FM 06: Peterborough United - Return of The Posh

[Butter]

We’re dropped to 12th as Bolton wins in mid-week to pass us and Boro into 10th.

Amazing that we’re losing so much money and are $12M under wage budget. Part of that has to do with us paying $15M for Fernandinho in the pre-season and then over $6M for Darijo Srna. Without those 2, we’d still have $27M in the bank. But they have played well this season, especially Fernandinho. Srna has had his bad outings, but he has been an upgrade overall on the right. Srna has 6 assists from the right wing in 25 appearances, which is actually pretty good. He’s projecting out to about 10 for the season, which is excellent.

Mar. 13, Match 30 @ #14 Man City
Perez picks up a minor knock early, but we leave him on… and in the 7th minute, it pays off. Cia with a great through ball to Perez as the 2 DC’s closed on Cia… Perez is left with acres of space… he fakes right, then shoots back left and scores. Perez’s 11th of the season leads the club. Perez misses a wide open goal in the 21st minute, after a great feed from Cardenas. Darius Vassell scores in the 28th, as Desmenez comes out to try and smother a through ball, but he gets there a moment too late. In the 53rd minute, some nice quick midfield passing ends with a ball wide to Cardenas… and he crosses for Perez, who heads it in. Perez is masterful in the air, and he has netted 2 more today. Then Perez nets another hat trick… as in the 73rd, the Citizens play a sketchy ball long back to the keeper… he’s hung out to dry as he tries to control it 30 yards from goal, but he can’t… and Perez just steals it from him and hits a long range shot into the unguarded goal. Perez is named MoM with a perfect 10. Latka gets a 9 in central defense, improving upon his normal performances by a long shot.
Win, 3-1, up to 10th

Rob Edwards, who has been one of our best defenders this season (though his ratings are skewed a bit by scoring PK goals) goes down with a kneecap injury that will keep him out 3-4 weeks.

Jan Tigorev tears some knee ligaments during a training session, and he’ll miss the remainder of the season (2 months), but should be back and ready for the pre-season in late July.

Mar. 19, Match 31 v. #19 Blackburn Rovers
We come out in an attacking 4-4-2 diamond. Hagman and Perez up front, Fernandinho in support. Srna is playing at DR due to the injuries to all 3 DR’s… Daeseleire, Edwards, and Tigorev all out for this match. Carlos Fernandes gets the start in goal today. Blackburn dominate the first 45, but it ends scoreless. In the 53rd, Perez is heading down the right… as he approaches the box, he cuts it back for N’Diaye (playing MR today), and he is chopped down… it’s a penalty! Cardenas to take it… saved! The rebound falls to Perez… but he misses! Just when the cause seems lost and we start throwing lots of men forward… Godemeche with an interception, and he sends a long ball forward… Perez latches onto it at 35 yards, and comes into the box… he shoots low, and to the right of the keeper… and scores! Perez with a 90th minute goal! We get a scare in the final minute of stoppage time, as our defense is pushed up a bit too far, allowing a walk-in on Fernandes… but he cuts the angle down well and makes the save to preserve all 3 points.
Win, 1-0, up to 9th

We’re actually just 5 points out of 7th with 7 games to go. Can we make a push? Although I suppose we’ve ALREADY made a bit of a push, what with the 4 straight wins and all. Newcastle uses their game in hand on us on Sunday, and draws Manchester City 0-0, which means that we remain 5 points out of 7th, behind Everton and Newcastle in 9th place.

Horribly, Jose Perez suffers a damaged foot during training. I think about the injection route, since we have Newcastle ahead, but decide against the risk. Perez has been on fire in the 2nd half of the season, so this loss will hurt us a lot over the next 3+ weeks that he’s out.

We finish a bang up March on a down note due to Perez’s injury… but surprisingly, one good outing against Newcastle could see is in the hunt for Europe over the final few weeks of the season.

April ‘11
Cash balance: $4,261,839

Jose Manuel Perez wins the Player of the Month of March award… he finished March with 4 goals in 3 starts, averaging an 8.33 in those starts. Alexandre N’Diaye wins the Young Player of the Month award, thanks to his 7.67 avR in 3 starts for the month. And to top it off, I pick up the Manager of the Month award… the first time the Posh have scooped all 3 major monthly awards.

April 3, Match 32 v. #7 Newcastle (TV)
We come out in the 4-5-1 counter formation that has been so good to us of late. Hagman starts on his own up front today. Watching Simon Hagman is so frustrating now… at one time, it seemed as if he could dribble around anyone and score… now, every time he gets into the box, it’s almost fun figuring out how he’s going to blow this chance. He had 3 such forays in the first half, all blown chances. For the second half, we put Fernandinho on his own up front, move Cardenas to the AM spot, and insert Sarmov at MR while moving Srna from MR to ML. After controlling the first 20 minutes, in the 68th minute we get a good chance… Borbely’s long ball finds Sarmov… Sarmov with a great flick to Fernandinho, and he strikes it first time into the back of the net. Sarmov is forced off with injury, so we move to a 4-5-1 with 2 DM’s rather than 2 AM’s. We back into a shell, and are able to hold on for the 1-0 win. Great victory!
Win, 1-0, remain 9th

We now trail 7th place Newcastle by just 2 points with 6 to play. Very possible that we can do it, but even so making 7th will only guarantee us a spot in the Inter-Toto Cup since Preston won the Carling Cup to take 1 European spot away from the top 7.

The media approach me after the match about Alexandre N’Diaye. They mention that he “is being labeled as one of the best young players of his generation. Do you believe that you will be able to stop the big clubs poaching him?” I say that Alexandre is a Peterborough player, and I’m confident he’ll be staying. I note that Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and Werder Bremen are now listed as interested in the talented 20 year old. I also notice that following my comments, N’Diaye is “reassured” that he’ll be staying at Peterborough. Hooray!

With our recent run, we’ve once again guaranteed ourselves another season in the top flight. The worst we can finish now is 14th.

Carlos Rodriguez reports he’s sad to leave Leicester. The young defender returns after finishing a dazzling spell at the Championship side, where he started 9 games and averaged a 7.22 in those 9 appearances. Very, very good numbers for the 18 year old. Perhaps he’s not as far away as I think.

3 of 4 semi-finalists in the UEFA Cup are Spanish teams.

April 9, Match 33 @ #15 Cardiff
Gigliotti gets one more chance at striker today. He has 3 goals in 16 apps this year, but 2 of those were against League One Bournemouth. Mistake in the 43rd, as Desmenez’s long ball is quite short… resulting in a breakaway, and an easy goal for the Bluebirds. I switch to an attacking 4-4-2 at halftime, with Fernandinho moving to striker. Sadly, the move doesn’t work, as Cardiff strike for a goal in the 48th minute, as Latka and Borbely both fail to clear their lines. 2-0 turns to 3-0 in the 66th, as a 25 yard effort deflects off Borbely and goes in. We get one back in the 68th, as sub. Simon Hagman busts into the box, and crosses for Gigliotti, who heads it home at the back post. After our goal, Cardiff successfully back down and take the win.
Loss, 3-1, remain 9th

That game pretty much ruined my chances of finishing in the top 7. Newcastle’s win puts them 5 points clear of us with 5 games to play… and they hold a rather large goal differential advantage on us.

[cschex]

This is a great read, I'm glad you are still going with it.

What are Perez's ratings like? He seems to be tearing up the Premiership, so I hope you can hang on to him for the long haul.

[RPI-Fan]

What leagues are you running and what DB?

[Butter]

Originally Posted by cschex

This is a great read, I'm glad you are still going with it.

What are Perez's ratings like? He seems to be tearing up the Premiership, so I hope you can hang on to him for the long haul.

Perez's current ratings

If you go back a bit, you can find his ratings at the end of last season. He is improving quite nicely.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

What leagues are you running and what DB?

Selected leagues:

USA (MLS Only), England (Conf. Nat'l up), France (2nd Div.), Germany (2nd Div.), Italy (Serie B), Holland (First Division), Portugal (2nd Div.), Spain (2nd Div.)

I am running the step down from "huge" database, whatever that is called.

[Butter]

We pick up another young GK thanks to the magic of transfer fees. 19 year old Portuguese GK Pedro signs with the Posh… Pedro comes over from Ovarense for $150k initially +25% of the next transfer fee.

Tom Rose returns from his loan to League One Coventry, where he played in 10 matches, with 1 goal and 3 assists and a 7.00 average rating.

April 18, Match 34 v. #19 West Ham United (TV)
We come out in an attacking 4-4-2… a win would get the Hammers back into 17th place. A boring, boring game… until the 75th minute. In the 75th, N’Diaye sends a long ball towards the top of the box… Hagman wins the header, and nods it back for Fernandinho, who takes a 25 yard scorcher, and drills it home. West Ham with a late chance, but Desmenez with a fine save on a breakaway to preserve the win.
Win, 1-0, remain 9th

Newcastle loses, and we’re back to within 2 points of 7th.

Michael Cia twisted his ankle in this match, and will miss 3-4 weeks. Julien Desmenez suffered a mild concussion that didn’t affect his play… but he’ll be held out of our next match as a precaution.

Southampton loses to Manchester United to clinch their relegation.

April 23, Match 35 @ #11 Bolton
Perez returns to the lineup in our 4-5-1… Cardenas and Fernandinho pair at AM. Sarmov decides to uncork a 30 yard shot after a short pass from Fernandinho, and he buries it. Sarmov gives us the lead in the 27th minute. N’Daw makes a bad decision, and gets injured while attempting to dribble forward, allowing an easy cross and header goal in the 35th to tie the game. Bolton comes out firing on all cylinders in the 2nd half, and in the 60th they get the go-ahead goal, as American Eddie Johnson scores a nice low shot past Fernandes. We apply some decent pressure late after switching to the 4-4-2, but we don’t get anything but long shots, and lose a crucial road match.
Loss, 2-1, remain 9th

Emil Samuelsson returns from his loan to WBA, where he appeared in 11 matches, with 0 goals or assists and a 6.82 average rating.

April 25, Match 36 v. #13 Fulham
Fernandinho and Cardenas pair at AM, with Perez starting at striker today. Perez creates a couple of chances out of nothing early on, but can’t beat the Cottagers’ keeper. Our offside trap gets beaten like a drum by Souleymane Youla in the 23rd, and he fires a wonderful 15 yard shot from a tough angle, and it goes in just inside the post. Cardenas is forced off with injury in the 41st minute. Despite our best efforts, we fail to really put Fulham under much pressure in the 2nd half, even in a 3-5-2. Perez rates a 5, as he’s starting to cool off a bit. He had his chances today, but just wasn’t focused.
Loss, 1-0, remain 9th

Charlton have won the Championship and will be promoted to play alongside us in the EPL next season.

April 30, Match 37 @ #17 Birmingham (TV)
Birmingham are out of the drop zone only by virtue of goal difference over Blackburn. They need wins. We could pass Everton into 8th with a win and an Everton draw/loss. But we’re out of the race for 7th, with Newcastle leading us by 8 points. We could still finish as low as 14th with the wrong set of results, but I’ve still decided to play a few youngsters just to see what they have for me. We play an aggressive 4-4-2 today, with Camara at DM, Mlinaric at ML, Samuelsson at MR… and Hagman and Gigliotti up front. Gigliotti and Hagman come out looking determined… Gigliotti has a shot turned aside inside the first minute, then 90 seconds later he sets up Hagman for a goal with a nice diagonal pass. Simon Hagman with another fine play in the 18th minute, as Emil Samuelsson finds him down the right, Simon cuts inside, then shoots low and to the far post and scores. Sadly, Birmingham cut the lead in half just moments later, as LuaLua beats Borbely on the run, and slots it home past Desmenez. We switch to our counter-attacking 4-5-1 at halftime, and try out Gigliotti at AM. Birmingham nearly score in the 61st, but a goal off a free kick is called back for offsides. In the 67th, we switch to a 4-5-1 with 2 DM’s who close down a lot. We also bring on Perez for Hagman to add speed up front to the counter-attack. It pays off in the 78th, as Fernandinho collects an errant Blues’ pass, finds space on the right, then crosses to the back post where an unmarked Perez heads it home. Birmingham barely get a sniff late, and we take the win. Emil Samuelsson turns in a dominating MoM performance, rating a 9 with 1 assist and 6 key passes. Camara picks up an 8.
Win, 3-1, up to 8th temporarily

I say temporarily, because Everton has yet to play this afternoon, and then they have another mid-week game to make up before the final weekend… so they have 2 games-in-hand to make up the 3 point gap. We are now level on GD with them, though, and have the goals scored edge. 8th place is a real possibility yet.

Our U-18’s win their Group title, squeaking past Aston Villa late in the season to win it.

[Butter]

May ‘11
Cash balance: $5,249,717

Everton with a huge home 2-0 win over Liverpool on Sunday to pass us into 8th.

Crystal Palace clinch 2nd in the Championship, and so will join Charlton back in the top flight next year.

The board is now “thrilled” with my level of commitment, but still show as being disappointed in our table standing.

Arsenal with a draw in mid-week vs. Tottenham clinches the EPL title. Chelsea must be getting antsy, what with missing out on the title 2 straight years now. They will finish 2nd, but there is still a scramble for the next few places.

Everton with another key win in mid-week, this time 2-0 over 3rd place Aston Villa to essentially clinch 8th place.

Here are the standings for the final match day:
1. Arsenal – 79
2. Chelsea – 75
3. Aston Villa – 65
4. Manchester United – 65
5. Tottenham – 64
6. Liverpool – 63
7. Newcastle – 60
8. Everton – 57
9. Peterborough – 54
10. Middlesbrough – 52

The lowest we can likely finish is 10th, but could slip to 11th with a 3 goal difference swing and a Bolton win. At the bottom, Birmingham, Blackburn, and Wigan could all still go down, but West Ham and Southampton are assured of relegation.

May 8, Match 38 v. #5 Tottenham Hotspur
We go with a 4-5-1 counter set, with 2 DM’s, both set to high closing down. This worked very well at the end of the Birmingham game, and we’re hoping it’ll do so again here. This set actually works pretty well… we’re keeping Spurs out of our box and forcing long shots… we’re also setting up a few decent chances, the best of which comes in the 37th minute, as Fernandinho sends Hagman onside… he is taken down, and we go up a man as the Spurs’ defender is shown a red for his late, last ditch tackle. We switch to attacking tactics out of the same formation, as Spurs back into a shell to just try and hold a draw. Darren Bent is all over us in the 2nd half, tearing through our offside trap… we have to back into a defensive shell again to try and cope. In the 62nd, we get a big break… Cardenas’ throw in finds Perez, and his attempted shot works as a cross to the back post for Sarmov, who heads it home. We make it 2-0 in the 69th, as Fernandinho picks up a deflected through ball attempt, and knocks it home from 12 yards. Perez makes it 3-0 with a POWERFUL strike at a sharp angle in the 72nd minute. Spurs pick up a PK opportunity in the 2nd minute of stoppage time, as Daeseleire brings down Crouch in the box. The great behemoth of English football takes and makes the PK. But in the end, we dominate again. A fine finish to the season. Perez comes on in the 2nd half and scores a goal and assists on the other 2. N’Daw wins MoM honors with a 9, and Cardenas also picks up a 9.
Win, 3-1, finish 9th

If only we hadn’t yielded that last minute goal, we would’ve finished 8th… We finish +1 behind Everton, and would’ve finished above them if not for that last yielded PK. Tottenham drops to 6th with their loss, while Liverpool jumps into 4th for the last Champions League spot. Birmingham ends up dropping to 18th on the final match day, clinching relegation to the Championship.

We win $13.75M for our 9th place finish in the table.

[Butter]

Final standings (Click thumbnail to see details)


Final team stats


Sherman Andres Cardenas wins the Young Player of the Year award, and gives much of the credit for it to me. Alexandre N’Diaye finished 2nd in the voting for the award. Arsenal’s Thierry Henry wins Player of the Year honors… and this comes after being criticized towards the end of the year for being “past his best”. Cardenas finished the season with 4 goals and 3 assists in 29 appearances… he averaged a 7.21 for the season.

Fernandinho was picked in the midfield to the Players’ Team of the Year. Alexandre N’Diaye was named as a “sub” to that team. Fernandinho also finishes 2nd in the Footballer of the Year voting, behind Michael Owen of Newcastle. Fernandinho also wins Goal of the Year honors, for his magnificent goal against Arsenal on October 3rd.

[Butter]

2010/11 Final statistics
Avg. attendance: 15,070 (20th, 1st: Man Utd., 73,006)
Goals scored/conceded: 63/57 (4th/13th)

Average rating
1. Asier Del Horno (Chelsea) – 7.67
3. Fernandinho – 7.43
12. Alexandre N’Diaye – 7.30
23. Sherman Andres Cardenas – 7.21
26. Guirane N’Daw – 7.19

Goals
1. Valeri Bojinov (Chelsea) – 25
15t. Jose Manuel Perez – 14
19t. Fernandinho – 13

Assists
1. Ismael Aissati (Tottenham) – 13
9t. Fernandinho – 9
24t. Michael Cia, Jose Manuel Perez – 7

End of season squad review

Goalkeepers
Julien Desmenez came into the season the clear #2, but seemed to win the job as Fernandes struggled in mid-season. Desmenez allowed 25 goals in 20 starts, while Fernandes allowed 33 goals in 21 starts.

Players out: None
Players in: 19 year old Pedro (Ovarense – Portugal)

Outlook for ’11-‘12: Julien Desmenez just turned 18. Carlos Fernandes is 31. Desmenez is signed through 2014. Fernandes’ contract is up at season’s end. Desmenez continues to improve. Fernandes seemed to decline this year. The choice sounds simple enough to me. Desmenez will be our #1 likely for seasons to come. I actually have been looking for another keeper to possibly play #1 while Desmenez develops, but I think ultimately the young Frenchman will be it.

Defense
Despite allowing only 5 fewer goals than last season, I felt our defense improved. Partly due to better play, partly due to better defensive tactics. Dimitri Daeseleire definitely struggled at DR. His 6.7 avR at right back is not good enough. Rob Edwards improved a great deal at DR this year. He rarely had a poor game, and got better as the season went on, averaging a 7.44 in his final 9 games. Jan Tigorev was an expensive and injury-prone disappointment. Tommy Spurr also struggled at DL. Guirane N’Daw seemed to nail that position down late in the season, averaging a 7.27 over his final 15 appearances. Center back was our danger spot again… Martin Latka seemed to finally catch on at the end of the season, averaging a 7.43 over his final 14 appearances. But Rasoul Mirtoroghi was generally awful, while Balazs Borbely seemed to show his age towards the end of the season, stringing together four 6 ratings in April.

Players out: DC Rasoul Mirtoroghi, DRC Pieter Collen (R), DC Balazs Borbely (?)
Players in: 24 year old DC Pique (Manchester Utd., on loan at Anderlecht)

Outlook for ’11-‘12: If Pique can nail down the center back spot opposite Martin Latka, we can get continued good work from Guirane N’Daw and Rob Edwards, and Jan Tigorev and Dimitri Daeseleire can begin to perform up to what their abilities would suggest, we’ll continue to improve next season. But realistically we could just as easily get worse in a hurry. This is the most delicate area of the team, and we need to sign 2 more solid players here before I’ll feel comfortable running the team out there in August. Borbely may well get re-signed if he comes down on his contract requests… and we may spend some transfer money here in the pre-season as well to bring in a big name fullback.

Midfield
With the emergence of Alexandre N’Diaye (whom the media tabbed as one of the finest young players in English football), Nicolas Godemeche found his time decreasing at DM. And he will probably see it decrease still further with the continuing development of Julien Camara and Nathan Bennett. Both played well in the final 2 games of the season. N’Diaye is just a dominant force at this position, though, and will remain so for many years. At left wing, S.A. Cardenas won the Young Player of the Year award. At AM, Fernandinho finished second for the Footballer of the Year award, and scored the goal of the season, while Michael Cia spent much of the 2nd half of the season injured after reeling off a marvelous first half. That brings us to our weak spot… right wing. Darijo Srna did not perform as well as I had hoped… he had a bad start, and a fairly poor finish with 0 goals and assists, but in-between he had a run of about 18 games where he scored 2 goals and netted 6 assists. Georgi Sarmov always seems good for one or two spectacular goals per season, but his assist total is not where it needs to be for him to play regularly. Meanwhile, Emil Samuelsson finished the season with a great performance and a mediocre one at right wing, so questions abound there. Andrej Mlinaric struggled when in at left wing, but his versatility makes him hard to dump.

Players out: Mamadou Diallo
Players in: 19 year old Damien Lacroix (Paris SG)

Outlook for ’11-‘12: We continue to grow the best midfield in the EPL. Cardenas, Fernandinho, and N’Diaye are going to be stars that work together for years to come. The question comes in, then, in which system will they be most effective? I’m starting to lean toward a 4-5-1 with 2 AM’s at home, and a 4-5-1 with 2 DM’s on the road. The 2 DM’s closing down all over was VERY effective against a high-quality Spurs side in the final game of the season, keeping the pressure off our back line, which was free to employ the trap, and did so effectively. Lacroix looks like he will be a very good sub to have on the bench, as he can play all 3 wing and midfield positions well. Hopefully, he will be better than Sebastien Renouard was. Michael Cia will continue to get his time in at AM, while Godemeche, Camara, and Bennett will have to fight for time at the 2nd DM spot when we run that formation. Srna will likely continue to start at MR, but we’ll be on the lookout for upgrades there, and we will give Emil Samuelsson a chance to show us what he can do there.

Strikers
What the hell happened here? I thought everything was all figured out, with David Gigliotti and Simon Hagman as our top 2 strikers, and Claudiu Stan as our main backup. Then Gigliotti comes out and stinks it up, then gets hurt, while Hagman struggles as well. Enter Jose Perez. Perez was magic as a lone striker, netting 16 goals and 8 assists in 27 appearances, mostly by himself. He averaged a 7.44 in his final 16 appearances of the season, scoring 12 goals and netting 7 assists in just 16 games… many of which he came on in as a substitute! Simon Hagman had several long stretches of the season where he disappeared, interspersed with splashes of brilliance… while Gigliotti pretty much sucked all year long. With our move to a single striker, Claudiu Stan just didn’t get the time I expected him to get this year, and when he was on the field it was usually at AM, not his natural spot.

Players out: Mamadou Diallo
Players in: 25 year old Bolivian Jose Luis Ortiz (Hertha Berlin)

Outlook for ’11-‘12: Ortiz brings deadly finishing skill to our striker spot, and a knack for creating his own shot, which was what Hagman and Gigliotti struggled with this year. We likely will mostly run a single striker formation again, with Perez as our featured guy, and Hagman, Gigliotti, Ortiz, and Stan all battling to show what they have. We also have Florian Da Costa, Markus Schulz, and Franco Romano as capable players in the reserves. Likely, one or two of these guys will end up sold, since all of these folks’ contracts run through 2013.

[Butter]

Remainder of May ‘11

UEFA Cup Final
Deportivo 0:1 Villarreal

FA Cup Final
Aston Villa 1:4 Manchester United

Manchester United offer us $9.25M + 20% of next sale, plus a friendly offer, PLUS 19 year old right winger Vincent Dos Santos (valued at $6.5M) for Alexandre N’Diaye. I reject the offer, saying he is indispensable.

Newcastle ask me how much I want for Sherman Cardenas… and I reply with $22M, just to see if they’re that crazy about him. They’re not.

UEFA Champions League Final
Real Madrid 1:3 Marseille
-Marseille win Europe for the 2nd time in their history (1993).

Leeds defeat Ipswich 1-0 in the Championship final to win their way back into the Premiership.

Jose Perez demands a new contract. Perez wants $2.3M per year for 4 seasons, I offer $1.5M with a larger signing bonus and larger goal and assist bonuses than requested. He quickly agrees to the new deal, worth a total of about $7M over 4 years, plus incentives. He celebrates his new contract by scoring both goals for the Spain U-19’s in a 2-1 win over the Latvian U-19’s in Euro U-19 qualifying.

Reserve DRC Pieter Collen agrees to a deal with promoted Portuguese 2nd Division side Leixoes. Collen played in 47 senior games as a member of the Posh, but averaged just a 6.73 in 22 all-time EPL games.

[Butter]

June ‘11
Cash balance: $14,593,580

We get Balazs Borbely to sign a discounted deal from what he wanted, but the 31 year old Slovakian international signs for one more season for $750k, and agrees to a reduced “rotation” role.

I decide essentially to bide my time on new signings until July rolls back around and our transfer budget is revealed… but in the meantime, I do decide to poke around a bit at some defenders, but nothing really catches my eye… I’m going to have give up a large transfer fee if I want to sign an impact defender.

Looking at my profile, I now notice that my reputation is “continental”. I am also rated a 19 in handling pressure, and a 20 at loyalty and media handling.

I keep seeing Manchester United’s manager, Carlos Queiroz, under attack. I think they might offer me the job if they fire him… and I think that if I took it, it might just be to see how far I could get them to drop before they’d fire me.

Bayern Munich makes a bid for Alex N’Diaye, while Liverpool and Lyon approach me about Fernandinho… I reject all offers.

A few days later, Manchester United bid for N’Diaye… $14.75M… and the player’s agent indicates that his client wants to be able to discuss terms with the club. Alright, now this is a tough one. I will owe 20% of whatever fee I get back to his former club in France. But a DM, as much as I love this one… and I DO LOVE THIS ONE…. Well, he just isn’t the game changer that, say, an AM is. I honestly think we could get by next year with a DM lineup of Godemeche, Bennett, Camara, and Mlinaric. I up the offer to $17M, and throw in a 15% of next sale clause, while removing the offer of a friendly. Why do I want to play Man U. in a friendly?

The stadium is being expanded… work has begun, and will take around 4 months to complete the expansion, which will be a 3,000 seat increase. During the renovation, part of the North stands will be inaccessible, thus reducing our capacity through October.

The board offers me two possible budgets, and I go with the one with the highest wage budget… a $21.5M wage budget, and a $6.5M transfer budget. That puts me at only about $900k under the wage budget as is.

Fernandinho is voted Fans’ Player of the Year for ’10-’11.

We pick up our yearly $26.5M for TV rights. The board and the fans are “very pleased” with my performance, and both expect a “safe, mid-table” position yet again this year.

Manchester United agrees to my terms for Alex N’Diaye. I have 5 days to think about it, and decide to take all 5. In the end, I just can’t do it. I can’t sell him. He came up with us, and frankly, I hope he stays with us for his entire career.

Newcastle makes a tempting offer for Cardenas… $16.75M + 20% of next sale. I have to turn that down as well. If I sold my players at their peak, I would have something like $50-60M in transfer funds… but I couldn’t even come close to buying players of their caliber to replace them in the transfer market.

July ‘11
Cash balance: $37,054,505

We throw out some feeler bids for some defenders, and have most of them thrown back in our face.

The board ups our wage budget to $27.2M thanks to our large budget surplus. No bump to the transfer budget yet, though.

Rasoul Mirtoroghi signs a long term deal with Alaves of the Spanish 2nd division. Mirtoroghi played in 72 senior squad games for the Posh, averaging a 7.33 in the Championship League, but around a 6.8 in 36 EPL games.

July 3, Friendly #1 v. Real Madrid (TV)
We decide to come out in the 4-5-1 with 2 DM’s for this match with the European runners-up from last season. In the 18th minute, Freddy Adu finds an open Antonio Cassano out front, and he beats Desmenez to the far post. It’s 2-0 in the 25th, after Raul heads in a nice Cicinho cross. We get one back in the 64th, as Stan’s cross for Gigliotti finds its target, and then Gigliotti finds the target as well. Madrid get their advantage back to 2, as Cassano sets up a nice goal by laying the ball off to the spot, and Tomas Sivok buries it. 4-1 in the 89th, as Adu sends Lebohang Mokoena onside, and he beats Bredal-Thorsen with a high, hard shot. No one played all that well, but it was nice to see Gigliotti looking dangerous again.
Loss, 4-1

July 8, Friendly #2 v. Caen (French Ligue Un)
Plenty of first half action, but no goals. Our 4-5-1 with 2 AM’s is on display today. Fernandinho gets us on the board in the 52nd by burying a 20 yard free kick.
Win, 1-0

I see now why I need so many friendlies. I have about 25 players who could play this season, and they all need match fitness. As such, I schedule 2 more friendlies… so I now have 2 with the reserves, and 1 vs. the U-18’s. These matches will also give me a better chance to study all of the players before the season starts up.

Out of the blue, Nigeria offers me the opportunity to coach their national team, but I decide to turn it down at this point. They have some good players, but I don’t really want to focus on that right now. Maybe after I get the Posh established as a European power, then I’ll have the time.

Unfortunately, it’s time consuming to try and bring in all these defenders…. So this pre-season is dragging on and on.

July 12, Friendly #3 v. Inter Milan (TV)
We come out in the 4-5-1 with 2 DM’s today. U-18 player Tom Rose knocks home the rebound of a Nathan Bennett volley in the 39th minute to put us ahead. Young DC Carlos Rodriguez is rating an 8 at halftime. Inter are able to equalize in the 84th minute, as Bredal-Thorsen gives up a rebound of a 25 yard Adriano shot. Then, Michael Cia scores a brilliant goal in stoppage time to win the game, just stripping the ball from Zanetti in midfield, and lobbing the keeper from 20 yards. Brilliant goal.
Win, 2-1

Next up, we finish the pre-season and start our 3rd season in the Premiership.

[flere-imsaho]

Another excellent season!

Question: Do you think that all that separates you from the top of the EPL is the caliber of certain players on your squad? Specifically, the idea that you simply can't afford to have a Thierry Henry on the squad? Or something else?

[Butter]

I had a way too long post typed out to answer your question, then my computer ate it.

To sum up: I screwed around with the tactics a lot, which created inconsistency... we struggled to score early in the season... and we struggled to defend late in the season. Our defense is definitely the weak link, because we're scoring enough goals to be considered a top-5 team, if our defense was there.

I honestly think that there is not a better midfield than mine going... N'Diaye, Cardenas, and Fernandinho are all potential starters for any team in the league.

I anticipate a top-7 finish this season, and plan to smarten up tactically, and try not to out-think myself. We're sticking with the 4-5-1 in use late last season, and hope that Perez can continue his emergence as a star. If that happens, and we can keep around a 1 goal per game average defensively (yielding 38, rather than 50+ goals this season), I think we can contend for the Champions League.

[Butter]

July 17, Friendly #4 @ Ipswich
U-17 striker Jeremy Fernandez gets us on the board in the 21st minute, half-volleying in a cross from Samuelsson. And he scores again just prior to halftime thanks to a nifty long ball from Daeseleire. We finally crack in the 69th, as Fernandes fails to corral a shot, leaving an easy tap in at the back post. Simon Hagman with a marvelous strike from 15 yards in the 80th minute. Darijo Srna with a great 20 yard curling strike in the 88th minute to put the scoring to bed.
Win, 4-1

July 20, Friendly #5 @ Northampton
Tom Rose with a nifty steal in the Northampton defense in minute 12… his shot is tipped across the goal mouth, and David Gigliotti is there to pick up the pieces. Edwards’ poor throw is stolen by Northampton in the 31st, and Bredal-Thorsen fails to stop the breakaway. Gigliotti puts us back on top in the 52nd, as Edwards centering ball into a crowd is headed home by the Frenchman. Our nearby rivals score in the 88th, though, a again we fail to cover adequately on a breakaway. Disappointing performance.
Draw, 2-2

July 24, Friendly #6 v. Peterborough Reserves
The reserves get on the board first, as U-18 fullback Ian Price crosses to the back post, where Markus Schulz heads it home in the 17th minute. The seniors get on the board in the 51st, as Srna’s chip into the area finds Samuelsson at the back post, where he heads it home. Far from a good performance by the seniors, but Emil Samuelsson picks up his 2nd MoM of the pre-season here.
Draw, 1-1

Just after Claudiu Stan fails to turn up for training for no apparent reason, I receive several offers for him from Feyenoord and a few Italian clubs, ranging from $5.5M to nearly $8M. All of the players being offered in trade are poor, so I go cash only in this transaction.

July 30, Friendly # 7 @ FC Barcelona
My first visit to the Nou Camp as a coach. Barcelona get on the board in the 12th minute, as Eto’o finishes a nice series of passes by passing it into the back of the net. New acquisition Jose Luis Ortiz is sent onside by Dimitri Daeseleire in the 31st minute, and finishes past Victor Valdes to make it 1-1. A fun 2nd half, but no more scoring means we earn a draw. Neither team was particularly sharp in this one, but N’Diaye earns MoM… so we have that, which is nice.
Draw, 1-1

August ‘11
Cash balance: $36,467,167

The board up our transfer funds available to $16.25M… then hours later, Claudiu Stan agrees to a deal with Reggina, worth over $6.5M in fees to us, boosting our transfer budget to nearly $20M (since the deal is structured).

August 3, Friendly #8 v. Peterborough U-18’s
Rob Edwards scores a PK in the 38th minute to put the senior squad ahead. Gigliotti scores off the 2nd half kickoff to put the seniors up 2-0. A dominant win without much scoring.
Win, 2-0

I decide to cancel our final friendly against our reserve squad, and just let the team rest from competitive play a bit before opening the season. Everyone is match fit.

It’s time once again to take a look at our depth chart…
Depth chart
GK: Julien Desmenez, Carlos Fernandes
DL: Guirane N’Daw, Jan Tigorev, Andrej Mlinaric
DC: Martin Latka, Balazs Borbely, Pique, Carlos Rodriguez
DR: Dimitri Daeseleire, Rob Edwards, Tigorev
DM: Alex N’Diaye, Nathan Bennett, Nicolas Godemeche, Julien Camara (R)
ML: Sherman Andres Cardenas, Darijo Srna, Andrej Mlinaric, Emil Samuelsson
MR: Srna, Samuelsson, Georgi Sarmov
AM: Fernandinho, Michael Cia, Sarmov, Cardenas, Jose Luis Ortiz
ST: Jose Manuel Perez, Simon Hagman, David Gigliotti, Ortiz

Charity Shield
Arsenal 0:2 Manchester United

English Premier League odds
Chelsea – 7:4
Arsenal, Liverpool – 2:1
Manchester United – 8:1
Aston Villa – 20:1
Tottenham H. – 33:1
.
Peterborough United – 80:1

Our odds continue to improve… a high mid-table finish is predicted here.

We have spent nearly 2 months scouring every single attractive looking defender… and in the end, they’re almost all too old, too expensive, or not interested in coming to Peterborough.

But in the end, we get one defender… he costs us $7M (part of which is spread over 6 months) to Atletico Paranaense, but he looks worth it. 21 year old Brazilian DC Carlos Augusto agrees to a long term deal with the Posh. Augusto possesses a 20 in heading, marking, and tackling… he also is a strong player, with top notch decision making and positioning. His only weakness is that he can get a bit flustered at times and is not the best jumper. However, he looks to be a close to world-class player, and we’re thrilled to get him into a Posh uniform just in time for the season to begin.

I decide to keep fast improving 18 year old defender Carlos Rodriguez with the senior squad, and try to get him some starts this season.

And so, another season is upon us. Let us hope that we can maintain an even keel this year, and avoid the ups and downs of the last 2 seasons.

Aug. 13, Match 1 @ Everton
We start with the 4-5-1 with 2 DM’s today. Perez starts at striker, and Carlos Fernandes opens at keeper. In the 3rd minute, an Everton defender is sent straight off for a vicious foul! Very odd play, but we go up a man very early on. The remainder of the first half is a tight back and forth struggle, but it goes into halftime scoreless. We bring Cia on in the 2nd half and switch to a more attacking style. We switch to a 3-5-2, and almost immediately thereafter yield a goal thanks to poor ball handling by Dimitri Daeseleire. The nightmare gets worse in the 83rd, as we yield a goal off a corner kick, as Cahill hits the post, but no one is there to clear the bobbling ball away, and Olof Mellberg finishes it. And in stoppage time, the nightmare is complete, as we yield a breakaway goal to the Toffees. We yield 3 goals to Everton after going a man up in the 3rd minute, and mustered almost no real scoring threats.
Loss, 3-0, begin in 20th

I’m thinking the switch to the 3-5-2 in mid-game was a mistake there. Maybe just a tiny one. Switching to any sort of attacking tactics on the road seems a quick way to certain death, even when you have a clear advantage, apparently. I guess I need to learn to be more patient, since attacking football often leads to quick counter-attacks.

Young attacking midfielder Tom Rose agrees to a 5 month loan spell at Norwich.

Sherman Cardenas comes up lame in training… a groin strain will keep him out about 3 weeks.

Aug. 20, Match 2 v. #5 Chelsea
Carlos Augusto makes his Posh debut, as does Pique, as the 2 pair at DC today. Fernandinho picks up a fairly serious looking injury in the 19th minute, and has to come out. Perez gets an injury, and he comes off at halftime of a 0-0 game. In the 65th, Sarmov with a point blank header that’s deflected wide, and Samuelsson’s follow up is charged down nicely. 1 minute later, we get another good opportunity, as Gigliotti steals the ball from a Chelsea center back… he closes to within 36 yards, then unleashes an early shot past the charging keeper… and scores! Gigliotti’s 50th goal in Posh blue puts us in front! Gigliotti makes it 2-0 in the 71st, as Srna with a calm long ball onto Gigliotti’s run down the left… and he slots it home from 15 yards out. We bring Carlos Rodriguez on for his Posh debut, as he subs in for Pique. In stoppage time, we make it 3-0, as Gigliotti is again set free down the left… this time, he draws 2 defenders, so he crosses to the spot, where Sarmov is unmarked, and he buries an open 12 yard shot for the dagger! Darijo Srna is named MoM for playing a dominating left wing. He and N’Diaye rate 9’s.
Win, 3-0, up to 9th

Go figure… we lose to Everton 3-0, then come home and beat the league favorites easily by the same score.

I hold my breath to see what the Fernandinho injury turns out to be… and it’s probably the worst possible news. He has a serious hip injury, and we must send him to a specialist… but he’ll be out 2+ months. That likely means we’ll be seeing a lot more of the 4-5-1 with 2 DM’s in the near future. We beat Chelsea pretty badly with it, though, so maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Michael Cia becomes our main AM in Fernandinho’s absence.

[bulletsponge]

just finished reading your updates good read, and good luck, i bet you will need it.

ps how good is that striker Giglioto and Hagman? can i get a link to them any chance?

[Butter]

Ask, and ye shall receive.





And one more for good measure, emerging DC Carlos Rodriguez... who looks to be well on his way to becoming a regular in my back 4.... though I must admit, after looking at his decline in the physical attributes, it resulted in a slight bump for everyone on strength and aerobics... as that was one area I had bumped down previously in favor of more position specific training.

[bulletsponge]

wow Carlos Rodriguez looks like hes going to be amazing, id start him often.

btw i noticed neither Hagman or Gugliota are very brave or aggressive, 2 things that will keep them for being consistant in the EPL i think

[Butter]

Aug. 24, Match 3 @ #4 Fulham
Gigliotti earns the start up front today, as Jose Ortiz starts at AM alongside Michael Cia. 18 year old Carlos Rodriguez gets the start at DC today alongside Carlos Augusto. We control play early on, and in the 21st minute get a good opportunity, as Tigorev’s pass to Jose Ortiz finds him in space… then he’s tugged down, and we get a penalty kick try. Gigliotti to take it… his initial attempt is stopped, but the rebound rolls right back to him, and he buries it. Desmenez with a dismal mistake in the 35th, as a long ball actually skips by him as he attempts to come out and clear it away from 25 yards out… the ball rolls toward the back post, and the Fulham striker runs onto it and scores. In the 55th minute, Daeseleire skins Andrea Gasbarroni, then crosses to the middle, where Gigliotti finishes a brilliant half volley for his 4th goal of the season already. We fall back into our 2 DM set with over a half hour to go to try to protect our lead. And the tactic works… Fulham get a lot of the ball late, but can’t do much with it, as our back 6 (the 2 DM’s included) hold up nicely. Carlos Rodriguez with an impressive debut, rating an 8.
Win, 2-1, up to 2nd place

We now sit perfectly level with Arsenal for 1st… both teams have 6 points from 3 games, both teams are at +1 GD, and both teams have yielded 5 goals and allowed 4.

From worst to first in under a week… not bad. Another plus from the match is that David Gigliotti seems to be regaining his form of 2 years ago, giving us 3 legitimate strike threats between he, Hagman, and Perez. 4 goals in 2 appearances, and only 1 of them as a starter is pretty darn good.

The Carling Cup draw is held, and we’ll face Millwall at home on September 21st.

Aug. 27, Match 4 v. #14 Bolton
We call up Damien Lacroix from the reserves to start at AM today, as Cardenas and Fernandinho continue to sit on the shelf. Perez gets his 2nd start up front. Perez is handed a breakaway in the first 20 seconds on a bad backwards pass…but he chunks the 15 yard shot. He redeems himself in the 6th minute, as another poor defensive play dooms Bolton… Lacroix picks off a lazy chesting attempt from a defender, then squares it for Perez who has an easy 8 yard shot into an open net. Bolton equalize in the 8th, as some sloppy defending in the middle allows an open 12 yard shot for Sergio Gonzalez, who buries it. Perez works his magic again in the 19th, as N’Daw’s 40 yard chip finds Perez perfectly on stride, and he finishes from 10 yards out. And Perez completes his 3rd career hat trick in the 37th, as Mlinaric’s excellent first touch runs right into Perez, who is able to take a dribble, and slot it low and inside the left post. We make it 4-1 just before halftime, as again Mlinaric is involved… he squares a ball from 25 yards for Nathan Bennett, who winds up and rips a long effort home just off the keeper’s fingertips. In the 62nd, Bolton finishes a nice move with a well taken shot from near the spot against our 2nd half 2 DM formation. Not much else happens in the 2nd half, as Simon Hagman disappoints during his first 45’ of action this season. Nathan Bennett and Damien Lacroix take advantage of their first starts of the season, both rating 8’s.
Win, 4-2, up to 1st

Arsenal win their match by a single goal, propelling us into 1st by +1… the first time we’ve held the top spot in the Premiership in our 2+ seasons here.

We finish off a fantastic opening month in style, with a fine first half performance against a strong Bolton club. 3-0-1 will get it done, and it’s enough to find us in 1st place following August, with a 2 week layoff upcoming due to a FIFA International Weekend over what us Americans like to call “Labor Day Weekend”.

September ‘11
Cash balance: $32,599,706

Alex N’Diaye finishes 3rd in the player of the month voting… while I unsurprisingly nick the Manager of the Month award.

Jose Perez continues his ascent on the Spanish international team as well, as he buries both goals in a 2-0 U-21’s European Qualifying win over Greece. Perez is only 18, but I have a feeling that before his career is up, he will star for Spain in a World Cup.

Sept. 10, Match 5 @ #9 Wigan Athletic
Sherman Cardenas returns from injury in this one…. Perez starts at striker. Perez and Lacroix work a nice combination, with Lacroix breaking Wigan’s trap, and knocking in a high hard shot from inside 15 yards to put us ahead in the 14th minute. Lacroix, the 19 year old Frenchman, is impressing in his first 2 Posh outings. In the 42nd minute, we put on a move so pretty that I actually rose from my chair and applauded… Desmenez with a pass out front to Tigorev… he knocks a long ball wide to Cardenas… Cardenas with a first time flick to Perez, who is inches onside… Perez down the middle, and he makes the keeper look ridiculous and leaves him sitting on the ground near the penalty spot while he skips by and knocks it home with ease. 2-0 Posh at halftime. We back into the 2 DM version of our 4-5-1, bringing on Mlinaric for Lacroix at the break. Wigan earn one back in the 86th minute, as Pique fails to clear a free kick, then he compounds his mistake by allowing the shot from 10 yards to deflect off him and into the net. Then, the unthinkable happens, as the defense seems to part for a nice low cross… again it’s Pique allowing a ball through, and Stein Huysegems scores again for Wigan to give them the equalizer. Perez earns MoM honors for his goal and assist… but we should’ve held onto this game. Again, it is late game defense doing us in.
Draw, 2-2, drop to 3rd

The late game collapse costs us 2 points, and 2 spots in the table as Manchester City passes us into first. We sit 3rd, behind Man City by –2 on GD. Our 8 goals allowed in 5 matches is worst of any team in the top 11.

Manchester United’s home loss to Bolton finds them 19th in the table after 5 matches. They have started the season 0-3-2, while scoring just 1 goal. Shocking, really.

Sept. 18, Match 6 v. #20 Manchester United (Yes, that’s right, #20)
We’re down to 5th after dropping a couple of spots for not playing until Sunday. Man U are now the only team without a win in the EPL. Lacroix with his 3rd straight start for us at AM, alongside Georgi Sarmov. Predictably, Man U score first, with Kieran Richardson nailing a 20 yard free kick in the 6th minute. After a long stretch of uninspiring play, we level the match in the 37th, as Cardenas’ right footed cross to the center finds N’Diaye, and he heads it in off the right post. Man U come out firing in the 2nd half, and Rooney just drills a 20 yard shot past Desmenez in the 48th minute to put the Red Devils back on top. But again it’s Alex N’Diaye bringing us back… this time, it’s Perez laying off a harmless looking ball from the arc, but N’Diaye’s 30 yard bender beats Petr Cech and makes it 2-2. We have no subs for the DR spot, but Rob Edwards is pulling a 4 at one point in the 2nd half, so I have to get him out… Mlinaric comes on out of position. Rooney and the corpse of Ruud van Nistelrooy nearly pull it out for Man U, but I am able to hold down for the draw and spare myself of being the first to lose to these guys. They won’t be in the bottom for long.
Draw, 2-2, remain 5th

Next up for us, it’s backup time as we host a down Millwall side.

Sept. 21, Carling Cup Second Round v. Millwall (#12 in Championship)
Young French striker Jeremy Fernandez appears in his first game for us here. A snooze-inducing first half ends scoreless, and I consider giving out refunds to the 3,000 or so brave fans who made it out tonight in a steady drizzle. But we open the 2nd half strong, and a long stretch of possession in and around the box ends with Nathan Bennett crushing a low 12 yard shot past the unsuspecting keeper in the 56th. And after Millwall starts to press a bit more, we get a 2nd goal… as Jeremy Fernandez is sent through by Sarmov, and the 18 year old finishes it nicely. Fernandez finishes with an 8.
Win, 2-0, advance to Carling Cup Third Round

[Butter]

Originally Posted by bulletsponge

wow Carlos Rodriguez looks like hes going to be amazing, id start him often.

Trying to work him into the rotation... With the spectacular failure of Pique so far, I'd say I have no other choice anyway. It's just a good thing I had a youngster in house ready to step in at DC where my expensive signings have failed me.

btw i noticed neither Hagman or Gugliota are very brave or aggressive, 2 things that will keep them for being consistant in the EPL i think

This is definitely something I am discovering this year, though Gigliotti has had a nice start. Hagman may well end up being sold for scrap, as frankly in a 1 striker system I'm having trouble finding him any playing time.

Thanks for the comments, and for reading!

[Butter]

We get West Ham United at home in the Carling Cup Third Round on October 26th.

Sept. 26, Match 7 @ #7 Manchester City (TV)
Our Monday night football debut this season… we’ve slipped to 9th in the table due to inactivity, but a win would see us jump into 2nd. Man City is in the same boat. We come out in the 4-5-1 with 2 DM’s formation. Perez runs at lone striker with Cia in support. In the 25th minute, our aggressive closing down scheme costs us, as 3 men converge on the ball outside of the box, leaving a 4 on 2 in the box, and the chance is converted by a nice short cross and header to make it 1-0. A short time later, Man City score again off another nice move, that left their striker with a clear 12 yarder that he buries. We switch to an attacking style at halftime, and turn into a 4-4-2. The way City are playing, though, I fear this may just turn into a 4 or 5-0 type game. I fight the urge to turn this into a 3-4-3, as that’s only given us grief over the years. We improve a great deal in the 2nd half, but just can’t penetrate the City back 4, and it ends 2-0. Man City earn their way into 2nd, leaving us way down in 9th.
Loss, 2-0, remain 9th

Our first loss since the season opener is very disappointing, but this is a long haul, not a sprint. We’ll have our opportunities to move up again soon. We suffer our only loss of the month on the final match day of the month, and it drops us into familiar territory: mid-table.

October ‘11
Cash balance: $29,998,998

Alex N’Diaye wins the September Young Player of the Month award, as he rates an 8 in all 3 starts, and nets 2 goals against Manchester United. N’Diaye also wins the Goal of the Month honor for his 30 yard scorcher against the Red Devils.

Oct. 2, Match 8 v. #7 Tottenham Hotspur
Srna is sent onside by Tigorev, then he’s cynically hacked down by Leighton Baines… he’s given a red in the 7th minute, and we get a great start here. We stick with our standard defensive tactics, and it pays off in the 28th minute, as Pique’s long ball is volleyed by Perez from 20 yards, and he scores a spectacular long volley to put us ahead. In the 39th minute, Spurs get their goal back, as Yaya Toure’s 10 yarder is deflected wide, but Peter Crouch is there for the tap in. In the 59th, we get back on top, as Perez is just barely onside on a Daeseleire pass, then he successful flicks a shot over the head of the keeper to make it 2-1. Cardenas makes it 3-1 in the 72nd on a 25 yard free kick. We back into a the 2 DM set and easily hold the lead against 10 man Spurs.
Win, 3-1, up to 5th place

We’re now 5 pts. out of 1st place, and just 2 behind 2nd place Chelsea. Man U get their first win to jump into 16th place.

Jose Perez gets another goal for the Spanish U-21’s as they down Bulgaria in U-21 European Qualifying… then 3 days later, nets 2 more as Spain beat Belarus 4-0.

Oct. 15, Match 9 @ #1 Arsenal
Another very important early season clash at Emirates Stadium. A poor start for us, as Ashley Cole’s free kick is misjudged by Desmenez, allowing midfielder Darren Murphy to collect it at the back post and hammer it home in the 8th minute. Michael Cia finally wakes up and makes a nice play… in the 21st minute, Perez heads it down in the box back to Cia, who scores a wonderful lob from 18 yards out. Perez scores one of his own in the 37th minute… Cardenas makes his way down the left, then crosses to the near post, where Perez heads it in off the post. In the 56th minute, Rob Edwards manages to score an own goal off an Arsenal corner to make it 2-2. But we fight back and make it 3-2 in the 64th, as Arsenal tries to finesse their way out of trouble on a corner kick, but Damien Lacroix finishes it past the Arsenal keeper. We back into the 2 DM formation, and are able to hold the lead despite some shaky play in goal by Desmenez. A fine win, possibly the best win under pressure we’ve yet had in the EPL. Michael Cia picks up the MoM award, rating a 9 and scoring one goal and setting up Perez for another.
Win, 3-2, up to 5th place

We’ve scored the most goals of any team in the EPL (19), but have yielded the 4th most (15). Arsenal are knocked down to 3rd with the loss, allowing Liverpool to claim the top spot for now.

N’Diaye is averaging an 8, and is again attracting notice of Bayern Munich.

Fulham fire their coach, Chris Coleman, and I am rumored to want the job. I refute that, again reiterating my desire to remain with the Posh.

Jose Perez is leading the squad in goals (7), assists (4), and MoM awards (3) through 9 games.

I notice that my reputation has increased to “continental”.

Just as Fernandinho returns to full training, Michael Cia injures his heel and will miss 2 weeks. Our starting keeper also comes up with a minor training injury, but he’ll miss our next match.

Oct. 22, Match 10 v. #17 Charlton Athletic
Cardenas and Sarmov start at AM in support of David Gigliotti today. A dull scoreless first half tells me I need to open up more in the 2nd half. And we net 0 highlights in the 2nd half, as the game ends a scoreless draw, despite switching to a fairly aggressive 4-2-3-1 with 15 minutes to go. We had 6 shots, none of them on target.
Draw, 0-0, remain 5th

We drop to 6th after Sunday action.

Oct. 26, Carling Cup Third Round v. West Ham United (#14 in Championship)
We come out in an attacking 4-4-2 today. Simon Hagman and Jose Luis Ortiz pair up front in this formation, and they combine on our 1st goal… Hagman steals it from a defender in the 10th minute, but has it tackled away just outside the six… but it falls to Ortiz, who buries it. We make it 2-0 in the 15th, as Dimitri Daeseleire’s corner finds Hagman in the center of the box, and he heads it home into the upper left corner. Carlos Rodriguez makes a couple of great plays in the middle, but in the 35th he takes down Dean Ashton who is harmlessly going after a loose ball that was rolling out of play… and yields a PK. The Hammers convert to cut it to 2-1. We hold them off in the 2nd half, and actually squander a few chances of our own… but Hagman picks up an 8 and a goal in his first start of the season, and Borbely is named MoM off the bench.
Win, 2-1, advance to Carling Cup Fourth Round

We get another decent draw in the Carling Cup, as we’ll take to the road to face Leicester, another Championship side… that game will be on November 30th.

Oct. 30, Match 11 @ #14 Crystal Palace
Fernandinho returns to the lineup today, as does Julien Desmenez. Perez is our lone striker. Perez starts the game off with some more magic… he nods down a Tigorev long ball to Cia, who then returns the pass to him… Perez’s first touch seems to have dribbled it too far, but he beats the charging defender to it, and buries a 20+ yard screamer to put us ahead. We do well to hold Palace off, but when we switch to our 4-5-1 with 2 DM’s, they bury us in chances and finally convert one in the 83rd. We try to ratchet the attack back up, but by the time we get it going, the final whistle is blown, and we take a disappointing draw. The pbp seems to think we should be happy with the draw, but yielding that goal is deflating to me.
Draw, 1-1, remain 5th

Man City lose to Newcastle 3-0, wasting their chance to jump back over us in the table.

November ‘11
Cash balance: $27,757,909

Michael Cia finishes 2nd in Player of the Month voting, thanks to his 3 appearances with an 8 avR. He also scored 1 goal and had 2 assists in the month. Alex N’Diaye finishes 3rd in Young Player of the Month voting, and Jose Perez’s wonderful chip goal against Tottenham on October 2nd is voted 2nd best Goal of the Month.

I notice that Dimitri Daeseleire is now rated as both a DR and an MR… I plan to use this to my advantage with Samuelsson struggling at MR in the early going.

Nov. 5, Match 12 v. #15 Cardiff
We decide to use the 4-4-2 that we so efficiently dispatched West Ham with today. Hagman and Perez start at striker. Another poor first half by us, as Cardiff completely dominate the chances… our only good shot was a Hagman 10 yarder that was deflected out for a corner. The 2nd half runs by in a similarly disappointing fashion… until the 90th minute. Cardiff’s corner kick is headed on… by Carlos Augusto… he sends it long to sub. Jose Luis Ortiz, who runs past 3 defenders, then lobs the keeper from 20 yards out and scores! Finally, we provide some late heroics for once as our newest striker provides the game winner in the final stages! And just for good measure, Ortiz makes it 2-0 in the final seconds of stoppage time, as Pique’s header finds him again just onside, and able to beat the trap and power it home from 8 yards in. Ortiz rates a 9 in his finest outing as a member of the Posh yet.
Win, 2-0, up to 4th place

We sit 4 points off the leaders (Liverpool), but 2nd and 3rd place Chelsea and Newcastle have a game in hand to come, as do 6th place Arsenal. Newcastle and Arsenal fight to a 0-0 draw, preserving our 4th place standing through 12 matches. Chelsea lose at home to Fulham to remain 2nd, 1 point behind Liverpool.

Pique suffers a slipped disc during weight training that will see him out for 3 months. That means more playing time for young Carlos Rodriguez, who is spending some time in the reserves after struggling his last 2 times out.

Our stadium expansion is at last completed, which expands our stadium capacity to just under 20,000 (19,364 to be exact). This should help our bottom line a good bit, because this means we can shoehorn in a good many more folks for games with the big boys.

Fernandinho hits another injury, as he fractures a wrist on a fall in a training session… this time he’ll miss about a month of action.

[GoSeahawks]

I’ve never played soccer or watched much of it, but I’ve been curious about FM for a while now. I decided to read this dynasty after you discussed the Posh in the FM impressions thread. All I have to say is that this dynasty is excellent. The game seems like it might be overwhelmingly deep for a soccer no nothing like myself. Anyway, keep up the good work and I’ll be rooting for you.

[Butter]

Nov. 26, Match 13 v. #8 Aston Villa
Big game here, we come out in the 4-5-1 with 2 AM’s formation… defensive, and counter-attacking. Villa seem content to sit back and wait on their chances, which leads to a pretty drab early part of the match. In the 30th minute, Gareth Barry completes a wonderful cross to Milan Baros, who beats Martin Latka and makes him look silly while heading it in past Desmenez. 1-0 Villa at halftime, as we switch to an attacking 4-4-2. Finally, we get the leveler in the 70th minute after a long stretch of nothing… Daeseleire’s corner drops perfectly into the six, where Augusto’s volley is put into Villa’s own net by a defender… 1-1 with 20 minutes to go. We lose Cardenas with under 5 minutes to play to injury… and I’ve used all of my subs. We switch folks around and are able to hold the draw. Not the best performance by any stretch, but we get a point out of it.
Draw, 1-1, drop to 6th

We remain 5 points behind the leaders, Chelsea, as the top 10 are bunching up with only 7 points separating them.

Disaster for us, as Sherman Cardenas pulls up with a torn calf muscle in the last match, which will find him out for 4 months… that’ll keep him out well into March. He’s one of our finest players, but this season will definitely be one to forget for the 22 year old Colombian. Now my problem is, who to play at left wing? We don’t really have a replacement for Cardenas… just fill-ins. Looks like Darijo Srna will be the man for now, as we have many more options at right wing than at left.

Nov. 30, Carling Cup Fourth Round @ Leicester (#9 in Championship)
We come out in an attacking 4-4-2, with Hagman and Gigliotti reprising their former roles as #’s 1 & 2 up front. We make it 1-0 in just the 5th minute, as Gigliotti sends a fabulous cross into the six under great pressure, where Hagman beats the keeper and a defender to the ball to head it home… that’s Hagman’s 100th career Posh goal in all competitions, and it gives us a lead. The Foxes make it 1-1 in the 12th thanks to some sloppy central defending… both DC’s leave a man all alone at the spot, and he has no choice but to score from there. Hagman makes it 2-1 in the 23rd, as a poor ball by the keeper is headed onto Hagman by Lacroix, and Hagman is able to squeeze it under the keeper from 15 yards out. Hagman nets his hat trick in the 56th, as Gigliotti slips him a nice ball down the middle… the Swede runs onto it, and chips the keeper from over 25 yards out. A brilliant goal puts us comfortably ahead. Lacroix is brought down in the box in the 66th minute, and Edwards buries the PK to make it 4-1. We dominate the 2nd half, and win going away. Hagman the clear MoM with a 10 rating. Gigliotti and Lacroix both with 2 assists.
Win, 4-1, adv. to Carling Cup Fifth Round

Carlos Fernandes ends up with a strained ankle in this match, and he’ll miss 3-4 weeks.

We finish up an abbreviated November with a win and a draw in league play, and a convincing League Cup win.

December ‘11
Cash balance: $26,447,557

I have to now consider bringing over a couple of new players when the transfer window re-opens… a new keeper, and a left winger. Desmenez has not played very well, and Fernandes hasn’t either at the #1 spot this year. Desmenez maybe needs a couple of more years of seasoning before taking on the #1 role. And with Cardenas out on the left wing, we need another impact player in midfield. But I’m not sure how much I’m willing to spend for a short term solution to get us into Europe for next season.

Dec. 3, Match 14 @ #3 Newcastle United
We start Lacroix and Cia at AM’s and Simon Hagman up front vs. the Magpies today. A dreadfully dull first half ends scoreless. We pull Hagman (rating a 5) for Perez at the interval. Newcastle dominate the early stages of the 2nd half, and finally find a goal in the 68th… James Cooper buries a half volley from 8 yards to give them the lead. We’re again forced to play catch-up, and do it from the 4-4-2. Desmenez can’t handle a ripped 30 yard shot, and it goes off his gloves from 10 yards out and in for a 2-0 Newcastle lead. Perez leaves with an injury with less than 5 minutes to go, and that just adds injury to insult.
Loss, 2-0, drop to 7th

We’re letting good opportunities to solidify ourselves in the top 5 just pass us by. We were in this match, but just let Newcastle run over us in the 2nd half. I lash out at the team after the game.

Luckily, Perez’s injury is minor, and he’ll miss only about a week of action.

We will face either Bolton or Manchester United on the road in the Carling Cup Quarterfinals.

We get a sublime draw for the FA Cup Third Round, as we’ll host League Two Yeovil at London Road in early January.

Dec. 7, Match 15 @ #13 Blackburn Rovers
We start the 4-4-2 that was so effective against Leicester today… Gigliotti and Perez start at striker. We get on the board first in the 18th minute, as Srna’s cross from the right finds Gigliotti at the near post, and Frenchy McFrench heads it home. In the 36th, we get a PK opportunity, as Perez is pulled down from attacking a rebound… Gigliotti buries the PK, and we take a 2-0 lead. Gigliotti completes his first half hat-trick in the 38th, as Perez’s breakaway is crossed to Tigorev, who finds Cia near the by-line… he lays it off for Gigliotti, and he buries a 10 yarder past the diving keeper. The 2nd half zips by with little noteworthy action, and we win a 3-0 match. Gigliotti is named man of the match for his hat trick. N’Diaye and Srna pick up 9’s.
Win, 3-0, up to 5th place

The last 2 times we’ve run the 4-4-2 out there, we’ve dominated. We may have to make that a more regular formation.

Bolton beat Manchester United 5-1 in the Carling Cup, so that’s who we’ll be facing in the Quarterfinals in the coming weeks.

Dec. 10, Match 16 v. #7 Middlesbrough
We run the same formation as our last match, only this time pairing Hagman and Ortiz with fresh legs up front. Srna with a masterful cross in the 11th minute, and the Boro keeper with an even more masterful save on Hagman’s header that appeared destined for goal. Boro go up 1-0 in the 21st, as Carlos Esquivel scores off a corner kick. I implore the team for a result at halftime, and we come out firing. Lacroix with a nice steal in midfield in the 54th… he passes ahead to Hagman, who crosses near post for Ortiz, and the Bolivian heads it home to even the match. We get our 2nd goal, as Gigliotti’s header from a Lacroix corner kick is blocked, but the attempted clearance caroms off another Boro defender and in. An own goal gives us a 2-1 lead. To cap the game, we earn a penalty kick with seconds to go… Gigliotti misses it, but he’s able to essentially squander the rest of the match thanks to the play, and we take the win.
Win, 2-1, remain 5th

Liverpool now lead the league on 33 points… Chelsea are 2nd with 31, Newcastle are 3rd with 31 also, and we’re level with Spurs on 29 points, but trail them by 2 on goal difference. Everyone has a game in hand on us, but the nearest team to us is Man City in 6th, and they would need a 3 goal win to pass us.

Overall, this team is much better this season, and we’re definitely much improved on defense, as Dimitri Daeseleire is playing very well at DR, while Jan Tigorev has claimed the DL spot. Carlos Augusto has done well at DC, and Martin Latka is continuing his good play from the end of last season into this year. Even the backups are doing well, as Balazs Borbely is possibly having his finest season for us, mostly as a fill-in. We’ve been giving up far too many goals when the backups are in, though, and Desmenez has had problems with his handling. We’re definitely keeper hunting once January 1 rolls around.

[Butter]

Dec. 17, Match 17 @ #18 Portsmouth
We come out in our 4-5-1 with 2 AM’s today. Pompey strike first, slicing through our defense with ease, and scoring in the 9th minute on a cross back post to Florent Sinama-Pongolle, who sticks it in. We pick up a PK attempt in the 15th, as Srna is elbowed on a 50-50 header in the box… Gigliotti steps up and scores his 8th of the year to tie it at 1. We yield another goal in the 35th, and our offside trap is being beaten like a rented mule. Robbie Keane nets that goal, and another in 1st half stoppage time, as Desmenez mis-times his jump on a cross in, allowing a header in behind him. 3-1 Portsmouth at halftime. Not much goes on in the 2nd half besides Carlos Augusto being forced off with injury. When your opponent decides to rate all 8’s, 9’s, and even a 10 in there, there’s not much you can do except sit back and shake your head.
Loss, 3-1, remain 5th

Dec. 21, Carling Cup Quarterfinal @ Bolton
We come out in an attacking 4-4-2 diamond style… Bolton are playing a 4-1-4-1, with only 1 attacker playing beyond midfield. We come out strong, but have a couple of good chances turned aside. We get the breakthrough in the 19th minute, as Daeseleire’s low ball into space finds Perez, who shoots first time and hammers it inside the far post. An otherwise drab first half finishes uneventfully, and we lead 1-0 at halftime. We back into a 4-5-1 with 2 DM’s with about 20 minutes to go… our counter-attack creates some nice chances, and our defense does a great job keeping Bolton out of our area… and we take another win.
Win, 1-0, adv. to Carling Cup Semifinals

We allow reserve GK Pedro to go out on loan to QPR, while young DC Carlos Rodriguez is loaned out to Sheffield United.

The semi-final draw for the Carling Cup is made… Championship side Southampton will host Arsenal, and we’ll host Tottenham Hotspur on January 11th.

Dec. 26, Match 18 v. #18 Leeds
With Liverpool and Chelsea on the horizon, we start sort of a 2nd team outfit in our 4-4-2 today. We dominate play early, and convert that into a goal in the 28th, as David Gigliotti buries a 22 yard free kick. Our short passing scheme seems to be lulling Leeds to sleep… they’re barely able to get the ball. They start to turn the tide in the 80th minute, and we’re forced into a shell late to try and preserve our lead. It works, but just barely.
Win, 1-0, remain 5th

We’re 8 points behind 1st place Chelsea, and 4 points behind 4th place Spurs. We’re keeping ahead of Arsenal and Boro, but just barely. And to make matters worse, 2nd place Liverpool is coming to town in 2 days’ time.

Dec. 28, Match 19 v. #2 Liverpool
We run the 4-4-2 attacking style again… Perez and Hagman are strike partners today, and Fernandinho makes his return from injury at AM…. This’ll be just his 5th appearance of the season. Carlos Fernandes gets his 3rd straight start at keeper today. After weathering some fierce Liverpool pressure, we finally get a chance of our own as Hagman and Perez break away from the pack… Perez with a nice cross to Hagman, unmarked in front of goal… and he hits it right into the keeper’s arms. 0-0 at halftime. 2 of our back 4 are rating a 5 at halftime… I only usually list 1 defensive player as a possible sub., so this is a problem. Right as I’m preparing to sub him out, Jose Perez elbows a Liverpool defender in the face, and gets a straight red card. We switch to a 4-4-1. Liverpool make it look easy as pie when they finally do score… 5 simple midfield passes, then an early ball in from Riise finds James Keene alone in front, and he volleys it past Fernandes for the game winner. We played fairly well, but I think that red card doomed us. Liverpool deserved to win, but it would’ve been nice to get some undeserved points sometime.
Loss, 1-0, drop to 7th

Arsenal and Boro continue their hot form, and both pass us in the table. We trail each by 1 point.

We draw 19,350 fans for that last match, a record for the Posh… and the gate receipts of $950k are a record as well.

January 2012
Cash balance: $26,191,693

Alex N’Diaye wins Young Player of the Month, and Carlos Augusto finishes 2nd for the award.

The board offer me extra transfer funds, boosting our possible funds from $7.75M to $20.5M. Time to go keeper huntin’.

Jan. 2, Match 20 @ #1 Chelsea
We come out in a defensive 4-5-1 with 2 AM’s today. Our offense is completely non-existent, as nearly the entire first half hour is played on our half of the field. Chelsea break through with a Lukas Podolski goal in the 23rd minute. We have another instance of tempers flaring, as Carlos Augusto is sent off in the 28th minute for punching a Chelsea attacker. We are reduced to 10 men, and unsurprisingly, Chelsea are able to just clamp down and control the ball for the rest of the game. We played poorly, but if you put the Blues in that position, they’ll kill you.
Loss, 1-0, remain 7th

Darijo Srna suffers a pulled hamstring, and will miss about 3 weeks. One of our precious few left wing options goes down. We intensify our transfer search for an ML.

Jose Perez is given an additional 2 match ban for his vicious elbow vs. Liverpool.

Jan. 4, Match 21 v. #10 Everton
After a number of close early chances, we finally break through, as David Gigliotti picks up Fernandinho’s excellent pass, and slots home a low shot for his 10th goal of the year in the 19th minute. Everton equalize on 28 minutes, as Terry Palmer jams home a point blank rebound. Emil Samuelsson with a magical goal in the 33rd minute, as he looked to be stopped on the right edge of the box, but instead turned, shot a bender to the far post, and got it to go in. It’s 3-1 in the 36th, as Bennett’s fine ball ahead of Gigliotti is found by the Frenchman, and he successfully lobs the keeper from 25+ yards. Gigliotti makes it 3 first half goals, as he is sent onside, then once again successfully chips the keeper from about 20 yards out this time. The Toffees pick up a consolation goal in the 74th minute, as Tim Cahill heads home a cross. Then, Everton worries me as they’re able to strike again, making it 4-3 with still nearly 10 minutes left. Then, Everton scores again on literally the next kickoff, making it a stunning comeback. A shocking let-down by the club, as we lose a 3 goal lead in the 2nd half. Gigliotti picks up a 10 for his hat-trick.
Draw, 4-4, remain 7th

We’re fading fast from contention for the Champions League, and may have to settle for trying to hang onto 7th if we can’t right the ship soon. Of course, if we could win the Carling Cup, that would guarantee us European football a bit early, so that would be nice.

Next up, our opener in the FA Cup, and then the first of 2 legs against Tottenham in the Carling Cup Semis.

[bulletsponge]

Ohhhhh Nooooo

[Butter]

Jan. 7, FA Cup Third Round v. Yeovil Town (#9 in League Two)
We get on the board quickly, as Edwards’ cross to the middle finds Hagman, who volleys it home from 8 yards in the 7th minute. The rest of the half is pretty drab, and we don’t dominate as I’d hoped, but Yeovil really are barely able to find our goal, let alone shoot at it. As Yeovil up their attack, we are able to grab a second goal… Georgi Sarmov with a fine pass to reserve striker Florian Da Costa, who slots it home from 17 yards out. We make it 3-0 in the 73rd, as Bennett knocks a ball into space that Hagman beats everyone to, and he knocks home a low shot past the charging keeper. That’s how it ends, as Yeovil didn’t net a single highlight in this one. Simon Hagman nets a 9 and MoM for his performance.
Win, 3-0, advance to FA Cup Fourth Round

The Fourth Round draw is made, and we do get a home game, but it’ll be against EPL side Everton.

Jan. 11, Carling Cup Semifinal, Leg 1 v. Tottenham Hotspur
A huge match for us… we need to win. And we promptly get off to a horrific start, as Joseph Yobo dribbles 75 yards on the counter attack, then successfully chips Fernandes to give Spurs a 1-0 lead after a quarter hour. After being trampled for the entire half, we get a gift in first half stoppage time, as Samuelsson’s chip into the box is handballed by Leighton Baines… Gigliotti converts the PK, and it’s all square at halftime. Hagman nearly makes it happen all by himself in the 75th, dribbling through 2 men, and delivering a great ball to Gigliotti, but his volley is saved. In the 79th, Fernandinho’s free kick finds Gigliotti in the middle of the six, and he makes no mistake! 2-1, Posh with 10 to play. And in the 86th, Alex N’Diaye hits a 30 yard strike in off the post, as Paul Robinson was caught flat-footed. 3-1, Posh. We nearly make it 4-1, but Latka’s header off another Fernandinho free kick is blocked out by Ledley King. A nice 2nd half to give us a 2 goal lead for the second leg. Gigliotti picks up a 10, and Fernandes a 9 in goal.
Win, 3-1, Leg 2 on January 25th at White Hart Lane

Arsenal takes a 2-0 lead over Southampton into their 2nd leg, which Arsenal gets at home. That one’s as good as over.

Damien Lacroix hurt his kneecap in this past match, and we lose yet another player with the ability to play on the left. He’ll miss 4 weeks of action.

[Butter]

We conclude a long homestand with a home matchup in wet, breezy weather.

Jan. 14, Match 22 v. #15 Fulham
We stick with Carlos Fernandes in goal… but may have a new keeper on the horizon. Hagman and Gigliotti pair up front again. We get off to a quick start, as Fernandinho squares a ball at the top of the arc for N’Diaye, and he drives a 25 yard shot into the top right corner to put us ahead after just 2 ½ minutes. Fulham play us pretty tight thereafter, but we hold the halftime lead. We drop into a 4-5-1 with 2 DM’s late, and Fulham just launch an all out assault on our end… fortunately, we escape with the points.
Win, 1-0, up to 6th

We pass idle Boro into 6th, and now lay 3 pts. behind Arsenal in the table.

Finally, we make the big keeper signing that you’ve all been waiting for… this is maybe a bad move since Carlos Fernandes has awakened from his season long slumber… but we spend $7.25M to sign Piacenza keeper Claudio Bravo to a long term deal. Bravo is a 28 year old Chilean keeper with great stats. He has 20’s in command of area, handling, kicking, aerial ability, and concentration. He is also above a 15 in reflexes and one on ones, and aggression. He is a high quality keeper who has been doing well for Piacenza in Serie A for the last 3 seasons. With this signing, I offer Carlos Fernandes around for $3M, about $1M under his current declared value.

Tom Rose returns from his loan to Norwich in the Championship, and he played well… 1 goal and 3 assists in 15 starts, with a 6.87 avR.

I have been getting a number of offers for Emil Samuelsson, and decide to take a couple of teams up on them. They are offering right around $2M + 30% of next sale. I counter with $2.3M + 30%.

We sign 17 year old Irish AML Robert Kelly away from Aston Villa’s U-18’s during his final 6 months of contract. Kelly has double digit ratings in bunches of categories, and looks like he’s developing nicely. The best part is, he doesn’t want that much money. He signs for something like $60k for 3 seasons as a hot prospect. He will come over during the summer transfer period.

Jan. 21, Match 23 @ #12 Bolton Wanderers
Claudio Bravo makes his Posh debut in goal today. We go with a defensive 4-5-1 with 2 AM’s. Darijo Srna returns to the lineup today from injury. Bravo with a fine save in the 14th minute to keep it scoreless. After undergoing a bunch of pressure early on, we finally succumb in the 22nd, as a low cross to the near post is touched in past Bravo to put Bolton ahead. Jan Tigorev with a terrible touch in the 42nd minute, and he gives it away to the Bolton attacker, who is able to score a 30 yard chip over Bravo to make it 2-0. We switch to an attacking 4-4-2 before halftime. It makes no difference as Bolton merely clear their lines over the last 45 minutes, and we get crushed. Cia and Perez pick up 5’s, for which they were subbed out at halftime.
Loss, 2-0, drop to 7th

The media comment that Bravo had a “fairly terrible” start. I comment that he didn’t play well, but that his performances will improve once he gets used to our style of play. I notice that Bravo is angry at those comments, and is “already wondering about his future at the club”. Nice.

Emil Samuelsson agrees to a deal with Serie A relegation candidate Genoa, and we’re $2.3M richer… plus stand to gain 30% of any future fee the 22 year old nets his new club. Samuelsson had been with us since the 08/09 season. He had appeared in 20 senior matches for the Posh, with 2 goals and 1 assist… he was averaging right around a 6.5 this season through 11 starts… and at age 22, that intense promise I saw in him at age 18 had started to fade. Next year was a contract year, so I cash in on him now and gain some transfer money.

Jan. 25, Carling Cup Semifinal Leg 2 @ Tottenham Hotspur
Posh lead after Leg 1, 3-1
We play a 4-4-2 here with defensive tactics. The 4-5-1 has not been working lately, so I don’t want to keep throwing it out there, especially in such an important game. I give Bravo the start despite his “poor” morale. Hagman and Gigliotti are back to regular starters up front. We make a FABULOUS start, as in the 3rd minute, Gigliotti steals a throw-in, then sends it long to Hagman, who gets by 1 man, then successfully shoots low and under the keeper to put us ahead in the second leg 1-0. Spurs make it 1-1 in the 16th, as Darren Bent gets free on a counter, and successfully crosses to Nelson Valdez, who heads it past Bravo. 4-2 on aggregate now. Spurs score in the final seconds of the first half on another cross and header in, and all of a sudden, Spurs are down only 1 goal on aggregate going into the 2nd half. Spurs complete the comeback, and make it 3-1 in this match, and 4-4 on agg. In the 79th minute, as Leighton Baines drills a 20 yard free kick into the back of the net. In the 86th, Spurs with another breakaway… and N’Diaye hacks the player down, for which he gets a red. We’re down to 10 men with under 5 minutes to play in regulation. And, very predictably, Spurs score in the 90th minute to seal the win. Have to totally fault Bravo for this win. We scored a goal… all we had to do was not let in 3, but instead we let in 4. Nice job, newbie.
Loss, 4-1, Spurs win 5-4 on aggregate, Posh out of Carling Cup

Young MR Martin Clarke returns from his loan to Stoke, which was uneventful. He finishes with a 6.14 in 7 apps. (3 as a sub), with 1 assist.

Our keeper Carlos Fernandes signs a deal with Arsenal, for which we’ll receive no compensation as he is in the final year of his contract. Fernandes will move to the Gunners over the summer.

We’re just 2 ½ weeks removed from when Everton came back from 4-1 down in the 2nd half to level the match against us, and here they are in town again for the FA Cup.

Jan. 29, FA Cup Fourth Round v. Everton (TV)
We start Fernandes in goal today, trying to nurse Bravo’s psyche back to health. We score in the 16th minute, as a Fernandinho corner is headed down into traffic by Martin Latka… it’s stopped, but Latka is able to put in the rebound and give us the lead. We insert Jose Ortiz for a tiring Fernandinho at halftime, and it works nicely as Ortiz comes out and sets up Hagman for our 2nd goal in the 55th. We bring Claudio Bravo in in the 80th minute as a morale booster. Everton barely had a good look at goal the entire match.
Win, 2-0, advance to FA Cup Fifth Round

We get a decent draw for the Fifth Round, as we’ll host Blackburn Rovers in mid-February.

We end a disappointing January out of the Carling Cup in spectacularly disappointing fashion, but continuing on in the FA Cup… while dropping to 7th in the league. We won 4 games this month, but 3 of them were in cup play.

February ‘12
Cash balance: $26,679,367

Alex N’Diaye wins his 4th Young Player of the Month award this season, which all came after winning the Player of the Month award in August.

Feb. 1, Match 24 v. #17 Wigan Athletic
We run Bravo back out there today. Wigan control play early, but we score first… Ortiz’s 28th minute shot is parried, but he is able to gather the rebound and score his 5th goal of the season. Wigan immediately strike back, as they bury a 25 yard curler just inside the right post. Our slow collapse continues, as Alex N’Diaye yields a PK in the box in the 83rd minute. They convert it, and we’re losers once again. N’Diaye in possibly his worst game as a Posh player. No one played well here.
Loss, 2-1, remain 7th

Look who’s on our heels… it’s Manchester United. Our hope of finishing 4th or higher is fading, as we’re 11 points behind 4th place Arsenal now. Our hopes of finishing 7th or better will disappear soon as well, unless we get things going.

[Butter]

I have to say, this morning that 4 goal choke job against Spurs (not "The Spurs") looks even worse. Don't know how I let that happen. Should've put 5 men in the back line and a sweeper to protect that lead. I just feel like changing to ultra-defensive tactics mid-game is a losing proposition, especially considering that I was already playing defensively.

Ugh, I still feel sick about it.

[John Galt]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

I have to say, this morning that 4 goal choke job against Spurs (not "The Spurs") looks even worse. Don't know how I let that happen. Should've put 5 men in the back line and a sweeper to protect that lead. I just feel like changing to ultra-defensive tactics mid-game is a losing proposition, especially considering that I was already playing defensively.

Ugh, I still feel sick about it.

Yeah, that was a really rough loss. And the Bravo acquisition has been a small disaster so far. Hopefully things will improve soon.

[Butter]

Feb. 4, Match 25 @ #8 Manchester United
Battle for 7th place today… we need a win, or else I fear it’ll be mid-table obscurity yet again for us. The 4-4-2 counter-attacking style today. I notice Man U playing a very narrow 4-4-2 today, so I instruct our men to play wide, and to play balls down the wings. That worked well, as Wayne Rooney scores 55 seconds in past Bravo. Hagman and Gigliotti on a break in the 9th minute, but Hagman’s great cross for Gigliotti is butchered by the Frenchman. Midfielder Darron Gibson scores a 25 yarder in the 20th minute to put us down 2. N’Diaye is whistled for elbowing down a Man U. attacker in the box on a corner kick, and ManU convert the PK to go up 3-0. A total, unmitigated disaster, this. We actually show a bit of fight, and score on a cross and header in during first half stoppage to make it 3-1. Daeseleire to Gigliotti on that goal. I pull Alex N’Diaye for performance for the first time in memory. Perez and Gigliotti both come up empty on breakaways in the 2nd half thanks to Petr Cech, and we end 3-1.
Loss, 3-1, drop to 8th

We drop behind Man U., as they rise into 6th. Boro drop to 7th. We’re now 12 points adrift of 4th place.

Feb. 11, Match 26 v. #9 Manchester City (TV)
Damien Lacroix returns to the lineup today. We make a nice start here, as Daeseleire’s low ball into the box is found by Gigliotti, who half-volleys it in in the 9th minute. Bravo is unable to stop a close in header, despite the play being right in front of him in the 27th minute, and it’s all square. We get the lead back in the 39th, as Fernandinho sends a nice ball into space for Gigliotti… his first touch is a wonderful lob over the keeper, and we lead 2-1. Man City make it 2-2 in the 48th, as they score off a free kick from the left, and a header in past N’Daw…. He was manning the back post, and just missed the clearance on this shot. We start pushing for the winner in the 75th, and squander a couple of good chances… but in the 86th, Lacroix gets to the byline inside the box, then crosses for the back post, and Daeseleire sends a header goalward from a nearly impossible angle, but gets it to go! We back into a 4-5-1 with 2 DM’s, and take the win! A huge late goal by emerging right winger Dimitri Daeseleire sends everyone home happy.
Win, 3-2, up to 6th place

We jump into 6th only momentarily, as we are the first game of the weekend.

Dimitri Daeseleire has been steadily improving his play, and his conversion to a right winger is nearing completion. Daeseleire’s talents were being wasted as a simple defender, and has really shown a lot of good skill since playing in the midfield. Darijo Srna has not been the high quality acquisition we had hoped to solidfy the right wing, so Daeseleire’s emergence seems to be coming just in time. When Cardenas gets back, our midfield of N’Diaye, Cardenas, Daeseleire, and Fernandinho is going to be tough to stop. Naturally, as soon as I mention how well he’s playing, he comes down with the flu. He’ll miss a week.

Man U and Boro both fail to win later in the day, so we hold 6th place… for now.

Gigliotti comes up with an arm injury in training, and he’ll miss 3 weeks or so of action.

Andrej Mlinaric returns from his loan spell to Wolves… he was dazzling there, averaging a 7.06 in 16 starts, with 1 goal and 1 assist.

Feb. 18, FA Cup Fifth Round v. Blackburn Rovers (TV)
We take an 11th minute lead, as Fernandinho gets his 1st goal of the season on a 20 yard direct free kick. We dominate the 1st half, but aren’t able to score again, and lead 1-0 at the break. We make it 2-0 in the 54th, as Hagman gets a ball ahead of Fernandinho… the Brazilian is unmarked, and buries it from 12 yards out. Blackburn barely get into our box the whole match, and Claudio Bravo easily earns his 1st clean sheet.
Win, 2-0, advance to FA Cup Sixth Round

The Sixth Round FA Cup draw is held, and I have a premonition looking at the teams list that we will play Chelsea. Sure enough, we draw them, but at least we’ll get them at home in the Quarterfinals.

Carling Cup Final
Arsenal 3:3 Tottenham Hotspur (Arsenal win 4-2 on PK’s)

Feb. 29, Match 27 @ #4 Tottenham Hotspur
Man, do I want to beat them. We go with the attacking 4-4-2 here, hoping to surprise Spurs. We actually come out playing hard, but can’t close the deal in the box. Spurs look awful following their FA Cup defeat, but the first half ends 0-0. We pull Gigliotti with a minor injury in favor of Ortiz. And we open the 2nd half with a bang, as Perez jinks past 2 defenders, then crosses to the middle, where Daeseleire runs into space, gathers the pass, and scores past the keeper. Disaster in the 56th, as Darijo Srna trips a Spurs attacker in the box… the PK is taken, but Bravo stops it! Then in the 68th, we turn the tables with a quick counter-attack… Perez is pulled down on a breakaway, and we go a man up! We back into a 4-5-1 late, and are able to turn Spurs away a couple of times and hold on for the win. DC Carlos Augusto with possibly his finest performance as a Posh… he intercepted a number of late passes that appeared to be on their way past the back 4. Claudio Bravo is in a groove now too.
Win, 1-0, remain 6th

We lead 7th place Man U. by 1 point. We trail 5th place Spurs by 9 points.

March ‘12
Cash balance: $23,916,897

March 3, Match 28 v. #4 Arsenal
We stick with the attacking 4-4-2, but not without worry against a potent Arsenal attack. In the 11th, a weak backpass to the keeper finds Gigliotti and Hagman both converging on the keeper… Gigliotti wins the tackle on him, and Hagman is there to score into an open net from 15 yards out. Bravo with a wonderful save of a 6 yarder in 1st half stoppage time to keep it 1-0 Posh at halftime. We pull Srna and Gigliotti at halftime due to minor injuries. Ortiz comes off with injury in the 60th, and so we’re out of subs. We start to see more chances as Arsenal push forward more… and in the 75th, we convert one, as Fernandinho heads it on to Perez, who breaks the trap, and shoots it in between the keeper’s legs and into goal to make it 2-0. Walcott crosses to Reyes, who heads one in in the 89th to make it 2-1. We switch to a 4-5-1, and hold off Arsenal to take all 3 crucial points.
Win, 2-1, remain 6th, move to within 6 pts. of 5th place

Ortiz pulled a hamstring, and will miss 3 weeks… meanwhile, Simon Hagman suffers a wrist injury that’ll leave him out 1-2 weeks.

March 10, Match 29 @ #20 Charlton Athletic
These are the games that usually kill me. We stick with the attacking 4-4-2. Sherman Andres Cardenas returns to the lineup today, after missing over 3 months with a torn calf muscle. A boring first half ends 0-0. The 2nd half is back and forth, but Charlton break through 1st in the 80th… a 20 yard shot is deflected wide, but right to Aaron Lennon, who scores an easy 10 yarder. We don’t get much going late, and we take the loss. I had a feeling this was coming.
Loss, 1-0, remain 6th

We’re 7 points out of 5th, and 8 out of 4th now. Still a glimmer of hope if we can stay hot over our final 9 games and have the top 5 beat each other up. Charlton’s win actually vaults them into 17th, out of the danger zone for the time being.

Jose Perez will miss the remainder of the season with strained knee ligaments. The media ask me about it, and I say that it’ll be a loss, but we should be able to cover. Truth is, he’s sucked the last few months. But he’s happy with my public comments, so that’s all that matters.

I praise Claudio Bravo’s recent performances as well… if not for a bad bounce against Charlton and a late meaningless goal for Arsenal, he’d have 3 straight clean sheets.

Pique complains about his lack of use in the first team… I tell him to apply himself and he’ll get some chances.

March 18, Match 30 v. #8 Crystal Palace (TV)
The Eagles are pretty much playing out of their ass right now. Bravo with 2 fine saves, stopping a 6 yarder and its’ rebound in the 6th minute. The Palace goalkeeper plays out of his mind in the first half, but finally with mere seconds to play, Hagman’s cross to Gigliotti is a good one, and David is able to head it past the keeper to give us a 1-0 cushion at halftime. Palace consistently up their attack during the 2nd half, but we hold them off. Another tight 1-0 win out of our attacking formation. Bravo earns the MoM today.
Win, 1-0, remain 6th

We remain 7 points behind 5th place Arsenal.

Alex N’Diaye will miss 4 weeks of action with hamstring trouble, which was probably exacerbated by me leaving him in for over a half with the injury.

March 21, FA Cup Quarterfinals v. Chelsea
We get off to a flyer, as a Gigliotti cross is deflected out to the top of the area… Fernandinho gathers it, then curls a 30 yarder to the far post… and scores!!! Magical long-range goal from the Brazilian puts us ahead early! Chelsea level it on 18 minutes, as Lukas Podolski finds himself with space, and scores just inside the far post from a tight angle at 8 yards. That’s how it stays through halftime. Cristiano Ronaldo hits the post for Chelsea in the 70th. Bravo comes out with injury in the 80th minute. Chelsea smell blood with the backup keeper on, but we hold on for the draw to force a replay.
Draw, 1-1, replay scheduled for April 1 at Stamford Bridge

Bravo looks like he’ll miss a month with a badly sprained ankle. Just when he was coming into his own, too.

[Butter]

Reserve GK Pedro returns from his loan to QPR… he did well for the Rangers, allowing 17 goals in 15 starts, including 7 clean sheets.

The Semifinal FA Cup draw is made… and we’d face Tottenham Hotspur yet again if we are able to make it through to the Semis over Chelsea.

March 24, Match 31 @ #19 Cardiff
Hagman and Gigliotti continue to pair up front. And the pairing works well in the 4th minute, as Godemeches sends a nice ball down the left, where Gigliotti gathers it, cuts inside with it, then lays it off for Hagman who side foots it in past the keeper for a 1-0 lead. Julien Desmenez is in goal now since Bravo is hurt, and he makes 2 very good saves in the 15th minute… first a diving fingertip job on a 20 yard free kick, then moments later his fine reflexes help him parry a header from less than 10 yards away. Just prior to halftime, Hagman makes it a brace, as Cardenas’ fine short pass is picked up by the Swede, and finished from 12 yards out. They left Hagman unmarked there, and he’s playing well today. We hold Cardiff down for the rest of the game, and take an easy win. All starters rated either an 8, except for Cardenas, who got a 9 rating.
Win, 2-0, remain 6th

We stand 5 pts. adrift of Arsenal for 5th now, and 7 behind 4th place Newcastle. The top 5 have us dominated on goal difference, so we’ll have to pass them on points in order to have a shot at moving up. We now lead 7th place Middlesbrough by 8 points. Manchester United drop to 10th.

Peterborough United offer me a new 4 year contract, as my current one is up at the end of June. They offer me $1.9M per year for 4 seasons. They offer me 3 wage/transfer budget choices, and I choose the one with the highest wage budget, and lowest transfer budget ($29.5M / $24M).

April ‘12
Cash balance: $22,335,277

Carlos Augusto wins the Young Player of the Month award for March. He averaged a 7.67 in 3 league starts for the month.

April 1, FA Cup Quarterfinal Replay @ Chelsea
We come out in a defensive 4-4-2. Chelsea dominate early, but most of their chances are fairly harmless… Desmenez barely breaks a sweat. Then in the 25th, we strike, as Gigliotti beats John Terry flat-footed, then slides a ball right to Hagman, who runs onto it and squeezes it inside the right post for a 1-0 lead. I implore the team to keep up their good performance, and it works briefly… but we squander 2 good chances inside the first 2 minutes of the 2nd half. Lampard hits the right post on a curling shot in the 50th minute, and Desmenez breathes a sigh of relief. But Chelsea score in the 55th on a soft goal… Carlos Vela hits a curling 30 yard shot, and Desmenez appears to get his hands on it, but it still slips in past him to level the match at 1-1. Valeri Bojinov scores in the 65th, another goal that looked stoppable. Ricardo Carvalho gets a 2nd yellow for the Blues in the 71st minute, and we grab some life. We switch to an aggressive 4-2-3-1, and ultimately a 3-2-3-2 late in the match, but Chelsea yield nothing. We had our chance, but apparently my halftime talk just killed our momentum.
Loss, 2-1, out of FA Cup

April 4, Match 32 v. #15 Blackburn Rovers
We go with Gigliotti and Fernandinho up front today as we try to get Michael Cia going. A dull first half ends scoreless. I feel like we’re suffering a hangover from the Chelsea loss, so I tell the team I’m disappointed with their 1st half effort. Fernandinho takes it to heart and scores a nifty 12 yarder in the 48th minute. Sadly, Blackburn level it in the 55th with a cross and header past Desmenez. As time winds down, not much happens, and it becomes clear that Rovers have successfully whittled away a point here.
Draw, 1-1, remain 5th

April 7, Match 33 @ #11 Aston Villa
We come out in our standard attacking 4-4-2. Villa dominate early, but it seems to even up towards the middle of the half. Then in the 31st, Franck Ribery gets unmarked on the left of the box, Gareth Barry finds him and Ribery scores to make it 1-0. We bring Damien Lacroix on for a bruised Gigliotti at halftime… in the 48th, Fernandinho finds Lacroix down the middle, and he scores high and hard past the keeper to make it 1-1. Hagman draws a PK call in the 55th, and Cardenas converts the penalty to put us up 2-1. We go up 3-1 in the 69th, as N’Diaye sends a great ball just onside to Hagman… his shot is tipped wide, but Lacroix is able to get to the rebound and poke it home. Fernandinho with a great 2nd half performance as he rates a 9 and wins MoM.
Win, 3-1, remain 6th

We’re still 5 back of 5th place Arsenal, but 9 behind 4th place Newcastle. We hold a 6 point advantage still on 7th place Boro, so our position looks to be pretty cut and dried. We have 5 more games to either blow it or make a surprise run, but it looks like we’re going to be set for the UEFA Cup next season, barring catastrophe.

April 9, Match 34 v. #4 Newcastle
Our 4th match in 9 days comes at home today, ending a rough stretch for us. Luckily, our guys are pretty fit, and we’re able to start most of our 1st team that just played 2 days ago. We’re forced to pull Hagman and Gigliotti by the 35th minute with minor injuries, and Lacroix and Ortiz become the de facto strike force. All things considered, we play the 4th place team very well in the first half, and go into the showers scoreless. Both teams just look sluggish in the 2nd half, and neither looks interested in winning… it ends scoreless. Desmenez with several good saves to keep our sheets clean, and he picks up the MoM honor.
Draw, 0-0, remain 6th, 4 pts. behind 5th place

We have 4 games left, 3 on the road… 2 against bottom 3 opponents (Portsmouth, Leeds), 1 against a team that could still catch us (Middlesbrough), and 1 against a top 4 team (Liverpool). 2-1-1 should be enough for us to clinch Europe for next season… but strange things do happen in the final weeks of an EPL season.

[Butter]

April 14, Match 35 @ #7 Middlesbrough
Steve McLaren knows his club needs a win to stand any chance of climbing the standings before the season ends. We lead Boro by 4 points with 4 to play. Our attacking style is exposed early by Boro, as they get a header to deflect in off a defender for a 1-0 lead. Then in the 4th minute, they pick up another goal against our shocked defense. 2-0 before we hit 5 minutes played. Boro make it 3-0 in the 26th minute, as they nail a 25+ yard strike against a helpless looking Desmenez. We look much better in the 2nd half, and get our first goal in the 73rd minute, as Srna picks out Lacroix on the run… he’s onside and beats the keeper 1-v-1 to make it 3-1. Boro tighten up after that, and that’s how it finishes. Lacroix with a nice 8, but the rest of the team was awful.
Loss, 3-1, remain 6th

We drop to 7 pts. behind Arsenal with 3 games to play… essentially out of the running to move up. But Middlesbrough can still catch and pass us if we falter late in the season. At the top, Chelsea looks like they will be able to do just enough to hold on to the top spot, but Liverpool still have a shot at it with 3 to go.

April 21, Match 36 v. #19 Portsmouth
Can I send the South Coast squad to almost certain relegation? Claudio Bravo returns from injury in goal today. It looks good in the 21st minute, as Sherman Cardenas gets a 30 yard free kick to trickle in past the keeper’s fingertips. But Pompey level it in the 28th, as Florent Sinama-Pongolle breaks ahead of the pack and scores a 10 yard screamer past Bravo. I scream at the team at halftime for their poor performance. Doesn’t work… Pompey make it 2-1 in the 48th, as Sinama-Pongolle wins a ball in midfield, then beats another defender to it, and then lofts a lovely chip from 15 yards over Bravo to give them the lead. But Srna draws a foul just at the edge of the box in the 52nd, and Cardenas hits another free kick straight in to make it 2-2. Not a great result, but that’s how it finishes. The draw leaves Portsmouth 4 points from safety with 2 to play… and we have to wait until Boro plays tomorrow to see if we hold 6th.
Draw, 2-2, remain 6th

Sadly for us, Alex N’Diaye broke his wrist in this match, and will miss the remainder of the season.

Middlesbrough beat last place Leeds 2-0 to leap over us into 6th place… they now stand on 58 points, while we sit on 57.

April 28, Match 37 @ #20 Leeds
We come out in a defensive 4-4-2, knowing Leeds has to play for a win to avoid relegation. Jose Perez and Simon Hagman both return from injury and start today. We get on the board in the 24th, as Perez sends a long ball to Hagman… he gets ahead of the pack, fakes out the keeper and scores. Bad luck for Leeds, as they hit a crossbar on a 26th minute free kick. In the 2nd half, Jose Perez starts out with a magical 25 yard strike to put us up 2-0 in the 52nd. We yield a PK, and Tigorev gets a red in the 57th minute. Leeds convert it, but get a little bit too happy… as Lacroix crosses for Perez just seconds later, and we restore our 2 goal advantage. In the 65th, we make it 4-1, as Perez chases a ball down in the corner, then sends in a low pass to Cardenas at the edge of the six… Cardenas touches it on into the net for his 5th goal of the season. Then, we go down 2 men, as Nathan Bennett picks up a 2nd yellow card in the 69th minute. We actually get better chances in the final 20 minutes than Leeds, and hold on for the 4-1 win.
Win, 4-1, up to 6th

That’s right, Boro only manage a draw on the road to Everton, so we take back 6th place and hold a 1 point lead going into the final Sunday. The loss clinches relegation for Leeds, and Portsmouth are on their way down as well with another loss.

May ‘12
Cash balance: $22,779,820

Dimitri Daeseleire finishes 2nd in the Young Player of the month voting.

Chelsea clinch another title with a mid-week win.

On the final weekend, we have to visit 2nd place (and stuck there) Liverpool, while Middlesbrough get to host Fulham, who are guaranteed of staying up, but not much more than that.

May 6, Match 38 @ #2 Liverpool
The Reds could still be passed by Spurs if they lose this game and Tottenham win theirs, so they do have a lot to play for here. The game starts even, but slowly Liverpool begin to take over. Liverpool get a PK in the 43rd minute, as someone is taken down on a mad scramble for a rebound of a free kick… they convert it, and take a 1-0 lead into halftime. Bad news for us, as Boro take a 1-0 lead on Fulham just before halftime as well. Liverpool make it 2-0 in the 61st, as Xabi Alonso hits a strike into the upper 90 from over 20 yards out, and Bravo had no chance to stop that one. We switch to a 3-4-3 with 25 minutes to go, knowing we need a win to hold 6th. Liverpool just shut us down, and we take the loss. We also find out that Boro win at Fulham 2-0 to push us into a 7th place finish.
Loss, 2-0, finish 7th

A tough way to finish up, but it was a big ask to win this game in order to hold position.

Wigan started the day 18th, and would’ve pushed Blackburn into relegation with a win… but instead they lose 5-0 at Aston Villa to become the 3rd and final team to go down.

We win $16,000,000 for our 7th place league finish, which is a record high for us.

[flere-imsaho]

Congrats!!! You keep on improving! I think Europe is definitely within your grasp, and soon.

[Butter]

I think Arsenal's win in the Carling Cup means that we'll at least make the Inter-Toto Cup, if not the UEFA Cup outright with a 7th place finish.

[Butter]

Final player stats


Final standings
Click here, as I can't get the thumbnail to work.

2011-12 Final Statistics
Avg. attendance: 17,403 (20th)
Goals scored/conceded: 57 / 50 (6th / 11th)

Average rating
1. Jermain Defoe (Arsenal) – 7.56
9. Alex N’Diaye – 7.39
12. Sherman A. Cardenas – 7.32

Goals
1. Valeri Bojinov (Chelski) – 31
9t. David Gigliotti – 16
19t. Jose Manuel Perez - 11

Assists
1. Thierry Henry (Arsenal) – 13
8t. Jose M. Perez - 8

End of season squad review
In brief

Goalkeepers
Claudio Bravo is the keeper of the moment, Julien Desmenez is the wave of the future, Carlos Fernandes’ time is up.

Defense
Martin Latka and Carlos Augusto appear to have nailed down the DC spots… but we need some backups, and a new starter at DR, as Rob Edwards is going bye-bye, and Jan Tigorev will be our DL starter next season. Our defense was improved, but still not good enough to become a perennial contender. We’ll be going shopping again at this position.

Midfield
A down year from Fernandinho, hampered by injury… Cardenas was also injured a good bit, but was great when he did play. Michael Cia disappeared this season, but Alex N’Diaye excelled at DM, as the only Posh player picked to the Players’ Select XI for the 2011-12 season. Dimitri Daeseleire started to win the MR job. We could use more depth at the wing spots, and at AM.

Strikers
Gigliotti had a fine season after a slow start. Jose Perez had a rough 2nd half after a very fast start. And Simon Hagman was fairly dependable as our #3. Jose Luis Ortiz was a bit disappointing, while Damien Lacroix seemed to play well in spots here. Not a major offseason priority, but if we can find a superstar, I’ll always take him.

UEFA Cup Final
Tottenham H. 0:2 Manchester Utd.

FA Cup Final
Chelsea 3:2 Manchester Utd.

Sherman A. Cardenas grumbles about a new contract, so we give him one… worth about $15.5M over the next 5 seasons. The 22 year old Colombian has improved every year since coming over from his Colombian club team, and we’re happy to lock him up long term.

UEFA Champions League Final
Chelsea 1:1 Inter Milan (Inter win 4-2 on PK’s)

We make a good young signing, as 21 year old French striker Thibault Bourgeois agrees to join the Posh on a free transfer from Ajaccio. Bourgeois signs for only about $85k per season for 3 years as a hot prospect. He is very fast, and has good finishing and ball skills. He needs to improve on his agility and jumping, but should be a good addition to our depth chart, for cheap.

We make the first transfer move of the summer, as we get 27 year old Tottenham reserve DRC Glen Johnson to agree to a move to us, for $4.9M to Spurs. Johnson will get about $2M per season through 2015, which is about a 50% pay cut from his current contract. He struggled this past season after being relegated to a mostly bench role, but averaged a 7.1 in 2010/11 for Spurs as a regular starter.

West Ham United win the Championship Playoffs, and will join Ipswich and Birmingham as new arrivals to the EPL next season.

Darijo Srna agrees to a deal with Blackburn Rovers. We spent a lot of cash to bring Srna over 2 seasons ago, and he was largely a disappointment in that time. Srna appeared in 56 games over 2 seasons, netting 10 assists and 2 goals, while averaging right around a 6.9. We need at least a 7 if not more to be a regular starter for us, so he is sent packing.

We re-sign Balazs Borbely to another one year deal… we cut his salary a good bit last season, and this year it’s going down another $250k from $750k to $500k for next year.

June ‘12
Cash balance: $34,320,658

2012/13 European qualifiers decided
Champions League: Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea
UEFA Cup: Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Peterborough
Inter-Toto Cup: Aston Villa, Bolton

We made Europe! Nee-ha!

Georgi Sarmov is the next current Posh to go, as he signs up with Dutch side Roda JC. Sarmov has been with us a long time, since our first year in the Championship. He appeared in 113 games over 5 seasons… he scored 13 goals and had 8 assists in that time. His avR was in the 6.7 neighborhood the last 3 seasons, so it was time to let him go.

We make another big transfer move, paying PSV $7.5M + 25% of next sale for 22 year old Brazilian center back Sidnei. Sidnei signs for $1.3 M per season through 2015. Sidnei rates a 20 in the most important defensive technical attributes (heading, marking, tackling), and also rates a 20 at positioning and decisions. His speed is his only concern, as it is average at best. But he should be a fine addition to a struggling defense.

David Gigliotti is voted Fans’ Player of the Year for the 3rd time in 4 seasons.

We pick up $26.5M for next season’s TV rights. The board decide to pay out $9.5M to shareholders in dividends. Our transfer budget for next season is announced at $20.5M… meanwhile, our wage budget has been increased to $41M from around $29M.

A local council blocks our plans to expand the stadium… so we’ll have to try again.

I notice the board are delighted with me and expect a safe, mid-table position… but the supporters want me to qualify for Europe again this season. That’s the plan, fellas.

It is cruelly announced that we’ll open our league season on the road at Chelsea.

July ‘12
Cash balance: $37,892,596

We sign the following players to contracts on 7/1:
17 year old AML Robert Kelly
21 year old ST Thibault Bourgeois
27 year old DRC Glen Johnson
22 year old DC Sidnei

EURO 2012 Final
Greece 0:2 Italy

I decide I am now officially bored with pre-season friendlies, and let my new Assistant Manager, Mark Irvine, control and schedule them. First up, we draw Southampton 1-1 on July 7th. Sherman Cardenas takes the MoM honors, and Claudio Bravo picks up a nice 8 for his first half shutout.

Next up, we complete the pre-season, and look forward to our European debut!

[flere-imsaho]

Wow, can't believe you let Srna go. Did you get anything for him?

[Butter]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Wow, can't believe you let Srna go. Did you get anything for him?

Nope, his contract was up. He wanted over $2 million for salary, and I couldn't see paying that to him knowing he was going to be a backup. Plus, he's 29 now in 2012, so he's gone. He never seemed to really take a game over like I thought he might before he came. Plus, despite his apparent flexibility to play at fullback and midfield, his marking skills just aren't good enough to play in the back 4. Also, I was more impressed with Damien Lacroix's season, and since he can play both ML and MR spots, I felt comfortable in not re-signing him.

But yeah, $6.5M in transfer money essentially gone after 2 year with little to no return is not that great.

[Butter]

We get a $2.9M offer for Pique from Birmingham, and accept it… he had a bad year in his first with the Posh, so this seems like a good deal for me. He quickly agrees to a deal with the Blues, and we pick up a good bit for the disappointing center back. I also offer around Simon Hagman and Michael Cia, who both carry around about $5M price tags, as both are entering their contract years. We get no nibbles for Cia, but Hagman gets interest from Turkish club Fenerbahce…. But Hagman snubs their contract offer, not wanting to move to Turkey, so we’re out $4.1M that they would’ve paid us for him.

We attempt to negotiate new deals with David Gigliotti, Fernandinho, and Alex N’Diaye, who are all also on their final years of contract. Gigliotti agrees to a new contract quickly… it’s a modest raise, as he’ll now make $2.1M per season through 2015. Both Fernandinho and Alex N’Diaye reject their initial offers, and I have to raise them to the maximum allowed of me… which is $4.4M per season. Fernandinho rejects that offer, but N’Diaye accepts the 3 year deal worth around $15.5M total.

We draw Celtic 1-1 in our 2nd friendly, and in the 3rd against Werder Bremen, we lose to the German powers 3-1 at London Road. The bad news in this game is that Jose Perez breaks his toe, and will miss about 2 months of action. Good thing I didn’t sell Hagman, then.

In friendly #4, Jose Ortiz scores a brace as we beat the reserves 2-0… Bravo comes up with an arm injury in the match that could see him miss our season opener at Chelsea.

August ‘12
Cash balance: $33,064,079

Liverpool offer me around $6M for Julien Desmenez… he continues to improve, and I reject the offer.

EPL odds
Chelsea, Liverpool – 7:4
Arsenal – 3:1
Tottenham – 12:1
Man Utd. – 14:1
Newcastle – 33:1
Peterborough – 50:1

That price gives us an outside chance at a title run.

19 year old AMRC Tom Rose agrees to join Southampton on loan for 5 months. It’ll be interesting to see how Rose plays in the Championship, as he looks to be a potential star.

Aug. 11, Match 1 @ Chelsea
Opening match starting lineup:
GK: Bravo
D (L-R): Tigorev, Sidnei, Rodriguez, Johnson
M: N’Diaye, Cardenas, Daeseleire, Cia
F: Fernandinho, Gigliotti

We come out in a defensive 4-4-2 with counter-attacking on. In the 17th, Cristiano Ronaldo is allowed to run about 50 yards with no one closing him down… he finds Bojinov with a tiny crack of space, and he powers it in from 12 yards out. Joe Cole makes it 2-0 in the 20th minute, as again Ronaldo creates a nice goal. We fight back in the 22nd, as Fernandinho crosses from the left touch line, finding Gigliotti holding off John Terry, and Gigliotti scores. Sidnei body checks Robert Huth on a corner in the 24th, allowing a PK… Frank Lampard converts it, and we’re down 3-1. Sherman Cardenas buries a free kick on the edge of the box in the 31st to make it 3-2. We hit halftime, and it’s an astonishing 3-2. Our defensive tactics have been dreadful. We switch to a slightly different formation, the 4-5-1 with 2 AM’s in a defensive stance in the 2nd half. Chelsea seem content to just keep men behind the ball in the 2nd half, so we’re forced to come forward more and more… but it has no effect. Our best chance comes in the 88th, as Alex N’Diaye’s 25 yarder hits the crossbar and bounces away. We fail to make a statement in the season’s first match.
Loss, 3-2, begin in 17th

Tough way to open the season, but I thought in the end we might pull a point out of thin air. Alas, we could not against the perennial champions.

Aug. 15, Match 2 v. #17 Aston Villa
Carlos Augusto and Julien Desmenez are away playing in the Olympics, so we’re without them for the time being. We come out with largely the same personnel as in game 1, except this time we start Ortiz and Hagman up front. We get off to a lucky start, as Hagman scores his 100th career league goal… he got a deflected shot to creep over the line from 20 yards out to put us ahead. Then in the 19th, Fernandinho with a stunning goal from 30 yards out… he gathered in an attempted clearance of a Hagman cross, and caught the Villa keeper out of his goal to make it 2-0. Some nifty midfield passing ends with Daeseleire’s first touch onto Hagman, who winds up and fires it low from 12 yards, and scores to make it 3-0 in first half stoppage time. Hagman makes it a hat trick in the 62nd, as he scores a lucky goal from 15 yards… Daeseleire again set up Hagman nicely, and Simon with a tricky lob that just squeaks in under the crossbar. We run out the rest of the time, and go home easy winners. Hagman’s 10 earns him MoM honors, but Sidnei with a nice 9 in defense anchored the back 4.
Win, 4-0, up to 5th

Villa drop to the bottom of the table with the blowout loss. I suppose I’m glad now that Hagman rejected the offer to leave for Fenerbahce, as he looked terrific today. Maybe he’ll be one of those guys who plays way over their head during their contract years.

Aug. 18, Match 3 @ #18 Charlton Athletic
We stick with attacking tactics on the road against the relegation candidates. After applying a lot of early pressure, we get the breakthrough in the 32nd… N’Diaye’s shot from distance is stopped, Gigliotti’s follow-up is parried, but Fernandinho’s 3rd attempt is spot on to make it 1-0. Fernandinho already with 2 goals this season, matching 50% of last year’s output for him. We make it a 4-5-1 to start the 2nd half, bringing Gigliotti off for a minor injury. Charlton create some nervous moments in the 2nd half, but we have a couple chances of our own to make it 2-0… in the end, it finishes 1-0. Glen Johnson steps from a 6 v. Chelsea to a 7 v. Villa to an 8 in this match. Carlos Rodriguez is also looking good in central defense… the young Spaniard had an 8 for a large portion of the 2nd half. Bravo has also been playing well, in this game making 2 great decisions to come for the ball that thwarted potential scoring chances.
Win, 1-0, up to 2nd place

The team just looks more skilled right now than ever before… and when Carlos Augusto gets back to pair with Sidnei or Rodriguez along the back 4, we’ll be that much stronger. If we can keep everyone healthy, this could be a special season. I am considering adding another striker, just to give us some depth and another consistent threat, since Ortiz seems unable to create much when he’s in. I am preparing to insert new signee Thibault Bourgeois to see how he competes… he’s been out injured the first couple weeks of the season.

Aug. 21, Match 4 v. #12 Manchester United (TV)
The early season gauntlet continues, as we maintain our attacking tactics at home here. Nice save by Bravo in the 17th of a pacey Wayne Rooney effort. 10 minutes later, Bravo stops Rooney again, but he collects his own rebound and scores past the Chilean keeper. Man U show their class in the 43rd, scoring a brilliant goal on which Patric Evra squeezed a tight pass through traffic, and young Darron Gibson first-timed it past Bravo. 2-0 Red Devils at the break. As per usual, we fail to apply much pressure in the 2nd half, and fall to Man U without much of a fight, to be honest. These attacking tactics are so hit and miss it’s not funny.
Loss, 2-0, drop to 4th

[flere-imsaho]

It's Man U, though, surely your tactics won't be as good against the very top teams?

Anyway, it's amazing to see Hagman still playing, and still playing well. When you first got to the EPL I figured he'd be on his way, unable to hang with the competition, but no, he's a keeper!

[Butter]

Conceitedly, I like to delude myself into thinking that I have a top-4 team. Apparently, these games remind me that I do not. But if I were to have played defensive tactics, I tend to think it would've finished much the same, but only with Man U. having about 3 times more shots and chances. Or maybe it would've been 4-3 in a shootout like the Chelsea match.

Either way, hopefully we can limit our losses to top tier competition this season, and climb into that top 4 category ourselves.

Funny thing about Hagman is, I try to sell him, he refuses... then comes out in his next appearance and nets a hat-trick. He's 28 now, but still more than serviceable against the mid-level EPL teams.

[Butter]

The draw for the UEFA Cup First Round is held… we’re seeded for the draw, and we draw Danish power Brondby. The first leg of the First Round will be played at London Road on Sept. 13th, with the return leg to Brondby 2 weeks later.

Aug. 26, Match 5 @ #8 Cardiff (TV)
A good opening 15 minutes turns boring late in the first half, and it’s 0-0 at halftime. Cardiff turn defensive late, and we turn offensive, but the 2nd 45 is worse than the first. It ends nil-nil. Carlos Rodriguez continues his positive start, netting an 8 and MoM honors in central defense.
Draw, 0-0, up to 9th

We make an effort at signing a highly skilled Brazilian striker from Palmeiras, but his work permit application falls through on the eve of the transfer deadline, so we fail in our effort.

September ‘12
Cash balance: $33,464,618

We do loan in promising looking young striker Arjan van Norel from PSV for a season’s loan. He has some good looking attacking skill, but needs some polish to his game. We’ll give him a few chances to help, but we may well cut the loan short if he does us no good.

We’re dropped to 12th after some Saturday games… we finally get back into action after some European qualifiers run their course.

Sept. 10, Match 6 v. #7 Blackburn Rovers
Carlos Augusto makes his 1st start of the season today. Daeseleire misses a point blank rebound in the 25th minute that would’ve put us ahead. Gigliotti and Hagman look like they have no confidence whatsoever up front. We dominate Rovers in the first half, but somehow it’s 0-0 at halftime. We put the PSV reserve Arjan van Norel on the field for Hagman in the 2nd half. In the 49th, Glen Johnson blocks a 20 yard shot, but it falls right to Paul Gallagher who puts it away from inside 12 yards. After a half hour of frustration, we get the equalizer… Daeseleire’s 20 yarder is blocked, but van Norel is at the back post to tuck it away. 1-1 with 15 minutes or so to play. Again, we barely look dangerous late in a tight game, and it ends in another draw.
Draw, 1-1, remain 12th

A win would’ve seen us back in the top 5. We need to start playing better.

Sept. 13, UEFA Cup First Round – First Leg v. Brondby (DEN) (TV)
We come out attacking, and we get off to a flyer in our first ever European competition… Daeseleire with a great long ball to Gigliotti… he splits the defense, jinks the keeper, and skims it home. We lead after 80 seconds. Sadly, we yield a PK in the 28th minute, and defender Pablo Sebastien Melgar gets Bravo guessing wrong and scores it. I scream at the team at halftime. Cardenas is looking particularly bad. Off the 2nd half kickoff, Hagman just dribbles it straight down the right, all the way to the byline, then crosses… Cardenas’ header is tipped wide, but the attempted clearance by Melgar is right into the back of the net. An own goal gives us a 2-1 lead. Brondby have a player sent off in the 70th for kicking David Gigliotti. We get an insurance goal in the 86th, as Daeseleire is open on the right… he crosses back post, where Damien Lacroix heads it in. And 1 more for good measure in the final seconds of stoppage time… N’Diaye’s corner is punched by the keeper, but a weak punch finds the ball at the foot of Guirane N’Daw at 20 yards, and he scorches one into the twine to give us the 3 goal win. Dimitri Daeseleire rates a 9 and MoM, and we respond very well to my halftime tirade.
Win, 4-1, Second Leg in 2 weeks

Sept. 16, Match 7 @ #2 Bolton
We actually moved up a spot by sitting idle… we’re at #11 coming into this showdown at the Reebok. Bolton look like supermen early, and Michael Cia doesn’t help our cause with a stupid giveaway around 30 yards out… a nifty pass later, Bolton lead 1-0. We compose ourselves later in the half, but still go in behind a goal. We look much better in the 2nd half, but still can’t seem to score. We have a goal called back in the 70th, as Thibault Bourgeois was fractionally offside when the ball was played ahead to him. That was pretty much our last hurrah, as we don’t threaten again. Another frustratingly non-offensive match for our supposedly high-powered offense. Claudio Bravo is named MoM, which is usually not a good sign.
Loss, 1-0, drop to 12th

Cardenas hurt his neck in this match, and will miss about 2 weeks with a strain.

[Butter]

Sept. 22, Match 8 v. #9 Newcastle United
Jose Perez with his first action of the season today. Lacroix gives a tiring Cardenas a day off at ML. We show the Magpies our defensive 4-4-2 today. It seems that the first 30 minutes are all played in our end, so we switch to attacking tactics to try and keep the ball out of danger. We still can’t seem to mount an attack of any consequence, though we do get to halftime scoreless. We look better in the 2nd half, but Newcastle punishes us on a counter-attack, as Michael Owen beats Guirane N’Daw for pace, then slots home a lovely shot just inside the near post from 20 yards out to make it 1-0 Newcastle in the 59th. The team is playing totally without heart or character right now. We make no effort to come back, and lay down for another loss.
Loss, 1-0, drop to 13th

The Carling Cup draw is made, and we’ll host Middlesbrough on October 24th in Third Round action.

We seem to be nose-diving a bit with 5 straight league matches without a win. Next up, we try to hold a 3 goal advantage as we travel to Denmark for the UEFA Cup. Full defensive tactics will be in action.

Sept. 27, UEFA Cup First Round, Second Leg @ Brondby (DEN) (TV)
Posh lead 4-1
I start some 2nd teamers in this one, and we come out with a lot of energy. Nathan Bennett pops free and scores from a nice pass by Daeseleire in the 10th minute, and we go up 4 goals on aggregate. It stays that way through halftime, with Brondby barely posing a threat. In the 80th minute, we put it away, as N’Daw crosses to the center, where our lone striker today, Arjan van Norel half-volleys it home. 2-0, Posh. Michael Cia gets a garbage time goal, as he knocks in a rebound of a 6 yard Nathan Bennett shot. The final whistle goes, and we blow through our first European Cup tie with ease. Glen Johnson and Dimitri Daeseleire pick up 9’s in the match.
Win, 3-0, Posh advance 7-1 on aggregate

The Group Stage is drawn, and we draw Group A, alongside Aberdeen (SCO), PSV (NED), Hamburger SV (GER), and Paris St. Germain (FRA). Not an easy group with Paris and PSV in there.

We pick up about $1M total for our First Round win and our advancement to the Group Stage.

Sept. 30, Match 9 @ #1 Tottenham Hotspur
It’s going to get harder and harder for us to get back in the race if we don’t start getting some points. We open in the same 4-5-1 that was so effective v. Brondby… Perez as the lone striker. And our gameplan is undone in the 3rd minute, as Spurs net a breakaway, and Yaya Toure smashes it home from 15 yards to take the lead. The team appears to be falling apart midway through the first half… Johnson and N’Diaye have minor injuries while Daeseleire has a knock that requires attention as well. Perez and Sidnei are rating 5’s, while N’Daw’s stamina is already under 80%. I call the team clueless at halftime, and we open the 2nd half with a goal inside of 45 seconds… Fernandinho crosses to Gigliotti, who heads it in at the back post. We’ve switched to an attacking 4-4-2 for the 2nd half. We are dominating Spurs in the 2nd half, but then Bravo makes a bonehead play, coming out too far to snatch a cross, but Crouch beats him there and heads it into an open goal for a 2-1 Spurs lead with 20 minutes to play. Things fall completely apart after that, as Darren Bent scores 2 minutes later to make it 3-1. Cardenas gets one back for us in the 82nd with a 19 yard free kick that goes straight in. That’s how it ends, another loss.
Loss, 3-2, drop to 14th

We’re now 0-2-4 in our last 6 league matches. We trail the 1st place Spurs by 16 points.

[Butter]

October ‘12
Cash balance: $27,688,097

A completely winless September in league play is thankfully over. We played alright against Spurs, but continue to struggle.

Another FIFA International weekend comes the first weekend of October, so we get a week off.

11 games into the season, and we’ve averaged scoring 1.7 per game, and are allowing just 1.1. The problem is, 7 of those 17 we’ve scored came against Brondby. So, really, for league purposes, we’ve scored 10 goals, and allowed 11. Our defense has improved… but our offense has become anemic. Where once we were among the league leaders in goal scoring, now we are barely scraping together 1 goal per game.

Thanks to heavy international call-ups, our next league match has been pushed back twice… so now our next match will be our initial foray into UEFA Cup Group Play.

With our inactivity, we’ve actually dropped to 16th place, and lead Birmingham out of the relegation zone on goal difference only. Our domestic season is quickly turning to crap, can we salvage anything from the UEFA Cup?

Let’s take a quick refresher peek at the squad before we head to Paris:

Depth chart
GK: Claudio Bravo, Julien Desmenez
DL: Guirane N’Daw, Jan Tigorev, Andrej Mlinaric
DC: Sidnei, Carlos Rodriguez, Balazs Borbely
DR: Glen Johnson, Tigorev
DM: Alex N’Diaye, Nathan Bennett, Nicolas Godemeche
ML: Sherman Andres Cardenas, Damien Lacroix, Mlinaric
MR: Dimitri Daeseleire, Lacroix, Bennett
AM: Fernandinho, Michael Cia
ST: David Gigliotti, Simon Hagman, Jose Manuel Perez, Arjan van Norel

Oct. 18, UEFA Cup Group A, Match Day 1, @ Paris SG (#15 in French Ligue Un)
Gigliotti and the hot Arjan van Norel pair up front in our 4-4-2 defensive action. It takes a while, but we start to warm up in the middle of the half… Gigliotti sends a 10 yarder inches wide, then 4 minutes later van Norel rings the crossbar. But we break through in the 39th, as Mlinaric finds Bennett on the right edge of the area, he sends a soft ball into the six where Arjan van Norel dives onto it and bulges the net! Bennett hits the post, and Gigliotti completely whiffs on an unmarked 8 yarder to close the half. We dominate the proceedings, but end only up a goal. Paris come out and quickly get their goal back, as our central defense parts like the Red Sea to allow Ailton an uncontested 15 yarder that he slots home. But we fight back 2 minutes later, as in the 49th, van Norel is upended near the spot, and we’re given the PK… which Gigliotti converts in front of his countrymen to put us back ahead 2-1. Desmenez hesitates on a long ball in the 67th, and nearly gives away another goal, but the defense saves him. Van Norel off for Borbely in the 71st as we switch to a more defensive 4-5-1 tactic. We dominate the ball late, and take the win at Parc des Princes. Desmenez wins MoM with a 9 rating in the win.
Win, 2-1, open in 2nd place in Group

Hamburg SV beat Aberdeen 2-0 to open Group play in first.

I notice that the supporters are now disappointed with my management of the club.
With mid-week action, we slip to 17th, just 1 point from rock bottom. But we do have 1-2 games to make up on the field, and with 2 wins could end up as high as 8th.

Oct. 21, Match 10 @ #18 Fulham
Battle to get out of the zone, this one is. Bourgeois and van Norel pair up front today. We go with the 4-4-2 that worked so well in Paris. Fulham flat our dominate early, and Desmenez keeps us in it. We completely fail to close down, and finally the Cottagers work in a goal from 20 yards out, as Jose Enrique powers it past Desmenez. 3 minutes later, in the 23rd, N’Daw with a superb long ball to van Norel, and he chips the keeper from a tight angle and scores to make it 1-1. van Norel comes out completely exhausted at halftime. Speaking historically, it’s not good when Fulham is dominating you, yet that’s what happens throughout much of the second half. Fernandinho has our last chance in the 85th, but an open 18 yarder is chunked into the seats. At least we don’t lose, but we’re just treading water at this point. Fernandinho turns in another crap performance at AM.
Draw, 1-1, up to 16th

We pass Man City with the draw. Any points = good news for us right now. The supporters now are crying for a new manager, while the board is now merely “satisfied” with my performance.

Oct. 24, Carling Cup Third Round v. Middlesbrough (#2 in Prem.)
We get on the board early, as Tigorev’s long ball into the box is misplayed by the Boro keeper, and 19 year old French striker Jeremy Fernandez heads it in for his first career Posh goal. We hold the lead through halftime, but in the 2nd half, Yakubu appears to be possessed by Satan, as he gets 4 shots on goal in about 45 seconds, finally scoring on a crazy header past Bravo to even the match. The pbp says “he looks really fired up”. Yeah, fire. Bravo gives up a completely soft goal in the 70th, barely moving on a 20 yarder from David Gardner. N’Daw handballs in the 90th minute, and Yakubu nets a brace with the PK to bury us. The rest of the time ticks away, and the squad looks uninterested as we drop another one.
Loss, 3-1, out of League Cup

I release a news story criticizing Fernandinho. He responds well to it. We have one more game to regain form, as I see it. Next up: Birmingham, in 19th place. We need a BIG win.

Will we get it?

[Butter]

Oct. 27, Match 11 v. #19 Birmingham City
We start the following lineup, with no unhappy or “SLT” (slightly concerned) players:
GK: Desmenez
D: Spurr, Sidnei, Rodriguez, Daeseleire
M: Camara, Lacroix, N’Diaye, Cardenas
S: van Norel, Ortiz

We’re playing aggressive, attacking football today. This is my last chance at salvaging my job. A drab opening quarter hour, then Lacroix with a steal in midfield… he dribbles up to about 30 yards from the end line, then passes square for Cardenas around the top of the arc… Cardenas slides a ball through for van Norel, who is just onside, and he one-times it into the back of the net! Van Norel’s 5th goal in 4 starts, and we lead! We switch to a 4-5-1 with 2 DM’s with 20 minutes to go, trying to hold the lead. Van Norel goes off with injury around halftime, I’ve been working him hard lately. With 5 minutes to go, our counter-attack strikes… Gigliotti controls the ball all the way to the end line, then brings it back to the top of the box, and lays it square for Camara, who runs onto it and strikes a 20 yarder… into the upper left corner!!! 2-0, Posh! Defensive midfielder Julien Camara with his first ever Posh goal to seal the win! The Blues get one back with under a minute to play, as a long ball finds an unmarked attacker 10 yards from goal, and he beats Desmenez easily. We hang on for all 4 stoppage time minutes, and take the win!
Win, 2-1, up to 12th place

I’m only 4 points out of 6th, which is hopefully our next stop. The supporters have now stopped wanting a new manager, and are just disappointed with me. At the same time, Manchester United fire their manager, and I am mentioned as a possible candidate for the job.

Next up, a clash for first place in my UEFA Cup group, as we face 1st place Hamburger SV. Hamburg are 18th in the Bundesliga (dead last), and have not won in 11 matches in league play. Now that I’ve escaped the noose for another few weeks, maybe we can make a run in Europe.

Even better news as the month draws to a close: Simon Hagman is returning to full training. The Swede had a nice start to the season, so more striker help is always a good thing.

November ‘12
Cash balance: $23,988,341

Nov. 1, UEFA Cup Group A, Match Day 2 v. Hamburg SV
HSV get on the board quickly against our attacking offense, scoring off a corner kick and header in minute #4. We fight back in the 20th, as Daeseleire’s cross finds Gigliotti, who nods it down for Fernandinho… the Brazilian buries an 8 yard strike to put us ahead. The rest of the game is fairly dull, but we take a point from the road favorites. Lacroix and Desmenez with 8’s in the draw.
Draw, 1-1, remain 2nd in Group A

Aberdeen draws with PSV 1-1, so we stick in 2nd place.

Julien Desmenez has yielded 4 goals in 4 starts, including 2 starts in the UEFA Cup. The 19 year old Frenchman is staking his claim for the 1st team spot, especially with the continually fragile morale of Claudio Bravo.

N’Diaye picks up a gashed leg in training, and will miss about 2 weeks of action.

Nov. 4, Match 12 @ #16 Crystal Palace
We plan to go with the defensive 4-4-2 today. Van Norel and Hagman pair at striker today. Fernandinho is back, as he takes a ball from 35 yards, dribbles past a man like he’s not there, then buries it into the opposite side of the net with a marvelous low strike. 1-0 Posh after 12 minutes. The Eagles equalize 4 minutes later, as Camara misses an interception, allowing a ball into the area where a Palace attacker finishes easily. Even with an injury, the amazing run of Arjan van Norel continues, as he times his run to perfection, gets the pass from Glen Johnson, and slots one home in 1st half stoppage time to put us ahead 2-1. In the 62nd, Palace finds the equalizer. Apparently, my halftime talk was poor, because we then stand around as though uninterested in playing and pretty much let Palace score 2 more to lose handily. A horrible performance.
Loss, 4-2, drop to 15th

The board expresses their displeasure at the defeat, and the fans are calling for my head once again. Not a good situation.