Sharpening a Rusty Blade - Book II

[Amaroq]

, HD. They taught me a lot about the match-engine, actually, and left me convinced it was a lot more realistic than people give it credit for!

[rocheyuk]

An excellent read this is Amaroq, you should be proud of it. Looking forward to the next update.

[Wegason]

Thank God this masterpiece is safe, another excellent instalment yet again. I eagerly await another fix.

[Amaroq]

Thank you, rocheyuk, praise like that really does make the effort worthwhile.

Wegason, thanks for your unflagging support. Its your lucky day, I've another double-installment prepped:

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 15th December, 2007. Championship - Game 22, at Coventry City.

Our run of challenging matches continued with a trip to fifth-placed Coventry, due south of us, and just east of Birmingham. A long-time Premier League side, though never a contender, they were finally relegated after 2000/01 after thirty-four seasons in the top flight. They fell as far as League One, but won that at their first attempt in 2005/06, and are a favourite to get back to the Premier League shortly, if not this year. They placed fifth last season, but lost to Queen's Park Rangers in the playoff semi finals. Trinidad & Tobago striker Stern John, who I was well familiar with from years of watching the U.S. National Team's CONCACAF matches, was their leading scorer, in his fourth season with the club.

Knowing that we needed to grind out a result, I opted for as veteran a lineup as I could manage under the circumstances. Allan McGregor returned in goal, with Joe Keenan, Steve Foster, and Chris Morgan anchoring the defense, accompanied by young Keith McCormack, who was still in good spirits. Paul Thirlwell was the defensive midfielder, making his 200th career league appearance, and Jonathan Forte was the left wing. I showed my faith in the beleaguered Graham Allen by naming him to the starting lineup despite his gaffe against Derby, while in attack I partnered playmaker Hugo Viana with veteran Jack Lester. Up front, Billy Sharp was the lone striker in our usual 4-5-1 configuration.

Graham Allen was greeted by mocking applause from the Coventry crowd, followed by jeers and taunts, but he had a grim game face on and was determined to prove I hadn't made a mistake in selecting him. In the first minute of play, he sent a long cross over Coventry's 4-4-2 and into the path of Billy Sharp, who was hauled down in the arc by Sean Cooney. That earned Cooney a yellow card, and Hugo Viana a dangerous free kick from 19 yards out. Cooney was lucky - it could well have been a straight red, as it was a very cynical play. Viana's free kick curled high and wide, but it was a strong start!

Sharp kept threatening, despite the steadily falling rain, putting a shot over seconds later, and having another saved by Coventry keeper Graham Stack in the 8th minute. At the other end, Coventry earned a free kick in the 17th minute. Rather than shooting directly, Stuart Giddings played a gentle pass which found Stern John unmarked in the box. It was an unforgivable mistake from my back row, but Allan McGregor's save bailed them out. Joe Keenan put it out for a throw, and that led to a corner kick. McGregor punched clear, but it was held in by Cooney, whose shot deflected to Antonio Nuñez at the near post. He tapped it in from close range, but was clearly offsides and the linesman got the call right, ruling the goal out.

It had been a scary moment, but it looked like it had woken us up. Keith McCormack was having a great game, as Coventry repeatedly tried to victimize the young right back, whom they seemed to have identified as the weak link in our back four. Time after time throughout the match, he headed clear balls which could have been trouble, and many times placed the header to one of his teammates. He was really making a case for a permanent berth in the first team.

We were making plenty of chances at the other end, but Viana's low shot from distance was saved by Stack, and Sharp golfed one over, wasting Jack Lester's fine pass. In the 23rd minute, though, Sharp made amends by picking out Lester unmarked in the area. It was a great chance for the veteran, but Stack made an acrobatic save to tip it over. In the 31st, Viana was the playmaker, with a lovely pass for Lester in the arc. The 32-year-old feigned a shot, drawing both the defense and the keeper towards him, then rolled a short pass to the left for Sharp. Sixteen yards out, he had an open net, and this time he made it count, putting it just past the outstretched fingertips of the desperate Stack, and putting us ahead 1-0.

That lead lasted through halftime, thanks to continued fine play by McCormack and Paul Thirlwell, who seemed to be all over the pitch. I reminded the lads to stay conservative, but they smelled blood in the water, and kept surging forward in the second half. Sharp's cross in the 51st minute found Viana, who let loose a first-time blast from 19 yards out. He got it all wrong, putting it harmlessly over, but the pressure was clearly building on the Coventry defense. Lester nearly got a well-deserved goal in the 57th minute, but his 20-yard shot went inches wide.

A minute later, Viana played it wide left for Forte. He had Sharp in the box, but rather than aiming for the six, he sent the cross to the arc, where Lester lurked in space between the defensive line and the midfield. The veteran forward drilled a shot to the right-side post for his 43rd goal in a Sheffield uniform, and stunned silence greeted our 2-0 lead!

Both sides made substitutions in the following break, with Joe Newell and Darren Wrack coming on for Viana, who was limping, and Allen, who had played solidly but unspectacularly, which was as good as I could have hoped for given his rock-bottom morale. For Coventry, young attacking midfielder Tom Bates had come on. The place was deathly quiet, and you could hear the contact of foot on ball clearly, but the crowd began to get back into things as Coventry earned a pair of corner kicks in the 61st and 65th minutes. The second one came in from our right side, but bounced harmlessly, getting through everybody. It should have been something for the perimeter defense to handle when Bates held it in, but McGregor came rushing out, chasing well outside of his six. Bates alertly passed it back for central defender Michael Mancienne, a 20-year-old on loan from Chelsea. With a virtually open net, he put it just inside of Joe Keenan, standing at the near post, and that was his first of the season, though his fourth for Coventry, as he'd played 17 matches on loan for them the previous year, scoring three. The Jaguar Arena crowd of 23,709 let out a roar of approval, and clearly the Coventry players thought they had a chance at 2-1.

Giddings nearly found the equalizer a mere minute later, missing by inches, as I shouted at my defense to get back. The rain was increasing, and both managers made their final throws of the dice. I brought on Noel Hunt to replace Sharp, who was visibly tiring, while Coventry manager Ronnie Moore brought 36-year-old Frank Sinclair, a frequent teammate of Teddy Whitmore's on the Jamaican national team, in to shore up his central defense. Unfortunately, the aging defender proved to be the weak link in the back. In the 78th minute, Hunt sidestepped him neatly to get into the box, but missed wide - he's still not up to match fitness after his injury.

There were chances at both ends in quick succession despite my defensive instructions, and Daniel Nardiello grazed the bar from twenty yards out. A minute later, Thirlwell's long pass sprang Newell past Sinclair, but he got the finish all wrong. At 82 minutes in, Coventry was starting to really push forward, and Lester punished them with a fantastic long pass to Newell. Again he had gotten past Sinclair, but this time as the young attacker reached the 18, Sinclair got a foot in to knock it away. The ball rolled right to Hunt, who had an easy finish: on first look, I'd thought Newell had made a brilliant pass, as it worked so well to our advantage! Hunt applied the finish, his team-leading eighth goal of the season, and that made it 3-1.

The fight had clearly gone out of the hosts, and though both sides had some chances in the final minutes, that was the last scoring of the afternoon; Hunt nearly got a second with a half-volley from a narrow angle in injury time, but only caught side netting.

Coventry 1, Sheffield United 3

Mancienne 65; Sharp 31, Lester 58, Hunt 82

MoM: Lester

There's really nothing that compares to the emotions of a post-game celebration following the win that ends a losing streak. Its not joy, per se, but something more like relief that one's dread was unfounded.

Jack Lester's fantastic performance really underscored the value of experience in turning around a run of poor form. He wasn't the most talented of my attacking midfielders, in fact he's a long way down the list on the metrics Stuart McCall and I use, but after two successive defeats, when morale was flagging, he gave the sort of gritty, determined, hard-working performance I expect from my veterans. He provided the leadership our young offense needs, and thoroughly deserved his Man of the Match award.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 19th December, 2007.

The board's delight at halting the losing streak matched the celebration in the locker room, something more than just a perfunctory 'job well done': it meant a lot to get the win, especially away to class opposition.

We had the usual fixture congestion in December, with four matches from the 23rd through New Year's Day, and Stuart McCall and I spent a good hour or so plotting out who to start in which match, trying to keep everybody both fresh and fit through that run of matches. Effectively, I split the squad in two, with one group targeted at the matches of the 23rd, 29th, and then the F.A. Cup match on the 5th of January, and the other squad on for Boxing Day and New Year's.

Another item on my to-do list was reviewing contracts - I'd let that go too long, what with the UEFA license classes. Some of my players were in the final year of their contracts, and I went through the list deciding who to extend offers to, and who to let leave the club or try to sell at the January window.

Jonathan Forte became the first of these to agree to terms, the 21-year-old winger celebrating his selection to the English Championship Team of the Week by inking a contract that should see him remain a Blade through 2011. He also refuted the reports linking him with Oxford United, denying that he would consider leaving Bramall Lane.

Darren Wrack also renewed his contract through next season. The versatile veteran couldn't expect much playing time, but I've found it very useful to have an experienced player who can cover some eight of the ten outfield positions.

With that settled, it was a waiting game for our next senior match, and I spent a bit of the week doing my Christmas shopping rather than paying close attention to the side. Key attacking midfielder Marc Bridge-Wilkinson resumed training, but there just wasn't going to be enough time to get him back fit and in the lineup in time for the F.A. Cup match.

Our Reserve side knocked off Chester Reserves on Wednesday, 2-1, with Darren Gibson and John Melligan scoring the goals. Hayden Foxe and Robert Cousins both played 57 minutes as they continued to work on building match fitness, and slow young right wing Nick Smith was named the Man of the Match.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 22nd December, 2007.

Hapless Graham Allen was still receiving threats of violence, some disguised as holiday cards: "Merry Christmas, I hope you rot in hell!"

I had to sit down with him again, and tried to convince him that these were the opinions of idiots, those for whom the game had become too important. It was a reminder not to take it all too seriously, and I assured him that the coaching staff and I saw the hard work he's put in over the past two seasons, not just a single mistake, dire though it might be.

Ben Hammond made his return from physiotherapy, returning to full training at the end of the week. Unfortunately, his place at our physiotherapist's was booked for Steven White. The 16-year-old defensive midfielder had pulled a groin, and he, too, required a specialist to ensure that it wasn't a recurring problem.

Nicky Thomson was Man of the Match Friday as Sheffield United U-18s took care of a weak Mansfield U-18 side 2-1. Mark Whitehead and Paul Preston scored the goals, and Ben Hammond made his return to the pitch in a ten-minute substitute appearance.

Leeds United settled their managerial vacancy, naming Tranmere Rovers boss Brian Little as their new skipper. Little had a fairly undistinguished record with Rovers, winning almost exactly as many as he'd lost over the past five seasons. There were a number of other managerial vacancies as the mid-season revealed who was genuinely struggling. Most were down in the Conference level, but Sunderland's Gary Megson was sacked. It came as no surprise, as the side were last in the Premier League and had won only a single match all season.

Javier Clemente left Everton to take over the vacant Aston Villa position, leaving a side 11th in the Championship to take over the high-flying side which is currently fourth in the Premier League, behind Chelsea, Liverpool, and Newcastle.

In Sheffield news, we extended Hugo Viana's loan deal from Newcastle for another three months, keeping the creative Portugal attacking midfielder on through late March. It was a great deal for us, keeping a talented player on for cheap, while for Newcastle a player whose contract was expiring could continue to showcase his talents.

With a televised Sunday match, I watched the scores from around the Championship on Saturday with interest. We got the breaks we needed when Leeds United held Ipswich to a 1-1 draw, and lowly Stoke City beat first-placed Derby County 2-1. That left us room to get right back in touch with the leaders with a win.

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 23rd December, 2007. Championship - Game 23, vs Doncaster.

Doncaster are an uplifting success story for any club languishing in obscurity. A Conference side in 2002/03, they won successive promotions to League Two, League One, and then the Championship over the next three seasons. Many thought they'd shot beyond their ability to support, but clever investment had seen them secure a 15,000 all-seat stadium with under-soil heating, with top training facilities and a youth academy. They've held tight to their hard-earned berth in this level, escaping relegation with 20th their first season and consolidating to 17th last year. This season, though they are 22nd at the mid-way point, they are but a solitary point behind Leeds and Preston, and, on a 2-game winning streak, they're in fine spirits.

I named a lineup very close to my F.A. Cup intention. Allan McGregor was of course in goal, with Sean Dillon and Hayden Foxe reclaiming their regular positions in defense. Steve Foster and high-flying youngster Keith McCormack filled out the back four. Paul Thirlwell started at defensive midfielder despite rumours that I had floated him on the transfer market this past week, and Jonathan Forte was making his 50th career appearance, all for Sheffield United, on the left wing. When Graham Allen was announced to the home crowd for the first time since his gaffe, his name was met with a chorus of derision and abuse, but the youngster bravely held a game face. Joe Newell partnered with Jack Lester, who had certainly earned another chance in attacking midfield, and our leading scorer Noel Hunt was the striker.

With a bottom-table team coming to Bramall Lane, I decided to switch to my 'patient buildup' tactic right from the get-go. I'd revised the tactic a bit over the past week, on things I'd learned from the UEFA badge class, to put a bit less emphasis on attack, and a bit more on 'patient', but I could hardly find fault with my players when they scored after merely 28 seconds! Doncaster took the opening kickoff, and Noel Hunt stole it away from their midfielders within moments. Working up the left side, he finally siwtched things right for Graham Allen, who played a pass to Joe Newell in space about 25 yards from goal. The 18-year-old let loose with his cannon of a right leg, curling a perfect shot to the top-right corner of the net, and it was 1-0!

My joy was somewhat tempered in the 11th minute when Noel Hunt collided with Richard Jackson, and went down clutching at his knee. He was unable to continue, and that put 18-year-old Darren Gibson on. With a lead already, I switched to our typical conservative counter-attacking style, which seems to suit the youngster's explosive pace. If Doncaster wanted to play defense, I was content with a 1-0 victory, and if they came at us, I trusted the young Scotsman could hit them on the counter. Doncaster, as Coventry had, tried attacking right back Keith McCormack. With some help from Graham Allen, he proved well up to the task, heading clear a number of balls intended for the Doncaster left wing. Allen first heard cheers for himself in the 22nd when he snuck into the Doncaster area behind the defence, but his shot was saved by Doncaster goalkeeper Richard Lee.

In the 25th, Doncaster had a great opportunity, with Ian Moore finding space behind the defense, and breaking into the area. Allan McGregor made the one-on-one save, but unluckily the rebound bounced to James Coppinger, who couldn't miss from 12 yards. Desperate center back Hayden Foxe threw himself in the way, barely deflecting it out for a corner. The corner, too, was admirably dealt with by the Australian, who certainly looked 100% after his long recovery from injury: the captain had dealt with two other corners in the opening minutes.

As the half-hour approached, Jonathan Forte's leading pass got Gibson to the end-line wide left. He had Jack Lester and Graham Allen available at the far post, but chose instead to shoot from a tight angle, and hit side netting. That was not to matter, as 12 minutes later, Lester made an incredible pass to forge a chance out of nothing. It was played to space in the arc where Gibson could alertyly run one it, and the youngster cut it back for his second goal of the season, to make it 2-0. That kept the crowd of 30,886 buzzing until halftime.

Doncaster came out to start the second half clearly thinking attacking, playing something which was almost a 4-2-4, their wingers were pushing so far forward. It left plenty of space in their back line, and couldn't produce much up front, where McCormack and Foxe continued to excel in defense. After another attack was dealt with by McCormack, our offense started a 5-on-4 counterattack, with Allen on the right wing carrying the ball. He dribbled diagonally in from the right, drawing one of the central defenders towards him, and that left Gibson the unmarked man in the middle. Allen picked him out with a perfectly weighted pass, and Gibson let loose a low drive from the arc which made it 3-0. It was a wonderfully crafted move, and Allen revelled in the adulation of the crowd, who seemed altogether willing to forgive in the face of his scintillating performance.

The celebration was short-lived, as we conceded another goal from an awful blunder, this one on the part of Jonathan Forte. Fortunately, with 60 minutes gone, it was nowhere near as damaging, and this one did not cost us a game. Forte was forced back into the left-side corner by the pressure of Paul Green. Sean Dillon overlapped to give Forte an option, which left him out of position to defend, and rather than put it out for a throw, Forte tried to beat Green on the dribble. The Doncaster right wing was unimpressed. He stole the ball off of Forte's foot, and sent a cross in for substitute Gregg Blundell, who had beaten McCormack at the far post. McGregor, dumbfounded, reacted too late, and Blundell was given space to apply the finish from the six yard line. He planted his left foot and took the cross from the right on his preferred right foot, a tricky move, but was able to bury it to make it 3-1.

I brought the lads back to defend from that point forward, making my last two substitutions to rest some players. Darren Wrack came on in the 72nd minute, making the 400th league appearance of his storied career, and Doncaster were unable to truly threaten in the face of solid defending. Jack Lester had played quite well, and nearly got a late goal, trying his luck on a free kick from 30 yards out, but Lee was able to tip that over the bar to preserve the 3-1 scoreline.

Sheffield United 3, Doncaster 1

Newell 1, Gibson 42, 58; Blundell 60

MoM: Gibson

A delighted Derek Dooley came down to celebrate with the lads afterwards, and made a point of complimenting Graham Allen as well as Darren Gibson, whose two-goal performance had earned him Man of the Match honours for the first time of his career. Morale was high, and my only concern was for Noel Hunt's health.

[Amaroq]

Monday, 24th December, 2007.

It turned out that I was worried about the wrong man. According to physio Tom Mitchell, leading scorer Noel Hunt had merely twisted his knee, a lucky break for us: it had looked like a serious injury at the time, and I was glad it would only keep him out for a week. He might be back in time for the F.A. Cup match.

The bad news came for Darren Gibson, who was practicing with the first team in preparation for the match of the 29th, for which I'd already named him the starter. He tore ankle ligaments during a practice session the morning of Christmas Eve, a serious injury which will require surgery, effectively ending his season. I could only hope it didn't permanently stunt his development, as he'd been showing signs of maturing into a phenomenal young talent.

That put a real damper on my holiday celebrations: I really like the affable young Scot, and I was very disheartened, wishing that I'd given the squad the two days' holiday, as I had at York, as then perhaps the injury could have been avoided. I did, of course, give everyone Christmas Day off, despite the impending match on Boxing Day, "as a reward for your two wins."

In truth, I wanted to spend quality time with my wife.

[Damien77]

Great Story...KUTGW

[Mambaman]

a wicked story Amaroq-have come late to this one but love the style and the in-depth reports: a superb contribution kutgw

[Amaroq]

Thank you, Mambaman. I suspected, from your writing style, that you'd particularly appreciate this one!

Damien, much appreciated as always!

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 26th December, 2007. Championship - Game 24, vs Brighton.

Boxing Day saw us open the second half of the season as hosts to 19th-placed Brighton and Hove Albion, a side which had won only once in their last seven attempts, whom we had beaten 2-0 in Brighton to open the season. Oddly, in our last four matches with them, the away team had won. Of course, that had been us three times. Their past three seasons in the Championship had been fairly strong, with placings 8th, 13th, and 10th, but this year's squad was scoring less than a goal per game, and conceding double that many.

With matches so close on each other's heels, I started an entirely alternate lineup. Allan McGregor remained in goal, but Jordan Holmes spelled McCormack at right back, Chris Morgan and Jamie Cooper were paired in central defense, and Joe Keenan came on at left back. On-loan midfielder Mathieu Berson made his second start, while the wingers were also loanees, young Andrew Schofield on the left and Leandre Griffit on the right. Hugo Viana continued the trend, making the first start of his second 3-month stint with the side, partnered with one of our own, John Melligan. Up front, my options were very limited, and Billy Sharp was the only fit first-team striker. On the substitutes bench, I had to name an Under-18 striker with no professional appearances, Paul Preston, to come on in case of injury.

As I had in the previous match, at home against a weaker opposition, I set the side out in the 'patient buildup' tactic, letting players go forward in the attack, but encouraging them to take their time, play short passes, and trust that superior skill and creativity would generate chances. As it had on Sunday, this resulted in an early goal, but this time it was not one that pleased the Bramall Lane crowd. In the 4th minute, Johnnie Jackson took a throw-in deep down the left sideline for Brighton. He played it to left wing Sebastian Wallis-Taylor, a 20-year-old on loan from Southampton, who sent in a cross. Both of my central defenders were sucked out of position by dummy runs, leaving Mark Burchill uncovered at the near post. Joe Keenan spotted it, and tried to close down from the far side, but he couldn't arrive in time, and Burchill drilled a spectacular spinning volley from the corner of the six to make it 0-1. It was a great start for Brighton, and a dismal one for us.

Captain Chris Morgan caught my eye as though to ask 'are you sure about this', but I had no new intructions for him. Brighton were going to play defensive now, and we struggled to make chances, as 'patient' meant we weren't taking half-chances, and always looking for a better option. This meant that many of our buildups were stifled without ever putting a ball into the area, and Jackson's half-volley at the other end looked more dangerous than our best effort. The Bramall Lane faithful were getting restless by the 29th minute, when Jordan Holmes took a throw deep down our right side. He played short for Matheiu Berson, who rather than send a high, hanging cross into the six, played a low pass to the feet of Leandre Griffit. The Frenchman was on a diagonal run towards the near post, and the pass found him in stride. A deft touch made John Hills miss as Griffit dribbled into the six, and from close range he shot... and equalized at 1-1!

Brighton returned to a normal style of play, willing to bring it forward at us, and in the 35th minute, Burchill, flush with success, tried a spectacular half-volley from range. He got it all wrong, however, not coming close to troubling Allan McGregor. In the 44th minute, Griffit was brought down hard by Johnnie Jackson, and the crowd booed when Jackson didn't even receive a card. Behind me, I heard some of my bench players muttering about 'retribution', but whether they meant for the injury, or in response to Griffit's goal, I didn't know. At the intermission, we learned that Griffit wouldn't be able to continue, and that brought on Darren Wrack to play the right wing.

We came out for the second half looking very strong: Wrack earned an early corner kick, that led to another, but Hugo Viana's shot through traffic went inches wide. Viana also tried from long range, but the ball went flying over the bar. The creative Portugese international then set up Billy Sharp with a well-weighted pass, but the striker's nineteen yard effort was saved by Peter Enckelman. In the 53rd minute, we earned yet another corner kick, and this one Viana played out to John Melligan about sixteen yards from goal. Melligan was upended by David McNamee, and though referee Michael Jones did take a moment to look to his assistant, it was a clear penalty!!

Wrack stepped up, the veteran with calm nerves, and drilled it to the keeper's right. Enckelman guessed correctly, but even so he couldn't keep Wrack's shot out, and the experienced winger's first goal of the season put us ahead, 2-1.

Shortly thereafter, Johnnie Jackson was helped off injured after a crunchingly hard tackle by Jamie Cooper. No card was awarded, but I could see how the game was played. If the referee wasn't going to call a foul, it was up to our defenders to be the enforcers. With a one-goal lead, I decided to shift to the conservative, counter-attack style we were used to, just as Brighton pushed forward into a 4-3-3. As seems to happen, our counter-attack was perfectly suited to this aggressive stance from the visitors. In the 59th, Viana took a ball on his chest with his back to goal, then layed a fine pass to his left for Andrew Schofield, but the youngster hit side netting from 20 yards. In the 65th minute, Wrack had a dangerous free kick, right on the 18 and centered in the arc. He curled it beautifully around the wall, a model shot for the training videos, but Enckelman made a diving save at the post to deny the 31-year-old a second.

In the 67th minute, I brought on Paul Preston and Joe Newell up front to replace Sharp and Viana. 18-year-old Preston was a product of the Everton youth programme, whom we'd acquired on a free transfer in the offseason. He hadn't been two impressive, with 2 goals in 13 chances in the Reserve and U-18 matches this year, but he was the only other striker over the age of sixteen on the payroll, and he got his chance now. In the 79th minute, Newell set up Preston with a golden opportunity, a short pass into the area which gave him time and space, but the excitable youngster blazed it high and wide.

I moved the lads back to our defensive outlook for the final ten minutes, but still Schofield set up Preston, and this time his shot was on target, but saved by Enckelman. The rebound fell right to Newell, about twelve yards out, and he looked certain to score, but the Finnish keeper got back to make a fantastic double-save. That held it to a one-goal margin. In the 85th minute, Berson played a wonderful ball from the center circle for Preston. Though not naturally fast, Preston beat David McNamee on sheer fitness, dribbling at pace into the area, and lacing it past the onrushing Enckelman. It was an outstanding strike from the 18-year-old, and he'd scored on his professional debut!

I though surely a 3-1 lead settled it, but in the 90th minute, Berson again got things started, playing a fine ball out of midfield for Melligan, who linked up with Newell. Just outside the area, Newell played a first-touch pass ahead of Preston, who had split the central defenders. With the crowd of 27,604 roaring in approval, the youngster buried it for his second goal in just five minutes!!

Sheffield United 4, Brighton 1

Griffit 29, Wrack pen 54, Preston 85, 90; Burchill 4

MoM: Preston

Its very rare for a player to earn Man of the Match honours for just 23 minutes, but Paul Preston had been absolutely electrifying in his debut. The man who I had put in only as a last resort, literally my sixth-choice striker on Opening Day, had won the hearts of the crowd and was a sentimental choice for the honour!

I told the lads how glad I was to see them keep their cool after the early goal conceded, as it had taken us a while to break down the determined Brighton defense, but they stayed true to the patient tactic I'd had in place.

[Amaroq]

Thursday, 27th December, 2007.

Derby County had lost 1-0 at The Circle, and Hull's victory meant we were back into first place, two points clear of Derby and Ipswich, three clear of Q.P.R., and seven ahead of 5th-placed Millwall. I was happy with the win, but the board were absolutely delighted that we found ourselves top of the table here in the second half.

The brutal tackle on Leandre Griffit had left him with strained knee ligaments, which would require a visit to a specialist and at least two weeks, perhaps as many as four, of physiotherapy. The news wire also informed me that Jamie Cooper had broken Johnnie Jackson's jaw, and though the Brighton papers were calling Jamie a thug, the Sheffield papers glossed over the incident, and I found myself condoning it.

In other injury news, Under-18 attacking midfielder Mark Whitehead had come up injured Wednesday morning, ruling him out of the Reserve match. The injury? Another strained groin, which simply cannot be a coincidence. We're doing something wrong, which is causing the preponderance of occurrences of this injury, and I gathered my three physios together to see if we could suss out a reason. In the meantime, Whitehead was off to a physiotherapist, out at least three weeks if not more.

Temporarily, that strengthened the Reserve squad, as I let Marc Bridge-Wilkinson start in his place, a rehabilitation effort as the first step back for the attacking midfielder, who had been rehabilitating a groin injury for over a month now. The star of the senior squad lasted 56 minutes, partnered with Robert Cousins, in a home Reserve match against Notts County, but the visitors found a way to score and won 1-0. I hoped that a steady program of Reserve matches could get Bridge-Wilkinson fit enough to come off the bench, if needed, in the F.A. Cup match in January.

Defensive midfielder Paul Thirlwell was one of those whose contracts were expiring at the end of the season. I was currently paying him about £275,000 per annum, but he was demanding a cool half a million to re-sign. He's been playing a lot for us, leading the team with 52 starts last season, and having started 15 of our 23 league matches thus far this year, but I just couldn't justify paying that much for the 28-year-old. He certainly won't be good enough if we promote to the Premier League, and even at the Championship level, Stuart McCall thinks I should have no trouble replacing him. With that decision made, I opted to sell him now while I could still get some value in return for him.

Only Oldham Athletic was willing to play, with other teams preferring to hold out to try and sign him on a Bosman. Oldham were willing to pay £500,000 for him, and graciously allowed the transfer to occur at the end of his contract, when he would have been able to move on a free. It was more than I'd hoped to squeeze out of anyone, but the Oldham manager was apparently keen to secure his services without a bidding war. The transfer was agreed, effective June 4th.

There was trouble brewing for me in the form of Allan McGregor. A story in the Christmas issue of The Star indicated that he was looking to renegotiate his contract, which runs through next season. Supposedly, he wanted to commit his future to the club, but the prices mentioned in the article were fairly exorbitant. I could afford to re-hire him, but he wanted to be thought of as a 'Key Player', and paid accordingly. While he'd played very well this season and last at the League One and Championship level, I really wasn't confident that he could survive in the Premiership, and didn't want to commit myself to him with a long-term contract which might become an albatross around my neck. I brought his agent in Thursday to discuss terms, but unfortunately we're a long way apart.

I also had a bit of trouble with Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, who had been recovering from injury for the past month, and expressed his dissatisfaction to The Star, basically complaining that he should be a first team regular. My explanation to him that his health was more important than a few mid-season league matches apparently hadn't done the trick, nor had his lack of match fitness. The article read:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Bridge-Wilkinson has revealed that not being a part of the first team at Bramall Lane is starting to unsettle him. The 28-year-old attacking midfielder is unhappy that he continually finds himself as an onlooker when the first team play and has said that he will be looking to leave the club if he doesn't break into the first team soon. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

"Continually an onlooker?"

They seem to have gotten their facts mistaken: although he's started only half of our matches, he's number two in goals scored and he's definitely indispensible to the club in my mind.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 29th December, 2007. Championship - Game 25, at Cardiff City.

After two matches against lesser opposition, we had a trip to Wales to face 12th-placed Cardiff City. In their fifth year in the Championship after a number of seasons down in the League, Cardiff had pulled off a 2-1 win over Oldham Athletic in their last match, and had beaten us 1-0 earlier in the year. That was enough to make them the favorites at St. David Stadium, even if we were first in the league.

I continued the practice of extreme squad rotation with another near-full change of players. Allan McGregor stayed in goal, but ahead of him was what I considered my 'F.A. Cup side': Sean Dillon, Hayden Foxe, Steve Foster, and Keith McCormack in goal, with Paul Thirlwell in the defensive midfield role. Jonathan Forte was on the left wing, with Graham Allen taking advantage of the away match to earn another start. Jack Lester and Joe Newell were paired in the attacking midfield, and Billy Sharp got the nod at striker despite Paul Preston's impressive debut mid-week. There wasn't a player in the side quite at 100%, but Cardiff had had a rough time as well, and our lads were much more fit.

Our Welsh hosts came out in a 3-5-2, which I thought gave us a good shot with our conservative, counter-attacking 4-5-1. We almost saw an early goal for the third straight game, this time inside a minute and a half when Billy Sharp drew the Cardiff right-side defender towards him at the center circle, then passed into the space vacated, where Joe Newell was cutting. The 18-year-old dribbled nearly thirty yards into the Cardiff area, only to be caught by midfielder Keiran Richardson, who got a foot in just as Newell shot to put it out for a corner.

We definitely got the better of the chances through the first half, playing solid defense, and cutting ribbons through the Cardiff midfield, but we just couldn't seem to find the killer ball. Several times we had good shots blocked, and once Paul Thirlwell came up the left wing to the end-line, looking more like a winger than a holding midfielder, but his cross was too close to the goalmouth, and nobody could get to it. Just before half-time, Cardiff had their best chance, with Darren Huckerby beating our defense into the area, onside, but Allan McGregor proved up to the task of saving his close-range shot, and it went to half-time scoreless.

In the 56th minute, Jamaican midfielder Richard Langley took a shot from outside the 18 when our defense was set. Hayden Foxe threw himself in the way of the shot, and it deflected towards the far post. There was nothing McGregor could do about it, but it went inches wide, to the united groan of the 21,198 in attendance. Three minutes later, Sharp broke up the right wing, then sent a cross over the top of the 3-man defense for Joe Newell, unmarked at the 18. He shot hard and low, and only a fantstic save by Argentinian goalkeeper Julian Speroni denied him.

Keith McCormack was again playing well, definitely staking his claim to a first-team berth, and in the 67th minute, he nearly scored a goal. We had a free kick to the left of the box, which Jack Lester played to McCormack about 12 yards out. He tried a spectacular pirouette and half-volley with his left foot, but he's much stronger with his right, and got well under the ball, golfing it into the stands behind the net.

In the 76th minute, Jonathan Forte's cross to substitute John Melligan past the far post gave the best chance either side had seen all match. Melligan dribbled in to the corner of the six, in a move reminiscent of Leandre Griffit's goal against Brighton, but rather than shoot, he passed back for Billy Sharp, in heavy traffic at the penalty spot. For an instant, it looked a golden opportunity, but Keiran Richardson again came up with a great last ditch tackle, and the opportunity slipped from our grasp.

The final minutes ran out meekly, as though both sides had given their best effort in the earlier part of the match and were content with a scoreless draw, and that was, indeed, how things finished.

Cardiff 0, Sheffield United 0

----; ----

MoM: McGregor

After ten goals in our last three games, I wasn't expecting a scoreless outcome, but it definitely felt like we'd had the upper hand, and really, if Keiran Richardson, naturally an attacking midfielder, hadn't played so well on defense, we might have had two goals. Allan McGregor, who had had three saves, was named Man of the Match, which surprised me a bit, as I thought there were more deserving players on the home side.

[Wegason]

I was looking to catch up on some sleep half an hour ago but couldn't resist reading the story since I posted last. I'll regret it in the morning.

[Amaroq]

Muwahahahahaha... my evil plan to disrupt the Essex economy for nefarious purposes in on track...

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 30th December, 2007.

Derby and Ipswich had both won their matches, 3-2 against Leicester, and 2-1 at Reading, respectively, so we were now in a three-way tie for first at 51 points. Technically, we still held the advantage on goal difference, but that was a precarious lead at best.

Sunday afternoon, our U-18's played their rivalry game against Sheffield Wednesday U-18's. It was a hard fought game which took only three minutes to see its first yellow card, and was decided when Jamie Cooper conceded a penalty in the 23rd. At halftime I switched to the 3-5-2 patient buildup, with the forwards drifting wide to make space for the attacking midfielders, and I was quite pleased with the number of chances that generated: it was hardly the tactic's fault that the youngsters only managed to put one shot on target; there were several off the woodwork or inches wide, and I fully felt we could have won it. Nicky Thomson, in particular, put in a sensational performance to earn Man of the Match honors.

That was the last significant action of the year - though the team New Year's Eve party did promise to be entertaining!

I just hoped the lads would be sober by kickoff the next day.

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 1st January, 2008, afternoon.

With the injury crisis at striker, I had been seeking a replacement on loan, not wanting to wind up in the F.A. Cup without a healthy senior striker. Not that Paul Preston's shocking debut hadn't impressed me a bit, but considering his fair-at-best performance in the Reserves, I confirmed a three-month deal with Newcastle for striker Lewis Guy. Unfortunately, he fractured his ribs last night, riding, of all things, a mechanical bull at a New Year's Eve party! So, where I'd anticipated a struggle to get him registered in time for today's match against Wigan, instead I found myself pencilling Preston into the starting lineup, with another injured striker on the books.

SC Lewis Guy, 22, England, 3 U-21 caps, 1 goal: A product of the Newcastle youth system, this youngster has only made one appearance for them, but has scored 26 goals in the past four seasons on loan to teams in League One and the Championship. He first came to national prominence when he scored 10 in 26 Championship appearances last season for Nottingham Forest, and Newcastle aren't about to let the promising youngster go. He has fine finishing, and very good instincts off the ball. Beyond that, he's not spectacular in any area, but the polish of his game in general is impressive for a player of his age. He doesn't show much flair, but for his career, pace may be the limiting factor; though reasonable for the Championship level, it will never be fast enough at the Premiership and international level.

We'd also seen a player out, with slow but polished right back Rory Beanes let go to Charlton for the sum of £400,000.

Rory Beanes, DR, 22: July 2003-December 2007: 3 seasons, 44 games, 0 goals, 2 assists, 1 MoM, 6.62

The monthly meeting with the board took an hour in the middle of the afternoon. They remained delighted with the performance on the pitch, especially so as we continued to exceed their expectations, and in particular I was told that I am very popular with the fans thus far - after promotion, and top of the table, I suppose that was predictable!

On the financial side of things, including the transfer fee for Rory Beanes, we had made a net profit of £700,000 for the month. That still left us £2.2M down for the season, with a bank balance of £9.7M and a debt of about £4.0M. With the transfer window opening, Derek Dooley approved another £300,000 in transfer budget, letting me re-use what I'd received for Rory Beanes, but made it clear that I should be looking at Bosman transfers or further sales to build capital.

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 1st January, 2008, evening. Championship - Game 26, vs Wigan Athletic.

We had an evening match on New Year's Day, at home against last-placed Wigan Athletic. They hadn't won a match in almost a month, and were demoralized and exhausted after the fixture congestion: with such a small squad, most of them were playing every match. Their injury list was almost as long as ours, with three members of their starting defense out, two injured and one suspended, plus goalkeeper John Filan away on international duty, though his replacement, veteran Tony Warner, was in excellent form. Still, they had lost to us 2-1 at their ground, and I didn't see anything that worried me: forward Leon Knight looks like their only real threat, with 8 goals.

I had things set up in perfect cadence so that I could bring the weaker of my two squads. Allan McGregor, of course, remained in goal. Chris Morgan was captain from central defense, with Ben Hammond making his return to the starting rotation, and Joe Keenan and Jordan Holmes the fullbacks. Mathieu Berson has played well at defensive midfield, and young Andrew Schofield was the left wing. Making his 100th league appearance for Sheffield United, Darren Wrack would provide veteran leadership from the right wing. Even though he was far from match fit, I gave Marc Bridge-Wilkinson a start with Hugo Viana at attacking midfield, hoping that playing time would help to assuage his concerns about playing time. But the biggest cheer from the crowd was reserved for my striker, 18-year-old Paul Preston, making his first start after scoring a brace on his debut.

As we had in December, we held a pre-match award ceremony to honour with the fans those players who had won league awards for the month of December, and we had acheived a number of awards! Jordan Holmes won the Young Player of the Month for his solid performances on the left side, which I felt was hard luck for Keith McCormack, who had been equally deserving on the right. Paul Preston's goal on his debut was named number three on the Goal of the Month balloting, but the winner was Joe Newell, for the curling shot from the edge of the area against Doncaster on the 23rd. The highlight, however, was completing the sweep with left wing Jonathan Forte, who won Championship Player of the Month after a number of eye-catching performances. Not bad for a 'mediocre' player who was supposedly my 'weakness' at the start of the season!

We used our 'patient buildup' tactic, and, perhaps buoyed by the pre-match celebrations, we completely dominated posession from the start of the match. Wigan seemed to be playing for a scoreless draw, with a 5-3-1-1, while we pressured them from the beginning, getting three corner kicks in the first fifteen minutes. In particular, Andrew Schofield clearly outmanned his opposite, Adam Burton, and time and again Schofield's work up the left sideline generated chances, crosses put out for corners, etc. In the 24th minute, his cross picked out Paul Preston in the area, but the young striker's header was saved. The rebound fell to Darren Wrack, who shot wide.

We were obviously tiring out the defense, with constant passes to switch sides, forcing them to chase, and it was working out well. In the 36th minute, captain Chris Morgan spotted Schofield unmarked, switching from the right side to the left with a 40-yard pass. Wide open, Schofield dribbled unmolested into the corner, and sent in the cross. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson met it with a diving header from the six, an outstanding goal both in build-up and in finish, and our crowd of 27,121 let their approval be known.

Schofield nearly scored himself just before half-time, putting it narrowly over from fifteen yards, but we felt thoroughly confident when we went to half-time, up 1-0, without having conceded a shot or a corner kick. I told the lads to keep on, but pulled back to our more conservative style of play, expecting Wigan to come forward, and hoping to hit them on the counter.

In the 50th minute, however, the visitors put paid to that plan, when Leon Knight earned a corner kick out wide right, about 30 yards from the end-line. Ben Watson played a pass laterally for Paul Boertien, a 28-year-old wingback on emergency duty, making only his fifth start for the side of the season: he'd spent most of the year on loan to Chester down in League Two. He let fly with a left-footed shot from the curve of the penalty arc, which found the top corner - his first goal in four seasons with Wigan, and only the fifth of his career. That stunned the crowd, and my defense, leaving it 1-1.

We had plenty of time to get a second goal, and I returned the lads to the patient strategy which had dominated the half, even going so far as to instruct them to focus their passing down the left flank. Wrack had a chance in the 59th, but was denied by Wigan keeper Tony Warner. The resulting corner kick came to Viana, who played a laser pass through traffic to Jordan Holmes at the far post. The right back let loose from close range with a first-touch shot, but Kevin Lee threw himself in the way to block it out for a corner.

In the 70th minute, Schofield shot narrowly over, and in the 79th minute Warner made a fingertip save to deny Viana. Not even the late debut of 16-year-old Dean Reid, or the speed of Carl Motteram, or switching to a 3-5-2 could make a difference: I watched incredulously as the final moments ticked away. Somehow, Wigan had defied the odds to escape Bramall Lane with a 1-1 draw.

Sheffield United 1, Wigan Athletic 1

Bridge-Wilkinson 36; Boertien 50

MoM: Boertien (Wigan DR)

The locker room afterwards was quite subdued: my players and I both took a draw at home against the weakest side in the Championship as about equivalent to a defeat on a normal day, and everyone was quite conscious of the fact that it had dropped us from top of the table to a playoff spot - Derby and Ipswich had both won their matches.

[Amaroq]

Friday, 4th January, 2008.

In Australia, Hayden Foxe had been called up for Australia's Oceania Nations Cup match against New Zealand. Unfortunately, he only lasted about 25 minutes before falling and injuring his elbow, an injury which would keep him out for at least a week, ruling him out of our F.A. Cup match. I was very disappointed, being as he'd only just returned to match fitness.

The match was a wild one: it was already 2-1, Australia, when Foxe came off, and it was 3-1 at halftime, but in the second half Australia were reduced to nine men on a pair of red cards, which saw New Zealand come back, and only desperate defending by Foxe's mates kept the lead at 3-2.

It was a busy few days for me, with the transfer window opening and many players from my shortlist becoming available on Bosman transfers: with their contracts expiring, I could sign them as free agents for next season. I'd prepared a number of contract offers through December, and flooded the market with them, hoping that if I was one of the first to place a contract in front of players, that they'd take the offer more seriously.

Injured right back Eric Deloumeaux was one of those expiring, and the 34-year-old signed a one-year extension, essentially to be a backup at his position. Defensive midfielder felt like my biggest need, with Paul Thirlwell's off-season transfer already arranged, and Mathieu Berson only on loan. Unfortunately, Berson wasn't willing to sign a contract to make the move permanent, and one of my preferred targets, German Deitmar Hamann, re-signed with his current team.

Almost lost in all of that was a Reserve game at Shrewsbury, where a mostly-amateur Sheffield United side looked amateur in a 2-0 defeat to their hosts. Noel Hunt saw a few minutes of playing time at the end to rebuild his match fitness, but third-string goalkeeper Dean Bond had a torrid day, conceding both goals and stubbing a toe badly enough that he had to come off. Any hope of winning their Reserve group had faded: the side were now 6th, 15 points back of first-placed Doncaster, and only 2 ahead of Sheffield Wednesday. That was okay, as the focus for our young players had become the Under-18s Cup.

Obviously, Noel Hunt had begun training again, as had Peter Weatherson, after missing four weeks with a shoulder injury. With our top two strikers returning to action, that made the loan deal which brought striker James Lloyd in from Charlton for three months seems a little unneccessary.

SC James Lloyd, 19, England, uncapped: A fine prospect for Premiership side Charlton Athletic, this youngster shows great concentration, a fine work ethic, and an aggressive bent to his play. In many ways, he's well-fitted for the Championship level at the moment: he isn't incredible in any of the technical aspects of the game, and his pace and fitness won't impress at the Premiership level, but are fine for us. I'd brought him in to help assuage the injury crisis at striker, and still felt that he could do a fine job part time there. However, his lack of determination and his weak skills in the air seem to contra-indicate a permanent move.

I could feel the storm of the injury crisis beginning to lift. No sooner had I thought that, than Tom Mitchell materialized at my door to inform me that 18-year-old attacking midfielder Robert Cousins had slipped a disk while lifting weights. Surgery was the indicated course of treatment, and the projected five months of recovery ended the season for the young prospect.

That made sense of the first of my Bosmans, 27-year-old Bury attacking midfielder Mike Flynn, who agreed to terms Thursday. He was willing to accept a backup's role for next season, to promote up from League One. Shortly after that, French international Laurent Robert inked a deal as well. The 32-year-old left winger had been playing for Swansea in League One, and he, too, was excited at the prospect of playing at a higher level. Both signings were intended primarily to provide more depth next year, in case of further injuries.

After considering a number of options at goalkeeper - Croatian keeper Stipe Pletikosa looked far-and-away the best option out there, but even though his contract was expiring, I couldn't make a Bosman offer to him, and didn't have the £2.2M Shakhtar Donetsk were asking for - I had begun a negotiation process to re-sign Allan McGregor. He wanted a significant raise, and got it - signing through the end of the 2009/2010 season.

That took care of one unhappy situation - if only I could resolve Marc Bridge-Wilkinson's concerns so easily!

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 5th January, 2008. F.A. Cup Third Round - at Hull City.

In our first trip to The Circle, back in October, we had the life strangled out of us by Brian Horton's packed midfield. He ran a 3-4-3 which clogged the center of the pitch, keeping the match scoreless until late in the game, when Glenn Whelan found the winner. Today, however, the 13th-placed side in the Championship would be missing leading scorer Danny Alsopp, away on international duty for Autralia, as well as injured players Luke Beckett, Paul Reid, and Stuart Elliot, who were three of their other top six scorers. The man to watch out for, however, was new signing John Sutton, who had netted three goals in three starts after transferring in from Millwall for £500,000 in December.

I'd been working my top players towards being both rested and match fit for this encounter, and was able to field my strongest available XI. Allan McGregor stood between the posts, with a defense of Sean Dillon, captain Chris Morgan, Steve Foster, and young Keith McCormack. Paul Thirlwell was the holding midfielder, with Jonathan Forte and Graham Allen on the wings. In attacking midfield, I paired Hugo Viana and veteran Jack Lester, who had been on a hot streak lately. The striker situation was getting better, and Billy Sharp would start. The bench included several veterans - Bridge-Wilkinson, Wrack, and Keenan - as well as new signing Lloyd.

Rather than try the same counter-attacking tactic which had been so stifled our first time here, I decided to try a more patient approach, spreading the ball around and trying to attack down the flanks rather than up the middle. In the 6th minute, the wide strategy seemed the perfect approach, with Graham Allen working down the right sideline through the steadily falling rain, then sending a low pass to Hugo Viana. The Portugese midfielder sent a continuation pass out to the unmarked Jonathan Forte on the left, and he dribbled into the area, closing to eight yards before he shot. Dutch keeper Stefan Postma made a fine save, to the relief of the crowd. Hull had their chance shortly thereafter, with defender Simon Francis finding a hole in our tightly packed defense with a rare foray forward, but his shot went just over the bar.

In the 14th minute, Chris Morgan got a move started, picking out Jack Lester in the midfield. The veteran dribbled until he was closed down, then laid it out left for Forte, who was unmarked as Hull's three-man back line found themselves outnumbered. He advanced on the keeper, and shot, but again Postma did well to turn the ball away. This time Viana pounced on the rebound, and he couldn't miss from 8 yards out - we were off to a great start, a 1-0 lead!

John Sutton nearly got an instant reply, playing the ball past Steven Foster and then outracing everyone to it, but Scottish keeper Allan McGregor made a great save to deny the dangerous striker. In the 23rd minute, Sutton caused trouble again, this time racing for Matt McKenzie's long pass down the right wing. Sean Dillon stepped in front of him and tried to head it back to McGregor, but Delroy Facey got between them to intercept. It couldn't have been better placed for the 27-year-old, but McGregor made a great recovery to scramble back, keeping his footing on the wet surface and diving at the post to deny Facey.

The Hull attack was looking very dangerous, and the crowd of 25,378, silenced by the rain and early goal, were vocal and energetic. In the 36th minute, Ben Burgess beat Keith McCormack to get into the area, but blazed his shot over. McCormack nearly atoned with a header from a corner kick at the other end, but put it over, and then it was right back on the defensive. Facey raced into the area onto Burgess' pass, and Foster was barely able to throw himself in the way to block the shot.

It was still 1-0 at halftime, and I told the lads to start thinking more defensively, playing our usual conservative counter-attacking style, and demanding that Dillon raise his game to deal with Sutton. I also brought James Lloyd on for Billy Sharp, who had been limping since early in the match and seemed all but done.

The change in tactics seemed to catch Hull out, as Horton had spent the entire half-time describing how to handle our patient buildup, and the quicker pace seemed to catch Hull napping. In the 52nd minute, Forte was again the danger, this time spotted unmarked at the arc by Allen, but he blazed it inches wide of the top-right corner. Thirlwell put one just over from 20 yards moments later, and that really should have been enough to awaken the Hull defense. No. A minute later, Morgan sent a long ball route one for Lloyd, who had slipped behind Hull captain Tony James. One-on-one with Postma, Lloyd cut to his right, then shot back to the left post. The shot was perfectly placed and headed the opposite direction as the keeper, who had no chance on the rain-slicked grass. It was 2-0, and we looked comfortably in control.

Darren Wrack was on for Allen, who had both a knock and a yellow card, and with twenty minutes left it looked like 2-0 would suffice. Hull earned a corner, and Ben Rix played it short, then took the return and sent a hanging ball to the far post. McGregor, McCormack, and Hull substitute Ryan France all collided. The ball bounced away as all three fell to the turf, and the whistle blew! .. A penalty?

No! Referee Iain Williamson said France had dived, and handed him a yellow card!

In the 75th minute, Lloyd had a chance to score his second after Viana's great pass ahead of him, but James atoned for his earlier error with a saving tackle at the arc. Wasting no time, Hull took the resultant posession and built an attack of their own. Rix and Facey combined in the midfield, with Facey playing it to space for France down the right side. The newly-carded player sent a low pass to Alistair Benson, who put a first-time continuation for Burgess into the area. Burgess had slipped behind Wrack, and dribbled around the exposed McCormack, driving a perfectly placed shot to the near post. It squeaked through the narrow gap between McGregor's right arm and torso as he sprawled for it: Burgess had his first goal of the season, and there was a glimmer of hope for Hull City at 2-1.

I shouted at my lads to tighten up and play defense, but even so France found space behind Dillon in the 79th minute, as the left back had to respect Sutton inside of him. Chris Shuker sent an incredibly long curling cross from near the half-way line to France in the area on the opposite side of the pitch, but the winger shot first-time rather than using a touch to control, and hit side netting as a result.

In the 85th minute, Delroy Facey had a breakaway into the box, finding the gap between our central defenders on a long pass. Foster was already carrying a yellow, but slid in anyways, and a perfect tackle took it off Facey's feet when failure might have seen an equalizer and a second yellow. McCormack controlled the loose ball, and played it forward to late substitute Marc Bridge-Wilkinson. He looked up and spotted Jack Lester on a perfectly timed run, and laid a long ball through the rain which the veteran forward was able to haul down. From there, it was just him and Postma, and Lester dribbled around the stranded Dutchman to make it 3-1!

With nothing to lose from all-out attack, Hull threw everything at us in the final minutes and into injury time, always keeping three back but sending everybody else into the attack. Facey nearly got one back for pride at the 93rd minute, putting a header on the end of Rix's deep cross, but his effort went wide from eight yards. The resulting goal kick, however, proved deadly, as McGregor took it quickly, and we ended with a 5-on-3 breakaway. Wrack and Bridge-Wilkinson exchanged passes before the attacking midfielder found Lloyd central and unmarked. He got the shot off from the 18 just before two desperate Hull defenders took him down. The linesman singalled for a penalty, but Lloyd's shot somehow found the net, so there was no need for it. Yet again a substitute striker had scored two goals on his Sheffield United debut, and the final score was 4-1!

Hull City 1, Sheffield United 4

Burgess 76; Viana 14, Lloyd 56, 90, Lester 85

MoM: Dillon

Sean Dillon was the Man of the Match, and the reason why is simple: for the entire second half, he had completely dominated John Sutton man-to-man, preventing the stellar striker from contributing anything at all to the match.

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 6th January, 2008.

Of course, one of the great things about the Third Round of the F.A. Cup is the giant killings. There are always a few! Chelsea dispatched Newcastle on national TV, 3-1, and Arsenal took care of Swindon by the same score. Manchester United showed just how far we had yet to go, crushing Wigan 4-0... but there were some surprises, most notably non-Conference side Hitchin, who had found an 88th minute equalizer to force a replay with Liverpool, 2-2, while similarly non-Conference Hednesford had drawn with Premier League Southampton 1-1.

The true giant killers, however, were Conference National side Tamworth, trying to reach the League for the first time in club history, who beat our league-mates Crewe Alexandra 2-0 at the Alexandra Stadium.

Our victory had come with a price: fullback Keith McCormack and left wing Jonathan Forte had each reached the limit on yellow cards, and would miss our next match serving a one-game suspension.

Sunday was our 'other' Cup game: The Under 18s Cup Quarter Final against Sunderland. The lads were at home at Saltergate, and though they would sorely miss the creative talents of Darren Gibson and Robert Cousins, I let them have Andrew Schofield and Jordan Holmes, loan players both. Holmes, on loan from Liverpool, struck the telling blow, a fine 20-yard free kick struck in the 8th minute. Gareth Davies was unlucky to be denied by the crossbar in the 25th, and by Sunderland goalkeeper Richard Hudson in the 40th. Hudson, in fact, put in a Man of the Match performance, thrice denying Joe Newell with spectacular saves, but the one thing he couldn't do was score a goal, and the one he'd conceded turned out to be all we needed.

A 1-0 win at full time, and our lads were going to the Semi Finals, there to face Walsall U-18s.

[fc_olympic]

Just finished reading this. Absolutely gripping stuff. Keep it up mate

[Amaroq]

Thanks, olympic, and to all you you who have come all the way through Book I as well, congratulations on your fortitude: we're up over 1,000 posts somewhere on page 8 or 9!!

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 9th January, 2008.

With, finally, a week between matches, I settled back into my routine, and discussed the player's improvements or lack thereof over the month of December. Again, I saw incredible improvement from a number of players, many quite unexpected, and the only thing I could conclude was that the addition of Croatian coach Niko Kovac had been a stroke of genius: I hadn't changed any other aspect of our training regime, which hadn't seemed to be doing much in the first months of the season.

The biggest improvements actually came from a number of our veterans: Jack Lester was in the best form that he'd been in since joining the side, after making the largest strides in his game. Pressed into service due to injury, perhaps a return to the starting lineup had been what motivated him: the improvements in his game looked more like the sort of leaps I would expect from a developing youth player, not a thirty-one year old! On the defensive line, Steven Foster and Hayden Foxe had both found a keen edge.

A strange group of improvements involved a bunch of our injured players, which truly confused me. Stuart McCall has been careful to invite the rehabilitating players to team meetings, etc, but I don't understand how Robbie Poole, who hadn't taken a step onto the training pitch, could have improved as much as Stuart was claiming he had. Likewise for Chris Sedgwick and Danny Payne. It made more sense for Noel Hunt and Peter Weatherson, who had both returned from injury to full training, and were doing much better for it, or for youngster Mark Whitehead, who was showing the physical development you'd expect from a 16-year-old.

Some of our young players were also making great strides: 16-year-old striker Danny Lea had taken his game up a level, mostly in the technical aspects. Robert Cousins was truly blossoming, and his injury couldn't have come at a worse time. Darren Gibson was also developing nicely, after his appearances with the senior side, but he, too, had fallen injured. Ben Hammond had made great strides, and was now co-equal with Keith McCormack as our most improved player overall, as the right back had continued to improve, but not as much as he had the previous month. Left wing Nicky Thomson was starting to show improvement, and Gareth Davies finally improved a bit, making strides in his game as well as at mastering his new position. Gavin Atkinson continued his steady improvement, and two other youngsters, Nick Smith and Dean Reid, continued to show steady improvement,

Graham Allen had responded well to the adversity that he'd encountered; perhaps a bit of controversy had been needed to motivate the youngster. Hugo Viana had recovered all of his previous losses to post a moderate gain for the first time since joining the club, and loanee Jordan Holmes had had a very nice first month with the club. The players I have not listed were notable most for not showing improvement. In the face of so many players who had, the players who weren't showing gains were the exceptional ones.

Monday's F.A. Cup draw saw us the third team drawn for the Fourth Round, following two Premiership sides, and drawing a home match. We waited anxiously, and drew... Derby County, a fellow battler for the Championship title. In fact, today, they were on top of the league by goal difference over Ipswich, and two points ahead of us. That should be a battle royale!

There was positive news from the physios, as Eric Deloumeaux had completed his rehabilitation, and returned to the training pitch after 6 months away. A few days later, so did Leandre Griffit. We'd also hired two new physios, purchasing the expiring contract of Clive Goodyear from Chester, and giving a 36-year-old named Martin Baverstock his break into the game. This was my attempt to staunch the seemingly steady stream of injuries which had plagued us since I came to Bramall Lane, and it certainly helped give us more coverage - but it also meant we had equalled Chelsea for the largest staff of physiotherapists in England, employing more than Arsenal, Liverpool, or Manchester United.

Hayden Foxe had returned to the pitch as well, though he did so in Australia's 6-1 pasting of Tongo Wednesday, lasting about fifty-five minutes before being substituted off. Australia had, as expected, won all five of their group games in the Oceania Nations Cup: 3-2 over New Zealand, 4-0 over American Samoa, 7-0 over New Caledonia, 6-0 over Tahiti, and then this result. The surprising result was that Tahiti had come second, and would face them in the final. New Zealand had suffered embarassing draws against New Caledonia and American Samoa, and so fell a point shy of Tahiti despite beating them solidly head to head. It was easy, from the series of results, to see why Australia had wanted to leave Oceania and move to Asia, but FIFA had nixed that move despite widespread support.

In a less important match, if there was such a thing, our Reserves faced Hull Reserves - it seemed the orange-and-black-clad side was everywhere this month. They started Delroy Facey, who had faced our senior side in the F.A. Cup, and the youngsters got to see just how good Facey was as he scored in the 5th minute. For a long time that looked to be the only goal, despite 45-minute appearances from Noel Hunt, Peter Weatherson, Carl Motteram, and John Melligan in fitness duty for us. However, Gavin Atkinson found the late equalizer on a deflected 20-yard shot, and Weatherson wasted two good chances in injury time; the score finished up 1-1.

Our currently loaned-out central defender Kyle McFadzean signed an expensive new contract, keeping him through June 2011. I wasn't sure if he'd be worth the expense, but he was training well while on a year-long loan to Bournemouth AFC, and I didn't want to let him go without compensation. I only hoped the salary I'd offered him didn't become public, as I had a lot of 18-year-olds whom I thought were better making less money. That was a situation that could spiral out of control, if they all made similar wage demands.

Speaking of loans, after witnessing the improvement Keith McCormack made after his loan to Watford, I placed a number of my Under-18 side up for loan. The list included Jamie Cooper, Kevin McDonald, and Brian Holmes, and I had received bids for a number of them. I took the time to scout out the interested teams, paying attention to the quality of facilities, the number and quality of their youth coaches, and whether I thought the player would mesh with their needs to get a starting opportunity, and then put it to the lads.

Before the loans started, however, there was another Under-18 match, this time Friday evening at home to Nottingham Forest U-18s. Dean Reid got us off to a great start with an early goal, but also suffered two yellow cards, getting sent off in the 16th minute. The lads did a good job defending with ten men for 63 minutes, but fell ten short, and the visitors got an equalizer to make the final 1-1.

The first of the loans to be completed sent central defender Jamie Cooper to Oldham Athletic, a fellow Championship side, though they were battling relegation and had a coaching staff not well reputed as a youth development group.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 12th January, 2008. Championship - Game 27, at Norwich City.

Norwich City had been relegated from the Premier League twice in the past three seasons, after winning the Championship in 2003/04. Their yo-yo cycle had them in the Championship this year, and after a great start which saw them win 7 of their first 8 - a streak broken only by that 0-0 draw at Bramall Lane - they had seen it all fall apart, losing the next seven matches in an odd run that saw them concede two goals in each match, outscored by a total of 14-1. Manager Nigel Worthington had come under a lot of pressure, but he'd weathered the storm and turned things around in December, winning Manager of the Month after six wins, a draw, and a defeat for the month. Back-to-back wins over Jamie Cooper's new club, Oldham Athletic (one in the League, and one in the F.A. Cup) had seen them extend their winning streak to six straight, and that made it a tough time to face the team climbing up the league table: they were up to sixth now.

With two starters serving suspensions, I couldn't quite run out my first-choice XI, but it was a strong side nonetheless. Allan McGregor was making his seventieth start for United in goal, while Sean Dillon and Chris Morgan would anchor the defensive line. Hayden Foxe, still suffering a bit of jet-lag, made his return to the lineup. Loanee Jordan Holmes had been pretty good on the right side, and would fill in for the suspended McCormack. Matheiu Berson gave Thirlwell a rest at defensive midfielder, while Andrew Schofield took the start on the left in place of suspended Forte. Graham Allen was the right wing, and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson partnered with veteran Jack Lester up front. Billy Sharp was the striker, with two-goal hero James Lloyd available off the substitutes bench if needed.

Norwich came out in a 4-3-3, a fairly attacking formation, but it was tough for either team to get into any sort of rhythm with referee Paul Taylor. He seemed inclined to whistle even the slightest infraction, and by the fifth minute, Norwich had two yellow cards already, both for innocuous-looking shirt tugs or pushes. The steady rain didn't help any, either, but at least it was reasonably warm. It looked like we were getting the better of the early chances, with Billy Sharp into the area on the right side in the 3rd minute, but he passed back and central for Jack Lester rather than shooting, and Lester was tightly marked, able to get off only a weak effort that was easily dealt with by Norwich keeper Joe Lewis.

Norwich seemed to be doing best down their right side, and in the fifth minute, Hayden Foxe headed clear a dangerous cross from that corner. In the 8th, Norwich right back sent a beautiful long ball up the right sideline which curled around Andrew Schofield, dropping ahead of Ryan Brooks for him to run onto. With a nifty move, he beat Sean Dillon, then centered where Ryan Jarvis had a half-step on Foxe, and headed home from the six. The Australian defender argued vehemently for an offsides ball, but to no avail - we were trailing 0-1 early on.

We stepped up the pressure, earning a corner kick in the 14th minute. Lewis punched it clear, but Lester controlled it at the 18 and let loose a blast which went just wide of the post. Three minutes after that, Schofield picked out Sharp with a low pass. The striker had found a gap in the defense, nipping into the box with a brilliant opportunity, but Lewis made a great save to tip it over. Twice in rapid succession Bridge-Wilkinson sent long passes forwards for Sharp's runs. The first time, he was again 1-on-1 with Lewis, and the keeper got the better of him again. The second time, he was caught by Ran Marwa at the arc, and the central defender did well to tackle it away.

Sharp was putting in magnificent effort, thoroughly exhausting himself with the long runs, but it paid off. In the 28th, his pressure on Marwa forced a back pass to the keeper. He chased that as well, and Lewis made a hurried pass out to captain Gary Doherty, the other central defender. Lester read it perfectly, and stepped in to take it from the Irish veteran on his first touch. Doherty's block tackle knocked the ball right, but succeeded only in feeding Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, who, with Doherty on Lester and Marwa marking Sharp, had time and space. He unleashed a laser 25-yard effort to the far post, and we were equal at 1-1.

In the 33rd minute, things took a turn for the worse. Lester, already on one yellow card, tugged on the shirt of Danny Spiller while battling for posession in midfield. There are referees who would have let that call go, especially when Norwich won posession anyways, but not Paul Taylor: he stopped play to give Lester another card - the red! - sending the veteran midfielder to an early bath.

Despite my urging to mark up well, and play tight defense, in the 40th minute Ian Henderson snuck free behind our defense on the right sideline. The ball was on the left, and a long ways away, but left-side fullback Jim Brennan sent a beautiful pass over everybody to the unmarked man at the far post. Henderson's shot looked a certain goal, but somehow McGregor came up with a diving save at the post, to keep it 1-1 at halftime. The post itself denied Henderson just after the restart, as Jarvis's cross picked him out just outside the six, and his header had McGregor beat, but not the woodwork.

In the 55th minute, I made three substitutions, bringing off tired legs with yellow cards for fresh players without: Sharp, Bridge-Wilkinson, and Graham Allen all took a seat, with James Lloyd, Joe Newell, and Darren Wrack on. It nearly paid dividends immediately, with Wrack sending a long pass ahead of Lloyd, who caught out the tiring Norwich central defense, dribbling into the area where Joe Lewis met him at the spot. Another fantastic save from the 20-year-old, and Lloyd was shaking his head, unable to quite figure out how he hadn't scored.

The wet pitch was really beginning to bog play down, and the long ball seemed the only way either side could create chances. In the 75th, Norwich defender Ryan Brooks played a ball nearly fifty yards into the path of Ian Henderson, who got into the area. He and Hayden Foxe jostled for the ball, and Paul Taylor blew the whistle. Penalty! I couldn't believe it - I was boiling mad on the touchline. Foxe, already on one yellow, was called for pushing, and was lucky not to be sent off as well.

Substitute defender David Unsworth, a 34-year-old veteran with two penalties converted already this season, stepped up to take. He cheekily tried to drill it right where McGregor started, and the goalkeeper must have seen it in his eyes, because he stood fast, and was there to knock it away.

Norwich were piling on the pressure, and the final fifteen minutes were spent almost entirely in our half. Every one of our defenders made a fine play at some point in the madness to deny somebody, and Allan McGregor was working up a sweat stopping shot after shot. Somehow, some way, they weathered it, and though I had my heart in my mouth anytime I saw a lad with a yellow make a tackle, they avoided any further bookings, and saw out time still 1-1.

Norwich 1, Sheffield United 1

Jarvis 8; Bridge-Wilkinson 28

MoM: Henderson (Norwich FL)

There wasn't a man in the locker room not wearied and exhausted by facing a top quality side like Norwich for sixty minutes with only ten men, but they held their heads high: they'd done a fine job, and Jack Lester made the rounds to shake the hands of every one of the lads who'd played the second half, saying "thank you" for covering after his red card.

I thought it was a class thing to do, and it made me less inclined to hand out the fine I'd been considering, especially in light of the numerous cards the referee had dished out: it was the worst-officiated match I'd seen since my days in the Conference North, but don't let the F.A. hear that I said that!

[Amaroq]

In other momentous news, I think I played the last match of "Blade"'s save-game tonight.

Not to worry - we've years of story ahead of us!

I just felt a bit piquant about it, and wanted to share it with you guys, who would understand.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 16th January, 2008.

Three straight draws in league play had seen us fall from first to third, and with Derby beating Everton 3-1 and Ipswich knocking off Crewe 2-0, we were now four points behind the leaders, though still six ahead of fourth place, where Everton, Norwich, and Q.P.R. were equal. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson was named to the Championship Team of the Week, celebrating his return to the starting lineup in style.

I'd arranged a few more loans for my 18-year-olds. Left back Brian Holmes joined my former club, York City, for three months. They were playing a 5-3-2, but the starting left-side wingback was injured, and they'd been forced to put an attacking midfielder at the back in their last match. I knew and respected the coaching staff, and Holmes would get valuable first-team experience, so it seemed a perfect fit. And, I'll admit, I definitely wanted to see the Minstermen stay up: they were struggling at 17th in League One.

Defensive midfielder Steve Newton went to Scunthorpe United, fighting a desperate battle against relegation, as they were dead last in League Two. Still, they have good facilities, a youth-focused staff, and I figured he would play immediately at the beleaguered side. Goalkeeper Nick McDonald would move to Carlisle, down in the Conference National. I hadn't wanted to let him go that low, but they, too, have good facilities, plus a goalkeepers coach that I trust, and were willing to guarantee him playing time. Right wing Nick Smith agreed to a 3-month stint at Rochdale, who were tenth in League Two.

Newton's place in the U-18's, at least, would be filled by Steven White, a 16-year-old who had been off seeing a physiotherapist for the past month, but was returning to the training pitch and expected to be match-fit in time for the U-18 Cup Semi-Final at the end of the month.

There was surprising news from the Premier League, however, as Liverpool manager Kevin Keegan had been given the axe. The team's embarassing 2-2 draw to lowly Hitchin in the F.A. Cup had proved the final straw, after he'd secured only one win in their past four league matches. Fourth place, at Liverpool, was not enough to save one's job, and especially not when the club are 14 points adrift of runaway leaders Chelsea. That's not the surprising thing, however. The shocker was seeing who the media thought was in the drivers seat: Arsene Wenger, sacked earlier this season by Arsenal - he was let go at the end of October despite winning Manager of the Month in September - was rumored to be the leading candidate. At home the next day, under the guidance of Assistant Manager Pako Ayestaran, the Reds beat Hitchin 3-1 in the replay.

Our Reserves, meanwhile, had travelled to Alexandra Stadium to face Crewe Reserves. With a lineup including Peter Weatherson, Joe Newell, Leandre Griffit, Ben Hammond, and Eric Deloumeaux, all of whom have held regular first-team places for Sheffield, I was expecting an easy match. Newell's sixth-minute goal seemed to confirm that, but Hammond gave away a penalty, and it was 1-1 for a long time. Deloumeaux played very well, lasting a full ninety minutes and scoring the game winner on a 25-yard free kick in the 64th minute, making the final 2-1, and Hammond recovered from his early disaster, playing quite well and winning Man of the Match honors. Griffit played 60 minutes, and Weatherson played 70. Unfortunately, Newell picked up a one-match ban after being served his fifth yellow card of the season; like Jack Lester, that would rule him out of the F.A. Cup match on Saturday.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 19th January, 2008. F.A. Cup - Fourth Round, vs Derby County.

Victory against the team currently top of the Championship table wouldn't help our league standing, but it would definitely help our morale, and if we could shake their confidence, with a match still to play against them, it would do well for us down the road, so it was definitely a big game. The teams had a history that predated my arrival: Derby had knocked United out of the F.A. Cup in 2005, but we had beaten them 2-1 on aggregate in the Championship Playoff Semi-Final at the end of the 2004/05 season before missing promotion in the Final. Derby had beaten us earlier this year, 2-1 despite our having the home field advantage, and that had to give them confidence coming into this match.

I started a top-rate lineup, with Allan McGregor in goal, and Joe Keenan, Hayden Foxe, Steven Foster, and Keith McCormack across the back four. Mathieu Berson was the defensive midfielder - I'd hoped to start Thirlwell, but he'd suffered a sprained wrist on Friday, and the physios recommended against playing him. I had regulars Jonathan Forte and Graham Allen on the wings, with Hugo Viana in attack. His partner was Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, whom I was still hoping to placate with regular playing time, and the striker was Billy Sharp. Sharp still had only three goals for the season, and had failed to impress in the absence of Noel Hunt and Peter Weatherson, despite leading the club with eleven goals last season.

Bramall Lane was a packed house, and the crowd were energetic and supportive as we came out in strong control from the early minutes. Graham Allen's long pass in the fifth minute found Billy Sharp a half step ahead of the Derby defense, but he wasn't quite able to get the shot off before being caught from behind. In the 13th minute, Hugo Viana set the striker up, but he tried from long range and missed by inches.

It seemed a breakthrough could be only a matter of time, and it was a throw-in in midfield that led to it. Keith McCormack took the throw, playing it short to Sharp, who touched it straight back to the right back. Hugo Viana had slipped free of the mark of Titus Bramble in the arc, Bramble either woolgathering, or convinced that the eighteen-year-old couldn't send a precise pass over that distance. He could, and did, with pinpoint accuracy. Viana settled it to his preferred left foot, and shot from 16 yards, an easy chance which gave us a 1-0 lead.

Derby nearly equalized four minutes later when Grzegorz Rasiak got to Mauricio Taricco's cross to head on goal, only to see it cannon back off the crossbar. With that brief exception, we seemed in complete control, and followed that with a period of intense pressure and great chances: Viana's shot was saved by Lee Camp, Forte's crosses for Sharp and Bridge-Wilkinson were headed clear, and then Forte broke down the left wing all along but couldn't get help. Finally, Viana had another shot saved, and so it was entirely against the run of play when Derby earned a corner kick in the 36th minute. Bramble connected with a diving header from the edge of the box, but it deflected off of Forte, and the resulting corner led to a free kick when Keenan was adjudged to have elbowed Taricco. Luckily, the action was outside the area, and it gave the Argentinian a free kick from twenty five yards away. He sent an aerial pass into the box rather than shooting, and picked out Lee Bowyer in heavy traffic. He headed it down to Marcus Tudgay, who drilled it to the near post from the six. Allan McGregor's diving effort couldn't get there, and we went to half-time equal at 1-1.

Garry Hay nearly completed our reversal of fortune, breaking into the area on the left side, but his shot for the far post curled inches wide after beating McGregor. In the 54th minute, we had a dangerous free kick of our own, 18 yards out, but Viana put it narrowly over the bar. Taricco had another opportunity from the same distance, but this time he shot on goal and McGregor made the save. I wasn't happy with what I was seeing, and at 66 minutes, I made all three of my substitutions, bringing on Noel Hunt, John Melligan, and Darren Wrack. As he had the week before, Wrack made his mark on the game with a long ball to the fresh legs of the striker mere minutes after coming on. Hunt, racing up the right side, reached the end line, then crossed for Forte unmarked at the far post. The young winger shot from six yards, and only an incredible reflex save by Lee Camp denied him.

The match stayed even into the 85th minute, and it was becoming a tense affair. The fans were on their feet, and I was pacing the touchline, my hands clenched every time either side had a half-chance. It was fitting that Forte, who had played so well, provided the decisive spark, sneaking in behind the right back, Taricco. Viana, the playmaker, sent a long pass up the left sideline, and Forte had room to roam, dribbling thirty yards into the area. Finally, Titus Bramble had to abandon Hunt to come close down Forte, and the young winger sent a cross over to the unmarked striker. From 8 yards, straight in front of the goal, Hunt nodded the ball to the far post. Camp couldn't cover that much ground, and it was 2-1, United.

There was delirium amongst the crowd of 30,758, but grim determination on the faces of the Derby County players. They threw everything at us in a terrific onslaught through the last minutes and injury time, but stalwart defending from Joe Keenan, Hayden Foxe, Keith McCormack, and the rest of our back five kept them at bay, and when the final whistle blew, the celebration could begin in earnest: we were through to the Fifth Round.

Sheffield United 2, Derby County 1

Viana 18, Hunt 85; Tudgay 38

MoM: Viana

Hugo Viana was the Man of the Match after a fine performance as the playmaker, though it had been a fine performance all around, and Forte and McGregor could both have merited consideration as well.

[Terk]

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

In other momentous news, I think I played the last match of "Blade"'s save-game tonight.

Not to worry - we've years of story ahead of us!

I just felt a bit piquant about it, and wanted to share it with you guys, who would understand. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I sympathize (See, even spelled it the American way for you ), not all that long ago I reached the logical conclusion point of my "All Sorted for Es and Whizz" story. It was a sad moment, as I'm sure finishing "Blade" was for you.

However, just spend the last hour and a half finally catching up on this. Nice to see Allan McGregor playing well enough to get his new contract, and a good cup run coming as well.

Looking forward to the continuation

[Amaroq]

Thank you, Terk. Much appreciated, both the sympathy and the compliments.

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 20th January, 2008.

"I'm afraid you're gonna die!"

It was shortly before midnight, and after making love, my wife had burst into tears. If you're a married man, and its not a "special night" in some way, don't kid yourself that those are "happy tears". I knew right away that something was wrong.

I just didn't know what.

We'd had the usual post-marriage cooling of passion - I'd written it off to the stress of my job, the stress of her two years in school, and then the off-beat timing of her night shifts; we just weren't "in rhythm" with each other the way we had been.

Seeing her in tears, I got scared.

Was she 'out of love'? Had she met somebody else? Had I done something wrong?

There was, of course, only one way to find out.

"Honey? What's wrong?"

She looked absolutely miserable and just sobbed the harder without answering the question.

"Honey?"

"I'm afraid you're gonna die!" she wailed.

Not that that made much sense to me. We're all going to die, someday.

When her sobs finally subsided somewhat, she was able to elaborate.

"I'm afraid I'm going to wake up one morning, and you're going to be cold beside me."

I winced at the image. "Oh, honey..."

"You know your cholesterol's too high, and you didn't even fill your prescription, did you? When was the last time you went running?"

Thinking back on it, I think it was that day in Lancaster. Not that I'm going to admit that to her.

"You need to lose weight. You need to get your lipids monitored.

"I want to have your baby..."

.. oh happy news! ..

".. but if you die and leave me to raise her alone, I'm going to kill you!"

[Amaroq]

Monday, 21st January, 2008.

I left that conversation with a renewed determination to take care of some things which I'd been letting slide. Perhaps football had been a bit all-consuming in my life, and I certainly didn't want an unscheduled visit to the E.R. My dad had a heart attack when he was 38, and to my shock, I found myself 34, suddenly approaching that age. He'd been a carnivore, I a vegetarian; he a smoker, I a non-smoker.. surely that should have bought me ten years.

I rang the doctor, to schedule my next appointment.

With an effort of will, I turned my attention back to the side.

Noel Hunt's goal against Derby was made all the more impressive when our physio's post-match checkup revealed that he'd strained his neck before scoring the goal: it would keep him out for the mid-week match, but he should be back by next weekend. Meanwhile, Lewis Guy had resumed full training after his fractured ribs, but wouldn't quite be ready to take a place in the first team, as he was still a ways from match fit.

Tamworth's incredible F.A. Cup run had come to an end with a 2-0 defeat at Stoke City, and their elimination, along with that of Bournemouth, left only Championship and Premier League teams for the round of 16. A number of Premiership sides had been seen off by our colleagues: Crystal Palace upset Charlton 3-2, Plymouth beat Bristol 3-1, Cardiff took care of Portsmouth 1-0, and Preston eliminated Sunderland by the same score in Nigel Worthington's debut as manager. He had left the steadily climbing Norwich side to take over Sunderland, 18th in the Premier League and six points shy of the first safe league position, occupied jointly by Portsmouth, West Ham, and Bolton: that would be a real challenge for him. Liverpool had been knocked off by Tottenham, 3-2, and the twin defeats seemed to prove that a change of manager isn't always the best medicine for an ailing side.

With all of the loans I had made, our Under-18 squad was quite depleted when they made their own trip to Crewe, but a free kick from Paul Preston and a goal by Michael Harrison saw them victorious, 2-0, and the squad should be strengthened further by the return of attacking midfielder Mark Whitehead, who had been in physiotherapy for a month. 16-year-old goalkeeper Colin Hatton was Man of the Match, earning the shutout with a series of fine saves in the second half.

Better news followed from last Friday's Sheffield Telegraph, which contained an 'exclusive' interview with Marc Bridge-Wilkinson. In it, he explained that the entire episode about playing time had been a misunderstanding. He never felt, he told the interviewer, that regular first-team football was beyond him at Sheffield United, and said that I'd convinced him that any of our players can establish a place in the first team if he applies himself sufficiently. While that's still not how I would characterize the incident, I took it as a good sign that my star attacking midfielder and number two scoring threat is feeling back in the groove.

Unfortunately, the next day's Star contained a story that Peter Weatherson was far from happy at not being a part of my first eleven. He, like Bridge-Wilkinson, seemed to have been distressed at the way I brought him back from injury. If you looked at his numbers - 27 games into the season, he's only started seven times - it might be understandable, but he's spent over two months disabled for three different injuries, and had to be nursed back to match fitness each time. He says he thinks he deserves a place in my plans, but might be forced to leave if the situation doesn't change. Comparing the two papers, I noticed for the first time that the Star seemed to be consistently slanted against us, and began to wonder how far Rupert Wormwood's influence extended through their newsroom.

I couldn't spend too much time on it, as Monday at noon was the draw for the F.A. Cup Fifth Round. Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United had all been removed from the pot, leaving us in pretty good shape as far as the remaining pot when we were drawn to a home match. The next ball out was "Millwall or Aston Villa", as the tough-to-beat Championship side had forced a draw against the co-equal-second place Premiership club. I'd certainly rather face Millwall, but there was just no betting against high-flying Villa to prevail in the replay.

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 22nd January, 2008. Championship - Game 28, vs Nottingham Forest.

Forest's trip to Bramall Lane would be the debut match for new manager Peter Davenport. Struggling in the league, they had fired their previous manager in December, and had hired Davenport away from Welsh club Bangor City on Saturday. It might be an advantage, as he hadn't had time to settle into the club, but it also made for a challenge to prepare for: would he try to run the attacking 4-4-2 he had at Bangor City, or would he carry on with what Forest were used to, as I had when taking over Sheffield United last season? The teams had met six times in the past four seasons, and we'd never been beaten, winning the last two by scores of 2-1 at Bramall Lane, and 2-0 earlier this season at The City Ground.

Regardless, I had my lineup and usual tactic selected. Allan McGregor stood between the posts, with an alternate XI in front of him. Sean Dillon, Chris Morgan, Ben Hammond, and Jordan Holmes made up the core of the defense, with Mathieu Berson at defensive midfielder. Andrew Schofield and Leandre Griffit were the wingers, and Jack Lester returned from suspension alongside Joe Newell in attacking midfielder, with the settled Bridge-Wilkinson finally getting a brief rest. James Lloyd's two-goal performance off the bench had earned him a start, and kept the dissatisfied Weatherson on the substitutes bench.

Davenport did open the match with the attacking 4-4-2, and it looked like it suited Forest well enough. He had to be shaking his head when Northern Ireland international Philip Mulryne shot from nearly forty yards with their first posession. It might have caught a younger keeper by surprise, but was an easy save for Allan McGregor. They were playing a pressing midfield which got Leandre Griffit and Jordan Holmes in trouble along the right sideline in the fourth minute, outnumbered three to two. Holmes spotted a narrow gap and played a low thirty-yard pass forward to Jack Lester, who had a bit more space, and shifted it left for Joe Newell. The young attacking midfielder tried to play it forward for the run of James Lloyd in the area. The pass was partially blocked by Ricky Hanson, bouncing high into the air, but Lloyd was so open he had time to control it, bring it to his preferred right foot, and shoot without interference. Its easy to see why Charlton rate him so highly: with time to choose his shot, there was nothing aging Belgian veteran Nico Vaesen could do to keep it out, and we had an early 1-0 lead.

We could have had a second in the 9th minute, with Lloyd racing up the right side, then passing into the box. Unfortunately, Lester and Newell both closed on it, and then tried to get too tricky with a short, two-foot pass between them, which gave Vaesen time to rush out and smother the threat. In the fifteenth minute, Chris Llewellyn obstructed Leandre Griffit along the right sideline. It was only two minutes after he had been given a yellow for pushing, and to everyone's surprise referee Andy Hall pulled out another yellow, and sent him off!

With a lead and a man advantage, I was anticipating an easy match, and the crowd chanted

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Sayonara...

Sayonara...

Hey Hey-ay...

Good-Bye!!</pre>

as Llewellyn made the long walk to the tunnel. Given the short leash he had gotten, I was surprised when Jim Paterson's crunching tackle left Griffit unable to continue, that he wasn't issued a card. I brought Darren Wrack on for Griffit, but that right sideline remained trouble, and the veteran picked up two yellow cards in only eight minutes, getting sent off for a weak obstruction call as well!

The referee's interference was drawing more attention to himself than to the match, but it seemed that even at ten-on-ten, we had the upper hand. At half-time I had three players on yellow cards, but decided not to make any changes - a choice with near-fatal consequences, as Mathieu Berson was given a second yellow in the 48th minute. Three red cards, now?!? This one was perhaps more deserved, as the Frenchman had clearly brought Mulryne down, and in a dangerous position. I hurriedly brought Jack Lester of for Joe Keenan, to have Joe play defensive midfielder. Mulryne's free kick was about 24 yards out, and deflected off the wall, then struck the post, and finally bounced straight to McGregor, who pounced gratefully upon it. The crowd began to boo the referee for every whistle and given to either side.

At nine against ten, the match was turning into a farce, but it was a farce we were winning 1-0. We were running a 4-3-1 that was almost four defenders and three defensive midfielders, with a lone striker to keep them honest. On free kicks, only the striker was forward, and on corner kicks I was holding all four defenders back, which meant there were three men in the box thoroughly outnumbered by the Forest defense. They, in turn, were playing a 3-4-2, and willing to push both fullbacks forward into the attack if need be, but our lads played stlawart defense to limit their opportunities. Young loanee Andrew Schofield made some nice plays on the left wing, but without a full complement of attacking players, most of his work was for naught.

Lloyd exhausted himself up front, and I replaced him with Peter Weatherson. Most of our offense consisted of 'hoof it long for Weatherson', and I rather wished I'd had the tall Noel Hunt available. In the 78th minute, Weatherson headed a ball down for Schofield in the area, and his 16-yard effort which would have iced the game was turned over the bar by Vaesen. In the 86th, Forest had their best chance, a great buildup through Paterson and Richie Wellens, which ended with substitute Jamie Wilson finding space in our area twelve yards out. The 17-year-old failed to impress his new manager, however, putting it well wide, and you could see on the frustration on his face.

Our lads tightened up the defense for the final minutes, despite a 'throw the kitchen sink forward' approach by Forest, and 1-0 was the way the match ended.

Sheffield United 1, Nottingham Forest 0

Lloyd 4; ----

MoM: McGregor

Referee Andy Hall was booed off the pitch by the irate Bramall Lane crowd of 30,874.

When I walked over to shake hands with Davenport after the match, I told him "Welcome to the Championship. That's about par for our referees lately."

[Kairyu]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

".. but if you die and leave me to raise her alone, I'm going to kill you!" </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Rofl, great one

[Amaroq]

Thank you, Kairyu. Glad it worked!

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 23rd January, 2008.

There was good news from around the league as well: First-placed Derby County had been in a 0-0 draw with Millwall, and second-placed Ipswich had lost 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace. We were now only two points back of the leaders, and one away from the automatic promotion spot of second place. Of course, Mathieu Berson and Darren Wrack would have to serve one-game suspensions, as would Jack Lester, who had reached the yellow card limit - but with my usual squad rotation, that was hardly an inconvenience.

There could be only one reponse to the refereeing: a formal written complaint to the F.A. I'm not one to drag stuff out in the media - its unprofessional - so I kept it on the quiet, but backed it up with our game-film of the day.

On the injury front, Leandre Griffit had injured his shoulder, but would also miss only one match. His absence was offset by the return of young striker Chris Gray to the training pitch. He'd been out for the entire season to date, and physio Tom Mitchell warned that he'd be on light training for at least a month, and not match fit until sometime in March, but it was good to see the youngster out there again.

In the League Cup Semi-Final on Wednesday, Everton suffered a humuliating 3-0 defeat at home to Arsenal, which left them out on a 5-1 aggregate, while Chelsea advanced to the Final with a 2-0 victory over Tottenham, overcoming an 0-1 deficit after the first leg.

Eric Deloumeaux continued his comeback with a ninety minute effort at Cheltenham as our Reserves faced Doncaster Reserves, but despite his efforts and a Man of the Match performance by left wing Nicky Thomson, the side lost a close one, 1-0. It had been scoreless up until injury time, when Doncaster found a game-winner after goalkeeper Dean Bond stopped a shot but gave away the rebound.

Meanwhile, I dragged myself to the gym. For the first time in ages.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 26th January, 2008. Championship - Game 29, at Oldham Athletic.

Oldham, despite a 2-0 victory over Leeds United in their last match, lay 22nd in the Championship, still three points back of Leeds and safety. Oldham is just outside of Manchester, so it was a close drive, but it was easy to see how they'd been overshadowed by the successes of Manchester United and Manchester City. They were a founding member of the Premier League in the early nineties, but it was a brief stint in the top flight, lasting only three seasons. For the most part of their 100-year history (they were in their 101st season this year), they bounced between the equivalents of the Championship and League One, with occasional moves up or down beyond that. We'd only met them once in the past five or six years, and that was our 2-0 victory at Bramall Lane earlier this season. I'd loaned Jamie Cooper to them, but with an eye on this match had insisted on a 'can't face Sheffield United' clause.

With three members of my "B" team serving one-game suspensions, it was no surprise that my "A" team took the pitch. Allan McGregor was in goal, with Joe Keenan, Hayden Foxe, Steve Foster, and Keith McCormack as his back four. With Berson suspended and Thirlwell injured, it fell to young Gavin Atkinson to make his first start for Sheffield United at defensive midfielder. Originally a central midfielder, we'd been training the 18-year-old at defensive midfielder since acquiring him at the start of the season, and he looked to be mastering the position, although he hadn't demonstrated much improvement in the rest of his game. Jonathan Forte and Graham Allen were again partners on the wings, with Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Hugo Viana the attacking midfielders. Peter Weatherson was still severely lacking match fitness, but I didn't want to take a chance on making the striker more unhappy by leaving him out of the lineup, so he was named to start, with a short hook should he tire early.

Boundary Park seats 13,600, but with the way Oldham has been playing, and an icy rain falling, it was half-empty at 8,024, and over a third of the crowd had made the drive over from Sheffield. The visiting support was noisy and happy, and got more so when we had the best of the early possession, as Jonathan Forte and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson both put shots through the box but off target in the first five minutes.

Then Oldham found their footing, and had a period of attack, which led to a corner kick in the 15th minute. Keigan Parker, a player whom I had pursued earlier in the season, took control in a mad goalmouth scramble, and looked to have a goal from six yards only to see it blocked on the line by Keith McCormack. They had another golden chance in the 17th, with Hungarian international Zoltan Gera beating double coverage up the right side, then playing the ball to Patrick Agyemang, the striker who had keyed Gillingham's promotion efforts last season only to be released on a free as the team stepped into the Premiership. The number ten had a half-step on Steven Foster, and drilled a powerful shot which caught side netting.

We'd dodged a bullet, and in the 20th minute, we made Oldham pay. A wonderfully crafted give-go between Peter Weatherson and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson in midfield put the striker around defender Clarke Carlisle, the last man between him and the goal. At pace, with other defenders closing in on him from further out, Weatherson unleashed an incredible 25-yarder which curled to the top right corner, despite the leaping, twisting effort of Martyn Margetson to keep it out. Our travelling supporters made it sound like a York home game as we took a 1-0 lead.

Five minutes later, Joe Keenan's long pass sprang Weatherson up the left side, and he sent a perfect aerial service into the box, which we were unlucky to see Hugo Viana head over. Oldham had a pair of dangerous free kicks, taken by Iranian midfielder Moharram Navidkia, in his second year in English football, but he's a better passer than shooter, and put both over the bar. In the 37th minute, Agyemang's 20-yard shot looked to give Allan McGregor trouble, as it came in just under the bar, but the Scottish keeper punched it high in the air, and Gavin Atkinson was able to clear it.

We went to halftime with a 1-0 lead, but Oldham had been playing very attacking football, and without our primary defensive midfielders, our defense was being badly exposed. I couldn't come up with anything to counter it, either, other than to give Gavin a bit of encouragement. In the 50th minute, Agyemang played creator, moving out to the right side, and drawing Steven Foster with him. He passed along the floor for Keigan Parker in the arc. Hayden Foxe looked to have it covered, but the talented Scotsman nipped in just before our Australian captain arrived, and cut back to the right. With Foxe moving to Parker's left on the wet turf, he went easily around our defender, and drilled a laser from the 18 which scorched into the back of the net, equalizing at 1-1.

As though manager Brian Talbot had said "mission accomplished", Oldham set up shop to defend the lead, drawing ever more men back to defend. We applied steadily increasing pressure, but the Oldham defense proved up to the task. The cold rain was sapping everybody's energy, and despite sending on three substitutes fairly early, we had little left in the tank to break down their determined defense. We couldn't even keep Margetson busy, as he didn't have a save to make in the final thirty minutes, with all of our shots off target. Atkinson actually came closest, blazing one over the bar from 16 yards out in the 80th, but the match lingered at 1-1.

In the 83rd minute, Oldham substitute winger Carlos Edwards's cross from the right bounced tantalizingly in front of Agyemang in the six, but Allan McGregor smothered it just before the opportunistic striker arrived to preserve the draw.

Oldham 1, Sheffield United 1

Parker 50; Weatherson 20

MoM: McCormack

Keith McCormack was named Man of the Match, presumably for the early stop on the line, which was the difference between draw and defeat for us, as much as for his solid defensive play in the second half.

One thing I was glad about - after my complaints to the F.A. about the refereeing, we'd been given lenient referee Phil Joslin, who was fair and even-keeled with his fouls, handing out only one yellow card, and that a deserved one to Hayden Foxe.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 30th January, 2008.

Including our F.A. Cup matches, we'd now gone nine games in a row unbeaten, our best run of the season. However, another draw in League play was not what I was looking for: it was our ninth draw of the season, fifth most out of the 24 teams in the Championship. I suppose its inevitable considering my emphasis on defense, but its been a bit frustrating. I suspect the opposition are playing more defensively against us in general, now that we've shown we're going to be a promotion contender this year. Derby County had won, but Ipswich had suffered defeat, and the draw moved us ahead of them for second place on goal difference, four points back of Derby.

The big news of the week came on Tuesday, in an eagerly-awaited press conference: Liverpool have confirmed the appointment of eminent manager Arsene Wenger as the new Anfield boss. The move had been accounted a near-certainty on some blogs and rumour sites. He stepped in with immediate effect to a team fifth in the Premier League, but still alive in the League Cup, F.A. Cup, and UEFA Cup.

In other interesting news, former England international Paul Gascoigne has been named the new manager at Sutton United. The club is currently 15th in the Conference South, and his first task will be to save them from relegation.

Wednesday evening, poor finishing cost our Reserves, as they outplayed Port Vale Reserves, but put too many shots directly at the goalkeeper, resulting in a 0-0 draw. Liverpool won Wenger's Premier League debut, 3-1 at New Anfield over 14th-placed Tottenham Hotspurs.

In the F.A. Cup replays, Arsenal were knocked out on penalties by Reading after a 1-1 draw, while Aston Villa required extra time to beat Millwall 3-1 - and that meant Villa, 4th in the Premiership, would be our next F.A. Cup opponent.

With the international transfer window drawing to a close, there was a flurry of action at all levels. If our fans expected big news, they were disappointed, though we did added a young winger to the squad. He'd impressed at Irish club Cherry Orchard, with four goals from eight games this season.

M R Mark Kearney, 18, England, uncapped: 8 games, 4 goals, 6.75 with Cherry Orchard: A quick young winger whose determination and work ethic stand out. I like him because he doesn't have many notable weaknesses in his game. He's certainly not of the Championship calibre at this stage of his career, but as a youth player I think he's got plenty of potential. He could definitely work on his creativity, anticipation, and composure, and he may be a bit weak in the air, but he's certainly going to be able to contribute at the U-18 level this season, and I may look to get him some experience on loan as well.

For £2,000, he certainly seemed a better prospect than Nick Smith, who had been my Under-18 right wing up to this point.

Goalkeeper Colin Hatton turned professional, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract through 2012 two days after his 17th birthday.

The biggest news was when Reading, down in 15th in the Championship, came in with a bid of £900,000 for Allan McGregor. I told them I needed to think about it overnight; I was really torn!

[paulsgruff]

Hey Amaroq, still reading this. I got a bit behind but I'm all caught up now - it's still a great read. Keep it up and good luck with the awards

[Amaroq]

Thanks, paulsgruff, on both counts! And a special 'Thank you' to all who voted to nominate this story and myself for so many awards; I was expecting a nomination or two, but not that many! Warmly appreciated.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 2nd February, 2008.

I turned it down.

Though I'm not positive Allan is quite Premiership quality, my long-term goal, there certainly were no better options in the short-term. I didn't have a good backup goalkeeper, and the window was coming quickly to a close.

He's been playing exceptionally well, and we have just come to a contract agreement that will keep him at the club for the next few years, so I rejected it outright. Ignoring the fact that the offer was well beyond what the board valued him at, I informed the press that "Allan McGregor is indispensible to the club, and we're happy to have signed him to a long-term contract."

Despite a month full of draws, which saw us win no awards, the board remained utterly delighted with our league position, and it seemed all they could talk about at yesterday's board meeting was the match against Aston Villa. I was asked to give my starting lineup, which I did: McGregor, Dillon, Foxe, Foster, McCormack, Thirlwell, Allen, Forte, Newell, Bridge-Wilkinson, Weatherson, no surprises there, and I talked a little bit about the way I was staggering starting lineups through the intervening matches to ensure that they were all fresh and ready. Then Terry Robinson grilled me a bit on what type of strategy I would use, and honestly I haven't decided yet between going utterly defensive, and trying our conservative counter-attack based philosophy.

Financially, we were in great shape, having made a solid £0.5M profit last month, bringing us up to a balance of £10.2M, though we'd still lost £1.7M on the year, thanks to all my transfer purchases. Obviously, there's no need for much more transfer budget for this season, but I reminded Derek Dooley that we'd need to make a lot of transfers-in if we earn promotion and expect to stay up in the Premiership next year.

The international transfer window had closed, and I'd only made the one youth-player transfer, but of course as an English lower-division club we could continue to make domestic transfers until mid-March. UEFA had tried to push through a rule forcing lower-league clubs to adhere to the international transfer window, but it was squashed after outcry from teams who argued that they were already on the verge of bankruptcy, and this could only make it worse.

The monthly training report was exceptionally depressing, however. Only a handful of players seemed to have improved since the first of January, notoriously hard workers like Jamie Cooper, Graham Allen, Gavin Atkinson, and Ben Hammond. The majority of the team, however, seemed to have suffered from a New Year's hangover all month, with players like Gareth Davies, Hugo Viana, Mark Whitehead, and Danny Payne losing ground that would have been tragic, except when compared with the even worse losses suffered by their teammates. Noel Hunt looked exceptionally flat, Carl Motteram and Brian Holmes were slipping backwards towards obscurity, and young wingers Robbie Poole and Nick Smith had taken devastating steps backwards.

Even Robert Cousins and Keith McCormack had lost parts of their game compared to the end of December, but Stuart McCall assured me that they'd still posted very tasty gains for the past three months all told. The worst losses, however, were taken by aging Jack Lester, who really seemed to have lost a step. He'd been a hard worker in the offseason, but had gone from posting his best month in December to his worst in January, a truly abysmal drop from a player who had keyed us during our roughest moments of the season.

On late notice this morning Keith McCormack was called up to the Ireland Under-21's squad for their match against San Marino on Tuesday. That would rule him out for our match against Leeds tomorrow - the nationally televised Sunday match - which I'd been planning on starting him for. Leeds was more heavily hit by international call-ups, and in reaction to their complaint, the F.A. postponed the match to the 12th of March!

That juggled my lineup for today's Under-18s match at Stoke City. Joe Newell, who had been scheduled to play with the senior side the next day, instead started with the youth squad, and scored a spectacular 30-yard half-volley to open the scoring only 1:51 into the match. Overall, he played a fantastic game, earning Man of the Match honors and a perfect '10' rating: he's really well beyond the U-18 level at this point. Mark Kearney earned his first assist in the 61st minute, with the match tied at 1-1. He sent a great cross into the box, and Paul Preston connected with a diving header to make it 2-1, and that was the final score.

In the Championship matches today, 3rd-placed Ipswich beat 4th-placed Conventry City 2-0, stepping past us (thanks to our postponed match) to take over second. Derby lost at Plymouth by the score of 2-1, allowing Ipswich to close the gap, and though we were currently four points down, we had a game in hand and a match against them yet, which meant our destiny was in our own hands. Crystal Palace continued their strong run with their fourth straight victory, this by the impressive score of 4-0 away to Reading, a mid-table team. They're nine points back of Derby, but look by far the strongest team in the division on their current form. Everton remain in 7th place, where they are in danger of not even qualifying for the playoffs: its been quite a fall for a team that qualified for Europe only three seasons ago.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 6th February, 2008.

With no senior match over ten days, I had plenty of time to spend running, and even got in to see the doctor Wednesday. My cholesterol was no better than it had been; no surprise there, I'd been pretending it wasn't a problem. I was finally on the 40mg of Zocor which he'd perscribed eighteen months prior. In fact, knowing my Dad was on 80mg, I tried to talk him into a higher dosage, but he said "We can always increase it later if we need to."

In the international arena, Joe Newell was called up to the England Under-19 squad, and was brought in as a substitute in England's 0-0 draw in Holland on Monday. The English manager had him at right wing, which I thought was odd, but it would do wonderful things for his morale to be thought of as part of England's international future, so I hoped he could find a place.

Keith McCormack got his day in the sun on Tuesday, impressing everybody with a strong ninety-minute performance at right back as Ireland Under-21s dominated San Marino U-21s 4-0 at University Sports Grounds in Limerick. I was pleased that the youngsters were getting international appearances, as working with such strong coaching staffs could only help their development, even if it did distract a little bit from our Championship campaign.

Hugo Viana and Hayden Foxe were called up to their senior international sides, Portugal and Australia respectively, for Wednesday's friendly matches. Viana, ever a fringe player for the talent-laden Portugese side, was not selected as Portugal lost 2-1 in Romania. Foxe got the start and played ninety minutes in Australia's easy 3-0 win over the Faroe Islands.

England overcame Rafael van der Vaart's early goal to beat Holland 3-1 with a fairly experimental side. James Beattie, Jermaine Jenas, and Alan Smith netted for the English side. Scotland lost 1-0 to Serbia & Montenegro, who have been a strong side internationally recently. Ireland beat San Marino 3-0, as expected, with goals by John O'Shea, Jon Macken, and Steven Reid, while Northern Ireland lost 1-0 to visiting Uruguay. Wales got a solid 2-1 victory in the Ukraine on goals by David Vaughan and Simon Davies, and the U.S.A. beat Nicaragua 3-0.

After skipping a senior match, there were plenty of big names who got a run out in our home Reserve match against Boston United Reserves. The crowd of 977 got quite a treat seeing Joe Keenan, Noel Hunt, Billy Sharp, Leandre Griffit, and Eric Deloumeaux. Deloumeaux played well, lasting ninety minutes and declaring himself match fit at last. John Melligan scored one goal, but the hero of the match was Lewis Guy. The striker on loan was recovering from cracked ribs, and played the entire second half, finding the net twice and in general hassling the Boston defense. He was a unanimous Man of the Match selection, and the 3-0 win could be laid mostly at his feet.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 9th February, 2008. Championship - Game 30, vs Preston North End.

Preston have a combative and hard-working midfield, but weaknesses in other aspects of the game have really cost them. Their best attacking threat is former York forward Neil Mellor, whose career was jump-started by his time on loan under my management. Purchased by Preston at the start of last season for £400,000, he led the team with 14 goals from 41 matches last season, and leads them again with 10 from 28 this year. Anchored by his pace and ability, they have a reasonable attack, but their defense has been one of the worst in the Championship, conceding close to two goals per game. In our September meeting, we'd crushed them 4-0 behind a Noel Hunt hat trick.

I couldn't start Hunt, who wasn't yet match fit, but after a two week rest the remainder of my lineup was solid. Allan McGregor was in goal, with Sean Dillon, Chris Morgan, Steve Foster, and Jordan Holmes arrayed in defense. Paul Thirlwell hadn't played for nearly a month, and would return lacking a bit of match fitness, as I hoped to have him fit in time for the F.A. Cup match. Jonathan Forte and Graham Allen were the wingers, left and right respectively. Veteran Jack Lester partnered star Marc Bridge-Wilkinson at attacking midfield, and Peter Weatherson was the striker.

The visitors came out in a typical 4-4-2, and we found gaps in their beleaguered defense almost from the inception of the match. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson had some great chances in the early minutes. Once he came free up the left wing, and had men in the box, but chose to shoot, putting it through the six and out on the far side of the goal. In the 12th minute, he launched a 40-yard shot which was saved handily by Preston goalkeeper Andrew Longergan.

In the 14th minute, Jonathan Forte made a great steal at midfield on the left sideline, stepping in front of his man to control a pass and sprinting upfield with it. There were only a few players who could react in time, two defenders, and Peter Weatherson, who had been unmarked since Preston had possession. When one defender closed Forte down, he slipped a low ball ahead of Weatherson, who took it into the box, then drilled a quick strike from twelve yards to make it 1-0.

Preston began to mount a bit more posession, and earned several corner kicks over the next ten minutes. Paul Thirlwell took a bit of a knock: the physio treated him, and though he was able to continue, he tired well before the end of the match. In the 29th minute, another one of Preston's corners turned dangerous, with captain John Curtis, a central defender, shooting through traffic, but Allan McGregor tipped it over the bar. In the 33rd minute, Bridge-Wilkinson took a short pass from Paul Thirlwell, stepped around Lewis Emanuel and Alan McCormack, and launched a fabulous 30-yard drive which curled into the lower-right corner. It was a tremendous goal, and brought the Bramall Lane crowd of 28,142 to their feet in unison as the score became 2-0.

Preston were right up against it, and tried to change things up, going to a 3-5-2 and pushing forward. That just exposed their back four even worse, and we had the better part of possession, appearing in complete control. Weatherson nearly made it three, rushing to Forte's cross about eight yards away, and heading on goal, but Lonergan was coming out to meet him, and just got a hand on it to deflect it over. Chris Morgan dealt well with their only real threat just before halftime, and he played it to Jordan Holmes, who started a move up the right side through Graham Allen and Jack Lester. When Lester got control, about 35 yards from goal, he spotted Bridge-Wilkinson unmarked on the 18 at the far post. The veteran played a perfect pass to feet, which Bridge-Wilkinson controlled with his right foot, then shot back to the near post to make it 3-0 at halftime.

There was little need to make change at halftime, though I did bring the struggling Thirlwell off for Joe Keenan, as with a 3-0 lead there was no sense in running anybody into the ground. Other than that, I just reminded the lads that there work wasn't done yet. Bridge-Wilkinson got his hat trick on Steve Foster's free kick from the midfield line in the 48th minute. It was the simplest goal of his three: he found a gap in the Preston three-man defense, and ran to it. Foster played a long ball which landed at his feet, and it was easy to control and shoot past the despairing Lonegran, who had been utterly stranded by his defense. The hat trick goal earned Bridge-Wilkinson his name in song for minutes thereafter, and it was his 10th goal of the season, to boot.

With a 4-0 lead, I wasn't about to let my key players exhaust themselves by continuing, and Bridge-Wilkinson came off to a standing ovation in the 60th minute, with Weatherson following him off in the 64th. Carl Motteram got a rare appearance, with Billy Sharp, but basically I retained the same tactic which had done so well so far. Preston seemed to have given up on the attack, and returned to a bog-standard 4-4-2. Kris Commons, a 24-year-old left wing whom I had brought in on trial over summer, had settled in nicely to the Preston side, and had eight assists on the year. He tried an audacious 32-yard free kick in the 70th minute, which had McGregor beaten but sailed inches wide.

Preston finally did score in the 76th minute, taking advantage after their 8th corner kick of the match. Commons took, and substitute David Perpetuini struck a left-footed half-volley that deflected off of Graham Allen, and snuck through the hole between McGregor and Sean Dillon at the near post. In the grand scheme of things, 4-1 was no worse than 4-0, but I'd wanted the shutout, and wasn't happy with the lapse of concentration.

Sheffield United 4, Preston North End 1

Weatherson 14, Bridge-Wilkinson 33, 45, 48

; Perpetuini 76

MoM: Bridge-Wilkinson

The fans sang as we walked off the field after a match we'd thoroughly controlled - hearing an English crowd in full voice still gives me chills. After his dominant performance, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson was a consensus Man of the Match, and I was happy to see Weatherson in fine form at last: he would be instrumental in our late-season push for the title.

[Terk]

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

...Neil Mellor....... Anchored by his pace and ability </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Now that's just an in-game inaccuracy. If there's one thing that the real life Fatty Mellor doesn't have, it's pace.

Nice to see another quality win on the board

[Wegason]

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

Thanks, paulsgruff, on both counts! And a special 'Thank you' to all who voted to nominate this story and myself for so many awards; I was expecting a nomination or two, but not that many! Warmly appreciated. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Liar

[raydenvm]

Very interesting story! Thank you! Keep on writing!!!

[Amaroq]

Thank you, raydenvm, and welcome to the boards!

Terk - data error and thanks again.

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 10th February, 2008.

I found our most recent success mentioned in a national newspaper.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Many expected the Blades to be battling relegation this season, but that has not proved to be the case. Indeed, the club have been involved in the title race all year. However, it would be a major surprise if they were still there come the end of the season. While their recent form has been fantastic, a team with their limited resources will surely not be able to keep it up until the end of the campaign. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I checked for Rupert Wormwood's by-line, but no, this was a different writer. Why is everyone so sure that we 'have to' collapse? English history is full of squads that have managed successive promotions, and of course I managed the feat with York. At any rate, the same paper also selected Marc Bridge-Wilkinson to the Championship Team of the Week - not a surprise after a hat-trick performance!

In the other Saturday game, our Under-18s travelled to Walsall for their Under-18s Cup Semi-Final. Walsall took advantage of a mistake by goalkeeper Dean Bond in the 7th minute, as he flailed at a cross out near the penalty spot, beating it only as far as their onrushing striker Steve Johnson. On-loan striker James Lloyd equalized with a spectacular play in the 28th minute, beating the defense to a cross on the sixth, and getting his left foot in for a volley that redirected the cross to the far post. Late in the first half, Lloyd turned provider, tracking back to pick up a pass, then sending it forward for Joe Newell, who beat the offsides trap and scored. Newell made it 3-1 just after the break, Lloyd again getting the assist, and the accustomed rout was on. Paul Preston made one of their defenders look ridiculously bad with a nasty step-over move about eight yards from goal, finishing the shot after making space for himself. 4-1 was the final score, and captain Nicky Thomson, on the left wing, was named Man of the Match. He had battled through a calf strain, and physio Dennis Pettitt recommended a 3-week course of physiotherapy for him.

Our youths had two matches on back-to-back days, with a side pretending to be our Under-18s hosting Liverpool U-18s today. Of course, I named a virtually all-amateur lineup, and the Premier League side were completely dominant over the first half. About the only bright spots you could point to was that it was only 0-1, and though our hard-tackling approach had injured three of their starters, we hadn't received any bookings. It remained a one-goal game until the second-half introduction of Paul Preston as a substitute, and he found a magical equalizer to give our lads a hard-fought 1-1 draw.

The best news for us, however, was the other scores from the Championship: though Ipswich Town had beaten lowly Doncaster 3-0, Derby had drawn at home with Reading, 1-1. That left both leaders in touching range of our game-in-hand, and we still get to face them each in March and April.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GF GA GD

1 Ipswich 63 18 9 4 44 20 +24

2 Derby County 62 19 5 7 49 27 +22

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3 SHEFFIELD UNITED 60 17 9 4 48 18 +30

4 Q.P.R. 55 16 7 8 44 32 +12

5 Coventry 55 16 7 8 44 34 +10

6 Crytal Palace 53 15 8 8 49 32 +17

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7 Everton 51 14 9 8 40 26 +14</pre>

Ian Dowie, who had been managing Wolverhampton Wanderers, was named the new manager of Everton. His recent pedigree isn't too impressive: he'd gotten Crystal Palace relegated from the Premier League in 2004/05, and despite bringing them back up the following year, was sacked in 06/07 with the team solidly in the relegation zone again. He'd taken over Wolves, but was unable to prevent their relegation that season, and only had them in eleventh this year. The task in Liverpool will be to get Everton back to the Premier League, through the playoffs this year, ideally.

We had a huge run of fixture congestion coming: two matches a week from February 20th to March 15th, including the F.A. Cup match against Villa and the Under-18s Cup Final. I spent about an hour pouring over potential lineups, basically trying to get set in my mind what my lineups could be, barring injuries or runs of poor form, and plotted out my lineups, not just for the senior matches, but for every match any of the squads would play, out through mid-March: if somebody's not getting selected for the senior side, I need to take care to get them Reserve matches and keep them fit, interleaving those matches with the players coming back from injury.

The most challenging spot in the lineup is at striker, where my formation only calls for one striker, but I have four whom I could reasonably start. I decided that on-loan striker Lewis Guy had the best chance of scoring against Villa, and made Peter Weatherson the alternate, with Noel Hunt available as a substitute in most senior matches.