FM2007 Interactive - 6th season ongoing

[law90026]

1 January 2009
Blackburn are desperate to sign Sean Treacy, who played for them on loan last season, and have reportedly made a bid of 23,370,000 pounds. This comes as a surprise, considering Sean hasn't played well this season.

[law90026]

December Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Lyon
Mike is returned to the starting line-up in December and plays 3 games for Lyon. However, he fails to score any goals in the games he played.

Season Stats: 11 games (1 as a sub), 5 goals, 2 red cards, 7.,27 rating

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Tottenham
BB is really holding up well this season as he proves to be an ironman. He's playing just about every game for Spurs, though the season has been a disappointment thus far (10th in the league).

Season Stats - 31 games, 1 yellow card, 3.03 tackles/game, 6.52 rating

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
December was a good month for Frank as he starts regularly alongside Marlon Harewood, a player he has often been compared with. 4 goals in 7 starts is a good return for a striker.

Season Stats: 24 games (8 as a sub), 10 goals, 1 assist, 4 MOMs, 2 yellow cards, 7.25 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Liverpool
Sean continues to feature somewhat regularly in the starting lineup for Liverpool as he starts 3 games in December for the Reds. He may not be at Anfield much longer though as rumours have it that Blackburn want to buy him and apparently Chelsea and Newcastle are considering bids as well, surprising based on his current level of performance.

Season Stats: 13 games (4 as a sub), 1 assist, 1 yellow, 1 red, 2.86 tackles/game, 5.85 rating

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Blackburn
The temperamental keeper gets sent off again in December. He also concedes 5 goals in 4 games, though he does get only his 2nd clean sheet of the season. The Scottish keeper has caught the eye of Valencia.

Season Stats: 21 games, 26 conceded, 2 clean sheets, 1 yellow, 2 red, 7.10 rating

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
Despite the fact that Owen is still jaded and needs a break, Leverkusen can't afford to let him go on a vacation because he's now considered indispensable for them. Owen will have to struggle somehow to improve Leverkusen's league position as they are 7th at this time. Named to First Division Team of the Week once.

Season Stats: 23 games, 7 assists, 6 MOMs, 2 yellow, 7.17 tackles/game, 91% pass rate, 7.74 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Charles scores his first ever goal for Arsenal, the only goal in a 1-0 win over WBA. He appears to be settling down better this year as his performances are significantly better from last season.

Season Stats: 12 games (1 as a sub), 1 goal, 1 yellow, 6.50 rating

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Palermo
Al is now considered indispensable for Palermo and he is enjoying his time in the first team. Al keeps a lot of clean sheets but it appears that he lets goals in in bunches as well.

Season Stats: 26 games (1 as a sub), 25 conceded, 12 clean sheets, 2 MOMs, 3 yellow, 7.46 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud has been offered a new contract by Fulham and he will be wondering whether to accept it. The suspicion is that he will as there doesn't seem to be that many other teams interested in his services if he leaves on a free.

Season Stats: 28 games, 1 MOM, 3 yellow, 1 red, 6.64 rating

[law90026]

1 Jan 2009 - Later that same day

Newcastle offered 21.47 million pounds for Sean Treacy.

And on 2 Jan 2009, Chelsea offer 16.91 million pounds.

[law90026]

15 January 2009
Charles Schexnader signs a new 2-year deal with Arsenal, stating that the main reason was his love for the club.

12,250 pounds a week, 27,000 pound appearance bonus, 675 pound goal bonus and a 3,400 pound win bonus makes Charles a very rich teenager.

Bud Wiser also signs a new deal with Fulham, which will keep him there till 30 June 2011.

7,750 pounds a week, 4,400 pound appearance bonus, 425 pound goal bonus and a 2,200 pound win bonus for Bud.

[law90026]

16 January 2009
Sean Treacy signs for Chelsea and is delighted to be working for Jose Mourinho.

In a surprising move, Chelsea pays 20.5 million pounds for the teenager, a lot of money for a player who has shown glimpses of potential but hasn't performed anywhere close to expectations on the pitch.

Sean will be pleased with his move as he gets to learn from his idol, Frank Lampard, while leaving Anfield under reportedly less than cordial circumstances. It is little secret that he and Rafa Benitez did not get along, which may be a reason for his lackluster performances in a Reds jersey. Sean will be paid 28,500 pounds a week, with a 57,000 pound appearance bonus, a 700 pound goal bonus and a 7,250 pound win bonus.

In terms of competition for spots in Chelsea, Sean will be up against regulars Estaban Cambiasso (28 year old Argentinian international) and Julio Baptista (27 year old Brazilian international). Other central midfielders in the squad are Michael Ballack (32 year old German international), Michael Essien (26 year old Ghanian international), Michael Woods (20 year old Englishman) and Frank Lampard (30 year old England international). Very stiff competition indeed and it'll be interesting to see how many games Sean gets to play.

Editor: Shortly after printing, Chelsea played its first match with Sean in the side. Sean started against WBA and got a 6 rating.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by law90026

1 January 2009
Blackburn are desperate to sign Sean Treacy, who played for them on loan last season, and have reportedly made a bid of 23,370,000 pounds. This comes as a surprise, considering Sean hasn't played well this season.

hater

[law90026]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

hater

Can't be a hater if it's the truth

[law90026]

Apologies, work has picked up to an incredible level, I don't have time to do monthly updates anymore. I'll do season updates though, if anyone's still interested.

[condors]

i am still interested

[Travis]

Still reading no matter how you recap, fun stuff thus far.

[cschex]

Same here. I finally scored a goal! Plus I'd like to see if I could go a whole season without a major injury.

[mrkilla22]

Definately interested in this great read. You are doing an awesome job.

[law90026]

Season End - 2009

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Lyon
Mike's first season in France ends with mixed results. He managed to appear in 15 games and scored 5 goals but more was expected of him to be honest. Mike is now a regular in the Polish national team and has 4 international goals to his name.

Season Stats: 15 games (1 as a sub), 5 goals, 1 yellow, 2 red, 7.13 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Chelsea
Sean is a lucky lucky teen. After a big money move to Chelsea, he manages to pick up a Premier League medal while appearing in 8 games for the Blues. There are still questions why Sean gets to play ahead of others when he never seems to perform.

Season Stats: Chelsea: 8 games (2 as a sub), 1 assist, 2 yellow, 2.94 tackles/game (2nd best Premiership midfielder), 5.63 rating

All games: 17 games, 2 assists

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Tottenham
The ironman of the team, BB appeared in 49 games over the course of the season. While he never really contributed a stat of note, BB was hired to do a holding role in midfield, one he does decently enough.

Season Stats: 49 games, 2 yellows, 2.72 tackles/game (3rd best Premiership midfielder), 6.51 rating

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
The big target man shone this season as he played a lot more games for the Hammers and did not disappoint. 19 goals in all competitions is a great performance for a 19 year old and Frank will be disappointed he didn't get more than one cap for England this year.

Season Stat: 41 games (12 as a sub), 19 goals (14 in the Premiership, joint 10th), 3 assists, 6 MOMs, 5 yellows, 7.32 rating

2008/2009 Premier League Young Player of the Year.

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Scotland
In his first full season as a starter, Jace performed capably and Blackburn have their keeper for the foreseeable future. The Scottish international will get to play in Europe next year as Blackburn came in 5th in the Premiership and that will be a new challenge for him. His penchant to get sent off needs to be curbed though.

Season Stats: 37 games, 42 conceded, 5 clean sheets, 2 MOMs, 4 yellows, 4 reds, 7.16 rating.

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Another up and down season for Charles. The bright spots for Charles are that he's at least a back-up for the first team. The bad part is that he's just on the fringes of first team action and isn't called on for some of the really big games, like Arsenal's 2-0 win over Lazio in the Euro Cup (not the Champions League). He's young yet though, just 18 years of age, and should have plenty more opportunities in the future.

Season Stats: 31 games (5 as a sub), 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 1 yellow, 2.15 tackles/game (this is an odd one since Charles plays anywhere on the left. As a defender, he wouldn't rate highly but as a midfielder, that's 4th best in the Premiership), 6.74 rating.

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Palermo
Al will be pleased to be back in his homeland and holding down the starting spot for Palermo. Unfortunately, this was not a good season for Palermo, who finished 15th in Serie A.

Season Stats: 46 games (1 as a sub), 49 conceded, 18 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 3 yellows, 1 red, 7.39 rating.

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
The best defender no one has heard of, that's the label Owen should have. Despite being one of the best players in the Bundesliga this year, Owen's value is just 7 million pounds. Nonetheless, the German international is very well-regarded by his manager and will be a lynchpin in the Leverkusen defence for a long time, unless a big money move arises in the future.

Season Stats: 43 games, 1 goal, 12 assist (9 in the Bundesliga for joint 2nd), 11 MOMs (1st), 4 yellows, 7.02 tackles/game (1st), 91% pass rate (1st), 7.63 rating (2nd best)

2009 German First Division Youth Player of the Year, Named in 2009 German First Division Team of the Year, Named to German First Division Team of the Week 8 times

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Back to the Premiership Bud goes as Fulham come in 2nd in the Championship to gain automatic promotion. This will hopefully give Bud a bigger platform to showcase his abilities next year. Bud remained solid for the year and appeared in most of Fulham's games.

Season Stats: 44 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 2 red, 6.68 rating

[law90026]

2008/2009 Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Chelsea (Sean Treacy) win the title with 78 pts and Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal (Charles Schexnader) come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Southampton, Watford and Reading were relegated.

Blackburn (Jace Hunter) come in 5th and qualify for the Euro Cup, while Tottenham (BB Gunn) come in 12th but qualify for the Euro Cup by winning the League Cup (a game BB Gunn missed). West Ham (Frank Justice) were 9th.

Wayne Rooney (Man Utd) was the top scorer with 21 goals.

Steed Malbranque (Tottenham) had 10 assists to lead all other players.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Arjen Robben (Chelsea), with Steed Malbranque (Tottenham) and Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) coming in 2nd and 3rd. This is the first time in 3 years that Steven Gerrard didn't win this award.

Footballer of the Year was Danny Webber (Sheffield United), with Darren Bent (Charlton) and Yakubu (Middlesborough) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player's Young Player of the Year was Frank Justice (West Ham) with Jamie Mole (West Brom) and Fabrice Muamba (Reading) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) and Alex Ferguson(Man Utd) and Rafa Benitez (Liverpool) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Fulham (Bud Wiser) were 2nd in the Championship but were promoted.

Bundesliga
Werder Bremen won the title with Schalke and Gladbach coming in 2nd and 3rd. Leverkusen (Owen Hunter) were 4th for the 2nd year running. Bochm, Bielefeld and Dusseldorf were relegated.

Top Goalscorers were Markus Schroth (Duisburg) and Lukas Podolski (Bayern) with 17 goals.

Fabian Ernst (Schalke) led all players with 10 assists.

Player of the Year award went to Alexander Frei (Dortmund) for a 2nd yea running, with Borja Oubia (HSV) and Ivan Klasnic (Werder Bremen) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Tim Wiese of Werder Bremen.

Youth Player of the Year was Owen Hunter (Leverkusen) with Kevin Prince Boateng (Hertha BSC) and Eugen Polanski (Gladbach) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Marcello Lippi (Werder Bremen) and Bert van Marwijk (Dortmun) and Andreas Thom (Koln) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Serie A
Lecce (!!!) won the Serie A, with Lazio, Inter and Milan coming in 2nd, 3rd and 4th (European Cup places). Lecce had 67 pts and Lazio, Inter and Milan all had 65 pts, with Roma on 64 pts, yet another close race for the Serie A title. Empoli, Fiorentina and Torino were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Alberto Gilardino (Inter) with 20 goals.

Top Assist was Andrea Pirlo (Milan) with 9.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Gianlugi Buffon of Juventus.

Defender of the Year was Hannu Tihinen of Catania.

Foreign Player of the Year was Hanny Tihinen (Defender for Catania).

Italian Player of the Year was Marco Borriello of Bologna and Alberto Gilardino (Milan) and Sergio Pellissier (Chievo) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Sinisa Mihajlovic (Lecce) with Roberto Mancini(Inter) and Luciano Spalletti (Roma) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Emiliano Bonazzoli (Sampdoria) and Coro (Verona) and Francesco Totti (Roma) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Victor Obinna (Chievo) with Gyan Asamoah (Udinese) and Didier Digard (Empoli) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

La Liga
Osasuna win the La Liga, with Real Madrid coming in 2nd and Atletico 3rd. Sevilla were 9th this year. Barcelona were 7th. Levante, Getafe and Recreativo were relegated.

Top goalscorer was Robinho (Real Madrid) with 19 goals.

Top Assist was Mikel Araburu (Real Sociedad) with 10.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Ricardo (Osasuna).

Manager of the Year was Falko Gotz (Osasuna) with Real Madrid's fabio Cappello coming in 2nd and Frank Rijkaard of Barcelona coming in 3rd.

Player of the Year was Rafael Sobis (Betis).

[law90026]

26 June 2009

Sean Treacy joins Celtic on a season long loan from Chelsea. Sean continues his pattern of frequent moves in his career, which has seen him play for Blackburn, Liverpool, Preston, Chelsea and now Celtic in the space of 4 years.

In an interesting twist, Tottenham wanted to sign Sean Treacy but they were firmly rebuffed by Chelsea. If this had happened, it would have paired Sean Treacy with BB Gunn in the Spurs midfield.

[law90026]

1 July 2009

BB Gunn signs a new 3 year deal with Spurs, worth 5.75 million pounds. This will pay him 37,500 pounds a week, 3,700 pounds per appearance, 925 pounds per goal and 9,250 pounds per win.

6 July 2009

Bud Wiser signs a 3 year deal with Fulham worth 2.8 million pounds. He will be paid 19,250 pounds a week, 1,900 pounds per appearance, 950 pounds per goal and 4,800 pounds a win.

[law90026]

11 July 2009

Frank Justice signs a new 3 year deal worth 7.5 million pounds, paying him 45,500 pounds a week, 12,750 pounds per appearance, 5,000 pounds per goal and a 12,750 pound win bonus.

Mike Schaplowsky signs a 5 year deal worth 11.5 million pounds, paying him 40,500 pounds per week, 4,000 pounds per appearance, 4,000 pounds per goal and 10,000 pounds per win.

[law90026]

18 July 2009

Charles Schexnader signs a 3 year deal worth 1.9 million pounds and will be paid 11k pounds a week, 24.5k per appearance, 600 pounds per goal and 3k per win.

20 July 2009

Owen Hunter signs a new 5 year contract with Leverkusen. He will be paid 46.5k per week, 4.5k per appearance and 11.25k per win.

[law90026]

29 July 2009

Nou Camp elated - but is it really worth it?
Editorial by 4-3-3 magazine

So the news has finally been announced that Barcelona have signed Mike Schaplowsky from Lyon for an estimated 84 million pounds, with incentives possibly making it as large as 100 millionn pounds. At the press conference held to announce the signing, there was a visible air of excitement and the fans outside the stadium were chanting and singing, as if heralding the second coming of .. someone great.

The question we at 4-3-3 magazine have is whether this move made any sense whatsoever. Sure, the young Polish striker is widely regarded as the real deal and there's no doubt he's a good player. But 84 million pounds for a player that wasn't able to hold down a first team spot in Lyon? 84 million pounds for a player whose one good season thus far was at Celtic and the Scottish Premier League? Hardly an indication Mike is a world beater in our opinion.

Parallels have been drawn between Mike and a former Barcelona favourite, Ronaldo. Both were young explosive strikers and both came from relatively smaller clubs before joining the Nou Camp. Hopefully Barcelona will get the same performance out of Mike as they try to improve their lackluster performances the past 2 seasons.

For Mike, this was a move he could have had last summer when he left Chelsea. He opted for Lyon instead and it appears he's grown tired of French soccer .. or was it the other way around? A great opportunity for Mike but there'll be a lot of pressure on him to perform. He'll definitely be expected to score more than 5 goals, which was his total return for Lyon last year.

Ultimately, the winner seems to be Lyon. They have made at least 4 times what they initially paid Chelsea for and can now strengthen their team considerably with the sale proceeds, all this for a player that hardly featured for them due to reported clashes with management.

Post editorial comment: We wish Mike all the best as we hear he has broken his ankle during pre-season training and will be out for up to 2 months.

[law90026]

14 January 2009

Al Mighty gets a new 4 year contract worth 9.5 million pounds, and will earn 39.5k a week, 3.8k per appearance, 9.5k per win and 11.25k per clean sheet.

In separate news, rumours have it that Blackburn may sell Jace Hunter. It appears at least one big money bid has come in for the Scottish keeper.

[law90026]

22 January 2009

Goodbye Ewood, Hello San Siro - Fairytale story comes true for Jace Hunter
Exclusive 4-3-3 Editorial

3 years ago, Jace Hunter was an 18 year old goalkeeper, fresh out of an academy which has since closed its doors ... and a complete unknown. And now, Jace Hunter is going to put on the famed Milan jersey as Blackburn reluctantly sell their keeper for 10.25 million pounds.

It's been a true fairytale for Jace, who signed for Blackburn in 2006 but was never expected to progress far. But his performances kept getting him noticed, from the time he spent on loan at Barnsley (still one of his favoured clubs), to his first season back at Ewood Park where he had to compete with Brad Friedal for playing time, till his first full season between the sticks for Blackburn, his caps for Scotland ... and now he stands poised to appear for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

This is a great move for Milan as well, whose no.1 keeper, Dida, is 36 years old. While he's still brilliant, the fact remains that he isn't getting any younger .. and in football, youth often wins out.

For Blackburn, this was a financial move. They get 10.25 million pounds to spend on reinforcements, something they desperately need since they're 19th in the Premier League. Brad Friedal regains the no.1 spot and will perform capably. It puts Blackburn's goalkeeping future in greater uncertainty but honestly, if Blackburn get relegated, that'll be the least of their concerns.

Post Editorial Comment: And Jace is thrown into the fire right from the start as he appears for Milan on 27 January 2009 in the 2nd leg of the Italian Cup, winning the MOM award in the process while leading Milan to a 3-1 win. Of 5 Genoa shots on target, Jace kept 4 out, only letting one in.

[Travis]

Wow, that's awesome. Now hopefully he learns to curb his temper a bit and not get run out of town because of it.

[law90026]

Season 4 - Year End Summary

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Barcelona
At season's end for Mike Schaplowsky, it's hard to say whether he did well. For a 21 year old, 10 goals in 29 games for one of the biggest clubs in the world can't exactly be called a failure. But taken in context of his huge transfer fee, perhaps more was expected. For what it's worth though, Mike was named the Spanish Young Player of the Year.

Season Stats: 29 games (6 as a sub), 10 goals, 2 yellows, 7.31 rating
2010 Spanish Young Player of the Year

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
A slightly worse year for Frank Justice than the last as his output was slightly lower. 11 goals in 27 games, which to be fair, isn't terrible for a striker.

Season Stats: 27 games (4 as a sub), 11 goals, 3 assists, 2 MOMs, 3 yellows, 7.11 rating

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Palermo
In a very interesting change, Al appeared for England in 2 games, by virtue of his great great great grand-mother's husband. Rated as one of the best goalkeepers in the world now, Al looks to have a very bright future ahead of him.

Season Stats: 33 games, 36 conceded, 9 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 4 yellows, 7.33 rating

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Milan
Another of the best keepers in the world and a regular for the Scottish team (16 caps so far), it looks like a healthy competition is building up between Jace and Al for title of best young keeper in Serie A.

Season Stats: 21 games, 17 conceded, 8 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 3 yellows, 7.43 rating
Named to Seria A Team of the Week once

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Regarded as one of the brightest young prospects in the world, young Charles is enjoying his time with the Arsenal first team. Now for the bad news: his performance is only about average but time will probably improve that and he still suffers from niggling injuries (8 weeks out this season through 3 injuries).

Season Stats: 30 games (9 as a sub), 1 goal, 4 assists, 4 yellows, 6.50 rating
European Super Cup Medal

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Celtic (on loan from Chelsea)
Another year of unfulfilled promise for Sean. Despite being highly rated, his performances on the pitch still leave a lot to be desired. The fact that he only managed a 6.43 rating at Celtic begs the question whether Sean is overrated. Still, it was a career year of sorts for Sean with 2 goals and 3 assists.

Season Stats: 42 games (1 as a sub), 2 goals, 3 assists, 3 MOMs, 4 yellows, 6.43 rating
Scottish Premier League Medal
Named to Scottish Premier League Team of the Week once.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Bud helped Fulham achieve a very respectable 6th place in the Premier League this year. While he is a regular in the first team, he needs to contribute more overall if he wants to take his game to the next level.

Season Stats: 30 games (1 as a sub), 1 goal, 2 yellows, 6.40 rating

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
The accolades continue to pour in for Owen as he wins the German Young Player of the Year award again, while being named Supporter's Player of the Year for 2008/2009. A 2 month hip injury limited his performances this year though.

Season Stats: 29 games, 4 goals, 5 assists, 5 MOMs, 2 yellows, 1 red, 6.68 tackles/game, 90% pass rate, 7.59 rating
Named to German First Division Team of the Weak twice.
2010 German Youth Player of the Year (repeat)
2008/2009 Supporter's Player of the Year

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Tottenham
Another rugged season for BB Gunn, who appeared in 45 games for Tottenham. Nothing spectacular from him, which is what the Spurs fans have come to expect, just the guy holding down the middle of the park for his team.

Season Stats: 45 games (8 as a sub), 1 goal, 4 yellows, 1 red, 6.47 rating

[law90026]

Pre-World Cup 2010:

Al Mighty named as the no. 1 choice for England.
Owen Hunter named in the German team and will sit on the bench.

[law90026]

25 June 2007

BB Gunn signs a new deal with Spurs for 5 years, worth 13.25 million. He will be paid 45k per week, 4.3k per appearance, 1.1k per goal and 10.75k per win.

[law90026]

2009/2010 Season End - Around the World (Ugh: Forgot to check and some of the information was lost due to the season resetting)

English Premier League
Man Utd win the title and Chelsea (Sean Treacy) and Arsenal (Charles Schexnader) come in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Blackburn and Wigan were relegated (can't find which is the 3rd team).

Fulham (Bud Wiser) was 6th, West Ham (Frank Justice) were nearly relegated at 17th and Tottenham (BB Gunn) were 11th.

Collins John (Fulham) was the top scorer with 23 goals.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Arjen Robben (Chelsea), with Jaime Mole (West Brom) and Giovanni Torre (Sheff Utd) coming in 2nd and 3rd. This is Robben's 2nd consecutive win.

Footballer of the Year was Calum Elliot (Doncaster), with Dean Ashton(West Ham) and Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player's Young Player of the Year was Mitchell Bryant (Preston) with Conor McCormack (Preston) and Micah Richards (Portsmouth) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Marcello Lippi (Man Utd) and Pat Rice (Arsenal) and Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) coming in 2nd and 3rd. Marcello Lippi is proving to have the golden touch as he won the German Manager of the Year award last season.

Bundesliga
Werder Bremen defended their title with Leverkusen (Owen Hunter) and Schalke coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Top Goalscorer was Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen) with 22 goals.

Player of the Year award went to Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen), his 3rd such title in 5 years, with Claudio Pizzaro (Leverkusen) and Nando Rafael(Gladbach) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Roman Weidenfeller of Dortmund.

Youth Player of the Year was Owen Hunter (Leverkusen) for a 2nd year in a row.

Manager of the Year was Paul Le Guen (Werder Bremen) and Michael Laudrup (FC Bayern) and Thomas Doll (Schalke) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Serie A
Inter won the Serie A, with Milan (Jace Hunter) and Roma coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Palermo (Al Mighty) flirted with relegation, eventually coming in 15th. Lecce, Atalanta and Napoli were relegated.

Btw, Inter promptly fired their coach, Roberto Mancini, after winning the Scudetto .. nice.

Top Goalscorer was Carlos Tevez (Roma) with 20 goals.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Gianlugi Buffon of Juventus, his 2nd straight title. He is also probably the best keeper of all time in Serie A as he has won this title 6 times in the past 8 years.

Defender of the Year was Johan Djorou of Palermo.

Foreign Player of the Year was Carlos Tevez (Striker for Roma).

Italian Player of the Year was Francesco Totti of Roma and Amauri (Palermo) and Christian Bucchi (Napoli) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Ruud Gullit (Milan) with Thomas Schaaf (Roma) and Walter Bonacina (Sampdoria) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Carlos Tevez (Roma) and Sasa Bjelanovi (Ascoli) and Alberto Gilardino (Milan) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Victor Obinna (Chievo), his 2nd title, with Steve Pinau (Verona) and Schumacher (Udinese) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

La Liga
Real Madrid win the La Liga, with Valencia coming in 2nd and Espanyol a distant 3rd. Barcelona were 8th, even worse than their 7th place finish last year. Deportivo, Racing and Real Sociedad were relegated.

Top goalscorers were Robinho (Real Madrid) and Javier Portillo with 19 goals each.

Top Assist was Lauren (Espanyol) with 12, not bad for a 33 year old right back!!

Goalkeeper of the Year was Jose Manuel Pinto (Valencia).

Manager of the Year was Fabio Capello (Real Madrid) with Jose Antonio Camacho (Espanyol) and Irureta (Valencia) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Ronaldinho (Barcelona).

Scottish Premier League: (because Sean Treacy played here this season)

Celtic win yet another title, their 5th in a row and 9th in the past 13 years. Rangers no longer appear to be able to challenge them effectively.

[law90026]

30 June 2010

Sean Treacy rejoins Celtic on a season-long loan. Chelsea are apparently taking the view that Sean isn't ready for first team action in the Premier League and want him to continue learning his trade in a "lesser" league.

[law90026]

Germany win 2010 World Cup

In a close encounter, Germany win the 2010 World Cup, beating Argentina 3-2 on penalties after the game ended 1-1. In a surprising show of poor penalty taking, Germany had 2 penalties saved or missed, while Argentina missed 3 of their own (3rd, 4th and 5th attempts).

Owen Hunter gets a World Cup Winner's medal, though he played no actual part in the finals.

[law90026]

22 July 2010

Charles Schexnader signs a new 3 year deal with Arsenal, which will pay him 12.75k a week, 28k per appearance, 700 per goal and 3.5 k per win.

24 July 2010
Frank Justice signs a 3 year deal with West Ham worth 7.5 million, which pays him 47.5k per week, 13.25 k per appearance, 5.25k per goal and 13.25k per win. While Frank expressed his happiness, rumours are that he would move to a bigger club if given the chance, especially considering how close West Ham came to relegation last year.

[law90026]

Another year, Another Big Money Move
4-3-3 Editorial

So Mike Schaplowsky apparently is the best striker in the world for some reason. Last year it was Barcelona forking out big bucks for him. This year, it was Man Utd paying 114 million pounds for the 21 year old.

That's a lot of money for a player who scored 10 goals last year in our opinion.

Mike was surplus to Barcelona's requirement after Barcelona signed Anderson, a 22 year old Brazilian striker, for 78 million pounds.

[law90026]

23 February 2011

Leverkusen 2-0 Celtic

Owen Hunter led his team to victory over Sean Treacy's Celtic in the first leg of the Champions Leagues Quarter Finals. Owen started the game with a goal in the first minute and Celtic were always on the backfoot thereafter. Celtic's cause was not helped when they had 3 players injured in the first 36 minutes of the game, forcing coach Martin O'Neill to use up all his substitutions early in the game.

Tobias Riedl's 41st minute strike then gave Leverkusen a comfortable 2-0 lead headed into the 2nd leg, which will be played in Scotland.

Sean Treacy played decently, getting a 7 rating while Owen Hunter had a 8.

9 March 2011

Celtic 1-0 Leverkusen

Celtic win the 2nd leg 1-0 but crash out 2-1 on aggregate. Celtic never really looked like overturning the 2-0 deficit they faced as the game was very evenly matched. Sean Treacy managed another 7 rating, which was matched by Owen Hunter.

[law90026]

17 April 2011

Arsenal 2-0 Tottenham

Charles Schexnader and Arsenal beat Spurs 2-0 in a good ol' North London derby. Goals from Mark Gonzalez and Wesley Sneijder were enough to see Spurs off. BB Gunn was missing from the game and could only watch from the stands as he is recovering from a pulled hamstring. Charles managed a 7 rating.

[law90026]

23 April 2011

West Ham 2-3 Arsenal

Despite Frank Justice's best efforts, West Ham fall to Arsenal 3-2 at home. 2 goals from MOM Frank were not enough as Arsenal won a game that wasn't as close as the scoreline indicated. West Ham only had 2 shots at goal and Frank scored from both.

Charles Schexnader had a 7 while Frank was MOM with a 9.

[law90026]

Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal lift the Champions League Cup, edging out Chelsea 1-0 after extra time. A 95th minute goal from Theo Walcott proved to be the difference between the 2 sides.

Charles Schexnader started at leftback for the Gunners and played well, recording an 8, though he also received a yellow card in the game.

This win will be sweet revenge for Arsenal, who finished 2nd in the Premier League, 12 points behind Chelsea.

[law90026]

2008/2009 Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Chelsea retain the title with 89 pts and Arsenal(Charles Schexnader) , Liverpool and Middlesborough come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Coventry, Watford and Fulham (Bud Wiser) were relegated.

West Ham (Frank Justice) come in 6th and qualify for the Euro Cup, while Tottenham (BB Gunn) come in 8th, just missing out on the Euro Cup. Man Utd (Mike Schaplowsky) had a very disappointing season, finishing 10th.

Arjen Robben (Chelsea) was the top scorer with 24 goals. Frank Justice had 12 goals, coming in joint 24th.

Giorgio Chiellini (Man Utd) had 12 assists to lead all other players.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Arjen Robben (Chelsea), with Xabi Alonso (Liverpool) and Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham) coming in 2nd and 3rd. This is Arjen Robben's 3rd consecutive title.

Footballer of the Year was Freddy Eastwood (Newcastle), with Jamie Mole(West Brom) and Garry O'Connor (Portsmouth) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player's Young Player of the Year was Frank Justice (West Ham), his second title in 3 years, with Francisco Merida (Coventry) and Terry Dixon (Aston Villa) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) and Rafa Benitez (Liverpool) and Pat Rice (Arsenal) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Bundesliga
FC Bayern finally return to form, winning their first title in 4 years. Leverkusen and Schalke come in 2nd and 3rd. This is the 2nd year in a row Leverkusen (Owen Hunter) were runners-up. Dusseldorf, Wolfsburg and Aachen were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Alexander Frei (Dortmund) with 19 goals.

Fabian Ernst (Frankfurt) led all players with 12 assists. Owen Hunter had 8 and came in 3rd.

Player of the Year award went to Miroslav Klose (Dortmund) for a 2nd year running, his 4th award in 6 years. Borja Oubina (HSV) and Alexander Frei(Dortmund) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Michael Rensing of FC Bayern.

Youth Player of the Year was Owen Hunter (Leverkusen), his 3rd consecutive award.

Manager of the Year was Martin Jol (FC Bayern) and Thomas Doll (Schalke) and Michael Skibbe (Leverkusen) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Serie A
Inter retain the Serie A title, pipping Juventus and Roma on the last day. Milan (Jace Hunter) came in 4th. Palermo (Al Mighty), Chievo and Siena were relegated.

Top Goalscorers were Fred (Juventus) and Lukas Podolski (Milan) with 20 goals.

Top Assist went to Florent Malouda (Roma) and Giampiero Pinzi (Udinese) with 11.

Goalkeeper of the Year was David Cobeno of Catania. Al Mighty was 2nd and Jace Hunter was 3rd.

Defender of the Year was Michael Jakobsen of Fiorentina.

Foreign Player of the Year was Fred (Striker for Juventus).

Italian Player of the Year was Alberto Aquilani of Lazio and Simone Tiribocchi (Bologna) and Giampiero Pinzi (Udinese) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Frank Rikjaard (Inter) with Walter Alfredo Novellino (Roma) and Gianluca Vialli (Juventus) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Fred (Juventus) and Nilmar (Juventus) and Carlos Tevez (Roma) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Gay Assulin (Verona) with Fernando Forestieri (Fiorentina) and Bojan (Roma) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

La Liga
Real Madrid retain their title and Barcelona are resurgent, coming in 2nd. Malorcan and Villareal round out the top 4. Alaves, Levante and Athletic were relegated.

Top goalscorer was Luca Toni (Espanyol) with 21 goals.

Top Assist was Dani Alves (Villareal) with 8.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Victor Valdes (Barcelona).

Manager of the Year was Paul Le Guen (Real Madrid) with Thomas Schaaf (Barcelona) coming in 2nd and Felix Magath of Villareal coming in 3rd.

Player of the Year was Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona).

Scottish Premier League
Celtic (Sean Treacy) win yet another title.

[law90026]

2010/2011 Summary

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Man Utd
By most standards, Mike's season should be considered a good one. 16 goals in the Premier League, 27 goals in all competitions, that's a good return for a 21 year old. The problem is that Man Utd paid a lot for his services and expectations were always going to be ridiculously high, coupled with Man Utd's poor performance this season, meant that Mike will be viewed, whether fairly or unfairly, as not being worth it.

Season Stats: 49 games (3 as a sub), 27 goals, 1 assist, 3 MOMs, 3 yellow, 1 red, 7.02 rating
Club World Championship Winner
European Super Cup Winner

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank is becoming a semi-regular in the England team as he now has 4 caps to his name. Voted the best young player in England, Frank is beginning to show a well-rounded facet to his game as he managed 15 goals and 9 assists in all competitions. He needs to curb his aggression though, 6 yellow cards is a tad high.

Season Stats: 33 games (7 as a sub), 15 goals, 9 assists, 6 MOMs, 6 yellows, 7.45 rating
2011 Young Player of the Year

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Milan
A good year individually for Jace as he is regarded as the 3rd best keeper in Serie A, though perhaps not as great a year for Milan as a team. Coming in 4th in Serie A and runners-up in the Italian Super Cup, it was a year of "almosts" for Jace and his team.

Season Stats: 49 games (1 as a sub), 49 conceded, 22 clean sheets, 8 MOMs, 4 yellows, 7.43 rating
2011 Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year - 3rd place
Named twice to Serie A Team of the Week
Italian Super Cup Runner-up

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, Palermo
Heartbreak for Al as he fails to keep Palermo from being relegated. His valiant efforts were not dismissed though as he was voted 2nd best keeper in Serie A. 7 caps for England thus far in his career though lately he's been sitting on the bench for the Lions.

Season Stats: 45 games, 55 conceded, 15 clean sheets, 3 MOMs, 2 yellows, 7.58 rating
Italian Cup Runner Up
2011 Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year - 2nd place
Named to Serie A Team of the Year
Named to Serie A Team of the Week 3 times

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Slowly, Charles is beginning to improve his overall performances for the Gunners. He averaged a 6.85 rating this year, his best record in his career thus far. He'll be pleased to have won a Champions League medal this year as well.

Season Stats: 27 games (6 as a sub), 3 goals, 1 assist, 2 MOMs, 5 yellows, 6.85 rating
2011 Champions League Winner
Premier League Young Player of the Month for April

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Leverkusen
The ever reliable Owen Hunter continues to perform well for Leverkusen, though he may be a little frustrated that he has failed to win anything of note at club level. Internationally though, Owen has a World Cup Medal and an Olympic Medal, not bad for a 21 year old.

Season Stats: 44 games, 2 goals, 10 assists, 8 MOMs, 7 yellows, 7.66 rating
World Cup Winner
2011 German First Division Youth Player of the Year (3rd in a row)
Named in German First Division Team of the Year
German Player of the Month for November
Named to German Team of the Week 5 times

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Celtic
Another player that appears to be getting more comfortable with his game, Sean Treacy had a career year in terms of his average rating. He'll hope to continue improving as he didn't do too badly this year at all, though he'll also be the first to admit he has room to improve still.

Season Stats: 49 games (2 as a sub), 1 goal, 3 assists, 3 MOMs, 2 yellows, 6.94 rating
Scottish Premier League Winner
Scottish League Cup Winner
Scottish Premier League Young Player of the Month for December

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Tottenham
Ol' Reliable wasn't so reliable this year. The Spurs fans are used to seeing Jersey no. 22 ever game but it appears all that hard work is catching up with BB, as he missed 6 weeks of action this year with niggling injuries. Still, he managed to appear in 36 games, 3rd most for the club.

Season Stats: 36 games, 3 goals, 4 yellows, 6.69 rating.

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Disaster for Bud this year as he found himself sitting on the bench a lot. Worse, Fulham got relegated, a major disappointment considering they came in 6th last season. Bud has made it clear he isn't happy and is looking for a way out.

Season Stats: 17 games (13 as a sub), 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 1 yellow, 6.24 rating

[law90026]

22 July 2011

Man Utd splash out for BB Gunn
In a bold move, Man Utd acquire the services of BB Gunn from Spurs for 53 million pounds. BB has been a regular first-teamer for Spurs and does his job, holding the midfield, decently.

Having said that, it's a lot of cash to splash out on a 22 year old defensive midfielder who does only the dirty work. It'll be interesting to see if this gamble pays off for the Reds.

BB Gunn teams up with former Academy trainee Mike Schaplowsky. Mike though is out for 3 months with a broken ankle sustained during pre-season training.

[law90026]

3 January 2012

Leverkusen sells their star defender to Atletico Madrid for 23.5 million pounds - Fans on both sides react in horror!!

In surprising news, Leverkusen sell Owen Hunter to Atletico Madrid for 23.5 million pounds. Leverkusen fans were visibly upset as Owen Hunter had been a brilliant performer for them for the past 5 years and was one of the best players in the Bundesliga.

On the other side, Atletico's fans were less than pleased with the signing, worried that Owen Hunter would disrupt the team. This brought a sense of deja vu back to Owen Hunter, who faced a similar reaction from Leverkusen's fans when he joined them 5 years ago. Hopefully he wins Atletico's fans around the same way he did for Leverkusen.

[law90026]

22 January 2012

Al Mighty leaves Palermo

With a heavy heart, Al Mighty left Palermo to join West Ham for a fee of 17.5 million pounds. The move was expected, since the England international was languishing in Serie B, but still, he made his move with some sadness as Palermo was the club that gave him a second chance early on his career.

Al Mighty joins former Academy teammate Frank Justice in West Ham.

[Sublime 2]

Woah! Owen out of the Bundesliga...

[cschex]

Wow, the transfer fees are crazily inflated in this version of FM. 100 million pounds! That's insane.

Oh, and Champs League, baby!

[law90026]

Originally Posted by cschex

Wow, the transfer fees are crazily inflated in this version of FM. 100 million pounds! That's insane.

Oh, and Champs League, baby!

Yeah, that really is one of my issues with the game. The transfer fees are simply exorbitant if you want to buy a "name" player and it's just about never worth it.

In my Arsenal game I play on the side, I sold Kolo Toure for 65 million pounds to Chelsea and used those funds to buy 3 good/great players who were lesser known to replace him. Silliness (though I did splash out 75 million pounds for Lionel Messi )

[bbgunn]

Man U? NOOOOO!

[law90026]

Treacy has the last laugh

Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool

On a windy night in Athens, Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Champions League final in extra time, with goals from Julio Baptista and Adriano. Valeri Bojinov's regular time equaliser not being enough for the Reds. It was made even more frustrating by the fact that Adriano scored in the very last minute of extra time, ruining Liverpool's chance of doing a Premiership and Champions League Double.

Sean Treacy came on in the 73rd minute and got a 7 rating. This will be sweet revenge for Sean, who had a torrid time at Anfield early on in his career, who was consistently being called out by manager Rafa Benitez in the media (not without justification though).

[st.cronin]

holla

[law90026]

Season 2011/2012 End of Season Summary

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Man Utd
A good second season for Mike Schaplowsky at Old Trafford. 18 goals in 30 games is a good goal scoring record and he was consistently recognised for that (7 MOMs). Having said that, it's clear Man Utd overpaid for his services as Mike's value has falled to a more realistic 57 million pounds.

Season Stats: 30 games, 18 goals, 7 MOMs, 6 yellows, 7.43 rating
Premier League Player of the Month for April

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Man Utd
BB Gunn acquired his first 2 caps for England this year. One of the most expensive midfielders in the world, there are still doubts whether he really is worth that much, considering his distinctly average performance for Man Utd (6.49 rating) and the fact that Man Utd didn't do that well this year.

Season Stats: 41 games, 2 goals, 2 assists, 1 MOM, 2 yellows, 6.49 rating

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Atletico Madrid
Owen played decently for Atletico but it was a far cry from his normal high standards. Adjustment required to a different team and play style? Or just that the Spanish La Liga is of a higher standard? Next season will be a good indication.

Season Stats: 22 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 1 yellow, 1 red, 7.18 rating
2010/2011 Leverkusen Supporter's Player of the Year
Named in German First Division Team of the Week once before his move

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, West Ham
Al handled his move to the Premier League well as he showed why he is an England international. A 7.40 rating is nice as is the 8 clean sheets he kept in 25 games.

Season Stats: 25 games, 26 conceded, 8 clean sheets, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 7.40 rating
English League Cup Runner-Up Medal

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
Frank had his regular consistent season, playing well and banging in goals on a regular basis. His record of 5 goals for England (in 10 games) shows he is a world class striker. Still, he may be wondering what he has to do to get more recognition, considering he managed to contribute more than his rival Mike Schaplowsky.

Season Stats: 42 games (4 as a sub), 22 goals, 5 assists, 3 MOMs, 1 yellow, 7.17 rating

Charles Schexnader - Left Winger, Arsenal
This was the year Charles becames a German international as he got his first cap against Australia at age 20. He didn't manage to get any club level trophies but he did get a Confederations Cup medal with Germany.

Season Stats: 37 games (2 as a sub), 2 goals, 9 assists, 3 MOMs, 4 yellows, 6.92 rating
Name to the Premier League Team of the Week 3 times
Premier League Young Player of the Month for March 2012

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Milan
Jace picks up his second Italian Cup medal with Milan this year, who again failed to win Seria A. What makes it worse is that arch-rivals Inter won it for the 3rd year running. The Scottish international played decently this year though probably not as well as he might have liked.

Season Stats: 45 games, 43 conceded, 13 clean sheets, 4 yellows, 7.18 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Chelsea
An up and down season for Sean Treacy this year. He managed to get a Champions League medal but he didn't do that much all year in terms of performances, though he managed 6 assists in all competitions. More is expected of him though it looks like he may never live up to his potential.

Season Stats: 29 games (2 as a sub), 6 assists, 2 yellows, 6.45 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Despite rumours Bud was leaving Fulham, he buckled down this year and played hard and well, as he managed his career year thus far (6.73 rating).

Season Stats: 45 games (4 as a sub), 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MOM, 5 yellows, 6.73 rating

[law90026]

2011/2012 Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Liverpool win the Premier League this year and Middlesborough, Bolton and Chelsea (Sean Treacy) come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Sheffield United, Wigan and Derby were relegated.

Man Utd (Mike Schaplowsky, BB Gunn) improved from last season to finish 6th but that surely isn't enough for their fans. West Ham (Al Mighty, Frank Justice) were 7th while Arsenal (Charles Schexnader) were a disappointing 8th.

Adriano (Chelsea) was the top scorer with 22 goals. Mike Schaplowsky had 12 goals, coming in joint 17th, while Frank Justice had 13, coming in joint 19th.

Tobias Linderoth (Charlton) had 12 assists to lead all players. Charles Schexnader had 6 and was joint 10th.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Arjen Robben (Chelsea), his 4th in a row, with Freddy Eastwood (Newcastle) and Xabi Alonso (Liverpool) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Footballer of the Year was Mauricio Pinilla (Blackburn), with Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham) and Darren Bent (Charlton) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player's Young Player of the Year was Richard Pawlak (Derby), with Wade Watt (Bolton) and Magnus Wolff Eikrem (Reading) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Rafa Benitez (Liverpool) and Jose Mourinho(Chelsea) and Alan Pardew (West Ham) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Bundesliga
HSV win the Bundesliga. Werder Bremen and FC Bayern come in 2nd and 3rd. Leverkusen (formerly Owen Hunter) were 6th. Koln, Duisburg and Rostock were relegated.

Serie A
Inter retain the Serie A title for a 3rd year, beating Roma, Ascoli and Milan (Jace Hunter). Inter and Roma were tied on points and goal difference, believe it or not, but Inter win by virtue of their 2-1 aggregate performance over Roma during the season (a 1-0 win at Roma and a 0-0 draw at home). Reggina, Catania and Modena were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Carlos Tevez (Roma) with 21 goals.

Top Assist went to Christian Ledesma (Verona) with 7.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Sebestian Frey of Fioretina.

Defender of the Year was Michael Dingsdag of Verona.

Foreign Player of the Year was Sebestian Frey (Goalkeeper for Fiorentina).

Italian Player of the Year was Rolando Bianchi of Fiorentina and Matteo Brighi (Parma) and Luca Cigarini (Reggina) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Frank Rikjaard (Inter) with Ruud Guillit (Milan) and Giuseppe Pillon (Ascoli) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Carlos Tevez (Roma) and Alberto Gilardino(Milan) and Goran Pandev (Lazio) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Fernano Forestieri (Fiorentina) with Eli Zizov(Verona) and David Aranzubia (Verona) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

La Liga
Real Madrid win their 3rd consecutive title and Barcelona are 2nd for a 2nd year. Celta and Villareal round out the top 4. Ciudad Murcia, Gimnastic and Castellon were relegated. Athletico (Owen Hunter) came in 14th.

Top goalscorer was Luis Fabiano (Sevilla) with 22 goals.

Top Assist was Dani Alves (Villareal) and Joaquin with 9.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Victor Valdes (Barcelona) for a 2nd straight year.

Manager of the Year was Paul Le Guen (Real Madrid) again with Thomas Schaaf (Barcelona) coming in 2nd (again) and Marcos Alnoso of Celta coming in 3rd.

Player of the Year was Anderson (Barcelona), the striker that replaced Mike Schaplowsky at Barcelona.

[law90026]

"Of course I'm worth it", says European Striker of the Year

1 August 2012

In a sometimes angry media interview, the new European Striker of the Year, Mike Schaplowsky, acknowledged his new standing as the number 1 striker in Europe. He also took the opportunity to chide his critics who had claimed he was overrated and overpriced.

"Of course I'm worth it. Some of you #*@&$*#* keep claiming that I'm overrated. Well so there, this award shows how right you are. You know what? It's not my fault Lyon, Barcelona and Man Utd wanted to spend big bucks on me. They saw something they liked and were willing to pay for it. It's a free market, something you guys obviously don't understand.

Look at my record. 74 goals in 159 league games. That's bloody awesome and I'm going to keep getting better."

When asked about his inability to make players around him better and allegations that he was selfish (0 assists in the same 159 league games), Mike had this to say,

"Who cares about that? I'm paid to score and that's what I do. I carry that burden for the team and I'm willing to own up when I don't find the net. Why should I be judged by how many people I help score goals when that is the job I'm paid to do?"

And his final words were "Watch out. I'm getting better and I'm going to show all of you how much more I can do. People forget that I was injured early last season with a broken ankle but I still came back to do what I do best, score goals. This year, I'm going to be no. 1."

For the record, Milan's strikers, Lucas Podolski and Alberto Gilardino came in 2nd and 3rd.

[law90026]

2012/2013 End of Season Update

Mike Schaplowsky - Striker, Man Utd
The reigning European Striker of the Year upped his performance this year by a tad, as he scored 22 goals in all competitions. He also succeeded in proving he was number 1 by being voted the 2013 English Footballer of the Year and being selected to the Premier League Select Team.

Season Stats: 47 games (2 as a sub), 22 goals, 6 MOMs, 3 yellows, 2 reds, 7.40 rating
Euro Cup runners-up (Man Utd lost 1-0 to West Brom and Mike got a 6 rating)
2011/2012 Man Utd Supporter's Player of the Year
2012 European Striker of the Year
2013 English Footballer of the Year
Premier League Select Team

Owen Hunter - Sweeper/Defender, Atletico
Better performance this year for Owen Hunter but just off the incredible performances he used to have for Leverkusen. Don't get it wrong, Owen Hunter is playing well consistently (7.38 rating in the league), just that he used to perform better at least in terms of ratings (his high with Leverkusen ws 7.78).

Season Stats: 29 games, 3 goals, 3 assists, 4 MOMs, 5 yellows, 7.38 rating
Named to Spanish First Division Team of the Week 3 times
Named to Spanish First Division Team of the Season

BB Gunn - Defensive Midfielder, Man Utd
BB continues to show how durable he is as he played another 49 games this year. Average performances week in and week out have seen his value drop somewhat but he is regarded as a vital cog of the Man Utd team.

Season Stats: 49 games, 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 yellows, 1 red, 6.55 rating (also most tackles/game in the Premier League for a pure midfielder)
Euro Cup Runners-up

Al Mighty - Goalkeeper, West Ham
Al wins his first trophy this year as West Ham win the League Cup (2-0 win over Aston Villa and a 9 rating). This is a nice change for Al, who has 4 runners-up medals thus far his career (Italian Cup, Italian Supercup, European Supercup, English League Cup).

Season Stats: 45 games, 51 conceded, 14 clean sheets, 6 MOMs, 5 yellows, 1 red, 7.62 rating
Named to Premier League Team of the Week once

Frank Justice - Striker, West Ham
This is the year Frank matured as his manager asked him to tutor 18 year old reserve striker David Bird. Frank played well this year but didn't really improve much from last season. Frank also won his first medal this year, the League Cup medal and he scored West Ham's 2nd goal in the win over Aston Villa.

Season Stats: 37 games (2 as a sub), 15 goals, 5 assists, 1 MOM, 3 yellows, 1 red, 7.05 rating
(Note: I just realised there's a bug with Frank Justice. His achievements with West Ham are not updating as that screen shows he has left West Ham when he first went on loan at QPR. Ugh)

Charles Schexnader - Left Wing, Arsenal
Charles took his game to the next level this year, with a 7.21 rating. He remains disappointed that the club he loves has not really managed to achieve much success in recent years however, though he was recognised as the best leftback in the Premier League.

Season Stats: 38 gamed, 3 goals, 5 assists, 1 MOM, 4 yellows, 7.21 rating
Named in English Premier League Select

Jace Hunter - Goalkeeper, Milan
Another disappointing year for Jace, both individally and at team level. While Jace played well this year, he failed to be recognised for his performances. Milan also did badly by its high standards, coming in 5th in Serie A and not doing that well in other cups.

Season Stats: 40 games (2 as a sub), 33 conceded, 19 clean sheets, 1 MOM, 5 yellows, 7.50 rating

Sean Treacy - Midfielder, Chelsea (Ugh, another bugged player because his Chelsea achievments are not updating)
Is the shine coming off Sean Treacy at Stamford Bridge? In similar fashion to his time at Liverpool, his boss (Jose Mourinho) complained that Sean was not performing to a standard expected of him. Having said that, Sean managed to get another Premiership winner's medal this year as well as his first 2 caps for England.

Season Stats: 31 games (6 as a sub), 2 assists, 5 yellows, 6.16 rating

Bud Wiser - Left Winger, Fulham
Fulham again get promoted back to the Premiership, coming in 2nd in the Championship. Bud played well this campaign and is acknowledged as being an integral part of the effort. Now for both Fulham and Bud Wiser to maintain their performance next season.

Season Stats: 40 games (2 as a sub), 2 goals, 3 assists, 2 MOMs, 1 yellow, 1 red, 6.85 rating
Named to English Championship Team of the Week once.

[law90026]

2012/2013 Season End - Around the World

English Premier League
Chelsea (Sean Treacy) win the Premier League this year and Bolton, Man Utd (Mike Schaplowsky, BB Gunn) and Arsenal (Charles Schexnader) come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively. Luton, Doncaster and Newcastle were relegated.

West Ham (Al Mighty, Frank Justice) came in 12th but will be in Europe next year by virtue of their League Cup win.

Garry O'Connor (Portsmouth) was the top scorer with 20 goals. Mike Schaplowsky had 16 goals, coming in joint 12th, while Frank Justice had 12 goals, coming in joint 27th.

Etinene Didot (West Ham), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea) and James Davis (Blackburn) had 10 assists to lead all players. Charles Schexnader had 5 and was joint 16th.

Player's Player of the Year award went to Arjen Robben (Chelsea), his 5th in a row!! Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham) and Sven Walter (Bolton) came in 2nd and 3rd.

Footballer of the Year was Mike Schaplowsky (Man Utd), with Garry O'connor (Portsmouth) and Goran Slavkovski (Coventry) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player's Young Player of the Year was Christian Bong (Newcastle), with James Davis (Blackburn) and Goran Markovic (Southend) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Jose Mourinho (Chelsea) and Iain Dowie (Charlton) and Micky Adams (Tottenham) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Bundesliga
Werder Bremen win the Bundesliga. FC Bayern and Stuttgart come in 2nd and 3rd. Leverkusen (formerly Owen Hunter) were 7th. Hertha BSC, Aachen and Freiburg were relegated.

Serie A
Palermo win Serie A, which is amazing considering they just got promoted last season. Inter, Roma and Milan (Jace Hunter) come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Sampdoria, Siena and Napoli were relegated.

Top Goalscorer was Fred (Juventus) with 21 goals.

Top Assist went to Mamadi Keita (Bologna) with 10.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Dieter Raynaert of Empoli.

Defender of the Year was Christian Zaccardo of Milan.

Foreign Player of the Year was Dieter Raynaert of Empoli.

Italian Player of the Year was Christian Zaccardo of Milan and Amauri (Palermo) and Angel Siniscalchi (Bologna) were 2nd and 3rd.

Manager of the Year was Maurizio D'Angelo (Palermo) with Walter Bonacina(Juventus) and Frank Rikjaard (Inter) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Player of the Year was Paco Sanchez (Livorno) and Gari Uranga (Empoli) and Schumacher (Udinese) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

Young Player of the Year was Fernano Forestieri (Fiorentina) for a 2nd year with Eli Zizov(Verona) (also a 2nd year) and Mamadi Keita (Bologna) coming in 2nd and 3rd.

La Liga
Valencia win the title, breaking Real's stranglehold of the past 3 years. Real came in 2nd and Barcelona were 3rd. Atletico came in 10th (Owen Hunter). Almeria, Lleida and Salamana were relegated.

Top goalscorer was Anderson (Barcelona) with 21 goals.

Top Assist was Joaquin (Valencia) with an amazing 17.

Goalkeeper of the Year was Manolo Reina (Recreativo) .

Manager of the Year was Jost Antonio Camacho (Valencia) with Paul Le Guen (Real Madrid) coming in 2nd and Thomas Schaaf (Barcelona) coming in 3rd.

Player of the Year was Joaquin (Valencia).