[FM10] My Call for Assistance

[GreyedOutMan]

But Buonanotte hasnt - he's injured for a couple of months. Will try to get him in January. The striker is a target man - he wont be anything like a first choice, because he can't finish, but he could play up front with almost anyone else, and could cause havoc. He's a good dribbler, and has fantastic strength and creativity. About as close to Bergkamp as you could imagine really.

[GreyedOutMan]

Yatabare. For your information!

[GreyedOutMan]

The Championship's Player of the Month for August. On loan from Arsenal

[Danmanager08]

Sheesh, he's immense. Nice target man to. Think this season is going to be better for Arsenal

[GreyedOutMan]

So much for such a good season this year. We gave Man U a run for their money with an unfamiliar 3-3-2-2 system recommended by DanManager08, and though we held our own, we did deserve the 2-1 defeat they handed us, leaving us with just 5 points from the first 4 games. Help!

[GreyedOutMan]

Just scored 5 goals in 15 minutes against Germinal Beerschot in the Europa League . League record currently stands at P5, W2, D2, L1. And the defeat was to Man Utd, and one of the draws was with Chelsea. So not a bad start but we need some big wins...

[GreyedOutMan]

The World Cup Draw. Check out groups B and G. Tasteeee And I dont think my draw could be much better, really. Looking promising.

[GreyedOutMan]

Have bought an ageing Tomas Rosicky back. He's been doing great things since he left the club and I think he could add something for a couple of years. He's arriving in January (soon). £2.5m.

[GreyedOutMan]

January 1 2014 Update

Two new signings:

Diego Buonanotte £18.25m

Tomas Rosicky £2.5m

We're doing OK - 3 defeats so far, to Liverpool, Man Utd and Chelsea. Unlucky in all of them really, apart from maybe United who look very strong. The table.

[GreyedOutMan]

Hey guys. Im going to take a bit of a pause for a couple of hours or so, and I've been having a tough run for a while. On boxing day we beat Reading to make it 7 wins from 8 and it was looking really good but since then it's gone downhill.

We lost 4-2 to Chelsea, getting two men sent off which cost us in a game where we did match the Blues. Then we drew 1-1 with Sunderland, losing control of Bent in a wild second. A 3-2 win over Aston Villa didnt tell the full story because we were 3-0 up. Conversely, against Blackburn we were cruelly robbed of two points with a screamer in the last minute.

Liverpool was next and even more trouble, losing 3-0. The game wasnt as one sided as that suggests, we just didnt get enough shots away. A 5-1 win over Wigan wasnt ever an issue, but then lady luck ran out again as we were hit by two Welbeck sucker punches to lose 2-0 to United in a game we had easily the best of. We just need to be more clinical and I feel we would have won that game before Christmas when we were on a good run, but we're in a rut now.

We havent played City at all yet, but we have played the all other members of the big 5 (although Liverpool are now a mid-table side) twice each now. Six games have yielded just one point and clearly this is the problem. How can we go about fixing the problem we have that we seem to be a bit overawed by the bigger teams? My assistant keeps pointing it out and it's obvious, but how can I fix that? I havent lost at all this season other than to Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool - we've dropped just 10 other points. Just need to fix this issue and we'd be top of the league easily - seventeen points have been dropped against the big teams, and we're only 7 points off the pace. Just a couple of wins against the top teams and that would have turned it round and we'd be top of the league. Any thoughts on fixing this issue would be great.

Thanks for your help in advance. Definite "name-in-game" points riding on this. Want to try out any suggestions in the two games against Man City in the remainder of the season. 5th March and 19th April are the key dates - i think the first game was re-arranged. In fact we're playing them in the Carling Cup Final just days before the first league battle, so I have three big games, and I'd say I need to aim for two wins and a draw to have any chance of coming back to win the league. We've won just eight points from the last seven games.

HELP!

[GreyedOutMan]

England's Euro 2016 qualifying group:

Israel

Bosnia & Herz

Armenia

Russia

Luxembourg

Could have been easier but not too bad either.

[GreyedOutMan]

Right going to save Manchester City until tomorrow. Has been postponed so many times that one more postponement wont hurt. Please do give me some feedback as to how I can start beating high-reputation teams overnight - I need to end that problem SOON. Still in with a slight chance of winning the title this year. COME ON GUNNERS against Chelsea tomorrow - we need a win!

[hursty2]

Right going to save Manchester City until tomorrow. Has been postponed so many times that one more postponement wont hurt. Please do give me some feedback as to how I can start beating high-reputation teams overnight - I need to end that problem SOON. Still in with a slight chance of winning the title this year. COME ON GUNNERS against Chelsea tomorrow - we need a win!

Go with the team talk 'I expect a win!' to shock your players

[GreyedOutMan]

Sorry didnt see that message before playing the Carling Cup Final but might try that when we play them in the league. I beat Villarreal 6-3 away in the first leg of the Europa League 2nd knockout round before my PC crashed so will have to try again. Will keep you updated...

[GreyedOutMan]

Ah the joys of FM. I wont be playing Manchester City in the league (for the first time, that is) until April 19th, by which time I will have played them twice at Wembley - I've drawn them in the FA Cup Semi-Final!

[GreyedOutMan]

Season falling apart again

[GreyedOutMan]

I think this game is bugged - it just seems that I cannot beat Manchester City, or win a title. Every year, just as it gets to the point where it looks like we're going to win something, it all falls apart "CONVENIENTLY"!!! And I havent beaten City in three and a half years - eight meetings.

Frustrating season report coming tomorrow probably.

[GreyedOutMan]

TYPICAL

We go on a 6 game losing run, four league, one FA Cup and one Europa League, including two further defeats to Man City. The season is effectively over for us. And then, suddenly, with very little left to play for, WE BEAT MAN CITY IN THE 2ND LEAGUE MEETING! Not only that, we hammer them. 2-0, and they never looked like they had a chance. I just dont know what to do with this side. We are capable of being brilliant but...

EDT: Holidaying the resst of the season as it's dead.

[GreyedOutMan]

Arsenal, Season 2013-14

Summary

Major improvements after a season where I played rather fast and loose with money. No less than £42m was spent on players this season, with less than half of that recouped in transfers. The team has definitely got more depth, but whether it has as much quality as it has in the past, I don’t know.

Transfers

Some quality signings, even if they were expensive. Yatabare is a consistent back-up target man although Bendtner’s quality and Acquafresca’s goalscoring prowess still keep him miles from the team. Sandro is the heir apparent to Rolfes but isnt quite the finished article yet. Rosicky is short term but still quality, whilst Buonanotte is struggling a bit to settle, and looking like a bit of an error of judgement. Vela and Newell are keeping him out of the side. More on Newell later.

The biggest exit was that of Theo Walcott. He never fulfilled his potential really and never held down a place in the side. Selling him to Man City for an inflated price was a good way for him to go. And he suffered the ignominy of being named the 2nd worst signing of the season. So good business?

Competition Reports

Premiership

Amazing season. Just as it looked like we might just make it over the finish line and win the title at last, four straight defeats ended the season, after we’d gone to April without losing to anyone other than the old Big 4 rivals – Man Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea. True – we’d got just one point from the six games against them, but otherwise it had been a fantastic season. Then we went out of the Europa League (See below), and it fell apart – losing to Bolton, Spurs, Man City and Blackburn in a row. Eventually just five points separated us from the winners, Chelsea. Two red cards against Chelsea in December cost us three points in a game we more than held our own in. Liverpool were a team we should have beaten twice, not lost to twice. United are still a good side, but just six of those points more and the title would have been ours. Not to mention freak equalisers at Blackburn and West Brom costing us four points in the early months of 2014. A season of what could have been really.

The Final Table this season. Title race wasn’t quite as close as it looks, as Chelsea won only one of their last four games – they had won the title by the first of that run at the latest.

We did have one notable victory this season – unlocking the Iron Curtain achievement, as we conceded fewer than anyone else (actually the same as Man Utd but I guess that counts!). West Brom, Bolton and Birmingham will be replaced next season by Sheffield United, Stoke and Leeds.

Tevez returned to the top of the EPL scoring charts this season with 26 goals for City. Burnley’s strikers, Fletcher and Macheda, managed 44 between them, propelling them to 8th – their highest league finish in exactly 40 years.

The Europa League

I believe we would have won this competition if it werent for my computer crashing. We’d won the first leg against Sampdoria 6-3 away from home, and even with the dismal performance at Emirates in the return leg shown here (we were 3 down before the half-hour mark), we’d have sneaked through on that result. And it was from that day on that the league and cups went down the drain. It’s no exaggeration to say that we could possibly have managed a treble if we’d won that tie Instead we went out of the FA Cup three days later, before losing three more games in the league...

Marseille won the thing, beating Lyon in the final.

The e.on FA Cup

A dismal performance from a side which had been totally deflated by Sampdoria. We have a Man City hoodoo (or at least did) but we rolled over at Wembley on this occasion. Shame. City went on to beat United in the final. United’s rather significant consolation was grabbing

The Carling Cup

Yet more Wembley heartache here although we did FINALLY reach our first final. We were a bit unlucky against City here, our true nemesis this year.

The squad.

With selected stats for all competitions, ordered by the amount of time they spent on the pitch – a rough guide to their importance to the team I suppose.

Key Players

Quite a lot this season!

Robert Acquafresca and Nicklas Bendtner

Impossible to put one above another. What can you say? You wait ages for a 30 goal season, and then a year after the first, two strikers manage it in the same season. Bendtner had lost a bit of spark 2 years ago but a season away on loan at Valencia has turned out to be one of my biggest masterstrokes ever. He’s a completely changed players. Acquafresca, on the other hand, simply looks a shrewd piece of business. Why overspend on someone like Aguero, which I could have done, when these two are capable of 65 goals between them? Bendtner also becomes the first player to 100 goals since I took over – he’s now got 102. RvP is the 2nd highest scorer on 77 currently.

Cesc Fabregas

A crazy number of assists from the guy who just gets better and better. His big target is 558 league appearances to break O’Leary’s record. He’s on 323, which means even if he misses 8 games a season, he could manage it if he plays to 35, which is hardly inconceivable given his position. Watch this space. He followed up his best ever season last year with another this year which, whilst not as good as the one before in terms of AvR, would have been the best were it not for last year’s performance. He’s just awesome. And he won the players’ player of the year award for the first time in his career to prove it.

Carlos Vela

I believe this might be his first appearance on this list. Quietly, he’s improving each year. This year was definitely his best. His chances are limited because it’s a position we have an abundance of talent in, but he’s always reliable.

Peter Slater

Look. You guys slate (geddit!) this guy. But he does a job. 23 clean sheets is no mean feat, and included 8 in the Europa League which is very impressive. Lay off, he’s still only 19 and he’s already getting there – his record almost certainly matches Almunia’s from the first couple of years. He took 2nd place in the Players’ Young Player of the Year awards.

Robin van Persie

Mr. Consistency. Over 7.10 every season since I took over. Scores goals and assists in equal measure (this season, exactly so!) and his contribution to the side is huge. He hasn’t been suspended once in the whole time I’ve been at the club. No red cards, and never more than 3 yellows (in all competitions) in one season. That’s great.

Philippe Senderos

The rock in a season where Sakho was a little bit suspect. I’m hoping that Mamadou will start to step up but Senderos’ reliability this season meant I could pair him with Vermaelen when necessary.

Notable others:

Gael Clichy has never been a spectacular player. You don’t see much green in those attributes. But he spent more time on the pitch than anyone else this season and is dependable as usual. Bac Sagna is in a similar mould, whilst Simon Rolfes still does a good job.

Finances

Will be edited in shortly.

Club Records and Awards

>>Most Assists: 22: Cesc Fabregas

>>Most Goals in a Season: 35: Nicklas Bendtner

>>Cesc Fabregas was the fans’ player of the year for the third time in 5 years.

>>Fabregas also won the Players’ Player of the Year!

>>I came 3rd in the Manager of the Year award.

>>Senderos and Fabregas were named in the Premiership Select XI.

…and one that I believe I missed from last season:

2012-13: Highest Average Rating – 7.46 – Robin Van Persie (32 apps)

MY team of the year:

Slater

Clichy-Senderos-Sakho-Sagna

Vela-Rolfes-Fabregas-Van Persie

Acquafresca-Bendtner

Subs: Hamdaoui, Vermaelen, Newell, Orlov, Traore, Sandro, Yatabaré.

First XI hasn’t changed all that much. If we were playing 4-5-1 (which we still do sometimes), then it would have been almost exactly the same, although Ramsey would probably have come in rather than Lansbury, and Bendtner would have pipped Acquafresca this year, too. EDT: And indeed, this is what the game named as the first XI. I thought 4-4-2 dominated a bit more this year, but oh well.

Overall XI…Acquafresca and Vela were both new inductees. An interesting thing to point out is that of the first team of the season, from 2009-10, only 5 players no longer play for Arsenal, 2 of whom have retired. And from the overall XI, only two have left, with one of them having retired (Gallas). Interesting thought.

New Youth Cohort

DanManager08's recommendation wasnt even worth mentioning. This guy was the clear pick of the bunch. Will give him some first team action this year I think.

International

Qualification was easily secured for the World Cup in Brazil, without losing a game. I will be reporting “live” on the World Cup so watch this space. If you're reading this after December 2nd, this link will take you to a summary of the World Cup campaign!

For those who want a blow-by-blow, THIS IS THE WORLD CUP SQUAD FOR 2014. There are some players I didn’t really want to omit and some players who are risky surprised. Shelvey, Matt James and Joe Mattock for example. But I think it’s the best combination. We’re rated as 15-2 outsiders for the trophy. We’ll see. The pre-World Cup friendly was against Brazil who, albeit only ranked 12th now, are still a pretty decent side and they’re still BRAZIL! We controlled the 1st half, and went into the break 1-0 up through Welbeck, before a fairly shoddy 2nd half display meant the game ended 3-1 to the visitors, who were all set to become the hosts just 9 days later...

Things are definitely better but I still need that extra push to take me from also-rans to real contenders and trophy winners. Any help at all would be great. And wish me luck in the World Cup. I have a real problem because I have a very inexperienced squad – so many players have aged at the same time, and players like Cole, Ferdinand, Owen, Lampard and so on are just that couple of years too old for a World Cup campaign, leaving fairly inexperienced players to take up the mantle, but hopefully the old heads such as Gerrard (108 caps), Rooney (91), Terry (82) and Barry (62) will see them through. 15 of the 23 players in the squad are going to the World Cup with less than 25 caps to their name, and one (Slater) doesn’t have one yet, whilst another three got their first against Brazil. It’s iffy but hopefully we’ll do OK. Frankly, I’d be happy with the Quarter Finals because if I can keep my job I think it’s possible we could develop into a side capable of winning the thing in 2018. I also have a slight problem in that all 3 of my goalkeepers are now injured and it’s touch and go whether we’ll have any of them back for the tournament! Only Foster was injured when I picked the squad, and he will be back during the competition. As he’s by far our best keeper I thought it was worth the risk, but Slater then got injured in training before Green was injured against Brazil! Please do cross fingers for me!

Edt: it’s not looking good. Gary Lewin reports that the realistic return date for ALL THREE goalkeepers is the match against Iran – the third game of the group. Could be looking at no keeper at all for the first two.

[GreyedOutMan]

Right the World Cup is underway and Slater will just about be fit enough to play. Some debut, eh? We'll just have to hope he's not having to dive all over the place! One result of note so far as Spain lost 2-1 to Chile. Though I suppose Germany holding hosts Brazil to a 1-1 draw given their problems at the last Euros is rather surprising. With Costa Rica and Saudi Arabia completing the group, I'll eat my dog's hat if Brazil and Germany dont go through (and I dont even have a dog).

[GreyedOutMan]

Further results:

Wales celebrate finally qualifying with an opening win over Egypt, although they'll probably need to beat Chile to qualify, as Spain are likely to come back in style. Ramsey scored his 5th goal for Wales in his 33rd cap.

Tunisia beat Iran 3-1 in my group. England v Sweden now. It's crucial, and I'll have to go into it with a debutant goalkeeper who isnt fully fit! Oh dear!

[GreyedOutMan]

ENGLAND v SWEDEN - coming to you live from Maracana, Rio de Janeiro

7' - Young has a great chance, but the keeper saves. England corner, Rooney to take. Cleared.

12' - Berg through on goal. Surely he must score, but NO! Great save from Pete Slater, the England debutant 'keeper.

14' - From the resulting corner, a lucky deflection off Berg wrong-foots Slater, and David Karlsson puts Sweden 1-0 up!

24' - Barry. To Delph. Nice passing this, threatening the Swedish box. Young. Gerrard. GERRRRRAAARRRDDD!! A PEACH FROM 30 YARDS! England are back in the game! 1-1

26' - HE'S DONE IT AGAIN! TWO IN 3 MINUTES! Gerrard rifles another shot in past Isaksson. Slightly closer this time but a real scorcher. England have turned it around in no time at all! 2-1 England

Half time - England go in ahead, although hardly deserving. Gerrard looks like he might have been England's saviour today. Slater's done OK, he flapped a little bit at the corner, but wasnt really to blame. He's not at all fit - just 61% at half time. He'll have to put in a heroic effort in the 2nd half. Is this the hardest earned cap of all time?

52' - England look dangerous and there are a couple of half-chances, probably the best we've had from normal play, before Delph shoots over and wide.

60' - Rooney has a crack but it's well wide. He's been very quiet.

70' - GERRARD HAS DONE IT AGAIN! He completes his hat-trick, this time from EVEN FURTHER OUT! 40 yards or so. Perhaps the most spectacular hat-trick you're ever likely to see! England 3 - 1 Sweden

74' - England have looked very under-par and one man is running this match.

And that was it. England's World Cup kicked off in style. Who cares about inexperience if one man can win matches like that?!

FINAL SCORE: ENGLAND 3 SWEDEN 1

[GreyedOutMan]

More results of note:

China 1 - 6 Holland. China's predicted world dominance hasnt yet come to pass!

Ivory Coast 1 - 3 Czech Republic. And nor has the prediction that Africa will start to dominate World football. I believe this is the World Cup by which someone (Blatter?) predicted there would be an African winner?

Romania 1 - 1 Italy. The 2nd major surprise of the tournament.

Wales 1 - 3 Spain. Wales back down to earth with a bump, unfortunately. Cesc set up two goals in this game.

Live updates from England v Tunisia coming your way...

[GreyedOutMan]

ENGLAND v TUNISIA - coming to you live from Albertao, Teresina

TEAM NEWS: Ben Foster is now fit enough to play, and in fact fitter than Slater, but Slater is preferred in a game England SHOULD win fairly easily, as manager Hearn doesnt risk his number 1. Hargreaves replaces Barry in the only change to the starting XI. Ashley Young wins his 50th cap.

11' - Richards' cross finds Rooney, who rotates what seems like about 450 degrees before slamming the ball past the 'keeper. England look like they will qualify today!

30' - Delph. To Young. YOUNG HAS A CRACK. The keeper turns it just about round the post. That was close. Corner.

34' - Delph passes to Welbeck who runs straight past the whole Tunisian defence. He crosses in to YOUNG! Young nods home to double England's lead. 2-0.

39' - Rooney intercepts on the edge of the area but his shot can only find the side netting.

45+2' - Mahjoub shoots, but that's not troubling Slater. Just over the bar.

HALF TIME - A much better performance from England who deserve their lead.

48' - Welbeck's blocked shot falls to Rooney, who finds the back of the net from the edge of the box! 3-0! This is getting easy!

51' - THEY'RE RATTLING IN NOW! A 20 yard shot from Delph finds the back of the battered Tunisian net. 4-0

55' - Welbeck scores from a tight angle! How did he squeeze that in? Slight hint of offside but it's 5-0 England!

65' - England double substitution. The unusually quiet Gerrard makes way for Jack Wilshere, and Jonjo Shelvey replaces Ashley Young.

74' - Bruised and battered but very proud, the magnificent Slater takes a well earned rest, to be replaced by the fresher, but equally crocked, Ben Foster.

78' - Embarrassment for Foster, who concedes almost immediately. A long ball finds Mahjoub in space, who fires it past him from the edge of the area. A consolation goal for Tunisia who trail 5-1

Full time - Rooney's 2 goals give him the man of the match award, but for me Delph ran the show today. A masterly performance from the 24 yr-old Villain.

FINAL SCORE: ENGLAND 5 TUNISIA 1

[GreyedOutMan]

England virtually qualify but the group stages rage on...more significant results:

Sweden beat Iran 2-0 to keep their fate in their own hands. A draw with Tunisia will see them through with a better goal difference.

Group F is decided with a game to go, Portugal and France having won two games a piece.

Group G follows suit - Holland and Czech Republic ensuring the European dominance is a major feature of the competition still.

In Group H, Mexico bow out and promptly sack their manager just 10 days into the World Cup! Argentina and Russia have won two each and qualified handsomely.

[GreyedOutMan]

Groups starting to end now. CAPITALIZED teams qualify:

Group A: ITALY, URUGUAY, Romania, Algeria. Uruguay's easy victory over Romania allows them to leapfrog Romania into the 2nd round.

Group B: BRAZIL, GERMANY, Costa Rica, Saudi Arabia. A very symmetrical group. Brazil and Germany win both their games against the minnows, the Brazil-Germany and Costa Rica-Saudi games are both drawn.

Group C was so unfortunate that it deserves its own screenshot. It ended SPAIN, CHILE, Wales, Egypt, but I dont quite understand why. Can anyone explain why Wales were the unlucky ones here? I understand it would have been slightly unfair for Spain and Wales to go through when Chile beat Spain, so it's not that I think Wales had any more right to go through than anyone else, but I can't see why they had any less either. Is it just a matter of co-efficients?

Group D: TURKEY, NIGERIA, Paraguay, USA. Turkey did Nigeria a huge favour on the last day by beating Paraguay to let Nigeria qualify despite not needing the win themselves.

Though there are games in the other groups, this leaves England's group the only one undecided so I will quickly round up the other ones before our game kicks off:

F: PORTUGAL and FRANCE are through, and will face off for top spot. Peru and Japan are heading home after their game.

G: HOLLAND and CZECH REPUBLICface off, Ivory Coast and China out.

H: ARGENTINA and RUSSIA face off, Mexico and South Korea are playing for pride.

[GreyedOutMan]

ENGLAND v IRAN- coming to you live from Morumbi, Sao Paulo

TEAM NEWS: England are unchanged.

3' - Rooney battles through the box to score a very combative goal. 1-0

I'm going to skip the rest as this is meaningless, and rather dull.

FINAL SCORE: ENGLAND 6 IRAN 0 Scorers: Rooney 3,Welbeck, Gerrard, Young

Sweden beat Tunisia to squeeze through with us.

[GreyedOutMan]

2nd Round - will be played tomorrow (2 Dec)!

Germany 0-1 ITALY (AET)

Brazil 0-1 URUGUAY - big shock there! First minute goal from the Uruguayans was never cancelled out. Brazil promptly sack Muricy Ramalho.

SPAIN 3-0 Nigeria

CHILE 1-0 Turkey

Portugal v England - see below

Sweden 0-2 FRANCE

Holland 1-1 Russia (HOLLAND win 7-6 on penalties)

Czech Rep 1-3 ARGENTINA

Major group phase exits: NONE

[GreyedOutMan]

PORTUGAL v ENGLAND - coming to you live from Vivaldao, Manaus

TEAM NEWS: Slater keeps his place in the side after three decent showings, and the only change sees Curtis Davies come in for the ailing John Terry who picked up a knock. Rooney and Gerrard have nine goals in three games between them, and the team have managed 14. Surely this was form to topple the Portuguese, even with the likes of Ronaldo?

4' - A Portuguese corner finds the head of the giant Hugo Almeida, who nods it wide.

6' - Adrien hits a powerful shot wide. Portugal are in control at the moment.

10' - Ronaldo's cross finds Nani who hits the post. England living dangerously.

14' - Delph's pass finds Welbeck who hits a powerful shot past the keeper from 25 yards! 1-0 England!

22' - Richards' long ball finds Rooney whose shot is straight at Rui Patricio in the Portugal goal.

25' - Welbeck finds Rooney through on goal but Rooney runs out of space.

28' - Rooney hits a long range shot well wide, but set up by Welbeck who is running the show.

30' - Rooney's shot rebounds off the keeper straight into the path of Ashley Young who knocks it into an empty net to make it 2-0 England!

43' - Davies' long ball finds Rooney in space. His shot once again finds the centre of the goalkeeper's chest, but again the ball bounces out to Welbeck this time, and it's 3-0. This is the Welbeck show!

45' - Gerrard's ball finds Rooney in space YET AGAIN, but yet again, he only finds the keeper who turns it wide.

HALF TIME: PORTUGAL 0 - 3 ENGLAND

53' - Welbeck is through on goal. He shoots from a tight angle but can't quite beat the diving stopper.

56' - They looked dangerous. Ronaldo's pace beats the English back line, and allows him to square for Almeida to knock in a goal. Is the comeback on for the Portuguese? 1-3.

60' - Simao's cross finds Hugo Almeida again but this time he heads wide.

63' - Wayne Rooney makes way for Jonjo Shelvey.

68' - Welbeck latches on to a long ball from Mattock, before being brought down in the box by Bosingwa! It's a penalty!

69' - Welbeck steps up to complete his hat-trick but the goalkeeper misses. Young knocks in the rebound but Welbeck is inexplicably ruled OFFSIDE! What is this referee doing?!

84' - Delph has a long shot but that isnt going to trouble Rui Patricio. This looks like it's all over to me!

87' - It is now! Young finds Shelvey in the box, who muscles his way past Ze Castro to walk the ball over the line. Its a first England goal for the Dinamo Kiev man, and rounds off a fantastic performance from England!

FINAL SCORE: PORTUGAL 1 ENGLAND 4 Scorers: Welbeck 2, Young, Shelvey

[GreyedOutMan]

WORLD CUP QUARTER FINALS

Italy 2-2 Chile (CHILE win 5-4 on penalties - Aquilani missed the very first one, and all five Chileans scored)

Uruguay 0-1 SPAIN (Fabregas scores the winner here!)

England v Argentina - see below

FRANCE 2-1 Holland

[GreyedOutMan]

ENGLAND v ARGENTINA- coming to you live from Estadio Castelao, Sao Luis

TEAM NEWS: England unchanged, as Davies keeps his place after a solid performance.

2' - Tevez through on goal. Slater saves smartly from very close range.

7' - Zarate's quickly taken free kick finds Messi who slots it past Slater, who was still readying his wall. It might be legal, but it's not polite. 1-0 Argies

23' - Richards and Rooney combine to find Welbeck who runs out of space and his shot can't find the space to get over the diving keeper at his feet.

24' - Davies' corner gets nowhere but it comes back to him, and he finds Welbeck in the box who nods it home, only to find his goal chalked off thanks to some pushing by Young.

26' - Gerrard. Rooney. Richards. Gerrard. YOUNG! What a goal! Screamer from Young on the volley after some neat passing on the edge of the Argie box. 1-1!

30' - Gerrard finds Young who passes to Welbeck, who shoots! Thats a good shot, but well saved by the 'keeper. Gerrard latches on to the rebound but is instantly ruled offside, correctly.

36' - Welbeck finds Young, who finds Gerrard in the box! Knock down to ROONEY!! Rooney scores his 60th goal for England. What a fantastic ball from Gerrard - he made a split second decision there. England have turned it around and lead 2-1!

42' - The lead lasted just six minutes. Fazio converts an Ansaldi corner after a flick on from Forlin. But wait a moment! It's been disallowed! I think the whole stadium is mystified by that decision. It seemed like a perfectly good goal. It can only be backing in to Richards but its very harsh.

HALF TIME: ENGLAND 2 ARGENTINA 1

51' - Gerrard finds Rooney through on goal, but the keeper saves well. England corner. It's cleared.

57' - Tevez hits the post after a nice move from the South Americans.

61' - Insua's corner is passed back to Zarate, who tries a ridiculous shot from about 30 yards, but it whistles past Slater! 2-2!

62' - Higuian's shot is saved well by Slater.

65' - Gerrard shoots just inches wide for England.

69' - Young finds Rooney in the box, who squares to WELBECK! It's 3-2! What a game this is!

69' - Gerrard is replaced by Lansbury for England.

82' - Zarate finds Lopez for Argentina but he can only nod it just wide.

90+1' - Young is replaced by Terry. England are hanging on for dear life.

90+3' - THE FINAL WHISTLE IS BLOWN! ENGLAND PLAYERS HUG EACH OTHER. Danny Welbeck and Wayne Rooney have run this game.

FINAL SCORE: ENGLAND 3-2 ARGENTINA Scorers: Young, Rooney, Welbeck.

[GreyedOutMan]

WORLD CUP SEMI FINALS

Chile 0-2 FRANCE

Spain v England - see below for match report.

[GreyedOutMan]

SPAIN v ENGLAND - coming to you live from Maracana, Rio De Janeiro

TEAM NEWS: Johnson comes in for Richards in the only change from the Argentina game.

6' - Hargreaves plays Young through but Young is crowded by the Spanish defence and his shot is tame.

7' - Hargreaves is brought down by Camacho about 25 yards from goal. Young takes it and BEATS CASILLAS! What a goal! It sneaks in at the near post. 1-0 England!

19' - Right through the spine of the team in just five touches. Slater to Johnson to Gerrard to Rooney who controls it and then smashes it in low past Casillas. England lead 2-0!

23' - Cazorla gets into the box and crosses in to Torres who smashes the ball home from point blank range. Spain back in it, 2-1.

44' - Welbeck finds Young in the box, but he shoots straight at Casillas.

46' - Delph and Gerrard play a nice 1-2 before Delph shoots over from range.

HALF TIME: SPAIN 1 - 2 ENGLAND

52' - Gerrard heads it towards goal but Casillas makes a flying save. England are all over Spain here.

65' - Gerrard finds Welbeck who sprints through the Spain defence. Casillas makes a miracle save, turning it round the post. England surely must score a third soon.

76' - Yes. England have paid the penalty. Bojan turns the ball back to Iniesta who blasts a goal into the bottom corner past Slater. England have let Spain back into this. 2-2.

86' - Hargreaves shoots just over the bar from a free kick.

90 +3' - Young has a golden opportunity to win it but Casillas saves at his feet. We're heading for extra time.

FULL TIME: SPAIN 2 - 2 ENGLAND

91' - Lansbury comes on for Gerrard.

93' - Rooney is forced wide by Pique but squares brilliantly for Young who buries it at close range. 3-2 England.

97' - Villa floats a cross from the edge of the box to find Torres in the centre who heads it past Slater. 3-3. This is exciting

100' - Lansbury tries a speculative effort from about 40 yards, which is saved by the tips of his fingers by Casillas.

105' - Hargreaves is replaced by Jack Wilshere as the teams switch ends.

108' - Torres is fed through on goal, but drags his shot wide. Thats a major warning from Spain.

115' - Lansbury feeds Rooney who tests Casillas, but Iker tips it wide for a corner.

117' - Disaster. Iniesta beats the hapless Rodwell on the wing, and crosses it in for Villa to score a simple goal after losing his marker, Johnson. England players fall to the ground in despair.

120' - Delfuenso comes on for Delph as England throw the kitchen sink. And probably the cooker, too!

120+1' - Rodwell's free kick finds the head of Young, who heads just over.

120+2' - Wilshere floats a corner over but Spain clear, and the final whistle is blown. England fall just short of the World Cup Final.

FINAL SCORE: SPAIN 4 ENGLAND 3, after extra time Scorers: Young 2, Rooney.

[GreyedOutMan]

So disappointing, after being so close. I will hopefully keep the job, and perhaps we can win the Euro's in 2016.

[GreyedOutMan]

England's World Cup - Summary

Group phase posed very little threat, as Sweden, Tunisia and Iran all suffered heavy defeats.

Portugal were dispatched with serious panache in the 2nd round, before a narrow victory in a tense game against Argentina.

One game from the final, we dominated against Spain. We were 2-0 up but let them come back to 2-2, before going 3-2 up in extra time. The lead lasted four minutes, and with just three minutes to go before penalties, Spain scored a cruel, cruel winner. France were beatable in the final, too!

We beat Chile in the 3rd place playoff, and it was a good game, England went 2-0 up before Chile pulled one back. Gerrard's penalty on 78' seemed to make it safe, but Soto scored his 2nd to make it a nervous 14 minutes before Young scored a fourth goal deep into stoppage time to make it 4-2. Third place in my first World Cup? Not bad.

[GreyedOutMan]

Feedback please! Particularly on this report. England is more straightforward - we're doing fine, we just got unlucky.

By the way, France beat Spain on penalties in the World Cup Final, bridesmaids becoming brides finally, after two consecutive WC Final defeats to Italy for France, in 2006 and 2010. And who missed the vital penalty for Spain? Yes, you guessed it. Mr-Can-Do-No-Wrong, Cesc Fabregas! Poor guy.

[GreyedOutMan]

Rooney won the WC best player award, with Ashley Young in third, sandwiching Spain's Iniesta. Torres and Rooney both scored 8 goals but Torres took the golden boot, apparently because he played in fewer games than Rooney. I dont quite know why that is the case, as they both played the same number! Torres and Rooney both started every game in the WC. Oh well.

Aaron Ramsey's goal against Egypt won goal of the tournament, followed by Gerrard's against Sweden and Sanchez's goal for Chile against Spain. Sagna and Clichy were selected in the World Cup XI, as well as Young and Rooney from amongst England's squad.

England moved up one place to 4th in the new world rankings.

[GreyedOutMan]

My latest signing. The only major signing this season I think. There has also been a young winger/striker signed from Barcelona for £2.5m. Unless I sell someone major, that will be the lot.

[GreyedOutMan]

Arsenal, Season 2014-15

Summary

Further improvements to the depth of the squad this season, for sure. Yet typically, we sign decent players to fit around the stars of the team and so many of them underperform! Sakho was dreadful this season and Fabregas was a shadow of his former self. This lead to perhaps the most inconsistent season I’ve ever seen. See the special fixtures report below for an illustration.

Transfers

Gael Clichy was the only major departure and he was sorely missed. Although the rot started when he was still around, it only got worse after that really. Lung jr was a decent signing in goal, Soltani is a useful utility player but not up to Clichy’s standard yet, and the others were both signings for the future.

Competition Reports

Premiership

Without doubt the most frustrating season I’ve had in the league. This graphic, hastily knocked up on Excel, shows just how inconsistent we were in the 2nd half of the season – from December onwards we didn’t manage to string two wins together even once, and only managed to go two games unbeaten for one four game stretch and then again at the end of the season when the title was gone. In fact from December onwards, we never strung two wins together, which clearly isn’t title-winning form, though we got closer than we might have done in other years. The league was close this year, so just a few more wins would have swung it, but that amount of defeats in some years could see us out of the Champions’ League places easily. The saving grace was the lack of draws – the first draw of our season didn’t come until February (of course the 2nd followed immediately on the back of the first!), and we only drew 4 all season. The last game of the season was a dead rubber against Leeds which I holidayed, but it became notable as the first 0-0 draw we’ve had since February 2014, and the first in the league since December 2012 – interestingly, against Leeds too!

The Final Table this season. There was a proper title race, and City sewed up the title with only a couple of games to go. Newcastle, Reading and Stoke will be replaced next season by Q.P.R, Crystal Palace and West Brom. In other news, Chelsea have now relocated to 57753-seater Zola Park Stadium.

Tevez remained at the top of the EPL scoring charts this season with 32 goals for City. Rooney also managed 30 with Nik Bendtner equal 3rd on 22.

The Champions’ League

A comprehensive quarter-final defeat by a fairly strong Lyon side.

The e.on FA Cup

A disappointing early end to the FA Cup run this year, in all honesty.

The Carling Cup

And again…it wasn’t our year in the cups this year.

The squad.

With selected stats for all competitions, ordered by the amount of time they spent on the pitch – a rough guide to their importance to the team I suppose. MINIMUM 5 HOURS ON THE PITCH FOR INCLUSION ON THIS SCREEN THIS YEAR.

Key Players

Robin van Persie

Ageing a little now but arguably the most consistent player I have had. A decent tally of goals, but the assists were more key for Robin this year. And with one exception he spent more time on the pitch than anyone this year – almost 71 hours.

Nicklas Bendtner

Whilst this wasn’t a vintage season for Nik in terms of goalscoring (he scored six goals more than last year), it was the most goals he’s scored in the league since my first season. He’s done so well to come back after it seemed he would leave the club in 2012. Now one of the first names on the teamsheet, and keeping some quality players out of the side, too.

Bacary Sagna

I don’t know this for sure and I wont until they all retire, but I have a feeling this guy might have the highest average rating over his career under me of anyone else. I have a feeling van Persie might beat him to that accolage, but Sagna is so consistent. A wonderful player, even at 32. I will be looking to sign an adequate replacement for him shortly, though.

Francesc Fabregas

I’ve never done this before. Cesc is included in this list not because he was good but because he was BAD! He had a really shocking season this year, in all honesty. His average rating is inflated by the goals he scored – most of the time he didn’t score, his rating was between 5 and 6.5. He just didn’t have the influence he should have done. I’m going to give him till January, but then I might look to cash in. Which is a shame, because I had him earmarked as a potential candidate to overtake O’Leary’s appearance record. He is still 203 behind O’Leary though – realistically, that’s about six or seven more seasons, assuming no really major injuries. In seven more seasons he will be just 35. It might be pushing it but if he improves this season, then we’ll see. Incidentally, Sakho was even worse in some ways but he’s less influential.

Notable others:

Philippe Senderos spent the most time on the pitch of any player not listed there and performed very well. Carlos Vela was limited in his opportunities this year but performed well, and Silviu Lung jr looks like a solid signing.

Finances

HUGE boost this year with a mega tycoon takeover! WAHOO!! This was the extent of it, and come the end of the season, the finances were in a very good state. They also immediately started on a major facilities upgrade which has been completed since the end of the season. Anyone know what that will actually change? Just that I can hire more coaches? What?

Club Records and Awards

>>Robin van Persie won the Fans’ Player of the Year award.

>>Mattia Destro broke the AvR record this season, although I don’t know why it counts given that he spent the season at Genoa!!

>>Mattia Destro, out on loan at Genoa, came 3rd in the European Golden Boot award.

>>Lung jr was named as the Premiership Select XI goalkeeper, whilst Bendtner was on the bench. With Rooney and Tevez both topping 30 goals in the league this year, that was no surprise.

MY team of the year:

Lung jr

Clichy-Senderos-Vermaelen-Sagna

Sandro

Lansbury-Fabregas

Vela Van Persie

Bendtner

Subs: Slater, Sakho, Traore, Rolfes, Newell, Orlov, Acquafresca.

Overall XI…Sakho was the new inductee.

New Youth Cohort

Powell was the pick this year, and will get first team action probably, as he plays in a position we desperately need players in.

International

A tough season. I lost two of the first four European Championship qualification matches, to Russia and Bosnia. The latter have won every game so far and top the group, with Russia just behind with one defeat. Luckily both defeats were away so there is time to claw it back, but we’re going to have to win every game from here on in to stand any chance of automatic qualification now. We made a good start at the end of the domestic season by beating Armenia 7-0 at Wembley, whilst Bosnia drew with Russia to leave the group wide open again. The game against Russia four days later was obviously going to be pivotal. Richards gave us the lead, jumping highest from a Rooney free kick shortly after the half-hour, and just before half-time, Wembley was in raptures before realising that Rooney’s goal had been ruled offside. The 2nd half was really tense and the new central defensive pairing of Clark and Richards worked wonders, until a wonder goal with 5 minutes to go from Gatagov took qualification out of our hands, unfortunately.

the table after 6 games:

Bosnia 16

Russia 11

England 10

Players are starting to age and Gerrard in particular is tough to replace – Lansbury is the current man in possession for when Gerrard does end, but he’s not done that well for England, really. As for Terry’s replacement – there was already a problem with the 2nd centre back, so this will be tough. Ciaran Clark has made a fantastic start to his international career and could be the answer, whilst Jack Rodwell seems to be the man in posession of the other central defensive slot, though he has faltered a little lately after being tried in the DMC slot. We shall see. The England side is hard to pick, and there is a lot of rotation, but the best side might read something like this:

Foster

Johnson-Terry-Rodwell-Mattock

Huddleston (untried so far, but this is an issue)

Delph-Gerrard

Young

Rooney-Delfuenso

As I said, that is not by any means definitive, and rotation rules with England. But its an idea.

Continued improvement with Arsenal, although the impending loss of Sagna is an issue I need to be aware of. Any thoughts on how to get the best out of Sakho and Fabregas? It’s irritating when arguably the two best players in your team are so poor for a whole season! Anyway, I have loads of money now, and I’m thinking I should probably buy at least one or two real stars – I’m thinking at the moment of getting a couple of full backs in (or one versatile one), and one midfielder. I have the best part of £150m to spend thanks to the new tycoon chairman. What do people think? FEEEEDBACK PLEEEEEASE!!!

[GreyedOutMan]

This is the draw for Euro 2016, England having qualified after an easy playoff win over Czech Republic. Happy with the group, which looks significantly easier than our qualifying group!!

Look familiar? Thought so - its the very same group we had at Euro '96!! Gazza's dentist's chair and a magnificent 4-1 victory over the "mighty" Dutch, anyone? Holland are the holders this time around, though, and will be tough opposition.

[Danmanager08]

Hey! Sorry I've been off for a while. Started playing a certain MMO again :/ lol.

Major improvements since I've been gone. However, I'm not going to have time to report as much as I used to. Sorry :/

I'll keep an eye on progress, and wish you the best of luck

[GreyedOutMan]

Cheers - season report coming in a few minutes. Any gems of advice would be greatly appreciated - just check back once a week or so and you'll probably be able to contribute helpfully!

[GreyedOutMan]

Arsenal, Season 2015-16

Summary

An interesting year this year. I think this is probably the start of the foundation of a very strong team. The problem is we need to get a move on. Whilst only van Persie and Sagna are seriously ageing, players such as Cesc, Bendtner and Vermaelen, who have been holding the team for so long, are getting to their peaks now and I feel that if we don’t win something in the next couple of years, those players are unlikely to win anything before they retire. This year was particularly irritating because we had some fabulous performances and then some really abysmal ones that really cost us, especially in the league, as you will see.

Transfers

The takeover has not totally transformed our transfer policy. It allowed for one big-money signing (who actually had a really disappointing season), and none of the players I signed were regulars in the side (even the £34m man who I think was a mistake). Big target for next season will be full-backs, because Sagna is now very old, and we don’t have a proper left back really.

Competition Reports

Premiership

Two points from five games from the start of November through to mid-December was the really crucial period, you’d think. The fact that the only two sides to do the double over us this year were Spurs and SHEFFIELD UNITED (of all teams), shows that we are up to it now, and it was only sloppy performances that cost us. Ending up 15 points behind the eventual winners shows that dropping 13 points to Sheffield United, Wolves, West Brom and QPR between them shows that it was a season where we should really have done much better. Eventually, we made it into the Champions’ League by the skin of our teeth, as Chelsea and Villa dropped points against Burnley and Sunderland, and Man Utd lost to both us and Man City in the final weeks. That victory over United was particularly hard-fought. The 1-0 win was sealed with a last minute penalty by Fabregas but it was no less than we deserved.

The Final Table this season. Wigan, Palace and QPR will be replaced by Reading, Newcastle and Port Vale, who are significant. They will be in the top division for the first time EVER! It’s true! Check it out if you don’t believe me!

Dzeko topped the goalscoring charts this year, with a huge 34 goals for Chelsea. He’s been a good signing for them. Previously dominant Carlos Tevez was way back in the list, managing only 16 this year.

The Champions’ League

We were actually rather unlucky against Real. We were in front twice in the first leg, and their winner came in the 93rd minute of the game. Even 2-2 would have given the 2nd leg a different vibe. Oh well. We’re back in next year at least . Real went on to beat Man City on penalties in the final.

The e.on FA Cup

Bad day at the office against Everton. Simple as that.

The Carling Cup

Really struggled against Spurs this year. We’ll have to put that right next time around.

The squad.

With selected stats for all competitions, ordered by the amount of time they spent on the pitch – a rough guide to their importance to the team I suppose. MINIMUM 5 HOURS ON THE PITCH FOR INCLUSION ON THIS SCREEN THIS YEAR.

Key Players

Robin van Persie

He continues to be awesome. More and more a simple right winger these days, but he still scores plenty and creates almost as many again. 109 goals in 7 seasons since I took over, and he’s been used far more as a winger…

Johan Djourou

Finally established himself as a leading Arsenal centre-back before a careless bit of management allowed him to secure a bosman move away.

Nicklas Bendtner

30 goals again for Nik. Wonderful player, and he’s the only reason that the takeover hasn’t led to the signing of an Aguero or similar.

Francesc Fabregas

If it werent Cesc, his performance might not merit inclusion here. He wasn’t exactly spectacular. But a solid season from Cesc after some really poor ones was, I think, the main reason behind a much better season than we’ve had lately. If he can step up and find a couple of years of his best form, then a trophy might just be around the corner…

Notable others:

Silviu Lung Jr did quite well this year again. He’s good enough. He’s not brilliant, but he does enough to keep his place. Bacary Sagna played 50 games at 33 and I think has one more season in him probably, while Henri Lansbury had a breakthrough year in a team that has so many options in central midfield, and he will be in England’s squad for the European Championships.

Finances

Took a chunk out of our huge bank balance sigining Dzagoev but end of season prize money and player sales almost covered it – we’ll have a big budget again next year. However, that might be it, as Varao withdrew his financial support. I think (correct me if I’m wrong), this means we keep the money he’s pumped in already though so our bank balance is still large, it just won’t get significantly larger again thanks to investment?

Club Records and Awards

>> Diego Buonanotte scored the 3rd placed goal in the Goal of the Season award.

>> Lung jr, Fabregas and Lansbury all made the Premiership Select. Lansbury really came of age this year, and it’s great to see Cesc back to his best.

>> Highest Gate Receipts (£2.8m) v Stuttgart in the Champions League, September 15.

>> Highest Scoring League Game: 5-3 vs Sheff Utd (A).

>> Highest Transfer Spend: £53m

>> Highest Transfer Fee Paid: £34m for Alan Dzagoev from Lazio on January 1.

>> Bendtner was named as the Player of the Year at Arsenal.

MY team of the year:

Lung jr

Vermaelen-Senderos-Djourou-Sagna

Sandro

Lansbury-Fabregas

Vela Van Persie

Bendtner

Subs: Slater, Sakho, Powell, Rolfes, Buonanotte, Rey, Acquafresca.

Overall XI…Djourou was inducted this year.

New Youth Cohort

This year’s pick of the bunch.

International

Qualification was secured via a playoff with Czech Republic for Euro 2016. The 1996 carbon-copy group started with a game against Holland. The England team: 4-1-2-1-2: Foster; Baines-Lescott-Clark-Richards; Rodwell; Lansbury-Delph; Young; Welbeck-Rooney.

Delph gave us the lead after just 17 minutes with a screamer, before Huntelaar equalised for Holland just before the half hour. Rooney cut the celebrations short with an instant reply to make it 2-1. But soon after, we failed to deal with a corner and Rozema equalised. This was an awesome match already. Zuiverloon felled Welbeck in the box a few minutes later, and Baines slotted the penalty home. But on the stroke of half time, Huntelaar followed in on a cross from Emanuelson to equalise again. This was getting frustrating, the defence clearly had issues and Foster was having a ‘mare. 3-3 at half time. It got worse as Huntelaar ran half the length of the pitch before slamming in his hat-trick goal to make it 4-3 to Holland. A great goal from Afellay (which England could do very little about) more or less ended the game prematurely with a quarter of the match remaining. A very disappointing 2nd half there as we went down 5-3.

Switzerland beat Scotland in the other game that day, while Wales drew with Germany in their 2nd game after an impressive win over Ukraine to leave them in a fantastic position. They have a decent side to say the least and looked like possible dark horses.

The crucial game with the Swiss saw a much-changed England defence and Slater replaced Foster in goal. Cattermole made his debut with Rodwell moving to centre-back. After a tight half-hour, Rooney opened the scoring with his 75th England goal. Soon after half-time, Welbeck rounded the ‘keeper to make it two before seeing his goal chalked off for offside. With no 2nd goal coming, the rest of the game got more and more tense. 3 minutes of injury time were shown when a promising Switzerland attack could only find the arms of Slater in goal. Slater cleared it, England’s passing was sloppy but their tackling was better and eventually the ball found Rooney in a bit of space and he ended the game with a low shot past Benaglio.

Holland’s victory over the Scots left the group interestingly poised with all sorts of permutations making UEFA officials scratch their heads. There was every chance that we could see either three teams on 6 points and one on zero, or three teams on three points and one on nine.

Spain lost 2-1 to Italy in the big Group C clash, the highlight of the first round. Then the groups started to conclude: Group B saw two final day 1-1 draws leaving Germany and Wales to qualify ahead of Norway and Ukraine.

Group A seemed to be a straightforward Group. Holland to qualify with England almost certainly, right? Cattermole’s injury and Lansbury’s suspension meant that nothing was straightforward. Adam Pepper and Tom Huddlestone came in. And England’s situation worsened when Stephen McManus gave Scotland the lead. With Holland beating Switzerland, a 1-0 defeat would actually have been enough to see England through, but 2-0 would see Scotland through (I think – I never quite understand these situations!). But I wasn’t prepared to risk that, really. Half time saw a large rocket in the England dressing room, and national pride was restored after 52 minutes with a free kick from Huddlestone which found the back of the Scottish net. Welbeck was through soon after with a golden chance but he fluffed it, before turning provider for Rooney’s piledriver on 59’. A fantastic turnaround for England here and qualification seemed assured, as Holland were 2-0 up over Switzerland too. After 84 minutes, Welbeck had a golden opportunity to finish it off. He fluffed it again, but the rebound found an unmarked Rooney to secure the win and a quarter final berth. Rooney turned provider for Young in injury time to round off a fantastic 2nd half performance.

Quarter Final opponents? Do you need to ask?! Germany lay in wait next. Just one win in the groups, and two draws, was evidence of a fairly weak German side who could be there for the taking. With only 4 “real” players it was hard to judge. Why is it that Germany don’t have proper regens rather than greys? I know they’re not licensed for real players but surely they can have regens? Anyway, the wonderfully named Milan player Manfred Glass was their midfield talisman and their star at the moment.

Group C saw Spain qualify by the skin of their teeth : a last day draw with Serbia meant that only Italy’s victory over Russia gave them their berth in the quarter finals. Group D…Croatia’s draw with Portugal left the Croats on 4 points, which could have been enough to qualify, but France won the tough group with victory over Sweden, whilst Portugal followed them through, their draw against France proving crucial.

Wales’ dream ended in the Quarters, with a 1-0 defeat to Holland. Welsh pride remained very much intact. Germany v England was next. Lansbury came in for Young in the only change. Welbeck had the first good chance, but the German keeper was equal to his slightly disappointing shot. German striker Bindewald was the first to miss a golden chance, a header from 4 yards into an empty net turned into one of the worst misses I’ve ever seen, as the header squeezed just wide. Huddlestone struck just over from another free-kick. It was tight, and it was 0-0 at half-time.

After 62 minutes the deadlock was finally broken. Rooney’s pot-shot was saved by the ‘keeper but the rebound found Pepper on the edge of the box to convert a powerful shot. There were claims for offside but I have no idea why – it seemed routine to me. Welbeck was offside in front of him but the ball didn’t go anywhere near him. Huber had three good chances for Germany as England tried to play keep-ball and shut down the game. But England’s luck was wearing thin and the fourth, a corner, found his head on a sixpence and Huber had equalised. After that, the game was cagey and extra time inevitable. This was seeming rather too familiar. But England surely were overdue a penalty victory against Germany? Huddlestone was replaced by Gosling for extra-time, and Welbeck was replaced by Walcott. At half time, no goals in the game still, Young came on for Lansbury with penalties in mind. And yes, it did go all the way!

The Shootout

Young SCORED England 1

Glass SCORED Germany 1

Rooney SCORED England 2

Bonig SCORED Germany 2

Gosling SCORED England 3

Muller SCORED Germany 3

Rodwell MISSED England 3

Huber SCORED Germany 4

Johnson SCORED England 4

Hamann SCORED Germany 5

So Slater couldn’t save Rodwell’s blushes and he joins the list alongside the likes of Pearce, Southgate, Batty and co. Disappointing from England, and this hoo-doo shows no signs of ending unfortunately.

The rest of the quarters:

Portugal 1 – 2 ITALY (AET)

Spain 0 – 1 FRANCE

SEMI FINALS:

HOLLAND 1 – 0 France

GERMANY 1 – 0 Italy (AET)

So Holland were to try to defend their crown against 3-time winners Germany. This is how they got on. Ha ha!!!!!!!!

After the competition, this was the FA’s assessment.

Improvement again with Arsenal, although I’m finding making that step up to title winners a real tough one. Sakho still hasn’t performed properly for us. I need to buy some defenders and I might look to sell Sakho this year. A familiar name is on his way, but can't get a work permit. What do people think, both of him and in general? Incidentally, the last game of the season was my 400th game as Arsenal manager so it's a good time to reflect. As for England – things are looking OK – it’s a real transitional period though and we need to find a settled back 5. And some penalty takers! FEEEEDBACK PLEEEEEASE!!!

[Saxonaitor]

Looks like you have a great little squad up and running there mate.

Let me explain my absence, my computer royally screwed up for a couple of months.

I suppose I have been sacked as Ass Man due to my lack of input but I do hope Constant Toure is as constant in performances!

[GreyedOutMan]

Ah well Saxonaitor, fear not. You were actually not sacked, you refused a new contract. You are however my AssMan for England. Please keep up your input though - it is appreciated.

[GreyedOutMan]

Arsenal, Season 2016-17

Summary

A tough year to evaluate. There was a genuine title challenge but there were also some really stupid defeats, particularly in the cups. But a period of transition is becoming inevitable now and if I’m honest, I think I’m going to have to build a new team before I’ll start winning trophies. The skin is the FM09 skin, exclusively on Steam. I wont use it for all screenshots as I do play with the FM10 skin still, but for profiles etc, this is easier as it fits more information on my widescreen laptop...

Transfers

Big changes in transfer policy this season as the cash was splashed at last. However, the biggest signing has so far been a total flop, and Abel Hernandez’s versatility hasn’t helped because he hasn’t played very well at all. The next two big signings, however, Gadi and Ariaudo, have been much better. Ariaudo has been the rock of the defence and Gadi, whilst not being an automatic starter, managed a healthy 11 goals this year. Constant Toure looks like a great prospect but cannot get a work permit yet.

Competition Reports

Premiership

We drew a blank a few too many times this season, failing to score no less than 7 times in the league, including three 0-0 draws in the first four games. That cost us, but the 5-3 win over Chelsea should have given us 3rd place until four points dropped in the final two games cost us dear, against Wolves and a Man Utd team who have fallen from grace, and finished 7th this year. They have at least five or six first choice players who are over thirty and on the wane.

The Final Table this season. Port Vale went back down along with Fulham and Blackburn. They will be replaced by Notts County, whose money has finally told, whilst Wigan and Q.P.R. both come straight back up after relegation last year.

Man City’s England striker David Reid topped the goalscoring charts this year. He’s been improving for a few years and managed 44 goals this year, 28 in the league. Chelsea’s Dzeko was the runner up for the golden boot.

The Champions’ League

Desperately disappointing this season – we were toothless against Porto, who admittedly went all the way to the final before losing to Milan in Vienna. Milan’s 8th European Cup this year.

The e.on FA Cup

Really annoying, we got a good Semi Final draw but played really badly and failed to make it to Wembley to face off with Man City, who only won the cup after a penalty shootout in the final.

The Carling Cup

Yes thats right – two semi final defeats to Sunderland this year. And we lost once to them in the league too.

The squad.

With selected stats for all competitions, ordered by the amount of time they spent on the pitch – a rough guide to their importance to the team I suppose. MINIMUM 10 HOURS ON THE PITCH FOR INCLUSION ON THIS SCREEN THIS YEAR.

Key Players

Silviu Lung Jr

By miles our best player this year. A full 0.1 ahead of anyone else in the Average Rating list. 18 clean sheets and 7 man of the match awards. He’s improving every year.

Mamadou Sakho

Finally Sakho performs for Arsenal. The huge money I paid for him might just be justified if he can keep this up for a few years. Much better.

Nicklas Bendtner

Not a vintage season for Bendtner, but he’s still very deserving of a place on this list. He’s bizarrely starting to look like he might beat Henry’s goalscoring record. A couple more great seasons and he’ll be there...and imagine if I hadn’t sent him out on loan for one year!

Lorenzo Ariaudo

My finest signing for a while I think. He’s held the defence together this year.

Notable others:

Cesc Fabregas good as ever – will he break O’Leary’s appearance record? Maybe. Diego Buonanotte didn’t play much but usually did well, while Sambou Yatabare finally had a good season for goalscoring!

Finances

The chairman withdrew his funding last season so we’re levelling out now after making significant investments in the squad.

Club Records and Awards

>> Sambou Yatabare scored the goal of the season, against Sunderland.

>> Lung jr was named as the goalkeeper in the Premiership select. Sakho was on the bench.

>> Lung jr was also named as Arsenal’s Fans’ Player of the Year. He’s the first Goalkeeper to win that.

>> Youngest Player: Dessie McGill 16y 59d vs. Newcastle (H) – 13th August.

>> Highest transfer fee paid: £34.5m for Abel Hernandez on 1st January.

>> Highest transfer spend: £96m

For the record, the number of wins of the Fans’ Player of the Year so far under me:

3: Fabregas

2: Van Persie

1: Nasri, Bendtner, Lung jr.

MY team of the year:

Lung jr

Sagna-Ariaudo-Sakho-McGill

Sandro

Van Persie-Rolfes-Fabregas-Buonanotte

Bendtner-Yatabare

Subs: Slater, Vermaelen, Powell, Ramsey, Vela, Gadi, Acquafresca.

Overall XI…Lung jr was inducted this year, as was Iaquinta, bizarrely, having been retired for several years. Oh well. Have a look at the screenshot –there are a couple of issues with that report I think! Oddly when I generated it again, it changed. Clichy, Djourou and Nasri are playing for Man City, At. Madrid and Bordeaux respectively, and the rest are all still at the club.

New Youth Cohort

This year’s pick of the bunch, although Warner looks good too.

International

5 wins and a draw in World Cup qualifying so far means that England are on the brink of qualification. Rooney managed seven goals in the six games this season, whilst Ashley Young and David Reid are doing fantastically well. Young has had a great career at international level with a lot of important goals, whilst Reid’s international career has had a great start, his first 6 caps have yielded three goals and an average rating of 7.62. Spurs’ Billy Francis came off the bench in the last game for his England debut and managed a goal. He looks a good prospect too.

I just need that extra little push for silverware. It is improving. Any thoughts on how that final step could be taken?

[GreyedOutMan]

1.7.17

A tribute to Aaron Ramsey

Arsenal FC would like to confirm today that Aaron Ramsey has left Arsenal Football Club for Manchester City in a £12.75m deal that was agreed prior to his loan spell last season. Manchester City have been impressed with Aaron and have activated this clause. All at Arsenal would like to wish Aaron well - he has served the club well over nine years and was a popular member of the Arsenal dressing room.

Aaron's Arsenal Statistics (all competitions):

189 Appearances

22 Goals

42 Assists

10 Man of the Match

Average rating: 7.02

These excellent numbers see Ramsey inducted into the Arsenal Hall of Fame (2009 onwards). He is the 8th member of it, and has the 2nd highest number of appearances of anyone to have left the club since manager Luke Hearn took over.

[GreyedOutMan]

He's getting old now but check out van Persie's technical attributes!

This game is starting to get me really frustrated because I keep losing games for no obvious reason. I really dont know how to sort it out. HELP ME!

[Saxonaitor]

Hard to say why you are losing to be fair.

Prehaps changing tactics may work? Or if you are changing tactics every game, keep witha tactic for a couple of weeks?

[GreyedOutMan]

I'm not very good with tactics if truth be told. How can i best show you my current tactic? Its a fairly basic 4-4-2, quite attacking.