Amaroq Posted May 20, 2008 Author Share Posted May 20, 2008 Saturday, 1st January, 2011, morning. With a game in the afternoon, the board meeting was held early Saturday morning. Chairman Dooley had a delighted look on his face, and started the meeting with "I know something you don't know." To my surprise and happiness, he told me that Robert Cousins had won the Premiership Young Player of the Month award for his performance in attacking midfield, and a small celebration was planned prior to our next home match. Iain Hume, who's been alternating with Cousins at the right-side attacking midfield role, had come third in the Player of the Month vote, and also had the third-best goal of the month, given for his curled shot from outside the area against Tottenham. I had good news of my own to report - over the past twenty-four hours, Ben Hammond and Bruno Cheyrou had both renewed their contracts. Hammond had signed through June of 2013, while Cheyrou had extended his for one season, through the end of the 2011/12 season. Having thus secured their futures, that left us with Peter Weatherson and Mathieu Berson expiring, along with 18-year-old Michael Cross, all three of whom I fully intended to see off the team. We'd in fact grown the squad by a complement of three, transfers pre-arranged which were completed on the first. SC Paul Stott, 20, England, 1 U-21 cap: 18 games, 2 goals, 0 assists, 6.89 with Aston Villa: This 20-year-old is my replacement for Peter Weatherson, and should begin seeing immediate action up front. He's known for pinpoint crosses and tight marking, but my scouts were also very impressed with his teamwork and work ethic. He has good pace, finishing, creativity, and concentration, but what caught my attention was how well-rounded his game is: he'll win balls in the air AND be good at feet, and if he can continue to improve over the next two or three seasons, I think he'll quickly crack the starting lineup. Over the past 18 months, he'd come off the bench 26 times for Aston Villa, not really impressing but certainly learning a lot, and I'd splashed out a Sheffield United record £4.5M to bring him to Bramall Lane. It was quite a gamble for a player so young! AM/F C Dave Moss, 17, England, uncapped: 3 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 7.00 with Fulham: Just seventeen years of age, Moss is already regarded as a talent thanks to his intense concentration. He has good acceleration and stamina as well, and looks well-rounded, with few real weaknesses to his game. He needs a year or two on loan, I suspect, and I'll be looking to get him that sort of experience almost immediately, hoping it will improve his poor off-the-ball movement; he also needs work on his technique. Still, it was worth a £1.4M gamble to prise him away from Fulham, even if we are overloaded at the attacking midfield already. His versatility, playing any of our three attacking positions, will serve us very well if we set him on the bench. AM/F LC Rob Sayer, 17, England, uncapped: 18 games, 2 goals, 0 assists, 5.94 with Torquay United (League Two): A bit more of a project, Sayer caught my eye back in September with his blinding pace, which alone seemed worth £0.3M to secure his contract. He just turned 17 yesterday, so I'll need to renew his contract beyond the end of 2011, but that shouldn't pose much of an obstacle. Of more concern for his long-term future is the sheer amount of work he'll need to do to bring his technical and mental game up to a level worthy of his footspeed. It will be a long-term project, but he looked a better prospect than most of the younglings coming through our development programme. The three transfers had brought our spending for the year up to a record £12.2M, and, lumped into the December financials, had left us with a loss of £3.1M despite the gate receipts from our large number of home matches. For the year, we'd now lost £7.6M, though the TV revenues (£14.4M) were accounted to the previous season, so we were still turning a net profit year-over-year. Our bank balance was up to £18.4M, and we were almost clear of our outstanding loan, which will expire September 23rd of this year - there is only £0.8M left to pay on it. I still had £1.8M remaining in the transfer kitty, which wasn't going to be enough to complete my deal with Middlesbrough. The board remained delighted with my performance, both financial and on the pitch, where fourth place and with a game in hand had us solidly in contention for a European berth and still barely holding on to a Champions League slot. The big gap back to 8th place made another top seven finish look very likely. Further, I received a vote of thanks from them for so quickly putting to bed the Middlesbrough rumour. "Your loyalty and integrity does you credit," Mr. Dooley told me. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GF GA GD (GP) 1 Chelsea 54 17 3 2 50 11 +39 (22) 2 Liverpool 51 16 3 3 39 13 +26 (22) 3 Arsenal 45 14 3 5 58 32 +26 (22) 4 Sheffield United 42 12 6 3 36 23 +13 (21) 5 Manchester United 40 11 7 3 42 19 +23 (21) 6 Fulham 40 11 7 4 37 25 +12 (22) 7 Blackburn 35 10 5 7 34 28 + 6 (22) 8 Manchester City 30 8 6 8 36 29 + 7 (22) 9 Newcastle United 30 9 3 10 44 43 + 1 (22) 10 Middlesbrough 29 8 5 9 22 26 - 4 (22) 11 Tottenham 28 6 10 6 29 29 0 (22) 12 West Ham United 25 7 4 11 32 48 -16 (22) 13 Charlton Athletic 23 6 5 11 34 46 -12 (22) 14 Aston Villa 22 5 7 9 19 27 - 8 (21) 15 Southampton 22 5 7 10 24 34 -10 (22) 16 Everton 21 4 9 9 21 33 -12 (22) 17 Bolton 21 6 3 13 24 47 -23 (22) ----------------------------------------------------------- 18 West Brom Albion 15 3 6 13 20 38 -18 (22) 19 Ipswich Town 15 3 6 12 17 35 -18 (21) 20 Derby County 10 1 7 14 9 41 -32 (22)</pre> Our 3-0 manhandling of them hadn't hurt City too badly - they were still eighth, though its a tight pack from eighth to eleventh, good teams all. Mohamed Al Fayed had gotten his wishes with Fulham, too, as David Hay had the Cottagers up in sixth! On the goal-scoring front, Mateja Kezman had added to his league-leading total, but Fulham's Jonathan Stead was closing the gap. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1 Mateja Kezman 15 Chelsea Serbia & Montenegro 2 Jonathan Stead 12 Fulham England 3 = Thierry Henry 11 Arsenal France 3 = Nicolas Anelka 11 Charlton Athletic France 5 = Dimitris Papadopolous 10 Manchester City Greece 5 = Claudio Pizarro 10 Arsenal Peru 7 = Florent Sinama-Pongolle 9 Sheffield United France 7 = Robbie Keane 9 Tottenham Ireland 7 = Paul Gallagher 9 Blackburn Scotland 7 = James McFadden 9 Newcastle United Scotland</pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 20, 2008 Author Share Posted May 20, 2008 Saturday, 1st January, 2011. Premier League - Game 22, at Charlton Athletic. We started the New Year off with a trip to 13th-placed Charlton, a dangerous attacking side whose leaky defense had mired them in the bottom half of the table. With 21-year-old James Murphy making his first season as a starter in goal, and two similarly young defenders in their back four, they had the consistency of a sieve. We'd contributed our share of goals against them, pounding them 5-2 at home earlier in the season, with five different players on the scoresheet. Sixth in the Premiership last season had been their second-best placing since World War II, but they'd already conceded more than they had that entire season. The slide had cost Alan Curbishley his long-time position by the end of October. His replacement, former German head Jürgen Klinsmann, was just now beginning to stamp his authority on the club, but had made no changes at the January transfer windo, not even to bring in the keeper they so obviously needed. Roy Carroll returned in goal for us, with Joe Keenan, David Rozehnal, Ben Hammond, and Danny Payne across the back four - hardly my strongest quartet. Freddy GuarÃn provided some quality at defensive midfield, and I told him I expected a great game from him to keep the pressure off the back. On the wings I reunited Jonathan Forte and Graham Allen, my 2007/08 Championship partnership. Up front, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson continued that Championship season theme, while Robert Cousins and Florent Sinama-Pongolle were licking their lips at the thought of attacking the Charlton defense. As I'd expected, we looked the better side in the opening minutes, though Charlton came out on the attack, looking for an early goal at home. For the most part, they were looking to play through Nicolas Anelka, who was well marked by David Rozehnal today. Through the first quarter hour, their every attack foundered in our final third, more often than not at the hands of hard-working Freddy GuarÃn. Our counter-attack looked threatening, but the final touch was missing: Cousins, Bridge-Wilkinson, and Sinama-Pongolle all missed early chances. Charlton defensive midfielder Edgar Barreto didn't look dangerous 30 yards from goal in the twentieth minute, but he ducked around two of his own players, effectively screening Robert Cousins off the ball. That gave him just enough space to take a shot, which found the top near-side corner from the right, a wonderful strike that left the outstretched Roy Carrol little chance at all. I was up off the bench, screaming for obstruction, but none of the referees could hear me over the 22,000 strong at The Valley. I was sent back to the bench with a warning from the fourth official and an 0-1 deficit. I started pushing the fullbacks and wingers forward, and exhorted the lads to patience. It nearly paid off exactly as I draw it up in the 32nd minute, when great work by Freddy GuarÃn saw him overlap Jonathan Forte on the left, reaching the end line, then picking out Cousins, who created space in the area, drawing defenders towards him. He faked a shot, then dropped it off for Danny Payne. The right back unleashed a vicious first-touch strike to the far post. Our bench cleared in delight, as it looked to be flighted in, but it skipped just inches wide. Still, it was a great buildup, one I wish I could can and replay at will! It remained 0-1 through the intermission, but in the 48th minute a fine ball from Marc Bridge-Wilkinson put Florent Sinama-Pongolle on a breakaway. He drew both central defenders to him, and only a brilliant challenge by Albrechtson kept it out. Bridge-Wilkinson, trailing, took it on the bounce and half-volleyed it from 20 yards - only a fine save by young James Murphy prevented a magical goal. The hour mark came and went, and I was beginning to get worried. I'd already signaled Scott Allen to go on for Graham Allen on the right wing when Graham made his last touch, a fantastic long ball for Sinama-Pongolle. This time he'd gotten five yards behind Albrechtson, and made a deft touch to round Igor Biscan at the eighteen. Last year's Premier League leading scorer against a 21-year-old rookie was an unfair matchup, and the French striker left-footed it low to the corner for a fine equalizer: 1-1, and we had a share of the points. Scenting blood, the lads continued to press forward despite my cautions to mind their defensive responsibilities. In the 76th minute, Scott Allen was working the right sideline, and spotted Cousins in space about twenty-five yards from goal, with the defense set up deep in the Charlton area. Cousins took one touch to the edge of the arc, then fired a wicked shot. Murphy might have had it, but Albrechtson stretched for it, and it took a subtle deflection off his thigh, redirecting it from catchable at chest height into the top corner. Murphy, falling underneath it, had no way to reach the deflection and could only watch in despair as we took a 2-1 lead. Athletic, desperate for the equalizer, shifted to a 4-2-4, but we held fast. I introduced Joe Newell for Bridge-Wilkinson, and in the dying minutes stiffened our defense by replacing Ben Hammond with captain Hayden Foxe. The Australian made two key clearances, but the rock of the defense remained Freddy GuarÃn. The Colombian made good on my pre-match challenge, ranging from sideline to sideline to thwart the Charlton attack time and time again. When the final whistle blew, he had certainly earned Man of the Match honours. Charlton Athletic 1, Sheffield United 2 Barreto 20; Sinama-Pongolle 63, Cousins 76 MoM: GuarÃn I was quite happy with the win, though I could have done without the need for late heroics, but the lads took it in stride. Perhaps that was the best sign of all, that they took such a road win as a matter of course, no less than they'd expected and certainly no surprise. In fact, I was somewhat surprised to note a glum look on Roy Carrol's face - he felt he'd let the lads down by not keeping the first goal out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 21, 2008 Author Share Posted May 21, 2008 Sunday, 2nd January, 2011. Celestine Babayaro and Abubakar Shittu had been called up to the Nigerian national side for a New Year's Day African Nations Cup qualifier against Seychelles. When Benny Wadsworth was sent off in the fifth minute, Nigeria had a man advantage, and Obafemi Martins took full advantage, securing a hat trick. He benefited from two fine assists by Babayaro, who played an absolutely fantastic match at left back. Shittu was brought on in the 58th minute as a substitute to protect the lead, and had a decent but unspectacular game - down 4-0, Seychelles seemed disinterested in attacking, so he had a quiet time. Closer to home, new signing Rob Sayer scored on his debut with our Under-18 side, a road game against Chester U-18s. Martin Gray added a second goal, but the game remained close until the introduction of James Bradley late in the second half. The 18-year-old scored two goals and had plenty of chances to get his hat-trick thanks to the work of Man of the Match left wing Paul Alexander, as our lads won convincingly by 4-0. The next day, Sayer signed a new contract, one which should keep him at the club through June of 2014, while I began to reconsider letting Bradley leave. He seemed to be finding his goalscoring touch, and in fact looks unchallenged at the U-18 level. I think he's earned a shot at six months in the Reserves, maybe even a three-month loan, before I make a firm decision about his future. Unluckily, back at Bramall Lane, Bruno Cheyrou pulled his groin in training. Instead of starting tomorrow's match, the aging playmaker will miss almost a month in physiotherapy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 21, 2008 Author Share Posted May 21, 2008 Monday, 3rd January, 2011. Premier League - Game 23, vs West Bromwich Albion. We'd played W.B.A. seven times in my tenure: twice in the Championship, twice in the Championship playoffs, and three times in the Premier League. Of those matches, we'd won six, losing only the away leg of the playoff semi-final. The last two matches had been convincing 3-0 and 2-0 victories, and Albion were 18th this season. Their defense were pounded by injuries - missing regulars Shaun Barker and Alberto Lopo - and with an infamously weak offense, they didn't look to pose much of a threat. Despite his poor recent form, Roy Carroll started again in goal. Though they had both played for Nigeria two days earlier, Celestine Babyaro and Abubakar Shittu each started in defense, with Hayden Foxe and Keith McCormack completing the complement. Mathieu Berson took the holding midfield role, and Victor Sikora made his second start after injury on the right wing. Joe Hamill partnered him on the left. Up front, I was missing a real playmaker, and could only partner Iain Hume with Joe Newell, while Imre Szabics remained in fine form as the lone striker. It was a very rough game, played in intermittent showers on a muddy pitch. Referee Neale Barry had to give four yellows in the opening going, all due to horror tackles. The worst offenders were in the outmanned West Brom back line, who left Victor Sikora limping early, but the entire W.B.A. side were going all out. It was effective, in terms of disrupting play and preventing us from getting any rhythm going: by the twentieth minute, I was starting to notice lads shying out of challenges for fear of their career. By halftime, defenders Keith McCormack and Hayden Foxe had joined Sikora in the "noticeable limp" category. All three wanted to continue, but since West Brom's timid 4-5-1 didn't look particularly threatening, I brought all three off. I sent on Sean Dillon, Darren White, and Paul Stott in their place. It didn't seem worth risking further injury on a freezing Sheffield night. Giving Stott his debut in that manner shifted us to a 3-5-2, without the flexibility to change back later should we take the lead, but I didn't want to risk further injury to key players. The 20-year-old striker breathed instant life into our offense, and in the 50th minute was set free on a breakaway thanks to Mathieu Berson. The crowd rose to their feet as we got our best chance of the evening. The enthusiastic striker looked set to score on his debut, but 19-year-old goalkeeper John Page made a fine save. To my surprise, the Baggies managed to avoid any further cards, despite another vicious tackle that left Joe Hamill struggling with a knock. They were holding us primarily to long-range efforts through sixty, then seventy minutes. The pitch was turning into quite a bog, churned up as it had been, and with the cold rain coming down steadily throughout the second half, it began to look like a nil-nil draw. Sitting on the bench, even with a heavy coat and scarf, I was chilled to the bone, and our offense was doing nothing to warm me up. Even the Bramall Lane crowd seemed uncharacteristically subdued. Finally, right on 70 minutes, Iain Hume took another shot from the arc. It deflected off of Damien Francis, completely wrongfooting Page. Unluckily, it hit the post, and came to a dead stop in the mud. Stott almost got to it, but Davis slid in to put the ball safely out. Groans of despair echoed through the ground, and some of our supporters began trudging for the exits, if you can believe it. The danger wasn't quite over. Joe Hamill played the resulting corner low to Mathieu Berson at the arc. He fed it into the packed area for Imre Szabics, who hammered it on goal first-touch. From just to the right of the spot, it somehow threaded its way through a forest of bodies untouched, and unsighted by the luckless Page. It went directly over the shocked keeper before he could get his hands up, and we had taken a 1-0 lead. Unable to go to a 4-5-1, having already made all my changes, we were left to defend from the 3-5-2. Unfortunately, Hamill was limping badly, almost unable to keep up with the run of play. These factors nearly combined to cost us in the 83rd minute, as Juan Carlos Menendez raced past Hamill up the right side, then played a gorgeous long ball for substitute striker Mike Hill, who had five yards on Abubakar Shittu. It looked an easy goal, but his shot went wide of the post to my great relief. A brief moment later, we had a breakaway of our own, as Berson lofted a ball ahead of the enthusiastic young Stott. He skipped past centre back Stephen Caldwell at the arc, closing to fifteen yards to shoot. Again, Page pushed the shot away to deny the young striker a goal on his debut, but the rebound fell directly to Imre Szabics. The Hungarian coolly collected, settling with his first touch, and then burying it with his second to give us a 2-0 lead. A two goal advantage should be secure, but West Brom weren't giving up, and in the 87th minute, substitute midfielder John Neill drove a lovely long ball. It didn't quite clear our defense, and Sean Dillon, playing out of position on the right side, tried to head it back to fellow left back Celestine Babayaro. They are clearly not used to playing together, and it skipped past the Nigerian. Hill pounced on the loose ball, racing into the area and beating Carroll for an easy goal to make it 2-1. Worried, I shouted orders to fall back into a 4-5-1, ordering Szabics to try his hand to right back. He gave me an incredulous look, and was jogging back that direction just after the kickoff, but Mesenguez launched a long ball over the defense for Hill. He had broken the offsides trap, past Babayaro and Dillon on the left side, and again had Carroll at his disposal one-on-one. His shot was powerful and low, just finding the near corner for his second goal in two minutes, and we'd seen a 2-0 advantage disintegrate into a 2-2 deadlock just that quickly. Suddenly, I was shouting at Szabics to get back up front, while Carroll berated his wayward defense - he certainly hadn't been at fault for either goal. The action continued fast and furious, as in injury time Hamill's header sprang Stott into the area. Through the defense, he had the chance for a dramatic debut game-winner, but instead cut a wonderful ball right for Hume. Unmarked, ten yards out, and with Page out of position to cut off Stott's angle, the Canadian blasted a ferocious right-footed shot which skied over the bar. He should have buried it, and needn't have put anywhere near as much power on the shot. The disbelief on his face was evident, and it turned out to be the last serious touch for either side, as the final whistle blew and a game we should have won ended in a heart-sickening 2-2 draw. Sheffield United 2, West Brom 2 Szabics 71, 85; Hill 87, 88 MoM: Hamill Joe Hamill's gutsy performance, lasting ninety minutes despite his injury, earned him Man of the Match honours, and the good news in the changing room was that Martin Baverstock didn't expect any lasting injuries from our four players who had suffered during the match. He perscribed a day or two of rest, and that was all. Still, the mood was as glum as you could imagine - everyone seemed to feel as badly as if we'd lost the match outright. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madog308 Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 bit of a dry spell here amaroq, you really need pongolle to get back to his fine former form l\0/. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 22, 2008 Author Share Posted May 22, 2008 Man, expectations really are high now: two wins and a draw equals a dry spell? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 22, 2008 Author Share Posted May 22, 2008 Thursday, 6th January, 2011. Despite the holiday fixture congestion, two of our veterans, Roy Carroll and Peter Weatherson, made mid-week starts with the Reserve team. Carroll was in a search to find his form, and Weatherson looking to impress potential buyers. The striker may have, scoring on a header, but Carroll conceded two goals. It looked as though the United Reserves might drop the match to the Liverpool Reserves, until almost four minutes into stoppage time, when 17-year-old midfielder Ron Francis scored a dramatic equalizer to finish the match at 2-2. Though he'd come on as a substitute around the hour mark, Francis was named Man of the Match to his evident delight. Goalkeeper Stephen Cummins was packing his bags, as I'd agreed his loan to Championship side Wigan Athletic through the end of the season. Though he's been on the bench as Roy Carroll's backup almost every match this season, he hasn't seen much action and 18th-placed Wigan seemed likely to start him. That would promote the promising Chris Brown to the bench here, and of course I could recall Cummins if Carroll were to do himself an injury. Attacking midfielder Gareth Davies was off, too, to League Two side Huddersfield Town. That reminded me to check if my on-loan players were seeing sufficient playing time, and I noted that Benjamin Herzog, Michael Field, and Martin Ellis were not. I triggered the 'recall' clause on each loan. It was particularly painful in Herzog's case - we would have given him more action than the three substitute appearances he'd had with Sunderland had he stayed here through our crisis at right back. We suffered the usual minor knicks and aches in training - left back Sean Dillon twisted his knee and winger Darren White sprained his wrist, injuries which would rule them each out for about a week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 22, 2008 Author Share Posted May 22, 2008 Saturday, 8th January, 2011. F.A. Cup - Third Round, vs Queen's Park Rangers. We opened our defense of the F.A. Cup by playing host to Championship side Q.P.R. Sixth, and in the playoff hunt, they would provide a stern test for us: a team nearly equal to our Premiership competition, but in excellent morale and on a five-game winning streak. We'd had their number the past six times the sides met, dating back to 2004, with a 4-2-0 record, but data three years out of date had little bearing on today's match. Of more relevance was the constant rain, which had soaked the pitch through despite the best efforts of the Bramall Lane grounds crew. I wasn't going to make the mistake of not taking them seriously, as I didn't want the embarrassment of an early exit. Still, the Cup matches are a chance to give my younger players some experience, so it was mixed squad I named. 17-year-old Chris Brown made his second career start in goal, with Celestine Babayaro, Hayden Foxe, and Ben Hammond in his defense. Benjamin Herzog, only recently returned to the squad, would start at right back. Freddy GuarÃn was the defensive midfielder, and Jonathan Forte and Graham Allen were partnered on the wings again. Up front, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson was the playmaker, and 18-year-old Dave Moss got to make his Bramall Lane debut. Fellow new signing Paul Stott, so impressive off the bench against W.B.A., earned his first start as the striker, but I had Imre Szabics on the bench in case we fell behind. Referee Nigel Miller took center stage right from the start, awarding two yellow cards in the first two minutes. That set a tone he had to follow - neither had deserved a booking, and from then on every questionable tackle saw a card. By the 12th minute, five players were carrying cards, and it seemed a sending-off was inevitable. Unfortunately, he wasn't protecting Marc Bridge-Wilkinson at all, and two injuries in the opening stages saw me make my first substitution at the 22 minute mark, bringing Joe Newell on for the hobbling veteran. I'd rather have seen those two tackles, only, result in cards, but neither did. In the 27th minute, the disaster I'd been dreading struck: Hayden Foxe, already carrying a yellow, upended striker Kevin Bell while battling for a ball at midfield. Miller wasted no time in sending him off, leaving us on ten men for the remainder of the match. As the crowd chanted "The ref's a ******," I brought striker Paul Stott off for Joe Keenan to keep the back four steady, shifting to a 4-5-0. Without even a striker to keep them honest, we were in real trouble then, as Q.P.R. built constant pressure around our box for the next twenty minutes. Bell nearly got his revenge with a diving header over the bar, and a brilliant reflex save by Chris Brown was required to deny Wayne Thomas on corner. Both Freddy GuarÃn and Celestine Babayaro made some fine clearances, working hard despite the risk of yellow - GuarÃn already had one, and Babayaro was showing a worrisome contempt for the referee. It was another dubious whistle in the 44th minute which gave us a free kick right on the arc, with Paul McVeigh backing into Graham Allen as they both tried to position themselves for a header. The crowd rose to their feet as Freddy GuarÃn lined up over it, a mere 22 yards from goal. With a seven-man wall, there were some open jerseys in the box, but the Colombian was having none of it. Instead, he showed just why he was worth the £4.4M we'd paid for him, curling his shot around the wall and into the top corner!! What a magnificent strike! Shorthanded, we'd taken a 1-0 lead to the intermission! At halftime, I exhorted the lads to play positional defense, staying on the goal side of their man and going easy on the challenges lest Miller send somebody else off. Half our players were carrying cards by then, and I only had one substitution remaining, which I wanted to save in case the young goalkeeper got sent off. GuarÃn got another chance on the free kick in the 52nd minute, from right on the eighteen, but this time it was partially blocked and Alessandro Birindelli dealt with it. The crowd, meanwhile, had utterly given up on Miller: they were demanding a yellow card on every Q.P.R. tackle, and booing even a whistle given against their Blades. The next break in the game, however, was not the referee's mistake. Q.P.R. goalkeeper Birindelli made a horror blunder in the 64th minute when he came out of the box to play a backpass. He slipped on the wet turf, mis-hitting his kick, which fell easily to Joe Newell - the hard-working youngster had closed down in a situation most veterans would have simply jogged through. It looked set to pay off, with the attacking midfielder well behind the defense. He should have easily made it two-nil, but he didn't really round the Q.P.R. keeper. Birindelli made up for his error by scrambling into his way, sliding through to put it out for a throw: a fantastic one-on-one save! Q.P.R.'s players seemed to be tiring with the constant rain and muddy pitch, while our lads were still fit as the second half wore on and buoyed by the crowd's constant support. That was never more evident than in the 73rd minute. GuarÃn was the only one with energy to pursue a loose ball in the center circle, and when he looked up he spotted Joe Newell. A wonderfully weighted ball sprung Newell again behind the Q.P.R. defense. The ball got stuck in a puddle as the young midfielder reached the penalty area, and he was caught from behind by Danny Shittu. The Q.P.R. captain slid through him from behind, clattering Newell into the mud. The linesman raised his flag for what would surely have been a penalty, but the ball skidded past Birindelli and into the net for a disastrous own-goal that gave us a 2-0 lead. That should well have concluded the game, but the referee was not done yet: in the 77th minute he whistled GuarÃn for an innocuous shirt pull. To my stunned disbelief, out came the yellow card, followed quickly by a red, for GuarÃn had taken a yellow earlier. It was an awful foul to take a sending-off for, hardly worth a whistle and deep in Q.P.R. territory. The crowd, long since disgusted with proceedings, uttered an ugly guttural growl which caused me to fear for Miller's life. A mob has a distinctive sound to it, and the sound of 27,937 snarling like angry dogs sent danger chills down my spine. The incessant bookings continued into injury time: by the time all was done, Miller had awarded fourteen, two of them for red cards, and nine of those fourteen to us despite my halftime request that the players go easy in challenges. Fortunately, the constant stoppages seemed to completely disrupt any form of rhythm which Q.P.R. might have concocted, and the crowd amused themselves by taunting the referee. At one point, the game had to pause as a drunk fan raced onto the pitch to give Miller a symbolic yellow card of his own. Though the hooligan was led away by police, he earned a standing ovation from the irate crowd. Sheffield United 2, Queen's Park 0 GuarÃn 44, D.Shittu o.g. 73; ---- MoM: Hammond "Today, you've shown your true mettle, lads. You didn't just overcome a good team, you did it in the face of adversity, overcoming the ref, and the weather. Its a true testament to your character..." I might have been laying it on thick in the changing room after, but some seasons there is an ugly game that changes the nature of the campaign, and I hoped this might be the catalyst for us. Ben Hammond could be proud of his performance, at least; the young central defender had earned Man of the Match for his role in holding Q.P.R. off once we were reduced to nine men. For their sendings-off, Hayden Foxe and Freddy GuarÃn would both miss the following match. Luckily, it was an encounter with lowly Ipswich Town, whom we should expect to beat, but we would sorely miss their leadership. Still, I could hardly fault either, for neither foul had looked worth a second yellow and I was already composing my complaint to the F.A. in my head. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 23, 2008 Author Share Posted May 23, 2008 Monday, 10th January, 2011. Elsewhere in the Third Round, there was only one real surprise, when Aston Villa sent an understrength Liverpool packing, 2-1, thanks to a Luke Moore brace. Blackpool got the other notable result, earning an Old Trafford replay for a scoreless draw with a Manchester United squad that had been missing both Rooney and Ronaldo. Yesterday I took in the Under-18s Cup Quarter-Final, where our youth squad travelled to London to take on the U-18 side of Brentford. Our lads broke the game open in an eight minute space of the first half, with James Bradley's breakaway, Martin Gray's header, and Paul Alexander's free kick giving them an unsurmountable lead by the half-hour mark. In the second half, Alexander missed a penalty, but did add a second goal from the run of play to make the final score 4-0. Defensive midfielder Steven White, now 19 years old, but still eligible for Under-18 play, was the Man of the Match. That set up a February Semi-Final at Saltergate between our Under-18s and the Charlton Athletic youngsters. On the transfer market, two deals of note were arranged. I'd been pursuing Middlesbrough playmaker Chavdar Yankov, but was badly outbid by Spurs. He transferred to Tottenham for £10.5M, ending my hopes of securing a deal for the 26-year-old superstar. Charlton suffered a major blow as striker Mikael Forssell, his contract expiring in June, agreed to terms with Newcastle United on a Bosman transfer for the season's end. Today was the televised draw for the F.A. Cup Fourth Round. It was nerve-wracking, as we were drawn near the bottom, but had the good fortune to see Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United all drawn before us. When our ball did get drawn, it was for an away match to Bolton Wanderers, 15th-placed club in the Premiership. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 23, 2008 Author Share Posted May 23, 2008 Wednesday, 12th January, 2011. Premier League - Game 24, at Ipswich Town. I've been a closet Ipswich fan since we were both promoted together at the end of the 2008 season. When Dave Jones came out to speak to the press and told them I was a good manager and deserved every success with the Blades, I got a bit soppy, responding that I thought he'd done a great job since taking over in 2005. He had - he was hired with the club in position to be relegated from the Championship, and managed to claw their way up to 21st that season. Three years later, he won the title, and has kept them in the Premier League for three seasons, which is much better than anyone had any right to expect, so I said that Tractor Boys fans were lucky to have him. By a fluke of scheduling and fixture congestion, we hadn't played them yet this season, and last year both matches had ended in draws. To face the 19th-placed club, I had Roy Carroll returning in goal, and I could only hope he snapped out of the malaise which had overtaken him. Joe Keenan, David Rozehnal, Ben Hammond, and Danny Payne were the back four with Foxe suspended, and Mathieu Berson was the defensive midfielder as GuarÃn served his suspension. Joe Hamill and Victor Sikora would provide experience on the wings, and Robert Cousins and Iain Hume made a dynamic attacking partnership. Florent Sinama-Pongolle was in search of his 20th goal of the season as the lone striker. The match was played in tremendous wind, not that that's ever stopped an English football match. Despite playing into the teeth of the gale, we looked the more dangerous sides in the opening exchanges, and only Marco Tiberti's great tackle on Iain Hume prevented an early goal in our favour. As the quarter-hour drew near, Florent Sinama-Pongolle snuck in behind Andy Webster. Held onside by Stephen Kelly, who was never able to make a play on him, he chased down Hume's long ball, rounded goalkeeper Robert Green, and scored his twentieth of the season for an early 1-0 advantage. I left the patient, attacking formation we'd started with in place to seek a second goal, and a wonderful flick-on header by Hume five minutes later nearly gave Sinama-Pongolle just that. Webster clearly couldn't keep up with the speedy Frenchman, but this time Green came up with the save. We continued to mount impressive pressure, with Victor Sikora's shot blocked in the area, and Joe Hamill's cross just inches beyond Sinama-Pongolle's reach. It was all looking so good, until just minutes before the half. Ipswich fullback Jelle Van Damme nipped past Sikora into the corner. His cross for Billy Clarke was blown into the six, where Roy Carroll punched it away. The wind kept it in the area, where it was chested down by Nigerian midfielder Dickson Etuhu. The 28-year-old easily found the empty net from sixteen yards out to make it 1-1 just before the interval. The 25,600 who had braved the weather made some noise, but it seemed whipped away by the heavy wind. The goal gave the Tractor Boys some momentum going into the second half. Etuhu came close to putting the home side ahead five minutes after the restart, but his header from a corner kick was blown a foot wide of the post. A minute later, Clarke's powerful header hit the crossbar, and we were finding ourselves on the back foot. A lot of the action was coming through Sikora, who clearly didn't have the stamina to last, and in the 52nd minute I brought him off for Scott Allen. His defensive contribution helped staunch some of the Ipswich opportunities, and by the half-hour it looked like the home side was completely fatigued. We still had some energy to attack, and Hume was unlucky when he tried to chip Green. The wind, now at our backs, carried it over the bar and it landed on the roof of the net. In the 65th minute, I brought Robert Cousins off for Peter Weatherson, switching to a 4-4-2. It was clear that Ipswich was out of gas, and I wasn't going to play for a draw. The addition of the taller striker paid off just seven minutes later, as he won possession on an aerial ball in midfield, nodding it down to Hume. A pinpoint pass found Sinama-Pongolle in the sort of narrow space that only he can capitalize on, and he squeezed between Webster and Kelly. There wasn't enough space between them for even a slightly built lad, but the diminutive Frenchman made the most of his explosive burst. The two defenders collided behind him, and suddenly, he was free in the area! Again, he rounded goalie Robert Green, netting his second goal of the day to give us a 2-1 lead. That was his final touch, as I made my third change, pulling him off for young midfielder Rob Sayer as I finally reverted to our defensive 4-5-1. The obligatory 4-2-4 followed from Ipswich, but chasing into the storm against our defense was always going to be a severe test. Still, it nearly paid off for them in the 85th minute, when Etuhu's shot was charged down by Ben Hammond. It fell to Liam Anderson, whose low shot looked goal bound, but Carroll, falling to the turf in front of the near post, made the stop. Aided by the wind, the pacey Sayer had two golden chances of his own, outracing the exhausted Ipswich defenders, but he lacked the finesse or composure to capitalize on them, and it finished out 2-1. Ipswich 1, Sheffield United 2 Etuhu 43; Sinama-Pongolle 15, 72 MoM: Sinama-Pongolle Goalscoring wizard Florent Sinama-Pongolle had won Man of the Match: I can't count how many times I've written that phrase these past two seasons. I was somewhat surprised to find Chairman Dooley in the locker room afterwards: since his stroke, he had rarely traveled with the team, but there he was - to congratulate me on my 100th victory since taking over Sheffield United! I hadn't even been counting, and it was a pleasant surprse to know that somebody was - I hadn't reached a hundred victories in my time at York, so it was the first time I'd achieved that milestone with a club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 23, 2008 Author Share Posted May 23, 2008 Thursday, 13th January, 2011. "Mister Richards? This is José Mourinho." The rampant Blues were now nine points clear of Arsenal and Liverpool, streaming towards their fifth straight title, while we remained in fourth. "I am prepared to offer you £12.5M for Florent Sinama-Pongolle, plus a generous sell-on clause and a Bramall Lane friendly." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kairyu Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 Finally here it comes!!! The rich clubs getting their finger on your superstar!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 24, 2008 Author Share Posted May 24, 2008 *grumble grumble grumble* Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 24, 2008 Author Share Posted May 24, 2008 Friday, 14th January, 2011. I had known that Chelsea were scouting Sinama-Pongolle, and perhaps their scouts were thoroughly impressed by his two-goal performance against Ipswich, for Mourinho's offer totaled a considerable amount. Not enough for my tastes, however. "That's all? For the Premiership's leading striker? He has been worth millions this year alone for getting us to Europe. I couldn't let him go for less than twenty-five." "You drive a hard bargain, Mister Richards. I'll have to speak with Roman. I'll get back to you." Thursday night, I was regretting my counter-proposal - even at that stupendous price, I really didn't want to let the best striker in the Premiership go. By Friday evening, the offer was off the table: though Abramovich's purse strings are notoriously loose, I think even he saw the wisdom in not arming me with £25M in transfer funds. I had one other problem, however, as 19-year-old striker Michael Field sought out my office to complain. Apparently, he, too, wants first-team football. He was very frustrated with his loan, where he hadn't played much to speak of. Of course, he has not seen any action here, nor is likely to with Florent Sinama-Pongolle, Imre Szabics, Peter Weatherson, Paul Stott, James Bradley, and Darren Gibson all ahead of him. I promised to offer him out on a new loan so that he could showcase his talents, but he warned me that if he doesn't get his chance here, and soon, he wants a transfer. The other Field, head scout Spencer, accepted with happiness my new contract offer. This would keep my loyal sidekick - who had worked with me at both Lancaster and York prior to Bramall Lane - in the Blades' employ through 2016. He's only 39, just two years older than I. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kairyu Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 just 25mil??? come on now, you know the player price inflation as the year goes by in this game you should've offered 50 mil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 24, 2008 Author Share Posted May 24, 2008 Saturday, 15th January, 2011. Premier League - Game 25, at West Ham United. The busiest part of our season finally came to a close in London, where we would face 14th-placed West Ham in a nationally televised game at Upton Park. We'd had no problems with them, winning the last three encounters between the sides, including a 3-1 at Bramall Lane in September. A steady decline seemed to be in place for the club, as a high water mark of 7th in 2008/09 (they'd earned promotion after 2004/05) had seen them slip to 10th last season, a position they'd be lucky to see this year. The 3-4-3 formation of Iain Dowie was shipping goals at an alarming rate: in their past six games, they'd conceded 3, 3, 2, 3, 6, and 2 - needless to say, they'd lost all but one of those encounters. Roy Carroll remained almost depressed, and there seemed little I could do to improve his morale, but he would remain the starting goalkeeper. 17-year-old Kevin Price was pressed into service again as the left back, his third start thus far this season. David Rozehnal and a well-rested Hayden Foxe were central, with Keith McCormack on the right. Freddy GuarÃn was similarly rested after his suspension, and Jonathan Forte was the left wing. On the right side, Jermaine Pennant made the start, though he wasn't yet back to match fitness. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Joe Newell partnered in the attacking midfield, and Imre Szabics was the sole striker. The opening moments went about as I'd expected: weak left back Kevin Price let a West Ham attack through, but Tiago's header went over the bar. The leaky Hammers defense let our counter-attack through, with Marc Bridge-Wilkinson just unable to control Jonathan Forte's pass into the area on a golden chance. It was promising to be an entertaining match, unless you like well-played football. To my surprise, Price was nearly the hero in the 19th minute, taking off up the left wing to start another counter, which finished in Imre Szabics's hands at the West Ham end line. The Hungarian's cross into the six nearly found Bridge-Wilkinson, but was pushed beyond him by goalkeeper Stuart Taylor. Six minutes later, Price again proved a catalystic spark, this time picking off a corner, then springing Szabics with a gorgeous long ball that barely stayed in along the right sideline. Szabics dutifully tracked it down, dancing the sideline to keep it in with a full head of steam before sending a low cross in. Joe Newell was unmarked at the spot, and tried to lace it first-time, unfortunately directly at Taylor. The two chances had settled my nerves, and I began to feel more confident about our chances. No sooner had I sat down, however, than Bobby Zamora took off up the left wing. I hadn't expected our right side to be a weakness, but he'd found a gap between Jermaine Pennant and Keith McCormack. McCormack stayed inside, and that left the unfit Pennant to pursue Zamora, whom he was never going to catch from behind. The long-serving West Ham striker sent a cross in, which Robert Vittek met with a diving header just in front of Hayden Foxe. To my dismay, the Slovakian 29-year-old found the far post with a gorgeous touch, and we had an 0-1 problem. At halftime, I took the dangerous step of switching to a 3-5-2. Despite his fine passes, I brought Price off for Paul Stott, to play the second striker. Just five minutes after the restart, Szabics sent a great long ball for the 20-year-old, who must have been offsides. There was no whistle, however, and he had a great one-on-one chance. He tried to fool Taylor with a series of jittersteps in the box, but delayed too long, and Hayden Mullins slid in to clear it out for a corner. To my bemusement, the Hammers remained in a 3-4-3, and four minutes later, we had a 5-on-4 rush. It was a simple matter of finding the unmarked man, and Joe Newell drew a defender to himself before picking out Szabics. The Hungarian was not the man to leave unguarded, and set it up for his right foot to blast a powerful low shot from eight yards out. Perfectly placed to the near post, it left Taylor no chance and leveled the scores at 1-1. Mission accomplished, I decided to back off into a 4-4-2, bringing Marc Bridge-Wilkinson off after a disappointing afternoon, and replacing him with Joe Keenan at left back. The two-striker front continued giving West Ham fits, and Stott came very close to netting his first as a Blade. Once, he had Taylor off his line and offered a wonderful chip, but the former Arsenal keeper recovered with a diving save just this side of the line, and the second time he caught the side netting by the narrowest of margins. We were starting to take control of the game, but in the 67th minute, Carroll's clearance was headed forward by midfielder Stephen Pearson. Our defense was caught napping, and just that quickly Zamora was free of the last man. Keith McCormack had no choice but to bring him down, and when the ball rolled free unimpeded by his tackle, I knew what would follow. It was a clear red card, and McCormack was justly sent to the sidelines. Down to ten men, I made my last change, putting Graham Allen on for Szabics to try his hand at right back in a 4-4-1 - but I let the fullbacks overlap and press forward. That made a strange game, with both sides attacking, and it was clear that somebody would score before the final whistle. We often had 4-on-3 rushes with Freddy GuarÃn going forward, and when West Ham blunted the attack, they would have 7-on-5 counterattacks. In fact, they should have had goals but for great defending from David Rozehnal and Hayden Foxe, the Australian at one point hacking off the line when Carrol couldn't hold on to Adrzej Niedzielan's shot. To my amazement, time ran towards ninety minutes with no goal: it was still 1-1! That lasted until the 89th minute, when Paul Stott had possession about 35 yards out to the left side. Surrounded by defenders, with his back to goal, he spotted the unmarked run of Jermaine Pennant on the right, and picked him out with a gorgeous 40-yard pass. Pennant raced into the area, closing to eight yards before firing low to the far post underneath the outstretched arm of Stuart Taylor. It was his first goal in two seasons for Sheffield United, architected through a brilliant piece of work by my newest signing! West Ham United 1, Sheffield United 2 Vittek 31; Szabics 54, Pennant 89 MoM: Newell We'd had seventeen games over the past 55 days, a game every 3.2 days, and had escaped that crush with a record of 10-3-4 in all competitions. Further, I had another opportunity to praise the lads for their performance in the face of adversity! Joe Newell won Man of the Match on a day when any of five or six players could have done; personally I might have chosen Rozehnal or Foxe for their work in central defense against the 3-4-3. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 Wednesday, 19th January, 2011. I gave the lads Sunday and Monday off - they'd certainly deserved it. They got more good news on Monday when the Team of the Week was announced. Five of our players - Iain Hume, Mathieu Berson, Freddy GuarÃn, Joe Newell, and Florent Sinama-Pongolle - were so honoured, with only one man forward of the back four who wasn't from Sheffield United. It was a definite testament to how well we were working together as a team! Personally, I was happiest when I saw that, after the two day rest and a very good performance against West Ham, Roy Carroll was back in solid form - he was laughing and joking with the lads, and I might never know what had had him down for the previous two weeks. Saturday had also seen an Under-18 match, with our lads hosting Rotherham. Michael Field scored a goal in the category of "if at first you don't succeed," as he had six shots saved or just off target before seeing the lucky seventh find the net in the fortieth minute. Substitute Neil Clarke added one in the second half to make the final score 2-0. Left wing Paul Alexander was again Man of the Match - the 18-year-old was consistently impressing at the youth level. My assessment remains that he's doing it all on pace, and won't be able to take it up to a higher level. With a veteran lineup of former starters, I expected a well-played Reserve game at home against Middlesbrough Reserves on Wednesday. Instead, I saw one of the ugliest matches you'll ever hope to witness, with four red cards - and despite finishing with 10 men to their 8, we were unable to find a telling goal. We had to make do with a scoreless draw. Graham Allen was named Man of the Match, and Danny Payne picked up a foolish one-match ban. A gashed head to Abubakar Shittu would see him out for a few days as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 Friday, 21st Januray, 2011. "I'm sorry, Peter." I had Peter Weatherson in my office again. "I've still had no offers - I even offered you on a free transfer this week. The clubs that can afford you don't think they need you, and the clubs that need you don't think they can afford you, or don't think that they can attract a player of your calibre to the club." The glum sigh on his face told all. He'd only played once this month, a brief substitute's appearance against lowly Ipswich, and he seemed resigned to sit out the rest of the season with a club that didn't want him. "They could have at least asked," he said, half-heartedly. "There is one option left to us," I suggested. "We could try sending you out on loan." The idea had struck me on Thursday, when striker Michael Field had gone back out on loan, this time to Birmingham, 11th in the Championship. Birmingham manager Andy Ritchie had said something like "What I really need is a man like Peter Weatherson, if only we could afford him," and that had sparked my creative juices. "Strikers always seem to comprise the most loans, and its very rare for a team - either one in trouble, or one pushing for a title - to be able to bring in a veteran like you, Peter. It would give you a chance to showcase your talents, get back in the front line, and that might help your agent strike a better bargain this summer." He looked more hopeful in that moment than I'd seen him since being overlooked for the F.A. Cup Final last year. "That's almost brilliant," he said. "I could give that a try." "I'll put it out there," I promised. In the meantime, Field's place in our lineup of young strikers was taken by 19-year-old Sean Wood, whose loan to Blackpool had completed - he'd scored 3 goals and 2 assists in 15 games, a respectable total at the Championship level. The city of Sheffield got a bit of a surprise announcement, this morning, as the other Ian in management, Ian Holloway of Sheffield Wednesday, left the club to move to Wolverhampton, taking over the Wanderers, two places back of Birmingham at 13th in the Championship. Chairman Dooley had warned me about it a few days earlier - he still has plenty of contacts over at Wednesday, but of course I couldn't say anything until the deal was made public. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 Saturday, 22nd January, 2011. F.A. Cup - Fourth Round, at Bolton. Relegated two seasons ago, Bolton had earned immediate promotion last year with a second-place finish, but were battling to stay up this season. With 7 wins, 3 draws, and 15 defeats, they were in 17th place, starring an absolutely atrocious defense, one of the worst in the Premiership. We'd beaten them 2-0 earlier in the season, and with a full-strength squad I felt confident we would win again. Roy Carroll remained in goal. 32-year-old Celestine Babayaro was having a solid season at left back, and David Rozehnal and Hayden Foxe would bulwark our defensive line. At right back, with both McCormack and Payne suspended, I was forced to start 18-year-old Benjamin Herzog. Freddy GuarÃn had been stellar all season at defensive midfield, and Joe Hamill and Jermaine Pennant were on the left and right wings, respectively. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson partnered with the excellent young Robert Cousins in the midfield, and Florent Sinama-Pongolle was back up front with a vengeance. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson opened the scoring in the sixteenth minute, with an incredible curling piledriver, a truly trademark shot reminiscent of him at his best three seasons earlier. No defender was pressuring him, but he was fully 35 yards from goal, and the precision and power on his shot gave Bolton captain Craig Gordon quite a shock, sneaking past him to the top corner for a 1-0 lead. Paul Ward should have equalized almost immediately, but sent it wide of the goal after breaking the offsides trap. Moments later, Robert Cousins got loose in the area, only to see Gordon tip it over. In the 27th minute, we earned a corner, which Joe Hamill swung into the box. Benjamin Herzog rose bravely above Tal Ben-Haim and headed home his first-ever goal for Sheffield United. The 18-year-old celebrated like it was the most important goal ever, and with a 2-0 lead it looked like we were comfortably in command. We should have been, and we held the lead easily through halftime. I'd given orders to sit back and defend, and was almost starting to look forward to the next match when a 53rd-minute corner kick turned disastrous for us. Roy Carroll punched it clear, but Freddy GuarÃn was whistled for pushing Simon Bennett in the six, and referee Graham Salisbury awarded a penalty. Portugese midfielder Pedro Mendes converted, giving Bolton a lifeline back into the match at 2-1. In the 61st minute, David Rozehnal collected a loose ball in our own area. He looked to play it long, but Mendes leapt in the way, the ball striking off the underside of his outstretched calf, and he knocked it down to Bennett. Roy Carroll managed to push his shot away, but it fell right to John Ball, and from a mere six yards out the 22-year-old striker made it 2-2. The crowd of 27,478, utterly silent at the end of the first half, were back in force, making a roar that would have done the Old Trafford faithful proud. I started sending the lads forward immediately, not content with a 2-2 draw, and Florent Sinama-Pongolle made space for himself up the left almost immediately. From the side of the 18, he picked out Bridge-Wilkinson, who one-timed the shot beautifully, only to see Gordon tip it over the bar. Two minutes later, they had the same chance again. This time, instead of passing, Sinama-Pongolle fired from just inside the side of the 18. He'd caught Gordon cheating over to cut off Bridge-Wilkinson's angle, so the goalkeeper was unable to respond. It was a tight angle shot, but the accurate little Frenchman still found the far side netting to put us back ahead 3-2 at the 66th minute. Three minutes later, Mendes was forced off with some kind of arm injury. Bolton had made all three substitutions, and so were reduced to ten men. I made my first changes in response - Joe Newell for Bridge-Wilkinson, and Darren White for Jermaine Pennant on the right. On the pitch for less than two minutes, White won a header, nodding it to Newell, who played it forward for Sinama-Pongolle. From 30 yards out, he caught Gordon by surprise with an absolute laser, one of the hardest struck shots I've ever witnessed. The hapless Scot, now down 4-2, could only pick it out of the back of the net. With the Bolton supporters streaming for the exits, Imre Szabics replaced Sinama-Pongolle. The shorthanded home side were well and truly beaten, and the only question in the final ten minutes was whether we would score a fifth despite my instructions to lay off. It seemed just about everybody on the pitch came close to scoring - Szabics, Cousins, Newell, White, even fullback Celestine Babayaro - but in the end the final whistle was blown with no further damage done to the Bolton pride. Bolton 2, Sheffield United 4 Mendes pen 54, Ball 61; Bridge-Wilkinson 16, Herzog 27, Sinama-Pongolle 66, 75 MoM: Hamill Joe Hamill had won Man of the Match honours, and in the post-match interview I waxed enthusiastic about him, singling him out for praise and telling the assembled media that he's been a major part of our success this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 Sunday, 23rd January, 2011. The fans, it turns out, are as delighted as I've been with Joe Hamill, and even Rupert Wormwood's article included praise for the 26-year-old left wing. He's been on an absolute tear lately - his last four games couldn't have been much better, and his average match rating is best on the side, and in fact is in the top ten in the entire Premiership. There were few surprises in the other F.A. Cup matches - managerless Aston Villa was knocked out by Championship side Crystal Palace, and the bigger surprise was that Nottingham Forest had forced a replay with Chelsea after a scoreless draw. Iain Hume had been held out of the game to participate in Canada's Gold Cup match against Brazil. He did well enough, but a succession of injuries, including one which forced key striker Rob Friend off in the 35th minute, crippled the club, and Brazil scored twice to finish them off, 2-0. Ronaldinho, now the Brazil captain, scored the second and earned Man of the Match. At the senior level, we can only dream of beating Liverpool 6-0, but our U-18 side managed just that scoreline at home against Liverpool Under-18s. Sean Wood, just back from loan, was the star with a hat trick, showing his versatility by scoring on a breakaway, a header, and a 20-yard shot. He rightfully earned Man of the Match honours. Martin Gray scored two, though for my money one should have been accounted an own goal. Fullback Kevin Price, who had been having a solid season and was showing constant improvement scored his first since joining United from Port Talbot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 Monday, 24th January, 2011. I had to travel to London today to be part of the F.A. Cup Fifth Round draw. It was nerve-wracking, as we were the last home team drawn, but luckily all of the major opposition had already been named: we would face Charlton Athletic, and the match wasn't until March, leaving us plenty of time to concentrate on our League position. Back at Bramall Lane, the day saw Bruno Cheyrou make his return to full training after his pulled groin, but Mathieu Berson damaged his knee cap in training. The veteran Frenchman will be out about 3 weeks, leaving Freddy GuarÃn to handle all of the defensive midfield duties. I'd unluckily arranged the loan of defensive midfielder Martin Ellis for the same day - he joined Stockport, 12th in League One and badly hit by injuries. They would definitely need to slide him straight into the starting lineup, and I'd agreed a rare loan without a recall clause. 16-year-old defender Mark Wright had also suffered a twisted knee, and would miss two or three weeks of U-18 action. In North America, Canada beat the British Virgin Islands 3-1 in their second (and last) Gold Cup group game. The result should give Canada second in their group and a place in the quarterfinals, unless the Islands can pull off a monumental surprise against Brazil. Iain Hume played well, scoring on a header by flicking a long throw-in goalwards from the corner of the six. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 Friday, 28th January, 2011. "Did you see Ipswich manager Dave Jones's comments, and do you care to respond?" Jones had affirmed our budding friendship with a comment that he hopes the best team wins tomorrow, and that we go on to do good things in February. "Yes, I'd say its safe to say that we're fast becoming friends. He's a great manager, and a friendly guy as well - I'm looking forward to taking in a pint with him this summer, after the season's over." "Can you talk about your loans?" "Well, we've sent pacey James Bradley out on loan to Wigan Athletic for 3 months - they're 17th in the Championship and could definitely use a scoring threat of his calibre up front. It'll get him some good experience: I hope to see him challenging for first-team action next year. "We also arranged a deal sending Sean Wood to Leeds United. Its not the first time they've loaned a striker from us this season, and though I worry he may not get the first-team experience he's so excited about, we do have a recall clause in place. If he isn't seeing significant action by the end of February, we'll bring him back and try loaning him elsewhere." "What about Peter Weatherson? Is it true that you're now seeking to loan him?" "Yes. As you know, he's been on the transfer list and not seeing much playing time - I spoke with Peter and we decided to see if anybody was interested in loaning him, so that he can showcase his talents." "Do you have any comment on Alan Curbishley's appointment?" Curbishley, sacked from Charlton in October, was named the new Aston Villa manager. Under his leadership, Athletic had placed 5th in 2005/06, and despite a slip back to 13th twice, he had reinstated them to 6th last season before an injury crisis and an inexperienced goalkeeper demolished his season. "I do think its ironic that Villa, in 13th, are higher up the table than his former club (16th). I'd like to congratulate both him and the club - he's a fine manager, and I think it'll be a good fit." The press conference was over, and I was left to reflect on Wednesday's Reserves 1-0 over Newcastle Reserves. It had been two oddly strong sides, with Peter Weatherson scoring the game-winner three minutes from time. Abubakar Shittu won Man of the Match for shutting down the Toon's Felipe Oliveira, in the Reserves on a health recuperation start. Bruno Cheyrou played 45 minutes, his first since injury. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 Saturday, 29th January, 2011. Premier League - Game 26, vs Ipswich Town. For the second time in 17 days, we would face Ipswich in a Premier League match. It was quite a fluke of scheduling, as usually the paired matches are quite some distance apart. We'd won the first match, 2-1, and it was looking quite likely that Ipswich were doomed, as they lay 19th, already eight points adrift of safety. With only 3 wins from 25 matches, and a 10-game stretch without victory, it didn't look like we were in danger of defeat at home, but I knew we'd need to take some attacking chances to avoid a scoreless stalemate. Still, I didn't quite name my first-choice lineup. Young Chris Brown got another opportunity in goal. Sean Dillon was still working up to match fitness, but would start the day on the left side, with David Rozehnal and Hayden Foxe in the middle. Benjamin Herzog, only 18, got another start at right back. Freddy GuarÃn was the holding midfielder, with Joe Hamill and Graham Allen on the wings. Up front, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Joe Newell were my attacking partnership, and Florent Sinama-Pongolle was the lone striker. Though Dave Jones had responded to my comments by calling us 'friends' in the Saturday morning paper, his side didn't appear too friendly in this match. In the first half-hour, they played tenacious defense, sometimes dropping eleven men into the box from the run of play, despite being in a nominal 4-4-2 when attacking. We spent most of the first half on their side of the midway line, but it was difficult to create anything within thirty yards of goal, and the match remained scoreless through the interval. Patrick Clarke nearly made us pay in the 53rd minute, finding a bit of space in our own area, and firing a beautiful shot, tipped over the bar by 17-year-old Chris Brown. Frustrated at our lack of offense, despite being in the patient attack version of our 4-5-1, I switched to a 3-5-2. Graham Allen came off for Victor Sikora on the right, and fullback Sean Dillon was replaced with striker Paul Stott. Despite the changes, we still couldn't mount any form of attack. I was feeling I'd erred greatly by the 75th minute, and made my final throw of the dice. I hadn't wanted to force Bruno Cheyrou back into action yet, but I put him on for Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, who had been ineffective. Immediately, Cheyrou linked up with Florent Sinama-Pongolle on a long pass, and the prolific striker raced into the Ipswich area one-on-one with Robert Green. The wily veteran keeper came rushing out to meet him, and slid through his attempt to chip, getting a hand solidly on it to knock it away. In the 81st minute, Cheyrou was again the architect, feeding young Stott into the area, but Green came up with another save from twelve yards, and Ipswich threw themselves back into the bunker defense they'd exhibited in the opening stages. We never got another sniff of the goalmouth, and the match finished 0-0. Sheffield United 0, Ipswich 0 ----; ---- MoM: Hamill Though the side as a whole had struggled, Joe Hamill had seemed to revel in the media attention, dancing along the left sideline and basically making anybody assigned to mark him look foolish. He was again the Man of the Match, concluding a flawless month. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 Sunday, 30th January, 2011. "Listen, Peter, its not perfect for either of us, no, but its the only offer we've got. Birmingham are 10th in the Championship, and they need a leader up front if they're going to make any sort of push for the playoffs. You can impress some future club just as easily for them as you could for somebody else - you've certainly got a better chance there than here." He shook his head dismally. It was clear that he didn't really want to go - and in fact, I'd hoped that whoever loaned him would take more than just 10% of his £1.5M per annum salary. It took a few minutes - I gather he was just hoping that he could work his way back into our lineup, but barring an injury to Imre Szabics or Florent Sinama-Pongolle, that just didn't seem likely, and in the end he agreed to the 3-month loan. In African Nations Cup qualifying, Nigeria pounded Ethiopia, 6-1, despite an early penalty by the home side. Celestine Babayaro played a strong game, providing another assist, but it was Obafemi Martins who continued to dominate for the Super Eagles, adding four more goals to bring his total to 7 from their last two games. In Premiership action, Alan Curbishley ushered in a new era at Villa Park with a glorious 3-1 victory over Manchester United, doing a real favour to us by leaving the Red Devils six points back of us and reeling from the loss heading towards our Old Trafford date on Wednesday. Derby County, meanwhile, had suffered their 25th straight game without a win, a 1-0 loss to Fulham. On Sunday, Canada faced Mexico in Gold Cup quarterfinals. Mexico were clearly the better side, getting almost double the chances, and honestly should have won in regulation but Giovanni dos Santos missed a penalty in the second half, and it finished ninety minutes still scoreless thanks in part to tremendous efforts by Man of the Match captain Paul Stalteri, a fullback, and goalkeeper Jason Ceccarelli. Extra-time is the time legends are made, and it was our own Iain Hume who was the hero, averting penalty shootout with a wonderful goal in the 112th minute. Tigthly marked in the area, he still managed a classy turn-and-shoot from 12 yards out on Stalteri's throw-in, catching the near post with a rifled shot for the game-winner. It was the 10th goal of his international career, and eight minutes of defending gave Canada a 1-0 win over Mexico. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 Tuesday, 1st February, 2011. Derek Dooley was absolutely beaming when I entered the board room. To my surprise, two of my players were there as well, as was an official from the F.A. - but Dooley's cheshire-cat grin let me know that all was well. Joe Newell, it turned out, had been named the Premiership Young Player of the Month, the second month in a row that we'd had a player so honoured. He'd played in all but one of our games, with solid performances both off the bench and in a starting role, including two assists. Joe Hamill was a definite surprise as the Premier League Player of the Month - the surprise not being that he deserved it, but that the F.A. would choose to honour a little-known winger from Sheffield over the big names of the Premiership. It would certainly raise his reputation, and overshadowed the fact that he'd been named to the Team of the Week yesterday. However, the biggest surprise was that I'd been named the Premier League Manager of the Month for the second time this season. We'd gone unbeaten in our five league games, with three wins and two draws in a month where every team in the top twelve took at least one defeat. As I took the trophy, to the applause of my entire board, I was stunned silent. Incredibly, looking at the league table, there had been no change in position among the first 11 clubs. In fact, the only shuffling was from 12th-16th. We had a 6-point lead over Manchester United for the final Champions League spot - our trip to Old Trafford tomorrow was looming huge, and Chairman Dooley gave us a few words of encouragement. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GF GA GD GP 1 Chelsea 61 19 4 3 55 14 +41 (26) 2 Liverpool 55 17 4 5 46 20 +26 (26) 3 Arsenal 54 17 3 6 64 34 +30 (26) 4 Sheffield United 53 15 8 3 44 28 +16 (26) 5 Manchester United 47 13 8 5 49 28 +21 (26) 6 Fulham 45 12 9 5 40 30 +10 (26) 7 Blackburn 43 12 7 7 42 33 + 9 (26) 8 Manchester City 37 10 7 9 41 33 + 8 (26) 9 Newcastle United 37 11 4 11 51 48 + 3 (26) 10 Middlesbrough 36 10 6 10 30 30 0 (26) 11 Tottenham 34 8 10 8 37 36 + 1 (26) 12 Aston Villa 31 7 10 9 33 36 - 3 (26) 13 Southampton 31 8 7 10 33 37 - 4 (25) 14 Everton 26 5 11 10 28 38 -10 (26) 15 Charlton Athletic 25 6 7 13 41 57 -16 (26) 16 West Ham United 25 7 4 14 36 59 -23 (25) 17 Bolton 25 7 4 15 28 55 -27 (26) ----------------------------------------------------------- 18 West Brom Albion 17 3 8 15 25 45 -20 (26) 19 Ipswich Town 17 3 8 15 19 41 -22 (26) 20 Derby County 10 1 7 18 10 50 -40 (26)</pre> We needed the encouragement, honestly, as we had an absolutely brutal schedule upcoming: <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 2-2 Premiership A Manchester United 5-2 Premiership H Liverpool 14-2 Premiership A Chelsea 17-2 UEFA Cup A Olympique Lyonnais 24-2 UEFA Cup H Olympique Lyonnais 2-3 F.A. Cup H Charlton Athletic 5-3 Premiership H Arsenal</pre> I worried that a loss or two at the start of that run could cost us the entire package of seven matches, sending the team into a downward spiral that would knock us out of Europe both this season and next. I kept my fears to myself, of course, not wanting to scare either my players or the board. On the goal-scoring front, Mateja Kezman had added to his league-leading total, but Thierry Henry was up to second and Florent Sinama-Pongolle was third and beginning to close the gap. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1 Mateja Kezman 17 Chelsea Serbia & Montenegro 2 Thierry Henry 14 Arsenal France 3 = Florent Sinama-Pongolle 12 Sheffield United France 3 = Nicolas Anelka 12 Charlton Athletic France 3 = Jonathan Stead 12 Fulham England 3 = Dimitris Papadopolous 12 Manchester City Greece 7 = Robbie Keane 11 Tottenham Ireland 7 = Claudio Pizarro 11 Arsenal Peru 7 = James McFadden 11 Newcastle United Scotland 10 = 4 players 10 --- ---</pre> There had been only one big close-of-transfer-window move: Liverpool splashed £10.75M to bring 24-year-old Portugese midfielder Manuel Fernandes to England from Benfica, where he'd been a starter the past seven years, scoring 37 goals and 30 assists in that time. Financially, we'd lost another £1.3M, dropping our net loss for the season to £9.7M, and reducing our balance to £16.3M. I still had £1.8M remaining in transfer funds, but no way to spend it until summer, when I expected the board would announce a new budget anyways. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 Wednesday, 2nd February, 2011. Premier League - Game 27, at Manchester United. I still get chills on my neck each time I visit Old Trafford. To think how close they came to the sale to the Glazers, only to have the fans rally and purchase enough of the team themselves to block the hostile takeover, plus such a legendary venue. The team has struggled a bit since then, finishing tenth in that distracted 2005/06 season, and though they've placed in the top five each of the past four years, its been a turbulent time, with four different managers brought in to try and replace Sir Alex Ferguson. He's become such a legend that it may not be possible: the fans still expect the glory of those eight-titles-in-eleven-years squads, and haven't adjusted their expectations to the reality, that United is imminently beatable. In fact, we've won two and drawn one in our last three encounters with them, even stealing a 2-0 win at Old Trafford in last season's F.A. Cup. I had a solid lineup chosen, with Roy Carroll returning in goal. Celestine Babayaro and Keith McCormack were both making their 20th starts of the season as the fullbacks. Captain Hayden Foxe anchored the center alongside David Rozehnal, making his 30th start. Freddy GuarÃn was really the only choice as defensive midfield, due to the injury to Berson, and would start on short rest. Jonathan Forte and Jermaine Pennant covered the left and right wings respectively. I'd hoped not to need Bruno Cheyrou this early, but an injury to Dave Moss and the absence of Iain Hume with Canada forced me to start him as the playmaker, with Robert Cousins alongisde. Imre Szabics was the lone striker. It was raining steadily from the opening kickoff, and we started out on the back foot, right from the beginning. Red Devils forward Daniel Braaten put a header just over, and Alan Smith forced a fantastic double-save from Roy Carroll in the fourth minute. In the fifth minute, Smith again caused havoc up the left wing, this time crossing for Salomon Kalou, unmarked just 12 yards from the far post. To our great relief, the Ivory Coast winger blazed his shot over the bar. Morten Gamst Pedersen hit the crossbar on a header in the ninth minute, but the inevitable breakthrough came in the eleventh. Pedersen's throw-in into the box was intended for Braaten, with his back to goal sixteen yards out. David Rozehnal was called for pushing him as they both leaped for it, and referee Phil Marsh pointed to the spot. Pedersen stepped coolly up to take the penalty, and to my delight, put it over the bar! That seemed to provide a turning point for us, and Robert Cousins forced the first save from Tim Howard with a long-range effort. Though Carroll made another save, this from Giampiero Pinzi, we were starting to get control of things and in the 30th minute, Jonathan Forte sprang Imre Szabics into the box. His shot beat Howard, but came back off the crossbar. Four minutes later, Cousins set Szabics loose again. He sidestepped past United captain Cristian Chivu, and again had Howard beaten, only to be denied by the post. Twice denied by the woodwork, the Hungarian couldn't have gotten any more unlucky. We were doubly hard done by when Marsh awarded three minutes of stoppage time. It wasn't until deep in the third that Kléberson's long ball put Alan Smith through our defense. He had two steps on Rozehnal, and Hayden Foxe seemed to slow up, raising his hand for offsides - the linesman was having none of it, and Smith slotted it home past Roy Carroll to give the Old Trafford fans an 0-1 lead to sing about through the break. It was utterly unlucky, and really seemed to have taken the starch out of the lads. I tried to spark some interest from them over the intermission, switching to our patient attacking buildup. United sent on Wayne Rooney for Braaten, and put John O'Shea on in defense. Fresh legs at the back might have been helping them, for the first ten minutes of the second half were a midfield battle as the pitch steadily deteriorated. I made my first changes at the 57th minute, putting Paul Stott on for Bruno Cheyrou, and Victor Sikora on the left wing for Forte, changing to a 4-4-2. It paid immediate dividends, as Sikora sent Stott free on a breakaway right on the hour mark. The 20-year-old cut into the box from wide right, faked a shot, then lifted a short cross for Szabics at the back post. Most keepers would have been badly fooled, but Tim Howard read it perfectly, and got across to tip Szabics's header over the bar. The addition of Ruud van Nistelrooy a minute later signalled that Steve Bruce had no intention of sitting back and tamely hoping for a one-nil victory, but in the 63rd minute, Szabics again got loose on a breakaway, this time thanks to Robert Cousins. John O'Shea got back to make a saving tackle just as they entered the area, cleanly taking the ball off his foot with a perfect slide through the mud. Three minutes later, the 29-year-old Irishman showed he can get it done at both ends. He'd slipped forward during a protracted United posession, and took a speculative shot from the top of the arc into our solidly packed penalty area. It deflected wickedly off of Celestine Babayaro, and wrong-footed Carroll to make the score an unsurmountable 0-2. I did what I could, bringing Szabics off for the fresh legs of Rob Sayer, which put us back in a 4-5-1, though I was letting everyone range forward if they saw the chance. Still, the United defense stiffened, and both the 80th and 90th minutes passed without any real opportunities. The rain and the second goal seemed to have taken the fight out of even the best of us. Deep into injury time, we earned two corner kicks, and on the second Robert Cousins was unmarked. He got just a fraction under the ball, heading it over from just eight yards away. Manchester United 2, Sheffield United 0 Smith 45, O'Shea 66; ---- MoM: Forte The victory closed fifth-placed United to within three points of us for the final Champions League berth. We were left to think what might have been, had Szabics converted either of his first-half chances, but we could be thankful we'd built a sufficient lead that we hadn't needed to get a result at Old Trafford - not that we could count on points from Liverpool or Chelsea in our next two games. If we had one bright spot to take with us, it was the play of Jonathan Forte on the left wing; he had earned Man of the Match despite the defeat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien77 Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 really interesting season...hopefully u can maintain form to make it into cl Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 1, 2008 Author Share Posted June 1, 2008 Here's hoping! .. Though I do wish we could have strengthened the squad a bit more over January. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 1, 2008 Author Share Posted June 1, 2008 Friday, 4th February, 2011. In North America, Canada's Gold Cup dream came to its conclusion in the Semi-Final, a rematch against Brazil. Adriano, now in the prime of his career and playing for Valencia, ran rampant through the Canadian defense, scoring a hat trick in Brazil's 3-1 win. He netted two by halftime, and converted a penalty early in the second half. Though Iain Hume had played well personally, Canada was thoroughly outclassed, only clawing the goal back in the 78th minute after the outcome had long since been decided. That would see Brazil into the final, and Canada to play the third-place game on Saturday. Closer to home, 19-year-old attacking midfielder Gary Thomas returned from his loan to Watford today. He'd played 18 games, scoring 2 goals and an assist, with 1 Man of the Match award. Apparently, he'd impressed more than just his coaches at Watford: he was called up to the England Under-19 squad. Versatile Scottish defender John Reid, 17, also returned after three months with York, where he'd played 15 games and scored his first English goal. The managerial shuffle in the Premier League continued, with former Aston Villa manager David Platt hired as the new Middlesbrough manager. He, like Alan Curbishley, had traded up the table by getting the sack. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 1, 2008 Author Share Posted June 1, 2008 Saturday, 5th February, 2011. Premier League - Game 28, vs Liverpool. After losing away to fifth-placed Manchester United, we hosted second-place Liverpool on just three days rest, with Chelsea looming as our next opponent. The Reds hadn't hoisted the Premier League title since it was called the First Division in 1990, but in all that time they had never finished lower than 8th, either. Manager Peter Taylor had breathed real life into them since joining the club in April of last year, and had them in a solid second place, just three points back of Chelsea. They'd scored three goals on us in three of our last four meetings, winning each of those encounters, so my hopes were low. Unluckily, my scheduled starting striker, Florent Sinama-Pongolle, gashed his leg in the morning warmup. That wouldn't change the back half of my lineup: Roy Carroll, Sean Dillon, David Rozehnal, Hayden Foxe, and Keith McCormack. Freddy GuarÃn made his third start in eight days as the holding midfielder. Joe Hamill and Graham Allen were the wingers, with Marc Bridge-Wilkinson running the offense. Joe Newell was his partner, and 20-year-old Paul Stott made only his fifth Premier League start as the lone striker. Joe Newell looked dangerous right from the start, twice testing Liverpool goalkeeper Paul Robinson from range in the first eight minutes. Despite his wickedly curling shots, the England keeper proved up to the task, though the crowd, a sell-out at 32,973, was appreciative of his efforts. It was dry and surprisingly warm - a false spring, I suspected - but neither side seemed able to take advantage of the clear weather. Liverpool, on the road, were willing to sit back and let us attack, looking to hit us on the break. Our defense was solid, but in attack, we clearly missed Bruno Cheyrou and Florent Sinama-Pongolle. With several players tired, we hardly seemed a threat to Robinson's goal after Newell's early efforts. In fact, it was still scoreless at halftime, and there had only been the two shots. After the intermission, things began to get more lively. Sean Dillon's long free kick, taken fairly deep in his own half, sprung Paul Stott past the Liverpool defense. Robinson proved up to the task with a great one-on-one save. On the 50th minute, Freddy GuarÃn tried his luck from 30 yards on a free kick. Robinson again made the stop, a brilliant diving save just inches inside the post. The 31-year-old was on the top of his game, and it would take something special to beat him. Liverpool remained willing to sit back and defend, and as the hour mark approached, I changed into a 3-5-2, bringing Imre Szabics and young forward Dave Moss on for Stott and Dillon. Sadly, that just seemed to interrupt our rhythm. Szabics was, perhaps, a bit tired; he didn't add much. Though Moss had two chances, one right to Robinson, and the other blocked by Kim Källström, he was also inexperienced and at times seemed almost lost as a second striker. After a close call on a breakaway by Liverpool's Milan Baros - he shot wide with the goal at his feet - I decided to accept the draw, and in fact I dropped back to defend in the closing minutes. I brought Bridge-Wilkinson off for Joe Keenan, switching back to the 4-5-1 and dropping Moss to an attacking midfield role. The Bramall Lane crowd recognized it for what it was, and let me know their opinion - its a sign of just how far we've come that they expected to win this match! In stoppage time, Newell had one last chance, a header which went over the bar, and the match remained scoreless through the final whistle. Sheffield United 0, Liverpool 0 ----; ---- MoM: Robinson (Liverpool GK) With six solid saves, England keeper Paul Robinson had earned Man of the Match honours in a scoreless draw. Our scoring drought was becoming worrisome: with league leaders Chelsea next, followed by our UEFA Cup matches against Lyon, we'd concluded three straight matches without a goal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 1, 2008 Author Share Posted June 1, 2008 Tuesday, 8th February, 2011. Iain Hume was one of the stars of the match for Canada as they dominated Honduras in the Gold Cup Third-Place Game. Though the final score was only 1-0, Canada amassed 19 shots to just 5 from their rivals, and only a Man of the Match performance from the Honduras keeper prevented a worse thrashing. Our scoring problems seemed to have transmitted themselves to our Under-18 side, as though they dominated Derby County U-18s at Saltergate, they found themselves unable to put the ball in the net, and had to settle for a scoreless draw. Left wing Paul Alexander won Man of the Match, the fourth time he'd won that honour this season. With eight games left to play, the lads still held a solid six-point lead, and looked odds-on-favorites to win the title for the fourth straight season. Ipswich Town fired manager Dave Jones on Sunday after their thirteenth straight game without a victory. I suppose they had to - some change, any change, is needed at that point, but I've had a fondness for Jones as he, like me, graduated from the Championship with promotion after that 2007/08 season. On Monday, Gary Thomas started his first Under-19 match for England, and to his surprise was given the captain's armband as the lads played host to Hungary U-19s at White Hart Lane in a friendly. An early lead had evaporated, and James Bradley joined as a substitute as England chased the game, but Portsmouth 19-year-old Paul Walsh scored the winner in stoppage time to give the England youth side a 2-1 victory. Thanks to their recent performances, both Joe Newell and Robert Cousins had earned call-ups to the England Under-21 side, and they started side by side against Hungary U-21s in center midfield. They linked up in the tenth minute, with Newell providing the assist for Cousins' header, the first goal of his Under-21 career. Two more goals followed from elsewhere on the pitch, and the Young Lions won handily, 3-0. Two other former players of mine were also in the lineup: wingers Richard Fox and Adam Corbett, who had both played for me at York, were now starting regularly for Southampton and Celtic, respectively. Newell, per my request, only played the first half, but Cousins lasted ninety minutes and was one of the stars of the night for England. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madog308 Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 wow tough lot of games, hope u can secure a win over lyon(a team i really like)wont be sure who 2 cheer for Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 2, 2008 Author Share Posted June 2, 2008 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 2, 2008 Author Share Posted June 2, 2008 Wednesday, 9th February, 2011. International friendlies occupied Wednesday, a week before our UEFA Cup match. England played host to Hungary at Wembley. Jermaine Jenas earned a penalty in the third minute, which Frank Lampard duly converted, and Jenas made it 2-0 just before the break. Hungary captain Csaba Fehér, an aging right back, scored one in the second half to give Hungary a lifeline, but second-half substitute Ledley King put the match out of reach late, at 3-1. Shaun Wright-Phillips, who had taken over for Beckham on the right wing, was the Man of the Match. Imre Szabics played all ninety minutes for Hungary, but was limited to a single shot - in fact, one of their only two of the match - as England dominated the midfield. Wales traveled to South America to face Colombia in Bogotá, where Freddy GuarÃn opened the scoring on a spectacular 28-yard free kick in the 7th minute. He added an assist three minutes later on Avimileth Rivas's long-range goal, and could have earned Man of the Match honours had I not requested that he come off by half-time. A cheeky chip concluded the embarrassment of Wales goalkeeper Jason Brown, 28, who was making his first start of the season. Robbie Savage scored a penalty in injury time to close the final score to 3-1, Colombia. Roy Carroll played all ninety minutes for Northern Ireland, but Croatia proved the better side in Belfast, winning 2-0. They'd only put two shots on target, and with both beating the goalkeeper, Carroll had to be very disappointed with the outcome. Celestine Babayaro sat on the bench as Nigeria tried a young, experimental squad in San Marino. It made little difference to the outcome, as they won 2-0, with 25-year-old Manchester City striker Issah Eliakwu netting the brace. Abubakar Shittu played most of the second half in defense, and did well. Australia traveled to Turkmenistan, still a long flight for Hayden Foxe, where Tim Cahill conceded a penalty in the second minute to give the hosts an early lead. Australia battled back through Mark Bresciano, who had a goal and an assist in a Man of the Match performance. Foxe played 45 minutes in defense, leaving with a one-goal lead, and Australia went on to win, 3-1. Exhausted Canada continued their spate of fixtures with their sixth game in seventeen days. Iain Hume started a forgettable match in Saudi Arabia, as the hosts scored twice in the opening fifteen minutes, and then Julian De Guzman was sent off for the visitors. 3-0 was the final score, and the Canadians were lucky the tally wasn't worse. Fatigue was clearly taking its toll. In other matches, Holland stunned Brazil, 2-0; Germany beat Mexico, 3-0; Italy triumphed over Senegal, 2-0; France beat Tunisia, 2-0; and the U.S.A. beat Serbia, 1-0. At home a number of veterans played in Wednesday's Reserve match to keep or recover their fitness. Both Bruno Cheyrou and Victor Sikora played the full ninety minutes as we beat Leeds Reserves, 1-0. It was 18-year-old Dave Moss who stole the show, replacing the injured Craig Hunt during the first half and scoring the only goal. Cheyrou played particularly well, setting up several good chances, though he missed on a couple of opportunities to score himself. The physio declared him fit to return to the starting lineup the following week against Lyon. With a game against Chelsea on Valentine's Day, I took my wife south to France on Wednesday, giving her a romantic few days in Paris leading up to the weekend. It was the best I could do, and she appreciated that I'd gotten a hotel room near Notre Dame to make a brief holiday of it. I returned to England alone: she stayed in France, and would meet me in Lyon when the team arrived on Tuesday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 2, 2008 Author Share Posted June 2, 2008 Sunday, 13th February, 2011. Friday night the Sheffield United U-18s faced Charlton, top of Under-18 Group 7, in the Under-18s Cup Semi-Final. Charlton had beaten Manchester United U-18s, 3-0, and hadn't conceded a goal in their last four. It took our lads 28 minutes to break that streak, with Craig Hunt tapping home a loose ball in the six for the first goal. Four minutes later, he added a second on a superb 30-yard free kick, and he was unlucky not to get the hat trick before the half when he hit the crossbar from 22 yards. Chris Brown did well to turn two free kicks over the bar, preserving his shutout, as our youth side advanced to the final with a 2-0 win. Hunt, of course, was Man of the Match. Unluckily for him, he twisted his ankle the following day, and would miss two weeks of training. Sunday saw my second-choice youth players take the pitch against Mansfield U-18s. Even bereft of our best youngsters, they still dominated Mansfield, but lacked the finishing touch. A scoreless draw was the result - their seventh shutout in a row, and the squad had conceded only 8 goals all season. Former Oldham Athletic manager Paul Hart, sacked in January with the side struggling in the Championship, was hired as the new Sheffield Wednesday manager. He took over a team which had won four of their last five, climbing to third in League One, just three points back of the co-leaders, Luton and Doncaster. More importantly, we'd fallen to fifth in the Premiership, though we had a game in hand, when Manchester United won their derby against Manchester City, 3-1. Daniel Omoya Braaten scored twice in the opening five minutes, and Alan Smith added the third before halftime en route to a dominant victory. We would need to escape Stamford Bridge with at least a point to reclaim a Champions League position. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 2, 2008 Author Share Posted June 2, 2008 Monday, 14th February, 2011. Premier League - Game 29, at Chelsea. Though it may have been Valentine's Day, there was no love lost on the pitch: it was time to renew our bitter rivalry with Chelsea, who were well on pace towards their fifth consecutive Premier League title. They had the psychological edge, having pounded us 3-0 in the League Cup at Stamford Bridge, earned a 1-1 draw at Bramall Lane, and beaten us 2-1 in the Community Shield. Still, we had last year's F.A. Cup Final to draw upon, a 2-0 victory that showed we can beat even the best Chelsea has to offer. Even better, they didn't have their best available, with Mateja Kezman, Michael Ballack, John Terry, Tomas Rosicky, Kapo, and [b}Glen Johnson[/b] all injured, accounting for 166 starts between them this season. Adding to that trouble, center defender Ricardo Carvalho was suspended for accruing his fifth yellow card, thrusting 17-year-old Dean Booth into his first Premier League match. Of course, the second-string Chelsea lineup is still an All-Star squad by anyone else's standards, and I would need to name by best to have any chance of beating them. That meant Roy Carroll in goal, with Celestine Babayaro, David Rozehnal, captain Hayden Foxe, and Keith McCormack in defense. Freddy GuarÃn was the holding midfielder, with January Player of the Month Joe Hamill on the left wing and Jermaine Pennant on the right. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson made his 100th league appearance as a Blade, paired with Robert Cousins as the attacking midfielders. Florent Sinama-Pongolle returned to the starting lineup as the lone striker after missing the Liverpool match. I let the lads think about attack in the early going, venturing forwards a bit, contrary to the popular wisdom of 'bunker down' when visiting Stamford Bridge. Unfortunately, that strategy saw Florent Sinama-Pongolle hacked brutally down by young Dean Booth in midfield, and as the French striker was carted off I saw my UEFA Cup hopes going down in flames. Only 17 minutes had passed, and 20-year-old Paul Stott was on as our only striker. He'd only been on a minute when he started a great move, linking up between Freddy GuarÃn and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson. The experienced playmaker set Robert Cousins past Booth with a brilliant pass, and had the young midfielder been able to beat Peter Cech, it would have been a phenomenal goal. The Czech keeper made the save, however, delighting the crowd of 40,707 with his acrobatic save. In the 25th minute, Carroll got his chance to match it, making a fine save when Gasbarroni's 25-yard free kick would have found the target. Unfortunately, the Northern Irishman gave up a rebound, which Aliaksandr Hleb hammered home from ten yards out: we were down, 0-1, with our best goalscoring threat already out of the match. Xabi Alonso nearly made it two-nil, his header from a corner coming back off the crossbar, but at the other end we managed a succession of pressure. Joe Hamill's cross was headed away, but Celestine Babayaro held it in the zone, sending another cross into the box. Aimar headed that away as well, but Freddy GuarÃn was perfectly placed to collect it. He took one touch to set it up on his favored right foot, then sent a screaming 30-yarder curling through the box. Booth actually flinched out of the way, and Cech, his view obstructed by the heavy traffic in the area, got a late break on the ball. It found the corner of the net, our team's best goal of the season, and a well-deserved 1-1 equaliser. Just before halftime, Frank Lampard's fine pass put Hleb into our area. Babayaro appeared to take him down, but referee Matt Messias saw it the other way, and pulled out the yellow to book Hleb for diving despite Lampard's eloquent appeals for a penalty. Hleb wasn't the only one in foul trouble: Alonso had a yellow, as did Cousins, Hamill, GuarÃn, and David Rozehnal on our side. A free kick right after the restart proved dangerous, but to Chelsea, the takers, not us. They sent eight men forward, and when Rozehnal and Babayaro combined to clear it, we had a six-on-four breakaway. Bridge-Wilkinson's fine touch saw Paul Stott in with a chance, but he blazed it over the bar from the arc rather than closing with Peter Cech. There were chances in our end, too, with Donovan just a foot away from a pass that reached Caroll, and Giovanni dos Santos blasting one over the bar when he had the goal at his feet. Still, the defenses combined to keep it 1-1 through the 60th minute. In the 60th, Chelsea sent on Jérémie Aliadière, and it was he who finally sparked their breakthrough. It came through a wonderful series of one-touch passes up their left between Andrea Gasbarroni and the French striker. Gasbarroni was in the corner before Keith McCormack could react, and his cross found Dos Santos, who had snuck in at the back post. The eye-catching 21-year-old Mexican midfielder, a January transfer, headed back to the near post, catching the net to give Chelsea a 1-2 lead. It was his first-ever goal in a Blues uniform. With 25 minutes remaining, I shifted to a 3-5-2, asking Joe Newell to try his hand as a striker, with Darren White replacing Joe Hamill on the left, and McCormack coming out of our defense. I knew just how much space that was leaving at the back, and within minutes Aliadière had a golden chance. Only a brilliant reflex save by Roy Carroll kept him off the scoresheet, as he'd gotten behind Rozehnal to receive a pass just twelve yards from goal. Unfortunately, it wasn't generating chances at the other end - only Newell had any real opportunities, and he was denied on another crunching tackle by Dean Booth in the 85th minute. In injury time, Newell had one last chance on a breakaway, with Lúcio the only man who had a chance at him. As the last man, in the box, with a yellow already, Lúcio had to be inch-perfect to preserve the two-one final... ... and he was. Chelsea 2, Sheffield United 1 Hleb 25, Dos Santos 62; GuarÃn 33 MoM: Réveillère (Chelsea DR) As expected, we were dropping points through our run of difficult matches, and I could only hope that it hadn't done us permanent harm. We were already down to 5th, out of the Champions League berths for next season, and morale was plummeting with our star striker out. His countryman, fullback Anthony Réveillère, won the Man of the Match. He hadn't figured in either of the goals, but he'd played solidly at the back, and had a number of overlapping runs up the right side which caused our defense fits. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Wednesday, 16th February, 2011. Luckily, Florent Sinama-Pongolle had merely suffered a concussion and bruised head in Dean Booth's clumsy tackle. Fourteen stitches left the French striker out for the better part of a week - he'd miss the first Lyon match, but might be able to return for the second. Of course, all of Sheffield was abuzz in preparation for our UEFA Cup tie on Thursday, and it was in fact a relief to get away from all of the press coverage. We took the train down yesterday to have a full day to acclimatize ourselves in France. If that helped the lads concentrate, I was all for it: we'd had our confidence shaken by the past three matches, though a few individuals were still in pretty good shape mentally. I was particularly impressed with the mental toughness of Freddy GuarÃn, who was trying to rally the troops despite his relatively broken English. Back home, our Reserve team had their match today. Due to all the injuries and loans in our striker corps, little-used Michael Cross started, and scored the first goal. Dave Moss added a second, and on-loan winger Darren White scored from the spot to give us three by halftime. Though Manchester City Reserves got one back in the second half, it was hardly enough, as our lads won 3-1. Scott Allen was the Man of the Match at right wing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Thursday, 17th February, 2011. UEFA Cup - First Knockout Round, First Leg, at Olympique Lyonnais (France). Lyon won their first French league title in 2002, but since then they had won the Ligue 1 nine seasons in a row. That guaranteed them a Champions League group berth, but they had finished third behind Roma and Maccabi Haifa this season, dropping to the UEFA Cup through the third-placed parachute. Argentina forward César Delgado was their leading scorer, with eleven goals on twenty games this season, though the fact that he'd only managed one in Continental play thus far was surely part of the reason they’d failed to advance. Their French league title also seemed in doubt, as they lurked four points behind PSG with the season winding to a close. Roy Carroll remained in good form as our keeper, and seemed unphased by the Chelsea match. Sean Dillon replaced Babayaro at left back, making his tenth start of the season, but the rest of our defense and the back half of our midfield were tired, having all played on Monday. That comprised of captain Hayden Foxe, defender David Rozehnal, fullback Keith McCormack, defensive midfielder Freddy GuarÃn, left wing Joe Hamill, and right wing Jermaine Pennant. Up front, however, we were well-rested: Bruno Cheyrou had come back to playing shape just in time for this match, and Iain Hume returned to the club for the first time in a month spent touring with Canada. Imre Szabics was the only healthy striker on my 25-man UEFA Cup roster, and would have to last ninety minutes. I tried to catch the home side by surprise with an attacking bent for the first fifteen minutes, and it nearly paid off as early as the second minute, when Joe Hamill’s pinpoint cross found Jermaine Pennant in the area. Unluckily, he struck it directly to Lyon goalkeeper Grégory Coupet. It was wet and breezy, but that didn't seem to be bothering us, used to English weather, anywhere near as much as it was bothering the home side. Bruno Cheyrou had a fine chance in the tenth minute, but chose to make one last pass from the eighteen. He had Imre Szabics streaking to the six, but Lyon captain Carl Medjani made a superb last-ditch tackle to put it out. In the fifteenth minute, just as I'd decided that the strategy was working well enough to leave it in place, we earned a throw-in deep down the right sideline. As was his habit, Freddy GuarÃn tried a long throw into the six, where Coupet collected it. However, referee Helmut Fleischer rushed in, pointing to the spot: Coupet had pushed Szabics in the back to give himself room, and the German had given the penalty! GuarÃn stepped up to take it, and confidently put it low and to the keeper's right. Coupet had started moving left, and could only watch helplessly as the Colombian celebrated our 1-0 lead, and a vital away goal! Three minutes later, Joe Hamill tore free on the counter-attack, dancing up the left wing. Lyon had left a bit too much space at the back, and we had a five-on-four situation. Hamill fed it past the fullback to Iain Hume, and when the Canadian made Cacapa miss in the arc, there was nobody available to help. He closed to sixteen yards through the rain, then ruthlessly buried it to Coupet's right, our second in the space of just three minutes! Two away goals and a 2-0 lead, I couldn't have dreamt of better! With a lead that would require three goals for Lyon to overcome, I felt confident letting the lads fall back into our default 4-5-1, conservative, but willing to take a chance or two on the counter-attack. Unfortunately, in the 26th minute, we conceded one of those three goals on a French corner. César Delgado sent an inswinger perfectly into the six, where somehow Brazilian 26-year-old Nilmar had escaped his marker enough to take the ball at feet, turn, and still have time to shoot. The pacey striker is joining Charlton next season, and if that's a sample of his wares I don't relish facing him twice a year. That cut our lead to 2-1, and got the 34,577 Frenchman in the stadium back into the match. Bruno Cheyrou was nearly responsible for two goals in the following ten minutes, but on the first, his long ball for Szabics was squandered - the Hungarian had acres of space but mis-controlled the wet ball on his dribble, letting it escape to one of the French defenders. Moments later, Cheyrou tried a shot himself, from an impossible angle. It looked like he had Coupet beaten, but it curled as it reached the line, and never crossed it completely. Hume was there at the back post to tap it in, but Coupet recovered for a diving stop, again right on the line. Unlucky, perhaps, we went to the half still holding a 2-1 lead. Joe Hamill was tiring, and carrying another yellow card, so I brought him off at the intermission, getting Jonathan Forte on in his stead. That was the only change I made. Just moments after the restart, Lyon earned a corner. It was played well short of the near post, to Marouane Chamakh, with his back to goal. Inexplicably, Hayden Foxe slid in on him, taking him down from behind. As the Moroccon forward writhed in pain, Fleischer pointed to the spot again!! Romanian midfielder Tiberiu Ghioane stepped up in an utter silence, and slotted it superbly past Carroll to level the scores at 2-2. Chamakh was unable to continue, and Foxe had clearly come in from behnid, so it was hard to fault the referee for the second penalty of the evening. The third, eight minutes later, was not so clear-cut: another Lyon corner, this one cleared away, but not far enough. Ghioane controlled, just outside the box, and as he tried to slip past Freddy GuarÃn, he ran into the Colombian's knee. It looked like a dive - as far as I could see, he'd run into GuarÃn, and you could also argue that the collision happened outside the eighteen, but Fleischer was pointing to the spot, signaling penalty for the third time in the match!!! This time, it was Nilmar at the spot, and he buried it to Carroll's left for his second goal of the game, and a 2-3 Lyon lead. We’d scored two goals when under the patient, attacking formation which I’d started with, and conceded three since I took the foot off the gas. The conclusion was clear: we’d go back on the attack! I sent Joe Newell on to replace Iain Hume. We'd run that for only five minutes, when Jermaine Pennant's long ball up the right wing set Imre Szabics past the offsides trap. He beat the last defender, raced into the box, and fired from an angle. Coupet made the save, but it bounced diagonally across his area to Bruno Cheyrou, who had a wide-open net at his disposal. The Frenchman wasn't going to miss such a golden opportunity on his home soil, and he confidently made it 3-3. Five minutes later, the Lyonnaise had earned another corner, and this time Ghioane played it to Mahmadou Diarra. He crashed into Freddy GuarÃn to head it on goal from eight yards out, leaving the Colombian writhing in pain as the French celebrated the goal. I was off my line screaming for a foul - had GuarÃn hit him half that hard, it would have been another penalty - but Fleischer had long since ceased listening to imprecations from either bench, and the 3-4 lead stood. With fifteen minutes to play, Szabics was tiring badly, and I knew the Hungarian couldn’t finish. I brought him off, pushing Joe Newell up front, and sending Robert Cousins on as a midfielder. We had several glorious chances, but Grégory Coupet came up big, plucking Newell's half-volley out of the air, making a fantastic fingertip save on GuarÃn's long-range curler, and beating the ball away when Cousins got through on goal in the ninetieth minute. Deep in injury time, GuarÃn had one more chance, trapping the ball on his chest, then turning to half-volley from 25 yards. It was a majestic strike, perhaps the best of the night, but once again Coupet proved up to the challenge, clutching the wet ball safely to his chest as Newell waited hungrily for a rebound. The final whistle blew, and Lyon had won their leg in a wild, seven-goal encounter. Lyon 4, Sheffield United 3 Nilmar 26, pen 56, Ghioane pen 48, Diarra 70; GuarÃn pen 16, Hume 19, Cheyrou 64 MoM: Cheyrou In a game where the referee's decisions were directly responsible for three of Lyon's four goals, and one of ours, the locker-room talk was full of angry men venting about the standard of refereeing. “Enough,†I said, after I’d let them grumble for a while. “We’ve got three away goals: we need only to win the home leg to go through.†Joe Newell’s outburst was quickly silenced by Man of the Match Bruno Cheyrou. “I’m going to let the press in,†I continued. “Please don’t grouse to them – the last thing we need is a referee prejudiced against us in the second leg.†Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 Sunday, 20th February, 2011. A thrilling F.A. Cup tie on Saturday saw Manchester United through Arsenal thanks to second-half goals by Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford. The long-time partners each provided the assist for the other, breaking a 1-1 draw and giving the Red Devils a 3-1 victory. Chelsea was forced to a replay, despite having the home field advantage, by Championship side Bristol City, who earned a 1-1 draw, and in fact missed a penalty that could have given them a shock win. The draw for the Sixth Round followed on Monday, even though we hadn't played our Fifth Round match yet. Six balls were drawn before ours: Manchester United vs Newcastle, Tottenham vs Fulham, and Manchester City vs Cardiff or West Brom. The "Sheffield United or Charlton Athletic" ball was drawn seventh, giving us a potential home tie if we could knock of Athletic, but our opponents would be "Chelsea or Bristol City." Suddenly, I was very interested in that replay, which would be played on March 2nd, the day of our Fifth Round match against Charlton. Gary Thomas joined Coventry City, battling against relegation at 23rd in the Championship, but only three points away from safety, on a three month loan. I was quite saddened when I read the paper's report, that he saw the loan as "a way out," and was looking forward to displaying his talents in the shop window. I'd like to keep the lad for the long-term, although I can see why he's disappointed, with Robert Cousins and Joe Newell getting so much attention and press coverage lately. Thomas's contract expires at the end of next season, so I may have trouble renewing it unless I can get him into the first team regularly next season. 16-year-old right back Simon Gray picked up an unfortunate groin strain in training, which got him sent to rehabilitation for at least month, and 18-year-old left back Paul Alexander strained his neck, sidelining him for at least two weeks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 Wednesday, 23rd February, 2011. Lyon arrived in Sheffield yesterday, and there was a festival atmosphere throughout the Steel City, with plenty of out-of-town visitors, and red-and-white-striped flags flying from nearly every restaurant and bar. A local television outlet ran a special on big-screen plasma TVs, promising a full refund after the match if you weren't convinced to keep it. They sold out of inventory in less than an hour, it was said. I took a quiet break from the preparations Wednesday night - my lineup was set, my players ready, and my tactics finalized - to curl up in front of the T.V. and watch a Champions League match. They, too, were in their first knockout round, and I found myself compelled by the Manchester United - Maccabi Haifa matchup at Old Trafford. United had no problems, dominating the match and building the 4-0 final by the sixtieth minute. Daniel Braaten, John O'Shea, Salomon Kalou, and Wayne Rooney were the goalscorers, and the Israeli side, which had knocked Lyon out of the Champions League, rarely looked to be in the same class as the Red Devils. Arsenal scored two goals in the first ten minutes en route to a 4-1 pounding of Swiss side Basel in London. Ivica Olic, Andrés D'Alessandro, and Patrick Vieira score while the outcome was in doubt, and German midfielder Sebastian Deisler added an insurance goal late in the match. Chelsea travelled to Istanbul to face 50,000 screaming Turks and a strong Fenerbahçe side, but the Blues clearly outclassed their hosts, scoring the first three goals in a 3-1 victory. Pablo Aimar's brace led the scoring, while long-time fixture Frank Lampard added the third. Newcastle United, at home against A.C. Milan, built a 3-0 lead to take to the second leg, thanks to Fernando Cavenaghi's brace and a late goal from Filipe Oliveira. It looked almost a sure thing that four English sides would be in the quarter-finals, and watching their success I felt frustrated that we'd lost fourth place and the possibility of a Champions League berth of our own next year. Bayern München beat Paris Saint-Germain 4-1, but it took an amazing comeback: the French side had led 1-0 through the eightieth minute. Roque Santa Cruz found the equalizer in the 82nd, set up in the area by Ruben Petersen's beautiful cross. Three minutes later, Petersen scored one of his own, a fabulous 30-yard strike to give the Germans the lead. Bastian Schweinsteiger added two goals in injury time to create the blow-out final scoreline from a game which had been a close delight for the Munich crowd of 57,913. The other headline-grabbing match came from Italy, where Juventus played host to Inter Milan. A hard-fought affair saw three players off injured, including Inter's Obefami Martins. Inter goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, with eight saves, was the Man of the Match in a scoreless draw. Barcelona won on the road in Romania, 1-0, with French midfielder Sidney Govou scoring the only goal against Steaua Bucharest. A.S. Roma could take some heart from two away goals in their 4-2 defeat by Valencia. Adriano had looked on the top of his game for the Spaniards, scoring a brace, while South African Benedict Vilakazi and Uruguay's Néstor Canobbio added the other goals for Valencia. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 Thursday, 24th February, 2011. UEFA Cup - First Knockout Round, Second Leg, vs Olympique Lyonnais (France). After losing the first leg 3-4, we needed only a low-scoring victory to advance: if we won, 1-0, the aggregate would be 4-4, but our three away goals would give us the advantage. A tie, on the other hand, would see Lyon through, so I expected them to play for a scoreless draw. I elected to send out the patient, attacking 4-5-1 which had scored all three of our goals on the road. The best news, in my mind, was the choice of referee: Pierluigi Collina, who had been granted an exemption to FIFA's forced-retirement rule to continue plying his trade. I couldn't help but feel confident: I felt we'd have won the first match with better refereeing. We were well-rested, at least, with no game mid-week, but morale was fairly poor, especially across the back four. Hard to blame them, after conceding four goals, but I had done my best to try and focus them on the next match. Roy Carroll was starting in goal. Celestine Babayaro, David Rozehnal, Hayden Foxe, and Keith McCormack were the back four, straight across. Workhorse Freddy GuarÃn would play the holding midfield role for the eighth straight game. Joe Hamill on the left seemed to have the highest spirits of anyone on the club, while Jermaine Pennant on the right brought a grim determination. The only changes to my lineup were up front, where Bruno Cheyrou was now partnered with Robert Cousins, and Florent Sinama-Pongolle, though severely lacking match fitness after his recent spate of injuries, returned as the striker. The French side came out strong, tearing right through our demoralized defense from the opening kickoff, and Mahmadou Diarra was unlucky when his shot from the eighteen deflected off of Celestine Babayaro and missed the post by about three inches. Roy Carroll and Hayden Foxe both tore into their defense verbally: we’d have to do better. In the ninth minute, Joe Hamill brought his excitement to the entire crowd, tearing off up the left wing on a sixty-yard run, then slipping the ball inside for Freddy GuarÃn. Double-covered at the corner of the area, GuarÃn had no shot, and after holding the ball up for a moment, fed it back. Hamill threaded a tight pass back to Robert Cousins outside the eighteen. The 21-year-old let fly through a forest of defenders, finding the top left corner for the most important goal of his career!! What a shot! It put us ahead 1-0, but more importantly, on a 4-4 aggregate which would see us through on the away-goals rule. All eleven Lyonnaise players had been between him and the goal, which may have kept Grégory Coupet from sighting the ball. Now the visitors needed a goal, and they immediately changed to a 4-3-3. To my dismay, they nearly found an instant reply when Tiberiu Ghioane snuck free of Sean Dillon at the back post for a point-blank header, which Roy Carroll did well to turn away. Celestine Babayaro calmly collected the rebound, dribbled out of danger, and launched a long ball up the pitch for Florent Sinama-Pongolle. The cultured striker raced up the left wing, then cut inside, dazzling two defenders with a magical display of dribbling to get loose in the box. He fired low across the goal – and in off the far post!! It was bedlam at Bramall Lane! Two goals in two minutes, and we led 2-0!! Freddy GuarÃn came close to netting our third on the quarter hour, a long-range shot which would have found the corner had Coupet not made a diving stop. We looked to be having the better part of the chances throughout the rest of the half, as I kept the lads looking forward rather than concentrating on defense. When Lyon did attack, Keith McCormack stood out in defense, playing a fine game, and cutting out a number of opportunities. As Lyon grew ever more committed to attack, we found ever-increasing gaps at the back. Just before the half, we got loose on a 5-on-3 counter-attack, with Robert Cousins taking the shot but putting it wide. A minute later, McCormack started another move, and this time a perfect through ball by Bruno Cheyrou found Sinama-Pongolle unmarked in the Lyon area. You can't afford to give the French striker that much space, and he made Lyon pay with his second goal of the game, his tenth of the tournament, and his 25th of the season! His calm low finish, to the far post, made it 3-0 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate. Now, Lyon would need to score three goals to beat us. With that kind of lead, I made the change at halftime, pulling everyone back into our conservative approach. I also brought Sinama-Pongolle off, letting Imre Szabics replace him up front, rather than risking injury. Had we lost the game from there, it would have been the ultimate move to second-guess, but Lyon seemed truly beaten, and we continued to mount the pressure throughout the second half. In the 62nd minute, McCormack played Freddy GuarÃn up the right side, and after beating his man to cross the outside edge of the box, the Colombian fired a magical shot which caught Coupet napping. It was such an oblique angle, the keeper couldn't quite believe he'd shot, and by the time he reacted, we had a 4-0 lead. Lyon tried shifting to a 4-2-4, but their heart wasn’t in it. We had only to weather thirty minutes of increasingly limp attack. In the 72nd, I brought Jonathan Forte and Iain Hume on, replacing Hamill and Cousins, respectively. They each received a standing ovation from the capacity crowd, who had been entertaining themselves with chorus after chorus of “Are you Wednesday in disguise?†Though Lyon were theoretically chasing the game, it was Szabics who came closest to scoring in the waning minutes, twice forcing great saves from Coupet, then putting one off the crossbar, and firing wide after Cheyrou's phenomenal pass in injury time. Lyon managed just four shots, all of which Roy Carroll dealt with easily, and the 4-0 final score gave us a 7-4 aggregate victory. Sheffield United 4, Lyon 0 Cousins 9, Sinama-Pongolle 11, 44, GuarÃn 62; ---- MoM: Hamill Sheffield United 7, Lyon 4 (aggregate) The celebration echoed through Bramall Lane for at least an hour afterwards, 32,904 fans singing and dancing, and the players seemingly unwilling to leave the pitch, though Lyon had long since trudged to the changing rooms. Joe Hamill, in particular, earned another standing ovation from the crowd for his Man of the Match performance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenthreeleader Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Well done and as usual well written ... don't see many 7-4 aggregate scores! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter St Jock Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Excellent story Amaroq. One request though if it's possible, could you post the lineup of your players after each match? I just find it intresting. Call me strange Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kairyu Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 WOOTTT!!!! Grats there Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wegason Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 What a result Amaroq! Lyon are a good side, especially to win 9 titles in a row! In fairness, in real life they do underachieve in Europe it seems if I recall correctly. Still, a great result for the Blades! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 Thanks, gentlemen! Lyon were a challenge, and its only going to ramp up from there! Dexter, I detail the match lineup in the second paragraph of each match; are you looking for more than that? I don't think I'm inclined to do a full-squad lineup on a regular basis. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 Saturday, 26th February, 2011. Real Madrid's collapse from the heady heights of the Galacticos was complete. Their 2-0 loss to Turkish side Trabzonspor was the last straw: they fired manager Mariano GarcÃa Remón immediately after their elimination from the UEFA Cup. Though he'd won the UEFA Cup in 2006 and taken them to a Champions League semi-final in 2007, age had taken its toll on the overpaid side. The next two seasons had seen early exits from the Champions League, and a decline in their league position such that, the past two years, they had missed out on the Champions League places entirely. Fifth in the league, and out of Europe by February? Remón had to go. For now, he remained manager of Argentina, but he hasn’t had much success to speak of, and his position there is tenuous as well. In other notable UEFA Cup matches, Liverpool beat Benfica on a 3-1 aggregate, and Ajax sent Hamburger SV packing on a 6-1 aggregate. Celtic were knocked out by Austrian side FC Pasching, 4-1, while our nemesis from group play, VfB Stuttgart, were knocked out on away goals by Danish side Odense Boldklub. The most sentimental matchup saw Levski (Sofia) beat Championship club Portsmouth by a single goal. Pompey had qualified for the UEFA Cup last year, despite getting relegated from the Premiership, by winning the League Cup. The bad news, for us, was the Second Round draw: we would face Italian giants Parma, who had been the UEFA Cup runners-up the past two seasons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 Sunday, 27th February, 2011. Our next opponent, Charlton Athletic, faced Chelsea in the League Cup Final today. Rob Styles was the referee, and he stamped his mark on the match in the second minute, sending John Terry off for Chelsea. Mikael Forssell gave Athletic an early lead, ripping through the short-handed defense to net in the 17th minute, but Niko Kranjcar scored an instant reply for the Blues. The 1-1 score remained through halftime, then through full-time. Athletic were having the better chances, clearly, but even through thirty minutes of extra time, they were unable to find the game-winner, and the match went to penalties. When Peter Cech saved Gareth Barry's effort, leaving Chelsea a 3-2 lead after three kicks, it seemed that Athletic were on death's door. Then 22-year-old goalkeeper James Murphy guessed right against Pablo Aimar, and Nicholas Anelka converted to even the score. Murphy saved again when Ricardo Carvalho tried to put it straight down the middle, and it was up to Edgar Barreto. The Paraguayan superstar made Cech guess the wrong direction to give Charlton Athletic a dramatic 4-3 penalty shootout win, incidentally booking their place in the UEFA Cup next season despite their 14th place in the Premier League table. Suddenly, sacking Alan Curbishley and hiring Jürgen Klinsmann in November looked like a stroke of pure genius for chairman Martin Simons! In minor local action, Sheffield U-18s broke open their game against Stoke City in injury time, with Craig Hunt earning Man of the Match for forcing an own goal and scoring another in a 3-0 victory. It was his return after injury, and I hadn't expected him to last ninety minutes, but he did very well. 18-year-old Michael Cross, whose contract is expiring in March, scored the other in a bid to get me to keep him, but I'm afraid it’s too late for him - there are nearly a dozen strikers more talented on the squad. Right wing Ron Francis suffered a calf strain, which would see him sent off to a specialist in London for at least two weeks, possibly as many as four. That was going to leave the youth side short of wingers as the Under-18s Cup Final approached. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 Tuesday, 1st March, 2011. There's nothing like a board meeting just after a famous Continental victory to make a manager feel secure: Chairman Dooley waxed enthusiastic, and Terry Robinson jokingly told me they'd have to name a stand after me by the time I was done. Our league struggles were brushed aside in the euphoria of the moment. Champagne was poured, and raised in toast to me, much to my bemusement. Though we'd lost the match, Freddy GuarÃn's curling 30-yard equalizer against Chelsea on Valentine's Day was the Premier League Goal of the Month for March, a truly fabulous strike which was worth watching again. Keith McCormack was our entry in a bid to retain the Premiership Young Player of the Month title for the third straight month, but he lost out to Fulham defenseman James Watts, and in fact came third in the balloting. Though we'd managed only a single point against Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea, I still felt that we'd weathered the worst part of our schedule in fairly good shape: we had nine matches left, and needed to make up but one point on Manchester United to claim a Champions League berth next season. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> Pts W D L GF GA GD (GP) 1 Chelsea 67 21 4 3 61 17 +44 (28) 2 Liverpool 62 19 5 5 48 20 +28 (29) 3 Arsenal 58 18 4 7 67 37 +30 (29) 4 Manchester United 54 15 9 5 55 30 +25 (29) 5 Sheffield United 54 15 9 5 45 32 +13 (29) 6 Fulham 47 12 11 6 42 34 + 8 (29) 7 Newcastle United 47 14 4 11 61 51 +10 (29) 8 Blackburn 44 12 8 9 44 39 + 5 (29) 9 Manchester City 43 12 7 10 47 37 +10 (29) 10 Middlesbrough 40 11 7 10 33 32 + 1 (28) 11 Southampton 38 10 8 11 40 42 - 2 (29) 12 Tottenham 37 9 10 10 39 40 - 1 (29) 13 Aston Villa 34 8 10 11 36 41 - 5 (29) 14 Charlton Athletic 32 8 8 13 48 58 -10 (29) 15 Everton 29 5 14 10 30 40 -10 (29) 16 West Ham United 29 8 5 16 42 67 -25 (29) 17 Bolton 25 7 4 18 31 63 -32 (29) ----------------------------------------------------------- 18 West Brom Albion 19 3 10 16 26 48 -22 (26) 19 Ipswich Town 18 3 9 17 21 46 -25 (29) 20 Derby County 14 2 8 19 11 53 -42 (26)</pre> There was little change in the leading scorers table, as favourites Mateja Kezman, Thierry Henry, and Florent Sinama-Pongolle had all failed to score. Newcastle’s James McFadden was the biggest mover, with three, reaching an equal tie with Henry for second. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1 Mateja Kezman 17 Chelsea Serbia & Montenegro 2 = Thierry Henry 14 Arsenal France 2 = James McFadden 14 Newcastle United Scotland 4 = Dimitris Papadopolous 13 Manchester City Greece 4 = Claudio Pizarro 13 Arsenal Peru 6 = Florent Sinama-Pongolle 12 Sheffield United France 6 = Nicolas Anelka 12 Charlton Athletic France 6 = Jonathan Stead 12 Fulham England 6 = Paul Gallagher 12 Blackburn Scotland 10 = 2 players 11 --- ---</pre> On the financial side, the minimal schedule of matches for the month had left a shortfall of £0.8M, a net operating loss of £10.4M thus far this season. If we ever dropped out of the Premiership, we'd have to severely cut the wages, but Terry reminded me that we'd had £14.3M in the bank at this time last year, and we had £15.6M now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amaroq Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 Wednesday, 2nd March, 2011. F.A. Cup - Fifth Round, vs Charlton Athletic. Charlton were on a stunning roll: they hadn't lost a match since the 3rd of January. Their last two League games were 3-0 wins over Tottenham and Blackburn, and on Sunday they had dreamed the stuff of legend, beating Chelsea on penalties to claim the League Cup. We could hope that the hangover had not yet faded, and that, with a UEFA Cup berth already claimed, their motivation would be lower in the F.A. Cup. They also had some injury trouble, with leading scorer Nicolas Anelka out with a groin strain, and co-equal number three scorers Mikael Forssell and Edgar Barreto similarly unavailable. Forssell had strained his neck against Chelsea, while midfielder Barreto was suspended due to picking up his tenth yellow card in the Final. Also missing were winger Theo Walcott, ex-Sheffield fullback Rory Beanes, and key central defender Martin Albrechtsen. I made just one change from the lineup which had beaten Lyon by four goals, replacing Robert Cousins with Iain Hume. The rest of the lineup remained unchanged: Roy Carrol in goal, Celestine Babayaro, Hayden Foxe, David Rozehnal, and Keith McCormack in defense, Freddy GuarÃn the holding midfielders, Joe Hamill and Jermaine Pennant on the wings, Bruno Cheyrou the playmaker, and Florent Sinama-Pongolle the striker. We'd won both League encounters this season, 5-2 at home, and 2-1 on the road, so I felt confident with that strong lineup on the pitch. For the first fifteen minutes, Athletic looked like the more dangerous side, with Supat Rungratsamee looking particularly incisive. Luckily, Roy Carroll dealt with his two best chances in the opening stages, and once we settled down we began taking the game to the visitors. Florent Sinama-Pongolle had a few chances taken off his foot in the box, and Iain Hume's best two efforts were saved and over, respectively. In the 30th minute, we earned a free kick from 30 yards, wide to the right of goal. For most teams, that might be “play it into the box†distance, but Freddy GuarÃn audaciously went for goal. He struck it beautifully, and curled it around the wall, but it hit the base of the near post and bounced away. Hume hammered the rebound on net, but 22-year-old Charlton goalkeeper James Murphy made a fine save. A minute later, Hume's fine pass put Sinama-Pongolle into the area. Instead of shooting, he laid the ball left for Bruno Cheyrou, who looked certain to score from 12 yards. Murphy made an incredible save, and to the dismay of the home crowd, the rebound got past everyone to Jermaine Jenas, who was able to clear. Just before the half, Jermaine Pennant headed a Roy Carroll clearance past the last Charlton defender, then ran onto it himself. Murphy perhaps should have come out to claim it at the edge of the box, but instead he waited on his line, letting Pennant come to him, then pushing it away when the winger finally shot. We were knocking on the door, but it was still scoreless at halftime. Worse, the news from Bristol was that Jérémie Aliadière had scored for Chelsea, setting them up as our potential Sixth Round opponent. In the 51st minute, Joe Hamill had to hobble off for some treatment by the physio. Though he was convinced he could go on, I was unwilling to risk further injury in a Cup match. I sent Victor Sikora on to take his place. In the 57th minute, Iain Hume earned a free kick right on the eighteen, which Freddy GuarÃn of course made into a shot. This time, it deflected out off the wall for a corner. The corner found Sinama-Pongolle in the box, but instead of shooting he tried to pass to a well-marked Hayden Foxe, and Charlton was able to cut it out. When the 64th minute arrived, and it was still scoreless, I decided to try something uncharacteristically aggressive - a shift to the 3-5-2. Celestine Babayaro dutifully came off, with Imre Szabics joining Sinama-Pongolle up front. With our congested fixture list, I'd rather see a decisive result either way than play a replay in Charlton! With Szabics and Sinama-Pongolle both drifting wide, that created an opening straight up the middle, which GuarÃn took advantage of almost immediately. In the 67th minute, he received Pennant's pass with enough space to set it on his preferred right foot. He unleashed a magnificent 25-yard banana shot. Murphy never had a chance to deal with it, and GuarÃn had given us a 1-0 lead with a fabulous strike. With the lead I had sought, I reverted to the 4-5-1, letting Sinama-Pongolle come off, and putting Joe Keenan on to cover the left back slot. Not four minutes more had passed, however, when Hume earned another free kick, this one 22 yards from goal. GuarÃn curled it perfectly over the six-man wall to the near post, and Murphy, positioned to the far side of the net, could not get back to cover it. It was a truly spectacular performance from the Colombian, who had single-handedly turned the game into a comfortable 2-0 lead! The crowd of 29,974 were in full voice to express their appreciation, standing and singing his name for the remaining twenty minutes. Sheffield United 2, Charlton Athletic 0 GuarÃn 67, 71; ---- MoM: Carroll If there was any shock from the match, it was that Freddy GuarÃn was overlooked for Man of the Match in favour of Roy Carroll. The Northern Ireland keeper had made seven saves, but had rarely been truly tested. Personally, I felt that the Colombian had been robbed, but our Cup run had continued, and the lads celebrated as well they deserved to. We were through to the quarter-finals, which was as far as we'd made it in the League Cup - and unless something had changed in Bristol, our opponents would be our hated rivals Chelsea yet again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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