Amaroq Posted September 7, 2007 Author Share Posted September 7, 2007 Saturday, 21st July, 2007. Friendly, vs Sheffield Wednesday. Somehow, the term "Friendly" doesn't really apply to any match between United and Wednesday. "Exhibition," perhaps, or "Pre-season encounter," but not ever "Friendly." Even those who might be inclined to look upon their cross-town rivals with a kinder eye were unable to look past the events of the past three months. United had, as you know, eliminated Wednesday from the playoffs on an injury-time penalty kick which has become questionable in the minds of Wednesday supporters, though I don't remember anybody doubting that it was deserved at the time. Former United manager John Gregory had added fuel to the fire by accepting the position as Wednesday manager and publicly vowing to show Terry Robinson that he'd made a mistake. Last season, United had won the series with two wins, a draw, and a defeat, including the crucial penalty final. This season, today's "Friendly" might be the only chance for either side to claim bragging rights. With a game this important to my supporters, there was no question of starting an experimental side, or in fact anything less than my A lineup. That meant Allan McGregor in goal, with Joe Keenan, Chris Morgan, and Steve Foster in the back. Rory Beanes got the nod at right back, as I'd wanted to see him over 60 minutes, not 12, on Wednesday. Paul Thirlwell was the defensive midfielder, and my top wingers, Jonathan Forte and Chris Sedgwick, would patrol the sidelines. Joe Newell and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson were the attacking midfielders, and Peter Weatherson started up front. Gregory came out with a defensive 5-3-2 formation, which luckily we'd had practice against with the York match. Still, the crowd of 2,222 - what are the odds? - were growing restless when neither side had had much success in the first half hour. I kept my naturally conservative 4-5-1 approach, and neither side had really threatened since a dangerous Wednesday free kick in the first minute. There was no shortage of action, however, as there were numerous fouls, and Joe Newell showed his immaturity, earning a yellow card for arguing a call and then nearly getting sent off for continuing to question it. It was hard-tackling, rough stuff for a pre-season match! In the 31st Newell ignited the crowd with a spectacular half-volley from at least 30 yards out. It carried over the bar, but the audacity and flair involved created quite a buzz, which carried until the 39th minute when Newell's fine pass picked out Marc Bridge-Wilkinson. He hit the ball on the half volley from from 20 yards out, and Lee Grant could only parry it. Peter Weatherson, unmarked, pounced on the rebound and looked certain to apply the finish, but Grant dove in front of him, somehow deflecting the ball wide of the post. It was a tremendous double-save, and the Wednesday fans were vocal in support of their keeper. The break came in injury time of the first half, when Wednesday had a continuous build-up of steady pressure. Chris Sedgwick broke it up, and got the counterattack going up the right wing. He sent an aerial ball ahead through Weatherson's flick-on header for the great run of Newell. The 17-year-old took two beautiful control touches as he reached the 18, making the last defender miss and setting up the keeper so that when he fired home to the far post, Grant was diving to cut off the near post. It was a brilliant goal, well worthy of the rivalry, and we had a 1-0 lead for halftime. Wednesday nearly equalized in the 54th minute, with Joe Shaw slipping free of our defense on a breakaway, but a fine one-on-one save by Allan McGregor denied him. The rebound might have given us trouble, but stalwart defender Chris Morgan was there to clear it. Shortly after the hour, Rory Beanes fed a high ball forward from his own half. Weatherson, again acting like a target man, out-jumped fullback Patrick Collins to knock it back down for Bridge-Williams. The 28-year-old unleashed a spectacular curling shot from 30 yards, which Grant could do nothing about, and it was 2-0, United. Despite the addition of numerous reserve players and a few trialists in the next thirty minutes, we were in complete control, and as Wednesday's frustration expressed itself in reckless tackling, the yellow cards began to mount up - they were lucky not to have a man sent off. Our lads kept their cool (though I admit, I brought the hot-tempered Newell off for his own protection) and in fact the final ten minutes were utter domination, as we had chance after chance, perhaps four corner kicks and six shots. John Melligan came closest when he struck the post from 20 yards on the 88th minute, but he'd hit the outside of the post and the ball rolled away. Shortly, referee Mark Warren blew for full time, and the Bramall Lane faithful had their bragging rights for the year secured. Sheffield United 2, Sheffield Wednesday 0 Newell 45, Bridge-Wilkinson 63; ---- MoM: Ogden (Wednesday GK) The newspaper writer must be a Wednesday supporter. There is no way reserve goalkeeper Adam Ogden was Man of the Match, coming on as he did after the outcome was already decided. For his two headed assists, Peter Weatherson might have been, but in my book the trademark strike Bridge-Wilkinson had hit was golden - a goal of the season candidate to rival Newell's fine earlier effort had it been a competitive match. With four wins from four games, I could only hope we weren't flattering to deceive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 8, 2007 Author Share Posted September 8, 2007 Tuesday, 24th July, 2007. We'd gotten good news Saturday morning just before the match, as Serbian international Ivan Gvozdenovic, a free agent, agreed to terms on a contract offer. Unfortunately, the defensive midfielder wouldn't be able to join the club until his application for a work permit was processed, and I'd never needed to learn the work permit rules. Though the 28-year-old had 8 caps, he didn't meet either of the typical standards applied - he hasn't played in the required percentage of his country's international matches, and his country isn't in the top 70. The work permit was denied on Sunday, and my search for a defensive midfielder continued. It may have ended Tuesday night, as at eleven p.m., I signed the final paperwork on a multi-part cash and player-exchange deal with Liverpool. The Reds had come in last week expressing interest for one of my summer signings, flexible defender/striker Martin Edwards. I rated him highly, myself, and I couldn't think of parting with him for a pure cash transaction. I drove what I thought would be an impossible bargain: the amount that they'd offered, plus 20% of his next sale, a home friendly, and defensive midfielder Danny Payne. To my shock, Liverpool manager Kevin Keegan agreed, and the deal was on! D/DM RC Danny Payne, 20, England, uncapped: No appearances with Liverpool: While I'd originally been attracted to Payne as a defensive midfielder, he also has everything it takes to play the right back position; with Deloumeaux injured I may shift him over for the duration. He's a good tackler, strong with his head, but most of all a composed player. He's got the ability to finish if added to the attack, and is especially adept at banging them in from long range. He looks like starting material, though his first touch is a bit weak, his concentration wanders, and he isn't as brave as I would like in a defensive midfielder. If you compared their current ability, I certainly got the better of the deal in the short-term, but Liverpool can afford to play for the long term, and the fact that they immediately marked Edwards' value up to £1.7M may indicate that I sold him too cheaply! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 8, 2007 Author Share Posted September 8, 2007 Wednesday, 25th July, 2007. Friendly, vs Gretna. We would have our last three friendlies over just a four-day span. The first was against Gretna, a Scottish semi-pro team from the Third Division. Although they were rumored to have the support of a wealthy businessman a few years ago, who was going to buy their way to the First Division a.la Fulham, that really hasn't materialised for them, and the club is still mired in lower-division Scottish football. I strung together a patchwork lineup to meet them. It wasn't so much that I had things I wanted to try as that I didn't have enough professional players to run out a real lineup for three games in such short time. Transfer-listed Phil Barnes got a second chance goal, with Darren Wrack at left back and young Keith McCormack at right back. Awful central defender Paul Morgan would start, partnered with an amateur player, Matt Alexander. Paul Thirlwell started at defensive midfielder. At left wing, I had hard-working trialist Kris Commons, whom I would really like to sign and so am rooting for in this match. On the right was another amateur, Michael Robinson. The attacking midfield was even more cobbled-together: transfer-listed striker Chris Coupe played out-of-position at one slot, with wily veteran Jack Lester at the other. At striker, 17-year-old Scotsman Darren Gibson made his Bramall Lane debut against his countrymen. I was disappointed to find that strict Rob Styles was the referee: what I did not need was a red card making any of my players ineligible for the season opener. I gave the lads a word of caution about it as they trotted onto the pitch. The opening fifteen minutes were pretty quiet. Darren Wrack made a forward run that concluded with a half-volley from inside the area, but it was hit right to the keeper, and Gretna's best chance was Wayne Gibson's shot, which Phil Barnes caught without taking a step in either direction. In the 17th minute, Paul Thirlwell cut out a speculative pass from the Gretna midfield, just as he's supposed to, but was then met with a crunching tackle by Brian Wake. Many referees would have given a yellow; with Styles in command, I was half expecting a straight red, but Wake got off without a warning. Thirlwell was unable to continue. The half-hour came and went, and Gretna nearly took a lead when Stephen Cosgrove put one inches wide from the eighteen. I shouted at our defense to close him down earlier: that was exactly the sort of move Thirlwell is so good at sniffing out. Gretna were getting the better of it now, and in the 40th minute Wake had a quick break into the box. I covered my eyes as Paul Morgan went in for the challenge, but he made a clean tackle to clear without conceding a penalty. It was still scoreless at halftime. We hadn't looked particularly good, and I tried to settle the troops over the intermission. It seemed to work, as we came out to start the second half looking like a different side. In the 48th minute, Darren Gibson reached the end-line, and found a diagonal pass to Kris Commons in the area. Commons blasted it over from 12 yards out - not the way to impress your potential new manager! We created a number of dangerous moments in next 3 minutes, finally culminating with Gibson in the box again. He passed to Chris Coupe just as fullback Daniel Stratford arrived, and I expected Styles to blow for a penalty. Coupe had his back to goal, about 13 yards out, and managed to turn and fire, a shot which Gavin Skelton tried to stop but could only deflect into the net for an own goal. Styles had the whistle to his mouth, and I think had been planning on awarding the penalty, but either way it was 1-0 now. In the 60th minute, Commons showed his crossing ability with a pinpoint precision effort to the head of Jack Lester, and only a fine save from Greg Fleming denied them. In the 69th, Gibson, clearly recovered, outran the tiring Gretna defense to the 18, and his hard shot was tipped over by Fleming. In the 72nd, Fleming made another good stop to keep out amateur Gavin Atkinson's blistering 20-yard effort. We were absolutely piling on the pressure, and the crowd of 2,002 were revelling in it. For a twenty minute span, Gretna were held without a shot and almost couldn't clear it out of their own half. They finally got a shot off, by Robert Nicol in the 87th, but he put it wide, and then it was right back down to the other end. Finally, in injury time, Wrack, finishing the match in an attacking midfield role, blasted a 25-yarder into the top-right corner, making it 2-0 just before the full-time whistle. Sheffield United 2, Gretna 0 Skelton o.g. 51, Wrack 90; ---- MoM: Fleming (Gretna GK) It had been a bit of a Jekyll-and-Hyde performance; if we're going to compete in the Championship, we have to be better than a Scottish Third Division side. However in the first half we'd shown nothing, while in the second half only a fine performance from Gretna goalkeeper Greg Fleming had kept it close. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 8, 2007 Author Share Posted September 8, 2007 Thursday, 26th July, 2007. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Unbeaten, Untested, and Untried If you talk to a United supporter this morning, they'll wax enthusiastic over United's chances this season, touting the fact that the side haven't lost under new manager Ian Richards - overlooking of course, the defeat to Wednesday in the playoffs because 'it was part of a two-leg tie'. It is incumbent on you to remind them that every one of the victories Richards has accumulated is against a side that is now a lower-division side for United. This preseason schedule is particularly embarassing: teams from League Two, the Scottish Third Division, and what next - oh, that's right, Worksop Town, from the Conference North! What does it really prove? How can Richards learn anything from these encounters? Certainly the side is learning his stiflingly boring new approach, but they're not learning what quality opposition will do to counter it. If Richards is making player evaluations based on these travesties, he's doing so based on teams that leave a lot more space than his players will find in the Championship. It can't be financially motivated - there haven't been more than 2,000 people in Bramall Lane all summer. What does that leave? Fitness? How is it making your players fit to exhaust them with three matches in four days just a week before the season opens? I will make a bold prediction: at the end of this season, United will be lucky to be in the same division as Wednesday, and not below. Regardless of the result from their friendly last week, I think Wednesday has the squad to earn promotion. United are still missing key components of this 4-5-1, notably a left wing and an attacking midfielder, and their injury-ridden defense will be severely challenged. Don't kid yourselves: this is a team headed for relegation. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> I threw the newspaper down in disgust. I'd almost forgotten the poisonous tongue of Sheffield Star columnist Rupert Wormwood. Stuart McCall shook his head, looking at me. "Ignore it, lad," he said - he calls me "lad" if we have the privacy of closed doors, but never in front of my players. "He's been writing drivel like that for years. He's very clever: notice how he's managed to rip just about everything you've done in a mere three paragraphs, but he's also set Wednesday up. If they don't earn promotion this year, he'll write it off as an 'abject failure' for failing to achieve the predicted results, and if we do well he's got 'exceeding all expectations' to fill columns with all season long." The conversation might have continued, but Dennis Pettitt poked his head in then. "Paul's okay," he told me, speaking of Paul Thirlwell. "He strained a wrist when he fell, but he'll be fine by opening day." That was a relief - I'd already been talking with Liverpool about the possibility of loaning in a 19-year-old right back, which would let me swing Danny Payne into the defensive midfield role. I might still make that deal, but at least it would be because I wanted to, not because I'd lost another veteran. Instead, Thursday night we added a left back: Scottish fullback Sean Dillon joined us from Motherwell for £200,000. D L Sean Dillon, 22, Scottish, 5 U-21 caps: 39 games, 1 goal, 4 assists, 2 MoM, 6.82 with Motherwell: A natural leader, enthusiastic and determined, with very good teamwork, marking, and defensive positioning, this determined fullback has the pace I expect in a quality defender, and is excellent in the air. His concentration and composure leave a bit to be desired, and he lacks agility and balance, but overall I'd think of him as a solid competitor with Joe Keenan for the left back slot. That gives us a lot of positional freedom, as Keenan can cover a number of different positions at need. Dillon was very excited at the move, calling it 'the best moment of his life' at the press conference Thursday evening when we announced it together. He said he hopes to get his chance as soon as possible, and to make himself a favorite among the fans. Its good to see a youngster so ambitious, and if he can develop into his potential to match his personality, he may become a real force at Bramall Lane. We had also sold Chris Coupe to Tottenham for £130,000. With the addition of younger strikers in Darren Gibson and Chris Gray, he was surplus to requirements here, and hoped he'd have a better opportunity at White Hart Lane. For his sake, I hope that's not true: if Spurs need to use him at the Premier level, the team won't be doing very well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 8, 2007 Author Share Posted September 8, 2007 Friday, 27th July, 2007. Friendly, at Worksop Town. Worksop Town have been a member of the Conference North since its inception in the 2004/05 season, when they placed second but were unable to earn promotion. They've slipped steadily down the ladder, placing 13th last year, in part because they sold their leading scorer, Dene Cropper, to Sheffield United. United were in the throes of an injury crisis up front, and needed anybody. Cropper, from a local team, caught the eye of Stuart McCall, and part of the terms of the deal included a match at Babbage Way this summer. Later, we had sold Dominic Roma to them, and he would be in the starting lineup at right back. The terms didn't state that I had to start my top players, and with a match the next day against Leeds, everybody knew I wasn't about to. Instead, it was Dean Bond in goal, with the defense numbering newly-signed Brian Holmes at left back, Jamie Cooper and Paul Morgan in central defense, and Rory Beanes on the right. Trialist Gavin Atkinson was the defensive midfielder, and another trialist, Robbie Poole, was on the left wing. Graham Allen on the right, and John Melligan and Joe Newell in the attacking midfield, provided some semblance of legitimacy to the lineup. Aerial specialist Noel Hunt was the target man. I expected an easy time of it, and just wanted to escape without injury. I was disabused of that notion a mere 56 seconds into the match, as Worksop left wing Matty Caudwell managed to break into the corner, and sent a cross which seemed to carry over everyone, but Paul Lawson was there at the far post for a close-range header. It went just over, but certainly served as a wake-up call! By the 15th minute, though, we looked settled and in control, and I started pushing players forward, looking to put the Conference North side back on their heels. In the 28th captain Rory Beanes looked to have found the killer long ball, a pass into the run of Noel Hunt, but the striker, like Cropper, is notoriously better in the air than at feet. He wasted the opportunity, putting it over from eighteen yards out. Hunt belied that reputation four minutes later with an incredible 40-yard dribble, and this time his shot was aimed straight for the inside of the post, but goalkeeper Nick Wilson made the save. At the 42nd minute, we looked to have a great chance, but Graham Allen's cross for a wide open Joe Newell was cut out by the head of the last defender. Gavin Atkinson, trailing the play, held it in the Worksop half, and as we built the attack again, Newell fed Hunt who was open in the box but put the shot embarassingly wide. It felt like we'd been in complete control, but as halftime approached we let our guard down again. Somehow, Worksop snuck not one but two players into the box unmarked, and central midfielder Antonio Murray picked them out with a long cross. Caudwell controlled it, and fed it to John Douglas, ten yards from goal with defenders desperately trying to close the gap to no avail. Goalie Dean Bond made a phenomenal save to tip it wide. It was halftime, and I was disappointed: we'd outshot them two to one, but they'd had the better chances, and a Championship side would have held a two-nil lead over us - we were lucky it was still scoreless, I told them, but they shouldn't count on that luck holding. Unfortunately, they weren't listening, and Worksop remained the better side in the second half - if it weren't for Atkinson's tackle in the box after a corner kick, Caudwell might have scored, and then Bond barely managed to parry the 18-yard shot of John Douglas. In the 59th minute, right back Rory Beanes got trapped in the corner on the the sideline, and rather than putting it safely out of play, he tried to dribble his way out of trouble. Adam Muller stole it, and played it right 25 yards for the unmarked Antionio Murray, who let it drop before hitting a spectacular 30-yard volley. Sixty minutes in, and we trailed 0-1. In disgust, I made 8 substitutions, and glowered at the uninspired lot who came off. Unfortunately, the bench I'd selected was very weak: youth, amateur, and trialist players. Still, they looked a likelier lot than the previous group, with more in their legs and more heart showing in the next ten minutes than anything we'd put up earlier. In the 71st minute, 16-year-old goalkeeper Colin Hatton played a long kick over the top of everyone, and substitute striker Billy Sharp was kept onside by left back Rob Atkinson. He broke free after it, and it was one-on-one with the Worksop goalkeeper. Just as Wilson started charging out to meet him, Sharp hit a laser 18-yarder with his right foot to the lower-left corner, and it was all equal... and only then did I hear the whistle - the crowd of 220 let out a cheer, as referee Graham Salisbury was calling him offsides. The goal wouldn't stand, and I couldn't believe it. Sure, Sharp had been five yards behind the central defenders, but didn't they see Atkinson just standing there? I was yelling and screaming from the touch-line, and finally the fourth official warned me to silence myself. While we were still reeling, Mark Jeffrey made a fine cross from well up the right sideline, long and into the box, where Hatton plucked it out of the air, and then punted it upfield. But, no! Salisbury had blown the whistle, and was pointing at the spot. Lee Workman had, in a fine piece of method acting, gone down as obviously as he could after the aerial challenge, and Salisbury had awarded a penalty, ruling that Hatton had pushed Workman while going for the catch. I raged onto the pitch, arguing that Hatton had had both hands up in the air going for the catch the whole time, and how could you make that call? I drew a formal warning for my outburst, but Salisbury was not about to change his mind. Workman himself stepped up to take the penalty, and converted easily to put us down 0-2. I tried our desperation offense in the final minutes, but the Worksop defense held firm, not letting a single shot off in the final two minutes, and the injury time was lightning quick, barely more than a minute it seemed, though the linesman had signalled for two. Worksop 2, Sheffield United 0 Murray 59, Workman pen 76; ---- MoM: Wilson (Worksop GK) I was livid at just about everyone: my players for letting a lowly Conference North side hang around like this, at the referees for two of the worst calls I've seen as a manager, at previous management for agreeing to schedule this game. I lit into my players, seething rage rather than violent anger. "Even though those calls went against us," I told them, "We'd had seventy minutes before either call to put this game away. It could have been 3-0 by halftime, and we took only one? ONE? shot the entire second half? No, we can't claim we were victimized by the referees: we deserved this loss, and I'm ashamed, ASHAMED! of this. This was a disgrace, to the name, to the uniform, to the city..." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soupaman Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 Brilliant story Amaroq. I never dreamed I would become addicted to a story about an American manager's computer generated career. Keep it up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 9, 2007 Author Share Posted September 9, 2007 Thanks, soupaman - that compliment gave me a real belly laugh this morning! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 9, 2007 Author Share Posted September 9, 2007 Saturday, 28th July, 2007. "You don't want to read it," Stuart McCall warned me, keeping the newspaper rolled up as though to hide it from me. I shook my head - with the inevitability of a man looking at a train wreck, I had to read Rupert Wormwood's next article. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Uninspired performance... Lucky to be even at halftime... Atkinson had pulled the offsides trap to perfection... The unbiased observer had to concede that the penalty was well-deserved... Embarassment for Ian Richards... Outclassed... Lost his temper in an embarassingly unprofessional display. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Certain words and phrases jumped off the page, and they just served to rekindle the rage I'd felt last night. I hadn't been able to sleep, tossing and turning as I replayed the match - and some of the awful questions from the post-match interview - over and over in my memory, until I was up until almost five a.m. Finally three or four hours, snatches of a nap really, had left my stomach filled with bile and acidic, which I'd made worse by drinking coffee this morning. It was .. Well, I understand why even the youngest of managers at the big clubs has grey in his hair now. Thus wrecked by the events of the previous day, I had to refocus the squad on today's match, against Leeds United. I'd saved all of my 'A' lineup for this, their last preseason match, and I was hoping to get eighty to ninety minutes from all of them. We would be reinforced by the addition of Ben Hammond, an 18-year-old central defender whom I'd pried away from Rotherham for £450,000. The deal was signed and delivered at eleven o'clock last night, and at the press conference Saturday morning as we announced the deal, he was very optimistic, stating that "I hope that if I get my head down and work hard, Mister Richards will reward me with a first-team place." D C Ben Hammond, 18, English, uncapped: 23 games, 0 goals, 6.83 with Rotherham in League Two: This promising centre-back is fast, with reasonable ability in the air. He tackles well, and is a very good marker. He makes good decisions, shows composure, and in general he does everything I would want from a defender. I hope he's the next Jamie Cooper, and will settle in well; if he can improve steadily, he'll be a fantastic central defenseman. He's already competent enough that I wouldn't worry if I had to play him, and honestly his only weaknesses seem to be in areas I could hardly care about - so he doesn't take the best penalty, and I wouldn't ask him to take a corner. Who cares? Frankly, I couldn't help but equate it as close to a straight trade: in return for Martin Edwards, who was promising, I'd gotten an even more promising centre-back plus Danny Payne - a definite upgrade by any measure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 9, 2007 Author Share Posted September 9, 2007 Saturday, 28th July, 2007. Friendly, vs Leeds United. Leeds United is a local rival, from the larger city a few miles north up the M1 from Sheffield. They are a side with a long and storied tradition that includes a 10-season run from 1964/65 through 1973/74 where they were never lower than fourth in the old First Division, taking the title twice in 1968/69 and 1973/74, as well as lifiting the FA Cup and League Cup once each during that run. They captured the first Division again in 1991/92, and were, like us, founding members of the Premier League, with seven top-five finishes in its first ten years. Then they stumbled, relegated to the Championship in 2003/04. Their first season down, they battled for promotion, placing fourth but losing in the playoffs. The next season was a disaster, with 25 defeats, the most they'd suffered since 1946/47, and 23rd place. Manager Javier Clemente was fired by December, and former Danish international Jan Mølby took over to rebuild. He was unable to save them from relegation to League One, but last year rebounded with 95 points on an easy run to the League One title. In the past three years, we've been in the same division as them each time, so the sides have played six competitive matches, of which we've won four, including a 3-0 win at home each of the past two seasons. There had been some shakeups in my starting XI this week, especially in defense. Allan McGregor remained in goal, while newly signed Sean Dillon made his first showing at left back. Steve Foster and Chris Morgan remained the central defenders, though I had Hammond available to come in off the bench around the 60th minute. Danny Payne made his first start at right back, and Joe Keenan had been moved to defensive midfielder. Jonathan Forte and Chris Sedgwick remained the wingers. Up front I paired Marc Bridge-Wilkinson with veteran Jack Lester for the first time, and Peter Weatherson was my striker. Recently signed fullback Sean Dillon ranged adventurously forward up the left wing twice in the first six minutes, and I was enjoying his energy and creativity as he overlapped with left winger Jonathan Forte. It made me quite glad to have signed him, and when Marc Bridge-Wilkinson hit side netting from 20 yards on the sixth minute, and then launched a fantastic 35-yard effort on the 17th, I was flying high. The latter shot was curling goalward, but was saved at the post by Leeds United keeper Brian Jensen. At the half-hour, Jensen sent a goalkick straight upfield, and it was met by my other recently signed fullback, Danny Payne, who launched a 40-yard header back up the park from just about the midfield stripe. It picked out Paul Weatherson, unmarked at the eighteen, and the striker looked certain to score, but shot just wide. We seemed in complete control of a club I'd expected would be our betters, but in the 40th minute referee Phil Crossley blew the whistle. Joe Keenan, in the defensive midfielder role, had outjumped Simon Johnson to head a ball clear just outside the penalty arc, but Crossley adjudged him to have pushed Johnson. It was a very questionable decision, and Keenan could hardly believe it. The Bramall Lane crowd - by far our largest attendance of the preseason - heaped abuse on Crossley, but he turned a stoic ear. Darren Williams lined up to take the kick, and fired straight on goal. The shot took a nasty deflection off the wall, caroming in at the post just beyond the desperately outsretched hands of Allan McGregor. Cruelly against the run of play, we trailed, 0-1. Following the defeat to lowly Worksop Town, such a cruel goal could have been very disheartening, and I was already mentally composing a half-time speech to combat that. Apparently I need not have bothered, as captain Steve Foster gave them a bracing pep talk, and it seemed to turn the trick: we came out attacking in the final five minutes of the half, and in the 45th minute, Weatherson had the ball on the right side about 25 yards out with the Leeds defense set up. He sent a square pass from the diagonal run of Bridge-Wilkinson at the arc, and the stellar attacking midfielder touched it only twice. The first settled, while the second was a vicious 19-yard strike to the top-right corner which sent 11,735 fans into a frenzy: it was all level at 1-1! Bridge-Wilkinson nearly added another before the break, as Weatherson and amateur Kevin Hutchinson (on due to an injury to Jack Lester) made a fast break, with Hutchinson feeding Bridge-Wilkinson as they reached the last man. His shot was partially blocked, which utterly wrong-footed Jensen, but the goalkeeper recovered to dive on it just inches from the goal line, getting it under control just moments before the opportunistic Weatherson arrived. We continued our domination in the early part of the second half, and the Lilywhites were having trouble getting any shots even on target, as most of their attempts were from long range. At the hour-mark, both sides made numerous changes, including an all-new attacking lineup in Sheffield's red and white. This paid immediate dividends, as John Melligan knocked a lovely ball into space for striker Chris Gray, who outran Michael Duberry to it. Gray took control just outside the Leeds area, and from 16 yards placed a gentle precision shot which threaded a narrow opening between Jensen and the near post to make it 2-1. Just as every Sheffield United fan was willing to annoint Gray the greatest thing since beating Wednesday in the playoffs last season, he had two more great chances in the 68th and 71st minutes, but put both shots well wide of target. Still, the fans were enjoying the chance to jeer at the Leeds players, and Allan McGregor had yet to touch the ball save a few goal kicks and the one unlucky free kick. I had the players falling back to defend, and in the 80th minute that set up the classic counterattack, with Melligan and Gray combining to do most of the work. As the last defender tracked Gray down just outside the area, he fed it left to Joe Newell on a run into the box, but the 17-year-old was unlucky to shoot wide. The final ten minutes showed the intensity you might expect of two local rivals, neither one willing to give an inch in their final tune-up before the regular season, and even though it was the second string for both sides, they put on a very good show. Neither side could score, and our lads closed out their pre-season with a solid win. Sheffield United 2, Leeds United 1 Bridge-Wilkinson 45, Gray 63; Williams 40 MoM: Carson (Leeds GK) It was a bit of a shame that the newspaperman thought Leeds reserve keeper Scott Carson was the Man of the Match, as I'd felt that Gray, Bridge-Wilkinson, Melligan, or even trialist left wing Kris Commons had deserved the honor. Still, our lads were very pleased of the victory, especially if it could plant the seeds of doubt for our nationally televised encounter against Leeds on September 8th. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 9, 2007 Author Share Posted September 9, 2007 Tuesday, 31st July, 2007. With the pre-season complete, it was time to analyze my trialist players. Some of the younger trialists are demanding wages so slight that it is a non-question - at that price I can afford to give them time with the youth team to see if they develop. Making a decision about Kris Commons was proving exceptionally difficult. The 23-year-old left wing is about even with the younger Jonathan Forte, but would provide a lot of depth at that position. Unfortunately, he is so weak in the air as to be a pushover at this level of competition. He has good pace and crossing, but his decisions are mediocre and he's pretty weak defensively. He's asking a lot, both in playing time and in wages, more than I felt he was worth. After a final conversation with his agent, I left him an offer - exactly what I think he's worth, and not a penny more - and told him to take it or leave it. We did sign three trialists, however. Gavin Atkinson, a 17-year-old central midfielder whom I will probably train to defensive midfield, looked the likeliest of the lot, while two 19-year-old left wings, Nicky Thomson and Robbie Poole, added cover but little else. M C Gavin Atkinson, 17, England, uncapped: 6 games, 0 goals, 6.00 with Cinderford Town over the past two seasons: When a player is released on a free by a non-League side few people have ever heard of, that is usually cause for the immediate cessation of his career and seeking of new employment elsewhere, so Gavin was over the moon at resucitating his career with a 3-year deal here. My scouts like him, my coaches like him, and if he isn't quite of the standard that I'd like, he's in surprisingly good shape for a 17-year-old. He lacks any truly standout characteristics, but if he can show steady improvement for about three years, he'll be a reasonable backup player at the Championship level. M L Nicky Thomson, 19, England, uncapped: 10 games, 0 goals, 6.40 with Halifax in the Conference National: A one-time product of the Liverpool youth system who was let go this off-season after an unimpressive campaign in the Liverpool Under-18s and on loan to Halifax, Thomson's most noticeable attribute is his speed, but even that fails to live up to the standard of a Thierry Henry. In other respects, his game lacks considerable polish, from poor passing to poor decisions, from lack of composure to bad off-the-ball runs. His first touch is execrable, and honestly I doubt that he is going to develop into anything more than a Reserve player, but at the cheap wages he wants it is nice to provide a bit more depth to the side - God help us if we ever need to play him, though. M L Robbie Poole, 19, England, uncapped: 0 senior games, 16 U-18 appearances, 5.75 with Leicester: Released on a free by fellow Championship side Leicester City, Poole is a bit more in the Atkinson mould than the Thomson mould, reasonably competent at many things but a standout at none. Worse, he really seems to struggle with the two basic concepts I want from a winger: dribbling, and sending in a cross. Another one who is filling out the side, but whom I hope never to see at the senior level, honestly. If it doesn't make sense for me to be signing two left wings whom I don't honestly think are likely to develop into anything impressive, consider this: until today, the only left wing on the payroll was Jonathan Forte. I needed cover, and badly. On Tuesday evening, Stuart McCall dropped a newspaper on my desk. I was expecting another unfortunate column from my nemesis, Rupert Wormwood, but there was nothing. In fact, I couldn't spot the article he wanted me to see. "Look in the back," he told me. "Odds for promotion." There was, in fact, a spread containing the bookmaker's odds of promotion to the Premier League, sorted by team: Everton 7-4, Coventry 7-4, Q.P.R. 5-2, Crystal Palace 3-1, W.B.A. 6-1, Nottingham Forest 6-1... Leeds United tipped in at 20-1... and there, in bold near the bottom of the table, was local club Sheffield United, at 50-1. At least we weren't dead last, that honuor going to Hull City, who had won successive promotions from League Two and League One in 2003/04 and 04/05, and had escaped relegation by a single point on the last day of the season last year. "Looks like they figure we should be more concerned with avoiding relegation," McCall said with a laugh. He looked full of confidence, almost as though I'd instilled even him with a sense that we might be better than outside prediction would have you believe. Bring on the regular season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaberdeenn Posted September 9, 2007 Share Posted September 9, 2007 Good Luck in the new season Pre season was good reading Even if it was rather long Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 10, 2007 Author Share Posted September 10, 2007 Thanks - sorry it was so long, I think that was the most I've ever had happen in an offseason, a lot of important information and big additions! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 10, 2007 Author Share Posted September 10, 2007 Wednesday, 1st August, 2007. The pre-season was complete, and the first game of the Championship was rapidly approaching. Wednesday morning was a quick check-in with the board. There was little more to say: the board remained pleased so far, and both board and fans expected us to fight bravely against relegation, but nobody had really expected promotion after arriving in the playoffs, and all the pre-season predictions were of doom and gloom, so a brave fight was all anybody was asking. The financial picture included a loss of £1.1M last month, mostly on transfers in, and a total outlay of £1.8M thus far this season. That left us with a total balance of £10.0M, of which £1.7M was still available to me in the transfer budget we'd established for the season. Derek Dooley remained happy with the club's financial status, and we still had tons of headroom underneath our wage budget. After a brief meeting and lot of well-wishing for the season, I was off to more productive things. In the afternoon I met with Stuart McCall to review the squad's training and state after the summer break. Youth player Dean Reid, who had just turned 16, was the biggest improver over the training camp, which was unsurprising. Kyle McFadzean had trained diligently over the off-season and was showing nice improvement. Chris Sedgwick and Jamie Cooper were disappointingly worse now than they had been at the start of the pre-season sessions - this was especially distressing after Cooper's steady improvement while at York, and I wondered what was different between my training setup here than I had had at York City. My top striker, Peter Weatherson, was the most improved player technically over the pre-season, but was in worse form now than he had been at the end of last season. Sean Dillon and Danny Payne were fine additions, my coaches assured me - and in fact, according to them, Dillon was currently the best player on the squad. It was time to switch to the regular-season training schedule, and for the first time since taking over at Lancaster I decided to really overhaul the training regime with which I'd had such success. Based on the things I had learned at Warwick University, I decided to explore different exercises for different positional groups. I devised six different training regimes: one for defenders, one for wingers, one for attacking midfielders, and one for my strikers, plus lighter "youth defending" and "youth attacking" schedules. None were as strenuous as the schedules I'd enforced on my players at York City: I trusted that my players here had sufficient dedication and professionalism to benefit from a lighter regime, and I hoped that would address the late-season flatness I had noted my previous two seasons. In addition, this split should mean a lot more individual coaching attention for each player: there was no training session with more than 11 players, and most had only three or four. It was a large departure from what I'd been doing - and what I'd been doing had been working. As Stuart would say, "Forune favours the bold!" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 10, 2007 Author Share Posted September 10, 2007 Saturday, 4th August, 2007. Championship - Game 1, at Brighton and Hove Albion. Our Championship season opened in Brighton and Hove, a port town on the English Channel, due south of London. Back-to-back promotions in 2000/01 and 2001/02 may have been too much for the Seagulls, moving from League Two to the Championship in two short years. They were relegated from the Championship on their first attempt. However, they won promotion again the following year via the playoffs, and have been a steady Championship side these past three seasons with placings of 8th, 13th, and last season 10th. They were decidedly mid-table, as in the past two seasons combined they have 39 wins, 14 draws, and 39 defeats with a goal difference of -3. The last three times we faced Albion, the team on the road won. Our scout Kevin Randall seems awed by them, however, reporting that they have an exceptional side, and that Mark McGhee likes an attacking 4-4-2. We lined up with our strongest side, as you might expect: Allan McGregor in goal, with the defense of Sean Dillon, Steve Foster, Chris Morgan and Danny Payne left-to-right. Joe Keenan again roamed as the defensive midfielder, and Jonathan Forte and Chris Sedgwick were the wings. 17-year-old Joe Newell and deadly long shooter Marc Bridge-Wilkinson were the attacking midfielders, and Peter Weatherson got the start up front. Every new season begins so flush with promise, and this was no exception. The cheer of the crowd - not a large one, I noted - as the teams entered Withdean Stadium, the smell of cut grass, the referee's whistle: we could be bound for the Premier League this season, or facing imminent relegation, and none could tell the difference. Two minutes in, Jonathan Forte sallied up the left wing wing, then cut it in for Marc Bridge-Wilkinson. My star attacking midfielder tried a curling 35-yard shot, but Ray Sutton saved it easily. On the fifth minute, Brighton came upfield - they were playing a 4-3-3 and pressing forward for the home crowd. Ben Watson, cutting out from the center, sent the cross in and Chris Morgan tried to head it behind. For a heart-stopping moment, it sailed goalward, but then struck the post and rolled out for a corner. I pounded my chest, and tried to breathe. Joe Keenan cut out the resultant corner, and sent a long pass for Peter Weatherson streaking deep up the right wing. He reached the area, then cut it back, a long square pass for the left side of the Brighton area, where Bridge-Wilkinson and Forte battled with David McNamee and Brighton captain Adam Virgo. Forte got into the box, and then referee Steve Tanner blew the whistle: Virgo had a solid hold of his jersey, and the infraction had happened in the area! Penalty! Joe Newell stepped up to take it, and the 17-year-old calmly placed it to the keeper's right, scoring at 6:21 of his debut to make it 1-0, United! Forte, my supposed 'weakness' on the left wing, was causing absolute havoc, earning a dangerous free kick in the 15th minute, and a corner kick in the 18th. Neither effort came to much, but the home side were definitely back on their heels, unable to get anything going through our defense. After yet another foray forward, they were caught out when Danny Payne intercepted, and started the counter-attack up the right wing through Chris Sedgwick. He dribbled past the midfield stripe, and then passed left for Newell. The youngster quickly passed to Weatherson, who knocked a continuation on for Bridge-Wilkinson, and from the eighteen the dynamic attacker volleyed back to the right-side post. It was a brilliant move, finished with a thundering strike that Sutton could do nothing about. Twenty-one minutes in, and we had a 2-0 lead! When Forte brought the ball forward a minute later, many in the crowd of 8,980 began to boo. The home side appeared in complete shambles, and we were in command. One of their midfielders, Dean Hammond, had to come out injured on the 33rd minute, and that further weakened what had already seemed the area they were struggling in. We were unable to add to the lead in the first half, and at half-time I told the lads to concentrate on holding the lead. In the 48th minute, Bridge-Wilkinson nearly added a second, breaking into the area despite a close mark from Virgo, but Sutton saved his effort from close range. By the hour, I was confident enough that I brought Bridge-Wilkinson and Weatherson off to save them for later in the season, and Brighton never threatened. John Melligan, making his debut off the bench, had shots saved twice from 18 yards in the dying minutes, but there was no need to add additional goals: the match had been over since the half-hour. The home fans left disgruntled, while our lads took the moment to applaud the travelling supporters who had made the trip south. Brighton 0, Sheffield United 2 ----; Newell pen 7, Bridge-Wilkinson 21 MoM: Bridge-Wilkinson The mood in the locker room was ebullient: against a mid-table team, on their turf, we had made a statement, not just winning the game but completely controlling it from start to finish. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson was Man of the Match on his debut, while Jonathan Forte, Joe Newell, and captain Chris Morgan had all had very good games as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaberdeenn Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Amaroq: Thanks - sorry it was so long, I think that was the most I've ever had happen in an offseason, a lot of important information and big additions! </div></BLOCKQUOTE> I wasn't complaining Good first game Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 11, 2007 Author Share Posted September 11, 2007 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 11, 2007 Author Share Posted September 11, 2007 Sunday, 5th August, 2007. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Lucky Charms Sheffield United chairman Derek Dooley could not hide his exuberance after yesterday's 2-0 victory over Brighton and Hove. "I knew Richards was the right man for the job," he exulted to the press afterwards. But before United fans get carried away and buy Premiership tickets for next season, let's take a closer look. Certainly, outshooting the opposition 14-4 was impressive, but the fact remains that many of those were shots from long range easily dealt with by a competent keeper such as Ray Sutton. Had it not been for two lucky breaks in the early going, this game might well have been a draw, or even a defeat. If Morgan's ill-advised header had been four inches to the right, Brighton would have held a 1-0 lead, and the play which led to the soft penalty call would never have started. And yes, that was a soft call. How many times have you seen a handful of jersey fighting for a loose ball twenty yards from goal lead to a penalty? The fact is, Richards got lucky... </div></BLOCKQUOTE> started Wormwood's next article. I put the paper down, shaking my head. "There's just no satisfying him, is there?" Stuart McCall asked with a smile on his face. "Don't worry, none of the players believe a word - and they've taken to collecting some of his choicest phrases as 'motivation'." With the results from around the league tallied, we were in 3rd place, co-equal with Ipswich Town. Pre-season favorites Coventry, with their 4-0 pounding of Stoke City, were the leaders, and Norwich had beaten Leeds United 3-1 to check in second. The other early favorite, Everton, had played a 1-1 draw at W.B.A. Sunday afternoon, the United Reserves beat York Reserves at Saltergate - to avoid conflict with the first team, and prevent them from chewing up the field, our Reserves and youth sides play their home matches at Saltergate, in Chesterfield, just south of Sheffield. It was fun to get out and see my former players - Kevin Butler, Kevin Eaton, Daniel Smith, Mark Goodwin, Joe Foote, Simon Roberts, Malcolm Parker, and Mark Dixon all saw action, while goalkeeper Colin Hart was named Man of the Match for his second-half performance. We won 1-0 on a headed goal by Darren Gibson late in the first half. Elsewhere, the Charity Shield pitted F.A. Cup winners Arsenal against Premier League title holders Chelsea: between them, winners of the past four Premier League titles, at two apiece. Czech attacking midfielder Tomas Rosicky opened the scoring in the 14th minute for Chelsea, tapping home after a mad goalmouth scramble had seen a double save already by Dida. Things looked truly grim for the Gunners when referee Barry Knight sent off Fredrick Ljungberg in the 40th minute for his second yellow card, but a gutsy fight back and the brilliance of Thierry Henry created the equalizer, a fine pass to Ivica Olic, who chipped the keeper in the 66th minute. Captain Patrick Vieira put them ahead with a header in the 73rd minute, only for Michael Ballack to equalize for Chelski two minutes later! A dramatic closing segment saw both sides with a chance to win, and 10-man Arsenal played with verve and panache that wowed the neutrals, but eventually the liberal amount of stoppage time expired, and the match went to penalties. The first four shooters hit, but Sanli Tuncay and Samuel Kuffour missed for Arsenal, giving Frank Lampard the chance to win it for Chelsea. He struck true, and Chelsea won 2-2 (pen: 4-2), only the third time they had taken the preseason title in their history. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 11, 2007 Author Share Posted September 11, 2007 Tuesday, 7th August, 2007. Championship - Game 2, vs Cardiff City. There was little time to rest on our laurels, as the second match was just three days after the first, at home against Cardiff City. The famous Welsh club had promoted twice in three years just at the turn of the millennium, but the past four years in the Championship had not been overly kind to them: 13th, 16th, then a promising 5th in 2005/06, only to fall to 18th last season. A 1-0 home win over Oldham Athletic in their season opener had them 8th in the table now, but it was very early days, of course. United had swept the season series in 05/06, including a 3-0 home win the last time the two sides had faced each other. The home crowd would need programs, I feared, not so much because I had made some changes to the lineup which had won the season opener, but we had brought in so many new faces altogether. Allan McGregor was familiar in goal, but ahead of him were newcomers Sean Dillon on the left, 18-year-old Ben Hammond making his United debut in the center, and Danny Payne on the right. The only familiar defender was captain Chris Morgan. Joe Keenan was again the defensive midfielder, and Darren Wrack and debutante Graham Allen started on the left and right wings, respectively. Jack Lester would replace Newell up front, partnered with star attacking midfielder Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, and Peter Weatherson again started as the striker. In all, only four of my starters had been Blades last season. A huge crowd was on hand to witness our return to the Championship: fully 30,482 paid attendance packed Bramall Lane to the gills, and they let out a roar as we took to the field. I sent the lads out with attacking instructions, pushing forward where they could, and we gave the crowd an entertaining game. It started slowly, with both sides sparring for the first fifteen minutes, and neither goalie getting a touch until Cardiff's Argentinian keeper Julian Speroni punched away a cross in the 15th. In the 20th, Jack Lester launched a wicked 20-yard shot which Speroni was barely able to push away at the post. At the 34th minute, Peter Weatherson floated a cross from the left into traffic. Somehow Graham Allen found space to drive an 18-yard right-footed effort, which had Speroni beaten but went just wide. In the 42nd minute, we suffered a blow to our aspirations, as Peter Weatherson was brought down from behind by Kieran Richardson in the midfield circle. It was as clear a foul as you'll see, and Weatherson was writhing on the ground in obvious pain. The referee didn't award a card, and in fact instructed him to get up rather than calling immediately for the physio. It took a moment, but when my physios did arrive, their verdict was that he was done for the game at least, and Noel Hunt replaced him. In injury time of the first half, Cardiff got a counter off of our corner kick. Darren Huckerby started the move with a nice clearance, and it was finished with Richardson's great through ball to David Healy. Last year's leading scorer for Cardiff, Healy was unmarked past our last central defender, but kept onside by left back Sean Dillon. The Northern Irish international raced into the box with as perfect a chance as you'll ever see, and then squandered it by shooting wide. Halftime, and except for that last scare it felt like we were in complete control. I brought Jonathan Forte on in the 58th minute, and in the 63rd he sent a cross into the box. Hunt showed off his aerial prowess, towering above two Cardiff defenders to send a header on goal from the edge of the six, but a brilliant save by Speroni denied him. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson played the subsequent corner to Joe Keenan, standing on the edge of the box, and he drilled a shot which just caught side netting. Though it was still scoreless, we were in complete control and the crowd were in full song, thoroughly behind our efforts to break through as time ran down. It was a hot day, and Cardiff's legs looked leaden, while the heavy physical regime I put my players through in July was already bearing dividends. In the 76th minute, Forte's cross was partially blocked by Shaun Derry, and the caromb fell perfectly to the feet of substitute John Melligan, whose shot was saved and held by Speroni. We were piling on the pressure, and sure to get the result: Darren Wrack sent a header over the bar, and Keenan's half-volley from range went high into the stands behind the goal. Finally, in the 83rd minute, Forte's cross found Hunt free in the box and merely 8 yards out. The cross was perfectly to feet, Hunt's weakness, and somehow he mis-hit it, scuffing the ball so that it trickled gently wide. The 30,000-strong groan was probably heard as far away as Leeds. Into injury time, and we continued to press forward, looking for a winner. A corner kick looked dangerous, but Bridge-Wilkinson's shot went over the bar. Speroni quickly took the goal kick, sending a long ball route one upfield. Derry outjumped Chris Morgan to knock a perfect flick-on header for Pablo Counago. He was past our last man, and no flag. He was in the area before anyone could catch him, and McGregor made a fantastic save. Reduced to fan status, I raised my voice to cheer my keeper, but the rebound fell straight to Counago's feet, and the Spanish striker made no mistake, burying it from 13 yards. The voices of the few thousand away fans were clearly audible in the sudden morgue-like silence which enveloped Bramall Lane. Sheffield United 0, Cardiff 1 ----; Counago 90 MoM: Speroni (Cardiff GK) Football is such a cruel mistress. Why do we, as fans, enjoy it, and what on earth prompts anyone to pursue a profession with such capricious cruelty? The supporters recovered their composure to give us a nice hand as we left the field, but our locker room was dejected and downbeat. We'd owned that game, allowing only one shot on target for 90 minutes, only to see the game-winner in the 92nd. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 11, 2007 Author Share Posted September 11, 2007 Wednesday, 8th August, 2007. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Cruel defeat highlights Richards' inadequacies </div></BLOCKQUOTE> read the morning's headline. "Look, Stuart," I said, looking up from it. "I don't subscribe to a paper for a reason. I wish you wouldn't show this sort of thing to me - I don't want to start doubting myself." "Listen, lad," he answered, "You can't make it go away by wishing, and playing ostrich-with-your-head-in-the-sand won't help matters. You've got to know the context when reporters ask you questions." "But he's so obviously biased against me," I protested. "Maybe, but I think he accurately represents the fan base: there's a lot of doubters right now, and a heartbreaking loss hasn't helped matters. If you can get him to jump on the bandwagon, that'll be a good sign for the rest of your tenure." I looked back to Wormwood's article. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Though at first blush the Blades might appear to have been unlucky yesterday, dominating the match only to give away a breakaway solo effort in injury time, the blame can be laid squarely at the feet of manager Ian Richards. Richards came out with an aggressive game plan, pushing players forward in his preferred 4-5-1, and didn't make any tactical changes when it became clear that the plan wasn't working. By sticking with the same, predictable failure through all 90 minutes, he allowed his tactical better, Cardiff manager David Platt, to make the requisite adjustments at half-time. Platt, perhaps inspired by his near success in injury time of the first half, installed a counterattacking programme which was responsible for the breakthrough in second. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> It was harsh, but perhaps more fair than I would care to admit: I'd made no tactical adjustments other than to bring on my substitutes. Perhaps I should have tried a return to my default, conservative nature, or a more patient buildup looking to get in closer. Glancing further through the article, I saw blame laid again on me for sticking with Noel Hunt, who was "another Dene Cropper" in the mind of the columnist. Physio Tom Mitchell poked his head in the door. "'Scuse me, boss. Bad news, I'm afraid." Those are two words you never want to hear from your physio. "What's up?" "Looks like Peter cracked some ribs. I wasn't sure yesterday, but he was in a lot of pain this morning, and I sent him to hospital for x-rays. They just rang - he's cracked two. He'll be out a good month, at least." Missing Peter Weatherson, whom I thought of as my top striker, for a month. That's not good. "Oh, and you know Brian Holmes?" Holmes was a 17-year-old left back, currently playing on the Reserve team. "He pulled a groin in training Monday. Looking at it today, the swelling's gone down, and he might be able to get back in two weeks or so, but I'd rather send him to a specialist to have it looked at - might take as long as a month." With young players, I'd always rather lose them for an extended period now than have an injury-shortened career, so Holmes was off to London, while I found myself holding a conference with the media to inform them of Peter Weatherson's injury. "It looks like he might be out a while," asked somebody from The Star. "Do you have sufficient backup?" "Peter's an important part of this team, so losing him is a blow, but I feel we have players capable of covering for him." With that onerous duty taken care of, I looked around the league for other results. Hull had beaten first-placed Conventry 2-0, knocking them from their post, and in fact there were only four teams unbeaten and untied after two matches: Norwich had beaten Nottingham Forest 2-0 to take the league lead, Queen's Park Rangers had taken care of Crystal Palace 2-0, Derby County were third after a 1-0 victory over Leicester, and our opponents Cardiff were in fourth. Ipswich and Everton were 5th and 6th with four points, and we were in an 8-team pack at three points. Unlucky Leeds United had lost to Plymouth Argyle 1-3, and were now down in 24th and last without a point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftback in the changing room Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 Just when I thought this story couldn't get any better, you've created an all-too-recognisable monster in the form of sports journalist and general irritant Rupert Wormwood. KUTGW! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien77 Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 Great stuff, though to lose 1-0 at end of 90mins is cruel. But that's why we love the game, rite Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wegason Posted September 11, 2007 Share Posted September 11, 2007 We love the game when we win the game at the end of 90 mins Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 Damien, Wegason, true enough, both of you. leftback - thank you! He's all-too-fun to write. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 Friday, 10th August, 2007. Wednesday night I went over to Stuart McCall's place and sipped a beer while we watched the first Champions League match of the new season - or the first involving an English side, at least. Liverpool were facing Bulgarian side Levski (Sofia) and goals from John Paul Kelly and Steven Gerrard in the first 12 minutes meant anyone late to arrive at their seat at Anfield was disappointed. The visitors settled down thereafter, and though they never really threatened, held the scoreline to a respectable 2-0 final which meant that they at least had a fighting chance going to the return leg. Meanwhile, Stuart and I discussed the club's needs. We still had £1.7M to spend, and not-to-coincidentally, that's the price York were now setting for Robert Cousins. I still wanted to bring the young attacking midfielder in when he is sufficiently healed to pass a physical, but Stuart recommended a different tactic. In his opinion, we needed more than one piece to the puzzle: a starting-quality left wing, though Forte had done well so far, a reasonable reserve goalkeeper, and another defensive midfielder, in addition to an attacking midfielder. We talked about strikers - after Hunt's scuff, neither of us were too excited with him, and though I hoped 17-year-old Darren Gibson would prove worthy, Stuart rightly reminded me that there was no way I could count on that at this juncture. He recommended spending about £250,000 on each position to bring in the best player I could fetch for that price, giving the club much more depth, if not the dynamic future talent I hoped Cousins would be. Things got a bit more interesting the next day, as I fielded bids from West Ham for Kyle McFadzean and from Aston Villa for Chris Gray. Both offers were for well below the player's value, but were open to negotiation. I rang back, demanding something much closer to what they're worth. Unluckily, 29-year-old central defender Chris Morgan suffered a pulled groin, which would rule him out of Saturday's match against Wigan. Worse, Tom Mitchell was recommending physiotherapy, where Morgan could keep Brian Holmes company. Reluctantly, I sent him off to London, knowing that I wouldn't get him back until September, but these sorts of nagging issues can really blight a player's entire season if they aren't dealt with promptly. Friday night was an interesting Reserve friendly, pitting the United Reserves against the Sheffield Wednesday Reserves. It was perhaps a measure of the intensity both sides put into the game that normally composed central defender Jamie Cooper was sent off in the 26th minute for arguing a call. Nonetheless, the lads kept the intensity up, and short-handed goals by Darren Gibson and Keith McCormack - playing right wing instead of fullback - put them 2-0 up at halftime. Jack Lester, getting just a few minutes of action at the end, scored on a free kick that made the final 3-0 for the ten-man squad. Trialist winger Kris Commons made one last bid to convince me of his worth, earning Man of the Match honours in only 65 minutes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 Saturday, 11th August, 2007. Championship - Game 3, at Wigan Athletic. The 2002/03 League One winners had started promisingly with three top-12 finishes in their first Championship campaigns, before sliding backwards to 19th last season with a -19 goal difference. They were winless and in 21st early on this year, with only a single point from their first two matches, and even better for us, starting goalkeeper John Filan was on international duty for Australia, and sweeper Jamie Powell was out with a foot injury. It looked like the perfect opportunity to sneak in and steal three points. Unfortunately, our side was far from full strength as well. Allan McGregor was in goal as usual. Sean Dillon at left back was strong, but Ben Hammond would replace the injured Morgan in central defense, along Steve Foster, who would be captain. Rory Beanes was making his first start of the season at right back to spell Payne. Paul Thirlwell returned to the starting lineup for the first time this season; he's mostly recovered from his preseason injury. Jonathan Forte and Chris Sedgwick covered the wings. My attacking midfielders were Joe Newell paired with John Melligan, making his first start. Billy Sharp replaced injured striker Weatherson. Wigan came out in a 5-4-1 formation I'd not had to deal with prior: 3 central defenders, 2 wingbacks pushing forward, a defensive midfielder behind two central mids, and up front an attacking midfielder behind a lone striker. Our lads were just wrapping their heads around it when Sharp earned a yellow card in the 8th minute. Wigan's left wingback Paul Boertien was playing a real blinder on the left side, looking very dangerous, and both sides had chances in the first 15 minutes. Paul Thirlwell's 20-yard shot through traffic had looked the best opportunity, but it went just over. In the 21st minute, referee Kevin West awarded an indirect free kick, ruling that John Melligan had obstructed Alan Mahon. Billy Sharp was furious with West, and argued the point vociferously, an unwise choice when he was already carrying a yellow, and after some choice profanity West had no choice but to issue a second yellow. We were down to ten men with seventy minutes left to play, and the crowd of 12,484 sang "Sayonara... Na-na-na-na... Hey Hey-ay... Goodbye!" as the disconsolate Sharp trudged down the tunnel. For now, I left my standard formation, just without a striker: 4-5-0. Rory Beanes showed some of his skill on the ball with a beautiful long pass for Melligan, who broke into the area ahead of the defense. It looked like he dribbled around goalkeeper Tony Warner, but Melligan couldn't get the shot off, winding up at the corner of the six-yard box where he hesitated long enough that Kevin Lee got back to tackle it out for a corner. For the most part, though, Wigan had all of the pressure, and in the 30th minute they had a dangerous free kick to the right of our penalty area. Luckily, captain Steve Foster rose above Bojan Djorjic to head it clear. In the 33rd, we had all ten men back to form our defensive permiter when Stephen Brennan drew Paul Thirlwell to him, then passed left for Boertien. The wing-back sent a diagonal pass back central for Djordjic who made a pistoning run back to the top of the arc. He feigned setting it up to shoot with his right foot, then cut it back for his left foot, stepping neatly around the lunging Steve Foster. The Swede launched a left-footed 19-yarder which curled into the top left corner, and now the JJB Stadium crowd was ecstatic, as Wigan led 0-1. We held that scoreline through half-time, but there seemed little I could do to switch things around. When Wigan came out attacking in the second half, Boertien worked his way into the left corner, and sent a beautiful cross for Philip Mulryne, but his header from ten yards went wide. In the 56th minute, some hard work by Chris Sedgwick up the right sideline won the ball, and he sent a low pass for Melligan, who tapped it on for Newell. It was a great opportunity for the youngster, but he put it just wide from 18 yards when perhaps a touch to settle and close the range would have been a better choice. Determined not to make the same mistake I had the last match, I tried changing things around. I pulled Steve Foster over and quickly outlined a wing-back based 5-3-1 that I wanted to try as the counter to what Wigan were doing to us. This was accompanied by sending in Joe Keenan, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, and Noel Hunt all together (for Sedgwick, Melligan, and Forte). The new formation caused instant confusion among the Wigan defense, and Noel Hunt on fresh legs broke up the left wing. His cross into the 6-yard box for Newell looked dangerous, but was easy enough for Warner to pluck out of the air. Warner played it out for Paul Boertien, whose brief miscommunication with Ian Breckin led to both of them standing there as the pressuring Bridge-Wilkinson stepped in to steal it. He made no mistake, reaching the corner of the 6-yard box before rifling it home to the near post low, and ten-man United had equalized, 1-1! We continued to look like the side with the man advantage through the next seventeen minutes: in the 67th, Hunt's pass into the area was another great chance for Newell, but Simon Francis' desperation sliding tackle was ruled fair by West, and cleared the danger without conceding a penalty. In the 68th, Bridge-Wilkinson curled a whistling 30-yard strike in, but Warner's fingertip save diverted it wide. Three minutes late, Beanes played another brilliant long pass, this time springing Noel Hunt one-on-one with Warner. The goalkeeper brought him down in the area, and the ball trickled out for a corner kick. I was almost apopleptic yelling for the call, but West continued his awful game by ignoring our pleas for a penalty. In the 76th minute, Bridge-Wilkinson worked up the right side, and sent a cross into the area for the unmarked Newell. It was as good a chance as you could ever ask for, eight yards from goal and unmarked, but the 17-year-old hit it straight at the keeper. He lay on the ground for several seconds, holding his head in his hands, and I worried that the pressure of playing with the senior side might be too much for him. Wigan had finally re-organized, and in fact it looked like they'd gone to a 4-2-4 to try and earn the breakthrough. In the 79th, they nearly got it, with the cross coming in from Leon Knight, who had gotten unmarked into the left corner. He picked out substitute Curtis Weston, whose header from the 6-yard line elicited a groan from the home fans when it went well wide. Wigan were looking much stronger, and again I took a creative chance, calling out tactical instructions which brought us back into something like a 4-4-1 with two defensive midfielders, but still leaving three attackers if needed. Again, the changes seemed to catch Wigan out, and in the 83rd Hunt and Newell exchanged passes on the left. Hunt looked up in time to spot Bridge-Wilkinson, and swung the pass right. The 28-year-old took it back to his weaker left foot, but somehow launched a brilliant left-footer with some wicked curve on it, a fabulous 25-yard strike to the far post to put us ahead, 2-1! That turned out to be the deciding goal, and though Wigan went to a 2-3-5 to try and break us down in the final minutes, they were having real trouble getting anything through our defense or over our tall defenders - their one threatening moment was called back for offsides. In injury time, we nearly scored a third, with Bridge-Wilkinson the architect as his pass put Hunt past the last defenders, but the striker's weak technique betrayed him, and he put the shot just wide. Wigan Athletic 1, Sheffield United 2 Djordjic 33; Bridge-Wilkinson 59, 84 MoM: Bridge-Wilkinson From the celebration in our locker room, you might have thought we'd just won a Cup: it had been a magnificent performance, and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson's magical touch had absolutely deserved Man of the Match honours. I was still stunned by the second goal, an incredible piece of shooting which seemed a candidate for Goal of the Month. The celebration, however, didn't prepare me for the press conference afterwards: the media wanted to anoint me a tactical genius, claiming it was my second-half changes which had so utterly confused the Wigan players and led to victory. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 Monday, 13th August, 2007. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Ten-Man United Overcome. "As though determined to prove my last column wrong, Ian Richards showed true tactical brilliance today. Trailing 1-0 in the second half, his adjustments seemed to utterly confuse the Wigan defense, and led to a two-goal resurgence which saw the shorthanded side capture all the points. Luck did play its part, as there were two clear penalties which were not awarded to the visiting side. Richards' tactical acumen will be truly tested next weekend, when the side must face first-placed Norwich City without either starting striker, Peter Weatherson being out with injury, and Billy Sharp serving his suspension for the foolish red card incurred arguing Kevin West's first-half obstruction call. Meanwhile, Wednesday looked in control with a 2-0 victory over Luton that saw the Hillsborough club climb to 8th in the League One table... </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Was that... praise... from Rupert Wormwood? What's the world coming to? There were quotes in another article from chairman Derek Dooley, who declared himself extremely pleased with the result after "Feeling the despair which engulfed all United supporters, a goal down and on ten men." Norwich had continued their run of victories, 3-1 over Oldham Athletic, to retain first place, and they were looking very strong leading up to next week's match. Cardiff's 3-0 pounding of Preston moved them up to second, overtaking Queen's Park Rangers, who had gone to then-second-placed Derby County and won 2-1. We were up to fifth, in a five-team pack at 6 points in which we stood second by virtue of goal difference. The fans doubtless took some glee in noting that Nottingham Forest had beaten Leeds United 1-0, leaving our local rivals the only team in the Championship yet to score a point. There were a few changes in the side on Sunday, as trialist left wing Kris Commons accepted an offer from Preston North End and headed off to join the side currently 23rd in the Championship. I'd wanted to sign him as a rotation player, but Commons had demanded a first-team role and wage. 18-year-old right back Keith McCormack joined League One side Watford on a three-month loan. I had a very American deal in the works with Aston Villa, a player-for-player swap. An American would call it a trade, but its not really the same thing: under American law, you can actually transfer the player's contract from one team to another, while in European football the deal is only completed if both players arrange new contracts with the other team. Whatever we would have called it, this deal would have sent 17-year-old striker Chris Gray to Villa Park in return for 27-year-old French defensive midfielder Mathieu Berson. Berson would slot right into our starting lineup, while Gray had become superfluous to my needs. Gray, I'm afraid, got his hopes up after signing a contract with Villa only to have them dashed when the talented Berson refused to take the step down to the Championship. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wegason Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 That match report is one of the best you've ever written Amaroq Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaberdeenn Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Back to winning ways Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien77 Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Great comeback win with 10 ten man.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 Thanks, Wegason! I really appreciate unique compliments like that, and leftback's last page. Aaberdeenn, Damien, they made us work for it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 Friday, 17th August, 2007. The Sheffield United Reserves faced what felt like a full-strength Fulham Reserve side Wednesday night. Luis Boa Morte and Senegal star Papa Bouba Diop, both dropped from the Cottager's first team, highlighted the side, and our Reserves could do little to control the international talent. Boa Morte and Lee Clark were the goalscorers as the Fulham Reserves took an easy 2-0 victory over our youngsters. Unluckily, on Friday morning I learned that Danny Payne had sprained his wrist the previous afternoon, and would be ruled out of Saturday's game. The right back was expected to be back the following weekend. We did get a bit of help, however, as I'd finally secured a loan deal, to bring West Ham winger Kyle Reid in on a 3-month loan. AM RL Kyle Reid, 21, England, uncapped: 15 games, 1 goal, 2 assists, 6.53 with Ipswich in the Championship: An exceptionally creative, determined player, strongest with his left foot, with great teamwork and anticipation. Reid's physical abilities let him down, as he lacks the pace or stamina to be a prototypical Premiership winger, and his technical skills are average at best. He does make good decisions, and he's strong with his head. I like his versatility, and I think he'll provide acceptable depth out wide. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 Saturday, 18th August, 2007. Championship - Game 4, vs Norwich City. Its not often you get a key match this early in the season, but top-of-the-table Norwich City would be our first test against promotion-bound opposition. The Canaries, 14 years removed from a third-placed finish in the Premier League, won the Championship in 2003/04, and have yo-yo-ed back and forth the past four seasons, spending no more than a year either in or out of the top flight. After placing 19th in the Premier League last year, they were relegated, but are in a solid first place in the Championship at the moment, unbeaten and untied through three matches. More frightening, their eight goals have come through eight different players. They have no injuries, no suspensions, and are well rested, so they will be starting their top XI against us. On the other hand, we had a number of players injured or suspended, but we did have our first-team midfield ready. Allan McGregor was in goal. The back four included Sean Dillon and Steve Foster, but was filled out with youngsters Ben Hammond and Rory Beanes. Joe Keenan was the defensive midfielder, with Jonathan Forte and Chris Sedgwich on the wings. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson returned at attacking midfield partnered with Joe Newell. 17-year-old Darren Gibson became the third man to start at striker in four matches, with Sharp suspended, Weatherson injured, and Hunt unimpressive thus far. Norwich came out in an aggressive 4-3-3 formation, and were definitely the attacking side from the opening kickoff. We stiffened in the final third, blocking shots, and cutting out passes. In fact, we looked the more dangerous side on our three- and four-man counterattacks. In the 13th minute, Chris Sedgwick drew attention as he raced up the right wing, then cut it behind the obvious targets to Joe Newell just as the youngster entered the arc. He launched a brilliant shot to the near post, which somehow Jason Brown got his fingertips to and deflected it wide of the far post. In the 15th, Newell picked out Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, and our leading scorer drilled one from 18 yards that had Brown beaten only to strike the post and bounce clear. The Bramall Lane crowd of 26,994 groaned in dismay. In the 18th, Gibson got off the first shot of his professional career, forcing a nice save at the post from Brown. We were outshooting them 6-2 in the early going. Norwich settled down a bit, then, slowing the tempo of the game and trying more posession play. This had the effect of dropping more of our players into defense, and slowing down our counter-attacks, but Norwich still wasn't able to get off any shots that weren't long-range efforts. In the 37th minute, Chris Sedgwick was brought down hard by Jim Brennan, and clutched at his arm in obvious pain. He had to come out, and I sent Darren Wrack in on the right wing. In the 43rd minute, City captain Jimmy Bullard's 30-yard shot was saved by McGregor, which was the first time the visitors had put a shot on target all afternoon. There were fully four minutes of injury time, and then the intermission. I told the lads I was proud of them, and to stay true to our philosophy. I couldn't help but notice that Rory Beanes looked exhausted at right back: he was still breathing heavily as halftime drew to a close. He's one of the slower players on the side, and looked to be making up for that with sheer effort so far. Norwich stayed true to their 4-3-3 all game, and our defensive 4-5-1 seemed the perfect foil: they'd had no fast breakaways and we seemed to utterly clog their midfield, leaving them little room to work and starving their three forwards. On the other hand, we weren't getting forward much ourselves; it had become a boring match for the viewer, I'm afraid. In the 60th minute, I brought Gibson out for Noel Hunt, and in the 66th Beanes, now carrying a yellow card as well, came off for John Melligan; I moved Wrack to right back and let Melligan play right wing for the first time. The lone real action of the second half came in the 78th minute, as Rossi Jarvis tried a wicked 25-yarder, but McGregor was up to the task, tipping it over the bar. The final minutes elapsed without much change: I wasn't willing to go attacking against such a dangerous side, and Norwich seemed unable to break us down. A nil-nil draw was the inevitable result. Sheffield United 0, Norwich City 0 ----; ---- MoM: Brown (Norwich GK) We'd become the first team to earn a point off of the Premiership-quality Canaries this season, and though by mid-week some might be taking satisfaction from that, I was pleased to note that there was frustration in the locker room and a sense that "they got lucky", or "we should have beaten them." The side is hungry - that's good. More; they may have been right, as Norwich goalkeeper Jason Brown won Man of the Match for his first-half saves, and still got a huge assist from the woodwork. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 Tuesday, 21st August, 2007. Norwich remained top of the table with the draw, thanks to Stoke City slowing down Cardiff 0-0. That left the Welsh side level on ten points. Coventry City had beaten Queen's Park Rangers 1-0 in London, going third with QPR fourth. Plymouth and Ipswich rounded out the playoff spots, with Everton 7th and us lying eighth, one point south of the playoff zone and three points adrift of the leaders. Leeds United were off to an abysmal start, with their fourth consecutive defeat, this time 2-0 at home to Reading. The Elland Road side are 24th and last, with 0 points. Luckily for us, Chris Sedgwick's injury was merely a sprained wrist. It might keep him out for a game, but wouldn't be a serious problem for him or the team. The Sheffield United Under-18s got their season off to a flying start with a 3-0 victory over archrivals Sheffield Wednesday U-18s. 16-year-old striker Dean Reid spiked a bit of supporter interest with two goals in only 60 minutes of action, and U-16 amateur Steve Smart, in as a substitute player late in the game, added the third in the dying minutes. 16-year-old Colin Hatton earned the shutout in goal, and the side looked quite poised for all their youth. The 13-team group includes Liverpool U-18s and Nottingham Forest U-18s, so nobody's getting their hopes up just yet, but a three-goal victory in the opening match has our lads in joint first place. In other youth club news, the draw for the Under-18s Cup Second Round was on Sunday, and Sheffield United U-18s/Bournemouth U-18s drew a home match against Forest Green Rovers U-18s/Wolverhampton Wanderers U-18s. Leeds United finally ended their winless drought with a League Cup victory over West Bromwich Albion, 1-0, on Tuesday. For some reason, we hadn't been drawn for the First Round of the League Cup: only 18 of the 24 Championship sides had, with the other 6 and the 20 Premier League clubs receiving a bye. I couldn't see why we, who had qualified via the playoffs, should receive a bye while Leeds, former League One champions, and Norwich, recently relegated from the Premier League, both had to play, but it worked in our favor, it seemed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaberdeenn Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Winning run ended but good start to the season imo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 14, 2007 Author Share Posted September 14, 2007 Yeah, that's the problem with one-game winning streaks. They're so short! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 14, 2007 Author Share Posted September 14, 2007 Friday, 24th August, 2007. There was a lot of Cup action on Wednesday, with the majority of the League Cup action and the Third Qualifying Phase of the Champions League. Liverpool were through comfortably with a 3-0 victory over Levski (Sofia), giving them a 5-0 aggregate over the Bulgarian side. Rangers, after a 3-0 away defeat in the first leg staged a stirring 3-0 victory over Anderlecht behind two goals from Ross McCormack. After a scoreless extra-time period, the Glasgow side beat the Belgians 3-2 on penalties. Inter Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid, and Deportivo were all through comfortably enough, while the German sides struggled. Bayern Leverkusen appeared to be through on Lukas Podolski's 85th minute goal in Moscow, but CSKA Moscow tied the aggregate score at 3-3 in the 87th minute through Vyacheslav Romanov, and got the winner late in extra-time by Sergey Semak to put the Germans out. Werder Bremen just squeaked by Hajduk 5-4 on aggregate thanks to a 3-2 victory. York beat fellow League One side Bristol Rovers 3-2 in a thrilling League Cup match. Robert Cousins's first-half goal in his return from physiotherapy hadn't been enough, and Rovers led 2-1 on Michael Boulding's 75th minute goal. Graeme Law scored on a fine free kick in injury time to force an extra half-hour, and Paul Edwards scored in the 96th minute to put the Minstermen through 3-2. I sent them a note of sincere congratulations. I received a loan offer for Ben Hammond from League Two side Notts County, which I had to reject with the 18-year-old currently in the starting lineup. With my full complement of defenders, I might have been willing to loan him out, but with four back-line players out injured, I felt my hands were tied. Sheffield United U-18's had their second match on Friday evening, this against Stoke City U-18's. 16-year-old Colin Hatton earned Man of the Match honors in goal in a 2-0 victory. Amateur U-16 midfielder Paul Doyle scored early for United, with late substitute Gavin Atkinson scoring the first goal of his career at any level to gain the insurance. Substitute striker Chris Gray had looked very dangerous on numerous occasions, but poor finishing cost him any chance of a goal. Temporarily, at least, this left them top of the U-18 Group 4, with 6 points from 2 games where all other teams had played only one. The European Super Cup Friday night was an all-German affair, with Champions League holders FC Bayern München facing UEFA Cup holders Borussia Dortmund in Monaco. Dortmund took an early lead, but Roque Santa Cruz equalized in the 20th minute, and Ivan Klasnic put Bayern ahead in the 28th. From that point on, stoic German defending held the result, a 2-1 triumph for the boys from Munich. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 14, 2007 Author Share Posted September 14, 2007 Saturday, 25th August, 2007. Championship - Game 5, at Nottingham Forest. On the bus during the drive to Nottingham, I tuned in to the League Cup Second Round draw. There were 52 teams, and early on Leeds United drew Oxford. York drew a home tie against Premier League side Birmingham. With 22 teams left, both Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday were still in the pot, and I began to smell a local derby, but then we were drawn, away, to Premier League side West Ham United. Wednesday wound up away to Queen's Park Rangers. Our first televised match of the season was against Nottingham Forest, a fellow mid-table side. They had a fine First Division run from 1977/78 through 1991/92, with 14 top-ten finishes in 15 years, but were subsequently relegated, and their last Premier League appearance was in 1998/99. Last year's 7th-placed finish in the Championship was one of their best results in the past 8 years, and though its early yet, they lie ninth in the table, a point behind our eighth. Ricky Hanson is one of their key players, a man who can play all over the pitch from defense to forward. Last season he had 7 goals and 10 assists, though he has been shut out in both categories this year. I ran out the best side that I could muster, with Allan McGregor in goal, Sean Dillon, Ben Hammond, Steve Foster, and Rory Beanes across the back four. Veteran Paul Thirlwell would start at defensive midfield, and Graham Allen replaced the injured Sedgwick on right wing. Jonathan Forte would handle the left wing. Up front, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson was partnered with John Melligan in attacking midfield, and Noel Hunt got his first start at striker, becoming our fourth starter in five matches. I really needed some consistency there, and couldn't wait for Peter Weatherson to recover from his injury. We had the evening kickoff, 5:30pm, and a large crowd had gathered in The City Ground to show their support on national television. We were the stronger side early on, but Noel Hunt again demonstrated his weakness at feet, twice giving the ball away in the box in the first 8 minutes. At the quarter-hour, Hunt played a surprisingly dangerous pass to John Melligan in the box, but Phillip Mulryne, a £1.7M signing from Wigan Athletic, made a brilliant tackle in the area on his debut, earning the respect of the Forest crowd. Mulryne showed his class again in the 18th minute, forcing a turnover deep in our territory. Marlon King juked past Ben Hammond and looked to be clear on goal, but captain Steve Foster got across to make an inch-perfect tackle in the area to avert the danger. In the 23rd minute, Hunt had the ball into the penalty arc, but the two central defenders closed him down. Ricky Hanson, the Forest captain, made the tackle easily enough, but the ball kicked out only as far as Melligan. Unmarked, he tried his luck from 24 yards out, but Nico Vaesen saw it all the way and dealt with it easily enough. We were still the stronger side, it appeared, and were really taking it to the home side despite the conservative bent of my tactical approach. In the 36th minute, Jonathan Forte sent a cross into the area. It was headed out by central defender Chris Doig, but right back to Forte. This time, rather than trying to pick out Hunt amongst a Forest of defenders, he cut it low for Bridge-Wilkinson outside of the 18. The 28-year-old star curled a trademark strike for the far post, curling in beyond the outstretched finders of Vaesen. It was a superb effort which must have been at least 25 yards with the diagonal, and we'd silenced the crowd with a 1-0 lead. Forest nearly had an instant reply, with Tommy Smith dangerously taking Marlon King's pass at the corner of the six-yard box, but Ben Hammond made a desperation tackle to put it out for a corner. Smith argued for a penalty, as Hammond had clearly come through his legs, but referee Kevin Friend ruled he'd gotten the ball cleanly first, and waved off the appeal. In injury time of the first half, left wing Jim Paterson sent a brilliant cross into the six-yard box for the streaking King, but the speedy Jamaican is notoriously poor in the air and his header went high and wide, allowing us to go to intermission with a 1-0 lead. The second half went quickly: our defense, which I'd encouraged to tighten up a bit at the break, was doing well, and we earned three dangerous free kicks near the Forest area. None of them came to anything, but it was clear that the home side were struggling, and the crowd of 30,565 was growing restless. Paul Thirlwell was playing brilliantly, ranging from sideline to sideline to blunt attack after attack, and Forest were utterly squelched, unable to get off even a long-range effort. By the depths of stoppage time, it was clear that they weren't going to find a reply; even with their 4-2-4, and fully four minutes into time added on, we had posession. I fully expected Friend to blow the whistle as debutante Kyle Reid worked his way up the left wing, but he did not, and Reid played it forward to Hunt. The striker played a fine pass to his left for Jack Lester, who was unmarked at the 18. The veteran bore down on goal, finally shooting from 10 yards as the desperate Doig threw himself in front, momentarily unsighting Vaesen. That was all it took, and Lester's shot found the net at the far post to make the final score 2-0. Nottingham Forest 0, Sheffield United 2 ----; Bridge-Wilkinson 36, Lester 90 MoM: Thirlwell Paul Thirlwell was deservedly the Man of the Match after his inspired play, as though to warn Joe Keenan not to set his signts on a permanent position change. The victory gave us nine points from three away matches, and I couldn't be happier with that. If I could solve our home drought, we'd be set. Chairman Derek Dooley was exuberant, unable to hide his delight as he visited the locker room, and his excitement was infectuous. "You showed 'em, lads, on national telly, you showed 'em!" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
avstwentyone Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 You're doing better in the Championship than I am with my Blyth team at the moment. Still the best, Amaroq Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swfcrule4eva Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 Good read but Id rather you'd lost to Sheff Wed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 16, 2007 Author Share Posted September 16, 2007 Apologies for the one-day delay; I was busy giving birth to Five by Five, which captured my attention yesterday. Avs, I suspect the Blades have a bit more resources available than your Spartans.. and swfcrule, yeah, I didn't think Wednesday supporters would like the opening here, but I did keep you guys in mind a bit further on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 16, 2007 Author Share Posted September 16, 2007 Monday, 27th August, 2007. Norwich and Cardiff had continued their run atop the table with home victories over bottom-table sides, 3-1 over Preston, and 2-1 over Hull respectively. Third-placed Coventry had beaten Everton 2-0, so with Plymouth suffering a 1-1 draw at Crewe, we were up to sixth place. That was the last of the playoff positions, and we were still only three points back of first or second and automatic promotion. Paul Thirlwell's Man of the Match performance saw him selected to the Championship Team of the Week, the first such honour of the year for our 2006/07 Supporter's Player of the Year. We strengthened the attacking midfield corps of the team over the weekend. On Saturday we signed 15-year-old schoolboy Mark Whitehead, a speedy attacker, to a professional contract. I couldn't believe no bigger club had snapped him up, given how Spencer raved about his potential. On Sunday, Southampton speedster Leandre Griffit joined the club on a season-long loan. Even better, we don't have to pay the Frenchman a pence of compensation, as Southampton are underwriting his contract for the year. AM RLC Leandre Griffit, 23, France, 5 Under-21 caps: no appearances, but 16 games, 1 goal, 3 assists, 6.56 with Southampton Reserves last season: This quick, agile Frenchman has the heart of a lion. He has very good concentration, dribbling, and shooting, with the rest of his game at the Championship level for the most part. He is very weak defensively, and also lacks the creativity or off-the-ball runs to be a standout at the Premier League level. He's under contract to Southampton through 2010, which sounds a bit overambitious on the club's part. He'll certainly help our side this season, especially with the flexibility of playing either wing. AM RC Mark Whitehead, 15, England, uncapped: Schoolboy: Blinding speed and acceleration characterize this young player's game. He has a lot of areas he needs to polish, from his understanding of the game to every technical skill, from concentration to anticipation. He is creative, and considered very promising. He has a sporting attitude, though some might be concerned about his lack of determination. I was interested in him primarily because of the potential my scouts report and the fact that we had no other youth attacking midfielders, unless you count Joe Newell. Whitehead made his debut Sunday afternoon against Chester Reserves, playing with an almost all-amateur Sheffield United Reserve side. He played reasonably, but was let down by the weak supporting cast, as a defensive match saw the sides combine for merely 8 shots. Chester made theirs count, and a 0-1 defeat was the result for our lads in the first competitive action of our Reserve season. We were also strengthened elsewhere by the return of Brian Holmes to training after the 17-year-old left back's physiotherapy course was completed. On the flip side of the injury coin, Leicester City had a disastrous day on Monday when Ecuador international Ulises de la Cruz and Scottish international Colin Cameron collided going for a ball. De la Cruz tore ankle ligaments which would see the right back out for two months, while Cameron suffered a suspected hip pointer which could keep him out for much of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 16, 2007 Author Share Posted September 16, 2007 Tuesday, 28th August, 2007. Championship - Game 6, vs Oldham Athletic. A founding member of the Premier League back in 1992/93, Athletic had slipped as far down as Division Two, where they placed 20th in the 1998/99 season, narrowly avoiding further relegation. A slow, steady climb saw them improve to 2nd in the renamed League One by the 2005/06 season, and they placed 11th in the Championship last season. Currently, they reside in 15th, with 2 wins and 3 losses. I juggled the lineup a bit, looking for fresh legs to put out after Saturday's match. Allan McGregor of course remained a stalwart in goal. Sean Dillon and Steve Foster were joined in the back row by Kyle McFadzean in his first appearance of the year at central defense, and Danny Payne in his return from injury. Joe Keenan was the defensive midfielder, spelling Thirlwell. Kyle Reid made his first start at left wing, with Darren Wrack on as the right wing. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Jack Lester were the attacking midfielders. I'd been hoping to play Darren Gibson in the Under-18s Cup on Wednesday, only to find that he'd been called up to the Scotland's Under-21 squad for their match against Switzerland on Friday. That meant he wouldn't be available tomorrow, but was available to start at striker for the senior side today. From the first ten minutes, it was clear that the home side was in complete control. Reid sent a dangerous ball into the 6-yard box for Darren Wrack, which Oldham keeper Jamie Young was lucky that Wouter Artz headed clear. Joe Keenan's volley from the penalty arc deflected off of Lee Bullock, but Young was able to save it. The crowd were in full song supporting their beloved Blades, and Keenan's 20-yard effort just skimmed over the bar. In the 16th minute, Mark Bridge-Wilkinson bent blistering a 35-yard effort on goal, which Young did well to push wide of the post. Seeing no danger from the visitors, I began to encourage the lads to push forwards. In the 34th minute, Bridge-Wilkinson dribbled dangerously into the Oldham box. Instead of shooting, he passed to the right for Jack Lester. He drilled the shot to the far post, but there was fullback Greg Shields, who stopped the ball on the line! It ricocheted out to Joe Keenan at the top of the area, and he drilled a shot only to see it charged down by Patrick Agyemang and caromed out. The resulting corner kick wound up half-cleared, but right back Danny Payne held it in. He sent a cross into the box, but it deflected off of Artz, popping out to the unmarked Keenan in the arc. His shot to the far post seemed a sure goal, but he didn't get enough on it, and a lunging Young was able to pin it to the turf with one outstretched arm. After that mad goalmouth scramble, all in 60 seconds, Young was breathing a sigh of relief, but the crowd of 27,028 were baying for blood. We had another chance on Darren Wrack's throw-in from deep in Oldham territory on 42 minutes. Payne's cross bounced off of Bullock, then hit the upgright and bounced back out to Kyle Reid. He lost it momentarily, but Lester poked it back to him, and Reid's shot went inches wide. It was still scoreless at halftime, and Oldham had no shots; they seemed no danger to our goal. However, the lads were beginning to worry that the breakthrough wasn't going to happen. I told them to slow down the pace, looking for a more tactical game and seeking out weaknesses in the Oldham defense. "You nearly had 'em, lads," I promised. "The goal is coming." The second half seemed to offer more of the same, with Wrack's shot from 12 yards going wide after Bridge-Wilkinson's free kick put him in the box. At the toll of the hour, I brought on Billy Sharp and Leandre Griffit for Gibson and Reid, and that proved the catalyst the offense needed. The breakthrough came on 64 minutes, when Wrack took another throw-in, this 15 yards from the by-line on the right sideline. Sharp knocked a perfect flick-on header in the box, which fell to the left foot of Joe Keenan. This time he struck it well, bending it from 17 yards to the top-left corner: his first-ever League goal, and more importantly, a 1-0 lead! From that point, we needed only 25 minutes of tight defense, though we had a number of counterattacking opportunities for Billy Sharp. On one he was offsides, another outrun, and then in the 75th minute Bridge-Wilkinson's long pass sprang him in a classic one-on-one with Young, but Sharp shot wide from 16 yards as Young came out to meet him. We fell even more defensive in the final ten minutes, but when Oldham finally went for the obligatory send-everybody-forward final minutes, we began to look very dangerous. Lester hit side netting from 12 yards out at the 89 minute mark, substitute John Melligan drove hard into the box at 90 minute, but his shot from 16 yards was straight to Young and deflected wide. Finally, less than 20 seconds into stoppage time, we had a three-man counter-attack up the middle. Lester played a nice pass to Sharp just outside the area. The striker dropped it back to Lester, and then cut for the box, drawing double coverage. Lester instead played a lovely touch forward and right for Melligan, who made a fantastic little dribble to make two men miss at the 18. He burst between them to the penalty spot, then drilled the shot to the lower-left corner for his first goal in the red and white stripes of a Sheffield United kit, and a 2-0 final scoreline. Sheffield United 2, Oldham Athletic 0 Keenan 64, Melligan 90 MoM: Young (Oldham GK) We had utterly dominated the match, and the finaly tally might have been kind to the visitors, who had managed but two shots, both well wide of the mark. We'd taken some 23, putting 12 on target and two in the back of the net, and only the tight defensive perimeter Oldham had denied us with had kept the score from being worse. That, and a Man of the Match performance from Jamie Young. I was particularly pleased with the post-match press interview, when I was asked if our "great start" was "suprising." "No," I replied, with a big grin as I thought of Wormwood's articles. "Reports of our impending relegation were greatly exaggerated." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaberdeenn Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 Good to have this one back. I almost missed it for a day Another good win Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 16, 2007 Author Share Posted September 16, 2007 I'll try to slip in some bonus coverage this evening, time permitting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 16, 2007 Author Share Posted September 16, 2007 Wednesday, 29th August, 2007. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Blades Get Their Man Sheffield United finally completed the move Ian Richards had first arranged back in May, bringing York City FC 2006/07 Supporter's Player of the Year Robert Cousins to Bramall Lane. The £1.8M price tag was 50% over what was agreed just four months ago, when there were questions over his ability to recover from a season-ending torn groin. With the 18-year-old midfielder having demonstrated a successful recovery from surgery with his goal against Bristol Rovers, the price went up. Minstermen chairman Steve Beck knew he had his former manager over a barrel, with the transfer window closing and rumours that Leeds United, Middlesbrough, and Fulham were sniffing around the youngster. Richards reportedly offered the entire remainder of the Blades' transfer budget, pricing out any competition. "I'm very happy to be re-united with Mister Richards," the youngster said in a press conference unveiling his new number 15 kit. "He's taught me so much." "Robert is a great young player," Richards said, "Just coming into his own, and I think he'll do very well in rotation with Bridge-Wilkinson and Newell." Bootham Crescent supporters are reportedly very angry that the club gave up its top young prospect, and one of their favoured personnel. Though the £1.8M fee is a York City FC record, many feel it was insufficient compensation for the 18-year-old. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> I could only hope that they were correct! Still, I didn't feel guilty about pilfering Chris Kinnear's player roster - the funds greatly recouped the investment I'd made of £50,000 to bring Cousins to Bootham Crescent almost precisely a year earlier, and he doesn't have a transfer window issue. AM C Robert Cousins, 18, England, uncapped: 36 games, 11 goals, 4 assists, 3 MoM, 7.39 with York in League Two: Just recovering from surgery for a torn groin he injured on the 22nd of April of last season, Cousins was the Player of the Year for York in last year's title-winning campaign. He's reasonably fast and strong, with great concentration, and real determination. Other than that he has no really dramatic strengths, but he is impressively without weakness; if he can make even reasonable progress in the technical and mental aspects of the game, this promising attacking midfielder might grow into one of the best players of his generation. Between Cousins and Newell, I could dream that I had signed a generation of attacking midfielders who would grow perfectly together, leading the team to ever greater heights, and breaking into the England squad together. Of course, if he didn't pan out, he would be the biggest bust of my career, but after working with him for a year I was convinced that he was developing, and would become the real thing. Buried down the page was the latest Rupert Wormwood column: <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Are the Blades for Real? Chairman Derek Dooley could not hide his delight after yesterday's 2-0 victory over lowly Oldham Athletic. Although the season has only really just started, the win put the Blades up to third place, already involved in the title hunt, and the fans will point to the 0-0 draw at home against first-placed Norwich as an indicator that the side are genuine contenders. However, the relegation favourites' recent good form can surely not continue, and it is merely a matter of time before they find themselves slipping down the table again. Here's why... </div></BLOCKQUOTE> I shook my head, without reading why, and tossed the newspaper aside. "We'll prove him wrong, lad," Stuart McCall assured me. Norwich had consolidated their Championship lead with a 1-0 victory at Stoke City, but second-placed Cardiff had stumbled, 0-2, at Leicester. Queen's Park Rangers had moved up to second with a 2-0 victory over Brighton, while our latest success stepped us up the table to third place, three points shy of the lead. Leeds United secured their first point of the season with a 2-2 draw at home to West Bromwich Albion thanks to an injury time goal by Szilard Nemeth, the second of the game for the Slovakian international. York Reserves nearly got their first victory of the year at home against Shrewsbury Reserves on Tuesday, but a late goal by one of the Welsh side's fullbacks undid the goal by amateur player Simon Hayward, and the final result was a 1-1 draw. It was the first point of the season for either side. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 16, 2007 Author Share Posted September 16, 2007 Friday, 31st August, 2007. In the Wednesday Reserve match - the third game in four days for our exhausted Reserves - senior-side backup goalkeeper Phil Barnes played well, and Leandre Grifffit, Graham Allen, and John Melligan each played 63 minutes as the Sheffield United Reserves scored their first victory of the season, a 1-0 win at Notts County Reserves. Melligan scored the goal in a match intended mostly to keep his fitness, as he hadn't been starting for the senior side. In addition to adding Cousins, we had also added a young right wing, Nick Smith, on a free transfer. AM R Nick Smith, 18, England, uncapped: Schoolboy: Too slow to be considered a prospect by the major teams, Smith nonetheless caught the eye of both of my top two scouts, who each thought he was showing great promise. I can't quite see it myself, though I haven't a better tackler even in my defensive side, and he has good stamina. Still, the strident recommendations of my trusted scouts were enough to convince me to overlook the fact that he doesn't cross well, dribble well, or make good decisions. We'll give him a year or so with the youth squad to see if he develops, as I don't have any other prospects at right wing. Smith was registered in time to play for the youth side Wednesday in the Under-18s Cup First Round match against AFC Bournemouth U-18s, which I was taking pretty seriously. With Chris Gray, Joe Newell, Ben Hammond, and Jamie Cooper in the lineup, we thoroughly outclassed the visitors. Gray started the scoring in the 9th minute after a beautiful long pass from Newell, and then Newell scored himself five minutes later. Brian Holmes was having a fine return to match play, as the recuperating left back picked out Gray in the area on 23 minutes to make it 3-0, and Gray finished out his hat-trick by halftime, when he and Holmes came out. Newell missed a penalty in the second half, or the final result could have been worse, but the 4-0 thumping we'd dished out was pretty one-sided and we were easily through to the Second Round. Unluckily for him, new boy Smith strained the ligaments in his right knee near the end of the U-18 Cup match, and he would be out for at least a month visiting a specialist. Not the start the winger had planned; he was very frustrated by it. In the international arena, despite his call-up Darren Gibson didn't play for Scotland Under-21s on Friday, but young right-back Keith McCormack (on loan to Watford through November) was in magnificent form in Ireland Under-21s' victory over Armenia. McCormack led the Irish side in tackles, headers, and interceptions, with a fine 100% success rate in tackles and headers challenged. Only a similarly strong performance by his goalkeeper prevented young McCormack from earning Man of the Match honours. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 16, 2007 Author Share Posted September 16, 2007 Saturday, 1st September, 2007. "We're so very pleased with the start you've made," Terry Robinson told me. Saturday morning, of course, started with the monthly review with the Board. "But is any of what Rupert Wormwood writes true?" "No," I replied, "Barring serious injury, I really don't expect a dramatic downturn. If we lost Allan in goal, I think we'd be in trouble, but with him back there I'm pretty confident." "We're also happy with the financial status," Derek Dooley informed me. "I notice you've spent all of your transfer budget." With our expenditure on Robert Cousins hitting the books last month, we'd lost £1.0M for month - which meant we'd been profitable without the Cousins transfer-fee. Thus far for the season, our net loss was £2.8M, again profitable save the £4.3M I'd spent on player acquisitions. This left our current bank-balance at £9.0M, with a debt of £3.3M which we're steadily paying off. The transfer budget isn't entirely gone, as we have £0.1M remaining. Our current wage bill is £3.7M p/a, and Mr. Dooley had budgeted for £7.5M, so we're well within our window there. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson came second in the Player of the Month balloting for August, and earned two of the top three in Goal of the Month balloting. His left-footed 25-yard curling strike on the 11th against Wigan Athletic, a short-handed game-winning goal on the road, earned only third, eclipsed by his blistering shot with his natural right foot at Nottingham Forest on the 25th. Personally, I felt the former was the better effort, but I doubt Marc was complaining after taking top honours! Rory Beanes had to be very pleased with himself as well, after he came second in the Young Player of the Month voting. There were no Championship matches today, due to the international competitions, and the more aptly-titled European Championship Qualifying was foremost on every Englishman's mind, with the Three Lions mired in a tight battle with Georgia and Poland for honors. England had a big match at home against Group 7 leaders Georgia, and the 77,921 that braved the rain in Wembley saw one of the most dominant competititve performances in recent English history. Michael Owen started things off with an excellent 30-yard banana shot from range in the 11th minute, and made a fine finish of Wayne Rooney's leading pass in the 13th, dribbling around the Georgian goalkeeper to make it 2-0. Rooney got one of his own in the 20th minute, curling a shot from out wide of the area, where most people would have thought cross. Frank Lampard made it 4-0 at 27 minutes, and in the 31st Steven Gerrard headed home Shaun Wright-Phillips' cross to make it 5-0. The English side let off the throttle - "There was no point in scoring fifteen," Beckham said later - but Darius Vassell did add a 35-yard piledriver in the waning minutes to make a convincing 6-0 final. In the group's other match, Poland beat Denmark 2-1, staying two points behind the now-top-of-the-table English side. The Three Lions had 13 points from 6 matches, with Poland on 11 points from 5 matches, and Georgia on 11 from 6. England and Poland were on course for yet another group-closing encounter, this time in England on October 10th. In Group 1, Bulgaria, Ireland, and Spain were all separated by one point going into the day's matches. Ireland got the job done on the road, with a 3-0 victory over Armenia on a brace by Clinton Morrison and a penalty by Steven Reid. This turned out to catapult them into the lead on 16 points, as Bulgaria fought to a 1-1 draw at home against Estonia, and Spain struggled to a frustrating 1-1 draw at home to Macedonia. Raúl's goal had put the Spanish ahead in the 74th minute, but Dragan Bozinovski equalized dramatically in the 89th. The Spanish still should have won, as Xabi Alonso hit the bar, and then a penalty was awarded late in injury time, but Boban Nikolovski saved Joan Capdevilia's penalty to preserve the draw. This put Ireland on 16 points, Bulgaria at 15, and Spain third at 14! Scotland, their qualifying campaign all but over, pounded Liechtenstein 4-0 in a meaningless encounter. A goal by Darren Fletcher got the party started; Kris Boyd scored either side of half-time, and Russell Anderson added the fourth. At the top of the group, Sweden beat Cyprus 3-1, moving four points clear of Turkey after the Turks suffered a 2-1 defeat to Slovenia in Istanbul. In Group 9, Northern Ireland secured the best result of their qualifying campaign, with a 0-0 draw at Italy. Damien Johnson was sent off in the 23rd minute, but the ten-man side played inspired defending and Roy Carroll was incredible in goal, holding the powerful Italian side scoreless. It was the first time the Italians had conceded a point in the season. Wales took care of Israel 3-1 at the Millennium Stadium, with Craig Bellamy and Robbie Savage each setting the other up with superb passes in the first half for goals, and Ryan Giggs scoring a poacher's goal late to ensure victory. The results didn't deeply matter to the group table, as Italy moved four points ahead of Russia, though the Russians have a game in hand. Wales, Israel, and Northern Irelandd are all clearly out of it, with the sum of their point totals to date merely equalling the Russians. Group 2 featured a battle of the two leaders with Slovakia at Holland, but it was a disastrous game for the Slovak side, as they conceded two penalties, a 52nd-minute red card, and six goals by six different scorers. The 6-0 final put Holland six points clear and with an insurmountable tie-breaker advantage. Portugal continued to lead Group 4 with a 2-0 victory over Latvia to put them on 18 points, with Belgium four back after a 2-0 win over lowly Lithuania. The biggest surprise of the day occurred in Bucharest, where Romania upended previously perfect France 2-0. That left the French leading Group 5 with 18 points, Romania closing to five points down at 13. Albania surprised Finland 2-0 as well, dropping the Finns to third at 10 points. In Group 6, the 1-1 draw was the result of the day, with first-placed Germany unable to get past Hungary in Budapest, and second-placed Norway unable to gain ground thanks to Belarus. This continued the precarious balance where the Germans, after six of their 8 matches, had only 11 points, two ahead of Norway - but just like the Poles, the Norwegians have a game in hand. Belarus and Hungary are both in striking distance should the Germans falter, but it is all pointing towards a dramatic 'winner take all' contest in Norway on October 10th. In Group 8, Croatia squaked past the Faroe Islands 2-1, a closer match than the group leaders would have liked, but Ukraine upset second-placed Czech Republic 1-0 in Kiev, which meant Croatia extended their group lead to five points, and Ukraine, third with a game in hand, trail by seven. The Sheffield United news for the manager today was very frustrating, as starting right wing Chris Sedgwick broke his big toe during practice yesterday. He will likely be out for two months. Tom Mitchell had gone to the hospital with the 27-year-old, and when he came in today with the news, I asked him if there was any treatment we could perscribe. "Just time in a cast," he said, with a shake of his head. "Chris is a fine athlete," he added, "Who is unfortunately rather prone to injuries." I was startled and amused: I'd heard that sort of thing from fan websites, of course, but had never heard it as a medical pronouncement! Unfortunately, the news had come right on the close of the transfer window, not that there was much funding left in the kitty, so we weren't able to find a replacement via transfer, but the fortuitous loans of Kyle Reid and Leandre Griffit had given us additional cover on the right side if needed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wegason Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 Ah, I've got my fix of this terrific tale, long may it continue! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share Posted September 17, 2007 And here's the next one. Addict. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted September 17, 2007 Author Share Posted September 17, 2007 Wednesday, 5th September, 2007. With the side getting a ten-day break, I took the time to review their training progress with Assistant Manager Stuart McCall. The news, in general, was mediocre: the lighter but more focused training sessions I'd asked for were, predictably, leading to less overall improvement for each individual. My hope was that it would lead to better focused improvements in the areas I felt were more important for the individual's position, but it seemed a bit early to tell, yet. The most improved players for the past month were Robbie Poole, the lowly-regarded 19-year-old left wing, with goalkeeper Dean Bond showing the most physical improvement, striker Noel Hunt making strides in his much-needed technical development, and young Scotland Under-21 forward Darren Gibson showing the most mental progression. Brian Holmes also was showing notable improvement. A number of players, however, had taken significant steps backwards. Young Gavin Atkinson, focused as he was on learning the defensive midfield role, was understandable, and Chris Morgan had lost the month due to injury. But left back Sean Dillon was playing every day, Phil Barnes as a goalkeeper was quickly heading towards my transfer list, and the most disappointing regression was by veteran defensive midfielder Paul Thirlwell, who despite returning to a starting role seemed to have taken steps backwards in all aspects of his game. At the start of the week, Peter Weatherson and Chris Morgan returned to full training, the striker having recovered from fractured ribs, and the defender returning from physiotherapy. Unfortunately, Morgan then tiwsted his ankle today, putting him out for another two weeks. At this rate, I thought to myself, he might never recover his match fitness. Kyle McFadzean, a promising 20-year-old central defender, I sent out on loan to Bournemouth AFC for the remainder of the season. The League One side would pay 100% of his wages, and could play him in Cup matches, but I reserved the right to recall him if necessary. That brings us to the mid-week internationals. First, Tuesday evening, Keith McCormack played for Ireland U-21s in a European Under-21 Championship qualifying match against Estonia. Again, he led the side in tackles, headers, and interceptions, this time deservedly earning Man of the Match honours, especially after providing the service for Billy Clarke's goal with a long header to Clarke's feet. The match was hardly close, with Ireland dominating 3-0. Coupled with Spain's surprise 2-1 loss to last-placed Armenia, the first time the Armenians had secured a point in the qualifying session, this left Ireland top of the table with two matches to go. I was really excited with the kid's promise - he'd been playing brilliantly at Watford, too, by all reports. Of more importance to the rest of Britain were Wednesday's proper European Championship qualifiers. England, leaders of Group 7, had a cakewalk in Malta. Two goals each from Wayne Rooney and James Beattie gave them a 4-0 victory, and a net score for the week of 10-0: an England fan could hardly have asked for a more stellar performance, and Rooney was a consensus Man of the Match. Even better, however, Georgia overcame an early penalty to build a 3-1 lead over Poland, which, when Jerzy Dudek was sent off in the 57th minute the Poles had no hope of overcoming. Against the odds, that gave the Three Lions the simplest math possible: win or draw at home against Poland, and they were guaranteed first in the group, and that final match might be made moot entirely if earlier results go England's way: <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GP GF GA GD 1 England 16 5 1 1 7 24 4 +20 2 Georgia 14 4 2 1 7 15 13 + 2 3 Poland 11 3 2 1 6 11 9 + 2 4 Denmark 4 1 1 4 6 6 12 - 6 5 Malta 0 0 0 6 6 3 21 -18</pre> In Group 1, Ireland continued their improbable run towards the top of the table with a 4-0 home win over Estonia. Clinton Morrison and John O'Shea both scored in the first five minutes, and then Damien Duff and Andy O'Brien scored in a seven-minute span during the second half to put the match firmly out of reach. Elsewhere, Spain got back on track with a 4-0 victory over Armenia, though with an own goal, a penalty, and a red card all in the first 25 minutes, the final score could have been much more convincing. Macedonia's 2-0 shock win over Bulgaria, a lead which the hosts built in the first half and held on to doggedly with 10 men in the second, knocked the Bulgarians from second place and left them with only an outside mathematical chance of contention: both of the leaders had the final match in Mallorca circled on their calendars. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GP GF GA GD 1 Ireland 19 6 1 1 8 19 2 +17 2 Spain 17 5 2 1 8 20 2 +18 3 Bulgaria 15 4 3 1 8 12 7 + 5 4 FYR Macedonia 13 4 1 3 8 10 12 - 2 5 Estonia 4 1 1 6 8 8 25 -17 6 Armenia 0 0 0 8 8 3 24 -21</pre> In Group 2, Holland clinched first place with a 2-0 victory in Greece - they'd swept the season series with Slovakia, who, despite a 1-0 win over Azerbaijan, could no longer do better than equalling the Dutch total of 24 points. Iceland beazt San Marino 2-1, having more trouble with the small side than one might have expected on paper. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GP GF GA GD 1 Holland 24 8 0 0 8 26 2 +24 2 Slovakia 18 6 0 2 8 12 9 + 3 3 Greece 13 4 1 3 8 9 9 0 4 Iceland 10 3 1 4 8 10 9 + 1 5 Azerbaijan 6 2 0 6 8 8 17 - 9 6 San Marino 0 0 0 8 8 2 21 -19</pre> Scotland's troubled campaign took another turn for the worse, as Group 3 leaders Sweden peppered their goal with shots in a 1-0 defeat. The one bright spot was the play of goalkeeper David Marshall, who was up to the task for every shot save a particularly fine effort by Fredrik Ljungberg. Turkey kept their faint hopes alive with a 3-1 victory in Cyprus, but at four points back of the Swedes they looked certain to head to the playoffs before the group finale in Istanbul. Liechtenstein picked up their first victory of the tournament, a 2-0 win at Slovenia. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GP GF GA GD 1 Sweden 22 7 1 0 8 16 6 +10 2 Turkey 18 6 0 2 8 16 7 + 9 3 Cyprus 9 3 0 5 8 11 19 - 8 4 Scotland 9 3 0 5 8 13 10 + 3 5 Slovenia 9 3 0 5 8 10 14 - 4 6 Liechtenstein 4 1 1 6 8 8 18 -10</pre> Group 4 seemed all but settled, with four- and five- point gaps between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Portgual held their advantage with a 2-0 victory at Lisbon against Serbia and Montenegro, a pair of goals by Helder Postiga accounting for the difference. Belgium snuck by lowly Andorra 2-1 in a match played before a meagre crowd of 737 at tiny Coronal stadium. Lithuania beat Latvia 2-1, surprisingly reaching the ten-point mark. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GP GF GA GD 1 Portugal 21 7 0 1 8 17 4 +13 2 Belgium 17 5 2 1 8 14 8 + 6 3 Serbia & Mont. 12 4 0 4 8 12 10 + 2 4 Latvia 10 3 1 4 8 12 15 - 3 5 Lithuania 10 3 1 4 8 10 16 - 6 6 Andorra 0 0 0 8 8 6 18 -12</pre> Group 5, similarly, held little drama. France took care of business with a 4-1 victory over Albania to maintain their five-point advantage, and Romania kept pace with a 3-1 victory away to last-placed Kazakhstan. Third- and fourth-placed Finland and Moldova drew 2-2. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GP GF GA GD 1 France 21 7 0 1 8 23 4 +19 2 Romania 16 5 1 2 8 16 9 + 7 3 Finland 11 3 2 3 8 11 13 - 2 4 Moldova 7 1 4 3 8 10 15 - 5 5 Albania 6 1 3 4 8 9 15 - 6 6 Kazakhstan 5 1 2 5 8 4 17 -13</pre> Group 6, however, was a much tighter affair. Germany did what they could, holding on to their lead with a convincing 5-0 thrashing of lowly Luxemborug, with two goals from Miroslav Klose to lead the way. However, they were unable to shake a tenacious Norway side that beat Hungary 2-1 at home. Norway stayed two points behind with a match against Luxembourg in hand: it looked certain that the Norwegians would go into their home finale against Germany needing only a draw. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GP GF GA GD 1 Germany 14 4 2 1 7 14 4 +10 2 Norway 12 3 3 0 6 10 5 + 5 3 Belarus 8 2 2 2 6 6 8 - 2 4 Hungary 6 1 3 3 7 10 6 - 3 5 Luxembourg 2 0 2 4 6 3 13 -10</pre> In Group 8, the Czech Repbulic and Ukraine both closed ground on idle Croatia, the former with a 3-1 win over Bosnia, while the latter beat the Faroe Islands by the same scoreline. With a game in hand, Croatia still appear the favorites, but they will have a tough road to travel, literally: they face the Czechs and Ukraine in back-to-back away matches in October. Fortunately, a pair of draws, or a win against the Czechs, will see them through, regardless of any other results. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GP GF GA GD 1 Croatia 16 5 1 0 6 13 4 + 9 2 Czech Republic 14 4 2 1 7 18 5 +13 3 Ukraine 12 4 0 2 6 9 8 + 1 4 Bosnia 4 1 1 4 6 6 13 - 7 5 Faroe Islands 0 0 0 7 7 4 20 -16</pre> Finally, Group 9 holds two British sides, but both are well eliminated from contention at this point. Italy defeated Russia 1-0 in Moscow to clinch first-place in the group with 19 points. Wales and Northern Ireland played to an uninspired 0-0 draw which left the Belfast crowd of 16,417 restless as only 13 shots were taken all match. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GP GF GA GD 1 Italy 19 6 1 0 7 11 0 +11 2 Russia 12 4 0 2 6 7 4 + 3 3 Wales 7 2 1 3 6 8 9 - 1 4 Israel 4 1 1 4 6 5 11 - 6 5 N.Ireland 3 0 3 4 7 0 7 - 7</pre> Finally, in Wednesday night's Reserve match at Hull, John Melligan scored a mere 15 seconds into the match, and Sheffield United Reserves were off to a blinding start. Unfortunately, goalkeeper Phil Barnes had a torrid time, conceding four goals by the 63rd minute when I pulled him off. That was enough to doom the side to a 1-4 defeat, and cemented my decision to transfer-list Barnes immediately: there was no point in keeping him as the backup if that was how he performs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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