Manchester United: Building on Success

[robbgmaier]

Adu and Rooney together on the front line would be just sick

[Eaglesfan27]

On an OOC Note:

My wife is due home from school soon, and I might have a cliff hanger if she gets home before this is resolved.

However, she'll hopefully be going to bed early tonight because her plane was delayed til late last night (she was in Michigan for the last few days for an American Culinary Federation Conference.)

[Eaglesfan27]

January 16, 2012 -

Franco Colomba was sacked by Juventus today. Sevilla manager Pako Ayestaran is believed to be the favorite to take over as Juventus' manager.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 19, 2012 -

Those A-Holes. Chelsea have rejected the part exchange offer for Freddy Adu.

I'm going to see if I can sweeten it with some money.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan. 19, 2013 -

Today we host Newcastle in an important EPL Match. They are currently 6th in the EPL, but they are missing several of their better players due to injury including star strikers Jerain Defoe and Ricardo Oliveira. James Milner is out of the midfield due to his injury. Right fullback Ian Robson, Left winger Charles N'Zogbia and left fullback Jlloyd Samuel are all injured. They will be relying heavily on star keeper Jesus to keep them in this game. Left winger Hatem Ben Arfa will have to have a good game as well. It looks like they will end up starting Diomansy Kamara at striker, but that is far from his best position. Scott Murphy and Per Kroidrup remain a strong pair of centrebacks who are very good.

We are 4-5 favorites.

It's raining with temperatures in the 30's.


GK: Taylor (Howard is away on international duty)
DL: Chivu
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: King (Adriano is also away on international duty.)

S1: Smith
S2: Harper (my other backup keeper)
S3: Cahais
S4: Parker
S5: Duff

OOC: I'll be playing this match later tonight hopefully, as Mrs. Eaglesfan just arrived home from work.

[finkenst]

yeah...

i hear ya...

i just got offered Quinton Fortune and Wayne Rooney for Frank Lampard from Man U. If they had made this offer before I acquired Adriano, i'd be very tempted...

heck i'm taking a break to think about it.

[Eaglesfan27]

Take the offer. Unless it is bizarro Rooney, I seriously doubt you will regret it.

[Eaglesfan27]

9 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney outside the left half of the box.. he dribbles between two defenders into the box.. along the baseline.. passes to King by the far post.. he heads it.. great save by the keeper!

13 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney by the left side of the box.. he crosses to Schreurs who quickly passes to King in the middle of the 6 yard box.. King powers it into the net! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

30 minute mark: Schreurs gets a yellow card for a trip on Kamansy.


Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. Over 91,000 fans here today.


46 minute mark: Rogerio trips Schreurs.. yellow card for Rogerio.

50 minute mark: Downing passes it to Rooney in the box.. he fakes out a defender.. shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper pushes it over the bar.

57 minute mark: Downing loses a dribble over the endline for the second time today.

64 minute mark: Pennant passes to Ben Arfa who is just outside the box.. he shoots from 20 yards out.. soft shot.. Taylor looks at it as it sails by him! GOAL! Terrible lack of response by Taylor! 1-1.

75 minute mark: Rooney beats two defenders.. passes to Djemba in the box.. he shoots.. the keeper dives.. catches it.

76 minute mark: King steals it from the keeper.. shoots.. into the crossbar!

77 minute mark: Rooney gets a yellow card for holding Ben Arfa's jersey.

81 minute mark: Schreurs dribbles up the right side.. crosses to the center of the box.. Rooney heads it.. the keeper blocks it.

90 minute mark: My midfeilders pass it around.. probe the defense.. finally Djemba passes it to Schreurs in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. Jesus dives.. saves it.

92 minute mark: Downing passes to Fletcher just outside the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives and makes a very acrobatic save.


Game over. 1-1 tie

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

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

I was so despondent I forgot to add that their keeper, Jesus, won MoM. That guy is amazing.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post match Info:

YES! Tottenham beat Liverpool 3-2. Therefore, we actually gained a point and are only 4 points behind 1st place Liverpool.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 21, 2012 -

Wigan have fired Olafur Johannesson. Wigan is currently 13th in League One.

Newcastle have signed Andreas Gorlitz from Aston Villa for 15 million dollars.


Carlos Bocanegra has signed a Bosman deal to go to West Ham after the season is over.



International Roundup:

Tim Howard played well in the North American Gold Cup match which saw the USA beat Anguilla 5-0.

Adriano had a goal in Brazil's 3-0 win over Saint Martin in the North American Gold Cup.



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


Chelsea have offered 25.5 million plus John Hall for James McFadden.

Chelsea have offered 7.8 million plus 30% of next sale for Barry Parker.



I'm going to wait til they respond to my Adu bid before I respond to either of these bids.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 22, 202 -

Chelsea have rejected my bid for Freddy Adu. I'm going to see if they will take McFadden for Adu in a straight-up deal


Damien Duff announced he will leave as a Bosman at the end of this season. That is fine as we couldn't come to an agreement on a fair deal, and his skills are significantly deteriorating.



International Roundup:

Tim Howard played well in the USA's 5-0 win over Guatemala in the North American Gold Cup.



Liverpool spent 24 million dollars to sign Nuno Ferro, a 26 year old midfielder, from Juventus.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 22, 2012 -


Sweet! My rejecting Lazio didn't completely blow up in my face. Valencia has offered 35 million dollars plus Francesco Guarino, a 23 year old right fullback who looks average but not great, in exchange for Eagles. I have a week to accept and I've learned my lesson. I'll sit on this for a few days..

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan. 23, 2013 -

Today we travel to play Everton in the 2nd leg of the Semi Final of the League Cup. I'm going with the second team, hopefully, it doesn't cost me.


We are 4-6 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the mid 30's.


GK: Taylor
DL: Schmidt
DC: O'Shea
DC: Marchett
DR: Grygera
ML: Alfonso
MC: wood (just back from his loan)
MC: Cook
MR: Godoy
SC: McFadden
SC: Smith

S1: Salva
S2: Harper
S3: Cahais
S4: Parker
S5: Duff

[Eaglesfan27]

10 minute mark: Taylor with a strong save of a point blank shot by Ellington.

15 minute mark: Wood passes it to Cook just outside the box.. he shoots.. strong curving shot.. upper left corner.. the keeper dives.. blocks it!

21 minute mark: Godoy passes to Smith in the box.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it.

25 minute mark: Godoy passes to McFadden just outside the box.. he passes to Smith in the box.. Smith chips it over the keeper who was rushing out.. into the right side of the net! GOAL!!! 1-0.

29 minute mark: Taylor stops a flurry of shots.. very nice series of plays by the keeper!

33 minute mark: Taylor stops a 20 yard shot from Reid.

44 minute mark: Godoy passes to McFadden in the box.. he fakes out the keeper.. shoots.. GOA.. it's negated! McFadden is called for being offside



Halftime: 1-0 lead. 4-0 lead on aggregate. They have over 40,000 fans here today.



60 minute mark: Parker on for Wood and Salva on for O'Shea.

68 minute mark: Godoy passes to Cook in the box.. he shoots.. inches wide right.



Game over. 1-0 win, 4-0 win on aggregate.

They outshot us 13-10 (6-4 on target)

McFadden won MoM, 9 for form, 19 of 22 passes, 2 of 3 tackles, 3 of 11 headers, 4 runs, 3 fouls drawn, and assist.

Godoy had his first 8

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

We were given 900,000 dollars for that win.

Liverpool beat the Wolves 3-1 on aggregate, and we will face Liverpool in the final of the League Cup.


Leeds has signed Leighton Baines from Everton on a Bosman signing.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 25, 2012 -

Chelsea have rejected the offer of McFadden for Adu. I'm going to go ahead and make one final offer of Eagles and Parker plus some cash for Adu. If they refuse that, I will just take the Eagles deal and not worry about getting Adu this year.


Darn, I can't offer Eagles while the Valencia deal is pending

Oh well, I'm going to pass on Adu for now, and accept the Eagles deal.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 26, 2012 -

Today we host Southampton in an EPL Match. They are currently 13th in the EPL while we are in 2nd place. Southampton is led by the strong play of left winger Jorge Pina and striker Robbin Kieft. Jonathan Douglas is a strong midfielder who is playing well this year. Keeper Simon Jentzsch is leaving on a Bosman signing so it will be interesting to see how his motivation is this match. Centreback Danny Higginbotham remains a good defender.

We are 4-6 favorites.

It's very windy today with temperatures in the 50's.


GK: Taylor
DL: Chivu
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: King

S1: Eagles
S2: Harper
S3: Cahais
S4: Parker
S5: Smith

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Schreurs dribbles past three players.. centers it for King.. King shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.


Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. We have over 70,000 fans here today.



63 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney.. he fires a shot.. upper right corner.. great save by the keeper.

65 minute mark: Ferdinand stops a breakaway. great defensive play.

71 minute mark: Schreurs passes to Djemba just outside the box.. he blasts a shot.. over the bar.

74 minute mark: De Weerd steals the ball passes it to Kieft in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. Taylor dives.. it is past him. GOAL. 1-1 tie.

Smith on for King, Parker on for Djemba, and Eagles on for Fletcher.

83 minute mark: Parker shoots from 25 yards out.. the keeper blocks it.. Eagles shoots the rebound.. over the bar.

88 minute mark: Downing passes to Schreurs just outside the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper dives.. blocks it.

90 minute mark: Rooney dribbles past two defenders.. into the box.. passes to Eagles.. he shoots.. over the bar.


Game over. Yet another tie. This is disgusting. 1-1 tie.

We outshot them 17-2 (10-1 on target)

Downing won MoM, 9 for form, 13 of 16 passes, 0 of 1 tackles, 2 of 4 headers, 22 runs, 3 fouls drawn.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Chelsea tied Liverpool 1-1, so at least we aren't falling any further than 4 points behind Liverpool. We really need to get our offense clicking again.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan 27, 2013 -

Christopher Eagles has reached terms with Valencia.

Tim Howard played well for the USA and had an assist in a 4-0 win over Saint Martin in the North American Gold Cup.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

1st minute: Godoy burns his man down the right sideline.. crosses it to Smith.. he heads it.. the keeper blocks it.

8 minute mark: Marchetti with a key defensive play on Ameobi in the box.

20 minute mark: McFadden takes it down the left sideline.. crosses it to the near post.. Alfonso heads it.. barely wide left.

28 minute mark: Howard stops a series of shots.

34 minute mark: Howard stops a flurry of shots, very acrobatic play by Howard.

38 minute mark: Godoy with a long pass to McFadden.. he dribbles into the box.. shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper dives.. blocks it.


Halftime: 0-0 tie. They have over 32,000 fans here today.


46 minute mark: O'Shea trips Amoebi in the box.. penalty awarded.. David steps up.. shoots.. to Howard's left.. he dives.. blocks it.. Ameobi gets the rebound.. shoots.. Howard catches it!

51 minute mark: Alfonso passes to Smith just outside the box.. Smith draws two defenders.. passes between them to McFadden in the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

68 minute mark: Whing passes to Williams.. Williams passes to Chaplow in the box.. he shoots a quick powerful banana shot.. it curves.. upper right corner.. GOAL. 1-1.

74 minute mark: Mamam on for Cook, and Marino on for McFadden. I also tell the team to open up the offense more.

78 minute mark: O'Shea with a long pass to Smith.. he dribbles into the box.. the defender catches him from behind.. strips the ball.. it bounces to Marino.. he shoots.. weak shot to the upper left corner.. the keeper saves it.

85 minute mark: Godoy passes it to Marino in the left side of the box.. he fakes out the keeper.. shoots.. wide left.




Game over. Yet another draw. 1-1 tie. I need to look at getting another speed striker who can burn the defense.

They outshot us 19-8 (13-5 on target)

Howard won MoM for his 12 saves, 9 for form.

O'Shea, Grygera, McFadden, and Smith all had 8's for form.

There are no "easy" games in the EPL, as Sir Alex has learned himself this season. I've noticed that leaving one or two key players out of a lineup can really kill your scoring punch, even if you have reasonable backups.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan 28, 2012 -

Francesco Guarino has agreed to the contract we offered him (30,000/week for a backup spot.) The Eagles to Valencia deal can now be completed.

Eagles was a good player and will be missed, but Schreurs and he were not going to be able to co-exist which is unfortunate.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

There are no "easy" games in the EPL, as Sir Alex has learned himself this season. I've noticed that leaving one or two key players out of a lineup can really kill your scoring punch, even if you have reasonable backups.

Yeah, I like to rotate guys particularly for the first half of the year to keep guys fresh for the stretch run. I usually keep rotating guys IF things are going well, but now they aren't. Therefore, you will see me using the same lineup more games in a row during the stretch run now. Again, this is part of the reason that I had to move Eagles.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan 29, 2012 -

Liverpool has lost Nigel de Jong a 28 year old defender they were using heavily to a broken hip! He will miss the rest of the season.

I decide to make one last move for Adu. Apparently, the board has made all of my money from the sale of Eagles available. I offer Chelsea 60 million for Adu as well as 50% of next sale.

I doubt they are going to take it, but it can't hurt to ask.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan 30, 2012 -

Adriano had the game winning goal against Tim Howard and the USA in a 1-0 victory in the North American Gold Cup Semi-Final. Brazil will play either Canada or Costa Rica in the final.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan 30, 2012 -


Darn! I've been informed that Adriano sprained his ankle during Brazil's 1-0 win over the USA and Adriano will miss about 2 weeks.


Today we travel to play Blackburn. They are currently 11th in the EPL while we are in 2nd. Blackburn is led by a dynamic midfielder. Left winger Raul is a very talented player. Midifleder Jozef Adam is having a great year. Striker Paul Gallagher is leading the team with 6 goals. Jonathan Stead also has 6 goals. Petri Pasanen is a very good defender. Samir Handanovic is a good keeper.

We are 4-6 favorites.

It's raining with temperatures in the mid 40's.


GK: Taylor
DL: chivu
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: King

S1: Harper
S2: Godoy
S3: Cahais
S4: Parker
S5: Smith

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Yeah, I like to rotate guys particularly for the first half of the year to keep guys fresh for the stretch run. I usually keep rotating guys IF things are going well, but now they aren't. Therefore, you will see me using the same lineup more games in a row during the stretch run now. Again, this is part of the reason that I had to move Eagles.

I'm sure you've got a workable system, but what I've found works well is to play one team in league matches and the other in cup and European matches. It seems like cohesion is extremely important in FM and this rotation does a decent job of keeping players fresh and playing together.

[Eaglesfan27]

7 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in teh box.. he blasts a shot at the upper right corner.. very good save by the keeper.

8 minute mark: Taylor stops a powerful shot from Raul.

13 minute mark: King gets the ball at midfield from Taylor.. he passes it long to Rooney.. Rooney burns the defense.. dribbles into the box.. fires a shot.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

29 minute mark: Raul passes to Stead in the box.. he shoots.. lower right corner.. Taylor dives.. it is out of his reach.. GOAL. 1-1 tie.

32 minute mark: Raul passes to Stead in the box.. he shoots.. Taylor blocks the shot.

34 minute mark: Schreurs passes to Rooney 30 yards out.. Rooney shoots immediately.. trademark power banana shot.. severe curve.. the keeper dives.. it is out of his reach.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!! 2-1.

40 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in the left side of the box.. he fakes out a defender.. shoots the sharply angled shot.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-1. That is his hattrick!

43 minute mark: Raul passes it into the box.. Gallagher shoots.. Taylor blocks it.. Stead beats Ferdinand to the rebound.. shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL. 3-2.


Halftime: 3-2 lead for us. They have over 31,000 fans here today.


47 minute mark: Schreurs passes to King in the right edge of the box.. he passes it to Rooney just inside the center of the box.. Rooney blasts a shot between two defenders.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-2. That is his 4th goal of the game. Oh yeah, 2 goals ago he had his 20th of the season.

74 minute mark: James Faulkner passes to Edu in the box.. he shoots lower right corner.. GOAL. 4-3. Least I'm seeing that Taylor might not be the guy to replace Howard after all... I was about to pull Rooney, but with the lead down to 1 goal, I need to leave him in. King is also tired, so I put Smith in for King. I also put Godoy in for Schreurs.

81 minute mark: Godoy gets the ball from Taylor.. dribbles down the right sideline.. burns a defender.. crosses to Smith.. he settles it.. shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 5-3.

85 minute mark: Godoy passes to Smith in the right edge of the box.. he centers it to Rooney.. Rooney shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!!! 6-3! That is Rooney's 5th goal of the day.


Game over. 6-3 win That is more like it.

We outshot them 13-9 (11-6 on target)

Rooney won MoM, 10 for form, 20 of 21 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 1 of 5 headers, 1 interception, 12 runs, 5 goals!

Downing and Schreurs both had 9's for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Rio Ferdinand strained his wrist and will miss a week.

Chelsea rejected my Adu bid. I'll throw a bit more cash at them in one last bid, but I won't go over board.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 31, 2013 -

've signed Christian Tiffert to a Bosman deal. Tiffert is a 30 year old right winger who is a true speedster with decent skill levels. He does everything reasonably well, but nothing great except for run past people. I offered him 30,000/week and see him as insurance.

He will arrive on Aug 1, 2013 when his current deal with Siena ends.


OH MY!!! Chelsea accepted my generous offer for Adu!!! Now, some of you may think I overpaid, but I feel the need to re-energize my offense. Adu is only 23... so hopefully it was worth it. What did I give them?

52 million dollars, Barry Parker, 50% of next sale, and 18 million after he plays 30 games (which will happen sometime next year.)



Adu's agent wants 100k/week, 5.6 million signing bonus, 5,800/goal, and 3,000/assist. I can only go up to 5.2 million for my signing bonus per the board so I go up to 120,000/week in wages.

[Eaglesfan27]

Jan. 31, 2013 -

WTF!?! I'm being told that we don't have enough funds to complete the transfer for Adu! Why not?

Does the game require that I have that future 18 million dollar payment available in my transfer budget now?

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb. 1, 2013 -

Oh well, no Adu for us (at least not this year.) The transfer window has closed and apparently we didn't have the money that was needed to get the deal done before the window closed.


The board is pleased with my performance.


Stewart Downing has won the EPL Player of the Month Award. Wayne Rooney came in 2nd, and Dean Ashton of Leicester came in 3rd.


Aston Villa's Wayne Dunn has won the EPL Young Player of the Month. Paul White of Leicester came in 2nd, and Philippe Durand of Tottenham came in 3rd.


Newcastle's Steve Bruce has won Manager of the Month. I came in 2nd, and Jose Mourinho of Chelsea came in 3rd.


Wayne Rooney's goal against Blackburn won Goal of the Month.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 2, 2013 -

Today we host Millwall. They are 20th in the EPL While are in 2nd place. Millwall's offense has been anemic with striker Simeon Jackson the only player to score more than 3 goals (he has 6.) Their defense is solid but without any offensive support, they are getting beaten frequently. Centrebacks Mark Phillips and Simon Marshall are playing great. Right fullback Nyron Nosworthy has played well this year too. Bill Barron is doing well as a left winger. Maurizio Tommasi is playing well in goal, but he appears to be getting discouraged by the lack of offensive support.

We are 1-2 favorites.

It's raining and windy with temperatures in the 50's.


GK: Taylor
DL: Schmidt
DC: O'Shea
DC: Marchetti
DR: Grygera
ML: Alfonso
MC: wood
MC: Cook
MR: Godoy
SC: McFadden
SC: Smith

S1: Schreurs (will only play if things are going back)
S2: Rooney (Ditto)
S3: Cahais
S4: Parker
S5: Harper

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Godoy crosses it for Wood.. he heads it.. over the bar.

10 minute mark: Marchetti passes to Godoy outside the box.. he heads it to Smith in the box.. he shoots.. the keeper punches it over the bar... on the ensuing corner.. Godoy kicks it.. to the near post.. O'shea outleaps his man.. heads it.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

22 minute mark: Godoy burns two defenders down the right sideline.. burns a third.. dribbles to the right corner.. crosses it.. sharp curving cross.. McFadden jumps.. heads it.. into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0!

26 minute mark: Godoy burns his man down the right sideline.. crosses it to Smith in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper blocks it.


Halftime: 2-0 lead for us. We have just over 65,000 fans here today.



52 minute mark: Alfonso dribbles down the left sideline.. crosses to Wood in the middle of the box.. he heads it.. over the bar.

70 minute mark: Godoy gets a yellow card for tripping Ottil.

Cahais on for O'Shea and Parker on for Wood.


Game over. 2-0 win for us

We outshot them 21-1 (11-0 on target)

Carlos Godoy won MoM, 10 for form, 23 of 26 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 3 of 5 headers, 1 interception, 8 runs, 3 fouls drawn, and 2 assists.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 2, 2013 -

Tim Howard played very well in the USA's 4-0 win over Costa Rica to secure a 3rd place finish in the North American Gold Cup.

[finkenst]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Jan. 31, 2013 -

WTF!?! I'm being told that we don't have enough funds to complete the transfer for Adu! Why not?

Does the game require that I have that future 18 million dollar payment available in my transfer budget now?

eaglesfan27,

as far as i know, this is the case. You have to have the cash in your current transfer budget to cover the future payments.

fwiw, i did make the trade for rooney for lampard...

As a result, i was able to part with eidur gudjohnsen for $30m to Valencia.

In rooney's first game, chelsea's 36 match unbeaten streak came to an end 1-0 against 4th place birmingham.

odd trivia note: chelsea beat leicester in the earlier cup semifinal... 2 matches later, chelsea beat leicester in the 4th round of the later cup...

and we have caught the dreaded terpkristinitis as there are 10 players out injured on the senior squad and a couple of players on the reserve/u18 squads...

which brings up another question, when you get a player back from a 5 month injury, how do you get him back into match fitness beyond just playing him? do you send him to the reserves or..?


keep us up to date...

[Eaglesfan27]

Yeah, I guess I did have to have the money. It seems odd that I would have to have the 18 million dollars when it was completely impossible for him to reach the mark of 30 league games for us that would trigger that clause. Oh well, there is always next year to acquire Adu.


Sorry to hear that Rooney's first game didn't work out for you, but I'm sure he'll be excellent once he settles in. I'll tell you that he didn't do crap for me when I had him as the right striker, but I once I made him the left striker he has been dynamite.

Anyway, I'm off to bed (been doing some research on wireless 5.1 speakers for the last half hour or so.)

[finkenst]

i believe the poor result to be a result of a number of things since they only got the one goal at the 4 minute mark of the game... the full back on that side has a 4 or 5 for form after the goal and through 20-25 minutes later, still a 5, so he got pulled...

also, i think the injuries, and as a result of all the injuries, the conditioning also caught up... i had 1, yes 1, player who was not listed as a starter or sub for the game.

other than that, i hate this game. you know what i mean


*heads to bed*

[illinifan999]

Face it you are just not meant to have Adu.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by illinifan999

Face it you are just not meant to have Adu.

NEVER! Well at least not until he turns 28. At that point, it probably wouldn't be worth the price anymore.


However, he is only 23 now

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 4, 2013 -

Fletcher, Djemba, and Rooney were all selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 10, 2013 -

Today we travel to play against Manchester City in an EPL Match. Manchester City is currently 14th in the EPL while we have taken over 1st place!!! They are suffering from a weak offense and a defense that isn't good enough to compensate. Their best player this year has been midfielder Said Boutahar. He has set up 6 of their goals. Left winger Ryan Smith has played well too. Their best defender has been Centreback Damien Delaney but he is suspended for this game. Their keeper, Libis Andres Arenas, is very acrobatic and could shut us down by himself if he is playing his best game. Deivid is their leading striker with 7 goals.

We are 4-5 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the high 40's.

We are in 1st because Liverpool lost 4-3 to Leicester in their last game which escaped my attention til now. Aston Villa and we are tied with 58 points, but our GD is best in the league at plus 30.


GK: Howard
DL: Chivu
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: King (Adriano is still hurt.)

S1: Taylor
S2: Godoy
S3: Cahais
S4: Parker
S5: Smith

[Eaglesfan27]

12 minute mark: Lucio comes up to join the attack.. blasts a shot from 20 yards out.. hits the crossbar.. Rooney with the rebound.. shoots.. the keeper dives.. catches it.

35 minute mark: Howard stops a long range shot from Boutahar.

36 minute mark: Rooney dribbles into the box.. passes to Fletcher in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. the keeper catches it.

42 minute mark: Dawson with a corner kick to Robert Earnshaw.. he heads it.. into the upper right corner.. he outjumped Ferdinand. GOAL. Down 1-0.

44 minute mark: Djemba passes it to King in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives.. tips it over the bar.


Halftime: Down 1-0. They have over 47,000 fans here today.



51 minute mark: Downing dribbles past he left side.. crosses to Rooney in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper pushes it over the bar.

65 minute mark: Godoy on for Schreurs who is tired, and Smith on for King who is tired.

I also tell the team to open up the offense and go all out on the attack.

91 minute mark: Godoy passes to Djemba just outside the box.. hard banana shot.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives.. catches it.



Game over. We have suffered our 1st loss of the EPL Season. 1-0 loss. Tough loss on the road to our hated rivals who are having a bad season, yet our top line couldn't beat them

We outshot them 12-6 (4-2 on target)

Downing won MoM, 9 for form, 10 of 17 passes, 3 of 5 tackles, 2 of 7 headers, 18 runs, 3 fouls drawn.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

This loss was the first loss in 30 league games.

Aston Villa and Liverpool haven't played yet, but if either one of them win they will take 1st place from us.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 11, 2013 -

Downing and Djemba were selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 20, 2013 -

Today we host Porto in the 1st leg of the 1st knockout round of the Champions League. I'm not taking anything for granted, and will be using my top team. Porto is playing well this year and they have a highly diversified offense. Right winger Ricardo Quaresma has 10 goals on the year. Striker Marcio Marreiros also has 10 goals, and left winger Helder Barbosa also has 10 goals. Striker Tiago Maia has 7 goals. The good defense is led by centreback Thiago who is playing well. Keeper, Filipe Rodrigues has been inconsistent but brilliant at times this year.


We are even odd favorites.

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

GK: Howard
DL: Chivu
DC: Marchetti
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Godoy
S3: O'Shea
S4: King
S5: Smith
S6: Wood
S7: Lucio

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Brown passes to Schreurs who dribbles past a defender.. into the right corner.. he crosses it to Adriano in the box.. Adriano settles.. shoots from 10 yards out.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives.. it's past him! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

4 minute mark: Quaresma takes it down the right sideline.. crosses to Marreiros who heads it.. into the upper left corner.. GOAL. 1-1 tie.

13 minute mark: Schreurs dribbles past a defender.. to the right corner.. crosses... Adriano heads it.. over the bar.

17 minute mark: Downing is hurt but insists he can keep playing.. I'll watch him closely.

21 minute mark: Downing crosses to Adriano in the middle of the box.. he heads it.. inches wide left.

35 minute mark: Downing crosses it to Rooney in the middle of the box.. he blasts a shot.. over the bar.


Halftime: 1-1 tie. We only have over 66,000 fans here today.



75 minute mark: Godoy on for Downing who is looking like he is hurt, Smith on for Adriano who is tired, and Wood on for Djemba who is tired. I also tell the team to open up the offense.

89 minute mark: Fletcher passes to Rooney in the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper saves it.



Game over. Disappointing 1-1 tie. This could be bad as we will have to win the 2nd leg on their pitch.

We each had 6 shots and 2 shots on target.

Rui Sousa, their centreback won MoM, 8 for form, 39 of 49 passes, 8 of 16 tackles, 4 of 4 headers, and 4 interceptions.

Schreurs and Downing both had 8's, but everyone else was just average.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 23, 2013 -

Our U18 has won the Group 3 U18 title for the third consecutive year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Feb 24, 2013 -

Today we play Liverpool in the English League Cup Final. Liverpool is currently suffering a rash of injuries and have lost quite a few matches recently. Their list of injured players that definitely won't be playing include: Valdo, Andres D'Alessandro, Steven Gerrard, Liam Ridgewell, and Nigel de Jonh. In addition, Jamie Carragher and Nigel Reo-Coker are questionable. However, Liverpools dynamic pair of strikers are healthy and full of vigor for this match. Dijbril Cisse and Yakubu each have 27 goals on the year. They are an amazingly explosive duo. Right winger Luis Garcia has chipped in 7 goals, and no one else has more than 5. Chris Kirkland has been good, but occasionally inconsistent in goal. Djimi Traore has just been an average defender this year.

We are 5-4 favorites.

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

GK: Howard
DL: Chivu
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Schreurs
SC: Rooney
SC: Adriano

S1: Taylor
S2: Godoy
S3: O'Shea
S4: King
S5: McFadden