Sharpening a Rusty Blade - Book II

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 12th February, 2008. Championship - Game 31, at Stoke City.

Stoke-on-Trent is a fair-sized city along the M6 between Birmingham and Manchester, in the heart of that football-rich part of central England. The club have a long and rich history dating to 1888, and a fine, 28,000 all-seater in the Britannia Stadium. Though they'd fallen on hard times recently, with three near-relegation escapes in the past five seasons, they were sitting a reasonably comfortable 15th at the moment. Struggling to find goals, Manager Richard Money plays a 4-3-3, but the side had scored just the 3rd-fewest goals of any club in the Championship, averaging less than a goal per game, and only solid defending has kept them above the relegation zone.

Unluckily for us, Allan McGregor suffered a training injury yesterday, twisting his knee. It wasn't too serious, but enough that he wasn't fit for the day's match, and that meant Dean Bond earned his first start of the season. In front of the youngster, I named a veteran defensive line, with Joe Keenan on the left, and Hayden Foxe making his 200th league appearance central with Chris Morgan. On the right side Eric Deloumeaux made his return to the starting lineup, donning the captain's armband for the first time since last season. Matheiu Berson would play the defensive midfield role, with Leandre Griffit keeping up the French theme on the right wing. Andrew Schofield was the left wing, with Hugo Viana and John Melligan partnered in the attacking midfield roles. Up front, Noel Hunt made his return to the starting lineup: currently he is second on the team with nine goals from only nine starts.

John Melligan must have wanted to mark his 200th career league appearance with a goal, as the 26-year-old came out on fire. In the second minute, he had a great chance, completely losing his marker to put a head on Leandre Griffit's cross, but he put it over the bar. In the 4th minute, he showed he could be the architect, finding Noel Hunt at close range, but Stoke keeper Ben Williams made a fantastic diving catch to keep it out!

Young Dean Bond got his first Sheffield United save in the 9th minute, dealing comfortably with Darel Russell's long-range effort. It seemed Stoke wanted to try the youngster's composure a bit, as they sent a number of 20 to 30-yard efforts at him in the first half hour, but failed to really trouble him.

The game was pretty even through the first 25 minutes, but as time wore on we seemed to be getting a strangle-hold on the match, and Stoke were having trouble getting anything through the midfield to their three strikers. In the 26th minute, Griffit sent a cross over the crowded six-yard box to Andrew Schofield on the far post. He had a clean shot from eight yards out, but Williams made perhaps the save of the season, pushing it wide of the far post at full extension, a magical effort from the 25-year-old. In the 32nd minute, Melligan drifted out wide right to help Griffit, and the result was the Frenchman sending a cross for Noel Hunt. The big man knocked a perfect header on goal, but Williams again made a wonderful diving stop at the far post.

Melligan was next to make an attempt, dribbling thirty yards on a fast break, but he was caught in the area before he could get the shot off. Just before halftime, Stoke forward Danny Webber got free on a breakaway of his own, and Bond looked very shaky in net, unsure when to come out. Webber dallied a moment too long, and Chris Morgan took him down in the box. The home crowd of 21,094 booed when there was no penalty call, and the match went to halftime still 0-0.

It was a cold night, and the players on both side were visibly stiffening up as we got deeper into the match. It began to bog down into a midfield war, with few chances at either end, and the lenient refereeing began to lead to some fairly reckless challenges. At 65 minutes, unimpressed with our performance up front, I made a triple substitution, bringing on fresh legs, but even the newcomers were finding it hard to make much of an impression.

Finally, in the 77th minute, Peter Weatherson's flick-on header put speedy Carl Motteram through on goal. As he reached the 18 and the defenders closed down on him, he sent a diagonal pass back for Weatherson, trailing the play at the top of the arc. It was a great chance, but our number nine golfed it well over the bar, earning a derogatory jeer from the crowd. In the 82nd, Motteram again picked out Weatherson, this time finding him in the box after Motteram had gone out wide left. Weatherson was perhaps ten yards out with space to make Williams pay, but he hit side netting.

That turned out to be the best chance either side would see, and the match ended a scoreless draw.

Stoke 0; Sheffield United 0

----; ----

MoM: Williams (Stoke GK)

Ben Williams thoroughly deserved his Man of the Match award for the three top-drawer saves in the first half, which my players were still shaking their heads over in the locker room afterwards.

The lads felt we should have won 3-0, at least, and I couldn't disagree with them - though privately, I was feeling lucky that youngster Dean Bond had needed only four saves to assure his clean sheet: Stoke City had put more shots wide of target than on goal.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 13th February, 2008.

Ipswich Town had continued their great form with a solid 3-0 pasting of 19th-placed Brighton, while Derby had battled to a 1-1 draw at West Brom. Ipswich was suddenly looking like a great title contender, and while we had a long unbeaten run, they'd won three in a row by a combined score of 8-0, and had only lost four league matches all year. Everton won Ian Dowie's debut, 3-0 over last-placed Wigan Athletic - a result which saw Wigan manager Keith Alexander sacked.

Wednesday saw the Sheffield United Reserves travel to Burton-on-Trent to take on the Burton Reserves. A strong wind was blowing, and with a wind chill below freezing, it was pretty miserable conditions. Lewis Guy started at striker and played 65 minutes, but struggled with the swirling gusts, getting open for plenty of shots but having trouble putting any of them on net. He finally forced a save from the keeper just before being substituted off, but it was a worrisome appearance for the player I was hoping to build to match fitness for the F.A. Cup match in two weeks' time. Without him, the rest of the squad fared little better, putting only three more shots on target despite dominating posession and attempts, and the result was a windblown 0-0 draw.

On Monday, 18-year-old defensive midfielder Steve Newton, out on loan to Scunthorpe, had torn his groin muscle - so its not just a curse on our training facility, at least. I recalled him to send him to physiotherapy if required, and guide his recovery. Tom Mitchell's exam revealed a likely recurring problem, and he recommended ending the youngster's season, sending him to surgery and asking him to concentrate on getting fit for next year.

Personally, with our next match not until the 20th, I'm looking forward to a three-day holiday with my wife for Valentine's Day. We've got a bed-and-breakfast on the coast lined up; hopefully I can convince her I'm not on death's door!

[Mambaman]

This is a cracking good yarn Ama-just caught up with it (finally). I love the way you mix an involved story style with clearly recognisable elements of the game-brilliant! Deffo worth all the awards mate-good luck and keep writing

[Amaroq]

Thank you, Mambaman! Much appreciated!

Apologies for the lack of updates - real life intervenes: wildfires fueled by hot desert winds have prompted a state of emergency in seven Southern California counties. For more information, see Sign On San Diego.com

We haven't been hit, yet, but we're packed for quick departure if need be, and playing host to several evacuees.

This story will be "on hold" until real life allows.

Please direct any votes-of-sympathy to the 'Off Topic Thread' or the American Red Cross, as you see fit.

[Dollev]

I'm really sorry to hear this. Take care.

[Amaroq]

Mambaman, Dollev - thank you kindly!

And a big "thank you" to everybody for your patience. The fires have been devastating to the region, but haven't impacted us personally, save that we've had evacuees staying in the same room with Blade; to give them privacy and "home", I didn't want to disturb them. Luckily, none of them lost their homes, though they still can't go back - the water pumping station burned, so they won't have potable water until something can be rigged.

Now back to our story: our hero has been on a Valentine's getaway, with a ten-day interlude between matches; Ipswich is running away with the Championship, Derby are second, and we lie third.

[Amaroq]

Monday, 18th February, 2008.

What a nice, relaxing weekend. Not that you'll want to hear the details, but there's nothing like a romantic getaway to revive the passion. The power of an escape with no stressful concerns cannot be overestimated!

Sunday's Star - which I read Monday morning - indicated that Peter Weatherson has resolved his concerns about playing time. He told the paper that I'd convinced him that he had the ability to establish a place in the first team, and that he no longer feels that regular first-team football is beyond him at Bramall Lane. I still feel like something is getting lost in the translation here: I'm sure I told him that he IS a member of the first team, and that I hadn't considered him 'replaced' due to his injury, but as long as he's happy with the rotation, I'm relieved.

Today, we extended the loan of French defensive midfielder Mathieu Berson from Aston Villa, and oddly they did not insist on a "cannot face us" clause despite our upcoming F.A. Cup match! Maybe it just eluded manager Javier Clemente: Villa was having a busy stretch, with the First Leg of the UEFA Cup First Knockout Round on Thursday, where they beat Czech side Slavia Prague 2-1 at home. They would have the return leg a mere six days before our F.A. Cup match.

Seven of the eight F.A. Cup Fifth Round matches were held Saturday - our match is ten days off, yet, due to Villa's UEFA Cup involvement. The scores included some embarassing defeats for Championship clubs: Tottenham 3, Brighton 0; Manchester City 3, Cardiff 1; Chelsea 3, Crystal Palace 0; and Manchester United 5, Preston North End 0! Those aren't bad teams, and it just goes to show how far we'd have to step it up if we do earn promotion this season. The other three games were draws, with Fulham-Reading, Plymouth-Stoke, and West Ham-Q.P.R. all ending at 1-1.

In the Championship, lowly Oldham Athletic surprised Everton 3-1, putting a dent in the Liverpool club's bid to reach the playoff spots, while rampant Ipswich Town continued their run to glory with a 2-1 victory at Norwich. In Sunday's match, Leeds United held Derby to a 0-0 draw, leaving Ipswich five full points clear of Derby at the top of the table.

Today was the draw for the F.A. Cup Sixth Round. Manchester United drew a trip to Chelsea for the battle of the giants, while the Sheffield United/Aston Villa ball drew an away match at Plymouth or Stoke City; those two teams have a replay. That meant if we could get past Villa, we'd have Championship-level opposition between us and the Semi-Finals. Of course, with Villa standing third in the Premier League, that's a very big "if"!

In other news, long-time Manchester United star Paul Scholes had finally reached what seemed to be the end of his tenure with the club, going out on loan to Wigan Athletic. It was the first time he had donned the jersey of any other club in his illustrious career, with his final tally standing at 404 games for the Red Devils, 93 goals, and a lifetime in the hearts of their fans.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 20th February, 2008. Championship - Game 32, vs Queen's Park Rangers.

Though our last two meetings with fifth-placed Q.P.R. had been draws, most recently a nil-nil shaing of the points in October, Sheffield United had enjoyed success against them in the past, including a 4-0 pounding three years ago. Like us, Q.P.R. are a founding member of the Premier League, and are similarly struggling to reach the heights of their former glory after falling to League One. They placed 4th in the Championship last year, but were knocked out in the playoffs, and are looking to take the back door into the Premiership again this year. Their biggest scoring threat is Malcolm Christie, who leads the team with fifteen goals after netting twenty-one last year.

What could have been disaster struck in the warmups for the match against Q.P.R. 29-year-old defensive midfielder Paul Thirlwell fell awakwardly, and suffered a slipped disc in his back. I thanked my lucky stars that I'd renewed Matheiu Berson's loan, as he was suddenly our first-choice defensive midfielder. It felt like quite a patchwork-quilt lineup, with 18-year-old Dean Bond in goal for McGregor. Sean Dillon, Chris Morgan, and Hayden Foxe were all regulars across the back, but right back Keith McCormack was another 18-year-old who had gotten his chance through injury. Berson was the defensive midfielder. Jonathan Forte and Graham Allen were on the wings, and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson was the top choice attacking midfielder. He was partnered with on-loan Hugo Viana, and Lewis Guy made his Sheffield debut as the striker, trying desperately to regain match fitness before the Villa showdown.

The visitors came out with a defensive 4-4-2, which made a stalemate against the conservative 4-5-1 which I'd started with. Paul McVeigh tried a long shot to test young Dean Bond, but he proved up to the challenge for the early save. In the 20th minute, Lewis Guy broke into the box for Graham Allen's cross. Q.P.R. defenseman Danny Shittu headed it clear, but only as far as Marc Bridge-Wilkinson trailing the play. He tried one from long range, but it deflected out off of Matthew Rose.

Queen's Park were tackling hard, trying to keep our offense at bay, and by the 25th minute, they already had four yellow cards, while we had none. One of the cards came off when Nigel Quashie was forced to leave in the 31st minute, but they had another before halftime. With the match still scoreless after 45 minutes, I told the lads to switch to our patient build-up, and began contemplating changes.

Jack Lester and Leandre Griffit came on for Hugo Viana and Graham Allen in the 56th minute, and on a 60th minute corner, Bridge-Wilkinson played it to Lester at the 18. He put a blistering shot just to the left of the near post, catching side netting. In the 64th, Lester - our assists leader thus far, which surprised me to learn - played a beautiful diagonal through ball to Jonathan Forte, rushing in from the left. Forte picked out Guy in traffic perhaps 12 yards out, but the loanee blazed it over the bar. We were starting to really control the game, and the Q.P.R. defense was under constant pressure. After Bridge-Wilkinson's long shot was saved in the 70th minute, they seemed to abandon even the pretense of venturing forward, obviously playing for the scoreless draw.

There was little I could do but watch, having made my final substitution - Noel Hunt for Lewis Guy up front. On 80 minutes, Keith McCormack tried a shot from just beyond the area from a corner kick, but he too put the shot wide. In the 84th, Chris Morgan tried a long ball for Hunt, and the big man got up to flick a header on net from within the arc, which Chris Day did well to tip over the bar. The resulting corner kick came to Lester, again unmarked on the 18, and Day made a brilliant save to turn it wide for another corner. This one found Mathieu Berson about 12 yards from goal, and the Frenchman faked a shot, but instead played it right, teeing it up on the penalty spot for Jack Lester. This time he looked to have Day beaten, but fullback Emmerson Boyce blocked the shot. McCormack held it in, and passed left for Bridge-Wilkinson, who was hauled down about 20 yards away by Malcolm Christie. The free kick was a perfect shooting opportunity, and Bridge-Wilkinson, our leading scorer with ten goals, stood over it. He curled a perfect ball over the wall to the near corner, and Day was helpless to reach it in time. 1-0! Bramall Lane exploded as 27,795 fans gave voice to their relief in joyous celebration.

After the goal celebration, I shouted instructions to go to all-out defense, but the lads were feeling their oats, and their counter-attack looked deadly. Leandre Griffit started it, but it finished with Hunt feeding Lester as the last man challenged the striker, putting the veteran attacker into the box with only Chris Day to beat. This time, his shot was right to the goalkeeper, who clutched it gratefully to his chest.

At the other end, Boyce sent a fine cross into the box for Christie, but captain Hayden Foxe headed it neatly away. Sean Dillon started another breakaway up the left side, playing it long for Lester. The 31-year-old dribbled all the way into the six, then passed right for Bridge-Wilkinson. He tried to head on goal, but Martin Rowlands managed to beat him, flicking it on through the box. It fell to Griffit at the corner of the six, a perfect flick-on had Rowlands been his teammate! Day came up with another top-drawer save, but the rebound came straight back to Griffit, who tried again, and only an unlicky deflection off of Stephen Crainey denied him.

We kept up the incredible pressure through injury time - you'd have thought that we were desperately trying for an equalizer, given the intensity our lads were seeking the goal with. Forte's aerial ball came in to Lester and Hunt, who went up for it together as though forward and defender. I'm not sure who got to it, but Day tipped the resulting header over the bar. That led to a corner kick late in injury time, where Forte was the far-post man. The ball carried over everyone, and he had an uncontested header from the corner of the six, but put it inches wide.

Sheffield United 1, Q.P.R. 0

Bridge-Wilkinson 86; ----

MoM: Day (Q.P.R. GK)

The home crowd gave us a standing ovation as we trotted off the field, after a convincing performance against a fellow team at the top of the table. Personally, I felt a sense of vast relief: we'd completely controlled tha game, and it looked like I'd finally settled on the right 'patient buildup' strategy for this squad.

Despite Bridge-Wilkinson's decisive free kick, Chris Day had made ten saves on eleven chances, and he was rewarded with the Man of the Match award.

[Amaroq]

Thursday, 21st February, 2008.

With the leading clubs idle on the day, we overtook Derby County for second place, and the guaranteed promotion berth that would go with it. We were still five points adrift of incredible Ipswich, though we had one game in hand to make up some of that ground.

The most recent article by Rupert Wormwood was in the next morning's Star, and I was amused to read it. After a few paragraphs of backhanded praise, Wormwood wrote

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">The Blades' recent form has been impressive and the pre-season relegation candidates now find themselves in the unlikely position of challenging for the title. If they can keep their good form up, we may end the season with one of the most unlikely champions in recent years. Pundits are now wondering if that will be asking too much of the lads. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

As though he, himself, weren't a pundit!

Stuart McCall and I shared a hearty laugh over that one, especially coming as it did next to Derek Dooley expressing his pleasure with the win, in the main article on the match.

Surgery was necessary for unlucky Paul Thirlwell, and it would keep him out for the remainder of the season. In fact, with his transfer to Oldham going through at the end of the season, the veteran defensive midfielder had played his final game for Sheffield United.

In the day's Reserve match, just down the road at Chesterfield, visiting Wigan Athletic Reserves looked to have a victory after scoring early and holding the 1-0 scoreline through the 80th minute. Gareth Davies, wearing the captain's armband, found a late equalizer off an 84th-minute corner kick. Moments later, our boys were reduced to ten men due to an injury to one of our amateurs. The match ended in acrimony when Billy Sharp was tripped in the box three minutes into injury time. The referee awarded a penalty despite the visitor's claims of diving, and with the last touch of the match, Sharp buried the penalty in the net to give the lads a dramatic 2-1 victory.

The Champions League may have been of more interest to most Englishmen today, though there were only three surviving British clubs. Manchester United beat Ajax 3-1 in Amsterdam behind two Alan Smith goals. Chelsea came away from owner Roman Abramovich's home country with a 2-0 victory over CSKA Moscow. Mateja Kezman scored both goals for the Premier League leaders. Celtic upset the odds with a 1-0 victory over Juventus, gaining the lead in the 6th minute through Craig Wilson, and then holding on with 84 minutes of stalwart defending at Celtic Park.

In the other matches, A.C. Milan edged Benfica 1-0, Porto won at home over Inter Milan 2-1, and Roma beat Barcelona 2-0. In the battle of Germany, Dortmund edged Werder Bremen 1-0, while the marquee match of the day was holders Bayern München at Real Madrid. As you might expect from a matchup featuring Iker Casillas and Oliver Kahn in goal, it was a 0-0 draw with some fantastic defending and goalkeeping.

[avstwentyone]

Glad to hear that everything was ok. Doubly glad to see this resumed!

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 23rd February, 2008. Championship - Game 33, vs Hull.

In the buildup to Saturday's match, Hull manager Brian Horton told the press that he didn't want to see Sheffield United gain promotion, and that he hoped to put a dent in our chances on Saturday. I responded by saying that I believed we could earn promotion, and admitting that I'd be disappointed if we didn't. There was a minor thrill in the Saturday morning Star, however, as the article writer prefaced my statements with "Talented manager Ian Richards ..."

Flattery aside, it promised to be a tough match, as Horton preferred a 3-4-3 formation which might show the truth in the old axiom 'the best defense is a good offense,' for despite their 11th place in the Championship, having conceded merely 24 goals, third in the league at this stage. They'd beaten us 1-0 at The Circle in a Championship match last October, but we'd avenged that 4-1 to knock them out of the F.A. Cup. This was the first time they'd come to Bramall Lane on the season.

Despite the grudge-match nature of the tie, I had most of my starters resting for the big Cup match against Villa mid-week, so the lineup saw Allan McGregor return in goal with Joe Keenan, Chris Morgan, Steve Foster, and Jordan Holmes giving me a veteran back four. Young Gavin Atkinson made only his second appearance at defensive midfield, with Leandre Griffit and Andrew Schofield on the wings. Joe Newell and Jack Lester partnered in the attacking midfield, with Peter Weatherson making just his tenth start of the year up front. I hoped the lineup was strong enough to secure three points.

The match was televised, and a grand crowd was on hand for the rubber match between the two sides. We seemed to have the better run of play through the opening minutes - Hull's midfield and defense were closing down very aggressively, often sending three men towards the ball, which with three forwards already out of the defensive picture, was leaving lots of space to find the open man. In the 14th minute, Jack Lester sent a corner kick hanging in the air for Leandre Griffit, who towered over two defenders at the six to nod it in at the near post. 1-0! It was a majestic, powerful header, and I believe it marked our first headed goal from a corner kick all season!

Hull appeared to have equalized in the 18th minute, when fullback Ian Bradley sent a cross in from the left side. John Sutton headed home from six yards out, but the linesman raised his flag: the goal was ruled out as Sutton was adjudged to have pushed Steve Foster to make room for himself.

This really appeared to demoralize the visitors, and we had plenty of chances over the next ten minutes: Peter Weatherson hit side netting, Gavin Atkinson's shot was deflected, and Griffit could have had a hat trick, blazing a free kick narrowly over and then putting a shot inches wide - and all that by the 30th minute. Still, at halftime it was a mere 1-0, and I had to wonder if we would rue our missed chances.

By the 60th minute, Joe Newell was visibly tiring, and I'd just made the decision to sub him off, warming up Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, when Griffit played it to Newell about 45 yards from goal in the 63rd. The youngster spotted the run of Weatherson, and tried to play the killer pass to space in front of him. Goalkeeper Steve Harper had obviously studied game film, as he was charging forward to meet the threat, but midfielder Ben Burgess got a foot in to deflect the pass just as it left Newell's foot. The unlucky keeper slipped as he tried to recover, and the ball skidded past him and into the net, triggering a delirious pandemonium in Bramall Lane! 2-0!

Just a minute later, Weatherson nipped in to steal a ball from a lackadaisical Paul Reid in the Hull area. The defender had dallied on the ball when he needed to act quickly, and there was little any Hull player could do after that mistake. The striker turned, and knocked a clinical left-footed shot to the near post to make it 3-0, and the outcome seemed beyond a doubt.

I brought all three goalscorers off in the 72nd minute, and the home crowd gave a standing ovation for Leandre Griffit, who had controlled play along the right side. Unfortunately, the triple change seemed to backfire as Hull scored immediately. Clint Hill drove a 25-yard piledriver into traffic, and Morgan threw himself in the way. Stuart Elliot met the ricochet with a header from 10 yards out, and put it past Allan McGregor to claw one back at 3-1.

It was a glimmer of hope for the visitors, and spurred their best attacking sequence over the next ten minutes, but their best two shots went wide. Then, with many of their players committed forward, Jordan Holmes headed a ball clear to Eric Deloumeaux. The French captain skipped past Hill along the right sideline, then put a fine cross from about 30 yards away into the area, where somehow Noel Hunt was unmarked. It was impossible not to see the big man, as he was the only player forward, but somehow two defenders had ignored him. He rose utterly unchallenged to send a long header home from the 18, and it was 4-1.

Deep into injury time, Ben Rix fouled Hunt in the area in heavy traffic. With the scoreline already beyond contest, awarding a penalty for backing into a man seemed very harsh, especially for a hard-to-spot foul: even I didn't think it was warranted. Still, the result send Marc Bridge-Wilkinson to the spot.

He converted, to complete the rout at 5-1. The result was greatly appreciated by the home faithful, who cheered us off to a standing ovation again, for the second straight match.

Sheffield United 5, Hull 1

Griffit 14, Newell 63, Weatherson 64, Hunt 86, Bridge-Wilkinson pen 90; Elliot 73

MoM: Griffit

Leandre Griffit was clearly the Man of the Match after his scintillating performance on the right wing.

The only downside to the day was that Ipswich and Derby County had both won, keeping us five points behind the leaders, and even with Derby County for the final promotion berth - though we still had a game in hand.

[Amaroq]

Thanks, avstwentyone, and sorry for the delay.

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 24th February, 2008.

Unsurprisingly, Derek Dooley was bursting with delight at the side's magnificent win, and the attitude in the press was buoyant, almost ebullient.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Bring On Villa! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

crowed one headline in The Star, and another article spoke about how

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">clearly Premiership opposition is required to challenge Richards' high-flying squad. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Mister Wormwood was surprisingly silent - I'd half-expected a doom-and-gloom prediction that Villa would beat us by the same scoreline.

Sunday's match for us was the Under-18 match at Notts County U-18s. It was a close match for the first 65 minutes, with on-loan striker James Lloyd providing goal that had us ahead, but in the final 25 minutes County collapsed entirely, conceding four more goals, two by amateur fullback Lee Goodwin, who was named Man of the Match, with one each from Dean Reid and amateur midfielder Dave Freeman. That made a 5-0 finish, and I was stunned to see my typically conservative, defensive play net ten goals in two matches over the course of the weekend.

In other news, the League Cup Final between Chelsea and Arsenal at Wembley was the most-watched match of the season so far. Ivica Olic, the Croatian forward who had been acquired in the 2006-07 season from Marseilles for £12.5M, put Arsenal ahead 1-0 in the 14th minute with a cracking right-footed strike. Just before the break, Czech attacking midfielder Tomas Rosicky put Chelsea level with a long-range effort. It was the Spaniard Mista, who had been relegated to an off-the-substitutes-bench for most of the season, who got the game-winner, a truly magical move to make two men miss and put the ball past Dida and into the net, giving Chelsea a 2-1 victory and their fifth trophy of the past four seasons.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 27th Februay, 2008. F.A. Cup - Fifth Round, vs Aston Villa.

Aston Villa were on a two-month unbeaten run, and lay second in the Premier League on the day that they came to Bramall Lane. They were eight points adrift of Chelsea, and one ahead of third-placed Arsenal - though to be fair, the Gunners had three games in hand. Still, Villa was a solid four points clear of Manchester United on an equal number of matches. They'd placed sixth last year, and eighth the year before, making them clearly one of England's teams on the rise. Thus far this season, they were unbeaten in Europe, and had suffered only six defeats total for the year - two to Chelsea, one of which knocked them out of the League Cup, and one each to Newcastle, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Manchester City. That last was their most recent defeat, fully two months ago, on December 26th - and their unbeaten run included a 2-1 victory over Chelsea in their third encounter of the year.

The starting lineup was the best I could field, save one player. Allan McGregor was in goal, with Sean Dillon, Hayden Foxe, Steve Foster, and Keith McCormack across the back four. At defensive midfield, I'd pencilled in the name of Mathieu Berson, but had to scratch him just before game time when Stuart McCall reminded me that he was on loan from Villa, and they'd inked a 'cannot face us' clause into his contract. I was shocked - I'd been so sure they hadn't!! But there it was in the fine print! Youngster Gavin Atkinson would have to fill in. Jonathan Forte and Graham Allen were on the wings, with Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Hugo Viana to provide the creative spark in attacking midfield. 22-year-old Lewis Guy, on loan from Newcastle, was made only his second start for us as the lone striker.

Villa came out in a 5-3-2, with a sweeper, and two wingbacks roving forward into midfield on attack. Morgan DeSanctis was the goalkeeper, with Adam Drury, Olof Mellberg, Martin Laursen, Jean-Alain Boumsong, and Nyron Nosworthy across the back. Collin Benjamin, Giorgos Karagounis, and John Paul Kelly composed the midfield with Juan Pablo Angel and Darius Vassell up front.

Normally, our defensive midfielder closes down outside the arc, preventing long shots - but without Thirlwell or Berson, young Atkinson was clearly outclassed, and Villa got plenty of chances. Three times in the opening ten minutes the Premiership side tried long shots, the best of which was a thirty-yard effort by Vassell, easily dealt with by Allan McGregor.

The lively crowd - capacity and then some, it seemed - crescendoed in a loud roar when we earned our first corner kick on the 15th minute. Graham Allen tried to pick out Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, but it came to naught, dealt with easily by the grey-clad Villa defense.

At the 20th minute, wingback Adam Drury appeared to be stuck in traffic on the left wing, but somehow managed to get a cross over. At the far post, Juan Pablo Angel rose over Sean Dillon to drill a powerful header on net. It hit the crossbar, and came straight back into play. Giorgos Karagounis was the first to the rebound, the Greek international controlling the ball with one touch of his right foot, then drilling a left-footed shot from 8 yards out to silence the crowd with a 0-1 Villa lead.

I keenly missed Mathieu Berson, who had cleaned up numerous similar chances earlier in the season. Still, Villa had had the better of play, and deserved the lead. They went defensive, as though to protect the one-goal lead on the road, and their stifling defense shut down our counter-attacking style through the remainder of the first half, keeping it one-nil through the intermission.

I tried to rally the troops at halftime, encouraging a more aggressive, offensive style of play, and it nearly paid dividends in the first minutes of the second half. Hugo Viana's elegant 25-yard curling strike looked to have beaten Morgan De Sanctis, but just skimmed over the top of the crossbar. Agony for the capacity crowd, who'd been on the verge of erupting in joy.

I tried every trick in my book, including the patient buildup offense which had served us so well this season, and I made every change available to me, sending on Noel Hunt for the ineffectual, tiring Lewis Guy, trying veteran Jack Lester in the attack in place of Hugo Viana, and putting Leandre Griffit on the right wing, but nothing seemed to work. Finally, in the 71st minute, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson smashed an 18-yard shot to the top corner.. but De Sanctis plucked it out of the air, catching it cleanly.

I was leery of pushing any of the defenders too far forward, and my lads were doing well to limit the chances Angel and Vassell had had, but with the midfield fully committed to the attack, that was leaving space for their midfield, especially substitute Daniel Bierofka, who came close several times, forcing a pair of brilliant saves by McGregor to keep us in the match.

The crowd kept the faith, vocally urging us on, ever singing and cheering, until finally, we earned a corner kick in the 92nd minute, Bridge-Wilkinson took it, and sent a hanging ball into the six. Noel Hunt rose magestically at the far post, well clear of the Villa defense, poised to equalize...

... and Morgan De Sanctis plucked it out of the air just before it reached the tall forward.

With that, our chances expired, and we bid adieu to our final Cup run of the season.

The crowd gave us a loud ovation for our efforts, and the players applaud them for their support before swapping shirts with their counterparts.

Sheffield United 0, Aston Villa 1

---; Karagounis 20

MoM: Karagounis (Villa MC)

Villa had mounted 15 shots to our 3, and had made it clear just how large of a gap there is between the top of the Championship and the top of the Premier League. Still, I was pleased that we'd acquitted ourselves so well: we certainly hadn't been embarassed, despite giving up the expected result, and if anything I'd been convinced that we did have a team that could compete in the Premier League. Obviously improvement in a number of areas would be necessary to vie for honours, but the result had settled any worries I had about promoting too soon.

[Amaroq]

Thursday, 28th February, 2008.

I shouldn't have been surprised that Rupert Wormwood disagreed with me.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">It was a brave effort by Ian Richard's side, but outclassed as they were they were unable to mount any sort of serious attack, and the 1 goal scoreline was flattering, only made possible by the fine play of goalkeeper Allan McGregor, who may have led the Blades in touches.

The lopsided result only underscores the difference between the Premier League and the Championship, and should serve as a warning to Dooley, Richards, and everyone at Bramall Lane that promoting this quickly, only a year removed from League One, would be doing a disservice to both the organization and its loyal fans, subjecting everyone to a discouraging relegation battle. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I grimaced when I finished reading that, and tossed the paper aside.

"No mention of TV revenue or parachute payments," Stuart McCall observed when I had done, refilling his coffee from the little pot in my office. "Even if we only last one year with the big boys, we'd be in much better financial shape."

"I know, I know," I told him. "I just hope the lads don't lose heart - that sort of column is just the sort of thing that might drop morale. With Leicester, Everton, and Leeds on the horizon, that's just the sort of thing we don't need."

Wormwood's pessimism notwithstanding, both the board and fans were delighted that we were still in a promotion-guaranteed second place at the start of March. If we could weather a difficult March schedule and finish strong in April, we might be looking at the Premier League next season, and the excitement brewing in Sheffield was palpable.

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

1 Ipswich 72 21 9 4 52 22 +30 (34)

2 Sheffield United 67 19 10 4 54 19 +35 (33)

---------------------------------------------------------

3 Derby County 67 20 7 7 52 28 +24 (34)

4 Crystal Palace 60 17 9 8 54 35 +19 (34)

5 West Brom Albion 57 15 12 7 50 35 +15 (34)

6 Millwall 57 15 12 7 45 30 +15 (34)

---------------------------------------------------------

7 Queen's Park R. 57 16 9 9 47 36 +11 (34)

8 Coventry 56 16 8 10 48 40 + 8 (34)

9 Leicester 55 16 7 11 45 32 +13 (34)

10 Everton 54 15 9 10 45 31 +14 (34)</pre>

Financially, we were in good shape as well, having earned almost £0.5M for the month of February, which had put us up to a loss of merely £1.2M for the year, most of that coming from spending the £4.4M transfer budget I'd been given. There was a solid £10.6M in the bank, which looked like more than enough to guarantee some funding for next season.

In other news from the day, Sheffield United Reserves lost in Chesterfield, playing as the visitors against the rightful owners of Saltergate stadium, 0-1. It was a hard-hitting, physical game which reportedly took our lads out of their comfort zone, and let a less talented team outscore them.

My tactical outlook tends to rely on defensive positioning and numbers rather than hard tackling, but I was still displeased to hear that characterization from my youth coaches.

[Terk]

Just as you're doing to others, I'd like to say well done on your five awards tonight. "Blade" is very deserving of its two, Best English Story and Story of the Year. Hope there's much more to come.

[Peacemaker7]

Gratz roqy!

[Mambaman]

yeah nice one Roqy on all the awards + this story (it is a real feat of writing that you are American and yet you make it so real-have you been to Sheffield? kutgw

[chesterfan2]

*Here here*

[Simply Perfect]

It's 2.45am. At 10.30am this morning, over 14 hours ago, I started Blade Book 1, mainly on th eback of your five awards.

Each one is thoroughly deserved, and long may it continue Roqy.

[Amaroq]

Thank you, everyone. Wow, Simply Perfect, that's incredible praise, I'm absolutely delighted to hear you enjoyed it that much! "I couldn't put it down" may be the sweetest five words a writer can hear!

I'd like to reprise the thank you's that I said in the Awards ceremony here - thanks to all of my readers, from the regular posters to the quietest of lurkers. Its all been for you guys.

Faramir and Terk deserve a special "Thank you"; between them they must have edited my posting mistakes some two hundred times. Much appreciated!

Pan will give me guff if I don't say thanks to my Mum, so here's that: Thanks, Mom! You're the greatest!

I'd also like to offer a big "thank you" to everyone who has offered encouragement along the way: irishregan, Panpardus, Damien77, aaberdeenn, paulsgruff, cms186, BobBev, avstwentyone, Wag, Wegason, and everybody else who has posted their support - I know I've missed many of you! It may have taken you just a moment to say "KUTGW", but its those comments which have kept me going for a year-plus now. They bring a smile to my face, and make it all worthwhile, every time.

I'd like to add an especially big "Thank you" to Terk and chesterfan2, who posted "Nice start" after my opening posts. I'd been lurking for quite some time, and had enjoyed your tales immensely, so I knew well who you were. Early encouragement from two such honoured writers really increased my determination to see it through, especially after letting it lie low for four months. Without your support, Blade might have died stillborn - and here you are still. Thanks, guys.

Finally, flipsix3, Terk, without your "Leaving the Past Behind" and "Whiskey and Women" as both inspiration, and demonstration of the quality possible in the format, it might not even have made it that far.

(Yes, Terk does show up three times there - maybe there's a good reason he won FMSer of the Year for a third time!)

And Mambaman, no, I never made it out of London the week I was in England. It really says something for the power of wikipedia that I've been able to write a believable English story nonetheless!

Thanks again, everybody.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 1st March, 2008. Championship - Game 34, at Leicester.

I barely had time to acknowledge the finances and monthly board meeting, however, as it was off down the M1 to Leicester to Walkers Stadium to face one of the sides which had been a preseason favorite. Currently, the Foxes were mired in a dogfight with about six other teams for the final two playoff spots, and we knew that they would be highly motivated on their home turf.

We would come out in our now-standard conservative 4-5-1, with Allan McGregor in goal for the 35th time this season. In front of him, Joe Keenan, Chris Morgan, Hayden Foxe, and Jordan Holmes would anchor the defense, behind Mathieu Berson, the Frenchman who we'd so badly missed against his home club. Andrew Schofield and Leandre Griffit would man the wings, with young Joe Newell and John Melligan partnered in the attacking midfield. Peter Weatherson was the lone striker.

Andrew Schofield nearly scored from 40 yards in the opening minutes, when he tried a long pass for Peter Weatherson. It bounced in front of the forward, between him and onrushing keeper Paddy Kenny, and if the Irishman - a former Blade, from before my time - hadn't managed to get a hand on it to change its angle ever so slightly, it would have rolled in. In the 7th minute, John Melligan played a great ball to Weatherson, who skipped past Ryan Garry in the arc, then slotted the ball past Kenny to put us up 1-0.

We were in complete control, dominating posession and getting all the chances. Schofield nearly scored in the 15th minute, but fullback Stuart Parnaby hacked the ball away in the six. On 20 minutes, Leandre Griffit's corner kick nearly curled in untouched by anyone at the far post, missing by inches. Joe Newell forced a diving save from Kenny in the 22nd minute, and the Leicester crowd was silent and demoralized. We finally got the breakthrough in the 23rd minute, when Jordan Holmes started a fast break from deep in our half. Melligan's through ball found Weatherson two steps ahead of Richard Stearman. Kenny again came rushing out, and Weatherson audaciously flicked it over him from 20 yards away to make it 2-0.

The sides settled in, and that was how it stood at halftime. With a two goal lead, I thought about making only one change: bringing off right back Holmes, who had picked up a yellow card in the first half, to ensure he didn't pick up a red. I had Eric Deloumeaux on the bench, but opted to leave Holmes out there - a decision I came to rue in the 51st minute when the young fullback was shown a second yellow, for tripping James Scowcroft.

Red card!

Disaster! Now Deloumeaux came on, six minutes too late, replacing an attacker for a 4-4-1. The home side appeared re-enrgized, and the Walkers Stadium crowd came to a full roar of encouragement for them. Stewart came close in the 54th, firing in a half-volley from a tight angle that just grazed the bar on its way over.

The goal, when it came, was about as ugly as they come. It was the 58th minute when Jordan Stewart sent a cross into the area. Tomi Petrescu's diving header hit the bar from 9 yards out. David Connolley kept it in play along the end line, and passed it back for Stewart. He let fly from point blank range, and only a great reflex save by McGregor could deny him. Petrescu, just scrambling to his feet, beat Joe Keenan to the rebound on the six. The Finnish striker's shot took a deflection off of Hayden Foxe and another off the outstretched hand, but found the back of the net. It was garbage, a mad goalmouth scramble like you might see in a youth league, but the result - 2-1 - gave the home side heart.

In the 65th minute, David Vaughan's header gave me a heart attack, as he found himself on the end of Stewart's cross at the six, but somehow put the ball over. I was screaming at the lads to play defense, and Eric Deloumeaux - who had replaced Holmes at right back to the cost of Joe Newell - won a headed ball at midfield. The Frenchman's header travelled well upfield, springing Weatherson behind the Leicester line. He fired it low with his left foot to complete the hat-trick and give us a comfortable 3-1 margin...

... only to learn that the referee had ruled him offsides! The linesman's flag was down, but the referee had made the call himself, and my encouragement that he chat with the linesman earned me a caution of my own from the fourth official.

As if that weren't bad enough luck, the next minute Deloumeaux was whistled for a shirt tug along the end-line. Joey Gudjonnson played it low to Vaughan at the near post. He half-stepped over the ball, using his cleats to push it center for Stewart, who smashed it home from a mere three yards out. It was pitiful defending to give him such a great opportunity, and our ten-man lineup was in tatters, the score levelled at 2-2.

For the final fifteen minutes, Leicester went to a 4-2-4, desperate to secure the three points, while I left the lads with a 4-4-1 and instructions to counterattack if given a good opportunity. Griffit had a great chance in the 74th, but Garry made a key tackle in the box to deny him. Two minutes later, Weatherson looked to have a great chance at his hat trick. With everyone in two counties expecting him to shoot, he passed left for John Melligan, who unleashed an 18-yard strike, and only a fantastic save by Kenny kept the scores level.

It was just about the last action for Weatherson, as I brought him off for the fresh legs of James Lloyd, also putting Graham Allen on the right wing for Griffit. In the 84th minute, Lloyd had a great chance on a quick break, but let fly from the arc and blasted it well over to taunts from the crowd. The following minute, substitute winger Ulises de la Cruz broke up the right side for Leicester. His cross found Gudjonsson unmarked just goal-ward of the 12-yard mark. He let fly with a spectacular right-footed volley, but blazed it high into the stands behind goal. In the 87th, Morgan sprang Melligan, already with 2 assists, on a breakaway. He fired his shot from the edge of the area. The diving Irish keeper got a hand on it, and everybody in the stadium could only watch as it rolled... just wide.

With such end-to-end action, there seemed little doubt that somebody would find a game-winner in injury time, especially when four minutes were announced. The question was, who, and for which team?

In the 92nd, Mathieu Berson played a long ball up the left wing, which Andrew Schofield ran down, beating the exhausted legs of the man opposite him. He played a low, short pass for Melligan, who shot from the corner of the six. Kenny pushed it away, but neither Parnaby nor Stearman could control it, and Lloyd pounced on the loose ball, driving it home from the six for the game-winner!!!!

Leicester 2, Sheffield United 3

Petrescu 58, Stewart 71; Weatherson 7, 23, Lloyd 90

MoM: Melligan

The incredible finish left the crowd stunned into silence, save the very vocal contingent of traveling Bladesmen. The ensuing kickoff was the last touch of the match, with the referee blowing full time immediately!

Attacking midfielder John Melligan, with the assist on all three goals, was a consensus Man of the Match. Lloyd was becoming one of my favorite players, with four goals in five matches played. Unfortunately, I wasn't certain if I'd be able to afford the £2.4M asking price Charlton wanted to make the loan deal permanent.

The celebration in the locker room was just getting started when chairman Derek Dooley came down with some silverware to present to Marc Bridge-Wilkinson. The attacking midfielder had scored five goals in only three games during February, and his fine play had been justly rewarded with both the Player of the Month and Goal of the Month awards. The goal was the first of his hat-trick performance against Preston on the 9th, a magical curling strike from 30 yards after he'd made two defenders miss with some spectacular dribbling.

[Terk]

Red card, disallowed goal and an injury time winner. That win must have felt good, Roqy

[Amaroq]

Relief more than joy - I thought I'd thrown it away by not taking Holmes off! It looked like a classic collapse in the making until that final score..

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 2nd March, 2008.

Derby County had lost 2-1 at fourth-placed Crystal Palace, so our ten-man heroics put us three points clear of third place. We remained five adrift of Ipswich Town, who had beaten lowly Wigan Athletic 3-1 - Wigan had only won two matches all season. For their efforts in the match, John Melligan and striker Peter Weatherson were named to the Championship Team of the Week.

After the truly abysmal losses we'd posted in January on my coaching metrics, I was afraid to look at February's results, but it was a case of no news was good news. We'd stopped the rot, at least. Though few of the players had really shown much improvement, at least we didn't have any big steps backwards. Jack Lester, who'd had an abysmal month of January, was the biggest gainer, recovering about a third of the losses he'd had: apparently my heart-to-heart with him had had some effect. Kyle McFadzean and 16-year-old Steven White posted the next largest gains. The two defenders were really providing hope for the future with their solid play.

In other good news, Nicky Thomson resumed training after his physiotherapy, the young winger appearing to have made a full recovery. He celebrated his return to the pitch, in a youth match at home against Stockport U-18's, with a goal, his first of the season. James Lloyd, who had started at striker, bagged two more, and Mark Whitehead capped the scoring by making it 4-0 before halftime. Michael Harrison was named the Man of the Match when that scoreline remained constant through the second half.

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 4th March, 2008. Championship - Match 35, at Everton

There was no rest for my team, as we continued our most difficult stretch of matches with a trip to Liverpool to face Everton. Premier League champions as recently as 1985 and 1987, the Toffees had been battling for European position as recently as the 2004-05 season, when an 8th place finish saw them miss Europe by a single spot. In 2006-07, they'd fallen to 18th, getting relegated on the last day of the season with a 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle. They'd been everybody's favorites for instant re-promotion - they'd been in the top division of English football for 53 consecutive seasons, but that hadn't materialized. This year they were mired in the battle for the playoffs, and in fact lay 9th, three points adrift of the final berth. A win at home would be key for them, especially after holding us to a 0-0 draw at Bramall Lane.

I ran out a strong lineup. Allan McGregor was of course in goal, with Sean Dillon, Steve Foster, Chris Morgan, in the back four, joined by captain Eric Deloumeaux. I suspected young Gavin Atkinson was the weak link at defensive midfield. Carl Motteram made only his second start of the year on the left wing, with Jonathan Forte on the right. Team-leading scorer Marc Bridge-Wilkinson started with Hugo Viana in the attacking midfield, and Noel Hunt's fine performances off the substitutes' bench had earned him the start up front.

Everton came out in an aggressive 3-4-3, and to be honest they were controlling the run of play for the first 25 minutes. Captain Tim Cahill forced a save from Allan McGregor before the first minute was out, and Chinese international Li Tie was dominating in the midfield. A goalmouth scramble similar to the one Leicester had scored with on the weekend was averted by alert defender Steve Foster, but the 25-minute mark passed without us ever having had a sniff at goal.

When we earned a corner in the 28th minute, it felt like a brief respite from an ever-growing storm. Everton must have felt the same way, or perhaps they didn't respect young Gavin Atkinson, in only his third start for the Blades. Whatever the hosts thought, he was standing utterly unmarked at the penalty spot. Carl Motteram picked him out, and the 18-year-old smashed it to the top corner of the near post - his first-ever goal for Sheffield United, and the biggest of his career!! Entirely against the run of play, but we'd taken a 1-0 lead.

That seemed to inspire our players, and for the remainder of the first half, we seemed to get the better of it. Everton, forced back on their heels, seemed a bit adrift, the crowd out of it, the players disorganized. In the 40th minute, Hugo Viana fed a great ball forward for Noel Hunt, and I thought we had a second goal, but Hunt's left-footed half-volley went just wide. He always was better with his head. Still, it was 1-0 at halftime and there was plenty of confidence in the Sheffield locker room.

A careless clearance by Allan McGregor changed all that in the 49th minute. Paul Ifill controlled it on the right wing, then exchanged a series of passes with Li Tie. The Chinese midfielder found Robert Earnshaw breaking into the area, and played a perfect pass which found him in stride. McGregor rushed out, but the Welsh international launched a wicked curling shot around him to the far post, equalizing at 1-1.

Hunt nearly garnered an instant reply, blazing his shot from 12 yards over the bar and into the visiting stands. In the 52nd minute, Darren Bent came close with a header for the hosts, but it rolled over the crossbar and along the roof of the net. A minute later, Clive Clarke played a long pass up the left wing for Felipe Oliveira. The Portugese forward had slipped behind the last defender, and tracked the ball down shy of the end line. Allan McGregor came well wide of his net, and dove into Oliveira's legs. The referee whistled him for tripping and, to a roar from the Goodison Park crowd, awarded the penalty!

Cahill converted, banging it in off the post to McGregor's left, and our 1-0 halftime lead had turned into a 1-2 deficit in less than ten minutes.

I threw players forward immediately, which seemed to catch Everton off guard after our conservative play in the first half. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson had a great opportunity, breaking into the box, but a perfect slide tackle by Jurgen Colin - who had to be inch-perfect, as he was already carrying a yellow card - denied him. At the other end, Earnshaw nearly scored a second in the 60th minute, but his header was punched over by McGregor.

In the 65th minute, we earned posession and a quick counterattack gave us numbers on the 3 Everton defenders. Substitute John Melligan's ball to Hunt on the right side left three men marked by the last Everton defender. Hunt made the pass to a wide open Jonathan Forte on the left wing, and the 21-year-old dribbled around keeper Richard Wright, slotting it home for his first goal since the 2004-05 season. Things were level at 2-2.

Earnshaw continued to cause our defense trouble, but a fantastic save by McGregor in the 70th minute kept it level. I'd gone back to the conservative counter-attack strategy, and Everton were concentrating too much on scoring, and not enough on defense. In the 77th minute, Peter Weatherson - on for Hunt - sprang Bridge-Wilkinson into the area with a fine pass. Rather than shooting, the attacking midfielder tried to lead Melligan towards the six, and only a desperate tackle by Colin knocked the ball away. He was inches away from a penalty and a red card, but he got the ball before the man.

At the 82nd minute, we had a 5-on-3 breakaway, but Weatherson was denied by a great Wright save. Two minutes later, Melligan and Graham Allen worked the right sideline. Melligan picked out Bridge-Wilkinson, who had a step on his man at the 18, with a 20-yard pass. That was too much space for a man of his talents, and he laced it past Wright to pad his team-leading goal total and put us ahead 3-2.

I shouted orders to clamp down and defend, but my players had the taste of blood in their mouths, and continued to press past the Everton midfield. Three times Weatherson came close to an insurance goal, twice forcing top-drawer saves from Wright, but I winced every time I saw my midfielders outstrip their Everton counterparts. Still, it looked like it was all over..

.. Until Everton made one final desperate surge forward in the 93rd minute. We had numbers back to defend when Christian Wilhelmson sent a hanging ball over from the right side, but 20-year-old James Vaughan rose above everybody to head it in at the near post. The dramatic late equalizer sent the crowd into pandemonium, and there was no time for us to find a reply: it finished 3-3.

Everton 3, Sheffield United 3

Earnshaw 49, Cahill pen 54, Vaughan 90; Atkinson 28, Forte 66, Bridge-Wilkinson 84

MoM: Atkinson

It was the second wild ride in as many games, and several of my players slumped to the turf in disbelief at the final whistle. The mood in the locker room was somber, despite my assurances that they'd played a fine game, and even the news that 18-year-old Gavin Atkinson had won the first Man of the Match of his career was unable to buouy our spirits.

[Amaroq]

Thursday, 6th March, 2008.

It was an exhausted, quiet ride back to Sheffield, and I had thinking to do. We'd had two challenging road matches from which we could easily have taken no points, and instead we'd taken four - and nearly took all six. But after conceding five goals in two matches for the first time all season, I had to wonder if there was something wrong with my defense, or with my goalkeeper.

I called Allan McGregor into my office on Wednesday to inquire, but the 26-year-old Scotsman shook his head and gave me a perplexed look. He said he had been a bit concerned by Brian Horton's remarks back in February, but that had passed with our solid 5-1 victory over Hull. Things were "good", he said, and he was happy with the situation at the club.

I called in my other defenders one after another, then, to see if anybody had any ideas, or if they thought it was just a fluke - we'd had the league's best defense prior to our two-game meltdown. Chris Morgan, the 30-year-old central defender, aired one concern, saying "I don't feel I'm in optimum physical condition." It's been a long season, with a lot of fixture congestion since December, so that's understandable. He seems to think that's why our training progress has dropped off a bit, as well.

Hayden Foxe was a bit frustrated with his playing time, and told me that after starting 32 matches last season he had expected to be a first-team regular this year.

I tried to explain that he'd missed a big portion of the season with injury, and was starting two games out of every three now, but the Australian shook his head and replied, "I've still only started ten games. How am I supposed to maintain my position in the national team if my manager doesn't even start me in the Championship?"

Taking all of their concerns together, I decided to rest Morgan for the next two games, and also to give McGregor one day off, but other than that I wanted to make no further changes.

Ipswich had beaten Nottingham Forest 2-0, their seventh straight victory. The leaders were now a solid seven points clear, which meant that even if we won our game in hand, and defeated Ipswich head to head, we'd be a point adrift of them. We had gained ground on third-placed Derby, so were now four clear of the playoffs. In other news from around the Championship, Hull City central defender Clint Hill suffered torn ankle ligaments, which would end his season and might put him in doubt for next year's season opener.

While I was busy interviewing my starting defense, the Reserve team traveled to Mansfield, where they battled to a 0-0 draw with Mansfield Reserves. Unfortunately, Jack Lester, who had been starting to maintain match fitness, pulled his groin, an injury that looked certain to end his season, and in fact required surgery which could take two to six months to recover from. His contract was expiring in June, so he'd doubtless played his last match for me, but I told him we would pay for surgery so that he wasn't viewed as 'damaged goods' when it came time to shop for a new contract.

In the Champions League, Chelsea continued their inexorable march with a 1-0 victory at home over CSKA Moscow, Mateja Kezman's goal securing their 3-0 aggregate over the Russians.

Manchester United also advanced, with Alan Smith's 33rd minute goal giving them a 1-0 victory over Ajax for the home crowd, and a 4-1 aggregate.

Juventus sent Celtic crashing out of the tournament with a 3-0 drubbing, led by two goals from Giuseppi Sculli, reversing the Scottish side's victory from the first game with a 3-1 aggregate.

The heavyweight fight of this round was Bayern München hosting Real Madrid after a scoreless first leg, and the match did not disappoint, with Ivan Helguera putting the Spaniards ahead early and holding a 1-0 edge until halftime. 23-year-old Bastian Schweinsteiger equalized for the Germans in the 46th minute, but they were being eliminated on away goals until Roy Makaay's dramatic, injury-time game winner put them through 2-1.

In other action, Barcelona erased a two goal deficit from the first leg to force extra time with Roma at 2-2, and then eliminated the Italians on penalties. Dortmund manhandled Werder Bremen 3-0 to make a 4-0 aggregate, while FC do Porto shocked Inter Milan with a 2-1 victory on the road for a 4-1 aggregate win. A.C. Milan beat Benfica 1-0 to knock that Portugese side out on a 2-0 aggregate.

[soupaman]

Fantastic story Amaroq, you've inspired me to write my own one (however its about AFL and is for a different game and forum)

[Mambaman]

All good Ama-some good recent results

[Amaroq]

Thanks, Mambaman, soupaman. And good luck with your tale, soupaman.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 8th March, 2008. Championship - Game 36, vs Millwall.

Though the match was at home, the opposition was no easier. Millwall had had modest expectations in the preseason, but were in the thick of things now, holding 6th spot and the final playoff berth, ahead of Q.P.R. on goal difference alone. The Lions had run off five straight league wins coming into Bramall Lane, and had added Nigerian midfielder Blessing Kaku to their already strong lineup, on loan from West Ham, to help their final push. To add spice to the encounter, they were managed by former Blades skipper Neil Warnock, who had been sacked on the 1st of January, 2006, during Sheffield United's relegation-from-the-Championship campaign.

As I'd determined earlier, Dean Bond would be the starting goalkeeper, making only his third start of the season to give McGregor a mental break. Joe Keenan, Steve Foster and Hayden Foxe would provide experience in front of him, with young Keith McCormack returning to the lineup at right back. Mathieu Berson would play the key defensive midfield role, with Andrew Schofield on the left wing and Leandre Griffit on the right - an all-loan trio. Joe Newell and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson were partnered in the attacking roles, with Lewis Guy still searching for the first goal of his loan spell up front.

I started things off conservative, determined to give Dean Bond some protection in the first minutes, while Millwall came out very tentatively, keeping men behind the ball in obvious respect for us. It made for a slow, tedious first half - fully 20 minutes elapsed before the first shot. I switched to our patient buildup tactic in the 28th minute, letting some of our players venture forward a little more adventurously, but keeping the tempo slow and the passes short, trying to break down the Millwall defense with precision.

There was little improvement. Our best chance of the half came in the 33rd, when Joe Newell received a corner kick outside the area, and drilled a shot from twenty yards. It cannoned off of fullback David Livermore, and ricocheted well wide of the area - and that was it. Halftime came and went, still scoreless - and it was just a single shot apiece. The Bramall Lane crowd were restless to the point of boredom, and let us know it as we came off for the break.

The second half was better. Another corner kick resulted in a similar shot from Newell in the 53rd minute, and this one threaded through the defense.. but Millwall captain Mark Phillips, standing on the near post, blocked the shot on the line.

A minute later, Steve Foster's shot from the arc went inches wide - it was a rare foray forward by the central defender, which had certainly caught Millwall sleeping. In the 58th minute, I brought Noel Hunt on for the utterly ineffectual Lewis Guy. Immediately, the big man began winning balls in the air, and we had much better posession and numerous more chances. None paid off, but at least we were beginning to make Mike Pollitt work between the Millwall sticks.

With a quarter-hour remaining, I sent John Melligan and Graham Allen on to provide fresh legs, though I reminded them to keep to the strategic slow buildup. "Looking for a good pass, don't try to force things," I cautioned. The majority of posession was ours, in the Millwall half, but ten more minutes passed, and no breakthrough was forthcoming.

In the 83rd minute, Melligan sent a long switch crossfield to Andrew Schofield, who controlled it on the left wing, and played it low to Mathieu Berson at the arc. The Frenchman fed it to Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, 16 yards out with his back to goal. Our leading scorer made an incredible turn and launched a fabulous strike to the keeper's left, which snuck just past Pollitt's outstretched fingertips.

Yes! 1-0!

The crowd roared in delight, and with just six minutes to play, began celebrating victory.

I returned to our conservative counter-attack, confident that Millwall would start coming forward, and we nearly doubled the tally a minute later. Pollit made a fantastic double save, first denying Schofield from 18 yards out, then lunging across the face of goal to push away Allen's effort on the rebound.

In the 86th minute, Lee Martin tried a desperate 30-yard shot, which looked easily catchable. Used to McGregor and Australian keeper Mark Schwarzer, captain Hayden Foxe turned his back and began trotting upfield, confident that the catch would be made. When the crowd gasped in horror, he turned back, but the damage was already done. The shot had dipped a bit at the last minute, and youngster Dean Bond, who had been trying to catch it, wound up forced to push it away. Foxe had walked right past Shane Paul, which meant that the striker was the only one near it.

Paul pounced on the rebound and slotted it home, a stomach-sickening late equalizer: 1-1.

We launched everyone forward in the final minutes, but the Millwall defense clamped down tight, and we never got another sniff at goal. In fact, Paul had the best chance of the waning seconds, beating Joe Keenan down the right side, but Foxe dealt determinedly with the cross, and the match ended scoreless.

Sheffield United 1, Millwall 1

Bridge-Wilkinson 83; Paul 86

MoM: Pollitt (Millwall GK)

Dean Bond was inconsolable after the match, as he'd gone from having a clean sheet to being the goat in the final minutes. More worrying, there weren't many players telling him to keep his chin up, or that it could happen to anyone, and in fact I didn't see Allan McGregor after the match at all - he must have left Bramall Lane in his kit, because he wasn't in the locker room.

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 9th March, 2008.

"If I'd been in goal, we'd have three points from that!"

Allan McGregor was in my office, furious, and rightly so. His Scottish accent made his vociferous tirade unintelligible to American ears at points, but I was getting the gist - and learned a few new swear words to boot.

"You can't trust such a key match to a &$#%ing kid!"

I rode out the storm, telling him he was right, and I'd made a mistake, one I wouldn't be repeating - I promised McGregor that he'd start every match until the season was decided, barring injury.

Then I sunk the barb: "If we hadn't conceded late in the previous two matches, you'd have been in goal for this one."

I could only hope that struck the right tone with my starting goalkeeper - I couldn't have him unhappy as we made the push for promotion, but I also wanted to make it clear that the 5 goals he'd conceded in his last two starts wasn't acceptable at this late time in the season.

No sooner had McGregor left, than assistant physiotherapist Dennis Pettitt came in. The older man had once been the head physio for Sheffield United, but had turned the position over to the younger Thomas Mitchell. The two physios had examined Graham Allen after the Millwall match, and informed me that the right winger had strained his groin. It wasn't a terrible problem, but a month seeing a specialist would be required before he was match fit - which would leave me one winger short during this final push.

Stuart McCall was next through my door, to remind me that I'd had another problem developing, with Billy Sharp. The 22-year-old striker had declared to the press that he is unhappy to continually find himself an onlooker when the first team play. He's played 15 games thus far this season, with three goals, but really doesn't compare to our regular starters.

Though he is under contract through 2010, I'm not convinced that he'll ever be Premier League quality. He's still on an incredibly cheap contract, so I'm not sure I'll be honouring his request to move anytime soon - but I don't want to keep a festering sore in the clubhouse, either.

Finally, I took the still-disconsolate Dean Bond into my office, and played him the video of the goal five times. The first time, I let him shoulder all of his blame and self-loathing.. but then I pointed out the real mistake, the mental gaffe which Hayden Foxe had made.

"Look," I told him. "At the instant you decide to push it away, Foxe is the closest man to you - and you pushed it right to him. Its hardly your fault that he walked away from it, or that the striker closed up a foot or two into that space.

"Sure, I'd rather you catch everything that comes anywhere near you - but its your defender's job to be there if you don't, and that ball took a wicked dip at the last moment."

By the fifth time, it looked like he believed me, so I turned off the television.

I was trying to build up his confidence, so I didn't tell him the other two things the video showed - that Foxe thought it a routine catch for any keeper...

... or that, worse, the ball had been going wide of the net to begin with.

[BobBev]

Roqy, I know that you strive to make this story as accurate and authentic as possible (within the limits of Wikipedia at least!) so I have one teensy-weensy correction to make. Assuming that Alan McGregor is the former Rangers goalkeeper then he speaks with a broad Scottish accent, not an Irish brogue

Apart from that it's a decent enough effort I suppose (the strange green face is as close as I cant find to a "jealous" smiley).

[Amaroq]

Thanks, BobBev. Obviously I'm "SLT: having trouble handling the pressure of increased public expectations", now. Corrected, and thanks Faramir for that!

[BobBev]

I knew that you would appreciate my constructive input

[Amaroq]

Writer's critique circle!

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 11th March, 2008.

Sunday night I came home and had a stiff drink after work. Lord knows I'd needed it!

My wife barely batted an eye - she's normally more content to have a drink than I am - and poured me one of her 'candy specials'. She's a graduate of bartending school, and has a real talent for making drinks that taste like candy, but would get an elephant drunk.

I sometimes suspect she'd have made a great frat boy.

Ipswich Town had won again, 2-0 against Oldham Athletic, a match that cost Oldham manager Brian Talbot his job. Further, it put a solid nine points between us and the Tractor Boys, with only two separating us from third place and a playoff battle. I knew we had to focus on securing that guaranteed playoff berth, and forget about the possible title.

My mood improved a bit on Monday morning with the news that Leandre Griffit and young Gavin Atkinson had been named to the Championship Team of the Week, and Stuart's recommendation that fellow youth Ben Hammond, the promising defenseman, could use a turn with the first team.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 12th March, 2008. Championship - Game 37, at Leeds United.

On paper, a trip to the 18th-placed side in the Championship might seem like a breather compared to Villa, Leicester, Everton, and Millwall - but this was Leeds United, our biggest rival outside of Sheffield Wednesday. For years, Leeds had been the big brother, often stealing away Sheffield United players with the lure of bigger salaries and bigger crowds. The rivalry had grown heated, and even if we'd beaten them twice already this season (2-1 in a friendly, and 2-0 in September) a trip to Elland Road was never going to be easy.

Allan McGregor returned to goal, as promised. In front of him, I brought youngster Ben Hammond up to partner Hayden Foxe in central defense, giving Morgan and Foster a bit of a rest. Sean Dillon and Jordan Holmes would cover the fullback positions, with Team of the Week defensive midfielder Gavin Atkinson making another start. Jonathan Forte and Carl Motteram started on the wings, the latter making only his third start of the season despite a year-long loan. John Melligan partnered with Hugo Viana in the attacking midfield, with Peter Weatherson in search of his tenth goal of the season at striker.

Leeds signalled their intentions with Dragan Mladenovic's header in the 2nd minute: they were fired up and attacking, and we were lucky it sailed over the bar. Urged on by the Elland Road crowd, they were flying all over the pitch, and came in with several crunching tackles - one of which laid Peter Weatherson out on the pitch in the eleventh minute, forcing me to bring him off for Noel Hunt.

Hayden Foxe and Sean Dillon had a heart-stopping miscommunication in the 16th minute, when Allan McGregor could only parry young Suart Fleetwood's header. Foxe collected in traffic, and tried a backpass for Sean Dillon, but the fullback didn't see it. Luckily, McGregor scrambled to his feet, to hack the ball away with his left foot, otherwise it would have been goalbound for sure. All told, McGregor had made four fine saves by the 20th minute, and the raucous crowd of 31,531 seemed to sense blood in the air.

We had out best chance in the 32nd minute, a five-on-three breakaway, but Hugo Viana squandered the chance. Instead of finding either of the open men, he instead took a selfish shot from 22 yards out, which was easily dealt with by Manuel Almunia. I was none too impressed.

Young fullback Jordan Holmes - perhaps trying to atone for his red card - came close with a long-range effort late in the half, but best chance came in injury time. Unfortunately, it was to Mladenovic, whom Hammond gifted a free kick from 25 yards out, getting a booking for his troubles. He curled a shot around the wall and bound for the far post, where McGregor barely pushed it away at full extension, a fabulous save to send us to the break even at 0-0.

I hate to use all of my substitutes at halftime, but that was just what I did. I'd already used one for the injured Weatherson; Jonathan Forte was limping with some form of knock; and Hugo Viana had been ineffectual, selfish, and now looked completely knackered. I brought them off for Leandre Griffit and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson respectively. The change was immediately obvious - we came out for the second half with more step, and looked the more determined, aggressive side. In the 55th minute, Foxe redeemed his earlier miscue with a long ball into space down the left wing. Bridge-Wilkinson tracked it down, then beat his man on the ground. He centered for the unmarked Noel Hunt, who unleashed a fine left-footed half-volley from ten yards out, finding the net to give us a 1-0 lead!

There were no subs I could make, and I had three players on yellow cards including the young Ben Hammond. I could only watch and hope, as much a spectator as anyone else in the park. In the 66th minute, Mladenovic's great pass sent Slizard Nemeth through on goal. The Slovakian striker made a serpentine dribble to dart around McGregor, but Hayden Foxe arrived just in time to pick his pocket, knocking the ball out for a throw.

Leeds were controlling the tempo and play, but the defense held firm. Hammond in particular impressed, making several key tackles but never drawing another foul. The tension ratcheted up through the final twenty minutes, spent constantly in our end. The Elland Road crowd were on their feet through four minutes of stoppage time, but at the end Foxe rose above Frazer Richardson to head away one final ball ...

.. and the referee blew full time! Victory!

Leeds United 0, Sheffield United 1

----; Hunt 55

MoM: McGregor

Allan McGregor had played a fine match in goal, and thoroughly deserved his Man of the Match award. Apparently being benched against Millwall had caught his attention!

Hayden Foxe had recovered from the near disaster in the opening minutes to play an excellent game as well, and it was the captain's fine long ball which was responsible for the goal, though it would appear only in the totals of Hunt and Bridge-Wilkinson.

After giving the lads a hearty "well done", I headed to the physio room to find out the damages... we couldn't afford any injuries with league-leading Ipswich Town up next.

[Wegason]

I'm still reading and enjoying this Story of the Year. It's a terrific tale, I just wish you'd tell it at a faster pace!

[Amaroq]

Thanks, Greg. But as the one-and-only Hall of Fame writer on this forum once told me, 'Always leave 'em wanting more.'

[Amaroq]

Friday, 14th March, 2008.

Peter Weatherson had taken a brutal elbow to the face, which had dislocated his jaw. Honestly, Tom Mitchell told me, he'd been lucky it wasn't broken, but even still he'd be out of action for a solid three weeks - an unfortunate loss. I was coming to the conclusion that he was quite injury-prone, as he'd been forced out of action six times in 2007, plus once now in 2008, a tally which meant he might finish the season with only 12 matches started.

At Saltergate, despite an early goal from Mark Whitehead, our Reserves conceded two goals by halftime in a driving March rain, and were unable to come from behind in a soggy second half against Wrexham Reserves.

In the UEFA Cup Round of 16, Aston Villa knocked FC Kobenhavn out with a 1-0 road victory for a 1-0 aggregate. Newcastle won at home 3-0 to overturn a first-leg loss to VfB Stuttgart - have I ever told my tunnel story? Despite being a Porsche fan, I hate Stuttgart as a city. Tell you some other time! - on a 4-2 aggregate. Arsenal completed a 5-1 aggregate rout of Udinese with a 1-0 win on the road.

Derek Dooley was, of course, delighted with a win over what he called our "arch rivals" Leeds United, and his delight, plus the cushion that had given us - it was our game-in-hand, so we were now five points clear of third place, and only six behind league leaders Ipswich Town, who were next on our schedule.

With such a key match coming up, I decided to start a war of words in the press, to see if I could rattle Ipswich from their comfortable winning streak.

"Going head-to-head with Ipswich on Saturday, this will be the deciding game of the season," I told the reporter from The Star. "Ipswich are a good side, but I'm confident we can beat them and gain momentum towards the title."

Dave Jones's reply, in The Evening Star, gave me a laugh.

"I have no intention of being dragged into commenting on our opponents Saturday. I have a lot of work to do. My only interest is in preparing the side as much as possible for the match. I'll leave the prognostication and speculation to the Sheffield United management."

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 15th March, 2008. Championship - Game 38, at Ipswich Town.

If you've been following this narrative at all, you know who Ipswich Town are. First place in the Championship with some nine matches to go, six points clear of our second-placed Blades. If we could win this match, we'd be three back of them, and with all the momentum going into the final weeks; if we lost, we'd be nine adrift, and virtually assured of having to settle for second. They were on quite a tear, having ripped off eight wins in a row - all but one of those by two or more goals - and they'd had a week to rest while we'd had only three days.

I chose a veteran lineup, starting of course with Allan McGregor in goal. His back four was Joe Keenan, Chris Morgan, Steve Foster, and Eric Deloumeaux, as experienced a defense as I could field, with Mathieu Berson keying things from the defensive midfield. Loanee, Leandre Griffit, would roam the right wing, while I was forced to place Andrew Schofield on the left. Up front, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and John Melligan were both more tired than I would have preferred after facing Leeds mid-week, but they are my number one pairing. I changed my mind about strikers on the day of the match, and named James Lloyd to the starting lineup: 4 goals from 5 starts was form just too good to ignore.

Ipswich showed us just why they were the top team in the league in the opening minutes, putting on great pressure early. Our perimeter defense held strong for the first twenty minutes, limiting them to a few long-range efforts, none of which troubled Allan McGregor, but we were struggling to get any offense going. Their left back, Tommy Williams, was looking very strong, roving forward almost as a wingback despite their intitial 4-4-2 shape.

In the 22nd minute, Williams sent a throw-in down their left line to Garry Redmond, who made a nifty move back to dart around Eric Deloumeaux. He sent a hard low cross into the area. Steve Foster tried to trap it, but succeeded only in slowing it down. It rolled to the top of the six, teed up perfectly for Ipswich's number nine, Adam Joyce. With such a gift-wrapped set-up, he couldn't miss, and we had an early deficit, 0-1.

The crowd of 27,994 were loving it, and we were being utterly throttled anytime we had posession. Ipswich were closing down fast, and tackling hard - by halftime both John Melligan and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson were limping, and James Lloyd looked exhausted and ineffectual. We hadn't gotten a single shot off, and in desperation I made all three changes at the break. Noel Hunt came on as the striker, with Joe Newell replacing one attacking midfielder. I pushed Leandre Griffit up to the other attacking role, and brought Chris Sedgwick on at right wing. It was the first time he'd played since suffering his second injury of the season back in November, and I hadn't expected to need him for 45 minutes.

We also switched to the patient build-up offense, and this seemed to put more pressure on the Ipswich back line, as we earned our first corner of the match. It was cleanly dealt with, Williams heading clear ahead of Hunt, and

Ipswich seemed content to play keep-away, wasting time without seriously testing our defense, and that seemed to rattle our composure. The capacity Portman Road crowd got into the Mexican style, shouting a jeer each time a pass was completed. Its one of the rudest things; I'd always hated that watching a Mexican team against my native U.S. Perhaps because for so long we really weren't in their weight class.

Any hope we might have had seemed utterly extinguished in the 78th minute when [bSedgwick[/b] went down injured, clutching at the same leg he'd been rehabilitating. Reduced to ten men, I shifted to a 3-5-1, narrow at the back, and told the lads to concentrate fully on getting the equalizer. The next ten minutes elapsed without much ado, however. Ipswich were content to simply send long clearance after long clearance over the top, and for the most part, our experienced back line coped well - but with a man down, there simply weren't enough options to break down the Tractor Boys' massed defense.

Finally, in the 92nd minute, Ipswich fullback Darren Kenton sent a beautiful long ball into the gap where my right fullback normally would be. Substitute striker Billy Clarke, his legs fresher than anybody on the pitch, ran it down. He took it into the area, faked inside to keep Deloumeaux off his shoulder, and fired from the corner of the six. McGregor got two hands on it to push it away, but the shot was just too powerful, and despite his best efforts, still found the back of the net to insure an Ipswich victory.

Ipswich 2, Sheffield United 0

Joyce 22, Clarke 90; ----

MoM: Kenton (Ipswich DR)

Darren Kenton was Man of the Match, as much for that impressive clean sheet as for his late assist.

Our embarassment was utter and complete: not only had we failed to back up my words leading up to the match, not only had we been shut out, but we had gone ninety minutes without threatening the goal with even a single off-target shot.

None of our players had played particularly poorly as individuals, but we'd been utterly unable to crack the Ipswich midfield, before or after the injury; true to his word, Dave Jones had done an impeccable job preparing his side. I'd been outmanaged.

It was clear why Ipswich were going to hoist the title, and I said as much to the press after the match.

[Amaroq]

Monday, 17th March, 2008.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">"Having seen Ipswich Town in action," Sheffield United manager Ian Richards said, "I firmly believe they are the team to outlast their rivals and secure the title. The football Dave Jones has had his team playing throughout the season won't just get them to the Premier League - it should keep them there." </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Both John Melligan and Chris Sedgwich had strained calves, injuries which had looked more severe on the pitch, but weren't crippling. Still, physio Tom Mitchell recommended that they be sent to rehabilitate the injuries with a specialist, which would consume four weeks, probably meaning I'd be denied their services until the end of the season. That would make it a disaster season for Sedgwick, at least, who had played only five matches despite being pencilled in as my starting right wing at the year's beginning.

The injury list was growing disheartening: Robert Cousins, Peter Weatherson, Paul Thirlwell, Steve Newton, Chris Sedgwick, Graham Allan, Danny Payne, Jack Lester, John Melligan, Darren Gibson... we were one goalkeeper away from a starting XI, all on the injury list, and most of those players who I considered key to our success.

Sunday's Under-18 match added another one. Originally, the Under-18s Cup Final had been scheduled for Saturday, but for some reason it had been pushed back mid-week, and a regular U-18 match against Derby County U-18s had been scheduled for Sunday. I rested my entire youth starting lineup, fielding an entire squad composed of amateur and U-16 players, with two exceptions: goalkeeper Colin Hatton and forward Danny Lea. It was an embarassingly poor match, with Derby scoring in the second minute, our lads equalizing on an own goal in the 7th. Amateur Gavin Charles put us ahead on a goal which was obviously not intended as a shot, but drifted in, and Hatton conceded a penalty just before halftime which made it 2-2, and that scoreline stood through full time. Amatuer defensive midfielder Chris Wilkinson was Man of the Match.

By then, I didn't care about the result. Danny Lea had been carted off injured in the 61st minute, and the only result I cared about was his post-match physical.

The 17-year-old's luck was as bad as the rest of my players: a torn hamstring, requiring surgery and five to six months recovery time. At his age, that could be seriously career-threatening, as it set his development back almost a year - and that's assuming he could make a full recovery at all.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 19th March, 2008. Under-18s Cup Final, vs Portsmouth Under 18s.

After all their hard work, our Under-18s got their reward: a trip to Westleigh Park in Havant, on the sourthern coast of England, to face the home-town Portsmouth U-18 side for the Under-18s Cup. I treated it like a real senior match, sending the full complement of coaching staff and physios, and managed from the touch-line myself.

I had Dean Bond in goal, with Keith McCormack and Ben Hammond alongside amateurs Matt Alexander and Simon Hayward for the back four. The rest of the side were professional: Steven White at defensive midfield, with Robbie Poole and Mark Kearney on the wings. Joe Newell and Gareth Davies were the attacking midfielders, and Paul Preston was at striker. Robert Cousins, still on crutches, and Darren Gibson were the honorary captains for the opening coin toss.

Portsmouth had a solid side, and came out attacking, putting on some good early pressure. They'd have had a goal from a corner kick in the 9th minute, but Keith McCormack hacked it off the line at the last moment. Joe Newell came close with a blistering 20-yard shot which was pushed away by Portsmouth keeper Joe Parker, but most of the first half belonged to our hosts - Havant is only 5 kilometres from Portsmouth. The refereeing was a bit dodgy, with several disputed calls, but there was nothing dodgy about the 42nd minute red card which Portsmouth's Gavin Holland received. It was his second two-footed tackle, and he was already carrying a yellow from the first one, so we'd play the second half with a man advantage.

Ten-man Portsmouth fell back to play defense in the second half, and where they'd had all the pressure in the first, it was all Young Blades in the second. Still, 35 minutes passed and we were unable to break down the wall named Joe Parker, though the additions of James Lloyd and Nicky Thomson in the 70th minute seemed to breathe life into our attack. Finally, in the 82nd minute, Thomson drifted a corner over, and Newell drilled a crushing 16-yard header into the back of the net to provide the game-winner!

No!? It was disallowed: the referee adjudged that Newell had pushed off another player positioning himself for the header, and the goal was called back. It was the most dubious call yet - and half the players were carrying yellow cards by this point. Newell, whose card had been for arguing a previous decision, maturely put up with the atrocious call, which forced the match to extra time.

Throughout extra time, ten-man Portsmouth just shut up shop and hoped for penalties. In the 104th minute, substitute striker James Lloyd took a mazy dribble through the heart of the defense, and launched a fantastic shot, but Parker made the save of a lifetime to keep the scoreline 0-0. On the resulting corner kick, fullback Keith McCormack headed home from the six for the game-winner - but this too was disallowed. Another dubious call had him backing into one of the Portsmouth players, and for the second time the winning goal was taken off the board.

There were less than 30 seconds left in regulation when Mark Whitehead's pass slipped Joe Newell into the area. He unleashed a cannon of a shot, but Joe Parker made yet another fine save, and penalties loomed.

Unluckily for us, Simon Hayward and James Lloyd golfed their penalties over, and Portsmouth made all four of theirs to win 4-2 on penalties.

Portsmouth U-18s 0, Sheffield United U-18s 0

Portsmouth win, 4-2, on penalties

MoM: Parker (Portsmouth GK)

It was the harshest of ways to lose: we'd all been so certain that our Under-18 team was the class of the field, though missing Darren Gibson and Robert Cousins had certainly hurt.

The standard of refereeing had been utterly amateur, and personally I felt both of our goals should have stood. I told the lads as much in my post-match talk, saying that we all knew who had won the match on the pitch - twice! - and adding that I was very proud of the way they kept their cool, with nobody getting sent off despite ample reason to blow their tops.

[Amaroq]

Thursday, 20th March, 2008.

If there was one bright spot, it was that they'd all displayed an ability to handle the big game, and would learn from the pressure.

Back at home, our Reserves, bereft of almost any professional player, lost to Norwich Reserves 2-0 when captain Ryan Jones, an amateur defender, was sent off, conceding a penalty. Billy Sharp, up front, failed to impress despite his claims that he deserved first-team action, and I began to lean towards selling him - though to be fair, the service left quite a bit to be desired on the day.

More importantly, Hugo Viana's loan deal expired. Despite ample opportunity - Newcastle was willing to give him a third 3-month term with us - and a clear need at attacking midfield, I let the deal expire. His time at the club had been more than ample for Viana to demonstrate why he wasn't in Newcastle's first-team plans. He's technically brilliant, but his work ethic left a lot to be desired, and there were matches where it felt like he didn't turn up at all. In his last start, he'd been so out of shape that I had to take him off at halftime. Further, he'd shown a tendancy to try and do it all himself rather than make the brilliant through ball I'd hoped for from him.

Hugo Viana, AMLC, 25: September 2007-March 2008: 1 seasons, 19 games, 4 goals, 2 assists, 2 MoM, 7.11

The adieu was cordial, but I was glad enough to see the back of him - he certainly hadn't lived up to my expectations.

I'd made the decision at least two weeks earlier, which was plenty of time to search for a potential replacement, and in fact I'd struck a deal with Manchester United to acquire the services of Souleymane Mamam. The deal was currently waiting on the player's decision, but I had high hopes that he would join us for the final push to promotion.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 22nd March, 2008. Championship - Game 39, vs Plymouth.

Mamam still hadn't made his decision by Saturday, which meant I had a bit of a challenge selecting healthy attacking midfielders to face Plymouth. Luckily, the Cornwall side lay in 13th place, so a home tie against them didn't sound overly challenging - easier at least than our previous run of matches, and after the rare luxury of a full week's rest.

Allan McGregor lined up between the sticks. Hayden Foxe was away on international duty with the Australian national side, so McGregor's defense was Jordan Holmes, Chris Morgan, Steve Foster, and Sean Dillon. Frenchman Mathieu Berson was the defensive midfielder, with countryman Leandre Griffit on the right wing and Jonathan Forte on the left. The attacking midfield question I solved by lining up Carl Motteram, normally a winger, with Marc Bridge-Wilkinson. It was only Motteram's fourth start of the year. Big man Noel Hunt started up front.

The match started positively - though I'd sent us out conservative, it took us only seven minutes to come close to goal, with Leandre Griffit's header from a Carl Motteram corner kick bound for the far post until Michael Stewart cleared it off the line. Plymouth defender Paul Wotton struck a blistering effort in the 12th minute, but Allan McGregor was up to it, making an excellent save. Through the middle portion of the half, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson looked to be our most dangerously player, outclassing the visitor's defense, but of his two best efforts, one was saved, and the other swung wide. Noel Hunt also came close, drilling a solid header from 12 yards out that whistled inches wide of the post.

Though it was still scoreless, we were clearly the dominant side at halftime, and the only change I made was bringing Joe Newell on for Motteram, who had picked up a bit of a limp. In the 51st minute, Bridge-Wilkinson - dropped back almost as a central mid - knocked a lovely pass down the left wing for the breaking Jonathan Forte. With Hunt and Newell streaking for the six to provide targets for the cross, the 21-year-old alertly fed it back to Bridge-Wilkinson as he entered the area. Our leading scorer drove his 15th of the season to the top of the far corner, a fabulous strike from 16 yards to put us up 1-0!

The crowd were still roaring, and the Plymouth side looked a bit stunned, when Joe Newell's fresh legs and fine work rate won a ball on the right sideline. He passed low for Hunt, who dropped it off for Bridge-Wilkinson. The defenders were playing off of him, again giving him far too much space, and he drilled another blistering piledriver from the 18 to make it 2-0: his second goal in a mere 80 seconds.

Plymouth were clearly back on their heels, and our crowd was baying for a hat trick from their hero. A few minutes later, however, the visitors had their best chance of the day when captain Gary Dempsey drilled a shot from the edge of the arc. McGregor had it sighted all the way, and caught it against his chest - good play from the Scotsman, as a goal there could have gotten Plymouth right back in it.

Just past the hour, our fans got what they were begging for. Bridge-Wilkinson took control near the center circle. Newell and Hunt each drifted wide, drawing the central defenders with them, and Bridge-Wilkinson beat his man one-on-one up the middle. This time he let fly from the arc.. nothing but net!! In a ten-minute span, he'd scored all three goals of his hat-trick, and the match was all over but the singing of the Bramall Lane faithful: 3-0.

With the result solidly in hand, I brought Hunt off for Lewis Guy, and with fifteen minutes to play, signalled for Bridge-Wilkinson. The hat-trick hero trotted off to a standing ovation from the adoring crowd, officially tallied at 26,868. I put Joe Keenan on at left wing, shifting Forte up to the attacking midfield role - and he made something happen just minutes into the role, tracking down a loose ball at the edge of the Plymouth area. He was mobbed by four defenders, and tumbled to the turf. Honestly, on the replays, it looked like he may have taken a dive, but he was on the near sideline, and it was the assistant on the far sideline who raised his flag to signal the penalty.

Lewis Guy converted, notching his first goal as a Blade, and we were running rampant at 4-0.

Paul Wotton salvaged some pride for the visitors in the 81st minute when he struck a fabulous 30-yard free kick, a Beckham-esque effort, but the outcome was already well beyond a doubt. We easily held the 4-1 scoreline through the final minutes, and it was back to our winning ways.

Sheffield United 4, Plymouth 1

Bridge-Wilkinson 51, 53, 61, Guy pen 79; Wotton 81

MoM: Bridge-Wilkinson

With a hat-trick and his team-leading 17th goal of the season, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson was the consensus Man of the Match with a perfect '10' rating.

If there was any worry I could take from a 4-1 victory, it was that yet again we'd conceded in the waning minutes, but I was inclined to write it off as simply a fabulous individual effort - and in fact, as soon as I was back in my office, I asked my scouts to do some investigation about Paul Wotton.

[Wegason]

Great result and write up, just wondering, but how are York City doing since you left them? I grew quite attached to the Minstermen.

[Amaroq]

Thanks, Greg. I wasn't intending to abandon the Minstermen entirely, but I do probably owe you guys an update..

[Amaroq]

Monday, 24th March, 2008.

Derek Dooley was ecstatic with the runaway victory, and not only did he crow about it to the press, but Sunday morning he was in my office talking about our chances of winning the title. I tried to downplay it, but he was ebullient: Ipswich had suffered a 2-2 draw against relegation battlers Preston North End, which meant we'd closed two points on them. I reiterated that we were seven back with seven to play, with no games in hand, and no head-to-head matches left, but the concept seemed to be eluding my optimistic chairman.

Elsewhere, Hayden Foxe played a fine 90 minutes in Sydney as Australia won the first leg of the Oceana Nations Cup Final by an incredible 8-0 scoreline over thoroughly outclassed Tahiti. There are certainly results which make it clear why Australia had wanted to move to the Asian Confederation - there wouldn't be much suspense to the second leg at that rate!

Also Saturday, in our first U-18 match since the disappointment of the Cup loss, 16-year-old Dean Reid scored in the first half against Port Vale U-18's, but it was left to James Lloyd to secure a dramatic victory with an 89th minute laser that gave our lads a 2-1 win. That gave the lads a solid shot at a different title: with five games left to play, they were top of their table, four points ahead of Nottingham Forest U-18's and five clear of Sheffield Wednesday U-18's, though both those sides had a match in hand.

In a fit of nostalgia, I checked in on York City. The Minstermen had been doing well the last time I looked, decently mid-table at the start of February, but they'd gone an an eight-games-without-a-win run since, starting with four 1-1 draws, and following that with four straight defeats. The relegation battle loomed large in their rearview mirrors, and Chris Kinnear's 5-3-2 didn't seem to be generating much offense at all.

Of all people, central defender Liam Fontaine was leading the side in assists, with a mere five. Paul Edwards's goal-scoring production was down, presumably from lack of service, and they'd added slow 32-year-old Richie Barker on a free; he'd scored just 11 for Bath City in the Conference South the previous season and was utterly unsuited for the long-ball game Kinnear was playing.

The Minstermen's eight matches without a win had put them on 45 points, just three clear of the relelgation zone and in an eight-sided scrap for four places of safety. Luckily, a 2-0 win over Bradford City last week and a 1-0 win over Brentford Monday evening gave them 51 points and a burst of momentum: surely enough to stay clear of the relegation zone with just six games to play?

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> LEAGUE ONE

Pos Pts W D L GF GA GD

16 Bristol Rovers 52 14 10 16 51 55 - 4

17 York 51 14 9 17 42 52 -10

18 Huddersfield 45 11 12 17 48 56 - 8

19 Grimsby 45 11 12 17 49 60 -11

20 Walsall 44 10 14 16 46 52 - 6

--------------------------------------------------------

21 Wrexham 44 11 11 18 47 56 - 9

22 Colchester 43 10 13 17 38 53 -15

23 Cheltenham 40 11 7 22 45 57 -12

24 Swindon 40 10 10 20 35 59 -24</pre>

"Not my problem," I had to remind myself, though it pains me to see all our hard work begin to fray.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 26th March, 2008.

I don't think I'll ever grasp English employment law. Souleymane Mamam, a Togo international, was employed by Manchester United in the U.K. He agreed on Sunday to join Sheffield United on loan - and somehow, we had to apply for a work permit? He's already here - and if the permit is denied, he'll still be working in the country, for the Red Devils!

Fortunately, there's one thing our squad does have, and that's good lawyers: they made that point to the tribunal on Monday, and by Tuesday morning, Mamam had been granted a conditional work permit for the duration of the loan and was suited up to join our lads on the practice pitch.

AM RC Souleymane Mamam, 22, Togo, uncapped: No appearances: A hard worker with good pace and a deft dribbling touch, he looks to be a solid Championship player but no better. Though he's technically been on the Manchester United books since 2003, he has never appeared for them, and spent the majority of that time on loan to Antwerp, where he had four goals and an incredible 38 assists over four seasons. I can't see how he did that well, as he doesn't seem to have the creativity, passing, or crossing skills that I'd associate with a prototypical supply man, but it bodes well for his time as a Blade. Still, its easy to see why Manchester haven't offered him a contract beyond the end of this season, and he'd have to really impress to convince me to offer him a full-time position, even on a free transfer.

He made his first appearance in a Sheffield United uniform on Wednesday, in a Reserve match against Oldham Reserves. Also making his return to the pitch in the same match was Graham Allen, our right wing, who had completed his physiotherapy but was well shy of match fitness. With those two on, we dominated the first half, taking a solid fifteen shots, and both Allen and Mamam looked very sharp. However, nobody was able to find the net, and in the second half, as less talented players replaced the starters, Oldham turned the tide, and scored two goals to hand us an 0-2 defeat.

Fullback Keith McCormack had missed the Reserve match, instead starring in Ireland Under 21's 2-1 friendly win over Andorra U-21's. He'd played all ninety minutes, and earned a stellar '9' rating, leading the side in interceptions and headers won.

In Australia, Hayden Foxe and his teammates won the Oceania Nations Cup with a 1-0 victory over Tahiti, which gave them a dominant 9-0 aggregate. Like most of the squad, Foxe played well without really excelling: the game had the atmosphere of a good-natured friendly as both sides tried relatively experimental lineups.

In other news, former England international Steve McManaman had been named the new manager of Doncaster Rovers, his first chance at management, and Steve Cotterill had taken over Wigan Athletic, the bottom team of the Championship.

There was probably no surprise that Marc Bridge-Wilkinson had been named to the Championship Team of the Week after his hat-trick heroics. I was more surprised to see Stuart McCall's note that his 17-goal haul was a 'modern' club record: somebody in the F.A. had decided to declare 'modern' records to be anything acheived since the 2001-02 season, but this was the best anyone had done in a Blades uniform in recent years.

I could only hope he'd be able to produce at the Premiership level next year.