Manchester United: Building on Success

[weinstein7]

Wow! Congrats on the double! You guys really came on strong at the end!

Good luck with the English team in international play, and we'll all be looking forward to next season!

[finkenst]

i managed to get the EPL title, and the first England cup title. Lost in the first knockout round in the Champions' league (many injuries and focused on league), and lost in the final in the second england cup final.

[condors]

congrats!

[daedalus]

Congrats on the hard won double. Great job pulling that out after a difficult start of the season.

On the topic of Adu, I'd rather see you chase Jesus (I mean, c'mon, he's JESUS! And he saves.) with the money. You'd be spending less to help the team more.

[Eaglesfan27]

You bring up a good point. He has been great in goal. I may end up making a power play for him. I have to carefully consider where to bolster the team. We are starting to get old in several areas, and I saw Lucio and Ferdinand's attributes both starting to slip. Djemba and Fletcher might not be far behind either.

[Eaglesfan27]

Thanks to everyone for the congrats

[Eaglesfan27]

Well, Mrs. Eaglesfan has requisitioned my laptop for today and tomorrow due to a big project that she is presenting at school. Therefore, the rest of the season (international play and end of season summary) will be delayed a few days.

[kingfc22]

congrats on an awesome season.

[FrogMan]

huh, hello? anyody home?



Wonder if Mrs. Eaglesfan has not broken said laptop, that would certainly be a shame...

FM

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

huh, hello? anyody home?



Wonder if Mrs. Eaglesfan has not broken said laptop, that would certainly be a shame...

FM

She did manage to make the "Y" key stick. However, it's just been an odd week. Expect many developments this weekend (particularly tomorrow as I should have a nice solid block of time to play, but a little bit tonight too.)

[Eaglesfan27]

OOC Note: Well I've finally reclaimed the laptop

Time to play some FM while watching two (hopefully) enjoyable Game 7's.

[weinstein7]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

OOC Note: Well I've finally reclaimed the laptop

Time to play some FM while watching two (hopefully) enjoyable Game 7's.

Make that ONE enjoyable Game 7. Sheesh. No way David Stern (or Shaq, for that matter) lets either of these teams past the second round.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go write David Stern a check for 100 thou.

[Eaglesfan27]

OOC: Well, my website is not letting me upload images properly for some reason. I've been fighting it for 40 minutes, but I'm done fighting for now. I'll do the year in review without any images.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by weinstein7

Make that ONE enjoyable Game 7. Sheesh. No way David Stern (or Shaq, for that matter) lets either of these teams past the second round.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go write David Stern a check for 100 thou.

Yeah, the first game has been quite the dud.

[Eaglesfan27]

Time to look at the final league standings and some individual stats:

1. Manchester United: 22-14-2 record. 80 points. 68 goals scored (3rd in the EPL) and 23 goals allowed (1st in the EPL) for a GD of plus 45 (1st in the league.)

2. Liverpool: 23-8-7 record. 77 points. 72 goals scored (1st in the EPL) and 34 goals allowed (3rd in the EPL) for a goal differential of plus 38 (2nd in the EPL.)

3. Aston Villa: 21-11-6 record. 74 points. 57 goals scored (8th) and 28 goals allowed (2nd) for a goal differential of plus 29 (3rd.)

4. Chelsea: 19-15-4 record. 72 points. 64 goals scored (5th) and 36 goals allowed (4th) for a goal differential of plus 28 (4th.)

5. Newcastle: 18-10-10 record. 64 points. 58 goals scored (7th), 41 goals allowed (7th), GD of plus 17 (5th.)


6. Everton: 19-6-13 record. 63 points.

7. Fulham: 17-10-11. 61 points.

8. Leicester: 16-8-14. 56 points.

9. Arsenal: 13-15-10. 54 points.

10. Tottenham 10-17-11. 47 points.

[Eaglesfan27]

League (only) stats:


Average form:

1. Stewart Downing - 9.04

2. Wayne Rooney - 8.26

3. Adriano, Chelsea - 7.88

4. Salomon Kalou, Arsenal - 7.81

5. Jorge Pina, Southampton, 7.74

6. Jeroen Schreurs - 7.71

7. Djibril Cisse, Liverpool, 7.68

8. Jose Antonio Reyes, Arsenal - 7.59

9. Glen Johnson, Chelsea - 7.59

10. Hatem Ben Arfa, Newcastle - 7.56


Other notables:

12. Tim Howard - 7.52

18. Cristian Chivu - 7.44

25. Lucio - 7.39 (not bad for an old guy)

34 Adriano - 7.38

41. Eric Djemba Djemba - 7.33

48. Darren Fletcher - 7.30

48. Wes Brown - 7.30

[Eaglesfan27]

League Goals:

1. Dean Ashton, Leicester - 28

2. Wayne Rooney - 22

3. Djibril Cisse, Liverpool - 21

4. Adriano, Chelsea - 20

5. Mauro Di Mauro, Everton - 17

6. Yakubu, Liverpool - 16

7. Jermain Defoe, Newcastle, 15

7. Helder Postiga, Fulham, 15

7. Robbin Kieft, Southampton, 15

10. Wayne Worthington, Coventry - 14 (this kid is looking like a potential star, I might have to make a play to add him as my strikers are actually getting old outside of Rooney, Adriano, and King.)



League Assists:

1. Salomon Kalou, Arsenal - 19

2. Johan Absalonsen, Southampton - 15

2. Stewart Downing - 15

4. Jose Antonio Reyes, Arsenal - 14

5. Yakubu, Liverpool - 13

6. Joe Cole, Chelsea - 12

7. Thomas Hitzlsperger, Fulham - 10

7. Rohan Ricketts, Leicester - 10

7. Djibril Cisse - Liverpool - 10

10. Jeroen Schreurs - 9


Other Notables:

41. Adriano - 6

48. Alan Smith - 5

[Eaglesfan27]

OOC NOTE: Thanks to Frogman for the player comparision tool which is the basis of the following post:


March 23, 2013 -

With the season over, my coaches have prepared a report of who they think has improved the most over the last year and who has regressed the most:


Biggest Improvers:

Alfonso - This young left winger is finally coming into his own. He is becoming quite proficient at crossing the ball, dribbling, heading, passing, and his technique has improved. He still lacks flair, but he is a solid backup left winger. His agility and balance which were already superior appear improved.

Jamie Cook - This young midfielder has become a superb player even at the age of 20. He lacks footspeed, but makes up for that with superb off the ball skills. He has become one of the best passers in the game this last year. He has also become one of the best long range shooters this past year. He has superb creativity and flair which have improved this past year. He is a superb corner taker as well. He has an excellent dribble. One area of concern is his lack of a good first touch, but that is starting to improve.

Gabriele Marchetti - This young Italian centerback has continued to gain strength, stamina, agility, and balance the past season. He is better at positioning himself, and he is making better decisions. He has become superb at marking players and heading the ball. I wish he had better jumping skills, but he is going to become a prominent centreback.

Antonio Ortega - This young right winger may have taken more forward steps than any other player on my squad according to my coaches. He has become a very good crosser, an excellent finisher, goood at free kicks, and much better at the mental aspects of the game. If he can continue to improve, he has a chance to become a very good right winger. I'll need to continue to work him into games to see if he can continue this pattern of improvement to become a legitimate very good player.

Barry Parker - This young midfielder has improved his balance, agility, positioning, and all of his technical skills. Of note, he has become a superb man marker and a very good header. He could become a much more important piece in the midfield.

Wayne Rooney - Amazingly, our coaches think this superstar has improved this past season in multiple areas. In particular, he has become a significantly better passer, better off the ball, a better decision maker, and better at taking free kicks and penalties.

Mickael Schmidt - This young left fullback has taken astounding leaps according to our coaches. In particular, his positioning is much better. His tackling has become lethal. He has become a better passer, long range shooter, tackler, dribblers, header, and he has better mental attributes. He is much harder to rattle. He has become a clear starter at left fullback if he doesn't regress during the summer.



Biggest regression:

Wes Brown - Still starter quality, but his technical and physical abilities are just starting to slide. He is a step slower.

Damien Duff - Lost a significant portion of his good speed. He is no longer an EPL quality player. We will let him go after this season is officially over.

Lucio - He is starting to lose his stamina and strength, but he is still a top notch starter. However, if he loses much more during the summer it could be a problem.

John O'Shea - He is starting to lose his technical abilities, but not much else.

Mikael Silvestre - Without a doubt, our biggest loser. He has lost a tremendous amount of footspeed in just one season and is no longer quick enough to play on this level. He also lost all of his acceleration and a bit of his technical abilities.

Louis Saha - Lost his remaining speed, and is now a slow player.

Ruud van Nistelrooy - has lost almost all of his speed, and some of his shooting ability.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 24, 2013 -

Salva suffered a fracture in his arm and will miss training for a good portion of the summer.



Real Madrid's Joaquin has won the Champions League Best Player Award. My Adriano came in 2nd, and Andreas Ivanschitz of Real Zaragoza came in 3rd.


Liverpool's Yakubu has won the Champions League Golden Boot Award. My Adriano came in 2nd, and Aruna of Marseille came in 3rd.


Cristian Chivu, Jamie Cook, and my Adriano were all selected to the Champions League Dream Team.


York just won promotion to the European Championship.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 26, 2013 -

I've submitted my squad for the upcoming World Cup Qualifying match and the Confederation Cup. It's about time to start a great stretch of games for me as manager of England's National Team.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 27, 2013 -

Charlton has won promotion to the EPL.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 29, 2013 -

James McFadden has revealed to the press that he is unhappy with not playing on the first team and he wants to be traded soon if he isn't going to become a first team player


Gabriele Marchetti has been called up the Italian U21 Team.

Jamie Cook, Michael Wood, Bob Wright, and Daniel Rowland have been called up to England's U21 team.

Alfonso has been called up to Spain's U21 Team.



WTF!?! Chris Kirkland has rejected my callup to the England National Squad as a replacement player! Is he mad that I haven't called him up sooner? I need a replacement player as Milner is hurt, and I thought I would pull the talented keeper up, but now I will look at another option.



Wow. Kirkland has told the national media that he rejected the callup, because he should have been on the original squad and he wasn't going to let me use him as a second fiddle.

I called up Shaun Wright-Phillips instead.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 31, 2013 -

That jerk. Jeroen Schreurs went to the media to tell them that he feels he deserves a pay raise to bring his salary up to those of his teammates.

Adriano is also making noise about wanting a pay raise, but at least he is doing it privately.


Despite his loud complaining, Jeroen has become a superior player. I decide I will offer him and Adriano a new contract immediately.

Jeroen is requesting 120,000/week (was making 57,000/week) and my AM thinks we should pay him what is asking. He is also asking for a 3.2 million dollar signing bonus which I will give him.


Meanwhile Adriano is asking for an astounding 5.4 million signing bonus with 170,000/week! My AM thinks he is worth 150,000/week. I decide to split the difference at 160,000/week. He also wants 9,000/goal and 7,000/assist which I agree to as well.



Wow. The media has asked me if I would ever put Kirkland on the England National Squad again after he rejected my callup!

I respond, "Kirkland must apologise before I even consider him for another call-up."




My personal assistant has reminded me that the following contracts expire in a month:


Phil Neville - No intention of renewing it.

Louis Saha - Definitely no renewal.

Andy Ford - This youngster just hasn't shown signs of improvment. He is gone.

Ben Walters - Ditto.

Bob Wright - This 21 year old striker has shown some promise, but not enough to keep him around. He wants 23,000/week to stay, and Mr. Queiroz and I both agree that Wright isn't worth it.



Excellent, Salva has settled here in England and has now asked to be removed from the transfer list. I agree to his request.


Now it is time to get ready for my England U21 game against Latvia before our national squad plays theirs.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 31, 2013 -

I've decided to go with Mr. McClaren's recommendations for the England U21 Lineup today against a weaker Latvia team.


GK: Craig James
DL: Alan Ball
DC: Paul Adams
DC: David White
DR: Martin Scott
ML: John Hall
MC: Jamie Cook (my player)
MC: Michael Wood (also mine)
MR: Paul Kelly (also mine)
SC: Wayne Worthington
SC: Steve Wilson

S1: Ian Thorpe
S2: Richard James
S3: Danny Porter
S4: Ryan Barrett
S5: Paul White
S6: Dave Moore
S7: Gavin Lynch

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Hall crosses to Wood in the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. wide left.

2 minute mark: Scott with a free kick from the right side of the pitch.. he passes to the middle of the box.. Worthington heads it.. into the upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

33 minute mark: Kelly with a great pass to Worthington in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. good save by the keeper.

36 minute mark: David White elbows their midfielder! Yellow card.. he argues the call.. 2nd yellow card! He is ejected! I pull Wilson, and put James on at centreback.

44 minute mark: Craig James is run over by their striker! He is injured. He has to come off the pitch. I put Ian Thorpe in at goal.



Halftime: Up 1-0.


62 minute mark: Cook shoots from 20 yards out.. the keeper dives.. tips it over the bar.

69 minute mark: Kelly takes a corner.. to the near post.. Worthington heads it.. over the bar.

88 minute mark: Kelly crosses it to Worthington in the box.. he heads it.. the keeper pushes it over the bar.

92 minute mark: Wood passes to Cook in the left side of the box.. he crosses it to Worthington by the far post.. he taps it into the open net! GOAL!!!! 2-0.


Game over. 2-0 win.


We outshot them 22-1 (10-0 on target)

Wayne Worthington has won MoM, 10 for form, 21 of 22 passes, 5 of 6 tackles, 7 of 16 headers, 1 interception, 6 runs, 2 fouls drawn, and 2 goals.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 31, 2013 -

Other international U21 Championship action:

Alfonso played magnificiently for Spain in their 2-0 win over Azerbaijan setting up both goals.

Gabriele Marchetti played well for Italy in their 2-0 win over Denmark.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 1, 2013 -

The board is pleased with my performance as manager.

Tim Howard played well but not great in the USA's 6-1 win over Jamaica in the World Cup Qualifying Match. Freddy Adu had an assist and a goal for the USA. Landon Donovan had a hattrick and 2 assists. Jonathan Spector contributed a goal as did Brian Mascarenhas.


Now, it is time for our match against Latvia in the World Cup Qualifying match of Group 4.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 1, 2013 -

I think Latvia should be fairly easy which is making me experiment just a little bit with our lineup particularly at centreback and right back.

GK: Paul Robinson
DL: Ashley Cole
DC: Ledley King
DC: Ben Bennett (giving the kid a chance)
DR: Owen Hargreaves (I want to get his speed on the pitch)
ML: Stewart Downing
MC: Jermaine Jenas
MC: Gareth Barry
MR: Christopher Eagles
SC: Wayne Rooney
SC: Craig King (perhaps a bit of a homer decision.)

S1: Chris Taylor (I might get my backup keeper in there if we get a big lead.)
S2: Rio Ferdinand
S3: Alan Smith
S4: Jermain Defoe
S5: Wayne Bridge
S6: Joe Cole
S7: Luke Moore

[Eaglesfan27]

14 minute mark: Downing passes to Jenas outside the box.. he shoots a powerful shot from 25 yards out.. curving.. into the upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

16 minute mark: Hargreaves gets a yellow card for a trip on Laizans.

23 minute mark: Hargreaves passes to Eagles who centers for Barry.. he heads it.. the keeper blocks it.

25 minute mark: Eagles takes it down the right sideline.. centers for Barry who is just outside the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper dives.. it's past him! GOAL!!!! 2-0.

37 minute mark: Downing with a corner kick to Barry.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it.. Jenas gets the rebound.. shoots it over the keeper's right shoulder.. GOAL!!!! 3-0.


Halftime: 3-0 lead for us

I decide to put Taylor on the pitch, and I'm also going to try Wayne Bridge at right back for Hargreaves who is playing tentative with his yellow card.

57 minute mark: Craig King passes to Eagles on the right edge of the box.. he quickly crosses it to far post.. Rooney heads it.. into the lower left corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-0.

61 minute mark: I rest Rooney, and put Luke Moore in.

81 minute mark: Downing steals the ball passes to Luke Moore in the box.. he blasts a shot into the box.. it deflects off a defender.. into the right side of the net! GOAL!!!! 5-0.


Game over. 5-0 win for us.

We outshot them 14-2 (11-0 on target)

Jermaine Jenas wins MoM, 10 for form, 32 of 35 passes, 2 of 2 tackles, 3 of 5 headers, 2 fouls drawn, and 2 goals.

Downing also had a 10 while Eagles and Barry both had 9's for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Fans are quite happy as they didn't expect us to win by such a wide margin.


In other World Cup Qualifying news:

Dalibor Stevanovic played well for Slovenia, but they tied Liechtenstein 0-0.

Darren Fletcher played ok for Scotland, but they lost to Greece 2-0.

Zdenek Grygera did not play well for the Czech Republic but they tied Georgia 0-0.

Michael Schmidt played extremely well for France, but they lost to Ireland 1-0. Damien Duff played well for Ireland.

Cristian Chivu played very well for Romania in their 3-0 win over Moldova.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 4, 2013 -

Read Madrid has fired Francisco Chaparro after their disappointing season in which they finished 4th in the Spanish First Division. Gonzalo Abando, Xerez's manager, is the favorite to get the job.


Adriano has signed a new 4 year deal worth 39 million dollars.


Jeroen Schreurs has signed a new 4 year deal worth 26.5 million dollars.


An ex-international star has told the media that he doubts I will be able to guide England past Sweden in our upcoming match.


Chris Kirkland has told the media that he will never apologize to me.


Our U21 match against Sweden is today.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 4, 2013 -

Today our U21 Team plays Sweden in a tough U21 Championship Qualifying match. I'm using the same lineup as last time, except that David White has been suspended, and I will use David Evans at centreback instead.

Also, Craig James is injured so Ian Thorpe will start in goal with Jon Hooper being a sub.

[Eaglesfan27]

11 minute mark: Cook steals it at midfield.. passes it to Hall outside the box.. he passes it to Wilson in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

19 minute mark: Robinson with a solid save of a shot by Gustavsson.


Halftime: 1-0 lead for us.


55 minute mark: Hall passes to Cook just outside the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. great save by the keeper.

75 minute mark: Kelly steals it at midfield.. Kelly with a spectacular 45 yard pass.. to Worthington just outside the box.. he dribbles past a defender.. shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0!

Tucker on for Wood, and James on for Hall.


Game over. 2-0 win for us.

We outshot them 20-5 (11-3 on target)

Worthington won MoM, 9 for form, 36 of 41 passes, 0 tackles, 7 of 11 headers, 1 interception, 4 runs, 5 fouls drawn, and 1 goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

In other Euro U21 Championship Qualifying news:

Alfonso was magnificient for Spain in their 2-0 win over Greece in having an assist and a goal.

Gabriele Marchetti played well for Italy in their 4-0 win over Estonia.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 5, 2013 -

Leicester's Dean Ashton has won the European Golden Boot Award. Maurizio Pellegrino of Reggina came in 2nd, and Wayne Rooney came in 3rd.

Today we host Sweden in an important World Cup Qualifying match.


Sweden has a talented squad however, their most dangerous player, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, was thrown off the pitch in his last match and is suspended for this game. Kim Kallstrom is a powerful talented midfielder. Keeper, Andreas Isaksson is difficult to score against.

I'm going to use the same lineup as last game since they did well, however, I'm removing Alan Smith from the sub list and Wayne Bridge from the sub list. Instead, I'll have David Prutton and Wes Brown on the sub list. This will give us more defensive options if needed.

[Eaglesfan27]

13 minute mark: Ledley King passes to Rooney.. he shoots from 30 yards out.. blistering banana shot.. curving.. into the upper right corner! GOAL!!!! 1-0. Rooney does it again

42 minute mark: They are playing 8 men back and thwarting our offense.

Halftime: 1-0 lead for us. There are over 78,000 fans here at Wembley.


62 minute mark: Defoe on for King, and Joe Cole on for Jenas.

68 minute mark: Downing passes it to Rooney.. he passes to Defoe by the far post.. he shoots.. the keeper dives.. great save.

71 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in the box.. he blasts a shot.. great block by the keeper.. Defoe shoots the rebound.. excellent recovery by the keeper.

84 minute mark: Barry passes the ball to Defoe inside the middle of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0!



Game over. 2-0 win for us.

We outshot them 15-4 (9-1 on target)

Downing won MoM, 9 for form, 17 of 20 passes, 2 of 3 tackles, 3 of 5 headers, 15 runs.

Rooney also had a 9 for form with his 1 goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

The media and fans seem satisfied with our 2-0 win. We now have 2 weeks until the Confederation Cup begins.

In other World Cup Qualifying news:

Tim Howard played well for the USA in their 5-0 win over Costa Rica. The USA had balanced scoring with 5 different goal scorers (including Donovan, Adu, and Beasley.)


Mikael Schmidt played very well for France in their 1-0 win over Bosnia.

Dalibor Stevanovic played well for Slovenia and scored both of their goals in a 2-2 tie against Northern Ireland.


James McFadden played well for Scotland (he was a replacement player call-up) in their 1-1 tie with Switzerland.

Zdenek Grygera played ok for the Czech Republic in their 1-1 tie with Malta.

Damien Diuff played well for Ireland in their 2-0 win over Macedonia.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 10, 2013 -

Adriano had Brazil's only goal in their 1-1 tie with Argentina in the World Cup Qualifying match.

Eric Djemba Djemba played well for Cameroon, but they lost 1-0 to Nigeria in the World Cup Qualifying match.



Tottenham have sacked Gary Megson. Peter Taylor is being mentioned as the favorite to take over the job.

My physio, Michel Brohan has mentioned he will retire at the end of the season as he feels it is time to call it a career.


Damien Duff has become qualified as a coach and has told me that he would love to join my coaching staff. Interestingly, he looks like he is best at coaching keepers. I might hire him if he doesn't want too much money.

I decide to offer him 6,000/week to become a full-time coach. I'm not interested in hiring him as a player-coach.

Damien Duff has told me that he wants to retire from playing at the end of the season.



Tottenham has named Manuel Delgado Meco manager this evening. Meco is coming from Malaga to take over the Hotspurs.

My former player, Mark Smyth has been signed from Chester by Hartlepool on a free transfer. Hartlepool finished 19th in League Two.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 12, 2013 -

England's U19 has qualified for the next round of the European U19 Championship. We will be in group B with Belgium, Austria, and France.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 13, 2013 -

Damien Duff has rejected 6,000/week to be a coach. I counter with 8,000/week which is my final offer.


Adriano had a bad game for Brazil, but they beat uruguay 3-0 in the World Cup Qualifying match.


Louis Saha has announced that he will retire at the end of the season.


I had some tough choices today as I'm only allowed to have 22 players on the English Squad for the Confederation Cup. I decided to remove Shaun Wright Phillips, Scott Parker, Alan Smith, and Wayne Bridge who are all getting older.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 14, 2013 -

There was a news article in The Times talking about how Chris Kirkland's feud with me has cost him the rest of his international career, and how he would likely never play for the international team again. However, the newspaper said that fans are firmly behind me and expect us to do well in the upcoming international competition.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 18, 2013 -

Damien Duff has rejected my contract offer. I will let him completely walk when his contract expires at the end of this month.

Adriano has been called up to the Brazil National Squad for the Confederations Cup.

We have remained in the top place for the new European Club Rankings for the upcoming season. The most improved team was Nistru Otaci which jumped from 415th to 260th.


Phil Neville has announced that he will retire at the end of the season.

I've agreed to loan Michael Wood out to Bolton which is coming to the EPL next season. I can recall him at any time that I choose.



The media expects us to beat Morocco by a good margin tomorrow, but does think an upset is possible particularly because Morocco's striker Marouane Chamakh is a very fast skilled player.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 19, 2013 -

Today we host Morocco in Group A play of the Confederations Cup. Besides the aforementioned striker, Chamakh, they have three other dangerous player. Midfielder Jaouad Zairi is a good midfielder who is a solid veteran. Centreback Mustapha Fatihi is a strong young centreback. Their keeper is not very good or experienced, and we should be able to beat Mohamed Mrabet repeatedly.

It's in the mid 70's today and sunny.

We are 4-7 favorites.


GK: Robinson
DL: Cole, Ashley
DC: Ferdinand
DC: Brown
DR: Hargreaves
ML: Downing
MC: Barry
MC: Jenas
MR: Eagles
SC: Rooney
SC: King

S1: Taylor
S2: Bennett
S3: Ashton
S4: Defoe
S5: King, Ledley
S6: Cole, Joe
S7: Moore

[Eaglesfan27]

The first thing that I notice is that they are playing a unique formation. They are using 1 sweeper who looks like he is being told to be very aggressive according to my scouts, 2 centrebacks, 5 midfielders, and 2 strikers. They should be vulnerable to the counter attack...

9 minute mark: Hargreaves passes to Downing on the left wing.. he crosses it to King in the box.. he heads it.. wide left.

11 minute mark: Craig King argues an offside call.. yellow card for King.

21 minute mark: Downing gets a yellow card for tripping Zairi.

30 minute mark: Hargreaves starts the counter attack.. long pass to Downing who heads it to Barry just outside the box.. he shoots.. wide right.

31 minute mark: Teolui gets a yellow card for a trip on Eagles.

32 minute mark: Eagles passes to Barry just outside the box.. hard shot.. wide left.

40 minute mark: Jenas with a hard shot from 25 yards out.. a defender blocks it wide of the net.

Eagles on the corner kick.. to King by the near post.. he heads it.. good save by the keeper.

44 minute mark: Eagles passes to King in the right side of the box.. King blasts a shot.. upper left corner... GOAL!!!! 1-0!


Halftime: 1-0 lead.

46 minute mark: Jenas passes to Rooney in the box.. he blasts a shot.. into the crossbar. The defense clears it.

57 minute mark: Ferdinand with a good defensive play on their star striker.

61 minute mark: Eagles crosses it from the right wing.. to the center of the box.. Rooney heads it.. over the bar.

68 minute mark: We get a flurry of shots off, but the defenders stop them all before they even reach goal.

73 minute mark: Rooney tries a long range shot.. the keeper blocks it.

74 minute mark: Downing passes to Rooney in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. good save by the keeper.

75 minute mark: Luke Moore on for Barry, Joe Cole on for Downing, and Dean Ashton on for Rooney.

80 minute mark: Joe Cole passes to Ashton in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. good save by the keeper.

87 minute mark: Jenas passes to Craig King in the box.. he fakes out a defender.. shoots.. lower right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.


Game over. 2-0 win for us.

We outshot them 23-3 (11-1 on target)

Craig King wins MoM, 9 for form, 10 of 11 passes, 0 tackles, 2 of 11 headers, 5 runs, 3 fouls drawn, and 2 goals.

Downing also had a 9 for form.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

The media thinks that we should have won the game by a larger margin, but overall fans seem satisfied with the win.

England's 10 games won in a row between June 21, 2012 and June 19th 2013 is a new record.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 20, 2013 -

Well, the end of my Manchester United season is upon us as we have many final things to clear up. (OOC Note: I'll continue this thread until after the confederations cup is over.)



Stewart Downing was selected the Player of the Year by the club's supporters.

We have received 8 new U18 players from our academy. None of them are particularly exciting to me at this point.


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

The Community Shield has been announced, and we will be playing Fulham on August 4, 2013.


Shareholders are thrilled as 36 million in dividends will be paid to shareholders.


Our Transfer budget for the upcoming year has been announced to be 59 million dollars.

I'm expected to lead the team to the EPL Title this upcoming year.


Our average attendance of 77,671 this past season was a new record high for the club.

The average rating of 9.11 by Stewart Downing in 35 appearances was a new club record.


Tomorrow, we play Australia and we are expected to win this game handily even though we just played two days ago.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 20, 2013 -

Adriano had a bad game for Brazil and was eventually substituted in their 1-1 tie with Chile in the Confederations Cup.

[Eaglesfan27]

June 21, 2013 -

Today we play against Australia in the Confederations Cup. They are led by right winger Brett Emerton, midfielder Tim Cahill, and left winger Mark Bresciano. Keeper Nathan Coe is playing well. Their defense is led by left back Scott Gillett.

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

We are 1-2 favorites.

With a game only 2 days after the other, I'm asking my AM to help me decide who is healthy enough to play again.

GK: Robinson
DL: Cole, Ashley
DC: Bennett
DC: King, Ledley
DR: Hargreaves
ML: Cole, Joe
MC: Jenas
MC: Prutton
MR: Eagles
SC: Rooney
SC: Defoe

S1: Taylor
S2: Ferdinand
S3: Ashton
S4: Carlton Cole
S5: Brown
S6: Downing
S7: Moore

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Joe Cole passes to Jenas.. he passes to Defoe in the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

5 minute mark: Jenas trips Emerton in the box.. penalty awarded.. Lucas Neill steps up.. shoots.. lower left corner.. Robinson dives.. it is out of his reach.. GOAL. 1-1.

12 minute mark: Ashley Cole steals the ball.. starts the counter attack.. passes it to Defoe.. Defoe plays a perfect through ball.. Rooney gets to it.. fakes out the keeper.. fires.. upper right corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-1. That is Rooney's 60th international Goal!

22 minute mark: Joe Cole passes to Defoe outside the box.. he fakes out two defenders.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. the keeper partially blocks it.. it rolls into the net! GOAL!!!! 3-1!

29 minute mark: Emerton crosses it to Dylan McAllister in the left side of the box.. he shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL. 3-2 game.

36 minute mark: Joe Cole passes it to Rooney just outside the box.. he blasts a banana shot.. upper right corner.. the keeper dives.. blocks it.


Halftime: 3-2 lead for us.



59 minute mark: cole passes to Rooney.. he passes to Defoe in the right side of the box.. hard shot.. upper left corner.. wide left.

60 minute mark: Moore on for Defoe, Ashton on for Rooney, and Wes Brown on for Bennett.

77 minute mark: Moore is injured and has to leave the pitch. Unfortunately, I've used all 3 subs, so I have to play with a man down.

89 minute mark: Eagles takes the ball down the right sideline.. he crosses to Prutton.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it.. Ashton gets the rebound.. shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 4-2.


Game over. 4-2 win for us.

We outshot them 13-8 (7-3 on target)

Jermaine Jenas won MoM, 8 for form, 14 of 22 passes, 2 of 3 tackles, 1 of 11 headers, 1 interception, 1 run, 1 assist.

[Tellistto]

Nice stuff, EF! Keep up the good work!

Tell