WWSM2008: Long live The Hatters and their FrogManager!

[FrogMan]

sigh...

Yeah, I said I would probably not do it, but here I am again. Many signs point to me "having" to start a new dynasty. The current lack of FM/WWSM dynasties is one. The fact that I know some of my good FOFC friends will come and read me is another. Bah, who am I kidding, it'll be the same four or five but still, it's better than trying to tell my stories to my wife who, to be brutally honest, couldn't care less about those "little billiard balls moving around to the sound of fake crowd noises"... And finally seeing how sad their real life is going (see this post of mine in the 2007-08 soccer thread) and how well my 2008-09 season is going with them, I have decided to start reporting about the team again.

I will start with my usual disclaimer. I don't know how often I'll update this thing, or how much in depth I'll go, but hopefully it'll be enough to make it worth reading...

That's about it for a teaser for now, back later with a bit more general information about the club, like a general recap of the 2007-08 season, the offseason signings, how the 08-09 season is going and such...

Stay tuned!

FM

[oykib]

Let me be the first to say:

Hip Hip Hooray!

[mrkilla22]

Awesome! I'll be following along.

[NoSkillz]

Yes!

[FrogMan]

thanks guys! woohoo, three readers already

Here's a start for you...

2007-08 recap

Our 2007-08 season was an up and down kind of season. We would win one game 3-0, then lose one 0-4, that sort of things. At one point, we were sitting in 18th place or so, only 4 points out of the drop zone. It got scary, even a few players started stating they thought we were underachieving. I hate those statements...

We pulled together toward to end and were able to finish about midtable, in 12th place or so. Seeing how the team had just relegated from the Championship, I was a bit disappointed with that result to be honest, and so was the team board, who wanted us to achieve a respectable position in the standings. No real clue why we faltered so much other than maybe I tried too many players in too many different places trying to learn about my players. Sure I did some transfers but not as many as I used to, especially because I didn't want to suffer a big hit in cohesion...

The board's long term expectations are again to achieve a respectable league position after two years and they made sure to let it known that I should focus on getting that done this year.

We hooked up with Arsenal as our parent club early in the season, but I never really was able to benefit from the affiliation. All the players I saw whom I thought could help us as loanees rejected us even though Arsenal had agreed to send them to us. We did sign ST/AM R Jay Simpson on a season long loan but I was so unimpressed with his skill set early on (other than his awesome pace) that I put him on my reserve squad and forgot about him until I found the team in 17th place or so and decided to shake things up by bringing him up. In his 7 appearances he ended up scoring 6 times and impressed me so much I decided to offer Arsenal $900k for his rights and even decided to offer him a $10k/week contract. He is now a Hatter but all of a sudden is not as hot. More on that later...

I did bring one other Gunner on loan, a keeper whose name escapes me but he never even saw the field for us. We started the season with 22 yo Dean Brill as our slated started in goal and that spot was pointed to me by my assistant as being our weakest spot, despite a club with great depth and good skills for a League One club. Seeing that, I was able to secure a transfer in for Crystal Palace's backup keeper Julian Speroni. That turned out to be a good move as he is still our keeper and he gave us some good games despite a bit of a slump last year.

One other move I did early on was to bring in oldie centreback José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan on a trial first, then signing him to a contract. we were hurting at the middle of our defense and Pierre-Fanfan really helped us, despite getting up there in age.

We made it to the 3rd round in the FA Cup while the expectations were for 2nd round, so good there, but we only made it to the quarter final of the South in the Johnstone, one round before the expected quarter final overall. As for the Carling Cup, we made to the expected 2nd round but no later

Financially, we did much, much better than the real life Hatter, maintaining at least $6M in the bank balance at all time, which made the board extremely happy. The wage budget on the other hand was a bit of my downfall, as it always is. I ran a club total wage at about $8 to 10k over the budget and that was pointed out to me. Pffft I said...

That's mostly from memory as I type this during my break. I'll post more about 2008-09 later on, tonight or tomorrow, after I'll be able to access my files...

FM

[finkenst]

outstanding.

[Icy]

I'll be reading!

[SirFozzie]

niiiiiiiiiiiiiiice

[gi]

Glad to see the FrogMan back at it

[vex]

I'll be following as well.

[Tellistto]

I'll be following, for sure.

Tell

[FrogMan]

welcome aboard guys!

FM

[FrogMan]

2008-09 so far...

I'll start by presenting our usual formation. Yeah, those of you who've read my dynasties of the past know I have a fond attraction to the 4-1-2-1-2 and yeah, I am still running that kind of formation now



And now on to players...

Keepers
As I said before, our main keeper is the 29yo Argentinian Julian Speroni whom I brought in on a $240k transfer from Crystal Palace in July 2007. He stepped right in and has not let me down. Sure had some slumps but the whole team's morale dropped last season so I'm sure he wasn't the only one to blame.

Behind him is the untested 28yo Finn Mikko Vilmunen. I say untested because he was just brought in this season after I'd let go of young Dean Brill and needed a backup. He's yet to take part in a competitive match this season although he's averaging 7.29 in form in the reserves matches he's played.

There's not much behind these two, one player/coach and another youngster.

Next up, defenders...

FM

[Coffee Warlord]

Just so's ya know.

Notts County vs Luton: 3 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses, 7 for, 4 against.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Just so's ya know.

Notts County vs Luton: 3 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses, 7 for, 4 against.

that's cause I'm not the manager in YOUR universe

FM

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

that's cause I'm not the manager in YOUR universe

FM

Excuses excuses.

[FrogMan]

Centrebacks

Even with the arrival of José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan last season, I always felt we were kind of weak in the middle of our defense. The next two, skipper Chris Coyne and oldie Chris Perry always seemed like they were one mistake away of costing our team a goal (in Coyne's case) or could be outrun at any time (in Perry's case) so I decided to go after a center defender early on in the offseason.

I'm usually a cheapskate when it comes to transfer but I decided to pay the $675k request to bring in Willie Kinniburgh from Scunthorpe and he's been a real fixture in the middle of our defense, after a few weeks of adaptation. I especially liked his defensive skills, combined with his pace.

Another transfer, Ibrahim Tall, can also play in the middle, as well as usual defensive midfielder Daniel Fox and Arsenal loanee Håvard Nordtveit.


Fullbacks

Our fullback position has undergone quite a bit of change in the last offseason. I started receiving offers for two borderline starters, Keith Keane and Alan Goodall, offers that I felt were too good to pass up on, so I let them go while retaining previous do-it-all fullback Richard Jackson. Jackson can play just as well on the left or the right side, although is a natural right sider.

Letting go of these two was made possible in a way by the signing of Ibrahim Tall from Hearts. That signing came on as a free signing but with a move happening only in July. Still, that has been one of my best steal so far, as Tall has been very, very well on the right side, and he can play about as well in the middle, although I've been content to let Kinniburgh and Pierre-Fanfan play there for now.

Just to have some cover, I ended up signing two more left fullbacks as free transfers in Carl Dickinson from Transmere and Danny Granville from Colchester. I especially like Dickinson and have given him some playing time and he's done well when asked to play. Granville is getting antsy at the lack of playing time. He may be only passing through...

So from last season to now, we have two returning starters and two newcomers. They have blended very well together though... Kinniburgh might have had the most problems of the two to get used to play at Kenilworth road, but it only lasted the time of the friendlies...

Next up, midfielders, but maybe not tonight...

FM

[terpkristin]

w00t when FM sent me this link, I had hoped it would be another dynasty. Glad to see I wasn't disappointed.

/tk

[MalcPow]

Nice, I'll be reading too.

[FrogMan]

welcome aboard tk and MalcPow

FM

[FrogMan]

Defensive Midfielders

Russell Duncan was brought in in August of 2007 to act as our main DM dude and I'd say he had a very decent season for us last year. He tore a calf muscle very early on this season and we've had to make due without him for quite a while now.

Daniel Fox was brought in as a surprise part exchange when Walsall showed interest in our young keeper Dean Brill. I had no scouting on him and didn't even know all of his skills, yet, what I saw, I liked. I agreed to the deal and he's been getting spot duty as a DM with Duncan's injury.

Havard Nordtveit is on a season long loan with us from parent club Arsenal and so far, even though the fans don't seem to think so, he's been pretty helpful as a defensive midfielder. He has a bit of a tendency to go hard on tackles, or being undisciplined, but he's usually solid in there...

I've also gone with a third centreback with an up arrow as a replacement for the defensive midfielder in case of sever terpkristinitis...


Attacking Midfielders

Matthew Spring is a pure MC guy, but he could play both DM or AMC with a bit more aptitude for the offensive side so that's where I use him more. There have been a few games where I have played him back a bit, in the MC hole with an up arrow, or sometimes at the end of games when I want to save a lead, I might pull him back and play him as a second DM. Matthew is one of the rare original Hatter still left on the squad...

Eric Skora was brought in as a very cheap project from Kilmarnock of the Scottish Premier League. I only had to pay $28k for him last January 1st. I saw the guy as someone who could fill in in case of injury and he didn't do too good in spot duty last season. Again used in spot duty this year, he is doing much better.

David Fernandez was also brought in from Kilmarnock last august, this time for a much bigger fee of $250k. He did awesomely for us at first as a striker and/or attacking midfielder winning the hearts of the fans with some great goals, but he then slumped. Slumped so much, the fan went from thinking he was an absolutely exquisite signing to saying they thought I should rethink his position in the first team squad. Just like Duncan, he suffered a big injury (even if only described as a sprained ankle but he's been out for over a month now) and we've made due without him. Don't know if the 32 year old will ever find a regular spot in the starting rotation...

Used mostly as backup in that spot, Stephen O'Leary can also play the AMC role. He's more of a winger in mentality, but lack the stamina to play the position. More on that in a moment.

Finally, youngster David Edwards is currently on a season long loan at Cambridge United but could be recalled if we'd ever need cover for the AMC position.


Wingers

Winger is quite probably the position that has undergone the most change from last season to now. Gone are the two previous starters, for two different reasons. David Bell started attracting attention of higher clubs in the January transfer window and had turned down many offers until Burnley came with an initial bid of $1.1M that they accepted to bonify with a $400k over 24 months and some sell on percentage clause (iirc, going from memory here). He had started hinting that he wanted to move on and was showing signs of unhappiness so when the offer got that good, and he said he wanted to have the chance to talk with Burnley on a contract, I couldn't pass up on it. That did create a hole in the squad though because Bell played as much on the right (his natural side) as on the left side last year, maybe even a bit more on the left than the right actually. His departure did upset a few players and the fans and I had to make some promise to then captain Chris Coyne that I had plans to bring in new players to replace him.

Within just a few days, a player one of my scouts had found earlier in a trip to Scotland turned up as returning to his parent club of FBK Kaunas after a season loan at Hearts. Even better, his contract was expiring and I was able to bring 24yo Saulius Mikoliunas. I liked his skill set as a winger, especially the good combination of pace/stamina/acceleration. He's been pure gold for us from the get go.

Even with his arrival, we were left without a really good left winger. When David Bell wasn't starting there last year, we'd used either Darren Currie, or Paul Underwood but, I mean, come on, neither are getting any younger and even I would probably have better pace than them. I had to bring in someone. Dutchman smurf (I mean, 5'7" and 149lbs, come on ) Etienne Esajas, then at Sheffield Wednesday, stood out among the players already scouted and recommend by my scouts. I really liked his skill set, but darn it they wouldn't let him go. I ended up paying my biggest fee yet, at $1.4M, but he turned out to be a great acquisition for us. He is a real playmaker and many times I've seen him create goal by running to the byline before unleashing a pinpoint cross into the box.

Surprisingly enough, with two new starters, one would have expected some loss of cohesion, but these guys have blended in quite well, even complementing and interacting very well with their respective fullbacks.

Behind them we find the usual suspects and some more. Stephen O'Leary is one of the few original Hatter. Poor kid is average in about everything and really good at nothing. He lacks the pace to be a real threat on the outside but is very reliable coming off the bench.

Jonathan Hayes is the current backup of choice on the left side. On a season long loan from Leicester, the 21yo has done very well when called upon, even getting a few starts in relief of Esajas. As a plus, he can play on either side of the field. I might look into making him a Hatter for good once his loan is over.

Jay Simpson plays much better as a striker, lacking the stamina to be effective as a winger, but he's been all right coming off the bench as a right winger.

Vincent van den Berg is another season long loanee from parent club Arsenal who's been somewhat helpful in providing coverage on the wing. He also can play as a striker and I often like going into a game with both him and Simpson on the bench, giving me some options if I need more attack up front or on the right side.

After that, Daniel Fox and Carl Dickinson are just ahead of Darren Currie and Paul underwood on the left winger depth chart.

Next up a bit later, the strikers...

FM

[3ric]

Good to see you back with another story!

[highfiveoh]

Originally Posted by Icy

I'll be reading!

Ditto. Hopefully this can help spark me into getting a new career started at some point. I'm somewhat waiting for the next (more than likely) final patch though as the confidence thing has scared me off for now.

[ArlingtonColt]

Reading along... I also use that same formation with both midfielders with arrows out and the lb and rb with arrows up as a starting base formation.

[ArlingtonColt]

Reading along... I also use that same formation with both midfielders with arrows out and the lb and rb with arrows up as a starting base formation.

[FrogMan]

Strikers

I want to let it be known that Dean Morgan is a frigging goal scoring machine. The guy scored 20 goals in 44 league appearances for us last season and has already scored 15 in only 19 league appearances this season. Add to that 6 Man of the Match selections so far this season and he is on pace for a career year. His contract was due to be up in June 2009 and I had been trying to sign him to an extention but just didn't want to commit until a couple weeks ago. Hi weekly wages went from $3300 a week to $16500 a week but I felt it was well worth it. The guy is a poacher. Some games he will look like he's having a bad game, then boom, scores two in three minutes by simply being at the right place at the right time, turning the game around.

Our other striker was on his way to being an afterthought last year but has resurfaced in a pretty big way. Sam Parkin is less than impressive on paper, but he's been playing like a champ this season, sometimes feeding Morgan, but sometimes simply going on some great forward runs that he seems to create out of nowhere on nice through passes from guys in the back. So far so good, but I might be looking to replace him next season.

ASs I said before, David Fernandez was a very solid for us as a striker/AMC last season, but he slumped down the stretch and I fear his most recent injury will have taken some of his skills down too much for him to realy be a factor.

Jay Simpson was pure gold for us as a loanee last season, scoring 6 goals in 7 appearance toward the end of the season. His start of the season, after becoming a Hatter for good, has been much more laborious this year. While the guy doesn't show great finishing skills, his acceleration and pace make him a potent threat to tear away from any defender and find himself in a one-on-one situation. He was finding the back of the net on all those one-on-ones last year and just couldn't when we started the season this year although he's scored a few lately that give me hope of him finding back his scoring touch...

I've used Vincent van den Berg as a backup striker off the bench a lot this season. He has not proved to be a game changer, but has not made too many mistake either.

Drew Talbot is a kid I like very much. An amazingly hard worker, he does seem to be a bit prone to injury. He figures to be the next best bet to play up front. Talbot is another of the few original Hatters, just like Calvin Andrew who comes right behind him on the depth chart. Andrew is a bit of everything without much pace or acceleration. Tall and a good jumper, he could probably be used to head it in.

18yo Billy McKay was brought in from Leicester as a free transfer in the offseason. A young project type striker with good basic skills who might never be more than a backup, he's currently on a season long loan at Cambridge United.

That about covers the available squad. Here's complete listing of our players on either the senior or the reserve squad:

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
-	Inj	Zac Barrett	GK	Very Good	7-7-7-7-8	61%	-	-	-
-		Marlon Beresford	GK	Very Good	7-7-6	97%	-	-	-
GK		Julián Speroni	GK	Superb	8-6-7-7-7	100%	25	-	7.04
S1		Mikko Vilmunen	GK	Very Good	7-7-9-7-7	97%	-	-	-
-	Sct	Edward Asafu-Adjaye	D RC	Poor	6-8-6-6-5	93%	11 (3)	1	5.93
DL	Wnt	Richard Jackson	D RL	Very Good	8-7-8-7-8	82%	24	1	7.21
-	Yth	Joe Selby	D R	Very Good	7-6-7-6-7	87%	-	-	-
DR		Ibrahim Tall	D RC	Superb	8-7-8-7-7	88%	25	-	7.12
-	Unh	Danny Granville	D L	Good	8-8-7-7-6	93%	-	-	-
-		Chris Coyne	D C	Very Good	6-7-7-7-8	93%	0 (4)	-	6.50
DC		Willie Kinniburgh	D C	Very Good	8-7-7-7-8	91%	24	-	7.04
-	Lst	Chris Perry	D C	Poor	6-7-7-6-7	92%	-	-	-
DC		José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan	D C	Superb	7-7-7-7-8	85%	24	1	7.13
S2		Håvard Nordtveit	D C, DM	Very Good	7-7-7-7-7	92%	11 (1)	1	6.83
-	Trn	Sol Davis	D/WB L	Very Good	7-7-8-6-7	95%	-	-	-
-		Carl Dickinson	D/WB L	Superb	7-8-8-8-7	94%	3	-	7.00
DMC		Daniel Fox	D/WB L, DM, M LC	Superb	7-6-6-6-8	83%	8 (15)	-	6.39
-	Unh	Paul Underwood	D/M L	Good	7-8-8-6-7	94%	-	-	-
-	Inj	Russell Duncan	DM	Good	6-6-8-6-6	63%	3 (2)	-	6.20
AMC	Slt	Matthew Spring	M C	Very Good	8-7-5-6-7	95%	21 (1)	2	7.00
-	Inj	Darren Currie	AM RLC	Very Good	8-7-7-6-7	62%	0 (1)	-	7.00
-	Sct	David Edwards	AM RC	Very Good	6-7-6-6-6	95%	19	1	6.16
S4		Jonathan Hayes	AM RL	Very Good	7-8-7-7-8	90%	4 (10)	-	7.14
MR	Yel	Saulius Mikoliunas	AM R	Very Good	7-7-7-8-7	94%	18 (1)	3	7.37
S3	Wnt	Stephen O'Leary	AM RC	Very Good	6-7-7-6-8	87%	5 (10)	1	6.93
-	Sct	Robert Sinclair	AM RC	Very Good	5-6-5-5-6	94%	2 (6)	-	5.50
S5	PR	Jay Simpson	AM R, ST	Superb	6-7-6-6-8	91%	3 (10)	3	6.46
-	Loa	Vincent van den Berg	AM R, ST	Good	7-6-7-6-6	100%	3 (4)	1	6.57
ML		Etienne Esajas	AM L	Poor	7-8-7-7-7	90%	21 (2)	2	7.30
-		Eric Skora	AM C	Very Good	7-8-6-7-8	87%	5	1	7.60
-	Inj	David Fernandez	AM/F C	Superb	6-7-6-7-8	67%	9 (4)	1	6.69
-	Inj	Calvin Andrew	ST	Superb	7-8-6-8-6	65%	2	-	6.50
-		Paul Furlong	ST	Good	7-7	95%	-	-	-
-	Yth	Ashley Harrison-Barker	ST	Superb	6-6-7-7-6	75%	-	-	-
-	Sct	Billy McKay	ST	Good	6-7-6-7	94%	1 (3)	-	6.50
FC	PR	Dean Morgan	ST	Very Good	8-6-9-6-7	90%	24 (1)	18	7.24
FC	Tut	Sam Parkin	ST	Very Good	8-8-9-7-6	91%	13 (4)	8	7.24
-	Inj	Drew Talbot	ST	Very Good	6-7-8-9-6	56%	-	-	-

We have nobody worth mentionning on our U18 squad. Seriously, it's kinda sad. Maybe someday, one can hope...

Here's a listing of the players who have been sent packing since the start of the season:

Date	Person	To	Fee
25.6.2008	McGuinness, Jamie	Free Transfer	Free
28.6.2008	Strang, Ben	Free Transfer	Free
28.6.2008	Hamilton, Dean	Free Transfer	Free
28.6.2008	Bevan, George	Free Transfer	Free
28.6.2008	Osborne-Ricketts, Elliot	Free Transfer	Free
1.7.2008	Keane, Keith	Barnsley	$160K
1.7.2008	Langley, Richard	Shrewsbury	Free
1.7.2008	Goodall, Alan	Swansea	$130K
1.7.2008	Brkovic, Ahmet	Free Transfer	Free
1.7.2008	Hutchison, Don	Free Transfer	Free
2.7.2008	Peschisolido, Paul	Free Transfer	Free
5.7.2008	Faulds, Ross	Free Transfer	Free
6.7.2008	Bell, David	Burnley	$1.1M
20.7.2008	Charles, Ryan	Dunfermline	Free
23.7.2008	Brill, Dean	Walsall	P/Ex
11.8.2008	Sinclair, Robert	Cambridge	Loan
12.8.2008	Edwards, David	Cambridge	Loan
12.8.2008	Asafu-Adjaye, Edward	Cambridge	Loan
12.8.2008	McKay, Billy	Cambridge	Loan
1.10.2008	Hogarth, Harry	Free Transfer	Free

The first five were all youngsters going nowhere. Langley was injured for something like 9 months when I took over and never played for me. Keane and Goodall have been mentionned in the roundups. Brkovic, Hutchison and Peschisolido were all old dudes with little future with us, although Brkovic did see some significant playing time as a right winger last season. You can see four going out to Cambridge on loan and that brings me to our newest link. Earlier this season, I asked my board to find us a feeder club and when they came back with cambridge United, I just knew I had to pick them, just cause you know, Marc Vaughan plays with them.

They are struggling badly, currently in 22nd in the Blue Squard Premier. All four of my kids have seen some regular playing time but they are all sort of struggling.

Here's a list of the players I've brought in this season:

Date	Person	From	Fee
1.7.2008	Tall, Ibrahim	Hearts	Free
1.7.2008	Simpson, Jay	Arsenal	$900K
1.7.2008	Granville, Danny	Colchester	Free
1.7.2008	Dickinson, Carl	Tranmere	Free
5.7.2008	Vilmunen, Mikko	Drogheda Utd	Free
6.7.2008	Kinniburgh, Willie	Scunthorpe	$675K
7.7.2008	Nordtveit, Håvard	Arsenal	Loan
8.7.2008	Mikoliunas, Saulius	FBK Kaunas	Free
9.7.2008	van den Berg, Vincent	Arsenal	Loan
10.7.2008	McKay, Billy	Leicester	Free
16.7.2008	Hayes, Jonathan	Leicester	Loan
16.7.2008	Pedro	Arsenal	Loan
17.7.2008	Esajas, Etienne	Sheff Wed	$1.4M
23.7.2008	Fox, Daniel	Walsall	P/Ex
24.7.2008	Sunu, Gilles	Arsenal	Loan

Of these, I think only Pedro and Gilles Sunu have not yet been mentionned and for a good reason, they both came on for three months loans and have since gone back to Arsenal. Sunu never saw the field in a competitive game for us although Pedro played some as a left winger and did well. Well enough that I tried to renew his loan. Arsenal had agreed to it, Pedro had agreed to it, but he was denied his work permit. I found it odd and appealed the decision but they still denied it.

Of all these signings, the fans are the happiest with Tall, Kinniburgh, Mikoliunas and Esajas, basically the four who are regular starters. They are mildly happy with the loan signing of Jonathan Hayes.

They are disappointed with the signings of Simpson, Dickinson, Nordtveit, and van den Berg and I sort of disagree with them on three of the four. Yeah, Simpson has not played as well as did when he was a loanee, I give them that, but of the other three, two are loanees playing okay in spot duty and the other, Dickinson, has played well enough in the games I've asked him to play. Maybe they thought the 21yo would have played a bigger role that the one I had in mind for him...

FM

[FrogMan]

welcome aboard to the three new readers btw

FM

[FrogMan]

On to 2008-2009...

The expectations for this season are the same as they were last season, namely:
- respectable league position within the League One
- 3rd round of the FA Cup
- 2nd round of the Carling Cup
- Quarter Final of the Jonhstone's Paint Trophy

The season started very, very rough in the friendlies. We started with a 0-10 loss against Deportivo, a team we had held to a 1-1 draw in a friendly only a season ago. Yeah, you read right, 0-10. That game was ridiculous. I think they took something like 47 shots, hitting the target some 20 times or more. That was crazy. For some time, the fans were upset about the loss, but it didn't remain, thankfully. We then went to lose three more before finally winning two of the last three.

That didn't look too good for the regular season and had me worried. We started kind of slow but have picked up speed since then and we currently hold an amazing 2nd place after 19 matches. Here's the league table as it stands on November 8, 2008:

Pos	Team	Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st	Sheff Wed	19	11	7	1	38	17	+21	40
2nd	Luton	19	10	5	4	32	18	+14	35
3rd	Southend	19	10	5	4	30	18	+12	35
4th	Q.P.R.	18	9	6	3	34	18	+16	33
5th	Hull	19	9	4	6	43	31	+12	31
6th	Yeovil	19	9	4	6	28	20	+8	31
7th	Swindon	19	8	4	7	18	16	+2	28
8th	Leyton Orient	19	7	7	5	31	31	0	28
9th	Notts Co	19	6	9	4	24	23	+1	27
10th	Carlisle	18	7	5	6	26	24	+2	26
11th	Bradford	19	6	8	5	22	20	+2	26
12th	Crewe	19	7	5	7	21	22	-1	26
13th	Hartlepool	19	6	8	5	26	28	-2	26
14th	Millwall	18	7	4	7	24	23	+1	25
15th	Huddersfield	18	7	4	7	24	26	-2	25
16th	Doncaster	19	7	4	8	23	30	-7	25
17th	Leeds	19	6	5	8	19	23	-4	23
18th	Oldham	19	6	4	9	22	31	-9	22
19th	Peterborough	19	5	6	8	29	36	-7	21
20th	Brighton	19	4	8	7	19	23	-4	20
21st	Rotherham	19	3	8	8	20	31	-11	17
22nd	Port Vale	19	2	9	8	16	26	-10	15
23rd	Walsall	19	3	6	10	17	31	-14	15
24th	Gillingham	19	3	1	15	26	46	-20	10

As you can see, Q.P.R. were relegated from the Championship after the 2007-08 season. We played them to a 0-0 draw in our only game against them this season.

We had some rough draws in the Carling Cup, but we did manage to do pretty well, surpassing our board's expectations:
Round 1: win on penalties against Crystal Palace at home
Round 2: 1-0 win against Preston North End on their pitch
Round 3: 1-2 loss in extra time against Tottenham at home

That loss was a crazy game. As I reported in the big WWSM/FM impressions thread... We start the game and dang, we are hanging in there. We even get a penaly in the 9th minute that we piss away by kicking it to the keeper. We take a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute on an amazing cross to the 6 yard box headed straight in by my new winger just signed in the offseason. They are pressuring us like crazy but we hang in there for the whole game. We even go down a man when that same winger gets injured and has to be taken off after I'd done all my three subs. In the 84th minute the pressure is too much and my keeper makes a rare mistake coming out of his goal. 1-1 after 90. It's the League Cup so it's extra time, 10 players and all, they end up scoring at the start of the second period of extra time. We lose it 1-2.

Now about my fans, are they happy, despite the loss? Nope, they are VERY disappointed, the kind of disappointed I've never seen before. There's not even a tiny bit of yellow showing on their appreciation bar, NOTHING, ungrateful bastards. Sure, they outshot us something like 27-4 but damnit, we were leading, and gave up the two goals when playing with only 10 men, against a freaking premiership club, what else should we be doing to make you happy?

They are still not over that loss, a month and a half later. Oh well...

We are still alive in the Jonhstone's Paint Trophy after dominating our first two game:
South round 1: 3-0 away win over Exeter
South round 2: 4-0 away win over MK Dons.

MK Dons are one of our natural rivals and that big win made the board and fans feel pretty good.

Our last game was our first round FA Cup tie in which we played Blue Square Premier side Bognor Regis. The game was televised and we dominated them to a 3-0 win.

This is where we stand right now. Phew, all done catching up.

FM

[SirFozzie]

BTW, Marc plays with Cambridge CITY (Although to make it up, I can tell you Cambridge United is MY favorite English team

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

BTW, Marc plays with Cambridge CITY (Although to make it up, I can tell you Cambridge United is MY favorite English team

Dang, I knew I was mixing the two and I knew somebody else around here played with the other one. Oh well, there you go, let's say I picked them for you, but if they get relegated, I'm finding another one...

FM

[finketr]

you know, frogman.. one thing this reminds me of is



I hate Marc Vaughan!!!!!








just kidding.. and i've been sucked back into my career game in fm2k5 since i found my disk.

[FrogMan]

November 10, 2008
When I was telling that our U18 squad is not very good, I was not kidding. They just got destroyed 0-7 by the U18 squad of Scunthorpe. Even worse, apparently the keeper is the player that got the game ball for the team in that game. In a see of 2's and 3's for form ratings, he rated at 6 and I quote from my assistant's match report: "The Luton Under 18's goalkeeper looked assured in goal even though he had to pick the ball out of his own net on seven occasions." Good for you kid, sexy is back he said and his mommy said nobody should deny him the right to dream...

The draw for the 2nd round of FA Cup happens. We will play League 2 Dag & Red at Kenilworth Road on November 29.

David Fernandez is back in training following his injury.

November 11, 2008
Game: Johnstone Paint's Trophy, South Quarter Final at Shrewsbury (L2)

Starting 11:

Parkin . Morgan
Spring
Esajas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mikoliunas
Fox
Dickinson . Kinniburgh . Nordtveit . Tall
Vilmunen

As you can see, I decided to sit two important parts of my starting 11 in that one, starting Havard Nordtveit in defense and Mikko Vilmunen in goal. This'll be Vilmunen's first appearance in a competitive match for us and he's lacking match fitness.

As soo as the game starts, I smell a bad day coming. They are holding the ball way too much for my liking, around 60% in the first half and we can't seem to make anything happen. 0-0 at the half with 12(2) shots for us against 8(3) for them (note: my usual way of listing shots is total shots first then on target inside the paranthesis). We are simply taking too many shots from all angle without putting them on target.

The second half is a bit better but they take a 1-0 lead in the 64th minute on a scorcher from a distance. Vilmunen had no way of stopping that one and has done quite well so far. I try to get more pressure but are not playing well as a team today...

Final Score: Luton Town 0 - Shrewsbury 1
shots: 20(3) - 17(7)

We ended the game on an overall 50-50 split in possession but the guys really didn't take that game seriously, with the result we have now. For a second consecutive season, we fall one round short of the board's expectation of a Quarter Final. South Quarter Final is like the eighth of final...

One rare bad game for Tall with a rating of 6.

As expected, the fans are disappointed with that result, but not that much.

November 12, 2008
Paul Underwood is granted is request to be transfer listed.

I won't always list all their wins but Cambridge United won 3-0 and David Edwards and Billy McKay each had a score in the win. Well done kids!

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by finketr

you know, frogman.. one thing this reminds me of is



I hate Marc Vaughan!!!!!








just kidding.. and i've been sucked back into my career game in fm2k5 since i found my disk.

I'm sure the lady will start hating Mr Vaughan very soon too...

And, you really need to upgrade, especially from 2005 to 2008. Tons of little things that make the game that much more immersive, as if that was possible...

FM

[finketr]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

I'm sure the lady will start hating Mr Vaughan very soon too...

And, you really need to upgrade, especially from 2005 to 2008. Tons of little things that make the game that much more immersive, as if that was possible...

FM

I've thought about upgrading from 2005 to 2008 except I can't afford to get sucked in that much due to my return to college this year.

And the lady doesn't mind that much since i'm careful to not play tooo much..

[finketr]

dola,

is 0-4-1-2-1-2 the preferred formation now? That's what i've almost always run in my club matches with some 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and 3-4-3 throw in...

for my national team i run a 1-2-2-3-0-2 and it seems to work okay... got beat 1-0 by USA in the NA Gold cup Final but we were struggling with injuries and two suspensions.

[FrogMan]

November 19, 2008
League Match: vs Southend (3rd) at Kenilworth Road (Luton 6-4 favorites)

Starting 11

Parkin . Morgan
Skora
Esajas . . . . . . . . . . . . Mikoliunas
Fox
Jackson . Kinniburgh . Pierre-Fanfan . Tall
Speroni

I was less than impressed by Matthew Spring's performance in our last match so Eric Skora gets the start, as well as our usual backs and keeper.

A very important game for us, playing the team right below us and it looks like my "you can win" pregame speech worked wonder as we come out like lions. They can hardly get the ball out of their zone and we control the flow of the game early on. Skora proves is worth in the 33rd minute when he starts an attack with a great low pass to Sam Parkin who quickly relays it to Dean Morgan. Morgan's shot is only blocked by the keeper and Parkin is there to pick up the rebound in front of an empty net. 1-0!

We double our lead ten minute later on a sweet move originating from the left wing. Esajas finds Mikoliunas near the 6 yard box and he easily buried the half volley behind the keeper. 2-0 after 43!

Final Score: Luton Town 2 - Southend 0

Great game overall with Mikoliunas getting the MoM. He, as well as Parkin, Morgan, Esajas, Kinniburgh and Speroni all rated at 8 in form while the rest of the team rated at a reasonable 7. I end up telling the team I thought this win was sensational in my post-game speech.

The fans are pleased with the win. Any other reaction would have been hard to explain... The win gives us a clear three point lead over Southend in 2nd place.

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by finketr

dola,

is 0-4-1-2-1-2 the preferred formation now? That's what i've almost always run in my club matches with some 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and 3-4-3 throw in...

for my national team i run a 1-2-2-3-0-2 and it seems to work okay... got beat 1-0 by USA in the NA Gold cup Final but we were struggling with injuries and two suspensions.

no clue if it's the general preferred formation but it's always been my preferred formation. I'm quite logical and rational and I find that it covers about all of the field and even while I have the team's instructions set to move the ball through the flanks, I've often seen my AMC and DMC exchange balls back and forth before moving it to one side or putting in a through ball for one of the strikers to get a clean look to the keeper...

FM

[FrogMan]

November 22, 2008
League match #21: away at Oldham (Luton 5-4 favorites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Julián Speroni	GK	Superb	6-7-7-7-8	100%	26	-	7.08
DR		Ibrahim Tall	D RC	Superb	8-7-7-6-7	95%	27	-	7.07
DL	Wnt	Richard Jackson	D RL	Superb	7-8-7-8-7	94%	25	1	7.20
DC		José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan	D C	Superb	7-7-7-8-7	94%	25	1	7.12
DC		Willie Kinniburgh	D C	Superb	7-7-8-7-8	94%	26	-	7.08
DMC		Håvard Nordtveit	D C, DM	Very Good	7-7-7-7-7	100%	12 (1)	1	6.85
MR	Yel	Saulius Mikoliunas	AM R	Superb	7-8-7-7-8	92%	20 (1)	4	7.38
ML	Yel	Etienne Esajas	AM L	Okay	7-7-7-7-8	92%	23 (2)	2	7.32
AMC		Eric Skora	AM C	Superb	8-6-7-8-7	94%	6	1	7.50
FC	PR	Dean Morgan	ST	Superb	9-6-7-6-8	93%	26 (1)	18	7.22
FC	Tut	Sam Parkin	ST	Superb	9-7-6-6-8	93%	15 (4)	9	7.21
S1		Mikko Vilmunen	GK	Very Good	7-9-7-7-7	99%	1	-	7.00
S2		Daniel Fox	D/WB L, DM, M LC	Superb	6-6-8-7-7	94%	10 (15)	-	6.44
S3	Wnt	Stephen O'Leary	AM RC	Very Good	7-7-6-8-6	99%	5 (11)	1	6.88
S4		Jonathan Hayes	AM RL	Good	7-7-8-7-7	99%	4 (12)	-	7.13
S5	PR	Jay Simpson	AM R, ST	Superb	6-6-8-6-6	100%	3 (12)	3	6.40
-		Carl Dickinson	D/WB L	Superb	8-8-8-7-7	100%	4	-	7.00
-	Inj	Russell Duncan	DM	Very Good	6-6-8-6-6	56%	3 (2)	-	6.20
-	Slt	Matthew Spring	M C	Superb	5-6-7-6-6	100%	22 (2)	2	6.92
-	Loa	Vincent van den Berg	AM R, ST	Very Good	7-6-7-6-6	99%	3 (4)	1	6.57
-	Inj	Calvin Andrew	ST	Superb	7-8-6-8-6	60%	2	-	6.50

Oldham have been disappointing this season, presently in 19th place. After playing them twice in the FA Cup last year, plus twice in league play, they are the only team we've played four times already. We've won 2, drawn 1 and lost 1 of those.

Lineup is pretty standard, no shakeup there. I tell the players I think they can win this game.

They take a 0-1 lead in the 26th minute on a goal that the players thought was offside but I see on the replay that it wasn't. We simply left too many uncovered in or around the 6 yard box. Bad news strikes in the 37th minute when Pierre-Fanfan has to leave the field injured. I bring in Daniel Fox to play the left back position, moving Richard Jackson to the right and Ibrahim Tall to centreback. Tall also gets the captain armband.

It's 0-1 at the half and while we're not playing real bad, I still tell the fellas that I want to see more. Ibrahim Tall is a bit too generous in the 66th minute, deflecting a ball behind his own keeper for an own goal. Down 0-2. We take one back ten minutes later when Saulius Mikoliunas drifts in a corner to the penalty spot that Etienne Esajas is able to kick through the crowd to the back of the net. Sadly, that will be our last goal.

Final Score: Luton 1, Oldham 2
Shots: 11(4) - 9(3)
Possession: 53 - 47

All in all, not really a bad game. Sure, we let one go, but it was on the road and it's not like we got outclassed. Game ball goes to Etienne Esajas who scored our only goal and was the only Hatter to rate at 8 in form.

The loss combines with a Southend win means we've lost the three points we'd gained on them last week and Sheff Wed now have a full 5 points on us with a game in hand.

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Sheff Wed		20	12	7	1	40	18	+22	43
2nd		Luton		21	11	5	5	35	20	+15	38
3rd		Southend		21	11	5	5	33	21	+12	38
4th		Yeovil		21	10	5	6	32	23	+9	35
5th		Leyton Orient		21	9	7	5	36	32	+4	34
6th		Q.P.R.		19	9	6	4	35	20	+15	33
7th		Hull		20	9	5	6	43	31	+12	32
8th		Bradford		21	8	8	5	24	20	+4	32
9th		Swindon		20	9	4	7	20	16	+4	31
10th		Notts Co		21	7	9	5	26	24	+2	30
11th		Crewe		21	8	5	8	22	24	-2	29
12th		Doncaster		21	8	5	8	28	34	-6	29
13th		Millwall		21	8	4	9	27	28	-1	28
14th		Hartlepool		21	6	9	6	26	29	-3	27
15th		Carlisle		20	7	5	8	28	28	0	26
16th		Brighton		21	6	8	7	24	26	-2	26
17th		Huddersfield		20	7	4	9	27	32	-5	25
18th		Oldham		20	7	4	9	24	32	-8	25
19th		Leeds		20	6	6	8	19	23	-4	24
20th		Peterborough		20	5	6	9	29	37	-8	21
21st		Port Vale		21	3	10	8	19	28	-9	19
22nd		Rotherham		21	3	9	9	20	33	-13	18
23rd		Walsall		21	3	6	12	21	37	-16	15
24th		Gillingham		21	3	2	16	28	50	-22	11

The good news is that José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan only suffered a gashed arm and will only miss between 4 days and a week.



November 24, 2008
Our left side is well represented in the League One team of the week as both Richard Jackson and Etienne Esajas got selected.

FM

[FrogMan]

November 29, 2008
FA Cup round 2: vs Dag & Red at Kenilworth Road (Luton 1-3 favorites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Julián Speroni	GK	Superb	7-7-7-8-6	100%	27	-	7.04
DR	Wnt	Richard Jackson	D RL	Superb	8-7-8-7-7	98%	26	1	7.19
DL		Carl Dickinson	D/WB L	Superb	8-8-8-7-7	100%	4	-	7.00
DC		Ibrahim Tall	D RC	Very Good	7-7-6-7-7	100%	28	-	7.07
DC	PR	Willie Kinniburgh	D C	Superb	7-8-7-8-7	99%	27	-	7.07
DMC		Daniel Fox	D/WB L, DM, M LC	Very Good	6-8-7-7-7	100%	10 (16)	-	6.46
MR	Yel	Saulius Mikoliunas	AM R	Superb	8-7-7-8-7	99%	21 (1)	4	7.36
ML	Yel	Etienne Esajas	AM L	Good	7-7-7-8-8	96%	24 (2)	3	7.35
AMC		Eric Skora	AM C	Very Good	6-7-8-7-7	100%	7	1	7.43
FC	PR	Jay Simpson	AM R, ST	Superb	6-8-6-6-6	99%	3 (13)	3	6.38
FC	Tut	Sam Parkin	ST	Superb	7-6-6-8-7	99%	16 (4)	9	7.20
S1		Mikko Vilmunen	GK	Very Good	7-9-7-7-7	98%	1	-	7.00
S2		Håvard Nordtveit	D C, DM	Good	7-7-7-7-7	99%	13 (1)	1	6.86
S3	Wnt	Stephen O'Leary	AM RC	Very Good	7-6-8-6-6	99%	5 (12)	1	6.82
S4		Jonathan Hayes	AM RL	Okay	7-7-8-7-7	98%	4 (12)	-	7.13
S5	PR	Dean Morgan	ST	Good	6-7-6-8-6	99%	27 (1)	18	7.18
-		José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan	D C	Very Good	7-7-8-7-6	83%	26	1	7.08
-	Slt	Matthew Spring	M C	Superb	5-6-7-6-6	100%	22 (2)	2	6.92
-	Inj	Russell Duncan	DM	Very Good	6-6-8-6-6	67%	3 (2)	-	6.20
-		Calvin Andrew	ST	Superb	7-8-6-8-6	85%	2	-	6.50
-	Loa	Vincent van den Berg	AM R, ST	Very Good	7-6-7-6-6	98%	3 (4)	1	6.57

We are heavy favorites and the fans anticipate an easy win. I don't like that... I tell the paper that I think they will pose just as much of a threat as any other team and my players seem to buy that.

I like Nordtveit at DMC but his very low stamina sometimes means he has to be subbed out late in the game so Fox gets the start there. I also give the start to Jay Simpson up front. José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan is still a bit iffy so I give him the day off and play Ibrahim Tall in his place and Carl Dickinson on the left back spot. I also ask Eric SKora to support the attack a bit more, giving him an up arrow in between the two strikers in tactics. I tell the guys I not only think they can win, but that I expect them to...

It's a good start to the game for us and we take the lead in the 8th minute when Etienne Esajas centers a Carl Dickinson throw in to Jay Simpson who uses his acceleration to lose his man and scores the 1-0 goal! That's the kind of move that Simpson used to pull toward the end of the season last year. We let up a bit and they tie it in the 20th minute. We are controlling the game at that point, but we are still acting a bit loose.

1.5 minute into an announce 1 minute of extra time to the first half, Jay Simpson finds himself the beneficiary of a weird play from a D&R defender. Carl Dickinson had centered a long ball that ended up making it to the keeper. One of their defender got to the short rebound before the keeper but knocked it to Simpson's feet who put in low with a low shot. 2-1 at the half.

I like the 2-1 lead at the half, and the 11(3) to 2(1) shots is nice too, but as I said, I felt we were loose a bit so I tell the guys not to get careless. They seem to respond well to that although we escape with a scare in the 70th minute when an apparent D&R goal is turned down because of an offside. We hold them off and even add to our lead in the injury time when a free kick from the corner by Havard Nordtveit is headed in by Ibrahim Tall for the 3-1 goal.

Final Score: Luton 3, Dag & Red 1
Shots: 14(4) - 8(2)
Possession: 50 - 50

A satisfying win and an especially good performance by Jay Simpson to whom I give the game ball. His two goals earned him a form rating of 8 and a MoM selection as he was a constant threat, put 3 of 6 shots on target. Jackson, Tall and Kinniburgh also rated at 8. The fans are pleased with the win, especialy with how much more dangerous we apparently looked in the final third of the pitch.

My assistant informed me that both Ibrahim Tall and Willied Kinniburgh gained focus from my haltime speech while it motivated Jay Simpson. I felt like the guys played a tighter game in the second half. Good to see my speech had something to do with it...

FM

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

A satisfying win and an especially good performance by Jay Simpson to whom I give the game ball. His two goals earned him a form rating of 8 and a MoM selection as he was a constant threat, put 3 of 6 shots on target. Jackson, Tall and Kinniburgh also rated at 8. The fans are pleased with the win, especialy with how much more dangerous we apparently looked in the final third of the pitch.

My assistant informed me that both Ibrahim Tall and Willied Kinniburgh gained focus from my haltime speech while it motivated Jay Simpson. I felt like the guys played a tighter game in the second half. Good to see my speech had something to do with it...

This type of stuff just makes me smile and proves why FM/WWSM is such an incredible game.

The media aspect of the series draws you completely into the 'fictional' universe and makes it feel so much more than just a game. Your actions mean so much more and you can actually see the effects of your decisions, whether they are on the pitch or in the newspapers.

What a great game!

Continued good luck with Luton, Frogman. I love your writing style!

[FrogMan]

November 30, 2008
hrm, interesting. Birmingham are apparently shopping Mehdi Nafti, a defensive midfielder, around. At first his name seems familiar and then it its me. I had signed him in FM2007 but was never overly satisfied with his performances... He's valued at 675k, they have him listed for 275k but are offering him on a free transfer. I ask my scout to give me a quick rundown of him and he comes back with a "definite purchase" tag. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to offer him any kind of contract, as we're already running close to $10k per week over the wage budget, but I still offer to take him off their hands. I will post his profile a bit later on tonight (I don't have access to photobucket during the day) but he is described as a tireless midfielder who's fairly determined. He's rated pretty high in teamwork and work rate (16 & 17) and is also pretty good at marking (16). One thing he lacks for a defensive midfielder is the heading skill (only at 8) but he could be a good addition to the club as I seem to be rotating through defensive midfielders without really finding a good one...

December 1st, 2008
The draw for the 3rd round of the FA Cup happens. We will play one of two League Two teams, either MK Dons or Morecambe.

The board are satisfied with my management of the club. The signing of Saulius Mikoliunas is seen as an extremely good signing while they see the signing of Vincent van den Berg, on loan no less, as something that needs explaining. Feh... At least they have stopped worrying about the stupid 1-2 loss to Tottenham in the Carling Cup.

Sam Parkin is selected as the League One Player of the Month. For a guy whom I didn't see in my first team's plans, he's sure redeemed himself.

Paul Underwood has decided that he wants to stay at the club and he's begging to be taken off the transfer list. I unlist the drama queen...

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by NoSkillz

This type of stuff just makes me smile and proves why FM/WWSM is such an incredible game.

The media aspect of the series draws you completely into the 'fictional' universe and makes it feel so much more than just a game. Your actions mean so much more and you can actually see the effects of your decisions, whether they are on the pitch or in the newspapers.

What a great game!

Absolutely agree. I really like asking my assistant for his help regarding the team talks. I change his recommended talk maybe half of the time, but it still gives me and idea of where to go with the talk. Despite my bickering about unrealistic stuff with it, I gotta say that I really like the whole confidence things. That's one thing that's really making the fans and the board come alive and really help the immersion factor...

Originally Posted by NoSkillz

Continued good luck with Luton, Frogman. I love your writing style!

Thanks a lot, really, really appreciate it. So you know, your initial comment in the FM/WWSM thread had a lot to do with me starting this dynasty again.

FM

[vex]

Yeah, you're going to end up making me buy '08 if you continue this dynasty much longer. Nice work

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

Thanks a lot, really, really appreciate it. So you know, your initial comment in the FM/WWSM thread had a lot to do with me starting this dynasty again.
FM

Peer pressure!

[Blade6119]

Christmas came late for me this year!

[finkenst]

Originally Posted by vex

Yeah, you're going to end up making me buy '08 if you continue this dynasty much longer. Nice work

+1


and my schoolwork can't afford it.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by vex

Yeah, you're going to end up making me buy '08 if you continue this dynasty much longer. Nice work

it's all part of the master plan

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Blade6119

Christmas came late for me this year!

FM

[FrogMan]

my internet access crapped out thanks to the big wind we're having (I get my internet and our digital TV through an antenna on the roof that must have moved since TV was crappy all evening and I was unable to access anything on the web up until maybe an hour ago) so I couldn't post Nafti's profile. Here goes:



FM

[FrogMan]

December 2, 2008
League Match #22: vs Port Vale at Kenilworth Road (Lutons evens favorite)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK	PR	Julián Speroni	GK	Good	7-7-8-6-7	100%	28	-	7.04
DR	PR	Richard Jackson	D RL	Good	7-8-7-7-8	95%	27	1	7.22
DL		Carl Dickinson	D/WB L	Superb	8-8-7-7-7	95%	5	-	7.00
DC		Ibrahim Tall	D RC	Superb	7-6-7-7-8	96%	29	1	7.10
DC	PR	Willie Kinniburgh	D C	Superb	8-7-8-7-8	95%	28	-	7.11
DMC		Daniel Fox	D/WB L, DM, M LC	Very Good	8-7-7-7-7	94%	11 (16)	-	6.48
MR	PR	Saulius Mikoliunas	AM R	Superb	7-7-8-7-7	95%	22 (1)	4	7.35
ML	Yel	Etienne Esajas	AM L	Good	7-7-8-8-7	93%	25 (2)	3	7.33
AMC		Eric Skora	AM C	Very Good	7-8-7-7-6	96%	8	1	7.25
FC	PR	Dean Morgan	ST	Superb	6-7-6-8-6	100%	27 (1)	18	7.18
FC	Tut	Sam Parkin	ST	Superb	6-6-8-7-7	94%	17 (4)	9	7.19
S1		Mikko Vilmunen	GK	Very Good	7-9-7-7-7	98%	1	-	7.00
S2		Håvard Nordtveit	D C, DM	Good	7-7-7-7-6	100%	13 (2)	1	6.80
S3	Wnt	Stephen O'Leary	AM RC	Very Good	6-8-6-6-7	99%	5 (13)	1	6.83
S4		Jonathan Hayes	AM RL	Okay	7-8-7-7-7	98%	4 (13)	-	7.12
S5	PR	Jay Simpson	AM R, ST	Superb	8-6-6-6-8	94%	4 (13)	5	6.47
-		José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan	D C	Very Good	7-7-8-7-6	92%	26	1	7.08
-	Slt	Matthew Spring	M C	Superb	5-6-7-6-6	100%	22 (2)	2	6.92
-	Inj	Russell Duncan	DM	Very Good	6-6-8-6-6	71%	3 (2)	-	6.20
-		David Fernandez	AM/F C	Superb	6-7-8-7-9	91%	9 (4)	1	6.69
-	Loa	Vincent van den Berg	AM R, ST	Very Good	7-6-7-6-6	98%	3 (4)	1	6.57

This is odd. While Port Vale seem to be a low team, currently in 21st place on the league table, they are on an eight match unbeaten run in league play. Beware... I tell the media that I think we can beat them if we play our best. Unchanged lineup for this game as I give another game of rest to José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan.

Etienne Esajas strikes lucky in the 8th minute when his free kick from 30 yards out takes a deflection going through the wall. The keeper can't adjust to the new path of the ball and is beaten to his left. 1-0!

We are getting pressure from there until the end of the half though and Julian Speroni has to bail us out more than once but he can't do it all by himself and they tie it 1-1 in the 42st minute. It's 1-1 at the half and they are outscoring us 10(7) to 6(0). Yep, we have a goal but no shots on target, thanks to that deflection by their wall. I let the guys moderately have it at the half and tell them I'm disappointed in their play. I do take the time to tell Esajas that I think he can make a difference here.

We do put more pressure on them when we come out for the second half and it sort of pays off. With three players hovering in their penalty box, Sam Parkin is moving with the ball when he gets tripped. The ref points to the spot, PENALTY!!! Parkin lines up for the kick and buries it for his 10th goal of the season. 2-1 after 57!

We are piling on the pressure and after 67 minutes, shots are now 11(3) for us and 14(8) for them.

Final Score: Luton 2, Port Vale 1
Shots: 13(4) - 18(8)
Possession: 49 - 51

Etienne Esajas earns himself a game ball and another MoM selection with a goal and a form rating of 8. Sam Parkin is our only other player rating at 8 while Dean Morgan had a disappointing 6.

The penalty that gave us the lead is called "controversial" by former Hatter Lewis Emmanuel who says the decision was harsh. The media ask me what I thought about the decision and I say I thought the referee was spot on.

Here's the league table following our win...

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Sheff Wed		22	13	7	2	42	20	+22	46
2nd		Luton		22	12	5	5	37	21	+16	41
3rd		Q.P.R.		21	11	6	4	41	21	+20	39
4th		Hull		22	11	5	6	48	34	+14	38
5th		Southend		21	11	5	5	33	21	+12	38
6th		Yeovil		22	10	5	7	34	26	+8	35
7th		Swindon		21	10	4	7	21	16	+5	34
8th		Leyton Orient		22	9	7	6	36	33	+3	34
9th		Bradford		22	8	8	6	24	21	+3	32
10th		Crewe		22	9	5	8	25	25	0	32
11th		Notts Co		21	7	9	5	26	24	+2	30
12th		Brighton		22	7	8	7	25	26	-1	29
13th		Doncaster		21	8	5	8	28	34	-6	29
14th		Millwall		22	8	4	10	27	29	-2	28
15th		Leeds		22	7	7	8	22	25	-3	28
16th		Hartlepool		22	6	9	7	27	32	-5	27
17th		Carlisle		22	7	5	10	29	31	-2	26
18th		Oldham		21	7	5	9	26	34	-8	26
19th		Huddersfield		21	7	4	10	29	35	-6	25
20th		Peterborough		22	6	7	9	32	39	-7	25
21st		Port Vale		22	3	10	9	20	30	-10	19
22nd		Rotherham		22	3	9	10	20	37	-17	18
23rd		Walsall		22	3	7	12	21	37	-16	16
24th		Gillingham		21	3	2	16	28	50	-22	11

December 3, 2008
Russell Duncan resumes full trainin following his torn calf muscle. He has missed four months. I send him to the reserves until he's match fit.

Our bid for Mehdi Nafti is rejected. I had left the requirement for an answer by tomorrow and they say they will not be pressured into a decision with many other teams interested in their player. With Duncan coming back, I don't see the reason to go after another DM that I will probably not be able to sign to a contract. I let it go...

FM