FM: P'boro Utd. - 2012 & beyond - Quad Quest!

[Butter]

This thread will mark the end of Peterborough United's quest for the Quadruple. But when will it end? Will I get fired? Will we actually do it? If so, when? I don't know. But I'm going to contain the action to one thread from now on.... even if it takes me to 2025, as long as I don't get fired, this team will win the Quadruple. Once we win it, I may or may not attempt a repeat, but then I will either retire or begin again with a new lower league team.

We're about to gear up my 9th season at the helm of Peterborough United, the tiny League One underdog who has gone from also-ran to English Premier League champions 2 years running.

Visit here to re-visit our repeat as league champions, and our first ever FA Cup win.

Or stick around to find out once and for all if it's possible for the Posh to become a team for the ages... and conquer Europe!

[Butter]

I've decided to give the write-ups a bit more detail with what's going on with the club, and a bit less detail on the game action. To that end, I'm going to stop detailing the in-game action so much, and write it up more like a short summary. I know if I were you, I'd probably be well tired of reading the actual in-game events minute by minute and be more interested in how things turned out the way they did and who was in control... who has been playing well and who hasn't. It'll be an ongoing process, so please bear with me as I try to make it a bit more fun to read.

As May ends, I send everyone home on vacation until the end of June. I also make a ton of offers to players who have unprotected contracts, and still more offers to teams with high quality players who I think can help us on our Quad Quest.

Brighton win promotion to the English Premier League, beating Sunderland in the "richest game in football"... the Championship playoff final. It was 32 year old striker Marlon Harewood netting the game winner for Brighton early in the second half, giving Brighton their first trip back to the Premiership since they were relegated at the close of the 1982/83 season, ending an unremarkable 4 year stay.

International competition

Jesus picks up the only goal in the Spanish U-21 team's 1-0 win over Greece in a friendly during the Euro U-21 Championship.

The Euro 2012 is about to get underway, and unfortunately for 5 of our players, that means no rest for the weary.
Callups from the Posh are as follows:
England: Carlton Cole
Holland: Wesley Sneijder, John Heitinga
Croatia: Niko Kranjcar, Bosko Balaban

Jan Karsnak rates a pedestrian 7 during the Czech Republic U-21's 2-1 win over Portugal. Jesus takes a 6 as Spain loses to England's U-21's 4-0.

2 days later, Karsnak picks up a 7 and an assist, but the Czechs still fall to Sweden, 3-2.

On June 1, Karsnak picks up another mediocre 7, as the Czechs fall to England in the Euro U-21 semi's, 2-0. England beat Germany for the U-21 title 3 days later.

Euro 2012 - Posh players summary

Croatia:
*June 9th - Niko Kranjcar captains the Croatians to a 1-0 opening day win over Russia. Ivica Olic scored the only goal for Croatia, as Kranjcar rates a 7.
*June 13th - Bosko Balaban starts and scores as Croatia draw 2-2 with Portugal. Kranjcar picks up a 7, as does Balaban.
*June 18th - Niko Kranjcar picks up an 8, as he captains the Croatians to another 1-0 win, this time over hosts Serbia and Montenegro, putting Croatia through to the second round.... da Silva scored Croatia's only goal here. Balaban did not play.
*June 22nd - Niko Kranjcar picks up the only 6 of the match for Croatia, but they manage to squeak past Greece in the quarters, winning 1-0.
*June 27th - Kranjcar assists on the only goal of the match, as Croatia beat Holland 1-0 to advance to the finals. Kranjcar gets a 9 for his performance.
*July 1st - Kranjcar picks up an 8 in the final, as Darijo Srna picks up the only goal of the match... Croatia win Euro 2012, beating Italy 1-0. Croatia win 5 of their 6 matches 1-0, drawing the other one.


Holland:
*June 12th - Heitinga and Sneijder both only played the first half of a 1-1 draw with England, both rating a 7.
*June 17th - Heitinga and Sneijder both play the entire match, earning 8's in a 3-1 win over the Czech Republic. Heitinga was captain.
*June 20th - Sneijder and Heitinga again play the entire match v. Norway, both earning 7's as Holland moves to the quarterfinals with a 3-1 win.
*June 23rd - Sneijder and Heitinga play all 120 minutes in the quarterfinal against Germany which ends 1-1. They then help Holland to the semis by burying both of their PK's, beating Germany 4-2 on kicks.
*June 27th - Sneijder and Heitinga pick up 7's in the team's semifinal loss to Croatia.

England:
*June 12th - Carlton Cole did not get off the bench in a 1-1 draw v. Holland.
*June 17th - Carlton Cole again fails to enter the game, as England draw with Norway, 1-1.
*June 20th - Carlton Cole comes on as a substitute in the 41st minute of England's 3-1 win over the Czech Republic... he rates a 7, and gets 2 shots on target, but fails to score.
*June 24th - Carlton Cole came on in the 60th minute, after England were already up 4-0 on Wales, and pretty much just played out the clock, earning a 7.
*June 27th - Carlton Cole starts for England in the semifinal against Italy, but is subbed out after 60 minutes having taken just one shot on goal. He picks up a 7 rating, and England lose on PK's, 3-2.

[Butter]

We make our first signing of the summer, picking up 29 year old Colombian left back Jose Julian de la Cuesta for cheap. He will be a backup on the left and in the middle. Not flashy numbers, but serviceable... and he's willing to work cheap. His heading and his speed are his strong suits, but his marking skill is not at all bad. de la Cuesta has been playing for Besiktas in Turkey for the last 3 years, and averaging above a 7.3 as a starter for them. We beat out several Spanish clubs who were looking into bidding for his services.

Also on June 1, 19 year old GK Ricardo Galo joins the Posh from the Porto reserves. Galo is a decent keeper prospect, and will play for $32k per year through 2015.

Former Posh striker Dejan Robnik turns up in the news, he is quoted in the media as saying he wants to leave Championship side Ipswich for greener pastures. Robnik has been a horse for them, scoring 33 goals over 95 starts during the past 2 seasons.

We spend $8.8 million of our transfer budget bringing in 27 year old left fullback Andrea Lazzari from Atalanta in the Serie A. Lazzari can play in defense or in attack, and will give us a lot of flexibility on the left side. He is a superb passer and crosser of the ball, and a more than competent defender. His speed is average, but he makes up for it with a steely determination and naked aggression which has helped him to become a star over the last 3 years with the Italian club. We outbid Porto for his services, signing him to a 3 year deal.

Aging midfielder Frank Lampard has agreed to join the Posh on a one year contract. Lampard will make over $5 million in salary and bonus for the Posh this season. Lampard is going to be 34 at the start of the season, and fell off a bit for Chelsea last year... but we won't work him too hard, and he should be quite comfortable as the feature attacking midfielder when he's in the lineup. He still has absolutely masterful skill on the ball, and should be a great addition to the Posh.

We sign another 27 year old Italian, this time on a free transfer as left winger Riccardo Montolivo agrees to a 3 year deal with the Posh. Montolivo has been playing for Villarreal in Spain the last 3 seasons, and has gradually increased his output each season. He is another highly determined player who should fit right in with our never say die attitude we're trying to cultivate. We outbid Real Betis and Real Sociedad for Montolivo's services. He has a great first touch and an exceedingly sharp mental game, but his passing can occasionally let Montolivo down. I'm looking forward to getting Riccardo into camp. He will join us on August 1st.

My assistant manager has decided to go flakey on me, demanding nearly $1 million in salary... a 300% raise. I respond by placing an ad for a new assistant manager. We sign Manchester United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz to a $3.5 million deal over 3 seasons to replace our current assistant manager who got a bit too big for his britches. Queiroz is a superb coach and should help us immensely in training and on the pitch. I also hire another coach, and 2 more physios to possibly help cut our injuries a bit.

Liverpool hires Manchester City manager David Platt to be the new boss at New Anfield. Platt has also headed Portsmouth and Aston Villa over the past several years. Crystal Palace and Portsmouth both sack their managers on the same day. Manchester City later hire fired Portsmouth manager Micky Adams to be their new manager.

Our top reserve keeper, Michel Boumann agrees to a 3 month loan at Championship club Leicester.

European club rankings
-The Posh move up 32 spots in this year's UEFA Club rankings.

1. Chelsea
2. Arsenal
3. Liverpool
4. Roma
5. Newcastle
6. Man Utd.
7. Barcelona
8. Tottenham
9. At. Madrid
10. Juventus
11. AC Milan
12. Inter
15. Leeds
25. Aston Villa
26. Middlesbrough
30. Peterborough Utd.
31. Real Madrid

Kenny Lunt, Fabrice Fernandes, and Bosko Balaban announce their intention to retire at season's end. I offer Lunt a one year contract to keep him around for old time's sake, but he turns it down flat. Fernandes is under contract through the end of this year, and Balaban wants $5.6 million to re-sign with us. Not bloody likely.

As mid-June rolls around, it's time for the board to come back from their vacation and hassle me some more.... and time for the flurry of activity that marks a new season just around the bend.

-Carlton Cole is named Fans' Player of the Year for the 4th straight year.
-We are given $24.5 million for TV rights for the upcoming season.
-We will play Arsenal in the Community Shield on August 5th.
-The board announces plans to expand the stadium by 1,650 seats, which should be complete prior to the new season.
-All of the TV rights' money is going straight to shareholders, as a $25 million dividend is announced to be paid out within weeks.
-Our transfer budget for this season will be $47 million, a $7 million increase over last season.
-Our wage budget has been increased from $60 million for last year (of which we only used about $43M) to $106 million.

Thierry Henry announces his retirement after the season, followed the next day by James Beattie, Edu, and Gabriel Ivan Heinze.

July 1st hits. The club rolls back into town, and joins our pre-season training program. Including some new faces:

Arrivals (age, contract, value, transfer fee):
-D/DM-RC Anthony Vanden Borre (24, $3.6M/yr., $22M, free)
-D-LC Jose Julian de la Cuesta (29, $600k/yr., $3.4M, free)
-AM-C Keith Kelly (18, $28k/yr., $100k fee to Shelbourne, Irish Premier League)
-D/AM-L Andrea Lazzari (27, $2M/yr., $9.4M, $8.8M fee to Atalanta, Italian Serie A)
-AM-C Frank Lampard (34, $3.8M/yr., $1.7M, free)
-GK Paul Gallacher (32, $400k/yr., $2.8M, free)

The arrival of Vanden Borre causes an increase in shirt sales for the popular midfielder. The arrival of Lampard causes groans by people who believe he is past his best. That may well be true, but even one more season of magic may well be worth the risk.

Departures:
-AM-RLC Kenny Lunt. Lunt had perhaps the biggest impact of any departing player. He played 5 seasons with the Posh, including our final season in the Championship. He started 110 games over 5 years, and came on as a substitute in 49 more. He scored 18 goals, with a high of 8 in 2007/08. He also had 48 assists, with a high of 15 in 2008/09, our first Premiership season. His average ratings were (starting in 2007/08 through 2011/12): 7.59, 7.18, 7.09, 7.17, 7.00.

-F-RC Bosko Balaban. Bosko played mostly at striker for us during his 3 years. He started in 57 games and subbed in 20 more, scoring 25 goals and netting 11 assists. His average ratings for his 3 seasons were: 7.16, 7.17, 7.21. Bosko was a very streaky player, but was typically productive. His age and our depth at striker precludes another season with us, as his salary demands are too high for us.

-GK Lee Grant. Grant came over in 2007/08 in a part exchange deal for left back Alessandro Potenza. Grant turned out to be the steal of the deal, as he was our main starter for the better part of 3 seasons. In 5 total years with the Posh, he played in 77 games, allowing 79 goals and keeping 34 clean sheets. His average ratings were: 7.41, 7.40, 7.11, 7.40, 7.00. Grant was not particularly happy to play backup, and didn't want to re-sign with us, so he is gone with still some football left in him at age 29.

-D/DM-C Cesar Arzo. Arzo had an unremarkable 4 year stay with us, spending most of that time in the reserves. We actually milk $550k out of Mallorca for him before he departs.

The signings and departures get our wage budget to around $50 million, still less than half of our budget allowance.

We get potential departure Gerard, the 33 year old AMC, to sign a $750k contract for one more season in Posh blue, solidfying our midfield depth.

Our pre-season fixtures are set, a road trip of Germany then the Community Shield... it looks like this:
@ Aindling (7/15)
@ Karlsruhe (7/17)
@ Darmstadt (7/20)
@ Burghausen (7/23)
@ Freiburg (7/27)
v. Arsenal (8/5 - Community Shield)

Arsenal inquire about obtaining the services of Wesley Sneijder... I tell them it will be $25 million plus Vincent Kompany, the 24 year old D/DM-C. Arsenal quickly dismiss the possibility of signing him. Sneijder has a $37.5 million minimum release clause, but no one has been quite willing to pay that much for him.

Before the pre-season games commence, it must be time to give the squad the once over yet again....

[Butter]

Squad preview

(Bold denotes projected opening match starters. ** - denotes new signing. (R) - denotes reservist. Italics denote new starter.)

Goalkeepers
Depth chart:
1. Libis Andres Arenas
2. Paul Gallacher**
3. Michel Boumann (R)
4. Ricardo Galo (R)

Arenas was named the first choice keeper on the Premiership Team of the Year last season... I flirted with the idea of bringing in a big name player... but keepers are such head cases, I figured why mess with success? Gallacher should more than be able to cover for Arenas when he's unavailable, and Boumann and Galo are good young prospects who could use a time or two in goal to sharpen their growing skills.

Defense
Depth charts:
DL: Carlos Bocanegra, Jose Julian de la Cuesta**, Andrea Lazzari**, Fredrik Stenman (R)
DC: Alex, John Heitinga, Marcos, Ibrahim Kargbo, Sarr, de la Cuesta**, Karl Svensson, Anthony Vanden Borre**
DR: Cristian Zaccardo, Heitinga, Diego Gavilan, Sarr, Kargbo, Vanden Borre**

This chart is by all means NOT all-inclusive, but gives a general idea of who can play where on the senior club. Bocanegra will continue to be our first choice at left back, but de la Cuesta and Lazzari will be given plenty of opportunities to show us what they can do, as Bocanegra finishes what is likely his final season with the Posh at age 33.

At center-back, Heitinga needs to avoid the injury bug that plagued him last season if we want to return to the defensive dominance we showed during a 9 game unscored upon streak that we had during September-November 2011. Marcos is growing into a potential star, but still has speed questions that could haunt his development. Kargbo and Sarr are all-over fill-ins who will play in the center when needed, but Alex is our rock here... but again is aging, at 29 years old, this may be his last big time dominant season (if I'm lucky). Svensson looked progressively worse last season as time wore on, but if we have to play him here, we will.

Cristian Zaccardo was really outplayed by Heitinga on the right wing last year, but lucky for Cristian that Heitinga was often unavailable, or needed in the center. Zaccardo needs to pick up his game to prove to us that he is our starter here. He is also advancing in age, at 30 now. Gavilan is a great passer from fullback, but his defensive shortcomings are often on display, which makes us hesitant to play him in this spot.

Midfield
DMC: Anthony Vanden Borre**, Jesus Castro, Ibrahim Kargbo, Javier Mascherano
ML: Thando Mngomeni, Riccardo Montolivo**, Lazzari**, Fabrice Fernandes
MR: Wesley Sneijder, Diego Gavilan, Milciades Omar Bellomo, Jan Karsnak, Fernandes
AMC: Niko Kranjcar, Frank Lampard**, Gerard, Karsnak, Bellomo, Montolivo**

At defensive midfield, we take another stab at using a big name, expensive star, as Anthony Vanden Borre becomes our 3rd such attempt at this position, following such busts as Fabio Rochemback and Javier Mascherano. Mascherano is still on the waiver wire... after we nearly got over $33 million for him last season, our asking price is now down to a mere $15 million and falling. Jesus was our main starter last year, and performed well beyond his 19 (now 20) years in leading us to several wins with great defensive play and excellent passing. Kargbo has the ability to score from the DMC spot, and has shown the ability to create goals from there as well... so if Vanden Borre is not the answer, look for Jesus and Kargbo to pick up the slack for the big name.... once again.

Thando Mngomeni is complaining about his contract AGAIN. But he was masterful throughout much of last season, and at age 29 still has a lot to give us. Montolivo is a player of similar caliber, so hopefully left wing will be our star position this season. Lazzari will play forward when needed and not already playing fullback, and Fernandes is counting the days until his retirement.

Wesley Sneijder seemed to increase his long shot attempts last year, and with good result... he scored 2 of the top 3 goals of the year in the Premiership last season. Sneijder's quality is undeniable, but he has a tendency to disappear for long stretches of games. Gavilan continues to keep the backup position warm for 2 youngsters, Bellomo and Karsnak. Bellomo struggles with beating defenders one on one, while Karsnak struggles with finishing. All the while, Fernandes will be polishing his coaching resume.

Niko Kranjcar starred in the Euro 2012 tournament, captaining the eventual champion, Croatia. He becomes the new starter here, as last year's starter drops to 3rd on the depth chart with the acquisition of old timer (at 34) Frank Lampard. Lampard, the former English national team star, struggled to keep his average rating above 7 last year. But with his slower feet, our formation that allows him to stay forward mostly should suit his decreased range of motion well. I'm interested to see if 20 year old Karsnak can continue to develop into a featured player here, but most of his chances will likely come as a substitute this year.

Striker
1. Carlton Cole
2. Lebohang Mokoena
3. Roman Wallner
4. Vagner
5. Michal Jablonski
6. Jim Johansen (R)

Carlton Cole's production has yet to flag as he enters his 5th year as our featured striker. Last year would have been his most productive yet, but was cut short by injuries in April as he approached the 30 goal mark. Lebohang Mokoena missed most of last year with a broken leg, but should be all set to help Cole and be the most productive set of strikers, possibly, in Premiership history. Roman Wallner will be ready to step in if injuries occur, as he scored 15 goals last year. Then 2 youngsters feature, as both Vagner and Jablonski are still developing, but have shown flashes of brilliance... Vagner early last year, Jablonski late. Johansen will be on the reserve team, ready to appear as needed due to injuries. He showed he is capable, with 2 goals in one league match last season... his only 2 senior goals of the year.

[Butter]

And for those of you who have been unable to envision it, here is our standard formation and team tactics.

[Butter]

July 15, Friendly #1
@ Aindling (German 2nd division)

Lineup:
GK: Galo
D: De la Cuesta, Fabio (R), Marcos, Sarr
M: Vanden Borre, Lazzari, Bellomo, Lampard
S: Jablonski, Mokoena

We get on the board early, as Bellomo flicks a Marcos pass on... to himself... down the right, then crosses into the six for Mokoena who heads it home in the 7th minute. 3 minutes later it's 2-0, as Lazzari's corner kick is headed clear... but not so clear, right to Marcos, who sends a deadly accurate 15 yard volley into the back of the net. Aindling nearly cut the lead in half in minute 19, but Ricardo Galo charges out on a long through ball, and nicely stops the one on one chance against the Aindling attacker. In the 28th minute, Frank Lampard's diving header from a Mokoena centering ball is stopped... but the tireless Mokoena attacks the rebound and scorches it home to make it 3-0. Andrea Lazzari makes it 4-0 3 minutes later, putting a rebound of a Michal Jablonski shot into the net. Jablonski limps off 6 minutes before halftime, being replaced by Jim Johansen. 2 minutes before the break, Frank Lampard catches a break, as his 20 yard half volley deflects off an Aindling player and into the net to make it 5-0, Posh at halftime.

5 substitutes enter for attacking Posh players at the break, and the Posh add one goal in the 2nd half. Vagner scores on a Keith Kelly cross in the 61st minute to finish the scoring in a dominating performance.

Win, 0-6
Man of the Match (MoM): Lebohang Mokoena, 2 goals, 9 rating
A: 3,966

Luckily for us, Jablonski's injury is not serious. We have precious little time to rest, though, as we have another friendly just 2 nights later.

July 17, Friendly #2 (Televised)
@ Karlsruhe (German 2nd division)

Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: Stenman, Alex, Heitinga, Zaccardo
M: Jesus, Karsnak, Aaron Lennon (R), Jan-Helge Hansen (R)
S: Wallner, Cole

Wallner with a beautiful pass onto a flashing run by Cole in the 9th minute, and Cole has an easy 10 yard finish to make it 1-0, Posh. Karlsruhe's defense stiffens after that, and that's all we get. Vagner has to leave injured in the 77th minute after he had replaced Cole in the 59th minute.

Win, 0-1
MoM: Jens Hartmann (Karlsruhe GK)
A: 17,306

Vagner fractured his jaw in that 2nd half collision at Karlsruhe, and will likely miss the Community Shield match.

July 20, Friendly #3
@ Darmstadt (German 2nd division)

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Lazzari, Marcos, Svensson, Kargbo
M: Vanden Borre, Mngomeni, Sneijder, Kranjcar
S: Johansen, Mokoena

The game is fairly even early, as our backline allows 2 chances to sweep past, but Arenas handles them both. Mokoena converts a penalty in the 29th minute that he earned by being tugged down on a breakaway created by Arenas' long ball. The Posh score again moments after the break, as Niko Kranjcar's corner kick is headed into Darmstadt's own goal by their defender. Mokoena scores his 2nd, and 4th of the preseason, with a great individual move and curling shot in the 65th minute. 3-0 is the final.

Win, 0-3
MoM: Lebohang Mokoena, 2 goals, 9 rating
A: 19,025

It's hard to tell who's playing well when we're running people over with such determination. Mokoena has come back from his broken leg with a vengeance.

We have 5 matches picked for television coverage, all road games... @ Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Aston Villa.... and also the Community Shield match v. Arsenal.

Our stadium expansion is complete, giving us just over 21,000 capacity with nearly 16,000 seats at London Road now.

July 23, Friendly #4
@ Burghausen (German 2nd division)

Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: De la Cuesta, Heitinga, Fabio (R), Sarr
M: Jesus, Eriksson (R), Lennon (R), Kelly (R)
S: Jablonski, Cole

We allow our first goal of the tour in, as a cross to near the penalty spot is played past Sarr and nailed into the back of the net in the 8th minute for Burghausen. Carlton Cole is in poor form, missing 2 wide open shots that he would normally bury, and losing the ball a couple of times as well. Jim Johansen picks us up 4 minutes after coming onto the pitch... Javier Mascherano passes to him in the center, and Johansen does the rest, beating 2 defenders on his way to placing a 15 yarder inside the left post in the 68th minute. 6 minutes later, it's Johansen nearly scoring again... he beats a defender into the box on the left side, but his shot is deflected... right to Roman Wallner, who taps in for a 2-1 Posh lead. 90 seconds later, Jan-Helge Hansen sends a long ball to Roman Wallner who is wide open and onside... the Burghausen keeper stays frozen to his line, and Wallner scores easily inside the right post.

We looked bad in the first half, but dominate the second to win the game.

Win, 1-3
MoM: Jose Julian de la Cuesta, 8 rating, 11/14 headers won, 3 key headers, 44/55 passing
A: 8,772

Our last game is the big one, of the tour, as we'll face Bundesliga opponent Freiburg.

Tottenham sign aging striker Michael Owen to a one year contract.

July 27, Friendly #5
@ SC Freiburg (German Bundesliga)

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Bocanegra, Heitinga, Alex, Zaccardo
M: Vanden Borre, Mngomeni, Sneijder, Kranjcar
S: Mokoena, Cole

Freiburg get on the board first, working a nice counter attack, and the left side shot is tipped by Arenas, but it still trickles into the net for a 1-0 Freiburg lead in the 6th minute. In the 15th minute, Mokoena gets a nice pass from Mngomeni, then leaves his man in the dust and strikes it low to the near post... and squeezes it in past the keeper. 1-1. The game is fairly even through the next 40 minutes or so... then in the 58th, Freiburg get a break as a centering pass comes off Heitinga, right to a striker 6 yards from goal... Arenas stops one shot, but can't get to the rebound before it's buried into the net. 2-1, Freiburg. 7 minutes from time, Bellomo sends a nice pass into the middle for Wallner... he gets through the arc, then beats the keeper with a shot into the top right corner. 2-2. And that's how it ends, as we go unbeaten through 5 games in a tour of Germany.

Draw, 2-2
MoM: Thomas Gross (Freiburg keeper), 9 rating, 11 saves
A: 10,613

We have one more pre-season game... but it's more like NOT a preseason game. The Community Shield looms, as we make our 2nd straight appearance in it thanks to our league win.

Preseason title odds
Arsenal - 7:4
Peterborough - 2:1
Manchester Utd. - 8:1
Liverpool, Chelsea - 10:1
Tottenham H. - 33:1

The bookmakers believe that you definitely have the quality to mount a serious title challenge and that no matter what happens you will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

[Butter]

Left winger Riccardo Montolivo finally joins the Posh... just in time for the season! He is a well-known player that should help our kit sales, as well as helping us out immensely on the pitch. We'll thrust him into the lineup for the Community Shield and see what he can do against our top competition.

Anthony Vanden Borre suffers fractured ribs in training leading up to the Community Shield, and he'll likely miss most of August.

The training injuries are coming early and often this year, as Cristian Zaccardo and J.J. De la Cuesta both pick up knocks the following day. Zaccardo's injury is quite serious... he is slated to miss 2 months with a hip problem. De la Cuesta should only miss a couple of weeks with a turned ankle.

Unfortunately for us, our medical staff suggest Zaccardo go to surgery for his hip problem, which would cause him to miss an additional 2-4 months. I agree to this, and they believe that Zaccardo can be back toward the end of November. He'll miss a lot of matches, but he'll be a big lift right in the middle of the season when he comes back.

Jan Karsnak is called up to the Czech Republic Olympic team, so he'll miss a few weeks of action on international duty.

August 5, FA Community Shield (TV)
v. Arsenal at Wembley Stadium
Fav: Gunners, 5:4

Arsenal start with an odd 4-4-1-1 that I've not seen out of them before... It features Hatem Ben Arfa supporting Fernando Cavenaghi up front. I show them nothing, playing mostly 2nd teamers in this one. Why come out with guns blazing?

We have 7 players unavailable for this one due to injury and international duty. Arsenal are missing just 2 players.

Patrick Vieira, starting in defense, becomes the oldest player to play in the Community Shield at age 36+. The TV commentators suggest that Arsenal will win 1-0.

He hasn't been paying attention very closely, as we've NEVER played a 1-0 game against Arsenal... in fact, most matches have featured at least 4 goals split between the two clubs.

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Lazzari, Sarr, Marcos, Gavilan
M: Kargbo, Montolivo, Bellomo, Lampard
S: Jablonski, Wallner

We come out charging at Arsenal, but pay for it in the 11th minute as Patrick Vieira fires a 20 yard half volley that deflects off of Sarr and goes in. 1-0, Gunners early on against the run of play. Arsenal continue to dominate play after the goal, and score a 2nd in the 36th minute, as Francesc Fabregas heads in a nice low cross from Jose Antonio Reyes.

Much like last year's Community Shield, we fall behind early with our 2nd team on the field, and look fairly punchless after facing a deficit. Riccardo Montolivo looks absolutely awful, and comes out after playing just 40 minutes in favor of Thando Mngomeni. Ibrahim Kargbo also leaves for Jesus at the same time, as Kargbo is gimping about with a minor injury.

After 20 minutes of boring football after halftime, we bring on Carlton Cole and Lebohang Mokoena to replace our 2 starting strikers, trying to inject some speed and energy into the club. 5 minutes after appearing, Cole gets spiked by Vieira and limps around a bit... we leave him in.

Finally, in the 86th minute, a long Sarr free kick comes into the box... as Arsenal stand around appealing for offside, Mokoena finishes with power inside the far post to make it 2-1 with only about 5 minutes to play. Sadly, we are unable to get any more chances and lose 2-1.

Arsenal just dominated this game, and we were lucky to only lose by a single goal.

Loss, 2-1, Arsenal win Community Shield
Shots/on target: Gunners 16/6, Posh 6/2
Poss: 62-38, Arsenal
MoM: Jose Antonio Reyes, Arsenal - 8 rating, 2 assists
Notable Posh ratings: Sarr (8), Montolivo (5)
A: 86,773

Jan Karsnak picks up a 6 in the Czech Republic's opening round win in the Olympics over Holland, 2-1.

[Butter]

Aug. 11, Match 1
v. Middlesbrough
Series: Boro lead 4-4-3
Fav: Posh, Evens

Sarr will make his 200th career league appearance in this match.

Injured: Zaccardo, de la Cuesta, Vanden Borre, Alex
Unfit: Bellomo
Int'l duty: Karsnak
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Bocanegra, Sarr, Marcos, Heitinga
M: Jesus, Mngomeni, Sneijder, Kranjcar
S: Mokoena, Cole

Middlesbrough attack quickly, and strike early, as Tiberiu Ghioane slips Matteo Brighi free in the box, and Brighi slips it past Arenas into the far post, putting Boro up 1-0 after just 3 minutes.

The Posh pull back 8 minutes later, as Niko Kranjcar's free kick on the edge of the box hits the wall and deflects in past the Boro keeper.

We continue to look sluggish, and in the 38th minute, Lee McKenzie scores past Arenas to the far post to put Boro up 2-1.

Arenas is rating a 5... and looks just dreadful. Cole is down to 70% stamina at halftime, and Mngomeni is sporting a minor injury around... we make no subs yet.

Just when things are looking bleak, here comes Wesley Sneijder and his left foot again... he scores a marvelous 35 yarder that catches everyone by surprise, and pulls us level at 2. Also in the 67th minute, we bring on Wallner and Montolivo for Cole and Mngomeni.

Immediately, the Montolivo substitution pays dividends. He steals the ball and passes forward to Mokoena... Mokoena with space outruns his marker, and powers it through the keeper and into goal for our 2nd score in less than 3 minutes! 3-2 Posh with 20 minutes to play.

We actually hold the ball and get more of the chances late, and take the big opening win at home! It looked bleak for a while, but we pick up the 3 points.

Win, 3-2, begin in 7th place
Shots/on target: Posh 23/7, Boro 8/6
Poss: 51-49, Posh
MoM: Tiberiu Ghioane, Middlesbrough midfielder - 1 assist, 4 key passes, 7/8 tackles won
Posh ratings: Arenas (5), Heitinga (8), Sneijder (8), Cole (8), Kranjcar (8), Montolivo (9)
A: 21,086 (new London Road record)

EPL standings after round 1
1. Chelsea - 3 pts.
2. Arsenal - 3
3. Liverpool - 3
...
6. Posh - 3

[Butter]

Jan Karsnak with an assist and a 7 rating in the Czech Republic's 2-1 loss to Colombia in the Olympics.

Roma offer us $10 million and 20% of the next sale for Milciades Omar Bellomo, the 23 year old Ethiopian right winger. I up the request to $15.5 million and 15% of next sale... $15.5 million just so happens to be the exact amount Blackburn is asking for impressive 26 year old right winger Christopher Eagles, who is faster and more impressive than Bellomo right now.

Karsnak picks up a 6, and the Czech Republic get bounced from the first round of the Olympic tourney with a 2-1 loss to Japan.

Aug. 15, Match 2
1-0-0, 7th pl., 3 pts.
@ Newcastle United (1-0-0, 9th pl., 3 pts. - Leading scorer: Martin Rongen, 2)
Series: Posh lead 5-0-3
Fav: Posh, 6:4

We try Javier Mascherano at right wing today... he's just got too much talent to sit the bench and we're thin at right wing anyway. Lampard makes his first league appearance in Posh blue today.

Injured: Vanden Borre, Zaccardo
Unfit: Alex, de la Cuesta
Int'l duty: Bocanegra, Karsnak
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Lazzari, Marcos, Sarr, Heitinga
M: Kargbo, Montolivo, Mascherano, Lampard
S: Jablonski, Wallner

We control play from the 10th minute through the 30th, but in the 35th Harry Kewell's cross is headed in by Jermaine Jenas to give the Magpies a 1-0 lead. Then, just prior to halftime, Martin Rongen nets his 3rd off a nice through ball by Akin Serhat... Rongen catches Arenas sleeping a bit and just places it inside the right post to give Newcastle a big 2-0 lead.

In the 69th minute, we get a breakthrough... Roman Wallner is played onside by Javier Mascherano... his shot is stopped, but substitute Thando Mngomeni is there to poach his first goal of the season at the far post. 2-1 with 20 minutes to go. We get the equalizer in the 81st, as Frank Lampard passes to substitute Gerard, who beats 2 men, and then the keeper with a series of brilliant ball control... 2-2 with under 10 to play.

Newcastle with the best chance to pull out all 3 points, but Arenas stops an 8 yard shot by Serhat, and we take the road point. Another game where we looked pretty bad early, but pull out the goals late.

Draw, 2-2, up to 5th place
Shots/on target: Magpies 21/10, Posh 13/9
Poss: 54-46, Magpies
MoM: Arenas - 8 saves, 9 rating
Posh ratings: Arenas (9), Heitinga (8), Marcos (8), Kargbo (6), Lampard (8), Gerard (8)
Posh subs: Mngomeni (for Jablonski, 63'), Cole (for Wallner, 75'), Gerard (for Mascherano, 75')
A: 45,363

EPL standings after Round 2
1. Man U. - 6
2. Chelsea - 6
3. Arsenal - 6
4. Liverpool - 4
5. Posh - 4
6. Newcastle - 4
7. West Ham - 3
...

[Butter]

West Ham make a bid for Bellomo, offering $10.5 million, a winger, and 20% of next sale. Roma withdraw their bid, and I ask for $13 million from the Hammers.

Manchester United and Tottenham both give me $11 million bids for John Heitinga. I decline them both.

One day later, Newcastle offers me $15.5 million for Heitinga. He has a minimum fee release clause of $20 million. I request $17.5 million. I don't want Heitinga to leave... but if he's going anyway, I might as well get as much as I can for him.

We've not put our best foot forward here early, but hopefully our defense can pick us up pretty soon.

Aug. 18, Match 3
1-1-0, 5th pl., 4 pts.
v. Southampton (0-0-2, 20th pl., 0 pts. - Leading scorer: Dexter Blackstock, 1)
Series: Posh lead 6-3-0
Fav: Posh, 4:6

I don't like the new write up format, so I'm going back to the old way, more or less.

Injured: Bocanegra, Zaccardo, Vanden Borre
Unfit: Mascherano
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: De la Cuesta, Sarr, Svensson, Gavilan
M: Jesus, Mngomeni, Sneijder, Kranjcar
S: Mokoena, Cole

2'- Mngomeni passes forward to Mokoena down the left... he cuts it back to Kranjcar, who shoots from 35 yards... Cole charges at the keeper after the shot goes... and he looks frozen, and watches Kranjcar's 35 yard strike nestle into the back of the net! A long strike by Niko puts us ahead 1-0.

8'- A nightmare start for the Saint keeper continues, as Mngomeni sends a long ball to Mokoena... he outruns his man and tracks down the pass... he turns and heads at the keeper from the left... a tough angle shot by Lebohang, but the Saints' keeper is too far off his line to stop it. 2-0, Posh!

We could've been up as much as 4-0 at the half, but Sneijder got a bit too fancy at close range allowing the keeper to regain his footing on one chance, and on the other, Cole just mishit a volley wide from 10 yards.

Southampton are just dog tired... obviously, the first stretch of 3 games in 7 days has taken its toll on them, whereas our depth has allowed us to put almost entirely fresh legs on the pitch.

The second half is pretty boring... we get a couple of subs on and just run out the clock.

Win, 2-0, up to 1st place
Shots/on target: Posh 18/8, Saints 4/1
Poss: 57-43, Posh
MoM: Lebohang Mokoena - 1 assist, 4 forward runs, 25/30 passes completed
Posh ratings: De la Cuesta (8), Mokoena (8)
Posh subs: Gallacher (for Arenas, 72'), Vagner (for Cole, 72')
A: 21,100

We extend our unbeaten streak to 10 games over the Saints.

Manchester United draw with Liverpool in the only Sunday match, and they pass us into first place on goal difference.

[Butter]

Both Spurs and Man U come in with a $17.5 million offer for Heitinga.

Heitinga, De la Cuesta, and Gerard are picked to the Team of the Week.

Middlesbrough make a $6.4 million offer for Jesus, along with 30% of his next sale. I can't sell the 20 year old. He's far too talented.

All of a sudden, the bids for our players are coming faster than I can count them. Arsenal offer us big bucks for 2 players: Anthony Vanden Borre ($24.5 million) and Andrea Lazzari ($15 million). I reject both bids.

I would love nothing more than to rake in some bucks for some of these players... but the problem is, who do I get to replace them? These are players of the highest caliber, and their replacements would cost just as much as letting them go would bring in. So, I decide to just reject all offers for now, and go with my squad. One thing I have going for me is that despite the fact that many of my players' contracts are up after this season, I have over $50 million in wage budget to use on them... so I should have no problems re-signing whoever I like.

Arsenal draw with Chelsea on Monday night, and pass us and ManU into 1st.

Aug. 22, Match 4
2-1-0, 3rd pl., 7 pts.
@ West Ham United (1-1-1, 9th pl., 4 pts. - Leading scorer: Shola Ameobi, 1 (tied with 2 others))
Series: Posh lead 7-5-2
Fav: Posh, Evens

The Hammers' only wins against us have come in 2 meaningless late season outings... the first in 2008/09 in April, when we were both well out of European competition and safe from the drop... and the 2nd in the final game of last year after we had clinched our second straight title.

Carlton Cole has yet to score this year, despite appearing in all 3 games. Meanwhile, Mokoena leads the squad with 3 tallies.

Injured: Gerard, Zaccardo, Bocanegra
Unfit: Mascherano, Vanden Borre
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Lazzari, Alex, Marcos, Heitinga
M: Kargbo, Montolivo, Sneijder, Lampard
S: Jablonski, Cole

American Bobby Convey is the captain for West Ham today.

West Ham dominate the first half of play, but it remains scoreless at halftime. Carlton Cole rates an 8, but despite that he's looked slow and tentative out there. Is this the beginning of the end for 28 year old Cole?

51'- Cole answers my doubts in the 2nd half... Montolivo's pass to Jablonski is deflected, but the Polish striker still grabs the ball and swings in a fast, low cross... Cole dives onto it at 8 yards, and bounces it past the West Ham keeper. 1-0, Posh on Cole's first of the season.

We turn the tables on West Ham and put the play to them for a while... and our defense absolutely controls the West Ham attack. Until...

90+'- ...the 1st minute of stoppage time. A long ball falls perfectly for Kristoffer Haestad, a forward, but Arenas with a great one on one save to finish off the Hammers.

A great performance by Arenas and Heitinga hands us 3 points.

Win, 0-1, up to 2nd place
Shots/on target: Hammers 16/11, Posh 11/3
Poss: 50-50
MoM: Libis Andres Arenas - 11 saves
Posh ratings: Arenas (10), Cole (10), Heitinga (9), Lazzari (8)
Posh subs: Karsnak (for Lampard, 74')
A: 31,671

Now we should get to play our second string over the weekend against Sheffield Wednesday, before fielding the first team again on our end of the month trip to Stamford Bridge.

Manchester United beat Brighton 3-0 to regain 1st place over idle Arsenal.

[Butter]

European Super Cup - From Stade Louis II, Monaco
Arsenal 3:0 Chelsea
-Arsenal cruise to an easy win over the Blues. Barely worth a mention, really. A total domination.

Aug. 25, Match 4
3-1-0, 2nd pl., 10 pts.
v. Sheffield Wednesday (0-1-3, 19th pl., 1 pt. - Leading scorer: Marlon King, 1)
Series: Posh lead 3-3-2
Fav: Posh, 4:6

Injured: Gerard, Zaccardo
Unfit: Bocanegra, Mascherano, Vanden Borre
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: De la Cuesta, Svensson, Kargbo, Sarr
M: Jesus, Lazzari, Bellomo, Kranjcar
S: Mngomeni, Wallner

A tight and even first half... very few chances either way, but each team had one good quality shot turned aside by the keepers.

Not much going through 70 minutes... but an Owls defender gets a straight red for crashing into Wallner, and we pick up a man advantage for the final 20 minutes.

We switch to an aggressive 3-4-3, but it doesn't seem to help, as the only decent shot we get is a long distance effort by Sarr, and it's not really all that close.

A disappointing scoreless draw.

Draw, 0-0, remain in 2nd place
Shots/on target: Posh 11/5, Owls 6/2
Poss: 51-49, Posh
MoM: Owl GK Jelle ten Rouwelaar - 8 rating, 5 saves
Posh ratings: Arenas (8)
Posh subs: Mokoena (for Wallner, 71'), Sneijder (for Bellomo, 71'), Karsnak (for de la Cuesta, 71')
A: 21,088

Man U pick up a win, and get a 2 point lead over us now. We lead 3rd place Portsmouth and 4th place Blackburn Rovers by 1 point... they both have 10 points.

[Butter]

We get a bit of a break after our nice start to the season thanks to World Cup Qualifying on the first weekend of September. 5 straight without a loss... but no really dangerous opponents yet besides Newcastle, who we always struggle with.

Heitinga and Cole are picked to the Team of the Week.

Reserve attacker Jan-Helge Hansen complains to the press that he is tired of being a reserve... too bad for you, but you just don't have the skill to be on the senior squad, Jan-Helge.

Arsenal pull out a late goal to beat Celtic in the Qualifying Rounds of the Champions League... winning 4-3 on aggregate. Arsenal nearly went home on away goals, with a 2-2 draw at Emirates Stadium, but they pull out a goal in the final 5 minutes to give them a 3-2 home win and a narrow escape.

Champions League Draw
We get a fairly nice draw into the Champions League... we will be in Group E, along with Barcelona, Dinamo Kiev, and Turkish side Trabzonspor... none are typical teams who have made it very far in the competition in previous seasons. We open play at Trabzonspor on Sept. 12th, and will finish group play on Dec. 5th at Barcelona.

We pick up $4.8 million just for making the Group Stage, which we do without having to play through the Qualifying Rounds, as a top seed in the tourney for being English champions.

Our match with Chelsea gets moved due to the Champions League. Unfortunately, this will make for a tough mid-month stretch of games, @ Chelsea, @ Arsenal, then hosting Barcelona.

Middlesbrough offer us $11.5 million + 20% of next sale for Milciades Omar Bellomo... I'm tempted to take it, but decide against it. Bellomo should factor heavily into our future plans. He's mostly a backup now, but his skill is developing such that he could be a top flight starter in the near future.

Lebohang Mokoena picks up a wrist sprain, but he should be fit before our next match at Trabzonspor.

John Heitinga is awarded Player of the Month of August honors, as he finishes the month with 3 appearances, averaging an 8.33 rating, and netting an assist with his stellar fullback play.

I finish second in Manager of the Month voting.

Wesley Sneijder nabs third in Goal of the Month voting for his strike against Middlesbrough on Aug. 11.

Ibrahim Kargbo asks to be placed on the transfer list.... the 30 year old Sierra Leonean D/DM-RC has been complaining for nearly 2 years that I'm not playing him in his strongest position... he thinks of himself as a center-back. He's played nearly everywhere for me. He is aging, so I doubt anyone will buy him.

Southampton lose in mid-week to Liverpool... the Reds pass us into 2nd, now having played an extra game... but Southampton sit in last, having lost all of their first 6.

Ibrahim Kargbo fails to show for training on Sept. 10th, 2 days after playing for Sierra Leone in a 2-0 loss to Ghana. I issue him a formal warning.... being a bit more gentle than my normal reacting of fining him a week's wages. He accepts his warning without comment.

UEFA Champions League odds
AC Milan, Arsenal - 3:1
Real Madrid - 5:1
Barcelona - 7:1
Valencia - 8:1
Inter - 10:1
Peterborough - 11:1

Basically, we're priced in as likely to make the Quarterfinals again, but crap out against one of the giants. Little do the bookies know that we're planning to win the Quad this year... a fair mistake to make.

[Butter]

Sept. 12, Champions League Match Day 1 (TV)
@ Trabzonspor (beat APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus) 6-1 in Qual. Rd. 2, and Deportivo La Coruna (ESP) 2-1 in Qual. Rd. 3)
Fav: Posh, 4:6

Trabzonspor also beat Manchester United 2-1 here at Avni Aker Stadium in Trabzon in a preseason friendly.
We had to make some tough decisions about who to leave off our 25 man European squad... you'll see who's not in uniform below.
In big injury news, Anthony Vanden Borre is finally set to make his competitive Posh debut.

Injured: Bocanegra, Zaccardo, Vagner
Ineligible: Gerard, Svensson, Sarr, Fernandes, Montolivo
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Alex, Marcos, Heitinga
M: Vanden Borre, Mngomeni, Sneijder, Kranjcar
S: Wallner, Cole

2'- Niko Kranjcar tees up from 30 yards... his shot is deflected wide. Wesley Sneijder charges onto it though, and fires a half-volley toward the far post from 15 yards... it's in!!! Another magical goal by Wesley Sneijder, and we take a 1-0 lead!

16'- Trabzonspor are keeping the ball, but our counter-attacking is just murdering them. On our 4th quality chance of the day, Cole passes inside to Kranjcar... then gets the return pass on the right edge of the box. He cuts the ball around his defender, then shoots for the far post with his left foot... and tucks it inside the post and in! Carlton Cole has awakened, and Europe will be much the worse for it! 2-0, Posh.

30'- Carlton Cole leaves briefly for treatment... the ensuing free kick is struck 50 yards by Alex to the top edge of the area... Wallner heads down, and Sneijder pounces on the ball, firing in another half volley... past the helpless keeper and in! Wesley Sneijder is showing he may well be the finest midfielder in Europe today, scoring his 2nd of the match! 3-0, Posh.

We decide to bring Cole and Vanden Borre off after taking a 3 goal lead, to protect them against further injury.

Marcos and Wallner both pick up minor knocks in an uneventful second half.

Win, 3-0, start in 1st place
Shots/on target: Trabzonspor 3/1, Posh 13/7
Poss: 54-46, Trabzonspor
MoM: Wesley Sneijder - 2 goals, 3 key passes, 21/24 passing
Posh ratings: Heitinga (8), Cole (8), Sneijder (9), Wallner (8), Kranjcar (8)
Posh subs: Karsnak (for Cole, 31'), Jesus (for Vanden Borre, 31')
A: 3,954

Barcelona match us with a 3-0 win at home v. Dinamo Kiev.

Jim Johansen continues to make his case for a call-up, as he has 2 goals and 5 assists in 6 reserve appearances.

[Butter]

Fabrice Fernandes, obviously unhappy with his utter lack of playing time, requests a transfer listing. I grant the request. I also move Fabrice to the reserves.

Anthony Vanden Borre tells The Guardian that he's having trouble adjusting to life in Peterborough. From Belgium? I let it go... hopefully this won't turn into a big deal once he gets into the flow of the team.

Sept. 15, Match 6
3-2-0, 4th pl., 11 pts.
v. Birmingham City (2-2-2, 11th pl., 8 pts. - Leading scorer: Darren Bent & 3 others, 1)
Series: Posh lead 5-1-2
Fav: Posh, Evens

Injured: Vagner, Bocanegra, Zaccardo
Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: de la Cuesta, Sarr, Svensson, Gavilan
M: Mascherano, Montolivo, Bellomo, Lampard
S: Jablonski, Mokoena

35'- Jablonski with a couple of near misses early on... but here, Frank Lampard with a splendid ball down the middle, Jablonski runs into it and touches it around the charging keeper for his 1st goal of the season! 1-0, Posh. Lampard looked pretty bad up to that point, but it's those little flashes of magic in the 34 year old that's the reason we signed him.

39'- Mascherano's free kick into the box for Jablonski is poked away... back to Mascherano, who passes left for Riccardo Montolivo... the Italian lines up a 25 yard shot, and fires it... into the top corner! Montolivo's first goal in Posh blue, and we lead 2-0!

Birmingham do much better in the second half, increasing the offensive pressure, but they fail to put Gallacher under any significant pressure, as he watches shot after shot pelt the spectators.

Win, 2-0, up to 1st place
Shots/on target: Posh 13/6, Blues 9/1
Poss: 52-48, Blues
MoM: Frank Lampard - 1 assist, 5 key passes, 40/43 passing, 5 pass interceptions
Posh ratings: Lampard (8), de la Cuesta (8)
Posh subs: Karsnak (for Mokoena, 70'), Lazzari (for Mascherano, 70')
A: 21,070

[Butter]

Wesley Sneijder picks up a sprained ankle in training, but should only miss a week or so.

Unfortunately, the news on Niko Kranjcar is much worse... Kranjcar tears a groin muscle, and is expected out for a month. The doctors all suggest he get surgery... but I'm reluctant, as it could leave him out for up to 6 months. I decide to hold out, and just nurse him back to health the old fashioned way. We have a wealth of attacking midfielders, so his loss for 1 month shouldn't be too painful.

19 year old reserve GK Ricardo Galo requests to leave London Road, saying he's having too much trouble adjusting to life in England. He is Portuguese, and doesn't speak much English, so that's probably part of it. I'll keep my eye on him.

Sept. 19, Match 7 (TV)
4-2-0, 1st pl., 14 pts.
@ Chelsea (3-2-1, 5th pl., 11 pts. - Leading scorer: Fernando Torres, 5)
Series: Even, 4-2-4, @ Stamford Bridge, Posh lead 2-1-1
Fav: Blues, 6:4

If Chelsea win by 2 goals today, they'll jump into 1st place.

Injured: Kranjcar, Zaccardo, Bocanegra, Sneijder
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Lazzari, Alex, Sarr, Heitinga
M: Vanden Borre, Mngomeni, Karsnak, Gerard
S: Wallner, Cole

A surprisingly scoreless first half at Stamford Bridge... considering the average scores of our matches run somewhere around 3-2 to the winner. Neither team had any golden opportunities, but several long shots were tracked down by the keepers, keeping the defenses fairly busy.

The second half is even slower than the first, as Chelsea put several balls wide of the target, and we are lucky to even get into good shooting position. Not a barnburner as I had expected. Our first scoreless draw with Chelsea in 11 matches.

Draw, 0-0, remain in 1st
Shots/on target: Blues 12/3, Posh 15/8
Poss: 55-45, Blues
MoM: Chelsea GK Petr Cech - 9 rating, 8 saves
Posh ratings: Heitinga (9), Arenas (8), Vanden Borre (8)
Posh subs: Mokoena (for Cole, 75'), Montolivo (for Gerard, 75')
A: 37,920

We put Manchester United in a great position with the draw, as they sit only 2 points back with 2 games in hand.

[Butter]

The third leg of our attempted Quad gets underway, as the 32 remaining teams are put into the draw for the English League Cup (also known as the Carling Cup). We get about the easiest draw imaginable, drawing a home game with League Two Bury.

Sept. 22, Match 8 (TV)
4-3-0, 1st pl., 15 pts.
@ Arsenal (2-3-1, 9th pl., 9 pts. - Leading scorer: Fernando Cavenaghi, 4)
Series: Gunners lead 5-2-2, @ Emirates Stadium: Arsenal lead 4-1-0
Fav: Gunners, 5:4

Injured: Sneijder, Zaccardo, Kranjcar
Unfit: Bocanegra, Gerard
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Marcos, Alex, Gavilan
M: Jesus, Montolivo, Mascherano, Lampard
S: Mokoena, Cole

11'- Gavilan barges over Fernando Cavenaghi at the very edge of the box... we do not get the benefit of the doubt, and the penalty is given. Cavenaghi takes it himself... SAVED!!! Arenas guessed correctly, and de la Cuesta clears the rebound!

16'- Reyes crosses into traffic... and Hatem Ben Arfa heads it in past Arenas. Absolutely clinical finishing by the French striker, and we trail 1-0.

43'- Cavenaghi with a great early ball to Reyes, who charges at the back post... Jose Antonio Reyes maybe hits the hardest shot I've ever seen... it skips low and past Arenas and in. 2-0 to The Arsenal.

We switch to an attacking 3-4-3 at halftime. Mascherano has to leave with an injury.

60'- Fredrik Ljungberg with a corner kick... he gets a return pass, then crosses to the top of the six... Cavenaghi is there to head it at goal... Vagner deflects it, and Arenas can't quite keep it out. 3-0, Arsenal, as this is quickly becoming a rout.

We again fail to get a point at Emirates Stadium, our 6th straight fruitless trip to this part of London. I had a secret goal of going totally undefeated in all competitions this year, but that falls by the wayside with this resounding defeat.

Loss, 3-0, drop to 3rd place
Shots/on target: Gunners 12/6, Posh 9/2
Poss: 51-49, Posh
MoM: Arsenal's Jose Antonio Reyes - 9 rating, 1 goal, 1 assist, 3 key passes, 21/23 passing
Posh ratings: Arenas (6), Mascherano (6)
Posh subs: Bellomo (for Mascherano, 45'), Vagner (for Gavilan, 45')
A: 53,106

ManU and Chelsea both pass us, and we slip to 3rd place.

Reserve keeper Ricardo Galo fails to show up for training... I give him a warning.

John Heitinga is named to the Team of the Week. He is having one hell of a year for us already. Too bad I don't have 2 of him to play every game... but he's gotta rest sometime.

[Butter]

We drop to 4th, as Manchester United and Liverpool continue their unbeaten runs to open the season.

We have a bit of trouble at the club now, as Ricardo Galo complains that my warning for his failure to turn up for training was unfair... I list him, at about half his $3.2 million listed value. I also notice that Arenas is now unhappy with his contract again... this won't help us win games. I'll probably have to bump his salary up a good bit yet again.

Sept. 25, Champions League Match Day 2 (TV)
v. Barcelona (beat Dinamo Kiev 3-0 on Match Day 1)
Fav: Barcelona, 6:4

Injured: Sneijder, Kranjcar, Zaccardo
Ineligible: Gerard, Svensson, Sarr, Montolivo
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Alex, Marcos, Heitinga
M: Vanden Borre, Mngomeni, Gavilan, Mokoena
S: Wallner, Cole

Barcelona with 2 mildly worrying chances early, but neither force Arenas into action.

15'- Cole gets a loose ball off the clearing header by de la Cuesta... Cole beats one man, then plays a great long ball to Wallner at the edge of the area... Wallner with a dribble, then he shoots at an impossible angle around Victor Valdes... and it bends inside the far post and in! What a strike by Wallner to give us a 1-0 lead! That's the goal of the season!

We control play for the remainder of the half...

45'- Wallner with a 50 yard free kick... he bends it to the top of the arc, where Mokoena gets it with a man on his back... Mokoena whirls and hits a blind shot to the right post... Cole shields the keeper a bit, and the shot rings the post... and caroms in!!! 2-0, Posh on another marvelous strike, this one at the stroke of halftime!

48'- FCB doesn't waste much time in the second half... Carlos Tevez wheels on a brilliant free kick and volleys it from 12 yards... it hits the crossbar, and Alex is able to clear out for a corner kick.

50'- Vanden Borre leaves with an injury.

55'- Things go from bad to worse for Barca, as def. middie Thiago Motta draws his 2nd yellow card for chopping down Mokoena... we go a man up.

63'- Carlos Puyol with a throw in near the corner flag... he throws it into the box... Arenas comes out to get it, but he misjudges it, and Carlos Tevez heads it past him and into the open goal... no defenders there to stop the weak header from crossing the line. Barca with a lifeline, now down just 1.

70'- de la Cuesta is forced to leave with an injury.

85'- After Carlton Cole fails to finish 2 one-on-ones with the keeper, we get the insurance goal we desperately seek... Mngomeni plays ahead to Wallner... Wallner with a great hold-up, then passes to a cutting Mokoena. Lebohang with a single touch, and it skips low and inside the far post for our third goal of the match. Just great football there by Wallner and Mokoena.

A dominant performance over one of the European favorites. A very satisfying win over what should be the 2nd place team from this group. Ronaldinho was quiet all match.

Win, 3-1, remain 1st in Group E
Shots/on target: Posh 14/10, Barca 5/2
Poss: 55-45, Posh
MoM: Lebohang Mokoena - 2 goals, 4 key passes, 29/34 passing
Posh ratings: Wallner (8), Mngomeni (8), Cole (8), Mokoena (8)
Posh subs: Jesus (for Vanden Borre, 50'), Lazzari (for de la Cuesta, 70')
A: 18,245

After the second matches, only us, Olympiakos, Ajax, and Chelsea have 2 wins in 2 matches from Group Play.

J.J. de la Cuesta picks up a groin strain and will miss 2 weeks, while Vanden Borre just has a bruise that shouldn't see him miss any time at all.

[Butter]

Does the Barcelona win mean that we're ready to contend in Europe? We were nearly ready last year, but Bocanegra scored an own goal in our 2 legged quarterfinal against Milan, and that was the only goal of the entire 180 minute affair. Maybe this year, we can find a way to get over the hump now that we seem to be on our way to cruising into the knockout stages. A good draw there will be our next key. A 1st place group finish would help that.

We decide to throw some more money at our 2 most unhappy players: L.A. Arenas, and Thando Mngomeni, both of whom are crying for a new contract. We up Arenas' base salary by about 3/4 million to $2.2 million and give him another $500k in a bonus. The board, though, does not want us to re-sign Mngomeni... he wants $2.6 million, and the board will only allow us to offer $1.5 million in salary. He is turning 30 this year, but I would like to keep him for 2 more years at least. Don't know if he'll stay at these prices.

Arenas signs his new contract immediately... Mngomeni rejects his. I could give Thando something like a $2 million bonus to get around the base salary restriction, but I'll wait him out for a little while.

We've slipped to 4th in the standings, but only need a single win to jump back into 1st place. We have 2 weeks off after this match, and play a few backups today to give a little extra rest to the starters.

Sept. 29, Match 9
4-3-1, 4th pl., 15 pts.
v. Manchester City (3-4-1, 6th pl., 13 pts. - Leading scorer: Jermain Defoe, 7)
Series: Even, 3-3-3, @ London Road: Even, 1-2-1
Fav: Posh, 5:4

Injured: Kranjcar, Zaccardo, de la Cuesta
Unfit: Vanden Borre
Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: Lazzari, Bocanegra, Svensson, Gavilan
M: Mascherano, Montolivo, Bellomo, Gerard
S: Jablonski, Vagner

9'- Gallacher looks shaky and slow on a long range shot early, but he gets his old ass over there and tips it away. You can definitely tell the difference between the catlike Arenas and Gallacher.

30'- Our first decent chance, Montolivo with a free kick on the very edge of the box... he aims it for the far corner, but keeper Robert Green tips it away... but Bellomo is there to follow up past the prone Green! Bellomo's 1st goal of the year makes it 1-0, Posh.

45+'- During the 2 extra first half minutes, Jablonski gets free on a breakaway thanks to a magic pass from Vagner, but he can't find his way around the keeper... then Adrian Mutu gets free on Gallacher but screams his shot into the side netting. 1-0 at the break.

75'- We move to a 4-5-1 as the Citizens increase the pressure.

We turn the tables and have the better of play for the final quarter hour, and are able to hold our 1-0 win. Our offense is not quite as prolific as last year's, but we're getting the job done right now. A grinder of a win, with the only goal off a set piece.

Win, 1-0, return to 1st place
Shots/on target: Posh 21/9, Citizens 9/4
Poss: 55-45, Posh
MoM: Milciades Omar Bellomo - 1 goal, 5 key passes, 5 headers won
Posh ratings: Gallacher (8), Gavilan (8), Bellomo (8), Jablonski (6)
Posh subs: Kargbo (for Jablonski, 75'), Lampard (for Bellomo, 75')
A: 21,090

Brighton with a great start to the season, they pound Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 to move to 12th in the table... very positive start for the newly promoted minnows.

[Butter]

Man U lose at hom to Portsmouth to drop one of their 3 games in hand on us... but they're still just 2 points behind us. Liverpool are now the only unbeaten, winning 2-1 at home v. Chelsea. They pass us into 1st on goal difference.

As October begins, the board continue to be merely "very pleased" with me, as are the fans. This is quite a step backward from when they've been "absolutely thrilled" with me for the past 2 years. The only award we contend for this month is Manager of the Month, and I finish 2nd in that voting.

Midfielder Gerard breaks his arm in training, and he'll miss the entire month of October.

Disgruntled reserve keeper Ricardo Galo accepts a 3 month loan spell to 6th place Championship side Nott'm Forest.

Man U with a mid-week win over Villa to vault into 2nd place... Liverpool with a draw against West Ham to increase their lead on us to 1 point. We're now back level in games played with the league, except for Man U's single game, and we're back to 4th place behind the Reds, the Devils, and the Gunners.

Reserve striker Jim Johansen with 2 more goals in a reserve match, and he's coming back to the senior squad. Michal Jablonski heads to the reserves. He won't be happy, but he was pretty awful against Man City, missing 2 free and clear chances that I'm sure Johansen could've finished at least one of.

World Cup Qualifying - Posh roundup
October 6
Carlton Cole (England) - He has his finest game as an international player, opening the scoring, and ultimately netting a hat trick in a 6-0 drubbing of Belgium during which he is named man of the match.
Karl Svensson (Sweden) - A pedestrian 7 in a 3-1 win over Latvia.
Riccardo Montolivo (Italy) - 2 goals, an 8 rating, and MoM honors in a 2-1 win over Belarus.
Michal Jablonski (Poland)- He nets the game winner in the dying seconds, as Poland beat N. Ireland 1-0.
Carlos Bocanegra (USA) - He captains the USA to a 3-0 win over the Reggae Boys. A 7 rating.
John Heitinga (Holland) - Rough game for the Dutch, they lose to a soft long goal and can't respond. Heitinga is captain and nets a 7 in the 1-0 loss to Slovakia.
Jan Karsnak (Czech Rep.) - The young midfielder rates a 7 and creates a goal in a 2-0 win over Ukraine.

October 9
Cole - He comes in for a routine sub outing long after England had handed the Faroe Islands their hat. Another 6-0 win, a 7 for Cole.
Svensson - DNP
Montolivo - Montolivo is named MoM again, setting up Italy's single goal... but the Italians lose 2-1 in Riga, Latvia.
Jablonski - Jablonski with a poor 6 in a chippy 0-0 draw with Austria... 3 red cards between the two sides.
Bocanegra - He earns an 8 as the US breezes to a 2-0 win at T&T.
Heitinga - Heitinga picks up a yellow and an average 7, but his effort not really needed as the Dutch bounce back with a big 4-1 whoopin' of Croatia.
Karsnak - Karsnak with a stellar passing performance, earning an 8 for his midfield play in a 2-1 win over Norway.

October 13
Libis Andres Arenas (Colombia) - A disasterous outing for Arenas, as Colombia are drubbed by Uruguay 4-1. He still rated a 7, meaning the defense probably had a lot to do with the blow out.
Diego Gavilan (Paraguay) - The 32 year old captains Paraguay to a home 1-0 win over Peru.
Alex (Brazil) - Rates an 8 in Brazil's 1-1 draw with Argentina.
Javier Mascherano (Argentina) - Rates a 7 in the same match.
Ibrahim Kargbo (Sierra Leone) - Kargbo with an assist and an 8 in Sierra Leone's 3-1 win over Congo.
Sarr (Senegal) - An assist, a yellow card, and an 8 as Senegal pound Eritrea 3-0.

October 17
Arenas - A strong showing, as he rates an 8 in Colombia's 2-0 home win over Argentina.
Gavilan - Scores once and gets an 8 as Paraguay all but punch their ticket for the World Cup with a 5-0 beating of Venezuela.
Alex - Alex coasts to a 7 as Brazil beat Bolivia easily 2-0.

We fall further behind on Oct. 13, as Chelsea now pass us, putting us in 5th place... and Manchester United extend their lead over us to 4 points, with both of us on 9 games played.

Riccardo Montolivo approaches me and lets me know he wants to leave us because he's having trouble settling in. He just had his finest game for us, and has been tearing up World Cup Qualifying. I'm reluctant to grant a request, especially considering we have 2 other Italians on the team, Andrea Lazzari and Cristian Zaccardo who should be helping to ease the transition. I'll keep my eye on him.

Arenas is preparting for the Argentina win as our 3rd Champions League match rolls around.

Oct. 16, Champions League Match Day 3 (TV)
v. Dinamo Kiev (0-1-1, 4th pl. in Group E, 1 pt.)
Fav: Posh, Evens

Injured: Gerard, Vanden Borre, Kranjcar, Zaccardo
Int'l duty: Alex, Mascherano, Gavilan, Arenas
Ineligible: Svensson, Johansen, Sarr, Montolivo
Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: de la Cuesta, Bocanegra, Marcos, Heitinga
M: Jesus, Mngomeni, Sneijder, Lampard
S: Wallner, Cole

25'- Kiev with the first chance of the game, a 25 yard free kick that Gallacher does well to save.

36'- Cole in a rare appearance on the sideline... he crosses for Lampard, but it's cleared. Sneijder sends it back to Cole, who crosses far post this time... Roman Wallner is there, and he heads it in! Perfect delivery and finish, and we take a 1-0 lead!

75'- After a long lull, we get another chance... Sneijder's corner is headed from 10 yards by Lampard... it hits the crossbar, and the attempted clearance spins back into the net for an own goal! 2-0, Posh.

An easy 2-0 win over the Ukrainian powers.

Win, 2-0, remain in 1st in Group
Shots/on target: Posh 18/9, Kiev 3/2
Poss: 51-49, Kiev
MoM: Thando Mngomeni - 8 rating, 3 key passes, 5 headers won
Posh ratings: Gallacher (8), Mngomeni (8)
Posh subs: Karsnak (for Wallner, 72'), Vagner (for Cole, 72')
A: 16,177

Barcelona with a 2-0 road loss at Trabzonspor, so they fall into 3rd place with just 3 pts., and the Turkish side is now 2nd on 4 pts.

[Butter]

We finally get back to league action after over 3 weeks off.

Oct. 20, Match 10
5-3-1, 5th pl., 18 pts.
@ Blackburn Rovers (4-2-4, 10th pl., 14 pts. - Leading scorer: Will Johnson, 4)
Series: Even, 4-2-4, @ Ewood Park: Blackburn lead 3-0-2
Fav: Posh, 4:5
Milestone: Carlos Bocanegra's 300th English league appearance

Injured: Vanden Borre, Zaccardo, Gerard
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Bocanegra, Marcos, Heitinga
M: Jesus, Montolivo, Gavilan, Mngomeni
S: Johansen, Cole

We are lucky enough to stop not one but two absolute point blank chances off corner kicks in the first 10 minutes... great defensive positioning to stop the shot, but not the header.

16'- After some nifty possession, Thando Mngomeni with a curling left footer that bends right into the top left corner from 25 yards... a marvelous strike, and we take a 1-0 lead.

23'- Bad luck strikes as Marcos deflects a long range shot right into the net behind Arenas. 1-1.

Terrific end to end action, but good saves are keeping it even.

38'- After Arenas snatches down a free kick, he sends a long ball for Cole... Blackburn's defense is caught out with people on the left, and Cole streaks down the right... he outruns everyone, then finishes past Stack for a superb goal! Cole's 2nd league tally of the year makes it 2-1, Posh.

50'- Occasional transfer target Christopher Eagles with a nice pass to Will Johnson, and the American beats Arenas low and to the near post to make it 2-2.

We hit a bit of a lull, and make a couple of subs for fatigue.

81'- Sub. Wesley Sneijder with a terrific short chip onto Cole's run, and Carlton Cole surprises Graham Stack by shooting first time... and scoring! Absolute magic by Cole, and we take a late 3-2 lead!

We push Blackburn to the very end and keep them out of our half successfully to take another single goal victory.

Win, 2-3, up to 3rd place
Shots/on target: Rovers 14/7, Posh 19/12
Poss: 52-48, Rovers
MoM: Carlton Cole - 10 rating, 2 goals, 4 key passes, 40/46 passing
Posh ratings: Arenas (8), de la Cuesta (8), Gavilan (8), Montolivo (8), Cole (10), Mngomeni (10)
Posh subs: Sneijder (for Jesus, 64'), Mokoena (for Johansen, 64')
A: 27,500

Chelsea rips Barnsley to stay ahead of us on goal difference for 3rd place. Man U continue on in 1st, 4 pts. clear of us. Liverpool win on Monday night to nip back into 2nd.

[Butter]

Vagner breaks his collarbone in training, and will miss a month of action.

Mngomeni and Cole are selected to the Team of the Week.

Jesus strains his groin, and will miss about 2 weeks.

The media asks me if we can beat Bury... I give the tired old magnanimous "yes, but we'll have to play well" crap.

I check out my manager stats, and notice that my reputation has now reached "World Class" status.

Oct. 24, League Cup Third Round
v. Bury (8th in League Two)
Fav: Posh, 1:20

Never before have we been so large a favorite. We beat Bury once 8 years ago, in a pre-season friendly 4-1... and that was back when we sucked.

Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: de la Cuesta, Svensson, Sarr, Gavilan
M: Kargbo, Lazzari, Bellomo, Lampard
S: Johansen, Karsnak

Frank Lampard runs rings around Bury during the first 20 minutes... but 2 headers from corners are saved, and one 20 yard shot is tipped onto the post, and barely cleared off the line.

Then Bury settles down, and we're scoreless at halftime despite holding 65% of the possession.

Mokoena on for Karsnak at the break to inject some life into the offense. And we up our attack.

50'- Bellomo heads a goal kick back toward the Bury end... Mokoena runs onto it, past a defender, then nearly blasts a hole in the keeper and the net with a ferocious strike... it's in! 1-0, Posh. Mokoena's skill is no match against a tiring Bury bunch.

70'- After an easy save, Gallacher launches a long ball to Lazzari down the left... he simply outraces the defense, and shoots... his first shot is stopped, but he forces the rebound past the keeper and in for his first Posh goal. 2-0.

74'- For good measure, Frank Lampard scores on a direct 25 yard free kick to make it 3-0. Also his first Posh goal.

75'- Things go from bad to worse for Bury, as they lose a defender to his second yellow for dissension.

We hit 2 posts in the final quarter hour, but settle for a 3-0 margin of victory.

Win, 3-0, advance to League Cup Fourth Round
Shots/on target: Posh 29/16, Bury 1/1
Poss: 63-37, Posh
MoM: Milciades Omar Bellomo - 10 rating, 1 assist, 4 key passes
Posh ratings: Gavilan (8), Johansen (8), Lampard (8), Mokoena (8), Bellomo (10), Lazzari (9)
Posh subs: Mokoena (for Karsnak, 46')
A: 8,044

Everton with a surprise win over Arsenal 1-0 in Emirates Stadium is probably the surprise of the Third Round. We pick up $52k for the win here.

[Butter]

Well, I'm bringing this thread back, as I've tired of getting my brains beat in at internet poker and look for another diversion. So, to catch up, go back and read the last several seasons, and re-join the action here.

[Butter]

We hit a bit of a soft spot on our schedule now, with the only real tough game in the next month or so being a visit to Liverpool.

The Fourth Round League Cup draw is made, and we'll face our next opponent on the road, on November 7th at Selhurst Park... it just so happens to be the same team visiting London Road today.

Oct. 27, Match 11
6-3-1, 4th pl., 21 pts.
v. Crystal Palace (3-2-5, 15th pl., 11 pts. - Leading scorer: Collins John, 7)
Series: Posh lead 4-4-2, @ London Road: Posh lead 3-2-1
Fav: Posh, 4:6

Injured: Zaccardo, Vagner, Jesus, Gerard, Vanden Borre
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Bocanegra, Alex, Marcos, Sarr
M: Mascherano, Mngomeni, Sneijder, Karsnak
S: Wallner, Cole

We go with aggressive attacking tactics at home to try and put the Eagles away early.

5'- Works like a charm early, as Marcos heads a goal kick forward to Cole... Cole finds Wallner with some room in the middle... he tees up from 20 yards, and the shot hits a boot and goes in past the wrong-footed keeper. 1-0, Posh.

We dominate play for the next half hour, forcing Palace into a shell.

31'- Bocanegra with a long throw into the box... Karsnak with a great directional header sneaks it in past Gabor Kiraly to make it 2-0. Karsnak's first senior goal with the Posh.

We switch to our standard defensive counter-attacking posture after the interval. We held nearly 60% of the ball in the first half.

64'- Marcos' long ball into the box finds Cole, but he's pushed over and the penalty is given... defender Alex takes it, and Kiraly guesses right and makes a great fingertip save at the left post.

It ends 2-0, but easily could've been 3-0. A solid home win.

Win, 2-0, up to 3rd place
Shots/on target: Posh 18/12, Palace 8/3
Poss: 53-47, Posh
MoM: Roman Wallner - 1 goal, 4 shots on goal, 2 key passes
Posh ratings: Arenas (8), Bocanegra (8), Wallner (8), Mngomeni (8), Karsnak (8)
Posh subs: Kargbo (for Cole, 71'), Kranjcar (for Wallner, 71'), Montolivo (for Sneijder, 71')
A: 16,381

We're now 4 points back of ManU and level on games played with them... we're also even on points with Chelsea, but hold a game in hand on them.

[Butter]

Southampton fire manager Mark Hughes, not a surprise considering the Saints are in 17th place after 10 games played, earning just 9 points in those 10 matches.

Bocanegra and Wallner are picked to the Team of the Week.

Ibrahim Kargbo fails to turn up for training... I warn the 30 year old defensive midfielder, and he agrees to improve his behavior.

17 Posh players are called up to their respective international squads for friendlies in mid-November.

Recently returned from injury Anthony Vanden Borre suffers another setback, fracturing a rib in practice. He'll miss another 3 weeks, and our bad luck with defensive midfielders continues.

Oct. 31, Champions League Match Day 4 (TV)
@ Dinamo Kiev (last in Group E with 1 point)
Pvs. meeting: Posh 2:0 Kiev, in last Champions League match
Fav: Posh, Evens

Injured: Zaccardo, Vanden Borre, Vagner, Jesus, Lazzari
Ineligible: Gerard, Svensson, Johansen, Sarr, Montolivo
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Alex, Marcos, Heitinga
M: Kargbo, Sneijder, Gavilan, Lampard
S: Mokoena, Bellomo

10'- Great long ball down the left by Marcos to Mokoena... he turns on his man, waits for support, and crosses to the back post... Kargbo with a powerful header that is tipped away... but Bellomo is in perfect position to clean up things and earn a goal! 1-0, Posh.

31'- Kiev with their finest chance of the opening 45, as a corner kick to the near post is flicked onto goal, but Arenas' great reflexes keep the ball out of the net.

69'- Lampard with a nice steal of a throw in, he gets it back to Kargbo... several midfield passes later, Lampard is free from 30 yards, and has time to pick out Bellomo at the corner of the area... Bellomo wheels on his man, beats him cleanly, then fires it past the Kiev keeper! Great goal to give us a 2-0 lead.

89'- Kiev pull one back, as Arenas stops one shot, but the rebound from a tough angle hits Alex's leg and goes in.

Luckily for us, that's it and we take 3 more points on the road in the Champions League.

Win, 2-1, advance to Knockout Stages
Shots/on target: Kiev 9/5, Posh 17/13
Poss: 55-45, Kiev
MoM: Milciades Omar Bellomo - 2 goals
Posh ratings: Heitinga (8), de la Cuesta (8), Kargbo (8), Bellomo (8)
Posh subs: Mngomeni (for Sneijder, 46')
A: 16,829

We join Chelsea, Roma, Inter, and Olympiakos as early qualifiers into the First Knockout Stages of the Champions League.

We pick up another $400k for our match win over Kiev.

[Butter]

As November begins, the board and fans both are merely "pleased" with my performance, despite early qualification out of the Group Stages in the Champions League, and sitting 4th in the Premiership, just 4 points adrift of the Red Devils.

A big early season game for us next, as we visit 5th place Liverpool. A loss would put us out of the top 4, and maybe put just the teensiest bit of heat on the team to perform. Liverpool are the only unbeaten side remaining in the Premiership, thanks to a stout defense that has yielded just 6 goals in 11 league tilts.

Nov. 4, Match 12
7-3-1, 4th pl., 24 pts.
@ Liverpool (6-5-0, 5th pl., 23 pts. - Leading scorer: Djibril Cisse, 5)
Series: Even, 3-2-3, @ New Anfield: Liverpool lead 2-1-1
Fav: Reds, 5:4
Milestones: Arenas - 100th Posh start, Cole - 200th league appearance, Gerrard - needs 1 goal for 50 career for Liverpool

Injured: Zaccardo, Vanden Borre, Vagner, Alex, Mngomeni, Jesus, Gerard
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Marcos, Bocanegra, Heitinga
M: Gavilan, Montolivo, Sneijder, Kranjcar
S: Wallner, Cole

34'- After Arenas made 2 good saves on long range shots from Shaun Wright-Phillips and Kim Kallstrom, we get a break on the other end, as Montolivo sends a masterful long ball right to the toe of Carlton Cole... Cole gets keeper Chris Kirkland to commit, then lofts it over him from 12 yards and scores! Cole's 4th league goal of the season gives us the 1-0 lead!

38'- A loose ball in midfield is picked up by Cole... Cole totally baffles Steven Gerrard, and gets in free! Cole lobs it over Kirkland again... and scores! Cole with a vintage first half singlehandedly gives us a 2-0 lead!

64'- Right as we're readying some defensive subs, Liverpool pulls back a goal... sub. Cesar Delgado sends in a near post cross to young striker Luke Grant, who heads it past Arenas to cut it to 2-1.

We switch to a 4-5-1, putting in another defensive midfielder in place of Roman Wallner, who is tiring.

78'- Grant busts through our back line... Arenas is able to block his shot wide... Delgado with the follow-up chance, but Arenas gets over to deflect that as well! Great goalkeeping.

Liverpool get one more chance, but Ashley Cole strays offside to end the chance, and the final whistle goes on the restart. A huge road win to move us up the table! Arenas was spectacular today, making at least 4 world class saves, while Cole was our entire offense. But today, that was enough.

Win, 2-1, move up to 2nd
Shots/on target: Reds 11/9, Posh 5/3
Poss: 54-46, Rreds
MoM: Libis Andres Arenas - 8 saves
Posh ratings: Arenas (10), Heitinga (8), de la Cuesta (8), Cole (8), Montolivo (8)
Posh subs: Karsnak (for Sneijder, 64'), Lazzari (for Wallner, 64'), Mokoena (for Cole, 80')
A: 52,880

Man U easily dispatch West Ham at home, so we remain 4 points back, but we pass Chelsea and Arsenal into 2nd place.

[Butter]

Former Barnsley, Reading, and Watford manager Mark Wright is hired on at Southampton.

No rest for the weary, as we travel to London to face Crystal Palace. We do get a 10 day spell off after this match, however. So I guess there IS rest for the weary.

Arenas and Heitinga are picked to the Team of the Week.

This is a League Cup matchup, so it is vital in our Quest for the Quad. With rest coming on the other side of this match, I send out the first teamers. Well, as many as I can considering this is just a 2 day rest period.

Nov. 7, League Cup Fourth Round (TV)
@ Crystal Palace (16th in Premiership)
Series: Posh lead 5-4-2, @ Selhurst Park: Even, 1-2-1
Fav: Posh, 4:6

Injured: Zaccardo, Vanden Borre, Alex, Gerard, Jesus, Vagner
Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Sarr, Svensson, Kargbo
M: Mascherano, Lazzari, Bellomo, Lampard
S: Johansen, Mokoena

2'- Mokoena crosses to the middle into a thoroughly confused Eagle defense... Johansen with no one near him from 10 yards, has time to settle the ball, but he hits it right at keeper Gabor Kiraly.

10'- Johansen tees up a 30 yard shot out of nothing... and it hits a defender and trickles in behind the keeper! Weird goal, but I'll take it. 1-0, Posh.

36'- Bellomo with a great run down the right... he cuts it inside to Mokoena, who lays it back further for Lampard... Lampard with an open 15 yard shot, but he unselfishly passes to his right to Andrea Lazzari.... Lazzari with a quick left-footed strike that beats Kiraly! 2-0, Posh! Lampard with some more quality team play to give us a 2 goal cushion.

42'- Palace pull themselves back into the match with a nice header in off a corner kick. These corners have been giving us all sorts of problems. 2-1.

45+'- Lazzari is down injured, meanwhile Palace play on and attack our goal, nearly scoring a 2nd while Lazzari lays prone near the top of the box. We take a 2-1 lead into the locker room.

Karsnak enters for Lazzari, and Sarr and Kargbo switch places, with Kargbo moving to center back and Sarr to right fullback.

55'- We get some breathing room again, as Karsnak passes inside to Johansen... Johansen crosses far post... Kiraly tips the cross, but can't stop it from getting to Bellomo, who has an easy tap in for a 3-1 lead!

89'- We appear to get the clincher as Karsnak with a great cross to Mokoena, who heads it in... but Lebohang pulled his man to the ground to gain some space, so it's called back.

Either way, we're moving on.

Win, 1-3, advance to League Cup Quarterfinals
Shots/on target: Eagles 18/5, Posh 10/7
Poss: 54-46, Eagles
MoM: Milciades Omar Bellomo - 1 goal, 1 assist, 7/10 headers won, 6/11 tackles won, 5 key passes
Posh ratings: Kargbo (8), Sarr (8), de la Cuesta (8), Svensson (8), Johansen (8), Bellomo (10), Mascherano (8), Lampard (9)
Posh subs: Karsnak (for Lazzari, 45')
A: 22,822

Lazzari's injury is not serious, and he should be ready for our next match if needed.

[Butter]

Riccardo Montolivo decides to skip out on training since he's having a tough time "adjusting". I give him one warning before I start fining his ass. He decides my warning is unfair, and now he pretty much wants out. He's valued at $29 million, but he has had some flashes of brilliance that make me reluctant to sell him. Still, he's probably outta here pretty soon.

We get a big road block on our way to the Quad... our Quarterfinal League Cup draw is made, and we have to visit Old Trafford and beat Man U to advance. No, we couldn't draw away at Leicester, Bolton, or even League 1 Yeovil... we get the hardest team left, on the road. This game will be on November 28th, so it's coming up fairly soon.

Ibrahim Kargbo decides to turn up absent from training as well, so he gets a one week fine, which he accepts as fair.

We still can't get Thando Mngomeni back on the pitch... he dislocates his jaw in a South African friendly vs. Romania, and will probably be out until around the start of December.

We have 3 kinda blah games in our runup to the League Cup Quarters.... home to Brighton and Trabzonspor, then on the road at cellar dwellars Barnsley. Hopefully, we can guard against the let down and go into Old Trafford on a roll.

The Seagulls feature former Posh-hand Lamine Traore in central defense... he's playing well on the South Coast, rating over a 7.1 so far this year.

Nov. 17, Match 13
8-3-1, 2nd pl., 27 pts.
v. Brighton and Hove Albion (4-3-6, 13th pl., 15 pts. - Leading scorer: Jean Beausejour, 4)
Series: Posh lead 2-0-0
Fav: Posh, 1:2

Injured: Gerard, Mngomeni, Vanden Borre, Zaccardo, Vagner
Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: Lazzari, Marcos, Alex, Gavilan
M: Jesus, Montolivo, Bellomo, Lampard
S: Johansen, Cole

After a half hour of some pretty boring football, I decide to put the fire to the minnows and attack.

43'- Sadly, this backfires, as Jean Beausejour breaks the trap, crosses to the far post where left winger Kris Commons hits a sweet volley past Gallacher into the back of the net to put Brighton up 1-0 at the break.

We switch to a 3-4-3 for the second half.

A slow start to the second half, but we eventually get rolling.

57'- Johansen with a great cross to the back post to a streaking Bellomo, but he puts a little too much on the header and it flies over the bar.

59'- Gavilan with a corner kick into the near post... Jesus charges onto it and heads it into the net! Jesus' second ever senior goal for the Posh, and we tie it up!

77'- Alex with a long free kick... he drops it into the box for Johansen, who lays it off for Jesus... Jesus has a go from 15 yards... the shot takes a deflection and goes in! Jesus with his first 2 goals of the year in the same match, and we lead it 2-1!

83'- Bellomo with some nice play, beating his man, then laying it off for Karsnak... Karsnak's shot is charged down, but the ball runs free to Bellomo, who powers it in from a tight angle for his 5th of the year! 3-1, Posh. Bellomo is growing into one of the finest players on the squad.

88'- Mokoena with a perfectly placed header makes it 4 Posh tallies in the second half to end the Brighton upset attempt.

The final whistle goes, and we take home a 4-1 win thanks to a stellar final 45 minutes on the offensive end of the field. Jim Johansen with a fine game today, netting 2 assists on our 4 goals.

Win, 4-1, remain in 2nd
Shots/on target: Posh 24/10, Gulls 5/2
Poss: 61-39, Posh
MoM: Milciades Omar Bellomo - 1 goal, 4 shots on target, 4 key passes
Posh ratings: Bellomo (9), Jesus (9), Johansen (8), Mokoena (8)
Posh subs: Mokoena (for Lazzari, 45'), Karsnak (for Montolivo, 45')
A: 21,091

Man U with a 2-0 road win at Sheffield Wednesday to keep their 4 point margin over us. We now have 3 points over 3rd place Arsenal, and 5 over 4th place Chelsea.

[Butter]

Bellomo is picked to the Team of the Week. He must be a candidate for player of the month honors at this rate, as he is on fire. He has scored 4 times in his last 3 appearances, 2 of those games coming outside of league competition. Bellomo has the highest average rating on the team right now, at 8.11 in 9 games, and has earned man of the match in 5 of his 9 appearances.

We have numerous players away on international duty as our penultimate Champions League Group match comes up in mid-week. In fact, of our 25 man roster that is eligible to play in the Group Stage, only 16 are available to dress for this game, meaning we have 2 spots for subs that are going totally un-used. Trabzonspor still holds out a slim hope for advancing, but must have a win today for that to be possible.

Nov. 20, Champions League Match Day 5 (TV)
4-0-0, 1st place, Qualified for Knockout Stage
v. Trabzonspor (1-1-2, 3rd place in Group E, 2 points behind Barcelona)
Last meeting: Trabzonspor 0:3 Posh
Fav: Posh, 4:6

Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: Lazzari, Marcos, Bocanegra, Heitinga
M: Kargbo, Karsnak, Sneijder, Kranjcar
S: Mokoena, Wallner
Subs: GK Tor Hilmarsson, Bellomo, Lampard, Cole, Kargbo

We go with the attacking style that worked so well in the second half vs. Brighton, out of our standard 4-4-2.

5'- Sneijder's corner kick is headed on by Mokoena... the Turkish keeper makes the save, but Kargbo is there to clean things up and score his first of the year. 1-0, Posh.

Trabzonspor can't break our offside trap, and we pretty much keep the ball in their half of the field, holding over 50% of possession in the Trabzonspor half of the field.

46'- A Turkish attacker gets his 2nd yellow for chopping down Mokoena, and we go a man up.

70'- We seal things up, as John Heitinga sends a perfect ball ahead to Roman Wallner... Wallner bears down on the keeper and slips it inside the far post for a 2-0 Posh lead. Wallner's fourth goal in his last 5 appearances for us.

72'- Jan Karsnak with a magnificent shot from the top corner of the box freezes the keeper and he watches it scrape under the bar and in for our 3rd of the match. Karsnak's 2nd of the season.

83'- Roman Wallner lines up a 30 yard free kick, and strikes it home. 4-0, Posh as we're punching Barca's ticket to the round of 16 as well as emphatically stamping our own.

Mercifully for the Turks, the final whistle goes and we take a 4-0 win.

Win, 4-0, Trabzonspor eliminated from Champions League
Shots/on target: Posh 24/12, Trabzonspor 0/0
Poss: 66-34, Posh
MoM: Lebohang Mokoena - 3 key passes, 1 assist, 7/18 headers won, 5 forward runs
Posh ratings: Heitinga (8), Marcos (8), Wallner (9), Sneijder (8), Karsnak (9), Kargbo (8), Mokoena (9), Kranjcar (6)
Posh subs: Tor Hilmarsson (for Gallacher, 83')
A: 15,119

Barcelona easily dispatch Dinamo Kiev 3-1 in the Ukraine to also advance to the Knockout Stages.

We set a team record with our 11th straight win in all competitions with this victory since our late September drubbing at the hands of Arsenal.

[Butter]

Carlton Cole strains a calf in training, meaning that we'll be short our best striker in a week for our key League Cup matchup against Manchester United. Cole is due to miss about 2 weeks with the injury.

Next up for us Barnsley, who are dead last in the Premiership, and have scored just 7 goals while allowing 30 so far in the campaign. Considering this, we try to steal an extra match's rest for some key personnel.

Nov. 24, Match 14
9-3-1, 2nd pl., 30 pts.
@ Barnsley (1-3-10, 20th pl., 6 pts. - Leading scorer: Roberto Gandola, 2)
Series: Posh lead 5-1-0, first meeting since 2007/08 season
Fav: Posh, 4:7

Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: Lazzari, Svensson, Marcos, Sarr
M: Kargbo, Montolivo, Karsnak, Gerard
S: Jablonski, Wallner

2'- Things don't start well, as Marcos brings down Gandola at the top of the arc, and the 22 yard free kick is promptly struck past a flailing Gallacher for a 1-0 Barnsley lead.

5'- Wallner with a great ball over the top for Jablonski... Michal gets a one on one chance, but it lacks power and is tipped aside.

12'- Things go from bad to worse as Barnsley beat the trap, and Gallacher gets beaten on the one-v-one for a 2-0 Barnsley lead.

21'- We pull one back, Jan Karsnak with a great long cross to Montolivo, unmarked at the back post. The Italian dives onto it and heads it past the surprised keeper. 2-1.

Our offense sputters a bit, even after we up the pressure, and then switch to a 3-5-2 at halftime, featuring 2 attacking midfielders.

80'- Frank Lampard misses an absolute sitter from 4 yards, and we get desperate.

We throw everything but the kitchen sink at Barnsley in the final 10 minutes. Sadly, they nip yet another goal in the final 4 minutes, and put it out of reach.

This is one of those games that was hopeless as soon as the first kick was taken. We got served with 6 yellow cards, including 2 to Kargbo who was sent off in the 92nd minute. Barnsley just outplayed us, and we looked totally inept all match long. No chemistry, no attack. We deserved to lose.

Loss, 3-1, remain in 2nd
Shots/on target: Barnsley 16/9, Posh 15/8
Poss: 51-49, Barnsley
MoM: Barnsley GK John Chambers - 7 saves
Posh ratings: Gallacher (8), Montolivo (8), Kargbo (6), Svensson (6), Wallner (8)
Posh subs: Lampard (for Marcos, 61'), Mokoena (for Jablonski, 61'), Sneijder (for Gerard, 76')
A: 20,741

Kargbo is likely to miss 2 weeks due to a calf strain... so that 1 game suspension for his red card won't really hurt us all that much.

Man U beats Chelsea at home 1-0 to extend their lead to 7 points. The league might well be getting away from us before too long if Man U doesn't cool off soon.

[Butter]

Biggest game of the year so far coming up if we want to achieve our goal of winning all 4 competitions we're entering.

Nov. 28, League Cup Quarterfinals
@ Manchester United (1st in Premiership)
Series: Red Devils lead 5-3-3, @ Old Trafford: Man U lead 2-2-1
Fav: ManU, 5:4

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Alex, Bocanegra, Heitinga
M: Jesus, Sneijder, Bellomo, Kranjcar
S: Johansen, Mokoena

9'- Cristiano Ronaldo tees one up from 25 yards, but Arenas is there.

27'- A tight match opens up a bit, as Mokoena passes ahead to Johansen... he holds off his man, then tries a shot from 18 yards... it deflects up and over the keeper and into the net!!! 1-0, Posh, as Jim Johansen scores!

It stays that way as we go into the break... Man U has much more of a fatigue issue than we do, and it seems to be helping us out immensely on the pitch.

51'- Valeri Bojinov pops free for Man U, but Arenas stones him and the rebound is cleared.

68'- Sub. Diomansy Kamara with a great cross into Bojinov, but Arenas makes the stop at point blank range... great reaction save.

75'- Bellomo tries a 30 yard shot... it's charged down, but the ball falls to Mokoena, who first times it past Stekelenburg and into the back of the net!!! 2-0, Posh as Lebohang Mokoena provides a much needed insurance goal!

Man U can't penetrate our back line for the final quarter hour, and we take the win! A HUGE win at the Theatre of Dreams puts us in the driver's seat in this competition!

Win, 0-2, advance to League Cup Semifinals
Shots/on target: Red Devils 12/6, Posh 12/4
Poss: 52-48, ManU
MoM: L.A. Arenas - 6 saves
Posh ratings: Arenas (9), de la Cuesta (8), Alex (8), Bellomo (8), Jesus (8), Johansen (8), Kranjcar (8)
Posh subs: None
A: 64,734

League Cup Quarterfinal results
Bolton 1:0 Man City
Leicester 0:0 Chelsea (Chelsea adv. 3-2 on PK's)
Yeovil 2:1 Tottenham H.

So, 2 non-Premiership teams remain in the competition... hopefully, we'll draw one of them and NOT Chelsea in the Semi's.

Sadly, Arsenal win a league match to pass us into 2nd in the standings by 1 point... but we do hold a game in hand.

The draw for the League Cup Semifinals is made... the first team out is Chelsea.... the second team out is Bolton! So, we'll get to play League One Yeovil Town in the 2 legged semifinal, the first leg of which will be at London Road shortly after the New Year! The stage is all but set for us to make our first ever League Cup Final.

[Butter]

Dec. 1, Match 15
9-3-2, 3rd pl., 30 pts.
v. Fulham (2-4-8, 18th pl., 10 pts. - Leading scorer: Arouna Kone, 10)
Series: Cottagers lead 3-3-2, @ London Road: Cottagers lead 2-1-1
Fav: Posh, 4:6

The squad is pretty well tuckered out after the great match at Old Trafford. We have to play a bunch of 2nd teamers in this one to try and keep everyone's legs fresh. This is a Saturday, and our next match is on Wednesday again, but luckily it's just our meaningless final Champions League group stage match.

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Bocanegra, Svensson, Marcos, Sarr
M: Mascherano, Lazzari, Gavilan, Lampard
S: Jablonski, Karsnak

We come out in an attacking style, hoping to take it to the relegationally challenged Londoners.

16'- Gavilan takes a shot out front, it's deflected to the head of Karsnak, but his shot hits the side netting. Moments later, Gavilan with another nice play, heading it onto Jablonski's foot... he first-times a 20 yard shot that hits the crossbar... Karsnak's follow up is saved acrobatically by the Fulham keeper. The ensuing corner by Diego Gavilan curls swiftly into the six, where Javier Mascherano heads it into the back of the net! Nice set piece, and we take a 1-0 lead. That is Mascherano's first ever Posh goal, coming during his 3rd year with the squad.

34'- Lazzari with a great pass to Karsnak with acres of space just 8 yards from goal, but he hits it right into the keeper's breadbasket.

We make a couple of subs for fitness at the half and switch to a defensive 4-4-2, with the AMC spot moving back into central midfield.

57'- Mascherano picks up a game-ending injury, so we're left with no subs for the remainder of the match.

66'- Sure enough, Sarr picks up a game-ending injury, so we're forced to shift Wesley Sneijder to the back line, where he has never played before, and play a 4-4-1.

74'- James Beattie nearly connects on a 35 yard direct free kick.

80'- Andrea Lazzari is played onside by Gavilan, but he strikes the open shot wide of the mark.

86'- After 2 minutes of end to end action, featuring a magnificent stop by Arenas on James Beattie, we finish the game off... Bellomo and Gavilan play the give-and-go, and Bellomo with a wicked 25 yard shot that dips in between the keeper and the crossbar for an insurance goal. Bellomo continues his sensational form, putting us ahead 2-0.

A very nice win, but potentially costly in terms of men lost.

Win, 2-0, remain in 3rd
Shots/on target: Posh 26/14, FFC 4/2
Poss: 61-39, Posh
MoM: Diego Gavilan - 39/46 passing, 4 key passes, 2 assists, 4/6 headers won
Posh ratings: Arenas (8), Gavilan (9), Lampard (6)
Posh subs: Heitinga (for Bocanegra, 45'), Bellomo (for Lampard, 45'), Sneijder (for Mascherano, 57')
A: 15,867

That attendance figure is not a good sign for us.

Man U continues to win, leaving us 7 points off the lead. We stand now 1 point behind the Gunners, with a game in hand on them.

Sarr should miss just a few days with a deep shin bruise, but Mascherano is out for a month with a torn groin muscle.

[Butter]

Diego Gavilan is picked to the Team of the Week.

The FA Cup Third Round draw is made, and we get a mediocre draw... we draw at home, but we will get Aston Villa coming to London Road, instead of, say, non-league Folkestone. The final leg to our attempted Quad will begin on January 5, 2013.

I dish out a one week fine to Riccardo Montolivo for missing another training session.

Cristian Zaccardo finally returns from therapy, and should rejoin the lineup within about a week.

The standings decided for Group E, we face up with Barcelona only attempting to complete a perfect 6 win Group Stage. But I'm not risking my top players to do it.

Dec. 5, Champions League Group E Match Day 6
Posh have qualified first from group, Barcelona second
Fav: FCB, 5:4

Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: Lazzari, Marcos, Bocanegra, Gavilan
M: Jesus, Karsnak, Bellomo, Lampard
S: Jablonski, Vagner

5'- Barcelona scores early, as Thiago Motta strikes it into the top left corner from 15 yards.

47'- Motta scores again just after the interval, off a corner kick this time.

72'- Barcelona with a bad giveaway to Frank Lampard, and he knocks it perfectly onto the run of Michal Jablonski... Jablonski beats Victor Valdes low and we make it 2-1.

76'- Bellomo with a long ball to Jablonski... he shoots from a tough angle, but it strikes the post and caroms out. Shortly thereafter, Motta is sent off for his second yellow of the match, this time fouling Jablonski, and we go a man up for the final 15.

88'- Bocanegra goes off injured, and Mokoena takes his place as we shift to a very aggressive 3-5-2.

Nothing comes of our aggression against the talented Barca defense, and we take the loss like men. This was not totally unexpected, but I was hoping my youngsters would have a bit better showing than this, especially considering this is Vagner's first game back in several weeks. But he was a complete non-entity. Our first visit to the Nou Camp is ultimately unsuccessful.

Loss, 2-1
Shots/on target: Barca 19/9, Posh 7/3
Poss: 56-44, FCB
MoM: FCB right wing Joaquin - 24 forward runs (!), 10/11 passing
Posh ratings: Bellomo (8), Jablonski (8), Lampard (9)
Posh subs: Mokoena (for Bocanegra, 90')
A: 84,116

Champions League Qualifiers to Knockout Stage
Fenerbahce, Chelsea, Inter, Arsenal, Porto, Werder Bremen, Roma, Basel, Peterborough Utd., Barcelona, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Olympiakos, Ajax

And big news from the Premiership, as 18th place Fulham visits Old Trafford and comes out 3-2 victors! A huge win for us, giving us some hope that all is not lost in the race for the league title.

[Butter]

Dec. 9, Match 16 (TV)
10-3-2, 3rd pl., 33 pts.
@ Aston Villa (5-7-3, 10th pl., 22 pts. - Leading scorer: Jeremie Aliadiere, 7)
Series: Posh lead 4-3-2, @ Villa Park: Villans lead 2-2-0
Fav: Posh, 5:4

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Marcos, Alex, Heitinga
M: Vanden Borre, Mngomeni, Sneijder, Kranjcar
S: Wallner, Mokoena

12'- After a couple of early nervous moments, the defense collapses and allows Neil Janczyk a wide open 15 yard shot, which he lasers inside the right post past a helpless Arenas. 1-0, Villans.

We look absolutely awful in the first half, and switch gears to a more attacking mindset for the second half against a red hot Villa squad.

51'- Our only sub pays immediate dividends, as Bellomo sends a great outlet pass onto Roman Wallner, who spots the keeper well off his line and successfully scores a cheeky chip goal from 30 yards out to square the game at 1.

63'- de la Cuesta with a throw in into the Villa box... Mokoena flips the ball with his head backwards... Marcos runs onto the great ball, and half volleys it past a stunned Villa defense into the goal! 2-1, Posh!

We switch back to defensive counter-attacking tactics after gaining the lead.

89'- We nearly blow the game... Mokoena appears to score a game clinching goal, but is ruled offside... and while 6 of our players ran over to celebrate, Aston Villa takes the quick restart behind the play and key a 5 on 3 break... But Arenas saves our hide again with an outstanding save on a close Neil Janczyk shot.

We hold on for the big 2-1 road win, moving us back into 2nd place.

Win, 1-2, up to 2nd place
Shots/on target: Villans 17/6, Posh 21/14
Poss: 53-47, Villans
MoM: Jose Julian de la Cuesta - 6/7 tackles won, 17/18 headers won
Posh ratings: Arenas (8), Heitinga (8), de la Cuesta (9), Wallner (8), Kranjcar (8), Bellomo (8)
Posh subs: Bellomo (for Vanden Borre, 45'), Zaccardo (for Wallner, 78')
A: 37,693

[Butter]

J.J. de la Cuesta is picked to the Team of the Week.

Good news for us, as Rio Ferdinand tears up his knee and is expected to miss 2-3 months of action for Manchester United.

Dec. 12, Match 17
11-3-2, 2nd pl., 36 pts.
@ Portsmouth (6-7-3, 7th pl., 25 pts. - Leading scorer: Daniel Fredheim Holm, 10)
Series: Posh lead 4-1-3, @ Fratton Park: Pompey leads 2-1-1
Fav: Posh, Evens

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Lazzari, Alex, Bocanegra, Zaccardo
M: Jesus, Montolivo, Bellomo, Lampard
S: Johansen, Cole

We come out in an aggressive attacking style.

5'- Yakubu totally whips Arenas, but Lazzari is in excellent position to clear the ball behind.

14'- Arenas with a totally awful clearance, and Yakubu makes him pay by receiving a nice pass and finishing into an open goal, with Arenas looking clueless on that play. I can't remember him looking quite so bad so early in any match recently. 1-0, Portsmouth.

23'- Classic Posh football, as Lampard hits a long ball to a streaking Johansen who is just onside... he hits the ball perfectly in stride, and finishes inside the left post to make it 1-1.

25'- We strike again quickly, as Cole lobs a pass just off the penalty spot to Johansen... Johansen with a great side volley that bounces in past the keeper for a 2-1 lead! Johansen with a marvelous first half.

36'- Michael Carrick spots Thomas Hofmann ahead for Portsmouth... Hofmann beats the trap, and hits a great strike from 12 yards, just inside the far post to make it 2-2.

We control the early part of the second half... but Portsmouth start to get the better of play around the 60th minute.

74'- Hofmann breaks past the trap again, and beats Arenas to the far post for a 3-2 Pompey lead. This is one of Arenas' worst showings in Posh blue.

80'- We switch to a very aggressive 3-4-3.

90+'- With 3 minutes of time set to be added on, we've already played through 3:30 as Montolivo sets up a free kick to the left of the area... he whips it right into the six, which is clogged with bodies... but Jesus fights through traffic and heads it in!!!! A dramatic late equalizer on the stroke of full time earns us a miracle point at Fratton Park!

The final whistle goes, and the squad is thrilled to have pulled back a point, even though we should've made our early lead hold up.

Draw, 3-3, remain in 2nd place
Shots/on target: Pompey 13/7, Posh 14/8
Poss: 51-49, Posh
MoM: Riccardo Montolivo - 3 key passes, 23/28 passing, 1 assist
Posh ratings: Montolivo (9), Jesus (8), Lampard (8), Johansen (8)
Posh subs: Karsnak (for Bellomo, 80'), Mokoena (for Zaccardo, 80')
A: 31,636

[Butter]

The First Knockout Round Draw of the Champions League is made... here's how it looks.
First Knockout Round - to be played beginning on Feb. 20th
Fenerbahce v. Arsenal
Basel v. Porto
Werder Bremen v. Roma
Chelsea v. Inter
Bayern Munich v. Peterborough Utd.
Ajax v. Real Madrid
Olympiakos v. Tottenham H.
Barcelona v. AC Milan

Another tough stretch, as we host Tottenham, then have yet another game at Old Trafford against the league leading Red Devils. I can't really afford to skimp on the lineup for either game, so we'll probably have fatigue problems in both.

Dec. 15, Match 18
11-4-2, 2nd pl., 37 pts.
v. Tottenham Hotspur (7-5-4, 7th pl., 26 pts. - Leading scorer: Robbie Keane, 5)
Series: Even, 3-4-3, @ London Road: Posh lead 1-3-0
Fav: Posh, Evens

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Bocanegra, Heitinga, Marcos, Gavilan
M: Vanden Borre, Mngomeni, Sneijder, Gerard
S: Wallner, Mokoena

We come out in an aggressive attacking stance at home.

15'- Robbie Keane beats the offside trap, but he can't beat Arenas.

26'- Vanden Borre with a great pass down the left for Mngomeni... he beats Emerton to the ball, then whips in a low cross... Mokoena with the volley past the keeper and in! 1-0, Posh!

39'- Salomon Kalou scores off a rebound of a Marcin Marszalek shot, and Spurs even it at 1.

42'- Heitinga with a great ball down the left again, and again Thando Mngomeni is on it.... this time it's a simple centering pass across the box to Mokoena, who settles it, then shoots far post... and scores! Mokoena's 10th overall goal of the season puts us back ahead 2-1.

Mokoena comes off at halftime, as he's just dog tired already.

51'- Wesley Sneijder is called for fouling Keane just on the edge of the box... a penalty is awarded, and Andy Reid converts it. 2-2.

56'- Vanden Borre passes ahead to Vagner... Vagner with a great ball left to Mngomeni who has beaten his man... Thando attacks the goal, and shoots low on the wet surface... it skips past Tim Howard and in! 3-2!

Mngomeni nearly scores twice more in the final half hour, but Tim Howard with some nice work to keep him out... we survive the nervous injury time period, and take a big home win. I thought we weren't going to do it briefly there, but Mngomeni had a masterful game to give us the win.

Win, 3-2, remain in 2nd place
Shots/on target: Posh 17/9, Spurs 17/10
Poss: 54-46, Spurs
MoM: Thando Mngomeni - 1 goal, 2 assists, 5 shots on goal, 4 key passes
Posh ratings: Mngomeni (10), Arenas (9), Gavilan (8), Mokoena (8), Wallner (6)
Posh subs: Vagner (for Mokoena, 45'), Karsnak (for Gerard, 61')
A: 21,097

We move into a tie on points with ManU for the time being, but they have 2 games in hand on us. Luckily, on Sunday, Man U manage only a draw in the Manchester Derby, moving them up to 41 pts. They still hold a game in hand on us, but we play them next. A win puts us into first place.

[Butter]

Riccardo Montolivo again fails to turn up for training. I fine him 2 weeks' wages, and transfer list him for $26 million.

Possibly the biggest match of the league season coming up here.

Dec. 19, Match 19
12-4-2, 2nd pl., 40 pts.
@ Manchester United (13-2-2, 1st pl., 41 pts. - Leading scorer: Valeri Bojinov, 5)
Series: Man U lead 5-3-4, @ Old Trafford: Even, 2-2-2
Fav: Red Devils, 5:4

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Sarr, Alex, Heitinga
M: Jesus, Sneijder, Bellomo, Kranjcar
S: Johansen, Cole

1'- Djemba Djemba crosses for Bojinov, but Arenas stops the close in header.

6'- Bellomo steals a pass in the defensive end, then passes to Johansen... Johansen with a long ball for Cole, who has his man beat down the right! Cole attacks from the right... shoots high, hard, and in! Carlton Cole is back! 1-0, Posh!

10'- Sneijder gets the ball about 40 yards from goal... he takes a couple of dribbles, then unleashes a shot from about 30 yards... it curls away from the keeper, hits the crossbar and goes in! A shock 2-0 lead in the opening quarter hour!

15'- Cole is set loose by Arenas, and nearly makes it 3-0... then a minute later, Johansen splits the defense, his shot is deflected out to Kranjcar, who shoots at a good angle, but Stekelenburg with a fantastic save to keep it 2-0.

17'- Sarr with a long ball to Sneijder down the left... Sneijder has 10 yards on the defense, stops on the left side of the box, and curls another wonderful shot past Stekelenburg and in! 3-0 POSH! This is maybe the finest performance this team has ever given! Sneijder's 5th goal of the year.

33'- Alex with a long ball to Johansen... he attacks Stekelenburg, but his first shot is stopped... the rebound goes behind the keeper... Wes Brown can't clear it, and Johansen taps it in! 4-0, Posh! That is Johansen's 5th goal of the year.

Man U appear to wake up right around the 40th minute, but we survive a wave of attacks and take a ridiculous 4-0 lead into the locker room!

51'- The second half starts poorly, as Sarr holds back Fabrizio Miccoli on a free kick and the referee points to the spot. Bastian Schweinsteiger takes the spot kick... and Arenas saves it! This is our day!

ManU pull back a consolation goal with 5 minutes to go off the foot of Cristiano Ronaldo, but we take the biggest win of the year, 4-1! Our 2nd straight win at Old Trafford! I'll say it again, the first half was the finest half of football any of my Posh teams have ever played!

Win, 1-4, up to 1st place
Shots/on target: ManU 14/8, Posh 15/13
Poss: 56-44, ManU
MoM: Carlton Cole - 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 shots on goal, 30/37 passing
Posh ratings: Arenas (9), Sneijder (9), Cole (9), de la Cuesta (8), Sarr (8), Johansen (8), Jesus (8), Bellomo (8), Kranjcar (8)
Posh subs: None
A: 65,464

Man U trail us now by 2 points in the table, with a game in hand on us.

[Butter]

During mid-week, we offer some contracts to a couple of our players whose deals are up at season's end, including strikers Carlton Cole, Jim Johansen, and Vagner.

We finish up a stretch of 6 games in 17 days, including 5 on the road, with always difficult Middlesbrough.

Dec. 22, Match 20
13-4-2, 1st pl., 43 pts.
@ Middlesbrough (6-7-6, 11th pl., 25 pts. - Leading scorer: Lee McKenzie, 9)
Series: Even, 4-4-4, @ The Riverside: Posh lead 3-0-2
Fav: Posh, Evens

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Bocanegra, Svensson, Marcos, Zaccardo
M: Kargbo, Montolivo, Karsnak, Lampard
S: Wallner, Mokoena

25'- Matteo Brighi lines up a 20 yard free kick... the shot deflects off the wall and goes in past Arenas for a 1-0 Boro lead. Uh-oh, letdown time!

Boro dominate the remainder of the half, but we take just a single goal deficit into the half, looking quite sad in attack.

57'- Finally, we break through, as Wallner passes ahead to Mngomeni, who curls a nice 12 yard shot past the keeper for a 1-1 tie.

A pretty boring remainder of the game, as it winds down to a 1-1 draw. Not a bad result on the road, and not all that surprising of a let down really.

Draw, 1-1, remain in 1st
Shots/on target: Boro 19/5, Posh 11/4
Poss: 52-48, Boro
MoM: L.A. Arenas - 4 saves
Posh ratings: Arenas (9), Zaccardo (9), Bocanegra (8), Lampard (8), Mngomeni (8), Montolivo (6)
Posh subs: Mngomeni (for Montolivo, 45'), Vagner (for Mokoena, 78')
A: 30,760

It's Christmas time, and the Posh and their fans celebrate by enjoying their current European status:
English Premier League: 1st place
Champions League: Dominated Group Play, advanced to Knockout Stages v. Bayern Munich
League Cup: Still alive, in Semifinals, favorite to make the Finals
FA Cup: Third Round to be played in 2 weeks, at home v. Aston Villa

Our Quad Quest is still alive. The next biggest threat to us will be our tough home FA Cup match against Aston Villa in early January.

[Butter]

We get a small break from the litany of big matches we've been playing in, as we have a stretch coming up against Newcastle, Southampton, and West Ham, all teams that have not been impressive this season, though we've always had trouble with Newcastle.

Marcos picked up a one match ban after our last match for accumulating 5 yellow cards already this season.

Man U move back ahead of us into first place on goal difference with a home win over Blackburn. They also still have a game in hand on us... so despite our recent win over them, we still need them to drop a game or two to other competition.

Jim Johansen signs a new contract with the Posh... I was all ready to consign Johansen to the scrap heap of failed strikers that have traipsed through London Road after he had a remarkable beginning to his young career several years ago... but Johansen has resurrected his career this season with 5 goals and 5 assists in just 7 senior starts. Plus he's still working cheap, signing for just $800k per year through 2015.

We have 7 players picked to the Premiership Team of the Week. A team record.

29 year old Jose Julian de la Cuesta signs a 3 year extension to his contract that will keep him in Posh blue through 2015 for $1.2 million per year. De la Cuesta was signed as a stopgap measure on the left side of defense for this season only, but he has dominated there earning an extension, averaging a 7.88 rating in 8 league starts this year.

29 year old striker Carlton Cole essentially agrees to see out his career with the Posh, settling for $10 million total over 3 more years of contract that will take him also through the 2015 season. Cole has started a bit slower than normal this season, being slowed by injury, but he had a dynamite game against Manchester United, and his consistent play for several years now has earned him this contract.

Chelsea agree to pay us a flat $20 million for the rights to Riccardo Montolivo, our disgruntled left winger who has been up and down this year, and who has been a bit of a head case, missing no fewer than 4 training sessions. As much as I HATE to see him go to a rival, I can't see keeping him on any longer with the way he has acted this year. And with the emergence of Bellomo on the right wing, I have a bit more flexibility to play Wesley Sneijder on the left, and can afford to part with Montolivo. Plus, the transfer window is getting ready to re-open, and I will be searching for left wingers again there. I agree to let him go for the sake of team chemistry. Montolivo showed some brilliance this year, but was absent far more than he was present, averaging a 7.20 in 15 appearances, with 2 goals and 5 assists for us this season.

Dec. 26, Match 21
13-5-2, 2nd pl., 44 pts.
v. Newcastle United (6-8-5, 10th pl., 26 pts. - Leading scorer: Martin Rongen, 6)
Series: Posh lead 5-1-3, @ London Road: Posh lead 3-0-1
Fav: Posh, 5:4

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Sarr, Alex, Heitinga
M: Vanden Borre, Lazzari, Gavilan, Kranjcar
S: Johansen, Cole

We come out with an aggressive attacking mindset at home.

3'- A great start, as Anthony Vanden Borre gets a great ball through to Cole, who beats his man and the keeper with a low shot inside the right post from 20 yards.... 1-0, Posh early.

6'- Carlton Cole has come out like a man possessed with his new contract freshly inked... he gets another great ball from Kranjcar, and deposits it again inside the right post past the stunned Magpie defense. 2-0, Posh.

12'- Cole with a fierce right footed shot from 18 yards that just goes over the top left corner... moments later he gets another breakaway but is stopped this time by the Newcastle keeper... and Johansen is stoned on the rebound as well. Almost 3-0.

17'- Arenas with a great diving save on a Robert Vittek 8 yard header.

24'- Arenas is there again on a good Martin Rongen 25 yard free kick.

36'- Cole is dispossessed attacking the middle... the ball bobbles to Johansen, who leaves it for Lazzari... Lazzari waits for Johansen to clear a defender, then sends it into the box for him... the Norwegian with time to settle the ball, and shoot to the far post and in! 3-0, Posh! Johansen celebrates his new contract with a goal as well!

We pull back to our standard defensive, counter-attacking tactics.

An uneventful second half, as Newcastle's offense generates nothing against our back line.

86'- Cole gets a nice return pass from Kranjcar on a counter-attack, beats his man, and gets it inside the left post this time to complete his hat trick! 4-0, Posh on Cole's 10th of the season.

90+'- Carlton Cole ties his Posh record, scoring his 4th of the game on a nice pass from Gavilan... another great goal, as Cole places it as if by hand past the keeper and inside the far post.

A complete domination over the Magpies, as we win it 5-0 to pad our goal difference a bit.

Win, 5-0, up to 1st place
Shots/on target: Posh 14/8, Magpies 4/3
Poss: 50-50
MoM: Carlton Cole - 4 goals, 4 key passes, 7 shots
Posh ratings: Arenas (8), Heitinga (8), Alex (8), de la Cuesta (8), Cole (10), Gavilan (8), Kranjcar (10), Lazzari (8), Vanden Borre (8), Johansen (8)
Posh subs: None
A: 21,075

Great news, as Man U allow Crystal Palace a late Collins John goal at Selhurst Park to give the Eagles a 1-1 draw. That gives us a 2 point lead over the Red Devils with a game in hand. Arsenal drop a game at Emirates Stadium to West Ham 1-0, and they remain on 41 points, 6 points behind us in 3rd place with a game in hand.

[Butter]

Vagner has rejected 2 contract offers to him now... he wants $1.5 million per season to be a 3rd string striker. I want to give him about $900k per. If nothing changes, he'll be moving on this offseason.

Montolivo agrees to a contract with Chelsea, and he'll join the Blues in exchange for $20 million to us on January 1st. We bring left winger Tobias Eriksson up from the reserves to take Montolivo's place on the senior roster.

A potential let-down game next, as we visit St. Mary's to take on the Saints.

Man U win during the early feature match of the day, beating Liverpool 1-0... so a win is vital for us to remain in 1st place.

Dec. 29, Match 22
14-5-2, 1st pl., 47 pts.
@ Southampton (6-3-12, 15th pl., 21 pts. - Leading scorer: Dexter Blackstock, 5)
Series: Posh lead 7-3-0, @ St. Mary's: Posh lead 3-2-0
Fav: Posh, 4:5

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Kargbo, Marcos, Svensson, Sarr
M: Jesus, Mngomeni, Bellomo, Sneijder
S: Wallner, Mokoena

3'- Mokoena narrowly misses a header from 6 yards at the back post.

13'- Some uncharacteristically shaky moments from defense, as Sarr and Arenas knock the ball back and forth, and eventually give the ball away to Robin van Persie... but luckily van Persie hits his gift shot about 5 yards wide. Sarr gets the ensuing goal kick, and sends it forward to Bellomo... he plays it square to Sneijder... Sneijder knocks it ahead to Mokoena... the pass is deflected right into the South African's run, and his close in shot hits the right post... it deflects out in front, but Wallner beats the defense there and taps it in! 1-0, Posh!

25'- Mokoena makes an absolute hash of 2 breakaways within 3 minutes of each other... could've easily been 3-0 by this point.

27'- Mngomeni gets a long ball ahead to Wallner... and he makes no mistake with his breakaway chance... 2-0, Posh.

46'- Southampton with a glorious 10 yard chance early in the 2nd half, but Richard Chaplow fires it past the left post.

57'- We put this one beyond doubt, as Mokoena scores his first of the game on a breakaway chance keyed by Bellomo... Mokoena was about a yard offside, but the flag stayed down, and I'll take all I can get. 3-0, Posh.

Southampton can't get any offense going, and we take the fairly easy win... 11 straight without defeat against the Saints all time now, our best such record against any team at this level.

Win, 0-3, remain in 1st
Shots/on target: Saints 14/5, Posh 12/9
Poss: 50-50
MoM: Roman Wallner - 2 goals, 2 key passes, 6/7 headers won
Posh ratings: All starters (8), Wallner (9)
Posh subs: Vagner (for Mokoena, 62'), Eriksson (for Bellomo, 62')
A: 28,434

Kargbo, Kranjcar, Cole, and Wallner are picked to the Team of the Week.

Niko Kranjcar also wins Player of the Month of December in the Premiership. Carlton Cole finishes second in the voting.

Jesus wins the Young Player of the Month of December award. And I win the Manager of the Month award.

Libis Andres Arenas comes in second in the voting for European Goalkeeper of the Year, while Roman Wallner and Carlton Cole finish two, three in the European Striker of the Year voting, behind Chelsea's Fernando Torres.

Wesley Sneijder picks up second AND third in Goal of the Month voting, both for goals he scored in our huge win over Manchester United.

December was a nice month for us.

We re-sign Thando Mngomeni to a 2 year contract extension through 2015... he'll make $2.2 million in base salary for these 2 seasons, a $300k per year increase.

Riccardo Montolivo is out, on his way to Chelsea, and we're $20 million richer. It is the largest transfer fee the Posh have ever received.

Diego Gavilan signs a 1 year contract extension, the 32 year old Paraguayan will stay with us through next year for $1 million.

I try to re-sign 34 year old Frank Lampard for one more season, but he says we don't have the resources to meet his demands... basically, a kiss off because we're not playing him enough. Oh well.

I also offer to Roman Wallner, the only other potential departure that I'm nervous about... he is 30 years old, but he has got some good goals left in those feet.

I look over the left winger list, and settle on two targets to try and bring to the Posh to replace and complement Thando Mngomeni... one is probably out of our reach, even at this level and that would be Freddy Adu. The 23 year old American is dominating Europe for Inter Milan. But his list price is $68 million, about $11 million over our allowed transfer budget. And even at that price, Inter may not be selling. The other target is very much possible, 27 year old Romanian left winger Nicolae Mitea of Real Betis. Betis are asking around $23 million for Mitea, but he has a minimum release clause of $27.5 million. I'm trying to start out low on his asking price, but will probably go up to his minimum fee release price. The only weak parts of Mitea's game are his strength and defensive ability. He has 2 goals and 5 assists in 17 starts, along with a 7.5-ish average rating for the Spanish club.

[Butter]

Ahead of our big FA Cup tie with Aston Villa, we try and steal some rest by playing much less than our best against 6th place West Ham at home.

Jan. 1, 2013, Match 23
15-5-2, 1st pl., 50 pts.
v. West Ham United (8-7-6, 6th pl., 31 pts., Leading scorer - Shola Amoebi, 10)
Series: Posh lead 8-5-2, @ London Road: Posh lead 4-3-0
Fav: Posh, Evens

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Lazzari, Bocanegra, Svensson, Zaccardo
M: Mascherano, Eriksson, Gavilan, Gerard
S: Johansen, Vagner

A thoroughly uninteresting match, this. We manage one good chance, as Johansen nearly scores off a scramble in front of goal, but his shot is deflected and trickles wide. West Ham really didn't threaten all match... we even played the first 60' in a very aggressive attacking stance, but to no avail.

Draw, 0-0, remain in 1st
Shots/on target: Posh 7/2, Hammers 4/2
Poss: 57-43, Hammers
MoM: WHU midfielder Kristoffer Haestad - 30/32 passing, 8/9 headers won, 1 shot on goal
Posh ratings: Arenas (8), Eriksson (8), Gavilan (6)
Posh subs: Bellomo (for Gavilan, 63'), Lampard (for Gerard, 63'), Mokoena (for Vagner, 84')
A: 21,105

Good news, though, as Man U only manage a late draw at Brighton to remain 2 points behind us with one game in hand.

[Butter]

Another Brazilian defender named Alex is available... he is only 19, and looks like he's going to be a good one... we make an offer and it is accepted. Now to wait for the work permit....

Roman Wallner agrees to a 2 year contract extension, worth a total of $7.2 million. Wallner has been our 2nd best striker for 2 years now, and is 30 years old... still a few more years left to wring some quality out of the Austrian.

On FA Cup Saturday, we are the featured late match with our home game against Aston Villa.

And the 4th leg to the Quadruple begins....

Jan. 5, FA Cup Third Round (TV)
v. Aston Villa (8th in Premiership)
Series: Posh lead 5-3-2, @ London Road: Posh lead 4-1-0
Fav: Posh, 5:4

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Marcos, Sarr, Heitinga
M: Jesus, Mngomeni, Bellomo, Kranjcar
S: Mokoena, Cole

16'- Bad play early, as the ball bobbles loose out in front... Arenas is a touch too slow to react, and midfielder Yoann Folly gets the shot in past him to give Villa a 1-0 lead.

42'- Thando Mngomeni with our first real chance of the game... he fires a 20 yard half volley just over the bar.

44'- Cole beats his man, and Kranjcar gets it to him in stride... Cole attacks the keeper from the right, but his shot is tipped wide... Mngomeni is there as the ball rolls across the goalmouth, though, and taps it in! 1-1!

We dominate the ball through the second half, thanks to reverting to defensive counter-attacking tactics...

85'- Marcos heads a goal kick forward to Cole, who has broken away... he shoots low from 18 yards, but misses by inches.

We switch to strong attacking tactics and a 3-4-3 to try and avoid a replay.

We get at least 3 good chances in the final 5 minutes, including a masterful cross and header from Mngomeni to Cole in the dying seconds, but Cole can't keep it down and the final whistle blows shortly thereafter to signal a replay.

Draw, 1-1, replay on Wed., Jan. 16
Shots/on target: Posh 23/10, Villans 4/2
Poss: 55-45, Posh
MoM: AV keeper Jan Lastuvka - 10 rating, 9 saves
Posh ratings: Arenas (5), Mngomeni (10), Kranjcar (8)
Posh subs: Wallner (for Sarr, 85'), Johansen (for Jesus, 85')
A: 18,042

Notable FA Cup Third Round results
Crewe Alexandra (Champ.) 2:1 Man Utd.
Gravesend (Conf.) 2:2 Rotherham (L1)
Liverpool 0:1 Wolves (Champ.)
Norwich (Champ.) 2:1 Newcastle Utd.
Swansea (Champ.) 3:1 Chelsea
Tottenham 1:1 Swindon (L1)
WBA 4:1 Folkestone (non-league)

[Butter]

Inter predictably reject a $50 million offer for Freddy Adu, and Betis reject our offer for Nicolae Mitea.

Tobias Eriksson, who has been a reserve team fixture for several years now, earns Team of the Week honors in his first mid-season appearance in 3 years.

The FA Cup Fourth Round Draw is made, and it's not a great one for us. If we can even get by Aston Villa on the road, then another road game awaits us at Portsmouth, a team currently 5th in the Premiership.

Next up, the first leg of two in our League Cup Semifinal against League One squad Yeovil Town. Yeovil was a conference squad as recently as 2003, and are currently toward the bottom of the League One table.

Strangely enough, a former Posh member is in the lineup for Yeovil today... Andre Boucaud, a 28 year old midfielder who was last with the Posh in 2005/06 when we were in League One is playing well for Yeovil, having scored 2 goals in the competition for the side.

Jan. 9, League Cup Semifinal - First Leg
v. Yeovil Town (16th in League One)
Previous meeting: Posh 2:0 Yeovil (Aug. 22, 2007 - League Cup First Round)
Fav: Posh, 1:10

Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: Bocanegra, Svensson, Kargbo, Gavilan
M: Mascherano, Eriksson, Lampard, Gerard
S: Johansen, Wallner

Unfortunately, Rob Styles is today's match referee.

16'- Roman Wallner with a 30 yard direct free kick, and he buries it into the top left corner for a 1-0 lead.

Despite employing a very aggressive offensive tactic, Yeovil packs their box with defenders and keeps us well out of the goal through halftime, and we hold a 1-0 lead. Yeovil will have to loosen up sometime if they expect to win, but they may well just wait until their home match to do so.

60'- Former Posh man Andre Boucaud gets his 2nd yellow of the match, this one for dissent on an offsides call, and we go a man up for the final 30 minutes.

77'- Yeovil have switched to an attacking style, and it pays off here... they get us back on our heels, then a cross is floated to the back post that Svensson can't reach in time... the Yeovil attacker with a diving header past Gallacher, and it's 1-1.

Uh-oh.

85'- Within a minute of each other, Mokoena and Wallner each hit the woodwork with a header.

The final minutes tick harmlessly by with Yeovil playing a defensive 5-3-2, and we'll travel to Yeovil needing a win to move on. Not a pretty match.

Draw, 1-1, second leg on Wed., Jan. 23
Shots/on target: Posh 17/9, Yeovil 3/1
Poss: 65-35, Posh
MoM: Javier Mascherano - 70/82 passing, 8 key passes
Posh ratings: Gallacher (6), Lampard (6), Mascherano (9)
Posh subs: Mokoena (for Gerard, 76'), Karsnak (for Lampard, 76')
A: 18,305

This month is not going well. In the other semifinal, Chelsea has trouble with Bolton at Stamford Bridge, and that match also ends in a draw, 0-0.

In Premiership action, Man U makes up their game in hand on us, and draw at home to Arsenal, so we remain 1 point ahead in the league race.

[Butter]

We haven't lost since December 5th, but we're still not playing very well. Hopefully we can regroup with a road match against relegation battlers Sheffield Wednesday.

Jan. 12, Match 24
15-6-2, 1st pl., 51 pts.
@ Sheffield Wednesday (3-7-13, 19th pl., 16 pts. - Leading scorer: Leon Best, 4)
Series: Posh lead 3-4-2, @ Hillsborough: Even, 1-2-1
Fav: Posh, 4:5

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: Lazzari, Svensson, Kargbo, Zaccardo
M: Jesus, Sneijder, Bellomo, Karsnak
S: Vagner, Wallner

We control play early, but don't get any gilt-edged chances.

23'- Leon Best nearly gets one past Arenas, but luckily the 10 yard shot is tipped just wide.

37'- A Sneijder corner kick meets Leon Best's hand, and we're gifted a penalty. Sneijder takes it himself and powers it in, 1-0 Posh.

43'- Arenas stands stock still and watches a 30 yard free kick go into the back of the net. 1-1. Arenas has been off lately.

The second half is relatively uneventful, as the Owls play for the draw, and get it. Our offense is unable to create anything of late, and we take another point against a team we thoroughly outclass. Arenas plays a good second half to keep it 1-1, but letting in that free kick early was just lazy.

Draw, 1-1, remain in 1st place
Shots/on target: Owls 13/7, Posh 9/4
Poss: 51-49, Owls
MoM: L.A. Arenas - 6 saves
Posh ratings: Arenas (9), Zaccardo (9), Bellomo (8), Wallner (8)
Posh subs: Mngomeni (for Karsnak, 73'), Cole (for Vagner (injured), 73')
A: 26,887

Man U beat Barnsley with ease to pass us back into first place by 1 point.

Vagner has a torn groin muscle, and will be out a month. He needs surgery to correct this problem, so I let him have it... he'll likely miss the rest of the year.

[Butter]

Our main left wing target to replace Montolivo, Nicolae Mitea, signs with Newcastle instead of us.

Zaccardo and Wallner are picked to the Team of the Week.

Niko Kranjcar and Anthony Vanden Borre both pick up training injuries... Kranjcar will miss 3 weeks with a broken cheekbone, while Vanden Borre should only miss about a week with a sprained ankle.

Jan. 16, FA Cup Third Round replay (TV)
@ Aston Villa (7th in Premiership)
Series: Posh lead 5-4-2, @ Villa Park: Villa lead 2-2-1
Fav: Posh, 6:4

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Alex, Marcos, Heitinga
M: Jesus, Mngomeni, Sneijder, Lampard
S: Johansen, Cole

11'- After some nifty passing in the box, Sneijder decides to take a 15 yard shot, but just misses the target.

25'- Johansen gets a nice pass from Lampard, but misses the far post by inches from 12 yards away.

35'- A tough pill to swallow, as an attempted cross deflects off Marcos and right into the path of Yoann Folly, who dives onto it and gets it past Arenas for a 1-0 Villa lead.

Carlton Cole misses at least 4 chances that he would normally bury between the 30th and 60th minutes, so he has a seat.

67'- Marcos just loses his man, Luke Moore, on a 50 yard free kick... the ball curls right into Moore, he's open from 15 yards, and he slots it far post past Arenas. 2-0, Villa.

We switch to an ultra-aggressive 1-6-3.

70'- Bellomo is denied twice in the same minute on 2 superhuman saves by Jan Lastuvka... once, he scrambles back and denies an excellent chip by Bellomo, then he denies a 3 yard header with a catlike reaction save... this tells me it's just not our day.

80'- Arenas just flat gives the ball away to Luke Moore and allows an easy goal to put the game and our Quest away for the season... 3-0, Villa.

89'- Alex picks up his 2nd yellow in total frustration, playing our absolute last line of defense very bravely.

Our Quad Quest comes to an end quickly this year, as we're out in the very first round of the FA Cup that Premiership teams are allowed in.

Loss, 3-0, out of FA Cup
Shots/on target: Villa 10/5, Posh 23/12
Poss: 53-47, Villans
MoM: AV GK Jan Lastuvka - 10 rating, 12 saves
Posh ratings: Arenas (5), Heitinga (6), Alex (6), Cole (6)
Posh subs: Lazzari (for de la Cuesta, 45'), Bellomo (for Cole, 59'), Wallner (for Marcos, 68')
A: 37,681

With the treble still well within reach, along with our first European title, we head disappointedly home... but all is not lost for this season. We have Yeovil Town and Bayern Munich coming up in Cup play, and both of those tussles should be very interesting.

[Butter]

Without a Fourth Round FA Cup match to prepare for, we get a glorious week off before our League Cup Semifinal against Yeovil. Likely, they'll be packing it in trying for a 0-0 draw, attempting to advance on away goals. We'll be throwing lots of men forward in attack for this match.

Jan. 23, League Cup Semifinal Second Leg (TV)
@ Yeovil Town
Aggregate score: 1-1
Fav: Posh, 1:8

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Marcos, Svensson, Sarr
M: Jesus, Sneijder, Bellomo, Lampard
S: Wallner, Mokoena

Yeovil actually come out attacking early, but 3 shots in the first 10 minutes pelt the spectators.

12'- Sneijder with a good pass inside to Wallner... Wallner passes forward to Mokoena, who shoots from 10 yards and scores! Nice powerful strike by Mokoena puts us ahead early!

The possession is split about 50-50 for the remainder of the half, but we clamp down defensively and keep them out of our box.

We switch to a defensive 4-5-1 for the second half.

56'- Mokoena sticks the dagger in, with a nice 12 yard strike off a pass from Jan Karsnak. 2-0, Posh, and 3-1 on aggregate now. Yeovil will have to score 3 to win, since we now have the away goals in hand as well.

60'- We get a breakaway on an errant throw... a 3 on 1, as Mokoena passes ahead to Jesus... Jesus draws the defender, then passes along the goalmouth to Bellomo, who has an easy 4 yard chance, and finishes past the flying keeper. 3-0, Posh as we're just killing Yeovil on the counter in the second half.

We avoid potential embarrassment by throttling Yeovil at Huish Park. A nice win to put us into the Finals.

Win, 0-3, Posh advance 4-1 on aggregate
Shots/on target: Yeovil 7/1, Posh 21/12
Poss: 53-47, Posh
MoM: Milciades Omar Bellomo - 1 goal, 2 key passes, 7/7 tackles won, 3 shots
Posh ratings: Sarr (8), de la Cuesta (8), Bellomo (9), Jesus (8), Mokoena (8), Karsnak (8)
Posh subs: Karsnak (for Lampard, 45'), Kargbo (for Wallner, 45')
A: 9,041

Bolton beats Chelsea 2-0 at The Reebok, so we'll face Championship side Bolton in the League Cup Final on February 24th at Wembley.

[Butter]

Today, we face that disappointed Chelsea side, who are tailspinning into the bottom half of the table. Chelsea have not won a match in 90 minutes since beating Cardiff in the League Cup in early November.... and they have not won in the league since beating Fulham 3-0 on October 27th.

Jan. 26, Match 25
15-7-2, 2nd pl., 52 pts.
v. Chelsea (7-9-7, 13th pl., 30 pts. - Leading scorer: Fernando Torres, 12)
Series: Even, 4-3-4, @ London Road: Blues lead 3-1-2
Fav: Posh, 5:4

Lineup:
GK: Arenas
D: de la Cuesta, Alex, Heitinga, Zaccardo
M: Kargbo, Mngomeni, Sneijder, Gerard
S: Johansen, Cole

Riccardo Montolivo is in the starting lineup for Chelsea, his 2nd league start for them.

We control play early in a torrential downpour... Johansen nearly scores one from 35 yards in the opening minute, and we have 2 other good build-ups that don't amount to points.

19'- A scramble out front ends when Arjen Robben is called for dumping Carlton Cole to the turf... we get a penalty. But Alex hits it right at Petr Cech, and we remain scoreless.

45+'- Finally, another chance... de la Cuesta's throw in is headed on by Cole... Gerard with an open 10 yard shot, and he buries it! 1-0, Posh on a nice strike from aging Spaniard Gerard.

Petr Cech single-handedly keeps Chelsea in the match with several big saves... but their offense is totally non-existent.

90+'- We get another injury time goal to end this one, as Cole bears down on goal, then slides a great pass to an unmarked Jan Karsnak, who puts it into an open net.

We send Chelsea to their club record 18th straight match in all competitions without a victory.

Win, 2-0, remain in 2nd place
Shots/on target: Posh 24/16, Blues 3/1
Poss: 56-44, Posh
MoM: Carlton Cole - 2 assists, 6 key passes, 6 shots on goal
Posh ratings: Cole (10), Mngomeni (8), Johansen (6), Karsnak (8)
Posh subs: Karsnak (for Gerard, 55'), Gavilan (for Zaccardo, 55')
A: 21,071

Man U with an easy 4-0 win at Fulham to keep their 1st place standing.

[Butter]

Carlton Cole is named to the Team of the Week.

We get a training report that Arenas has twisted his knee during a training session, and will miss a week of action... sadly, that week includes a key match against Arsenal.

Jan. 30, Match 26
16-7-2, 2nd pl., 55 pts.
@ Birmingham City (4-11-10, 15th pl., 23 pts.)
Series: Posh lead 6-1-2, @ St. Andrews: Even 2-0-2
Fav: Posh, Evens

Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: de la Cuesta, Sarr, Marcos, Heitinga
M: Jesus, Eriksson, Bellomo, Lampard
S: Wallner, Mokoena

6'- Eriksson with a superb ball ahead of Mokoena... he runs it down, but can't beat the keeper on the breakaway.

Mokoena and Wallner look lost up front all half long... we're not without scoring chances, but our 2 strikers can't finish anything.

62'- Finally, we get a breakthrough... Mokoena with a pass to Wallner... Wallner holds off his man and outruns him... then gets to the keeper, and slots it home inside the left post. 1-0, Posh as our strike force finally convert a good chance.

67'- Lampard with a good ball down the left for Eriksson... Tobias chases it down, then passes low for Wallner... Wallner winds up and shoots from 12 yards... the defender attempts to clear the shot, but ends up putting it into his own goal! An own goal credited, but Eriksson and Wallner created the goal. 2-0, Posh.

74'- Heitinga with a ball down the right for Mokoena... Mokoena cuts it inside, then lays it off for Lampard. Frank with lots of space at the top of the box, he stops the pass, then shoots a bender from 20 yards that goes in! Magical stuff from Lampard, and we lead it 3-0!

A very good road win in a trap game... our second team comes through in spades.

Win, 0-3, remain in 2nd
Shots/on target: Blues 3/1, Posh 22/12
Poss: 50-50
MoM: Milciades Omar Bellomo - 2 shots on goal, 21/24 passes, 4 key passes
Posh ratings: All but Gallacher, Marcos, Mokoena (8)
Posh subs: GK Michel Boumann (for Gallacher, 86')
A: 26,660

Man U net a second half goal from Diomansy Kamara at home to down Aston Villa 2-1 and keep their 1 point lead.

[Butter]

Frank Lampard wins Goal of the Month of January for his wonderful long range goal against Birmingham in our last match.

Arsenal are 9 points behind us as the enter London Road today... they need a win to keep their title hopes alive. A loss, and they will fall 12 points off the pace, and effectively end any chance they have of winning the Premiership.

Feb. 2, Match 27
17-7-2, 2nd pl., 58 pts.
v. Arsenal (13-10-3, 3rd pl., 49 pts. - Leading scorer: Fernando Cavenaghi, 9)
Series: Gunners lead 6-2-2, @ London Road: Posh lead 2-1-1
Fav: Gunners, 6:4

Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: de la Cuesta, Heitinga, Alex, Zaccardo
M: Vanden Borre, Mngomeni, Gavilan, Sneijder
S: Johansen, Cole

A fairly slow moving first half, as both teams are having trouble passing the ball on the waterlogged pitch.

38'- Gavilan picks up a game-ending injury.

51'- Best chance of the match so far, as Mngomeni gets open for a 15 yard shot, but the Arsenal keeper parries it away.

57'- Alex now picks up an injury, and he has to leave the match, causing a bit of a back line reshuffle.

The fans will be demanding their money back after this one, as the final whistle goes on a scoreless draw. Not a bad result for us, considering that Arsenal have dominated us, even since our rise to English power, but we fail to capitalize on an opportunity to pass Manchester Utd., as they yield a late goal to Tottenham for a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane.

Draw, 0-0, remain in 2nd
Shots/on target: Posh 12/6, Gunners 3/1
Poss: 61-39, Posh
MoM: Arsenal GK Tim Wiese - 6 saves, 9 rating
Posh ratings: Zaccardo (8), de la Cuesta (8), Mngomeni (6)
Posh subs: Bellomo (for Gavilan, 39'), Kargbo (for Alex, 57')
A: 21,101

The post-match training report is not good... Alex will likely miss about a month with a severe ankle sprain, and Diego Gavilan will miss 3 or more weeks with an undetermined back problem.

[Butter]

Sarr, Wallner, and Eriksson are picked to the Team of the Week.

Man U with another road draw, this time at Portsmouth, which again opens the door to us should we be able to actually take advantage and win with first place on the line.

We have 10 days off after this next match before traveling to Germany to take on Bayern Munich in the First Knockout Stage of the Champions League.

Feb. 10, Match 28
17-8-2, 2nd pl., 59 pts.
@ Manchester City (10-9-8, 9th pl., 39 pts. - Leading scorer: Jermain Defoe - 16)
Series: Posh lead 4-3-3, @ City of Manchester Stadium: Even, 2-1-2
Fav: Posh, 6:4

Lineup:
GK: Gallacher
D: de la Cuesta, Bocanegra, Marcos, Heitinga
M: Jesus, Sneijder, Bellomo, Lampard
S: Mngomeni, Mokoena

7'- Yury Zhirkov with a great cross out in front, and the defense is out to lunch as Marco Rossi heads it in at close range past Gallacher. 1-0, Citizens.

We get several good chances, but can't get one past Robert Green. We switch to an aggressive 3-5-2 in the 65th minute.

It makes no difference. We couldn't hit the broadside of a barn in this match. We drop our 3rd game of the season, and fall 2 points behind Man U in the race for first. It may yet all come down to the final match of the season, when Man U visits London Road.

Loss, 1-0, remain in 2nd
Shots/on target: Citizens 18/10, Posh 13/6
Poss: 56-44, Citizens
MoM: Man City midfielder Yury Zhirkov - 1 assist, 2 key passes, 9 rating
Posh ratings: Gallacher (6), Mngomeni (6)
Posh subs: Eriksson (for de la Cuesta, 65'), Wallner (for Jesus, 65')
A: 42,041