FM: Harrogate - Will they hit the Ceiling?

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Mark Smyth injured his groin and will miss 2 weeks including our upcoming League cup game.

We are in 5th place, but our GD of 0 is worst of all of the top teams. However, Wycombe is in 1st and perhaps that helps to explain why they thrashed us.

[daedalus]

Heck of a start to the season. Good show.

Now, if you could just deal with the nasty injury bugs . . .

[SirFozzie]

Maybe time to hire a 2nd Physio?

[Eaglesfan27]

Maybe I forgot to post when I did hire a 2nd and third physio (then had my 1st one retire.)

Here is my current staff:

Christopher Engles (My Alter Ego) - Manager
Noel O'Reilly - Assistant Manager
Mark Atkins - Player/Coach -
Derek Saunders - Coach
Carl Wilson - Coach
James Geary - Physio
Mick Byrne - Physio
Pat Willett - Scout

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

That being said, I'd like to eventually hire a third physio.

[Eaglesfan27]

August 22nd, 2007 -

Today we host Bradford City in the 1st round of the English League Cup. Bradford City are currently 2nd in league 2 and have been playing very well this year. We are currently 5th in League 2. Bradford City finished 4th last year and barely missed being promoted. They have a very talented team. Striker Moses Ashikodi is a powerful target man. Striker Steven Gillespie is a speedster with a deft touch around the net. Midfielder Tom Penford is a skilled director of traffic on the pitch. Centreback Mark Bower is a real shut down defender who is tough and intimidating. Left Fullback Lewis Emanuel is talented on the attack and in defense. Keeper Paul Henderson is average, and if we can get past the defense, I think we can beat him.


We've never played them before.

They are heavy 4-7 favorites.

It's overcast with temperatures in the mid 60's right now.


Lineup:

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Wall
DC: Barnett
DR: Morley
ML: Wright
MC: Mannix
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Palmer (on for the injured Smyth)
SC: Kennedy

S1: O'Connor
S2: Surey
S3: Morgan
S4: Davies
S5: Moore

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Scarsella hits a bad kick which the midfield heads back to our zone.. Wall gets to it.. and attempts to tap it back to Scarsella, but he hits it soft.. Gillespie beats Scarsella to it.. dribbles to his right and easily shoots around Scarsella for an early terrible goal. GOAL. Down 1-0.

35 minute mark: Mannix gets a yellow card for tripping Piercy.

39 minute mark: Mannix feeds the ball to Kennedy.. dribbles down the middle of the field.. past a defender.. around another defender.. shoots.. just wide right.

Halftime: Down 1-0.

60 minute mark: Davies on for Collett who has had a bad game.

Moore on for Kennedy who is tired.

67 minute mark: Wall with a long pass to Palmer.. Palmer dribbles into the left corner of the box.. dribbles further into the box.. towards the left post.. showing great speed.. passes.. between two defenders.. to Moore.. Moore shoots immediately into the lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-1.

72 minute mark: Barnett intercepts a long pass.. hits Davies on the right wing.. Davies with a quick pass to Mannix in the middle of the field.. Mannix immediately plays a perfect pass between the two defenders to Moore on the edge of the box.. Moore takes two dribbles.. shoots.. lower right corner... GOAL!!!! 2-1.

77 minute mark: Rowan Vine who had just come on as a sub steals teh ball at midfield.. plays it forward to Michael Symes who also just came on the pitch.. Symes has it in the box... powerful shot.. right over Scarsella's left shoulder.. GOAL. 2-2 now.

82 minute mark: Mannix steals it at midfield.. plays it up to Moore.. will he get his hat trick.. powerful dribble into the box.. shoots.. nice save by the keeper.

85 minute mark: Davies kicks a corner kick towards the near post.. Wright jumps.. the keeper Henderson jumps.. Wright is shoved down.. Whistle! Henderson is called for pushing Wright.. Penalty shot awarded! Davies blasts a shot into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-2.

Game over! 3-2 win!!!

We each had 11 shots, but we had 7 shots on goal to their 4.

David Mannix wins MoM, 21 of 30 passes, 1 of 3 tackles, 3 of 6 headers, 4 interceptions, 1 assist.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:


We were awarded 36,000 dollars for our win in the 1st round of the English League Cup!

We set an attendance record with 3,732 fans at this game!

I can't wait to see who we get in the 2nd round of the League Cup.

[Eaglesfan27]

August 25th, 2007 -

The second round draw of the English League Cup wasn't nearly as kind as the 1st round. We will be hosting Charlton (EPL) in the 2nd round of the League Cup.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 25, 2007 -

Toda we host Hereford in League play. We are currently in 5th and Hereford is in 15th currently.

Hereford finished 6th in League 2 last year, and they have a few talented players. In particular, Right Winger Danny Williams is quite skilled. Striker David Brown is a powerful forward who is deadly around the net. He has 4 goals in 5 games this year. However, their defense is fairly weak and I think we can score on them. Keeper Scott Bevan is giving up aout 2 goals a game, but he is actually quite good, but he has been peppered with shots.

We've never played them before.

They are 6-4 favorites.

We are using the same lineup as last game except Moore will be starting instead of Kennedy. Kennedy will be on the bench in Moore's spot.

[Eaglesfan27]

Very boring first 15 minutes..

Actually, boring first 45 minutes.. We had 3 shots, but only 1 on goal. They had 0 shots this half. No good scoring opportunities for either side.

Halftime: 0-0.

46 minute mark: Wright gets the ball from Mannis.. shoots for the upper right corner.. Bevan saves it.

62 minute mark: Kennedy on for Moore who is tired. Morgan on as a target man for the injured Palmer (minor injury)

91 minute mark: Bevan with a long kick.. Wall misplays it.. it bounces over his head.. Williams gets to it.. dribbles into the box.. strong shot over Scarsella's left shoulder.. GOAL. Down 1-0.

Game over. 1-0 loss

We outshot them 5-3 (3-1 on goal)

Andy Tretton (DC) won MoM, 27 of 41 passes, 6 of 6 tackles, 6 of 6 headers, 3 interceptions. He played great defense on my guys.

[Eaglesfan27]

Aug 28, 2007 -

Today we travel to play Yeovil who are currently 14th in League 2. We are in 7th currently. Yeovil finished in 19th last year.

Yeovil only has 1 really talented player at this point. Striker Adrian Caceres is a very good scorer. He has excellent speed, excellent touch around the net, very good passing as well. He will be a tough matchup for our defenders. His partner Kevin Gall has been the benefit of a few great assists from Caceres. Midfielder Darren Way has played well. Left fullback Michael Rose has also played well. Keeper, Chris Weale has been solid in 3 of his starts, and terrible in the others.

We've never played Yeovil before.

Yeovil are even odds favorites.

It's going to be overcast with temperatures in the high 40's today.

We are using the same lineup as last game.

[Eaglesfan27]

14 minute mark: Moore gets the ball in the right wing of the field from Collett.. Moore crosses for Kelly.. Kelly shoots.. keeper with a very strong save.

21 minute mark: Barnard with a huge tackle on Caceres to prevent a sure goal as he had completed faked out Scarsella.

28 minute mark: Tarachuluski with a soft shot on goal.. Scarsella bobbles it.. Caceres gets the rebound.. slams it into the back of the net! GOAL. Down 1-0

41 minute mark: kelly gets it at midfield.. dribbles for 10 yards.. nice pass to Moore.. Moore takes two steps into the box.. unleashes a strong shot.. the keeper saves it.

Halftime: Down 1-0.

49 minute mark: Palmer gets a yellow card for arguing an offside call.

51 minute mark: kelly gets it at midfield.. dribbles up the field.. around two defenders.. past another.. into the box.. shoots.. over the bar.

54 minute mark: Mannix passes to Kelly in the box.. great opportunity.. Kelly blasts it.. over the bar.

62 minute mark: Jevon gets it at midfield.. passes to Caceres in the box.. Caceres gets around Barnett.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL. Down 2-0.

I sub in Davies for Kelly who is tired (and not playing well.) I also sub in Kennedy for Palmer.

Game over. 2-0 loss.

We were outshot 18-9 (5-5 for on goal)

Adrian Caceres wins MoM, 21 of 25 passes, 0 of 1 tackles, 2 of 7 headers, 1 interception, 3 runs, 2 goals.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 1st, 2007 -

Mr. Fotherby is delighted with our team's performance so far.

Scarborough's David Pounder won English League 2 player of the month. Colin Delahunty of Wycombe came in 2nd, and Richard Langley of Blackpook came in 3rd.

Port Vale's Gary Walsh has won young player of the month. Carl Rook of Boston Utd came in 2nd, and Moses Ashikodi of Bradford City came in 3rd.

Barnsley's Colin Calderwood won manager of the month for leading his team to victories in 5 of their last 6 games. John Cunningham of Bradford City came in 2nd, and Mike Walker of Wycombe came in 3rd.

[Eaglesfan27]

September 1st, 2007 -

Today the English LDV Vans Trophy had its first round draw. We will be traveling to face Stockport (also in league 2.)

[RPI-Fan]

Seems like Wall and Scarsella are in a (very) poor run of form... any thoughts of giving the young guy a crack in goal? Also, how much were teams offering for Scarsella during that little feeding frenzy... how much is officially valued at right now? What kind of values do Smyth, Palmer, and Kelly have?

[Eaglesfan27]

Yes, I've been strongly considering giving O'Conner a start. Scarsella hasn't played that well since moving up to League 2. Yet, he continues to look good in practice (by this I mean his attribute ratings continue to be quite nice.)

Scarsella's highest value was 32,000 or 36,000 (I'm not positive which) but teams were offering more than that at one point. Now his value is only 20,000

O'Conner has a 36,000 value despite not playing much. I'm going to give him the start next game. As far as Wall goes, he is only 20 and his attributes are absolutely amazing! His value continues to rise, and he has a 7 average form for the year. I want to keep playing him and hopefully see him continue to improve. Barnett has actually been the letdown. He has been unhappy all year because I'm not playing him at right wing. He is clearly my second best DC, but he isn't playing like it. His average form is 6.70 and I have to think about benching him soon.

Kelly's value is now 360,000 dollars. Smyth's value is 280,000, and Palmer's is 240,000 (it's been going down since I stopped starting him regularly)

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

Black's injury really hurts my defensive flexibility. I'd move Morley into the DC spot for Barnett in a second if I didn't need him at right fullback. I really need to get a quality centreback to come join us on loan (I've been trying all year to get one without success - the teams will let them go, but they don't want to come here.)

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 8, 2007 -

Today we are in 10th place and we are hosting Carlisle which is in 7th place. Carlisle finished in 14th last year in League 2 play. Two of their best players, Striker Delroy Facey and midfielder Kevin Davies are out injured for the game. Attacking midfielder Chris Lumdson has been dominant this year. Centreback Lee Andrews has played very strong football. Keeper Alan Marriott has been very solid in goal. This team has been winning due to a strong defense. It will be a tough nut to crack.

We've never played them before.

They are 4-6 favorites.

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

Our Lineup:

GK: O'Connor (I'll give him at least 3 starts likely)
DL: Barnard
DC: Wall
DC: Barnett
DR: Morley
ML: Wright
MC: Mannix
MR: collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Palmet
SC: Moore

S1: Scarsella
S2: Surey
S3: Morgan
S4: Davies
S5: Kennedy

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

Tue - 9/12/06
Champions Cup Group C Round 1
Norwich (H) 0 v. Roma (A) 1

- Goals -
R: Zlatin Ibrahimovic (3)

-MOM-
Daniel de Rossi, ML (R)

-Red Card-
Tieme Klompe (second yellow 82)

Roma dominated possession and gave Norwich the run around. Ref Alain Sars is not loved in Norwich tonight after whistling the Canary for 17 fouls to Roma's 8. Once again, Norwich conceded the early goal. This time they could not dig themselves out of the hole.


Next up: EPLL match with Aston Villa at home, Sun - 9/17/06 (TV)

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: O'Conner is challenged right away with a cross from Carlos Roca intended for Tim Hicks.. O'Connor comes out and punches the pass away.

11 minute mark: Will McDonagh gets a yellow card for tripping Moore.

14 minute mark: Palmer with a great pass from the left corner of the field.. Kelly has it.. Brilliant challenge by Alton Thelwell! (He was one of my favorite Hull players in CM 03/04)

40 minute mark: Wright with a hard shot for the upper left corner of the net.. great save by Marriott.

Halftime: 0-0 tie.

46 minute mark: O'Conner with a nice save of a McDonagh shot.

49 minute mark: Mannix intercepts it at midfield.. feeds it to Kelly.. Kelly draws two defenders.. passes to Moore who is in the right half of the box.. Moore shoots.. upper left corner.. it's past the keeper.. it's in the back of the net.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

59 minute mark: Wall makes a key tackle on Lumdson in our box.

69 minute mark: Kennedy on for Moore who is tired. Surey on for Mannix who is tired.

76 minute mark: Lumdson gets the ball inside the box after a great pass from McDonagh.. Shoots lower left corner.. great diving save by O'Connor!

78 minute mark: Collett gets it on the right wing.. perfect pass to the feet of Palmer.. he races by a defender.. into the box.. low driving shot.. Marriott blocks it and the defender clears it.

81 minute mark: Wall with a key header of a pass intended for Lumdson.

85 minute mark: Barnett with a big interception of a pass from Lumdson that was intended for Dillon in the box.

86 minute mark: Carlisle changes to a 2-3-5 to put on the pressure.

87 minute mark: Morley with a big challenge inside the box to clear the ball.

89 minute mark: O'Connor comes out to catch a cross from Matty Pattison that was intended for Gareth Evans by the far post.. great play.

90 minute mark: Wall with a long pass to Palmer.. he beats the defender.. into the box.. dribbles to his right.. Marriott is backpedaling.. Palmer shoots.. Marriott blocks the shot.

Game over. 1-0 Win!

We outshot them 9-6 (5-3 on goal)

Marriott wins MoM for his 4 saves?!?

Oh well, the kid did well in his first start in goal

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info: Moore sprained his wrist that match and will miss about a week. Fortunately, Smyth is back from his injury now.

[Eaglesfan27]

September 11, 2007 -

Scarsella came into my office today and told me that he is concerned about his low salary and would like a raise like several other guys on the team. I tell him that I will take it under advisement.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 15, 2007 -

Today we are traveling to Leyton Orient. We are in 7th place and, they are in 6th place. Leyton Orient finished in 16th last year. Leyton's keeper Glenn Morris is superior in quality. Midfielder Michael Simpson is equally adept at scoring and setting up others. Right fullback Justin Miller is excellent at defense and offense. Striker Gary Alexander has 4 goals already.

We've never played them before.

They are 4-6 favorites.

It's sunny and in the high 50's today.


GK: O'Connor
DL: Barnard
DC: Wall
DC: Barnett
DR: Morley
ML: Wright
MC: Mannix
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth
SC: Palmer

S1: Scarsella
S2: Surey
S3: Morgan
S4: Davies
S5: Kennedy

[Eaglesfan27]

OOC: The first thing I notice is that this is the *wierdest* formation I've ever played against. They are in 4-3-2-1 that is a pyramid or like a set of bowling pins. They have the 2 AMC's running out towards the sidelines /OOC

1st minute: There is a wild scrum in front of our net.. Barnett finally clears it.

4 minute mark: Smyth gets the ball on the left edge of the box.. centers for Kelly.. kelly shoots for the upper left corner of the net.. just over the bar.

8 minute mark: Collett is injured and has to come off the pitch. Davies on for Collett.

21 minute mark: Barnard gets a ywllow card for a trip on Ibehre.

30 minute mark: kelly shoots from the edge of the box after a nice pass from Smyth.. it deflects off Zakauani.. into the lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0. Zahauani gets "credited" with an own goal on that play. Kelly was robbed.. oh well the goal is all that matters

34 minute mark: Barnett with a big header to thwart the attack.

36 minute mark: Kelly gets a pass from Mannix.. passes to Smyth on the left edge of the box.. Smyth with an immediate pass back to kelly between two defenders.. very nifty pass.. Kelly has it in the box.. shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

43 minute mark: Alexander gets the ball inside the left edge of the box.. blistering shot at goal.. O'Connor tips it over the bar!


Halftime: 2-0 lead for us. Nice crowd of almost 5,000 fans at Leyton's stadium


49 minute mark: Morley with an interception of a pass deep in our zone.. passes it down the length of the pitch to Smyth.. Smyth passes to Kelly just outside the box.. Kelly dribbles between two defenders.. into the box.. shoots for the lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0. I can't help but think that would have been his hattrick if he got credit for that first goal.

56 minute mark: O'Connor stops a point blank shot from Alexander.

61 minute mark: Barnett with a nice block of a shot by Simpson.

63 minute mark: Mannix intercepts it at midfield.. passes it to Smyth.. Smyth shoots.. the keeper blocks it, but can't control the rebound.. Kelly gets to it before the defense can clear it.. kicks it to the left of the keeper.. into the goal!!! There is his hattrick! That is his 5th goal of the year! 4-0 lead

Surey on for Mannix and Morgan on for Smyth.

78 minute mark: Paul Trollope gets a point blank shot after a great corner kick by Jamie Watkins.. O'Connor pushes the ball over the bar.

Wall clears the ensuing corner.

81 minute mark: O'Connor stops a point blank Alexander shot.

89 minute mark: O'Connor with a nice save of a shot By Trollope from only 10 yards out!

90 minute mark: Surey gets a yellow card for a trip on Trollope.. he argues the call.. 2nd yellow card.. he is ejected!

Game over. 4-0 win!

Except for Surey, everyone on the team got an 8 or higher for form!

We were oushot 13-12 (5-5 on goal)

Greg Kelly wins MoM, 20 of 21 passes, 2 of 4 tackles, 0 of 2 headers, 1 interception, 2 runs, 1 assist, and 3 goals.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 17, 2007 -

Greg Kelly and Mark Smyth both made the League 2 team of the week.

[Eaglesfan27]

September 18th, 2007 -

EXCELLENT! Manchester City's Paul McShane, a young centreback, turned down multiple league 1 teams to come join us on loan! Hopefully, the kid's prodigious physical talent will help him overcome mistakes that he might make.

[Eaglesfan27]

September 18th, 2007 -

McShane isn't here yet to help us with this one. Today we play Charlton in the 2nd round of the English League Cup. Charlton is a very talented EPL team that finished 15th in the EPL last year. However, they are currently 3rd in the EPL now. Charlton has better talent than us at every position. Left Winger Jerome Thomas is quick, powerful, and skilled. Right winger Dennis Rommedahl is "the quickest player I've ever seen" according to my scout. He is also highly skilled and has a lethal shot. Midfielder Danny Murphy has been playing superb football in the EPL this year. Centreback Hermann Hreidarsson is built like a tank. His partner, Centreback Jonathan Fortune, is fast and has good technique. Their strikers are a relative weak point, but I'd love to have Francis Jeffers on my team. Keeper Peter Enckelman is highly talented and will be difficult to score on IF we can somehow get past the defense.

We've never played them before.

They are 1-10 favorites. Odds are 15-1 that we will win.

It's sunny and temperatures are in the low 60's.


Our lineup is the same as last match except Baker is a sub for the banned Surey.

This will be a real test for O'Connor.

[Eaglesfan27]

My bad, Collett is too injured to play this game. Davies will start on the right wing and Moore will play as a sub now that he is healthy again.

[Eaglesfan27]

10 minute mark: A blur of passes down the field between the talented midfielders ends with Jeffers having the ball while being wide open in the box.. Francis Jeffers shoots.. lower left corner.. O'Connor dives... blocks it.. gets up and pounces on the rebound.

14 minute mark: Wicked curving passing from Laurent Robert finds Holland by the near post.. Matt Holland heads it in.. no real chance for O'Connor. GOAL. Down 1-0.

23 minute mark: Rommerdahl dribbles down the right sideline.. absolutely burning our guys.. passes to Jeffers in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. lower left corner.. O'Connor dives.. tips it wide!

25 minute mark: Morley with a big header on a cross intended for Jeffers.

32 minute mark: Smyth actually gets the ball in their zone.. puts a move on their right fullback crosses.. the defender heads it away.. but Kelly still manages to head it.. just over the bar.

34 minute mark: Murphy with a great corner kick.. curves it sharply.. towards the far post.. Hreidarsson heads it in. GOAL. Down 2-0.

44 minute mark: Laurent Robert with a shot from 20 yards out.. O'Connor saves it cleanly.

Halftime: Down 2-0.

48 minute mark: Barnett with a big header of a pass intended for Jeffers.

61 minute mark: Smyth gets the ball in the left corner.. the centreback intercepts his crossing pass.

64 minute mark: Baker on for Wright, Moore on for Palmer, and Kennedy on for Smyth.

75 minute mark: O'Connor with a good save on a shot by Jeffers.

83 minute mark: Konchesky hits a free kick from 25 yards out.. it looks like it is wide left.. but it curves sharply.. inside the upper left corner.. GOAL. Down 3-0.

85 minute mark: Deft passing gets Jeffers the ball inside 10 yards.. he shoots from close range.. Great save by O'Connor!


Game over. 3-0 loss. I actually am proud of our guys.. They played well against superior talent. Actually, everyone on the team had a 7 for form. Nice game against a superior foe.

They outshot us 13-1 (9-0 on goal)

Matt Holland wins MoM, 39 of 41 passes, 4 of 5 tackles, 3 of 4 headers, 2 interceptions, 1 goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 22, 2007 -

Today we host Oxford. We are currently in 5th place, and they are in 10th place. They finished in 12th last year. Oxford is missing three of their best players to injury today. Of the remaining players, centreback Dave Mackay is the most talented and consistent. Midfielder Eugen Bopp is skilled at setting up the other players. However, this team has a difficult time scoring, and none of their strikers really stand out. Jamie Brooks is the best of them. They have a dynamite keeper on loan from Portsmouth, Michael McGovern and he alone could keep them in any match. He already has 6 clean sheets in 8 starts this year.

I've never played them before.

They are 4-7 favorites.

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


GK: O'Connor (His play has earned another start)
DL: Barnard
DC: Wall
DC: McShane
DR: Morley
ML: Wright
MC: Mannix
MR: Davies
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth
SC: Palmer

S1: Scarsella
S2: Baker
S3: Barnett
S4: Moore
S5: Kennedy

[Eaglesfan27]

18 minute mark: Kelly passes the ball to Smyth at the left corner of the box.. Smyth shoots.. the keeper blocks it.

36 minute mark: McShane with a nice header to turn the offense away.

Halftime: Both defenses playing very well.

46 minute mark: They switch to a 4-5-1 as we apply pressure.

48 minute mark: Smyth gets it in the left corner.. great cross for Palmer.. Palmer heads it.. McGovern with an amazing save.

54 minute mark: Smyth argues an offside call.. yellow card for Smyth.

72 minute mark: Moore on for Smyth, Kennedy on for Palmer, and Barnett (finally getting to play right wing) on for Davies.

87 minute mark: Barnett plays the ball down the right sideline.. Moore is tripped by Parker.. Yellow card.

90 minute mark: Moore gets the ball in the right corner.. centers for Kelly... Kelly gets it.. shoots for the upper right corner.. great save by McGovern.

Game over. 0-0 tie.

We dominated the game, outshooting them 9-1 (5-0 on goal)

McGovern wins MoM.

Every guy on the team had a 7 for form, and McShane fit in quite nicely that game.

[Eaglesfan27]

September 24th, 2007 -

Well, that is a first. Paul McShane has been called up to the Ireland U21 team. He is my first player (loan or otherwise) to do that. He will be gone for games on October 5th and 9th.

[Eaglesfan27]

September 25th, 2007 -

Today we travel to play Stockport in the Vans Trophy North 1st round. Stockport is currently 14th in English League 2. Stockport was relegated from League One last year, and they have a good team. Centreback Danny Griffin has played very well this year. Anthony Williams has been superb in goal. Their offense has been anemic, but the midfield has played well with Ben Bradford (on loan from Rotherham) dominating ball possession.

We played them in 2 friendlies (2004 and 2005) and tied one game 0-0 and lost the other 3-0.

They are 4-5 favorites

It is sunny outside with temperatures in the mid 60's

GK: O'Connor
DL: Barnard
DC: Wall
DC: McShane
DR: Morley
ML: Wright
MC: Mannix
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Moore (giving Smyth some rest while we have these loan players)
SC: Kennedy (ditto for Palmer)

S1: Scarsella
S2: Baker
S3: Barnett
S4: Morgan
S5: Smyth (will only play in case of emergency)

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Mannix with a good pass to Kennedy in the box.. he shoots.. the keeper saves it.

5 minute mark: McShane clears a scramble for the ball deep in our box.

9 minute mark: Danny Griffin hits a free kick from 25 yards out.. between the cracks in the wall.. into the upper left corner of the net.. GOAL. Down 1-0.

14 minute mark: O'Connor with a save of a Best shot.

18 minute mark: Wall makes an important challenge.

26 minute mark: Danny Jackman gets a yellow card for a rough tackle on Wright.

33 minute mark: Moore gets the ball.. centers for Kelly.. shoots for the lower right corner.. the keeper makes a great save.

37 minute mark: O'Connor with a diving save of a shot by Griffin towards the lower left corner.

Halftime: Down 1-0.

46 minute mark: Welsh gets it on the left wing.. feeds it to Luke Beckett.. Beckett blasts a shot.. right over O'Connor's right shoulder.. GOAL.. Down 2-0.

62 minute mark: Barnett on for Collett, and Morgan on for Moore.

72 minute mark: Mcshane with a big tackle in our box.

74 minute mark: Beckett gets the ball after a pass from Walsh that deflected off Barnett.. he shoots into the upper left corner.. no real chance for O'Connor. GOAL. Down 3-0.

Game over. 3-0 loss.

We were dominated. We were outshot 14-3 (9-2 on goal)

Luke Beckett wins MoM, 29 of 36 passes, 0 tackles, 2 of 10 headers, 1 run, 2 goals.

[SirFozzie]

Eh.. its the vans trophy. No biggie

[RPI-Fan]

Up until the Stockport game, sounds like O'Conner had been hands-down better than Scarsella.

What kind of crowd did you get for the Charlton game? How do your finances as a whole (and wages) look at the moment?

Keep up the great work!
~rpi-fan

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

Up until the Stockport game, sounds like O'Conner had been hands-down better than Scarsella.

What kind of crowd did you get for the Charlton game? How do your finances as a whole (and wages) look at the moment?

Keep up the great work!
~rpi-fan

Yeah but Scarsella was there last season to get them promoted to where they are now in Div 2. If I was Scarsella I'd be pissed.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

but I'd love to have Francis Jeffers on my team.

Nah. Poor Franny would just find a new way to get hurt.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

Up until the Stockport game, sounds like O'Conner had been hands-down better than Scarsella.

What kind of crowd did you get for the Charlton game? How do your finances as a whole (and wages) look at the moment?

Keep up the great work!
~rpi-fan

Thanks for the compliment.

The Charlton game drew 3,303 fans almost full capacity.

For the season we have turned 325,000 dollars profit, but quite a bit of that is from the TV rights of League 2.

We currently have 665,000 dollars in the bank.

Because of the renegotiated wages of several of my key guys, I'm WAY over my wage budget. The board wants me to limit myself to 6,800/week, but I'm currently paying 14,510/week. I'm not worrying about this too much because we continue to make money, and the board continues to say that I can offer up to 10,000/week for some of my best players and some guys I've looked at bringing in. I'd never actually spend quite that much on one guy at this level, but I do have Kelly, Wright, and Smyth in the 2,000/week range now.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

As far as the Scarsella comment. His morale has gone into the shitter. Actually it nosedived the very first game that O'Connor started and it hasn't gotten any better. I don't want to "lose" Scarsella, but right now I do think the kid is playing better. He will be getting at least another start.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sep 29, 2007 -

Today travel to play Bradford City which is in 2nd place. We are currently in 6th place. We beat them earlier 3-2 in the league cup. Bradford City finished 4th last year and barely missed being promoted. They have a very talented team. Striker Moses Ashikodi is a powerful target man. Striker Steven Gillespie is a speedster with a deft touch around the net. Midfielder Tom Penford is a skilled director of traffic on the pitch. Centreback Mark Bower is a real shut down defender who is tough and intimidating. Left Fullback Lewis Emanuel is talented on the attack and in defense. Keeper Paul Henderson is average, and if we can get past the defense, I think we can beat him.


Wright was injured in our last match and will miss about 2 weeks.

Bradford City are 4-7 favorites.

It's going to be wet and muddy with temperatures in the mid 50's today.

GK: O'Connor
DL: Barnard
DC: Wall
DC: McShane
DR: Morley
ML: Baker
MC: Mannix
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
Sc: Smyth
SC: Palmer

S1: Scarsella
S2: Surey
S3: Barnett
S4: Kennedy
S5: Moore

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Mannix with a feed to Palmer who centers for Kelly.. Kelly heads it.. Henderson punches it over the bar.

5 minute mark: Wall with a big interception of a pass intended for Ashikodi.

16 minute mark: McShane gets a yellow card for a trip on Ashikodi.

20 minute mark: Lee Crooks gets a yellow card for holding Smyth's jersey.

23 minute mark: MArk Bower gets a corner kick standing by the near post.. great shot on goal.. Amazing block by O'Connor! Wall clears the rebound.

25 minute mark: Darren Holloway gets a yellow card for tripping Baker.

35 minute mark: Kelly gets a good opportunity inside the box after a pass from Baker.. Kelly shoots.. the keeper blocks it.

45 minute mark: Barnard gets a yellow card for a push on Gillespie.. forunately the foul occurred just outside the box.

Halftime: 0-0 score. But we are winning the yellow card battle 3-2


46 minute mark: Wall with a nice header to prevent a pass from getting to Gillespie.

48 minute mark: Lewis Emanuel gets a yellow carf for a trip on Palmer.

49 minute mark: kelly passes back to Mannix.. who sends a great pass to Pamer in the box.. Palmer shoots.. barely wide left.

50 minute mark: Muirhead gets a yellow card for a trip on Barnard.

56 minute mark: Palmer gets it in the right corner.. crosses for Kelly.. he makes a diving header.. just wide right.

59 minute mark: Kelly feeds the ball with a 25 yard pass right to Palmer's feet inside the box.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it.

61 minute mark: Palmer is furious at being called offside.. yellow card for dissent.

62 minute mark: Piercy has it on the left wing.. crosses for Stephen Schumaker who just came on as a sub.. Schumaker heads it in! GOAL. Down 1-0.

66 minute mark: collett takes a direct kick from 40 yards out.. passes it to Kelly in the box.. a defender intercepts it.. Kelly steals it from the defender.. shoots.. into the lower right corner!!! GOAL!!!! 1-1.

73 minute mark: Moore for Smyth, Kennedy for Palmer, and Surey for Mannix.

75 minute mark: Surey gets it at midfield.. passes it to Kennedy.. he races past the defenders.. into the box.. shoots.. wide left.

81 minute mark: O'Connor with a great save on a close range shot from Ashikodi!

83 minute mark: Wall intercepts a pass deep in our zone.. sends it to Moore at midfield.. he quickly passes to Kennedy.. Kennedy dribbles past both defenders.. long confident stride.. into the box.. fakes right.. goes left.. shoots for the narrow space between the keeper and the left goal post... squeezes it past him!!! GOAL!!!! 2-1. The announcer proclaims it was a wonderful strike. I have to agree.

85 minute mark: O'Connor with a nice save of an Ashikodi shot.

87 minute mark: Michael Symes receives a good pass from Ashikodi on the right edge of the box.. puts a move on the keeper.. O'Connor is beat.. he shoots.. it hits the left goal post... and bounces wide!!!

88 minute mark: Surey gets it at midfield.. feeds it to Collett on the right wing.. Collett passes to Kennedy in the right half of the box.. Kennedy shoots.. upper left corner.. past the keeper.. GAOL!!!! 3-1.

92 minute mark: O'Connor with a solid save of a hard Symes shot from 20 yards out.

Game over! 3-1 win on the road against one of the top teams in the league

We outshot them 14-11 (7-4 on goal)

Kelly wins MoM, 29 of 34 passes, 4 of 5 tackles, 5 of 14 headers, 2 interceptions, 1 run, 1 goal. He received a 10 for form. Collett had a 10 as well, and most of the team had 8's or higher. McShane, Kennedy, and Barnard had 9's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Mr. Fotherby was thrilled with the win. He believes we are going to be real contenders for promotion and he is thrilled with my management.

A media "expert" said that our early form has been surprising and we are doing very well to be in 4th place, but he is sure that our early form will fade as the season progresses.

[Eaglesfan27]

Before this game, I left a message for Wrexham's manager. I've heard that his central defender is unhappy at the club. I think that Centreback Craig Morgan has a lot of potential, and he has multiple U21 caps, so I offered them 10,000 on a lark as I knew he wanted to unload this unhappy player. He countered with a deal of 6,000 plus 8,000 over the course of a year and 45% of next sale. I agreed to his offer.

[Eaglesfan27]

October 2nd, 2007 -

Grek Kelly won English League Two Player of the month! Lawrie Dudfield of Southern United came in 2nd, and Stephen McPhail of Barnsley came in third.

Bradford City's Moses Ashikodi won young player of the month. Robbie Foy of Macclesfield Town came in 2nd, and Lee Peltier of Grimsby Town came in 3rd.

Paul McShane, Collett, and Kelly were selected to the English League 2 team of the week.

I won English league 2 manager of the month! I led the team to victory in 3 of their last 4 games. Colin Calderwood of Barnsley came in 2nd, and Alan Kennedy of Boston United came in 3rd.

Wrexham accepted my deal for Craig Morgan. My AM agrees that this kid has a lot of potential and recommends that we give him the 1,300/week that he is asking for. I agree, but I decide to raise the minimum fee release clause from 320,000 to 500,000. I agree to Morgan's request of a 10% annual raise.

[Eaglesfan27]

October 5th, 2007 -

Craig Morgan accepted my offer. He will be arriving in time for our next game.

[Eaglesfan27]

October 10, 2007 -

Dan Bridges was sensational in goal for my reserve team as he led them to a 1-0 win over Moor Green Reserves. Bridges had a 10 for form for the match.

[Eaglesfan27]

October 13th, 2007 -

David Mannix has been playing very well for us and his loan deal was about to expire. I decided to ask Liverpool if they would extend it to the end of the season. They agreed, and he agreed that he is enjoying playing for us and would like to stay til the end of the year. I know that Surey isn't too happy, but Mannix is better than Surey, and I'll still get Surey some PT.

[Eaglesfan27]

Today we are in 4th place in English League Two and we are hosting Boston United. Boston United is in 7th place and they have a good solid team. They finished 8th last year in League 2. They are led by their strong centreback Darren Royle. Conrad Logan is a very solid keeper who has played very well with 9 clean sheets already. Right fullback Mark Greaves is powerful and intimidating. Midfielder Steve Thomson is key to initiating the offense, and striker Kain Bond (love the name) is the main recipient. He has 6 goals on the year.

We've never played this team before.

They are 5-4 favorites.

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

GK: O'Connor
DL: Barnard
DC: Morgan (the new arrival has his debut)
DC: McShane (Giving Wall a rest to keep him fresh for later in the season)
DR: Morley
ML: Wright (back from injury)
MC: Mannix
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth
SC: Palmer

S1: Scarsella
S2: Surey
S3: Barnett
S4: Kennedy (Loan ends soon, debating on asking him to stay the season.. he did perform well last game as a sub)
S5: Moore (Also has loan that ends soon.. considering asking him to stay the rest of the season for depth.)