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01-11-2008, 11:38 AM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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December 5, 2008
League Match #23: at Carlisle (Luton evens favorites)
It's fan day at Carlisle today, no clue if that's gonna intimidate the fellas or not though. Carlisle is currenlty sitting in 19th place in the league. I especially like how they call us "high-flying Luton" in the pregame talks...  José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan is back in the lineup for this one. I also decide to start youngster Jay Simpson instead of Dean Morgan up front. I didn't like the sloppy game that Morgan played against Port Vale. Interesting tidbit, Eric Skora is listed as the key man for us in this game. It's the first time I see his name in that piece of commentary. Usual suspects include Ibrahim Tall, Julian Speroni, Saulius Mikoliunas and Etienne Esajas, but it's the first time Skora is listed in there. I tell the guys they can win this one, in fact toning it down from my assistant's "I expect a win" recommendation... The decision to start Simpson pays off in the 25th minute when he gets on a tear, showing off his great pace and acceleration to beat a defender and uncleat the keeper to lodge the ball in an empty net for the 1-0 goal. What a goal, there's pandemonium in the stands as the fans chant Simpson's name!!! That score holds at he halftime break with us outshooting them 10(7) to 7(3). We looked a bit overwhelmed toward the end of the half and my assistant is even saying I should tell the guys I'm disappointed in them. But dang, we're still ahead, how can I say I'm really disappointed when ahead on the road? I give them encouragement and while we don't add to our lead, we play much better in the second half, controlling the game from the start of the half... I've thought of a way to save the game and player stats, so here goes... Match Stats:
Luton player stats:
I can now see why Eric Skora could have been seen as a key player. I mean, 38 of 45 passes is kind of pivotal in the middle of our offensive midfield. Julian Speroni gets the MoM selection in that game with a form rating of 8. Special mentions go to Ibrahim Tall who also got a rating of 8 and especially to Jay Simpson who looked like the good kid he was last season. His pace is simply amazing sometimes and he can cause real havoc in the middle of the opposing defense, outrunning about anybody near him. The fans are pleased with the win. Leage table after the game:
My assistant tells me that my halftime encouragements seemed to really have an effect. Speroni, Tall, Dickinson and Parkin all looked delighted while it gave a morale boost to Daniel Fox.
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-11-2008, 11:40 AM
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#52 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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December 8, 2008
Ibrahim Tall was selected in the League One Team of the Week. Mehdi Nafti ended up agreeing with League One Bradford. The move will happen when the transfer window reopens on January 1st. December 10, 2008 Morecambe won their FA Cup replay 2-0 over MK Dons and we will face them on their pitch on January 3 for the 3rd round of the FA Cup. I'm kinda disappointed as I wanted for us to beat on rivals MK Dons, but Morecambe might be an easier team to face. They are currently in 7th place of League Two while MK Dons lead the league. December 11, 2008 35yo Chris Perry announces that he will retire at the end of the current season. He cites the difficulties breaking into the first team as the main reason for his decision. December 12, 2008 Darren Currie is frustrated at not being part of the first team squad. Due, you are 34 and slow as a turtle. Not good for a winger you know... I stay with the diplomatic answer and comment to the media that he is a backup and will have to wait for a chance... He issues a public apology the very next day.  FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-11-2008, 11:43 AM
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#53 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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December 13, 2008
League Match #24: at Notts Co (Luton 5-4 favorites)
Notts Co are sitting in 12th place at the moment. This is the third meeting between the two teams. We've won the first two with a 5-0 combined score. I don't know how I can leave a guy with 15 league goals on the bench, but that's what I do again today as Jay Simpson again starts for Dean Morgan. The rest of the starting 11 stays pretty much unchanged. I tell the guys I think they can win this one. It's 0-0 at the half and we're not playing really well. They are outshooting us 9(2) to 4(1) and we can't seem to put a foot inside their half of the field. I remind the guys that they can win this today and we're off for the second half. It remains 0-0 for pretty much the whole half, until the 90th minute when, amidst a see of legs, a corner kick is pushed behind Julian Speroni by Willie Kinniburgh for the 0-1 goal. Apparently Eric Skora's loosy ball control pushed the ball onto Kinniburgh who simply couldn't avoid it and it rebounded unfortunately. Three minutes of injury time is too little for us to try to tie it and we drop this game... Match stats:
Luton player stats:
I give the game ball to Daniel Fox who, even in the loss, had 14 interceptions and was in the middle of many passes. I know they mentionned Skora's mistake at the base of Kinniburgh's own goal, but I didn't know it was that big. Big enough for Skora to rate at 4 in form. ugh... I tell the guys I sympathise with them. I mean, on the road and we didn't really get outclassed, but i'm certainly not really pleased with the outcome. The fans are disappointed with the team's inability to convert chances into goals. I sort of agree with that. Jonathan Hayes didn't finish the game as he had to be subbed out with an injury in the 77th minute. I see after the game that he suffered a bruised head and will miss 5 days to a week. More importantly, my head physio tells me he has a potential head injury. I hope he's only talking about the bruise and nothing more serious. I give a formal warning for poor performance to Eric Skora. I rarely to that, but a 4 form rating deserves it. He not only accepts his warning but also apologises for his previous performance in the match. He added that he will try to to motivate himself more for the future matches. Might be time to give start to old timer David Fernandez. He was match fit for this game but there was no way I was going to sit Skora with how well he'd been playing recently. Next game is only in 12 days and will be against the team that used our recent loss to pass us in 2nd place. Here's the table as it stands now:
FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-11-2008, 11:50 AM
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#54 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Colorado Springs
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Tee hee.
Go Notts County! |
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01-11-2008, 11:59 AM
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#55 | |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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Quote:
 They still have not technically scored a goal on us though  FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-12-2008, 09:44 AM
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#56 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NC
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You're doing a great job writing these and keeping it very entertaining. Keep it up! We're reading!
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"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball...and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." -Jim Bouton |
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01-12-2008, 01:40 PM
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#57 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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December 20, 2008
Matthew Spring bruised his head in training. Should miss 5 days to a week. Our next game is in 6 days. December 25, 2008 So much for a Christmas break. QPR manager Paul Sturrock declares in the media that he's looking forward to a victory against us. They are currently one spot ahead of us on the table, in 2nd place. His comment causes some overconfidence in Dean Morgan and Etienne Esajas who now think the team can cope with big occasions without much effort... I answer, that *I* think we should be able to beat QPR... Sure enough, the paper puts it in big letter as they title it: "My team are superior!" says Gougeon...Niiiiice. That causes Julian Speroni and Willie Kinniburgh to declare that they are ready to go strength to strength, whatever that means. Meanwhile, Danny Granville has requested to be transfer listed. The 33yo left fullack came to Kenilworth Road last offseason but has yet to feature in the senior squad. I grant him his request. December 26, 2008 League Match #25: vs QPR at Kenilworth Road (QPR 5-4 favorites) Following Eric Skora's bad game last time, I decide to give the start to David Fernandez in the AMC spot. Other than the return of Dean Morgan to the starting lineup, the rest is pretty much unchanged. I tell the fellas I think they can win today and right before the match, I tell Daniel Fox to man mark their top scorer, striker Dexter Blackstock. He's scored 13 goals this season. The first half goes scoreless but is an entertaining affair. We just can't seem to put a ball on target though and that's annoying as all heck. Dean Morgan is especially awful in that category. Shots at the half are 10(1) for us, 8(5) for them. In the hope of creating something, I sub in Jay Simpson for David Fernandez but ask him to play as a third striker. We do buzz around their net but are unable to break behind their keeper and it remains 0-0... There was an apparent call that should have been a penalty, according to Jay Simpson, in the 90th minute, but the call never came. Match stats:
Luton player stats:
Saulius Mikoliunas gets the game ball and the MoM selection. Dean Morgan is in a real slump, as if he read in here that I said he was a goal scoring machine. Dang, 8 shots, only 3 on target and no goals. And of those 8, they were not all long range tries, many were from up close, but way wide... The fans are disappointed with the draw and to be honest, I am a bit too, although I tell the guys I sympathise with them... Also, according to the fans' spokeperson, the fans also think that despite the affection they have for Dean Morgan, they are concerned with his recent form... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-12-2008, 01:42 PM
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#58 | |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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Quote:
thanks a lot for the nice words. Really appreciate it. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-12-2008, 05:18 PM
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#59 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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December 27, 2008
In the "say what?" department, my assistant delivers me a "Skora warning". As in a lack of first-team football could cause Eric Skora to be desillusioned with life at Kenilworth Road. Huh?!? Dude, you started 6 games in a row, screwed up royally in the last of the six which earned you a warning and a game off, don't go crying to momma like that... sigh... Anyway, that was only my assistant letting me know, no big panic in the media... yet. Anyway, David Fernandez really showed his age in the last game so Skora will mostly go back in the starting lineup real soon. December 29, 2008 With the January 1st date coming soon, I take a look at some of the players with contracts. Sam Parkin and Matthew Spring are the only two now on the senior squad whom I have to worry about. Spring isn't a top priority but Parkin could be, with the way he is playing this season. The sad thing is that he's not ready to talk until he's evaluated all of his options. On the reserves squad, Calvin Andrew is ready to add a year to his contract without any increase so I offer him that. I'm also seeing some offers for backup right winger Stephen O'leary all of a sudden. He is valued at $70k and Carlisle and Walsall both offer $102k and 114k respectively. Thing is, O'leary has yet to complain about being a backup, something that makes him worth his place in the squad. Plus, he probably could fill in for Mikoliunas if I needed him to, so I reject both offers... December 30, 2008 Well, that didn't take long. Calvin Andrew has agreed to our offer and signs a one year extention to his current contract. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-13-2008, 04:32 PM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 1st, 2009
A new year has come and with it, the craziness of one month of transfers... I don't see us adding much to our squad though. Maybe a defensive midfielder, as I think it's the position that's underperformed the most, or maybe a solid long term central defender, but that's gonna be tough with some $59k left in transfer budget and alreayd $5k over the weekly wage budget... Sol Davis signs with Barnet. An original Hatter, the left fullback had not played for us in a long and I didn't see any use for him when I agreed to the $70k transfer almost two months ago. That move dropped some $4k in weekly wages... The board are satisfied with my management of the team. Again the signing of Saulius Mikoliunas is seen as an extremely good signing. The one thing the fans are concerned about at this time is the poor performances of Dean Morgan. I am too to be honest... January 3, 2009 FA Cup round 3: at Morecambe (Luton 4-6 favorites)
Morecambe are currently having a good season in League Two, sitting in 5th place. The fans are confident we can easily win this one. Again, this makes me nervous... I again give the start to Jay Simpson who's played really well in cup since the start of the season. That's the only change, as I play it safe, even against a League Two side... I tell the guys they can win this one, downplaying the aggressive team talk recommended by my assistant. He's thinking I should tell them that I expect a win. We come out down in possession and let them have a couple of scoring chances early one, but we are the first to score, in the 20th minute. Our lefties Richard Jackson and Etienne Esajas move the ball up to Sam Parkin who takes a hard shot that the keeper can't control. Jay Simpson was simply at the right place at the right time, sinking the 1-0 goal. Sam Parkin add a second goal to our lead in injury time of the first half and it's 2-0 at the half. I simpyl tell the guys I'm pleased with their work. We've regain the control of possession and are looking good... Jay Simpson will add a second goal in the 52nd minute, a goal all made by the splendid work of Saulius Mikoliunas on the right side, and Willie Kinniburgh will close it off by heading a Havard Nordtveit corner kick in right off the post in the 70th minute. A solid display of good football! Game stats:
Luton player stats:
Jay Simpson played a marvelous game and he gets the game ball and the MoM selection for us. That's the kind of play I got used to from this kid last season. The fans were pleased about how many times the team managed to test the opposing keeper. January 4, 2009 Hrm, I notice a UNH tag aside Mikko Vilmunen and suddenly get a report that he's been missing from training. Seems he's unhappy at not playing first-team football. Still, missing training is unacceptable and I give him a warning. He accepts it and indicates a willingness to improve his behaviour in the future. The FA Cup 4th round draw happens today. The Hatters will be playing Newcastle at Kenilworth Road on january 24. Newcastle is currently in 15th place of the Premiership. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-14-2008, 11:26 AM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 7, 2009
League Match #26: vs Hartlepool at Kenilworth Road (Luton evens favorites)
It's a boring first half in a game where I expect a bit better from my guys against a 14th place team. I told them I thought they could win to start the game but I have to let them have it and say I'm fairly disappointed after a scoreless first half. Even worse, they are whipping us around, dominating possession with 57% and outshooting us 10(6) to 3(0). That was really a ugly first half. The guys come out fighting for the second half and we take a 1-0 lead only 3 minutes into the half. Sam Parkin is the beneficiary of a nice pass from Etienne Esajas on a nice flowing move that went full circle from Russell Duncan to Saulius Mikoliunas before ending to his feet. We keep piling on some pressure and allowing them only shots from the periphery and a Dean Morgan shot is blocked then pushed behind their keeper by one of their own defender for an own goal in the 88th minute and the final score is 2-0. Game stats:
Luton player stats:
We got lucky in that one, making the best of our limited chances while controlling the damage done by theirs. Julian Speroni gets a well deserved Man of the Match selection for his 10 saves. Many Pools fans call the final score "an injustice"... Our fans are pleased with the win. Saulius Mikoliunas has reached the 5 yellow cards limit and will be suspended for one match starting on January 14 meaning he will be available for our next match but not the one after that. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-14-2008, 11:27 AM
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#62 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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I forgot, here's the league table following that game:
FM
__________________
A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-14-2008, 11:30 AM
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#63 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 10, 2009
League Match #27: away at Swindon (Luton 5-4 favorites)
I was fairly surprised to see us as favorites on this kind of away game. Swindon are currently in 9th place while we're in 3rd, ten points ahead of them. Our last game against Hartlepool seems to have taken a toll on some players and I do some changes to our starting eleven. In are Matthew Spring, Carl Dickinson, Jonathan Hayes, and Jay Simpson, out are Eric Skora (please don't cry), Richard Jackson, Etienne Esajas, and Sam Parkin. I simply wish the guys luck as I don't want to be telling them that I always think they can win, cause well I'm a nervous guy and I honestly don't think we can win 'em all. Take the lucky win over Hartlepool for the most recent example of why I think that way... It's a wet day and play is uneven through most of the first half, but it's uneven on both sides of the pitch. Jay Simpson is really starting to win back the hearts of the fans and anybody would with the exciting goal he scores, almost 2 minutes into injury time of the first half. Jonathan Hayes fed him a nice ball but Simpson had to beat a couple defender before finally finding himself one on one with the keeper. He buried the ball to make it 1-0 at the half. Nothing special happened in the second half and Simpson's goal turns out to be the game winner... Game stats:
Luton player stats:
A great win on the road but I take some time to warn the player against complacency in our next match, as we will take on 21st Rotherham next. Jay Simpson turned in a Man of the Match performance. He has some ability to make stuff happen that is not really revealed in his skill ratings. The fans are really warming up to him and now think that he has put in some decent performances for us since signing up with us in the offseason. FM
__________________
A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-14-2008, 11:35 AM
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#64 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 14, 2009
I had already planned on giving Mikko Vilmunen the start between the posts for our game against Rotherham, but his Man of the Match performance with our reserve squad certainly reinforced the decision. He made 10 saves on his way to a clean sheet and a 1-0 win by the Luton Reserves. Some games are played in the league and here's the table now that QPR has the same number of games played as we do:
I like that we are hanging in there with them, with 6 points on Southend. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-14-2008, 02:06 PM
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#65 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 17, 2009
League Match #28: away at Rotherham (Rotherham 6-4 favorites)
Here's one game I would have expected to have a shot at being favorites. I mean, Rotherham are at the bottom of the table... The morning of the match in which I'd decided to give him the start, Mikko Vilmunen has had enough and goes to the media. He talks of his frustration at not featuring in the first team games as much as he'd like. I want to tell him that he will be getting some first team play soon, for us, but it comes out like I'll be looking for a short term move for him (read: I picked the wrong radio button and I hope I didn't screw up bad enough  ). He's satisfied with that answer though.Meanwhile, I learned that our FA Cup tie against Newcastle on January 25 at Kenilworth Road has been picked up for live TV coverage. Going into the game, I tell the guys they can win it. We play a solid first half in which we are controlling the ball well and it pays off halfway through it when Dean Morgan plays a nice leading ball to Sam Parkin who buries it for the 100th league goal of his career! 1-0 is the halftime score. At that point we're winning possession decisively with 57% and shots are about equal. We keep on spending some time in their half of the field but they break away in the 66th minute and score a flukeish goal on a long counter attack. We do not relent and keep on attacking and finally regain the lead in the 76th minute when Dean Morgan finally ends his goal drought. He had been going without a goal for the last 11 hours of competitive football... Mikko Vilmunen is solid for the rest of the game and we hang in there with them... Game stats:
Luton player stats:
I tell the guys I thought they were sensational. Dean Morgan earns himself the Man of the Match selection with that goal. He was a constant threats to the other team's keeper. The fans are pretty pleased with the win, as they should be. Sheffield Wednesday dropped their game at Oldham and we gain three points on them. Now only three points from first place...
FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... Last edited by FrogMan : 01-14-2008 at 02:07 PM. |
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01-14-2008, 02:09 PM
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#66 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 19, 2009
Richard Jackson earns a spot on the League One Team of the Week. That was kind of unexpected. I guess he is one of the good left full backs in the league. January 20, 2009 Another original Hatter announces his retirement for the end of the current season. This time it's Paul Underwood who cites his struggles at making it into the first team for his decision. January 23, 2009 Darren Currie complains again about the lack of first team playing time. I'm more direct this time and simply tell him that *I* pick the team and he will have to be patient. Papers title it nicely too: "Gougeon: I'm the boss". January 24, 2009 Grrr, my assistant informs me that Mikko Vilmunen has missed another training session. A second infraction means being docked a week of pay my friend. Vilmunen accepts his fine without comment. He still states that he is happy to remain at the club. Odd gentleman that keeper, but aren't they all? Currie issues a public apology for his comment the day before. Good boy... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-15-2008, 11:39 AM
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#67 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 25, 2009
FA Cup round 4: vs Newcastle at Kenilworth Road (Newcastle 1-2 favorites)
As the pregame reports start flowing in, amidst the concerns of the fans being pessimistic for the game (well duh, but thanks for the support everyone) I see another blurb: the referee for the match will be... dom, dom, dom...  ROB STYLES!!!!!! AAAAARRRRGGGGGG!!!!!! Playing in League One, we've only had him once as our referee, last year, in a league game against Gillingham. As you'd expect, he gave a red card in that game, sending off Sol Davis, our left full back at the time. To Styles' defense, Davis has been known in the past to be diving into tackles and that was not his first straight red. Other than that red, I don't remember that match being that rough. We'll see... Taking a look at that Newcastle's roster, I see many discontents and a very poor morale overall, thanks to back to back 0-3 losses suffered to Arsenal and Manchester United. Maybe that might help us. I decide to go into the game with a more defensive setup with 2 defensive midfielders and hoping for one long ball sent to the forwards and a lucky goal. Yeah, and praying too. I tell the guys that the pressure is off and that they have nothing to lose.The game starts rough and my plan of sitting back is shattered after only 6 minutes when a ball is centered from their left wing to the AMC sitting on the penalty spot. He easily buries it for the 0-1 goal. Still, we are hanging in there. Not really putting any pressure on them, but we don't let aything come close to being dangerous and 0-1 is the halftime score. They are still outshooting us outrageously by then, 10(5) to 1(0). We start the second half without much tactical changes but by the 55th minute, it's clear we need to give ourselves more options in the final third. I brin in Jay Simpson in an AMC position with an up arrow toward in between the two strikers. It sort of works and we come oh so close to pulling level in the 68th. If not for Shay Given's magic tricks in front of the net, Jay Simpson had the 1-1 goal, but nope, still 0-1... That was our best chance and we didn't convert it... Game stats:
Luton player stats:
Julian Speroni is the Man of the Match and for good cause. If not for him, this game could have ended in a complete rout. I tell the guys it was a good effort and I honestly think it was. We're still a League One, maybe borderline Championship calibre side and Newcastle is still a Premiership side. The fans are disappointed with the loss, especially the team's inability to convert chances into goals. Feh... José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan has collected 5 yellow cards and will be banned for one match starting on February 1st. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-15-2008, 02:05 PM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 27, 2009
With the transfer window closing down, the silly enquiries will start. Blackburn is interested in knowing how much I'd want for goalkeeper Julian Speroni. Huh, thanks but no thanks. I tell them I don't even want to hear about it as he's indispensable to the club. January 28, 2009 League Match #29: away at Crewe Alexandra (Crewe 6-4 favorites)
Wow, I see we've never lost against Crewe in three previous meetings are are 7-1 in aggregated goals. Let's hope it continues. I give Jay Simpson the start in Sam Parkin's place. My assistant is saying I should I tell the guys I think they can win this one. Hrm, we're underdog on the road, I simply wish them luck. The first half goes scoreless and while we're losing the shots battle (4(3) for us, 8(3) for them), we are very much in this game and I tell the fellas that I feel they can win it now. It seems to have some effect and in the 65th minute, Dean Morgan scores his 20th competitive goal of the season, giving us a 1-0 lead. Jay Simpson's pace in getting to the byline on the left side of the goal, before centering the ball to Morgan all made that goal possible. It's a fight to keep our lead for the rest of the game. My guys are making all kinds of mistakes and I want to personally grab a couple of them by the throat, especially Willie Kinniburgh who gave the ball away on the edge of our penalty area around the 75th minute. The shot went over that time, but they don't miss their chance at the 90 minute mark and they score to tie it 1-1. Gah, heartbreaking tieing goal to rob us of two precious points! Even worse is all the suspicion of offside on that goal. Three of my players go straight to the assistant referee and plead their case, he's hearing none of it and Willie Kinniburgh ends up with a yellow card. Game stats:
Luton player stats:
So frustrating to drop a win on a sucky call like that. Hard to say if he was offside or not although he looked in line with the last defender (second to last if you count the keeper). I tell the guys I sympathise with them, what else can I say? Dean Morgan was selected Man of the Match in the losing cause. Ibrahim Tall has collected 5 yellow cards and will be banned for one match starting on February 4. Both Sheff Wed and QPR have won their games so we lose two points on both of them.
FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-17-2008, 11:42 AM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 31, 2009
Some interesting tidbit has come up on the newswire about how Wigan's Henri Camara is a transfer target of mine but that I "might" be looking for him to to take a pay cut from his current wage. His current wage? A nice weekly $47,500...  I took a look at the profile of the 31yo striker and yeah, he could be of use to us. They are asking $85k for the striker valued at $240k. We have $59k left in the budget and I offer them something with some money up front and some money over 24 months. Costs nothing to try, right? Ever before I head out to the stadium for our game against Doncaster, the answer is there, they have agreed. Hrm, okay, and how much does Mr Camara want for his services? He is saying $33k per week at first, and then that he does not believe Luton have the resources to meet his demands. The board allows me to offer him up to $16.5k per week as a key member of the squad but I'm not even ready to go more than $11k for him. Take it or leave it. He's quick in saying he will leave it. oh well... League Match #30: vs Doncaster at Kenilworth Road (Luton 1-2 favorites) Forgot to save the starting lineup, so here goes: Parkin . Simpson
======Skora Esajas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mikoliunas Fox Dickinson . Kinniburgh . Pierre-Fanfan . Tall Vilmunen Speroni Nordtveit O'Leary Hayes Morgan It's a very, very even first half between the two sides and it takes a very nice pass from Etienne Esajas to Sam Parkin for us to take a 1-0 lead in the 42nd minute. Shots at 7(3) for us, 7(4) for them at the half and we're losing possession slightly. I gave simple encouragement to the guys at the half and it looks like they needed a bit more of a push. We fall so flat on the last 45 minutes, it's not even pretty. When they finally tie the game at 1-1, it felt like we'd spent the first 13 minute of the half inside our own penalty area... We do hang on for the draw, which is sort of a letdown although we did put some pressure towards the end of the game... Match stats:
Luton player stats:
Etienne Esajas got the Man of the Match selection. Poor Mikko Vilmunen got sprayed by shots at one point and I'm not too sure he can be blamed for the equalizing goal, although he did rate at 6 in that game. Both QPR and Sheff Wed won their game with identical 3-0 scores so we lose a bit of ground on them.
Following the game, Danny Granville tells me he wants to stay and he's asking to be taken off the transfer list. I grant him his request and even move him up to the senior squad. I might start him at some point. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... Last edited by FrogMan : 01-17-2008 at 11:43 AM. |
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01-17-2008, 11:49 AM
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#70 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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February 1st, 2009
The transfer list has closed without us doing the slightest move. Sam Parkin has been selected as the League One Player of the Month. Good show Sam! It's his second selection of the sort this season, after getting that honor in November. Paul Sturrock of QPR gets the Manager of the month award and I come in third place, not bad. I'm now described as a "talented manager" in my profile. The board are satisfied with my management of the team. They say the capture of Saulius Mikoliunas is still the highlight of my recent work while the decision to sign Mikko Vilmunen will require justification. Hrm, he is a backup keeper, what did you expect? FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-17-2008, 11:56 AM
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#71 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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February 4, 2009
League Match #31: vs Bradford at Kenilworth Road (Luton 5-4 favorites)
It's Bradford's first season up from League Two and their are doing qutie well, currently in 10th place. They beat us 0-2 earlier this season. Two big blows on our defensive four as both José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan and Ibrahim Tall are suspended for the game. Havar Nordtveit is set to get a rare test in the centerback spot. It's his natural position, but I'm always nervous putting kids in that very important spot. I tell the guys I think they can win it tonight. Oh crap, Eric Skora is forced off the field in the 14th minute. I put in Dean Morgan in the AMC spot with a up arrow to the striker position. His presence disturbs the Bradford defence and within 3 minutes, a free kick from Etienne Esajas is wildly deflected by the defensive wall only to fall to Jay Simpson's feet. He wastes no time and pounces on the return to make it 1-0. That's his 10th competitive goal of the season but strangely enough, only his third league goal. 1-0 is the halftime goal but it's been a very even game so far and I tell the fellas not to get careless. The guys take it to heart and start applying some more pressure. Etienne Esajas is at the start of our second goal, this time Sam Parkin's 15th competitive goal of the season. 2-0 after 54 minutes. Jay Simpson will score his second of the game to make it 3-0 in the 84th minute. Dean Morgan's perfect pass made that goal possible. Match stats:
Luton player stats:
Jay Simpson gets a well deserved Man of the Match selection with two goals and 4 of 5 shots on target. That kid can do some wonderful things sometimes. I tell the guys I thought their performance was sensational, and I truly mean it. They played a solid second half. The fans were especially pleased with the amount of times the team managed to test the opposition goalkeeper. The dad news hit at my return to the clubhouse. Eric Skora will miss from 2 weeks to a month with calf strain. I will probably give David Fernandez some playing time during Skora's absence. Sweet, QPR lost 0-1 while Sheff Wed drew 1-1. We gained ground today!
FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-17-2008, 02:04 PM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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January 5, 2009
Seeing how the kid has been playing fairly well recently, I decide to praise Jay Simpson in the media. Remember how the fans were unsure of his signing at first? Well, the last few games and his spurts in goal scoring have both made a current favorite of the fans. Hi recent performances even has them saying they feel they have a real gem of a player at the club. My assistant now believes he has the potential to be as good as our current best striker, Sam Parkin. I tell the papers that I'm pleased with hir recent form. His reply is that he is also quite pleased with his recent display and that he's really enjoying his football at the moment. He even added that he hopes to play even better football in the near future. January 7, 2009 League Match #32: away at Peterborough (Luton 4-7 favorites) I again forgot to save the starting lineup, so here goes: Parkin . Simpson
========Fernandez Hayes . . . . . . . . . . . Mikoliunas Duncan Jackson . Kinniburgh . Pierre-Fanfan . Tall Speroni Vilmunen Fox O'Leary Dickinson Morgan Etienne Esajas got nicked at the end of our last game and his condition was at 84 or so for the start of this game so I keep him off completely. Peterborough, like Bradford, are in their first season up from League Two but they are not doing as well, teethering on the brink of the drop zone, in 19th place. José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan celebrated for only a brief moment in the 13th moment. His header goal from a corner kick is disallowed. He apparently pushed the defender. A lot of pressure is applied on our back five from the 20th to the 30th minute and they finally let one through. Down 0-1 after 30. The guys seem to feel the pressure and three times before then end of the half, they whined to the referee asking for either a penalty, or the reversal of the first goal for an apparent offside (which wasn't the case)... 0-1 is the halftime score and they are outshooting us 6(6) to 4(2). I tell the guys I expect to see more of them. We should be dominating this game, on the road or not. And we do, starting with the second half, but sadly we can't seem to put balls on target. It takes us until the 84th minute to finally make it a tie game, when Sam Parkin buries a ball from 25 yards out. A fabulous strike coming from a very nice counter attack! Speroni to Dickinson on the left wing (in for Hayes) to Parkin who took a chance and aimed for the top corner. And oh sweet, taking a quick look at the other scores around reveals that both QPR and Sheff Wed are losing their matches. We look to at least gain a little... Match stats:
Luton player stats:
Sam Parkin receives the Man of the Match selection for his winning goal. Pretty odd, but following my praise of his performances, Jay Simpson comes and pulls a sucker. No clue what deserved a 5 today... Sadly, the fans are disappointed that we only achieved a draw. Better that than losing it... QPR and Sheff Wed indeed both lost their games and we move one point closer to both of them. Following the game, the media approach me about a that disallowed goal. Pierre-Fanfan is saying he felt the decision was harsh, a claim supported by team-mate David Fernandez. I go to the journalist and I tell him that I just hope they realise that the decision cost us. Well, I'll be damn.  I got handed a warning by the FA for the comment. The Luton board are unhappy that I have drawn attention to the club from the FA and they also warn me to be careful about what I say in the media in the future. Well shit. I take a look at the guy I leaned on to do the comment, captain José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan and he's now saying he feels his manager has stirred up unnecessary controversy. Well, F*CK YOU MORON! I will not stick up for you in the future. (note: that's one place where I think the game could be improved. there is absolutely no reason to complain about an event as you never get anything changed, even a case where my captain is saying he thought it was harsh.)February 9, 2009 Same whining captain José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan earned a spot on the League One Team of the Week, as well as Etienne Esajas. Seeing his latest MoM selection I decide to try to offer Sam Parkin a contract extention. His current contract runs out in June and he's saying he's not interested at renewing it right now. He indeed rejects the $16.5k per week base salary. I'm thinking I could probably find another striker either as good as him, or better in the offseason. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... Last edited by FrogMan : 01-17-2008 at 02:05 PM. |
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01-17-2008, 04:49 PM
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#73 |
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College Prospect
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Whitman, MA
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Complaining when you have a case is good, complaining when the ref got the call right(by the games standards) is bad. Feel free to complain to high heaven if you got a real solid beef with the ref. I've done it and the FA are strangely silent on the matter. Hehe.
Goos stuff, FM! Tell
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FOOL - Ann Arbor Winged Lingerines FOOLX - Portland Axemen Hattrick - Fizzle United (222968) |
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01-17-2008, 04:58 PM
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#74 | |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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Quote:
a case like mine is when I get real annoyed. I mean, my only way of knowing if the foul was real or not was by how much my guys pleaded their cases. I mean, it's a fould between two little billiard balls, how am I supposed to know if one pushed the other or not? I can judge if a player is offside or not, but in this one, Pierre-Fanfan says it was a bad call, and Fernandez says he too agrees, so I whine and get called out by the FA. As I said, what made it worse is the moron who started it who turns on me, idiot. One way of making it easier would be to have say, so press box observer that could comment back to you after the game saying he thought the call was bad or not... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-18-2008, 12:52 AM
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#75 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: The scorched Desert
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I agree, I get a few that are apparent, but some that look totally out of line get me in trouble because they are not....allegedly.
Last edited by BYU 14 : 01-18-2008 at 12:54 AM. |
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01-18-2008, 07:17 AM
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#76 |
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College Prospect
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Whitman, MA
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Yeah, I can understand that. I usually only complained when the commentary made it clear to me that the call was missed.
Is too bad you can't fine that captain of yours for being an idiot, especially when he comes back and claims your stirring things up too much. Tell
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FOOL - Ann Arbor Winged Lingerines FOOLX - Portland Axemen Hattrick - Fizzle United (222968) |
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01-18-2008, 09:06 AM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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February 10, 2009
League Match #33: vs Leyton Orient at Kenilworth Road (Luton evens favorites)
Guys are getting tired, and we have another match in only four days. I take off the up arrow on both wingers in the hope that this will keep them a bit fresher for the end of the game. I don't really want to give a game off to any of my regulars though as Leyton Orient are in 5th place and a team we really need to beat if we want to protect our playoff spot. I'd almost forgotten about loanee Vincent van den Berg, whom I'd sent down to the reserves for a few matches. I bring him up to the bench for this game. I put Russell Duncan on man coverage on their top scorer, forward Colin Nish but damnit, he still gets away in the 25th minute and make it 0-1. Guys are again crying about an apparent offside but the replay is showing me Nish a good yard or so onside. Guys, please concentrate on playing, not whining, and we might win games... 0-1 is the halftime score and I tell the guys I want to see more from them. They are outshooting us 8(3) to 4(2), on our pitch for crying out loud! The speech does pay some dividen and we pulle even in the 73rd minute when Sam Parkin scores. It's an up and down finish to the game with both teams getting scoring chances. We're 1:30 into injury time when Vincent van den Berg makes hsi presence felt. He used his nice pace to run under a loooooooong through pass from Russell Duncan, way over the defenders' heads. The ball was passed so long that the keeper got to it first but Vincent's presence must have freaked him a bit because he only scrambles it a few yards away and van den Berg gets to it and scores in an empty net from 35 yards out. Match stats:
Luton player stats:
Julian Speroni gets the MoM, making the key saves when needed. José-Karl Pierre-Fanfan pulls himself out of the doghouse by stating to the media that it's my halftime speech that made them rally and win this one. And don't look now, but that win gave us a run of nine unbeaten games! We have passed QPR in 2nd place with this win! February, 2009 Sheff Wed draw 1-1 with Swindon so we gained 2 points overall with our win, sweet! Here's the table with 13 games left in the regular season:
FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... Last edited by FrogMan : 01-18-2008 at 09:07 AM. |
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01-18-2008, 09:12 AM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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February 14, 2009
League Match #34: vs Gillingham at Kenilworth Road (Luton 4-7 favorites)
Gillingham are currently at the very bottom of the league table. I still tell the media I think we can beat them, but only if the guys play their best. I go into the game telling the fellas I expect a win. Looks like they don't like being to be reminded in the paper that they should win a game, or even that I expect them to win because we come out quite flat for the first half. It's 0-0 after 45 and we're losing the possession battle 46-54. I let the guys have it and tell them I'm disappointed in their performance. We come out much better for the second half and if not for a few miraculous saves from their keeper, it could have easily been 2-0 for us by the 60th minute, but no, the 0-0 scoreline held on until the end and we drop 2 easy points at home... Match stats:
Luton player stats:
I end up telling Richard Jackson, the Man of the Match, that I'm pleased but everyone else gets the "you were just not good enough" talk. Those were some easy points damnit! Weird thing is, the fans are please with the draw. huh? Oh well... There was another controversial call concerning a penalty we should have been give today. Sigh, I grudgingly admit that the decision may have been correct. How the heck do I know anyway??? Neither QPR nor Sheff Wed played today so we stay in 2nd place...
FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-18-2008, 11:37 AM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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February 16, 2009
Richard Jackson's Man of the Match performance in our last match must have been a very good one because it earned him a spot on the League One Team of the Week. February 21, 2009 League Match #35: away at Huddersfield (Huddersfield 5-4 favorites)
The local paper is making a big thing out of this game being my 100th game as manager of the Hatters. I say cool, but we gotta win first, celebrate second. We are on a 10 match unbeaten streak going into this one. Etienne Esajas is suspended for this game and Jonathan Hayes is severly lacking in match fitness. Dang. I guess it's safe to start Carl Dickinson in place of Esajas. I told the guys I thought they could win this win and they respond admirably at first, with Sam Parkin scoring the opening goal, but it got ugly after that. They pulled even in the 13th minute, and even went one up on us in the 37th minute when we left them to do whatever they wanted in our defensive zone. Still, we got that one back with a Dean Morgan goal only a couple minutes later, but it was a lucky one. We definitely were not playing well. And dang, they score again before the end of the half. Down 2-3 at the half, I tell everyone but Dean Morgan that I expect more of them. At one point in that first half, we had less than 40% possession, absolutely unacceptable. It doesn't get much better in the second half and we even let a fourth goal in... Match stats:
Luton Player stats:
It took all of my self-control not to rip at the guys and tell them I'm angry with with their performance, but it was a road game and after 10 games without a loss, well, maybe we were due to lose one so I go easy and simply tell them I'm disappointed with the loss. The good news is that both Sheff Wed and QPR lost their games so nothing changes in the league table. We're still sitting in 2nd place althought this would have been a perfect situation for us to gain some ground on both these clubs.
FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-18-2008, 11:47 AM
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#80 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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February 22, 2009
While trying to assess how happy the board is with the team's performance, I can't help but notice that the board is saying they are willing to listen to any request I may have. Hrm, better training facilities? Heck, why not. We have some $5M in the bank and our facilities are only average (just like our youth facilities btw) so I go ahead and request an improvement of our training facilities. The board tell me they believe the club's training facilities at Kenilworth Road to be among the best in the division but they still agree with my assertion that they could be improved still further. Money will be invested over the next few months and they'll inform me on completion of the project. Sweet! February 24, 2009 Odd tidbit of news from Cambridge United, our feeder club. While looking through the profile of my four players on loan over there, I see that 19yo Billy Mckay wants to leave the club. I don't remember ever seeing that for a player on loan. Saddest is he is the one having the most success in the games he's played in so far, but he's also the one who's played the least, only 10 appearances, 6 of them as a starter. I guess they don't have as much need at the striker position, Billy's primary position. I'll leave him over there, at least whatever playing time he's getting is in a competitive role. February 25, 2009 Eric Skora resumes training following his shin injury. He's missed 3 weeks. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-18-2008, 02:10 PM
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#81 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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February 28, 2009
League Match #36: vs Hull at Kenilworth Road (Luton 4-6 favorites)
Unhappy with David Fernandez's performance in replacement of Eric Skora, and because Skora isn't full ready to take is spot in the lineup back following his injury, I decide to try something and we will start this game with three strikers in an innovative 4-1-2-3 formation. We just can't get it to work at first. We sorely miss that one midfielder at the AMC spot I guess and at the 10 minute mark, we're losing the possession battle 33-67 with them controlling the ball 41% of the whole field in midfield. I put a down arrow on Jay Simpson, and ask the guys to play a bit of shorter passes and it helpd a bit. It's not helping my nerves that Jay Simpson keeps on putting everywhere but on target in that first half. It a scoreless first half and I think there's still hope, as the guys had definitely started controlling the ball more toward the end. We still losing the shots battle 5(1) to 8(4) and also losing possession 42-58. I tell the fellas I think we can win this. We escape a scare in the 51st minute but from then on, it's all Luton as we start mounting great flowing attacks from about everywhere. The pressure finally forces one of the fullbacks to make a stupid mistake in trying to cross a pass back from one back wing to the other. The pass lacks vigor and Sam Parkin is all over it. Alone with the keeper, he doesn't miss his chance and places the ball softly behind the keeper for the 1-0 goal. At that point, 19 minutes into the second half, we were in control of the game so much, it was scary. From our 42% possession we had in the first half, we've improved to a nice 59% IN OUR FAVOR! That domination proves not to be a fluke when we double our lead only 8 minutes later when Sam Parkin scores his second of the game! It's also his 20th competitive goal of the season. Jay Simpson's superb pass forward helped spring him behind the opposition defense. The defense holds on for the clean sheet. Match Stats:
Luton player stats:
Wow, what a rallying win that was. I tell ya, halfway through the first half, I was sure we'd let one fluke goal in and then we'd crumble but no, we held on quite well. Sam Parkin got a well deserved Man of the Match mention. I take a look at the scores of the other game currently being played and the news are good. Both Sheff Wed and QPR had drawn their games, which can only mean one thing: we're sitting atop the league table!!!
Yeah, sure, they both have a game in hand on us, but I quickly see that it's against one another, so they can't both win it. That game is set to be played on March 4, a night where only those two teams will be playing.FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-18-2008, 02:13 PM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 1st, 2009
The board are satisfied with my management of the club. They say it's in no small part down to my control of the club's bank balance. They do add that the they do have long-term ambitions and that I'll be expected toreouble my efforts to meet these targets. I can only assume that they are talking about the expectation to finish in a respectable position in the League One by the end of the two year plan. I'd say we should be able to do that... March 4, 2009 The QPR vs Sheff Wed game is tonight. Anything that happens tonight will be good, since they can't both win. Sheff Wed comes out with a 1-0 away win at Loftus Road so we relinquish the 1st place spot, but it secures our 2nd place spot, giving us a full four points lead over QPR in that most coveted auto promotion spot with ten games to go.
Looking over my reserves squad, I see that 22yo striker Calvin Andrew seems to be having a very good streak of games. Forms of 8-8-9-8-8 in the last five is pretty impressive. Looking at the coach reports on him, my assistant is telling me he now sees him as the 3rd best striker on the squad, ahead of Dean Morgan. I move him up to the senior squad and will probably give him some playing time in the coming weeks. (I'll post his profile tonight when I get home). FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... Last edited by FrogMan : 01-18-2008 at 02:14 PM. |
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01-18-2008, 03:21 PM
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#83 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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How is attendance at Kenilworth Road and where do you stand in your league in that respect?
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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01-18-2008, 05:34 PM
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#84 |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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As promised here is Calvin Andrew's profile, notice all those nice green up arrows, the kid has had quite a growth spurt in his abilities lately...
 I've always had a soft spot for Calvin if only because his last name is Andrew, just like my oldest son's first name. Andrew is the soccer player in the house and I get a real kick out of reading something like "an amazing goal by Andrew" or "Andrew runs past the defender..." on the match report... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-18-2008, 05:46 PM
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#85 | |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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Quote:
The team record page shows an average attendance of 9376 this year, way up from last year's abysmal average of 6704. I gotta say we teethered on the brink of relegation for a while last year while this year we are closer than ever to a promotion... Our average in league play through the League One stats is at 9511 and is 9th overall in the league. Our last few games have been pretty good attendance wise: 10281 vs Hull 9635 vs Gillingham 10293 vs Leyton Orient (season high) 9963 vs Bradford 10071 vs Doncaster I decided to request an improvement to our training facility because I know that space is pretty limited around Kenilworth Road and I had less of a chance to be granted that request than the training facility one. A stadium improvement might be in order if we get to the championship and start doing well there... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-19-2008, 12:05 AM
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#86 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New Jersey, USA
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An outstanding dynasty you've got here, FM! I've read through it all over the past couple of hours and have thoroughly enjoyed it.
FM08 is such a great game that I even have a good bit of fun reading about OTHER people playing it. |
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01-19-2008, 10:57 PM
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#87 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
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glad to see this
hopefully someone will save them in real life  |
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01-20-2008, 03:18 PM
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#88 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Alabama
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I am enjoying reading this dynasty too. I check here regularly to get a fix of these dynasties.
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01-21-2008, 09:07 AM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 7, 2009
My assistant informs me that backup keeper Mikko Vilmunen didn't turn up for traing, yet again, today. It's not his first offense of the type and I fine him one week of wage. He accepts his fine, even indicating a willingness to improve his behaviour in the future. League Match #37: aways at Walsall (Walsall evens favourites)
Walsall are currently 18th in the league and their keeper is former Luton youth prospect Dean Brill. One of their striker, John Cunliffe, has scored 25 league goals for them. I assign Russell Duncan to him on man coverage. Calvin Andrew is getting the start at striker for us. We're putting some good pressure on their backline early on, but we're not finishing our shots properly, until the 32nd minute when I see the sentence I'd been waiting for: "Andrew puts it away!!!" Up 1-0!That's the halftime score and while we've had some quality scoring chances, we're being dominated in the possession game, 45-55, so I tell the guys not to get careless... Don't know how it got lost in translation here, but we come out and let them score as the clock marks an even 47:00. bleh. Julian Speroni couldn't do a thing after the shot got deflected by Russell Duncan. We keep on trying for the rest of the half until well into injury time, when it looks like we're set for a draw. 4:03 into an an announced 3 minutes of injury time, Jay Simpson uses his pace and dribbling skills to leave a defender behind and find himself alone with the keeper whom he beats with a hard low shot. 2-1!!! Match stats:
Luton player stats:
Sam Parkin got the MoM selection with the assist on each of our goals. It was Parkin's fourth MoM selection of the year in league play. That's a huge win for us, as Sheff Wed drew 2-2 with Crewe. We're pulling back even with them atop the league table.
March 9, 2009 Ibrahim Tall and Sam Parkin have been selected to the League One Team of the Week. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-21-2008, 09:10 AM
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#90 | |||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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Quote:
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thanks for the kind words guys, very much appreciated Regarding the real life Hatters, yeah hopefully they'll be saved with the sale bid that was agreed to last week. They still need to keep themselves above the relegation line, but at least for now, the clearance sale of their players might slow down a little... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-21-2008, 11:19 AM
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#91 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 10, 2009
League Match #38: vs Millwall at Kenilworth Road (Millwall 6-4 favourites)
The arrival of Calvin Andrew among my senior squad striker group means I can keep some fresher guys in and some others out and today is Jay Simpson's turn to start. Well, not much to say about that one, other than it turned out to be a borefest of a draw in which I consider ourselves to be lucky to even escape with one point. Sad, sad, sad, especially at home... Match stats:
Luton player stats:
Ibrahim Tall got the Man of the Match selection which draws some good words about him. Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock admitted he was in awe with his ability while French Ligue 2 Guigamp boss Victor Zvunka could be seen in attendance for the match. It's been rumoured that Zvunka might have some interest in our top defender. They'll have to pay through the nose to get him I tell you that... Very oddly, the 27yo defender is only valued at $150k. I'd put his value for our team at upward of the million dollar... Disappointing draw, yet a point remains a point and since Sheff Wed didn't have a game tonight, we've moved back in first place...
March 11, 2009 Sheff Wed played their game in hand on us and luckily for us, they only got a draw out of it so we're back even.
FM
__________________
A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-21-2008, 11:24 AM
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#92 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 14, 2009
League Match #39: away at Brighton and Hove Albion (Brighton evens favourites)
They have a suspended defender and two injured central midfielders going into this game. I tell the guys I think they can win this one. We escape an early scare when an apparent Brighton goal is disallowed for an offside. It's 0-0 at the half and while both teams have had the same number of scoring chances, we are losing possession 43-57. They are controlling the ball over all of the pitch which is not good... I did some adjustment in tactics and reminded the guys that I still thought they could win it and 11 minutes into the second half, we're bak in control with 55% possession in the second half. Catastrophe strikes in the 81st minute when Jay Simpson is injured and can't walk it off. We've used all of our three subs (Simpson being the third one in fact) and we're forced to finish the game with 10 men. The guys play with a lot or heart from there on out and in the 88th minute, a beautiful cross from Saulius Mikoliunas ends up at Jonathan Hayes' feet (in for Etienne Esajas) coming straight through the whole penalty area. He has a great angle and easily scores his first ever goal for the Hatters. Up 1-0!!! Match stats:
Luton player stats:
What a great second half display by the whole team, as you can see with the possession numbers overall on the game. Jonathan Hayes got the Man of the Match selection with that winning goal. Seeing how our next game is against Sheefield Wednesday, I warn the guys against complacency. Speaking of Sheff Wed, they beat on Peterborough 3-0 so we're still even atop the league table. Both teams have a 5 points lead over both QPR and Southend.
That injury to Jay Simpson will prove to be a big one. He suffered a broken toe after a late tackle and will be out for around two months, effectively ending his season. Damn! A journalist approaches me following that bad new. Accoring to him, Jay Simpson is a key player for us and with the injury he picked up today, he's asking if Calvin Andrew will be given the opportunity to hold down a first-team place. I tell them that while Jay's an important part of this team, I feel Calvin will provide adequate cover. Following that comment, Calvin is concerned that this will put too much pressure on him to slot straight into the team. Step up kid, there's your chance! FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-22-2008, 09:10 AM
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#93 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 16, 2009
I learn that Saulius Mikoliunas has been called up for an international match wiht Lithuania on March 21st. Crap, that's the day we play Sheffield Wednesday... Ibrahim Tall and Willie Kinniburgh have been selected on the League One Team of the Week. March 17, 2009 Phew, our match against Sheff Wed has been moved to the 25th due to international callups. We'd have also missed Vincent van den Berg and Havard Nordtveit. Maybe they made a difference although they are only backups for us... March 25, 2009 League Match #40: vs Sheffield Wednesday at Kenilworth (Sheff Wed 6-4 favourites)
A journalist asks me how I thing we'll be coping with high flying Sheff Wed today. Looking at the tough odds we're facing, I tell him that I'm mostly looking for a good performance from the boys, downplaying the chance of us beating Sheff Wed. This fires up Julian Speroni and Willie Kinnibrugh. I'm trying something for this one. I'll be using Calvin Andrew as a target man while asking the guys to feed him with balls to his head. Maybe he can take advantage of his jumping and heading skills... Hrm, odd. My assistant is recommending me to tell the guys I think they can win. Seeing the odds, I decide to change that to asking the boys to play it for the fans. And this moves pays off early on. Int eh 7th minute, a Skora-Andrew-Morgan combination results in Dean Morgan being all alone with the keeper. He makes it 1-0 after going around the keeper. It's a crazy first half after that, with both teams going shoulder to shoulder and exchanging shot after shot. We're ahead by one at the half and shots are 12(6) for us, 13(7) for them. Nerve racking I tell you... The second is more of the same kind of exciting play and that target man thing pays off in the 67th minute when Russell Duncan's high ball to Calvin Andrew is nodded on to Dean Morgan who scores his second goal of the game, his 50th competitive goal for Luton. 2-0! Dean Morgan will will complete his hat-trick in injury time, it's the Dean Morgan show!!! Match stats:
Luton player stats:
What a fantastic win! I tell the guys I thought they were simply sensational, and I really mean it. Dean Morgan's performance deserved him the Man of the Match selection as well as general praise in the media. That win gives us a solid three point lead over Sheff Wed atop the league table, and even more important since QPR also won, it keeps us 5 points clear into the autopromotion zone.
FM
__________________
A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-22-2008, 09:14 AM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 28, 2009
League Match #41: away at Southend (Southend 4-5 favourites)
Dang, that's another very important match right there. Southend are currently sitting in 4th place, only 5 points away from us. Underdog and away from home, I tell the guys that pressure is off. I want a good performance and the result will take care of itself... We get a free kick right on the edge of their penalty area in the 13th minute. Dean Morgan takes it a kicks it hard enough through the wall that it takes a odd deflection, odd enough that the keeper can't cover it and we're up 1-0! That's the halftime score and while we're ahead by one, we're behind in shots, 2(1) to 7(2), and in possession, 45-55. I still tell the guys I'm pleased with how they're playing so far. Southend start mounting the pressure around the 75th mintue and for a while there, Julian Speroni has to multiply the miracle saves to keep us in the game. We do hang on until the final whistle for a fantastic 1-0 win! We certainly showed we're no pushovers in that one!!! Match stats:
Luton player stats:
We did get more involved in their half of the pitch in the second half, as you can see with the final tally in shots and in possession. Dean Morgan collected his second MoM in two games and was a force up front. Good thing we won, as Sheff Wed also won. QPR didn't play today. And as you can see, we have now clinched at least a participation to the playoff. Niiiice!
FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-22-2008, 10:45 AM
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#95 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
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Congratulations on clinching the playoff berth. Now go out and win the league!
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MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo |
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01-22-2008, 11:19 AM
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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March 29, 2009
There's a good reason QPR didn't play yesterday, and it's because they are playing in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final today against League Two side Bury. QPR win it 2-0. March 31, 2009 Julian Speroni and Dean Morgan have been selected in the League One Team of the Week. Speroni is one of the main reason why we're leading the league with the least conceded goals. Sam Parkin resumes full training following his neck injury. He's missed two weeks with the injury. His contract ends at the end of this season but he's still not interested in renewing it and I'm not interested in breaking the bank to try to convince him. Chris Coyne is the only one of our veteran whom I could have some interest in resigning, but he too is not interested in renewing his contract at the moment... April 1st, 2009 Woot! I have been selected as the League One Manager of the Month!!! Had not realized it, but we won four out of five in the month of March, but even better, we only allowed one goal. We have a current streak of over six hours without allowing a goal, that's four games in a row. The board are satisfied with my management of the team. The team's fantastic overall performance in the League One has been a particular highlight. They still rant about the long term goals. Dudes, if we go good this season, we'll fill the dang long term goal as the term ends this season... sheesh. Looking at the schedule, I see that of our last five games, we have three at home (Yeovil, Oldham, Carlisle) and two away (Leeds, Port Vale). In the "odd trivia" category, looking at our transfer history for the season, I'm reminded that our star left winger Etienne Esajas was transfered in for a nice fee of $1.4M from... Sheffield Wednesday. QPR play the game they had in hand over everyone and lose it 1-0 against Swindon. Here's the league table with everyone at 41 games played:
Now, with 5 games to play (15 points available for the taking) we're 8 points safe into the autopromotion zone. Seven points is now the magic number... FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-22-2008, 11:21 AM
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#97 | |
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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Quote:
baby steps my friend, baby steps FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-22-2008, 11:40 AM
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#98 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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April 4, 2009
League Match #42: away at Leeds (Leeds 5-4 favourites)
Seeing how we're going on the road, again I tell the guys that the pressure is off. I do tell Julian Speroni and Dean Morgan that I expect them to pick off where they left off. The target man strategy with Calvin Andrew again pays off in this game. In the 36th minute, after a play coming from the left side, Dean Morgan puts a ball Andrew's head in the six yard box and the tall striker has no problem heading it past the keeper for the 1-0 goal. That the halftime score and we're staying pace for pace with them so far. Both sides are exchaning attacks most of the second half until the 89th minute when they play a tight ball through our defenders leaving a striker alone with Speroni. Esajas whines about offside but the replay is clear, he was definitely onside. Heartbreaking equalizer... Match stats:
Luton player stats:
I still tell the guys it was a good results. We came awfully close to coming out of this game with all the points on their pitch no less. They did put much more pressure on our back line toward the end and it paid off for them. Calvin Andrew ends up with the Man of the Match selection aftr playing a very solid game. Wow, QPR lost 0-1 and Southend drew their match. We now have 8 points on third place Southend with 4 games (12 points) to play.
FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-22-2008, 02:07 PM
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#99 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hattrick Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Pintendre, Qc, Canada
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April 5, 2009
Hrm, interesting... Carlisle have sacked their manager Kevin Blackwell (who actually resigned then was sacked by the real life Hatters only a week ago) and are contemplating replacements. I'm not listed in the possible replacements but my assistant Sam Ellis is... April 6, 2009 Richard Jackson has been selected to the League One Team of the Week. April 11, 2009 League Match #43: vs Yeovil at Kenilworth Road (Luton 1-2 favourites)
This might prove to be a tough one as Yeovil has every reason to fight. They are currently just outside of the playoff line, in 7th place. I tell the guys I think they can win this one. We let them score in the first half and come to the locker room down 0-1. They are totally dominating us, it's not even pretty. I try to shake up the lads and question their passion to win this one... We can't shake it off and that goes in the book as a very ugly showing for a team sitting in second place... Match stats:
Luton player stats:
What an ugly loss. I tell the guys they simply were not good enough and I single out Calvin Andrew, telling him his play was an embarrassment. Sheff Wed won and with the win are now tied with us in 1st place. QPR won while Southend drew their game meaning QPR have moved ahead of Southend.
We're now sitting 6 points ahead of 3rd place QPR with only 9 points still in play... April 12, 2009 One other original Hatter I might want to keep around for depth is Matthew Spring. While he's not really the kind of player I'd wanna build my squad around, he's been dependable in spot duty in the past and I see he'd be ready to take a paycut to stick around. He'S currently making $6750 a week but is only asking for $4700 a week on a rotation kind of role. I offer him that. Sam Parkin is still not interested in renewing his contract. FM
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A Black Belt is a White Belt who refused to give up... follow my story: The real life story of a running frog... |
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01-23-2008, 11:11 AM
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#100 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Tulsa
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Good stuff so far.
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