Chelsea have rejected my latest offer for Freddy Adu. The insanity must stop. I will not make any more offers unless they accept a reasonable offer. I will try to pressure them by making my desire to add Adu public.


Rada Benitez has been hired at Atletico de Madrid to take effect immediately.


The media speculated about my interest already. They feel that chelsea will sell Adu at the right price, but not to an EPL rival. They have a good point.

If you really want to bring him in, wait until Chelsea make a big transfer buy. If the expenditure drops them out of the "Rich" category, they'll be more likely to accept an offer for Freddy Adu. More difficult with them because of the Sugardaddy in charge, but still possible. Also, the players you were offering reminds me of the old tactic of trading unwanted players for draft picks in FOF. I think the AI is too smart in FM for that.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by daedalus

Even better . . . when his contract comes unprotected, rescue Adu from Stamford Bridge.

And I agree with Rob M.

You'll right. I was going crazy with Adu madness

I'll definitely try to get him at some point in the future if he continues to be so effective. Unfortunately, they just signed him to a new 4 year deal, so it will be a bit until he becomes unprotected again.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

If you really want to bring him in, wait until Chelsea make a big transfer buy. If the expenditure drops them out of the "Rich" category, they'll be more likely to accept an offer for Freddy Adu. More difficult with them because of the Sugardaddy in charge, but still possible. Also, the players you were offering reminds me of the old tactic of trading unwanted players for draft picks in FOF. I think the AI is too smart in FM for that.

I think you are right. The AI was too smart. The only guy I offered that they wanted was Parker

[Eaglesfan27]

July 27, 2012 -

Aston Villa signed Juventus' Wayne Dunn for 3.2 million dollars. This young central defender is one good one that slipped under my nose. He might become a very good defender.


Today we play a friendly against my old team, Wigan. They have gotten rid of most of my old favorite players, but I wanted to play them in my last friendly of the season to see how they look. Next year, I might even play them on their pitch (this is the only friendly that I scheduled.)


It is cold today with temperatures in the 40's and it is cloudy.

GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Cook
MC: Fletcher
MR: Schreurs (Eagles is hurt)
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: O'Shea
S3: Smith
S4: King
S5: Cahais
S6: Mamam
S7: Duff
S8: Grygera
S9: Parker
S10: Chivu
S11: Marino
S12: Wood

[Eaglesfan27]

The only guys I recognize in the top 11 are Paddy Kenny and Michael Stewart. The rest are all new acquisitions. Tom Hutchinson and Greg Kelly are the only bench guys I recognize.

24 minute mark: Ferdinand passes it long to Rooney.. he dribbles past two defenders.. shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

32 minute mark: Fletcher intercepts it at midfield.. passes it long to Rooney.. he gets it just outside the box.. splites the defenders.. shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

34 minute mark: Rooney gets the ball on the left wing.. dribbles past two defenders.. into the box.. passes it Adriano by the far post.. he heads it.. upper right corner.. Paddy with a diving save.

41 minute mark: Downing beats two defenders down the left side.. crosses it to the near post.. Adriano with a diving header.. wide left.


Halftime: 2-0 lead. I saw the good performance I was looking for before we play in the Community shield in 10 days. I put in my bench guys now.


75 minute mark: I've seen a spark in Wood's play during the last 30 minutes, perhaps I should give him significantly more PT than I was expecting..

87 minute mark: Duff crosses it to Mamam on the right edge of the box.. Mamam passes it to King by the left post.. King settles it.. shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0.

King looking good.


Game over. 3-0 win for us.

We outshot them 15-5 (9-1 on target)

Downing wins MoM, 9 for form, 10 of 10 passes, 0 tackles, 0 headers, 1 interception, 13 runs, 2 fouls drawn.

Rooney and King also looked good with 8's for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 28, 2012 -

Parma have accepted my offer for Salva, the young central defender. I contact his agent, and he informs me that Salva wants 27,500/week. Mr. Queiroz thinks that this player has a lot to learn before he is ready for first team football and we should only offer 5,600/week. I offer him 23,000/week for a 4 year deal.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 31, 2012 -

Newcastle have payed Tottenham 10.5 million dollars for Jermain Defoe.

Tottenham fans are extremely angry at Gary Megson for selling Defoe who was a fan favorite.

My scout watched Adu today and feels that he would be a good signing. Excellent scouting, Roy Keane.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug. 1, 2012 -

Oddschecker.com has announced the odds to win the EPL Today.

We are the favorites at 6-4. Chelsea is second at 7-4, Liverpool has 2-1 odds, Arsenal has 10-1 odds, Aston Villa has 25-1 odds, and Tottenham is next with 33-1 odds.

A journalist asked if I expect us to win the EPL title this season.

I responded, "We have a good chance of winning the title, but the players must stay focused and give their best in every match."


Salva accepted our contract offer. I hope this 15 million dollar deal ends up being worth it (I think this might be one of my bigger risks signings.)



The board is very pleased with my performance as manager.

The board has announced that due to better financial performance than expected, they are increasing my transfer budget by an additional 12 million dollars!

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 2, 2012 -

My scouts noted that Antonio Ortega is an 18 year old right winger "with a very bright future in the game." As a result, I decided to offer Xerez 5 million dollars for him (his current value.) They accepted my offer. I contact his agent who informs me that his client wants 1,600/week plus 40,000 signing bonus. I happily offer this on a 4 year deal. I think this kid could develop into something special. He will become my fastest player ever. He also is reported to have amazing acceleration. He is already an ok dribbler and passer. He has other things to learn, but at 18 he has plenty of time to learn.


Salva has been called up to the Italy U23 squad for the Olympic Games!

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 4, 2012 -

Antonio Ortega has accepted my contract offer and the deal has been completed. Antonio should arrive soon.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 5, 2012 -

Today we play against Tottenham in the English Community Shield! Tottenham has a talented squad. Keeper Paul Robinson has continued to play well during the past few years. Striker Carlton Cole and Daniel Omoya Braaten have played great. Centreback Mbulelo Mabizela is a very good defender. Midfieldere Pedro Mendes remains a very good player despite his age (33.)

We are 4-6 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the high 50's.

GK: Howard
DL: Chivu
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Parker
MC: Cook
MR: Eagles
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: O'Shea
S3: Smith
S4: King
S5: Cahais
S6: Wood
S7: Duff

In this match, we are allowed to use 5 of our 7 subs.

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Braaten trips Adriano who was breaking away.. yellow card for Braaten.

3 minute mark: Adriano with a lively dribble down nthe right side of the pitch.. crosses it to Rooney in the center of the box.. he heads it.. barely wide right.

9 minute mark: Lucio with a long pass to the edge of the box.. Cook shoots.. the keeper blocks it.. Downing with the rebound.. blazes it.. over the bar.

14 minute mark: Parker passes it into the left side of the box for Rooney.. Rooney is near the end line.. he shoots that amazing parallel shot.. it is parallel to the end line.. it curves into the upper right corner.. AMAZING! I've never seen any other player shoot the ball like that. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

19 minute mark: Lucio gets a yellow card for tripping Carlton Cole.

23 minute mark: Eaton passes it between Lucio and Ferdinand to Cole.. he dribbles into the center of the box.. shoots.. lower left corner.. GOAL. 1-1.

25 minute mark: Braaten trips Adriano again! That is his second yellow card.. he is ejected.

28 minute mark: Taylor bodychecks Downing.. Downing is hurt! Taylor is quickly becoming my most hated player ever! I put Duff on for Downing.

31 minute mark: Cook is tripped by Jason Eaton.. yellow card on Eaton.

32 minute mark: Adriano steals it from Mabizela in the box.. he passes it to Rooney on his left.. Rooney shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-1.

38 minute mark: Mabizela gets a yellow card for a trip on Adriano.

39 minute mark: Stuart Parnaby gets a yellow card for a push on Rooney.

45 minute mark: Ledley king gets a yellow card for tripping Duff.

46 minute mark: Duff burns a defender.. crosses it to the near post.. Rooney jumps.. heads it.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-1. That is Rooney's hattrick! He loves the limelight!


Halftime: 3-1 lead. There are over 90,000 fans here today.


Given this ref's proclivity to give yellow cards, I pull Lucio since he has one already. I put Cahais on for him.

47 minute mark: Runstrom dribbles into the box.. fakes out Ferdinand.. Cahais comes over to help.. Eaton is in the box.. Runstrom passes it to Eaton.. Eaton shoots.. upper right corner.. Howard dives.. it is past him. GOAL. 3-2 lead for us.

50 minute mark: Cook gets a yellow card for pushing Cole.

63 minute mark: Wood on for Cook and King on for Adriano.

70 minute mark: Duff trips Pedro Mendes.. yellow card for Duff.

76 minute mark: Howard stops a long shot from Mendes.

79 minute mark: Beautiful goal.. Rooney dribbles into the left side of the box.. passes it across the box to Eagles who taps it back to King who fires it into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-2.


Game over. 4-2 win for us.

We outshot them 14-11 (9-5 on target)

Rooney wins MoM, 10 for form, 19 of 20 passes, 0 of 1 tackles, 4 of 12 headers, 1 interception, 4 runs, 1 foul drawn, and 3 goals.

Eagles and Duff both had 9's for form. Chivu and Ferdinand both had 8's for form. The rest of the team had 7's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match:

The win was nice, but costly. Downing suffered a groin strain in that hit by Taylor. He is out for 2 weeks or so. Barry Parker also suffered a strained neck and will miss about 5 days.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 8, 2012 -

Darn. Matias Cahais suffered a hip injury in practice today and will miss about 2 months. As a result, it looks like my new Italian signing will be getting more PT.

[Eaglesfan27]

August 9, 2012 -

20 year old Salva played well for Italy in their 1-0 win over Ghana in their first Olympic game. The USA lost to Nigeria 1-0.

England is not in the Olympics group stage.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 11, 2012 -

Lazio has offered Danny Cox (21 year old below average to average centreback worth 8.2 million dollars) plus 17 million for Jeroen Schreurs. I counter with 37 million dollars and that player for Schreurs (I've learned my lesson about not just saying no.)


Arsenal Manager Jose Luis Mendilibar states that he has serious doubts about my chance to win the EPL Title! He feels that I'm too inexperienced to win the title (wasn't he watching last year?) He also states he is unsure how such an inexperienced manager got a job at such a big club in the first place!!


I respond, "I think Jose Luis Mendilibar has no class. We have disliked each other ever since he became manager of Arsenal. I'm tired of keeping this fued quiet. I think he is a jerk, and he doesn't like me. There is no chance we are ever going to like each other. I'll let our play on the field do the rest of my talking."


Tim Howard came into my office and told me that he really wanted to help prove Mendilibar wrong.

Adriano came into my office and told me he likes my response to Arsenal's manager. He feels we have similar personality traits and that we will work together well on and off the pitch!


Lucio came into my office and told me he is very disappointed in my "unprofessional comments to the media."

Christopher Eagles came into my office and told me that he is also disappointed in my unprofessional comments.

[Desnudo]

The funny thing with counteroffering a huge transfer fee is sometimes they accept. I remember Chelsea offering $20 million for one of my players and I countered with a bug-off request of $60 million. They accepted, which kind of left me in a bind.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 11, 2012 -

Juventus have offered 30 million dollars for Stewart Downing. I counter with an offer of 60 million dollars for him.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

The funny thing with counteroffering a huge transfer fee is sometimes they accept. I remember Chelsea offering $20 million for one of my players and I countered with a bug-off request of $60 million. They accepted, which kind of left me in a bind.

I'm definitely running that risk, particularly with Downing It's sort of a nice bind to be in

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 12, 2012 -

Today we travel to play Arsenal in our season opening EPL Match. Arsenal has a talented but aging team. They are led by strikers Javier Saviola and Lukas Podolski. Left winger Jose Antonio Reyes is still a quality left winger. Right winger Salomon Kalou has played very well. Centrebacks Joseph Yobo and Frank Wolf are just average. Keeper Manuel Almunia keeps his job so far, yet he is aging and his skills are declining.

Arsenal are 6-4 favorites!

It's sunny with temperatures in the 70's.

Downing, Cahias, and Salva are all unavailable for this. Downing and Cahais due to injury, and Salva due to the Olympics.


GK: Howard
DL: Chivu
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera
ML: Duff
MC: Stevanovic
MC: cook
MR: Eagles
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: O'Shea
S3: SMith
S4: King
S5: Wood

[Eaglesfan27]

First 10 minutes: Arsenal putting the pressure on us, but our defense is holding. Grygera and Lucio have both made a few big plays.

23 minute mark: Chivu starts the counter attack.. long pass to Rooney.. he fakes out two defenders.. dribbles into the box.. shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper blocks it.. Wolf clears it seconds before Adriano gets to the rebound.

28 minute mark: Rooney gets the ball at midfield.. nice leading pass to Adriano just outside the box.. Adriano dribbles into the box.. shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper blocks it.

30 minute mark: Lucio starts the counterattack.. heads it to Adriano at midfield.. he passes it up the pitch to Rooney.. he dribbles into the box.. shoots.. lower left corner.. solid save by the keeper.


Halftime: 0-0 tie. They have over 60,000 fans here today.


Eagles is tired. I need to pull him off the pitch. I wonder if he is hurt. I don't have many options. I put Alan Smith in at right wing.



48 minute mark: Grygera with a 2-footed tackle on Kalou.. yellow card for Grygera.

63 minute mark: Cook with a powerful curving shot.. upper right corner.. great save by the keeper.

64 minute mark: Rooney collides with Wolf.. Rooney is hurt.. I decide to pull him and put King on for him.

75 minute mark: Howard saves a long range shot from Reyes.

78 minute mark: cook gets a yellow card for a trip on Biasi.

82 minute mark: cook is tired and barely avoided a second yellow card after tripping Reyes.. I put Wood on for Cook.

88 minute mark: Duff crosses to Adriano who heads it.. the keeper saves it.



Game over. 0-0 tie.

They outshot us 5-4 (5-4 on target - first time I've ever seen 100% accuracy from both clubs!)

Lucio won MoM, 9 for form, 19 of 21 passes, 8 of 9 tackles, 12 of 13 headers, 3 interceptions, 1 run, 1 foul drawn. He was huge in stopping their strikers.

Howard, Grygera, Ferdinand, and Rooney all had 8's. The rest of the team had 7's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 12, 2012 -

Salva played well for Italy in their 3-0 win over Japan in the Olympic match. Italy has qualified for the next round.

The USA tied Australia 1-1 but is in danger of not advancing since Spain and Nigeria both have 4 point after 2 games while the USA only has 1.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

The funny thing with counteroffering a huge transfer fee is sometimes they accept. I remember Chelsea offering $20 million for one of my players and I countered with a bug-off request of $60 million. They accepted, which kind of left me in a bind.

How true

Aug 13, 2012 -

Arsenal have made an offer of 9.2 million plus Domenico Ranieri (A very raw 22 year old right winger) for Jeroen Schreurs. I counter with an offer of 75 million plus the player (just because they are my rival.)

Barcelona have offered 22.5 million for Schreurs. I counter with an offer of 65 million dollars.

Oops.. Lazio did accept my counter offer of 37 million plus Danny Cox for Jeroen Schreurs!

It looks like I really did set my offer a bit too low! Oh well, Schreurs was getting upset at not playing more regularly. I'll need to use this money plus my other transfer money to get another quality young right winger who is ready to play now.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 13, 2012 -

YES!!! I may still have a way out! Danny cox doesn't want to come play for us! He isn't even willing to name a price! Great! Danny you are my hero, getting me out of my bind. I make the perfunctory offer of 27,500/week which is the max the board will allow (I don't want to be the bad guy in this thing), but I'm fairly sure he will reject *crosses fingers*.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 14, 2012 -

Darn, my defenders are dropping like fies. Cristian Chivu suffered a calf strain and will miss about 2 weeks.

Arsenal have signed 21 year old spanish midfielder Mario from Valladolid for 30.5 million dollars. Mario looks like a very impressive midfielder. Valladolid fans are reportedly livid that their favorite youngster was sold.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 15, 2012 -

Darn. I just can't win. Jeroen Schreurs has officially requested that he be put on the transfer list and transferred as soon as possible.



Today we host Fulham in our home opener in the EPL. Fulham has a good team led by midfielder Peter Whittingham and Thomas Hitzlsperger. Strikers Collin Johns and Milan Baros are quite good. Their most consistent centreback Carlos Bocanegra is away on international duty for the USA in a World Cup qualifying match. This is shocking to me as I can't believe I didn't notice that Howard was called away! Zesh Rehman will have to play great with Bocanegra gone.

We are 4-5 favorites.

It's overcast with temperatures in the 40's.

GK: Taylor (has to start with Howard gone.)
DL: O'Shea
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Duff (downing is still hurt)
MC: Parker
MC: Fletcher
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: Smith

S1: Harper
S2: Ortega
S3: Marino
S4: Mamam
S5: Wood

[Eaglesfan27]

8 minute mark: Duff passes to McFadden in the box.. he fakes out a defender.. passes it to Fletcher.. he shoots.. over the bar.

34 minute mark: Simon Davies gets a yellow card for pulling Duff's jersey.

35 minute mark: Duff passes it to Parker outside the box.. he shoots.. hard curving shot.. upper right corner.. brilliant save by the keeper.

39 minute mark: Schreurs crosses it to McFadden who heads it.. the keeper punches it over the bar.


Halftime: 0-0 tie. We have over 64,000 fans here today.


57 minute mark: Duff with a corner kick.. to Lucio in the center of the box.. he heads it.. the keeper blocks it.

61 minute mark: Schreurs with a long range shot.. the keeper saves it.

66 minute mark: Bad game for Fletcher. I put Wood on for him. Schreurs is tired, I put Ortega on for him. Smith is tired, I put Marino on for him.

73 minute mark: Our midfielders pass it around looking for a hole in the defene.. finally Barry Parker shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper saves it.

80 minute mark: Duff with a corner.. to the near post.. Parker heads it.. the keeper blocks it.. McFadden whiffs on the rebound.. the defense clears it.

84 minute mark: Ortega passes to Wood.. he blasts a shot.. past the keeper.. upper left corner.. it hits the crossbar. The defense clears the rebound.

88 minute mark: Duff crosses to Marino.. he settles.. shoots.. over the bar.


Game over. Disappointing. A second 0-0 tie.

We outshot them 22-0 (12-0 on target)

Their keeper, Michael Rensing, won MoM with a 10 for form for his 12 saves.


Ferdinand, Schreurs, Duff, and Parker all had 8's for form. Fletcher had a 6. The rest of the team had 7's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Tim Howard played well for the USA in their 5-0 win over Bermuda in the World Cup Qualifying match.

Bobby Convey had a goal. Freddy Adu had a goal, and Landon Donovan had a hattrick for the USA. Justin Moose had 3 assists.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 17, 2012 -

Danny Cox snubbed my contract offer! Danny you are my hero

Danny's agent said that his client only recently joined Lazio and he wants to become a regular at Lazio and considers that more important than looking at options any where else.

As a result, the Schreurs deal has been cancelled.

Schreurs told the press today that he expects to be in the first team, and he would be glad to stay at Manchester United if he gets regular football, but otherwise he wants to be traded.


I offered Valencia 12 million dollars for Gabriele Marchetti (a few weeks after he put pressure on them) and they have now accepted the deal.

Mr. Queiroz believes that Marchetti has considerable talent for his age and that we should offer him up to 19,500/week. That is exactly what Marchetti is requesting along with a 300,000 dollars signing bonus. I give him what he is asking.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 18, 2012 -

Salva played well for Italy in their 3-0 win over Argentina in the quarter finals of the Olympics today.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 19, 2012 -

Today we travel to play Aston Villa in this EPL Match. They are currently 13th while we are in 15th at this early point of the season. They are led by the stellar play of their keeper Leo Franco who is questionable for this game. Gareth Barry has been their best defender so far in the season. Robbie Keane and Luke Moore are having a good start to the season at striker. Torsten Frings is a new midfielder who has done well so far.

We are even odd favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the 50's.

GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing (pushing him right into action now that he healed today)
MC: Stevanovic
MC: Fletcher
MR: Eagles
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Schreurs
S3: King
S4: Mamam
S5: Brown

[Eaglesfan27]

10 minute mark: Downing crosses it to Rooney by the near post.. he heads it... into the crossbar.

22 minute mark: Eagles collides with Gareth Barry.. Eagles is hurt. He has to come off. I put Schreurs on for him.

30 minute mark: Downing crosses to Adriano who heads it to Rooney in the center of the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper blocks it.

35 minute mark: Rooney with a 30 yard strike..curving.. curving.. curving.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives.. blocks it.

44 minute mark: Schreurs evades a defender.. passes it to Rooney 35 yards out.. Rooney dribbles between two defenders.. into the box.. shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper saves it.


Halftime: 0-0 tie. They have over 42,000 fans here today.


47 minute mark: Silvestre passes it long to Adriano.. he tries to fake out the defender.. the defender tackles him.

65 minute mark: Adriano is tired, I put King on for him. I also put Mamam on for Fletcher.

70 minute mark: Ferdinand passes it to Rooney 40 yards out.. Rooney dribbles past one defender.. past a second defender.. into the box.. he fakes out the keeper with a move to his left and then to his right.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0. Magnificent individual effort! Finally we score a goal this season.

72 minute mark: Howard stops a long range shot from Ifill.

75 minute mark: Howard stops a flurry of 3 shots.

77 minute mark: Howard steals it from Dickhoff just outside the box.. dribbles past the lone defender in front of him.. shoulder fakes the keeper.. shoots.. upper right corner... GOAL!!!! 2-0!

80 minute mark: Bierofka crosses to Vassell in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. Howard saves it.


Game over. 2-0 win for us.

We outshot them 20-9 (10-5 on target)

Rooney won MoM, 10 for form, 15 of 19 passes, 1 of 2 tackles, 1 of 11 headers, 1 interception, 13 runs, 1 foul drawn, and 2 goals.


Howard also had a 10 for form.

Downing had a 9 for form.

Schreurs, Grygera, Ferdinand, Lucio, and Stevanovic all had 8's for form.

The rest of the team had 7's for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Report:

Schreurs is going to get more Playing Time just like he wanted. Christopher Eagles suffered a torn groin muscle and will miss at least a month.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 20, 2012 -

My scout, Mick Brown, feels that Marseille full back Mickael Schmidt would be a useful addition to the squad. This kid is 19 and he can play either right or left fullback. He is already very very talented according to my scout. His only weakness is very bad natural fitness. He is currently valued at 5.8 million dollars. I offer them 5.8 million for him.

Valencia's Gabriele Marchetti is ecstatic to have come joined Manchester United. He reported that he is very happy to be working for such a good manager as Christopher Engles. The kid sure knows how to suck up

The 12 million dollar deal is complete.


Howard, Grygera, and Downing were all selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

Tottenham have signed Leicester's Piotr Trochowski for 11.5 million dollars.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 21, 2012 -

Salva played brilliantly in the Olympic Semi-final against Germany, but Italy lost to Germany 1-0.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 22, 2012 -

Today we host Everton in an EPL Match. Everton is currently 6th in the EPL and is off to a fast start. They are led by striker Neil Gibson who has 3 goals. Their defense has been solid with centreback Anthony Gardner playing great early in the season. Left winger Andy Reid continues to play well also. Richard Wright is finally the backup keeper. Ceiran Hutcheson has done well as the new keeper.

We are 4-6 favorites.

It's overcast with temperatures in the high 30's.

GK: Howard
DL: O'Shea
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Parker
MC: Cook
MR: Schreurs
SC: McFadden
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Neville
S3: Wood
S4: Alfonso
S5: Smith

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Downing crosses to King who heads it.. the keeper blocks it.. Downing gets it.. passes it back to Parker just outside the box.. Parker shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

19 minute mark: Akin Serhat, my old striker, dribbles into my box.. Lucio tackles him.

35 minute mark: Schreurs crosses to McFadden who heads it to King in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. great save by the keeper.

45 minute mark: McFadden collides with Anthony Gardner.. McFadden is hurt. I put Smith on for him.


Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. We have over 75,000 fans here today.


46 minute mark: Downing passes to Smith in the left hand of the box.. Smith shoots.. upper right corner of the box.. the keeper blocks it.. the rebound sails back to Smith.. Smith shoots again.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0! That is Smith's 100 League Goal.

62 minute mark: Wood on for Cook who is injured now.


Game over. 2-0 win for us

We outshot them 16-8 (9-3 on target)

Downing won MoM, 10 for form, 22 of 27 passes, 3 of 4 tackles, 2 of 10 headers, 1 interception, 12 runs, 4 fouls drawn, and 1 assist.

Smith had a 9 for form as a sub.

Schreurs and Howard had 8's for form.

The rest of the team had 7's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 22, 2012 -

James McFadden suffered a severe back strain and is expected to be out for about 3 weeks.

We have been put in Group A of the Champions League along with Fenerbahce, Gorica, and PAOK. Overall, a very favorable draw.

We have been given 4.8 million for being in the Champions League Group Stage.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 24, 2012 -

Middlesbrough boss Ian Holloway has voiced his doubts over Manchesher United's chances of winning the EPL Title. He claimed that we are not unbeatable and he believes his side will beat us tomorrow.

I reply, "I believe that we have the ability to go all the way. However, we can't overlook any team. Middlesbrough has a good team, and our team will have to be focused to beat them tomorrow."

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 24, 2012 -

Salva was MoM in Italy's 2-1 win over Spain in the bronze medal Olympic Game. Gabriele Marchetti also played well for Italy in this match.

Marseille have rejected my bid for Schmidt. I counter with an offer of 10 million dollars.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 25, 2012 -

Today we travel to play Middlesbrough in the EPL. We are currently in 6th place. They are in 15th place. Their main striker, Marcus Niculae is injured for this match. Also, their right winger, Steven Pienaar is injured for this match. They will be relying on their strong defense to keep them in the match. Leon Andreasen and Chris Riggott are really playing well this year. Striker Porcellis will have to step up to provide some offense. Johny Alenjandro Acosta is playing decent in the midfield.

We are 4-6 favorites.

It's windy with temperatures in the mid 50's.

GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing
MC: Stevanovic
MC: Fletcher
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Mamam
S3: Neville
S4: Ortega
S5: Smith

[Eaglesfan27]

The First half was boring with no good scoring opportunities for either side.


0-0 at half. They have over 35,000 fans here and they are playing Turtle style.


49 minute mark: Schreurs passes to Adriano in the box.. he shoots.. good save by Lastuvka.

59 minute mark: Adriano gets the ball from Howard at midfield.. Adriano floats a great pass over two defenders.. Rooney gets it.. outside the box.. fakes out a defender.. dribbles into the box.. fakes out the keeper.. dribbles to his right.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

70 minute mark: Smith on for Rooney who is tired, and Ortega on for Schreurs who is tired.

73 minute mark: Porcellis is obstructed by Ferdinand in the box.. the ref awards a penalty shot.. Bruno steps up.. shoots to Howard's left.. he dives.. it's past him. GOAL. 1-1.

88 minute mark: Ferdinand passes it long to Ortega on the right wing.. he dribbles to the corner.. crosses it for the far post.. Smith with the header.. good save by the keeper.


Game over. 1-1 tie.

We each had 10 shots (4-2 on target in our favor.)

Downing won MoM, 10 for form, 17 of 25 passes, 3 of 12 tackles, 1 of 7 headers, 2 interceptions, 17 runs, 2 fouls drawn.

Fletcher and Rooney had 9's for form. Grygera, Schreurs, and Adriano had 8's for form.

The rest of the team had 7's for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 26, 2012 -

Marseille have countered my offer by saying they will sell Mickael Schmidt for 14 million dollars. I'm actually more excited about Schmidt's potential than either of my other young defenders. He already seems ready to play. I agree to their counter offer. I contact his agent who states that Mickael will require a 4 year deal with 24,500/week salary. Mr. Queiroz disagrees with my assessment and thinks that Mickael still has a lot to learn before he is ready to play and that we shouldn't offer more than 10,000/week. I disagree with Mr. Queiroz on this one, and I decide to offer Schmidt 23,000/week for 4 years.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 27, 2012 -

Grygera, Fletcher, and Downing were all selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

Barcelona has sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Milan for 70 million dollars! Due to a 20% sell-on clause that previous management made when they sold Ronaldo, we have just received 14 million dollars.

[Barkeep49]

With your board letting you keep transfer money will that 14 million go in your pot of available money?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

With your board letting you keep transfer money will that 14 million go in your pot of available money?

I think so. Let me check now. No, they didn't put it towards transfer money

Fortunately, I'm fairly sure I'm done spending this year anyway. I have acquired three young defenders, the youngest of which is ready to play regularly in my opinion (Mickael Schmidt.)


Aug 28, 2012 -

Middlesbrough have offered 1.7 million plus 50% of next sale for my keeper Manu. His name not withstanding, he isn't impressing me enough to keep him long term. I ask for 2 million and the 50% clause. If they agree, I will sell.

Everton have paid 18 million dollars for 22 year old Italian Striker Mauro Di Mauro from Atalanta in Italian Serie A.

Mickael Schmidt has signed the contract that we offered. He has made it known that he is very keen to rise to the challenge of playing for such an illustrious club.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 30, 2012 -

Middlesbrough has agreed to our counter offer, and they have reached an agreement with Manu. We will now receive 2 million for him to go there.

[finkenst]

So, my first season is over...

what do you do during the offseason?


take a holiday? scout the worldcup senseless?

just trying to figure out what to do next...

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by finkenst

So, my first season is over...

what do you do during the offseason?


take a holiday? scout the worldcup senseless?

just trying to figure out what to do next...

When I was in the lower leagues, I basically just watched the internation scene casually out of a sense of interest.

As I moved into the higher leagues, I've started seriously scouting the international scene during the offseason. I'm always trying to keep an eye out for a potential young star.