My Goalkeeper hates it when he scores screamers !

I'm currently in my first season managing Glasgow Rangers after two successful years transforming the fortunes of FC Zurich. I may have inherited the Scottish double winners but the squad is ageing, finances are poor and the team have no chance to seriously compete in Europe. After two years of snapping up the worlds brightest prospects (and winning two League titles on the way :-) I leave Zurich with the youngest squad in the league (all tied to long term deals) lots of cash in the bank, and Champions League football for the second season running. While I'm pretty adament that in 5 years time I would have nurtured them into the best team on the planet Rangers somehow appeals to me. Upon arrival at Ibrox I put almost the whole squad up for sale and player by player I try to pull the FC Zurich group of young hopefuls to Glasgow. A couple of games into the season and its going well. Ive pulled about 60% of my old team over, cleared out the Rangers team for a decent sum and have beefed up the squad with some bargain free transfers from out of contract players.

As the Champions League qualifiers approach - I realise I have a problem. Almost all of my squad are cup tied from playing the earlier round with FC Zurich - I need a Champions League team ! At this point I shop around for more bargain buys and players that can do a job when called upon. I'm almost there with a team that will hopefully offer at least a respectable showing (but surely no more). The big gap I have is goalkeeper - I tried a 16 year old from the Rangers youth team in the second round qualifying first leg - but it was a disaster. I find Bogdan Lobont languishing in Romas reserves and unwanted. Problem is that Roma want 625k. 625k I don't want to spend on a keeper who will only play in the Champions League (my two Zurich buys will play in the league and cup). I have a brainwave and offer per league appearance up to the 625k Roma want - they bite :-)

Bogdon's onboard and a couple of days later he is getting his first taste of Champions League action in the play off finals - he performs admirably but "stumbles" the ball twice - something I havent seen before. I decide that its down to match practice. I have Celtic, Aberdeen, a Scottish cup match against Annan and the first game of the CL group stage sandwiched into a congested fixture list. Most of my first team can't play in the CL so I decide to use them in the league and the players in the Scottish Cup that need some match practice prior to the CL. Halftime approaches my Scottish cup match and I'm on cruise control - my makeshift team have done well but I have had to use a couple of my first teamers that will play in the upcoming CL match what with my squad being so threadbare. I want to get them off the pitch now the game is won but am running out of options. (I don't really want to bring on my other First teamers making up numbers on the bench. I have a reserve keeper on the bench and Bogdan still needs to finish the game for that match fitness - thinking some running will do him some good I decide to throw him up front and save the legs of my striker by putting my reserve keeper in goal.

The next day he is in my office saying that he is concerned that I played him out of position. Well normally I would understand BUT he finished the match with an 8.X and also did this :-) Check it out !

He might be up there again next week !

Enjoy

hahahahahaha great story!!!

Nice one!

Enjoyed reading this

ha ha, brilliant!!!

I was starting to worry that all that reading may have been rather anticlimactic in the end, but boy was I wrong! What a strike!

You'd think he'd be sending flowers and Belgian chocolates to your office the next day thanking you for the opportunity, not getting on your back about it! I like to think virtually every sports newscast around the world reserved that snippet of video for their 'play of the day' segment in the FM world, making old Bogdan a household name overnight...

Sorry, but I do get him. Sure, it's a lovely goal, but Bogdan is a GK, not a striker. He could have score a hat-trick, you played him WAY out of his position. Playing a striker as a defender or a winger as a full-back might not be a problem, but taking a GK out of his place is.

Don't worry Gourcuff there was a hint of sarcasm in the title. If it was real life his agent would be thanking me for all the sudden interviews, adverts and record deals etc. Anyhow, I apologized to him and now we are best friends again.

P.S. He is still getting thrown up there when i need a goal again though ;-)

United played Barthez as a midfielder once in a friendly, he loved it. Granted, that's the only one I know off but still, it has happened before. And I'm sure if he scored a goal like that we'd all have heard about it. Cool story though, just can't believe you'd rip apart a team you built so much. Zurich must have been crap once you'd finished taking everyone good from them.

I've used my young GK in reserve games as a sub midfielder and he scored a winner in 90+ minutes.

Lovely stuff.

That's genius, thanks for the story mate, a great read

United played Barthez as a midfielder once in a friendly, he loved it. Granted, that's the only one I know off but still, it has happened before. And I'm sure if he scored a goal like that we'd all have heard about it. Cool story though, just can't believe you'd rip apart a team you built so much. Zurich must have been crap once you'd finished taking everyone good from them.

I know ! I must admit I feel kind of guilty but I paid a premium for most players i.e 7.5 million over 48 months for players I had signed for a few hundred thousand. The game is so intelligent - I was actually asked at a press conference about the wrath of the Zurich fans for returning to the club to purchase their players ! They are having an indifferent season at the moment but must have MILLIONs in the bank (maybe close on to 90 million GBP).

The bad news - and this is where you will all turn on me in disgust is that the poor club hired the famous Swiss manager Christian Gross as my replacement :-)

Found this which was kind of interesting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_goalscoring_goalkeepers

I remember Jimmy Glass scoring a very dramatic goal and becoming a cult hero over night. I found the video on this website along with some other very cool goalkeeping goals !

http://optajoke.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/toppos-top-tens-goalkeeper-goals/

"As dramatic a goal as you’re ever likely to find. Jimmy Glass was on short-term loan at struggling Carlisle from Swindon Town but wrote his name into the club’s folklore on the final day of the 1998-99 season. Carlisle would be relegated to the Conference if they failed to better Scarborough’s result – that ended 1-1 as Carlisle’s match with Plymouth (also 1-1) entered it’s final moments. Desperate for a goal to save their league status everyone piled forward as Carlisle had a last-minute corner, including ‘keeper Glass. Unbelievably, the ball fell to him and he smashed it into the net with his right boot to keep Carlisle in the Football League as delirious fans invaded the pitch"