FM2005: a frog in Europe

[gi]

My marathon session over the last three days is now complete. I have read the entire dynasty and I’m all caught up. Great read Frog Man! Looking forward to keeping up on a daily basis now.

Fritz could do kung-fu soccer...

[oykib]

I've read all of the "Frog at..." series over the past two weeks. Great stuff.

I may pick up this game this week.

One question...

Can you offer Vanden Borre an extension that'll get rid of his Minimum Release Clause?

Seems like if you gave him a few extra Gs per week you might make a killing if some big team swoops in to take him. Or it would allow you to refuse. It's seems that with the way he's playing and the fact that he's being scouted by bigger teams that he'll be snatched away pretty soon.

Great win versus Man Utd. by the way!

[FrogMan]

January 19, 2012
Still on a high after the previous night's win, I wake up to the phone ringing. It's Ahmed Yahiaoui's agent and he excitedly tells me that our good showing in the Euro Cup so far has convinced Ahmed that a move to Loftus Road would be good for him, he's agreed to terms with us!

I tell him I first have to check with Bill Power, see if the extra funds are allowed. We're talking about $17M here... Mr Power tells me that he believes this player will be beneficial for the club and he therefore decides to provide the extra finance needed to finalise the deal. I'm a bit surprised to be honest. Good thing the crowd was good for the Man U game, because the club's bank account was at something like $16.7M before the game, and now, with the deal done, it shows only $212,692 left. Phew...


Lost in all the excitement, I get the news that Chris Chapman sprained his wrist in training. He will miss one week. That's not a good news with Howell's condition so low...

January 20, 2012
Ahmed Yahiaoui arrives to Loftus Road and Bill Power is very pleased about it, as he expresses his delight that I have captured his signature. Mr Power also commented that I was doing an excellent job for the club by signing such a high-profile player. The Board is whining about the wages though, but who cares, as long as we keep winning, there'll be money at the end of the season

And, who is this Ahmed "Yahoo!" Yahiaoui and what does he have that makes everybody so excited? He's a Frenchman defensive midfielder who's capable of playing in the center and on the right. What makes him special, well first, he's not very old, having just turned 25 only a week ago. Second, he's got all the skills I wanna see in a DMC, including heading (only for Desnudo ). His pace is not his greatest asset, but he's very good between the ears and also has great technical skills, as long as we're not asking him to do any set pieces stuff. You can look at his player profile by clicking on the following thumbnail. Let me know what you think of him. Personally, I like him very much. Reminds me a lot of Anthony Vanden Borre and both of them on the field at the same time could give a whole new dimension to our 4-2-2-2 formation with 2 DMCs...
(note: I'm unable to upload to my photobucket account at the moment, I'll post his profile as soon as I'm able to log into my account.)

This signing breaks two Q.P.R. team record. First, the $17M fee for a single player is one, then the signing brings our total spending on the season to an even $34M (actually doubling what we had spent with one signing) and that is another record.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 21, 2012

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Kasper Schmeichel	GK	Superb	6-5-7-7-8	100%	35	-	7.11
DR		Craig Crane	D R	Very Poor	7-8-6-7-5	99%	24	-	7.13
DL		César Augusto Fawcett	D/DM L	Superb	6-8-7-7-8	92%	26	-	7.42
DC		David Marek Rozehnal	D C	Superb	7-7-6-7-7	95%	23 (3)	1	7.23
DC		James Collins	D C	Superb	7-7-8-7-7	94%	16	1	7.06
DMC	Wnt	Anthony Vanden Borre	SW/D/DM RC	Superb	7-7-8-9-9	92%	30 (2)	5	7.56
DMC		Fábio Rochemback	DM C	Superb	7-9-7-8-7	92%	15 (2)	2	7.24
MR		Stephen Pearson	AM RLC	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	93%	20 (5)	2	7.40
ML	Wnt	Marcus Kelly	AM RL	Very Good	10-7-8-7-7	96%	26	2	7.96
FC		Quincy Owusu Abeyie	S C	Okay	7-7-7-7-7	96%	7 (9)	5	7.31
FC		Andrew Johnson	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	93%	21 (3)	10	7.17
S1		Wayne Alexander	GK	Poor	6-7-8-7-8	100%	-	-	-
S2	Unh	Igor Biscan	D/DM C	Superb	7-7-8-7-7	92%	4 (7)	1	7.27
S3		Clemens Fritz	AM R	Superb	7-7-7-8-7	95%	17 (16)	8	7.55
S4	Yel	Tom Howell	D/DM L	Superb	9-7-9-7-8	86%	16 (10)	2	7.58
S5		Ross McCormack	S C	Superb	7-7-8-7-8	91%	30 (3)	11	7.15
-		Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Superb	7-8-7-7-8	90%	28 (5)	9	7.36
-	Unh	Li Tie	DM C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	100%	3 (5)	-	7.00
-	Int	Danny Shittu	D C	Very Good	7-6-7-7-7	99%	29	3	7.38
-		Ahmed Yahiaoui	DM RC	Superb	-	77%	-	-	-
-	Unh	Keigan Parker	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	96%	1 (4)	-	7.00
-	Inj	Ben Watson	M C	Okay	7-7-7-8-7	30%	4 (12)	-	7.00
-	Unh	Igor Nadal Lázaro	S C	Superb	7-7-7-8-7	89%	8 (4)	4	7.17
-	Inj	Chris Chapman	M LC	Okay	8-7-7-6-7	75%	2 (8)	-	7.10
-	Unh	Matt Cross	AM/F RC	Good	7-6-7-7-7	99%	6 (5)	-	6.91
-	Inj	Peter Young	AM RLC	Superb	7	57%	0 (1)	-	7.00

FA Cup round 4: we play Chelsea on their pitch. They've just moved into 1st place in the EPL, thanks to the loss we gave to Man Utd in our last game. That gives us back-to-back games against table leaders of the EPL. They are 1-2 favourites to win this game.

They're not missing anybody on their main roster.

Our next game is on January 25th and it should be another easy one, as we'll take on Manchester United again for the second leg of the League Cup Semi Final.

While scouting them and their last game, I'm reminded of their dang 4-2-3-1 formation. I decide we'll counter it with a 4-2-2-2 with 2 DMCs, keeping in mind that a draw means a replay game at Loftus Road.

As we get to the field, they indeed show a 4-2-3-1 setting on the field. This game is on TV and key men are presented as Ronaldinho for them and Marcus Kelly for us.

The Football365.com prediction goes as follows: Chelsea have got to be favourites for this one. The Blues have been impressive at home recently and I expect them to have too much for Q.P.R.

Wow, talk about taking the safe bet...

They winger Geremi is away on international duty, much like Danny Shittu, he's set to play in the African Cup of Nations.

Ahmed Yahiaoui is not fit to start for us yet. I don't know what he was doing at Marseille, but they certainly ware not training him too hard, or playing him very often, or the rumours really, really got to him.

The first half ends in a scoreless tie. They're outshooting us 3(1) to nothing. It's a dang close game, let me tell you this. I really don't like the fact we've not got one shot on goal so far, but we're very much keeping pace for pace with them.

Darn yellows!!! This referee isn't Rob Styles, but he's just the same. We get our 4th yellow of the game in the 46th minute and Chelsea have already received 3. I ask the guys to take it easy on their tackles for the rest of the game.

In the 77th minute, Clemens Fritz, who had replaced Stephen Pearson earlier in the half, does what he does best and HE PULLS A FRITZ!!! After stripping the ball from an opposing defender about halfway between the centerline and their goal, he went on a tear, running past two other defenders, then beating the one he had stripped the ball from another time, before beating Peter Cech with a precise kick. WE GO UP 1-0!!! Magical Stuff by Fritz!!!

In the 82nd minute, one of their top striker, Berbatov, has to leave the pitch, injured. They're out of subs and out of curiosity, I take a look at their formation. They're now playing in a desperate 1-3-5. That's one defender, three MCs and 5 strikers, with various players given various arrows

One minute into injury time, Fritz again strips the ball from a defender. He runs on the right win, unchallenged, there's just nobody back there, too many attackers up front. He brings the ball inside their penalty area and spots Ross McCormack standing, unmarked, on the edge of their 6 yard box. Sure, we got for guys in the area against one defender, a few of ours had to be left unmarked The pass is perfect and McCormack converts it for the 2-0 goal!!!

Final Score: 2-0

Again, WOW! just WOW!!! That was a wild second half! We outshot them 8(6) to 8(5), but again, WOW!!!

Kasper Schmeichel is named Man of the Match with a rating of 8. Fawcett, Pearson, Kelly, Vanden Borre, and Fritz also all got rated at 8.

The tactic and our patient style of play have both paid off!

We've been awarded $130k for the win and we're through to round 5.

Anthony Vanden Borre suffered a chest injury and he will miss 5 days.

Following the game, I learn that Oxford want Justin Wall for a 3 month loan. I reject their proposal for the same reason I rejected the latest loan proposal for Wall.

Among the other 4th round game, there's a big upset in Tranmere winning 1-0 over Arsenal. Wow!


FM

[terpkristin]

First ManYoo, now Chelski!

Holy moly, FrogMan, that's just too damn great!!!



/tk

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by gi

My marathon session over the last three days is now complete. I have read the entire dynasty and I’m all caught up. Great read Frog Man! Looking forward to keeping up on a daily basis now.

Fritz could do kung-fu soccer... referrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> ath o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/>

Woah, you're one dedicated reader if you felt compelled to read it from the beginning. Welcome aboard!!!

I don't know what the grabled text was supposed to be, but I'd like to hear elaborate about why Fritz could do kung-fu soccer...

FM

[gi]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

Woah, you're one dedicated reader if you felt compelled to read it from the beginning. Welcome aboard!!!

I don't know what the grabled text was supposed to be, but I'd like to hear elaborate about why Fritz could do kung-fu soccer...

FM

Garbled text was probably just formatting errors.

Team EVIL reference a little while ago made me think that Fritz is like the guys in Shoalin Soccer. Go Kung Fu!

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by oykib

I've read all of the "Frog at..." series over the past two weeks. Great stuff.

I may pick up this game this week.

One question...

Can you offer Vanden Borre an extension that'll get rid of his Minimum Release Clause?

Seems like if you gave him a few extra Gs per week you might make a killing if some big team swoops in to take him. Or it would allow you to refuse. It's seems that with the way he's playing and the fact that he's being scouted by bigger teams that he'll be snatched away pretty soon.

Great win versus Man Utd. by the way!

And you are one dedicated reader too. I knew I had seen new faces in the dynasty lately, honestly didn't think people would be reading from the beginning though. Welcome aboard!!!

About Vanden Borre, that was my first thought when I saw Werder Bremen scouting him. When I originally signed him, it was after a couple of tries where he kept saying that he didn't think Q.P.R. had the resources to sign him. Then I offered him the contract he has now, a contract which is pretty much in line with what players of his caliber ask for. I often think that what makes a player sign can sometimes be the incentive of the minimum release fee. I say that because I've often had players on my team ask for one release clause and they wouldn't sign if I offered them really close to what they were asking, if I took out the release clause. In VB's case, I kind of think (or believe) that the clause was maybe instrumental to him agreeing to come. Now, what about it at this point. One of my first thought, that went unreported here, was to go and sign him to an extention, but when I tried that, I saw hime asking for $93k per week, mostly because he's on a hot streak. I've seen it happen to many other players in the past. Hersi when he got with us, Kelly at the beginning of last season too, both of them wanted contracts worth upward of $85k per week. I just can't afford that for one player, and anyway, the board won't allow more than $68k to any one player, no matter how important he could be on the team. Luckily, they have not yet restricted the wage I can give to a player they think is worthy of the "key player" status, but I've seen them limit it for less important players (small spoiler, but wait until I try to renegotiate with Chris Chapman later on today).

In short, it's not possible to renegotiate with VB at this point. I can only cross my fingers and pray they will go away, like Man City did last season when they were scouting, and even enquired for a price on Youssouf Hersi.

Wow, talk about a long explanation...

and it was indeed a great, even TWO great wins

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

First ManYoo, now Chelski!

Holy moly, FrogMan, that's just too damn great!!!

You're too used to being spoiled and if it were only you and me on AIM, I'd tell you to keep on reading, because you'll like the rest of today's report. Ooops, did I say that out loud?

FM

[robbgmaier]

um.....wow.....nice going froggie......imagine what you could do if you had some more transfer funds

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by gi

Garbled text was probably just formatting errors.

Team EVIL reference a little while ago made me think that Fritz is like the guys in Shoalin Soccer. Go Kung Fu!

Cool, I thought you had some other explanation with some graphcis or something

And yeah, I could see Fritz being part of a Shaolin Soccer style of team. There's just something in the way he can pick up the ball from about midfield and run past two or three opponents, swiveling and swerving and finally put the ball in the back of the goal. It gets me pumping my fist in the air everytime

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by robbgmaier

um.....wow.....nice going froggie......imagine what you could do if you had some more transfer funds

Bah, who needs transfer funds? César Augusto Fawcett and Anthony Vanden Borre were both free signings and they're doing GRRRRRREAT!!!

What I'll need soon is more wage budget!!!

Thanks for reading and for the nice words.

FM

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

You're too used to being spoiled and if it were only you and me on AIM, I'd tell you to keep on reading, because you'll like the rest of today's report. Ooops, did I say that out loud?

FM

Well, SOMEONE hasn't been showing up on AIM lately, too much FM playing me thinks.



Looking forward to reading more!

/tk

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Well, SOMEONE hasn't been showing up on AIM lately, too much FM playing me thinks.



Looking forward to reading more!

You wouldn't believe it, but I always find it's never as much as I'd want to.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 22, 2012
I decide to release Mathew Sadler. He's been on a month to month contract since his contract ran out last June and I felt like we needed him for depth. If we need to go deeper than two at the left fullback spot(César Augusto Fawcett & Tom Howell), we'll play a centreback there.

The Broeren soap opera continues as Fulham tries a lowball bid for him. They offer $12.1M for him. Compared to the offers Man City and Werder Bremen put in, it's very unlikely that their bid will be accepted. Speaking of Broeren, he's currenlty considering offers from Man City and Werder Bremmen.

January 23, 2012
Anthony Vanden Borre is selected on the English Premier Division Team of the Week.

Funny we got news about Joost Broeren yesterday, as we hear that he signed with Manchester City today. The transfer is estimated to be around $18.5M.

The FA Cup round 5 draw happens today. There are 16 teams left and we draw Middlesbrough on their pitch. They're currently in 15th position in the EPL and the game will be played on their pitch on February 29.

Woah, out of nowhere, West Brom puts in a bid for Tom Howell. They are offering me the $13M that the wonderkid is valued at. I had not realized his value had soared to this high, and I say out of nowhere because they never appeared as being scouting him. Hrm, that's a nice offer and all, but all this money would go back to repay the advance that the board gave me to get this high profile player and I'd be left without any new money to get a left winger, which I'd need if I let go of Howell at this point. That and he makes a very good backup, and even starting, left winger/left fullback. One other thing is that damned minimum release fee clause. That clause that goes active at $15M and which seemed to leave me plenty of room at the time we resigned him (remember the hard time I had to resign him too, kinda glad I didn't listen to tk when she said to cut his ass ), but is way to close for comfort just now... They set a deadline of January 30th and I plan on making them wait, maybe just enough that at least they don't get him before the deadline, or that I decide to resign him without a minimum release fee clause.

January 24, 2012
The transfer deadline is in one week. With the latest bid on Howell, the fact that I just saw that Fulham is also scouting him now, and Werder Bremen scouting Anthony Vanden Borre, this is going to be one long week. It's getting to the point that everytime I hit the space bar (read hit the continue button, aka process to the next day), I expect to read something like "team x puts in bid for (insert player's name)"... It's now up to the point that time out of playing games is even more nerve wrecking than playing the games themselves...

I decide to try to resign Chris Chapman to a new contract. He wants $24.5k per week with a signing fee of $90k. Julian Hudson says he still has a lot to learn and only recommends a weekly wage of $10.5k. I offer him $17.5k per week with a signing fee of $150k, as a player on squad rotation, instead of first team player as he was asking.

January 25, 2012
Chapman rejects our first offer without any clue as to what bugs him. While he is willing to negotiate, he also now does not believe Q.P.R. have the resources to meet his demands. I offer him $18.5k per week with a signing fee of $170k and I add a $2,200 bonus per appearances.


FM

[FrogMan]

January 25, 2012

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Kasper Schmeichel	GK	Superb	5-7-7-8-8	100%	36	-	7.14
DR		Craig Crane	D R	Superb	8-6-7-5-7	95%	25	-	7.12
DL		César Augusto Fawcett	D/DM L	Superb	8-7-7-8-8	94%	27	-	7.44
DC		David Marek Rozehnal	D C	Superb	7-6-7-7-7	96%	24 (3)	1	7.22
DC		James Collins	D C	Superb	7-8-7-7-7	96%	17	1	7.06
DMC		Ahmed Yahiaoui	DM RC	Superb	-	92%	-	-	-
DMC	Yel	Fábio Rochemback	DM C	Superb	9-7-8-7-7	93%	16 (2)	2	7.22
MR		Stephen Pearson	AM RLC	Superb	7-7-7-7-8	94%	21 (5)	2	7.42
ML	Wnt	Marcus Kelly	AM RL	Superb	7-8-7-7-8	93%	27	2	7.96
FC		Quincy Owusu Abeyie	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	93%	8 (9)	5	7.29
FC		Ross McCormack	S C	Superb	7-8-7-8-7	99%	30 (4)	12	7.15
S1		Wayne Alexander	GK	Poor	6-7-8-7-8	100%	-	-	-
S2	Unh	Igor Biscan	D/DM C	Superb	7-8-7-7-7	93%	4 (8)	1	7.25
S3		Clemens Fritz	AM R	Superb	7-7-8-7-8	96%	17 (17)	9	7.56
S4	Yel	Tom Howell	D/DM L	Superb	9-7-9-7-8	97%	16 (10)	2	7.58
S5		Andrew Johnson	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	92%	22 (3)	10	7.16
-	Int	Danny Shittu	D C	Very Good	7-6-7-7-7	100%	29	3	7.38
-	Inj	Anthony Vanden Borre	SW/D/DM RC	Superb	7-8-9-9-8	54%	31 (2)	5	7.58
-	Unh	Matt Cross	AM/F RC	Good	7-6-7-7-7	100%	6 (5)	-	6.91
-	Unh	Igor Nadal Lázaro	S C	Superb	7-7-7-8-7	94%	8 (4)	4	7.17
-	Inj	Chris Chapman	M LC	Okay	8-7-7-6-7	70%	2 (8)	-	7.10
-	Unh	Li Tie	DM C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	100%	3 (5)	-	7.00
-	Unh	Keigan Parker	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	99%	1 (4)	-	7.00
-	Inj	Peter Young	AM RLC	Superb	7	55%	0 (1)	-	7.00
-		Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Superb	7-8-7-7-8	97%	28 (5)	9	7.36
-	Inj	Ben Watson	M C	Okay	7-7-7-8-7	39%	4 (12)	-	7.00

League Cup Semi Final, Leg 2: we play Manchester United on their pitch. They've slipped to 2nd place in the EPL and are 1-2 favourites to win this game.

We're leading 2-0 on aggregate scores. One special rule for this one is that away goals will be used if we're still tied after extra-time, but I understand that if we're tied on aggregate after ragulation, we'll go straight to extra-time. If tied again after extra-time (even after taking into account the away goals) we go to penalty shootouts.

Anthony Vanden Borre is not good to go following his chest injury in the Chelsea match.

Our next game is on January 28, when we'll play Blackburn.

I decide to go with a 4-2-2-2 formation in the hope that we'll keep the scoring low, and hopefully take advantage of our two goals aggregate lead. A second DMC means that Ahmed Yahiaou will make his debut in this game.

Man U show a 4-5-1 formation similar to the last two games we played them.

GRRRR, the same card giver as our last game is the referee for this one, his name: Tom Rigby. I have a feeling he is a padawan of Rob Styles

After 10 minutes, I ask the guys to take it easy on their tackles, as both teams have already received a yellow card.

In the 17th minute, they go through the middle. Worst is, we let them... Down 0-1, still up on aggregate, 2-1. That sequence has me a bit worried as the middle should be strong, with 2 centrebacks and 2 DMCs...

AAAARRRRGGGG!!! In the 41st minute, Marcus Kelly is given the 5th yellow card to a Ranger while Man U has only received one, the one they had been given in the first 10 minute. That guy is even worse than Styles (who ever thought) as he is a frigging homer!!!

The ensuing free kick by their right fullback is headed by César Augusto Fawcett to Fábio Rochemback. Roch has great vision and launches a badass long pass that travels 55 yards forward. That pass is taken in stride by Quincy Owusu Abeyie, alone with Howard, he shakes and bakes once before firing a precise strike for the 1-1 goal, 3-1 on aggregate.

The half ends with the teams tied 1-1, but us ahead 3-1 on aggregate. We're outshooting them 6(4) to 6(1). We're hanging in there, but James Collins is overwhelmed. It had been a long time since it last happened to him, but he's rated at 5 while everybody else is at 7 or better. I pull him out and put Igor Biscan in his spot.

In the 71st minute, Ross McCormack plays another beautiful short free kick. This time, Clemens Fritz is the recepient, as he's on the run near their 6 yard box. He kicks the ball with fury and it's deflected through the crowd before going in!!! We're up 2-1 on the game, 4-1 on aggregate!

That ref is simply crazy. In the 79th minute, he just delivered a 7th yellow card to a Ranger to Clemens Fritz, each of them to 7 different players on our team.

YAHOOOOOOOO!!!!! In the 81st minute, Ahmed Yahiaoui picks up a loose ball on the edge of their penalty area and bends a beautiful long range kick. Just like that, from 25 yards out, he scores on his debut. We're up 3-1 on the game, 5-1 on aggregate. That is great!!!

They get a free kick near our area in the 87th minute. The kick is played forward and it headed in. We're still ahead, only 3-2 on the game, but who cares about the game, we're up 5-2 on aggregate with no more than 7 or 8 minute left...

Final Score: 3-2 (5-2 aggregate)

WOOHOO!!! We kicked their butts once again, for the third time in exactly 14 days!!! We outshot them 13(8) to 9(2) on the game, simply amazing, a very good feeling!!!

David Marek Rozehnal is named Man of the Match with a rating of 8. He won all of the 10 headers he went for, 4 of them key headers.

Fawcett, Pearson, Rochemback, Yahiaoui, and Biscan also all got rated at 8. On the other hand, Kasper Schmeichel and James Collins got rated at 5. I'm more worried about Schmeichel, thinking it may hit his morale, even with us winning this big game.

We've been awarded $900k for the win and we're through to the Finale!!!

We will play Everton who won over Sunderland, 1-0 in Leg 2, 3-0 on aggregate. The Finale will be played on February 26 at Wembley Stadium.

Ross McCormack suffered a chest injury and will miss 5 days.

And damn that Tom Rigby, look at what the squad report looks like, postgame, with all those "Yel" tags. The "Yel" tag in the "Inf" column means the player is one game away from being banned for collecting 5 yellow cards...

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Kasper Schmeichel	GK	Superb	7-7-8-8-5	99%	37	-	7.08
DR		Craig Crane	D R	Superb	6-7-5-7-7	84%	26	-	7.12
DL	Yel	César Augusto Fawcett	D/DM L	Superb	7-7-8-8-8	85%	28	-	7.46
DC		David Marek Rozehnal	D C	Superb	6-7-7-7-8	87%	25 (3)	1	7.25
DC		James Collins	D C	Superb	8-7-7-7-5	97%	18	1	6.94
DMC		Ahmed Yahiaoui	DM RC	Superb	8	73%	1	1	8.00
DMC	Yel	Fábio Rochemback	DM C	Superb	7-8-7-7-8	77%	17 (2)	2	7.26
MR	Yel	Stephen Pearson	AM RLC	Superb	7-7-7-8-8	81%	22 (5)	2	7.44
ML	Yel	Marcus Kelly	AM RL	Superb	8-7-7-8-7	83%	28	2	7.93
FC	Yel	Quincy Owusu Abeyie	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	70%	9 (9)	6	7.28
FC	Inj	Ross McCormack	S C	Superb	8-7-8-7-7	71%	31 (4)	12	7.14
S1		Wayne Alexander	GK	Poor	6-7-8-7-8	100%	-	-	-
S2	Unh	Igor Biscan	D/DM C	Superb	8-7-7-7-8	92%	4 (9)	1	7.31
S3		Clemens Fritz	AM R	Superb	7-8-7-8-7	88%	17 (18)	10	7.54
S4	Yel	Tom Howell	D/DM L	Superb	7-9-7-8-7	96%	16 (11)	2	7.56
S5		Andrew Johnson	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	92%	22 (3)	10	7.16
-	Int	Danny Shittu	D C	Very Good	7-6-7-7-7	100%	4	-	7.50
-	Inj	Anthony Vanden Borre	SW/D/DM RC	Superb	7-8-9-9-8	54%	31 (2)	5	7.58
-	Unh	Matt Cross	AM/F RC	Good	7-6-7-7-7	100%	6 (5)	-	6.91
-	Unh	Igor Nadal Lázaro	S C	Superb	7-7-7-8-7	94%	8 (4)	4	7.17
-	Inj	Chris Chapman	M LC	Okay	8-7-7-6-7	70%	2 (8)	-	7.10
-	Unh	Li Tie	DM C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	100%	3 (5)	-	7.00
-	Unh	Keigan Parker	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	99%	1 (4)	-	7.00
-	Inj	Peter Young	AM RLC	Superb	7	55%	0 (1)	-	7.00
-		Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Superb	7-8-7-7-8	97%	28 (5)	9	7.36
-	Inj	Ben Watson	M C	Okay	7-7-7-8-7	39%	4 (12)	-	7.00

One good news out of this squad report is the "Superb" that shows under Kasper Schmeichel's morale column.
FM

[FrogMan]

that's it for me on the unreported stuff. See ya all on Monday, hopefully with some new stuff. (I say hopefully since you never know what will happen in a weekend, but I should be able to play some, even with the kid in a soccer tournament for part of Saturday and at least Sunday morning )

FM

[gi]

Great win! Gratz on making it to the Finale!!

[daedalus]

Congratulations, Frogger. Good show!

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

January 20, 2012
Ahmed Yahiaoui arrives to Loftus Road and Bill Power is very pleased about it, as he expresses his delight that I have captured his signature. Mr Power also commented that I was doing an excellent job for the club by signing such a high-profile player. The Board is whining about the wages though, but who cares, as long as we keep winning, there'll be money at the end of the season

And, who is this Ahmed "Yahoo!" Yahiaoui and what does he have that makes everybody so excited? He's a Frenchman defensive midfielder who's capable of playing in the center and on the right. What makes him special, well first, he's not very old, having just turned 25 only a week ago. Second, he's got all the skills I wanna see in a DMC, including heading (only for Desnudo ). His pace is not his greatest asset, but he's very good between the ears and also has great technical skills, as long as we're not asking him to do any set pieces stuff. You can look at his player profile by clicking on the following thumbnail. Let me know what you think of him. Personally, I like him very much. Reminds me a lot of Anthony Vanden Borre and both of them on the field at the same time could give a whole new dimension to our 4-2-2-2 formation with 2 DMCs...
(note: I'm unable to upload to my photobucket account at the moment, I'll post his profile as soon as I'm able to log into my account.)

I just uploaded Yahiaoui's profile and here it is:


Let me know what you think of the dude...

FM

[finkenst]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

I just uploaded Yahiaoui's profile and here it is:


Let me know what you think of the dude...

FM

not bad at all, frogman...

With his combination of skills, it appears he could play M RC and AM RC, in addition to the DM.

[Desnudo]

A little bit lazy, but great technical stats, and great mental stats otherwise. I wonder what the impact of his low strength rating will be? It's always hard to judge how a player's skill combo will come together.

It looks like his technical and mental skills should be enough to compensate for any weaknesses though.

[daedalus]

Looking at the skillset, I don't see him doing as well if he was actually played wide on the right.

On the other hand, he looks like a hell of a player otherwise. I would say Roch better start getting reasonable with his contract demand since his replacement is on board.

As for his strength, I think the only problem I see that's sad is not being able to use the "Hold Up Ball" instruction on him as I think he would have been the perfect candidate for it (in combination with being high on the Playmaker list).

I would leave Long Shot high for him, though.

[thetrain]

congrats with all three Man U wins AND the Chelski win FM

[FrogMan]

January 26, 2012
Ben Watson resumes full training following his physiotherapy treamtent. The specialist who treated him is optimistic that he'S recovered fully fomr his injury.

Boston Utd want Justin Wall on loan. I reject their offer for the same reasons as before.

January 27, 2012
Chris Chapman rejected our latest offer but he's still willing to negotiate. I offer him $20k per week with a $180k signing fee as a rotation player.

Nobody is scouting Anthony Vanden Borre anymore, but Newcastle is now scouting Clemens Fritz.

Rushden and Stevenage both want Justin Wall on loan. I reject both their offers.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 28, 2012

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Kasper Schmeichel	GK	Superb	7-7-8-8-5	100%	37	-	7.08
DR		Craig Crane	D R	Superb	6-7-5-7-7	94%	26	-	7.12
DL	Yel	César Augusto Fawcett	D/DM L	Superb	7-7-8-8-8	93%	28	-	7.46
DC	Unh	Igor Biscan	D/DM C	Superb	8-7-7-7-8	95%	4 (9)	1	7.31
DC		James Collins	D C	Superb	8-7-7-7-5	100%	18	1	6.94
DMC	Yel	Fábio Rochemback	DM C	Superb	7-8-7-7-8	93%	17 (2)	2	7.26
MR	Yel	Stephen Pearson	AM RLC	Superb	7-7-7-8-8	94%	22 (5)	2	7.44
ML	Yel	Tom Howell	D/DM L	Superb	7-9-7-8-7	100%	16 (11)	2	7.56
AMC		Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Superb	7-8-7-7-8	100%	28 (5)	9	7.36
FC	Unh	Igor Nadal Lázaro	S C	Superb	7-7-7-8-7	97%	8 (4)	4	7.17
FC		Andrew Johnson	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	98%	22 (3)	10	7.16
S1		Wayne Alexander	GK	Poor	6-7-8-7-8	100%	-	-	-
S2		Ahmed Yahiaoui	DM RC	Superb	8	91%	1	1	8.00
S3		Clemens Fritz	AM R	Superb	7-8-7-8-7	95%	17 (18)	10	7.54
S4	Yel	Marcus Kelly	AM RL	Superb	8-7-7-8-7	94%	28	2	7.93
S5	Yel	Justin Wall	F LC	Good	8-7-7-6	94%	1 (3)	1	7.00
-	Unh	Li Tie	DM C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	100%	3 (5)	-	7.00
-	Int	Danny Shittu	D C	Good	6-7-7-7-7	92%	29	3	7.38
-	Unh	Keigan Parker	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	100%	1 (4)	-	7.00
-	Req	Ben Watson	M C	Okay	7-7-7-8-7	61%	4 (12)	-	7.00
-	Yel	Quincy Owusu Abeyie	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	91%	9 (9)	6	7.28
-	Inj	Ross McCormack	S C	Superb	8-7-8-7-7	67%	31 (4)	12	7.14
-	Inj	David Marek Rozehnal	D C	Superb	6-7-7-7-8	82%	25 (3)	1	7.25
-		Anthony Vanden Borre	SW/D/DM RC	Superb	7-8-9-9-8	75%	31 (2)	5	7.58
-	Unh	Matt Cross	AM/F RC	Good	7-6-7-7-7	100%	6 (5)	-	6.91

League Match #25: we play Blackburn on their pitch. They're currenlty 12th and are 5-4 favourites to win this game.

Our next game is on February 1st, when we'll play Bolton at home.

David Marek Rozehnal suffered some bruised ribs in training on January 26, his condition is low.

Igor Nadal Lázaro is starting despite not being match fit. I decide to keep Justin Wall on our bench.

Anthony Vanden Borre sitting out with very low condition due to recent injury.

Tom Howell starts and Marcus Kelly is backing him up.

They show a 5-3-2 formation to start the game. They last played on January 21, while we played on January 25.


Craig Crane interecepts one of their corner kicks in the 9th minute and relays it quickly to Igor Nadal Lázaro. He runs on the right wing and centers a perfect ball to Stephen Pearson. We hit them on the break for the 1-0 goal.

They tie the game in the 23rd minute on a kick with absolutely no angle.

The half ends 1-1 but they're manhandling us so far. Proof of that: they're outshooting us 12(5) to 3(2) so far. We're not in the game...

We go to a 4-2-2-1-1 as I pull Lázaro out and put in Ahmed Yahiaoui as the second DMC. Pearson is also subbed out and Clemens Fritz replaces him.

Final Score: 1-1

They outshot us 16(8) to 4(3), a very disappointing counterperformance, even though we scraped just hard enough to get a draw...

César Augusto Fawcett is named Man of the Match with a rating of 8. Igor Biscan also got rated at 8.

We still move up to 7th with the draw, but there are a bunch of games to be played on Sunday (tomorrow).

For hattrickers out there, this game really felt like a post-MOTS game, after the great performances we've put on, to have this downer is a bit frustrating...

Later in the day, I get the news that Chris Chapman has put pen to paper on a lucrative 3 year deal worth $3.6M. He's said to be delighted to have signed a new contract.


FM

[FrogMan]

January 29, 2012
It's a sad day for the Luton Hatter fan in me. They just sacked another manager, the second to whom they didn't even give one full season. Looking at their team, I see that they're now dead last in League Two, in big danger of dropping out of League play...

I put in a loan bid for Jaco Van Den Heever, a 24yo AM RC currently playing with Ajax. The dude as some amazing skills, but just about no pace at all...

We hang on to 7th place after the Sunday games have been played...

Pos	Team	Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st	Chelsea	25	16	7	2	50	16	+34	55
2nd	Man Utd	25	16	4	5	40	17	+23	52
3rd	Birmingham	25	13	7	5	38	26	+12	46
4th	Arsenal	25	13	6	6	49	28	+21	45
5th	Aston Villa	25	11	10	4	47	29	+18	43
6th	Liverpool	25	8	17	0	32	13	+19	41
7th	Q.P.R.	25	10	8	7	34	26	+8	38
8th	West Brom	25	12	2	11	36	31	+5	38
9th	Tottenham	25	10	8	7	29	27	+2	38
10th	Everton	25	10	5	10	27	28	-1	35
11th	Portsmouth	25	9	7	9	32	33	-1	34
12th	Man City	25	9	5	11	36	35	+1	32
13th	Blackburn	25	8	8	9	26	26	0	32
14th	Sunderland	25	8	6	11	19	26	-7	30
15th	Newcastle	25	8	5	12	31	42	-11	29
16th	Middlesbrough	25	5	11	9	18	28	-10	26
17th	Bolton	25	5	10	10	26	39	-13	25
18th	Fulham	25	5	5	15	32	52	-20	20
19th	Ipswich	25	5	3	17	19	47	-28	18
20th	Wolves	25	1	2	22	16	68	-52	5

January 30, 2012
Igor Biscan is selected on the EPL Team of the Week.

Our loan bid for Jaco Van Den Heever has been accepted. A couple hours later, he accepts to come on loan with us. While he won't cost us a penny, I'm a bit nervous about his interaction with other players already on the team. He starts by getting into a bad relationship with Tom Howell, as he thinks that Howell shouldn't take himself so seriously. Howell also has a beef with Heever, saying he thinks that his attitude could provoke disharmony at the club. One player with another, I could live with, but I also see that Craig Crane thinks the same of the newcomer... hrm, I'll have to keep my eyes on him...

Anyway, you can take a look at his profile by clicking the thumbnail below. As I said before, he's got some amazing skills, both technically and mentally, but about no pace, even though a lack of pace is not something that has hampered Tom Howell so far...


Danny Shittu was in magnificent form for Nigeria, impressing both pundits and manager for the entire match as Nigeria beat Egypt in group play of the African Cup of Nations. They're through to the next round with 1 win and 2 draws in group play.

January 31, 2012
Transfer deadline is today.

Bruno Conti, my former assistant, now with Bolton, speaks highly of me in the media, saying he truly hoped the best team win in our upcoming Premier Division clash tomorrow. He also commented that I am a good manager and I deserve every success with The Rs.

Danny Shittu is pleased to see I'm getting the praise I deserve while Clemens Fritz, Marcus Kelly and Ross McCorack all believe the team cannot fail to perform whilst under my guidance.

I reply by praising my friend Bruno Conti.

Today is also the date to register players for the next round of the EURO Cup. I have the right to either add 3 or switch three. When I get to the selection screen, I see we have 24 of 25 selected, so I'll add one and swicth two. I add Igor Nadal Lázaro. I take Jeppe Lund Curth and Li Tie out and add Ahmed Yahiaoui and Peter Young in their spots. Here are the 25 that will be eligible to play for the next few rounds.

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
In	Inj	Peter Young	AM RLC	Superb	7	58%	0 (1)	-	7.00
In	Unh	Igor Nadal Lázaro	S C	Superb	7-7-8-7-7	92%	9 (4)	4	7.15
In		Ahmed Yahiaoui	DM RC	Superb	8-7	92%	1 (1)	1	7.50
In		Wayne Alexander	GK	Poor	6-7-8-7-8	100%	-	-	-
In		Craig Crane	D R	Very Good	7-5-7-7-7	93%	27	-	7.11
In	Inj	John Davies	D R	Very Good	7-7-7-6-6	67%	-	-	-
In		Andrew Johnson	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	92%	23 (3)	10	7.15
In	Unh	Matt Cross	AM/F RC	Good	7-6-7-7-7	100%	6 (5)	-	6.91
In		Tom Howell	D/DM L	Superb	9-7-8-7-7	94%	17 (11)	2	7.54
In	Lmp	Chris Chapman	M LC	Okay	8-7-7-6-7	85%	2 (8)	-	7.10
In		Anthony Vanden Borre	SW/D/DM RC	Superb	7-8-9-9-8	90%	31 (2)	5	7.58
In	PR	Clemens Fritz	AM R	Very Good	8-7-8-7-7	93%	17 (19)	10	7.53
In		David Marek Rozehnal	D C	Superb	6-7-7-7-8	92%	25 (3)	1	7.25
In		César Augusto Fawcett	D/DM L	Superb	7-8-8-8-8	92%	29	-	7.48
In	PR	Ross McCormack	S C	Very Good	8-7-8-7-7	81%	31 (4)	12	7.14
In		Stephen Pearson	AM RLC	Superb	7-7-8-8-7	95%	23 (5)	3	7.43
In		Quincy Owusu Abeyie	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	97%	9 (9)	6	7.28
In		Kasper Schmeichel	GK	Superb	7-8-8-5-7	100%	38	-	7.08
In	PR	Marcus Kelly	AM RL	Okay	7-7-8-7-7	99%	28 (1)	2	7.90
In	Req	Ben Watson	M C	Okay	7-7-7-8-7	81%	4 (12)	-	7.00
In		James Collins	D C	Very Good	7-7-7-5-7	95%	19	1	6.95
In		Fábio Rochemback	DM C	Superb	8-7-7-8-7	92%	18 (2)	2	7.25
In	PR	Danny Shittu	D C	Superb	7-7-7-7-8	91%	29	3	7.38
In		Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Superb	8-7-7-8-7	90%	29 (5)	9	7.35
In	Unh	Igor Biscan	D/DM C	Superb	7-7-7-8-8	93%	5 (9)	1	7.36

Here's a funny news item:


Hehe, who would have thought Chelsea could run out of money



FM

[Desnudo]

I'd send him back if he's disrupting your team. Also, his pace and teamwork are both awful, especially if you're planning on playing him at winger. Pace is key at those positions, just like heading is at DMC.

It's one of those things that doesn't necessarily impact ratings, but definitely impacts the outcome of matches.

[daedalus]

I agree with Des on both account (stamping his forehead with "return to sender" if he's causing disruption and lack of footspeed possibly becoming an issue). I know it sounds contradictory to my prior stance that speed is overrated. But it's not. Unlike most, I don't object to having a few slowpokes in the lineup since I don't plan to do 4 X 100m relays with my first XI. On the other hand, I feel that having a few speedster mixed in really help to cause a disruption in the defense. Also, with wingers' tendencies to run at defenders in the game (and especially so in your offense), he may have difficulties with that. I also don't like his (lack of) stamina. Especially on the wing. Meh.

I would give consideration to him on the right wing, if you're starting somebody with superior speed on the left (as a counter). I would also consider perhaps trying him out at the AMC slot since his passing could prove valuable there. Also, with his stamina, perhaps mainly as a 30 minute late-game substitute.

[FrogMan]

February 1st, 2012
The transfer deadline has passed and we've not been looted of any valuable assets by another EPL team. It doesn't rule out any bidding from out of the country, or lower league teams, but it's one step.

The Team Board is still delighted with my work as manager.

Tom Howell is named the EPL Young Player of the Month for the second month this season. He had ratings of 9, 9, 8 and 7 in his 4 league games in January.

Clemens Fritz's lobbed goal against Fulham comes in 3rd place for Goal of the Month.


FM

[FrogMan]

February 1, 2012

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Kasper Schmeichel	GK	Superb	7-8-8-5-7	100%	38	-	7.08
DR		Craig Crane	D R	Very Good	7-5-7-7-7	95%	27	-	7.11
DL	Yel	César Augusto Fawcett	D/DM L	Superb	7-8-8-8-8	93%	29	-	7.48
DC	Unh	Igor Biscan	D/DM C	Superb	7-7-7-8-8	94%	5 (9)	1	7.36
DC		David Marek Rozehnal	D C	Superb	6-7-7-7-8	94%	25 (3)	1	7.25
DMC		Ahmed Yahiaoui	DM RC	Superb	8-7	94%	1 (1)	1	7.50
MR	Yel	Stephen Pearson	AM RLC	Superb	7-7-8-8-7	97%	23 (5)	3	7.43
ML	Yel	Tom Howell	D/DM L	Superb	9-7-8-7-7	96%	17 (11)	2	7.54
AMC		Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Superb	8-7-7-8-7	92%	29 (5)	9	7.35
FC	Yel	Quincy Owusu Abeyie	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	99%	9 (9)	6	7.28
FC		Andrew Johnson	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	94%	23 (3)	10	7.15
S1		Wayne Alexander	GK	Poor	6-7-8-7-8	100%	-	-	-
S2		Anthony Vanden Borre	SW/D/DM RC	Superb	7-8-9-9-8	91%	31 (2)	5	7.58
S3	PR	Clemens Fritz	AM R	Very Good	8-7-8-7-7	95%	17 (19)	10	7.53
S4		Chris Chapman	M LC	Okay	8-7-7-6-7	90%	2 (8)	-	7.10
S5	Unh	Igor Nadal Lázaro	S C	Superb	7-7-8-7-7	93%	9 (4)	4	7.15
-	Int	Danny Shittu	D C	Superb	7-7-7-7-8	93%	29	3	7.38
-	Yel	Fábio Rochemback	DM C	Superb	8-7-7-8-7	94%	18 (2)	2	7.25
-		James Collins	D C	Very Good	7-7-7-5-7	97%	19	1	6.95
-	Sus	Marcus Kelly	AM RL	Okay	7-7-8-7-7	100%	28 (1)	2	7.90
-	PR	Ross McCormack	S C	Very Good	8-7-8-7-7	88%	31 (4)	12	7.14

League Match #26: we play Bolton at Loftus Road. They are currently 17th and are 5-4 favourites to win this game. Someday, we'll be regular favourites. Maybe we'll have to win the EPL Title, but someday we'll be seen as favourites in some of our games...

Marcus Kelly is suspended for this game. Tom Howell will start and Chris Chapman is on the bench to back him up.

Our next game is against Ipswich, on their pitch on February 4.

This game today is an appetizer of the 1st Knockout Round of the EURO Cup that we will play against Bolton on February 16 and 23. They also beat us 2-3 on their pitch earlier this season.

Ross McCormack isn't ready following his recent injury.

Andrew Johnson has to leave the pitch, injured, as early as the 2nd minute of the game. Igor Nadal Lázaro comes on to replace him.

Stephen Pearson caps a fine team move in the 9th minute to make it 1-0. That exchanged included passes from César Augusto Fawcett to Tom Howell, then to Lázaro and to Youssouf Hersi, before Hersi found Pearson.

The half ends with us ahead 1-0. We're outshooting them 6(5) to 2(1) and their keeper is keeping them in the game so far. Even though we didn't get many shots, they were almsot all on target.

We go to a 4-2-2-1-1 formation as Quincy Owusu Abeyie's condition has dipped to 68%. He comes out and Anthony Vanden Borre takes on the second DMC spot.

Youssouf Hersi delivers a perfect corner kick to the far post in the 51st minute and we all thought Igor Biscan had scored, but the goal is disallowed. Apparently, Biscan jumped unfairly with an opponent.

Ahmed Yahiaoui holds up play with a few nice moves on the left wing in the 87th minute. Youssouf Hersi fines an open spot in the defense and Yahiaoui spots him. Hersi scores his 10th of the season on a long range shot from 30yds out. Yahiaoui's superb assist made that goal.

Final Score: 2-0

We outshot them 19(13) to 5(2), wow! We really turned it on in the second half.

Youssouf Hersi is named Man of the Match with a rating of 9 and a goal and an assist.

Schmeichel, Biscan, Rozehnal, and Pearson all got rated at 8.

We remain in 7th with the win.

Pos	Team	Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st	Chelsea	26	17	7	2	53	16	+37	58
2nd	Man Utd	25	16	4	5	40	17	+23	52
3rd	Birmingham	26	14	7	5	42	28	+14	49
4th	Arsenal	26	14	6	6	52	28	+24	48
5th	Aston Villa	26	12	10	4	49	30	+19	46
6th	Liverpool	26	9	17	0	34	13	+21	44
7th	Q.P.R.	26	11	8	7	36	26	+10	41
8th	Everton	27	12	5	10	31	30	+1	41
9th	Tottenham	26	10	9	7	30	28	+2	39
10th	West Brom	26	12	2	12	37	33	+4	38
11th	Portsmouth	27	9	8	10	35	37	-2	35
12th	Man City	26	9	5	12	37	37	0	32
13th	Blackburn	26	8	8	10	26	28	-2	32
14th	Sunderland	25	8	6	11	19	26	-7	30
15th	Newcastle	26	8	5	13	31	45	-14	29
16th	Middlesbrough	26	5	11	10	18	31	-13	26
17th	Bolton	26	5	10	11	26	41	-15	25
18th	Fulham	26	5	5	16	34	56	-22	20
19th	Ipswich	26	5	4	17	21	49	-28	19
20th	Wolves	26	1	3	22	17	69	-52	6

César Augusto Fawcett picked up a 5th yellow card in the game and will miss one match. Even worse, his backup, Tom Howell suffered a twisted knee in the game and will miss two weeks! We're in a bind without a real left fullback. We'll probably play Igor Biscan there.

Andrew Johnson also got injured in the game. He will miss two weeks too, him with a twisted ankle.

Bill Power can't hide his delight following the win.

February 4, 2012
Craig Crane has been called up to the England U21 squad for a friendly against the Germany U21 on February7.

FM

[FrogMan]

February 4, 2012

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Kasper Schmeichel	GK	Superb	8-8-5-7-8	100%	39	-	7.10
DR		Craig Crane	D R	Superb	5-7-7-7-7	94%	28	-	7.11
DL	Unh	Igor Biscan	D/DM C	Superb	7-7-8-8-8	94%	6 (9)	1	7.40
DC		David Marek Rozehnal	D C	Superb	7-7-7-8-8	95%	26 (3)	1	7.28
DC		James Collins	D C	Very Good	7-7-7-5-7	100%	19	1	6.95
DMC		Anthony Vanden Borre	SW/D/DM RC	Superb	8-9-9-8-7	95%	31 (3)	5	7.56
DMC	Yel	Fábio Rochemback	DM C	Superb	8-7-7-8-7	99%	18 (2)	2	7.25
MR	Yel	Stephen Pearson	AM RLC	Superb	7-8-8-7-8	94%	24 (5)	4	7.45
ML	PR	Marcus Kelly	AM RL	Okay	7-7-8-7-7	100%	28 (1)	2	7.90
FC	Yel	Justin Wall	F LC	Okay	8-7-7-6	100%	-	-	-
FC	PR	Ross McCormack	S C	Very Good	8-7-8-7-7	93%	31 (4)	12	7.14
S1	Req	Paul Davies	GK	Poor	-	100%	-	-	-
S2		Ahmed Yahiaoui	DM RC	Superb	8-7-7	92%	2 (1)	1	7.33
S3	PR	Clemens Fritz	AM R	Superb	7-8-7-7-7	95%	17 (20)	10	7.51
S4		Chris Chapman	M LC	Okay	8-7-7-6-7	93%	2 (8)	-	7.10
S5		Jason Wilson	S C	Good	8-7-7	100%	-	-	-
-		Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Superb	7-7-8-7-9	90%	30 (5)	10	7.40
-	Int	Danny Shittu	D C	Superb	7-7-7-7-8	99%	29	3	7.38
-	Yel	Quincy Owusu Abeyie	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	92%	10 (9)	6	7.26
-	Sus	César Augusto Fawcett	D/DM L	Superb	8-8-8-8-7	91%	30	-	7.47
-	Unh	Igor Nadal Lázaro	S C	Superb	7-8-7-7-7	90%	9 (5)	4	7.14
-	Inj	Tom Howell	D/DM L	Superb	7-8-7-7-7	74%	18 (11)	2	7.52
-	Inj	Andrew Johnson	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-6	82%	24 (3)	10	7.11
-		Wayne Alexander	GK	Poor	6-7-8-7-8	100%	-	-	-

League Match #27: we play Ipswich on their pitch. They're currently in 19th place and fighting against relegation. We're 5-4 favourites to win this game.

They have 3 suspended players on their squad for this game.

Our hole at left fullback is exposed as Fawcett is suspended and Howell is injurd. Igor Biscan gets the start for today.

We go with a 4-2-2-2 formation.

Justin Wall gets the start and some more youth is on the bench in Jason Wilson. Our next game is in a full week, when we'll play Everton at home.

They show a 4-4-2 formation with heavy push by the wingers.

Marcus Kelly sets up Ross McCormack with a short pass and McC bends a beautiful banana shot from the corner of the penalty area. The kick is perfect and we go ahead by one.

The half ends with us ahead by one and, despite fairly even possession numbers, we're not allowing them near our goals. Shots reflect that with us getting 7(3) and them not even one.

We hold them for all of the second half, allowing a few shots on target. Their keeper joins the offense as they get a throw in deep into our half 27 seconds into injury time, but we deny them.

Final Score: 1-0

We played a great defensive game and outshot them 12(6) to 4(3) on the game.

Marcus Kelly is named Man of the Match with a rating of 9 but James Collins played a big game too, also getting rated at 9. He cleared our penalty area a couple of times in injury time.

Schmeichel, Crane, and McCormack all got rated at 8.

Igor Biscan got a 7 playing the whole game at left fullback, while both kid strikers, Wilson and Wall, split the playing time and both got 7.

We remain in 7th with the win.

Pos	Team	Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st	Chelsea	27	17	7	3	53	17	+36	58
2nd	Man Utd	26	16	5	5	41	18	+23	53
3rd	Birmingham	28	15	8	5	45	29	+16	53
4th	Arsenal	27	14	7	6	54	30	+24	49
5th	Aston Villa	27	13	10	4	50	30	+20	49
6th	Liverpool	27	9	17	1	34	15	+19	44
7th	Q.P.R.	27	12	8	7	37	26	+11	44
8th	Everton	27	12	5	10	31	30	+1	41
9th	Tottenham	27	10	10	7	31	29	+2	40
10th	West Brom	27	12	3	12	39	35	+4	39
11th	Man City	27	10	5	12	40	38	+2	35
12th	Portsmouth	27	9	8	10	35	37	-2	35
13th	Blackburn	28	9	8	11	27	30	-3	35
14th	Sunderland	26	8	6	12	19	27	-8	30
15th	Newcastle	27	8	5	14	32	48	-16	29
16th	Bolton	27	6	10	11	28	41	-13	28
17th	Middlesbrough	27	5	12	10	19	32	-13	27
18th	Fulham	27	5	6	16	35	57	-22	21
19th	Ipswich	27	5	4	18	21	50	-29	19
20th	Wolves	27	1	4	22	18	70	-52	7

Following the win, Q.P.R.'s chairman Bill Power declared himself extremely pleased with the result. Better form in recent weeks has catapulted The Rs into the top half of the table. A strong series of results has seen the club emerge as one of the form sides in teh divisions whilst they are not expected to seriously challenge for the title, it is pleasing for many fans to see progress being made at the clube. SWEEEET!!!


FM

[FrogMan]

February 5, 2012
A full week off usually comes with a slew of international friendlies and this time isn't any different. Eleven of our players have been called up for international duty. I remember when I first got to this team, the max at any one time I remember having away in international duty was five or so. I'd say we've moved the club forward a bit, wouldn't you say?

February 6, 2012
James Collins, Marcus Kelly, and Youssouf Hersi have all been named on the EPL Team of the Week. While Hersi and Kelly are accustomed to being on that team from time to time, it's an absolute first for Collins, at any level of play. Congrats James!

I offer Jason Wilson a new contract. He wants $2,800 per week and Julian Hudson recommends up to $3,300. Currently earning only $600 per week, his contract runs only until June 30, since it was signed while he was a 16yo. I offer him $1,500 as a hot prospect, even though he wants a contract as a first teamer. He got over my comment made when he first got with the team.

February 7, 2012
Bury want Justin Wall on loan. Proposal rejected again.

February 8, 2012
Jason Wilson rejects my first offer. I offer him $1,900 per week and a $10k signing fee as a hot prospect again.

International Round-Up... Ross McCormack had a goal and an assist, playing the whole game for Scotland and rating at 10. Amazingly enough, he was not even selected Man of the Match, as they won 7-1 over San Marino.

César Augusto Fawcett was in magnificent form, impressing pundits and managers for the whole game in a 2-0 Colombia win over Sint Maarteen. He rated at 8, completing 44 of 48 passes, winning 5 of 8 tackles and adding 5 runs past opponents.

Igor Biscan also was in magnificent for in Croatia's 2-0 win over Bulgaria. He also rated at 8, winning 5 of 7 tackles and 7 of 9 headers.

February 9, 2012
Jason Wilson again rejects our offer. I offer him $2,800 per week without any signing fee. I also drop the yearly wage raise to 15% from 25%.

Danny Shittu was in magnificent form in the African Cup of Nations Semi Final, which was won 2-0 by Nigeria over Morocco. He rated at 8 and won 10 of 12 headers. The Final between South Africa and Nigeria will be played on February 12.

February 10, 2012
Jason Wilson rejects yet another offer. I break off talks for now. It's not like he going anywhere soon, at least not without us getting some compensation.


FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by finkenst

not bad at all, frogman...

With his combination of skills, it appears he could play M RC and AM RC, in addition to the DM.

Originally Posted by Desnudo

A little bit lazy, but great technical stats, and great mental stats otherwise. I wonder what the impact of his low strength rating will be? It's always hard to judge how a player's skill combo will come together.

It looks like his technical and mental skills should be enough to compensate for any weaknesses though.

Originally Posted by daedalus

Looking at the skillset, I don't see him doing as well if he was actually played wide on the right.

On the other hand, he looks like a hell of a player otherwise. I would say Roch better start getting reasonable with his contract demand since his replacement is on board.

As for his strength, I think the only problem I see that's sad is not being able to use the "Hold Up Ball" instruction on him as I think he would have been the perfect candidate for it (in combination with being high on the Playmaker list).

I would leave Long Shot high for him, though.

Thanks for the comments guys. Sorry for taking "so long" to reply, I'm simply outplaying my reporting time/abilities at the moment and with still 40 pages of unreported stuff (1 page = 5.5"x8.5" notepad sheet) I always fear I'll spoil something by wanting to report stuff in advance

Anyway, Yahoo is settling in with the team and while I've used him on spot duty on the right wing, he was used mostly at the DMC spot, except that Roch got hot and had been playing very well around the time of Yahoo's signing, which is also very good as it allows me the luxury of playing the newcomer in smaller periods every game. I also played him in a position I had not foreseen for him, and in which he did very well. You'll have to come back and read to know more though

Also, daedalus, I don't wanna spoil anything, but look for some developments in the Roch contract talks in the near future And about the "hold up ball", I rarely use it, makes me nervous, for no real explainable reasons though. And "long shots", well, my DMCs always have the long shots through the roof and all three main DMCs (Roch, Vanden Borre, Yahoo) can all bend the ball amazingly well

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

I'd send him back if he's disrupting your team. Also, his pace and teamwork are both awful, especially if you're planning on playing him at winger. Pace is key at those positions, just like heading is at DMC.

It's one of those things that doesn't necessarily impact ratings, but definitely impacts the outcome of matches.

Originally Posted by daedalus

I agree with Des on both account (stamping his forehead with "return to sender" if he's causing disruption and lack of footspeed possibly becoming an issue). I know it sounds contradictory to my prior stance that speed is overrated. But it's not. Unlike most, I don't object to having a few slowpokes in the lineup since I don't plan to do 4 X 100m relays with my first XI. On the other hand, I feel that having a few speedster mixed in really help to cause a disruption in the defense. Also, with wingers' tendencies to run at defenders in the game (and especially so in your offense), he may have difficulties with that. I also don't like his (lack of) stamina. Especially on the wing. Meh.

I would give consideration to him on the right wing, if you're starting somebody with superior speed on the left (as a counter). I would also consider perhaps trying him out at the AMC slot since his passing could prove valuable there. Also, with his stamina, perhaps mainly as a 30 minute late-game substitute.

He's still with the team around the end of March although he's yet to play a minute with the first team. I don't know if I can pin any team problems to him though. I could probably swing him out to his team as soon as tonight's playing session though. That's the problem I always have with loan players coming in, and to some extent with newly signed transfers. I like players to "prove themselves" before they get some first-team action and with loanees, especially on 3 month loan, there's only so much time for them to do so.

I'm comfortable with the Pearson/Fritz combination on the right, and the Kelly/Howell combination on the left, why screw that up. More I think about it, more I think I'll send him back, even though we're now about only a month before his loan is over (yeah, I'm that far off in the future, March 27 to be exact )

FM

[FrogMan]

February 11, 2012

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Kasper Schmeichel	GK	Superb	8-5-7-8-8	100%	40	-	7.13
DR		Craig Crane	D R	Superb	7-7-7-8-7	97%	29	-	7.14
DL		César Augusto Fawcett	D/DM L	Superb	8-8-8-7-8	92%	30	-	7.47
DC		David Marek Rozehnal	D C	Superb	7-7-8-8-7	100%	27 (3)	1	7.27
DC		James Collins	D C	Superb	7-5-7-9-7	95%	20	1	7.05
DMC	Yel	Fábio Rochemback	DM C	Superb	7-7-8-7-7	99%	19 (2)	2	7.24
MR	Yel	Stephen Pearson	AM RLC	Superb	8-7-8-7-7	94%	25 (5)	4	7.43
ML		Marcus Kelly	AM RL	Superb	7-8-7-7-9	99%	29 (1)	2	7.93
AMC		Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Superb	7-7-8-7-9	100%	30 (5)	10	7.40
FC	Yel	Quincy Owusu Abeyie	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	100%	10 (9)	6	7.26
FC	Unh	Igor Nadal Lázaro	S C	Superb	7-8-7-7-7	99%	9 (5)	4	7.14
S1	Wnt	Paul Davies	GK	Poor	7	100%	1	-	7.00
S2		Ahmed Yahiaoui	DM RC	Superb	8-7-7-7-7	93%	2 (2)	1	7.25
S3		Clemens Fritz	AM R	Superb	8-7-7-7-7	100%	17 (21)	10	7.50
S4		Chris Chapman	M LC	Okay	8-7-7-6-7	99%	2 (8)	-	7.10
S5	Yel	Justin Wall	F LC	Superb	8-7-7-6-7	99%	1 (3)	1	7.00
-	Unh	Igor Biscan	D/DM C	Superb	8-8-8-7-8	93%	7 (9)	1	7.38
-	Int	Danny Shittu	D C	Superb	7-7-8-7-8	93%	29	3	7.38
-		Ross McCormack	S C	Superb	8-7-7-8-10	91%	32 (4)	13	7.17
-		Anthony Vanden Borre	SW/D/DM RC	Superb	9-8-7-7-7	92%	32 (3)	5	7.54
-	Inj	Tom Howell	D/DM L	Superb	7-8-7-7-7	66%	18 (11)	2	7.52
-	Inj	Andrew Johnson	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-6	73%	24 (3)	10	7.11

League Match #28: we play Everton at Loftus Road. They're currenlty in 8th place and are 5-4 favourites to win this game.

7th vs 8th, this is a pretty big game for both teams, but the dang international friendlies have sucked some juice from some of our players.

Not only is this game a big one, but it's the start of a run of 5 big games. Look at this:
02/11, home, Evertone, EPL
02/16, home, Bolton, EURO Cup 1st Knockout leg 1
02/23, away, Bolton, EURO Cup 1st Knockout leg 2
02/26, Wembley, Everton, League Cup Final
02/29, away, Middlesbrough, FA Cup 5th round

I see that Craig Crane is suspended for the leg 1 of the EURO Cup 1st Knockout series, so I better keep Anthony Vanden Borre rested in this game.

I try something and put a forward arrow on Youssouf Hersi.

That's one boring first half that ends 0-0, despite both teams getting tons of chances. Shots are 8(5) for us, 4(4) for them. I say boring because it's one of those half with many text-only updates. I know this is how it used to be, but I hate reading only the text, SHOW ME THE ACTION!!!

And well, I don't have more luck in the second half...

Final Score: 0-0

We outshot them 11(6) to 5(4) but their frigging wonderkeeper stopped everything, getting MoM in the process with a rating of 9.

Schmeichel, Crane, Fawcett, Kelly, and Rochemback all got rated at 8.

A frigging frustrating draw that leaves us in 7th place with 10 to play.

Pos	Team	Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st	Chelsea	27	17	7	3	53	17	+36	58
2nd	Man Utd	27	16	6	5	42	19	+23	54
3rd	Birmingham	28	15	8	5	45	29	+16	53
4th	Arsenal	27	14	7	6	54	30	+24	49
5th	Aston Villa	28	13	10	5	50	33	+17	49
6th	Liverpool	28	10	17	1	37	16	+21	47
7th	Q.P.R.	28	12	9	7	37	26	+11	45
8th	Everton	28	12	6	10	31	30	+1	42
9th	Tottenham	28	10	11	7	32	30	+2	41
10th	West Brom	27	12	3	12	39	35	+4	39
11th	Man City	28	11	5	12	43	38	+5	38
12th	Portsmouth	28	10	8	10	37	37	0	38
13th	Blackburn	28	9	8	11	27	30	-3	35
14th	Sunderland	26	8	6	12	19	27	-8	30
15th	Newcastle	28	8	5	15	32	50	-18	29
16th	Bolton	27	6	10	11	28	41	-13	28
17th	Middlesbrough	27	5	12	10	19	32	-13	27
18th	Fulham	28	5	7	16	36	58	-22	22
19th	Ipswich	28	5	4	19	22	53	-31	19
20th	Wolves	28	1	5	22	19	71	-52	8

FM

[Havok]

Fan-Freaking-Tastic dynasty report froggy..... gonna make me buy this dam game!!!

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

And about the "hold up ball", I rarely use it, makes me nervous, for no real explainable reasons though.

I was, too, as it made no sense to me until I read Marv Vaughans' explanation of it. Then it made more sense and I used it more (sparingly).

[FrogMan]

February 12, 2012
After seeing how he keeps getting more and more ratings of 8 in games, I'm tempted to try and resign Fábio Rochemback. I think he's still good for another two seasons with us, if he could get more reasonable on his wages, which is looks like, as he is now asking for $46k per week with a signing fee of $750k. This is way down from the $64k he wanted a month or so ago.

When I ask Julian Hudson for a report on him, I'm very impressed with what he has to say. I don't always agree with what my coaches have to say, but I gotta say that I value Julian's assessments a bit more than the other's. Read what how his report went:

Hudson files report on Rochemback.
Julian Hudson is a keen admirer of Fábio Rochemback.

He is confident that the midfielder's presence in the first team is of great benefit to the club.

The midfielder has been on good form this season and his recent performances have shown his desire to play well for the club.

Hudson thinks we should do our best to help the player stay on top of his game over the next couple of weeks.

Interesting... I'll try a cheap first offer. I offer him $30k per week and a $850k signing fee.

Danny Shittu played an ordinary game in Nigeria's 1-0 win over South Africa in the African Cup of Nations Final. Always nice to have one of your players win a Cup for his country


FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Havok

Fan-Freaking-Tastic dynasty report froggy..... gonna make me buy this dam game!!!

thanks

I saw your name show up in the list of people reading the thread a few times yesterday, had to believe you were going through the whole thing Glad you liked it so far, got plenty to come, when I'll get time to report about it... Not to spoil anything, but I'm up to April 14 in the game, so that's about two months of unreported stuff... Yeah, I'm a tease

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by daedalus

I was, too, as it made no sense to me until I read Marv Vaughans' explanation of it. Then it made more sense and I used it more (sparingly).

Yeah, I may try it, although I did try it for Yahoo, but maybe it was him settling him combined with the "holding up" instruction, but he struggled in the few times I tried it. Also, I'd be more tempted to use that instruction with an AMC or a winger than with a DMC, if only because I want my DMCs to move the ball forward and not keep it when in the center or our zone, just ahead of our defensive line...

FM

[FrogMan]

February 13, 2012
Rotherham offer $1.5M for Darren Evans, it's what I asked for in a unreported round of spam a couple of days ago. He doesn't have huge wage and I could kee him around, but the 21yo has got no future with us. I accept their offer.

February 14, 2012
Fábio Rochemback rejects our offer. I offer him $34k per week with a $800k signing fee and $2,000 per appearance.

February 15, 2012
Cardiff want Paul Davies on loan. They're in League One and could be good for him. They offer to pay 100% of his wages and I could recall him should I need to, so I accept their proposal.

I offer $2800 per week with a $10k signing fee to Jason Wilson, as a hot prospect. It's exactly what he wants, wage wise, expect he wanted to be treated as a first teamer. I just can't do that kid, we're not a League Two side here, we got standards and you're not up to them, at least not yet...

February 16, 2012
Rochemback rejects our latest offer. He's now saying he wants $44k per week. I break off talks, we'll talk later...

Oxford want Justin Wall on loan. I reject for the usual reasons...

Remember John Davies? He's a 19yo promising fullback coming from our own youth program. He had surgery early on in the season and is just now back in training. He's got solid defensive skills, with good heading. I try to retrain him to add the "C" to his D R denomination. It's not working too much so far. Well, with Tom Howell, it was mostly to make him more of a fullback, but now he's described as a wonderkid, can't complain there. The other was Ben Watson, trying to train him into an AM R, from a M C denomination, not one bit of change, but I gotta say that Ben has not played as much I would have wanted him to lately...


FM

[SelzShoes]

Just a thank you to FrogMan, that 'primer' you sent to me is helping me understand more of what is going on in the football threads. There is still alot I don't know (and, given I'm not as immersed in the sport as I am baseball, probably never will) but things are making sense.

[FrogMan]

February 16, 2012

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Kasper Schmeichel	GK	Superb	5-7-8-8-8	100%	41	-	7.15
DR		Anthony Vanden Borre	SW/D/DM RC	Superb	9-8-7-7-7	98%	32 (3)	5	7.54
DL		César Augusto Fawcett	D/DM L	Superb	8-8-7-8-8	94%	31	-	7.48
DC		David Marek Rozehnal	D C	Good	7-8-8-7-7	98%	28 (3)	1	7.26
DC		Danny Shittu	D C	Superb	7-8-7-8-7	93%	29	3	7.38
DMC		Ahmed Yahiaoui	DM RC	Superb	8-7-7-7-7	100%	2 (2)	1	7.25
MR		Stephen Pearson	AM RLC	Very Good	7-8-7-7-7	98%	26 (5)	4	7.42
ML		Marcus Kelly	AM RL	Superb	8-7-7-9-8	97%	30 (1)	2	7.94
AMC		Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Very Good	7-8-7-9-7	95%	31 (5)	10	7.39
FC	Unh	Igor Nadal Lázaro	S C	Very Good	8-7-7-7-7	96%	10 (5)	4	7.13
FC		Ross McCormack	S C	Superb	8-7-7-8-10	99%	32 (4)	13	7.17
S1		Wayne Alexander	GK	Poor	7-8-7-8-7	100%	-	-	-
S2	Unh	Igor Biscan	D/DM C	Superb	8-8-8-7-8	100%	7 (9)	1	7.38
S3		Fábio Rochemback	DM C	Superb	7-8-7-7-8	96%	20 (2)	2	7.27
S4		Clemens Fritz	AM R	Very Good	7-7-7-7-7	98%	17 (22)	10	7.49
S5		Tom Howell	D/DM L	Superb	7-8-7-7-7	92%	18 (11)	2	7.52
S6		Quincy Owusu Abeyie	S C	Very Good	7-7-7-7-7	95%	11 (9)	6	7.25
S7		Andrew Johnson	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-6	90%	24 (3)	10	7.11
-		James Collins	D C	Superb	5-7-9-7-7	98%	21	1	7.05
-	Sus	Craig Crane	D R	Superb	7-7-8-7-8	96%	30	-	7.17

EURO Cup 1st Knockout Round, Leg 1: we play Bolton at Loftus Road. They're currently in 16th place in the EPL and are 5-4 favourites to win this game.

Craig Crane is suspended for this game after having been sent off in our last match of group play. Anthony Vanden Borre takes the right fullback spot.

Danny Shittu is back with us after missing the last 7 games away on international duty.

Our next game is the second leg on February 23.

Thie game is on TV and key men are presented as being Ahmed Yahiaoui for us and Oribe Peralta for them. They comment that the striker has scored 11 goals in 32 games so far this season.

The Skysports.com prediction is as follows: Bolton have been poor of late and I can see this game fizzling out into a bore draw.

Err, how about us being hot? No love huh?

They last played on February 12, we played on the 11th.

A sweet, sweet play results in us scoring the first goal of the game in the 31st minute. Youssouf Hersi played a very nice through ball for Igor Nadal Lázaro. He swerves to the left and scores his 5th of the season. At this point, we're outshooting them 10(3) to 4(1) but we're terrible at converting great chances into goals.

The half ends with us leading 1-0. We're outshooting them 13(5) to 5(2) so far. They are keeping a whole lotta players in their penalty area.

They tie it in the 68th minute as we let them move on the wing. Center, header, boom, 1-1.

Fábio Rochemback puts us back in the lead in the 88th minute with a beautiful bending shot from 35 yards out. 2-1.

DAMNIT!!! We let them get right back on the ensuing kickoff as it seems everybody on our defensive side has heard an imaginary final whistle and we let them tie the game 2-2 in the 89th minute. That they tie it is one thing, the worst is that it gives them 2 away goals and away goals are used to break the tie when teams are level after 90 minute in leg 2... This one could come back to haunt us.

Final Score: 2-2

We outshot them 18(8) to 11(6). Yeah it fizzled into a draw, but it had nothing boring about it, let me tell you this.

Marcus Kelly is named Man of the Match with a rating of 10. Anthony Vanden Borre and Fábio Rochemback both rated at 8.

The gate receipt of $1.25M for this game is a new Q.P.R. record, WEEHEE!!!

Going back to this last goal that gace them 2 away goals, it now means we just about need to win it straight on their pitch in Leg 2. That, or draw again, but with at least 2 goals, since if we draw 0-0, or 1-1, they'd win on away goals with an aggregate score of 2-2 or 3-3. If we draw 2-2 in Leg 2, we'd go to extra time and in the crazy event that we draw 3-3 or more, we would win on away goals.


FM

[FrogMan]

February 17, 2012
Jason Wilson rejects our latest offer. I offer him the same thing money wise, but as a player on squad rotation.

DANG IDIOT!!! Darren Evans does it again. This time, he snubs Rotherham, saying their contract offer wasn't acceptable. Dude, you're earning $2,600 per week, wasting your time on our reserve squad, what more do you want??? Oh well...

Paul Davies is set to go on loan at Cardiff.

February 18, 2012
Li Tie compains to me about not having enough first team playing time. He says he must be playing first team if he is to stay at Loftus Road. Well, looks like you're on your way out my friend, sorry... You can now start looking for an apartment somewhere else...

February 19, 2012
Jason Wilson rejects our latest offer. I offer him the same again, this time as a backup to the first team.

February 20, 2012
The FA Cup Round 6 draw happens even though we've not played our Round 5 match with Middlesbrough. The winner of our match will play Sunderland at home.

February 23, 2012
Jason Wilson rejects yet another offer. He now wants less, $2600 per week. I offer him that as a first team player, if only to get to sign, but I don't believe he will now...


FM

[terpkristin]

That was a rough match against Bolton. In HT, that'd be referred to as a "WTF" game.

Good read as usual, FM. I'm trying to keep my comments to a minimum so you can keep posting more updates, as I know you have them!

/tk

[FrogMan]

February 23, 2012

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Kasper Schmeichel	GK	Superb	7-8-8-8-7	100%	42	-	7.14
DR		Anthony Vanden Borre	SW/D/DM RC	Superb	8-7-7-7-8	97%	33 (3)	5	7.56
DL		César Augusto Fawcett	D/DM L	Very Good	8-7-8-8-7	95%	32	-	7.47
DC	Unh	Igor Biscan	D/DM C	Superb	8-8-8-7-8	100%	7 (9)	1	7.38
DC		Danny Shittu	D C	Good	8-7-8-7-7	100%	30	3	7.37
DMC		Fábio Rochemback	DM C	Superb	8-7-7-8-8	100%	20 (3)	3	7.30
MR		Stephen Pearson	AM RLC	Superb	8-7-7-7-7	100%	27 (5)	4	7.41
ML		Marcus Kelly	AM RL	Superb	7-7-9-8-10	98%	31 (1)	2	8.00
AMC		Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Superb	8-7-9-7-7	96%	32 (5)	10	7.38
FC		Andrew Johnson	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-6	99%	24 (3)	10	7.11
FC		Ross McCormack	S C	Very Good	7-7-8-10-7	99%	33 (4)	13	7.16
S1		Wayne Alexander	GK	Okay	7-8-7-8-7	100%	-	-	-
S2		Craig Crane	D R	Superb	7-7-8-7-8	100%	30	-	7.17
S3		Ahmed Yahiaoui	DM RC	Very Good	7-7-7-7-7	99%	3 (2)	1	7.20
S4		Clemens Fritz	AM R	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	100%	17 (23)	10	7.47
S5		Tom Howell	D/DM L	Superb	7-8-7-7-7	100%	18 (11)	2	7.52
S6		Quincy Owusu Abeyie	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	100%	11 (10)	6	7.24
S7	Unh	Igor Nadal Lázaro	S C	Good	7-7-7-7-7	99%	11 (5)	5	7.13
-		James Collins	D C	Superb	5-7-9-7-7	100%	21	1	7.05
-		David Marek Rozehnal	D C	Good	8-8-7-7-7	100%	29 (3)	1	7.25

EURO Cup 1st Knockout Round, Leg 2: we play Bolton on their pitch. They're 5-4 favourites to win this game.

We're tied 2-2 on aggregate scores, with them getting these 2 important away goals in the first leg. As I said before, away goals will be used as a tie breaker if both teams are level after 90 minute, meaning we need to either win it straight today, draw 2-2 to cause extra time, or draw 3-3, or more, to win it on away goals.

Our next game is the League Cup Final in only three days, against Everton who've not played since February 18. Worst case scenario would be for us to go all the way to penalty kicks today and lose there, killing everybody's condition for the Cup Finale in three days. Losing in regulation would hurt morale, but would leave us with players in better condition for the Cup Finale. Obviously, winning it in regulation today would simply be awseome

Igor Biscan is in for David Marek Rozehnal and Fábio Rochemback is in for Ahmed Yahiaoui.

Bolton suffered two injuries in training this week. A striker is out and a centreback is doubtful.

This game is on TV and key men are presented as Youssouf Hersi for us and Kevin Nolan for them. They comment that the midfielder has created 6 goals in the 35 games he's played in so far this season.

The bbc.co.uk/sports prediction is as follows: Both teams are evenly matched and I think this will be a draw.

I certainly hope he's wrong...

In the 28th minute, a long pass forward from César Augusto Fawcett leave Andrew Johnson all alone with the keeper. His kick is stopped by the keeper, but he leaves a long rebound that Youssouf Hersi buries for the 1-0 goal. 3-2 on aggregate. We've been getting tons of chances so far, as we're outshooting them 11(5) to 1(0). We've have some misses, but their keeper has been hot so far. It's actually not the same keeper as in leg 1.

The half ends with us ahead 1-0. We're outshooting them 16(7) to 3(1). Ross McCormack is only rating at 6. He keeps kicking the ball everywhere but on target. I pull him and put Ahmed Yahiaoui in a DMC position as we got to a 4-2-2-1-1 formation.

We again take advantage of a long rebound in the 53rd minute. In fact we had two chances to bury the ball. First Hersi tried a long range shot. Blocked by the keeper, letting a long rebound go. AJ is there but his own kick is again blocked. This time Hersi is there and he won't miss is, scores his 2nd of the game. Up 2-0 on the game, 4-2 on aggregate. That one silenced the home crowd like you wouldn't believe.

As I put in Clemens Fritz around the 60th minute, I thought it had been a while since the last Fritzshow and we get one in the 84th minute, as Fritz has to go past "only one" defender and scores one from short range. Up 3-0 on the game, 5-2 on aggregate.

And wow in the 88th minute. They are attacking desperately but we kick it out. AJ gets the ball all alone with one defender, but he's burned out without a friend to pass the ball to. He holds up play a little and backpass the ball to Fawcett who launches a bomb of a pass, 55 yards forward, to Clemens Fritz, alone with the keeper. For Fritz, that one was just too easy Up 4-0, 6-2 on aggregate.

Final Score: 4-0 (6-2 aggregate)

We outshot them 29(18) to 9(3) Wooooah!!! We simply locked the midfield airtight and crushed them .

Fábio Rochemback is named Man of the Match with a rating of 10. He was instrumental in the middle of the field. This performance may make it mandatory for me to resign him

Vanden Borre and Hersi both got rated at 9 while Schmeichel, Fawcett, Shittu, Pearson, and Fritz all got rated at 8.

The best case scenario happens The postgame conditions of Youssouf Hersi (68%) and Andrew Johnson (62%) are really low. They may not be ready in three days.

We've been awarded $180k for the win and we're through to the Second Knockout round after winning it 6-2 on aggregate scores.

We will play Wislaw Krakow, a Polish side, in the Second Knockout round. They just beat Betis 1-0 at home, 1-2 away, so 2-2 on aggregate, but they won on away goals 1-0. Leg 1 will be played on March 8 on their pitch with leg 2 happening one week later, March 15, at Loftus Road.

Grrr, Fábio Rochemback now wants $62k per week with a $850k signing fee. Julian Hudson recommends $42k per week. I offer him $50k per week with a signing fee of $1M.


FM

[FrogMan]

February 24, 2012
Woah, recently acquired by Everton, 32yo striker Mateja Kezman suffered a fractured skull during a routine training exercise and will miss 3 months. He's scores 3 goals in his last 4 games, that 4th game being the 0-0 draw that Everton played against us. We play Everton in the League Cup Final in two days...

February 25, 2012
Jason Wilson signs a new deal that will keep him at the club until June 2015. Early prediction: he'll be whining about a lack of first team play before the end of the present season... He simply didn't want to sign as a backup or as a player on a squad rotation. Bah, I'm not one little white lie away, huh?

WOAH! Fábio Rochemback has put pen to paper on a lucrative 2 year deal worth $5.4M. Seeing how well he's played lately, I think it's a solid signing, giving us some very good depth with now him, Yahoo, and VB capable of playing the DMC spot very well. Now, let's only hope he won't go back to sucking and yelling at referees as he did earlier in the season, or that my not sending him to suregry won't bite us too hard in his next injury. knock on wood...


FM

[FrogMan]

February 26, 2012

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Kasper Schmeichel	GK	Superb	8-8-8-7-8	100%	43	-	7.16
DR		Anthony Vanden Borre	SW/D/DM RC	Superb	7-7-7-8-9	91%	34 (3)	5	7.59
DL		César Augusto Fawcett	D/DM L	Superb	7-8-8-7-8	91%	33	-	7.48
DC		James Collins	D C	Superb	5-7-9-7-7	100%	21	1	7.05
DC		Danny Shittu	D C	Superb	7-8-7-7-8	95%	31	3	7.39
DMC	Yel	Fábio Rochemback	DM C	Superb	7-7-8-8-10	93%	21 (3)	3	7.42
MR		Clemens Fritz	AM R	Superb	7-7-7-7-8	94%	17 (24)	12	7.49
ML		Marcus Kelly	AM RL	Superb	7-9-8-10-7	94%	32 (1)	2	7.97
AMC	Yel	Stephen Pearson	AM RLC	Superb	7-7-7-7-8	93%	28 (5)	4	7.42
FC	Unh	Igor Nadal Lázaro	S C	Good	7-7-7-7-7	100%	11 (5)	5	7.13
FC		Ross McCormack	S C	Superb	7-8-10-7-6	94%	34 (4)	13	7.13
S1		Wayne Alexander	GK	Okay	8-7-8-7-7	100%	-	-	-
S2		Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Superb	7-9-7-7-9	90%	33 (5)	12	7.42
S3	Yel	Tom Howell	D/DM L	Superb	8-7-7-7-7	94%	18 (12)	2	7.50
S4		Ahmed Yahiaoui	DM RC	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	94%	3 (3)	1	7.17
S5		Andrew Johnson	S C	Superb	7-7-7-6-7	88%	25 (3)	10	7.11
-	Inj	Igor Biscan	D/DM C	Superb	8-8-7-8-7	83%	8 (9)	1	7.35
-	Inj	Quincy Owusu Abeyie	S C	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	85%	11 (10)	6	7.24
-		David Marek Rozehnal	D C	Good	8-8-7-7-7	100%	29 (3)	1	7.25
-		Craig Crane	D R	Superb	7-7-8-7-8	100%	30	-	7.17

League Cup Final: we play Everton at Wembley Stadium. They are currently 9th in the EPL and are 5-4 favourites to win this game.

Igor Biscan is out of commission for 4 days with a stubbed toe suffered in training on February 25 and Quincy Owusu Abeyie is out for 3 more days with a bruised thigh suffered in training this morning. GRRRRR DAMN GAMEDAY INJURIES!!!

Clemens Fritz starts on the right wing, Ahmed Yahiaoui will be backing him up.

Our next game is on February 29, our FA Cup round 5 match against Middlesbrough.

Everton last played on February 18, while we just played on February 23.

This game is on TV and key men are presented as being Stephen Pearson for us, and goalkeeper Richard Wright for them. They point out that Everton have conceded only 31 goals in the 37 games that the experienced keeper has played in.

The TEAMtalk.com prediction is as follows: Everton should come ou on top against Q.P.R. today but it'll be a tight affair. If I had to make a prediction, I'd stick my neck out and say 1-0.

Tom Rigby is the ref for this match, easy tackling everyone!

The first half ends scoreless. They're outshooting us 9(4) to 4(1). Both wingers' conditions are at 77%. I leave them in, but they'll need to be subbed soon.

We got to a 4-2-2-2 formation in the 61st minute. Stephen Pearson goes to DMC and Ahmed Yahiaoui comes in at right winger for Clemens Fritz.

ARRRRGGG!!!! A shot on goal is deflected off James Collins and goes in, down 0-1!

ARRRRRRRRRGGG!!!! Ross McCormack is called for a foul and gets pissed at the referee. DAMNED IDIOT!!! He receives a second yellow and is sent off, we'll have to finish with 10 men on the pitch.

They go 4-2-4 in the 87th minute, trying to go for the kill?

In injury time, we're putting tons of pressure and Kasper Schmeichel comes to join the offense not once, but twice on corner kicks... to no avail...

Final Score: 0-1

They outshot us 15(7) to 11(3). It's so frustrating, especially to lose on a lucky deflection, but it was a very close game. We did put a lot of pressure on them in the end, with only 10 men, but we simply couldn't convert the big one.

Kasper Schmeichel was our best player, with a rating of 9. Fábio Rochemback got rated at 8. However, Ross McCormack and Ahmed Yahiaoui both got rated at only 6.

McCormack gets an automatic one match ban for having been sent off. I issue him a formal warning. You gotta be brighter than to go yell at Rigby or Styles...

Later in the day, he tells me he feels the warning was harsh and unfair. Your lucky dude, I seriously thought about dcoking you a week of pay...


FM

[FrogMan]

February 27, 2012
Rotherham want Darren Evans on loan. I may understand why he didn't want to sign a contract with them as they offer to pay only 70% of his $2,600 weekly wage. If they offered him a contract worth $1,800 or so a week, I now understand why he snubbed them. I tell them it's 100% or nothing and I send the proposal back.

Leyton Orient also want him on loan, but they say they'd pay 100% of his wage and I could call him back if I needed to. I accept.

February 29, 2012
Hereford are the latest to ask for Darren Evans to come play on loan for them. They'd also pay 100% of his wage and I accept.

They also want Jason Wilson on loan. My answer on him is the same as for Justin Wall. I want him to keep on training with the club.


FM