GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Veloso too expensive. Will look into Fazio. And Steadfast - i didnt really mean a choice between the two, just that they are putting pressure on Van the Man and Ade... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteadfastMeat Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 de Ceglie looks to be a quality piece of business. Are you in the market for anyone else? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Result Excelsior 0-6 Arsenal Walcott makes the selection headache more severe with a hat-trick and rating of 9.5 in a thumping victory. Nasri, Adebayor and Bendtner complete the rout. De Ceglie played well on debut and Jack Wilshere got off the bench. Pre season is going well, the strikers are looking quite deadly at the moment... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Stead - only a quality DC, but I think I might be resigned to waiting another year for one of them. Will give Chiellini another go but unless I can sell someone I wont have enough money. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam C Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 How much cash you have for a new DC? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Potentially just over £10m but then I wont have much for his wages so probably £8m realistically.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Result FC Utrecht 0-4 Arsenal Adebayor 2, Nasri, Bendtner. Ade and Nasri outstanding and Nic now has 6 goals in 1 start with 3 appearances from the bench. Impressive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 New Squad Numbers: Sissoko 22 (Clichy moved to 13) De Ceglie 16 Giovinco 29 Fiorillo 30 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ234 Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 How much left for a dm? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteadfastMeat Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 You could try Pape Diakhate at Dinamo Kiev. He's relatively cheap. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Result Heracles 0-5 Arsenal The pre-season gets better and better, as Adebayor, Walcott, Djourou, Feghouli and an own-goal wrap up a convincing win. Djourou stakes his claim and does his best to persuade me there's no need for a new DC with a Man of the Match performance. But I still would like to get Chiellini in if possible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 I dont need a DM - i have Sissoko. Its a DC i need... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 And Diakhate is useless. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteadfastMeat Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 And Diakhate is useless. How come?:confused: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Ca 136, pa 165. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam C Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 How about Sakho for just over 8m? Metzelder I think is buyable for just over 7m. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Have put in offers for both of them but I think you're underestimating their asking prices. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam C Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Maybe. Worth a go though, nothing to lose. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Have had a bid of £13.25m for Fazio accepted but wont be able to sign him unless i manage to sell someone - I'm about 2.5m short. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Have had an £11.1m bid for metzelder accepted. That might be reachable by reducing the wage bill a bit - pay cuts of £5k for everyone over £40k pw will be offered. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Highlights from the Champions League included Barcelona (of England of course) 3 - 0 Wrexham (of BULGARIA)!!! And Spain's mighty Addicks got a 1-0 win over Sigma Olomouc! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Man City's £10m bid for Eboue was completely impossible to turn down, and will allow me to sign that defender now. Chiellini if possible, if not then Metzelder or Fazio. Will try to get a back-up right back too though if I have some cash left over. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 World League Cup Round 1: Shocks included Independiente (Ordinary) beating Monaco (Championship), and Mallorca (Ordinary) beating Cruzeiro (Premiership). To recap (because I forget sometimes too). The heirarchy is now as follows: World Super League Premiership Championship Ordinary League Conference Premier Conference Championship Conference Ordinary Hope that clears some things up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 £11.25m for Metzelder is sealed but i delayed it for the week in order to assess my options. Want to get this one right as the player will be an automatic first choice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Ian~ Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 "Congratulations Conference Premier Champions, you've been promoted to the Ordinary League." Not the most exciting news that could be heard. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 League season is getting underway away to Sao Paolo. One thing that occurs to me is that I hope FM doesnt take into account travelling issues with tiredness etc from travelling, or teams from outside Europe are at a serious disadvantage! The way I will work this is I'm going to set a time to submit my teamsheet, before which I invite any submissions/suggestions to team/tactics/teamtalks etc. All ideas will be taken into account but of course I will have the final say. I will usually play the game without input from you lot unless theres a big decision to be made or something has gone badly wrong. The length of time for submissions will depend on the importance of the game. So for now, I'll say that the teamsheet for Sao Paolo will be submited at 10.30pm UK time. You have just under 10 minutes. Info to bear in mind during team selection Away on international duty: Fiorillo, De Ceglie, Denilson Injured (including those carrying knocks who i dont like to play): Fabregas, Diaby, Van Persie, Eduardo Bendtner, Walcott and Adebayor all pleased with my pre-match comments Sissoko happy to be named vice-captain Toure is the subject of a negotiated bid by Chelsea. They bid £16.5m, have negotiated to something around £25m mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 "Congratulations Conference Premier Champions, you've been promoted to the Ordinary League."Not the most exciting news that could be heard. Point taken, but same applies now because the Conference is called the Blue Square PREMIER - and in comparison, League Two sounds rather...well ordinary! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ234 Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 Btw pa and ca aren't everything tbh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 No i know, but they're a good indicator. I will of course be taking form massively into account as well as morale etc which is why i mentioned about those players who were happy with my pre-match comments. Hurry you only have another minute! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 No selection input so this is the team named for information only. I have used my standard tactics sets, again in the absence of any input from AssMen. If anyone wants to see them, tell me how to upload a .tac file and i will. GK Almunia DR Sagna DL Clichy DC Toure DC Silvestre MR Arshavin ML Giovinco MC Nasri MC Sissoko SC Adebayor SC Vela I debated whether or not to play Song in the centre instead of Nasri and push Samir out wide instead of Giovinco, but I felt Sao Paolo were worth having a go at, even on their own patch. It also means there is proper cover for the midfield on the bench. If it backfires, we’ll know to be more careful about pulling stunts like that! Frankly with my strikers on such good form it probably doesn’t matter. I have Bendtner on the bench with friendly returns of 2(4) Apps, 7 goals!! Ade’s form is almost as good though, or Vela and Nik might’ve started together. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Before my game, an Italian "derby" kicked off the Super League season, as Inter thumped Roma 3-1 on their own patch to start the season with a bang. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Match Report Sao Paolo v ARSENAL, 16.8.08 With six debutants in the starting XI, Sao Paolo were not to be underestimated, and in fact were marginal favourites with the bookies. But after just 17 minutes, Silvestre met a corner from Arshavin, headed hard against the bar, and the ball ricocheted off Sao Paolo’s Richarlyson for an own-goal. 1-0 to the Arsenal and all that. Moments before half-time, Adebayor thought he’d doubled our lead, meeting a wonderful cross from Giovinco, only to have the goal chalked off for offside. Seconds later, the Nasri decision was vindicated as he met Arshavin’s pull-back to volley a stunning shot into the top left-hang corner to make it 2-0 at half time, despite a distinctly average performance from the boys in red and white. Carlos Vela had picked up a knock but I didn’t want to take him off with a rating under 7 – in early season you want to give your players every chance of a high AvR after the first few games. He was OK to continue with 81% fitness. I told the players I was pleased and sent them out for the 2nd half feeling quite confident. The crossing had been superb all day and three really good headed chances came our way before the hour mark, with Giovinco and Arshavin really posing a threat. With 23 minutes to go, the excellent Nasri made way for Walcott, Vela moved out wide and Arshavin was pushed into a more advanced position to hopefully take advantage of the fact that Sao Paolo had been so exposed down the flanks. It was an odd formation, using both MR/ML and AMR/AML, with Adebayor alone up front and Fabregas running the midfield alone. But when you’re 2-0 up against one of the smallest teams in the division, you can experiment a little. It didn’t really come off – we had a couple more chances but we didn’t get the hatful of goals I hoped for, and the final score was 2-0. 61% of the possession told its own story, really. Not all the reports will be this long - sometimes it will be more like the friendlies I posted earlier, but now and then I’ll give you a blow-by-blow like that. Super League Results - 16/17 August 2008 (I'll usually give you these too, later in the season I'll include tables too.) Roma 1-3 Inter AC Milan 4-1 River Man Utd 2-1 Fiorentina Lyon 1-2 Porto Sao Paolo 0-2 Arsenal Sporting CP 0-1 Real Madrid Liverpool 1-0 Valencia Barcelona 1-0 Benfica Boca 2-1 Sevilla Chelsea 1-1 Juventus No real surprises there, I suppose the biggest surprise is Boca's win against Sevilla, but even that isnt exactly a shocker. Lower League Focus: Conference Championship (level 6/7) Each week (well not every week but most), I'll pick a league to do a little bit of an update on. I'll usually post a table though after three games I'm not going to bother. Shock early leaders are Romanian minnows Unirea Urziceni, who along with Lens are the only team with a 100% record. However, with wins against Estudiantes, Atlas and FC Zurich, I would expect Unirea to drop down the league significantly as names such as Valladolid, Lens, Nantes, Bolton, FC Twente (yes, Steve McLaren!), Celta Vigo and Slavia Prague are all in this league. Valladolid and Lens would probably be my two tips for promotion although Valladolid have already lost to the Mexican outfit Tigres, a student football team essentially...could be interesting, and we'll return here in a month or so to see how they recover. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brambleten Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 missed a bit from where i looked earlier. i would have definitely gone for Feghoulie, looked at Palombo or Hernanes for DMC, and at CB i usually go for Thiago Silva (or used to, anyway, until his ban on 9.3). however, if you search for Leo, (under 21, brazilian) he did the job for me at Hull City in a challenge. not sure how good he can get for Arsenal though. tactics, i would suggest looking for Lam's thread in tactics and training about just changing mentality and passing, if you want to be hands on edit: here is Lam's thread if you want it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 yeah i went through all that with a Berwick side and I think my tactics are based on those. If you know how to upload .tac files, please let me know and I will show you my set. I have three - defensive, normal and attacking. EDT: No they're based on someone else's framework but I think they've worked for others. Would love to know how to upload a .tac file to show you and get some feedback - thats what this is for after all! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Also - Silva is good (PA170) but I think i need someone who could slot right in as a first choice and he's just not there yet. Perhaps next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Metzelder deal was sorted too, but i've decided to go with Fazio, partly because he has a slightly better CA/PA but mainly because he's much stronger physically and I think we need that. A bit of muscle in the defence (20 strength) and good in the air (Jumping 18, Heading 19)... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Right people, its your 2nd call to arms. Arsenal v Lyon at the Emirates, Sunday 24th August. I know I haven’t actually given you my updated squad – I’m going to do that after the transfer window slams shut to make team selection easier. All the big players are there really, anyone you haven’t heard mentioned is probably where you’d expect them to be. Vela and Giovinco are both temporarily in the squad to cover for injuries to Eduardo, van Persie etc. Fazio hasnt arrived yet. Unavailable: Fiorillo, De Ceglie, Fabregas, Diaby, Van Persie, Eduardo. Eboué looks set to leave to Man City in a £10m deal before the deadline. A replacement will be brought in hopefully – this guy is my instinct, with a CA/PA of 133/181, I have had him before and he's a good long term player, but I want your opinion. For now my instinct is to keep Eboue on the bench anyway but you guys get a say in it. Until about 11.45pm anyway. That’s only approximate on this occasion as I have a few things I need to do first and it could be a bit later, but I reserve the right to click “Submit Team” at ANY time after 11.45 without notice!! I will of course post the team on here first. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Again no input so this is the team I’ve sent out. GK Almunia DR Sagna DL Clichy DC Toure DC Silvestre MR Arshavin ML Giovinco MC Nasri MC Sissoko SC Adebayor SC Walcott Bench: Bendtner, Song, Vela, Eboue, Denilson, Djourou, Fabianski After Nasri’s performance against Sao Paolo, there was no way I’d change my thinking this time and go with the more defensive-minded approach by playing Song. The one change saw Walcott come in for Vela up front. Form dictated that Bendtner should get the nod, but I have never been one for two very similar strikers and I see Bendtner as a poor man’s Adebayor so he stays on the bench with Theo given a start. Fit-again Denilson replaces Gibbs on the bench. Come on Gunners! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Match Report ARSENAL v Lyon, 24.8.08 As the game started, I realised how good Lyon are – they have a lot of the real FM gems such as Toulalan, Bodmer, Lloris, Gassama, Cris, Kallstrom and Makoun. Not to mention Pjanic on the bench who was one of my longest-serving players in my last Arsenal game (my “real life” one if you like! Currently in 2017 I believe, and only one league title to my name unfortunately). Double irony after 15 minutes as a corner from summer transfer target Toulalan was nodded in by Boumsong. We’d been such a threat from wide against Sao Paolo and the taste of our own medicine was bitter. We gradually came back into the game but went in at the break 0-1 down and no-one was playing above 6.8 so I gave the lads a bit of a reminder that there were nearly 60,000 passionate Gooners watching them who wanted to see Arsenal hold their own in this new-fangled world league. Hopefully they weren’t going to let them down. After an hour I took Pat Rice’s advice (Soon to be renamed – editor anyone?) and told the team to play a short passing game a lot more. I also pushed everyone’s mentality settings up a couple of notches. This was our first big test. Bizarrelly, fifteen minutes later it was a long, Wimbledon-style hit and hope from Sagna that found the blistering pace of Walcott on the end of it for Theo to hold off the ‘keeper and equalise. A winning goal would set us up nicely for the season – Sporting are up next but then it’s a really tough run against much more high-profile teams, starting with Chelsea and Man Utd in the space of 8 days. A bad run could see us going into the winter months in a very precarious position so I really wanted a goal. With 10 minutes to go, Arshavin made way for Bendtner, with Theo switching to an AML role, more advanced than the Russian had been playing. The last ten minutes was frenetic, with Lyon having probably the better of the many chances as both sides searched for a dramatic winner. It never came, although Walcott had a very good chance saved. 1-1 was probably a fair result, as for all the 18 shots we had, only 4 were on target to Lyon’s 3 on target from 7 attempts. Possession was 50/50 exactly so I cant really have any complaints. But its two points dropped – Lyon are good but in this league, they’re lower mid-table at best I reckon. Super League Results – 23/24 August 2008 Fiorentina 0-1 Roma Benfica 2-2 Liverpool Inter 1-0 Boca Juventus 0-2 Man Utd Sevilla 2-1 AC Milan Valencia 3-0 Sao Paolo Porto 4-0 Sporting CP Arsenal 1-1 Lyon River 2-0 Barcelona Real Madrid 1-0 Chelsea Interesting set of results there – 2-1 to Europe in the Inter-continental clashes this week. But I bet you wouldn’t have guessed the one South American victory would come at the expense of Barcelona! Does it perhaps indicate that FM takes into account distance travelled, because in every one of the three intercontinental ties, the home team won? In fact we’re the only team to manage a victory outside our own continent so far with that opening day win in Sao Paolo…thoughts? Lower League Focus: Conference Ordinary (level 7/7) Firstly a note – I have now edited it but I mistakenly put last weeks entry as being the Conference Ordinary. It was in fact the conference Championship, level 6/7. This week we’ll drop down a division to the Ordinary, where after 4 games, three teams lead the way on 10 points: Santos Laguna, Nancy Lorraine of France and … guess who? … The Black Cats themselves. Sunderland are the only team in the division not to have conceded a goal yet. They haven’t scored many either – 4 goals in 4 games to be precise, with victories over Nurnberg, Dinamo Moscow and Morelia punctuated with a 0-0 draw with Atlante. After a game against Sochaux, they will enter the Conference League Cup South, with a game against Nurnberg. Their victory against them in the league was narrow, and a home win for them, so it might be a good test of their credentials to see if they can manage a win in Germany. I’ll be rooting for them, and they are in a league which looks like it might allow them out of it. Dinamo Moscow, Auxerre, both Vienna sides and Bologna looks like the main threats although front-runners Santos Laguna have brought in three loan players from the Premiership/Championship (levels 2 and 3 of 7), including Valladolid’s Borja whose CA of 127 is impressive for that level. They might just be able to sustain their form if players like him can perform to the best of their ability. I think by the next time we visit this level in a month or so, we’ll have a much better idea. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Major shocks in the League Cup as St Etienne of the Ordinary League beat Zenit of the Premiership, and Zaragoza (Championship) beat Valencia (WSL). Both after extra time. Both home wins – its early days but it does appear that home advantage becomes a bit more important in this scenario…which makes sense. EDT: Going to take it till the end of the transfer window, post a bit of info, then call it a night. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 6, 2009 Author Share Posted June 6, 2009 League Cup Update Major shocks in the League Cup as St Etienne of the Ordinary League beat Zenit of the Premiership, and Zaragoza (Championship) beat Valencia (WSL). Both after extra time. Both home wins – its early days but it does appear that home advantage becomes a bit more important in this scenario…which makes sense. Those were the early kick offs. After that the list kept growing: the full list of shocks in round two read as follows…will use the numbers of the leagues for clarity so WSL=1, PREM=2 etc. The bigger the number, the lower the league. Interestingly, 3 of these shocks were won by the away team, however. Those I have starred. St Etienne (4) beat Zenit (2) Zaragoza (3) beat Valencia (1) Aston Villa (4) beat Ajax (2) Mallorca (4) beat Chivas (2) Leverkusen (3) beat River (1) Sampdoria (3) beat Werder Bremen (2) Saint-Etienne (4) beat Zenit (2) Zaragoza (3) beat Valencia (1) Independiente (4) beat Sao Paolo (1) *** Everton (3) beat CSKA Moscow (2) *** Getafe (3) beat Fiorentina (1) *** Bizarrely, the only incidence of a 3-league-gap shock was one of the away wins… Champions’ League Update My bizarre Champions’ League Group threw up QPR (of Spain), Cottbus (who really are German) and Genk (who really are Belgian). Not quite sure why, but some of the teams such as Juventus and Bayern, Real Madrid and Barcelona, made it into the Champions League, whereas others were replaced by teams playing in their old leagues such as QPR, Swansea, Fulham, etc. Anti-old firm-ites would have been delighted to see Aberdeen’s name in Group B alongside Chelsea and Juventus, while Italy’s Gillingham can look forward to a trip to Romania to face Chesterfield. This is a wonderfully bizarre world, isn’t it! Anyone who wants a closer look, try to explain this for me? – I don’t understand how some of the teams who have come to the World Leagues have lost their places (e.g. Lyon, Villarreal), whilst some haven’t (e.g. Juventus, Barcelona). Odd. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 6, 2009 Author Share Posted June 6, 2009 Arsenal Sign De Silvestri Italian right-back Lorenzo De Silvestri has signed for Arsenal. It is thought this move will pave the way for Emmanuel Eboue's move to Manchester City to be completed within the next few days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 6, 2009 Author Share Posted June 6, 2009 The thinking is that with the extra money I get from Eboue I will then be able to afford Fazio... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 6, 2009 Author Share Posted June 6, 2009 United beat Zenit in the last really meaningful Super Cup clash. Fazio bid was accepted and provided Eboue’s deal goes through, he’ll be an Arsenal player within days. The league cup threw up Liverpool at home. Interesting one. In a round of tasty ties, we’ll have a Milan derby as AC “visit” Inter, and Man Utd will travel to the Camp Nou! Mouthwatering. This is the way to re-invigorate the Carling Cup! Sporting (A) next. Didn’t give you guys a chance to help with selection this time because I want to get to bed and no-one seems to be online anyway! Sissoko’s injury gave Alex Song a chance whilst the return of skipper Cesc means only a place on the bench for Samir Nasri, who had been fading from his fantastic start, while Giovinco, whose place he would have taken in my original team, has continued his form. Eboue was given a place on the bench – if we’re winning I’ll give him a final appearance. De Ceglie would have to wait for his first chance for competitive action, even from the bench. Team: Gk Almunia DR Sagna DL Clichy DC Toure DC Silvestre MR Arshavin ML Giovinco MC Song MC Fabregas ST Walcott ST Adebayor Bench: Bendtner, Nasri, van Persie, Eboue, Denilson, Djourou, Fabianski Match report to follow… Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 6, 2009 Author Share Posted June 6, 2009 Another thought, on a side-note – why is it that suddenly Arsenal were straight into the Group Phases? I didn’t swap anyone who was in the right league – Arsenal surely finished 4th last year and I should have had to qualify? This has clearly messed with the head of FM a bit! Match Report Sporting CP v Arsenal 30.8.08 After a promising start, Sporting seemed to be in the ascendency until Giovinco and Walcott combined nicely to set up Adebayor for his first competitive goal of the campaign after 15 minutes. A brilliant response. After that it was one-way traffic. Walcott came close twice before doubling the lead in bizarre circumstances, finding himself inadvertently in the way of a huge hoof from Miguel Veloso. He knew nothing about it, but it was 2-0 Arsenal. A good chance for Sporting ended the half but it had been our half without a doubt. Walcott had been sensational and his 7.6 H/T Rating was fully deserved. And it got better within 5 minutes – running half the length of the pitch and beating five defenders before slotting past the ‘keeper to score a 2nd. This was easily the best individual performance of the campaign thus far. The ailing and clearly unfit Fabregas made way on 69 for Denilson, whilst Eboue’s final appearance (probably) did come, with Arshavin also flagging and clearly short of fitness. After that there were few chances of note. Postiga nearly grabbed a consolation goal for the hosts at the death, but the ball bounced back off the post into the grateful hands of Almunia whose clean-sheet was assured. This was very much Walcott’s day. 3-0 to the Arsenal. Chelsea up next!! Super League Results – 30/31 August 2008 – with Man Utd v Real Madrid to follow on Sep 3rd (posted tomorrow, folks, sorry!) Roma 0-1 Juventus Barcelona 2-0 AC Milan Chelsea 2-0 Porto Inter 3-1 Sevilla Liverpool 6-1 River Lyon 0-1 Valencia Sporting 0-3 Arsenal Boca 1-2 Fiorentina Sao Paulo 0-0 Benfica South America once again taking a bit of a beating, with River getting thumped at Anfield, Boca losing at home to a mediocre side at this level, and Sao Paolo only managing a goalless draw to one of the weaker sides in the league. Wonder if we’ll see two or maybe even three South American sides relegated? Inter lead the way with the only 100% record from three games (though United and Real have both won 2/2). Neither Sao Paulo nor Sporting have recorded a goal and still have only one point between them – the draw in Sao Paulo this weekend. Oh and Fiorentina become the 2nd side to manage a victory in a different continent. Lower League Focus: World League Championship (level 3/7) A good start for Olympiakos who have the only 100% record after 4 games. On the other end of the spectrum, Spartak Moscow have not yet managed a point after defeats to Everton, Feyenoord, Sampdoria and Napoli as well as Galatasaray in the League Cup 2nd round. There is mixed news for English clubs so far in this division: Everton are 2nd with 10 points from 4 games, but Tottenham are 20th with just 3. Oh what a shame…. (tee hee!). Looks to me like we’ll be getting a very tight league here though, there is quite an even spread of points so far. Will report back in a month or so! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 6, 2009 Author Share Posted June 6, 2009 Awards Wont bother with weekly ones, but: Player of the Month: Torres (Liverpool) Walcott (Arsenal) Pedro Emanuel (Porto) Young Player of the Month: Giovinco (Arsenal) David Luiz (Benfica) Joao Moutinho (Sporting) Strange that Benfica and Sporting should get two player awards when they’re 17th and 20th respectively and neither has managed a win, but whatever. Manager of the Month: Benitez (Liverpool) Hearn (Arsenal) Ferreira (Porto) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 6, 2009 Author Share Posted June 6, 2009 Annoyingly, the Eboue deal was done in installments so I didnt get a chance to sign Fazio who I really need. Will have to make do unfortunately. This is a comprehensive summer transfers list. A nice load of cash spent but some really good players including some for the future and with the exception of the failure to land one of Fazio, Chiellini or Metzelder, I'm very happy with my transfer work. And despite the shortfall from transfer dealings, the club is in fact £19m richer now than it was when I took over. The problem of course is that Champions League qualification just got a lot harder. I think a Champions League win in the first season might be vital. It's easier to win of course, with far fewer good teams in it. But its still no picnic... Here's my squad. Gk Almunia 160 Gk Fabianski 135 Gk Fiorillo 112 DL Clichy 167 DL De Ceglie 144 DR Sagna 165 DR De Silvestri 135 DC Toure 166 DC Silvestre 150 DC Song 136 DC Djourou 136 DMC Denilson 140 DMC Sissoko 167 MC Fabregas 174 MC Diaby 138 MR Walcott 150 MR Arshavin 165 ML Nasri 158 ML Rosicky 160 SC Van Persie 163 SC Adebayor 169 SC Eduardo 164 SC Bendtner 142 ...making for a total CA of 3496 for the squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyedOutMan Posted June 6, 2009 Author Share Posted June 6, 2009 Ladies and gents, in slightly more manageable form, THE ARSENAL SQUAD for September 2008-January 2009. Deadline passed, this is how it will be, until the window opens at least. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PluckaDuck Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 Fantastic start mate, KUTGW!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ234 Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 No i know, but they're a good indicator. I will of course be taking form massively into account as well as morale etc which is why i mentioned about those players who were happy with my pre-match comments. Hurry you only have another minute! No, but when you buy players it can be irrelevant. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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