FM10 - From the Top Down

[Marmel]

We are working our way through the friendly matches that I have set up.
I decide to take my assistants advice and try a new tactic. He says that the 4-1-2-1-2 formation would work wonderfully with the players that I have. I decide to adapt it.

The problem is, Lennon and Bentley don't really have a place in this formation. I can probably get a real nice chunk of change for Lennon, so I transfer list both of them.

I have not made any bids on anyone yet. The tentative plan is to sell Lennon, see how much I have to use on transfers (it is currently over $10 million after the Huddlestone sale) and then address a specific need or two.


Bentley gets shipped off to Juventus for $6.5 million.
Lennon gets sold to Man City for $19,250,000. That is a one time flat chunk of money. No monthly payments. Man City must be made out of money, huh?

I know have a tad over $30,000,000 in transfer funds.


We sign DM/MC Thiago Motta from Inter for $7,000,000.


The offseason is pretty damn annoying. All I do is reject bid after bid after bid for players that I have clearly said are not for sale. Then the players get pissy. Correct me if I am wrong, but they all signed a contract with Tottenham, and then they bitch that I won't let them move on?

Is this how the sport actually works in real life? It is pathetic.


League Cup Second Round Draw

We will be on the road at CH team Swansea.

[Marmel]

Tottenham 2010-2011


Keepers

Gomes 3.5 – He is our man. Actually, he is our only man. I brought up a scrub from the reserve squad to back him up, but if we lose him, we are dead.



Defense – Left

Bassong 3
Bale 2.5/3
Assou-Ekotto 2.5

Bale is going to be out for about 2 months, but when he returns I expect him to slowly take over the starting DL spot from Assou-Ekotto. Bassong can fill in but he is better suited to play central defense.




Defense – Right

Corluka 3
Walker 2/3
Irwin 1.5/2.5

Corluka should start just about every game at DR. Walker can work his way into the lineup with some regularity though. Irwin is an emergency type of guy and I'll probably put him on the reserve roster for now.



Defense – Center

Bassong 3
King 3
Woodgate 3
Dawson 2.5

King, Bassong and Walker will rotate among the 2 central defense spots. Dawson will be a backup. Corluka and Walker can play center if needed at some point.


Typical Lineup on Defense:

Ekotto/Bale King Bassong/Woodgate Corluka

[Marmel]

Midfield

With our new formation we will need 3 central midfielders and an AMC.

Modric 4.5
Muntari 3.5
Motta 3
Palacios 3
Kranjcar 3
Jenas 2.5

Modric will get most of his work at AMC. Kranjcar would be his backup at that spot.

Muntari, Motta and Palacios will be the regular three MC's, with Motta probably being the DMC. Kranjcar can also back any of them up, as can Jenas.

At our best, expect to see something like this:


Modric
Muntari Palacios
Motta

[Marmel]

Forwards

Adriano 3
Defoe 2.5
Crouch 2.5
Keane 2.5

Keane was on loan at Celtic all last year. Adriano and Defoe both lost a half a star. I would love to bring in a 4 star striker. That will be one of my main goals going forward.

Adriano will start as much as possible and we'll rotate the other 4 until somebody separates as the 2nd best.

Pavly sent to the reserve squad and transfer listed.

[Marmel]

August 15, 2010

TV Match

Blackburn at Tottenham

We are 1-1-0 against Blackburn.


GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
DC Woodgate
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

ST Defoe
ST Crouch

Adriano and Bale are out for the opener.


We are favored as a pick em. Blackburn are 11-5 dogs. Nothing fancy today, just a standard strategy and we'll see how it goes.


21 min: Defoe tries to go 1 on 4 and send a wild shot a few yards wide of the goal.

22 min: Woodgate is a little banged up so King replaces him.

43 min: Ekotto also injued. Dawson in to replace him. Bassong moves over to the DL spot.

HT: Defense still pretty good. Offense still can't buy a goal. We'll switch to an attacking strategy for the second half.

50 min: We have a corner. It is a direct kick to Walker. Walker fires. It clips the top bar and spins into the net! That is his first ever Tottenham GOAL! And it gives us a 1-0 lead.

66 min: I dial it back and go with a control strategy.

85 min: I go defensive just before a Blackburn free kick. I bring in Jenas for a tiring Motta.

FT: It is a bit of a concern that we are only able to score once, but the defense was excellent, and there is no doubt I am very happy to get 3 points and start the new season with a victory!


This season I am going to do much shorter in game updates and just give a bit more post game numbers.

Bassong had the high rating of the match with a 7.7
Corluka 7.2
Palacios 7.0

Bassong was named MotM.

[Marmel]

I move Giovani Dos Santos up from the reserve to the regular squad. He is an AMC and a foreward and is rated 2.5 stars. He will add some nice depth to our squad.


We sell off a reserve squad Attacking Left Midfielder, Andros Townsend for $1,200,000. Even if we had a need for an ML, he was not very good.


Bad news: We are getting interest from teams on Gomes, and he is considering these. I, of course, reject any inquiry, then I offer him a huge contract to try and keep him happy here in Tottenham.

[Marmel]

August 22, 2010

TV Match
Chelsea at Tottenham

We are 0-0-3 against these bastards, including the 0-1 loss in the FA Cup Semi-Finals last year.


GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
DC Woodgate
*DR Walker

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

ST Defoe
*ST Keane

Corluka and King are going to miss a bit of time, so we lose some depth on defense. Adriano is back to training, but his conditioning is a bit low. I won't start him but may bring him in. Also, we'll see what Robbie King can do for us.

Chelsea are 5-4 favorites. We are 7-4 dogs. We'll start with a standard strategy again and go from there.



33 min: Motta picks up his second yellow of the game. Just great. I go defensive.

HT: No score at the half. We have done a pretty good job of limiting their chances to almost nothing, especially with just 10 men.

I don't see how we can score, so I am praying for a 0-0 draw.

70 min: Both teams have had just 1 legit chance in the second half, but still no score. I bring Adriano in for Defoe.

87 min: It is getting tense now. Chelsea are getting more and more pressure and this would be the worst time to give one up. Off a corner, Gomes makes a great dive to push it behind.

88 min: Off the next corner, we can't stop them and Terry scores on for Chelsea. God, I hate this Chelsea team. 0-1

FT: Now it is 0-0-4 vs. Chelsea. They really own me.

We only had 4 shots, none on target. Chelsea had 14 with 6 on target.
Possession was 49/51 in favor of them.

Palacios, Bassong and Ekotto all had 7.0 match ratings.
Woodgate had a 6.9

[Marmel]

Gomes has turned down my lucrative extension. I do have him for this season and next, but clearly I'll have to start thinking about his replacement.

We sold a reserve player, Dorian Dervite to Espanyol for $2.4 million.

We still have almost $26 million in transfer funds.

I find a 2 star keeper from a club named Sporting CP. His name is Vladimir Stojkovic. I can pick him up for about $350K, so I quickly put a bid in. He is not great, but I need a backup anyhow.

[Marmel]

August 25, 2010

English League Cup - 2nd Round

Tottenham at Swansea


GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Dawson
DR Walker

*DMC Jenas
MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

*ST Adriano
*ST Crouch

Woodgate gets a rest at DC. Motta is out for this match due to his red card. Adriano finally able to start and Crouch gets the start as well.

We are favored 4-5. Swansea are 3-1 dogs. We'll start out in the standard strategy.


12 min: We intercept deep in our territory and start a fast break. Crouch gets the ball, passes forward to Modric. He makes one move to shed the defender and strikes. GOALLLL! 1-0

24 min: We get control of their goal kick with a header that lands at the foot of Adriano. He takes one dribble and fires off a shot from outside the box. GOAL!!! 2-0

HT: I am very happy with the first half. I bring Keane in for Adriano, just because he is always having conditioning issues, so I want to save him for the next match.

72 min: Swansea with a corner and a real nice header from Pratley cut our lead in half. 2-1

93 min: Swansea throws everything at us for the last 10 minutes, but the defense and Gomes stay strong. Modric tacks on a goal in injury time to make it 3-1. It is his second of the match.

FT: We move on, as expected.

We had 7 shots on target and 4 clear cut chances.
We had possession 56% of the time.

Modric led the team with a 9.1 rating
Bassong had an 8.5
Muntari 8.0
Adraino 7.7
Walker 7.3
Ekotto 7.2

Modric was named MotM

[Marmel]

League Cup 3rd Round Draw

We will be on the road, once again against a CH league team: Nottingham Forest.


Good news: Stojkovic deal goes through and he joins our squad!




August 29, 2010

Tottenham at Aston Villa

We are 1-0-1 against them.


GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Woodgate
*DR Corluka

*DMC Motta
MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

ST Adriano
*ST Defoe

This is probably our very best lineup.

Aston Villa are 5-4 favorites. We are 7-4 dogs. I don't want the team thinking we can't win, so I come out standard strategy. These are games we need points from if we are going to finish high up in the League standings.


41 min: Lots of goal kicks for both teams as the shots are flying over the bar. Must be windy today? Well, Aston has a corner kick and Davies goes up and beats Gomes. 0-1

HT: No changes at all yet. I just tell the team that I need to see more from them. We are not out of it yet. For anyone reading, how the hell can I generate more offense????

55 min: We work the ball slowly up the field. We get into the final third and Adriano passes to Modric, who is in the middle. Modric finds Defoe cutting in. He feeds him, and Defoe's shot is true! GOAL!! 1-1

61 min: I pause the game to get Corluka out. He is tired and playing like crap. I don't get the subs in before Corluka's in bounds. He throws it to Aston Villa and they take off on the break. I know it is coming and sure enough.....GOAL. 1-2

Walker in for Corluka and Dos Santos in for Motta.


72 min: We have controlled the ball a lot the last 10 minutes, but no shots until Palacios finds Defoe cutting in from the right. Defoe's shot is perfect again and he beats the keeper! GOAL!! 2-2

Keane in for a tired Adriano.


87 min: Palacios makes a key steal just as Aston are setting up their attack. He lobs the ball wayyy up field to Keane, who to me looks 10 yards offsides. He takes the ball and easily beats the keeper. No flags from the referees!!! GOAL!!!! 3-2

I go defensive and pray.


FT: We are under some massively heavy attack the last 3 minutes and then 4 minutes of injury time. We hold strong though and get the biggest win in quite some time!!!


We had 4 shots on target, they had 3.
We had 62% possession.

Palacios was rated 9.0
Defoe 8.8
Keane 7.2

Palacios was MotM

[Marmel]

I get an offer of a little over $5 million for Pavly, from Valencia. The sale goes through easily. Bye bye Pavly.


September 1, 2010

Tottenham at Manchester United

We are 0-0-2 against ManU.


GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Dawson
DR Corluka

DMC Muntari
*MC Kranjcar
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

ST Adriano
*ST Crouch

A couple of subs for some tired players.

ManU are 4-5 favorites. We are 3-1 dogs. We go standard strategy. It worked last time. Of course, ManU are one of the teams you measure yourself against. On the road, if we can earn any points, I'll take them.


44 min: Muntari looks hurt. Motta comes in for him.

HT: I'll tell you what, we have totally outplayed them in the first half. The only problem is that their keeper has been pretty amazing. We played so good, that I am not satisfied with the 0-0 draw.

Jenas comes in for a banged up Kranjcar.

I'm afraid we are going to blow this in the second half though.


76 min: Defoe in for a very tired Adriano. ManU with all the chances, but it remains 0-0.

77 min: I just knew it, Rooney takes a nice centering pass and drills it into the back of the net. 0-1

82 min: Rooney makes sure we know the first one was not a fluke. He turns, fires and scores his second. Fucker. 0-2

FT: We take the 0-2 loss and drag our butts home, asking what if we finished in the first half.

We had 2 clear cut chances and couldn't finish either. We had 10 shots, 4 on target. They had 13 with 8 on target.

Palacios was our only player with an above average rating. 7.3

[Marmel]

September 13, 2010

TV Match

Everton at Tottenham

We are 1-1-2 against them.

GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Woodgate
DR Corluka

*DMC King
*MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

*ST Defoe
ST Crouch


We are 5-4 favorites. Everton are 7-4 dogs. Standard strategy.

29 min: Two bad injuries right in a row. Walker and Dawson come in for Bassong and Woodgate.

37 min: Palacios gets the ball, moves forward and finds Modric at the top of the box. Modric splits the two defensders, sneaks forward and blasts one by the keeper for a GOAL! 1-0

40 min: Palacios steals the ball deep in their territory. He turns, moves up the right sideline and centers for Crouch. Crouch gets a good angle and beats the keeper for another GOAL!!! 2-0

49 min: Crouch injured. Keane in for him. That is all of our subs.

HT: Not much to change. We are out of subs. Injuries starting to rack up. Ouch.

75 min: Pallacios finds King. I suspect he is offsides. Keane scores....the flag goes up. No goal. We have been under pretty heavy pressure so I go defensive now.

FT: We hold on and Gomes gets the clean sheet. We get the 2-0 win and another 3 points!

We had 2 clear cut chances and scored on both of them. Everton had 2 as well, but Gomes was solid.

A bunch of 7+ ratings:

Bassong 7.6
Palacios 7.6
Corluka 7.4
Dawson 7.4
Modric 7.2
Crouch 7.0

Bassong was MotM

[Marmel]

September 18, 2010

Tottenham at Bolton

We are 0-0-2 against these guys. They are not that good.



GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Dawson
DR Corluka

*DMC Motta
MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

ST Defoe
*ST Adriano


We are favored as a pick em. Bolton are 11-5 dogs. Standard Strategy, as usual this season.


16 min: Corner kick for Bolton and they nail the header perfectly into the back of the net. Dammit! 0-1

HT: We have not generated any chances so far. Defoe playing lousy so I bring Keane in for him. Walker in for Dawson as well.

55 min: We work the midfield for quite a while, then finally advance it. Palacios, forward to Adriano, forward again to Keane who beats his man, then beats the keeper!!! GOAL! 1-1

75 min: Modric kind of struggling out there, so dos Santos in for him.

82 min: dos Santos is taken down right on the line of the penalty box. No penalty, but a red card. Free kick from right there....it is deflected.

FT: We can't get that winning goal, but settle for a point on the road against a team we have never gotten a point from. I guess I'll take it.


We had 4 clear cut chances but could only finish once. I think Modric missed two of them.

Adriano 7.9
Keane 7.1
Ekotto 7.0
Motta 7.0

Adriano was named MotM

[Marmel]

September 22, 2010

English League Cup - 3rd Round

Tottenham at Nottingham Forest


GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC King
DR Corluka

DMC Muntari
*MC Kranjcar
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

ST Defoe
ST Adriano

We are favored 4-5. NF are 3-1 dogs. No messing around today. I want this one over by halftime.


23 min: On a corner kick, Modric gets fouled hard in the box. He steps up for the PK.....GOAL! 1-0

37 in: We have another corner. It comes down in a crowd of players, everyone misses it. It lands at the foot of Muntari. He strikes it perfectly! GOAL! 2-0

HT: A very nice first half. I sub dos Santos for Adriano. Adriano has a real conditioning problem and is only good for 50 or 60 minutes a game it seems.

63 min: Forest with a free kick from center field, just outside of the box. Cohen drills it. Nice goal, unfortunately. 2-1

FT: We hold on for the 2-1 win. Forest played pretty good today. In fact, they remind me of my own team when we play the big boys. We usually compete but just can't finish enough of our chances.

Modric had a great 8.3 rating.
Muntari 7.2
Palacios 7.1
King 7.0

Modric was obviously the MotM

[Marmel]

League Cup 4th Round Draw

We get a home game against fellow PRM League team, Fulham.




September 27, 2010

TV Match

Newcastle (8th) at Tottenham (10th)

We have not played Newcastle before. They are newly promoted and already doing better than we are, although it is a bit too early in the season to read too much into the standings. Having said that, we need the 3 points from today's match being that it is at home and against a team that was expected to finish fairly low.

GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Woodgate
DR Corluka

*DMC Motta
MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

ST Defoe
ST Adriano

We are back to our best lineup. Woodgate and King are pretty much inter-changable at one of the DC spots. Bassong has been our best defender.

We are 6-4 favorites. Newcastle are 13-8 dogs. Standard strategy.


32 min: Bassong and Adriano have picked up minor injuries along the way, but their condition seems OK, so I let them play for now. We end up with a free kick from way over on the right side. Modric takes the kick, bends it around the wall and Palacios with a flying header puts it in the back of the net! GOAL! 1-0

HT: Newcastle had a few corners and some pressure on us in the last 5 minutes, but Gomes didn't have to do much. Our defense played great. No changes yet, but Adriano will be coming out soon. Bassong has a + over his head, but is playing fine and his condition is still great.

56 min: A second yellow card for Smith from Newcastle. We'll play 11 on 10 the rest of the way.

70 min: Keane in for Adriano and Jenas in for Muntari.

80 min: Modric with a corner. He gets it back and drives along the baseline towards the goal. The keeper is pinned to the near post, but somehow, and even on slow mo replay I can't tell, Modric squeezes it in the tiniest of spaces. GOAL! 2-0

FT: It wasn't dominating on the scoreboard, but we really did control this match. Great, and necessary win.

Modric led the way with an 8.7 rating
Palacios 8.1
Bassong 7.7
Corluka 7.7
Woodgate 7.3
Ekotto 7.2
Defoe 7.0

We held Newcastle to 3 shots, only 1 of which was on goal.

Modric was MotM

[Marmel]

October 2, 2010

Tottenham (7th) at West Ham (3rd)

We are 1-0-1 against West Ham. They have played great so far this season. I would love to come away with at least 1 point today.

GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC King
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

ST Defoe
*ST Keane

Adriano will be out for a couple of weeks. Other than that, we are good to go.

West Ham are 5-4 favorites. We are 7-4 dogs. Standard strategy.


7 min: West Ham's run of great form looks like it will continue today. They get an early goal on a bullet of a shot from the corner of the box by Cole. 0-1

20 min: They are winning the battles up in the air today. A few midfield headers leads to a quick attack and Feingouno puts it away to give them a 2-0 lead only 20 minutes in. I switch to an attacking strategy and try to get back into this. 0-2

28 min: Palacios gets the ball in the center of the field and hits Modric who is cutting in from the left. A simple play, but Modric with a great finish to get us back in the game. GOAL! 1-2

46 min: The are on the attack. The ball is lobbed into the box and Bassong is called for a penalty. Feindouno makes it and our comeback is short lived. 1-3

HT: dos Santos on for Keane, who is having a bad game so far.

61 min: Corner kick for West Ham and we are again called for apenalty in the box. Talk about home cooking for West Ham. Gomes makes the save on Feindouri's PK!

68 min: Modric with a free kick from the left sideline. He passes it into Bassong who turns, fires, GOALLL!!!! 2-3 – Not quite out of it yet.

74 min: We fail on a couple of corner kicks, but we regain control. Palacios has it in center field. He pass a bit left to Modric who then passes back in the center to a streaking Defoe. It is real close to being offsides. Defoe strikes and scores a GOAL!!! I wait to see if the ref calls him offsides.....and he is not! We have equalized! 3-3

Woodgate on for Ekotto.

81 min: Cheap foul on Muntari gives them a free kick just outside of the box. Of course they put it in our net. 3-4

89 min: Muntari with another yellow. He is sent off. We couldn't have gotten more screwed by the reds today.

FT: We score three times and don't even get a point. The refs just gave 2 goals to West Ham. I am furious.


Modric led us with an 8.3 rating.
Defoe had a 7.3
Palacios 7.1

[Marmel]

October 16, 2010

We have had a bit of break but nothing much going on expect for scouting players. I still haven't found anybody I want to go after (that would actually come here).

Man City (2nd) at Tottenham (9th)

We are 0-1-2 against Man City. I feel we have played a demanding schedule so far, but no excuses. We are on the verge of moving up in the standings or lingering around where we were all of last season. This is a big game (as they all are it seems).


GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
DC King
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
*MC Kranjcar
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

ST Defoe
*ST Crouch

Kranjcar filling in for Muntari, who is banned from this match. Crouch gets a turn to replace Adriano while he heals.

Man City are 5-4 favorites. We are 7-4 dogs. Still the standard strategy for me.


41 min: Palacios feeds Defoe, who is a half step off sides. Defoe scores, but it is waved off.

HT: We're not playing good, we are not playing bad. I'll give the guys a pep talk and hope they can get one goal.

50 min: We have had possession, but have not been able to create good looks. Here we have action in the middle of the field. Modric with a quick pass to Palacios, and then forward to Crouch, who shoots to the right corner of the goal and beats the keeper! GOAL 1-0 AWESOME!

79 min: Jenas in for a tiring Kranjcar. Walker in for Corluka who is also tiring. Against my better judgement, I do defensive.

81 min: What's new? We get a penalty called on us in the box. I am sick of this crap. Barry scores easily. 1-1 Back to a standard strategy. Should have stayed there, but I don't think it made a difference on this play.

FT: I would have taken 1 point at the beginning of the match, but not now. We got robbed again.


Crouch was rated 7.6
Modric 7.2
Bassong 7.1
Palacios 7.0
Ekotto 7.0
Corluka 7.0

My former player, Lennon was named MotM for Man City.

[Marmel]

October 23, 2010

Middlesbrough (16th) at Tottenham (9th)

Middlesbrough are in the first season in the PRM League, so we have never played them before. The media say it should be an easy game for us. None of them are easy.

GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
DC King
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
*MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

ST Defoe
*ST Keane

We are favored 2-5. Middlesbrough are 13-2 dogs. Standard strategy.


HT: They have really packed it in on defense, trying to deny us a clean shot. Their strategy is working. Although we have dominated possession, we can't find an open shot anywhere.

56 min: I feel like we will score, but I'm starting to get nervous so I go to an attacking strategy.

64 min: Adriano on for Keane.

74 min: A pass to Modric into the box. He is mugged by the defender. No penalty. However, Modric muscles his way past the defender, shoots and scores a GOAL! 1-0

Back to standard.

79 min: Horrible mix up by Middlesbrough as they are on the attack and the ball pops up and backwards to Defoe who is just sitting there. He has a good 5 yards on every defender as he races towards the goal and finishes easily. GOAL! 2-0

FT: Beautiful. Always feels great to get 3 points.


Lots of high scores as expected today, led by:

Corluka 7.7
Defoe 7.6
Muntari 7.5
Ekotto 7.5

Corluka was named MotM

[Marmel]

October 27, 2010

English League Cup 4th Round

Fulham at Tottenham

We are 3-0-0 against Fulham. Let's not get complacent though.

GK: Gomes

*DL Bale
DC Bassong
*DC Woodgate
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

ST Defoe
*ST Crouch

We are favored 4-6. Fulham are 7-2 dogs.


27 min: We work it into the box and finally....for once we get the penalty kick. Modric steps up. I feel confident. He looks confident. GOAL! 1-0

HT: I am happy with a lead at the half. I get Walker in for Corluka and Dawson in for Bale by moving Bassong over to DL.

69 min: Strange play. We turn it over and Fulham lob it forward. Gomes comes out of the box and punts it deep. Defoe was waiting for it. Pretty much a cherry picking move, but no offsides I guess when the keeper is the one who passes it? Anyway, Defoe easily beats the keeper, which should wrap this match up. 2-0

72 min: I bring in Stojkovic, our new backup keeper. He has not made an appearance yet.

FT: I was a pretty easy win, as far as wins go. We advance to the next round.

Bassong and Gomes both earned 7.5's.
Palacios 7.3
Woodgate 7.2
A few others at 7-7.1

Gomes was named MotM

[Marmel]

Before our next match, where we travel to Arsenal, we watch the League Cup Quarter Final Draw.

We are the first name up on the board, so at least we get a home match.
Next name up....Man City. We seem to always play these guys.



October 30, 2010

Tottenham (9th) at Arsenal (1st)

We are actually 1-2-1 against Arsenal. One of the draws we ended up winning on PK's.

GK: Gomes

*DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC King
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

*ST Keane
*ST Adriano


Arsenal are 4-6 favorites. We are 7-2 dogs. Tough task ahead of us. We start out with a standard strategy.


27 min: Modric receives the throw in from the left side. He passes to Muntari at the corner of the box. Muntari just lets it rip. It deflects off the keeper's hands, off the top of the bar, and falls into the goal! Holy cow, we are ahead 1-0!!!

I go with a counter strategy now. Basically, they have controlled this match and we just got lucky.


34 min: Arsenal back on the attack and still controlling possession almost the whole time. Finally they work their way into a great shot and convert. Damn. 1-1

HT: We are in this game. We have a couple of tired players, so Kranjcar in for Motta. Muntari moves back to the DMC spot. Crouch in for Adriano. I also switch back to the standard strategy.

63 min: Corner kick for us. The ball is up for grabs. Bassong rises above the crowd. His head gets on it as he falls to the ground. The ball blasts the back of the net!! GOAL!! 2-1

66 min: Arsenal have a throw in. Modric steals it away and lobs it up field to a streaking Keane. Keane has the defense beat. Only the keeper left. He shoots.....GOAL! Wow, we are up 3-1 on their field. I go defensive.

75 min: Arsenal applying the pressure on us again. King makes the interception right at the top of the box. He lobs up field to Keane, who is streaking again. The ball goes way by Keane and their keeper comes out to gather it. Somehow he misplays it and Keane pounces on it, faces and empty goal and casually scores! 4-1 Tottenham, 2 goals for Keane. That guy is getting laid tonight!


FT: I am speechless. I knew we could win one of these games, but 4-1 on the road. We are going to party tonight!


Lots of high scores:

Modric 9.0
Keane 8.8
Bassong 8.5
Corluka 8.0
Muntari 7.7
Gomes 7.0

Modric is once again MotM

[Marmel]

November 6, 2010

Tottenham (8th) at Fulham (12th)

We are 4-0-0 against Fulham and just beat them a few weeks ago in the Cup competition. I'm not even going to think that they are due, but they have been playing better since we last met.

GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Dawson
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

ST Keane
*ST Defoe

Dawson needs to get a start so he stays happy. Keane has actually improved up to 3 full stars, making him and Adriano my best strikers. I'm going to pair him up with Defoe to start. Adriano will be brought in later. With Adriano's conditioning issues, I have to run a 3 man rotation at striker most times.

Fulham is actually favored 6-4. We are 13-8 dogs. I want this win as it looks like every win will move us significantly up the standings.


20 min: They are getting some pretty decent pressure on us, so I switch to a counter strategy.

HT: To be honest, we are damn lucky not to be down 0-1 or 0-2. Gomes put up a 9.0 first half rating. Fulham have been dominating us, but Gomes keeps bailing us out. Adriano in for Keane. I'll try a control strategy in the second half.

50 min: When I send Adriano in, I pull him aside and tell him I expect him to come through for us. Well, he intercept s a throw in, makes a very long pass right on the money to Modric who goes cross goal for the strike. Nothing but Net! GOAL 1-0


FT: I have to say, that was one of the most hard fought games I have ever witnessed. I was literally on the edge of my seat as both teams had a ton of chances. Gomes finished with a 9.1 rating. He was amazing.

Gomes 9.1
Corluka 8.0
Modric 8.0

The MotM was Fulham's keeper.

[Marmel]

November 13, 2010

Birmingham (10th) at Tottenham (7th)

We are 2-0-0 against Birmingham. For a few days we were third in the PRM League standings, but we played a game or two more than most other teams.

GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC King
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

*ST Adriano
ST Defoe

We are favored 4-5. Birmingham are 3-1 dogs. Standard strategy.


41 min: We have totally dominated control of the ball, but don't even have a real good shot to show for it. Adriano having a horrible game so I bring Keane in for him.

HT: I tell the team it was a disappointing first half. This game is there for the taking.

62 min: I switch to an attacking strategy. We need a goal, right now.

FT: Birmingham had 2 shots, one on target. Meanwhile we had 16. 7 on target. 1 clear cut chance. No goals. A very blah performance at home is a bit disappointing.

Corluka 7.6
Bossong 7.1

that's it.

Corluka was MotM

[Marmel]

Adriano is causing me problems and demands to be transfer listed. I try to reason with him, but he refuses to listen. I decide to sell him off. Keane has really stepped up his game and his as good as Adriano it seems. Adriano has also been a bad fit since he arrived. Furthermore, I am frustrated by his conditioning issues. I can admit to myself it wasn't the greatest of signings by me and I should be able to recoup a lot of what I paid.



November 20, 2010

TV Match

Tottenham (7th) at Liverpool (4th)

We are 0-0-2 against Liverpool. This will be very tough today.


GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Woodgate
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

*ST Keane
ST Defoe

Liverpool are 4-5 favorites. We are 3-1 dogs.


26 min: Keane has been having a bad game. I start to consider pulling him, especially as I watch him be indecisive with the ball 2, 3 times in a row. He gets it a fourth time on our possession and finally finds a cutting Defoe. Defoe gets the pass, shoots, and GOAL! 1-0

HT: Not changing a thing. I don't know if we can hold onto the lead, but we can't give up more than 1 goal.

74 min: Crouch in for Defoe, who is tired and has one of our 3 yellow cards.

87 min: Corner for Liverpool. Damn I hate giving up goals this late in a game. The ball trickles through the middle and Kuyt has an open look from the right side of the box. 1-1

FT: Eh, I'll take it, but what could have been!


Bassong and Palacios both with 7.0 ratings. Everyone else was lower than that.

[Marmel]

November 27, 2010

Wigan (4th) at Tottenham (7th)

We are 0-0-2 against them. I just look at it as another team we can get our first point(s) against.


GK: Gomes

DL Assou-Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC King
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
MC Palacios
AMC Modric

ST Keane
ST Defoe

We are favored as a pick em. Wigan are 11-5 dogs.


28 min: We have a goal kick. Gomes punts it very long. Keane in between two Wigan players gets up and heads it forward to Defoe. Defoe goes cross net and hits the post and it goes in! GOAL! 1-0

HT: We have been pretty dominant, but I expect Wigan to make adjustments at the half.

49 min: Modric gets the ball in the middle, a bit outside of the box. 2 defenders close in on him and he twirls around both of them, leaving only the keeper to beat. And beat him he does. GOAL! That was one of the prettiest moves I have ever seen 2-0

72 min: Palacios took a hard hit and is injured. Looks like it might be bad. Kranjcar in for him.

FT: A very impressive victory for my boys!


A lot of high scores.

Modric 8.3
Gomes 7.5
Muntari 7.4
Corluka, Ekotto and King all 7.3

[Marmel]

The news is as bad as expected. Palacios will be out for 3-4 months.

The FA Cup 3rd Round draw is today.

We will play on the road at L1 team, Hartlepool


Meanwhile the English Cup Q-Final match at home vs Man City is coming up next.

[Marmel]

November 30, 2010

English League Cup – Quarterfinals

TV Match

Man City at Tottenham

GK: Gomes

*DL Bale
DC Bassong
*DC Woodgate
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
*MC Jenas
AMC Modric

*ST Crouch
ST Defoe

Losing Palacios is a huge blow to us, but we are playing so confidently that I know we can win this. We are 0-2-2 vs. Man city.

We are favored as a pick em. Man City are 11-5 dogs.


12 min: Modric gets the ball with some space. He moves towards the box and finds Crouch, who spins, steps up a bit and fires. GOALLLL!!!! 1-0

27 min: Bale and Muntari in a two man game work it forward. Muntari then passes off to Defoe who takes one of his wild shots from the corner of the box without even looking. Every once in a while though he finds the back of the net and today was that day. GOAL! 2-0

HT: Obviously no changes are needed at this point. I hope we can keep up the great play.

62 min: Adriano on for Defoe and King in for Motta.

72 min: I go defensive and assume we can stop them from scoring twice.

83 min: Kranjcar in for Jenas.

FT: We get our first ever win against Man City and we are through to the Semi-Finals!


7.4's for Corluka and Bale.
7.3's for Muntari and Modric.
Crouch 7.2
Defoe 7.1

Corluka was named MotM

[Marmel]

League Cup Semi-Final Draw

We will get either Chelsea or Everton in the Semi-Finals. We are listed as the road team, but I hope they are played on a neutral field.

[SirFozzie]

It might just be the just woke up/no caffeine thing yet, but I think the League Cup Semi-finals are over two legs (home and home)

[Marmel]

December 6, 2010

TV Match

Tottenham (7th) at Sunderland (12th)

We are 1-0-1 against Sunderland.


GK: Gomes

*DL Ekotto
DC Bassong
DC Woodgate
DR Corluka

*DMC King
MC Muntari – rated 4 stars now!
MC Motta
AMC Modric

*ST Keane
ST Defoe

We are 6-4 favorites. Sunderland are 13-8 dogs. We have to be brimming with confidence!


9 min: King lobs the ball forward from just over midfield to Defoe. Defoe fumbles the pass, it goes off a defender's foot and lands in front of Keane. Keane's eyes light up, he strikes it and GOAL! 1-0

Keane is a guy who just always seems to be in the right place at the right time.


35 min: Woodgate gets hurt. Dawson will replace him.

HT: We have been the better team by far, but I know that unless we score again, one little mistake can mean a draw...or worse. No changes yet, we have already had to use one sub.

78 min: Kranjcar in for Motta and Crouch in for Keane to keep everyone as fresh as possible. We also switch to a control strategy. Sunderland has won the time of possession for the last 20 minutes and we want to play some keep away.

81 min: We have a throw in from the left side. The ball is tipped around and trickles through the box on the right side. King, being very opportunistic, flies into the open space, strikes it and...GOAL! That should seal the deal! 2-0

83 min: Defoe with a steal at midfield. He flies down the left sideline, curls into the box, and a frustrated Sunderland defender shoves him down hard. Penalty kick! No problem for Defoe. GOAL! 3-0

89 min: Muntari gets a silly yellow, his second of the game. He is off and we'll miss him for the next game.

FT: Another 3 points. It never gets old, does it? A great match marred by a dumb red card at the very end.

Modric continues his fine play with a 8.8 rating.
Bassong 7.6
Corluka 7.5
Gomes and Ekotto 7.3

Modric is again MotM

[Marmel]

SO, Muntari is actually being sent off for 2 matches. He must have picked up a red before that I forgot about?

Woodgate is going to miss 2-3 weeks.


Every Premier League team has played 16 games. Here is the top of the standings board:

Man U 35
Arsenal 34
Chelsea 33
Tottenham 31
Liverpool 30
Man City 30
Wigan 29
Everton 28
Newcastle 28
West Ham 27

That is a beautiful thing my friends.

I have all this transfer money burning a hole in my pocket, so I make a ludracris offer for a very young DC who projects to be 3.5 or even 4 stars down the road. He is owned by Stoke and my scout says it may take 20 million. Well, I am not going to pay that, but I offer 10 and then 13 million.

[Marmel]

December 14, 2010

Wolves (19th) at Tottenham (4th)

We are 1-1-0 against the Wolves.


GK: Gomes

DL Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Dawson
DR Corluka

DMC King
*MC Jenas
MC Motta
AMC Modric

ST Keane
ST Defoe

With Palacios' injury and Muntari on a two game ban, our midfield is not nearly what it once was. This should be a game we can easily get by though.

We are favored 1-6. Wolves are 10-1 dogs. Let's score early and often and get all 3 subs in for the second half, ok?


7 min: Not exactly the start I was looking for. Wolves have a corner. It is bounced out, but they retrieve it, fire a long range missile and in it goes. 0-1

14 min: They have a goal kick. The keeper comes out, punts it as far as he can and hits Doyle who is ahead of the pack. He only has Gomes to beat and just like that we are down 0-2. WTF just happened??????

We switch to an attack.

HT: I have no idea what just hit me. The entire team is playing like crap. Adriano in for Keane. Dos Santos in for Jenas. Bale in for Ekotto. I also switch to overload.

I also tear into the team with my halftime talk.

46 min: I get an early response from my guys as Defoe takes the opening kickoff, races upfield, hits newcomer to the game Bale. Goal. 1-2

85 min: Time is running short, we can't get anything on goal and Motta takes an injury. Yet another midfielder out and I used up all my subs.

FT: Devastating loss. There are no other words for it. At home, 19th place team, we are really starting to make progress and then we take this big step back.

[Marmel]

December 18, 2010

Cardiff (20th) at Tottenham (6th)

The good news is we get to go right back out there, at home, against another poor team. Cardiff are new this year to the Premier League, although they did manage a draw against us in a friendly.


GK: Gomes

DL Ekotto
DC Bassong
DC Dawson
DR Corluka

DMC King
MC Jenas
MC Kranjcar
AMC Modric

ST Keane
ST Defoe

We have to do some serious shuffling around. We are favored 1-6. Cardiff are 10-1 dogs. We need to bounce back.


6 min: Kranjcar makes the most of his starting opportunity and delivers a perfect pass to Defoe in the center of the box. Defoe is true with his shot and it is a GOAL! 1-0

28 min: Ekotto makes a beautiful sliding steal, gets up with the ball and forwards it to Keane. Keane takes 2 dribbles and forward passes it to Defoe. Defoe outruns his defender and gets it by the keeper. GOAL! 2-0

44 min: Kranjcar and Defoe switch spots this time. Kranjcar coming down the middle, spots Defoe way to the right. Defoe speed dribbles past 3 defenders into the box. HAT TRICK! 3-0

HT: We'll go defensive and get some fresh legs in. Walker in for Corluka. Dos Santos in for Modric.


64 min: Cardiff going all out on the attack now. They work the ball for several minutes and along with a couple of corners, finally find the net. 3-1

I sub out King and bring in Bale.

FT: We play out the remainder of the time and are happy to get back on track with 3 points and a convincing victory.

Defoe was rated 9.5 for today's performance.
Kranjcar had a 9.0
A bunch of guys 7.1 – 7.3 are well.

Defoe was obviously the MotM.

[Marmel]

We get 8 days of rest, and we'll need it before a 4 game road trip:

Stoke
Blackburn
Hartlepool (FA Cup 3rd Round)
Chelsea (League Cup)

Then we return home for Aston Villa and ManU.

[Marmel]

December 26, 2010

Tottenham (6th) at Stoke (17th)

We are 3-0-0 against Stoke.

GK: Gomes

*DL Bale
DC Bassong
DC Dawson
DR Corluka

DMC King
MC Jenas
*MC Muntari
AMC Modric

ST Keane
ST Defoe

Muntari is back from his suspension. I want to try and integrate Bale in for Ekotto a little more often.
Woodgate is back to full training but not quite ready to start a match.

We are 5-4 favorites. Stoke are 7-4 dogs. Not much difference there.


2 min: Stoke with a throw in. It bounces into the box and King is called for a penalty. Things had been going so well for us too. Suazo steps up and makes it. 0-1

HT: We've had a few decent chances, but we need to do much better. This is getting frustrating. King has been terrible so Kranjcar in for him. Muntari moves to the DMC and Kranjcar to MC. We'll try to attack them now.

48 min: Another penalty called on us in the box. Goal. 0-2 This is almost over. We go to overload.

I also switch to a 4-3-3 tactic. I bring in Crouch for the useless Jenas.


53 min: The bad news comes in waves. Muntari goes down hard with an injury. Dos Santos in for him.

78 min: My frustration grows as two defenders take down Defoe from behind while he is one on one with the keeper. Np penalty.

This reminds me. I read on the FM forums that this game tries to simulate bas calls by the refs. So, what they are saying is that you can get hosed in this game by the refs not making the right call.

That's dumb. It is bad enough soccer has a ref problem, but you have to introduce it to a game?

OK, rant over. We are going to get them next game.


FT: We played terrible and didn't deserve to win, but at least make them get a real goal, huh?

[Marmel]

December 29, 2010

Tottenham (7th) at Blackburn (16th)

We are 2-1-0 against Blackburn. We are playing the dregs of the Premier League and falling in league standings while doing it. Not good at all.


GK: Gomes

*DL Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Woodgate
DR Corluka

DMC King
*MC dos Santos
*MC Kranjcar
AMC Modric

ST Keane
ST Defoe

Blackburn are favored 6-4. We are 13-8 dogs. Let's go guys!!


21 min: Corluka called for a foul in the penalty box. Here we go again. Gomes makes the stop! Thank god!

27 min: the flow of tis game is not in our favor. I go to a control strategy.

32 min: I can't tell who my defender was, but they just let the Blackburn guy go by him, shoot it and score. 0-1

Crouch in for Keane. Adriano with a rare appearance in for Defoe.

HT: I switch to attack. I have to do something.

61 min: Jenas in for Crouch. Dos Santos up to the striker position. Jenas at MC.

74 min: Desperation. I go overload strategy.

89 min: Emerton, for Blackburn gets his second yellow. He is off, but it hardly matters. We show no signs of life.

FT: I am at a total loss.

[Marmel]

January 1, 2010

English FA Cup - 3rd Round

Tottenham at Hartlepool

*GK: Stojkovic

*DL Bale
DC Bassong
*DC Dawson
*DR Walker

DMC King
*MC Muntari
*MC Jenas
*AMC Kranjcar

*ST Crouch
ST Defoe

Lots of changes for this match against a L1 team. I shouldn't take anything for granted right now, but I need to be more focused on the Chelsea Cup match coming up in a few days.

We are favored 2-5. Hartlepool are 13-2 dogs.


38 min: Still no score. But the ref must feel bad for our embarrassing run and awards us a PK. Muntari squeezes it in. GOAL 1-0

44 min: Bale shoots one from the left side on the line of the box. It goes over the keeper, but stays low enough for a GOAL! 2-0

HT: dos Santos for Muntari. I go defensive.

67 min: Ekotto in for Bale. Bale is at least showing up, so I want him fresh for the Chelsea match.

76 min: Corner kick. Crouch scores on the header. 3-0. Excuse me if I am not too excited.

FT: OK, at least we got another win, but I don't think I can make any judgements considering the competition.

[Marmel]

FA Cup 4th Round Draw

We are on the road against CH League team, Sheff United.



January 5, 2010

English League Cup – Quarter Finals
First Leg

Tottenham at Chelsea


GK Gomes

DL Bale
DC Bassong
DC Woodgate
DR Corluka

DMC King
MC Muntari
MC Motta
AMC Modric

ST Keane
ST Crouch

This is about as good a lineup as we can put out there right now.

Chelsea are 4-5 favorites. We are 3-1 dogs. If we can't get up for this game, our season is in bad shape.


21 min: Not enough has gone wrong yet this year. Bassong puts a ball into his own goal. 0-1

32 min: I switch to a control strategy.

HT: Ekotto in for Bale. Adriano in for Defoe. We will try to attack.

63 min: Kranjcar in for Motta.

FT: I see that away goals are the tie breaker and we have none, so I guess we have to win by 2 goals at home. No problem. It hurts that their only goal was put in by Bassong. It hurts that we can't score. The only difference from our great run was Palacios. Now he was a great, great player, but can one player bring a team down this far??

[Marmel]

One bit of good news, but it came a day too late.

We have signed Real Madrid's Necip Uysal, a DMC/MC for $6.5 million. He is only 19 years old but he projects to be a 3 star player.

[Marmel]

January 8, 2011

TV Match

Aston Villa (15th) at Tottenham (9th)

We are 2-0-1 against Aston. However, just like the title of this dynasty thread, we are going down the standings at an alarming rate.


GK Gomes

DL Bale
DC Bassong
*DC Dawson
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
*MC Uysal – 2 stars right now
AMC Modric

*ST Defoe
ST Crouch


We are 4-5 favorites. Aston Villa are 3-1 dogs. We really, really need a win today.


27 min: After a few wasted early chances, we get Modric coming down the middle after the team works the midfield for a while. Modric passes off to Crouch who is cutting towards the goal. He stays onsides, gets the pass and puts it past the keeper. GOAL! 1-0

40 min: Modric runs down the left sideline, looks in the box, doesn't see anyone, but spots Motta standing wide open about 30 yards from goal. The pass is perfect, Motta has all the time in the world to line it up and he drills it. GOAL!!! 2-0

44 min: Motta finds Modric right in the middle of the box to return the favor. Modric makes good on the attempt and puts it in the net. GOAL! 3-0

Where was this the last couple of weeks?

HT: Beautiful. We have picked up a couple of injuries: Dawson and Crouch. Adriano in for Crouch. Dawson looks good enough to finish this game.

65 min: Kranjcar in for a tiring Motto.

84 min: We are a real tired group right now. Bale gets called for a foul in the penalty box. Gomes cannot stop the PK. 3-1

I go defensive, just to be safe.


FT: Feels good to get back in the W column and pick up 3 points.

Modric was rated 8.7
Motta 8.4
Crouch 7.7
Corluka 7.3
Gomes 7.2
Dawson 7.2
Bassong 7.0

Our newcomer, Uysal was rated 6.9.

Modric was MotM

[Marmel]

January 12, 2011

Man U (1st) at Tottenham (7th)

We are 0-0-3 against them. No time like the present to pick up a point or 3.


GK Gomes

*DL Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Woodgate
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
*MC Kranjcar
AMC Modric

*ST Keane
ST Crouch


ManU are 4-6 favorites. We are 7-2 dogs. Rooney, who burned us in the first match this season, is not in their starting lineup.


HT: Other than one extended series where ManU were really putting the pressure on us, we controlled this first half. We got off some pretty solid shots, but we have yet to finish one. No changes at the half.

69 min: Jenas in for Kranjcar and Defoe in for Keane.

FT: We could never get a good enough look to score, but our defense was great and I never felt too worried that they would score. I'll take my first point against ManU ever.

Corluka 7.5
Ekotto 7.4
Bassong 7.3
Modric 7.0

Corluka was MotM

[Marmel]

January 15, 2011

Tottenham (7th) at Everton (5th)

We are 2-1-2 against Everton.


GK Gomes

*DL Bale
DC Bassong
*DC Dawson
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
*MC Jenas
AMC Modric

*ST Defoe
ST Crouch

Everton are 4-6 favorites. We are 7-2 dogs. Tough game on short rest.


22 min: We are having a horrible string of bad luck with injuries. Modric has to come out of the game. Kranjcar in for him.

HT: A very uneventful first half. I am going to switch to a control strategy. They have won the time of possession and I need to generate less chances for them and more for me.

86 min: Uysal in for Motta.

FT: A long boring stretch of soccer with 2 0-0 draws in a row. Defensively we have been great, but we can't finish on offense.

7.4's for Bale, Dawson and Jenas
Corulka with a 7.3
Gomes 7.2

[Marmel]

It is announced right after the game that Modric will miss the second leg game against Chelsea.


January 19, 2011

English League Cup – Semi Final
2nd leg

Chelsea (1) at Tottenham (0)


GK Gomes

*DL Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Woodgate
DR Corluka

DMC Motta
MC Muntari
*MC Uysal
AMC Modric

ST Defoe
*ST Keane

Yes, Modric made a very speedy recovery and is almost 100% fit for this match. A pleasant surprise to have him back.

Chelsea are favored at 5-4. We are 7-4 dogs. We are looking for a couple first half goals. OK, we'll take a 1-0 game and go to penalties.


7 min: Muntari gets the ball stolen from him, he makes a tackle to try and get it back and is given a red card. Seriously? Does this game hate me?

11 min: Chelsea gain control after a quick back and forth header-fest at mid field. They push forward and probably wrap up the semi-finals with a goal. 0-2 (0-2)

19 min: Another Chelsea goal and we switch to commentary only to get this disaster over with.

FT: The final damage was 0-3 (0-4). Muntari really screwed us over.

[Marmel]

Muntari is now suspended for the next 3 matches because of the red card he picked up.
I fined him 1 weeks salary.


January 22, 2011

English FA Cup, 4th Round

Tottenham at Sheff United

GK Gomes

DL Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Dawson
*DR Walker

DMC Motta
*MC Jenas
*MC Kranjcar
AMC Modric

ST Defoe
*ST Crouch


We are favored 4-5. Sheff are 3-1 dogs. Time to get this squad back on track.


3 min: I toyed with the Dawson/Woodgate decision today on who should start. I picked the right guy. We have a corner. The ball travels to the other side of the goal where Walker heads it home. GOAL! 1-0

23 min: Kranjcar turns the ball over, but husltes, gets it back and flips it forward to Modric who storms the box, and finishes! GOAL! 2-0

35 min: Sheff races down the right sideline. They get a pretty centering pass and Phillips is able to finish it off. 2-1

HT: Not a bad first half. The goal that Sheff got was about their only real chance, and it was a fine play by them. No changes at this point.

53 min: Modric is chased all the way into the left corner of the field. He centers...the pass started out of bounds, curved over the goal and onto the foot of Crouch who put it away. Crouch gets the GOAL! But that was all Modric. 3-1

70 min: dos Santos in for Kranjcar. Keane in for Defoe.

FT: We kill the clock the rest of the way and easily advance to the 5th round of this Cup competition.

Modric was great again with a 9.1 rating.
Dawson was a9.0
Crouch 7.8
A bunch of other 7+ ratings as well.

Modric was MotM

[Marmel]

5th Round Cup Draw

We are on the road again, against the winner of (PRM) Birmingham and (CH) Ipswitch.


I am on the verge of a ridiculously expensive deal for a young (hopefully) superstar. I am overpaying, but I want to do something big. Detail to follow whether the deal goes through before the window or not.


January 25, 2011

Tottenham (7th) at Newcastle (10th)

We are 1-0-0 against newly promoted Newcastle. They are having a very successful first season up in the PRM League.


GK Gomes

*DL Bale
DC Bassong
*DC Woodgate
*DR Corluka

DMC Motta
*MC Jenas
*MC Uysal
AMC Modric

ST Defoe
*ST Keane


Missing Muntari and Palacios is really killing my midfield.

Newcastle is favored 6-4. We are 13-8 dogs. A bit surprising since we seem to have played much better lately (other than the Chelsea game).


15 min: We have the ball stolen deep in our territory and it leads to an open shot by Ebanks-Blake, who buries it. Damn. 0-1

31 min: We move up the field after Gomes makes a save. Quick short passes and before I know it, Keane passes off to Modric at the top of the box. Modric just powers into the box, dribbles right past the keeper and scores. Nice. GOAL! 1-1

45 min: We have a corner kick. Bassong, who is a great jumper, rises above the crowd, gets his head on it and buries it for a go ahead GOAL! 2-1

HT: Excellent comeback after the early defecit. Now we just have to keep it going. Hopefully, get one more goal early and coast home.

55 min: Defoe with an interception back in our zone. He sends it to midfield for Uysal, who forwards it immediately to Modric. Modric outruns the defense and strikes. GOAL! 3-1

Modric might be a whiny pain in the ass who hates it at Tottenham, but I sure do love his game.


76 min: Kranjcar and King on for Uysal and Motta. We go defensive.

FT: We cruise to a very nice victory after being down 0-1 early.

Modric once again dominates with a 9.3 rating.
Bassong 8.9
Corluka 7.3
Keane 7.2

Modric was MotM

[Marmel]

The big deal is done!

We have signed Athletic's Iker Muniain. He is an attacking midfielder and a forward. I plan to use him in the forward spot mostly, since Modric is perfect in the AMC spot.

He is currently rated 2 stars, but has the potential to be a 4 star player.

I spent a lot. Too much actually! It was a $37.5 million dollar deal. $20 mil up front and 17.5 mil over the next 30 months. There is also a 25% sales clause attached. Ouch, that hurt, but I am excited for the young, and hopefully budding superstar!


In other news, the Adriano experiment is over. I have shipped him to Stuttgart right before the transfer window close. I was only able to get $5,000,000 for him. He made about 3 great plays for us, but his time here was largely a huge disappointment.

[Marmel]

January 29, 2011

Bolton (16th) at Tottenham (6th)

Somehow we have never beaten these guys. We are 0-1-2 against them. We are starting to move in the right direction in the league standings too.

GK Gomes

*DL Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Dawson
DR Corluka

*DMC King
MC Motta
*MC Kranjcar
AMC Modric

*ST Muniain
ST Keane

You know I had to throw my new guy out there right away.
King back from injury helps us out quite a bit.


We are 4-5 favorites. Bolton are 3-1 dogs. Let's get 3 points boys!!


4 min: Keane centers to King, who moves it forward to Muntiain and he shoots and scores......but is called offsides. Wow, that would have been some start.

HT: Slow first half. We have had the better chances and more control, but nothing to show for it. I'll switch to an attack in the second half.

68 min: Defoe in for Muntiain and dos Santos in for Kranjcar.

FT: Defense continues to be excellent, but we just couldn't find the net today. We still have not beat Bolton, but at least we salvage a point out of the match.

Nobody played particularly good or bad today.

Corluka 7.3
Dawson 7.2
Bassong 7.2


Corluka is the MotM

[Marmel]

February 5, 2011

West Ham (8th) at Tottenham (6th)

We are 1-0-2 against West Ham. Big game today to protect our league position against them.


GK Gomes

DL Ekotto
DC Bassong
*DC Woodgate
DR Corluka

DMC King
*MC Uysal
MC Motta
AMC Modric

*ST Defoe
*ST Crouch

We are favored as a pick em. West Ham are 11-5 dogs.


HT: Another scoreless half of football. Neither team looks like they are capable of scoring a goal right now. Keane in for Defoe. Kranjcar for King. Motta moves back to the DMC.

65 min: We are on the attack. A shot and it takes a wild ricochet all the way to midfield. It lands at the foot of a West Hammie and he takes off. A simple 2 on 1 turns into an easy goal for them. 0-1

What a bad break on the deflected ball.
I go overload strategy.

66 min: That goal rattled the team. They took the opening kickoff. Modric demanded the ball. Got it. Took off for the goal and scored easily. A one man show! GOAL! 1-1

FT: We answered their goal quite nicely, and then stayed on the attack, but couldn't get that go ahead goal. Modric banged one of the woodwork once late in the game too.

Not many good or bad scores today. Modric, Keane and Corluka were our highest rated players, all with just 7.1's.

[Marmel]

We sit pretty solidly in 6th place. It will take a bit to move either up or down right now.

Liverpool 59 – 27 games
ManU 53 – 27 games
Arsenal 49 – 25 games
Man City 48 – 27 games
Chelsea 47 – 25 games
Tottenham 44 – 26 games
Everton 42 – 27 games
Sunderland 42 – 27 games
West Ham 41 – 27 games
Wigan 41 – 27 games

Newcastle 35 games


The top 10 are in a different league than the bottom 10.

Liverpool is in a league of their own.

ManU, Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea look like #2-4
Tottenham, Everton and Sunderland are the next 3, but we have the advantage of having played one less game so far, and still have a 1 point lead.
We are only 3 behind Chelsea, but they have one less game than us.
I'll take 6th place for the season, happily, right now.

We find out that we are playing CH League team, Ipswitch in the Cup competition.

[Marmel]

February 12, 2011

English FA Cup - 5th Round

Tottenham at Ipswitch


GK Gomes

DL Ekotto
DC Bassong
DC Woodgate
DR Corluka

DMC King
*MC Jenas
MC Motta
AMC Modric

ST Defoe
ST Crouch


We are favored 4-5. Ipswitch are 3-1 dogs. We played them in a friendly at one point and it was a draw.


31 min: Modric gets a free kick from the center of the field, about 5 yards from the top of the box. He wraps it around the wall and past the keeper. What a GOAL! 1-0

HT: We had one other decent chance, but a great save keeps us at one goal. Ipswitch only had 1 decent chance on goal and Gomes had to make a diving play just to tip it back for a corner, which we defended easily. No changes for the second half yet.

49 min: Motta picks up 2 yellow cards in the space of about 80 seconds. He is off and we are down a man. I go defensive.

I also bring Kranjcar in for Defoe and go with a 4-1-2-1-1

77 min: Ekotto with a free kick from a bit further out than Modric was. We drills one through the wall, off the top of the bar, down and in the goal. That should wrap it up, even down a man. GOAL! 2-0

FT: Woodgate picks up some kind of injury right at the last minute. Ipswitch never threatened us, even with a man advantage for 45 minutes.

Modric 8.5
Ekotto 8.3
Corluka 7.6
Bassong 7.3
Woodgate 7.2
Gomes 7.0

Why is it so hard for the keeper to get a good rating?

Anyway, we are through to the Quarterfinals again this year.

[Marmel]

Motta is suspended for the next 2 matches.

Woodgate is out for about 2 weeks.


FA Cup – Quarterfinal Draw

Our name is the first up on the board, so we get a home game, which is great.
What luck! We draw another CH League team, Reading.

Chelsea, ManU, Everton and West Ham are the other big name teams left.

We have a match against 19th place Middlesbrough coming up soon.