WSM2006: 2012/13 - a frog in the Champions League

[FrogMan]

February 1st, 2013
I need to confirm my lineup for the rest of the Champions League. I'm allowed to either bring in new players or substitute three players. With Niki Mäenpää gone, I need a third keeper in there, that will be Danny Jones. I pull out Scott Donnelly and add Moritz Voltz and David Martin.

I get some weird news that one player I knew nothing about on my U18 squad is being called up to the USA U20 squad. Please meet Mark Myers. I guess his parents happened to be visiting England when he was to come to life as he's got both citizenship...


February 2, 2013
League Match #26: vs Man City (Luton 6-4 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK	Slt	Leo Franco	GK	Superb	7-9-7-7-7	100%	22	-	7.05
DR	PR	Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Superb	7	96%	1	-	7.00
DL	Yel	Adam Green	D/WB L	Superb	6-7-7-8-8	96%	20	-	7.15
DC	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Good	6-6-6-7-7	99%	17 (4)	2	6.81
DC	Slt	Philippe Senderos	D C	Superb	7-7-7-8-7	99%	28 (1)	1	7.00
DMC	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	96%	24 (4)	1	7.07
MC	Slt	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Very Good	7-7-7-8-8	96%	26 (3)	11	7.14
AMR	Slt	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Superb	7-7-6-7-7	100%	28 (4)	5	7.25
AML		James McFadden	AM L, F C	Superb	8-8	96%	2	-	8.00
FC		Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Superb	6-6-6-8-7	100%	19 (11)	6	6.47
FC	Slt	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Superb	8-7-7-6-8	98%	25 (5)	13	7.20
S1	Slt	Zac Barrett	GK	Good	7-8-7-6-7	98%	9 (1)	-	6.60
S2	Slt	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Superb	6-7-7-8-6	100%	12 (8)	-	6.80
S3		James Morrison	AM RC	Superb	7-6-6-7-6	99%	14 (14)	2	6.39
S4		Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Very Good	7-7-6-6-6	100%	16 (16)	2	6.81
S5	Yel	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Superb	7-6-6-8-6	100%	21 (8)	6	6.83
-	Slt	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	D L	Good	6-7-8-7-7	99%	16	-	6.94
-	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Good	6-7-6-6-6	99%	15 (10)	1	6.52
-	Slt	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Good	6-8-7-6-8	100%	22	-	6.73
-	Slt	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Poor	7-7-8-8-4	100%	27 (2)	1	6.83

They're having a very nice season, currently sittingin 4th place.

While we did put some pressure early on, the rest of the half is not a good showing for us. We're down 0-2 at the half.

The second half goes much better and Arjan Wisse converts a cross from Ricardo Vaz Te in the 68th minute to give us some hope, but hope is all we'll get...

Final Score: Luton 1, Man City 2

A much, much better second half that sadly didn't make up for the hole we'd dig in the first one.

Despite the loss, we remain in 8th place. Even better, I see that the supporters are now back to being only disappointed about my work, that's a positive

Alexander Farnerud twisted his ankle in the game and could miss up to 4 weeks.

And again, it's a two-for-one day, so...

CONCACAF Gold Cup 3rd place playoff: vs USA (USA 1-6 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Asmir Begovic	GK	Good	7-7-6-8-6	100%	10	-	6.60
DR		Paul Stalteri	D/WB RL	Okay	8-7-9-8-7	94%	8	-	7.63
DL		Michaël Klukowski	D LC, M L	Good	8-8-7-9-7	95%	10	1	7.50
DC		Winston Marshall	D RC	Good	7-8-7-7-7	96%	4	-	7.25
DC		Kevin McKenna	D C	Good	7-9-7	96%	2	-	8.00
DMC		Atiba Hutchinson	M C	Good	9-7-8-8-7	93%	7	2	7.86
MR		Kevin Fletcher	M RC	Very Good	6-6-7-7-7	93%	5 (2)	1	6.71
ML	Wnt	Jonathan de Guzman	AM RLC, F C	Good	7-6-8-7-7	94%	7	1	7.14
AMC		Jacob Lensky	AM RC	Okay	8-8-6-9-6	95%	8	1	7.38
FC		Steve O'Connor	ST	Good	7-7-7-9-7	93%	3 (1)	2	7.50
FC		Paul Brown	ST	Good	7-8-6-7-6	91%	2 (2)	2	6.75
S1		Srdjan Djekanovic	GK	Okay	-	94%	-	-	-
S2		Josh Simpson	D/AM L	Good	6-7-7-7-7	99%	0 (2)	-	7.00
S3	Ret	Marco Reda	D C	Very Good	6-6-8-7-7	96%	4	-	7.00
S4		Patrice Bernier	DM	Very Good	8-7-7-7-7	100%	3 (2)	-	6.80
S5		Iain Hume	AM R, F C	Good	7-7-6-7-7	99%	3 (2)	1	6.60
S6		Jonathan Bustamante	M L	Okay	7-6	91%	1 (1)	-	6.50
S7		Will Johnson	ST	Poor	7-6-6-7-6	90%	8	6	7.38
-	Inj	Julian De Guzman	WB L, DM, M LC	Okay	7-7-7-7-8	79%	7	-	7.29
-		Ali Gerba	F C	Okay	8-7-6-6-7	95%	1 (1)	-	6.50
-		Roberto Giacomi	GK	Okay	-	94%	-	-	-
-		Paul Simpson	WB L, M LC	Poor	7-7-9-9-6	99%	0 (1)	-	6.00

Again some ugly odds but again, they are justified as we crumble to a 0-2 deficit in the first half. We only tried one shot, off target at that, in the whole half to their 7 shots on target out of 8.

We're very fortunate at the start of the second half, as the referee awards us a penalty on a dubious decision. Jonathan de Guzman buries it to make it 1-2. that'S the closest we'll get.

Final Score: Canada 1, U.S.A. 2

We played a much better second half, but just as it was in the Luton game earlier, we couldn't make it up for the ugly first half.

Following the game, the Canadian FA tell me they are very pleased with the team's performance within the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

FM

[FrogMan]

February 9, 2013
League Match #27: at Arsenal (Arsenal 4-6 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK	Slt	Leo Franco	GK	Very Good	9-7-7-7-7	100%	23	-	7.04
DR		Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Okay	7-6	100%	2	-	6.50
DL	Yel	Adam Green	D/WB L	Good	7-7-8-8-6	100%	21	-	7.10
DC	Slt	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Poor	7-7-8-8-4	100%	27 (2)	1	6.83
DC	PR	Philippe Senderos	D C	Very Good	7-7-8-7-7	100%	29 (1)	1	7.00
DMC	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Very Good	7-7-7-7-7	100%	25 (4)	1	7.07
MR		Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Good	7-6-6-6-7	100%	16 (17)	2	6.82
ML		James McFadden	AM L, F C	Very Good	8-8-7	100%	3	-	7.67
AMC	Slt	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Okay	7-7-8-8-6	100%	27 (3)	11	7.10
FC		Paul Graham	ST	Very Good	7-8-8-7-8	96%	3 (1)	1	6.50
FC	PR	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Good	7-7-6-8-7	100%	26 (5)	13	7.19
S1	Slt	Zac Barrett	GK	Good	7-8-7-6-7	97%	9 (1)	-	6.60
S2	Slt	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Very Good	7-7-8-6-7	99%	12 (9)	-	6.81
S3	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Good	6-7-6-6-6	98%	15 (10)	1	6.52
S4		James Morrison	AM RC	Very Good	7-6-6-7-6	99%	14 (14)	2	6.39
S5	PR	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Superb	6-6-8-6-7	100%	21 (9)	7	6.83
-	Slt	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	D L	Good	6-7-8-7-7	99%	16	-	6.94
-	Slt	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Good	6-8-7-6-8	99%	22	-	6.73
-	PR	Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Very Good	6-6-8-7-6	100%	20 (11)	6	6.45
-	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Okay	6-6-7-7-7	100%	18 (4)	2	6.82
-	Inj	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Good	7-6-7-7-6	77%	29 (4)	5	7.21

In a shocking move, I give the start to Paul Graham in the right striker spot. The kid is outgrowing is U18 teammates and needs to play with the big boys a little.

It's a rough start and after 34 minutes, Leo Franco is the sole reason the game is still scoreless. He's faced 7 shots on target so far and has stopped every one of them.

As if they needed the help, Arsenal get some when Ricardo Vaz Te plays a crazy backpass to the middle of nowhere. It's picked up by one of their striker between Vaz Te and Franco. He's got an empty net and he doesn't waste his chance. 0-1 is the halftime score but the game is much worse than us being only down 1. We've not put one shot, off target or on. Pathetic showing...

We play better to start the half and the rebound from Paul Graham's shot fall to Vaz Te's feet, he doesn't miss his chance and levels the game, 1-1.

We go down again in the 71st minute when Cesc Fabregas bends one from 30 yards out.

We're not giving up though and in the 88th minute, it's our turn to benificiate from a crazy backpass that falls to Arjan Wisse's feet. He beats the keeper to make it 2-2 and a chance to have to play against a 4-2-4 formation from hell by Arsenal. We survive though and come home with a draw we never should have had.

Final Score: Luton 2, Arsenal 2

I tell the guys I'm elated with them, if only for their second half showing. They playd with heart, even though it didn't translate into many shots only goal.

Leo Franco collected the MoM selection for his 13 saves.

Following the draw, the board is still satisfied with my work while the supporters are still disappointed with it.


February 10, 2013
I'm not the only one having a rough go. Mark Hughes, the current manager at Man Utd is given an ultimatum by the ManU board. It's rumoured that a bad result in their next match could seal his fate.


February 11, 2013
Leo Franco has been selected to the EPL Team of the Week.


February 13, 2013
Adam Hardy complains of a lack of first team playing time. I'm not too sure I see a future for him with us but I tell him that if he trains well, there might be a chance for him.


February 16, 2013
Alexander Farnerud resumes full training.

and oh crap, the supporters are back to feeling that a new manager is required to bring a fresh approach to the club, sigh...


February 17, 2013
There it is, the dreaded vote of confidence... Not for me though, for Mark Hughes.

FM

[FrogMan]

February 20, 2013
Champions League 1st Knockout round, leg 1: vs Schalke (Schalke 4-6 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK	Slt	Leo Franco	GK	Very Good	7-7-7-7-8	100%	24	-	7.08
DR		Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Very Good	7-6-7	100%	3	-	6.67
DL	Slt	Adam Green	D/WB L	Very Good	7-8-8-6-7	100%	22	-	7.09
DC	Slt	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Good	7-8-8-4-7	100%	28 (2)	1	6.83
DC	Slt	Philippe Senderos	D C	Very Good	7-8-7-7-7	100%	30 (1)	1	7.00
DMC	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Very Good	7-7-7-7-7	100%	26 (4)	1	7.07
MR		Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Very Good	6-6-6-7-7	100%	17 (17)	2	6.82
ML	Yel	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Good	7-6-7-7-6	93%	29 (4)	5	7.21
AMC	Slt	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Very Good	7-8-8-6-7	100%	28 (3)	11	7.10
FC	Slt	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Very Good	6-8-6-7-7	100%	21 (10)	8	6.84
FC	Yel	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Very Good	7-6-8-7-7	100%	27 (5)	14	7.19
S1	Slt	Zac Barrett	GK	Okay	7-8-7-6-7	96%	9 (1)	-	6.60
S2	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Okay	6-6-7-7-7	99%	18 (4)	2	6.82
S3	Yel	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Good	6-8-7-6-8	98%	22	-	6.73
S4	Slt	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Very Good	7-8-6-7-7	99%	12 (10)	-	6.82
S5	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Very Good	7-6-6-6-6	97%	15 (11)	1	6.50
S6		James Morrison	AM RC	Very Good	7-6-6-7-6	98%	14 (14)	2	6.39
S7		Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Very Good	6-6-8-7-6	99%	20 (11)	6	6.45
-	Slt	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	D L	Good	6-7-8-7-7	97%	16	-	6.94
-	Ine	James McFadden	AM L, F C	Good	8-8-7-6	100%	4	-	7.25
-		Paul Graham	ST	Very Good	8-8-7-8-7	100%	4 (1)	1	6.60

Schalke are currently in 3rd place in the Bundesliga, only one point off first place. They finished first with 5 wins and a draw in the Champions League group, a group that included Real Madrid, Panathinaikos and Partizan.

The game is not even a minute old when Nicky Wroes makes it 1-0 on a nice cross to the near post by Adam Green. Arjan Wisse added a second goal for us in a game that turned into the best example of "what could go wrong for Schalke". Moritz Voltz handballed for a penalty in the 20th minute, but Leo Franco saved it, they then had a couple of goals overturned because of players being offsides and we kept on scoring, and scoring, and scoring...

We got up 3-0 at the half, putting all 8 shots on target, but also letting them put 7 of 9 on target.

The second half was not so much all Luton, but very much not Schalke. We ended up shutting them down of any shots in the last 45 minutes while scoring three more, en route to an impressive 6-0 first leg win.

Final Score: Luton 6, Schalke 0

Wow, talk about giving yourself a cushion!!! I tell the guys it was simply fantastic!

Arjan Wisse ended the game with two goals. Youssouf Hersi and Ricardo Vaz Te, with two, were the other scorers. Vaz Te got the Man of the Match selection.

As one would hope, the board was siply delighted with the win. Following the win the board is now pleased with my performance as manager while the supporters are now only unsatisfied with it. How a good beating can help you.


February 22, 2013
Nicky Wroe bruised a shin and could miss up to a week.


February 24, 2013
Aston Villa have sacked their manager and the media are touting me as the hot favourite to replace him. I again tell the media of my loyalty to Luton.

Arsenal have won the Carling Cup, beating Tottenham 2-1 in the Final.

Awww damn! Leo Franco strained some knee ligaments in training and will miss up to 2 months. That's a frigging blow.

Looking at my assistant report regarding Robin Huisman de Jong, I see that he's telling me that he's no better than our current crop of players and sees no reason for continuing our interest in the player.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 2, 2013
League Match #28: at Middlesbrough (Middlesbrough 6-4 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK	Slt	Zac Barrett	GK	Superb	7-6-7-8-7	93%	9 (1)	-	6.60
DR	Slt	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Very Good	8-7-6-8-7	97%	22 (1)	-	6.74
DL	Yel	Adam Green	D/WB L	Very Good	8-8-6-7-9	100%	23	-	7.17
DC	Slt	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Very Good	8-8-4-7-8	100%	29 (2)	1	6.87
DC	Slt	Philippe Senderos	D C	Very Good	8-7-7-7-8	100%	31 (1)	1	7.03
DMC	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Very Good	7-7-7-7-7	100%	27 (4)	1	7.06
MR	Slt	Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Very Good	6-6-7-7-8	93%	18 (17)	3	6.86
ML	Slt	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Very Good	6-7-7-6-9	99%	30 (4)	5	7.26
AMC	Slt	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Very Good	8-8-6-7-8	100%	29 (3)	12	7.13
FC	Yel	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Very Good	8-6-7-7-9	100%	22 (10)	10	6.91
FC	Slt	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Very Good	6-8-7-7-10	100%	28 (5)	16	7.27
S1		Danny Jones	GK	Okay	6-7-6-5-7	100%	5	-	6.60
S2	Slt	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Very Good	8-6-7-7-7	98%	12 (11)	-	6.83
S3		James McFadden	AM L, F C	Superb	8-8-7-6-7	94%	4	-	7.25
S4		James Morrison	AM RC	Very Good	7-6-6-7-6	97%	14 (14)	2	6.39
S5		Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Good	6-6-8-7-6	98%	20 (11)	6	6.45
-	Slt	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	D L	Good	6-7-8-7-7	96%	16	-	6.94
-	Inj	Leo Franco	GK	Very Good	7-7-7-8-9	54%	25	-	7.16
-	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Very Good	6-6-6-6-7	96%	15 (12)	1	6.52
-		Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Very Good	7-6-7-7	100%	4	-	6.75
-	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Good	6-6-7-7-7	98%	18 (4)	2	6.82
-		Paul Graham	ST	Very Good	8-8-7-8-7	100%	4 (1)	1	6.60

Boro have now lost 3 in a row and on a streak of 5 games without a win. Overall team morale is a bit low. Hopefully we can take advantage of that.

They take the lead in the 13th minute, but we're able to equalize when the ref awards us a penalty in the 34th minute. The game is not even for long though. Curtis Davies scores an own goal in the 39th minute and we're back down 1-2. That's the halftime score and it's a very even game.

Despite us unleashing the focking fury on them, we just can't score a goal in the second half. We lose a game we could have won, or at least esily tied.

Final Score: Luton 1, Middlesbrough 2

We pretty much shut them down in the second half while we kept shooting on target yet we couldn't convert one. I still tell the guys I'm elated with them. That second half was something to see.

We drop to 11th place following this loss. Here's what the league table looks like with 10 games remaining for us.

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Chelsea		28	18	9	1	45	15	+30	63
2nd		Arsenal		29	17	8	4	48	17	+31	59
3rd		Liverpool		29	15	8	6	44	28	+16	53
4th		Man City		29	15	7	7	41	27	+14	52
5th		Middlesbrough		29	15	6	8	49	35	+14	51
6th		Bolton		29	14	7	8	38	27	+11	49
7th		Man Utd		28	13	8	7	34	21	+13	47
8th		Aston Villa		29	11	8	10	43	36	+7	41
9th		Everton		29	10	9	10	33	34	-1	39
10th		Blackburn		29	9	10	10	33	38	-5	37
11th		Luton		28	10	6	12	45	45	0	36
12th		Birmingham		29	10	4	15	32	47	-15	34
13th		Newcastle		28	8	9	11	30	39	-9	33
14th		Leeds		28	7	11	10	15	25	-10	32
15th		Sunderland		28	7	8	13	35	39	-4	29
16th		Nottm Forest		29	7	8	14	20	38	-18	29
17th		Southampton		29	7	5	17	27	47	-20	26
18th		Crystal Palace		29	5	10	14	18	36	-18	25
19th		Tottenham		27	4	10	13	20	32	-12	22
20th		Stoke		29	5	7	17	17	41	-24	22

Bad news were awaiting back at the clubhouse. Zac Barrett twisted an ankle in the game and could miss up to four weeks if left to the physios. With Leo Franco already down, I decide to have him receive a course of painkiller.


March 4, 2013
Kevin Foley has been selected to the EPL Team of the Week.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 6, 2013
Champions League 1st Knockout Round, leg 2: at Schalke (Schalke 4-7 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Danny Jones	GK	Okay	6-7-6-5-7	100%	5	-	6.60
DR		Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Very Good	7-6-7-7	100%	4	-	6.75
DL	Slt	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	D L	Good	6-7-8-7-7	96%	16	-	6.94
DC	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Good	6-6-7-7-7	97%	18 (4)	2	6.82
DC	Slt	Philippe Senderos	D C	Very Good	7-7-7-8-7	100%	32 (1)	1	7.03
DMC	Slt	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Very Good	8-6-7-7-7	98%	12 (11)	-	6.83
MR	Slt	James Morrison	AM RC	Okay	6-6-7-6-6	97%	14 (15)	2	6.38
ML	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Very Good	6-6-6-6-7	96%	15 (12)	1	6.52
AMC	Slt	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Very Good	8-6-7-8-7	98%	30 (3)	13	7.12
FC		Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Poor	6-8-7-6-6	96%	20 (12)	6	6.44
FC		Paul Graham	ST	Very Good	8-8-7-8-7	100%	4 (1)	1	6.60
S1	Inj	Zac Barrett	GK	Good	6-7-8-7-6	86%	10 (1)	-	6.55
S2	Yel	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Very Good	7-6-8-7-7	92%	23 (1)	-	6.75
S3	Slt	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Okay	8-4-7-8-7	100%	30 (2)	1	6.88
S4	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Okay	7-7-7-7-7	97%	28 (4)	1	7.06
S5	Yel	Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Very Good	6-7-7-8-7	96%	19 (17)	3	6.86
S6	Slt	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Okay	6-7-7-9-7	97%	23 (10)	10	6.91
S7	Yel	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Good	7-7-6-9-6	100%	31 (4)	5	7.23
-	Inj	Leo Franco	GK	Very Good	7-7-7-8-9	50%	25	-	7.16
-	Slt	Adam Green	D/WB L	Okay	8-6-7-9-7	96%	24	-	7.17
-	Yel	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Okay	8-7-7-10-7	98%	29 (5)	16	7.26
-	Ine	James McFadden	AM L, F C	Good	8-7-6-7-7	99%	4 (1)	-	7.20

With a 6 goal cushion, something really out of the ordinary would have to happen for us not to make it through. I start kid keeper Danny Jones in this one, leaving Zac Barrett to back him up.

The first half is going well as we play defensively, until Giannis Taralidis commits a fould inside our penalty area. They score to make it 0-1, 6-1 aggregate.

The sky is falling in injury time of the first half as I see Danny Jones fall to the ground. He won't be able to shake that one off and Zac Barrett has to come on in his place.

We play a much stronger second half, holding them off.

Final Score: Luton 0, Schalke 1 (6-1 aggregate)

We're through!!! Seeing how there were only 16 teams in this knockout round, I can only assume that the next round is the quarter final round, sweet!

Back to the clubhouse, I learn that Zac Barrett's ankle is still hurting him. I set him to have another painkiller shot. Arjan Wisse suffered a strained thigh and he will miss up to two weeks. Danny Jones suffered a bruised head and will miss up to a week.


March 8, 2013
We've been drawn to play Inter in the Champions League quarter final. They are currently in 1st place of the Italian Serie A and have won it for the previous 3 seasons. This is not gonna be easy.

I'll be damned though when I learn when our Leeds game has been rescheduled. The EPL administration must not want us to go forward in the Champions League because they have put that game only two days prior to our second leg against Inter.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 9, 2013
League Match #29: vs Chelsea (Chelsea 4-6 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK	Inj	Zac Barrett	GK	Very Good	7-8-7-6-7	87%	10 (2)	-	6.58
DR		Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Very Good	7-6-7-7-7	99%	5	-	6.80
DL	Yel	Adam Green	D/WB L	Okay	8-6-7-9-7	100%	24	-	7.17
DC	Slt	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Okay	8-4-7-8-7	100%	30 (2)	1	6.88
DC	Slt	Philippe Senderos	D C	Very Good	7-7-8-7-7	99%	33 (1)	1	7.03
DMC	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Okay	7-7-7-7-7	100%	28 (4)	1	7.06
MR	Slt	Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Very Good	7-7-8-7-6	100%	19 (18)	3	6.84
ML		James McFadden	AM L, F C	Good	8-7-6-7-7	100%	4 (1)	-	7.20
AMC	Slt	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Good	7-7-6-9-6	100%	31 (4)	5	7.23
FC	Slt	Romone Rose	ST	Very Good	7-9-7-6-7	94%	4 (3)	5	7.29
FC	Slt	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Okay	8-7-7-10-7	100%	29 (5)	16	7.26
S1	Lst	Luke Law	GK	Poor	6-7-6-6-5	92%	-	-	-
S2	Slt	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Very Good	6-7-7-7-6	94%	13 (11)	-	6.79
S3	Slt	James Morrison	AM RC	Very Good	6-7-6-6-6	92%	15 (15)	2	6.37
S4	Slt	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Very Good	6-7-8-7-7	95%	31 (3)	13	7.12
S5		Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Very Good	8-7-6-6-6	92%	21 (12)	6	6.42
-	Inj	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Very Good	7-7-9-7-6	83%	23 (11)	10	6.88
-	Slt	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	D L	Very Good	7-8-7-7-7	92%	17	-	6.94
-	Inj	Leo Franco	GK	Very Good	7-7-7-8-9	47%	25	-	7.16
-	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Very Good	6-6-6-7-7	88%	16 (12)	1	6.54
-	Slt	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Good	7-6-8-7-7	97%	23 (1)	-	6.75
-	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Very Good	6-7-7-7-7	98%	19 (4)	2	6.83
-		Paul Graham	ST	Very Good	8-7-8-7-6	92%	5 (1)	1	6.50
-	Inj	Danny Jones	GK	Very Good	7-6-5-7-7	84%	6	-	6.67

Zac Barrett, painkiller shot and all, is the starting keeper in this one and he better not get injured again because no talent Luke Law is backing him up. Danny Jones is only two days from being back but his "Inj" tag is a bright red color so he's out.

We're playing very well early on but the number of yellows we are getting is making me nervous. by the 19th minutes, Wroe, McFadden and Fernandez have been carded so far.

The ref slows down his yellow spray painting and we end the half at 0-0. We're very much in the game at this point.

We go down 0-1 on a Frank Lampard free kick from 25 yards out in the 55th minute and we never recover...

Final Score: Luton 0, Chelsea 1

I'll be damned, we could and maybe should have won this game. We outshot them 11(4) to 8(4) and were awarde 6 corners to their 2. A very good, if unproductive in terms of standing points, showing for us.

Following the game, I have Zac Barrett get another painkiller injection. I know I'm taking chances, but we're very thin at keeper at the moment.

The board is now satisfied with my work while the supporters are disappointed by my management of the club.


March 10, 2013
Huhoh, Man Utd supporters protests about Mark Hughes's handling of the club...

FM

[FrogMan]

March 13, 2013
League Match #30: vs Tottenham (Luton 6-4 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Danny Jones	GK	Very Good	7-6-5-7-7	92%	6	-	6.67
DR	Slt	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Good	7-6-8-7-7	99%	23 (1)	-	6.75
DL	Yel	Adam Green	D/WB L	Poor	6-7-9-7-7	98%	25	-	7.16
DC	Slt	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Poor	4-7-8-7-7	100%	31 (2)	1	6.88
DC	Slt	Philippe Senderos	D C	Okay	7-8-7-7-6	100%	34 (1)	1	7.00
DMC	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Poor	7-7-7-7-7	97%	29 (4)	1	7.06
MR	Wnt	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Okay	7-6-9-6-7	100%	32 (4)	5	7.22
ML		James McFadden	AM L, F C	Good	7-6-7-7-7	97%	5 (1)	-	7.17
AMC	Slt	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Good	7-8-7-7-7	100%	31 (4)	13	7.11
FC		Paul Graham	ST	Very Good	8-7-8-7-6	99%	5 (1)	1	6.50
FC	Slt	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Very Good	7-7-10-7-7	97%	30 (5)	16	7.26
S1	Inj	Zac Barrett	GK	Good	8-7-6-7-7	86%	11 (2)	-	6.62
S2	Slt	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Very Good	6-7-7-7-6	99%	13 (11)	-	6.79
S3	Slt	James Morrison	AM RC	Poor	7-6-6-6-6	95%	15 (16)	2	6.35
S4	Slt	Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Okay	7-8-7-6-6	98%	20 (18)	3	6.82
S5	Slt	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Very Good	7-7-9-7-6	92%	23 (11)	10	6.88
-	Slt	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	D L	Very Good	7-8-7-7-7	96%	17	-	6.94
-	Inj	Leo Franco	GK	Very Good	7-7-7-8-9	43%	25	-	7.16
-	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Very Good	6-6-6-7-7	93%	16 (12)	1	6.54
-		Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Good	6-7-7-7-6	99%	6	-	6.67
-		Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Okay	7-6-6-6-6	95%	21 (13)	6	6.41
-	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Very Good	6-7-7-7-7	99%	19 (4)	2	6.83
-	Slt	Romone Rose	ST	Okay	9-7-6-7-6	96%	5 (3)	5	7.13
-	Lst	Luke Law	GK	Poor	6-7-6-6-5	95%	-	-	-

The Spurs are really struggling this season and are seriously facing relegation after many season spent in the Premiership. I don't know how their last game went, but they have a couple of starters suspended and another one or two injured.

Youssouf Hersi gives us a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute when his free kick from distance finds the back of the net. We allow them to tie it in the 29th minute.

While shots are not reflective of a domination on our part, we close the first half with 58% possession. I tell the guys that we can win this.

This speech seems to work as we take an early lead, only 2 minutes into the half when Cédric Fernandez finds the back of the net. As it often happens with us against Tottenham, we do find a way to let the back in and they score in teh 80th minute.

Philippe Senderos gets nicked a couple minutes later and we have to go to the crazy 2DM-3D formation I used a little earlier in the season but it works and we hold on for a draw that could have easily turned into a loss late in the game...

Final Score: Luton 2, Tottenham 2

I know we should have won, but I will still take that draw over a loss.

Well, the painkillers are off for Zac Barrett. He will now miss a month with his twisted ankle. Leo Franco is still three weeks from coming back. Hopefully Danny Jones can hang in there until one of them comes back.

And huhoh again. The supporters are back to feeling that a new manager is required to bring a fresh approach to the club.

We now stand in 11th place with 8 games to play.

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Chelsea		30	20	9	1	51	16	+35	69
2nd		Arsenal		30	17	8	5	48	18	+30	59
3rd		Liverpool		30	16	8	6	46	28	+18	56
4th		Man City		30	16	7	7	44	27	+17	55
5th		Middlesbrough		30	15	7	8	50	36	+14	52
6th		Man Utd		30	14	9	7	37	22	+15	51
7th		Bolton		30	14	7	9	38	29	+9	49
8th		Aston Villa		30	11	8	11	44	38	+6	41
9th		Blackburn		30	10	10	10	36	40	-4	40
10th		Everton		30	10	9	11	34	36	-2	39
11th		Luton		30	10	7	13	47	48	-1	37
12th		Newcastle		30	9	10	11	33	40	-7	37
13th		Leeds		30	8	11	11	16	27	-11	35
14th		Birmingham		30	10	5	15	32	47	-15	35
15th		Sunderland		30	8	8	14	38	43	-5	32
16th		Nottm Forest		30	7	9	14	21	39	-18	30
17th		Southampton		30	8	5	17	29	48	-19	29
18th		Crystal Palace		30	5	11	14	19	37	-18	26
19th		Tottenham		30	4	11	15	25	42	-17	23
20th		Stoke		30	5	7	18	17	44	-27	22

FM

[condors]

FrogMan,

you seem to be leaking a little too many goals (imho) besides your keeper troubles have you watched a few game completely? Not sure if your lacking pace anywhere on your d-line or if your lacking in the air (although Davies shouldn't be the issue), or if your making bad passes on the back line tell your defensemen to force the ball up the wings or if its numbers make sure your midfielders are getting back to help out.

Just some friendly suggestions, good luck going forward as always

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by condors

FrogMan,

you seem to be leaking a little too many goals (imho) besides your keeper troubles have you watched a few game completely? Not sure if your lacking pace anywhere on your d-line or if your lacking in the air (although Davies shouldn't be the issue), or if your making bad passes on the back line tell your defensemen to force the ball up the wings or if its numbers make sure your midfielders are getting back to help out.

Just some friendly suggestions, good luck going forward as always

Davies has great pace although Senderos is somewhat lacking in that aspect. Both of them are just great in the air, no problem on that side.

Most of the time, goals often seem like the whole team giving up which may be all part of the "slightly concerned"/"lost confidence in manager" part. Some of them goals also look like perfectly placed shot from a distance and these are the ones that drive me batty during a game. We work hard to build whatever little lead we can. They pick up the ball, swing one from 25 yards out and boom, back to level...

I'll look into having the middies come back to help though, good suggestion. Maybe my wingers are just set to be too offensive...

FM

[condors]

not sure what kinda tactic your using but if those long balls are getting you you may want to have your center midfielders or dmc be a little more aggressive on them, just something else to look into may be giving a little too much room, course there are some players who will make things happen no matter what but that should only be against the Chelsea, Liverpool, Manutd and Arsenals of the game.

[FrogMan]

March 16, 2013
League Match #31: at Crystal Palace (Luton 6-4 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Danny Jones	GK	Okay	6-5-7-7-6	96%	7	-	6.57
DR		Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Okay	6-7-7-7-6	100%	6	-	6.67
DL	Yel	Adam Green	D/WB L	Okay	7-9-7-7-7	96%	26	-	7.15
DC	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Very Good	6-7-7-7-7	99%	19 (4)	2	6.83
DC	Slt	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Poor	7-8-7-7-6	95%	32 (2)	1	6.85
DMC	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Okay	7-7-7-7-7	95%	30 (4)	2	7.06
MR	Slt	Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Poor	8-7-6-6-6	100%	20 (19)	3	6.79
ML		James McFadden	AM L, F C	Very Good	6-7-7-7-7	95%	6 (1)	-	7.14
AMC	Slt	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Good	8-7-7-7-7	96%	32 (4)	14	7.11
FC		Paul Graham	ST	Very Good	7-8-7-6-7	96%	6 (1)	1	6.57
FC	Slt	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Very Good	7-10-7-7-7	95%	31 (5)	16	7.25
S1	Lst	Luke Law	GK	Poor	6-7-6-6-5	96%	-	-	-
S2	Slt	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Good	7-7-7-6-6	99%	13 (12)	-	6.76
S3	Slt	James Morrison	AM RC	Okay	7-6-6-6-6	98%	15 (16)	2	6.35
S4	Wnt	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Okay	6-9-6-7-6	95%	33 (4)	5	7.19
S5	Slt	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Okay	7-9-7-6-6	95%	23 (12)	10	6.86
-	Slt	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	D L	Good	7-8-7-7-7	97%	17	-	6.94
-	Inj	Leo Franco	GK	Good	7-7-7-8-9	40%	25	-	7.16
-	Inj	Zac Barrett	GK	Okay	8-7-6-7-7	82%	11 (2)	-	6.62
-	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Very Good	6-6-6-7-7	96%	16 (12)	1	6.54
-	Slt	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Very Good	6-8-7-7-7	94%	24 (1)	-	6.76
-		Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Okay	7-6-6-6-6	98%	21 (13)	6	6.41
-	Slt	Philippe Senderos	D C	Okay	8-7-7-6-7	91%	35 (1)	1	7.00
-	Slt	Romone Rose	ST	Okay	9-7-6-7-6	100%	5 (3)	5	7.13

We've not won in our last 5 league games, this is getting embarassing...

We do come out with a roar and we end the half with a 2-0 lead. We did play very well, but both these goals came by mistakes from our opponents. The first goal was handed to Ricardo Vaz Te following a crazy back header and the second goal was an own goal following some hot play after a corner.

I did have to adjust our tackling midway through the half after we'd been handed a couple of yellows and I realized who was the referee: Rob Styles. Damn, he's still officiating?!? He's like 49 years old. GO HOME YOU FOOL!!!!

The second half is Luton all the way, after they'd scored their only goal of the game. Vaz Te doubled his tally in the 60th minute and our pressure forced one of their defenders into a foul inside their penalty area. Youssouf Hersi converted the penalty.

Final Score: Luton 4, Crystal Palace 1

I tell the guys is was a simply fantastic result. Ricardo Vaz Te got selected as Man of the Match with his two goals but the whole team played very well.

I praise Vaz Te in the media. The team board was very pleased with that win and they're now back to being pleased with my management of the club. The supporters still feel a new manager is required, sigh...


March 18, 2013
Moritz Voltz, Ricardo Vaz Te and Leonel Romero have all be selected to the EPL team of the week.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 21, 2013
Very interesting, we've just received $2.3M from the Marcio Junquiera transfer to NEC. There was a clause that became effective after 50 league appearances from Junquiera.


March 24, 2013
Well, the axe has finally fallen on Mark Hughes's neck. He just got sacked by the Man Utd team board. Pundits in the media are already speculating that high-profile manager... Steve Gougeon could be tempted to quit Luton for Old Trafford. Woah, high-profile I still deny any interest. Man U is not really a place I would want to end up at. Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle, and some others, but not Man U... And I still want to right this ship here...

Wow, talk about acting quick. The Tottenham board have sacked their manager Javir Clemente and pundit are seeing Mark Hughes as a possible replacement...

As you'd expect, the Luton team board is delighted that I reaffirmed my commitment to the Kenilworth Road club.

After getting some interesting scout reports about German striker Danny Galm, I decide to offer him a contract effectice at the end of his current contract. He's eligible to a free transfer. The guy's got goal scorer written all over him. Hopefully, he could bring that goal scoring to Kenilworth Road. He also seems to be very determined and has some very solid work ethics.

He's looking for $65k per week with a signing on fee of $925k and a minimum fee release clause at $13.75M. I lower the offered salary to $50k and increase the minimum fee release clause to $17M and offer him a contract.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 27, 2013
Champions League quarter final, leg 1: at Inter (Inter 4-6 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Danny Jones	GK	Very Good	5-7-7-6-8	100%	8	-	6.75
DR		Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Very Good	7-7-7-6-8	100%	7	-	6.86
DL	Slt	Adam Green	D/WB L	Very Good	9-7-7-7-8	100%	27	-	7.19
DC	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Very Good	7-7-7-7-9	100%	20 (4)	2	6.92
DC	Slt	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Very Good	8-7-7-6-9	100%	33 (2)	1	6.91
DMC	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Very Good	7-7-7-7-8	100%	31 (4)	2	7.09
MR	Yel	Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Good	7-6-6-6-8	100%	21 (19)	3	6.83
ML	Slt	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Very Good	9-7-6-6-6	97%	23 (13)	10	6.83
AMC	Wnt	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Superb	6-7-6-6-7	97%	33 (5)	5	7.16
FC		Paul Graham	ST	Superb	7-6-7-7-7	100%	7 (1)	1	6.63
FC	Yel	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Superb	7-7-7-10-7	97%	32 (5)	18	7.32
S1	Lst	Luke Law	GK	Very Poor	6-7-6-6-5	95%	-	-	-
S2	Slt	Keith Keane	D/WB R, DM, M RC	Very Good	8-7-7-6-6	100%	3 (1)	-	6.25
S3	Slt	David Martin	D RC	Poor	7-8-6-8-6	97%	4	-	6.75
S4	Slt	James Morrison	AM RC	Okay	7-6-6-6-6	97%	15 (16)	2	6.35
S5	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Very Good	6-6-6-7-7	96%	16 (12)	1	6.54
S6	Slt	Romone Rose	ST	Okay	9-7-6-7-6	99%	5 (3)	5	7.13
S7		Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Very Good	6-6-6-6-6	98%	21 (13)	6	6.41
-	Int	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Superb	7-7-7-8-7	99%	33 (4)	15	7.14
-	Int	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Superb	7-6-6-7-7	99%	13 (13)	-	6.77
-	Slt	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	D L	Good	7-8-7-7-7	96%	17	-	6.94
-	Inj	Leo Franco	GK	Good	7-7-7-8-9	42%	25	-	7.16
-	Inj	Zac Barrett	GK	Okay	8-7-6-7-7	70%	11 (2)	-	6.62
-	Yel	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Superb	8-7-7-7-7	99%	24 (1)	-	6.76
-	Ine	James McFadden	AM L, F C	Very Good	7-7-7-7-8	100%	7 (1)	-	7.25
-	Int	Philippe Senderos	D C	Okay	8-7-7-6-7	100%	35 (1)	1	7.00

Ricardo Carvahlo is sent off for a professional foul in the 29th minute. They go to a 3-4-2 formation. We bring on the pressure for the rest of the half yet we're unable to convert anything as they keeper, Igor Akinfeev, is having a great game.

Ricardo Vaz Te finally gives us a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute.

James Morrison is injured in the 80th minute but we're out of subs so we go to 10 against 10 for the last 10 minutes. They use this opportunity to tie the game just 3 minutes later.

Final Score: Luton 1, Inter 1

Well, we should have been to convert more of our 10 shots on target but I'll take this scoreline for now. Anything can happen in the second leg, at Kenilworth Road no less...

Ricardo Vaz Te was selected as Man of the Match, outshining a very impressive performance from Igor Akinfeev.

James Morrison will miss one week with some bruised ribs.


March 28, 2013
Spanish legend Lorenzo Serra Ferrer has been appointed to be the new manager at Man Utd. His last job was with Betis, where he got sacked on March 17.


March 29, 2013
Danny Galm has accepted our contract offer and will come to Kenilworth Road on July 1st. He said that playing in European competition had a large bearing on his decision. Shhhh, don't tell him there's a good chance we will only play in England next season... As I said, he looks like a poacher kind of striker, having scored 13, 15, 24 goals in the last three season and already has 17 this season.


March 30, 2013
Portsmouth have won promotion to the EPL. Looking at the Championship table, I see that QPR are in second with a three point lead over 3rd place Bristol City with 5 games to be played. Interesting.


March 31, 2013
Leo Franco resumes full training.

FM

[FrogMan]

April 1, 2013
League Match #32: at Leeds (Luton 6-4 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Danny Jones	GK	Very Good	7-7-6-8-8	100%	9	-	6.89
DR	Slt	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Very Good	8-7-7-7-7	100%	24 (1)	-	6.76
DL	Yel	Adam Green	D/WB L	Very Good	7-7-7-8-7	99%	28	-	7.18
DC	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Very Good	7-7-7-9-8	100%	21 (4)	2	6.96
DC	Slt	Philippe Senderos	D C	Very Good	7-7-6-7-9	100%	35 (1)	1	7.00
DMC	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Very Good	7-7-7-8-7	99%	32 (4)	2	7.08
MR	Slt	Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Very Good	6-6-6-8-7	99%	22 (19)	3	6.83
ML		James McFadden	AM L, F C	Very Good	7-7-7-7-8	100%	7 (1)	-	7.25
AMC	Yel	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Very Good	7-7-7-8-7	100%	33 (4)	15	7.14
FC	Unh	Romone Rose	ST	Okay	9-7-6-7-6	98%	5 (3)	5	7.13
FC	Slt	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Very Good	7-7-10-7-8	99%	33 (5)	19	7.34
S1	Lst	Luke Law	GK	Poor	6-7-6-6-5	95%	-	-	-
S2	Slt	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Good	6-6-7-7-7	99%	13 (13)	-	6.77
S3	Wnt	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Very Good	7-6-6-7-7	100%	34 (5)	5	7.15
S4	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Very Good	6-6-6-7-7	95%	16 (12)	1	6.54
S5	Slt	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Very Good	7-6-6-6-7	97%	24 (13)	10	6.84
-	Slt	Leo Franco	GK	Good	7-7-7-8-9	61%	25	-	7.16
-	Inj	Zac Barrett	GK	Okay	8-7-6-7-7	64%	11 (2)	-	6.62
-		Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Okay	7-7-6-8-5	100%	8	-	6.63
-	Yel	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Very Good	7-6-9-7-7	98%	34 (2)	1	6.92
-	Slt	James Morrison	AM RC	Poor	6-6-6-6-6	90%	15 (17)	2	6.34
-		Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Good	6-6-6-6-6	98%	21 (14)	6	6.40

Prior to the game, I see that the team board is still satisfied with my performance while the supporters still feel that a new manager is required.

Interesting, I see that future Hatter Steven Milne is set to start for Leeds in this game.

Well, we're stuck with a Rob Styles wannabe and after only 24 minutes, four of our guys have been carded. Add to the the fact that we were not playing very well to begin with, us having to go to easy tackling will not help matters... We eventually go down one in the 42nd minute and are almost lucky that the halftime score is only 0-1.

I lash at the boys at halftime. They really look clueless out there.

James McFadden's goof up is the source of a second goal for them in teh 75th minute. After doing a great interception, he sent a crazy backpass that never made it to the keeper.

We do get one back in the 89th minute but it was too little too late.

Final Score: Luton 1, Leeds 2

Definitely a game we could and maybe should have won. I tell the guys I'm disappointed by their performance.

We drop to 12th place with the loss.


April 2, 2013
Tottenham have made it official. Mark Hughes is their new manager.

Games are played and we dropped to 13th place, but with a game on hand over 12th place Birmingham.

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Chelsea		32	22	9	1	57	16	+41	75
2nd		Arsenal		33	18	10	5	50	19	+31	64
3rd		Man City		33	18	8	7	48	28	+20	62
4th		Liverpool		31	16	8	7	46	29	+17	56
5th		Middlesbrough		33	16	7	10	54	42	+12	55
6th		Bolton		33	15	9	9	41	31	+10	54
7th		Man Utd		33	14	11	8	40	26	+14	53
8th		Aston Villa		32	12	8	12	47	41	+6	44
9th		Blackburn		32	11	10	11	37	42	-5	43
10th		Newcastle		33	10	11	12	35	42	-7	41
11th		Leeds		32	10	11	11	20	28	-8	41
12th		Birmingham		33	12	5	16	35	49	-14	41
13th		Luton		32	11	7	14	52	51	+1	40
14th		Everton		32	10	10	12	35	38	-3	40
15th		Nottm Forest		33	8	10	15	27	44	-17	34
16th		Sunderland		33	8	9	16	40	50	-10	33
17th		Southampton		32	9	6	17	31	48	-17	33
18th		Tottenham		33	5	12	16	28	44	-16	27
19th		Crystal Palace		32	5	11	16	21	44	-23	26
20th		Stoke		33	5	8	20	17	49	-32	23

FM

[FrogMan]

April 3, 2013
Champions League quarter final, leg 2: vs Inter (Inter 4-6 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Danny Jones	GK	Very Good	7-6-8-8-7	100%	10	-	6.90
DR		Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Okay	7-7-6-8-5	100%	8	-	6.63
DL	Slt	Adam Green	D/WB L	Superb	7-7-8-7-7	94%	29	-	7.17
DC	Slt	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Very Good	7-6-9-7-7	100%	34 (2)	1	6.92
DC	Slt	Philippe Senderos	D C	Okay	7-6-7-9-6	97%	36 (1)	1	6.97
DMC	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Okay	7-7-8-7-6	94%	33 (4)	2	7.05
MR	Yel	Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Okay	6-6-8-7-6	95%	23 (19)	3	6.81
ML	Wnt	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Good	6-6-7-7-6	100%	34 (6)	5	7.13
AMC	Slt	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Good	7-7-8-7-7	94%	34 (4)	15	7.13
FC	Slt	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Okay	6-6-6-7-7	99%	24 (14)	10	6.84
FC	Yel	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Superb	7-10-7-8-8	94%	34 (5)	20	7.36
S1	Slt	Leo Franco	GK	Good	7-7-7-8-9	73%	25	-	7.16
S2	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Good	7-7-9-8-7	99%	22 (4)	2	6.96
S3	Slt	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Poor	6-7-7-7-7	100%	13 (14)	-	6.78
S4	Yel	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Okay	7-7-7-7-6	94%	25 (1)	-	6.73
S5	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Very Good	6-6-6-7-7	95%	16 (12)	1	6.54
S6	Slt	James Morrison	AM RC	Poor	6-6-6-6-6	92%	15 (17)	2	6.34
S7		Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Good	6-6-6-6-6	97%	21 (14)	6	6.40
-	Inj	Zac Barrett	GK	Okay	8-7-6-7-7	62%	11 (2)	-	6.62
-	Ine	James McFadden	AM L, F C	Poor	7-7-7-8-6	94%	8 (1)	-	7.11
-	Unh	Romone Rose	ST	Poor	7-6-7-6-7	93%	6 (3)	5	7.11

Teams are tied at 1-1 on aggregate after the 1st leg.

We put tons of pressure on them early on and after something like 4 rebounds, Ricardo Vaz Te is able to put one past Akinfeev in the 11th minute.

They do hit right back and before the 31st minute, they are now in the lead after scoring twice. We're down 1-2, 2-3 on aggregate and with the away goals, we can not simply tie the aggregate score anymore. We need to win this straight up.

While we stay with them pace for pace, even threatening them quite a few times, we're just unable to score in the second half.

Final Score: Luton 1, Inter 2 (2-3 aggregate)

We proved we can play with the best of them, this was a very, very close game with a 50-50 possession split and shots at 14(6) for us, 15(8) for them. It really could have gone either way.

We're given $3.5M for playing in the Champions League, not bad.

The semi finals will pit Benfica with Arsenal and Inter with Chelsea.

FM

[Tellistto]

Nice run at the Champs league! Hopefully they kept the tv money for that in this version, which means you should be getting a substantial chunk of it, or did, at the end of the competition!

Tell

[FrogMan]

April 6, 2013
League Match #33: vs Stoke (Luton 4-5 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Danny Jones	GK	Okay	6-8-8-7-6	96%	11	-	6.82
DR		Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Okay	7-6-8-5-6	96%	9	-	6.56
DL	Slt	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	D L	Okay	7-8-7-7-7	95%	17	-	6.94
DC	Slt	Philippe Senderos	D C	Poor	6-7-9-6-6	98%	37 (1)	1	6.95
DC	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Okay	7-9-8-7-6	100%	22 (5)	2	6.93
DMC	Slt	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Okay	6-7-7-7-7	100%	13 (14)	-	6.78
MR	Slt	James Morrison	AM RC	Okay	6-6-6-6-6	95%	15 (17)	2	6.34
ML	Yel	James McFadden	AM L, F C	Okay	7-7-7-8-6	99%	8 (1)	-	7.11
AMC	Wnt	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Poor	6-7-7-6-6	100%	35 (6)	5	7.10
FC	Unh	Romone Rose	ST	Poor	7-6-7-6-7	97%	6 (3)	5	7.11
FC	Yel	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Very Good	10-7-8-8-7	94%	35 (5)	21	7.35
S1	Slt	Leo Franco	GK	Okay	7-7-7-8-9	86%	25	-	7.16
S2	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Good	7-8-7-6-7	94%	34 (4)	2	7.05
S3	Slt	Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Good	6-8-7-6-7	94%	24 (19)	3	6.81
S4	Slt	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Okay	7-8-7-7-7	95%	35 (4)	15	7.13
S5		Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Okay	6-6-6-6-6	97%	21 (15)	6	6.39
-	Slt	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Okay	6-6-7-7-7	94%	25 (14)	10	6.85
-	Inj	Zac Barrett	GK	Okay	8-7-6-7-7	58%	11 (2)	-	6.62
-	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Okay	6-6-7-7-6	91%	16 (13)	1	6.52
-	Slt	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Okay	7-7-7-7-6	99%	25 (1)	-	6.73
-	Yel	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Okay	6-9-7-7-6	99%	35 (2)	1	6.89
-	Yel	Adam Green	D/WB L	Okay	7-8-7-7-6	94%	30	-	7.13

They are currently 20th in the EPL, we can not let that one slip.

The first half ends scoreless although we did put in some great moves and are somewhat dominating play. I'm worried we might end up with a scoreless draw.

My worries itensify until 3:55 into injury time when, as we put more and more pressure on their backline, one of their defenders puts one into his own goal.

Final Score: Luton 1, Stoke 0

They say we deserved the win, based on stats alone, I say we got lucky to get the three points. But I'll take them and run...

Giannis Taralidis received the MoM selection.

After 33 games, we're back up to 9th place.

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Chelsea		33	23	9	1	60	16	+44	78
2nd		Arsenal		34	19	10	5	56	20	+36	67
3rd		Man City		34	18	8	8	48	30	+18	62
4th		Liverpool		32	17	8	7	48	29	+19	59
5th		Middlesbrough		34	16	8	10	57	45	+12	56
6th		Man Utd		34	14	12	8	40	26	+14	54
7th		Bolton		34	15	9	10	43	34	+9	54
8th		Aston Villa		33	12	8	13	48	47	+1	44
9th		Luton		33	12	7	14	53	51	+2	43
10th		Blackburn		32	11	10	11	37	42	-5	43
11th		Newcastle		34	10	12	12	38	45	-7	42
12th		Leeds		33	10	12	11	21	29	-8	42
13th		Everton		33	10	11	12	35	38	-3	41
14th		Birmingham		34	12	5	17	36	51	-15	41
15th		Nottm Forest		34	8	11	15	28	45	-17	35
16th		Sunderland		34	8	9	17	40	53	-13	33
17th		Southampton		32	9	6	17	31	48	-17	33
18th		Tottenham		34	6	12	16	30	45	-15	30
19th		Crystal Palace		33	6	11	16	24	46	-22	29
20th		Stoke		34	5	8	21	17	50	-33	23

April 7, 2013
Helped by good performance all season long of players like Kevin Fletcher, Danny Jones, David Talbot, and Paul Graham, the Luton U18 have retained the English U18 group 6 title.


April 8, 2013
Moritz Voltz and Giannis Taralidis have been selected to the EPL Team of the week.

FM

[FrogMan]

April 13, 2013
League Match #34: at Nottm Forest (Nottm Forest 6-4 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK	Slt	Leo Franco	GK	Okay	7-8-9-7-7	91%	25	-	7.16
DR		Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Good	6-8-5-6-7	100%	10	-	6.60
DL	Slt	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	D L	Good	8-7-7-7-7	93%	18	-	6.94
DC	Slt	Philippe Senderos	D C	Very Good	7-9-6-6-7	100%	38 (1)	1	6.95
DC	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Very Good	9-8-7-6-7	100%	23 (5)	2	6.93
DMC	Slt	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Very Good	7-7-7-7-8	100%	14 (14)	-	6.82
MR		Kevin Fletcher	M RC	Good	6-7-9-8-8	100%	4	-	6.50
ML	Yel	James McFadden	AM L, F C	Very Good	7-7-8-6-7	100%	9 (1)	-	7.10
AMC	Slt	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Very Good	8-7-7-7-7	100%	35 (5)	15	7.13
FC	Slt	Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Okay	6-6-6-6-7	97%	21 (16)	6	6.41
FC	Slt	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Okay	6-6-7-7-7	100%	25 (14)	10	6.85
S1		Danny Jones	GK	Good	8-8-7-6-7	100%	12	-	6.83
S2	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Okay	7-8-7-6-7	100%	34 (4)	2	7.05
S3	Slt	Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Very Good	8-7-6-7-7	100%	24 (20)	3	6.82
S4	Slt	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Okay	7-7-6-6-6	100%	36 (6)	5	7.07
S5		Paul Graham	ST	Good	6-7-7-7-7	100%	8 (1)	1	6.67
-	Inj	Zac Barrett	GK	Okay	8-7-6-7-7	49%	11 (2)	-	6.62
-	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Okay	6-6-7-7-6	95%	16 (13)	1	6.52
-	Slt	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Okay	7-7-7-7-6	100%	25 (1)	-	6.73
-	Yel	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Okay	6-9-7-7-6	100%	35 (2)	1	6.89
-	Yel	Adam Green	D/WB L	Okay	7-8-7-7-6	100%	30	-	7.13
-	Yel	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Very Good	7-8-8-7-7	99%	36 (5)	21	7.34
-		David Talbot	D R, DM, M R	Good	6-8-7-8-7	100%	-	-	-

You know it's not going right when the relegation candidates are favourites to win against you...

Tired of James Morrison's underperforming, I decide to bring up Kevin Fletcher and give him some playing time with the senior squad.

Well, these odds were probably not that crazy. We go down 0-1 after 45 seconds and 0-2 just before the end of the first half, only about three minutes before Leo Franco broke down and had to be replaced by Danny Jones.

They add a third goal in the 49th minute and even though we fight back a little, it's still another forgettable performance...

Final Score: Luton 2, Nottm Forest 3

they outhsot us 13(6) to 5(3) despite us winning possession with 53%.

Looks like Danny Jones will start until the end of the season or so. Leo Franco suffered a gashed leg and will miss two weeks.

The board tell me they are disappointed with that loss. The chairman accepts that every team can have an off day but that this sort of performance is not acceptable.

Stoke have been relegated from the Premiership.


April 14, 2013
Chelsea have retained the Premiership title.

FM

[FrogMan]

April 17, 2013
League Match #35: vs Blackburn (Luton 6-4 favourites)

Pkd	Inf	Name	Position	Morale	Form	Con	Apps	Gls	Av Rat
GK		Danny Jones	GK	Okay	8-7-6-7-6	100%	12 (1)	-	6.77
DR		Moritz Volz	D/WB R	Poor	8-5-6-7-7	97%	11	-	6.64
DL	Yel	Adam Green	D/WB L	Okay	7-8-7-7-6	100%	30	-	7.13
DC	Slt	Philippe Senderos	D C	Very Good	9-6-6-7-7	98%	39 (1)	1	6.95
DC	Yel	Curtis Davies	SW, D C	Okay	6-9-7-7-6	100%	35 (2)	1	6.89
DMC	Slt	Cédric Fernandez	DM	Okay	7-8-7-6-7	100%	34 (4)	2	7.05
MR		Kevin Fletcher	M RC	Okay	7-9-8-8-6	97%	5	-	6.40
ML	Slt	Arjan Wisse	AM L, ST	Okay	6-7-7-7-7	95%	26 (14)	11	6.85
AMC	Slt	Youssouf Hersi	AM C	Good	7-7-7-7-7	97%	36 (5)	16	7.12
FC		Paul Graham	ST	Superb	7-7-7-7-7	100%	8 (2)	1	6.70
FC	Yel	Ricardo Vaz Te	AM L, F C	Very Good	7-8-8-7-7	100%	36 (5)	21	7.34
S1	Inj	Leo Franco	GK	Poor	8-9-7-7-7	82%	26	-	7.15
S2	Yel	Giannis Taralidis	DM	Superb	7-7-7-8-7	96%	15 (14)	-	6.83
S3	Slt	Nicky Wroe	M RLC	Okay	7-6-7-7-6	100%	24 (21)	3	6.80
S4	Slt	Alexander Farnerud	AM RLC, F C	Okay	7-7-6-6-6	100%	36 (6)	5	7.07
S5	Yel	James McFadden	AM L, F C	Superb	7-8-6-7-7	96%	10 (1)	-	7.09
-	Slt	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	D L	Okay	7-7-7-7-6	90%	19	-	6.89
-	Inj	Zac Barrett	GK	Okay	8-7-6-7-7	44%	11 (2)	-	6.62
-	Slt	James Simmonds	AM L	Okay	6-6-7-7-6	94%	16 (13)	1	6.52
-	Slt	Kevin Foley	D/WB/M R	Okay	7-7-7-7-6	99%	25 (1)	-	6.73
-	Slt	Fabio Ferreira	AM RL, F C	Poor	6-6-6-7-6	94%	22 (16)	6	6.39
-	Slt	Leonel Romero	SW, D C	Okay	8-7-6-7-7	98%	24 (5)	2	6.93
-		David Talbot	D R, DM, M R	Good	6-8-7-8-7	100%	-	-	-

Seeing how poorly he adapted to life at Kenilworth Road, I decided to transfer list Fabio Ferreira. I just can't stand to see him keep on putting 6 rated performances game in, game out. Also, seeing how my assistant believes he will never develop over what he's for now, I transfer list Romone Rose too.

It's a scoreless first half in this game. Blackburn have won possession, but shots are pretty even.

We put a lot more pressure and even take control of possession and shots in the second half, but it remains scoreless...

Final Score: Luton 0, Blackburn 0

Curtis Davies received the MoM selection in a game we should have won. Sometimes the difference between a win and a draw is very small...

We move up to 10th place with three games to play.

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st	C	Chelsea		34	24	9	1	62	17	+45	81
2nd		Arsenal		35	20	10	5	58	21	+37	70
3rd		Liverpool		35	19	8	8	53	32	+21	65
4th		Man City		35	18	9	8	51	33	+18	63
5th		Middlesbrough		35	17	8	10	59	45	+14	59
6th		Bolton		35	16	9	10	45	34	+11	57
7th		Man Utd		35	14	13	8	43	29	+14	55
8th		Blackburn		35	12	11	12	41	44	-3	47
9th		Newcastle		35	11	12	12	40	46	-6	45
10th		Luton		35	12	8	15	55	54	+1	44
11th		Aston Villa		35	12	8	15	48	51	-3	44
12th		Leeds		35	10	13	12	22	32	-10	43
13th		Everton		35	10	11	14	37	42	-5	41
14th		Birmingham		35	12	5	18	37	53	-16	41
15th		Nottm Forest		35	9	11	15	31	47	-16	38
16th		Sunderland		35	9	9	17	42	54	-12	36
17th		Southampton		34	9	7	18	32	52	-20	34
18th		Tottenham		35	7	12	16	32	46	-14	33
19th		Crystal Palace		35	6	12	17	26	49	-23	30
20th	R	Stoke		35	5	9	21	18	51	-33	24

The board is satisfied with my work while the supporters still feel a new manager is required.

After only a few hours on the transfer list, there are already three teams scouting Fabio Ferreira: Olympiakos, Atalanta, and Brescia.


April 19, 2013
In the news out of nowhere department, Paris-SG have won the France Ligue 2 title, putting them back to Ligue 1 level.

FM

[finketr]

Igor Akinfeev

I hate that guy...

him and shay given.

and my new laptop has been shipped!! could be here by the end of the week.!

[FrogMan]

well guys, sorry to say this but I'm dropping the ball on this one. Yesterday's reporting was way more like a chore than actual fun, had been going for a few days now. Sorry again, hope you liked it while it lasted.

If you wanna know, as of October 2014, I'm still managing the Hatters. After 8 games in the new season, we've won four and have lost four, sitting in 9th place. The supporters were satisfied for a littl while at the start of the season and fell back to being unsatisfied with my work after 4 or 5 games. The board now hoves from satisfied to a little unsatisfied, depending on if we just won or not. The way the team plays sometimes (like when we lost 2-4 to Bristol Rovers in the Carling Cup with an own goal and two goals conceded due to crazy backpass that never made it to the keeper, or the two 0-3 losses we suffered where we played well for about 40 minutes then let one in then simply imploded) leads me to believe that I will have a hard time making it past Christmas.

Other than Danny Galm and Freddy Guarin, I also brought in Aaron Lennon as our new right winger. He seems to be doing well, much better than James Morrison ever did. Fabio Ferreira and James Morrison were both shipped outm same with Adam Hardy.

I might start a new dynasty someday but for now, it took me all free time at work (every coffee breaks or free minutes in my 45 minute lunch break went into writing this) and I'm simply overworking myself which is not good...

Take care all!

FM

[Tellistto]

That's ok, FM. I'll catch the next one if there is one!

Tell

[3ric]

No problem, I know it's hard to keep up writing. Thanks for sharing your story this far!

[Dawgfan1980]

To put in this much effort in writing is a true example of how a dynasty should be written, and even more so, to admit when it ceases to be fun and to be a chore should be commended, thank you for the ride Frogman!

[condors]

enjoyed it while it lasted

[Blade6119]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ore/index.html

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Blade6119

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ore/index.html

LOL, good catch! And actually touching that you identify me with QPR.

FM