GQ Online 03/04 Update Thread

[bulletsponge]

Crewe post Ashton

after selling Dean Ashton for 5 million smackers, Crewe replaced him with Colombian Hidalgo. Bullets then looked to bolster thier striker corps even more and bought Bulgarian striker Kakalov. the result in the new strikers has been a 4-1-3 record in league games, including 3 straight wins since Kakalov joined the club. an inability to sign any defenders to the club still leaves Crewe most pressing need unfullfilled, with several top talents refusing to come the Crewe. Kakalov and Hidalgo have been in scoring sprees, so Bullet decided to loan out hot prospect Ross Smith to Sheffield Wed. to get him some much needed playing time. Crewe has been slowly climbing out of the relegation fight, and now appears that they will stay in the EPL barring any late season collaps.

It seems that dmc Cochrane knows that ive been eyeing other dmcs in the transfer market, because hes improved his form recently. but the urge to sign a top flight dmc might be hard to resist for Bullet. Crewe currently has over 9 million in the transfer kitty, and ive been eyeing many different players from Brazil to Holland to spend it on even if the transfer deadline has passed. But there is always next year for any upgraded players.

Next game will be against coaching rival Shaun and his Bolton squad. Bolton is hot on the heals of Crewe in the standings, and want to avenge thier earlier seasons lose to Crewe

[jan_sørensen]

Liverpool close to securing the PL title

It sounds to good to be true and we are not there yet, but we have a good lead at the top and 2 wins from the last 5 will secure the title, but the opp in the run in couldnt be much worse; chelsea, arsenal, nottingham, wba are among the opponents and they are all very good teams, so it is possible we wont win another match this season. We looked unbeatable until man u crushed us 3-0 at anfield, so the title that looked a 100% certainty is still not won.

Things are going well in the Cl too, we are in the semifinals and are facing portugese outlet Benfica, and it would be dissapointing not to reach the final after eliminating giants Real Madrid and Arsenal.

We won the league cup after a good 2-1 win against wolves, so the first piece of silwerware is secured.

The FA cup dream ended at st. james park.

In all it has been the season so far that everyone could have hoped for, and we got a good shot at winning 2 important titles. And we have already secured CL football next year + the league cup.

The next few weeks will decide if this season will make history or just be a good one.

[Chilliconcarnie]

just a quick note: Until everything with my grandad has settled, I will not be making any more reports, due to the high chance of me missing parts of sessions.

But i will endeavor to make an uber report once Im back to normal

[jan_sørensen]

Yes we did it!!!!

A trible that will make history; Champions League, Premier League and League Cup were all captured in the best season Lievrpool has had in a long time.

The PL was secured when Man U went down to portsmouth, they looked very dangerous at 1 time but the games they had in hand didnt return many points and in the end we were cruising to the title. In fact we could have lost the 3 last matches of the season and still won it.

The champions league had been a superior display by the reds until the final that is. Cause Newcastle is the team we fear most, and they showed why by holding the impressive reds offense to only 2 decent chances in 120 minutes of football, it finished 1-1 in the end, and we had the luck in the dreaded shoot out, it wasnt an impressive win, but the fans dont care and they are still singing....

Most players have performed very well, but espically Absalonsen and Diego who arrived mid season has been out standing.

Next season will be hard cause it can only go downhill from now, but Jan the man has his eyes on 1 or 2 World Class players to strengen the team even more, and he is sure next season will be a close run between Us, Wolves, Arse, Man U and Newcastle.

So far we have sold gerad and sonck they were both getting old and now was the time to get some cash for them.

The board has decided to expand by 6000+ seats, an even after this the finaces are more than healthy, in fact everything is looking good at the club rigth now.

[bulletsponge]

Crewe upsets expectations again

Once again Crewe manage to beat the odds and finish 14th in the EPL. Crewe did this amazing acomplishment by finishing the season with 5 wins in 11 games, and only have 1 bad game in that stretch. Crewe then bolstered their team by signing big names like DMC Wehrman, DR Christian Gyan, and a DC from Liverpools transfer list (cant remember name. all 3 have bolster Crewes shirt sales and will hopefully pay of on the field too. Bulletsponge then spent 3 million on goalie Michael Rensing, a german international who looks to be a top notch goalie. a few more $$ were spnt on young scottish sensation Craig Wilson.

As the new season started, the board of Crewe gave Bulletsponge over 9.25 million to spend in transfers!! and they were even expanding the stadium by 4K seats! More good news for Crewe as they sold out of favor Lee Bell to Everton for an amazing 2.5 million. Bullet was sad to see bell leave the club, but he was loosing playing time as the season progressed, and was probably not going to see any this year due to the arrival of Wehrman and the emergance of young DMC Winter. for anyone following my reports you will remember Lee Bell was the man who made the miracle 30 yarder in the final regular season game a few years back that put Crewe into the playoffs.

With over 11 million to spend still, Crewe is looking to add a AMC or stiker, but these arnt vital. Crewe has a bunch of young midfielders who need playing time to become wonderkids, and still have a very potent striker corps. Hidalgo and Kakalov had great seasons, but Boss Hogg had a sub par, injury plagued season. Ross Smith spent his season guiding Sheffield to the EPL on loan.

But not all news is good, the evil empire of Liverpool are eyeing Ross Smith. Jan has openly said he will buy any player i am after or buy any player on crewes roster that has a minimum fee release unless he gets his greedy hands on Smith. luckily no key players have MFRC.

[Treble99]

Brave Boro lose to rivals in play-offs

Middlesbrough boss James Grzesiak has expressed his disappointment at losing to rival manager Franco, as he saw his team edged out of the play-offs by losing 3-2 on aggregate to Sheffield Wednesday.

Boro fans have seen their team rise from 11th to eventually finishing 4th since the arrival of Grzesiak, and many people thought they'd be extremely lucky to get in to a top 6th finish. But despite this feat, the Middlesbrough manager is feeling bitter but is remaining positive.

"Obviously it was a huge blow to not to get promoted after the hard work the team have put it, but we have to put that behind us now and aim higher for the upcoming season".

One man who did give them hope in the play-offs is Phillip Marsh, who previously had hit a bagful of goals, including breaking a club record by netting 4 against Walsall. There has been reported interest after his impressive start to his Middlesbrough career, but the manager says he is not for sale.

"Phil did tremendously well for us and his goals really had a big effect on our season. I scouted him and signed him on loan, when I realised he was out of favour at Burnley, I snapped him up before anyone else did, and for a cheap price too. Obviously, clubs are interested in securing his services, but I'm saying now that he is not for sale, he has a 3 year contract and he is very happy at the Riverside".

Middlesbrough have been busy in the transfer market too, looking to strengthen their side for another push at Premiership football. Whilst the sales of Ross Gardner and Amdy Moustapha Faye were met with grumbles amongst fans, there were big positives to come out of the transfers.

"People were unhappy about the sale of Gardner for £3m, but we were about £4m in debt and something had to be done. I told Celtic to offer £3m and they could have him, and I think the sale of nearly 32 year old Faye for £2.5m was a great deal. Faye was on £50,000 a week too, so with that kind of wage packet off our hands, our finances are very stable now. We got about another 2.5m off compensations, TV money and finishing 4th, and we have sufficient money to buy quality players if need so. Juninho, Southgate, Eghiou, Tiatto, Faye and Gardner lowered our wage bill a good £125k which is what I was always looking to do".

Despite the wheelings and dealings, the boss isn't done in the transfer market yet. Already securing the deals of 2 players on loan, and a further 4 players permanently, Grzesiak concedes he still needs to strengthen.

"We got Leo for free despite interest from Lazio and Middlesbrough, Gomes was brought in for just 30k and is a great player, McGowan is a very promising young striker and the 2 loans are absolutely tremendous additions. Sadly, I wanted to sign 2-3 more players who very much impressed me, but all their work permits were rejected despite appeals. One in particular, I felt disappointed in as I'm sure he'll be snapped up by another club sooner rather then later. I'm currently conducting deals for a few others players, and we shall see what happens in the future, but we're definitely not finished in the market and the board have been very generous with the money they have given me to again try and get Middlesbrough back into the top league".

[Treble99]

*Ehiogu

*Despite interest from Lazio and Juventus

[Chilliconcarnie]

Grimsby on the Push

Following Carnie's absense from the team for much of last season following family problems, the Mariners slipped from their title pushing place of third before finishing thirteenth in the league and slipping out of the cups.

Upon his return to the club towards the tail end of the 07/08 season, Carnie quickly moved to build a potential Premiership side.

With Grimsby's all apparant defensive frailties, Carnie quickly signed young Goalkeeper Craig Holloway on a free transfer from Chesterfield, all round attacking midfielder Carlos Arturo Marinelli on a free from Ipswich and brought in Right-Back Chris McGrath on loan from Blackburn, and Left sided defensive midfielder Richard Rooney on loan from Crewe. Also to join the club on loan was Bolton Winger Kevin Clark.

With the departure from the club of only Alan Pouton who retired, it looks as thoough Grimsby Town have a strong secure squad to be reckoned with.

"We are ideally aiming for the playoffs this season," Carnie told the Sun today, "but I think that now with the likes of Mullen, Marinelli, Vaz Te and Flanagan, we now have a team that is capable of reaching for the title. I have addressed the frailties in defense and we have strengthened our midfield. I am confident that we will be in the reckoning at least. And we will be abandoning the 3-5-2 formation I tried to introduce towards the end of last season, and will be returning to the standard 4-4-2."

Grimsby up their Friendly campaign with a trip to Bolton's Reebok stadium, where good friends Shaun Kelly began the first of two friendlies against one anothers teams.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Bolton 3 - 1 GRIMSBY

Graham Flanagan

Singh © Gibson Mullen Marinelli

Edwards Bardsley Crane Pilkington

Holloway

Scorers:

Flanagan - 5</pre>

In a tight contest, Bolton emerged the better team, with Grimsby failing to secure any possession into realistic chances into goals.

more pre-season build up to come when i get the chance

[bulletsponge]

Crewes Season begins

Crewes season opens with 2 straight scoreless draws, then go 1-2-2 in thier next 5. A decent start for the club, but Bulletsponge is hoping for a possible european qualifing finish. even though the odds makers have us tipped for the drop, and other managers thinkin we suck (including rival boss Shaun). Crewe then woke up from their scoring drought and beat Bradford, and totally smacked with a trout rival club Bolton 6-1. Crewe then tied league leader Newcastle, beat Ipswich, lost to Millwall and drew against Arsenal.

Crewes record is 4-6-3 and are sitting in 9th place. Crewe has been battling injuries in the defence, but bought young brazilian talent Giovani Moreira dos Santos for 3 million $. soon after he moaned about being replaced in a game. The club has been performing good, but with much room for improvment. the only exception has been GK Michael Rensing, who has been spectacular this season, and won the player of the month. Its been hard to get a consistant team on the field due to small injuries and suspensions that keep me jugling the starting rotation. With the begining of the transfer season begining again, Bullets is looking to add a top notch defender (again, half my D are leaving after this season). and hes looking to sign Edu for 1 million, but will need to take a pay cut, im not paying him my max.

[DezMW]

The Grasss isn't always Greener

Having left Nottingham Forest for the Big time of Arsenal little has been seen or heard of this humble Yorkhireman.

January 2008 saw Wilkins turn his back on the title challenging Nottingham club and try and ressurect the fortunes of the Gunners. The lure of the 60,000 capacity Ashburton Grove was too strong. The task he faced was a big one, changing the fortunes of Arsenal. In the knowledge that the fans would be expecting an immediate success and with the side languishing in 12th position in the Premiership with half the season already gone, The start was impressive. The new gunners boss brought in a few new faces and disposed of some of the old guard - Kim Kallstrom joined as did Olejinek (GK) and Wes Morgan (DC) from former club, Forest. Out went some of the old guard in Sol Campbell, Jens Lehmenns, and Freddie Ljungberg. Paul Scholes was also sold back to Manchester United.

The impact was immediate. Arsenal stormed up the league and secured a final position of 3rd and secured Champions League football for the 2008/09 season.

Early signs were that Arsenal were going to be back to their former greatness, following the torrid time they suffered under Wenger's predecessor, Claudio Ranieri (Ranieri incidentilly replaced Wilkins as Nottingham Forest Manager).

Over that Summer Wilkins got more of a chance to shape the Arsenal team into his own side. Signed were Iam Dennis, a promising Goalkeeper from Sheffield Wednesday, Martin Albrechtsen - A strong Danish defender from Rossenborg, Isaac Osbourne - The DMC wilkins has been grooming since early in his Forest days, from Nottingham Forest and star man upfront Alessandro Simonetta The Italian signed for £4.5m from Italian side Roma.

Arsenal were now expected to go from strength to strength in the new campaign. As the 08/09 season began everything was looking good. In the Champions League and back challenging at the top of the table, but even before Christmas it was going wrong. When they were dumped out of the CL group stages, being forced to settle for 3rd in the group and a Uefa Cup spot. Never the less things were still looking promising in the league. Sitting in the top 6 never more than a few points off the top.

It did however go drastically wrong for the Gunners after Christmas. Injuries started to creep into the team and results started to slip. Soon they were no longer looking at the possibility of the title and merely hoping that results would improve to secure Champions League football for the next season.

The January transfer Window saw the departure of Patrick Viera and Thierry Henry. The latter being added to an already glittering list of strikers at Old Trafford that contained Adriano, RvN and Owen.

After these changes the board were happy with the money in the bank and the season hadn't turned into a total disaster, at least not yet. The fans on the other hand were less than pleased and not totally convinced by the managers words of "Just wait and see what I have lined up."

European football started again and Results began to go Arsenal's way again. Sadly the Uefa Cup run was to come to an end at the Semi Final stages, loosing out to Man Utd, loosing the away leg 3-0 and being unable to find a 3rd goal at home to tie the match up. The score was 3-2 on Aggregate.

Meanwhile in the league CL football was looking on the cards - that was until 3 games from the end the gunners travelled to Molineux to face Ali Omar's Wolves side - themselves looking for CL football - Two harsh penalties and a goal from a corner saw Wolves grab 3 goals and only a solitary reply from Simonetta saw Wolves t the game 3-1 and leap frog Arsenal and take charge of the CL place race.

Winning the next game meant it was still on the cards but blunders in the Final game against Pompey saw the dreams shatter. Wilkins admitted a tactical blunder (similar to that made against Chelsea in the FA Cup 3rd round) cost Arsenal European qualification. Injury to key men like Van der Vaart and Pizarro no doubt played a part in the end of season collapse but Wilkins made the choice to give some youngsters a chance. The defence was ripped apart by Portsmouth and in all honesty Arsenal were lucky only to loose 2-0.

Finishing 8th and having to play Inter toto cup football for the next season in the hope of qualifying for the Uefa cup was not what the fans expected and certainly it was far from what was promised by Wilkins in his first full season in the job. So far the new regime of the Gunners had not been delivered.

[DezMW]

Star names or Prima Donna's????

With the Gunner's board looking to Secure the title and with a hefty Bank balance from the end of last season. Arsenal boss Dez Wilkins has been given a hefty budget which he has spent no time in drawing up his wish list for the new season.

Players In

Wayne Rooney (£15.75 - Everton) - Having failled to fire the Toffees back to the Premiership it was no suprise the Everton were forced to let their prize asset go. The only suprise was that there was little competition for the England man's signiature.

Kaka (27m - Milan) - Facing competition from Liverpool for the Brazilian. It came as a huge shock that when news filtered through that Milan had accepted a price from Arsenal Jan Sorensen didn't act upon it. He was quick to sign a £40k/week deal to play for the Gunners.

Thomas Buffel (Free - Bayern Munich) - This left sided Dutch Midfielder, who can also play in the centre was signed on a precontract agreement back in January. He'll have plenty of players around him to scrap with for a place in the team however, but none the less, still a useful acquisition.

Jose Antonio Reyes (£24m - Sevilla) - The Left sided winger/forward's transfer almost never happened. The negotiations went on for almost a month before Arsenal finally landed their man. A worth acquisition though who will most likely operate "in the hole" but may be called upon to operate on the left of midfield too.

Philippe Mexes (£15m Bolton) - A minimum release fee clause in his contract alerted Wilkins to his availability as the transfer deadline loomed. Adding a World Class Defender to the squad is always welcome.

Players out

Rafael van der Vaart (£20m - Newcastle) - The dutch wing sensation was a huge hit at Ashburton Grove, but as the player was in the final year of his contract, with negotiations repeatedly breaking down over terms of an extension. Wilkins was left with no alternative than to off load his star midfielder. There were plenty of interest in the player with Chelsea looking the likely destination for the player but when negotiations broke down at Stamford Bridge over personal terms Newcastle were quick to make their interest known. Van der Vaart's departure raised enough money to finalise the deal to bring in Reyes and also left enough money in the kitty for the purchase of Mexes too.

With all this transfer activity the Arsenal team is shaping up into a formidable side. Here's how the first team squad is shaping up.

GoalKeepers

With Ian Dennis, Arsenal have one of, if not the best, young keepers around. He is likely to occupy the #1 Jersey although he has Robert Olejinek as a more than capable back up who will be pushing him all the way for the starting spot.

Left Back

Clearly the territory still for Ashley Cole Arguably one of the best Full backs in the world. He will still have to be on top of his game to ensure he keeps Mikkel Silvestre out of the team.

Right Back

If there are any weaknesses in the Arsenal side this is where it is. Promising youngster, Chris Wilson has been loaned out for another season so the spot in the first team is to be fought out between Lauren and Phil Neville. There's nothing to choose really between the two.

Centre Backs

Our prediction is that the likely first choice partnership will be Touré and Mexes but with Morgan and Albrechtsen waiting in the wings there will definitely be no room for a slip up for whoever gets the starting spot.

Midfield Anchorman

With Viera long gone Isaac Osbourne has set about making this position his own. He does however have stiff competition form Johannes Djerous and Midfield utility player, David Prutton. Prutton may have a greater chance of getting in the side due to his versatility. He can be deployed anywhere across the middle of the park really.

Creative Midfielders

With the system Wilkins has developed over his years in the game it seems aparent that this arsenal team will operate with 2 creative midfielders, one either side of the anchor man. Home grown talent, Phil Barber would arguably command a place in there, but unfortunately the England U21 star has been cruelly ruled out till after Christmas at least with an achilles injury. Two players from David Pizarro, Kim Kallstom and Thomas Buffel are likely to fight for these places, although Wilkins could choose to use Reyes or Prutton in on of these roles too.

[Forwards[/b]

The most competition for places is in the attack line. With 3 places up for grabs. two front men and one playing just off them. Italian hitman Simonetta will likely feature heavily up top after his goal scoring exploits of last season. New boys Kaka, Rooney and Reyes All three players are more than capable of playing upfront, alongside Simonetta or playing just off. Other Strikers in the team who will be looking to get a game whenever possible are Aliadiere and Benjamin Lauth Both players will have to ensure that they make the most of any appearances they get. They are well down the pecking order this season.

Now we've looked at the squad here's what the likely first choice team could be, although expect to see plenty of rotation to keep players happy. This is based on the assumption that every player is fit.

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

Dennis

Neville Mexes Touré Cole

Pizarro Osbourne Barber

Reyes

Kaka Simonetta

Subs:

GK - Olejinek

DF - Silvestre

MC - Prutton

AMC - Kallstrom

FC - Rooney

</pre>

[jan_sørensen]

Jan the man resigns from Liverpool

After winning all there is to win with the club, I decided for a new challenge, first to Preston who were struggling in the 1. div...but that only lastest a week until chelsea tempted me with there big wallet.

The start was a mixed one indeed, going out in the fa cup to blackpool and loosing to leeds in the league cup, was desperately unlucky.

But wins agaisnt both Manchester outfits and a draw at blckburn in the league, showed that the team is capable of european qualification. I have no ambition of the title cause Liverpool just has so much more quality in there squad and we are already well behind them in the league, thanks to my own results in the first half of the season and there new manager seems to keep up the pace.

[DezMW]

Easy come. Easy go, Will you let me go??? Well yes actually....

As Arsenal's glittering array of stars failled to gel and perform consistently pressure was beginning to mount on manager Wilkins. His dressing room seemed in disarray with rumours of a divide in the camp. Whatever it was, it was affecting on the pitch performances. From the sublime to the ridiculous from week to week and suffering far too many defeats, something had to give.

Losses in the league to Liverpool, Bolton, to name two of several, plus an embarressing defeat in the league cup at home to Birmingham City meant the writing was on the wall for the Arsenal boss. It all came to a head in Early December after the trip to league leaders, Newcastle. The players walked off the field dejected once more, having suffered a mauling in the shape of a 3-0 defeat. Leaving them 14 points off the top in 8th position. Wilkins came out to meet the gathering journalists for the post match press conference, stating "I have a statement to read out then I will take your questions."

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Statement by Arsenal Manager, Dez Wilkins:

Having spoken with the Chairman I have taken the difficult decision to step down as manager of Arsenal football club. This will take affect immediately. I thank the board and the players for my at the club, I am only sorry I couldn't take the team where it needed and indeed deserved to go. I believe the club is in a better state than when I joined and hopefully my successor will be able to take them back to the top reaches of the Premiership. Thank you <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[DezMW]

Batteries recharged, all systems go

It has been a quiet month for Dez Wilkins, Stepping down as manager of Arsenal at the beginning of December gave him a much needed break from all things football, but now he is back

Liverpool unveil Sorensen's successor

Jan 16th 2010.

Following the departure of the enigmatic Dane from merseyside, Liverpool took their time in deciding on a successor to his position at the club. when they finally announced Dez Wilkins as the man to take over it came a bit of a suprise. Afterall Wilkins hadn't won anything meaningful as a football manager since 2004 when he lead Nottingham Forest to the Division One title in his first season in the job. But it is definitely his time at Forest that will have impressed the Liverpool board more than his more recent role as Arsenal boss. Afterall it took only 4 years to transform Forest into title contenders for the Premiership crown. He left them at the top of the EPL to take charge of Arsenal. Indeed Nottingham Forest's recent decline from title contenders to Premiership make-weights and their two changes of manager since Wilkins' departure speaks volumes about Wilkins credentials.

The current European Champions already have a world class team, but Wilkins will definitely want to do things his own way. Its too early to say whether his own style of management will be what is required to maintain Liverpool as a premiership front runner and European Giant, or whether the change in approach will have a damaging effect on the club.

"I know Liverpool have had terrific fortunes of late, I intend to ensure the club continues to be successful, but the only way I can do this is by being allowed to do things my way." Speaking at a press conference at the end of January, Wilkins was quick to ask not to be compared to his predecessor. "I don't think it would be fair for any team I manage to be compared to any of Sorensen's sides. He has his style and I have had mine. Sure he's won more than I have, but who's to say my approach won't work for Liverpool. How I managed Nottingham Forest in my time there saw us grow into, in my opinion at least, the best side in the land at the time. Why shouldn't my methods work for Liverpool? There's some great players at this club and while we are all getting to know each other we will be learning about each other too. While we learn, we might not be the most entertaining, but as long as the results keep coming we will get there."

"Liverpool will be playing four four f**King two"

[/b]

In a great parody of Mike Bassett (England Manager) Wilkins explained how he wanted his team to perform. "We have some great wide players at this club, it would be foolish not to use them. I've learnt from my time at Arsenal. I think there I was trying to mould a team into what I wanted them to play like, but thats not all with the best approach, sometimes you've got to accept that players have obvious strengths and weaknesses and its up to me to ensure that the team needs to have balance. We are lucky enough to have some left footed midfielders at the club, this makes the option of playing wide players on both flanks. Hopefully this will give us a good balanced platform across the park"

The Team

"One thing I really like is the strong contingent of English players at the club, one thing that I'm keen to utilise."

Wilkins admits it may take time for him to discover his best XI, in the first couple of matches he has put out a fairly similar team each time - some of this is determined by injuries of course, but he definitely seems to be building the team around the English contingent.

GK Chris Kirkland, DC Mathew Upson, Midfielders John Welsh, Scott Parker and Jermain Jenas Attackers Supat Rungratsamee and Nathan Ellington have all featured heavily in the 3 games played so far under Wilkins. Add to these player the international talents ofDiego, Absalonsen, Delgado, De Rossi and Clichy, you definitely get to see the blend of players Wilkins has at his disposal.

The Wilkins mark is quickly stamped on Liverpool

Quick to demonstrate he wants to do things his way, Wilkins has been quick to delve into the transfer market. here are the acquisitions he has made up to the closure of the January Transfer Window.

Arjen Robben (£27m - PSV) - This left sided Dutch Attacker has been the centre of much transfer speculation all season. Jan Sorensen tried to bring him to Liverpool in the summer but failed at that time. He renewed his interest in January as manager of Chelsea, also showing an interest was Wolves manager, Ali Omar. It was Anfield Robben chose and fans were immediately excited by the prospect of this talented player playing in their beloved red colours.

Jermain Jenas (£12.5m - Newcastle) Actually signed by Sorensen for Liverpool, but didn't make his full debut till Wilkins had taken charge. The Former Forest youngster had left the City Ground before Wilkins took the helm there, but is said to be delighted to get the chance to finally work under him. He has so far certainly showed this, scoring on his full debut and indeed bagging 3 goals in his opening 3 games under Wilkins.

Supat "Rugrat" Rungratsamee (£14m - Nottingham Forest) - Given the nickname by Wilkins when he was signed as a 15 year old from Portsmouth, the now 22 year old will bring a more out and out attacking option to the Liverpool side. Wilkins felt while there were plenty of Forward options for him, there wasn't really any real true Goal Scoring Strikers in the team, Rugrat has certainly brought that to the team, scoring on his debut and again in his next two games. Certainly capable of becoming an Anfield Legend.

Marco Borriello (£5m - Nottingham Forest) - Another Striker signed from his former club. Liverpool had the option to bring him in at the end of the season for free, but Wilkins thought bringing him in now for a knock down fee was the best option.

The ones that got away

Not all of wilkins wish list were signed. Attempts to bring in Isaac Osbourne from Arseanl were thwarted when the £3m target chose to go to Stamford Bridge instead of moving up North to Join Wilkins for the 3rd time. Also attempted to be lured from Arsenal was English U21 star, Phil Barber. A long time admirer of Barber and having had the chance to work closely with the rising star for two years, Wilkins was keen for him to link up with him again on Merseyside. Arsenal it seems, despite being managerless right now, were less than keen to let him go. Expect this transfer proposal to raise its head again in the not too distant future.

Tentative enquiries about 30 year old Argentine, Pablo Aimar were quickly rebuffed by Valencia boss Rafa Benitez. It appears Liverpool weren't that keen on the player however and no further action was taken. Another Argentine that Wilkins looked at was FC Bayern forward, Carlos Tevez. It is believed that the German side's demands were enough to convince Wilkins that Dutchman, Robben was the best option.

Games so far

Three games played, the games won. Victory against Birmingham City in the League Cup was a good start for Wilkins. Birmingham previously knocked Arsenal out of the competition whilst under Wilkins' control so a debut goal for Jenas plus a strke from Uraguayan, Delgado and two for Italian Rossi made it a sweet return to management for Wilkins.

In the league the first opponents were Bradford City and despite an injury time goal from Bradford, a debut stike from Rugrat and a second in two games from Jenas were enough for 3 points from the league at first attempt.

Next up was the visit from Arsenal, many eyes were on this game. Wilkins, many thought, might have been out to prove a point. If he was he was helped immensely by Rugrat who opened the scoring after only 16 seconds. It could have been quicker too, had he not needed a second attempt to beat Dennis in goal. Jenas made it 2-0 in the second half and from then on Forest were cruising. No debut goal for Borriello but the Italian looked threatening upfront alongside Rugrat

January drew to an end and a new era at Anfield has been ushered in. Maybe not with the same flamboyance as previously experienced under the stewardship of Jan Sorensen, but certainly it is looking promising. 1 point off the top in 2nd place with 24 games played, a game in hand over leaders Newcastle. The clubs chasing the top two have not performed as well lately and a gap is opening. So far so good it seems.

[bulletsponge]

Crewes good form continues

Crewe goes 2-2-1 over the next 5 games. they also get knocked out of the League cup by Chelsea 2-1. more good news ML Murry signes a new deal with Crewe, his good season was the reason he got a new contract, even if it is only extended by 1 year. Crewe also signed veteran midfeilder Edu for a mere 1 million. The teams playing well and is sitting in 9th place in the EPL. Plus the stadium have been expanded. The next couple of games are crucial for the season, with 2 straigh home games vs mightyLiverpool, 1 epl, the 2nd FA cup.

[bulletsponge]

Sweet Revenge

Jans clubs have always gotten the better of me, humiliating me almost every year. But this time around would be different. in front of a record sold out crowd, Crewe bitch-slapped Liverpool around with a large trout 3-0. the game wasnt even as close as the score indicated. the next game Crewe beat Liverpool again in the FA cup 2-1, soon after Jan resigned from liverpool humiliated .

Crewe then got red hot winning thier next 4 epl games and a 5-1 smackdown at Arsenal in the FA cup. Crewe then tied Wolves 2-2 and lost at Man U 3-1. but a streak of 7-1-1 shot Crewe up the standings into an incredible 3rd place! with most of the team playing well Bulletsponge is eying the EPL championship. they are still about 8 pts out of it, but aiming low never won anything. if Crewe can continue thier form, i see no reason why the Champions League wont get a shock next year from Crewe

* starts practicing the CL dance*

[Cesc Fabregas the Phenom]

Wolves march from strength to strength.

Well what I can say about my boys following on from winning the FA Cup a while back. We did qualify for the European Champions League in fourth place beating the then Arsenal boos Dez Wilkins to it.

This season so far been quite interesting. Lots of goals conceded and alot of goals scored. We currently stand top of the scoring charts, which is a testament to my players and their free-flowing football.

The Laegue sees us in fifth place at the moment, right in the mix for a CL place. I would have thought spending £14m on Stipe Pletikosa would have shored up the defence, alas he has done brilliantly, just the DCs have not done as well. I have so many of them its hard to find the right pairing.

Having qualified for the Champions League, the draw pitted us against none other than Rangers and Real Madrid. We were undefeated in the group going into the last group game at Madrid which we undeservedly lost 1-0.

The 2nd round saw us draw Dortmund, a challenge I look forward to next month.

The best thing though was the signing of Anatoli Todorov for £7m, who finally obtained a work permit. He has been in a rich vein of form scoring 21 goals in 23 league games. Paul Quinn the young starlet who has come through the ranks also has an excellent scoring record and is breaking into the team aged only 18.

The two shocking developments in the Jan transfer window (pun intended) have been from Jan the new Chelsea boss who purchased Bothroyd from me for £7.5m and my other super kid Skelton who I had purchased from Villa only last season. However with him falling down the pecking order thanks to Quinn, I could not refuse a £10m bid from Chelsea having turned down £7.5m earlier in the window.

I can also announce the signings of David Prutton from Arsenal for £3.4m and Glen Johnson from Chelsea for £5m and Heratio Peralta from Blacburn for £11.25m

Jermaine Pennant has also left Wolves and joined Man Utd for a record £14m after refusing to sign a new contract.

Im so glad I have taken the club to a level where I can attract some of the top names to Molineux.

[jan_sørensen]

Winning run disrupted by the reds from anfield

Just when it seemed like miracles were about to happen Liverpool ended our title challenge at anfield with a 1-0 win. Before that match we went on a amazing winning streak that lifted us from 8 to 3rd in the league, and just a few points behind the anfield outfit.

The winning streak also included a good league cup win over liverpool, so the season is a success already and Qualyfying for the Cl will be the only target for the reminder of the season.

It is possible but there are 5-6 teams battling for 3rd and 4th spot. Our advantage could be a rather easy run in to the season, we play non of the other top teams, so the chance is there.

Jan the man has once again showed that he doesnt belive in overpaid or/and over the hill star players, so he has made a massive squad clear out, that have reduced the wage budget by about 750k a week. Even though i have the money i see no point in paying players that sort of money. So out went (among others) Joe Cole, Fabian Barthez, Mutu, Glen Johnson and transfers are arranged for Crespo and Bridges this summer.

So hopefully i can bring in some fresh blood this summer, but it is hard to buy players these days, when you get 26m£ offers for defenders turned down..

Cause even with a huge transfer kitty i will try and spent the money wisely.

[bulletsponge]

End of the 3rd Quarter

Crewe continued winning beating Bradford and Shuans Bolton. But then 2 mediocre performances saw us draw 0-0 agaimst Newcastle and loose 0-2 vs Chelsea. more bad news as starting striker Hidalgo got injured and will be in rehab for the rest of the season.

Crewe won its 2 FA games in the stretch 14-0 combined against Chesterfield and Middleboro. Crewe plays Newcastle in the Semis.

Crewe sat in 6th place , but then 3 big wins in a row saw them shoot up to 3rd place. included was a 4-1 thrashing at Arsenal.

With only about 6-8 games remaining in the season, Crewe are only 2 pts out of 2nd place and 8 out of 1st place. but the race is tight and only hold a 2pt lead over 5th place. a string of victories could see Crewe clinch a CL berth next year. but a mediocre finish could see Crewe finish out of Europe all together. Crewe still has a road game at Wolves, and that might be the hardest game left on fixture, with Alis Wolves only 2 pts behind Crewe.

Ali also tried to buy my playmaker Kakalov for 10 million + 2 players. the players he was offering looked good, but thier salaries were high and the fact that he wanted to get rid of them didnt make me giddy with delight. i didnt need the money (still have over 7 mill in my own Trasfer kitty and cant spend it) and i didnt want to mess with my team chemistry while we are winning.

stay tuned so you can read my final report on the season finish. Will Crewe pull out a glorious finish and get into the CL? will Crewe choke and fall out of europe? will i keep the scavangers away from my prizzed team assets?

[jan_sørensen]

chelsea season ends in misery

First our title hopes were ended then the dreams of CL football next season went down the drain aswell, after a very poor finish to the season with only 1 win from 5 matches. Hopefully we can do 1 better next season and get a place in the CL.

But for Jan_the_man the place in the uefa cup gives him the chance to win the throphy that is still missing in his impressive collection of silwerware.

Liverpool retained the title and i feel i played a big part in that as well, since i built most of the team and gathered many points in the first half of the season. And congrets to Dez for his good work, its not easy to take over a new team and make it work instantly but Dez did just that.

My squad will look very different next season as i finally managed to seal some transfers.

HoggStriker from crewe for a bargain price of 10.75m, he played very impressive against me when i was at liverpool, and i am sure he will produce a consistent number of goals.

DobsonForward from Leicester for the impressive amount of 24 mill £, certainly he is not worth that kind of money ATM, but at only 20 he has the years ahead of him and could become a world class striker and a regular england international. But he is good enough to play in my team already, and he might turn out to be a bargain.

Lee Riley Defender from villa real(7.25m), another young english player with a huge potential, i think he will be a regular in my team and he will make his full international debut in a few years time.

Loban Bogdant experienced keeper from Ajax coming on a free tranfser. He will be a good addition to the squad as i only have 2 keeepers atm.

Henk Hoestra from liverpool for 10 mill £, a player i brought to england recently when i was i charge there, but he never really got the chance due to the stiff competition in the the liverpool squad, but he will be a regular player at right back for years to come at Chelsea.

KerrA solid Midfielder who can win balls and fight for the full 90 minutes, all teams need players like that.

Doigo Defensive midfielder from Not Forest, this is a bit of a risky purchase cause he hasnt produced good ratings at Forest but he looks like a good player and 6.75 wasnt a bad price.

I have sold the remainder of the overpaid players from the squad i took over; Bøgelund and Germini, in fact only 3 players from the former managers starting 11 is still around; Sean Davis, Mceveley and Kallon and they are worth their high salary. When we reach next season no chelsea players are earning more than 50k a week at that is an important message to sent out. Chelsea is not a place for overpaid primadonnas to be, and hopefully this will tone down the ridicilous wage demands i have seen from some players that i have been trying to purchase.

I still need to bring in at least 1 more quality dc cause the defence looked more than dodgy in the last few matches, and with bridges gone Mcevely will move to the LB position in a team that might look like this 4-3-1-2:

Lobant

Hoekstra Riley Corrales Mcevely

Davis Kerr Osbourne

Kallon

Dobson Hogg

And with back up strikers like skelton and harvey, midfielders like Barber, Doigo and Mcfadden we have a good squad. Not a title challening 1, but a good squad with a good blend of young british players and experinced stars.

It is only the defence that lacks depth but I will work on that and there is still money to use even though i pass the 100m£ mark in paid transfer fees when the summer transfers go through.

[DezMW]

Reds do Double under new manager

Having taken over with Liverpool lying in 2nd spot in the League in january, the taask of catching and overtaking Newcastle was going to be a tough one, but with the chance to bring in a few new faces before the close of the Winter transfer window manager wilkins was able to make Liverpool into partially "his" team. The start to his reign was superb winning six games in a row and getting through to the League Cup Final showed instant results for the new manager.

Althought the honeymoon period came to an end in the seventh league game in charge, away to Southampton. It still took 4 goals from the home side to take 3 points in this end to end 7 goal thriller.

Next up was the League cup final against Chelsea. This was a close tight game which saw the Anfield outfit loose out 2-1 to Jan's Chelsea side. Wilkins had previously enjoyed an impressive record against the Dane having only lost twice in the past numerous encounters, but it was Chelsea's day on this occasion. Both managers were new in their respective posts and maybe Sorensen's knowledge of his previous employers was the telling factor.

The league campaign was subsequently interupted by the return of Champions League football for Liverpool. Unchartered territory for Wilkins as, in his previous two outings as a manager in the CL - first with Forest then later with Arsenal, Both sides participation ended at the finish of the group stage. The Quarter final saw Liverpool lined up against Bayern Munich in another tense Anglo-German match up.

There was nothing between the two sides and this showed in the matches, both legs ending goal less and after a draining Extra Time at Anfield the tie went to penalties. For once the English side faired the better, with strikes from Agahowa and Diego being enough to see Liverpool into the semi's with a 2-0 win.

Next out of the hat was Manchester United. As things stood in the space of three days Utd stood the chance of putting a right kibosh on Liverpool's Trophy hunt. Loosing the away leg 3-1 meant liverpool need to win by a comfortable margin in the 2nd leg to stand a chance of reaching the final. Couple that with the knowledge that a trip to Old Trafford the following Saturday could possibly see Liverpool toppled from the top spot in the league, being as they were - 3 points ahead of the chasing Uniteds (Manchester AND Newcastle). On the other hand Victory in the two games would be incredibly sweet for the Anfield faithful over their arch rivals whom they had lived under the shadow of under the years of decline in the 90's and early 2000's.

The omens were bad for the CL clash - John Welsh and Daniele De Rossi were both suspended - with the likes of Robben and Rugrat ineligible for the competition the manager had to turn to some of the less than regular players in seek of a 2-0 or better result. They didn't disappoint, Goals from Absalonsen (x2), Ellington and Agahowa sent Anfield into delerium with a fantastic 4-0 result. Liverpool still had the chance to retain the CL trophy. They would face fellow English outfit, Newcastle - in a repeat of last season's final that was only won on penalties, for now though the attention was returned to the remaining fixtures in the league and the quest to retain the Premiership crown.

Having had a rest imposed on them in midweek, there was a return to the first team for De Rosi, Welsh, Robben and Rugrat for the trip to Old Trafford. The Manchester Giants would be hurting from their midweek collapse against Liverpool and were certainly out to upset as many apple carts as they could.

It was a close, tense affair with no side able to assert their authority on proceedings. Chances were squandered by both sides, but mainly the match was played out in midfield, that was until the 83rd minute corner for Liverpool down the right hand side. Absolansen hit an inswinging cross which was met by the head of Diego on the edge of the six yard box. Somehow the headed beat the goalkeeper and defender on the near post and it was 1-0 to Liverpool. The Reds shut up shop then, prepared to hang on to the goal lead. The next 10 minutes were about frustrating the home side. It was accomplished with aplom and Liverpool were Champions with a game to spare.

The final league game of the season was against Bullet's Crewe outfit - a side challenging for a place in next season's Champions League. It was a chance for some of the youngsters in the side to get a run out. They were outplayed by a dominant Crewe side, but thanks to a little fortune, only lost 1-0.

This match of course mattered more to the opposition as it secured their place in the CL next season.

Speaking of the CL - there was a final to be played. De Rossi and Welsh were both back in the team having served their suspensions - something Wilkins was delighted about "No player should be forced to miss an occasion like this when they've played such a big part in getting the team there." he commented.

Another player who had contributed so much to getting Liverpool to the final was Absalonsen, his two superb strikes against Man Utd alone made him stand out as a key man in the European campaign. He didn't disappoint in the final either. Being the driving force for Liverpool through out the match. Setting the first Goal up for Agahowa, and then after Newcastle had equalised, taking the ball on the wing, late in the second half, he jinked past the fullback and into the area. As the Keeper came to meet him he smashed home, what would become, the Final goal of this season Champions League. 2-1 the final score and a tremendous end to the season under a new manager.

Liverpool have retained both league and European title's despite loosing their manager along the way this season. Many people will still see Wilkins's achievements as nothing but floating on a wave started by his predecessor, but the more success that arrives, the more people will have to start judging the achievements of the Liverpool as being guided by Wilkins, and guided by Wilkins alone.

[DezMW]

End of An era brings a new dawn to the GQ Clan

Well after 7 seasons of blood, sweat and tears (not to mention the odd tantrum thrown in for good measure) the GQ boys have called time on their wonderful CM Online experience.

For many in this clan its been their first outing in the Online world of CM and for all it has prooved to be a great challenge and I'm sure all who took part (and indeed those who have kept up with the game's progress) will all agree that overall the game was a huge success. Afterall who could forget some of the things that have happened along the line -

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>

<LI>Joe's defiant attempts to keep Burnley alive in the First Division and following that his demise as a manager following His reign at free falling Luton.

<LI>Mike's (Chilliconcarnie) shocking transfer decisions at Cardiff which saw him get the boot so early - only to return with a Grimsby Town side that he transformed from Second Division Also-rans to Premiership hopefuls.

<LI>Shaun Kelly and his magnificent dispute with the Sunderland Board that saw him axed as manager after securing promotion to the EPL at the first attempt and then scandelously asked to clear his desk just for handing the board an ultimatum!! He paid the price - the penalty in this case a +1 indignation and a seat at the rebok stadium. Where he once again showed he can manage anywhere (as long as he gets his own way ) by achieving promotion and settling into life in the Premiership midtable.

<LI>The Crazy Texan Joel (Bulletsponge) who came into the game thinking his team were like his more familiar American counter parts. "The Crewe, are they like The Metrostars or The Dolphins??? Where in England do The Crewe play????" But yet still got to grips with the tight purse strings and bred a team for success just like Dario Gradi, relying heavily on cheap buys and home grown talent. Taking Crewe Alexander to the Champions League is not to be mocked in anyone's book.

<LI>Jan Sorensen made a name for himself by being the first member to win the EPL with Liverpool, but before that he took WBA to the Champions League. Certainly the most tactically zany of the bunch with his wild and often weird formations, some people were left dreading playing Jan's sides - me I loved it as I got a chance to test my own skills against something a bit different.

<LI>My favourite going on in this game has undoubtedly got to have been RedRob's involvement at Wimbledon. Despite being the perenial bankrupt Milton Keynes manager from day one and seeing them have their star assets routinely stripped from them by the rest of the Clan, he still had Wimbledon running away with the league in the 1st season - that was until Xmas when the turn of the year saw him loose the midus touch and Wimbledon went into free fall, this free fall went on for about a year. But still he plugged on and tried to get somewhere - anywhere with this side. It was great to witness. Its a shame Rob never made it to the EPL, if one member deserved to it was him.

<LI>And to all the others that I haven't mentioned. You all played your part and all deserve a big thanks to what has been a big success in my eyes

Well I started that only meaning to list a couple of short comments about the past 10 months of CM03/04 gaming together, but it just hit me how many great tales from this game there have been. It may be over for that game, but with FM's release just round the corner preparations are already underway to bring you GQFM Online Game.

Work on the Website is underway www.gqcmonline-clan.net. and More news will follow. For now though the GQCMOnline game is finished.