My 10th season as a Football Manager (4th at Manchester United)

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: My keeper has to make an excellent play to stop a breakaway by Brian Rooney.

3 minute mark: Robert Morris gets a yellow card for tripping Rooney just outside the box.

9 minute mark: Cox gets the ball left of the box.. plays a lazy pass back to the keeper.. Rooney steals it in the 6 yard box.. the keeper didn't come out to meet the pass.. Rooney shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL! Down 1-0

39 minute mark: Cox gets the ball outside the opposition's box.. passes it sharply into Vaughan who shoots from 8 yards out.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-1.


Halftime: 1-1 tie. There are over 20,000 fans here watching us today.


55 minute mark: Harding on for Taylor who is very tired.

63 minute mark: Gordon on for Vaughan and Moore on for Adams at right wing.

75 minute mark: Robert Morris gets his second yellow card for tripping Rooney! He is gone.. Tucker gets a yellow card for arguing the call. Collins argues the call.. he gets a yellow card too.

80 minute mark: Mark Tucker is body checked by Brian Flynn.. Tucker is hurt bad.. he has to come off. We've used all of our subs, so we have to go 2 men down now I switch to a 3-4-1.

82 minute mark: John Collins elbows Brian Flynn! Red card for Collins! ARGGHHH!! We are now down 3 men and I have to play a 3-3-1.

90 minute mark: Elliott with a flurry of saves.


End of regulation. How much longer can we survive down 3 men?



Halftime: We are hanging on. I'm going to a 4-3 just trying to hang on until the shootout.

105 minute mark: Lee Roberts trips Keane. Yellow card for Roberts.

112 minute mark: Despite my instructions Gordon dribbles down the pitch and earns a corner kick.. they stop the kick easily.

117 minute mark: Gordon passes to Briggs in the box.. he shoots from 15 yards out.. over the bar.


We survived! We are going to a shootout! Do I have 5 guys who are at least somewhat decent penalty killers?


No, I only have one who is actually good and one who looks decent. The rest are horrible at penalty shots. I put my two best at the top.


1st up is Stuart Harding (my lone good penalty shooter).. He steps up confidently.. shoots.. lower left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.


Stephen Flynn steps up for them.. shoots.. lower right corner.. my keeper didn't have a chance. GOAL. 1-1.


Gordon steps up for me next.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. wide by a few inches.


Brian Flynn steps up confidently for them.. drills a shot into the upper left corner.. GOAL. Down 2-1.


Next up is Luke Briggs for me.. he looks confident.. he blasts a shot into the upper right corner! GOAL!!!! 2-2.


Mark O'Reilly steps up for them... shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL. Down 3-2


Next up is Moore for me... he shoots.. upper right corner.. he hits the crossbar


Brian Brennan steps up with the chance to win for Ireland.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. Elliott dives... he can't reach it.. GOAL. We lost 4-2 on the shootout.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 31, 2014 -

Brian Little has left Portsmouth and become the new manager of Everton.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 3, 2014 -

Brazil have been made 6-4 favorites to win the World Cup Title this season.

The rest of the main contenders are priced at: Italy, Argentina, Germany, and France which are all 2-1. England is 3-1.


June 6, 2014 -

Dalibor Stevanovic had 3 assists for Slovenia in their 4-0 win over Costa Rica in their opening WC match.

[rexallllsc]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

May 24, 2014 -

I'm asking my coaches to report the 10 most improved players from this point last year. I'm also asking them to report the 10 players who have lost the most skill in the past year.

How do you do that?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by rexallllsc

How do you do that?

Using Frogman's Player Tracker

However, I've been meaning to send FrogMan a note. The only problem I've found with the tracker is that it can't handle two players with the same name. I'll have to track Adriano the keeper manually. However, it is an awesome utility (which I've mentioned a few times earlier in this thread and in last season's thread.)

[Eaglesfan27]

June 7, 2014 -

Tim Howard played well but not great in the USA's 2-1 win over Serbia & Mont. DaMarcus Beasley had the first goal at the 12 minute mark on an assist from Adu in which he sliced a pass between two defenders. Daniel Karbassiyoon had the second goal at the 88 minute mark on a great assist from Robbie Russell. Serbia's keeper won MoM.


Salva played brilliantly for Italy in their 2-0 win over Argentina.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 8, 2014 -

I'm excited. It's my first game as manager in the World Cup. The English squad is primed and ready. Our first match will be against Uruguay. They have a very talented team with star strikers German Hornos and Fabian Etoyanoff both being dangerous. Hornos is playing for Valencia and he had 20 goals for them in 38 games. Estoyanoff had 19 goals for Milan in 34 starts last year. Ruben Ariel Olivera is a good right winger who has been playing for Atletico de Madrid and he has 7 assists in 25 starts. Diego Cardozo is a 22 year old centreback who has been regularly starting for Deportivo and he has been playing devastingly good defense. Gustavo Munua is a legendary keeper who is making his 126th international start! He is 36 but is still playing for Mallorca, primarily as a back-up. He is still a talented keeper. They are a good team, but we are expected to win.


We are 4-5 favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the 80's. This WC is in China.

GK: Paul Robinson
DL: Ashley Cole
DC: Ben Bennett
DC: Wayne Dunn
DR: Owen Hargreaves
ML: Stewart Downing
MC: Gareth Barry
MC: Jermaine Jenas
MR: Christopher Eagles
SC: Wayne Rooney
SC: Luke Moore

S1: Chris Taylor
S2: John Terry
S3: Shaun Wright-Phillips
S4: Wayne Worthington
S5: Ledley Ling
S6: Jermain Defoe
S7: Steve Wilson
S8: Paul Lancaster
S9: Joe COle
S10: Craig King
s11: Jamie Cook - who is injured and will only play if necessary

Wes Brown is out for this game.

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Ashley Cole throws it to Luke Moore in the box.. Moore heads it back to Cole.. Ashley shoots.. upper right corner.. barely over the bar.

20 minute mark: Rooney gets the ball from Barry left of the box.. Rooney dribbles past the defender.. into the box.. Rooney with a pass to the far post.. Eagles jumps.. heads it.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0! Eagles with the goal! Rooney set it up beautifully.

27 minute mark: Gareth Barry starts the counter-attack.. long pass to the left side of the box.. Wayne Rooney outraces the defenders to get to the ball.. he fakes out the keeper.. fires a shot into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!!! 2-0!

34 minute mark: Robinson stops a long shot from Perez.



Halftime: 2-0 lead. Our defenders are dominating their strikers! There are over 70,000 fans here today.



50 minute mark: Ashley Cole gets away with a warning despite tripping Hornos.

59 minute mark: Joe Cole on for Gareth Barry and Craig King on for Luke Moore who is exhausted.


Game over. 2-0 win.

We outshot them 18-7 (8-2 on target)

Downing won MoM, 10 for form, 19 of 25 passes, 4 key passes, 1 of 4 tackles, 4 of 6 headers, 4 interceptions, 13 runs, 1 foul drawn.

Rooney also had a 10 for form.

[Barkeep49]

An auspicious world cup start.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 9, 2014 -

Adriano scored Brazil's only goal in a 1-0 win over Turkey.

John O'Shea played well, but Ireland lost to South Korea 1-0.

Mickael Schmidt played very well for France in their 0-0 tie with Colombia.


Our next match is against Ireland on the 15th.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 11, 2014 -

Our U19 team will be drawn in Group B and we will play Belgium, Serbia & Mont and Switzerland who are all in group B. Matches will start on July 15, 2014.

The Wolves have asked to borrow Christian Tiffert who has never gotten to play with us. I agree to let him go on loan for 3 months.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 12, 2014 -

Wayne Worthington hurt his knee in practice and today and will be unavailable for our next match.


Dalibor Stevanovic had an assist in Slovenia's 2-1 win over Tunisia.




June 14, 2014 -

Salva played very well for Italy in their 1-0 win over Iran.


Tim Howard played well, but Gary Shultis Jr. made a horrible play causing an own goal against the USA at the 15 minute mark. Freddy Adu managed to level things at the 60 minute mark with a brilliant dribble into the box and a powerful shot into the upper right corner. Landon Donovan was credited with the assist. The game ended in a 1-1 tie despite Denmark outshooting the USA 8-3.


Matias Cahais had a bad game for Argentina, but they still tied Germany 1-1.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 15, 2014 -

Blackburn has fired Ciriaco Cano. Micky Adams is considered the favorite to take over the job.


The European Club Rankings have been announced. Manchester United has remained in 1st place!

The rest of the top 10:

2. Valencia

3. Arsenal

4. Milan

5. Chelsea

6. Barcelona

7. Aston Villa

8. Real Madrid

9. Juventus

10. Roma

[Eaglesfan27]

June 15, 2014 -

Today we play against Ireland in the World Cup match. Ireland's best player is right back Sean Brady. Sean is injured and will not be able to play this game. Their next best player left winger, Jonathan Douglas, is also injured. Their third best player, midfielder John Paul Kelly, is also injured but he might play in this game. Left back John O'Shea is their best defender. Damien Delaney is also a very good centreback and he has played well for Manchester City this year. Steven Reid will have to play well at right wing. Robbie Keane is the main striker. Shay Given is 38, but he will still start in goal for them. He is still a good keeper, but he is not nearly as good as he once was.


We are 4-6 favorites.

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


GK: Paul Robinson
DL: Ashley Cole
DC: Ben Bennett
DC: Wayne Dunn
DR: Owen Hargreaves
ML: Stewart Downing
MC: Gareth Barry
MC: Jermaine Jenas
MR: Christopher Eagles
SC: Wayne Rooney
SC: Craig King

S1: Chris Taylor
S2: Ledley King
s3: Jamie Cook
S4: Luke Moore
S5: Shaun Wright-Phillips
S6: Jermain Defoe
S7: Steve Wilson
S8: Paul Lancaster
S9: Joe Cole
S10: Wes Brown
S11: John Terry

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Rooney dribbles into the box.. shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives.. blocks it.

15 minute mark: Dunn gets a yellow card for tripping Keane.

20 minute mark: O'Shea stops Eagles for the third time.

27 minute mark: Robinson makes a pair of very athletic saves on shots by Keane.


Halftime: 0-0. We are playing in a lackluster fashion.


I'm putting Terry on for Dunn and Cook on for Jenas.

48 minute mark: Bennett gets a yellow card for pulling Corr's jersey.

58 minute mark: Barry starts the counterattack.. long pass to Rooney in the left side of the box.. he chips a pass over two defenders.. to King by the far post.. he hits it on the half-volley.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0!

66 minute mark: Corr with a breakaway.. shoots from 10 yards out.. upper right corner.. Robinson dives.. tips it over the bar.

77 minute mark: Defoe on for Rooney who is tired.

84 minute mark: Cook gets the ball from Barry.. shoots a powerful banana shot.. upper right corner.. Shay dives.. blocks it.

85 minute mark: Long pass to Reid in the left side of the box.. Reid centers it for Corr.. Corr shoots.. upper left corner.. Robinson dives.. it's past him. GOAL. 1-1 tie.


Game over. A very disappointing 1-1 tie so much for my good WC start.

They outshot us 14-7 (6-3 on target)

Andy Reid won MoM, 9 for form, 35 of 44 passes, 5 key passes, 1 of 3 tackles, 3 of 3 headers, 6 runs, 1 assist.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 15, 2015 -

Adriano had an assist for Brazil in their 2-0 win over Jamaica.

Our fans are generally disappointed with a match that they thought we should have won. They felt the team was outplayed and outhustled. I agree. There will be some changes in the lineup for our next match.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 16, 2014 -

Mickael Schmidt played very well for France in their 2-1 win over Congo.

Mikael Silvestre has announced that he will retire at the end of the month, rather than try to catch on with another team. I'm glad to see him retire with us.

WTF!!?!? The manager of Christopher Eagles just decided to send him to physiotherapy for a minor injury! He will miss the next 2 weeks attending physiotherapy! That jerk!

[Eaglesfan27]

June 18, 2014 -

Tim Howard stopped 8 shots, but the USA couldn't score against Ghana. The match ended in a 0-0 tie.


Dalibor Stevanovic played well, but Croatia beat Slovenia 2-0.



June 19, 2014 -

Salva played very well and helped guide Italy to a 2-0 victory over Germany.

Adriano had a goal and an assist for Brazil in their 2-0 win over Mali.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 20, 2014 -


Wayne Rooney has been voted Manchester United's Player of the Year by supporters.

We have received 24.5 million dollars for EPL TV rights for the upcoming season.


We will play Leicester in the English Community Shield on August 3, 2014.

40 million dollars will be paid out to Shareholders!

The transfer budget for the upcoming year will be 41 million dollars.


The board is delighted with my performance. They expect us to repeat and win the EPL Title.


Our average attendance of 81,017 fans this past year was a new team record!


(NOTE: I'll start next season's thread after the WC is over.)

[Eaglesfan27]

June 20, 2014 -

Today we play South Korea in our third group game. We are leading our group and if we win, we definitely advance to the next round. We need to win this game for my morale if nothing else. South Korea has a few very talented players. In particular, striker Lee Chun-Soo has been playing well for Real Sociedad. He has 10 goals and 9 assists in 44 starts this past season. Ko Yo-Han has played well for Xerex this past year and he had 12 assists in 33 starts. He is a very skilled passer. Kang Jin-Wook has played well as a centreback for Metz. Kim Young-Kwang has been a good keeper for Seongnam. He has 5 clean sheets in his last 8 games.


We are 4-7 favorites.

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


GK: Paul Robinson
DL: Ashley Cole
DC: Ledley King
DC: John Terry
DR: Wes Brown
ML: Stewart Downing
MC: Gareth Barry
MC: Joe Cole
MR: Shaun Wright-Phillips
SC: Wayne Rooney
SC: Luke Moore

S1: Chris Taylor
S2: Ben Bennett
S3: Jamie Cook
S4: Jermain Defoe
S5: Steve Wilson
S6: Owen Hargreaves
S7: Paul Lancaster
S8: Jermaine Jenas
S9: Craig King
S10: Wayne Dunn

[Eaglesfan27]

16 minute mark: Downing passes to Barry in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. over the bar.

26 minute mark: Wright-Phillips dribbles down the right sideline.. crosses to the near post.. Moore heads it.. into the crossbar.


Halftime: 0-0 tie.


I'm telling the offense to open it wide up.

51 minute mark: Joe Cole crosses it to the middle of the box.. Brown heads it.. inches over the bar.

60 minute mark: I move Cole over and put Jenas in for Barry.

72 minute mark: Wes Brown passes into the box to Joe Cole who heads it.. the keeper pushes it over the bar.

73 minute mark: Defoe on for Moore.

75 minute mark: Downing dribbles down the left sideline.. crosses it to Defoe by the far post.. he heads it over the bar.

85 minute mark: Downing fires a pass to Rooney in the left side of the box.. Rooney shoots.. the keeper blocks it.. the defender collects the rebound.. Kang Jin-Wook passes it back to the keeper.. the keeper misses it! GOAL!!!! 1-0! What an Own GOAL!!!


Game over. 1-0 win. Not the most convincing win, but I'll take it.

We outshot them 16-7 (4-4 on target)

Stewart Downing wins MoM, 10 for form, 14 of 22 passes, 1 key pass, 0 of 2 tackles, 0 of 3 headers, 2 interceptions, 16 runs.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

John O'Shea played well but Uruguay beat Ireland 3-2. As a result, Uruguay advances to the next round as the 2nd placed team from Group H with 6 points and we advance as the first place team with 7 points.


Mickael Schmidt had an assist in France's 2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago.


Let's look at the qualifiers from each group:


Group A - Spain and Nigeria advance with 7 and 5 points respectively. Portugal and China are out of it with 4 and 0 points respectively.

Group B - Holland Paraguay advance with 7 points each. Sweden and Saudi Arabia are done with 3 and 0 points.

Group C - Croatia and Slovenia advance with 9 and 6 points respectively. Tunisia and Costa Rica are done with 3 and 0 points.

Group D - Ghana and the U.S.A advance with 7 and 5 points respectively. Serbia and Denmark are done with 3 and 1 points.

Group E - Italy and Iran advance with 9 and 2 points. Iran had a GD of -1. Argentina and Germany each had 2 points but GD of -2. As a result, the two teams surprisingly go home.

Group F - Brazil and Turkey advance with 9 and 4 points. Jamaica and Mali go home with 3 and 1 points.

Group G - Colobia and France advance with 7 points each. Congo and Trinidad & Tobago go home with 1 point each.

Group H - We had 7 points. Uruguay had 6 points. South Korea had 3 points. Ireland had 1 point.


We will play France in the round of 16.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 21, 2014 -

Paraguay shocked Spain 3-0.

Holland beat Nigeria on penalty shots. There won't be a repeat champion now.


June 22, 2014 -

Tullio Gritti has been sacked by Roma.


Ghana beat Slovenia 1-0.

Croatia beat the U.S.A. 2-1 in extra time. Freddy Adu had the only goal for the USA. Igor Lovric scored at the 25 minute mark and Dalibor Glavina scored at the 104 minute mark. Croatia outshot the U.S.A 30-3 (15-3 on target) and Howard actually had a very good game to keep the USA in the match.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 23, 2014 -

An ex-England star has admitted that he thinks France will beat England in our upcoming match. Some experts are also predicting that we will be beat by France.

John Terry has told the Daily Mirror that he is quite optimistic that England will prevail tomorrow.


Adriano had a goal and an assist for Brazil in a 2-0 win over Iran.

Salva played well, but Turkey beat Italy 2-1 in their match.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 24, 2014 -

Today we play France. France is a very talented team however several of their best players are injured. In particular, left winger Hatem Ben Arfa, midfielder Pierre Olivier and striker Antonio Rio Mavuba are all out with injuries. France is running a 3-3-2-1 with 6 defenders in their own half.


The projected starting lineup for France is as follows:

GK: Sebastien Frey - This 34 year old remains a top notch keeper who is among the world's elite.

DC: Benoit Dupont - 25 year old centreback who is a very solid defender.

DC: Gregory Le Gall - This 24 year old centreback kwho palys for Auxerre is a very fast physical centreback.

DC: Philippe Mexes - This 32 year old centreback is a veteran who is a good but not great defender.

DML: Mickael Schmidt - I've often thought of using him in this capacity. He really has the perfect skill set for an occasionally attacking DML.

DMC: Gael Clichy - This defender is in the prime of his career at the age of 28. He is a great player.

DMR: Bernard Mendy - This 32 year old defender is very fast, but most of his other skills aren't very good.

MC: Olivier Monier - This 21 year old midfielder is an all around great midfielder.

MC: Maxime Jacob This 24 year old midfielder is very fast and is a highly skilled passer.

AMC: Anthony Le Tallec - This 29 year old attacking midfielder is among th ebest at his position. Howver, he had an off year for Barcelona last year. He did have 9 goals and 4 assists in 38 starts.

SC: In place of Hatem Ben Arfa, Gregory Maury is expected to start. Gregory has done well for Leeds this past year, but he isn't an elite striker.


France are 6-4 favorites!

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

GK: Robinson
DL: Ashley Cole
DC: Terry
DC: Dunn
DR: Hargreaves
ML: Downing
MC: Barry
MC: Jenas
MR: Wright-Phillips
SC: Rooney
SC: King

I'll pull guys quickly if they don't perform. Eagles is the only guy who is unavailable.

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Robinson stops a long shot from Maury.

6 minute mark: Robinson stops a long range shot form Maury.

23 minute mark: Rooney dribbles into the left side of the box.. passes to King.. Schmidt tackles him cleanly.

33 minute mark: Downing with a brilliant pass to King in the box.. Dupont tackles him before he can shoot.

36 minute mark: Long pass from Robinson to Rooney.. he passes to Wright-Phillips right of the box.. he passes back to Rooney in the center of the box.. Rooney shoots.. upper left corner.. Frey dives.. blocks it.

38 minute mark: Terry gets a yellow card for pushing Le Tallec.


Halftime: 0-0 tie. Several of our guys are tired, but I'm going to leave everyone in for now.

50 minute mark: Le Tallec passes to Schmidt outside the box.. strong powerful curving shot.. upper right corner.. Robinson dives.. catches it.

65 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. it hits the crossbar.

70 minute mark: Le Gall holds Rooney just outside the box.. Jenas takes the free kick.. over the wall.. into the crossbar.. sheesh I hate that crossbar.

83 minute mark: Wright-Phillips dribbles past two defenders.. crosses it to the middle of the box.. Barry heads it.. over the bar.

83 minute mark: Cook on for Jenas and Moore on for King.

85 minute mark: Hargreaves with a long pass to Moore in the right half of the box.. Moore immediately shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives.. it's past him! GOAL!!!! 1-0!

88 minute mark: Moore steals it from the keeper in the box.. and shoots it over the bar! He missed a wide open net! I can't believe it.

89 minute mark: Rooney steals the ball in enemy turf.. dribbles left of the box.. past a defender.. sharp pass to the middle of the 6 yard box.. Moore heads it.. into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0! That is Moore's second. All is forgiven for that terrible blunder a minute ago.


GAME OVER!!!! 2-0! We are through to the elite 8

We outshot them 13-12 (6-5 on target)

Downing wins MoM, 10 for form, 17 of 19 passes, 4 key passes, 4 of 8 tackles, 1 of 4 headers, 2 interceptions, 15 runs, 1 foul drawn.

Garth Barry, Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Owen Hargreaves all had 9's for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

We will play Turkey in the Quarter Final of the World Cup. The match will be in 4 days.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 27, 2014 -

In the other Quarter Final Matches, Holland beat Croatia 1-0 and Paraguay beat Ghana 2-1.


Tomorrow, we will play Turkey and Brazil will play Colombia.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 28, 2014 -

Turkey is a very interesting team. They have few stars but rely on total team effort. Of note, Striker Aksu Cafercan is a good striker and has played well for Fenerbahce. Yucel Metin has been good on the right wing and he is a young up and coming player. Balci Serkan is a very good midfielder. Metin Yilmaz is a very acrobatic keeper who has been key in their wins. He will be difficult to beat.

We are 5-4 favorites.

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


GK: Robinson
DL: Ashley Cole
DC: Ben Bennett
DC: Wayne Dunn
DR: Owen Hargreaves
ML: Downing
MC: Barry
MC: Jenas
MR: Wright-Phillips
SC: Rooney
SC: Moore

All of our subs are available except for Eagles (that jerk!)

[Eaglesfan27]

5 minute mark: Brett Emre passes to Sinan in the box.. he shoots.. I let out a breath as it sails over the bar.

8 minute mark: Hargreaves passes the ball down the right sideline.. Wright-Phillips gets to the ball... centers it.. Jenas with a diving header.. over the bar.

14 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in the left side of the box.. laser shot.. a defender deflects it wide of the net.

15 minute mark: Wright-Phillips gets a yellow card for a trip on the left winger.

16 minute mark: Wright-Phillips passes to Rooney in the box.. he fakes out a defender.. fakes out the keeper.. shoots.. OVER the bar! ARRRGH.

24 minute mark: Luke Moore gets a yellow card for obstructing Cafercan.

33 minute mark: Rooney gets the ball at midfield.. dribbles past three defenders.. is tackled by the fourth.. the ball bounces to Downing.. he shoots from 10 yards out.. over the bar.

35 minute mark: Bennett gets a yellow card for tripping Emre.

40 minute mark: Wayne Dunn with a goal saving tackle on Cafercan in the box.. starts the counter attack.. long pass to Jenas at midfield.. Jenas with a perfect through ball into the box.. Downing beats everyone to it.. dribbles to his left around the keeper.. shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0! That is Downing's 10 career goal for England!



Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. There are over 80,000 fans here at the stadium.


52 minute mark: Ashley Cole starts the counter attack.. long pass to the left corner of the pitch.. Rooney gets to it.. centers it for Barry.. Barry heads it.. towards Moore.. Moore misses it.. and it bounces into the lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

59 minute mark: Bennett trips Cafercan in the box.. penalty awarded.. Cafercan steps up.. shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL. 2-1 game.

I put Wilson on for Wright-Phillips and Terry on for Bennett.

64 minute mark: Ashley cole gets a yellow card for a trip on Serkan.

70 minute mark: Terry clears an offensive attack.

81 minute mark: Downing with a great pass to Moore in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. lower right corner.. weak shot that the keeper easily saves.

85 minute mark: Emre passes to Cafercan in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. Robinson confidently saves it.

86 minute mark: Cafercan gets the ball just inside the box.. shoots.. lower left corner.. Robinson dives.. pushes it wide.

86 minute mark: Ashley Cole starts the counter attack.. passes it long to Downing.. he passes to Rooney in the left corner of the pitch.. Rooney centers for Gareth Barry.. he shoots from 12 yards.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 3-1! That is Barry's second of the game and his 10th of his career for England.


Game over. 3-1 win for us

We were outshot 13-12 (5-5 on target)

Jermaine Jenas wins MoM, 10 for form, 20 of 21 passes, 4 key passes, 9 of 12 tackles, 7 of 7 headers, 2 interceptions, 1 run, and 1 assist.

Downing also had a 10 for form. Barry had a 9 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Brazil tied Colombia 1-1 in regulation, but won 3-0 on the shoot out to advance to the Semi Final of the World Cup. Adriano played well, but didn't get on the score sheet.

Ben Bennett is suspended for the next match due to having 2 yellow cards.


We have been assigned to play Holland in the World Cup Semi Final. They have a talented team and will be difficult to beat. We will play them on July 2nd.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 30, 2014 -

Ledley King partially tore his hamstring in practice today. He will miss at least 2 months including the rest of the WC.

I also need to decide who to go after to help Manchest United. I've looked at several candidates and I'm going to make Everton an offer of 22 million for Sean Bradley who is already a superb defender at the age of 21. He can play centreback or right full back well and I'll use him primarily at right back.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 1, 2014 -

WOW! I forgot I signed this guy, but I have now added Helder Barbosa at left wing. The interesting thing is that my scouts think he has superb finishing, creativity, dribbling, flair, crossing, and that he could easily play striker well. This guy is going to be a major addition to our squad for free. His value has already jumped to 40 million dollars.

My Commercial Director has informed me that Barbosa is very likely to increase revenue from shirt sales as the fans are thrilled with this signing.


Christopher Eagles told the Daily Star that Holland is a very good team and he feels we face a tough challenge tomorrow.

Experts are picking Holland to win tomorrow.


Brazil beat Paraguay 1-0 in their Semi-Final and will face the winner of my game against Holland.

Adriano rested this game.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 2, 2014 -

Today we play Holland in the World Cup Semi Final. Holland has multiple stars. Arguably their best player is right winger, Jeroen Schreurs. I hate playing against my guy, but we need to shut him down. Arjen Robben will play just inside him and he is an equally dangerous midfielder. Wesley Sneijder will play alongside him. They play a 3-2-3-2 and that is a devastating trio of midfielders. They also have Rafael van der Vaart and he might start in place of any of theose guys. Robbin Kieft and Stefan De weerd make a great pair of strikers. Dion Dickhoff and Dennis Niesing are very good right and left defensive midfielders respectively. Hedwiges Maduro, Urby Emanuelson, and Gianni Zuiverloon are a good trio of centrebacks that work well together. Maarten Stekelenburg has become a great keeper and is one of the best keepers I've ever played against. His aerial ability and reflexes are unmatched.

Holland are 6-4 favorites.

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

GK: Paul Robinson
DL: Ashley Cole
DC: Terry
DC: Dunn
DR: Hargreaves
ML: Downing
MC: Barry
MC: Jenas
MR: Wright-Phillips
SC: Rooney
SC: King

All of my subs are available except for Bennett and King. Eagles is back and able to play but not unfit. I'm hoping to work him into this game.

[Eaglesfan27]

6 minute mark: Schreurs passes to Kieft in the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. Robinson dives.. blocks it.

11 minute mark: Wright Phillips passes it to Jenas just outside the box.. he shoots.. over the bar.

24 minute mark: Jenas passes to King outside the box.. he passes to Rooney in the box.. 10 yard shot.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives.. tips it over the bar.



Halftime: 0-0 tie. Even play between both teams so far.


King has had a poor grade for the half and I'm pulling him. I'm going to go with Defoe for King.

52 minute mark: Terry with a good defensive play on Kieft.

58 minute mark: Long pass from Ashley Cole to Defoe.. he shoots from 20 yards out.. the keeper blocks it.. Rooney gets it out of the box.. shoots.. past the keeper.. it skims over the bar.

68 minute mark: Robinson stops a long shot from Rafael van der Vaart.

80 minute mark: Rooney shoots from 30 yards out.. powerful banana shot.. upper right corner.. past the keeper.. it hits the crossbar.

83 minute mark: Cook on for Barry. I picked Cook over Joe Cole because Cook is a much better penalty shooter.


End of Regulation.

I slide cook over and put Cole on for Jenas. Jenas is the most tired player on the pitch and has to come off.


91 minute mark: Wright-Phillips dribbles down the right sideline.. crosses to Rooney in the center of the box.. he hits it on the half-volley.. upper right corner.. the keeper blocks it.


Halftime of extra time.


109 minute mark: Cook passes to Downing in the box.. the defender trips Downing.. whistle.. penalty awarded!!!! Defoe steps up.. looks confident.. blasts it into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0! Oh yeah!

112 minute mark: Cook steals it at midfield.. passes it to Defoe who is 35 yards out.. Defoe passes it to Rooney who is just outside the box.. the keeper rushed out to try to intercept that pass.. Rooney chips it... over the keeper's head.. just under the bar! GOAL!!!! 2-0!


Game over!!!! 2-0 win! We are going to the World Cup Final!!!!!

We outshot them 17-13. 8-4 on target.

Wayne Rooney won MoM, 10 for form, 23 of 31 passes, 4 key passes, 3 of 3 tackles, 3 of 14 headers, 1 interception, 9 runs, 2 fouls drawn, and 1 goal.

Downing also had a 10 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

We will be playing against Brazil in the World Cup Final on July 6th.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 6, 2014 -

Today we play Brazil which has world class talent at just about every position. They will be a very difficult team to beat.

Brazil is playing a 3-5-2:

GK:Bruno - 27 year old keeper with superb reflexes. His aerial ability isn't great and he can be beat.

DC: Adriano - This 32 year old centreback has played well for Lazio. He is all around great player.

DC: Andre Bahia - This 30 year old centreback plays for Betis. He is simply one of the best backs. His only weakness is a slight lack of speed.

DC: Naldo - This 31 year old centreback plays for Chelsea. He is a dominant centreback with no real weaknesses.

ML: Maxwell - This 32 year old left winger has excellent physical skills and is very good at everything.

MC: Daniel Carvalho - This 31 year old attacking midfielder is a superb passer, with great vision.

MC: Fabricio - This 32 year old defensive midfielder is a dominant defender and a good offensive option as well.

MC: Diego - This 29 year old midfielder plays for Chelsea. He is a great midfielder, but passing is his relative weakness.

MR: Nelio - This 32 year old right winger has great speed, great crossing ability and has played well for Valencia this past year. He is an excellent right winger.

Robinho - This 30 yar old striker is a legend in Brazil. He has 86 caps/42 goals and he is a great assist man as well. He does everything well.

Adriano - My 22 year old striker has already amassed 8 goals and 16 caps at the age of 22. He is a fast, physical striker who is a superb finisher. His value is also skyrocketing which I like I don't like that I need to try to stop him.



Brazil are even odd favorites.

It's sunny with temperatures in the 90's!


GK: Robinson
DL: Ashley Cole
DC: Bennett
DC: Dunn
DR: Hargreaves
ML: Downing
MC: Barry
MC: Jenas
MR: Eagles (he is no longer unfit)
SC: Rooney
SC: Moore

All of my subs are available except for King. I'll put Terry on for Bennett quickly if he doesn't perform, but Terry is older and is tired. That is the reason I'm not starting him.

[Eaglesfan27]

11 minute mark: Ashley cole with a long pass to Rooney in the left corner of the pitch.. he dribbles into the box.. passes to Moore by the far post.. Moore heads it.. wide right.

13 minute mark: Fabricio shoots from 25 yards out.. the shot deflects off Ashley Cole.. into the left side of the net! GOAL. Down 1-0

15 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in the left side of the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives.. blocks it.

16 minute mark: They hit us on the counter attack.. long pass from Naldo to Adriano.. he burns Bennett.. shoots.. upper right corner.. Robinson dives.. blocks it.

22 minute mark: Barry passes the ball to Eagles in the right corner of the pitch.. Eagles with a sharp curving cross.. to the near post.. Moore heads it.. into the upper right corner! GOAL!!!! 1-1.



Halftime: 1-1 tie. There are over 80,000 fans here today.



Bennett has had a bad game. I'm pulling him for John Terry.

63 minute mark: Rooney gets a yellow card for holding Fabricio's jersey.

83 minute mark: Maxwell passes to Adriano.. he is 30 yards out.. he shoots.. powerful banana shot.. it is lightning quick.. curving.. upper right corner.. GOAL. Down 2-1.

I put Cook on for Jenas and Defoe on for Moore. I tell the offense to go all out.

91 minute mark: My Keeper joined the attack on a corner kick and headed it towards the goal!!! I've NEVER seen that before! Unfortunately their keeper blocked it.


Game over. 2-1 loss Defeated by my own player.

They outshot us 10-5 (6-2 on target)

My Adriano won MoM, 9 for form, 23 of 26 passes, 0 key passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 10 of 14 headers, 1 interception, 1 run, 2 fouls drawn, and 1 goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Gianpiero Ventrone has been sacked by the Italian Football Association.

Jose Peseiro has been sacked by the Portuguese Football Association.

Americo Gallego has been sacked by the Argentinian Football Association.



The English Football Association reports that they are very pleased with the team's performance within the World Cup and they feel I helped the team overachieve!

[Eaglesfan27]

July 9, 2014 -

Paraguay's Aldo Andres Jara has won the World Cup Golden Boot Award with 5 goals scored. Kaloglu Sinan of Turkey came in 2nd, and Nelson Haedo Valdez of Paraguay came in 3rd.


We had four players made the World Cup Dream Team:

GK: Libis Andres Arenas - Colombia

DL: Cesar Augusto Gawcett - Colombia

DC: Nigel de Jong - Holland

DC: Anthony Obodai - Ghana

DR: Abubakari Yakubu - Ghana

ML: Stewart Downing - England

MC: Owen Gargreaves - England

MC: Belozoglu Emre - Turkey

MR: Jermaine Jenas - England (interestingly they listed his team as Aston Villa instead of England.)

SC: Wayne Rooney - England

SC: Aldo Andres Jara - Paraguay


S1: Emmanuel Mensah - Ghana

S2: Andres Felipe Gonzalez - Colombia

S3: Fabricio - Brazil

S4: Wesley Sneijder - Holland

S5: Jafeth Asprilla - Colombia

[Eaglesfan27]

July 9, 2014 -

England's Stewart Downing has won the World Cup Best Player Award. Wayne Rooney came in 2nd, and Aldo Andres Jara of Paraguay came in 3rd.


Colombia's Libis Andres Arenas has won the World Cup Best Goalkeeper Award. Emmanuel Mensah of Ghana came in 2nd, and Paul Robinson of England came in 3rd.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Game over. 2-1 loss Defeated by my own player.

They outshot us 10-5 (6-2 on target)

My Adriano won MoM, 9 for form, 23 of 26 passes, 0 key passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 10 of 14 headers, 1 interception, 1 run, 2 fouls drawn, and 1 goal.

You're proud, you're pissed. You're happy (for him), you're hurt. Oh, the conflicting emotion!!!

All that's left now is for you to lie on the couch and consult yourself.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by daedalus

You're proud, you're pissed. You're happy (for him), you're hurt. Oh, the conflicting emotion!!!

All that's left now is for you to lie on the couch and consult yourself.

So true. So true.

[Eaglesfan27]

July 9, 2014 -

OOC Note: I'll start the next season thread tomorrow (if I have time with final preparations for the trip but I'm going to put this one final game related content post in this thread)


Walter Alfredo Novellino has become the new manager at Roma.

Everton have rejected my second bid of 30 million dollars for Sean Brady. I will counter with 33 million dollars.

[Barkeep49]

Congrats on the World Cup success. I told you it was an auspicious start!

[weinstein7]

Yowza. What a year!

[Eaglesfan27]

Thanks guys. I honestly didn't think we were going to make it as far as we did due to a couple of weak areas. I need some youth to develop in England soon, or I think the next WC is going to be rough.