EPL Challenge 2007 (The Ultimate Premiership Experience)

EPL Challenge (The Ultimate Premiership Experience)

The Class Of 2007

Welcome to the most exciting experience you can have with a computer besides porn. Yes we are back, live and kicking ready for yet another installment of Football Manager filled no doubt with all the thrills and spills that only the EPL Challenge can offer.

With our group of ambitious, enthusiastic and on the odd ocassion skillful managers back again to face the world, surely with only a few tweaks, this game could very well be the best yet. Dispite a few minor changes, there will still be the ever present banter and slagging, no doubt trophies galore and oh dear christ there will be sackings aplenty!

The Important Information:

The Game:

The EPL Challenge is set in the English Premiership, with the top 4 outlawed from the start. A First this year being the European sides open from the beginning, really bridging the gap early on.

The Game Times:

Tuesday - 7:30pm - 10:30pm

Thursday - 7:30pm - 10:30pm

Sunday - 7:30pm - 10:30pm

The Rules (A MUST Read)

The Rules Please Read!

The Application Form:

EPL Forums

Apply within at our forums to pit your wits against the best

EPL Challenge Gaffers FM2007

Sam Bouchard - Aston Villa

Mo Ilyas - Blackburn Rovers

Niall Murphy - Everton

Dave Allen - Fulham

Andy Nilsen - Manchester City

David Pagi - Middlesbrough

Ben Jackson - Newcastle United

Rob Chivers - Tottenham Hotspur

Steven Diprose - Watford

Obviously the hardest task there lads with Stevo at the Hornets, hopefully he'll be able to battle against relegation well and pick up some cash for the second season! I'm expecting Ben and Rob to shine at big clubs, with Niall once again coming up the rear !

May I wish every member of the EPL the very best of luck...just not at Villa Park eh lads

Seriously though, let's make this year the best yet in the EPL Challenge

EPL Challenge (The Ultimate Premiership Experience)

The Class Of 2007

Welcome to the most exciting experience you can have with a computer besides porn. Yes we are back, live and kicking ready for yet another installment of Football Manager filled no doubt with all the thrills and spills that only the EPL Challenge can offer.

With our group of ambitious, enthusiastic and on the odd ocassion skillful managers back again to face the world, surely with only a few tweaks, this game could very well be the best yet. Dispite a few minor changes, there will still be the ever present banter and slagging, no doubt trophies galore and oh dear christ there will be sackings aplenty!

The Important Information:

The Game:

The EPL Challenge is set in the English Premiership, with the top 4 outlawed from the start. A First this year being the European sides open from the beginning, really bridging the gap early on.

The Game Times:

Tuesday - 7:30pm - 10:30pm

Thursday - 7:30pm - 10:30pm

Sunday - 7:30pm - 10:30pm

The Rules (A MUST Read)

The Rules Please Read!

The Application Form:

EPL Forums

Apply within at our forums to pit your wits against the best

EPL Challenge Gaffers FM2007

Sam Bouchard - Aston Villa

Mo Ilyas - Blackburn Rovers

Niall Murphy - Everton

Dave Allen - Fulham

Andy Nilsen - Manchester City

David Pagi - Middlesbrough

Ben Jackson - Newcastle United

Rob Chivers - Tottenham Hotspur

Steven Diprose - Watford

Obviously the hardest task there lads with Stevo at the Hornets, hopefully he'll be able to battle against relegation well and pick up some cash for the second season! I'm expecting Ben and Rob to shine at big clubs, with Niall once again coming up the rear !

May I wish every member of the EPL the very best of luck...just not at Villa Park eh lads

Seriously though, let's make this year the best yet in the EPL Challenge

Watford Sack Boothroyd

Following days of speculation and allegations, the Watford board has decided that it would be in the best interests of all parties involved for fan favourite Aidy Boothroyd to part company with the club.

Watford Chairman Graham Simpson told the media of the clubs decision to let Boothroyd go: “We are very distressed with Adrian’s actions. He was such a bright, young and talented manager, with huge potential. Unfortunately, he was not honest, or at the very, extreme least, not patient enough, to fulfil this potential legally.

“We trusted Adrian with the day-to-day running of this club; we never had any reason not to. However it is now evident that we have had the wool was pulled over our eyes, and for some time. I imagine that it would not be hard for anyone to imagine that we feel extremely betrayed, and indeed hurt. A new manager will be in place very shortly.

“Finally, we would like thank Adrian for getting this club where it is today, and the best of luck in getting himself out of this mess. We will, however, co-operate completely with any assistance the authorities may ask of us in any forthcoming investigations. Good afternoon.â€

It was revealed last week of Boothroyd’s corrupt tendencies, both at the club and at home, and his sacking looks to be a classic case of damage limitation. He was reportedly spotted being dragged from his office by security, kicking and screaming, ‘that **** Diprose set me up!’ but this has been dusted off as “nonsense†by the club.

It is alleged that he has been giving and taking backhanders to and from agents, as well as giving his wife the odd backhander or two (different meaning of backhander, for all you geniuses out there ), has caused shockwaves in the footballing world, and the ramifications could be huge.

There have been many rumours as to any actions FIFA may take against Boothroyd and the as yet unnamed agents involved, including hearings, fines, bans, whips, chains, the works. Calls have been made for stricter guidelines and tighter surveillance in transfers, as well as a registration system for all agents in the game.

Boothroyd made a short statement following Simpson’s announcement. “I would like to apologise to everyone that this has affected, and to express my deepest regrets. I fully accept responsibility for my actions, and the board’s decision without question. I have thrown my reputation, and the trust people had in me, away. However, I would like to say that the agents involved will come down with me. Finally, I’d like to apologise to my family, and especially my wife. I have let everyone down, and her face will never look the same again.â€

The next morning…

Diprose Appointed Watford Boss

Watford Chairman Graham Simpson has this morning announced the clubs decision to appoint rookie Steven Diprose as manager of the club.

Pretty much unknown, it is rumoured that Diprose has a wealth of Sunday League experience, and had recently been gaining some coaching experience at the club. It is therefore a real shock that he has been given the main job at Vicarage Road.

At a press conference called this morning, Diprose gave his first interview.

Good morning, Steve. No offence, but who are you?

Morning – none taken. I would first like to thank Graham for giving me this fantastic opportunity to get into football management. It is greatly appreciated, and I really do believe this club and indeed this squad can go places. The fans here are awesome, we see this week in, week out, but I would like to ask them not to judge straight away, and to trust me. It will be difficult to earn this trust, after the debacle this club has just emerged from, but I would love for people to get behind myself and the team.

Yes… but who are you?

Give me a chance! I appreciate that I’m not well known –

-not known at all –

- yes, thank you for that. I have spent one or two years as a player/assistant manager for one of my local Sunday League clubs, in the West Fulham League divisions, with some success. I love football, and am sure that, with the professionals I now have the good fortune to be about to work with, I can prove to myself and everyone that I can succeed as a manager.

Sunday League? Not much experience, to jump in as a Premiership manager, is it?

No, it’s not. I have been at the club for a couple of months now, although not employed in any way, in order to get some experience of how big clubs operate behind the scenes. I do believe I can handle this.

What do you think of the squad you have here?

I know some of the lads from my time here, and I know that everyone gets along at this club. For me, that is a great bonus to start off with. Aidy brought in a few players to add depth to the squad in the last month or so, but I think that there are plenty of areas that need strengthening, especially if we are to survive in this division. I am looking at two wing backs, a right winger, a central midfielder and perhaps another striker and goalkeeper. I know that funds will be very limited here, and I will respect this. However, some players may have to make way in order for the club to progress.. the greater good, and so on.

Any players stand out in particular for you?

Of course. Jay DeMerit is a quality centre back, Ash Young and Al Bangoura are both full of promise, and Marlon King is a great striker. The squad as a whole complements itself quite well, and as long as we manage to steer clear of injuries and suspensions this year, and bring in some more signings, I really think we can stay up.

Finally, this is Watford’s 125th year as a club. What does this mean to you?

Not much… I mean… This club has a long history, and has not gone as far as it deserves to have. I hope that I can help the fans celebrate and commemorate this milestone in the clubs existence, and I am very honoured to be given the task.

Thanks for your time.

Cheers.

And with that, a new era at Watford arrives…

Squad

Goalkeepers

Richard Lee

Ben Foster (on loan from Man Utd.)

Defenders

Gavin Mahon – SW,DC

Lloyd Doyley – DR

Clark Carlisle – DC

Jay DeMerit – DC

Malky Mackay – DC

Danny Shittu – DC

Chris Powell – D/WB L

Jordan Stewart – D/AM L

James Chambers – D/M R

Midfielders

Al Bangura – DM

Damien Francis – MC

Matthew Spring – MC

Ashley Young – AM RL, ST

Albert Jarrett, AM L

Anthony McNamee – AM L

Tommy Smith – AM L, ST

Hameur Bouazza – AM L, FC

Strikers

Darius Henderson

Marlon King

Tamas Priskin

Claude Seanla

We have quite a large squad here, but are glaring short of cover in certain postions. For example, we have one DR, one proper MR, and only two, what I would call, capable and reliable strikers. Injuries could be our downfall, unless dabble wisely in the transfer market. This is especially important, with the limited funds I have been given. It means that I will be looking to offload a number of the clubs fringe players, and some of the older, more tired legs, too. This will give some extra leeway in terms of wages, a well as making a bit more cash available in the transfer kitty.

The coaching staff needs to be strengthened significantly if we are to be able to compete at this level. Ideally, the training and youth facilities would be greatly improved, but a lack of cash in the bank makes this pretty unlikely, this season at least.

Vicarage Road is currently being expanded; the current capacity of 19,500 is not enough for a club of Watford’s history and stature, so I applaud the board in undertaking this expansion. Work should be complete in July 2007.

The supporters are rather disgruntled that I have been thrown in at the deep end, as an unknown, and who can blame them? They expect us to battle bravely in a relegation dogfight, as do the board.

Bring on pre-season, let’s see what we can do, and keep an eye out!

Murphy the new man at Everton!

As Sam has exclusively revealed, I've been appointed the new Everton manager for the forthcoming season. Obviously, Bill Kenwright remembered what a great job I'd done in FM05, winning the Premiership title etc etc and couldn't wait to get rid of Moyes once he heard I was available again. Ahem.

This time Murphy will be introducing a new rotation system. That is, rotating baby minding duties with hopefully managing to turn up for a few matches. But I will try.

For, there's Mo to beat down at Blackburn and I'm sure Liggins will resurface from his hidey hole (where is he?) some time soon now that FM is out...Not to mention the return of Andy Nilsen to the Premiership after a long absence and the fact that Jackson needs taking down a peg or two after buying a few titles with Chelsea in FM06.

And then there's Pagi, who in one last desperate attempt to win a Premiership in FM06 actually tested the game for SI.

All the ingredients are there for a super game so lets get rolling...

Bouchard and Lerner together shall teach the EPL how to play!

That's right, I'm back at the Villa this year thankfully without that tricky Ellis character offering the funds and err, some aparent 'guidance'. This year I find myself driving the good ship Villa towards the Premiership Harbour with a Randy Lerner in the background, a man who's not short of a bob or two, but doesn't seem to want to share it!

So far i've had a trophyless spell in the EPL. I mean if you count the Inter Toto then yes I have one, and by christ Mo still owe's me that FA Cup...so technically two! This year I've really got my teeth into the club and I think I could finally have a good chance of winning the league!

Once more there are players to come and go, but the most notable absense will be Shane Paul. He left Villa in the summer to er... sunnier climbs in S****horpe...and has aparently lost his wonderkid status quite quickly. So quickly infact that they now feel he's about as comfortable with a ball at his feet as the GOAT.

With Newcastle, Everton and Spurs all getting new managers this term, it could well be a fight for the middle ground in this first season, scrapping for points and hopefully prevailing in a nice European competition with ooodles of shrap in meh' key (Anybody north of Watford understanding that deserves a pint )

This year looks better than ever for EPL Talent, so let's get the game goin....where's that Mr Jackson...!

Fog on the tyne is all mine, all mine, Fog on the tyne is all mine, Come On!!!.

As Gazza once sang about the fog on the tyne, Newcastle have turned to the managerial genius that is me to finally lift the fog over the club and turn them into a big club that is challenging in England and Europe.

Despite having next to nothing to spend and being over the wage budget, there's a decent squad of players although the defence will definitely need work on it if we're to stop the usual kamikaze defending previously seen at the club . No doubt Fat Freddy will be demanding results quickly so hopefully we can get off to a good start and keep it going.

Even though people are still in denial about my great achievements at Chelsea and Birmingham in previous versions, I'll show that I don't need money to build a great side and team .

No doubt the banter and insults will be flying around between all of us but I will once again be flying up the league, beating everyone and proving my genius .

Now where's that number for Mr Shearer...

Great stuff guys, let's see if you can be the fist lot to get the 'Established Clan' badge.

This clan has set the benchmark for other clans to try and get to. EFB is still better mind.

Good luck lads, we all know this clan will be just as successful as always.

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

Great stuff guys, let's see if you can be the fist lot to get the 'Established Clan' badge. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What happened to our last one?

Does Deano know about this?

Always nice to get that encouragement from the admin team at the beginning. Thanks guys...

Ah lads, was thinking of applying, but i'm afraid i cant commit and i wouldn't want to let you all down.

And no-one's Wigan yet

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

Ah lads, was thinking of applying, but i'm afraid i cant commit and i wouldn't want to let you all down.

And no-one's Wigan yet </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

....gooood post lol.

Try giving less thought into posts next time eh!

sam you obviously don't remember Joe! He was in the clan for a few months last year, before he went off to make a living from man-loving a band called Milburn or somethin like that...

He was crap though, probs why you don't remember him

I was not crap you cheeky monkey. I had the HORSE! Geoff Horsfield, aptly named the HORSE. I had the worst team in living memory at West Brom and still didn't finish bottom

I remember Sam so he must remember me. He was a bit of a tearaway when i first joined i seem to remember

Tottenham Hotspur Pre-Season 2006/2007

The board is expecting mid-table mediocrity, and the fans are expecting a respectable position. The fans are absolutely disgusted with the board for a appointing someone with no experience.

My analysis of the squad is that if I can strengthen the left side we should be able to do well in this league, and for once the assistant manager agrees.

As usual a few of the old-timers and fringe players will be sacrificed for the greater good. The scouts have been deployed to get young talent and maybe bolster the weaker areas with established players

Tactically the team does not suit a 4-4-2, but I can already feel the urge to adapt the team to play this way rather than risk playing a formation that suits the team. The fans will be expecting a team of craftsman and artisans and I will need to develop a style that encompasses this whilst getting results.

The others will be doing their best, some unconventionally, to ensure Spurs get taken down a peg or two. It is unusual to get a start in management at a club that has qualified for Europe.

Here we go!

If I had any brains, this would have been at the top of the last post.

would show an interest in this game, have applied for the forum just waiting for confirmation if you could help speed that along. I've played with Mo before and i'm sure he'll remember the dabbles in the English Conference North/South of 2005 I do believe

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

would show an interest in this game, have applied for the forum just waiting for confirmation if you could help speed that along. I've played with Mo before and i'm sure he'll remember the dabbles in the English Conference North/South of 2005 I do believe </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dude the forums are for this b*llocks, not the game thread.

Frustrating times at Everton

Been in charge for 20 days and only managed to bring in two teenage goalkeepers so far. Vincent Degre at £150k from Metz and a 19 year old Spanish prospect. Other than that nothing has happened at all apart from bringing in five scouts as Everton started the game with only one! Is it any wonder they always win **** all when they have no one looking for players?!

The word on the street is that Murphy is scouring the planet for a defensive midfielder to take the place of Irishman Lee Carlsley, but with Pagi's Middlesbrough, Sam's Villa and Andy's City all making good early deals, the pressure is building on me to find that elusive, cheap target. With top midfielder Micheal Arteta's head being turned by Lazio and Hamburg Everton fans are wondering what shape the clubs midfield will take as we prepare for the opening game of the Premiership season. And they don't get much bigger than a meeting with Andy Nilsen's Man City. We will be ready, we will take the Goat to the cleaners!

Thanks Goldy.

Niall, feel like I missed a session, my recollection was that we managed 7 days. It could just be that paranoia is taking hold

Fulham Unveil Dave Allen as Manager

The world of football was in shock today as another rookie manager has taken control of a premiership club. This time it is Dave Allen taken over from Chris Coleman at Fulham. When asked about his appointment Mohammed Al Fayed just smiled and said “change is always good.â€

Mr. Allen takes over a Fulham side that has been doing well under Chris Coleman but many of the fans think that they can do better. As with all clubs that fans always want more than what the club can do and this year Fulham’s main target should be to avoid relegation and create a strong squad for upcoming seasons.

The Fulham squad is already strong but it can do with strengthening. They badly need to bring in a strong centre back to replace the ageing Ian Pearce and the sometimes careless Zat Knight. They also need to find a 20 goal a season striker as the players that they currently have do not look like they will be bagging a a lot of goals. With a lack of firepower up front and a weak defence Dave Allen will need to learn fast about how to manage in the Premiership.

Squad Overview

Well I have been given the task of taking the might Fulham to Premiership glory. With the squad that we currently have I think we should avoid relegation but in the world of football things are never certain. If I am around in this job next year I will be looking to build and help Fulham progress up the table and maybe win a cup on the way. Well let’s take a look at the squad that I have been given,

Goalkeepers

Antti Niemi

Jan Lastuvka

Both these players are decent goalkeepers but Niemi is not getting any younger and Jan is only on loan so I will need to be looking for a new goalkeeper next season unless I can get Jan on a permanent basis.

Defenders

Philippe Christanval

Liam Rosenior

Carlos Bocanegra

Michael Timlin

Zat Knight

Ian Pearce

Moritz Volz

Franck Queudrue

Niclas Jensen

It is a strong defensive lineup but we are lacking that centre back who will take control and just give us the stability we need. If I were to single someone out as the best in here it would have to be the Hasselhoff lover Moritz Volz as he will always play with his heart.

Midfielders

Papa Bouba Diop

Simon Elliott

Michael Brown

Jimmy Bullard

Ahmad Elrich

Wayne Routledge

Tomasz Radzinski

Luis Boa Morte

Claus Jensen

I have to say that the midfield is the strongest part of the Fulham team and this is where we will need to play our best football to win the matches but also where we need to fight when we play the big boys. I don’t think that we have just one star player in the midfield which helps because it means that everyone should be able to contribute.

Strikers

Collins John

Brian McBride

Heidar Helguson

Björn Runström

These four strikers are good but they are not going to get us 20 goals a season. Both Collins and Bjorn are great prospects for the future but will need to learn fast if they are to help us stay up. Brian is getting on and will maybe make it through one season until he just can’t play to a high standard anymore. Heidar is great in the air and we need to make that be our advantage. I think that we do need a striker that will bang them in for us so I will be on the look out for one.

Well that is the squad that I have got and in all honesty I think we should be able to stay up but as we all know football can be a strange thing.

Solid start for penniless Murphy!

3 games into the new campaign and Everton manager Murphy is celebrating an unbeaten start after three tough games, two away at fellow EPL bosses Andy "Goat" Nilsen and Rob "Long Ball" Chivers. Sandwiched inbetween was a tough fixture against Big Fat Sam's dirty cloggers - a title that will soon be assumed by Mo Ilyas' dirty Blackburn I would guess.

A tough opening fixture then away to Manchester City to play big spending Goat...

Man City 2 - 2 Everton

As always Goat had started clearing the decks at the COM Stadium so having missed the last session I didn't have a clue who would be on the City teamsheet. A quick look revealed that Andy had signed well in Carew and Dagoberto but was also playing some unknown (to me anyway) called Jo up front. The trips to Brazil have started early!

City dominated the early exchanges and deservedly took the lead through a typical Nilsen move. Big hoof into the box, 9 foot 8 inch striker Carew outjumping the Everton midgets in defence to go ahead. With Everton struggling to gain a foothold, we were thrown a lifeline when with our first serious attack Simon Davies struck a beauty into the bottom corner. 1-1 at HT.

Into the second half and Everton were now the dominant force. With Goat clinging on by the seat of his pants the inevitable duly arrived when Yobo met a corner with a stunning header. By now City were all over the place, clueless and hapless as Everton carved out chances at will. But in football, you got to take your chances and 3 sitters missed later, the luck of the Goat came to the fore with his new Norweigan winger Larsen getting in behind Phil Neville to crack home a last gasp 89th minute equaliser. Overall, a fair result on the balance of play over the 90 but we should have won it when 2-1 up and dominating...

Oh and Jo was bollox.

Everton 2 - 2 Bolton

Another 2-2 draw as Bolton's Nolan fires home two from range to bring Bolton back from 1-0 and 2-1 down. First goal in Everton colours for Andy Johnson!

With Phil Neville picking up an injury we were short of right backs for the visit to Rob's Spurs who had won their opening two games. Before the match my scouts informed me that Rob was a long ball merchant and looking at his line-up the man to watch was Berbatov.

Before the game Murphy opened his chequebook for the first time to sign Tomas Sivok from Sparta Prague for £2.1m. The Czech international fitted stright into my 4-5-1 formation as the midfield anchor man with Murphy forced to move Carsley to RB.

Spurs 0 - 1 Everton

A tight game where Everton just had the edge on the day. One goal was enough to condemn Rob to his first defeat of the season, when McFadden outjumped Chimbonda to find Andy Jihnson in the box. AJ turned Deadley Ledley King and fired home. Spurs chances were hit when Berbatov lost the head and lashed out at Yobo, earned a deserved red card. Chuffed with the win at one of the finer squads in the Premiership....

Man of the match: Sivok. Don't you just love it.

Murphy's roving eye:

Pressure is on Mo Ilyas at Blackburn already. A 4-0 duffing by Premiership newcomers Reading and an FA warning already for Premiership bad boy Ilyas. He must be feeling the heat down at Ewood put at least he's got rid of one of his three hooligans in Lucas Neill so hopefully there'll be no more brushes with the law from the Moster!.

Rocky Times Ahead?

Well, it’s been a very busy pre-season here at Watford, with coaches and players coming and going, the Chairman already accepting bids over my head (although admittedly I would’ve accepted them anyway ).

Players In:

<LI>Luis Jimenez, AM RC, FC - £1.8m from Ternana

<LI>Cesar Villaluz, AM R - £1.3m from Cruz Azul

<LI>Tony McMahon, D/WB R – Ashley Young and £1.9m coming my way from Middlesbrough

<LI>Branamir Kosstadinov, ST - £160k from Hearts

<LI>David Clarkson, ST - £120k from Motherwell

<LI>Steven Naismith, AM RL, ST - £250k from Hibs (arriving in January)

<LI>Denilson, DM – on loan for the season from Arsenal

<LI>Vyacheslav Hleb, AM RC, FC - £100k

Players Out:

<LI>Ashley Young – to Middlesbrough for £1.9m + Tony McMahon

<LI>Hameur Bouazza – to Middlesbrough for £1.9m

<LI>Malky Mackay – to Carlisle for £10k

<LI>Lloyd Doyley – to Blackburn for £900k

The fans were delighted with new boy Luis Jimenez, and excited at prospects Kosstadinov, Villaluz and Clarkson, and they no doubt will be with Naismith when that deal goes through. This activity helped to somewhat allay their fears and anger at the board for putting me at the helm of this great club.

Jimenez looks to be a very versatile player, and I’m hoping he can do the business for us either down the right or up front. Villaluz doesn’t look that good physically, but this he more than makes up for with his technical ability. He has good pace and can skip past defenders, and hopefully he will give a good service to our front men. Kosstadinov is young at 17, but already has the mould to be a great striker in a few years time. The same can be said for Clarkson, who is probably our quickest player. Tony McMahon is a well rounded full back, and young at 22. I’m not sure that he will improve much more, but I think he is very suitable for the club and can fill the right back position nicely. Lloyd Doyley, the current left back, is simply too unreliable and panicky, and I will be looking to offload him in the near future. Finally, towards the end of the window we welcomed Vycheslav Hleb to the squad. He arrived injured and will be for a few weeks, but will add some class to the squad.

We say goodbye to two club favourites in Mackay and Young, and thank them for everything they’ve done, but I simply don’t rate them. Young is average at best, and Mackay was over the hill three or four seasons ago, I’m afraid. I wasn’t too keen on losing Bouazza, but the club needed the money more than they needed him, and I’m sure he will go on to become a good asset for ‘Boro. Also we lost Doyley, now third-choice right-back, to Blackburn for a reasonable £900k, and this sale brought the clubs bank balance back into the green .

There are still players for sale left, right and centre here, including the already mentioned Doyley and notably Tommy Smith, Claude Seanla, Damien Francis, and Gavin Mahon, along with most of the rest of the Reserves. Money is a bit on the thin side here; we have the lowest wage budget in the division at £115k/week and I can only offer players a maximum of £11k/week for their services. I still need a left-sided full back and a left winger, with £1m or so left to spend, and this is proving difficult – I am really hoping that we are very lucky in terms of injuries and can keep the small squad we have relatively fit, ‘til January at least.

Saturday 19th August 2006, 15:00

Watford 3-1 Reading

Shaky start and Nicky Shorey gave Reading the lead on 24mins with a sweet left-footed shot. Soon after new Reading striker Landon Donovan was injured after he ran into Jay DeMerit – oh, what a shame – and after an inspirational half time talk the lads came out on fire. Luis Jimenez equalised with a fine free kick from 25 yards, before I brought on another new signing, the young Branamir Kosstadinov, for the tiring but classy Cesar Villaluz. Marlon King gave us a deserved lead, pouncing on a poor defensive header to rifle in on 81 minutes, before Kosstadinov coolly slotted home a debut goal to put the result beyond doubt shortly afterwards. It should’ve been even better as King shot straight at Hahnemann in injury time, but never mind that: a great performance and how about this for a shock – TOP OF THE TABLE!!

Saturday 26th August 2006, 15:00

Watford 0-1 Portsmouth

We sat today a gutsy display from the lads that was ruined by a lucky goal on the stroke of half time by Gary O’Neil, as the ball bobbled to him unmarked at the near post for him to sweep it in. We had chances to level, but never quite had the cutting edge that we saw against Reading last week, as King hit the side netting and then headed over from a great Jimenez cross on the break at the death.

Wednesday 30th August 2006, 19:30

Newcastle 2-0 Watford

Today’s match was somewhat farcical, with everything seeming to go wrong already. We were playing some good football, until midway through the first half Newcastle took the lead. We came out up for the second half, only for Bangura to inexplicably yet expertly slot the ball into the bottom left of his own net. Denilson then got a second booking for ruthlessly taking out Emre and was sent off, and from that point it was damage limitation. We succeeded on that front, keeping the scoreline respectable. Improvement is needed.

Deadline day deals could be the dealbreaker for David!

Whether I'm doomed to failure (likely) or destined for glory largely depends on the outcome of 2 transfers, as the transfer window is a-jar ready to be slammed shut... i'm basically praying they go through or it may be a very long and **** season otherwise.

With regards to the state of the club at present, I am really enthused about the wealth of talented YTS players on the club's books and believe this club could have a very healthy future, should I be tactically adept enough and the players progress well under my tenure.

I have bought a few golden oldies to compliment the younger guys already here and hopefully they will aid their development and marshall the troops when times are hard.

I am expecting a safe mid table position and once me and the team have found our footing within the Premiership and the youngsters have that extra season of experience under their belts push on into the european players and cup glory.

With arguably the greatest chairman in Premiership history Steve Gibson behind me, surely I cant fail? He offers bucket loads of cash, never interferes and even answers managerial applications from internet nerds so top bloke. So only my shitness can stop me from suceeding.

COME ON THE BORO!

In

Darijo Srna 5.5m (Shaktar Donesk)

Hameur Bouazza 1.9 + Ashley Young 1.6m/Tony McMahon (Watford)

Lewin Nyatanga 1.9m (Derby)

Paolo Monreo 250k (Penarol)

Teddy Sheringgham 120k (West Ham)

Gary Speed 110k (Bolton)

Nicky Maynard 100k (Crewe)

hopefully add to that..

New Brazilian lb 3.3m

African Striker star of World Cup 3.6m

Out

Yakubu 4m (PSV)

Fabio Rochemback 2.8m (Cruz Azul..who?)

Julio Arca 1.2m (Blackburn)

Ray Parlout 1.2m (Sheff Utd)

Emanuel Pogatetz 2.5m (Portsmouth)

Tony McMahon part exchange Ash Young (Watford)

Squad Assessment

Goalkeepers:

Mark Schwarzer (transfer listed)

errr no body else of note..

This is a squad position I obviously want improved post haste only one goalkeeper of any real pedigree and even he is transfer listed as I really don't believe he is up to scratch.

Central Defenders:

Paolo Montero

Jonathon Woodgate

Robert Huth

Ugo Ehiogu

Lewin Nyatanga

Quite like the contrast of experience and young potential so relatively happy with these centre backs. I believe youngster Nyatanga will flourish into a real star!

Right Back:

Darijo Srna

Stuart Parnaby (transfer listed)

Matthew Bates

New signing Srna is an excellent addition, and in academy yts player Bates we have a very able deputy.

Left back:

Andrew Taylor

Nobody else...

Taylor is another one of Boro's promising young proteges, although i am hoping to sign a certain young Brazilian in the near future to secure the left back berth, while Taylor develops out on loan.

Right Midfield:

Darijo Srna

James Morrison

Ashley Young

Morrison is very much first choice here and has already attracted the attention of Man City boss Goat, he is most certainly one to watch for the future. Although the versatility of Srna and orthodox striker Young make for excellent cover.

Defensive Midfield:

Lee Cattermole

George Boateng

Most probably M'boro's strongest position the excellent ever-dependable Boateng is an excellent player, although unfortunately he is ageing, so if and when it is time to step up Cattermole is one of English football's brightest prospects and should be at the heart of the club for years to come.

Left Midfield:

Stewart Downing

Adam Johnson

Both graduates straight off the M'boro conveyor belt, exceptional talents who are very much the creative force.

Centre Midfield:

Gaikza Mendieta

Gary Speed

Both getting on, but both absolute legends tbf steady, sexy, nice! I'll have to look for a younger alternative in the near future though, maybe just train Downing into a Attacking centre mid or something

Strikers:

Mark Viduka

Teddy Sheringham

Hameur Bouazza

Ashley Young

Nicky Maynard

Alot of variations here, Viduka and Teddy inchangeable as the aerial threats, but it really is a toss up between the rest of the contenders all young, pacy and very inexperienced so anyones guess if they are up to the challenge? I hope to sign another striker just before the transfer window to fill the void left by the departure of tosspot Yakubu.

All in all a decent squad, a mix of experienced players who have played at the highest level and youngsters eager to prove their worth. I believe this squad can and should be aiming for a Intertoto place at the very least.

Good Business In the Transfer Window

There have not been many movements at Fulham this window but we have been able to sign the necessary player to help us succeed in this year’s campaign.

Players In

Steven Naismith – Kilmarnock – £525k

Steve is a great prospect but if he works hard in training he will find himself in the squad in no time as I feel he might give us that pace that we have been lacking up front for the last few season ever since Saha left for Man Utd.

Fredrik Risp – G. Birligi – £250k

Fred is a centre back and is still young. He will mainly be used as a back up but hopefully in the next few seasons he will mature as a player and find his way into the first team and cement himself a starting line-up place.

Brede Hangeland – FC Kobenhavn – £2.9m

Brede is the centre back that I have been looking for the whole transfer window. We signed him on the 30th August just in time to face Niall and his Everton side in just under two weeks. Brede is going to give us stability and confidence in our back four that we have been lacking ever since we came up to the Premiership.

Players Out

Niclas Jensen – HSV – £600k

If Niclas were to stay at the Cottage he would have found himself missing out as I prefer Franck Quedrue as my left back with Liam as cover. Niclas was also getting on and we needed money to bring in the players we have and Niclas was the only player getting any interest.

Well with the window now closed I think that with the players we have brought in we should do just fine and I now want to turn the Cottage into a fortress like it has been in seasons gone.

HE’S BAAAACCCK

That’s right after a year out due to unknown circumstances the legend known as the goat as returned home, to the club were he began his EPL career MANCHESTER CITY!!! Just as before the squad Is still full of useless old age pensioners but atleast they have some promising youngsters waiting to burst through like Richards, Sturridge, Hart, Miller and so on

First things first….get rid of Pearce’s crazy buys (does he ever buy someone who isn’t coming to the end of there career?) so out went

Samaras - 6.5m (Zlatan is crap and this guy is the poor mans slating which tells the story)

Dunne - 2.2m (the fat Irishman wanted 30k a week even though he makes nearly as many mistakes as bramble)

Distin - 2.2m (again a dodgy defender wanting more than what he’s worth)

Ireland - 2m (very good youngster but I needed the money for other positions in the squad)

Shun Jihai - 2m (a player whose best years are behind him so for that price what a deal)

Dabo - 1.8m (always under performed throughout his career so for those wages not risking it)

Hamann - 1.7m (for those wages all I got to say is ARE YOU HAVING A LAUGH …IS HE HAVING A LAUGH)

Vassell - 1m (sum him up in one word = CRAP!)

Corradi - 900k (another one who is coming to the end of his career)

Mills - 650k (same as corradi)

Thatcher - 500k (same as Corradi)

Jordon - 400k (decent player but decent just isn’t good enough for what I have planned for city)

I’ve gone in a different direction than Pearce and bought younger players for bigger money instead of old players on the cheap

Jo - 4.8m + 5m after 30 appearances (scored 14 in 16 for CSKA and will score again tonight against arsenal mark my words Niall )

Carew - 4.7m (one of the most underated footballers in world footballer who can be brilliant with the right guidance)

Lavezzi - 3.9m (a 21 year old striker who will be the future of city along with Jo and Sturridge)

Araujo - 3.2m + 1.1m after 30 apps (an 18 year old centre back who will become one of the worlds best along side Richards)

Taiwo - 3m (another youngster who will fill in at left back for years to come)

Atouba 2m (incase Taiwo doesn’t adapt quickly because of his age here is some experience in the form of ex spurs Atouba)

Dagoberto - 1.4m (possibly the bargain of the season)

Burdisso 1m (very experienced centre back who as been playing top football for 7 years even though he’s only 25)

Larsen 600k (Norwegian superstar who has got a great career ahead of him)

Barros Schelotto (an south american legend who should help the younger south Americans settle….I just hope his famous temper can be controlled)

Sorry about the quality of this report but the games just about to start so off to watch them, next report will include the legendary clash of 2 EPL giants

NIALL vs. THE GOAT!

Life After Shearer

The good times are back at Newcastle as their glorious new managerial genius Ben Jackson has guided them to an unbeaten start in the Premiership with 4 wins and 2 draws from their opening 6 games and also taken them into the UEFA Cup group stages with the fans hoping for success at home and abroad.

The media are already speculating to what heights the current manager can take the success starved North East club to but Jackson knows there's still plenty of hard work before they can start thinking of trophies.

PLAYERS IN

Gustavo Varela [schalke] Loan

Hossam Ghali [spurs] 1.5m

Jonas Elmer [Chelsea] Loan

Linvoy Primus [Portsmouth] 600k

Luca Neill [blackburn] 1.8m

Luka Modric [Dinamo] 1.5m

Omar Esparza [Chivas] 1.5m

Paul Dickov [Man City] Free

PLAYERS OUT

Albert Luque [Mallorca] Free

Celestine Babayaro [Rangers] Free

Craig Moore [Rangers] Free

Shay Given [bayern Munich] 9m

SQUAD OVERVIEW

Steve Harper GK

Tim Krul GK

Jonas Elmer D L

Linvoy Primus D RC

Lucas Neill D/WB R

Olivier Bernand D/WB L

Omar Esparza D L, DM, AM LC

Peter Ramage D RC

Steve Carr D R

Steven Taylor D C

Titus Bramble D C

Belozoglu Emre M LC

Charles N'Zogbia AM LC

Damien Duff AM L

Gustavo Varela AM R

Hossam Ghali DM

James Milner AM RL

Luka Modric AM RLC

Nolberto Solano AM R

Scott Parker M C ©

Antoine Sibierski AM/FC

Obafemi Martins ST

Paul Dickov ST

Shola Ameobi ST

Having started off with virtually no money to spend and over wage budget, my first priority was raising some cash to spend and offered out Given even though I didn't want to lose him but the money would come in handy.

Bayern Munich offered 9m which I felt was a great price for a keeper who was over 30 so Given was sold to them. I also decided to let Babayaro, Luque and Moore leave on a free transfers to free up nearly 100k in wages per week which would help me bring in some new players.

I spent just over 7m bringing in eight new players to strengthen the squad, with a mix of experience and youth so I'm happy with the money i've spent as a few of the players could be first team regulars in the years to come.

PREMIERSHIP RESULTS

We kicked off the Premiership season away to Dave's Fulham team at Craven Cottage with us getting off to a bad start with a poor first half performance, with Fulham taking the lead in the 25th minute with a opportunistic goal from Boa Morte. After rallying my players at half-time, we started to get into the match and equalised when after a good run and through pass from Ameobi, Sibierski latched onto the ball and slotted it past Niemi to make it 1-1 which was how the match finished up.

A fair result in the end and I was impressed by how solid Dave had made Fulham throughout the team.

The next match saw us away again up against Mo's Blackburn side at Ewood Park which as always was a boring affair with only two shots on target between both teams. We were only seperated in the end by a own goal, after a great free kick swung in from Duff to the backpost and the ball went in off Pedersen to make it 1-0.

A draw would have been a fair result in the end but we came away with all three points but if Mo can score a few goals then he should be fine this season.

The third game of the season saw us play our first home game of the season at St Jame's Park against Steve's Watford team who surely have to be one of the candidates to struggle this year. We got off to a great start when Sibierski got his head to a great Solano cross to head past Foster to put us into the lead going into the second half.

Things got worse for Watford in the second half when Bangura received the ball on the edge of his own area, turned and passed the ball to Foster, only to see it fly into the bottom left hand corner to put us further in the lead at 2-0 in what many pundits are calling 'the comedy moment of the season' . Watford had Denilson sent off late in the game for a second bookable offence but the game was over by then to give us our first win of the season.

I reckon Steve's going to struggle this season but might have just enough in the squad to keep his team's head above water.

Our next game was at home against a struggling West Ham side that had lost their first three matches but they gave us a really hard game with nothing seperating the teams as it ended up being a 0-0 bore draw.

The next match was at Villa Park against Sam's Aston Villa side in what was going to be a tough game. Another poor first half performance saw Villa pile the pressure on us but we managed to get through to half-time with the scores still level. After a rallying call to the team, we came out for the second half and started to get into the match.

The key moment of the match came when the ball dropped to Ghali in midfield who played it through to Martins, who turned Mellberg and hit a great shot with his left foot which arrowed straight into the top left hand corner to grab all three points for us as we won 1-0.

Sam was not a happy chap afterwards but there's definitely enough quality in his squad and team so Villa should do fine this season.

A big game was up next as it was a North East derby with Pagi's Dad's Army Middlesbrough team visiting us at St Jame's Park. There was a great atmosphere all around the ground despite a quiet first half.

I decided to go more attacking in the second half and it started to pay dividends as we started creating decent chances. The winner came when Emre played a quick freekick to Bernard, who put in a great cross which was met by Martins who headed it past the despairing dive of Schwarzer to make it 1-0 to give us the win and to leave our fans jumping around in ecstacy .

EUROPE RESULTS

After easily progressing through the Intertoto games against Loko (Plovdiv) and Reid to qualify for the UEFA Cup Qualifiers, we got a tough draw as Frankfurt was pulled out of the hat.

Going into the first match, I was expecting a tough game so was just looking for a clean sheet and maybe the odd goal. I needn't have worried as we put in a tremendous performance for the whole match as goals from Martins, Taylor and a magnificient hat-trick from Sibierski gave us a 5-1 victory which virtually put us into the UEFA Cup group stages .

Was disappointed to have conceded a goal but felt we'd more than done enough to progress as we went over to Germany for the tough second leg which ended up being another 0-0 bore draw to see us into the UEFA Cup.

Mo is Back!.........unfortunately!

Out

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI>Henchoz – 32 defender slower than a tortoise sold for £700k.

<LI>Ooijer - £1.8 Mill for another 32 year old…..i’m not ageist honest!

<LI>Tugay – 36 year old for £230k…..Ok I am ageist , but have you seen a 36 year compete in midfield!

<LI>Neill, Lucas – A quality right back but would not sign a new contract, rather than lose him on a free in Jan. Sold to Ben’s Newcastle for £1.8Mill.

<LI>Savage – A quality midfielder, but I still could not justify paying him 48k per week, sold for £2.5Mill, stingy bloody AI!

In

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI>Nugent – £2mill paid for a striker with potential who goes straight into the first team

<LI>Mokoena, Lebohang - £350k for a future star. (Hope he turns out to be as good as FM06!)

<LI>Diego Souza – £1.4 investment for another star. (Another FM06 start)

<LI>Doyley, Lloyd – Replacement for Lucas Neill for £900k, Cheers Steve.

<LI>Linderoth, Tobias – £3.4 Mill Robbie Savage replacement….on half of Robbie’s Wages!

<LI>Arca, Julio – Would not have signed, but was offered a decent backup player for Morten Gamst Perdersen at a bargain price of £1.2Mill. Thanks Pagi.

<LI>Tudor, Igor – A solid midfielder who will make a good backup for my midfield, signed only for £1.4Mill form Juve.

Key results

Blackburn Rovers 0 – Chelsea 2

We had 0 shots on target! Mo glad to escape with just a 2-0 loss!

Reading 4 – Blackburn Rovers 1

We played well! had twice as many shots (10 to be exact) on target as Reading. Our defence let us down badly. Rovers defence decided not to play today.

Blackburn Rovers 0 – Newcastle 1

Rovers leading scorer Morten Gamst Perdersen before this match played well until he doubled his goal tally by scoring the only goal of the game ! A very tight game with each side only having 1 shot on target. Newcastle Keeper Harper gets MOM award!

Can see Newcastle finishing in the top 6 with Ben at the helm and performing with such solidity.

Blackburn Rovers 1 – Charlton 0

A deceptively one sided match. Charlton played better but could not find the rovers net with 6 shots on target. Rovers had two shots on target with Benni McCarthy getting scoring from 1. New right back signing gets MOM award Lloyd Doyley!

Everton 2 - Blackburn Rovers 0

Everton keeper Tim Howard gets MOM award, I guess he did stop Rovers single shot on target from becoming a goal! Niall’s defensively solid 4-1-4-1 formation with wingers attacking down the flanks to target man Johnson, who scored each goal from 2 McFadden assists……right back Lloyd Doyley was still in the dressing room polishing his MOM award from the last match! Everton playing well with Niall packing out the midfield to keep teams out, Niall unfortunately should do well but I am worried that my rival could burst an artery with his head size now at size 10 going onto size 16! Is there a doctor in the house?!

Positives

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI>Blackburn are through to the group stage of the Uefa cup and hopefully should qualify into the knockout stages.

<LI>Blackburn are still one of the few humans clubs in the league club to get to the third round…….probably because Blackburn have yet to play a league cup game and have been given a by into the third round!

<LI>Blackburn have not had the best of starts but after signing some players before the transfer deadline, Mo should be able to achieve safely a mid table position!

Negatives

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI>Lying in 18th position after 5 games!

<LI>Still tinkering with tactics and not getting any consistency!

<LI>Mokoena, Lebohang and Diego Souza who Rovers have signed need a work permit to play in England. So when told that they will be loan out to Blackburn feeder club , Cercle Brugge to obtain a work permit. The pair have turned around and said that they don’t want to go to the Belgium club! So currently the future stars of Rovers are getting fat in the rovers reserves!

After getting over the shock of a Pagi, Goat and Mo report in the space of two days, wtf!!!, a drunken Murphy on his hollidays feels duty bound to update on recent Everton progress. Note to Mo, Pagi, Steve, Sam and Goat. That is progress not, well, whatever you guys call sliding towards the relegation zone.

Anyway, Mo has obviously pre-empted me here cos the highlight of my report was going to be crowing over my 2-0 win over Blackburn. Thanks Mo.http://community.sigames.com/groupee_common/platform_images/blank.gif

Instant Graemlins You git.

Anyway 6 games played, 3 wins, 3 draws and o defeats. yes thats no defeats. let me sat that again, no defeats

The toughest game of the last session was surprisingly a home fixture vs Dave's Fulham. Well ,when I say tough I mean Daves keeper Lastuvka kept his mediocre side in the game for 64 minutes until he was stretchered off, but needless to say Daqve escaped from Goodison with a point in a 0-0 draw. Next up it was a visit to Vicarage Road to meet fellow Gooner Steve Diprose. An amazing game saw Everton 4-0 up by HT, only for Steve to get kicked out of the ground. In his absense his team scored 3 goals. Though not enough to win him a point, the message was clear. With Steve, Watford are uselsss. Without him, they are Barcelona...

After that it was a 6-1 hammering of Swansea in the League Cup Rnd 2 before the 2-0 win over Mo. It's always nice to beat Mo. Especially when your team kicks his ass so convincingly that to Mo, 2-0 was a great result.

Everton in 5th

Maybe some day Ben will update the thread with the table?

Niall, posting whilst drunk never works for you .

Can't understand half of that .

Here you go, drunken irishman .

Who's that in 2nd? oh, it's me! .

oh dear bottom and conceded 10 scored 3! Back on the training ground I think as my tactics are shocking, aswell as my players!

Hurry up Kone!!!!

See you guys next season after i win The Championship Tradition aint it?

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

See you guys next season after i win The Championship Tradition aint it? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Average Start to the Season

Well here at the Cottage we have had an ok start but it has been hard work. We have only manager one win and that was home to Goat’s Man City. The rest of our points have come from three draws along with two losses.

Our first game of the season was at home against Ben’s Newcastle. We battled hard and took the lead in the first half and due to some poor finishing we were unable to take the chances that were handed to us on a silver platter by Steve Harper. These missed opportunities came back to haunt us as Newcastle were able to get a point from the game. I honestly felt that we should have got all three points but I was just glad to get points on the board.

We then travelled away to Portsmouth and after taking the lead through Moritz Volz in the first half Portsmouth just like Newcastle were able to find an equalised in the second half thanks to Kanu. We battled hard against Portsmouth and with both teams playing some nice football I think that we both deserved to take a point away.

Our next result was our first loss when we played Charlton at the Cottage. We never seemed up for the game and played some horrible football. When Darren Ambrose took the lead in the 17th minute we tried to get that goal but just couldn’t string any passes together to give the front men the balls they needed. I was very disappointed as be fore the game I was hoping to walk away with the three points.

We then travelled away to Goodison Park to face Mo’s Everton. This was our first match with new signing Brede Hangeland in defence and I think he helped us pull through. We went to Everton and once again battled to earn ourselves the point which was a great success after Everton had a total of 14 shots on our goal.

Fulham got their first win of the season when we played Goat’s Man City. Both teams were playing some great football but it was City who took the lead first but we were able to get the equaliser just before half time. Sadly my FM crashed at half time and the match was in the hands of Steve Kean. We were able to pull through and win the game 2-1 and from what I have heard from Goat we deserved it.

I would rather not talk about the next match as we crashed and burned in a 3-0 loss to Sunderland in the Carling Cup 2nd Round dashing the dreams of winning that cup.

A game to the Reebok followed where we played a formation that was too open for the style that Bolton play. After they had got to grips with the tactic they were able to bang in three goals and take the three points with them.

With two 3-0 losses in a row I hope the team can pull together and get some points from the next few games. It has been an ok start but nothing great. The good thing is that we have got points and are not sitting in the relegation zone. With nearly all the season to go many things can change and if our form could improve we will find ourselves rocketing up the table.

Ooops sorry Niall just said that it was Mo's Everton.

PS Sorry for the bad layout.

A Mixed Bag

Spurs are currently lying 7th after 14 games.

Highlights of the season so far, are defeats to Everton (1-0) at home and away to Aston Villa (4-0).

The Everton game could have gone either way, but clinical finishing proved to be the difference. Everton proved to be more resilient than previous opponent ruining Spurs pristine 100% record.

With the manager taking a sabbatical, the team struggled through September, however progress was made to the group stages of the UEFA Cup.

The return of the manager in October resulted in a four match winning run, which was rudely halted by an excellent Villa performance. To be fair, the reserve GK didn't help as everything Villa got on target hit the back of the net.

The team went through a rough patch after this, but recent form is good with European football next season being a realistic goal.

The team have already qualified for the UEFA Cup with a game to spare and have to meet local rivals Arsenal in the League Cup Quarter Final.

Fulham Continue with Steady Form

Well we are now 21 games into the season and Fulham are sitting in a comfortable but not safe 14th position. So far we have won five, drawn nine and lost seven. With a total of 24 points we are still short by about 20 of the points that I feel we need to be safe and stay in the Premiership for another season. We have certainly not been playing badly we have just struggled to score which is why we seem to have drawn so many when we could have got wins.

Since the last update we have won four games. These came away at Vicarage Road against Steve’s Watford taken over by his ass man, away at West Ham, away at Ben’s Newcastle and at home against Portsmouth. Against Watford we outplayed them and the score line only grew to 4-0 because they were down to nine men after having two players sent off. Away at West Ham we deserved our 3-1 win even after having Franck Queudrue sent off, and it seemed that Collins John was beginning to hit a bit of form. Away at Ben’s Newcastle we were maybe fortunate to come away with a win but the results was down to our strikers being more clinical and finishing the game off with two goals. At home to Pompey the match was controlled by us and we held a 2-0 lead until the last ten minutes of the game when Portsmouth came to life and scored with Kanu in the 86th minute but it was too late to get another.

We have only lost five games since the last update of which three of them were against Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool. The other two losses were against Middlesbrough and high flying Reading. Against both Man Utd and Arsenal we were outplayed and lost the games 4-0 and 3-1 respectively. Against the European champions we were able to hold on but eventually lost 1-0 to a strike from Daniel Agger in the 84th minute. When we went away to Pagi’s Boro I felt that we could have come away with a point but in the end we lost 1-0 in a game that Boro seemingly had just enough to see us off. Against Reading we took the lead in the 49th minute through Wayne Routledge but they were able to fight back and win the match 2-1.

In the six draws that we have had since I updated last the best match in that collection was at home to Chelsea where we drew 1-1 but I felt that we could have nicked one and walked away with the three points.

Well that is how the season has gone so far and I think that we still need to battle and keep picking up the points as we do not want to be in a relegation battle at the end of the season as the games at that time do not favour us at all what with them being against Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea.

No Pagi please you tube don't relegate Boro, I need something to work with when I get back.

Working on getting the internet sorted at home so don't worry, I'll be back

Bit of a Rollercoaster

Progress

It’s been an incredibly tough season here at Vicarage Road, with a lot of thumpings, both home and away. For the most part, we’ve pretty much struggled to get anything from a game, let alone any kind of form, and for the first part of the season my Assistant grabbed most of the points as I was away with academic duties. Yeah, OK, that includes drinking. Alright, it was almost all drinking

There have, however, been some highlights, and a bit of a change in fortune of late, namely since finally getting a decent 4-4-2 tactic working, as we gave Spurs a 4-2 humping at the Lane in the 4th Round of the FA Cup, then beating them 2-0 at home in the league. This sparked some good form, with wins at Fulham and drawing with Sheffield Utd, sandwiching a 3-1 home loss to West Ham (which was hard on the team as I was booted out just before kickoff and thus my assistant handled the match ).

We find ourselves in 16th place in the table with 26 points, with a small cushion above the scrap at the bottom and four points off of Dave’s Fulham in 15th. As long as we can keep this rich vein of form and get some solid results, we should be safe before having to play Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool in the last 6 or so games of the season.

Cups

We reached the 5th Round in both the League and FA Cups, before being dumped out by Everton and then Liverpool respectively. Our match against the ‘Pool was marred by a stupid red card, our 11th!! of the season, and this highlights a problem that is beginning to get out of hand - the patch can't come soon enough.

Players

On the individual side of things, there has to be some special mentions for great performances. King Marlon is setting a good example with 12 goals and some excellent progression in training, and Luis Jimenez, who seems to blow slightly hot-and-cold, has chipped in with 9 of his own. Cesar Villaluz has contributed 6 assists (and 2 red cards ), and Danny Shittu and Jay DeMerit have been really reliable in defence, with Jay scoring four goals so far this season. Our on-loan keeper, Ben Foster, has been playing out of his skin and is an excellent stopper: I hope to sign him permanently, if we can afford to do so, come the end of the season. The same goes for Denilson, on loan from Arsenal – he has been a rock in midfield, scoring 3 crucial goals and being our best performer. At only 19 he is an excellent prospect, and hopefully we can afford to make a reasonable bid for him. However, he is out for two months at the moment with strained knee ligaments, but with Al Bangura making a timely return from injury, it hopefully won’t have too big an impact on the team.

Finances

Finally in this roundup we look at finances. We started the season £2.5m in the red, and I am really pleased to say that we now have nearly £8m in the bank, even after paying out over £5m on players (some of this was of course recouped by the sale of players). This is really down to the sensible, if restricting, wage structure of the club. With this, TV and prize money on the way in the coming months, and the stadium expansion set to be complete in June, it all looks good for a better future in the form of a more flexible wage structure and a bigger transfer budget for next season, as well as a great prospect for the fans.

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The run-in to the end of the season is going to be quite tough, but I feel we have enough in the tanks to secure our future for next season. Mo’s struggling Blackburn side have been playing better of late, but I feel that this fixture could provide an extremely important 3 points for us.

Gibson to step down?

Well as if matters on the pitch weren't bad enough(and it's very bad) matters off it are just as shaky given the recent revelation a takeover is imminent. Middlesbrough charman Steve Gibson declared that he is considering stepping down from his position and handing the club over to a fan's consortium if newspaper reports are to be believed.

Quite how this materialised I dont know as I only spent the transfer budget that was allocated to me by Gibson, a large portion of which was raised from the sale of players, and for the majorty of the season I have been 100k+ p/w short of the wage budget. Although since January time we are level with the budget, post transfer arrivals.

So why are we £8m+ in the red? Surely Gibson is the one to blame here?

If Gibson does depart, my job is surely in the balance relegation or not!

With regards to the team's performances of late there has been a steady improvement and we have managed to claw ourselves away from the gaping jaws of relegation. Courtesy of wins over fellow relegation fodder Watford (H)4-1 and Blackburn (A) 1-0 respectively. Although in fairness Mo's Blackburn deserved a draw at the very least.

This season has been a very tough one for me and the players. The first team have struggled for consistency with Viduka and Ashley Young the only players performing anywhere near their potential. Having said that I have been tactically naive myself, with may consequently result in poor performances. I have been below-par tactically in all honesty but it does take me a good season to be fully equainted with a new FM. Usually that learning curve involves relegation but looks like I could just about scrap it this year.

Relegation

Following the last update, everything went tits up. Heavy losses to Pagi’s Boro, and Man United, left us in 18th with 3 games to play. Those games were Wigan at home, Arsenal away, and Chelsea at home. A bit of a shuffle on the tactics front was made, as trying to use a target man up front just wasn’t working, and some inspirational media items got us ready for the seemingly impossible…

The Run-in

First up, Wigan. We showed our intent here with the team placed above us, going 2-0 up within 10 minutes. Marlon King then got injured, rather a setback, but his replacement, Kosstadinov, made it 3-1 before half time. Following the break, we were well and truly dominant, and added two more goals for an emphatic 5-1 win. We moved above Wigan into 17th, and some luck would see us stay up.

Next, Arsenal. We had a fabulous start, going ahead on 3 minutes and dominating the first 15 minutes. On the half hour, Baptista equalised on the break, and then Rosicky blasted in a free kick minutes later. Things were looking dodgy, until on the stroke of half time, Cesar Villaluz bended a freekick past Costil in the Arsenal goal, who had replaced the injured Lehmann. In the second half, Adebayor came on, and then RvP appeared for Henry. He wasn’t on the pitch for long, before he got injured, and Arsenal were down to 10 men. On 65mins, a great corner saw a goal mouth scramble, resulting in Vassikiri Diaby knocking the ball into his own net – WOO! We had to endure a 3-2-4 attacking Arsenal formation for 25 minutes, but the defence and Ben Foster held firm, and we had another three points – surely we are nearly safe? Unfortunately, Wigan also won, thumping Mo’s Blackburn 4-0, and so they went ahead of us in the table on goal difference.

Finally, Chelsea. We lost 2-0, although the game went a bit haywire on me and I wasn’t in control for much of the second half. Two Ballack headers sufficed, Wigan also lost 2-0, and so we were relegated whilst they stayed up.

This year’s run-in does highlight my absurd ability to create nail-biting finishes to seasons; the battle this year definitely gives the 5-5 fest when I was at Sunderland, playing Palace to stay up in the last incarnation of EPL, a run for its money..

Relationships

The board and fans have been delighted with my performance the entire season, and despite relegation and a poor run of results, I am one of two human managers with Secure job status. I have been given a new 2-year contract, with £135k/week and £5.9m for transfers, and hope to be able to strengthen the squad and bring the lads straight back up next season.

Transfers

The first thing I did was look to get Ben Foster on a permanent deal, and we are delighted to have achieved this for a fee of £3m from Man.Utd. I will be looking at a number of loan signings, such as Denilson for a second season, as well some more experienced heads. A new left back and left midfielder are needed, and may be on the cards, with the remaining £2.9m I have at my disposal. However, I will see how we start the season before jumping into the market – it may be for the best to save the pennies for bigger players for 2008-9, assuming we are in the Premiership again then.

Several youngsters have left on free transfers during the off-season, and I will also be looking to offload several fringe players during the summer, such as Gavin Mahon and Darius Henderson, both of whom were backups for the team last season.

The Season Ahead

I feel that I’ve done a good job with Watford, despite relegation; I was half expecting them to be down and out by Christmas, but I managed to keep the dream alive ‘til the very end.

I’m confident we have the quality to bounce straight back up this season, but this of course will depend on fitness levels and injuries, which I will hopefully be able to keep clear of. The average age of the squad is 23, and the small size of the squad would mean that injuries will force me to look into the reserves and U18s, which simply is not a good idea, as the youngsters here are nothing short of terrible…

Anyway, “chin up, son,†etc. etc… Here’s hoping for a good season and a spot of luck!

Ben Smith took Bolton Wanderers to their highest ever position in the Barclays Premiership today when they finished a fantastic 6th, and in turn, qualified for next years UEFA Cup.

Smith's appointment was greeted with derision from certain sections of the Reebok faithful, but the affable manager slowly won over the sceptical fans with some determined performances throughout the season.

One of Bolton's star performers was undoubtebly Nicolas Anelka with 20 goals in 35 games

Another star performer was the Trotters Goalkeeper, Jusski Jaaskelainen

When Smith was asked about particular highlights of the season, he pointed out the 2-0 victory against Arsenal and 1-0 victory against their fierce local rivals, Manchester United, as stand out results. "When you have such a small squad that we have, compared to the riches of the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United, the result is even more staggering"

Next season, Smith hopes to consolidate their top half status and is hopeful of a better run in the domestic cups. Although wary of the strains a Uefa Cup run could put on the club, SMith says he wouldn't have it any other way and tells the fans that they should be optimistic about the future of their beloved club.

Pre-Season Round-Up

Preparations for our return to the Championship have gone well, morale is good, and our strikers seem to be in good form.

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Northwood 0-5 Watford

King Marlon scored two, as did Tamas Priskin, with Tommy Smith adding the fifth.

Kidderminster 0-2 Watford

King and Priskin scored one apiece.

Walsall 0-2 Watford

King and Jimenez, this time.

Port Vale 0-4 Watford

King scored his 5th and 6th of pre-season, with Bangura getting in on the action and an own goal taking us to four.

Barnsley 0-2 Watford

King and Villaluz with the goals.

Wrexham 1-2 Watford

A Jimenez double took us from a goal down to ensure the perfect foundations for our season had been laid.

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Marlon looks to have recovered his confidence, and is in superb form at the minute, with seven goals in five friendly games. Villaluz and Jimenez are looking sharp, and Bangura and Francis are forming a good, solid partnership in central midfield. Jay DeMerit and Danny Shittu are looking up for the task this season provides, and things in general look good for the club.

Transfers

In:

<LI>Ben Foster, GK, £3m from Man. Utd

<LI>Juan Manuel Vargas, D/WB/AM L, £1.7m from Catania

Out:

<LI>Albert Jarret, to Scunthorpe for £100k

<LI>Claude Seanla, releasead

<LI>Junior Osbourne, released

<LI>Dominic Blizzard, to Chester, free

<LI>Sheku Kamara, to Mansfield, free

<LI>Ben Gill, to Rushden, free

<LI>Joel Grant, to Bristol Rovers, free

I’m delighted that we have signed Foster on a permanent deal, he is a top-class keeper and was excellent for us last season. I’m also happy with winger Vargas, who can also play in defence; he will go straight into ML and will provide good cover in case Jordan Stewart gets injured at left-back. However, I am disappointed that I didn’t manage to bring in a natural DL – I had three contracts agreed, but was unable to obtain work permits for any of them, which is f***ing ridiculous.

Also, I was aiming to bring in Carlos Vela and Denilson on season-long loans from Arsenal, but unfortunately Pagi is a **** **** **** ****er and decided he wanted them, for some unknown reason, and they went to him instead. ****ers, the lot of you.

Training

Training has been looking good, especially over the past few weeks, whilst the friendlies have been being played. A lot of the youngsters are actually looking like they are beginning to show some promise, and first-team regulars such as Bangura, Jimenez, Villaluz, King and Clarkson setting a fine example for the rest of the squad.

Injuries

Marlon was out injured at the end of last season, as was Vyacheslav Hleb. King returned for training back to fitness, but we will be without Hleb for a few more months, with ankle ligament damage. Other than that, everything looks good and set for the big kick-off!

Last Words

We are three days off of the opening game of the season, are second-favourites after Crystal Palace to win the league, and full of confidence we can spring a few surprises and win this league. I’m not sure that the squad is as strong as my record breaking Sunderland side in FM06, which earned an outstanding 118 points, but that is definitely my target, at least!

You'll good great steve straight back up dont worry about it

2006/07 Season Roundup

Well, the first season has been completed in EPLChallenge and there was plenty of last gasp position changes that kept everyone involved going into the final games.

Everton finished highest in 5th position but that's mainly down to Niall's assistant manager doing all the work with Cahill and Johnson being the main reasons for the club doing well. Hopefully this won't last and Everton plummet but I don't see it happening soon .

The next 3 positions saw Smithy's Bolton, my Newcastle team and Sam's Villa battling it out right till the last few games for the UEFA Cup spots with Sam dropping away towards the end, leaving it to me and Smithy to fight it out on the last game of the season which Bolton ended up winning out in the end. I'd also like to point out the considerable job the Bolton assistant did in getting them to their lofty position in the table and that I've had no cash to spend , not that i'm making excuses of course .

Goat's Man City team finished in mid-table with a win one, lose one philosophy along with the eccentric nutter that is Schelotto ending up with 7 yellows and 2 red cards which would surely impress Roy Keane and Vinnie Jones .

Now we get to the huge relegation battle with no less than 4 EPL managers all involved throughout the season which saw Dave's Fulham just about staying up and despite the poor start, Pagi's Boro managed to somehow stay up which must be a first for Pagi in a first season in EPL .

Steve's Watford put up a great fight but didn't have enough in the end and also Mo's Blackburn managed to make a decent fist of getting out of it towards the end with some big teams defeated but it wasn't quite enough.

So we go into the new season with most of the managers in the Premiership fighting for honours both at home and abroad and also there'll be two teams in the Championship but with the talent in both squads, surely it won't be long till they're back in the top league .

Whatever happens, it promises to be exciting as always so let battle commence!.

2007 And Bouchard's Getting Arrogant...AT LAST!

After guiding a somewhat delicate Aston Villa team to 8th position in the league after an abomination of a start, I'm keeping very upbeat about this year!

The season started like a knackered out Ford Capri last season and ended on the wonderful distinctive pur of the Aston DB9. The squad was taken apart and shipped around creating space for players to shine. Ross County's become the hub of the Aston Villa youth side, which is lead by Mads Laudrup none other than the legendary Michael's son.

The first team took time to gradually re-build. Unlike Andy 'I look like a GOAT' Nilsen who clears his squad as quick as his nose, I thought i'd take my time in bringing the bads through, only introducing three players in the summer and one in January. Per Ciljan Skjelbred, Eduardo Ratinho and Daniel Fredheim Holm were brought through to the first team, enhancing the weaker part of the side, the attack. Jeremy Mathieu or Beadle as he's known on the training ground, was shipped in at left back, affirming himself with no nonsense defending - making both Jlloyd Samuel and Bauma redundant in the side.

This summer i've brought in Greg Halford - an attractive talent from Colchester for just under a million. Sebastian Pocognoli in as cover for either Mathieu or Barry on the left hand side, brought in from the Greek side Genk. Finally the ever reliable Freddy Guarin was signed, only to reveal he's not brought a work permit with him.....not a problem. Oh no wait! It is! A part time feder club in Belgium...why wouldn't anybody want to play there for 3 years?! Nightmare!

Anyway, that's the side and this will be our year. Containing sides at Villa Park became specialty last season, even picking up points against the big sides - including a double over Man Utd. An FA Cup Semi-Final defeat was gutting, however the fans filled Wembley to see the Mighty Villa battle against Chelsea, to lose only by a Frank Lampard goal in time added on.

Last season was good and had a positive finish to it, so fingers crossed this one should be an absolute belter

2007/08 Season Underway

Results

Sat. 4th Aug, 1500

Plymouth 0

Watford 1

Kosstadinov 85

Wed. 8th Aug, 1945

Watford 1

Clarkson 6

Southampton 2

Rasiak 72

Jones 79

Sat 11th Aug, 1500

Stoke 1

Webber 21

Watford 2

Kosstadinov 82

Smith pen.90+3

Sat 18th Aug, 1500

Watford 3

King 12, 81, 86

Hull 0

(Bangoura s/off 70)

Thoughts

A hard-earned win got our season off to a winning start, and things looked good after taking an early lead against Southampton. However, this was followed by 160-odd minutes of football which was bad, but not quite as bad as Mr. Bouchard’s geographic knowledge…

Tactically we were poor, perhaps it was me underestimating the opposition, but it had to change. And so, I reverted back to last years tactic that served us so well in the run-in, and within minutes saw a great turnaround, and then an emphatic win over Hull, with Marlon King running riot.

My main concern at the moment, however, is the number of shots off target. The Hull game was ridiculous; with 80mins played, we had had 24 shots, but only 4 of those were on target. Shocking stuff, to say the least.

Another transfer brought in was 20-year-old Danny Szetela, a Yankee doodle utility man, comfortable on the wings, at full back, or as a defensive midfielder. For the paltry sum of £210,000, he looks to be a bargain and I hope he can fulfil the promise he is showing. The other new-boy, Vargas, has had a solid start to his Watford career, with a good assist and often tracking back from midfield, but he does seem to be worryingly short on fitness at the moment.

In other news we have a new feeder club in the form of a Belgian side, who I embarrassingly can’t remember the name of. This will be good in terms of bringing in youngsters, who can then be sent on loan for a few years in order to get their work permits, if they agree to go there that is.

Four games in, and 9 points from the 12 available, see us sitting in 4th, behind early frontrunners Blackburn and Southampton. That won’t last too long though, knowing Mo’s track record and although it’s still early days, we’re in a good position.

Next up is Notts. County in the League Cup first round, to be played at Vicarage Rd. Should be an easy win

Until next time..

SMITH IN GOOD SPIRITS FOR START OF THE SEASON

Bolton Wanderers manager Ben Smith insists team morale is better than ever as he prepares his Bolton side for their first game in front of the home fans this season.

After disposing of newly promoted Derby County at the weekend, Smith is confident of victory over Tottenham.

"If we play at a standard we are capable of, I can see us giving Tottenham a run for their money."Results between the two sides last season meant victories for the away team, with Tottenham winning 2-1 at the Reebok, a result Smith hopes to overturn.

Bolton's team for their opening day victory was as follows:

Jaaskelainen, Hunt©, Bouma, Mancienne, Ben-Haim, Varela, Fortune, Tal, O'Brien, Okaka, Diouf. Subs: Kanu - Fortune (36), Stelios - Varela (65), Litmanen - Tal (80). Goals: Diouf (6), O'Brien (79)

TRANSFERS

Ben Smith was furious when Phil Gartside went over his head to allow the sale of top goalscorer, Nicolas Anelka to Schalke during the Summer and although the £13,000,000 transfer fee will come in useful for Smith, he made it known in no uncertain terms that he was unhappy that he was not contacted over the transfer.

Smith has wasted no time in bringing some fresh faces to the Reebok, bringing in the following players:-

Samuel - Aston Villa 1.1m

Bouma - Aston Villa 750k

Barton - Man City 3.7m

Okaka - Roma 4.6m

Carr - Newcastle 250k

Hoefkens - Stoke City 210k

Smith also picked up the likes of Kanu and Hasselbaink on free transfers to bolster the strikeforce.

Page 2?

Disgraceful.

We're taking a break till the New Year so we've not died .