il grouppo senza il nomo -The European Tour Version

Since the patch came out and we had a few problems with our other game we decided to move onto a different one with the new patch teams have been drawn out of a hat and are as follows

Dave Johnston Arsenal

Sandy Pettigrew Liverpool

Andy Hepburn Man Utd

Paul Rouch Ac Milan

Gareth Jenkinson AS Roma

Steff Browning Barcelona

Rob Perry Real Madrid

Stay tuned as we embark on adventures new

Please do not post in this thread asking to join the game as we have all the players we need at present thank you

Since the patch came out and we had a few problems with our other game we decided to move onto a different one with the new patch teams have been drawn out of a hat and are as follows

Dave Johnston Arsenal

Sandy Pettigrew Liverpool

Andy Hepburn Man Utd

Paul Rouch Ac Milan

Gareth Jenkinson AS Roma

Steff Browning Barcelona

Rob Perry Real Madrid

Stay tuned as we embark on adventures new

Please do not post in this thread asking to join the game as we have all the players we need at present thank you

Here are the new banners lads

Real Madrid Sack Capello

It has been announced that Italian manager Fabio Capello has had his contract terminated with effect immediately and Real have looked no further than youth team coach Rob Perry to lead them this season, Rob Perry has been at Real for 2yrs as youth coach but was looking to move up to coaching the 1st team so this is a great chance.

Ramon Calderon president of Real Madrid said of Perry's appointment he is enjoying a growing reputation in football at present and I believe with some luck he can improve the squad and the morale around here, he has my full backing and we have set aside 6m for him to improve the squad as hes sees fit.

Perry Firstly Id like to thank this great club for allowing me to show them my talents such a big club deserves to be on top and thats where I plan on putting them again.

ReporterCongratulations on your appointment here at the Santiago Bernabeu I hope you enjoy your time here because I know its going to be very short, I cannot believe Real Madrid hired some english manager disgusting!!!!!

Perry Mate I dunno what your problem is but Ill show you why they hired me you goon now security have this idiot removed thank you

Sky Reporter Are you unhappy that Beckham is leaving before you really have a chance to work with him ?

Perry No I wish him all the best in his american adventure and hope he helps La Galaxy win lots of trophies

Sky Reporter Thats nice of you, who you looking to bring in to replace him ?

Perry Blimey give me a chance I havent even taken a training session yet infact I have my first one starting in 10mins thanks all for coming and keep your eyes open for Real Madrid this season

Frank Rijkaard sacked from Barcelona after sex and drugs shocker – New manager announcement sends more shockwaves through the club

After Frank Rijkaard was caught two days partying in an Amsterdam brothel with several transvestite prostitutes and photographed snorting what can only be described as a class A narcotic, A club official had the following to say on the matter:

After the incident in Amsterdam the board of directors of Barcelona Football Club have deemed it necessary to terminate Mr Rijkaard’s contract with immediate effect. While the club understand that the world of football is a very high pressure world, and even the most model professional can have the occasional slip, this is simply too big a slip for us to stand idly by and take no action, Barcelona is a family club, a community club and we steadfastly refuse to accept such vile and disgusting behaviour from one of our most trusted employees. I will be back in one hour to revel the new manager of F.C Barcelona and I think you will all be in for quite a shock.

Much speculation filled the room while we waited for the club to come back with word of who their new manager would be, had they managed to tempt Capello away from the might Real Madrid? Has Sir Alex Ferguson had enough of the good life in Manchester and decided to move to sunny Spain for one final fling in top flight management? Could they find no one good enough to takeover the club and had to appoint one of their backroom team to take over in the mean time?

What followed 63 minutes later was quite beyond comprehension. The club official shuffled back before the waiting press pack and made the following announcement:

Ladies and Gentlemen: the new manager of F.C Barcelona is……………………….. Esteban Browning! Senor Browning will be with you all in a few moments to answer any questions you may have.

Esteban Browning!? We all wondered to ourselves who the hell is he? Someone at the back of the room had the answer, Esteban Browning was a coach from amateur outfit Andalucia C.F, and although he had a growing reputation as a possible great coach in Spanish football no one would have given him a snowball’s chance in hell of landing the Barcelona job at this stage in his career. With that the man himself was upon his, here is the interview that followed:

Esteban Thank you all for coming, I’m sure you all have many questions and I shall try to answer as many of them as I can.

Confused reporter 1 Well this has really been quite a shock for us all, can you explain how you happened to become manager of this great club Senor Browning, talk us through what exactly happened?

Esteban Well I was told by one of my colleagues at Andalucia that someone from Barcelona had been on the phone wishing to speak with me, naturally I figured that they had their eye on one of our young players, It often happens that one of the big clubs in the top division wish to take one of our kids on trial for a week or two, so I never really thought anything of it. As it turns out it wasn’t one of the Barcelona coaches looking for me but general manager Txiki Begiristain, he asked me to come up to the Camp Nou as he wished to discuss an employment opportunity with me, upon arrival he told me Joan Laporta had personally singled me out for the managers job and it was mine if I wanted it. Needless to say I was stunned at the offer but you don’t turn down one of the biggest clubs in the world, do you?

Confused reporter 2 What knowledge of Spanish football do you bring to this mighty club?

Esteban Well as you know I have lived in Scotland most of my life and came to Spain to work at Andalucia about 18 months ago, what you may not know is that my mother is from Madrid, so I am half Spanish, and have taken a keen interest in my Spanish heritage since I was a young boy, I am very well versed on the ways of Spanish football I can assure of that my good man.

Confused reporter 3 How do you think you can top what Frank Rijkaard done in his time at the club?

Esteban Well Frank done very well in his time here, he broke Real Madrid’s dominant spell in La Liga and took the club back to the top of European mountain by winning the Champions League. So I guess I’ll look to maintain the clubs good run the league over the coming seasons and continue to perform consistently in the Champions League, one thing I won’t be doing however is getting photographed in brothels romping with transvestite hookers and doing drugs!

Semi confused reporter How do you rate the players you have at your disposal and will you be looking to add to the playing staff sooner rather than later?

Esteban Without a shadow of a doubt we have one of the best squads in Europe, although I am a little worried we may find ourselves a bit stretched should we get some injuries to key players, So I think I will look at bringing in some cover for one or two positions should the right players become available, I will not be panic buying though.

Ok if there are no more questions I would like to thank you all for coming and I look forward to seeing more of you all during the season to come.

Still feeling slightly awestruck at what we had just witnessed we left the room wondering what in the blue hell had just happened here? Was this guy really as passionate about the game as he said he was, or was he just reading from the company script?

I was determined to find out! After cashing in a few favours and making a few phone calls I managed to wrangle an exclusive interview with the Barcelona Chairman Senor Joan Laporta, here’s how it all went:

<Me> Thank you for taking the time to see me again Senor Laporta

<Laporta> No problem, it is always nice to speak with Jose.

<Me> So what can you tell me about the appointment of Esteban Browning?

<Laporta> There is nothing to tell really, we just thought he was the right man to take the club onto bigger and better things.

<Me> Ok, I’ve known you a long time Joan and I feel it’s time you cut the crap, you know I’m a Barcelona fan and have been all my life, so why don’t you stop feeding me this nonsense that you believed that he was the right man for the job and tell us all the real story behind this crazy appointment!!!!!!

<Laporta> Ok, ok, Jesus just stop shouting at me, you want to know the truth behind this whole saga? I’ll tell you the truth. The night after Rijkaard had his little indiscretion I was playing cards with the Athletico Madrid chairman Enrique Cerezo, we have been friends for a long time due to our equal hatred of Real Madrid, anyway he suggested we make our final hand of Poker a little more interesting, should he win, I would have to appoint some random manager at Barcelona, should I win he would sell us Fernando Torres for a nominal fee. So there you have it, it was down to a game of cards that this whole sorry affair came out, and if I sack Browning now he will sue the ass of me, it’s just not worth it at the moment, I just hope god smiles and the club and we can somehow get out of this mess!

There you have it folks, the chairman of quite possible the biggest club in the world gambling with the supporters ambitions over a game of poker! Whatever happens next at Camp Nou you get bet your last euro that it won’t be dull! Keep reading and we will bring you further developments as they happen.

This is Jose Gonzales reporting for Marca.

Nice intro steff, I just have one question:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by steff:

one thing I won’t be doing however is getting photographed in brothels romping with transvestite hookers and doing drugs

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Is the point of this statement that you won't get photographed, or you won't do it in the first place?

Breaking news from the Emirates Stadium

It would appear that Arsene Wenger has eaten his last frog legs in London. In a surprise announcement Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has informed the Gunners faithful that Escargo is no longer on the menu. An apparent dressing room bust-up has left the Gunners board with no other option than to send Wenger back to France.

The announcement came moments after the frenchman was seen marching out of the stadium in disgust, muttering vague French profanities as he got into his car. No reports are available as yet as to the possible cause of this bust-up.

As the news began to sink in that Wenger was out the local press were invited into the stadium's lush conference room where the chairman was about to answer any questions regarding the days events.

Hill-Wood: Thank you all for coming today, as I'm sure you all already know, Arsene Wenger has been relieved of his duties here at Emirates Stadium. I am sure this has come as shock to all of you, and I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

Reporter 1: I guess I will start with the most obvious question that everyoneis wanting to ask, what happened? We are aware that there was some kind of bust-up in the dressing room, but we have no idea what it was about or who else was involved, can you shed some light on that for us?

Hill-Wood: Well the problem really was a culmination of having too many Frenchman together in one dressing room. Apparently some of the players were arguing about the best way to eat frog's legs and a heated debate was started. Thierry and Mathieu were of the opinion that simplying boiling them in salt-water was enough but Gael Clichy and William Gallas hit back with claims that they should be fried off in garlic buter. Anyway, nobody was willing to accpet the other's recipes and all hell roke loose. Finally Arsene walked into the room and declared that the only way to eay frog's legs is raw. This was enough to incite a riot with all of the players turning on their manager. In the end it was seen that the only resolution to the debate was to send Wenger back to France to learn how to cook frog's legs properly.

Reporter 1: So that was garlic butter and just fried lightly?

Hill-Wood: Yes, that seems to be considered as the best recipe and the players at the moment are in the restaurant trying it out right now. Hopefully this will help rebuild the bond they had before the arguement.

Reporter 2: I think it is clear now why Wenger had to go, I don't think any of the fans will hold the decision against you. But understanably some fans may have concerns over who might take over and continue on the good work done so far with this team. Can you give any indicaions as to who might get the job?

Hill-Wood: Its a little early to say at the moment but we have our eye on some possible candidates.

Reporter 3: There have been some reports floating around the European football scene in the last couple of days that a lot of managers are coming and going. Most notably was the exit of Frank Rijkaard from Barcelona. Any possibility that he may move to London?

Hill-Wood: I'm afraid there is no chance of that happening. After the incident in Amsterdam I think Frank will have a hard time finding a new job. He has disgraced himself and I certainly won't be allowing that disgrace to tarnish the good name of Arsenal FC.

Reporter 1: Well how about Capello, rumour has it he has been kicked out of Madrid?

Hill-Wood: Ok, I will stop you all there. There really is no point in speculating on who the next manager will be. Let me just tell you that our focus will be on bringing in a British man to do the job in the hope of reducing the foreign influence on English football.

Reporter 2: Do you have someone in mind?

Hill-Wood: We have a few targets, but I won't mention any names today. Thank you all for coming. As you know I have a lot to do in appointing the new manager, so I'd best be getting to it.

Well there you have it folks, too many frenchman in the Arsenal dressing room and one had to be axed. Now the biggest question of all is who will take over. Rumours have already started to form after the hintthat it would be a British manager with the most talked about candidate being Alex Ferguson. But most people laugh at this idea as it is very unlikely that Ferguson would leave United and even if he did, I doubt he would join Arsenal. So who else could it be?

New manager to be announced in London

Well after weeks of speculation the Arsenal chairman has called a press conference to finally announce the new manager. With some of the top names in British footballbeing banded about in the press a lot of excitement has been growing, but nobody has been able to agree on a favourite for the job. So lets justsee what Hill-Wood has to say.

Hill-Wood: Thanks again everyone for coming to this unveiling of the newest member of the Arsenal team. It was unfortunate that things had to happen they way they did, but we here Arsene is coping fine with his new life in France, it is understood that he has finaly come to terms with the fact that frog's legs don' taste good raw. But anyway, I don't want to hold up this announcement for too long, so lets get on with it. As Isaid at the last conference I was looking for a British manager to take over the reigns here. And I think we have found just the man for the job. As a player he has won all of the top awards at club level as well as represnting his country a record 156 times scoring 100 goals along the way. Having started his career in Glasgow it wasn't long until he moved to the continent and became one of top stars. This will of course be his first venture into management but I am confident that he will have no problems adapting. So without further ado,let me introduce to you the new manager of Arsenal Football Club, Mr. David Johnston.

A light clapping ensues as most reporters are unable to contain their shock at this announcement. Johnston walks to the front and takes a seat next to the chairman.

Johnston: Let me start by saying that I am very excited to be here in London and I am looking forward to helping the club to win many trophies in the years to come.

Reporter 1: Um, Mr. Johnston, what makes you think you have what it takes to manae such a high profile club with such little experience

Johnston: I understand your fears, but let me just say, I have played under some of the greatest managers in the world, and I have learnt from them. I have all the required training to be a manager and I just ask that you give me a chance and I will guarentee silverware for this club.

Rerporter 2: So what are your initial plans for the club? Do you see any need for new players or are you happy with what you have been left?

Johnston: Well I have to say that without doubt, Arsenal FC have one of the best squads in the world, with some real talent throughout the entre line-up. On top of this we have an unbelievable youth system and I will look to bring some of those young talents into the first team sooner ratherthan later. But I do have some ideas as to players I would like to add to my squad. One of which I hope to have sorted very soon.

Rerporter 1: You have only been at the club for a few minutes how can you possible have a top signing lined up already?

Johnston: I don't want to give too much away at the moment, but le me just say that I have a good friend in the Liverpool area and we have discussed a deal that would be benificial for the both of us. It will involve a top star moving to London in exchange for a large fee plus another player heading north in a trade. The deal has been sorted and it just needs to be signed. I am very confident that everyone at the club will be delighted with this transaction. So I will keep you updated as things progress.

Reporter 3: Do you have any other transfer targets?

Johnston: Well let me just say, there is one area of the team I would like to strengthen. I think we are quite thin at the back and if I don't bring someone in then we may be forced to rely on the youngsters too early in the case of injuries. So look out for a defender coming to the club soon. And on the subject of youngsters I will looking to make use of my contacts by sending out some players to get some valuable first team experience. Look for the likes of Walcott and Vela getting some experience at the top teams across Europe.

Rerporter 2: Well Mr. Johnston, let me be the first to say, I have total confidence in you ability and I am looking forward to seeing you in action. Good luck.

Johnston: Thank you sir. And I look forward to getting into the action too.

What an announcement there. Johnston to take over at Arsenal. Does he have what it takes? Well we'll just have to wait and see. And the talk of a player moving from Liverpool down south, who could it be? Gerrard, Alonso or with the talk of defenders, maybe Carragher? Again we will just have to wait and see what happens.

Whoever it is I for one am looking forward to seeing Johnston in acion as manager here in London. So check back soon for the latst news.

excellent intros lads well done now for the rest of you to get on em haha

Jesus, No pressure on us to do good reports now !

Steff you must have been so fecking bored to write that much!!!!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by David Johnston:

Nice intro steff, I just have one question:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by steff:

one thing I won’t be doing however is getting photographed in brothels romping with transvestite hookers and doing drugs

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Is the point of this statement that you won't get photographed, or you won't do it in the first place? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just no plans on getting photographed, what goes on behind closed doors should stay behind closed doors if you ask me

And yeah Andy I was really bored

The Manchester Mail - Out with one Scottish legend and bringing in another in the making?

After almost twenty years in charge of Manchester Utd football club, Sir Alex Ferguson has been shown the door at Old Trafford and Utd have decided to bring a new fresh face to the football to try and take Utd back to there glory years in the 90's. Ferguson was said to be getting to old and making the wrong decisions on the big occasions and the Utd board thought he was not up to the job anymore. Utd fans were astonished at the news but David Gill has the full backing of the board and the decision is final.

The fresh face taking over at Old Trafford and has the huge task of filling Ferguson's boots is none other the unknown Scottish manager Andy Hepburn, also residing in the southside of Glasgow and idolises Sir Alex and is said to be just as astonished as the everyone else at the news.

At a press conference to reveal him as the manager the questions came at him thick and fast and Hepburn seemed a little overrawd by the whole experience.

Club Official : Ladies and gentleman, we at Manchester Utd football club are delighted to parade Andy Hepburn as the new manager of Manchester Utd football club. He has signed a one year deal to start with but we hope he will be with us for many years to come.

*Press room melts in shock!!!!

Hepburn: Well thankyou very much everyone. I am sure you have questions for me so I will try and answer as many as I can.

Reporter: Well as you can imagine we are all in shock just but how did you become the manager of thee biggest football club in the world???

Hepburn: To be honest this is as much a surprise to me as it is to all of you. I don't have anyone representing me or anything like that. I was just sitting at home and the phone went asking if I wanted to be manager of Manchester Utd. I honestly thought it was the wind up of the century but it turns out it was true in the end and here I am. I tell you this place is much bigger than it looks on TV!!!!

Reporter: Right ok, emm so how on earth are you going to even try to achieve half of what Sir Alex has achieved with no managerial experience whatsoever???

Hepburn: Sir Alex is a legend and I would never even dream of saying a bad word against him. He is the ultimate manager and If I have just a little of the success he has had over the years then I will be delighted. Yeah I come here with no experience of football management but for some reason I feel right at home on the big stage. I think with real hard work on the training ground, bringing in new methods to help the players, I feel I can get some positive results. I am working with world class players, world class staff in world class training facilities so I feel half my job is done already. I may even surprise you come next May!!!!!

Reporter: What do you think of the players you have at your disposal and will you bring in new players to help the squad???

Hepburn: All the players here at Old trafford are world class and with with talent like Rooney and Ronaldo, who have not even reached their peaks yet the future here is only looking positive. I feel as if I know all the players already, being a fan for years so I know what they are all about. Yeah I may add a couple of players and there is money to strengthen if need be but I will give every player the chance to prove they are good enough to take Utd back to the former glory days of the 90's when they dominated english football.

Reporter: Mr Hepburn you really do have some job on your hands, do you think you will be able to handle it???

Hepburn: I suppose only time will tell but as I said before I am looking forward to this huge job and everything that comes with it. I know it will be tough and unbearable at times but us Scottish have that stubborn mentality and we don't ever give up so it stands me in good stead for the future.

With that I think we shall end this press conference there and let me get on with my job. Cheers!!!!

It has been a great start for Hepburn with that press conference and lets hope this huge gamble for the beiggest football club in the world pays off.

Liverpool Board gone crazy

Today Liverpool released a press statement in regards to the shock departure of Rafa Benitez

Liverpool FC are glad to announce that after stress talks with manager Rafa Benitez he has left the club with mutual consent. The reason for this is as the board of directors here at Liverpool were not happy with the constant mis-use of club captain Steven Gerrard who had given his concerns tot he board. Steven was constantly confused on and off the pitch with him trianing as a central midfielder then playing as a right winger.Rafa insisted he knew what he was doing but failed to deliver enough sucess. The board have said that they will think about who they will appoint over the next few days as they want a born winner. The new Liverpool owners had been questioned over the thought of bringing in Bruce Arena as manager but this got shot down straight away.

A few days later

Press Conference

Club Secretary: Liverpool Fc are glad to announce the appointment of Sandy Pettigrew........

Reporter: Who !!!

Club Secretary: If you would please let me finish the statement, The club are glad to announce their new manager Sandy Pettigrew who has signed a 1 year contract with the merseyside club and will bring a whole new image to the club with his Scottis playing background and spanish coaching side. Sandy was brought to the club by Rafa Benitez origionally but is such a big influence at the club that we though we would give him a chance as manager. If you have any questions for him go ahead.....

Reporter: Excuse me for being ignorant but who are you, how did you manage to get this job ?

Mr Pettigrew Well I have been in the football game since i was 8 when i started wacthing the mighty Heart of Midlothian and since then I have been a player at Cowdenbeath then a coach at Hearts then moved to Valencia to be the reserve team manager then when Rafa came along i was promoted to Assistant manager. I dont know how i got the job but i'm very happy at the oppertunity I have been given.

Reporter: What exactly is a manager who has never managed a club at this level going to achieve ?

Mr Pettigrew With the group of players I have and will have, I can do anything.

Reporter:By the sounds of it you have money to spend ?

Mr Pettigrew I do but im not going to tell you to much, I have training to go to but more will be discussed at a later date, thankyou

Rookie Manager takes charge at Milan!!

A new fever seems to be sweeping the top European clubs this season, with a tranche of young up and coming rookie managers all getting there chances with the big boys! Paul Rouch is the latest to provoke the spluttering cries of “who??†after the club unveiled the new manager to the Rossineri faithful.

With the club starting the season with a docking of 8 points in Serie A Rouch will have to hit the ground running to make an impression on the Milanese demanding fans! With an expected transfer budget of 10 million is already burning a hole in the new manager’s pocket and we can be sure of some frenetic activity as he attempts to add some quality backup to the squad.

Milan have a busy preseason planned, so the media and fans will get an early impression of the team and tactics that Rouch will be using in his aim to secure the title. And will be able to judge soon enough whether the current trend for appointing fresh faced rookies to the top clubs is like giving a teenager the keys to the Porsche!

Wouldn't exactly call you young rouchie now would you!!!

Right found out what happened to Rob the other night, he's ill, the kind of ill that requires hospitalisation, by all accounts he should be getting out later on today, but there may be no game tonight as well.

thanks for letting us know Steff. Hope your better soon Rob.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by steff:

Right found out what happened to Rob the other night, he's ill, the kind of ill that requires hospitalisation, by all accounts he should be getting out later on today, but there may be no game tonight as well. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Cool Hope you get better soon so i can bear Real Madrid to the champions league

Also Steff what are you doing awake at 3:39am, do you not believe in sleep ???

Hope you are better Rob and hopefully we will all see you tonight, if not next week.

I will be late tonight as I have football but I doubt our game will start tonight.

Get well soon Rob

The game is on tonight just to let you all know if your not on msn or whatever

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jambo4eva:

Also Steff what are you doing awake at 3:39am, do you not believe in sleep ??? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Speaking to Rob's wife

Rise of the Roma Empire!

Roma Chairman Franco Sensi has today released a statement to the press today announcing that former England international and current Roma Youth team coach will take charge of the first team with immediate effect after strong allegations linking former coach Luciano Spalletti with the match fixing ring that has shamed Italian football.

Sensi said:

‘In these time where allegations are so strong there is no way a club like ours with it’s proud history can be linked with any body who is caught mixing with people who are trying to spoil a great game for financial gain.

Talking to the press about his reasons for the sacking and the fast and shock replacement

Sensi said:

‘In these time where allegations are so strong there is no way a club like ours with it’s proud history can be linked with any body who is caught mixing with people who are trying to spoil a great game for financial gain.

Jenkinson also made a short statement about his appointment as Manager of one of the top teams in Italy:

‘I have been with Roma for 4 years now after my injury ended my playing career I moved to Italy hoping to pass on my playing experience on to the young Italian players. I was delighted when the chance came to join Roma’s coaching staff and progressed from fitness coach to Youth coach and helping out the first team on match days. But now being given the great opportunity to manage a club that means so much to me and my family is a dream come true. I always hope of going into management but to be given my first opportunity at such a big club is a dream come true.

thanks lads

glad to be back home if anyone is around tomorrow night and wants to get pre season out the way Id be more that happy to put the game up if not we go on tuesday at normal times

Rob, just to check is the game on on tuesday?

yes of course why wouldnt it be ?

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by US ARSENAL:

yes of course why wouldnt it be ? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hadnt seen you on msn at all that was all

Lads, won't be on tomorrow night, got something on. See you all Thursday I hope if I survive tomorrow night.

Transfer News !

Sandy Pettigrew today started the transfer business at Anfield today with the signing of Antonio Barraghan for 475k from Deportivo with Zenden leaving for PSV on the same day for 1.6 million. A few days later it was pure madness at Liverpool with the signing of Eddie Johnson fron Kansas City for 1.9 million and also Xabi Alonso joining Arsenal for 20 million. The players who signed that day were midfielders Tim Borowski from Werder Bremn for 17.5 million and also Alberto Aquliani from Roma for 10 million and also youngster Andres Guardado for 2.9 million.With all these players coming in Peter Crouch was unhappy at the competition for places and up sticks and left to sign for Hamburg for 8.25 million. Pettigrew used his extencive contacts in spain and got his friend Rob Perry sending new signing Fernando Gago on loan for 5 months due to the injury to Steven Gerrard. Liverpool also struck up a deal with Inverness Caley thistle and sent numerous players on loan to to the team from up north.

The Games commence

European Qualifiers

Liverpool 4 - 0 Red Star Belgrade

With Craig Bellamy injured Eddie Johnson made his debut and it was an absolute stormer with him scoring the opening goal after just 1 minute from a Dirk Kuyt pass. Johnson then went on to score two more goals in the space of 10 minutes with assists from Kuyt and Gonzalez. It was 3-0 for a very long time and then in the 88th minute Dirk Kuyt finished Belgrade off with an outstanding finish from the edge of the area.

Community Charity Shield

Liverpool 1 - 0 Chelsea

It was a nervy start with the first half being goaless but it wasnt without any chances with Riise hitting the woodwork for Liverpool and Michael Ballack going close on several occasions. In the second half Pettigrew had told the players to do it for the fans and get the trophy in the bag. Dirk Kuyt took this to heart and scored right away in the 47th minute with an easy tap in. The game ended 1-0 and Liverpool were victorious.

English Premier League

Chelsea 1 - 2 Liverpool

Yet again it was Liverpool versus Chelsea, Mourinho versus Pettigrew. Pettigrew basically lined up with the same team as the Charity Shield and had the players fired up for this one saying that if they can get off to a good start in the league they have a chance of winning the league. Once again because Bellamy was still injured Eddie Johnson took his place and scored 2 very important goals in the first half with Dirk Kuyt and Tim Borowski getting the assists. In the second half the Liverpool players tired but Pettigrew brough on Fernando Gago, Andres Guardado and Sammi Hyppia to freshen things up. Arjen robben scored what was to be a consolation goal for Chelsea as Liverpool got off to a great start by beating the reigning champions 2-1.

Pre Season Games

Tour of England

Bedford Town 0-11 win

Bishop Stortford 0-9 win

Castilla 2-0 win

Tour of America

Chivas USA 0-1 win

Salt Lake 0-0

Academica 1-0 win

Elche 0-2 win

Inter Milan 3-1 loss

Transfer News

Perry decided it was time for some new faces at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and he went out and found some joining first would be young french defender Didier Digard for 500k from Le Havre, He would then be joined by another youngster this time from Belgium Sebastien Pocognoli from Genk for 250k and that was it until a few more sessions with the lads on the training pitch to see what was needed.

More Changes

Vincenzo Chiarenza joined the coaching staff from Juventus as a 1st team coach

Giuseppe Carrubba joined Real as fitness coach from Palermo

Fabio D'Errico joined as new head physio from Parma

After looking at what was needed on the pitch Real Madrid set out signing some more new players, Real worked hard over the next few days securing quite a few deals.

Aaron Niguez decided he wanted to leave Valencia after talks with Real and did just that for 925k, he knew he probably wouldnt play many games in the first season but just to be attached to such a great club was good enough for him.

next up Anthony Vanden Borre came to Madrid for talks on a move and signed for 5m,Cesar Delgado who was tipped to go to England with Tottenham left Mexican side Cruz Azul to sign for Real for 7.25m over 24months.

Young chinese keeper Dalei Wang who has been tipped by Zico to go onto great things is next to sign but he wont be around long as hes already looking to be loaned out and to learn spanish as fast as possible, Probably the biggest deal so far for Real Madrid sees David Trezeguet sign from Juventus for a reported 19.25m.

Ryan Babel is next to sign he joins from Ajax after long negotiations he signed a 5yr deal for 10.25m and lastly Augusto Renato signs from Flamengo in Brazil for 9.25m

3 players left the club also in this time Raul Bravo was sold to Espanyol for 2.1m,Alvaro Mejia went to West Ham for 2.5m and Roma manager Gareth Jenkinson decided to offer a deal I couldnt refuse for Ruud Van Nistelrooy 12m and he was off to Italy.

27 August 08

Recreativo 0 Real Madrid 1

Attendance 19850

David Trezeguet wasted little time in becoming a fan favourite for his new side when he struck a lovely 30yard strike past the outcoming Bizzarri in the Recreativo goal after only 13mins to secure the first win of Perry's reign in Spain.

MOM Fabio Cannavaro 8

30 August 2008

Real Madrid 0 Sevilla 0

Attendance 73583

With almost a capacity crowd on hand neither side could break down the other in this and it ended in a 0-0 stalemate giving Barcelona the chance to get a lead in the table early on

MOM Robinho 8

Deadline Day Deals

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar joined from Ajax for 23.5m over 24months

Gabriel Obertan signed from Bordeaux for 875k

Gonzalo Higuain was sold to Liverpool for 14m

Champions League Odds

Champions League Group B

Real Madrid

Standard Liege

Sporting Lisbon

10th September 2008

Real Madrid 4 Villarreal 0

Attendance 73106

Real Madrid came out firing on all cylinders in this one Robinho opening the scoring with just 10mins on the clock, Trezeguet then made it 2-0 on 23mins and 3-0 on 40mins he would then seal his hatrick a minute into the second half as Real kicked off he ran past 2 defenders and scooped it over a outrushing Viera in the Villarreal goal

MOM David Trezeguet 10

13th September 2008

Champions League Group B

Standard Liege 1 Real Madrid 2

Attendance 30015

Diarra got Real off to a flying start opening the scoring after 37mins and it would stay that way into the second half when David Beckham scored a trademark freekick from 25yards out beating the stranded Standard keeper De Meyer to make it 2-0, Standard then got one back through Luc Luys but it wasnt enough and it ended 2-1 to Real, in the other game in the group PSV beat Sporting Lisbon 1-0 with a goal through Farfan on 63mins

MOM Dante 8

Champions League Group B Table

17th September 2008

Barcelona 1 Real Madrid 0

Attendance 97968

32 fans short of a full house, and what a game they had Saviola broke the deadlock on 61mins when Casillas and the Real defence seemed to switch off Ronaldinho started the move down the left wing passing it to Eto'o in acres of space slipped it through to Saviola who smashed it home to earn Barca a 1-0 win in the El Classico

MOM Iker Casillas 8

So there we have it a bad loss to rivals Barcelona so early on in the season could it all be over for Real already stay tuned to find out

Transfer Activity

With the new season fast approaching the new manager has assessed his squad and identified the areas that need some improving, unfortunately, he has then discovered that he only has a budget of 10 million and is also hampered by the one non EU player rule! This somewhat limited the activity in the market. The sad thing is that Rouch demonstrated his managerial rookieness by splashing out £220k on promising 14 year old Nicolas Millan from Colo Colo before realising the one non EU rule was in effect! Doh! Another youngster and one for the future was Veli Kaviak purchased from Rapid Wien for £325k the remainder of the budget was blown bringin in Roma legend Francesco Totti with Massimo Abbrosini and Filippo Inzaghi going the other way as makeweights in the deal.

Preseason Friendlies

Randers FC (A) 2-2 Draw

Visborg (A) 1-1 Draw

Esjberg fB(A) 1-2 Loss

Visborg (A) 0-0 Draw

Milan Reserves 3-0 Win

Milan U20’s 8-0 Win

Juventus Reserves (H) 2-0 Win

A pretty mixed bag of results but finishing with 3 straight wins should have boosted the confidence. The opening competitive fixture is a 3rd round qualifier against Scottish Club, Hearts, which the Italians would be expecting to win. Read the next report to see how they fare!

Esteban Browning: Two months in: Jose Gonzales: Jgonzales@marca.com

It would be safe to assume that most of the world is still in a state of shock (or hysterics) over the decision of F.C Barcelona to appoint a complete unknown to the position of manager of this great club. But appoint an unknown they did, mainly due to Joan Laporta’s poor card playing skills and a drunken bet with the chairman of Athletico Madrid. However the more important question on the minds of football fans everywhere after this shock appointment was: what would happen next? Would Browning somehow be able to fluke his way to success? Would this great club descend into free fall in La Liga? Or maybe just maybe this young man actually had the ability to lead his side to success? Well it has to be said two months into the job and things are looking remarkable calm at Camp Nou for the moment at least.

The first thing the boy wonder set about doing was sacking a few coaches that he needed either not good enough or not what he required for the job at hand. Quique Costas and Rojo found themselves on the unemployment line but with their reputations it should be long before both men find themselves back in football. Joop Hiele was signed up as a goalkeeping coach and Berto and Antonio Suárez also joined the backroom team at Camp Nou. But the new man was finished there, oh no, with the board afford him the luxury of some extra transfer money he needed a transfer that would capture the imagination of the fans, bring a buzz of excitement to the club after the shock of his appointment, at 12pm on the 14th of July he delivered his announcement that he had signed Fernando Torres from Athletico Madrid for the cool price of €47m. Needless to say the fans were excited with this new member of the playing staff and were very keen to see what other surprises Browning would deliver. As left the press conference Browning was asked if he would be making any more signings, “I told you all when I was appointed that I felt that the squad could do with one or two additions, but that I would not be panic buying. At the moment we have secured a world class player for a lot less than people expected us to pay, I have my eye on one or two other players but we will only be making a move for them if the price is right†he replied.

With that the young Browning embarked on his pre season against what can only be described as “middle and lower class†opposition.

First off he faced Stuttgart on the 30th of July, the match was a fairly one sided affair with Barcelona beating away and the Timo Hilderbrand’s goal from start to finish, poor finish and maybe a lack of march sharpness are the only reasons this wasn’t a cricket score.

Ronaldinho gave Barca the lead in the 26th minute; Thomas Hitzisperger levelled things up the 59th minute totally against the run of play and with Stuttgart’s first shot of the match. Samuel Eto’o got the second and what proved to be the winner with his 64th minute strike. With the constant abuse of his goal and the miracle that he managed to keep the score to only 2-1 it was no surprise to anyone watching this match that Timo Hildebrand was named man of the match.

Next up they travelled to face Ferrol on the 2nd of August, this match too was another completely one sided affair with Ferrol only have two shots and neither of them hit the target. New boy Fernando Torres opened the scoring in the 17th minute. Javier Saviola added the second on the half hour mark and Xavi made it 3-0 two minute before half time. With the game so far out of sight Barcelona treated the second half like a training match. In the midst of all the show boating and flashy tricks captain for the day Deco found himself man of the match.

Barca then faced Palencia on the 5th of August and yet again this was another one sided affair, like Ferrol, Palenica could not manage a single shot on target while their more illustrious opponents ran riot. Mexican defender Rafael Márquez opened the scoring in the 5th minute with his powerful header. Samuel Eto’o made it two in the 25th minute and Lilian Thuram got the third five minutes later, a good day for defenders scoring. The man of the match on this fine summer afternoon was Samuel Eto’o.

Next on the hit list for Browning and his boys was Académica, not the greatest challenge for of a team of calibre of Barcelona; however this lot proved more of a test than the previous opponents and even managed to grab a goal in the process!

Thiago Motta opened the scoring early in this one as he fired home in the 5th minute.

Fernando Torres added number two in the 11th minute. Hélder Barbosa pulled one back for Académica in 35th minutes. Andrés Iniesta restored the two goal cushion in the 65th minute and Ronaldinho added the fourth in the 68th minute.

Ronaldinho’s eye catching performance saw him named the man of the match.

The final warm up game saw Barcelona travel to Sestao and blow them right out of the water. Samuel Eto’o waiting only three minutes before striking with the first, he added the second in the 16th minute, Ronaldinho added another on the half hour mark, Eidur Gudjohnsen got in on the action in the 45th minute and Mikel Mendez sent the ball past his own keeper a mere thirty seconds later to give Barca a 5-0 advantage at half time.

Three minutes after the restart Eto’o had his hat trick, then just for good measure he grabbed a fourth in the 54th minute. Dimas rounded off this mugging in the 89th minute.

With the tour out of the way thoughts turned to the domestic season which was about to begin in earnest. “Of course I am looking forward to the season, we had a very good pre season scoring 20 goals in 5 games so confidence is high here†Browning said, he also said “Yes I believe we have what it takes to finish top of the table, we will have to give our best and always maintain focus, it won’t be easy by any means but we can do it†when asked of his sides chances of winning the league.

Only time will tell.

The first competitive game in charge for the new manager would see him play in the Supercopa against the hated city rivals Espanyol, with the first leg being played at Luis Company on Thursday 17th August, Both sets of fans turned out early for this game and began to fill the stadium an hour before kick off. Browning looked tense of he took his place on the bench, this was his baptism of fire, the last thing you want to do is start your career at your new club with a defeat to your rivals, and he knew he had to get a result in this one. Browning or the fans didn’t have to wait long to have something to celebrate either, as in 4mins from a Ezquerro throw him the lead would come, Xavi collected the ball from the throw in and knocked a 20yard ball to Carlos Puyol who rattled a thunderous shot past Carlos Idriss Kameni in the Espanyol goal. Espanyol suffered another blow in the 24th minute when their biggest goal threat, Raul Tamudo went off injured after a collision with Rafael Marquez. There minutes later Deco doubled the advantage for Barcelona, after his initial shot was saved the little midfielder was first to rebound and stabbed home from close range. Javier Saviola wrapped up the scoring three minutes from full time as he raced clear of Chica to find himself one on one with the keeper, from 10 yards the Argentine made no mistake. Captain Carlos Puyol was named man of the match and his wonder strike no doubt helped his cause.

After the match Browning had this to say “Yes it was a great result and great performance from the lads, many of you expected to fall flat on my here didn’t you, well ha! We have a great advantage going into the second leg now but we will still have to be a little wary of Espanyol, but today is a great day for the fans, it’s always nice to get a victory of your rivals.â€

Three days later both teams would clash again at Camp Nou, and even though Barcelona wouldn’t serve up the same exciting football they did in the first leg they still won the first silverware of the season. The goal scoring action in this was one was over pretty quickly as both goals were scored in the opening five minutes, the first of which came in the third minute as Xavi knocked a delightful 25 yard ball ahead of Samuel Eto’o, as Eto’o ran onto the ball he surged past Jóse Maríe Lacruz and drove the ball low into the net. Literally from the kick off Espanyol found themselves level, Rufete turned Zambrotta inside out on the right hand side before sending a brilliant cross that was met by the head of Pandiani.

After this the match pretty much fizzled out to an exhibition style match. Captain Puyol was named man of the match for the second match in a row.

After the match the home fans chanted “Esteban no es quizá tan malo†(perhaps Esteban is not so bad). Things suddenly didn’t look so bad for the new manager at Camp Nou, although there was still a long way to go.

Browning was about to find how unpredictable football at this level can be and the fine line between success and failure in the eyes of the fans. He led his to the Stade Louis II in Monaco on August the 25th to face Uefa cup winners Sevilla in the European super cup and what a disaster it was!

With one minute Sevilla found themselves in the lead as Kanoute out jumped Barcelona captain Puyol and as the ball broke to Javier Chevantón he found himself in the clear and made no mistake a fired the ball past Victor Valdes in the Barcelona goal. Three minutes later Chevantón was at it again as he skipped past the challenge of Rafa Marquez and found himself one on one with the keeper again, a low right footed shot later and Sevilla where 2-0 up and Barcelona found themselves right up against it. But there was another shock was in store for the favourites in the 13th minute as Kanouté made it 3-0 from a nice pass from Jesús Navas. Barcelona could only find a single reply in the 50th minute from Eidur Gudjohnsen in the 50th minute. Sevilla striker Frederic Kanoute was named man of the match. After the match Browning refused to speak to the press and Barcelona fans chanted “¡Diddy hacia fuera!†(Diddy out) and Browning had now witnessed first hand how fickle these fans could be.

Barcelona began their defence of their La Liga crown on Wednesday 30th August as Recreativo paid a visit to Camp Nou, with the defeat in Monaco still fresh in the minds of everyone associated with the club, a good result was required here to settle the nerves, and it was duly delivered as Barcelona went for the jugular right from the off in this one. Samuel Eto’o rattled in the first in the 2nd minute, Javier Saviola added number two in the 13th minute, Eto’o was back at it in the 25th minute as he made the score 3-0, Deco got in on the act in the 29th minute making it 4, and three minutes later Eto’o completed his hat trick. Into the second half and Eidur Gudjohnsen made it 6-0 in the 53rd minute. Iago Bouron was sent off for Recreativo in the 66th minute for his second book able offence, and Gudjohnsen added his second, Barca’s seventh a minute later. Emilo Jose Viqueria pulled one back for the visitors in the 76th minute and Deco made it 8-0 in the 87th minute with his second goal of the game. Viqueria pulled another back for Recreativo in the dying seconds of the match to bring a close to this ten goal thriller.

Deco was named man of the match in this one.

After the match the Barcelona fans chanted “no contar tus pollos todavía†(don’t count your chickens yet) to the manager.

Ten days later Barca would visit Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan to face Sevilla and look to erase the memory of the defeat in the European Super Cup, and they just about managed it. An own goal from David Cobeno in the 8th minute sent them on their way. Altor Ocio levelled things up in the 18th minute with a lovely chip over the helpless Valdes. Javier Saviola resorted the lead six minutes later with a cushioned header and Deco made it 3-1 in the 34th minute with his stunning 35yard volley. Alexander Kerzhakov pulled another back for Sevilla in the 58th minute but they never looked like taking anything from this match.

Sevilla striker Kerzhakov was named man of the match.

After the match the Barcelona fans chanted “está eso el mejor que puedes manejar†(is that the best you can manage) clearly disappointed with their teams effort despite the victory.

Having been drawn in group G of the champions league along with Roma, Olympiakos and Fenerbahce, Barca paid host to the Roma at the Nou Camp on Wednesday 13th September, the match itself was a totally one sides affair with Barcelona dominating the match from first to last. The scoring was opened in the 29th minute after a superb 40 yard through ball by Xavi found Leo Messi unmarked and with space to run into, Messi dispatched the ball high past the advancing keeper to give his side the lead. The lead was doubled nine minutes later with Belletti whipped a great cross at the near post for Ronaldinho to slot the ball home. In the 69th minute Belletti found Ruud van Nistelrooy in the box and a penalty was awarded but Perrotta’s weak effort was saved easily by Victor Valdes. Indeed one of the easiest victories new manager Esteban Browning will ever have in this time in charge of Barcelona.

Ronaldinho was voted man of the match.

After the match the Barcelona fans chanted (in the direction of the Roma fans) “tu encargado es peor que los nuestros†(your manager is worse than ours).

The result that will have endeared Browning to the Barcelona fans most though will have been the match on Sunday 17th September when Real Madrid visit Camp Nou and left with a 1-0 defeat. Madrid under new management themselves after appointing some English diddy called Rob Perry in the summer. The match itself was a close affair with both sides coming close in occasions, although by the end of the first half it was fair to say that Barcelona had been the more dominant team, but only just. The second half was more of the same with both sides going for it hammer and tongs; Barca made the breakthrough though in the 61st minute as Javier Saviola fired the ball home after some great play by Ronaldinho and Eto’o. Madrid did everything in their power to get back into the match in the 29mins that remained but the Barcelona defence held firm to deny their biggest rivals.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas was named man of the match.

After the match Barcelona fans chanted “te conseguimos el mal, tú somos grandes†(we got it wrong you are great) towards Esteban Browning.

There you have it, two months in the life of the new Barcelona manager, the only real disappointment thus far has been the defeat in European Super Cup to Sevilla, but the team has bounced back to record some good victories in the league and a good victory over Roma in their champions league group, but the burning question must be can they keep it up? Keep reading Marca to find out the news first!

Jose Gonzales.

Lol brilliant but damn you are bored steff!!!!

What can I say?

I just like to write

Gooners Update

Time for the latest edition in the Gooners update. Since the French frog left back to frog land its been a busy time at Emirates Stadium.

Transfers

As promised the first major signing comes from up north. After the deal to bring Stephen Gerrard to London fell through Johnston continued to make use of his connections in Liverpool and a deal was struck to bring Xabi Alonso to the Emirates Stadium for a fee of 15 million up front with a total of 5 million added for performances.

Next on the list to join the gooners is youngster Luka Modric who joins for a fee of 2.6 million. Finally to bolster the defense is Leighton Baines for 6.75 million.

In order to pay for some of these transfers a few sacrifices were made.

Transfers Out

First to leave the club was Freddie Ljungberg who was deemed surplus to requirements with his old age, and with plenty of young talent on the wings there was just no place for him anymore. He leaves to join West Ham for 3 million. The other person to leave was youngster Flamini, who despite having great potential was also deemed surplus to requirement after the addition of DM Alonso. And with Denilson waiting for his chance to step up to the big leagues, there really was no place for Flamini.

Friendly Results

Time to put the squad to the test, and here's what the ass man managed in our pre season friendlies.

Germinal Beerschot 0 - 2 Arsenal

Dinamo 0 - 2 Arsenal

Siena 1 - 4 Arsenal

Barnet 0 - 6 Arsenal

Boreham Wood 0 - 8 Arsenal

Some real poundings there, but let's not get too excited, they weren't exactly quality opposition.

The season gets underway

Due to last season's poor finish in the league we will have to get past Osasuna in the Champions League qualifiers, before we are allowed to get into the group stage.

Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round First Leg

Osasuna 0 - 2 Arsenal

The season gets off to a dissapointing to start as Eboue is stretchered off the park after only 30 minutes. But not to worry, Adebayor gives the visitors the lead 5 minutes later, and that set us up for an easy second half. Fabregas added the second after 72 minutes and 2 away goals will be taken back to London.

Arsenal goal scorers: Adebayor (35), Fabregas (72)

Attendance: 19795

MotM: Toure

A nice win to set us up for the home leg, but for now its back to the league.

Premiership

Blackburn 1 - 3 Arsenal

3 first half goals put Arsenal in control of this one and despite a 72nd minute strike from Reid Blackburn were never showing any danger of getting a point.

Blackburn goal scorers: Reid (72)

Arsenal goal scorers: Silva (7), Henry (15, 25)

Attendance: 31287

MotM: Toure

Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round Second Leg

Arsenal 1 - 0 Osasuna

With a 2-0 lead from the first leg this game was all about ensuring no away goals were given to Osasuna and ensuring our place in the group stages. With a very early strike from Henry the game was over.

Arsenal goal scorer: Henry (4)

Attendance: 49611

MotM: Ricardo (Osasuna GK)

With that win its into the group stage we go and the drawing is made:

Celtic

Bremen

Debrecen (Hungary)

A fairly decent group there with a battle of Britain thrown into the mix. Should be interesting.

Premiership

Charlton 0 - 1 Arsenal

Another away game here and despite huge amounts of pressure Charlton were able to keep Arsenal to only 1 goal. Adebayor secures the 3 points with a goal 14 seconds into the second half.

Arsenal goal scorer: Adebayor (46)

Attendance: 27079

MotM: Reyes

Premiership

Arsenal 2 - 0 Sheffield United

Our first home game of the season and it was total domination for Arsenal. Baptista and Fabregas score the only 2 goals of the game early in the first half. United manage to defend well for the rest of the game and Arsenal are unable to score despite playing against 10 men for almost 30 minutes.

Arsenal goal scorers: Baptista (14), Fabregas (21)

Sent Off: Kilgallon (64)

Attendance: 57664

MotM: Baptista

After a good few wins there the EPL decided to award me with Manager of the Month. And rightly so .

Champions League Group Stage

Celtic 3 - 2 Arsenal

Probably the biggest game of the group stage will be played first and it looked as though Arsenal would take the first 3 points. A goal after 1 minute and another 15 minutes later from Baptista gave the Gunners a 2-1 half time lead. Celtic managed to pull 2 magical goals out their arse though and took the game 3-2.

Celtic scorers: Hesselink (11, 60), Nakamura (56)

Arsenal scorers: Baptista (1, 15)

Attendance: 60271

MotM: Baptista

Unbelieveable defeat there at Celtic park, but not to worry, I am confident we will still win the group.

Premiership

Fulham 0 - 2 Arsenal

Yet another away game but this time Arsenal are in complete control and 2 goals from Baptista are enough to give us the 3 points. And another premiership clean sheet.

Arsenal scorers: Baptista (8, 72)

Attendance: 24401

MotM: Baptista

So a fairly decent start to the new career at Emirates Stadium with 4 league wins and only 1 goal against. The defeat to Celtic however was a bit dissapointing and I'll be looking to rectify that ASAP.

The Manchester Mail - Pre season and Hepburn is no where to be seen!!!!

You would think having just just one of the biggest football clubs in the world you would be there for perhaps the most important five or six weeks of the season but unfotunately for Utd manager Hepburn was off around the world scouting new talent and let his assistant Carlos Queiroz to take control of his team while he was away. Many fans were left wondering what on earth is going on already at their club with the appointment of Hepburn and now the new man in charge is no where to be seen.

However manager Hepburn manged to tie up the signature of one of the up and coming players in world football Nigel De Jong for £7.5 million, a player Hepburn has admired for a long time watching him on tv and has heard big things about. De Jong is a defensive midfielder and will add some steel to the Utd midfield and people are already comparing him to the great Roy Keane. There were no other signings for Utd during the summer due to Hepburn's absence but he had managed to sign a potential world beater. It was onto pre season for Utd and they went to Australia and New Zealand to pre pare for the season and were successful in their efforts as these results will show...........................

Queensland v Man Utd - (A) Wed 12th July 2007

Final Score - Queensland 0 v 2 Man Utd

New Zealand Knights v Man Utd - (A) Fri 14th July 2007

Final Score - New Zealand 0 v 2 Man Utd

Melbourne Victory v Man Utd - (A) Mon 17th July 2007

Final Score - Melbourne Victory 0 v 3 Man Utd

Central Coast v Man Utd - (A) Thurs 20th July 2007

Final Score - Central Coast 0 v 3 Man Utd

So they came away from the other side of the world in good form and ready for the new season and lets see what it brings.

Exclusive Zone

20 September 2008

Real Madrid 0 Valencia 0

Attendance 75308

With the stadium pack to the rafters Valencia the visitors kicked off on this lovely sunny afternoon at the Bernabeu, both sides needing a win to stay in touch with run away leaders Barcelona but neither side took advantage and the final score ended at 0-0

MOM Ryan Babel 8

Ramon Calderon told the press that he thought Rob Perry was doing a good job but needed to stop mixing up his formation as he thought it was hurting the teams performance, Perry responded politely saying he was the manager of the team and he would decide what formation and who was playing and he would leave Mr Calderon to spend him money how he wanted.

24 September 2008

Athletico Bilbao 3 Real Madrid 4

Attendance 39960

Real Madrid again tweaked the formation and players even after the chairman had asked him not to this time it paid off....well in the end Robinho put the visitors into the lead with only 9mins gone but that was short lived as Tiko struck a long range shot into the back of the net on 17mins, Robinho then made it 2-1 after 35mins, Yeste then spoiled the party 5mins later making it 2-2, Augusto then put Real ahead once more making it 3-2 right before half time.

After halftime Bilbao seemed to want to attack alot more sure enough Tikeo scored again on 59mins to make it 3-3 this time Perry brought on Cesar Delgado for Robinho and moved Augusto upfront also well it paid off right away as he smashed the ball into the net to earn Real 3points

MOM Tiko 8

27 September 2008

Champions League Group B

Real Madrid 0 Psv Eindhoven 0

Attendance 67302

Neither side could break the deadlock in this tight affair, Real had most of the chances but for Gomes they wouldve got the 3points, Alex was shown a red card on 89mins for his second yellow card offence as this one ended in a stalemate

MOM Gomes 9

Group B Table

1st October 2008

Real Madrid 4 Deportivo 0

Attendance 64406

Many fans showed up to see Real dominate the game as they have in previous years Robinho looked like he could score bucketloads today he opened the scoring on 21mins and then David Trezeguet added another 3mins later then he made it 3-0 right on half time and Robinho scored quickly after the restart to seal the win and earn Real the 3points

MOM Robinho 10

15th October 2008

Racing 1 Real Madrid 2

Attendance 21995

Real Madrid made hard work of this one Muntinis opened for Racing after 22mins, Robinho made it 1-1 on 48mins and Raul sealed the win on 70mins from close range

MOM Iker Casillas 8

18th October 2008

Champions League Group B

Sporting Lisbon 1 Real Madrid 4

Attendance 51972

Many thought this was going to be a tough game for Real as they went to Portugal but it was very one sided Diarra got Real off to a flyer after only 2mins but Bueno spoiled the party with only 8mins on the clock Sporting where level, Raul then made it 2-1 on 38mins before David Trezeguet made it 3-1 on 70mins and 4-1 on 80mins to seal the victory

MOM David Trezeguet 10

Group B Table

Stay tuned for more from Real Madrid and see if Rob Perry can stay in the chairmans good books until thursday

Browning continues to defy critics and keeps Barca winning: Jose Gonzales: Jgonzales@marca.com

Rookie manager Esteban Browning continues to defy the critics as his Barcelona team continue to roll on. After his first fourteen competitive games in charge, the bold Esteban has seen his side beaten once, the 3-1 defeat at the hands of Sevilla in the European Super Cup, in competitive competition, and record three draws and ten wins. With many people expecting the team to fail this season the club look like they will have to suffer a spectacular collapse if they aren’t going to finish on top or near the top come the end of the season.

After the defeat of Real Madrid previously the boy wonder could do no wrong as his side faced Villarreal at the Nou Camp on September the 20th. Villarreal manager Manuel Pellegrini had spoken of his anxiety about this match saying “People scoffed when they (Barcelona) appointed the new man, but by god has get them playing some good and they are gathering a fair amount of momentum at this early stage in the season, if we aren’t careful on Wednesday it could be become a cricket score†a few days before the game.

While the result might not have been the cricket score Pellegrini predicted it was certainly demoralising for his team as they crashed to a heavy 4-1 defeat. Just before the half an hour mark in the game Barcelona took the lead through Samuel Eto’o. The Cameroon international was on target again right on the stroke of half time as he doubled the advantage. Eto’o secured his hat trick ten minutes after the restart after Javier Saviola’s shot was deflected by Fuentes all Eto’o had to do was tap in the rebound. Ex Manchester United man Diego Forlán grabbed a consolation for Villarreal six minutes before the final whistle. Unsurprisingly hat trick hero Samuel Eto’o was voted man of the match. During the match the home fans chanted “por lo menos no necesitamos rechazos unidos Manchester†(at least we don’t need Manchester United rejects) at the visiting fans, a clear dig at striker Diego Forlan.

The team then travelled to the Mestalla to face rivals Valencia with neither side wanting to lose ground on the other this early into the league campaign. No ground was lost either as the teams battled out a 0-0 draw in front of 54990 fans. Both sides had good chances to take the lead, but neither could capitalise on the opportunities that came their way and squandered their chances, Barcelona were the worst culprit of this as they created more chances than Valencia but spurned them all, Samuel Eto’o being the worst offender of the day. Rafael Marquez took the only plus point of the day for Barcelona as he was voted man of the match after his excellent defensive display.

After the match the Barcelona fans chanted “de nuevo al tablero de dibujo†(back to the drawing board).

After the draw in Valencia it was time to hop on a plane and head for Greece as Barcelona made for the Georgios Karasikakis stadium in Piraeus to face Olympiakos in the Champions League group G clash. The match itself was a tight affair from the word go some pretty exciting end to end stuff was being played when Samuel Eto’o broke the deadlock in the 9th minute after Fernando Torres crossed the ball in from the right hand side; Eto’o rose above former Hearts player Ibrahim Tall to head home. Tall again was the villain of the piece again the 28th minute as he hauled down Deco in the penalty box, the referee had no hesitation in pointing to spot despite heavy protests from the Olympiakos players, Milos Maric in particular. While the Olympiakos players were losing their heads Ronaldinho managed to keep his and he coolly slotted the penalty home to double the advantage. Both sides had further chances in the game but no more goals would follow and Olympiakos would be left to rue their poor finishing as they had exactly the same amount of chances as their more illustrious opponents.

Barcelona captain Carlos Puyol was voted man of the match.

Again the Barcelona fans found a new and unique chant, this time it was “por lo menos no sufrimos de enfermedad del recorrido†(at least we don’t suffer from travel sickness). Pointing to the clubs good record away from home in Europe.

Back to league business and Barca entertained Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou and failed to find the target for the second league game in succession, it was for lack of trying either! An amazing performance by Inaki Lafuente in the Athletic goal was the only thing that denied the defending champions a comfortable victory in this one. Ronaldinho had several good chances as did Samuel Eto’o but it would be unfair to blame them for poor finishing on a day when some great goalkeeping was the order of the day.

No shocks to learn that Lafuente was also voted man of the match.

After the match Barcelona fans chanted “estimado dios somos especialistas del drenaje†(dear god we are draw specialists) referring to the clubs two 0-0 draws in succession.

After the two 0-0 draws previously Barca headed to the holiday island of Mallorca with bad intentions on their mind and this was proved by the way they destroyed Mallorca in a stunning 6-1 victory. Ronaldinho converted a sixth minute penalty after Samuel Eto’o had been fouled. Five minutes later Xavi had made it 2-0 after Eto’o again had been fouled resulting in a free kick 25 yards out which Xavi blasted home with pinpoint accuracy. Next up it was Eto’o himself he got in on the scoring action as in the 26th minute after Zambrotta played a lovely ball to him, he quickly jinked past Diakhate and rammed the ball low into the far right corner. Eto’o grabbed another goal for himself a mere six minutes later, this time instead of going past Diakhate he out jumped him and headed home. Little Leo Messi made it 5-0 in the 62nd minute after Eto’o crossed from the right hand side and he out jumped Balzaretti, the big man was clearly embarrassed to be out jumped by this Argentinean midget. The heartache didn’t end their for Mallorca as in the 74th minute it was 6-0 as Eidur Gudjohnsen stabbed the ball home from close range. Mallorca did manage to pull one back two minutes later and it was ironic that an on loan Barcelona player, Maxi Lopez, would score the goal. Fernando Varela was sent off right on the stroke of full time for his second book able offence.

Samuel Eto’o was voted man of the match which was only fair as he was at the heart of everything good that happened for Barca in this match.

After the match the Barcelona chanted “podemos te jugamos cada semanaâ€

(Can we play you every week) at the few Mallorca fans that remained till the death.

After this confidence boosting visit to the islands Deportivo would have been forgiven if they where feeling more than a little nervous as Barca visited the Riazor on the 15th of October. They had every right to be worried. Messi dribbled past Jorge Andrade and fired a low and hard shot into the back of the net in the 10th minute. Cristian pushed over the wonder midget in the 33rd minute and was ordered from the park by the over zealous ref and Deportivo found themselves right up against it, a goal down and now with only ten men. In the 56th minute Ronaldinho hit a brilliant ball that split the Deportivo defence and left Javier Saviola clear through on goal, the little striker was left with a simple finish as he slotted the ball home to double the advantage. Saviola grabbed his 50th goal for Barcelona in the 62nd minute after some brilliant skill on the edge of the box.

A comfortable victory for the defending champions, Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho was voted man of the match.

After the third goal the Barcelona fans could be heard chanting “ahora puedes saco tu encargado†(you can sack your manager now) A reference to recent reports that the Deportivo board may be on the verge of dispensing with their manager’s services.

With Deportivo taken care of it was off to Istanbul for Barcelona as they faced off against Fenerbahce in the Champions League (Group G). This is by far one of the dullest matches this reporter has had the misfortune to see Barcelona play in. Little chances where created by either side in the first half and the half time whistle probably woke a few people up in the stadium. The second was a bit livelier but not much, Javier Saviola opened the scoring in the 62nd minute after some clever play. Things were looking good for Barca and they looked to be picking up all three points until the final minute of the game when Stephen Appiah struck to level the match, which was no less than Fenerbahce deserved from the game.

An excellent performance at the back from Fenerbahce’s Edu Dracena saw him voted man of the match. After the game the Barca fans chanted “gozar de tu punto porque no ganarás siempre esta competición†(enjoy your point because you’ll never win this competition) in the general direction of any Turk that would listen.

There you have it, Barca continue to go from strength to strength under the new man, top of La Liga with 20 points after 8 games, top of their champions league group with 7 points after 3 matches. Things are looking exceptionally bright for the new man and his side, but for the time being the main question is going to be can he keep it up? I guess we’ll find out as they face Zaragoza on Sunday.

Keep reading over the next few days as we’ll have an exclusive interview with the man himself and also an interview with Barcelona chairman Joan Laporta.

Until keep reading Marca for all the latest Barcelona news!

Jose Gonzales.

The Gooners Update

Another update from London:

Premiership

Arsenal 5 - 2 Manchester United

Going into this game as underdogs I was expecting so much more from Andy's Reds. But I guess Henrys pace and vision was just too much for them to handle. A goal after only 3 minutes got things started and the first half ended at 3-0. Wayne Rooney tried to single handedly bring United back into the game with 2 spectacular goals but it was Henry's day as a penalty in the 90th minute gave him his fourth and the man of the match award.

Arsenal Scorers: Henry (3, 17, 77 pen 90), Fabregas (30)

Man U scorers: Rooney (60, 84)

Attendance: 60423

MotM: Henry

A great way to start the season with a win against fierce rivals. And with such a convincing win things are already looking good for Arsenal this year.

On a side note, Chester will be heading to Emirates Stadium for the league cup 3rd round.

Champions League Group Stage

Arsenal 6 - 0 Debrecen

Not many people have heard of this little team from Hungary, and Arsenal led by henry showed why tonight. After only 30 seconds Adebayor gave Arsenal the lead and 4 goals for Henry and 1 for Fabregas made for a thrilling evening. Second game in a row in which Henry has hit the back of the net 4 times and Fabregas is proving to be a magician with his long shots so far.

Arsenal scorers: Adebayor (1), Henry (21, 71, 86, 87), Fabregas (72)

Attendance: 56921

MotM: Henry

Back to the league now and its another game at home for Arsenal to build up a good run.

Premiership

Arsenal 3 - 0 Portsmouth

The scoreline from this game provided no big surprises, but what was surprising was that with 3 goals scored Henry's name wasn't amongst the list of scorers. This time Adebayor, Fabregas and Reyes were the ones to hit the net.

Arsenal scorers: Adebayor (12), Fabregas (14), Reyes (87)

Attendance: 58570

MotM: Fabregas

After a month of some exciting football a number of awards have been issued to the players. Player of the month goes to red hot striker Thierry Henry. Young Player of the Month is issued to Fabregas who also came 3rd in the player of the month vote. And finally Goal of the month was also awarded to the young Fabregas.

Premiership

Arsenal 2 - 1 Everton

A strong performance again for the gooners in this game but the scoreline didn't really reflect that. An incredible own goal from Toure in the first half gave Everton the lead. Somehow he managed to loop a header from the edge of the area over a crowded box, over the 6'3" keeper and into the top corner. Thankfully Henry was able to blast in a free kick on the stroke of half time to make it 1-1. And to continue on the good form Fabregas gave Arsenal the win 5 minutes into the second half.

Arsenal scorers: Henry (45), Fabregas (50)

Everton scorers: Toure (o.g. 35)

Attendance: 57081

MotM: Fabregas

Premiership

Wigan 2 - 1 Arsenal

Finally another away game to really test Arsenal's domination and Wigan proved that away from home we're still not perfect. A scoreless first half was very even. But Wigan took the lead 5 minutes into the second half. Despite Baptista's equaliser Wigan were able to stick another one in to take all 3 points. So still some work to do away from home.

Wigan scorers: Aghahowa (50, 76)

Arsenal scorers: Baptista (54)

Attendance: 25049

MotM; Aghahowa

Final game for the session:

Champions league Group Stage

Arsenal 4 - 1 Bremen

Probably the second favourite to take the group Bremen faced a difficult task at the Emirates Stadium and it proved to be too difficult for them. 3-1 for Arsenal after only 30 minutes and a fourth in the second half was enough to send Werder back to Bremen empty handed.

Arsenal scorers: Henry (13, 56), Baptista (23), Reyes (30)

Bremen scorers: Klose (24)

Attendance: 56157

MotM: Henry

So a nice session there except for the defeat at Wigan. but with convincing wins over top teams like Man U and Bremen I am confident we will be challenging all the way.

Transfer News

IN

F. Inzaghi P/x AC Milan

Ambrosini P/x AC Milan

Bale £1.6m Southampton

D Carvalho £5m CSKA Moscow

OUT

Totti £10m P/x AC Milan

Aquilani £10m Liverpool

A few new, but familiar faces have been brought in to the Olimpico from AC Milan along with goal poacher Van Nistelrooy along with young left back Gareth Bale and CASKA Moscow’s attacking midfielder D. Carvalho. The main talking point though is the departure of fans favourite Totti to Rivals AC Milan along with the young and talented Aquilani leaving to join Liverpool.

Inter (A) Super Cup Final

0-2

This was a good opener for the season with two of the sides tipped to be battling it out for the Serie A title playing each other. After the media talk and the play started there was always only going to be one winner. On 10 mins Ibrahimovic struck a wonder goal from all of 35 yards to put Inter 1 up. To make matters worse Roma also had Mexes sent off after 48 minute which gave Roma no chance of coming back. The main surprise in the game was that Inter didn’t double there lead until the 71st minute when Figo swung in a corner to the front post and Adriano headed home un challenged.

Inter (A) Serie A

0-1

In a repeat of the Super cup Inter was the host to Roma. In a more even game the only difference in the game was a super goal from Rodriguez who got the ball out on the right took it forward before cutting inside and shooting from 20 yards giving the keeper no chance.

Barcelona (A) Champions League

0-2

Roma’s third competitive game under new manager Jenkinson, seen them take the trip to Spain to take on the Catalan giants. This was another poor away performance by Roma but nothing can be taken away from Barcelona. Barca took the lead when Xavi played a wonderful 40 yard ball from the middle of the park finding Messi just inside the area and he made no mistake from 18 yards. Ronaldinho made it 2 on 38 minutes when Belletti played a super cross from the right had touchline to pick him out perfectly at the back post to slot home. Barca took there foot of the pedal but still looked the better team and when Perrotta missed from the spot summed up Roma’s day and another away defeat.

Reggina (H) Serie A

4-0

Jenkinson’s team finally got to play in front of there home fans and didn’t disappoint. Inzaghi opened the scoring when Carvalho played him through and he put his first goal for Roma. It was then time for V. Nistelrooy to show why Jenkinson paid £12 million. His first was a typical poachers finished with the ball finding its way to him and he tapped home form inside the 6 yards box, his second goal was again from close range but this time a good turn and first time shot beating the keeper. He then sealed a good performance with a copy of his first goal and nets himself a hat trick on his home Debut.

Ascoli (A) Serie A

0-2

Another away game, but this time Jenkinson’s men managed a win. A Mancini corner found Chivu coming into the area late to head home from 10 yards. The just after the break Nistelrooy made it 2 when he got on the end of a Taddei cross which sealed the victory for the Rome Giants.

Chievo (H) Serie A

0-1

This will have been one of the worse matches that Roma have been involved in all there history. The first half came and went without a shot on target and the only other shots going straight to the keeper or over the bar. Chievo’s Cesar Prates managed a moment of skill when his curled in a free-kick from 30 yards to give Chievo the 3 points and left Jenkinson furious with his team.

Fenerbahce (H) Champions League

3-3

Fenerbahce took and early lead in an open game on 4 mins when Tuncay picked out Kezman in the box. Inzaghi levelled the score immediately. The ball found its way back to Panucci at right back who played a wonderfully 50 yard ball which Inzaghi latched into in the area and put the ball past the stunned keeper. Roma then took a surprise lead when a bad kick out from the keeper and good awareness from Chivu who picked up the loose ball played in Nistelrooy who slotted the ball past the keeper. Alex then got Fenerbahce back on level terms with a great free kick from 20 yards in the top left hand corner. Then a moment of madness from Roma’s young midfielder De Rossi put Roma down to 10 men and a mountain to climb if they are to get something out of the game. Roma managed to go a head against the odds when Nistelrooy was brought down in the area and finished from the spot to give Roma a 3-2 lead. Fenerbahce made there extra man count and after constant pressure Roma’s defence slipped and Serkan equalised from the tightest of angles.

Fiorentina (A) Siere A

0-2

This was an open game which Fiorentina won in 2 first half minutes. Fiorentina took the lead when Adrian Mutu crossed and Reginaldo scored at the front post. The made it 2 straight after when Montolivio picked out Per Kroldup who walked into the area unchallenged and headed past the helpless Roma keeper.

After the friendlies and the transfers we finally get to a competitive match!

Hearts Vs Milan – Wednesday 9th August 2006 – Champions League Qualifying 3rd Round 1st Leg

All of Milan were watching this first competitive match for the rookie manager to see if he had the balls for the job, a potential banana skin awaited the Italians in Hearts on a cold scottish night, but, after an eventful game, Milan ran out worthy winners! An own goal from Karipidis gave Milan a fortuitous lead within 5 minutes of the kick off. Clarence Seedorf made it look easy when he doubled the advantage on 20 minutes and the Rossoneri looked to be in for a vcomfortable night! Roman Bednar pulled one back for the home side and quickly disabused the visitors of any ideas they may have had of a rout!! 2-1 to Milan at half time. The second half saw a spirited fight back from Hearts and Bednar was in the centre of things again and he fully deserved the equalising goal he took so well. Milan were further shocked to go behind to another goal from Hearts when Brellier netted The Scots jubilation was short lived however as Oliviera equalised at 3-3 with in 5 minutes of Hearts gaining the lead and then scored what ultimately proved to be the winner 3 minutes after that to seal it on the night

Final Score : Hearts 3 Milan 4

Hearts Scorers : Bednar (35, 60) Brellier (69)

Milan Scorers : Karipidis (OG 5) Seedorf (20) Oliveira (74, 77)

Attendance : 17371

Man Of The Match: Roman Bednar (Hearts)

Milan Vs Hearts – Wednesday 23rd August 2006 – Champions League Qualifying 3rd Round 2nd Leg

After the goal fest that was the first leg this was a much duller affair with the teams separated by a late goal from new signing Francesco Totti, leaving Milan comfortably qualifying for the group stages of Europes premier competition.

Final Score : Milan 1 Hearts 0 (Milan win 5-3 on aggregate)

Milan Scorers : Totti (81)

Attendance : 54868

Man Of The Match: Francesco Totti (Milan)

Cagliari Vs Milan – Sunday 10th September 2006

We finally kick off with Serie A and an away game for Milan. The team starts well and Francesco Totti starts to repay some of the faith (and money) invested in him by the manager with his second goal in succcessive games to open the scoring midway through the first half. Gattuso pushed Milan further ahead with a goal less than ten minutes before the break and the Rossoneri were again looking very comfortable away from home. The second half kicked off and as before, the home side got themselves back in to the game shortly after the restart with a goal from Calo. Suzzo equalised for Cagliari 6 minutes later and the game was swiftly coming to the boil! Andrea Pirlo put Milan back in the driving seat with his goal on the hour and Ronaldfo scored his first for the club to seal a good 4-2 win on the Serie A opening day! Now Milan only have -5 points

Final Score : Cagliari 2 Milan 4

Cagliari Scorers : Calo (47) Suzzo (53)

Milan Scorers : Totti (25) Gattuso (37) Pirlo (61) Ronaldo (72)

Attendance : 37601

Man Of The Match: Andrea Pirlo (Milan)

Bordeaux Vs Milan – Wednesday 13th September 2006 – Champions League Group Stage

The first game of the Champions League group statge was not a good advert for football. Bordeaux played a very stifling defensive game and Milan even decided to waste a penalty, which Gourcuff somehow contrived to miss as the teams played out this dull bore draw

Final Score : Bordeaux 0 Milan 0

Attendance : 34106

Man Of The Match: Ulrich Rame (Bordeaux)

Milan Vs Lazio – Sunday 17th September 2006

Milan were put under pressure early on in this game by Lazio and the visitots were rewarded for their early dominance with a goal midway through the half which was enough to see Lazio in to the break with a lead! Rouch obviously found some choice words for the team at half time team talk as the players came out to the second half and played as if their lives depended on the result! Totti grabbed the equaliser after just 4 minutes of the restart and Gillardino gave Milan the lead before the hour was reached, but then a potential disaster struck when Gattuso was sent off for an over enthusiastic challenge 61 minutes and Milan had to play out the last half hour with 10 men The Rossoneri hung on though and secured the win and the all important three points

Final Score : Milan 2 Lazio 1

Lazio Scorers : Jimenez (23)

Milan Scorers : Totti (49) Gillardino (57)

Attendance : 81524

Man Of The Match: Dida (Milan)

Milan Vs Siena – Wednesday 20th September 2006

A comfortable home win for Milan and the crowd are starting to take to the new manager who has so far shown a safe pair of hands with the team they hold so dear! A goal in each half from the two Brazillian strikers was enough to push Milan into positive points! After three straight wins, Milan now had 1 point in the league

Final Score : Milan 2 Siena 0

Milan Scorers : Oliveira (5) Ronaldo (72)

Attendance : 81240

Man Of The Match: Massimo Oddo (Milan)

Atalanta Vs Milan – Sunday 24th September 2006

Another away game where Milan take a two goal; lead, allow the other team back on then go on to win it! Totti & Gourcuff got the first half goals to put Milan ahead, only to see Atalanta pull level after the break wth 2 fine strikes from Zampagna! These goals seemed to reawaken Milan and within 4 minutes Totti had nabbed his second to put the visitors ahead again, Doni equalised once more but staright away from the restart Ronaldo scored to put the advantage back with Milan, and then Seedorf put clear light between the two teams with another goal 5 minutes from time to settle it

Final Score : Atalanta 3 Milan 5

Atalanta Scorers : Zampagna (45, 58) Doni (70)

Milan Scorers : Totti (12, 62) Gourcuff (17) Ronaldo (71) Seedorf (85)

Attendance : 25622

Man Of The Match: Clarence Seedorf (Milan)

Milan Vs Anderlecht– Wednesday 27th September 2006 – Champions League Group Stage

A game where Milan did everything but score the winning goal they so deserved! Despite the 1-1 scoreline Milan dominated this game and deserved to take all the point and not just a share of them in this encounter

Final Score : Milan 1 Anderlecht 1

Anderlecht Scorers : Frutos (26)

Milan Scorers : Ronaldo (90)

Attendance : 59229

Man Of The Match: Jelle Van Damme (Anderlecht)

Overall a good start for the rookie manager who has yet to taste defeat with his team. The 8 points deduction obviously means there is a lot of work to do to climb up the table and challenge for the leadership, but the belief that the team can do it is certainly there

August

Liverpool 1 - 0 Red Star - Champions League Qualifier

Liverpool went into this game knowing that it was already over. A full stregnth team was played but they were told not to get injured and relax and the result would take care of itself. Dirk Kuyt scored the only goal of the game to get the victory for Liverpool and sending them to the group stages of the Champions League.

Tottenham 1 - 0 Liverpool - English Premier League

Liverpool went into this game really high on confidence but really dissapointed during the game. Dirk Kuyt failed to put away several chances and Eddie Johnson was also very wasteful. The teams came out in the second half and Spurs certainly looked the more likely to score. Jermaine Defoe came on and his lightening pace broke past Steve Finnan and put a ball through to Danny Murphy to put it awau against his former employers and finished the game off 1-0.

***Transfer News***

Gonzalo Higuain signed for 14 million pounds from Real Madrid and is Liverpool's final signing of the transfer window

Liverpool 2 - 1 Manchester City - English Premier League

Liverpool showed up raring to go and showed how to start a game with a 10 pass move ending in a spectacular strike from Italian starlet Alberto Aquliani. Joey Barton took the Man City team by the scruff of the neck and dragged them back into the match with a scrapp goal in th ebox from a corner to make it 1-1. Liverpool then made a few changes bringing on Craig Bellamy who made the difference by putting a perfectly placed ball to Dirk Kuyt to score and win the game for Liverpool.

September

Galatasaray 1 - 2 Liverpool - Eurpean Champions League

Liverpool were given a hostile reception in Turkey and it got even worse when they went 1-0 up after another screamer from 10 million pound man Aquliani who has won over the Liverpool faithful who seem to have forgotten about the sale of fan favourite Xabi Alonso. Old man Davor Suker then equalized with a powerful header from the six yard line. Half time came and went and on came Luis Garcia for Pennant and he was the man of the moment when he scored from the edge of the box after a throw in from Antonio Barraghan. 3 points for Liverpool and another good performance.

That will do for now, Hibs just scored their third goal in the CIS cup final - im off to jusp off the forth road bridge !

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jambo4eva:

That will do for now, Hibs just scored their third goal in the CIS cup final - im off to jump off the forth road bridge ! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

\o/

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by steff:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jambo4eva:

That will do for now, Hibs just scored their third goal in the CIS cup final - im off to jump off the forth road bridge ! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

\o/ </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

If only you would Pettigrew!!!

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Andy H:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by steff:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jambo4eva:

That will do for now, Hibs just scored their third goal in the CIS cup final - im off to jump off the forth road bridge ! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

\o/ </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

If only you would Pettigrew!!! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hear Hear

The Manchester Mail - Season begins and Hepburn is no where to be seen??????

Yes folks the new season is well and truly underway and new Manchester Utd gaffer Andrew Hepburn was no where to be seen as his new side opened their Premiership campaign at newly promoted Sheffield Utd. There was no real drama however as Hepburn missed the game through illness and was in the dug out for his first official game at home against Charlton. Utd have started the season well under Hepburn and the fans are looking for this form to continue for months on end as they try to win back their Premiership crown from money bags Chelsea. Here is how the first month of Hepburn's reign as Manchester Utd gaffer..................

Premiership

Sheffield Utd v Manchester Utd - (A) Sat 19th August 2006

Final Score - Sheffield Utd 0 v 1 Manchester Utd

Premiership

Manchester Utd v Charlton - (H) Tues 22nd August 2006

Hepburn's first official game in charge and it was in front of a full house at Old Trafford who were expectant of a huge Man Utd victory. Utd started brightly and had Charlton under all sorts of pressure but could find an opening goal. Utd then suffered a huge blow as Ronaldo went off injured with what looked like a torn calf muscle or hamstring just into the second half and Hepburn just shook his head in disbelief. Ronaldo's replacement Ji Sung Park opened the scoring with a great goal midway through the half and Hepburn's relief was their for all so see. Charlton then suddenly found a way back into the game with an equaliser from Darren Bent and Hepburn was soon panicking again. Utd pressed and pressed but it did not look likely until the last minute when Diawara put the ball in his own net. Utd deserved that slice of luck as they dominated the game and a good start to life as Man uTd manager for Andrew Hepburn.

Final Score - Man Utd 2 v 1 Charlton

Goals - Man Utd - Park (64), Diawara (og,90)

Goals - Charlton - Bent (75)

Att - 73439

MOTM - Paul Scholes (Man Utd)

Premiership

Everton v Man Utd - (A) Sat 26th August 2006

Hepburn faced a tough trip as his side travelled to Goodison Park to take on Everton who are always tough to beat. Utd started this game well and were soon all over Everton but could not put the ball in the back of the net. they were minus Ronaldo who was out for four months, much to the dismay of Hepburn. Chance after was passed up and they were made to pay as Everton went up the park and opened the scoring through Lee Carsley. It was more of the same in the second half and Utd left Goodison rueing their missed chances. So it was Hepburn's first defeat only two games into his Utd career.

Final Score - Everton 1 v 0 Man Utd

Goals - Everton - Carsley (38)

Att - 40549

MOTM - Richard Wright (Everton)

A mixed opening to Hepburn's first to games in cahrge. He seems to have Utd playing some great football but they really are lacking a clinical finisher to put these chances away. Hepburn will be looking for more from his team in this area.

Las Noticias españolas

22 September 2008

Real Madrid 3 Real Betis 1

Attendance 68721

Real Madrid seemed to settled down and seem to be getting on with the job of catching Barcelona, Sobis saw red early on in this encounter after on 7men Betis had to make some changes, Edu put the visitors up 1-0 soon after coming on for Sobis but it wasnt enough as Real kept coming forward in search of the equaliser it would come when the soon departing Beckham smashed it home from 30yards out, Diarra then scored a rare goal 2mins later to put Real in the driving seat, Betis then went another man down when Edu saw red on 70mins for a back challenge on Augusto, Robinho sealed the win on 85mins with a wonder strike worthy of goal of the month if they had one in spain.

MOM Fabio Cannavaro 8

so a whole month goes by with no game and the Real Madrid players take a short break in Switzerland to recharge the batteries and get in some training.

25 October 2008

Copa Del Rey 4th Round 1st Leg

Univ.Oviedo 0 Real Madrid 7

Attendance 3977

Well it looks like the break did them some good, Cassano opened after only 3mins, Robinho made it 2-0 on 7mins and then Cassano again on 9mins after that they took the foot off the gas a little well for 20mins anyway Robinho then made it 4-0 on 29mins Huntelaar made it 5-0 on 29mins then a Raul double 63 and 83mins killed off any hopes for Oviedo in the 2nd leg really.

MOM David Beckham 10

29 October 2008

Real Madrid 1 Gimnastic 1

Attendance 66887

Real Madrid coming off a fantastic win away to Univ Oviedo really needed to win this to stay in touch with the top 2 as they seemed to be pulling away Huntelaar scored on 28mins to give Real the lead but it didnt last long as right before half time Gil scored to make it 1-1 and with not much happening in the second half it would stay that way.

MOM Albano Bizzari 8

1st November 2008

Champions League Group B

Real Madrid 2 Sporting Lisbon 0

Attendance 66959

Real have really seemed to hit a good spell of form in the Champions League Robinho opened on 50mins in this encounter and then Ryan Babel made it 2-0 on 86mins to seal the win and pretty much seal qualification to the knockout stages.

MOM Raul 8

Champions League Group B Table

Calderon is said to be absolutely delighted with the start Perry has made at Real and he had this to say

Ramon Calderon comments to the press

5th November 2008

Real Zaragoza 0 Real Madrid 2

Attendance 34677

Before the match Zaragoza chairman Eduardo Bandres told Ramon Calderon he thought that he shouldve hired a Spanish manager and that there was no room in Spanish football for English managers, Perry didnt comment but he told his players to show Bandres what a English manager could do in spain and Real totally outplayed Zaragoza from start to finish Huntelaar helped himself to 2 fantastic goals 24 and 43mins and then Cuevas for Zaragoza was shown the red card for hacking down Babel on 55mins.

MOM Raul 8

8th November 2008

Copa del Rey 4th Round 2nd Leg

Real Madrid 5 Univ.Oviedo 0

Attendance 35137

Real put out a weakened side if you can say they have a weakened side, Cesar Delgado started in place of Robinho, he made claim for a starting place as he opened the scoring with only 2mins on the clock, Huntelaar made it 2-0 after only 5mins and then Delgado made it 3-0 with just 6mins played, Oviedo fans where booing as Cicinho scored a free kick from 35yards out on 44mins, Delgado would then seal his hatrick on 77mins to send Real through to the next round quite easily with the final score 12-0 on agg.

MOM Cesar Delgado 10

12th November 2008

Atletico Madrid 2 Real Madrid 1

Attendance 54833

So with the season in full swing and Real Madrid clicking very well comes the big local Madrid derby. Cesar Delgado kept his starting place for this one due to his awesome performance in the previous game he would open the scoring on 64mins but the lead didnt last long as Martin Petrov broke the offside trap and slotted past Casillas on 68mins, Atletico would then take the lead on 76mins through Seitaridis and they never looked back defending everything that came at them Pablo almost scored again on 88mins but for some great goalkeeping from Casillas this ended with Real losing the game and also some pace in the title race.

MOM Pablo 8

Champions league form has been awesome so far but league form seems a little stop start stay tuned to see if Real can get it together and make a claim for that league title.

Lads, won't be on tonight, I am not at all well so will give tonight a miss I think. Hopefully be back Thursday night though, apologies.

Empoli (H) Serie A

2-2

This game was end to end but was deadlocked till just before half time when Nistelrooy was played through the middle of the defence by Carvalho to fire home from just inside the area. Empoli managed to get one back 6 minutes into the second half when the Roma keeper parried a shot into the path of Saudati who didn’t waste the opportunity. There equaliser didn’t count for anything 5 minutes later when Carvalho’s out swinging corner found Perrotta who spun and tucked it away form near the penalty spot.

Olympiakos (A) Champions League

2-2

Olympiakos took the lead on 13 mins when Mavroudis converted from the spot. The lead didn’t last long as Van Nistelrooy equalised 3 mins later when he met a Tavano cross and hammered home. Olympiakos then regained the lead just after the break when a long ball upfront fount Babangida who struck home from the edge of the area. Roma finally managed to get a much needed Champions League point with a late Tavano goal.

Catania (H) Siere A

2-0

A very one sided game with Roma taking the lead on 12 mins when a ball played into the box found Mancini who was pulled down and the penalty was slotted home by Nistelrooy. Taddei added a second just before half time to put Roma in the driving seat. That was the end of the goals but it wasn’t for lack of effort with Nistelrooy and Perrotta making the Catania keeper save from close range.

Cagliari (A)

1-4

Roma took an early lead when Faty got his first for the club with a close range head. Mancini then made it to with a similar effort. Van Nistelrooy then score a spectacular 30 yard effort to score his 10th goal of the season. Bad defending by Cagliari let in Taddei who put it past the keeper. Fonseca got a consolation goal back in injury time but Roma a well deserved 3 points away from home.

Udinese (A) Siere A

1-1

It was to be another away match for the Roma. But it was the away team who started the match slightly better and was causing the Udinese defence problems. With all the effort in going forward Roma slipped at the back and Lopez picked out Iaquinta in the middle who headed home. Roma still looked the better team and finally pulled level on 85 mins when Panucci played the ball long to Perrotta who headed on into the path of Taddei who got there before the keeper to poke home.

Olympiakos (H) Champions League

2-2

Another typical open game when Roma are in town. There were no goals until the 57th minute when a well worked free kick from Olympiakos found Maric with acres of space inside the area to slot the ball past the keeper. Chivu equalised for Roma almost immediately when an Inzaghi throw was flicked into the area and Chivu from the back hit the ball into the corner giving the keeper no chance. Roma then took the lead from the spot with ever reliable Van Nistelrooy putting the ball into the top corner. Then Olympiakos managed to salvage a point when sloppy defending in the area and the ball found its way to Stoltidis who hammered into the top corner.

Lazio (H) Siere A

3-0

The big Derby day and a very big expecting Roma crowd came to see a superb effort from there team. They weren’t to be disappointed and Van Nistelrooy opened the scoring on 9 minute with a well placed shot from the edge of the 18 yard box into the far corner. It was then not till the 68 minute that Roma was able to get there second in a match they dominated, and it was that man Nistelrooy who got onto the end of a rebound to score the his second of the night. Perrotta added a late 3rd when Carvalho pulled the ball back to him on the corner of the 18 yard box and he powered the ball past the keeper.

Rimini (H) Italian Cup 1st Leg

0-0

This was a game tipped as a walk over for Roma but it was far from it. Roma had more shot but Rimini had the best of the chances bringing good saves from Curci in the Roma goals and getting a well deserved draw and a good chance to progress with the second leg at home.

Hey Gaz, how come you still got Totti in your banner? He plays for me now