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07-24-2006, 04:43 PM
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#51 | ||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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October 26, 2011
Sometimes it feels good to see other top level teams get ousted from the cup after outplaying an opponent. Charlton just beat Arsenal 3-1 in the 3rd round of the Carling Cup. Arsenal won possession with 55% and outshot Charlton 14(7) to 4(3). Three shots on target for Charlton, three goals... A match report about my reserves team reminds me of a promising striker from our U18 squad. A product of our youth squad, Paul Graham is 17yo and scored two goals in that game, giving him the Man of the Match selection. He's got a low determination which could hinder his development, but he's got some nice overal skills for a 17yo and I might be tempted to give him some playing time with the senior squad at one point... According to my assistant, Graham is a player of immense talent who should be given the time to develop his fantastic ability. Nice.  FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-24-2006, 06:44 PM
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#52 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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October 27, 2011
Both Niki Mäenpää and Christian Wilhelmsson got injured in training today. They will both miss between 3 weeks and a month. October 29, 2011 League match #11: vs Sunderland (Luton 5-4 favourites)
Youssouf Hersi scored in the middle of the first half and that was enough to see us through against the relegation battlers that are Sunderland. Shane Paul, in as a sub for Ricardo Vaz Te, added a second goal in the 62nd minute to make sure we didn't drop it. Final Score: Luton 2, Sunderland. A fair game from everyone, great game from the two scorers. We outshot them 15(7) to 11(5) but lost possession with only 48%. The win moves us up to 9th place. Leonel Romero suffered a damaged heel in the game and he will miss up to 2 weeks. Following the game, I praise Youssouf Hersi's recent performances. He's really played very well recently and is part of the reason why we're undefeated in our last three matches. October 31, 2011 As if to confirm what I was saying, Youssouf Hersi is selected to the EPL team of the week for a third week in a row. November 1st, 2011 Even better confirmation of his excellent play in the last month, Youssouf Hersi is named the EPL Player of the Month for October. GO YOU!!!  The team board is still pleased with my performance as manager. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-24-2006, 06:59 PM
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#53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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November 5, 2011
League Match #12: at Leeds (Leeds 6-4 favourites)
Leeds are a very interesting team. Even though they just got promoted, they are currently sitting in 6th place. We can not take them for granted as that's the kind of team against which we often relapse and lose our focus. Even though they are 3 spots ahead of us in the table, they only have 2 points on us, so a win here would put us ahead of them and they did just lose 1-4 against Blackburn, maybe showing some holes, or signs of a slowing down... We have a lucky first half as Ricardo Vaz Te is able to steal a ball from a defender and then chip it over their keeper for a goal in the 6th minute and he hits a defender on his center to Arjan Wisse in the 27th minute, but Wisse is able to regain possession an bury for the 2-0 goal. After 45 minutes, they were outshooting us 7(4) to 3(2) but we were comfortably ahead 2-0. The defense held on in the second half, even playing with only ten men when Kevin Foley had to leave the pitch, injured, in the 80th minute. Final Score: Luton 2, Leeds 0 A good game in which the defensive unti played wonderfully. Curtis Davies, in his return, received the MoM selection with a rating of 9 but all defender, except Foley, all rated at 8 with very solid performances. We move to FOURTH place with the win. Granted, some teams just below have a game on hand, but still, that is mighty impressive to me. The bad news hit when I get back to the club. Kevin Foley tore a calf muscle and will miss up to 4 months. This means a whole lot of Keith Keane are right fullback, a picture I'm sure I like too much... Following the game, the media are now singing a different tune as they talk about our winning streak. Talks have now switched to us possibly challenging for a place in European competition if we can keep up this kind of form. Well let's not get ahead of ourselves shall we... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-25-2006, 07:53 AM
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#54 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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November 7, 2011
Zac Barrett, Curtis Davies and Kevin Foley have been selected to the EPL team of the week. November 10, 2011 Leonel Romero resumes full training after his foot injury. He's missed two weeks. Backup left fullback Adam Green twisted his ankle in training and will miss one to two months. November 12, 2011 International friendly: vs Angola
That was not even funny for them. We took control of the game very early on and never relented it. Two goals from right winger Jonathan de Guzman, two more from youngster Paul Brown on his first cap and another Oliver Occean make it a convincing 5-0 win. Final Score: Canada 5, Angola 0 Speaking of Paul Brown, I think I may have unleashed a star in the making. The kid will play more regularly from now on... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-25-2006, 10:55 PM
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#55 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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November 12, 2011
Canada AMC Sita-Taty Matondo hurt himself in training and will miss 3 weeks. I'm allowed to pick a replacement. I pick Iain Hume, a striker who played many seasons in England but he snubs me, saying if I wanted to pick him, I should have done so the first time and that he doesn't want to play second fiddle to anyone... The media approach me, asking me if I would ever select him again and I reply that it would be very difficult if Hume doesn't appologize. I'm not kidding myself, Canada is not a big enough nation that I can turn people down at will... November 13, 2011 The stadium expansion is complete and the capacity at Kenilworth Road has now been increased to a total of 29860 seats. Sweet! November 15, 2011 Iain Hume appologizes to me for refusing to be called up as late replacement to the national squad. He adds that he hopes he had not done any lasting damage to his international career. Hume wasn't a regular with us anymore, but if need be, I'll call him up again... Christian Wilhelmsson resumes full training following his thigh injury. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-25-2006, 11:03 PM
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#56 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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November 16, 2011
International friendly: at Sint Marteen
This is one of the rare games in which I didn't have to ask for a friendly. Sint Marteen came to me to play this one. We take the lead very early, in fact in the 4th minute, on a nice goal from right winger Jonathan de Guzman. Oliver Occean adds another before the half one as we dominate play, but we relapse during injury time of the first half and they score one on their one and only shot. Rob Friend scores a third goal for us in the 83rd minute and we keep them from really challenging our keeper for the whole second half. Final score: Canada 3, Sint Marteen 1 We outshot them 14(6) to 4(2) although possession was an even 50-50 split. After the game, I take some time to book friendlies for the whole 2012 year. We will play England and Spain away in September, Australia at home in October, and Holland at home and Bahamas away in December. I'm guessing there will be some WC qualifiers earlier in the year because these five dates are the only ones where I'm allowed to book friendlies. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-25-2006, 11:17 PM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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November 18, 2011
I had offered keeper Richard Wright to other clubs asking $400k for him. Hull and Crewe come back with offers for that pice. I accept both offers. November 21, 2011 League match #13: vs Blackburn (Luton 6-4 favourites)
We're on a high and them being in 5th to our 8th place makes it a very important game. we take a early lead with Ricardo Vaz Te's 5th goal of the season in the 10th minute but they tie it in the 19th minute on a long range shot. They even take the lead only 2 minutes later but Vaz Te's second goal of the game in the 29th minute brings both team back to square one. Simon Feindouno's cross from the sideline made that goal. The half is not over before we take the lead to never give it back. Arjan Wisse scored that goal. I was forced to put Richard Wright in for Zac Barrett in the 74th minute due to an injury to Barrett (won't miss time though) and Wright saved the win only 4 minutes later when he saved a penalty shot. Final Score: Luton 3, Blackburn 2 They outshot us 14(8) to 12(4) but we held on to win it. Richard Wright got selected as Man of the Match, possibly because of that one big save. As was expected with this being the first game since the end of renovation in the stadium, today's crowd of 29568 was a new Luton team record. We move up to 4th place with that big win. With everybody having played 13 games, here's how the league table is shaping up:
FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-25-2006, 11:21 PM
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#58 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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November 22, 2011
Well, it didn't take long. Richard Wright has agreed to terms with Hull and will join them on January 1st. November 23, 2011 Leonel Romero fractured his arm in a reserves match today. He might miss up to a month. Shane Paul is whining: "Play me or lose me!"... I reply to him that he's a backup and should be patient. He requests to be transfer listed. I reject his request, at least for now... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-25-2006, 11:33 PM
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#59 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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November 26, 2011
League match #14: at Crystal Palace (Luton 5-4 favourites)
We had a really tough first half in that one. Even tough it was still 0-0 at the half, we were losing possession, even if only slightly, and had only shot twice, once on target. Some tweaks at the half paid off although it took until the 88th minute for us to take the lead then kill them on two Arjan Wisse goals. The first one was thanks to a killer cross from Benoît Assu-Ekotto and the second on a long through ball from Scott Donnelly. Final Score: Luton 2, Crystal Palace 0 We outshot them 1(4) to 8(3) on the game and won possession *overall* with 55%. That tells you the kind of second half we had. As expected, Arjan Wisse got selected as Man of the Match in that one. As if possible, we move up one more notch in the table, to 3rd place. The board was very pleased with that win, our 5th in a row. Even better, while they are still simply please with my performance as manager, the supporters are now *very* pleased with it. nice In other EPL news, the signing of Italian Raffaele Schiavi by Manchester United is criticized by the media. Funny stuff, they signed him for a big fee and while he had been getting average form ratings around 7.3 in the Italian Serie A, he's averaging only 6.38 so far this season with ManU... November 28, 2011 James Simmonds has been selected to the EPL team of the week. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-26-2006, 05:18 AM
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#60 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
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I am glad you stayed at Kenilworth Road with the stadium expansion and the goal scoring of Vaz Te it could be a really good year and move you from mid table to contender. Good Luck!
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07-26-2006, 08:33 AM
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#61 | |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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Quote:
I'm glad I stayed too although I couldn't have foreseen this kind of season when I took the decision last year. My contract runs until Jun 2012 and a strong season is what I need if I want them to renew it... Thanks for reading. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... Last edited by FrogMan : 07-26-2006 at 08:34 AM. |
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07-26-2006, 11:07 AM
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#62 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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November 30, 2011
Time to check on Philippe Senderos' contract talk status. Nope, still not ready to discuss terms on a new deal. I still try something and offer him a key player role for $60k per week and a $1M signing on fee until June 2013, so basically a one year extention. I added a minimum release fee clause at $9M. He is presently valued at $5.75M. Seeing how long Kevin Foley will still be out and how nervous Keith Keane makes me at times on the right back spot, I start shopping around a bit. An interesting prospect is experienced fullback Tony Hibbert who's havgi a very good season with Charlton in the Championship. I don't make an offer just yet but I declare my interest. In the media report that follows, they mention that the $4M price tag that he could come with might prove to be a stumbling block. Sure could be, we're kinda limited in transfer money... Following my admission of interest for Hibbert, Chalrton manager issued a hands off warning, hrm... Interesting thing, Hibbert weighed in on the issue too and he says he's flattered by the interest and would be very interested in a move to Luton. December 1st, 2011 Arjan Wisse comes in third for Player of the Month and I come in second for manager of the month. The team board is now very pleased with my performance as manager. December 2, 2011 Philippe Senderos snubs my latest deal offer. Not worth pursuing for now. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... Last edited by FrogMan : 07-26-2006 at 11:19 AM. Reason: added link to Hibbert profile |
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07-26-2006, 11:20 AM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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December 4, 2011
League match #15: at Leicester (Luton 5-4 favourites)
Leicester are fighting hard to avoid relegation and are currently in 18th position. Everybody's got superb morale with the current winning streak we're experiencing. Even the TV commentators are predicting a Luton victory, enough to make me real nervous. We go down 0-1 in the 16th minute but Philippe Senderos ties it when he scores his first ever goal for Luton in the 27th minute, heading in a corner kick from Simon Feindouno. Arjan Wisse is the architect behind Ricardo Vaz Te's goal in the 40th minute and we're up 2-1 at the half. They tied it in the 61st minute on a big mistake by Youssouf Hersi but, as they've done often recently, Wisse and Vaz Te connects as Vaz Te converts a Wisse cross to the 6 yard box for the winning goal in the 81st minute. Final Score: Luton 3, Leicester 2 We did just enough to win but a win is a win. One of those games that in other ties, we might have lost. Anyway, the win moves us up to 2nd place. With everybody having played 5 games, we're in a spot I would have never believed at the start of the season. 29 points already, when we only had 44 and 40 in our last two complete seasons. Here's the league table at this point:
Following the game, I see that our supporters are now delighted with my management of the team. It's been a long while since I've seen that word in their description of my work and it feels darn good. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... Last edited by FrogMan : 07-26-2006 at 11:22 AM. |
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07-26-2006, 12:09 PM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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December 5, 2011
We draw Crystal Palace for our 3rd round FA Cup match. Game will be played on January 7. December 6, 2011 Canada has been drawn to play the winner of British Virgin Islands and Antigua & Barbuda in the North American section world cup qualifying, first phase, second round. December 7, 2011 Feeling good about our 6 games winning streak, I see that we're #1 in team form around the league, but I also see that Chelsea have 49 game undefeated streak. Wow! December 10, 2011 League match #16: vs Sheffield Utd (Luton evens favourites)
Sheff Utd are another relegation battler of a team, currently sitting in 19th place. It's another game that we play very close, although we're not dominating in any sense. We tkae a one goal lead in injury time of the first half, on Simon Feindouno's first goal of the season. Ricardo Vaz Te, either by helping himself (wink to the fact that he's is Portuguese after all) or simply by being too fast for opponents, is very good at drawing opposing defenders into commiting falls inside their penalty area. He does it again in the 50th minute and Youssouf Hersi takes the penalty and converts it for his 50th goal as a Hatter. Arjan Wisse adds to our lead when he picks up a shot from Feindouno that had bounced off a defender and finds himself in front of an empty goal. Final Score: Luton 3, Sheffield United 0 James Simmonds is named Man of the Match with a rating of 8 and 7 runs past opponents. We retain our 2nd place with the win, our 7th in a row. December 11, 2011 Darn, on a matter of hours, we lose two of our backup keepers. First, soon to be transferred out Richard Wright bruises his head and will miss up to a week, then Oswaldo Sanchez sees his whole last season go down the drain when he tears his ACL. He faces 7 to 9 months of rehab. Poor Oswaldo is thinking of quitting before June as he fears he might never be able to kick a bal again... December 12, 2011 James Simmonds and Youssouf Hersi have been selected to the EPL team of the week. In light of our lack of depth at keeper, I start looking around for a possible backup to bring in in the January transfer window. I ask my scouts to give me report on current Arsenal backup, Leo Franco, who's complaining to Arsene Wenger about a lack of first team play. He might be good enough to start for us... I also declare my interest in former QPR starting keeper Alistair Brown. Brown is now with West Brom playing sparingly. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... Last edited by FrogMan : 07-26-2006 at 12:12 PM. |
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07-26-2006, 12:14 PM
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#65 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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December 16, 2011
Dang, Ricardo Vaz Te sustained a chest injury during a weights session and he will miss up to 3 weeks. I thought about having him get an injection but decided against it in the end. West Brom manager issues a hands off warning regardin Alistair Brown. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-26-2006, 02:43 PM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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December 18, 2011
League Match #17: at Tottenham (Tottenham 5-4 favourites)
Keeper Paul Robinson is injured for Tottenham and 17yo Gary Kelly will be starting this game. It's the same 17yo who kept us from scoring against them when they beat us in the Carling Cup earlier in the season. We come out so flat in this game, it's embarassing. They score to take the lead in the 15th minute and at that point shots were 6(2) to 1(0) for them. We start playing better from there though and Shane Paul scores only 5 minutes later to tie it. They add a second goal in the 31st minute and from there, we never got back in the game... Final Score: Luton 1, Tottenham 3 We still controlled possession with 55% but they never allowed us near their goal in the second half. Despite the loss, our supporters still believe we can mount a run for European competition and the team board is now absolutely thrilled with the level of commitment I continue to show the club. Following the game, despite him being a starter in that game, Shane Paul complain about not having enough time with the first team. Seeing how I will need him in the coming weeks, I feel good promising him more playing time. He replies that he's prepared to wait for his chance. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-26-2006, 03:13 PM
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#67 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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December 20, 2011
Still leisurely looking for a right fullback to add to the squad, my scout's report ragarding Djaïd Kasri intrigues me. While the guy has a somewhat limited skill set, he has been on fire this season. He's very versatile and could play a few other places if we needed him and on top of it, would probably come cheap for us. I decide to offer $40k for him. December 21st, 2011 Edmílson announces that he will retire at the end of the present season. December 25, 2011 Without us playing another game, Shane Paul is whining again for more first team play time. Damn, in what language do I need to tell it to you? You will play soon, like tomorrow!!! Now, happy? Our offer for Djaïd Kasri has been accepted and I get to offer him a contract. The guy is not really demanding and it's a good thing as my assistant doesn't believe signing him would be worthwhile. For $3,200 per week for a backup that might or might not see the field, I can live with it. That's what he wants and that's what I offer him. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-26-2006, 08:31 PM
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#68 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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December 26, 2011
League Match #18: vs Manchester United (Man Utd 4-6 favourites)
Big, big game for us as we sit in 2nd place and Man U are in 4th place. We seem to have away of hurting opposing keepers and we do it again in the 8th minute and they have to replace their starting keeper with his 17yo backup. This remains a non-factor in the first half as we only put one of 5 shots on target. The good news is they only shot 3 times, twice on target in the whole half. They do take a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute on a 30 yard shot. Very frustrating to keep them away from the goal and see a screamer from far away find its way to the back of the net. We fight on though and in the 80th minute, Maciej Zurawski heads a ball ahead of Arjan Wisse, in between their two central defenders. Alone with the keeper, Wisse doesn't miss his chance and ties it, 1-1. Final Score: Luton 1, Man Utd 1 A strong performance that almost confirms we can hang on with the big boys up top. One thing worries me though, it's the performance rated at 5 of right fullback Keith Keane. He's made many moves that are making me really nervous and if there's one thing I don't like, it's being nervous about the work of one of my d-men... The attendance of 29824 for tonight's game is a new Luton Town team record. That's 36 short of a sellout crowd. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-27-2006, 09:13 AM
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#69 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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December 28, 2011
League Match #19: at Liverpool (Liverpool 4-6 favourites)
While we're currently flying high in 2nd place, it's been a rough first half of the season for Graeme Souness at Liverpool. They're currently in 8th place. Freddy Adu is injured and won't play in this game. He's having a so-so season, averaging 6.77 in form rating over 26 appearances with only one goal and 4 assists to his record. It's a wild start to the game as we go down one in the 3rd minute but take it back in the 9th minute when Arjan Wisse lobs a bal just over their keeper's head. They add another goal in the 24th minute and from there, we just couldn't get to their goal... Final Score: Luton 1, Liverpool 3 They outshot us 23(15) to 7(3) on the game and won possession with 54%. A really shaky game for us. Kidn of a shame as this brings us to the halfway point of the season. We're sitting in an amazing third place, but our play in a game like that has me a bit worried. Here's the league table at this point:
And it sure has been a roller coaster ride, look at how our position has evolved over that first half of the season:  The latest shaky performance from Keith Keane leads me to think we should get a new right fullback. I put in a bid for Tony Hibbert. I also find David Martin interesting. He's another player who seems to play better than his skills would make him appear on paper. December 29, 2011 Also looking at maybe getting in a backup keeper, I take a look at Hull's Jonathan Tuffey and I put in an exploratory bid (read way low  ).December 30, 2011 Djaïd Kasri has accepted our contract offer and will join us on January 1st. He could play right fullback but will probably remain a deep backup for us. He only cost us $40k and his wages are really low compared to our other players... Curtis Davies strained his calf in training. He will miss 2 to 4 weeks. Leonel Romero will back him up. Daamn, Shane Paul is whining again. Man, we played two in two days and you started both of them. Stop crying!!! Our low offer for Tony Hibbert (his value of $1.3M) has been rejected. December 31, 2011 Looking for keeper, I see that Arsenal's backup keeper is unhappy with him. Leo Franco got to the team last offseason but never got it going so far and his complaining a bit. I offer them all I have left in my transfer budget, that's $1.3M but he's valued at $2M. Quick check on Philippe Senderos on the eve of the start of transfer window. He's still unwilling to discuss a new deal. The good thing, for us at least, is that nobody seems interested in him. I still offer him a two years contract for $60k per week and a $2M signing on fee. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-27-2006, 01:14 PM
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#70 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 1st, 2012
The transfer window opens and with it some good news from my team board. They have made som extra funds available. In fact, $8M more are available to me to use right now. Djaïd Kasri arrives to Kenilworth Road. I'm not sure he'll get tons of playing time but we'll see... He can play right fullback, rigth midfielder and defensive midfielder as well, making him a somewhat useful backup to have. Still looking for a possible backup/startin keeper, I see Kasper Schmeichel with whom I've had ties in a past life. He's valued at $2.3M and I offer them $4M for him. That bid is rejected before the day is over. I try $5M but that offer is also shot down. The team board are still absolutely thrilled at the level of commitment I continue to show the club. Our offer for Jonathan Tuffey is rejected by Hull which make Tuffey unhappy. Seems like he would have liked to discuss terms on a contract with us... January 2, 2012 League Match #20: vs Newcastle (Newcastle 5-4 favourites)
They are in 8th place, but only 3 points behind us in 2nd place. It's a tight race up there... Ricardo Vaz Te is still not ready to come back, maybe 4 days away. The first half ends scoreless and while we're statistically in it, we're kind of flat with about half the team still rated at 6 after 45 minutes. The second half doesn't bring much more excitement and the game ends scoreless. Final Score: Luton 0, Newcastle 0 A dull, boring game in which really nobody shined. Niki Mäenpää didn't screw it up too bad which is good I guess. We drop to 4th with the draw. The crowd of 29834 is a new Luton Town team record. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-27-2006, 04:32 PM
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#71 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 4, 2012
League Match #21: at Aston Villa (Aston Villa 6-4 favourites)
It's a crazy stretch of games, 3 games in 5 nights with our next one the FA Cup match on the 7th... Prior to the game, I get the news that Ricardo Vaz Te has resumed full training. Good news, we really need him although he is not ready for this game... We dig ourselves a hole real quick as Leonel Romero scores an own goal in the 25th minute and one minute later, Niki Mäenpäa goofs up to give up an easy goal. Down 0-2, I do what I don't do much anymore, it's subbing the keeper without him being injured. In comes Zac Barrett but it was too late... Arjan Wisse will score a goal for us, but not before they will have taken a 3-0 lead. Final Score: Luton 1, Aston Villa 3 Stastically, a very close game, but many of our players had very ordinary performances... We drop to 5th place with the loss... Fans are worried with this loss that pushes our run of games without a win to 5. They hope that our early season promises won'T change into late season disapointment. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-27-2006, 09:21 PM
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#72 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 5, 2011
Well, that comes as a shock, but I had a $1.9M pending bid for Arsenal's keeper, Leo Franco and I'm just getting news that it's beend accepted. Arsène Wenger says that the excellent relationship he has with me is one of the reason why he accepted the offer. Nice of you Arsène Going to offer him a contract, I see he demands some big money. Franco is looking for a 2 year contract with wages around $48.5k in addition to a signing on fee of $575k. My assistant seems to believe that he would become an essential member of our first team squd and even thinks we could go as high as $60k per week for him. I offer him what he wants. I had put another bid for Jonathan Tuffey rejected, at $1.5M this time. I offer them $1.8M. That bid is shot down quick and I up it to $2.1M. I offer $5M for Charlton's right fullback Tony Hibbert. January 7, 2011 FA Cup, round 3: at Crystal Palace (Crystal Palace 6-4 favourites)
I'm going to give Djaïd Kasri a shot at right fullback. Ricardo Vaz Te is back in the lineup and he makes his presence felt in the 18th minute when his hard work causes the opposing keeper to leave a long rebound that Arjan Wisse picks up to score the 1-0 goal. We add another goal when Youssouf Hersi lofts the ball over their keeper'S head. By halftime, we were really in control and we never looked back. Final Score: Luton 2, Crystal Palace 0 We outshot them 18(9) to 13(6) on the game with almost everybody rating at 8 or above. Zac Barrett got the MoM with a rating of 9. Djaïd Kasri rated at 8 and the media ask me what I think of his performance. I tell them that it was a good debut performance and I hoped he would build form it to become even better. Poor Kasri is not used to the media scrutiny and he's concerned that I'm expecting too much of him. Oops... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-27-2006, 09:24 PM
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#73 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 8, 2011
Our latest bid for Jonathan Tuffey has been rejected. I give up on him. January 9, 2011 Out of nowhere, Leeds are enquiring about the price of Simon Feindouno. That's a tough one. Despite many, many 20's in his skills, he doesn't seem able to turn it into consistent 7+ ratings. He's valued at $6M and I tell them that $11M would be my price. We're drawn to play Southampton in the 4th round of the FA Cup on January 28. Charlton tell me they want $7M for Tony Hibbert. I'm looking at other possibilities, like somebody you might remember in Abubakiri Yakubu. He's valued at $3.8M, maybe they'll let him go at a price I can afford, who knows... I offer Auxerre $6M for him. January 10, 2011 Leo Franco has agreed to terms with us and he joins us! Seriously, he could bring stability to our defense, something that Zac Barrett did last year but has trouble finding in his sophomore season as the starter. Our bid for Abubakiri Yakubu has been rejected. I don't push it for now. January 11, 2011 Oh wow, Leeds get back to me with an $11M bid for Simon Feindouno. The player's agent has indicated that he would like to discuss terms with Leeds... Hrm, now what to do? It's still early in the transfer window and I'd probably have time to find a winger to replace him. I accept the offer. As I said, he averaged 6.64 in form last year and this season, being the starter, he's only averaging 6.75 in league play. Not what I have in mind from a top player... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-28-2006, 05:21 AM
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#74 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
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You may want to get rid of Shane Paul he could effect other players he seems to me a type of player who will always be unhappy. Look for a young striker with pace and determination (17 years old preferred for me). Normally 17 year olds won't complain about lack of action. I normally want 15 acceration, pace and determination (workrate if possible) those types of players tend to be great late subs which is how i use my youngster before they break into the first team.
kutgw |
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07-28-2006, 09:36 AM
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#75 | |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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Quote:
LOL! That laughing may seem out of place, but you'll laugh too when I report some of my unreported stuff That's some good tips about using youngsters as late game subs. I might try doing that with Paul Graham. In fact, I should probably try doing that more and try to get more youngsters to the team. I often see my games as "fight till the lats minute" and I sometimes believe that a guys brough in late might make a difference and win it although it doesn't always happen that way... I've also learned that an injury rash can destroy a seaosn in a matter of a couple of weeks, so depth is important... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-28-2006, 12:26 PM
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#76 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 12, 2011
With about $6.8M left in transfer budget, I put in a bid for Tony Hibbert for about that amount, $4.8M up front, $2M over the next 24 months. I see that our supporters are delighted with the signing of Leo Franco. Hopefully, he'll bring them much joy with his playing... January 14, 2011 League Match #22: at Middlesbrough (Middlesbrough evens favourites)
This game marks Leo Franco's debut as a Hatter. Poor dude gets no support from his new teammates though and not only do we go down 0-1 after 70 seconds, we keep letting them run at will over the first 45 minutes, so much so that we've dug ourselves a crazy hole. When halftime finally comes, we're down 1-5. And in my mind, there wasn't much Franco could have done to prevent it, really an ugly showing of football playing. At that point, they were outshooting us 10(7) to 2(1) although possession was an even split. I did some major tactical adjustments at the half, along with a blasting speach and we turned it around only to find ourselves facing a frigging wall. We outshot them 15(10) to 8(2) in that second half and not only with long range shots, and won possession with 56% but were absolutely unable to put one past their keeper. The damage to our confidence had been done in the first 45 minutes... Final Score: Luton 1, Middlesbrough 5 One word, suckly. Seriously, I hope this will be only a one off and that we'll play better in front of Leo Franco because that was just a sad showing... Arjan Wisse was our lone scorer. We drop to 8th place with the loss. As you would expect, the media are feisting on me missing out on a signing. Saying that Franco had a fairly torrid time against Middlesbrough, they ask if I expected more from him in his debut. I reply that I don't think the press should pay much attention to one performance and that I felt it was great to finally see Franco in a Luton shirt and that I have no doubt he will be an excellent signing for us. Honestly, I would have wanted to tell them that everybody in front of him needs to play better, but that wasn't an option... Maybe that comment would have gone better with Franco because what I said made him concerned I may be expecting too much of him... Back to the clubhouse, I get the news that Simon Feindouno has agreed terms on a contract with Leeds and will join them immediately. $11M richer and with two weeks to go in the transfer window, I'd hope to be able to find a replacement... I start my shopping with players already in my shortlist. I offer French side Sochaux $14M for Jaouad Zaïri, a versatile attacking midfielder who could play about everwhere up front but is described as a winger. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-28-2006, 12:34 PM
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#77 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 16, 2011
At the halfway point of the transfer window, I'm think it might be time to check on Philippe Senderos. Good thing I did, he seems ready to negotiate a new deal. He's looking for a 3 year deal with wages around $65k per week and a signing on fee of $400k. My assistant recommends $50k per week. I offer him the most my board will allow which is $60k per week but I up the signing on fee to $600k. With the return of Ricardo Vaz Te to the lineup and fed up with his constant whining, I decide to offer Shane Paul around. (to condors, I swear this was played out three evenings ago ) Valued at $2.5M, I offer him around for $2M.January 17, 2011 Ouch, darn African Cup of Nations. Benoît Assou-Ekotto and Djaïd Kasri have been called up and will miss significant time at the club. Kasri I can live with, but Assou-Ekotto is a big loss for us... Well, it didn't take long, Philippe Senderos has put pen to paper on a lucrative 3 year deal worth $9.75M. Good! January 18, 2011 That again didn't take long. Wigan put in a bid for the requisite $2M for Shane Paul. January 19, 2011 Still shopping around, I offer Auxerre $8.25 for Abubakiri Yakubu. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-28-2006, 12:56 PM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 21, 2011
League Match #23: vs Swansea (Luton evens favourites)
Just what the doctor ordered, right? Swansea are currently 18th in the Premiership... Hell yeah, what the doctor ordered! Before the half is over in this one, Arjan Wisse has scored twice Ricardo Vaz Te once for a nice 3-0 lead. Even more, we were outshooting them 10(5) to 3(2). We stayed back for most of the second half but that did the trick and everybody is happier with that win. Final Score: Luton 3, Swansea 0 We only added one shot in the second half, a blocked penalty, but we played well enough to keep them away from Leo Franco who collected his first clean sheet as a Hatter. Arjan Wisse got selected as Man of the Match with a rating of 9. We moved back up to 7th place with the win. Cédric Fernandez suffered a concussion in the 90th minute and he could miss up to 2 weeks. Fans hope we got the season back on track with that win that puts back into contention for a spot in European competition next season... Curtis Davies resumes full training following his shin injury. If that injury had anything positive, it kept him away from the Africa Cup of Nations that he would have probably played in with Sierra Leone. January 22, 2011 Well, it's a done deal. Shane Paul has agreed to join Wigan. We get $2M for the transfer. I enquire to Bolton about the availability of righ fullback Nicky Hunt whom my scout just reported about and said he believed that he would make a good addition to the Luton squad. They dismiss my enquiry, saying he will not move... My latest offer for Abubakiri Yakubu was rejected. I offer them $10.5M for him and I put in a $9M for Nicky Hunt who's valued at $3M. January 23, 2011 Philippe Senderos, Youssouf Hersi, and Arjan Wisse have all been selected to the EPL team of the week. Our latest bid for Tony Hibbert has been rejected. I realize that Auxerre accepted my bid for Alexander Farnerud but I have no screenshot of his profile for you, although I know the bid is for $11.5M. Anyway, he's a 27yo AM RLC/FC who can play anywhere in the midfield and even up front as a striker. Described as an ambitious midfielder, he's had good form ratings for a few seasons now, displaying some consistency that I like in a player. Looking to offer him a contract, he's looking for a 3 year deal with wages around $47k per week and a signing on fee of $725k. My assistant seems to believe he would become a useful memeber of the first team squad and recommends a deal up to $55k per week. I offer him what he want but I the minimum fee release clause from $13.75M to $15M. January 25, 2011 Our latest bid for Abubakiri Yakubu has been rejected by Auxerre as is our bid for Nicky Hunt by Bolton. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-28-2006, 06:34 PM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 26, 2011
I offer $7.6M for Tony Hibbert, $5M now, $2.6M over 24 months. Alexander Farnerud has agreed terms with us and he comes to Kenilworth Road! That transfer boosts our yearly spending to $40.5M, a team record. Call me stupid, I it just occurs to me that while he can play both sides of the field, his strong foot is his left. Hopefully he'll be able to play the right side, maybe moving inside whenever he feels the need... His right foot is still considered reasonable Our offer for Tony Hibbert has been accepted. I offer him the contract he wants which is $21.5k per week and a signing on fee of $275k. My assistant seems to believe he would not be more than a fringe player but he tells me I could go as high at $26k per week. January 28, 2011 FA Cup Fourth Round: vs Southampton (Luton evens favourites)
They take a very early lead and about everybody looks down with only 7 minutes played in the game. We tie it on Ricardo Vaz Te's 10th goal of the season in the 33rd minute. One of their striker is sent off in the 39th minute and we use the opportunity to take the lead 90 seconds into the added time of the first half. Youssouf Hersi added a third goal for us early in the second half and thankfully so as they made it 3-2 in the 79th minute. Their keeper was supporting the attack for about the last 4 minutes and I just wanted to scream at Marciej Zurawski. With their keeper out of the goal, Vaz Te picked up a loose ball near our penalty area and as he launched some crazy shot that would have travelled 70 yards or so, Zurawski got called for being offside. THERE'S NO KEEPER! JUST STAY ONSIDE, YOU MORON!!! Final Score: Luton 3, Southampton 2 Ricardo Vaz Te got selected as Man of the Match with his two goals and a form rating of 9. We outshot them 17(8) to 10(4) on the game and won possession with 53%. We also were given 9 corners... We're through to round 5 with the win. Following the game, I learn that Tony Hibbert has agreed to terms with us and will come to Kenilwort Road. He's not super impressive on paper, but he's played in the premiership in the past and he should bring some experience to the team. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-28-2006, 06:37 PM
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#80 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 29, 2011
With $1.9M left in transfer budget, I'm thinking it could be nice to bring in a player of depth or two before the transfer deadline comes. Going through my shortlist, I see David Martin, another player who seems to play better than his skills would indicate on paper. I offer Hearts $400k for him. I also see Romone Rose whom I've had on my shortlist for a long time, given that he's at QPR. He used to be an up and comer for them but seems to have fallen out of favor. I offer them $475k for him. January 30, 2011 My bid for David Martin has been accepted. He's looking for a 4 year deal worth $15,750 per week, a steep increase over his current wage of $9,750 per week. I offer him what he is earning right now, i.e. $9,750 per week. It doesn't take long for him to accept that deal, adding that he is really enthusiastic about the prospect of playing for such a well-supported club. Well, you will at least train for the club, as for playing, we'll see... Our offer for Romone Rose was rejected. Seeing how I'm not looking to get any more players, and Marciej Zurawski will retire at the end of the season, I offer them $1.5M. The 5th round FA Cup draw happens and we will play either Tottenham or Aston Villa. Later in the day, the bid for Romone Rose is accepted. Rs boss Mick Harford states that his excellent relationship with me is one of the reasons why he has accepted the offer. See, it pays to be a nice guy Going to offer Rose a contract, I see what especially attracted me in him, his low salary request. He's looking for a 4 year contract worth $4,100 per week that will increase only 5% every year. My assistant says he believes that Rose has considerable talent for his age and he say I could go as high as $4,900. I offer him what he wants. I see that Millwall have put in a bid for $2.9M. Now I understand why Harford is saying he accepted my bid because of our good relationship... I also see that 9 other clubs are scouting Rose at the moment. That's a lot of interest...Before the day is over, the news is in, Romone Rose has agreed to terms with Luton and will be coming to Kenilworth Road. The sale angered many QPR fans who think the fee was miserly. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-29-2006, 12:58 PM
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#81 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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February 1st, 2011
The transfer deadline has passed. The team board are still absolutely thrilled with the level of commitment I continue to show the team. League match #24: at Bolton (Bolton 6-4 favourites)
Two players debut for us in this game: Alexander Farnerud and Tony Hibbert. I go back to Zac Barrett to give some time to Leo Franco to settle down a little. We'Re not very impressive early on and after some 15 minutes played, they've shto 4 times, twice on target and we've not even come close to their goal. Still, we take the lead in teh 41st mintue on a goal from Ricardo Vaz Te. Having him and Arjan Wisse in the box at the same often seems to create opportunities. This time, Vaz Te used the rebound from a shot by Wisse to score... They tie it in injury time of the half though. As quiet as the first half was, the second half turns into complet chaos. We build a two goal lead within five minutes of the start of the half, thanks to a goal from Alexander Farnerud on his debut and a second one from Vaz Te, but we let them get back in the game a few minutes later with a goal. When I though that a goal from Wisse in the 63rd minute had clearly put it away, we desintegrate, especially new Hatter Hibbert. His poor clearance in the 90th minute gives them the chance to tie the game. Final Score: Luton 4, Bolton 4 Really a story of two teams in one. Everybody above the four defencemen rated at 8 or better while every d-men and the keeper rated at 6 or even 5 for Hibbert. Arjan Wisse is selected as Man of the Match. Following the game, the media want my impression regarding the solid performance given by new signee Alexander Farnerud in his debut. I tell them it was a good debut and that I hope he'll be able to build on that. Farnerud says he wants to repay the faithshown towards him by that comment. Tony Hibbert might want to offer him a dinner in a good restaurant. That good performance by Farnerud has kind of made everyone forgot how badly Hibbert played in his debut... The loss drops us to 8th place. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-29-2006, 04:17 PM
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#82 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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February 4, 2011
League Match #25: vs Chelsea (Chelsea 4-7 favourites)
I'm bringing back Leo Franco in the nets, in hope that this will bring some confidence back to our defensvie unit... We dig ourselves an early hole in this one by first giving up a goal in the 21st minute, but then with a penalty callon Curtis Davies a couple minutes later. 23 minutes into the game and we're down 0-2. Arjan Wisse left the game injured in the 28th minute and that score stood at the half. We got one back in the 49th minute when Ricardo Vaz Te pounced on the blocked chip shot of Romone Rose. They hit back with another couple of goals within 5 minutes (60' and 65'), one of them on a corner kick headed straight in. We keep on fighting and before it's over, Romone Rose has hit the back of the net twice for his first two goals as a Hatter. Sadly again, the defensive side failed to show up for the game... Final Score: Luton 3, Chelsea 4 These are crazy scores we're dealing with and we got to stop bleeding goals away like that. We stayed with Chelsea stats for stats, but just gave up one more goal... Romone Rose was selected as man of the match for his two goals. He also put 4 of 5 shots on target. He might have a bit more playing time as Arjan Wisse bruised his head and will probably miss a week. The crowd of 29835 was a new Luton team record. With about everybody having played 25 games, this is how the league table is shaping up:
We maintain ourselves in the thick of things... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-29-2006, 04:55 PM
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#83 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Tulsa
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Can you link me to the beginning of this dynasty? Thanks
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07-29-2006, 05:51 PM
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#84 | |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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Quote:
I only started with it in the middle of last season, when it looked like I might get sacked: http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...ad.php?t=51110 Thanks for reading! FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-29-2006, 06:02 PM
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#85 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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February 6, 2011
Arjan Wisse has been selected to the EPL team of the week. February 7, 2011 I learn that Maciej Zurawski is now a qualified coach. Looking at his skills as a coach though, I don't see how we could employ him... He also tells me that he will retire at the end of the season. I didn't plan on signing him for another season. February 8, 2011 Tottenham have won their FA Cup match over Aston Villa and we will play them in round 5, on Fabruary 19. February 10, 2011 Well, looks like David Martin won't make his debut with the Hatters before a long time. He dislocated a shoulder in training and will miss two months. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-29-2006, 08:19 PM
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#86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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February 12, 2011
League Match #26: at Arsenal (Arsenal 4-7 favourites)
Ouch, that one starts rough. After 17 minutes we're down 0-2 and we've not attempted one shot. They have put 4 of 5 on target so far. We work our way back into at least figuring in the game and the rest of the half is not as bad, although we don't score. We do score in the 62nd minute, when Alexander Farnerud is the architect behind a goal from Youssouf Hersi, but that won't be enough. We let them score only 5 minutes later... Final Score: Luton 1, Arsenal 3 They outshot us 20(12) to 11(8) on the game, getting 52% possession in the process. Not a really good game for us. We drop to 9th place with the loss... Even worse, Philippe Senderos suffered a facial injury in the game and could miss up to 2 weeks. January 13, 2011 Youssouf Hersi has been selected to the EPL team of the week. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-29-2006, 08:31 PM
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#87 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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February 19, 2011
FA Cup Fifth Round: vs Tottenham (Tottenham 6-4 favourites)
Tony Hibbert and Romone Rose are cup tied for this game, meaning Keith Keane will start at right fullback. Kevin Foley is getting very close to start training again, although it might be a few weeks before he is match fit. I give one more shot to Zac Barrett to impress me and show me he's got the stuff that made him the leader of our team last season. And well, even though we don't help him much, we do control the ball a lot in the beginning, but they beat Barrett on a shot from far away in the 18th minute. 0-1 is the halftime score. We control the ball a whole lot in the second half, but they deny us any access to close shots. They even increase their lead in the 89th minute, as we got almost every players pushed up to try to score and force a replay. Final Score: Luton 0, Tottenham 2 And with it, they kick us out of the FA Cup, just like they did in the Carling Cup. February 20, 2011 Hum, weird, New Zealand offered Canada a friendly for November 2012, but then cancel it in the afternoon, after I'd accepted it. February 24, 2011 Kevin Foley resumes full training after missing 4 months. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-29-2006, 08:44 PM
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#88 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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February 25, 2011
League Match #27: vs Man City (Luton 6-4 favourites)
Leo Franco is back in the nets for us. Benoît Assou-Ekotto is also back from the African Cup of Nations. It's an important game as only two points separate the two teams. We're in 9th place, Man City are in 11th. Youssouf Hersi gives us a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute when his free kick from 25 yard outs finds the back of the net. I like when he bends one from a distance like that. We're far from dominating though and it's only 1-0 at the half. I make sure to tell the guys not to get careless. Sadly, while not really careless, they can't stop the assault and we give up a goal in the 66th minute. Final Score: Luton 1, Man City 1 They outshot us 14(7) to 6(5) and nobody on our team rated above 7. Another so-so game for us... The attendance of 29846 was a new Luton team record though, always nice to see the support of the fans... We move back up to 8th place with the draw but Blackburn and Middlesbrough have not yet played their 27th game... February 26, 2011 In a shocker, I realize that the Carling Cup final pits Middlesbrough to League Two Bradford, wow! Middlesbrough eat them alive though, 3-0. Still very nice to see a "low" level team make it to the final... March 1st, 2011 Again, the board are absolutely thrilled with the level of commitment I continue to show the club. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-29-2006, 09:00 PM
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#89 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 3, 2011
League Match #28: at Everton (Everton 6-4 favourites)
Everton are underachieving this season. They are currently on a run of 9 games without a run and are sitting in 13th place. This makes me nervous as we often find a way to lose to these kind of teams... Now that's how I'd want the guys to play every game. We come out roaring and Ricardo Vaz Te scores his 15th of the season in the 24th minute. Then, our offense seemingly too much for them in the 41st minute, one of their defenders is sent off for professional foul as he pulled Arjan Wisse's shirt on a run to the goal. From then on, we keep on pounding on them until they relented. We score two in two minutes in the 61st and 63rd minute, first when Vaz Te converts a nice center from the sideline by Alexander Farnerud, then when Youssouf Hersi bends one from a distance. Final Score: Luton 3, Everton 1 I tell the guys that's how I want them to play every week. I hope they get the message. Ricardo Vaz Te was selected as man of the match. The board is deighted with the win and the chairman comments that it was the sort of performance that made him proud to be a Luton fan and that he wanted to be among the first to congratulate me on a superb victory. March 4, 2011 Huhoh, Paris-SG sacked their manager, the one they took after I turned them down. My name is not mentionned this time around though. March 5, 2011 Ricardo Vaz Te has been selected to the EPL team of the week. Kevin Foley, just back from injury, is stating that his current pay deal is too low for a player of his calibre. I really like Kevin, but that's kind of out of nowhere. He's currently earning $13k per week and while it's not the highest, there are plenty who make less than that. He's looking to up it to $33k per week, a steep increase for somebody I would like to see more often playing than injured... I tell him that I will be reviewing the wage structure at the end of the season. March 8, 2011 Lilian Thuram has been appointed as the new manager at Paris-SG. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-29-2006, 09:03 PM
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#90 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 9, 2011
Games are played and with everybody being left with 10 games to their seasons, here's how the league table is shaping up:
Still staying in the thick of things... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... Last edited by FrogMan : 07-29-2006 at 09:06 PM. |
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07-30-2006, 03:16 PM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 10, 2011
League Match #29: vs Birmingham (Luton 6-4 favourites)
Birmingham are not having a bad season. They are currently in 12th place although I see that we are 5-0 against them since getting to the Premiership. It's a scoreless first half but we're outshooting them 6(3) to 4(0) and we're winning possession. Nobody is playing amazingly well though. It's much more of the scorelessness in the second half until the 79th minute when Giannis Taralidis lifts a ball for Ricard Vaz Te, unmarked in the penalty are. Vaz Te doesn't miss his chance and that will be enough for us. Two Hatters had to leave the pitch injured though, Youssouf Hersi and Michael Timlin. Final Score: Luton 1, Birmingham 0 The injury news are not good. Michael Timlin broke his arm and will miss up to a month and Youssouf Hersi hurt his elbow and will miss up to three weeks. I will probably play Alexander Farnerud in the hole behind the strikers during his absence. Cédric Fernandez also bruised his head but he will miss only a week. March 11, 2011 Niki Mäenpää complains about not getting enough first team playing time. I reply to him that he's a backup and should be patient. He requests to be transfer listed and I grant him his request. Barring injuries, I don't see him back as our starting keeper. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-30-2006, 05:54 PM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 17, 2011
League Match #30: at Sunderland (Luton 6-4 favourites)
Even though they are still viewed as relegation candidates, Sunderland are sitting in 14th place. Not that we played well enough to deserve anything else, but we lose this one on a very unlucky kind of goal that deflected off Curtis Davies in the 12th minute. We never were able to get it going in the second half. Final Score: Luton 0, Sunderland 1 A sucky loss, but it was one of those games where nothing clicked. They outshot us 14(7) to 7(2) on the game. Worse than losing, I learn after the game that Curtis Davies hurt his heel in the game and will miss up to two weeks. We remain in 8th place after the loss but nobody has played around us. March 18, 2011 Games are played and now that everybody has played 30 games, here's what the league table looks like:
Still eight games to play and we are only 3 points away from our point production from the whole last season... It's been a good season so far... Our last 8 games are an interesting bunch. Take a look at this: 03/24 vs Leeds 03/31 at Blackburn 04/07 vs Crystal Palace 04/09 vs Leicester 04/14 at Sheff Utd 04/21 vs Tottenham 04/28 at Man Utd 05/06 vs Liverpool So 5 at home to finish it with some "easier" games against three relegation candidates but also a much tougher ending with them last three games... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-30-2006, 06:13 PM
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#93 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 24, 2011
League Match #31: vs Leeds (Luton 6-4 favourites)
Even though they just promoted this season, Leeds are having a nice season so far, sitting in 13th place this late in the season. Reminds me of our first season up from the Championship... Leonel Romero is in for Curtis Davies. His addition to the squad has been invaluable so far. I don't fear putting him out there and appart from a first shaky game, he's been dependable and solid enough when called upon. Also, in trying to shake things up a bit, I bench Arjan Wisse and give the start to Romone Rose. I felt that Wisse had been slacking lately, maybe this will wake him up. This game is on TV and I find it funny that they single out James Simmonds as being the man to watch on our side. They say that he can really dominate the midfield if allowed the space. I find it even funnier when in the 20th minute, Simmonds heads the ball ahead of Ricardo Vaz Te who finds himself free of the last defender. The opportunity is just too nice and Vaz Te converts it into a 1-0 lead for us. It takes me until halftime to realize that playing for Leeds is former Hatter winger Simon Feindouno. He's not having a super game, is usual 6 rated at the half kind of game that got me frustrated quite a bit when he was with us. Looking at his stats since joining Leeds, I see that he's averaging 6.4 in form rating and I don't miss him at all at this time. Seeing how I was able to use all the money from his sale and get Alexander Farnerud for only $500k more, I think I did well on that one... We add two more in the second half, a bizarre one from Vaz Te and one from Wisse, a 73rd minute sub in for Romone Rose. Final Score: Luton 3, Leeds 0 The kind of win I like. We put 8 of our 10 shots on goal, at that rythm, there's bound to be a few goals... Philippe Senderos got selected as Man of the Match with a rating of 9. Romero also had a good game, winning 14 of 18 headers. We stay in 8th place after this win. The team chairman congratulated me following the win. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-30-2006, 06:42 PM
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#94 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 25, 2011
Every once in a while I keeper getting these reports about Luton U18 star Paul Graham. Honestly, he's beginning to look very impressive. He often plays for the reserves squad as well as for the U18 squad and his 23 goals, 14 assists and 7 MoM are looking very nice... He's also improved over the course of the season because I remember seeing his form average around 6.7 at one point and now it's over 7... If we get out of contention for anything important, I might be interested in giving him some first team playing time. Youssouf Hersi has returned to full training following his arm injury. He's back after only 2 weeks. March 26, 2011 Giannis Taralidis and Philippe Senderos have been selected to the EPL team of the week. I'm alerted via email that Wolves have offered a contract to Scott Cooper, a 22yo right winger currently with Blackburn. I often take a look at the profile of players sought out by other teams and I find that this kid could have potential. He's in the last 6 months of his contract and a compensation of $2.1M would have to be payed out to Blackburn if he agrees to a new contract. My assistant seems to believe he would become a useful member of the team and recommends wages as high as $26k for him. He's looking for a 4 year deal at $22k per week. I offer him that... Six other teams are scouting him at this moment... March 27, 2011 Canada will play Antigua & Barbuda in the World Cup North American Qualifying Section First Phase Second Round. The first leg will be played on their pitch on June 9. They just beat British Virgin Islands 2-1 & 1-0 for a an aggregate of 3-1. Considering we beat British Virgin Islands 4-0 on one 90 minute match in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, I don't foresee too much trouble for us getting through whatever the next round will be... March 29, 2011 Curtis Davies resumes full training. March 30, 2011 Hrm, I think that Blackburn are not thinking this through. They just rejected two offers around $5M for Scott Cooper, one from QPR, the other from Cardiff. I mean, guys, they could sign him to a contract and you'd get only $2.1M... Hello, anybody home? Incidentally, the only bids showing for him are ours and Wolves'. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-31-2006, 09:02 PM
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#95 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 31, 2011
League Match #32: at Blackburn (Blackbunr 6-4 favouriteS)
8th (us) vs 9th (them). An important match for sure... And it turned out to be a weird one. Would you believe me if I told you we scored 5 goals, on the road, but could not secure a win? Would you believe me that at one point we were ahead 5-3 but could not secure a win? Well, believe it. A crazy game it was, in which we were down 1-2 at the half, but winning possession. Their keeper was a 16yo backup keeper, I felt we should be able to get the ball through him, and we did. The sad thing is our defensemen were so happy laughing at him that they let their strikers score at will. From 1-2 to 3-2 to 3-3 to 5-3 and we let them tie it in the 80th minute... Final Score: Luton 5, Blackburn 5 A story of two halves, not halves of play, but halves in the team: the offense and the defense. Arjan Wisse and Ricardo Vaz Te both scored twice and Youssouf Hersi added one. Benoît Assou-Ekotto was playing so bad that I pulled him out and put Cédric Fernandez in his place. He didn't do much worse, but at least he was trying... We remained in 8th place with the draw. Following the game, the team chairman Bill Tomlins come to me with a brand spanking new contract! Weehee!!! They are offering me a four year deal worth $35.5k per week, a significant increase from my current deal at $26.5k per week. They are talking about a transfer budget of $13.75M but I would have to cut our wages down from $700k p/w to $500k p/w which is not feasible to me. They are flexible and I choose their $725k wage budget/1.8M transfer budget deal and accept it. Mr Tomlins declares himself delighted that I have accepted to renew my contract with the club. He feels I have shown fantastic commitment to the club by signing the new deal which he is sure will please the players and fans alike. The fans I don't know but Ricardo Vaz Te states that he is pleased that Luton had seen sense in retainging a manager who he believes is capable of great things (his words not mine ). He also commented that I had proven myself to be an accomplished manager and he was delighted that I would be staying at Kenilworth Road.To think I felt I was close to losing my job one year ago or so, wow... April 1st, 2011 Ricardo Vaz Te comes in second for player of the month. I don't know what he needed to do to get it, honestly. He had ratigns of 9, 8, 7, 8, 8 and scored 7 goals in five games... I win manager of the month, sweet!!! The board is still absolutely thrilled with the level of commitment I continue to show the club. April 2, 2011 League games are played so that everybody now has 6 games to play.
April 3, 2011 Scott Cooper has agreed terms with Wolves. He rejected offers from us and Blackburn. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-31-2006, 09:13 PM
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#96 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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April 7, 2011
League Match #33: vs Crystal Palace (Luton evens favourites)
We can take them for granted. They are currently in 17th place, fighting real hard not to get relegated... Not only can Ricardo Vaz Te score goals, he also leads the team in assists and his header pass to James Simmonds is the perfect example of him being an incredible asset to the team. The pass was so perfect, it allowd Simmonds to run freely toward the goal on the left wing until he found the perfect angle to beat the keeper. It's only 1-0 at the half but we're playing well... In the 63rd minute, it's now Simmonds' turn to feed Vaz Te with a superba pass. Vaz Te is not known to miss his chances and he doesn't, making it 2-0. We got stronger as the game went on, way too strong for Crystal Palace to mount any kind of rally... Final Score: Luton 2, Crystal Palace 0 Seriously, that second half was a joy to watch. We simply took control of the pitch and they hardly touched the ball. Curtis Davies was selected as man of the match. The win moves us up one spot, to 7th place.
FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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07-31-2006, 09:27 PM
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#97 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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April 9, 2011
League Match #34: vs Leicester (Luton 5-4 favourites)
Leicester have almost clinched a relegation but I fear they might fight with the energy of a team which has nothing to lose... Prior to the game, there are some reports that Ricardo Vaz Te is being linked to two possible awards after this great season: English Players' Player of the Year and English Footballer of the year. Very impressive... I also learn that James Simmonds and Giannis Taralids have been selected to the EPL Team of the Week. This game is a bit crazy though. I mean two games in three nights this late in the season is very rough. At least, absolutely everybody is having to suffer throug this... Ricardo Vaz Te, possibly fired up by all the good press he's receiving, gives us a 1-0 lead in the 9th minute. Benoît Assou-Ekotto sent him a great hooking ball on the wing to leave him all alone with the keeper. Vaz Te doubles his tally during injury time for the first half. They scored at the start of the secnd half but Scott Donnelly gave us back our two goal lead in the 87th minute, converting a nice cross to near post from Romone Rose. Final Score: Luton 3, Leicester 1 Leo Franco pulled in a solid performance that earned him the Man of the Match selection. We controlled the ball well with 55%. This win, combined with a 1-1 draw of Tottenham against Leeds and a 0-2 loss of Newcastle against Man City, moves us into 5th place, only one point off Man Utd and 4th place, wow!
Chelsea have clinched their 3rd consecutive title of the Premiership. The 5 season prior to that, Arsenal had won it. April 10, 2011 David Martin resumes full training. His chances of seeing the field this season are pretty bleak. Djaïd Kasri is gone for the rest of the season with torn knee ligaments. He will need 2 to 3 months off to recover. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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08-01-2006, 06:43 AM
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#98 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
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alot left at stake, good luck in the last 4 games
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08-01-2006, 10:09 AM
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#99 | |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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Quote:
thanks and with these four games, we finish the season with possibly the toughest three match sequence of our whole season: Tottenham who've kicked us out of both the Carling Cup and the FA Cup, Manchester United, and Liverpool... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... Last edited by FrogMan : 08-01-2006 at 10:09 AM. |
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08-01-2006, 10:27 AM
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#100 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: The State of Insanity
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if you can get ahead of ManYoo.. Champions League? Hopefully a Frog Will Be in Europe next year..
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Check out Foz's New Video Game Site, An 8-bit Mind in an 8GB world! http://an8bitmind.com |
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