Wigan and the EPL - A short stay?

[Eaglesfan27]

March 10, 2011 -

Today we travel to play Auxerre in the 2nd knockout round 1st leg of the UEFA Cup. Auxerre has an excellent striker in Guilherme So. So is a 24 year old Brazilian striker who is deadly with his head in the box. He has 24 goals in 40 appearances this year. Right winger Bonaventure Kalou is a 33 year old player from the Ivory Coast who is a top notch right winger. He has 17 goals and 9 assists on the year. The offense is explosive, but the defense is just average. Centrebacks Michael Ciani and Stephane Grichting will have to step up today. Their keeper Gregory Coupet has had a good year. He is a good keeper, but I think we should be able to get the ball by him.


We are 4-5 favorites.

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

GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: Chivu
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera
ML: Duff
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Eagles
SC: Saha
SC: Adriano

S1: Barthez
S2: van Nistelrooy
S3: Cook
S4: Mamam
S5: King
S6: Neville
S7: Parker

[Eaglesfan27]

23 minute mark: Kalou is injured in a collision with Silvestre.. his day is done.

32 minute mark: Radet gets a yellow card for a trip on Saha.

35 minute mark: Ciani is doing a great job of heading away Duff's crosses. He has done this the entire match so far.

40 minute mark: Duff gets called for tripping Radet.. Yellow card for Duff.. Adriano argues the call.. yellow card for Adriano.


Halftime: 0-0 tie. They have over 23,000 fans here today.


60 minute mark: cook on for Djemba who is tired. van Nistelrooy on for Adriano.

71 minute mark: Saha steals it from Radet deep in their turf.. fires a quick pass to the center of the box for Ruud.. he settles it.. shoots.. upper left corner of the net! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

78 minute mark: Fletcher intercepts a pass with a header.. sends it to van Nistelrooy.. he shoots.. 20 yards hot.. upper left corner.. GO.. Offside!

81 minute mark: Eagles passes down the right sideline to vN.. he dribbles into the box.. shoots a hard angled shot.. the keeper blocks it.. Saha pounces on the rebound.. taps it in for the goal! GOAL!!!! 2-0.


Game over. 2-0 win.

We outshot them 13-4 (6-2 on target)


Eagles won MoM, 9 for form, 32 of 38 passes, 4 of 6 tackles, 2 of 5 headers, 7 interceptions, 9 runs, 2 fouls drawn.

Saha also had a 9. vN, Fletcher, Duff, Chivu, and Howard all had 8's.

The rest of the team had 7's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Damien Duff injured his knee. He will miss about 2 weeks, necessitating a speedy recovery for Downing. Saha bruised his shin and will miss about 5 days.

Akin Serhat has requested that he be listed for transfer. I happily oblige.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 12, 2011 -

Sheffield Wed has asked to borrow Paul Kelly, a 19 year old midfielder in my reserve system who has potential. I agree to the loan.

Watford have asked to borrow Bob Wright, a 19 year old striker with good potential. I agree to the loan.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 12, 2011 -

Sunderland upset Chelsea 2-0 in the 6th round of the English FA Cup today.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 13, 2011 -

Coventry won promotion to the EPL today.

They currently have 92 points in the English Championship and are 24 points ahead of 2nd place Norwich! They appear very likely to have a record or near record breaking season in the English Championship. Their record is currently 28 wins, 8 draws, and 2 losses.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 17, 2011 -

Today we host Auxerre in the 2nd leg of the 2nd round of the UEFA Cup. I expect us to do better this game because we will be playing Downing who is freshly back from his injury.

We are 4-6 favorites.

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


GK: Howard
DL: O'Shea
DC: Chivu
DC: Lucio
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Stevanovic
MC: Cook
MR: Eagles
SC: Saha
SC: Smith

S1: Barthez
S2: van Nistelrooy
S3: Grygera
S4: Mamam
S5: Adriano
S6: Neville
S7: Parker

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute Howard stops a shot from So.

4 minute mark: Coupet stops a long shot from Smith.

8 minute mark: O'Shea gets a yellow card for pulling Mathis' jersey.

12 minute mark: Downing looks hurt.. he insists he can keep playing.. I'll be keeping a very close eye on him.

17 minute mark: Downing crosses to Cook in the box.. he shoots a hard shot.. the keeper blocks it.. the rebound sails to Downing.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

23 minute mark: Downing crosses to OSaha, but the keeper punches it away to O'Shea.. he passes to Cook.. who shoots from 30 yards out.. hard shot.. it deflects off a defender.. into the right side of the net. GOAL!!!! 2-0.


Halftime: 2-0 lead. We are dominating them. I'll pull Downing to rest him for our next match in 3 days. I'm putting Mamam in for him.

61 minute mark: Howard stops a shot by So. I put on Adriano for Smith and Neville for Eagles.

78 minute mark: Neville crosses to Saha by the far post.. he heads it.. the keeper blocks it.


Game over. 2-0 win. 4-0 on aggregate.

We outshot them 22-5 (12-2 on target)

Their keeper, Gregory Coupet, won MoM.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

We were awarded 360,000 dollars for that win. We are now advancing to the quarterfinal of the UEFA Cup.


In other UEFA action:

Inter beat Benfica 3-0 on aggregate.

Aston Villa beat PAOK 3-1 on aggregate.

Parma beat Bordeaux 3-2 on aggregate.

Schalke 04 beat Newcastle 4-0 on aggregate.

Real Madrid beat Lazio 3-2 on aggregate.

Valencia beat Sporting CP 3-1 in aggregate.

Southampton beat Nantes 3-0 on aggregate.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 18, 2011 -

We drew what is arguably the best team in the Cup. We will be facing Inter in the UEFA quarterfinals.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 20, 2011 -

Coventry has secured the English Championship League Title despite still having 7 games to go. They have 93 points on the season. 2nd place Charlton only has 68 points.

GO Wenger!!! I never thought I'd be saying that, but before today's match with Chelsea, Wenger told Jose Mourinho that he doesn't want Chelsea to win the title and that he is going to ruin his chances with an Arsenal win over Chelsea.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 20, 2011 -

today we host West Brom. They are currently in 11th place. Kasper Lorentzen has been their driving force this year. The talented left winger has done a good job of setting up strikers Johan Elmander and Michael Chopra. Their keeper Federico Vilar has been good in goal. Their centerback Thomas Gaardsoe has been the most consistent defender.

We are 4-7 favorites.

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

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

S1: Barthez
S2: van Nistelrooy
S3: Grygera
S4: Mamam
S5: Adriano

[Eaglesfan27]

14 minute mark: Craig Robson elbows McFadden.. yellow card for Robson.

44 minute mark: They have been keeping 9 guys back at all times, frustrating us.. but Downing dribbles past two defenders.. draws a third defender over as he dribbles into the box.. passes to Djemba who just inside the box.. he shoots.. hard shot.. it deflects off a defender.. into the right side of the net! GOAL!!!! 1-0.


Halftime: 1-0 lead. We have over 69,000 fans here today.



68 minute mark: Fletcher passes to rooney in the box.. hard shot.. lower right corner.. great block by the keeper.

70 minute mark: I put Adriano on for McFadden and Mamam on for Eagles.

74 minute mark: Downing passes to rooney in the box.. hard shot.. upper right corner.. the keeper blocks it.. it sails out to Djemba just outside the box.. he sends a blazing curving shot.. it sails into the upper right corner of the net! GOAL.. oh darn.. Downing was whistled for being offside before the shot. It's disallowed.

79 minute mark: Mamam crosses long to Downing.. he dribbles to the left corner of the pitch.. crosses to Adriano by the near post.. he heads it.. into the crossbar.. the rebound bounces to Adriano.. he hits it on the half-volley.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0. Nice goal by Adriano!

80 minute mark: Fletcher passes to Rooney in the right corner of the pitch.. he crosses to Adriano by the far post.. he heads it.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0! Adriano's 5th goal of the year already!

88 minute mark: Djemba heads a ball to Adriano.. he burns two defenders.. is pulling away fro the defense.. dribbles into the box.. shoots.. the keeper blocks it.


Game over. 3-0 win for us.

We outshot them 17-3 (11-1 on target)

Downing won MoM, 10 for form, 21 of 28 passes, 0 of 3 tackles, 5 of 10 headers, 20 runs, 1 assist.

Djemba had a 9 for form. Rooney, Adriano, Eagles, and Chivu all had 8's.

The rest of the team had 7's.

Downing will be praised to the media after this match. He has an amazing 9.24 avg form on the season.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 21, 2011 -

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

Our fans are writing to "The People" in thousands praising the amazing form of Stewart Downing. Fans here are loving this guy's play and hope he remains a Red Devil for a long time. According to a recent poll, the 3 most popular players here at Old Trafford are Ruud van Nistelrooy, Tim Howard, and James McFadden.


Chelsea crushed Arsenal 4-2

Adriano had a hat trick and Diego chipped in a goal for Chelsea. Pablo Aimar assisted on 2 of the goals, Wayne Bridge assisted on another, and Arjen Robben assisted on the last goal.

Jose Antonio Reyes scored both of Arsenal's goals with Henry assisting on one goal and Javier Saviola assisting on the other.


I'm getting the feeling that we need to win every game remaining if we are going to win the EPL Title.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 22, 2011 -

Vincent Kompany just signed a 4 year 26 million dollar deal to stay at Liverpool.


Portsmouth (10th in the English Championship) manager Frank Yallop told a journalist from "The News" that he is relishing the opportunity to test his side's skills against Manchester United. He feels that his side will do their best to match Manchester United and he hoped it would be a "cracking game."


I decide to respond nicely to Frank Yallop, "I believe Yallop is a good manager and I think his side should stick with him through thick and thin."


Craig King, Jamie Cook, and Michael Wood have been called up to the England U21 squad to face Scotland's U21 squad for a match on March 25th.

Damien Duff has been called up to the Irish national squad.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 23, 2011 -

Jamie Cook injured his wrist in practice yesterday, and will miss about a week.


Frank Yallop responded to my praise by telling "The News" that he thought Christopher Eagles was doing a very good job at Manchester United and that the Red Devils Fans were lucky to have him.



Today we play Portsmouth on their pitch in the 6th round of the English FA Cup. Portsmouth has been relying heavily on our player Alfonso and he has been their best player the last few weeks. He is ineligible for this match however. Gary O'Neil has also been playing very well in the midfield. They have an explosive scorer in striker Nathan Ellington. Ellington hasn't let turning 30 slow him down at all. He has 20 goals and 12 assists in 42 appearances. His partner Lomana LuaLua has 10 goals. Centreback John Curtis has played well. Their keepers have been very inconsistent and it will be interesting to see who starts. Kelvin Davis has been a starter in more games but he has been the most inconsistent. Juan Jose Clatayud has been a bit better, but not much.

We are heavy 2-5 favorites.

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


GK: Howard
DL: Chivu
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Stevanovic
MC: Fletcher
MR: Mamam
SC: Saha
SC: King

S1: Barthez
S2: Grygera
S3: Parker
S4: Adriano
S5: van Nistelrooy

[Eaglesfan27]

Davis started in goal for them today.


6 minute mark: Howard stops a long shot from LuaLua.

30 minute mark: Mamam takes a corner kick.. sends it short to King who passes it back to Mamam.. Mamam with a long cross to the far post.. Downing heads it.. upper left corner.. the keeper dives.. it is past him! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

38 minute mark: Chivu plays a long ball down the left sideline.. Downing outraces the defender and gets to it.. dribbles towards the left post.. draws a defender and the keeper over.. passes between them.. King hits it on the half-volley for the easy goal into the right side of the net! GOAL!!!! 2-0.


Halftime: 2-0 lead for us.


52 minute mark: Taylor passes between two defenders to LuaLua.. he fakes left.. shoots upper right corner.. Howard deflects it.. but it still floats into the net. GOAL. 2-1 lead.

53 minute mark: Saha with a breakaway.. shoots.. hits the crossbar.. DOwning gets the rebound.. shoots.. the keeper barely tips it over the bar.

60 minute mark: King is either hurt or tired badly, I put Adriano on for him.

64 minute mark: Fletcher passes to Adriano in the box.. he draws two defenders over.. passes a great pass to Saha.. wide open.. he shoots a horrible shot.. very far wide right.

82 minute mark: Downing with a corner kick.. Stevanovic with a hard shot.. the keeper blocks it.

91 minute mark: Downing passes to Stevanovic in the box.. he shoots.. hard shot.. good save by the keeper.


Game over. 2-1 win for us.

We outshot them 15-7 (7-4 on target)

Downing wins MoM, 10 for form, 24 of 27 passes, 4 of 5 tackles, 6 of 8 headers, 4 interceptions, 16 runs, 1 assist, and 1 goal.

Stevanovic, Fletcher, Mamam, Brown, Ferdinand, and Howard all had 8's. The rest of the team had 7's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

We were given 700,000 for our win in the 6th round of the English FA cup.

We will play Liverpool at Wembley on 4/20/2011 in the Semi-finals of the English FA Cup. Sunderland and Leicester will play in the other semi-final.

[Eaglesfan27]

March 25, 2011 -

Craig King played well in setting up a goal for Martin Scott in England's U21 2-0 win over Scotland in this Euro U21 Championship Qualifying match.



March 26, 2011 -

Speaking to the media after his international debut against Scotland, Manchester United's Christopher Eagles spoke of his pride at representing England for the first time.

Clearly delighted at having made it onto the international scene, the player expressed his gratitude to manager Christopher Engles, whom he indicated had played a large part in helping develop his talent.



International Roundup: (All matches are from the European Championship Qualifying round for 2012.)


England and Scotland played each other to a 0-0 draw today. 4 of my players started. Christopher Eagles had a solid game with a 7 for form. Downing played well and had an 8 for form. Wayne Rooney played well with a 7 for form. Alan Smith had a 7 for form before being subbed out at the 60 minute mark.


Darren Fletcher and James McFadden played for Scotland and they both did well without excelling.


Dalibor Stevanovic played well for Slovenia, but his side lost 1-0 to Croatia.


Akin Serhat played well for Turkey, but didn't excel. His side beat Belgium 1-0.


Mikael Silvestre played well for France in a 1-0 win over Israel.


Zdenek Grygera played well for the Czech Republic, but his side lost to Russia 2-0.


Damien Duff was brilliant in a 4-1 win over Belarus and he had 2 assists. John O'Shea also played well for Ireland.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 1, 2011 -

All of the following international matches were friendlies:

Mikael Silvestre played well for France as they beat the USA 2-0. Howard didn't play well this match.


Christian Chivu played well in a 2-0 win of Romania over the United Arab Emirates.


John O'Shea played very poorly for Ireland in their 2-0 loss to Brazil. Damien Duff played well in this match.


Wes Brown played well for England in their 1-0 win over Italy. Downing played very well. Wayne Rooney was average as was Alan Smith. Rio Ferdinand played well, and Christopher Eagles played well.


Zdenek Grygera did not play well in the Czech Republic's 2-1 loss to Holland. Ruud van Nistelrooy did play well and scored a goal in this match.



Eric Djemba Djemba played well for Cameroon in their 2-0 win over Swaziland.


Darren Fletcher played ok for Scotland in their 1-1 tie with Hungary.


Akin Serhat played ok for Turkey in their 1-0 win over Northern Ireland. He was used as a substitute.


Dalibor Stevanovic played very well for Slovenia in their 1-1 tie with Greece.

[finkenst]

that looks familiar, EF27..

I had 20 guys on international games...

silly me, i had scheduled a friendly at that time and had no players..

[Eaglesfan27]

April 3, 2011 -

Today is the big match! We travel to play Chelsea. Chelsea are 1st in the EPL, and we are 2nd. Those positions will reverse with a win by us. They are playing a 4-3-2-1 that is shaped like a pyramid or set of bowling pins. In this game, Petr Cech is starting in goal. He is still a world class keeper. They have a strong defensive line in Wayne Bridge at left fullback, John Terry at centreback, Naldo at centreback, and Paulo Ferreira at right fullback. The right side of this line is weaker than the left. In the midfield, they have Sanli Tuncay on the left, Rafael van der Vaart in the middle, and Diego on the right. That midfield line is all top notch. In front of them, they have Arjen Robben on the left and Joe Cole on the right. They are both very good. Finally, Adriano is the lone striker in the box. They will be difficult to beat. Our guys are tired from international play, but so are their guys.

Chelsea are 6-4 favorites.

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

GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Eagles
SC: McFadden
SC: Rooney (he isn't in great shape after playing in two international matches, but he is match fit, and he has risen to the occasion against big opponents.. hopefully he does so today.)

S1: Barthez
S2: van Nistelrooy
S3: Grygera
S4: Stevanovic
S5: Adriano

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by finkenst

that looks familiar, EF27..

I had 20 guys on international games...

silly me, i had scheduled a friendly at that time and had no players..

Ouch. That sounds rough, and all too familiar.

[illinifan999]

I had a French Cup Semi-final with every single one of my starters on intl duty, and my top 3 backups also gone.

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

April 3, 2011 -

Today is the big match! We travel to play Chelsea. Chelsea are 1st in the EPL, and we are 2nd. Those positions will reverse with a win by us. They are playing a 4-3-2-1 that is shaped like a pyramid or set of bowling pins. In this game, Petr Cech is starting in goal. He is still a world class keeper. They have a strong defensive line in Wayne Bridge at left fullback, John Terry at centreback, Naldo at centreback, and Paulo Ferreira at right fullback. The right side of this line is weaker than the left. In the midfield, they have Sanli Tuncay on the left, Rafael van der Vaart in the middle, and Diego on the right. That midfield line is all top notch. In front of them, they have Arjen Robben on the left and Joe Cole on the right. They are both very good. Finally, Adriano is the lone striker in the box. They will be difficult to beat. Our guys are tired from international play, but so are their guys.

Chelsea are 6-4 favorites.

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

GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Eagles
SC: McFadden
SC: Rooney (he isn't in great shape after playing in two international matches, but he is match fit, and he has risen to the occasion against big opponents.. hopefully he does so today.)

S1: Barthez
S2: van Nistelrooy
S3: Grygera
S4: Stevanovic
S5: Adriano

Nice way to leave us hangin.

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Howard stops a long shot from Adriano.

2 minute mark: Robben steals it from Eagles.. passes to van der Vaart who has a long range shot.. Howard saves it.

14 minute mark: Robben passes it to Adriano in the box.. hard shot.. left corner of the net.. Howard dives.. saves it!

20 minute mark: Howard with a long kick.. Rooney heads it along.. McFadden in the box.. shoots.. cech saves it.


Halftime: 0-0 tie. Chelsea has over 42,000 fans here today.



49 minute mark: Eagles crosses to Rooney.. who heads it.. the keeper saves it.

50 minute mark: Downing passes into the box to Rooney.. he is tripped by Naldo.. whistle! Penalty shot awarded! Downing steps up to take it.. blasts it into the upper right corner... GOAL!!!! 1-0.

65 minute mark: Terry and Rooney collide.. Terry is hurt bad.. he has to come off!

69 minute mark: Adriano gets the ball in the box.. shoots.. upper right corner.. Howard blocks it.. Naldo gets the rebound.. shoots for the left corner of the net.. Howard dives... catches it!

71 minute mark: Cole beats two of our defenders.. draws Ferdinand to him.. passes to Adriano.. he shoots at an open net.. Lucio is on the baseline.. he blocks it! Saves a goal.. the rebound is cleared by Downing.

72 minute mark: Adriano on for McFadden who is tired.

78 minute mark: Downing steals it at midfield.. passes it to Adriano.. he turns on the speed.. beats Naldo with a good crossover.. into the box.. blasts a shot.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0! It was out of Cech's reach.

82 minute mark: Their Adriano with a close range shot.. Howard saves it!

92 minute mark: Djemba steals it at midfield.. passes it to my Adriano just outside the box.. the Wonderkid pulls out a crossover dribble on Naldo again.. fakes him out.. shoots.. lower left corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-0! 2 goals against Chelsea for Adriano in limited time!!!



Game over. 3-0 win for us!

Chelsea outshot us 18-7 (9-6 on target)

Downing wins MoM, 10 for form, 12 of 17 passes, 4 of 7 tackles, 1 of 6 headers, 4 interceptions, 14 runs, 1 foul drawn, 1 assist, and 1 goal.

Howard and Adriano both had 9's. Every other player on the team had an 8 except for McFadden who had a 7.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by SunDancer

Nice way to leave us hangin.

I wasn't leaving you all hanging Results were just posted right after the match ended

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

With 6 games to go, we are now in 1st place. Our Goal Differential is now plus 41 and that is 10 goals better than Chelsea. We both have 71 points, but our GD has us in 1st place.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 4, 2011 -

Silvestre, Lucio, and Djemba were all selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I wasn't leaving you all hanging Results were just posted right after the match ended

I know. Was jokin. I say you were off-line.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by SunDancer

I know. Was jokin. I say you were off-line.

Ahh, my internet connection went out for a few minutes.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 7, 2011 -

Today we travel to Italy to play Inter (2nd in Italy Serie A) in the 1st leg of the UEFA Quarterfinal match. Inter has a very talented team led by 24 year old Star Striker Vincenzo Di Giacomo. He has 19 goals in 35 appearances. Left fullback Phillip Lahm is a star player that I pursued earlier in the year. He is playing very well and I was looking at him as a winger. He can play either fullback or either wing position. Belozoglu Emre has been a star in the midfield for them. Centreback Nicolas Burdisso as been very solid for the defense. Keeper Francisco Guillermo Ochoa has been very good for them.


They are 6-4 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the low 60's.


GK: Howard
DL: Chivu
DC: O'Shea (A risk, but I think he is capable enough to play against this quality opponent.)
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera
ML: Downing (I'm going to lean on this star quite a bit in the last month/6 weeks of the season.)
MC: Stevanovic
MC: Cook
MR: Eagles
SC: Saha
SC: King

S1: Barthez
S2: van Nistelrooy
S3: Lucio
S4: Parker
S5: Adriano
S6: Neville
S7: Duff

[Eaglesfan27]

1 minute mark: I hold my breath as O'Shea and Dejan Stankovic are near each other and Stankovic goes down in our box.. the referee says he dived! Yellow card for Stankovic.

5 minute mark: Lahn stops a Saha breakway.

8 minute mark: cook intercepts it at midfield.. passes it long to Saha.. he breaks away.. he beats the keeper.. shoots.. Burdisso dives and manages to block the shot.. great play by the centreback.

10 minute mark: Emre gets a yellow card for a trip on Cook.

13 minute mark: King gets a yellow card for pushing Emre.

18 minute mark: King collided with Burdisso. He is hurt. He has to come off. I bring on Adriano for him.

22 minute mark: Howard stops a flurry of shots by their strikers.

28 minute mark: Downing passes long to Saha after Chivu headed away a corner.. Saha dribbles into the left half of the box.. shoots.. good save by their keeper.

36 minute mark: Eagles gets a yellow card for a trip on Obodo.

45 minute mark: Adriano gets a yellow card for tripping Lahm.


Halftime: 0-0 tie. They have over 86,000 fans here today.


52 minute mark: Howard stops a long range shot from Emre.

54 minute mark: Chivu starts the counterattack for us.. he passes long to Eagles on the right wing.. Eagles with a long curving pass into the box.. Downing gets to it in the box.. fakes out the keeper.. dribbles left.. shoots.. lower left corner! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

66 minute mark: Edu Dracena pushes Adriano.. yellow card on Dracena.

Stevanovic has picked up an injury.. he is too tired/hurt to continue, I put Duff in for him.

68 minute mark: Chivu intercepts the ball in our zone.. looks around.. passes it down the length of the pitch.. perfect pass.. to the edge of the box.. Adriano gets to it.. fakes left.. dribbles right.. around the keeper.. shoots.. center of the net! GOAL!!!! 2-0.

77 minute mark: Pinga takes the corner.. Di Giacomo heads it.. into the center of the net! GOAL. Still up 2-1.

83 minute mark: Chivu heads it long to Adriano at midfield.. he passes it to Duff inside the box.. Duff dribbles to his left.. shoots.. lower left corner! GOAL!!!! 3-1.

88 minute mark: Pinga passes to Di Giacomo in the box.. he shoots.. hard shot.. the keeper saves it.


Game over. 3-1 win for us

Inter outshot us 23-7 (10-6 on target)

Howard wins MoM for his 9 saves. He had a 9 for form.

Ferdinand also had a 9 for form.

Downing, Eagles, Chivu, Grygera, O'Shea, Eagles, and Adriano all had 8's for form. The rest of the team had 7's.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

The 3-1 win on the road, puts us in good shape for winning on aggregate.

Eagles has picked up a ban for 3 yellow cards. The ban applies to all European club competitions.

Craig King damaged his heel and will miss about 5 days.

Stevanovic twisted his knee and will miss about 2 weeks.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 11, 2011 -

Darn! James McFadden injured his groin in practice yesterday, and will miss about 2 weeks. I don't have many natural left footed strikers, and that makes this is a significant loss.



Today we play Newcastle at our home. They are currently 6th in the EPL. We are currently 1st. Newcastle has several of their better players hurt, and that should help us. However, their keeper Kenneth Stenild is healthy and playing superb football right now. Right winger James Milner has had a great season. Striker Craig Bellamy has 14 goals on the year, and he is playing very well. His partner Diomansy Kamara is one of the players that is hurt. It will be interesting to see who starts, since Julio the third striker is doubtful due to his own injury. Centreback Craig Scott has played very good defense. Fabian Ernst has been a good left winger.


We are even odd favorites.

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


GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Brown
ML: Downing
MC: Djemba
MC: Fletcher
MR: Eagles
SC: Smith (in place of the injured McFadden. He was starting to become unhappy at the lack of PT as well.)
SC: Rooney

S1: Barthez
S2: van Nistelrooy
S3: Duff
S4: Mamam
S5: Adriano

The announcers believe that downing will be my key while Bellamy will be their key. They pick us to win the match in a close battle.

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

April 11, 2011 -

Darn! James McFadden injured his groin in practice yesterday, and will miss about 2 weeks. I don't have many natural left footed strikers, and that makes this is a significant loss.

Does left and right footers matter much? I never noticed it. How do you use them properly?

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Howard stops a hard shot from Bellamy.

7 minute mark: Howard stops a hard shot from Bellamy

11 minute mark: Djemba with a hard shot.. the keeper punches it over the bar.

18 minute mark: Downing steals it at midfield.. dribbles down the left side of the pitch.. crosses to Rooney who is breaking past the defender.. Placente tackles him with a very vicious two footed tackle.. whistle... Red card to Placente.. he is ejected.. Penalty shot awarded! Rooney steps up to take it, he clearly wants this goal.... Shoots.. to the left of the keeper.. the keeper dives.. saves it.

25 minute mark: Downing burns a few defenders down the left side of the pitch.. crosses to Smith.. he heads it.. over the bar.

38 minute mark: Jensen takes a free kick from just outside the box.. curves it.. around the wall.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL. Down 1-0

41 minute mark: Downing's cross just sails over Rooney's head.

44 minute mark: Rooney gets a yellow card for a trip on Kroldrup.


Halftime: Down 1-0.

We have a full house of over 75,000 fans here today.



Rooney is slightly hurt, I'll pull him soon if he continues to limp.

46 minute mark: Downing gets a yellow card for unfairly jumping with Sagnol.

57 minute mark: Downing gets it at midfield.. plays a nice leading pass to Djemba just outside the box.. Djemba runs up to it.. kicks it hard.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-1.

Rooney is limping still, I put Adriano on for him.

61 minute mark: Smith passes to Fletcher in the box.. hard shot.. the keeper saves it.

80 minute mark: I see that Chelsea has won.. we have to win. A tie is not good enough. I sub van Nistelrooy on for Smith who is tired.

82 minute mark: van Nistelrooy is tackled just outside the box.. Eagles takes the free kick.. passes it to Fletcher who is just a few yards right of him.. Fletcher blazes a curling shot.. it curves.. curves.. sails into the upper right corner of the net!!! GOAL!!!! 2-1.


Game over. 2-1 win for us

We outshot them 9-4 (6-4 on target)

Downing won MoM, 10 for form, 19 of 22 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 0 of 4 headers, 1 interception, 15 runs, 2 fouls drawn, 1 assist.

Eagles and Fletcher both had 8's. Everyone else had a 7, except for Rooney who had a disappointing 4 (he became a shell of himself after missing the penalty shot.)

We continue to ride in 1st place.


Post Match Info:

Rooney bruised his ribs and will miss 3 days.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by SunDancer

Does left and right footers matter much? I never noticed it. How do you use them properly?

I've had a few friends who tell me it doesn't matter, but when I can, I prefer to play a left footed striker as the left striker, and a right footed striker as my right striker. Personally, I think it does matter. Fabrice Begeorgi was a left footed striker who thrived on the left. However, if I have 4 strikers and two of them are clearly much better than the others, I will play them both regardless of which foot they use. I also try to make sure my left winger is left footed (or both) and my right winger is right footed.

[Eaglesfan27]

To expound a bit more,

When I was considering who to play alongside Rooney, I chose McFadden primarily because he was about the same talent level as everyone, but he was left footed. Similarly, that is why I gave Saha some PT at the beginning of the year. He is left footed. Of course, Saha's excellent speed also helps.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 14, 2011 -

Today we host Inter for the 2nd leg of the Quarterfinal of the UEFA Cup. I'm taking a small chance today and going with some guys that I might not start if we didn't have such a big lead (I think 3 away goals will be hard to overcome.)

We are 5-4 favorites.


GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: Chivu
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera
ML: Duff (hoping Downing can get some rest.)
MC: Parker
MC: Cook
MR: Mamam (Eagles is suspended)
SC: Smith
SC: King

S1: Barthez
S2: van Nistelrooy
S3: Brown
S4: O'Shea
S5: Adriano
S6: Djemba
S7: Downing (only will play if we are down or even on aggregate.)

[Eaglesfan27]

9 minute mark: Santa Cruz passes to Martins in the box.. he shoots.. hard shot.. lower left corner.. It's past Howard.. GOAL. Down 1-0, but still up 3-2 on aggregate.

17 minute mark: Cardozo fouls King just outside the box.. close range free kick for Mamam.. he blasts a shot.. around the wall... heading towards the upper right corner.. it sails over the bar.

20 minute mark: Cardozo passes into the box to Martins.. hard shot.. lower left corner.. Howard blocks it.. martins shoots the rebound.. Howard blocks it.. Chivu clears the ball.

22 minute mark: cook passes to Duff in the box.. hards hot.. the keeper blocks it.. King running to the rebound.. Burdisso beats him to it.

30 minute mark: Emre with a long range shot.. great save by Howard.

42 minute mark: Parker passes to Duff in the box.. hard shot.. the keeper punches it over the bar.

44 minute mark: Martins with a long range shot.. Howard stops it cleanly.


Halftime: We are weathering the storm. Down 1-0, but up 3-2 on aggregate. We have over 75,000 fans here today.



61 minute mark: King is tired. I put Adriano on for him.

64 minute mark: Howard stops a long range shot from Martins.

80 minute mark: Duff passes to Smith just left of the box.. he crosses to Adriano who powers a shot towards the goal.. the keeper blocks it.. mamam gets the rebound.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-1. 4-2 on aggregate.


Game over. 1-1 tie. 4-2 win on aggregate.

We were outshot 15-9 (9-6 on target)

Obafemi Martins won moM, 9 for form, 20 of 21 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 1 of 7 headers, 2 runs, 2 fouls drawn, and 1 goal.

Duff had a 9 for us and Howard had an 8. Everyone else had a 7.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

We were given 600,000 dollars for winning against Inter in the UEFA Cup.

We have been assigned to play Southampton in the UEFA Semi-final!

Alan Smith bruised his jaw that game, and is expected to miss about 5 days.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 17, 2011 -

Today we travel to play Tottenham. This team worries me quite a bit. They are currently 10th in the EPL. They are led by a trio of dynamic scorers. Jermain Defoe has 18 goals, striker Carlton Cole has 15 goals, and striker Frederic Kanoute has 14 goals. Midfielder Pedro Mendes has chipped in 10 more goals. Tehir centrebacks are good too with Ledley King and Mbulelo Mabizela both playing on top of their game. Their keeper Paul Robinson continues to play very well this year.

Despite their significant talent, we are 4-6 favorites.

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


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

S1: Barthez
S2: van Nistelrooy
S3: Mamam
S4: O'Shea
S5: King

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Downing is called for a trip.. dubious call.. Saha and Adriano are both angry.. they both get yellow cards for arguing with the ref.

12 minute mark: Eagles gets a yellow card for tripping Taylor.

25 minute mark: Downing gets called for a trip on Carlton Cole. Yellow card for downing.

28 minute mark: Lucio gets a yellow card for a trip on Cole. Mendes takes the free kick.. it hits the crossbar.. bounces back to Cole.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL. Down 1-0

30 minute mark: chivu gets a yellow card for a trip on Mendes.. this ref is horrible!

32 minute mark: Mendes collides with Downing.. he is hurt bad.. no yellow card for Mendes Downing has to come off.. I put Mamam in for him.

43 minute mark: Eagles passes to Adriano just outside the box.. he shoots.. good save by Robinson

44 minute mark: Djemba shoots from 25 yards out.. Robinson saves it.


Halftime: Down 1-0. They have over 35,000 fans cheering them today.


54 minute mark: Cole gets a yellow card for a handball.

62 minute mark: Saha is tired, I put van Nistelrooy on for him.

83 minute mark: Adriano gets his second yellow card for pulling Mendes jersey. We need goals so I pull Brown.. and put Cook in at striker.. playing a 3-4-2.

86 minute mark: Djemba is injured in a collision with Mendes.. he can't play any longer. I have used all 3 subs, so I have to go to a 3-3-2.

93 minute mark: Eagles passes long to King who centers for Fletcher.. hard shot.. curving towards the upper right corner.. curving.. curving.. the keeper saves it.


Game over. A very disappointing 1-0 loss. Michael Tomlinson has become my hatest referee, ever. We were given 8 yellow cards. They were given 2 yellow cards.

They outshot us 7-4 (3-1 on target in our favor)

Cristian Chivu won MoM, 8 for form, 36 of 44 passes, 4 of 4 tackles, 6 of 6 headers, 3 interceptions.

Lucio also had an 8. The rest of the team had 7's except for Mamam who only had a 6. I hope Downing isn't hurt for too long...

[SunDancer]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Post Match Info:

We were given 600,000 dollars for winning against Inter in the UEFA Cup.

We have been assigned to play Southampton in the UEFA Semi-final!

Alan Smith bruised his jaw that game, and is expected to miss about 5 days.

Who-hoo...Who is playing in the other UEFA Semi-final?
Also, is the prize money on-top of the game revenue (or is it total)?

[Eaglesfan27]

April 19, 2011 -

Fletcher injured his knee in training today. He will out about a week.

Our injured list is now as follows:

Saha, McFadden, Downing, Cook, Fletcher, and O'Shea (but he will be back tomorrow.)

[Eaglesfan27]

Darn.. forgot to actually post my Post Match Report:

Chelsea won against Aston Villa 2-0 and is back in 1st place. It doesn't look good for me as Everton is the toughest team remaining on their schedule.

Most importantly, Downing is hurt for 3 weeks due to a back injury (slipped disc.) He will likely miss most of the remaining season. He has driven my offense, and this is a major loss.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by SunDancer

Who-hoo...Who is playing in the other UEFA Semi-final?
Also, is the prize money on-top of the game revenue (or is it total)?

It is in addition to the game revenue

Aston Villa is playing Valencia in the other semi-final.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 20, 2011 -

Today we play Liverpool in the Semi Final of the English FA Cup. This will be a tough match without Downing. Liverpool has an excellent team. They are 4th in the EPL. It all starts with their spectacular midfielder, Andres D'Alessandro. Their keeper Chris Kirkland is good. Their defensive line has been excellent this year. Gael Clichy is spectacular at left fullback, Djimi Traore is very good at centreback. Vincent Kompany is top notch at the other centreback position. Jamie Carragher is a very good right fullback. Luis Garcia is a good left winger. D'Allesandro is next to him. Jermaine Jenas is the other midfielder and he is very good. Right winger Baldo has had a great year. Striker Yakubu has been solid and Michael Owen has been exceptional when he hasn't been hurt. Also, Djibril Cisse has started most games at striker alongside Owen and he has 30 goals on the year in 37 appearances. Yakubu and Owen (injured for half of the season) each have 16 goals.

Surprisingly, we are 5-4 favorites in this neutral site game.

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

GK: Howard
DL: Silvestre
DC: Lucio
DC: Ferdinand
DR: Grygera
ML: Duff
MC: Djemba
MC: Cook
MR: Eagles
SC: Smith
SC: Rooney

S1: Barthez
S2: van Nistelrooy
S3: Mamam
S4: O'Shea
S5: King

[Eaglesfan27]

6 minute mark: Lucio passes to Rooney.. he dribbles around three defenders.. into the box.. great dribble... hard shot.. the keeper blocks it.

15 minute mark: Ferdinand gets a yellow card for pulling Garcia' jersey.

18 minute mark: Lucio passes long to rooney.. he breaks away.. hard shot.. the keeper blocks it.. Duff with the rebound.. shoots.. the keeper catches the shot.

24 minute mark: D'Alessandro passes to Owen in the box.. he puts a spin move on Ferdinand.. open in the middle of the box.. shoots.. lower right corner.. blistering shot.. Howard dives, but it is out of his reach. GOAL. Down 1-0.

45 minute mark: Kompany stops a Duff dribble.



Halftime: Down 1-0. There are over 90,000 fans here at Wembley today.

Smith is hurt and is not playing effectively. I put King in for him. Cook has been below average, I put Mamam in for him.

53 minute mark: duff passes to King in the box.. he passes to Djemba.. Djemba shoots.. hard banana shot.. it sails barely wide right.

85 minute mark: duff crosses to Mamam just outside the box.. great shot.. it sails over the bar.

87 minute mark: Kompany heads away a pass before it can get to Rooney.. he has been doing that all day long.

88 minute mark: Duff crosses to Rooney.. he hits it on the half volley.. upper right corner.. great save by the keeper.


Game over. 1-0 loss.

We outshot them 6-5 (3-2 on target)

Duff wins MoM, 8 for form, 25 of 34 passes, 0 of 2 tackles, 2 of 5 headers, 3 interceptions, 5 runs, 3 fouls drawn.

Very disappointing loss