Getting Over that Hump? (FM11)

[EagleFan]

Thanks to a secret santa that rocks I am starting up an FM11 dynasty. I have decided to go with a team that last won the Premier League 50 years ago.

I am taking over Burnley. They were relegated from the Premier League last season after just spending just one season in the league (having been promoted the prevous season after spending a decade in the Championship league).

Prior to last season they had not been in the Premier League since the 1975/76 season. Within 10 years of being relegated from the Premier League they had been relegated twice more to the League 2. In 2001 they made it back to the Championship League where they stayed until being promoted to the Premier League after the 2008 season. Unfortunately they didn't have the manpower to compete and managed just 8 victories while having a minus 40 goal differential and find themselves back in the Championship League.

What they have going for them is they are very stable financially and have good facilities. I will go over their roster and post a summary and then hope to work on returning this team to the Premier League and keep them there.

[EagleFan]

Burnley

League: npower Championship
Stadium: Turf Moor (22,516 all-seater)

Fierce Rivals: Blackburn, Bolton, Preston, Blackpool
Other Rival: Leeds

Finances: Rich

Feeder Club: Accrington

Contract: 16K per week until June 2012

Expectations: Playoffs

Salary Budget: 350K p/w (currently 279,827 p/w)
Transfer Budget: 3.3M

[EagleFan]

Current Roster

GK Lee Grant (27, England) - Good at handling, good in the area and good reflexes; 1st season with Burnley after starting three straight years for Sheffield Wednesday; plan on him being my starter

GK Brian Jensen (35, Denmark) - Very good reflexes and reaction but he is not getting any younger; Entering his 8th season with the club and was the previous starting keeper; may not be a popular decision with the fans but I am moving him to spot rotation and injury insurance (unless he earns the starting spot)

D (RC) Michael Duff (32, North Ireland) - Quick and solid all-around defender who seems to step up in the big game; Entering his seventh season with the club; planning on him being a starter

D (R), DM, M (C) Graham Alexander (38, Scotland) - Player/Coach; Great all-around player but he is aging and slowing down; Entering his 4th season with the team; Has played 785 lague games in his career and has scored 103 goals in those games; will be in the starting rotation but a lot will depend upon his stamina

D (LC) Brian Easton (22, Scotland) - Fast, fit and a great tackler though has mental lapses at times; Entering his second season with the club butwas loaned out last season; I plan on giving him every opportunity to anchor the left side

D (C) Clarke Carlisle (30, England) - Very good all around defender, has the skills to be Premier League; Entering his 4th season with the club; I see him as a starter that I hope to depend on

D (C) Leon Cort (30, England) - Solid player that does not jump off the page at me but alo sees to hae no exploitable weaknesses; Entering his second season with the club; I will have him in a rotation to get a fair amount of time (a sub and injury replacement)

D (C), DM, M (C) Andre Bikey (25, Cameroon) - Very fit, fast, determined and creative; Entering his 2nd season with the club; I envision him as one of our key starters

D (C), DM, M (C) David Edgar (23, Canada) - Athletic and good in the air but will suffer from poor judgement at times; Entering his second season with the club but was out on loan last season; Not sure what to do with him yet

D/WB (R) Tyrone Mears (27, England) - Very good speed and seems to be a big game player; Entering his second season with the club; Should be the anchor at the right side of the defense

D/WB (L) Danny Fox (24, Scotland) - Good team player who seems to be good at everything but not a master of anything so he has no exploitable weaknesses but no special area of strength; Entering his second season with the club; I want to get him some playing time but he will not be a primary starter unless an injury occurs

D/B/M/AM (L) Ross Wallace (25, Scotland) - Technically sound but not good in the air; Entering his first season with the club; He should be in the rotation but I want to see something from him first

M (RC), AM (R) Wade Elliott (31, England) - Good player but not great, does not do well in the air; Entering his 6th season with the club; I have him pencilled in as a starter but I could be easily swayed

M (C) Dean Marney (26, England) - Atlhetic but not good in the air; His first season with the club; I will give him a look in the friendlies to see what he can do but do not know what to do with him yet

M (C) Kevin McDonald (21, Scotland) - Good team player but also not good in the air; Entering his 3rd season with the club; There may be something there that can turn him into a good Premier League player so I want to give him a shot and he shoudl see plenty of action

M/AM (RLC) Chris Eagles (24, England) - Very fast, very athletic and very creative but also not good in the air; Entering his 3rd season with the club; ve him slotted as our staring right midfielder

M/AM (C) Jack Cork (21, England) - On loan from Chelsea for the season; Good team player and seems to shine in big matches; I see him as a starter in the center

AM (R), ST Martin Paterson (23, North Ireland) - Fast and determined with a work rate that is second to none but needs to improve on finishing and set pieces; Entering his 3rd season with the club; Had 12 goals two seasons ago when Burnley was in the Championship but that fell to 4 last season in the Premier League; He will be primarily a sub and injury replacement

ST Steven Thompson (31, Scotland) - Team player, very strong and good in the air but has trouble with set pieces; Entering his 3rd season with the club; He will be in the rotation to start the season as I think he can pla his way into the starting slot

ST Chris Iwelumo (31. Scotland) - Good in the air and great penalty taker with no obvious weaknesses; 1st season with the club but I would like to see him return to his formof the 2006 season when he scroed 18 goals in the Championship; I will have him in the rotation as well

ST Jay Rodriguez (20, England) - Fast but struggles at set pieces and had ot yet reached his potential; Entering his 6th season with the club; I want to give him time to see if he can improve and have a breakout season but winning comes first and I won't give him time just because

[EagleFan]

It seems that we have very good depth at defense but our major questions are anywhere in front of there. We have Premier League quality defenders but not much in front of that.

I will start to look into transfers to see if I can bring in at least one high quality midfielder and a forward that can finish. I would like to bring some youth into the club as well as it seems that we are an older squad.

[EagleFan]

(ooc) I wonder if any players ever stumble upon someone writing a dynasty which happens to include them.(/ooc)

[EagleFan]

July 6, 2010

I have sent the scouts to get a little more information on the following players (as I am trying to improve out midfield and strikers)...

DM, M (C) Youssuff Mulumbu (23, DR Congo) - A Midfielder for West Brom.

ST Roman Bednar (27, Czech Republic) - A striker from West Brom

AM (C), ST Simon Cox (23, England) - A striker/midfielder from West Brom,; scored 29 goals in 2008/09

ST Eddie Johnson (26, USA) - A striker from the Fulham Reserves; Has 12 goals in 41 international appearances

AM (RLC) ST Luke Williams (17, England) - A young striker that may help boost our youth squad and provide a future star if he is as good as my initial impression

M (L), AM (LC), ST George Boyd (24, Scotland) - Midfielder from Peterborough

M (C) Scott Marshall (20, England) - A free transfer midfielder; not expecting him to be an answer but would like to see what he can do (maybe I will hit upon an unexpected find)

[EagleFan]

July 8, 2010

Had a friendly with our reserves and it looked like what I expected. Defensively we dominated but struggled to to finish offensively with several shots that were way off target.

I am imperssed with my defenders for their first friendly, hopefully they continue to impress and improve as we train out tactics.

I have created two tactics which I am having them practice. One is a 4-4-2 counter attacking defensive formation and the other is a 4-4-2 attacking formation.

I am going to need to address the offensive issues that I see us running into at some point and am putting out a few "feelers".

[EagleFan]

(ooc)I like the tactics approach now but was first thrown for a loop when I wanted to set my tactic prior to the game.(/ooc)

[EagleFan]

July 10, 2010

We have a friendly at Lincoln City (a League 2 club). Trying to mix up the starters throughout the friendlies so I can see who I wil be able to depend upon during the season.

I go with a 4-4-2 counter-attacking philosophy to start the match.

Eagles, Elliott and Thompson were standout starts today in a 3-0 victory. Iwelumo unfortunately disappointed.

[EagleFan]

July 16, 2010

Our strength just got a little stronger as I signed a free transfer...

D (C) Jay DeMerit (30, USA) - Good in the air, very fit and quick; struggles at times with decisions but a quality Premier League player in our judgement (the more Premier League quality players we can sign will only help out our chances to be there next season)

[EagleFan]

July 18, 2010

We have a friendly at home against Olympique Lyonnais from France and we are an underdog. I wamt them to work on the 4-4-2 attacking tactic which is one of the two tactics which I have been having them work on (still deciding on a third tactic).

This match is to be televised.

We are outclassed and fall 4-0. No one stepped up to impress me but a few were slightly disappointing but not enough to cause a panic.

[EagleFan]

July 21, 2010

We have a friendly at Ballymena United. Look good in 3-1 victory though we seemed to lose focus a bit in the second half or the game could have been about 6-0.

[EagleFan]

July 23, 2010

Another road friendly; this time we play at Southend United. Hoping this helps get the squad into game shape quickly.

We fell behind 1-0 midway through the first half thanks to a penalty kick which was awarded. We had carried the play but were unable to cash in at that point.

We then completely shut them down on our way to a 3-1 victory.

Elliot really stood out with a pair of goals. He did a great job of finishing. Paterson disappointed as he had multiple chances but could not finish. If he finished just half of his chances we would have scored 6.

[Young Drachma]

Missed this before, but following your progress now.

[EagleFan]

July 25, 2010

We sign 27 year old midfielder Bjorn Helge Riise from Fulham. I had to ask for the team to adjust the budgt to sign him and we have shot our load for the transfer budget in doing so but he should be a great signing for the squad. He is a very solid all around player with no apparant weakness that I can see.

[EagleFan]

July 26, 2010

Received an offer for Elliot for 1.5 million. I accepted the offer to allow him to talk to Stoke to attempt to work out a deal if he likes. I plan on replacing him with Riise so this may work out well.

[EagleFan]

July 27, 2010

We play a friendly at Accrington. A good chance to give Riise a chance to play with his new teammates and he did okay. He had a couple great plays but will take a few games to get used to playing with the club.

We won easily 4-0 and Wallace was the Man of the Match with 3 ver nice assists.

[EagleFan]

(ooc)Going to try to get a month or so in tonight. Hopefully even get a game in for my other dynasty as well. As long as we keep power with the storm hitting us outside at the moment.(/ooc)

[EagleFan]

July 29, 2010

We play at an Irish team, the Crusaders, for our last friendly before the season starts. We controlled the match on the way to a 5-1 victory. DeMerit scored twice and was the Man of the Match.

I was most upset by the team not keeping their focus and giving up that goal but overall they played well.

[EagleFan]

July 30, 2010

Elliot signes with Stoke City for a transfer value of 1.5 million. The job is now officially turned over to Riise.

[EagleFan]

August 7, 2010

Season opener as we host Nottingham Forest.

Our Starting Eleven:
GK - Lee Grant
DL - Danny Fox
DC - Leon Cort
DC - Andre Bikey
DR - Tyrone Mears
ML - Ross Wallace
MC - Jack Cork
MC - Kevin McDonald
MR - Bjorn Helge Riise
ST - Martin Paterson
ST - Stephen Thompson

Subs - Brian Jensen, Michael Duff, Bian Easton, Febian Brandy, Jay DeMerit, Chris Eagles, Chris Iwelumo

Milestones
- My first league game leading the club
- Riise is making his league debut for the club
- Wallace is making his league debut for the club
- Easton will make his league debut for the club if brought on
- Bandy will make his league debut for the club if brought on
- DeMerit will make his league debut for the club if brought on
- Iweluma will make his league debut for the club if brought on


1st half
9' - Cork hits Riise with a long ball down the right wing, Riise cuts into the corner of the box and blasts a shot that was turned aside by the keeper to keep the match scoreless
12' - Defender Ryan Bertrand sends a through ball deep into the box where midfielder Paul McKenna blasts it into out net to give them a 1-0 lead and silences our crowd
31' - McDonald gets the ball in space at about 25 yards out and fires a shot that goes just over the left side of the goal

Halftime - We trail 1-0 at the half. I lay into the team at the half. They are looking entirely average. No one is playing a poor game but not one player has stepped up.


2nd half
52' - Paterson takes a deep ball down the right wing, gets around the defender and crosses into the box where both Riise and Thompson are. Thompson heads it into the net... GOOOOAAAALLLL!!!! We tie it at 1-1 and the crowd is really getting back into it.
61' - I bring Easton on for Fox.
62' - Riise takes a pass near the top of the box and blasts a shot just over the goal and the match remains level at 1-1.
72' - I bring Duff on for Mears who is banged up and Iwelumo in for a tiring Thompson.
73' - A wonderful setup from Easton to Wallace to Paterson to Iwelumo for a one touch shot from the top of the box finds the left side of the net.... GOOOOAAAALLLLL!!!! We take a 2-1 lead. Way to make my sub look like the right move!
76' - I change them from an attack to a counter-attacking defensive approach.
85' - Duff is injured. We are going to have to play a man down so I move Wallace to the back line.

Final - We hang on for the 2-1 comeback victory.


Man of the Match - Martin Paterson with 2 assists and an 8.3 match rating.

[EagleFan]

August 11, 2010

League Cup 2nd round draw. We draw a home match against Coventry.

[EagleFan]

August 14, 2010

League match at Sheffield United. We should be in for a tough match but I think we can counter attack our way to at least one point out of it.

Our Starting Eleven:
GK - Lee Grant
DL - Danny Fox
DC - Leon Cort
DC - Andre Bikey
DR - Tyrone Mears
ML - Ross Wallace
MC - Jack Cork
MC - Kevin McDonald
MR - Bjorn Helge Riise
ST - Chris Iwelumo
ST - Stephen Thompson

Subs - Brian Jensen, David Edgar, Brian Easton, Febian Brandy, Jay DeMerit, Chris Eagles, Martin Paterson

Milestones
- Bandy will make his league debut for the club if brought on
- DeMerit will make his league debut for the club if brought on


1st half
9' - A nice string of passes sends Mears down the right wing but as he gets to the box he blasts a shot high and wide to keep the match scoreless.
13' - Striker Ched Evans takes a pass deep in our box and one touches it into our net but the flag was up, offside, no goal.
31' - Midfielder Stephen Quinn takes a clearly offside pass in our box and fires a shot into our net but the flag never went up and the goal counts to give them a 1-0 lead.
44' - Things go from bad to worse as Mears attempts a panic clear and scores an own goal to give them a 2-0 lead.

Halftime - I lay into them for their lousy performance in the first half. They do not seem to be focussed at all. I replace Fox with Easton and Iwelumo with Paterson to start the second half. I also change us to a more attacking philosophy for the second half.


2nd half
54' - Riise has a good chance from just outside the box but it goes high.
69' - I replace Bikey with DeMerit.
77' - Riise gets called for a foul in our box and a penalty is awarded.
77' - Midfielder Mark Yeates buries the penalty in the upper left corner of our net to give them a 3-0 lead.

Final - We cannot mount an attack and fall 3-0. I express my disappointment in how we played.


Man of the Match - Midfielder Stephen Quinn with one goal and a match rating of 8.0

[EagleFan]

August 14, 2010

League match as we host Portsmouth. We should be able to take 3 points from this one as long as we focus.

Our Starting Eleven:
GK - Lee Grant
DL - Danny Fox
DC - Michael Duff
DC - Andre Bikey
DR - Tyrone Mears
ML - Ross Wallace
MC - Jack Cork
MC - Kevin McDonald
MR - Bjorn Helge Riise
ST - Martin Paterson
ST - Stephen Thompson

Subs - Brian Jensen, Febian Brandy, Carke Carlisle, Brian Easton, Jay DeMerit, Chris Eagles, Chris Iwelumo

Milestones
- Bandy will make his league debut for the club if brought on


1st half
4' - Wallace takes a pass down the left wing, gets past the defender into the corner of the box and fires a rocket but right into the chest of the keeper and it remains scoreless.
[b]20']/b] - Cork, Fox and Wallace cycle triangular passing into the left wing and Cork then finds Paterson in the box instead of turning it back to the wing. Paterson one touches it past the diving keeper into the right side of the goal... GOAALLL!!!! We take a 1-0 lead.

Halftime - We go to the half up 1-0. We have two player with a yellow which could give us trouble in the second half. I want to give them another 15 minutes or so and then I'll start making subs.


2nd half
52' - Wallace takes a corner from the left wing and lobs it into the box where Duff heads it just wide to the left of the goal.
53' - Iwelumo in for Thompson who is limping after being injured in the first half.
54' - McDonald finds Paterson with a deep ball. Paterson taes it into the box and tries to place a shot into the upper right corner but put it wide and high.
62' - Easton on for Duff and Eagles on for Cork as they are both sitting on a yellow.
64' - Iwelumo hits Wallace in the box with a good pass for a wuick shot but the keeper makes a diving stop to keep the match 1-0.
90' (+1) - Wallace takes a corner from the left wing and fires it into the box. Easton finds it and fires towards the right bar where Porsmouth midfielder Michael Brown stopped it but turned to kick it out and hit the post and it bounced into the goal for an own goal to give us a 2-0 lead.

Final - We hang on for the 2-0 victory. The ref was yellow happy as he gave out 7 yellow cards today.


Man of the Match - Andre Bikey, he had a 7.5 rating but was very solid with 10 interceptions and won all 7 headers which he was involved in.

[EagleFan]

August 25, 2010

League Cup match hosting Coventry City. Am going with our version of the 4-4-2 attack tactic. We just inked the deal to sign midfielder Craig Fagan from Derby.

Our Starting Eleven:
GK - Lee Grant
DL - Danny Fox
DC - Andre Bikey
DC - Clarke Carlisle
DR - Tyrone Mears
ML - Chris Eagles
MC - Jack Cork
MC - Kevin McDonald
MR - Bjorn Helge Riise
ST - Martin Paterson
ST - Stephen Thompson

Subs - Brian Jensen, Leon Cort, Brian Easton, Febian Brandy, Jay DeMerit, Ross Wallace, Chris Iwelumo

Milestones
n/a


1st half
7' - Striker Lucas Jutkiewicz sees a pass deflect to his feet just inside the box and he places a perfect shot into the upper right corner of our goal to give them a 1-0 lead.
[b]18['b] - DeMerit in for an injured Bikey.
20' - Thompson hits Paterson with a well placed thruogh ball. Paterson dribbles into the box and fires past the keeper but just wide left.

Halftime - We are unable to equalize. We carried the play for the last half of the first half. I ask them to keep that pace up and they will put at least one into the net. I bring Cort in for Carlisle who was given a yellow in the first half and has not played a strong match so far.


2nd half
59' - A wonderful setup led to Mears hitting Paterson deep in the box for a one touch shot but he fires it way over the net and into the 20th row.
60' - Wallace in for McDonald and he moves to the left wing as Eagles moves into the center.
88' - Jukiewicz heads a long throw into out net to give them a 2-0 lead. We are crumbing.

Final - We are unable to break through and fall 2-0 at home. Our fans are quite upset as am I. We seemed to play like we expected to win.


Man of the Match - Luke Jutkiewicz with 2 goals and a match rating of 8.8.

[EagleFan]

August 28, 2010

A League match at Middleborough. I believe that we are the stronger side but it is always tough on the road. We should take at least a point but I want three, we need to recover from that last match. I am giving Jensen the start in goal this match.

Our Starting Eleven:
GK - Brian Jensen
DL - Brian Easton
DC - Michael Duff
DC - Clarke Carlisle
DR - Tyrone Mears
ML - Ross Wallace
MC - Dean Marney
MC - Jack Cork
MR - Bjorn Helge Riise
ST - Martin Paterson
ST - Chris Iwelumo

Subs - Lee Grant, Leon Cort, Danny Fox, Febian Brandy, Jay DeMerit, Chris Eagles, Steven Thompson

Milestones
- Michael Duffis about to make his 475th league appearance and his 175th appearance for Burnley
- Dean Marney is making his debut for Burnley
- Febian Brandy will make his Burnley debut if brought on
- Steven Thompson will make his 350th league appearance if brought on


1st half
21' - Striker Kris Boyd took a pass behind out defense in the box and fired a shot past the diving Jensen but it went just wide of the left post to keep the match scoreless.
31' - A shot is lobbed towards Jensen in a scramble in our box and Brian Easton dove in to try to clear but heads it past Jensen into out net to give them a 1-0 lead. Horrible play.
37' - Midfielder Matthew Kilgallon redirects a corner kick into out net to give them a 2-0 lead.

Halftime - I am very upset with them but even more upset with myself for my choice to start Jensen and Easton and for my choice of first half tactics. We trail 2-0 and need a miracle turnaround.


2nd half
62' - I bring in Brandy for Iwelumo (performance), DeMerit in for Carlisle (yellow) and Eagles for Cork (exhausted).

Final - We cannot get on the board and fall 2-0.


Man of the Match - Matthew Kilgallon with 1 goal and a match rating of 9.0

[EagleFan]

August 31, 2010

I accepted a transfer offer for Mears. His play has been disappointing as of late and I need to send a message to the team that this will be shaken up if we don't turn this around.

[EagleFan]

August 31, 2010

Hopefully a league match that is just what the doctor ordered as we host Crystal Palace.

Our Starting Eleven:
GK - Lee Grant
DL - Danny Fox
DC - Leon Cort
DC - Clarke Carlisle
DR - Michael Duff
ML - Ross Wallace
MC - Jack Cork
MC - Kevin McDonald
MR - Graham Alexander
ST - Martin Paterson
ST - Steven Thompson

Subs - Brian Jensen, Andre Bikey, Brian Easton, Craig Fagan, Jay DeMerit, Chris Eagles, Chris Iwelumo

Milestones
- Steven Thompson is making his 350th league appearance.
- Craig Fagan will make his Burnley debut if brought on.
- Craig Fagan needs 3 more goals for 50 career league goals.


1st half
24' - Paterson takes a shot from 30 yards out and places it perfectly into the upper right corner of the net... GOAL!!! We take a 1-0 lead.
45'(+2) - With a corner kick from the right wing swung into the box defender Adam Barrett heads it into our net as they tie the game 1-1.

Halftime - We had a lot of good chances but are only tied 1-1 at the half, it almost seems like the deck is stacked against us. I am bringing Eagles in for Wallace and Bikey in for Cork as the two suffered late injuries in the first half.


2nd half
54' - Midfielder Alex Marrow picks up his secd yellow of the match and Crystal Palace will play the rest of the match down a man.
66' - Bikey takes a pass and fires a shot frmo about 25 yards out and it is past the divin keeper and into the net... GOOOAALLL!!! We take a 2-1 lead.
67' - Easton in for Fox who was tiring and had a yellow already. I switch to a more defensive tactic.
85' - A counter attack leads to Eagles firing a shot from inside the box which the keeper saved but it rebounds off to the right where Alexander beat the defender to it and fired it ino the net... GOOAALLL!!!! We take a 3-1 lead.

Final - We hang on to the 3-1 victory. Much can be learned from this one.


Man of the Match - Kevin McDonald with 2 assists and a match rating of 7.7.

[EagleFan]

August 31, 2010

A tough league road match against 5th place Norwich. I am pulling back teh reigns a bit to play a more defensive counter-attack style.

Our Starting Eleven:
GK - Lee Grant
DL - Danny Fox
DC - Leon Cort
DC - Clarke Carlisle
DR - Graham Alexander
ML - Ross Wallace
MC - Dean Marney
MC - Jack Cork
MR - Bjorn Helge Riise
ST - Chris Iwelumo
ST - Steven Thompson

Subs - Brian Jensen, Andre Bikey, Brian Easton, Craig Fagan, Jay DeMerit, Chris Eagles, Martin Paterson

Milestones
- Ross Wallace is about to make his 175th career league appearance
- Craig Fagan will make his Burnley debut if brought on
- Craig Fagan needs 3 goals to reach 50 career league goals


1st half
9' - Wallace takes a free kick and swings it into the box where Riise heads it just over the goal to keep the match scoreless.

Halftime - We go the half scoreless. We had a couple other chances and gave up a couple but nothing that amounted to anything. We are taking their crowd out of the match, that is a plus. I am bringing DeMerit in for Cort to start the second half as Cort was not playing up to par.


2nd half
63' - Martin Paterson on for Chris Iwelumo.
87' - Midfielder Corey Smith places a perfect shot frmo 30 yards out into our net. They lead 1-0 on the late goal.
88' - I replace a tiring Cork with Eagles. I change our approach to a more attacking one.

Final - We are unable to equalize and fall 1-0.


Man of the Match - Defender Leon Barnett with a match rating of 7.3.