Wallace v Roberts 2009

[bermybhoy]

It's not impossible I guess - but Chelsea have won something like 6 of the last 7 titles, and hardly concede any goals let alone lose games. Not anticipating a big collapse, I'm afraid.

[Jimbokav1971]

League Cup Semi-Final, 1st Leg
The first in a triple-header we can do without, away to Chelsea. Really can't understate how good this lot are. That bugger Joao inevitably finally did what he doesn't usually, and scored against us. They had all the first half and went in 2-0 down. Another goal from their other striker made it 3, before we staged a late rally. Sadly out only reward was a late, late effort from sub Soares, which gives a glimmer of hope for the second leg.


Match 21
Chelsea, at home. This time we held them to 0-0 at half time, no mean feat against this lot. Their star midfielder struck early in the second though, before Manuel scored his first for ages in typical fashion to make it 1-1. Then, it all went horribly, horribly wrong. A quickfire double from the midfielder and Joao (again) sunk us, then Joao added real insult to injury with his second and their fourth. We shouldn't be losing 4-1 at home to anyone.

League Cup Semi-Final, 2nd leg
An understatement to say we weren't looking forward to the home leg against Chelsea. This time, we actually held the upper hand for most of it, but an early goal from thei veteran striker put it bejond us. Lafforgue thankfully notched a late equaliser to avoid yet another loss to this lot, but we crash out 4-2 on aggregate.

MoM: young Nonato

Chelsea were indeed mightily impressive.

I managed to get decent results against them with a 4141 formation. But that was with them playing with just 1 up front.

Now that Joao seems to be fit again and more producing the goods that his ability warrants, with 2 up front I imagine they look very impressive.

I wonder if the way to find a chink in their armour is to throw cash at 1 area of their team leaving them with an achilles heel and seeing if the AI manager is good enough to fill the gap, (GK possibly would where I would look first because of the dearth of quality available). Might even be worth spending double the real value just to leave them with an issue.

Arsenal looked tired here from their midweek European game - on reflection it's been a real advantage to not have that distraction.

Couldn't agree more.

PaulH did a phemonenal job last season battling with that squad on both fronts.

We seem to have a significantly improved and deeper squad now though and although European football would tax us next season we are ready for it now and weren't realy before when I sneaked us in through tha back door against a Man City team in free-fall.

Manuel - now our latest Wonderkid

That has really made my day. I'm usually quite good at finding players of that ilk, but I feel a lot of the signings I made, while earning us a fair bit of cash, have ultimately failed to impact to any great degree on the senior team.

The main difference between Manuel and the many other youngsters that I have signed is simply that he played regularly. If this doesn't prove the impotance of players being sent on loan then I don't know what does.

I notice that Senior has gone on loan. I know that Manuel is now one of the first names on the team-sheet but I am guessing that we have signed andother DR that slipped through without me noticing.

Might I suggest that we keep Senior at the club with a view to giving him a staff position, (if he is interested). He has been a key player over the last 5-6 seasons.

Thanks for posting the team-sheets for the games where we fielded weakened sides by the way. In the main the those performances, (bar 1 I think), were probably below par. I wonder if the reason for these poor/average performances might be an over-loading of youngsters and little leadership in the team. Is it crying out for 1 ex 1st-teamer on their way down, (with good set-piece ability and excellent leadership qualities), to come in and lead them? It's certainly the sort of thing I would look for. In my experience it's often better to have to carry a weak player with excellent captaincy attributes rather than let a team of young-guns got at it without a leader.

[coughSeniorcough]

just an idea anyway.

Loving your season Bermy.

[bermybhoy]

I wonder if the way to find a chink in their armour is to throw cash at 1 area of their team leaving them with an achilles heel and seeing if the AI manager is good enough to fill the gap, (GK possibly would where I would look first because of the dearth of quality available). Might even be worth spending double the real value just to leave them with an issue.

This is an interesting theory. I'd say the two flaws are: a) we're not big enough to be able to poach any of their players (Chelsea beat me to two big signings last summer, both chose them despite us offering more money) and b) we're not in a financial position to even try it. I suspect that even if we were, we'd probably be in a position to just sign better players who make us able to compete with them. Trust me though, we're not far off that, not far at all. 2-3 players maybe.

Interesting your comment about seeing if the AI could cope. I was planning to discuss the curious case of Manchester Utd. They're absolutely rubbish. Their squad is about 14 players, 3 of whom are keepers. The best 7 or 8 are on big money, and are very good players, the rest are absolutely terrible. There's massive holes in their team, not least of which is having NO first team centre halfs. There's no obvious reason either, the finances are at least 'secure'.

Why on earth would they be allowed to get into that position? It's amusing no doubt, but seems a pretty major flaw in the game. Not sure if it's worth a bugs forum post/GD discussion, presumably been brought up before.

That has really made my day. I'm usually quite good at finding players of that ilk, but I feel a lot of the signings I made, while earning us a fair bit of cash, have ultimately failed to impact to any great degree on the senior team.

The main difference between Manuel and the many other youngsters that I have signed is simply that he played regularly. If this doesn't prove the impotance of players being sent on loan then I don't know what does.

It's not an exact science. Unless you go down the route of cheating, you'll never know how good a young player could be. The quality we'll bring in over the next few years will become much higher, when we can throw money at 'projects' who will quite obviously become stars, much like I've done this season with the Brazilians, Lafforgue, etc.

Unfortunately a few of our reserves are stuck in limbo, where they think they're too good to go on loan, but I know they're not good enough for us yet (Odir being one example, and he's gone...Kev would be another).

Is it crying out for 1 ex 1st-teamer on their way down, (with good set-piece ability and excellent leadership qualities), to come in and lead them? It's certainly the sort of thing I would look for. In my experience it's often better to have to carry a weak player with excellent captaincy attributes rather than let a team of young-guns got at it without a leader.

[coughSeniorcough]

I hear you. Bit late unfortunately, since we're out the cups and battling for second, so won't be playing any weakened sides. Don't have much cover for Manuel, but he's rarely injured and we only have one game a week, so fatigue shouldn't be a problem. Just can't see where I'd have played Senior. Will leave it up to Spartans5 whether to offer a new contract.

[Jimbokav1971]

Yeah I hear you about the poaching Chelsea players issue. I'm just VERY aware after looking at the astonishing implosion at Man City how easy it might be if we were to by both their senior keepers.

Don;t get me wrong about the youngsters not making it. There is no guarantee that they will have made it anyway. It's just that I'd hate to see is miss out on a biggy. It will be interesting seeing how the guys that we have let leave develop.

[bermybhoy]

Northern Monkeys - April/May

Match 33
A tricky game at home to Sunderland turned into a fantastic, open, action packed game, Henriksen was in the mood from the off, and after already having a few chances himself, set up partner KdV to run in and score from a tight angle. A corner gave Sunderland the equaliser, before Vyskoc was first to eact to a long range Tetteh effort spilled by the keeper, who was badly at fault. The second half saw another Sunderland equaliser with a well worked goal, before Henriksen, who was superb all day, headed home a Manuel corner to seal the points. 3-2 Blyth.

MoM: Henriksen

Match 34
Not quite sure what heppened here. Liverpool have been awful this season, we were favourites, yet went down 3-1. The defence was terrible here, especially Nonato, who so far has been outstanding. Puckett, in for an injured Henriksen, was the man to score and the only one to come out with much credit. Small comfort comes from the fact Tottenham also lost.

Match 35
An awful first half at home to Derby suggested a hangover from the last game, but we stepped up in the second. KdV knocked in a Kvist cross for the first, before Nonato headed home a corner to make it 2-0 to Blyth.

MoM: Nonato

Match 36
Newcastle have just battled into the Champions Cup final (against Chelsea, shocker!), yet only sit 7th. As it goes they were no match for KdV and the superb Henriksen. They got a goal each, before Andriy ran through and placed one home from 25 yards, his first goal for us. Chelsea could only draw so the fat lady hasn't sung yet, but due to goal difference we now have no chance at all of catching them, even if they lose their final 3 games.

MoM: Henriksen

Chelsea then sealed the title in uninspiring fashion, with a 0-0 draw at Derby.

Match 37
A point against Tottenham would have secured 2nd place. Unfortunately they came out well, dominated the first half and took the lead. Nonato was then stupidly sent off which killed our chances. This must be the first game in donkey's we haven't scored. 1-0 to Spurs. We go into the last game a point ahead.

Nonato is now upset as I fined him a weeks wages, and feels he made the wrong decision joining us. Hopefully he comes round.

This match was refereed by none other than BERMUDA TRIANGLE...LOL, who did that - WTF?

Match 38
Man City are of course hopeless, so it was with some shock they took the lead in the Blyth stadium after only 6 minutes. It only served to rile us - Snelling hit back soon after, Andriy showed his promise with another goal, KdV continued to show there's life in the old dog with 2 bullet headers, Diego turned home a free kick with a nice shot - hell, even Singh got in on the act. 6-1 it finished, could have been more. Sadly, they have of course gone down so no more of this next season.

MoM: KdV


So that's it all over. The win secured 2nd place for the Monkeys.

Season summary to follow.

[spartans5]

Great finish to the season bermy, lets hope that I can continue this next season

[bermybhoy]

Hope so...here's the save game file.

Screenshots taking ages to upload for some reason. Will put the report up and add them some time tomorrow.

[bermybhoy]

Northern Monkeys - season summary

Premier League
Surpassing all expectations, we finished second. The continual improvement throughout the season was easy to see, and at the end of it only our lacklustre away form and an all-conquering opponent in Chelsea stopped us winning it. They have just completed their second League/Champions League double; good luck toppling them next year.

We were top scorers mind you, and that's our third highest ever number of goals in a league season. In addition we boasted the league's best player (Manuel), who also got most assists (and broke the club record with 18 for the season) and top scorer in Henriksen.

It should maybe be noted that we finished the season with 4 more points than those Softies....

League table - Home/away form - League progress graph - Team stats - Player stats

League Cup
Two easy early ties set us up for two far more difficult away games where we overcame Fulham then West Brom. Chelsea (I hate them) proved a bridge too far, and we crashed out in the semis to the inevitable eventual winners.

FA Cup
Other than the 3rd round stroll against Man Utd, we made heavier weather of this competition, twice going to replays, including the memorable 4-4 draw with Spurs. They went on to knock Chelsea out in the semis, at least stopping them from winning something.

Finances
Looking good, with a healthy balance and profit for the season. The new stadium is already boosting our income significantly, with double the gate receipts and match income as last year, when we had a European run.

Summary - Income - Expenditure - Salaries

Club info
Still no Paul Wallace on the favourites list. Assume we actually need to win this league? Noted that the youth and training facilities could do with an upgrade. Well worth asking the board about this.

Info - overview - stadium

[bermybhoy]

The squad
Squad selection - Assman report

Well, not perfect by a long shot, but we're seeing more stars there than at the start of the season, that's for sure.

Goalkeepers
Lafita is easily our best, and worth the £14m paid. No need to replace, backup for him is the main issue.
Josh is reasonable back up, but wouldn't want to have to rely on him if Lafita was out. Unlikey to get much better now either. Replace.

There's a few others barely worth talking about. Would deal with as you see fit - loan the younger ones out. Fraser Law came in at the start of the season but is on his way back out - £1.6m fee gives us a tidy £1m profit.

Full backs
Manuel - just absolutely brilliant right back. Spectacular free kick expert, notching 9 and chipped in with no less than 18 assists. Rated a wonderkid, unamibitious personality - assuming that's a good thing for our chances of keeping him - guy could be a club legend.
Kvist - almost as solid on the other flank. Fair chance there's better out there, but he's still young and it's not any sort of priority.
Raimundo - Kvist's back up, who on reflection should have got more game time.

We need some back-up for Manuel, but otherwise in good shape here.

Centre backs
Nonato - the wonderkid has been very, very impressive since coming in. Unortunately a bit upset right now, but should come back round.
Diego - Brazilian compadre to Nonato, can play anywhere along the back but perfect for the middle.
Melvin - another exceptional player, but barely featured due to injury. I'd be concerned about that - if we can get in more than we paid (£10.5m) we should let him go.
Smith - played a lot until Nonato came in. Doesn't complain about not playing, so probably worth keeping as back up.

Easily our strongest area of the team. Maybe sell Melvin and get a cheaper replacement, but not much needs changed.

Centre midfield
Henriquez - good little player, but a bit unsettled right now. Signed as a bit of a cheap option at the time, probably easily replaceable, but shouldn't go for less than about £12m plus sell ons.
Tetteh - one of my signings, I really like this kid. Needs to find a lot more consistency, but needs plenty of games to develop.
Andriy - quite obviously going to be a major world star. Also needs plenty of games, but was less consistant than Tetteh.

One of our weakest areas. We could do with a better defensive midfielder especially. There are two on the shortlist - Jennings and Verdi - who'll be superstars. Try and get either. the rest who're already at the club are dispensible.

Wingers
Snelling - good on either wing, he was rated a wonderkid at one stage. Great player, should still get better, being only 21.
Singh - also once a wonderkid, this guy is a massive frustration. Quite often injured, quite often plays badly. There should be a good player bursting to get out though. Wouldn't be upset to see him go.
Labourdette - favoured to Singh for the most part, he's decent without being great. Probably worth about £10m on the market. Replaceable.
Vyskoc - signed to make a profit, he's actually come in and done a decent turn. Again hardly irreplaceable, more than adequate backup.

A few more decent reserves here, in Soares and Elder, amongst others. Not sure we need them all. As Snelling can play either side, a new winger for either side should be a priority.

Forwards
Lafforgue - another briefly rated wonderkid when he signed. Very, very good striker, unfortunately got injured but should be the basis for our attack for a few years.
Puckett - my other forward signing, has done well and will get better. Might not become first choice, but great to have around.
Henriksen - sorry for ever doubting you. Had a great season, revelling in a better team. League's top scorer, so while I insist we can get someone better, he's handy to have around. Needs his contract renewed asap.
KdV - started playing well when Lafforgue got injured, he can still do a turn. If we can get money in though, I'd sell.

We're ok here - check the number of league goals we scored. I'd still be on the lookout for another up and coming striker to partner Lafforgue though.

Reserve squad
I'm not that inclined to go through all these guys. Suffice to say, I'm with the assistant when he reckons few of them are good enough for us. Would be looking to sell most of these guys for as much as possible and start bringing in fresh youngsters.

Reckon that's about it. Yet again I thoroughly enjoyed doing this - cheers for the support too. The Monkeys are on the up, no doubt. Just bring in a few top players to support what we already have - which is very good - and keep finding the youngsters, and we'll be making a proper title challenge in no time.

We do need to beef the squad up to fight on so many fronts next season - I'd be having a good crack at the Champions League. How hard can it be if Newcastle reached the final this year? Oh, bear in mind there's a few transfers arranged already - mostly kids on Bosmans arriving July 1, plus a Brazilian when he's old enough, for £2.1m. Good luck to Spartans5 for next season.

[Jimbokav1971]

Great season Bermy.

2nd is the most we could have hoped for, (and was probably better than I expected I think).

Typical that we accrue more points than the Softies yet they win the league and we don't. (Chelsea grrrrrrrr).

Good to see that there was a decent amount of continuity despite you giving us a much neeeded overhaul of our starting best XI. Both full-backs, 1 winger and 2 of our 3 best strikers have now been at the club for a few years. Your work in the transfer market was even more impressive than finishing 2nd. Really excellent.

Mon the Monkeys!

[Dava]

Great season there Bermy. Hopefully we will be able to attract some more established stars now that we have CL football to offer.

Good luck Spartans5.

[hamilton162]

Any news from Dave and the Softies?

[brambleten]

Great work Bermy. really happy to see Andriy getting his first goals for the club.

good luck to Spartans5

[Dave.]

I've started the season's transfer dealings now. Following Salman's tip, and my own instinct, I've signed Scotland international goalkeeper Grant Wilson to fill the void we had in that position at the club. At £11.75M from Feyenoord, he didn't come cheap, but I feel he's got the ability to really make that goalkeeping position at the club his own.

The other signing I have made is the young Wolves midfielder, Toby Douglas. He was brought in on a free transfer, and despite not having had bags of experience, my scouts and I reckon he's got some decent potential.

I've also had a £14.75M offer accepted by West Ham for attacking midfielder/winger Joe Coke. He's a cracking player - as good as Funes and can get better apparently. However, its a steep offer, and we already have talent in that area of the team, so I'm wondering what the rest of the Softies' opinions on signing him are?

EDIT: Scrap that, Arsenal have completed the signing of Coke. The transfer went through before I'd even had the chance to offer him a contract.

[bermybhoy]

Screenshots (more than you'll ever look at) now added

[dafuge]

I've started the season's transfer dealings now. Following Salman's tip, and my own instinct, I've signed Scotland international goalkeeper Grant Wilson to fill the void we had in that position at the club. At £11.75M from Feyenoord, he didn't come cheap, but I feel he's got the ability to really make that goalkeeping position at the club his own.

The other signing I have made is the young Wolves midfielder, Toby Douglas. He was brought in on a free transfer, and despite not having had bags of experience, my scouts and I reckon he's got some decent potential.

I've also had a £14.75M offer accepted by West Ham for attacking midfielder/winger Joe Coke. He's a cracking player - as good as Funes and can get better apparently. However, its a steep offer, and we already have talent in that area of the team, so I'm wondering what the rest of the Softies' opinions on signing him are?

EDIT: Scrap that, Arsenal have completed the signing of Coke. The transfer went through before I'd even had the chance to offer him a contract.

A decent goalie is a must, although I think we've made a mistake in not giving Malbon a chance (I'm to blame probably more than anyone else).

Douglas looks good for a free transfer.

Shame we missed out on Coke there, I think we could do with a decent left winger to give Funes a bit of competition. To be honest though, I don't rate Coke that highly as a winger, he looks better as an AMC to me.

[PaulHartman71]

fantastic season Bermy, second place is a real achievement. Lets hope we can go one better next season!

[Polar Bear]

Well done to the Monkeys. 2nd is nearly as good as 1st

Good-looking goalie Dave, nice start. Don't feel too bad about missing out on Coke, I'm not sure he was much better than what we had.

[Dave.]

I think only one more transfer is strictly needed now this summer, and that is a decent striker who can give Munro and Ford competition for their places. I didn't want to go spending megabucks, so I've narrowed down my striking shortlist to two players, and I was wondering what everyone else feels about them. Which one would make the better signing? From what the scouts say, Leonardo is the better player, but O'Brien has the potential to be as good as or better than Munro. So what do we think? (I also like players with a lot of Flair, and for this reason I probably just about favour O'Brien.)

[dafuge]

I prefer O'Brien out of those two, although I'd rather see the Munro/Ford partnership given as many games as possible.

[Dave.]

Yeah, the other thing about signing O'Brien is that he's not (yet?) as good as Ford or Munro, so would be the backup player.

[dafuge]

As long as he's happy to be signed as a backup player he could be a useful player to have. What about Guzman/White? Are you going to sell one of them?

[Dave.]

He's on a backup contract, worth £9.25k per week, and appears to be happy with that.
I haven't made plans to sell either just yet, but if offers come in that match my valuations, they will be gone, as neither are strictly needed barring injuries.

[dafuge]

He's on a backup contract, worth £9.25k per week, and appears to be happy with that.
I haven't made plans to sell either just yet, but if offers come in that match my valuations, they will be gone, as neither are strictly needed barring injuries.

Sounds like a good signing then, how much did he cost?

[hamilton162]

Sounds good Dave I'm with daf on the striker situation, Munro and Ford are the 2 that should play. White had enormous potential to be one of the best in the world in my season, but he just hasn't developed enough sadly I'd ship him out, should get a good price for him

Can i have a screenshot of Malbon to see how he's getting on please

[Jimbokav1971]

Screenshots (more than you'll ever look at) now added

I poured over each and every one.

Thanks Bermy. Great season and excellent updates.

[Dave.]

He cost £3.2M. There is one major issue though, he needs a work permit. I thought the English champions avoided such stupid stipulations?


Here you go Hamilton. Malbon

[dafuge]

He cost £3.2M. There is one major issue though, he needs a work permit. I thought the English champions avoided such stupid stipulations?

If he's rated highly by the scouts I'd imagine he'd get one on appeal.

[Dave.]

No, he's completed the transfer, its just now he requires a work permit to play, so I need to send him off to an affliate club or something for three whole years..

[dafuge]

No, he's completed the transfer, its just now he requires a work permit to play, so I need to send him off to an affliate club or something for three whole years..

Ah, damn.

[Dave.]

AUGUST 2029

Braintree 0 - 0p Chelsea (CS)

Braintree 2 - 0 Norwich (EPL)
Alexander, S Ford

Middlesborough 0 - 2 Braintree (EPL)
Guzman, T Ford

Table

A decent start in the league, and for now, we are top. Of course, only two games have been played, so everything could easily change. I was slightly disappointed with the Community Shield final against Chelsea, since it was a game we could so easily have won.

We've been given a rather nasty Champions League group, with Inter and Ajax both involved. The other side is Lithuanians Kaunas, so they should be too much trouble. In the League Cup third round, Braintree have been drawn away to Hull.

Roberts won the Manager of the Month award.

[Jimbokav1971]

Here you go Hamilton. Malbon

I mean this in the nicest possible way, but he is absolute guff.

[PaulHartman71]

I mean this in the nicest possible way, but he is absolute guff.

He might even be as useless as that Italian Goalkeeper I signed

[Jimbokav1971]

Leonardo

Being serious for a minute, I would worry that he doesnt have a high enough PA score to warrant a WP on appeal.

That he was never capped at U21 level would send the alarm bells ringing too.

He's ok but not someone that the Monkeys or Softies should be buying as title contenders. Simply not up to scratch.

[Jimbokav1971]

He might even be as useless as that Italian Goalkeeper I signed

What was his name? Statico or something.

[PaulHartman71]

What was his name? Statico or something.

Salonen & Scotto

That shows why you should never let me sign a Goalkeeper

[dafuge]

I mean this in the nicest possible way, but he is absolute guff.

He came through our own youth system though, and he had massive potential according to our coaches. Here he was at 16, here's barely improved due to lack of games.

I'm to blame as well but I think we have wasted him.

[hamilton162]

We've wasted both of the youth players that came through the system under me now Gutted

[Jimbokav1971]

He came through our own youth system though, and he had massive potential according to our coaches. Here he was at 16, here's barely improved due to lack of games.

I'm to blame as well but I think we have wasted him.

Oh I take it back then.

As an academy player he's not bad. (Still not good enough, but not bad).

Good to see us both getting decent guys through.

[dafuge]

We've wasted both of the youth players that came through the system under me now Gutted

I must admit I didn't even realise Dale was a youth player of ours until just now. If I'd read it properly in the first place I'd have given him priority over other players in the squad, even if he wasn't as good.

[spartans5]

About to download the save now, will get a look at the squad after the reset date while reporting on the rest of the end of the season stuff that comes up.

[hasdgfas]

I suggest looking at the squad before the reset date so you have plenty of time to look for replacements/new players.

[spartans5]

These are just my first impressions and things can change as I go along

Taking a look at the squad, I think I am going to play my favored 4-3-1-2 (if I bring in a better AMC than what we have now) or a 4-3-3 with a DM and 2 MC's which means I am going to be looking at strengthening our central midfield. I am going to stick with what I have now in defense because the 17 year old that we have coming in in January looks good enough to play in the FA Cup and to give Manuel a breather when he needs one during the second half of the season.

With the 4-3-3 my starting 11 looks like this:

GK: Lafita
DR: Manuel
DL: Kvist
DC: Diego
DC: Melvin against tall, fast strikers, Nonato against worse strikers b/c of low marking
DMC: Marcos Henriquez
MC: Charlie Dodd
MC: Andriy
AMR: Lewis Singh
AML: Snelling
ST: Lafforgue/Henriksen

As of now, I will not be using a target man and will be playing wide to take advantage of the crossing of my wingers and will look to bring in an attacking midfielder who is good as a centre midfielder with strong heading and/or finishing to allow me to use a target man maybe. Henriquez will be the playmaker and will look to distribute the ball out wide.
The wingers will look to stay the same and I may bring someone in depending on whether I can keep Singh.
I will be looking to remove a lot of dead wood from the reserves as that is way too large and I am going to see if I can get a squad of 22/23 that I feel comfortable taking into the season to help us in the Champions League, which I will prioritize in the first half of the season and then reassess in January to see where we are in the league. The reserves will most likely be the youth team plus a few players that refuse to go out on loan who may get spot starts in the Carling Cup or early rounds of the FA Cup.

These are the guys that I am looking at possibly signing right now:

Goalkeepers
Joshua Moogan
Ashley Harrington

Moogan I would look to bring in as a backup when his contract ends at the end of the month and Harrington would be a player that would be a long term backup and maybe a sell-on at a huge profit

Midfielders
Brayan Ortegon
Oliveira
James Ogden
Sterling
Craig Shirley
James Hutchinson
Nicky Bentley

I am looking at bringing 2 of these guys in this summer, I was thinking Bentley before July 1 and then one of the younger guys after I get the new transfer budget. Looking for input as to which of them to bring in.

Wingers
Jorge Flores
Santos

Thinking of bringing Flores in as he is potentially better than Snelling, Santos looks good but seems a bit slow and can't play on the wing yet, unless I retrain him, once again, looking for input.

[conners]

good season bermy, well done.
Good luck spartan(s)

[spartans5]

I have decided to take on Joe Marrow as a presence in midfield as he was cheaper than the other older guys and was willing to take a paycut for a spot on a rotational basis.

[Dava]

Ortegon looked pretty good, had great average ratings too.

[Dava]

Joe Marrow looks the business, great signing.

[hasdgfas]

I'd go with Sterling. Good nat fit, unlike a couple of the others, great work rate, good passing, decent dribbling, great stamina lots of stuff I look for in a midfielder

[arrogantio]

Oliveira is the one I like most out of the midfielders (not completely one footed, no weaknesses). Shirley is worth a punt depending on the scout report, but isn't first team material yet.

[spartans5]

End of Season Report

Well, Henriksen was officially named Top Goalscorer. In addition, Blyth set a new record with their 2nd place finish in the Premier League. We completed a clean sweep in the Players' Young Player of the Year and had 4 members in the Players Team of the Year.

Paul Wallace finished 2nd in the Manager of the Year.

When the European Rankings came out, it was revealed that we had dropped 3 spots. We have 10 Homegrown Players in our first team squad.

Manuel was voted Fans' Player of the Year.

Here is the Best Eleven

Manuel has played so well that he has been inducted into the Overall Best Eleven and this is where they are now

I have told the board that we will qualify for Europe through our league position and we have a transfer budget of 29M and a wage budget of 775K

7 players have been promoted from the U-18 squad.

Blyth's average attendance of 20686 is a new record.

I have been offered a new 4 year contract at 42,500 a week which was duly accepted.

We have climbed 30 places in the Rich List

[PaulHartman71]

The 'English Soccer Messenger'?

[hasdgfas]

Oliveira is the one I like most out of the midfielders (not completely one footed, no weaknesses). Shirley is worth a punt depending on the scout report, but isn't first team material yet.

The problem I see with Oliveira is the Natural Fitness of 6. Not exactly a good thing in a MC. I really like my middies to have at least 11, preferably more.

[bermybhoy]

I could be wrong, but I sense we might have an even higher caliber (spelling just for spartns5 ) of player available to us this year. Have you checked out the two young midfielders I suggested....liked the look of them, will both be a class apart.

Marrow looking good. I admittedly open discriminated against over 30's.

[spartans5]

I am looking at getting rid of 4 players on the first team, Charlie Dodd, Soares, Ryan Cruse, and Daniel Elder, as well as a good portion of the reserves

[Dave.]

SEPTEMBER 2029

Braintree 1 - 0 Portsmouth (EPL)
Fumagalli

Reading 2 - 0 Braintree (EPL)

Ajax 0 - 2 Braintree (CL)
Terziev, Alexander

Braintree 0 - 0 Aston Villa (EPL)

Hull p1 - 1 Braintree (LC3)
Dennis

Chelsea 2 - 1 Braintree (EPL)
Funes (pen)


Table
CL Group D


The league form has certainly faltered, with two losses, and a draw. The draw against Villa should certainly have been a win, and if it were not that Reading and Chelsea were two of the best sides in the league, I'd have been disappointed we didn't get anything out of either of those games - we played well enough.

The Hull loss was disappointing, but I fielded a team with six of the first team not even on the bench, and despite playing well, the youngsters weren't quite up for the challenge against an established Premier League outfit.

In the CL though, things are going much more smoothly, with the win away to Ajax paramount if we are to make it through the the knockout stages, most likely with Inter. We are playing at home to the Italians in our next game, so I'll be looking for at least a draw there to cement our position in the top two spots for qualification.

One major issue for the side at the moment is that right back and England international Nat Dadson wants to leave - and clubs are ready to put in large offers. Should I move to sell him? He isn't helping squad morale at the moment and he is refusing to accept any new contracts. I've transfer listed him and told him he can leave if he likes, which should keep him at least mildly content for now.

[hamilton162]

Not the greatest of opening months there, but things should pick up Dave

[dafuge]

Bit of a shaky start to the league but with a tough run of games it is expected. What is more worrying is the start Reading have made, they have opened a good lead over everyone else already.

Great result in the CL (which is our priority), like you've said it was pretty vital with the group we have.

If Dadson wants to leave, as long as you get a good price I think you could let him. He's good, but replaceable and I think we have decent backup anyway. Bit of bad timing from him though, why kick up a fuss just after the transfer window closes?

[Dave.]

OCTOBER 2029

Braintree 0 - 1 Inter (CL)

Braintree 0 - 1 Arsenal (EPL)

Man City 1 - 0 Braintree (EPL)

Braintree 4 - 0 FBK Kaunas (CL)
S Ford (2), Alexander, Funes

Braintree 2 - 1 Liverpool (EPL)
Alexander, Dennis

Leeds 2 - 2 Braintree (EPL)
Munro, og

Table
CL Group D

The Inter game was never one I was expecting to win, but to suffer four straight, agonizing losses is very disheartening for the side, even though they were all against strong opposition. The good news is that we have started to show signs of improvement, and our tough spell of games is over for now, and we can start to rack up some points. I feel though that I may have already blown our chance to win successive titles, but firmly believe that Champions League qualification is not beyond us. We have started well in this year's CL, and should qualify second in the group, providing we don't slip up at home to Ajax.

[hamilton162]

Hmm, not a good month there at all I'd say that we need to focus on the Champions League a bit more from now on as defending our league title looks unlikely, even at this early stage unfortunately

'Mon Dave, get those softies up the table

[dafuge]

That Arsenal result was bad but to follow it up with that game against Man City was horrible. Not really getting outplayed, just narrowly losing.

The Inter loss was fair enough, a draw would have been a good result.

[Dave.]

NOVEMBER 2029

Braintree 3 - 3 Wigan (EPL)
Barry, Munro (2)

FBK Kaunas 0 - 5 Braintree (CL)
Munro (3), Funes, S Ford

QPR 1 - 1 Braintree (EPL)
Munro

Stoke 1 - 1 Braintree (EPL)
Guzman

Braintree 3 - 1 Ajax (CL)
Savvas (3)

Table
CL Group D

The Champions League goal is complete for now - we have made it through the group stage after some brilliant performances, and we are under no pressure in the knockout stages - we are underdogs, and we are going to show the big boys what we can do.

Our problems lie domestically, as we seem to have forgotten how to win. We are not being outplayed, as daf has pointed out, but we just can't seem to get that cutting edge back into our play, where we win matches. I am worried it is mainly down to my leadership, and I'm not sure what I can do to arrest the problems. I wonder if it would be appropriate/possible for me to step down for this season and allow another, more experienced and talented Softie to try to atone for my errors in the league, and see if something can be made of this season after all?

[dafuge]

Our problems lie domestically, as we seem to have forgotten how to win. We are not being outplayed, as daf has pointed out, but we just can't seem to get that cutting edge back into our play, where we win matches. I am worried it is mainly down to my leadership, and I'm not sure what I can do to arrest the problems. I wonder if it would be appropriate/possible for me to step down for this season and allow another, more experienced and talented Softie to try to atone for my errors in the league, and see if something can be made of this season after all?

It looks like an awful lot of bad luck, just the odd goal here and there could have made such a difference.

I wouldn't want to see a manager step down, I'd rather see you keep going and hopefully things will improve a bit. If they don't, never mind, we move on together.

To be honest, relegation is the only thing that could take some time to recover from, I think we are more than capable of dealing with the odd unlucky season.

[Dave.]

I understand that, and I'd like to keep going too. The problem is that the board are already starting to say that I 'should be performing slightly better' and having selected Title Challenge as the season expectations, I'm worried that Roberts may lose his job.

[dafuge]

I understand that, and I'd like to keep going too. The problem is that the board are already starting to say that I 'should be performing slightly better' and having selected Title Challenge as the season expectations, I'm worried that Roberts may lose his job.

Are any of the players upset yet?

If not, keep an eye out and offer them new contracts to keep them happy.

I don't think we've ever had a manager sacked before but I'm pretty sure the game doesn't end, just a new manager is added. It might knock us back a bit but it is not the end of the world.

[Dave.]

There's a couple, yeah. Dadson wants to leave, and the others are concerned about underachievement.
I'll offer some contracts around and see what happens.

[dafuge]

Keeping them all happy is key in a situation like this, and new contracts is the easiest way to do it.

Is it possible to call a team meeting?

[bermybhoy]

Not sure how much you're already doing so, but I'd be fiddling with tactics at this stage. Sometimes small differences to mentality, or playing a bit more direct, can make a huge difference.

Last thing anyone would want is for you to give up, hope it picks up for you.

[hamilton162]

A better month there Dave. We don't seem to be playing badly, just lacking that killer instinct unfortunately Continue with the season, don't worry about it

At least we're through in the CL, should go quite far in that

[Jimbokav1971]

More than 24 hours without a post?

ANyone would think that there is an England game on the TV. Can't you guys multitask?

[brambleten]

More than 24 hours without a post?

ANyone would think that there is an England game on the TV. Can't you guys multitask?

not if theres an England game on
my PC is in a room where there isnt a TV, so i can concentrate on one or t'other.

however, i agree with Jimbo

[spartans5]

Update is imminent, my computer is quite slow when I have everything open to prepare an update so it can take me a while

[spartans5]

August

I am not a huge wheeler and dealer when it comes to the transfer window, I basically look to remove some dead wood and bring in key players that will help us immediately, and look for a few players for the future.

Transfers


Japan defeated Egypt 3-2 in the World Cup Final to bring the World Cup to Asia for the first time ever. England defeated Scotland 2-1 to finish in 3rd. Brazil failed to get out of their group which consisted of Italy, Australia, and the United States with Australia and Italy moving on, in that order. Both finaists then promptly got rid of their managers after the World Cup, as did, Northern Ireland, Wales and Russia, with Brazil having done so and hiring a coach before the tournament was over.

The preseason odds are out and we are at 14-1, third behind Arsenal at 8-1 and Chelsea at 5-2.

Friendlies:

Ramsgate: 0 v. Blyth: 1
Chavdar: 0 v. Blyth: 1
Peterborough: 0 v. Blyth: 2
Hartlepool: 0 v. Blyth: 2
Atalanta: 0 v. Blyth: 3
Blyth: 3 v. Roma: 0

Aston Villa win the Community Shield, defeating Chelsea on penalties, in a 0-0 draw.

League Match #1: Saturday, August 17, 2030 17:15
Sunderland v. Blyth
Starting Lineup: Lafita, Manuel, Diego, Nonato, Kvist, Henriquez, Tetteh, Snelling, Jennings, Lafforgue, Henriksen Subs: Marrow (Tetteh), Vysoc (Snelling), Puckett (Lafforgue)
We start the season against Sunderland, a side we couldn't be more even with in our 15 past meetings, with 5 Wins, 5 Draws and 5 Losses. Abdul Tettah opened the scoring with a header from Snelling in the 11th minute. Lafforgue put in a second a 8 minutes later receiving a pass from Henrikksen and slotting it in. Jennings scored in the 27th minute on his debut to make it 3-0. Lafforgue puts in his second in the 41st and the rout is on at 4-0 before the half. 4-0 at the half and needless to say I was pleased, and I told the boys that, and 6 minutes after the break, with the Sunderland keeper challenging Henrikksen out near the corner flag, he crosses it in to Tetteh who plays it off Roddy Milne for the own goal. Warren Jarvis ended Lafita's bid for a clean sheet with a goal in the 81st minute. The final whistle blows and Blyth starts their season off the right way, and in emphatic fashion.
MOM: Lafforgue

We sold out our season tickets for the year.

League Match #2: Saturday, August 24, 2030 15:00
Blyth v. Hull
Starting Lineup: Lafita, Manuel, Melvin, Nonato, Kvist, Henrizquez, Tetteh, Snelling, Jennings, Lafforgue, Henriksen Subs: KdV (Lafforgue), Puckett (Henriksen)
The first home match of the season is against Hull. Melvin picks up a 2nd minute yellow card and is on thin ice for the rest of the match. Snelling misses a chance in the 10th minute, failing to get it by the keeper after a cross from Jennings. Wallis puts Hull up 1-0 in the 27th minute and we will need to fight back. Going into the half down 1 at home, I questioned the boys' passion out there and also made a change, bringing on KdV for Lafforgue, who had picked up a knock in the first half. And in the 53rd minute, Tetteh equalises with a screamer from just inside the box after dribbling across the field. Supersub Puckett puts on in in the 81st minute to give Blyth a 2-1 lead. We hold on after a series of corners towards the end of the match.
MOM: Wallis (Hull)

Pavlov was sold to Manchester United and as a result, we will receive 625,000 over the next 24 months.

We have been drawn into a very tough group for the UEFA Champions League, with Barcelona (Spain), FC Bayern (Germany), and Young Boys (Switzerland).

Chelsea (England) defeat Fulham (England) 3-1 to win the UEFA Super Cup.

League Match #3: Saturday, August 31, 2030 15:00
Man Utd v. Blyth
Starting Lineup: Lafita, Manuel, Melvin, Nonato, Kvist, Marrow, Tetteh, Snelling, Jennings, Lafforgue, Henriksen Subs: KdV (Henriksen), Henriquez (Tetteh)
A trip to Old Trafford was on the cards for the third match of the season. Man Utd dominated the early play but couldn't do anything with their dominance. In the 41st minute, Lafforgue dribbles around the entire box and from a tight angle puts one in. McLean equalizes in first half injury time. A rather uneventful second half leads to a draw for Blyth.
MOM: Lafforgue (2)

League Table
Player of the Month
Young Player of the Month
Manager of the Month

[Funbags]

learn to link screenshots properlly :|

[spartans5]

September

League Match #4: Saturday, September 14, 2030 15:00
Blyth v. Derby
Starting Lineup: Lafita, Manuel, Melvin, Diego, Kvist, Andriy, Tetteh, Snelling, Jennings, Laffourge, Henriksen Subs: Singh (Jennings), Marrow (Andriy)
After the first international break of the season, Blyth played host to Derby and a return for Bernard Labourdette and Charlie Dodd, who both left this summer. A penalty is put away by Jennings in the 16th minute. Abdul Tetteh and Andriy score within two minutes of each other, and it looks like another route. Jennings earns himself another penalty which he duly misses. Blyth fight back a flurry of corners in their bid to get that first clean sheet. The match ends without another goal being scored.
MOM: Andriy

Champions League Match #1: Wednesday September 18, 2030
Blyth v. Young Boys
Starting Lineup: Lafita, Manuel, Melvin, Diego, Kvist, Tetteh, Marrow, Singh, Snelling, Puckett, KdV Subs: Vyskoc (Singh), Andriy (Tetteh)
Our first Champions League match is against Swiss club Young Boys. KdV finds a rebound and scores a real poacher's effort in the 17th minute. KdV dribbles through the entire opposing team en route to putting a ball just under the crossbar for another goal a minute later. KdV finishes off his hat trick in the 28th minute after Puckett did all the work and laid it off. KdV hits the crossbar trying for a fourth goal in the 37th minute. A boring second half capped a match that was dominated by KdV.
MOM: KdV

League Match #5: Saturday September 21, 2030
Charlton v. Blyth
Starting Lineup: Lafita, Manuel, Melvin, Diego, Raimundo, Buonanno, Marrow, Singh, Snelling, Lafforgue, Henriksen Subs: KdV (Henriksen), Henriquez (Buonanno)
A match against former goalkeeper Versluis could prove to be a tough one. Calls for a penalty in the 41st go begging and it remains 0-0 going into the half. Its been a boring match so far. Not much happened in this second half as the match ends in a draw and its three straight clean sheets for Lafita.
MOM: Lafita

Carling Cup Third Round: Wednesday September 25, 2030
Blyth v. Crystal Palace
Starting Lineup: Moogan, Rothwell, Fernando, Smith, Raimundo, Jansen, Marrow, Marcial, Vyskoc, Lewicki, KdV Subs: Puckett (Lewicki), Snelling (Vyskoc), Jennings (Jansen)
Fielding a weakened lineup for this match, we will see what our youth can do. KdV earns a penalty in the 25th minute and Smith puts it away for the 1-0 lead. Lewicki is injured in the 29th and Puckett comes on for him. Boyd equalises in the 52nd and we will be looking for the lead again. John McPherson is shown a red card for Palace and they are reduced to 10. And 90 minutes are up and the score is still level, it is now time for extra time and maybe the luck of penalties. At the half of extra time, the score is still level, and this looks like it will go to penalties. Postlethwaite receives his second yellow and Palace are down to 9, if we don't win now, something is wrong. No goals are scored in extra time, and now we head for penalties. A miss on their first effort proved deadly for Palace as they lose 5-3.
MOM: Boyd (Palace)

League Match #6: Saturday September 28, 2030
Blyth v. West Brom
Starting Lineup: Lafita, Manuel, Diego, Melvin, Kvist, Tetteh, Andriy, Singh, Jennings, Lafforgue, Henriksen Subs: Puckett (Lafforgue)
A match against West Brom could be a stumbling block, but they are missing a bunch of first team players. Lafforgue takes a pass from Jennings and slots it in near post, then has to be taken off in the 22nd minute with an injury. Tetteh finds supersub Puckett for a 2-0 lead. Blair finds the ball at his feet and gets one back for West Brom, ending Lafita's shutout streak at 360 minutes. Jennings sends in a cross which is put into the West Brom goal by a West Brom defender in the 90th minute.
MOM: Blair (West Brom)

League Table
CL Table

[Dava]

Great start Spartan, did we see screenshots of those signings? I remember Marrow..

[bermybhoy]

You signed Jennings \o/

Awesome Aussie. Great start that, Spartans, titiale challenge on the cards.

[brambleten]

MOM: Andriy

\o/
great start there Spartans. not surprised we doubled our season ticket holders with champions league football on offer

[Jimbokav1971]

Spartan.

You've spent £13.75M on someone. Any chance you can post a pic so we at least know what position he plays in.

Your player of the Month and Young player of the Month pics are both wrong. As is the season tickets one.

I see our Reserves struggle again when given the chance against Palace. Needing penalties to beat 9 men. I wonder is that down to a lack of leadership/skipper again?

Good to see KdV keeping himself in the picture with some goals.

Excellent start! Even better than us remaining undefeated, Chelsea lose!

[spartans5]

Yea, I will get a screenshot of Jennings ASAP, when I click on the screenshots they are all right, what are they showing for you Jimbo?

The Palace match I tried to keep some of our more experienced players in, as I had Marrow, and KdV (vice-captain) in the squad, so it might just come down to overall lack of quality in the reserves.

[Dave.]

SOFTIES - Having had (next to) no internet connection over the last two or three days, I've not been posting updates. However, I have cracked on with the game, and have just managed to complete my season. I will tell you now - I HAVE turned things around, but you'll have to wait and watch the updates to find out how much so. I'll begin posting them month-by-month shortly. Due to not having the foresight to take screenshots despite not being able to upload them, I only have an end-of-season screenshot for the Premier League table. Apologies for that!

[hamilton162]

Don't worry Dave, good to hear that you've been making progress Looking forward to the updates

[Dave.]

DECEMBER 2029

Braintree 3 - 0 Sunderland (EPL)
Barry, White, Funes

Hull 0 - 0 Braintree (EPL)

Inter 1 - 1 Braintree (CL)
Funes (pen)

Braintree 0 - 2 Fulham (EPL)

Tottenham 1 - 0 Braintree (EPL)

Braintree 3 - 0 Man Utd (EPL)
T Ford (2), Alexander (pen)

Everton 0 - 0 Braintree (EPL)

There were a couple of good wins in that month, and the draws in Milan and Liverpool were great results. We have qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League, drawing Lyon, and despite a couple of poor performances, are starting to show that form which won the Iron the EPL title last season.

[hamilton162]

A mixed bag there Dave, some great results along with some disappointing defeats :/

Lyon isn't a bad draw at all

[dafuge]

What has happened to our strike force?

[spartans5]

Jennings

(10 char)

[Dave.]

JANUARY 2030

Norwich 1 - 2 Braintree (EPL)
Alexander, Guzman

Braintree 5 - 1 Cambridge City (FA3)
Marsh, Alexander (2), Terziev, Guzman

Braintree 3 - 1 Middlesbrough (EPL)
Fumagalli, S Ford (2)

Portsmouth 1 - 2 Braintree (EPL)
Dennis, S Ford

Braintree 3 - 0 Newcastle (FA4)
Munro, S Ford, T Ford

What a fantastic month. The first 'perfect' month of the season, and how vital its been, lifting us back into contention for European spots. The title is long off now, and it'll take a miracle to win that, but this was a much needed boost in confidence for the side.

TRANSFERS

Nat Dadson refused to back down over his transfer demand, and so was sold for a healthy £17.5M to Middlesborough. Alastair McCabe, aging and rarely playing, was shifted to Sunderland for £10.25M and young winger Darren Gibbons, unable to make anything of himself after many seasons at the club, moved to Torino for a modest £2.7M. Left wing was a strong position for the club in any case, so Gibbons won't really be missed all that much.

To replace Dadson, the young German, Michal Novak, was brought in for £13.75M from Leverkusen. Despite having the potential to be as good as Henderson (who nearly signed for Bayern before accepting a contract at last), and be a leading Premier League player, I can't help but feel I've made a mistake here and wasted some money. The other January signing was much better, a replacemant for McCabe, although perfectly decent at right back too. The Mexican international, Jesus Fonseca, was probably my signing of the season at £8.75M, as he played magnificently in our late charge (more on that soon..).



EDIT:

What has happened to our strike force?

Does that ^^ answer your question?

[hamilton162]

Fantastic month there, some great wins that could have boosted the morale Fonseca looks AWESOME

[Dave.]

FEBRUARY 2030

Braintree 1 - 0 Reading (EPL)
Munro

Aston Villa 0 - 1 Braintree (EPL)
Dennis

Braintree 1 - 0 Wigan (FA5)
Guzman

Braintree 0 - 1 Chelsea (EPL)

Braintree 1 - 0 Lyon (CL1)
Alexander

A VERY tight month, and one which demonstrates how luck is finally beginning to go our way. Despite being unlucky losing to Chelsea in a game where I believe we were marginally the better side, we edged out a couple of close games, particularly the Villa side, showing we have the determination to grind out wins now. The result against Lyon leaves things delicately poised for the second leg. We have drawn Everton for the FA Cup Quarter Final.

[dafuge]

EDIT:
Does that ^^ answer your question?

Yes

Was a bit worrying not seeing the name of Munro or Ford for so long

[hamilton162]

This is looking like one hell of a turn-around Dave, i hope this continued

[dafuge]

To replace Dadson, the young German, Michal Novak, was brought in for £13.75M from Leverkusen. Despite having the potential to be as good as Henderson (who nearly signed for Bayern before accepting a contract at last), and be a leading Premier League player, I can't help but feel I've made a mistake here and wasted some money. The other January signing was much better, a replacemant for McCabe, although perfectly decent at right back too. The Mexican international, Jesus Fonseca, was probably my signing of the season at £8.75M, as he played magnificently in our late charge (more on that soon..).

Novak looks good, but not amazing. If all those 14s were 15s he'd probably look brilliant though. A bit expensive but we should be able to afford to take risks every now and again.

Fonseca looks good, solid attributes for a centre back

[dafuge]

This second leg against Lyon worries me, they were the better team in that game, we were really lucky to win.

[hasdgfas]

Jennings

(10 char)

He looks brilliant, apart from the natural fitness of 10. But he is 20, so that will hopefully improve.

learn to link screenshots properlly :|

Give him a break please. Sometimes they work for the person posting them, but not for others, and sometimes the format just gets screwed up when moving between something like Notepad and the forum, so the screenies screw up. It's not like he was trying to screw up

[dafuge]

He looks brilliant, apart from the natural fitness of 10. But he is 20, so that will hopefully improve.

I don't think natural fitness can improve, it wouldn't be 'natural' fitness otherwise.

[Dave.]

MARCH 2030

Arsenal 1 - 1 Braintree (EPL)
S Ford

Braintree 0 - 1 Everton (FAQ)

Lyon 0 - 0 Braintree (CL1)

Braintree 2 - 0 Man City (EPL)
Stadsgaard, S Ford

Liverpool 2 - 3 Braintree (EPL)
Munro, S Ford, Terziev

Wigan 1 - 3 Braintree (EPL)
Munro (2), Stadsgaard

The disappointment of an unfortunate cup exit to Everton, and draw in North London which could so easily have been a win was quickly forgotten, as we held on in Lyon to earn a quarter final match up against Barcelona. Our last three league games of the month were all fantastic demonstrations of how much we'd improved, with the two powerful front men finally coming alive. The second half comeback against Liverpool was fantastic.

[dafuge]

Brilliant stuff, so good to see Munro and Ford scoring togther

Lyon were tough again, we were really lucky to get through. I dread to think how good Barcelona might be.

[hamilton162]

Ford and Munro starting to fire \o/

Beat Lyon \o/

A tough draw against Barca, but with the way it looks like we've been playing, i'd say we fear no-one BRING ON THE BARCA BOYS

Great recovery from a bad start Dave

[Salman91]

Great turn around Dave

I was going to sign Novak last season for only £2M but he rejected my contract offer and went to Leverkusen and the scouts rate him really highly so I don't think you made a mistake.

[hasdgfas]

I don't think natural fitness can improve, it wouldn't be 'natural' fitness otherwise.

I've seen it improve, but never by much. I have noticed low natural fitness ratings on most regens too, which makes me sad, as I like my players nat fit to be at least 13, preferably up in the 15-16 range, and I haven't seen a whole lot of these type of players.

[spartans5]

Well, maybe the game is accurately showing the lack of fitness in the younger generation