FM2007:Rushden

[condors]

Its April 20th 2011. There are 4 games to go in the season and Rushden are sitting in the final champions league spot in the English Premier League. When i came to the team we had been demoted to the Conferance division and looked to bounce back. With free transfers and loans we made straight promotions from Conferance, League Two, and League One, by midseason each time we were sitting in postion to win the league each season. Last season we were in the Championship and at mid season we were not even close. I had backed these players telling the press they would rise to the challenge. Even with the guys we brought in on free transfers and loans were not enough to make up for our increasing lack of talent. We had a bunch of hard workers that could dominate in the lower divsions and avoid relagation from the Championship but we were not going to win it. Drastic measures were taken. Most of the team was put on the transfer list. We looked at the transfer list and brought in guys who were on the cheap. Some wouldn't come play for us but we got enough on the last fixture of the season a win got us 2nd place and a chance to play with the big boys.

[condors]

Our Sqaud:

keepers-
David Martin-was with Liverpool was picked up on a free last season when they had a mutal termanation, In 11 games last season he let in 5 goals and became the first choice at Rushden. This season he has let in 32 goals in 33 games. Petr Cech is the man in the league after that you can make a case for a bunch of guys David Martin being one of them. I am guessing he threw a fit at Liverpool backing up Reina because I can't see why he would be let go. He is only 25 years old and looks to man the posts for a while.

Tommy Forecast- was our #1 at the start of last season and is now our backup had a little trouble accepting a backup role but a new contract seems to have pasify him for now. Was tottaly dominating for 3 seasons before last year were he seemed to struggle in the championship. Very popular among the players will have a place on the bench and in the reserves as long as he wants it. Tommy is 24 years old.

Chris Pennock-picked up on a free our scouts loved him, other teams love him, thought he would beome our #1 by now. Did ok in cup games and subbing up until this season. Has conceded 9 goals in 4 games this season and I don't trust him anymore. Will be sold if another team comes looking to pick up his services again. Chris is 24 years old.

Nick Barwick- 19 year old from our youth system. My scouts hate him. Was pressed into duty last season and played well. If my top two go down would go to him. Hopefully he enjoys riding the pine and he will be around for a long time.

We have a couple other youth goalies but i don't see keeping either at the end of the season. There is a chance i may upgrade Martin at some point. There are a couple things that prevent him from being a world class keeper(he is not good at either kicking or throwing, and his a liability in the air. That said he is a world class shot stopper. It would take a special player to take his place. Although if another team came and he wanted to leave I would have a mad scramble on my hands.

[condors]

defenders:
Jlloyd Samuel 30 years old left back, was purchased for 500k before the season started from Aston Villa. May not be world class but is a nice player for us. Has played 29 games with a 7.03 rating so far.

Warren Cummings 30 years old left back was our first and team captin last season. Is a good championship caliber player. Has played 9 games with a 6.58 rating this season. Only is there to provide cover although can play on the left side in the midfield as cover as well.

Justin Hoyte 26 years old right back. Justin like Jlloyd was bought to try to get us ready for the top flight. Reading was in the championship league and we were able to steal him from them. Has played in 28 games with 7.21 rating.

Patrick Collins 26 years old is our 2nd choice right back, He has played in 10 games with a 7.10 rating. He can also play in a central role. He along with Warren Cummings were good championship players but i don't think make the grade at this level.

Anthony Gardner 30 years old central defense. Anthony lost his place at Tottenham and was sold to Cardiff in the Championship. We came along and stole him for 700k. 29 games with a 7.52 rating. I wish he was younger and I had another one like him.

Adam Gusterson 23 years old center back, picked him up on a free and he has developed well for us. He has started 16 games come on 4 times as a sub for a 7.00 rating. We have a need here that will probally be addressed in the off season if i can find the right guy. I like Adam and he may be a regular for us if he gets just a little better when Anthony Gardner is past it.

Mark Hudson 29 years old, center back, started the season with a chance and played horrible after 4 games last his place and is unhappy about it. I don't trust him and hope i can unload him asap. 4 games 6.80 rating (watching the first few games I didn't like what i saw every goal we conseded was from his guy and he seemed to only kick the ball out of bounds)

Jerel Ifil 28 years old center back, was given a chance after Hudson. He also failed. 6.64 rating in 10 games. I would like to sell him if someone wanted him.

Peter Green 20 years is from our youth academy and is usually on the sub bench for games. I like to use young players as subs i feel it helps their growth. He isn't ready to step in and not sure he ever will be but teams were interested in him and my scouts liked him so i have kept him around. If he is 24 and still doesn't look like the finished product then we will move on.

I also have about a half dozen other guys in the under 18 and reserve team but none of them are of any note outside of 20 year old Danny Wright he a physical beast and i had high hopes for him but he has no technical and limited mental abilities he is a good fast kid who works hard so i will keep him around and hope he doesn't see the pitch often.

I am in the market for a center back this offseason but i am looking for a top notch guy not sure i will get one.

[condors]

Midfield:

this is a sore spot for me my chairman(i clicked on sugar daddy in the editor) sold my project turned star Anthony Stephan to Arsenal who has played 20 games with 7.25 rating. We made several attempts at other left wingers but were unable to get a top quality replacement before the transfer window closed. 18 year old Francis Harding from our youth system has stepped in and averaged a 6.82 for us. We have secured Juan de dios Hernandez 25 year old mexican international who will be joining us in the off season and we have high hopes for him.

on the right side we don't really have a true winger. Jermaine Jenas 28 year old plays there but we just were trying to get a true right winger but didn't get one. Has played 9 games with a 7.33 rating

We play a 4-4-2 diamond we do so because of this guy. Aaron Griffiths. We got him when we where in league two for 95k from Aston Villa. 17 games with a 7.18 rating this year. He is no longer the lynchpin for the team but is still a quality player.

Michael Noone 21 year old who plays at top of the midfield diamond. He is deadly from set pieces and long shots. 27 games 7.48 rating. I really like this kid he is our best midfield player.

We have 21 year old Jimmy Smith former Chelsea player who we used to loan and he steps in for us but we don't think he is ready for this level right now 17 games 6.59 rating.

To be honest i am not happy to play Smith at this point but we are barren of quality in the midfield. We also secured Man United youth player 22 year old Giles Barnes to be a true right winger he can also play central midfield and was transfer listed by his own request. When we play Harding and Smith i feel i am cheating the other guys on the team.

[condors]

Strikers:

For some reason I seem to have no problem finding quality strikers that want to play for me. It has been a strength of the team since i took over.

Lee Farr is 18 years old and we got him from Tottenham and gave him a chance to play everday (has a buyback clause that i remember when we bought him but can't find how much it is but i made it alot) he has responded with 16 goals in 23 games. He is currently hurt and could miss the last 4 games and we were hoping for 20 league goals for him.

Thapelo Craig 21 years old my scouts think he is the best player on the team but he hasn't settled in yet. 8 goals and 6.90 rating isn't what i was hoping for him. Does have 4 caps for South Africa.

Berlin Nolme-Nedbi 23 year old Cameron international with 8 caps. He has scored 8 goals and a 7.04 rating Never really found his feet in Portsmouth and was a stud for us last year. I don't worry if i have to play him.

Nathan Ellington 29 years old was rescued from West Brom's bench for us last season and got us 15 league goals. Has filled in with 5 goals and 7.13 rating.

17 year old youth player Danny Bryan is usually on our bench. Our scouts said he is a once in a generation player which i am not sure about that but he looks like he could be a player. He has only scored once in 20 sub apperances and 6.80 rating also has 3 assists. I like what i see and hope for more to come and want to see what he looks like in 7 years when he should be done learning his trade.

[condors]

I honestly look at this team when everyone is healthy we aren't good enough. We have a hole in central defense(you can't have that in the top flight). Our left winger should be in league two, our right winger is a central midfielder. But Gardner and Noone have been two of the best players in the league. I don't have an explantion for that. Gardner averaged a 6.94 for Cardiff and i was a little worried about getting him because of that but he looked to be the best central defender my scout said would could get.

Michael Noone was just the best midfielder i could find, he isn't even list as an AMC which is what he plays for us Millwall hold only played him in 1 game the previous season but sometimes you have to go trust what the scouts tell you.

While we are in fourth if we lose our next game we could fall as far as 9th. Arsenal Chelsea and Liverpool will probally be the top 3 this will most likely be about the battle for 4th. If i do finish 4th it will be a huge accomplishment and much better than i thought this team had in them and give me hopes for next season if a defender can be found that is we stay healthy maybe a champions league trophy could be added Nene park that is dream to be sure

[condors]

In a shocking development Liverpool goes into the tank and allow us to finish 3rd. Arsenal win the league with 84 points and Chelsea finish with 83 our 67 point total was good enough for 3rd. Liverpool and Man City finish with 65, Portsmouth has 64 and Tottenham had 63. The mighty Man United finished with 55 in the mid table. West Ham central defender Anton Ferdinand is unhappy and I put in a transfer bid for him. Manutd put in a bid for Theblo Craig who finished the season strong and 12 goals for the tally. I say give me Wayne Rooney and you got a deal (you want my 1st team striker than you can give me yours right?).

I have to say we overachieved. We have some good players and we are adding more in the offseason. If we stay healthy I think we could make a run but then again this could have been a fluke and i tend to fall in love with "my guys". I am looking forward to next season.

[bbgunn]

That is definitely overachievement. Good work.

[condors]

Thanks for reading bbgun.

I am happy the board is allowing me to spend all the teams money and 100% of any player I sell goes back into the transfer kitty. The problem is the board is expecting European Qualification.

I didn't get any of the defenders i wanted in the transfer window. It looks like we are going to start the season with the same backline as before.

We did bring in 3 midfielders 2 of them we needed. Juan de Dios Hernandez 25 years old with 9 caps. He is a true left winger, is able to dribble cross pass and speed. The only problem is he seems to have a tendancy to get himself carded but he is a hard worker and can take corner kicks for us.

Giles Barnes 23 year old who is capped at the under 21 level, he is going to give us a true winger. He was tranfer listed by request playing behind Ronaldo at Manchester United. He is an explosive winger and looks to be everything i could want on my right side.

The next 2 players i was not planning on getting but i had them shortlisted and didn't want to lose out on them when other teams had bids accepted for them i joined the mix.

Ciprian Andrei Marcia 25 year old 43 caps 30 goals for Romania. He is just everything i like in a striker. Is great in the air and with the ball at his feet. I don't need a striker but with Manchester United trying to get one of my strikers and Chelsea trying to get the other i felt i needed to get this guy in case i lose both. (so far i still have them both)

Al Bangura 23 years old 16 caps for Sierra Leone. Defensive midfielder. i am happy with my current guy but he comes in and becomes the starter .

I still don't have any cover for my defense although i bough a 17 year old that my scouts like he isn't going to play for outside of the under 18 team for now.

I did some buisness myself selling midfielder Jimmy Smith and striker Nathan Ellington. I am hoping for a top 6 finish but i am still not sold on the defense.(I am confident that the midfield is top shelf along with the forwards now).

I actually could make another move at some point but the defenders who seem to want to play for me aren't quite what i had in mind.

[condors]

the season is not off to a good start

It is still early days but after 8 games we are 11th. We are getting alot of shots but they are not going in. Our defense which i was so worried about is actually 3rd best in the league. Our goal scoring hopefully will come around. This is the first time the team is not performing above expectations and it seems I brought in a couple of bad guys. Giles Barnes is worried the teams league postion will affect his reputation and Hernandez thinks the refrees are targeting him. Neither has performed as well as i would have hoped. Hopefully they can settle in and we can start to play up to our abilities.

[condors]

The media is constantly referring to us as underachiving. Every one of my players is upset by the teams underperforming. The worst part is i think we have turned it around. We advanced in the champions league with a group with Barcelona PSV and Gelsenkirchen us and Gelsenkirchen get through. We were tied with Barcelona on goal difference and point total and played each other on the final game. We scrapped a 2-1 win in a pretty even game (we outshot them 17-14 53% possesion). We are currently 4th in the table (although some teams have games in hand and we could end up 6th if they win them). I am not sure if my job is in danger but i will say that i don't enjoy how we became a big club overnight except for one thing the really good players have no interest in coming to Rushden. Board wants Eurpean Qualification but i can't get players that the big 4 can. I know if i continue to get top 4 finishes and do well in the champions league that the club rep will go up I am a bit worried that first off the results may not happen and 2nd will I get the sack before I can make it a reality. I am hoping if i get the results this season top players outside the big 4 teams in the EPL will want to come here(right now i just steal transferlisted/unhappy or a lower league guy). Also have a growing group of reserve players wanting 1st team action. Several are transferlisted. I am hoping for more youth players to take their place although they don't look very promising.(I may just have to try to steal some other teams youth players i normally don't go for that but i need a left back to be ready in a season or two as age will catch up and i got a bare cuboard.

[Young Drachma]

Wow, what an effort to get that team that far. Wow.

[condors]

just a quick update midway through the season we are in 5th place where 3rd place is just 2 points away although 7th place is 3 points away. I picked up a 17 year old keeper and 17 year old left sided fullback who look better than what i have currently and my scouts liked them. Not all of the players are unhappy anymore but Giles Barnes who is playing well doesn't like me and may have to send him elsewhere. Manutd is actually in 15th place and Roy Keane has been described as underpressure manager. Age is really hurting them they are using alot of players that have lost their pace.

[condors]

We finished the season 3rd Liverpool win the historic treble and Arsenal come in 2nd we manged to just sqeak ahead of Chelsea and Newcastle. Manutd finished 14th and are seemingly losing there shine as my scout says Wayne Rooney would play for me. I feel i have 4 quality strikers 6 quality midfielders and 4 defenders and a keeper. I have some young players i have invested in. The problem is i am not sure how to improve the team at this point. We can add more payroll and spend money but i don't see a true upgrade for us. I thought about getting Stewart Downing for the left side and it may happen if our current guy gets taken on his release fee. I may just be staring at guys too much as well and not seeing the forest from the trees. As it stands right now outside of a batch of youth players i am not seeing any additions to the squad. I may go after some young guys but no first teamers. The defenders that will come join me look incomplete. I don't need any of those guys. I am worried as age could start to effect 2 of our guys this season. If that does happen i will try to find somebody or give one of the younger guys a shot.

[condors]

Well I give Giles Barnes his wish and sell him to Chelsea. He averages 7.43 rating for me on the right wing and his talent will be missed. As soon as this sale happens Juan de dios Hernandez demands to be transfer listed (he averaged 7.26 for us) and i sell him as well. The sales brought in 37 extra million to go shopping with. Normally i will play seasons pretty quickly and finish a season in a week or so. Well this offseason took me about a month to play. Finishing 3rd in the league and making the champions league is great. I really would like to win the league though. Improving the team is pretty hard at this point. I really need to find the best wingers i possibly can. For the right side a get 24 year old Paul Anderson from Tottenham. My scouts think he has all the tools but hasn't been a starter yet. Tottenham did not want to sell him and we have to pony up 28 million to get him and it is a new record purchase for us. The left side we look at Portsmouth and steal 20 year old Irishman Scott Sheppard who in 42 games last season average 6.52 but he looks good already and my scouts love him. We have to put up 16 million for him. So for the 2nd straight year i bring in a pair of wingers. Hopefully these two settle in and are happy and can help get us a title. To be honest these guys were not in my top 3 choices for thier postions but after i couldn't get a total stud i went after good right now and young as well. We still have Jermaine Jenas and youth product Francis Harding(worth 9.25 million) who we finished 3rd with two years ago as starters.

I am quite happy with the team as the season begins. In my reserve team i have several defenders that other teams want. In the midfield i have 3 players who have played more than expected for me due to injuries and have done well. I was expecting to lose a forward but never did so i have 3 very good forwards and a youth product Danny Bryan who is a nice super sub worth 8.5 million.

I have been a selling team. It seemed i used to make around 8 million a season is player sales. These last two seasons i have spent more than i have sold in an attempt to change the veiw as a buying contending team. It is essential that we continue to qualify for the champions league. We are still not considered one of the big clubs yet but we are definatly getting some reputation as i would never have been able to get a starting player from Portsmouth last year.

[condors]

Season 3 in the top flight was an emotional rollercoaster. I decieded to try to keep my best players this season and they got mad at me. So i had both my winger request transfers (they had just been with us for 1 season) They leave and i replace them with a couple young kids with potential. (i don't have the game open right now so i can't give more details).

We start off pretty good. I even find a couple defenders willing to come play for me that can step right in. By the halfway point we are sitting on top.

Its close race all season with 1 game left we are still in first place playing against last place Everton. We dominate the game outshooting them more than 2-1 and we lose 2-1. I know it happens sometimes but i am gutted. To take Rushden from the conferance and be a fair result against the last place team to win the EPL...Still 2nd place is a record high for the club and there is next season. (there is also fm2008)