Sharpening a Rusty Blade - Book III

[Amaroq]

w00t! 10,000 views for each book! Thanks to all you loyal readers, wow! And of course to folks like PM7 and Flipsix3 whose writing really paved the way for and inspired me.

[madog308]

sinama-pongolle is yourbest buy so far, and with him playing so well have you had any large offers for him from bigger teams. i.e man u chelsea??

[Amaroq]

Yes, he's been phenomenal! From this point on, he was always on the shortlists of the biggest teams.

The last firm offer we received for him was £11.5M from Newcastle United in January of 2010, which was perilously close to his minimum-fee release clause.

Getting him re-signed to a long-term contract that didn't include a minimum-fee release clause this past summer was critical. At least if he leaves, it will be on my terms!

Oh, and to PM.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 17th November, 2010.

International action continued on Wednesday with another slate of full international friendlies.

England was utterly embarrassed in Cameroon, as they were held without a single shot on goal, despite fielding a full-strength lineup for at least sixty minutes. Making matters worse, Liverpool winger Jermaine Jenas conceded an own goal in the 75th minute, leaving England manager Gary Megson to try and explain to the rabid press how his 5-3-2 had succumbed to their lowly regarded African hosts.

Scotland defeated Ukraine, 3-1, in Glasgow, with Ross Hepburn, Derek Riordan, and Robert Davidson turning a halftime deficit into delight for the 36,729 who braved an icy rain.

Chris Brown was again on the bench to watch Lee Martin in goal for Wales, and again he had to watch Martin concede the game winner. This time, it came to Landon Donovan, as the U.S.A. rebounded from their late loss to France with a 1-0 win over the Dragons. Donovan, who's been playing his club ball with Chelsea, was in absolutely fantastic form and earned Man of the Match honours to boot.

Keith McCormack got to start for Ireland against the United Arab Emirates, but I'd asked that he only play 45 minutes so he could be fit for our next match, which long-time Irish skipper Brian Kerr respected. John O'Shea headed home from a corner to put Ireland ahead early, but our young fullback suffered a disaster late in the half. McCormack slid in hard on U.A.E. captain Abdulla Mohammed in the area, conceding a penalty which Salem Khamis converted. The result was a 1-1 draw, a frustrating result for the visitors who had dominated the proceedings but couldn't find a second goal.

Northern Ireland, by contrast, should have been played off the park in Turkey, but the Turks found it difficult to find the net between the efforts of Man of the Match defender George McCartney and goalkeeper Roy Carroll, who kept a clean sheet in the nil-nil draw.

Elsewhere, Imre Szabics finally broke his two-year-long international scoring drought, netting in the fifth minute against Sweden, darting around Nils-Eric Johansson at the eighteen after a pinpoint pass by Ferenc Mészáros. It looked a fine goal, and I could only hope that might help Szabics find his form in the Premiership as well, where he'd failed to score a goal all season. It turned out to be the game winner, as Hungary won 1-0.

Hayden Foxe and the Australia defense were completely embarrassed in the first 52 minutes in Lisbon, as Portugal exploded for four goals, one from Cristiano Ronaldo, one from Hugo Viana, and two by Hélder Postiga. It was a dismal time for Foxe, as he was brought off the pitch in disgrace after the fourth goal, as were several of his teammates; the revised lineup held the scoreline through 90 minutes, but the 0-4 defeat would leave a sour taste in his mouth, I was sure.

We had more bad news, as defender Abubakar Shittu hurt himself during warmups for Nigeria's match against Russia. Keft back Celestine Babayaro did play for his country, playing the first half of a scoreless draw, though the home side had the better chances and could have beat the Russians had it not been for Bayern München keeper Igor Akinfeev in net.

In the Caribbean, Colombia travelled to Anguilla, where Freddy Guarín again opened the scoring for his national side, getting free in the area in the 7th minute and netting an easy finish. Arsenal striker Jhon Jairo Mosquera added two more goals by halftime, when many of the European-based players (including Guarín) were brought off; the result stayed 3-0 through full time.

Iain Hume started for Canada in Saint Martin. Despite an early red card, Canada was able to easily surpass their hosts 2-0 on goals by Devin Johnston and Rob Friend. Hume wasn't involved in either goal, and was taken off at halftime per my request.

Meanwhile, our Reserves played their second match in as many days. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, whom I was working hard as I tried to get him back to match fitness, provided a gorgeous assist on the first goal, setting up 17-year-old Craig Hunt in the early going. Sunderland Reserves equalized in the 15th minute, but deep into the second half, on-loan winger Scott Allen broke the game open with a thundering 20-yard strike to propel our Reserves to a 2-1 victory. For his trouble, Allen was named Man of the Match.

[Amaroq]

Friday, 19th November, 2010.

Unluckily for us, Celestine Babayaro twisted his knee in training the day after he returned to camp. With Sean Dillon already out, that left us with very scant cover at left back for a crucial stretch of matches, which would include two UEFA Cup ties and the League Cup Quarter-Final against Chelsea.

The news about fellow Nigerian Abubakar Shittu was also bad. He'd suffered a strained groin while with the national team, and we wound up having to send him to a specialist. It was estimated that the disgruntled 21-year-old would miss at least a month's worth of training.

Friday night, our Under-18s stumbled against Wrexham's youth side, dominating the match but unable to score. Worse, in the 51st minute Martin Ellis conceded a penalty, which the visitors converted for a 1-0 victory, and in the dying seconds James Hunter was sent off for his second yellow card. Forward Craig Hunt injured his shoulder, which would set him back a week as well. All in all, it was a performance without a bright side for the youngsters.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 20th November, 2010. Premier League - Game 14, vs Newcastle United.

Newcastle were one Premier League side which we'd never beaten under my tenure. Their last two trips to Bramall Lane had both ended in scoreless draws, and at 12th in the Premiership I expected that meant they were coming out in a fairly defensive set, so from the opening kickoff I had the lads primed for a patient, attacking game.

With some of our stars tired from international matches, and others injured, it felt like a patchwork lineupthat I sent out to face the Geordies. Roy Carroll returned in goal. Joe Keenan made only his third start of the season at left back, while Ben Hammond was partnered with David Rozehnal in central defense. I hoped Keith McCormack could shake off his international performance at right back. Freddy Guarín was coming off of two great performances for Colombia, and would man the key defensive midfield role. Jermaine Pennant was on the right wing, with Joe Hamill on the left, though I doubted Hamill would last ninety minutes. Bruno Cheyrou and 21-year-old Joe Newell were partnered in attack, while Florent Sinama-Pongolle was in great form as the lone striker.

To the delight of the crowd, we came out dominant early on, and Florent Sinama-Pongolle nearly scored from the opening kickoff, seeing his shot blocked out for a corner. In the 6th minute, Joe Newell squared along the top of the box for Freddy Guarín. The Colombian raced in towards the six, drawing defense, goalkeeper, and midfield alike towards him. He looked certain to shoot, and likely to score, but instead he dropped a gorgeous backheel to Newell, who had slotted right along the eighteen behind him. Utterly unmarked, the attacking midfielder curled a gorgeous shot to the opposite corner, giving us a dream start and a 1-0 lead!

Newcastle would have to chase the game, so I settled the lads back to our accustomed counter-attacking stance. For fifteen minutes, I wondered if that had been a mistake, as the black-and-white striped visitors seemed in complete control, constantly threatening our net. Only desperate defending kept them at bay, but in the 22nd minute, Joe Hamill forced a turnover along our left wing. He beat two defenders up the sideline, then cut a gorgeous pass inside for Florent Sinama-Pongolle. The striker had found space, reaching the corner of the six before unleashing the shot, which deflected off the knee of the sliding Juan, reaching the top corner anyways for a 2-0 advantage. The fifteenth goal of his season came on what can only be described as a 2-on-4 breakaway.

Newcastle clawed one back on the half-hour mark, however, as Damien Duff found Francesc Fabergas just outside the eighteen. His shot deflected off of Joe Keenan, wrong-footing Roy Carroll, who had already committed towards the far post. The ricochet dribbled towards the near post, and there was nothing any United defender could do save pluck it out of the net and watch Fabergas celebrate as though he'd just won the World Cup rather than closed the deficit to 2-1.

Sinama-Pongolle showed that he can launch a precision pass just moments later, picking out Bruno Cheyrou breaking the offsides trap with a 50-yard ball, but Juan atoned for his earlier failure with a fantastic sliding tackle to deny the French combination in the area.

The match was turning tense, with chances at either goal and end-to-end action, but in the 40th minute Sinama-Pongolle broke up the left wing. He followed low pass central for Cheyrou with a dangerous run into the box that drew most of the defenders to him. Cheyrou found the other option, picking out Newell at the top of the eighteen. He struck a magical volley into the roof of the net, again showing what he can do if given even a bit of space, and we held a 3-1 lead for the intermission.

In the 50th minute, Guarín collided hard with Cavenaghi, sending the Argentina forward hobbling to the sideline for treatment. While Newcastle were a man down, we may have relaxed a bit, but the next thing I knew Evra had launched a high cross into the box from the left sideline. Koc Okan had half a step on Ben Hammond, but when he went to control it, it squirted away from him towards the far post. Roy Carroll dove to stop it, controlling it at first, but then as his body fell on the ball, it squirted out between him and the end line, and trickled into the goal. A harsh scoring decision called it an own goal, rather than crediting Okan, but however you score it, a shorthanded goal made it 3-2 and all to play for in the second half.

Joe Newell nearly completed a hat trick two minutes later, but his shot was tipped round the post by Thomas Sørensen. At the other end, Roy Carroll made three fine saves to hold the lead through the hour mark. Sinama-Pongolle had started limping, so I brought him off for Imre Szabics on 65 minutes, with Darren White replacing Hamill on the wing.

Newcastle were getting desperate by the 70th minute, pushing players forward in a 4-2-4, and it was desperate defending again for our lads. Roy Carroll had to make a top-drawer save to keep Absolenen, the substitute who had come on for Cavenaghi, from equalizing one-on-one, and Rozehnal made a wonderful tackle to halt Damien Duff's breakaway in the box.

In the 80th minute, Keith McCormack's interception started a quick counter-attack, and Cheyrou fed Szabics, who had split the central defenders and beaten the offsides trap. As Sørensen rushed out, Szabics fired from the eighteen. The Danish keeper stopped the first shot, but the rebound fell straight to Szabics, and the Hungarian made no mistake with his second effort, scoring his first League goal of the season to give us a 4-2 lead.

From there, it was a simple matter of defending, and Freddy Guarín showed himself quite adept at plugging the gaps as we ran the clock down.

Sheffield United 4, Newcastle United 2

Newell 6, 40, Sinama-Pongolle 22, Szabics 80; Fabregas 30, Carroll o.g. 51

MoM: Guarín

Freddy Guarín had played an tremendous match, including a highlight-reel backheel for the assist, and was a consensus Man of the Match.

"What an inspired game!" Chairman Derek Dooley looked like he wanted to get out of his wheelchair and dance - you could still see the boyish glee in his eye. "Too bad Chelsea and Liverpool both won today; after a performance like that, you lads deserved to close the gap some."

[Amaroq]

Monday, 22nd November, 2010.

As we near the halfway point of the season, the majority viewpoint amongst pundits remains that Sheffield United are still overachieving. It could all turn south at a moment's notice, should anything happen to the phenomenal Florent Sinama-Pongolle.

Manager Ian Richards has surely achieved more than anyone expected him to with his motley crew. However, the fans on the terraces will tell you that if the Blades keep playing well, they can give anybody a run for the money.

Challenging for the title must surely be beyond the dreams of even the staunchest supporter, as Chelsea remain the team to beat and Liverpool continue to excel, but naysayers, including this columnist, who predicted ruin for Sheffield United this season must surely be eating their words.

It was, I must admit, pleasant to see Rupert Wormwood eating crow at last! Then I noticed the next paragraph.

Still, the defending has been dire - it shouldn't take four goals to beat the likes of Athens and Newcastle, and potent attacks such as Arsenal, Chelsea, and Thursday's opponents, Red Star Belgrade, must surely be giving Richards fits to plan for.

That was more like the Wormwood I knew and loathed.

Elsewhere in the same paper, I was pleased to note that Freddy Guarín's performance had earned him selection to the Premier League Team of the Week, a rare honour for our squad.

[Wardy11]

Amaroq, I'm still here and still reading your story each day. This is very good quality writing - well done. Good luck with the book.

Please don't go on holiday again - I need my daily fix....."My name's Wardy11, I'm a Blade-aholic, I've gone two days without an update...."

[Amaroq]

Thanks, Wardy! What are you all going to do when we reach the end?

I have bad news and good news .. the bad news is I'm actually going on holiday again starting tomorrow ..

.. but the good news is I'm taking Blade and a laptop with me, and I'm expecting to continue to provide your daily fix.

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 23rd November, 2010.

The Champions League group stages continued Tuesday night, drawing towards a close with the fifth game out of six.

Group E leaders Barcelona didn't take their foot off the gas, despite fielding a weakened lineup at St. James's Park. Javier Saviola, making his first start of the European season, scored twice, and Daniel Van Buyten conceded an own goal as Newcastle United fell, 3-1. Stellar Argentine striker Fernando Cavenaghi netted the goal for the home side, but it left an opening for Trabzonspor, who beat Werder Bremen 1-0 in Germany to set up a deciding final match between the Magpies and the Turks.

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

Q 1 Barcelona 15 5 0 0 19 1 +18

2 Newcastle United 6 2 0 3 6 9 - 3

3 Trabzonspor 6 2 0 3 2 9 - 7

- 4 Werder Bremen 3 1 0 4 2 10 - 8</pre>

In Group F, Manchester United booked their berth in the knockout rounds with a 2-0 victory in Valencia. Defender Giampiero Pinzi, an £11.5M acquisition from Udinese, scored his second goal of the season to open the tally, and Cristiano Ronaldo put the game beyond reach in the 80th minute. Brøndby gave themselves a chance with a 3-1 victory over FC do Porto in Portugal, knocking the hosts from the running and setting up a winner-take-all finale against Valencia in Denmark.

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

Q 1 Manchester United 11 3 2 0 8 0 + 8

2 Valencia 7 2 1 2 5 5 0

3 Brøndby 6 2 0 3 5 8 - 3

- 4 FC do Porto 4 1 1 3 4 9 - 5</pre>

Group G leaders A.S. Roma secured their place in the next round with a 2-0 victory over Panathinaikos that sent the home side tumbling out of the tournement. Olympique Lyonnais kept their mathematical hopes alive with a 1-1 draw against Maccabi Haifa, but their chances were slim to nil. Not only would they have to beat Roma in the final match, they would have to depend on Panathinaikos getting their first win of the group stage on the road in Israel.

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

Q 1 Roma 12 4 0 1 9 3 + 6

2 Maccabi Haifa 8 2 2 1 4 5 - 1

3 Lyon 5 1 2 2 4 4 0

- 4 Panathinaikos 2 0 2 3 2 7 - 5</pre>

In Group H, A.C. Milan had already booked their place previously, and they were joined by Steaua Bucharest, who crushed Ajax comprehensively, 3-0, in Romania. Milan added a 2-0 scalping of Swiss side Young Boys to clinch first place.

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

Q 1 A.C. Milan 13 4 1 0 8 0 + 8

Q 2 Steaua Bucharest 8 2 2 1 6 3 + 5

- 3 Young Boys 4 1 1 3 4 8 - 4

- 4 Ajax 2 0 2 3 3 10 - 7</pre>

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 24th November, 2010.

Arsenal booked their place in the Round of 16 with a 2-1 home win over Sevilla on Wednesday night, a match not as close as the score might appear. Thierry Henry bagged a brace in the first half, and the visitors didn't score their goal until two minutes into injury time, a consolation prize at best. With Juventus triumphant over Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) 2-0, the group was all but completed, a result David O'Leary and any Arsenal supporters had been hoping for - they didn't have to travel to Italy seeking a result in the finale.

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

Q 1 Arsenal 10 3 1 1 6 3 + 3

Q 2 Juventus 10 3 1 1 6 2 + 4

- 3 Sevilla 5 1 2 2 4 5 - 1

- 4 Loko (Plovdiv) 2 0 2 3 2 8 - 6</pre>

Chelsea locked up first place in their group with a 2-0 win over PSV Eindhoven in London. They gave the Stamford Bridge faithful a bit of a scare, leaving it late before Mateja Kezman and Michael Ballack scored the goals in the final ten minutes. Paris Saint-Germain drew 1-1 with Dinamo Kiev, but that was enough to see them clinch second place.

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

Q 1 Chelsea 12 4 0 1 11 4 + 7

Q 2 Paris S-G. 8 2 2 1 6 5 + 1

- 3 PSV 4 1 1 3 4 7 - 3

- 4 Dinamo Kiev 3 0 3 2 1 6 - 5</pre>

Bayern München may have already clinched a spot in the next round, but they came out hungry against Dinamo Bucharest. Three different players scored in the first half en route to a 3-0 result that clinched first place in the group. Fenerbahçe needed only a scoreless draw against Benfica to claim second, and that was exactly what they got, leaving the other two teams to face off in Portugal over the UEFA Cup parachute given to the third-place teams.

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

Q 1 Bayern München 13 4 1 0 10 1 + 9

Q 2 Fenerbahçe 8 2 2 1 5 2 + 3

- 3 Dinamo Bucharest 3 1 0 4 3 10 - 7

- 4 Benfica 3 0 3 2 1 6 - 5</pre>

The final action of the day saw rampant Inter Milan embarass FC København 4-0, while Feyenoord drew a leg up on Basel with a 2-0 win in Switzerland. They would still need a draw at home against Inter's high-powered offense, but at least they were in command of their own destiny.

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

Q 1 Inter Milan 15 5 0 0 17 4 +13

2 Feyenoord 9 3 0 2 11 10 + 1

3 Basel 6 2 0 3 6 7 - 1

- 4 FC København 0 0 0 5 4 17 -13</pre>

Domestically, diehard Blades supporters rejoiced at seeing their rivals, Sheffield Wednesday, knocked out of the F.A. Cup. It was a big embarrassment for the Owls, who were dumped out in extra-time by League Two side Barnet. I was disappointed - it put paid to any hopes of a Steel City Derby this season, and derby atmosphere is always great fun.

Meanwhile, in a sparsely attended and lackadaisically played Reserve match, our Reserves drew 0-0 with Wolves Reserves. Chris Brown kept a clean sheet, but none of his teammates particularly impressed.

[Amaroq]

Thursday, 25th November, 2010. UEFA Cup Group B - Game 2, vs Red Star Belgrade.

The Serbian champions, Red Star Belgrade had been a Jekyll and Hyde team this European season. At home, they'd beaten Linfield 2-1, drawn 1-1 with mighty Juventus, crushed Monaco 3-0, and beaten AEK Athens 4-1. On the road, however, they had struggled, though they'd beaten Linfield 3-0, they'd lost to Juventus 0-1, to Monaco 1-3, and to Levski (Sofia) 0-2. I could only hope that the trip to England had taken its toll, and that the weaker Doctor Jekyll side would show up to Bramall Lane.

I had one die to cast, and played a strong starting lineup utilizing our patient buildup approach. Roy Carroll started in goal, with Joe Keenan, David Marek Rozehnal, Hayden Foxe, and young Benjamin Herzog in defense. It was a bit weak at the fullback spots, but I hoped the experience central would hold a steady line, and to that end I added Mathieu Berson as the defensive midfielder. On the wings, Jonathan Forte and Jermaine Pennant would start, while the attacking midfield paired Bruno Cheyrou with Iain Hume. Florent Sinama-Pongolle was the only member of the starting lineup with more than one goal thus far this season.

The game started with a bit of cut-and-thrust, with both sides having a few chances. For our part, we limited our guests to a few long-range efforts, none of which troubled Roy Carroll. On attack, we were looking for incisive passes, and it was just such that Jonathan Forte found in the 22nd minute, finding Florent Sinama-Pongolle one-on-one with Milovan Vasilijevic. With a dazzling move, the striker used his right foot to knock the ball left behind his left leg, cutting past the befuddled Vasilijevic into acres of space. He easily made goalkeeper Goran Mitrovic miss, and the Bramall Lane crowd of 31,883 erupted into cheers for their hero and the 1-0 lead.

We continued to carry the game to them through halftime, keeping the pressure on to such an extent that Sinama-Pongolle nearly had a second goal. Unfortunately, just before the intermission, Mathieu Berson went down clutching his leg. I didn't make a change immediately, preferring to let Martin Baverstock look him over at the break, but from the look on the physio's face, I knew Berson wouldn't be able to continue. Luckily, the expanded roster for UEFA Cup matches had let me name Freddy Guarín to the substitutes' bench, so we took to the pitch for the second half marginally stronger than we'd started the first. I also had the lads return to the counter-attack, knowing Red Star would have to chase the game in the second half.

To my surprise, they continued with the tentative approach they'd shown in the first half, respecting our attack, not getting sucked forward, and trying these abysmal long-range shots which had no chance of troubling Roy Carroll. Just as I was beginning to relax, in the 70th minute Mihajlovic sent a long pass into the box, which caught David Rozehnal napping. Mladen Djordjevic had a golden chance with the ball at his feet and the goal at his disposal, but he wasted it, firing wide.

By the 75th minute, it was clear that Sinama-Pongolle wasn't going to last through the final whistle, as he was wincing at every step. I brought him off for James Bradley, hoping the youngster's speed might provide the counter-attack we needed to finish the game off. I also put Joe Newell on for the tiring Cheyrou, who might be too old to last two matches in the same week.

For the final minutes, Red Star began sending everybody forward in desperation. With a more experienced attack, we might have been able to capitalize, but Bradley wasted a four-on-two breakaway by staying out wide with Jonathan Forte rather than overloading the box with targets, and we were unable to capitalize. Mental mistakes like that have to be the most frustrating thing for a manager, as I was shouting to him to get inside, but he couldn't hear me over the roar of the crowd.

Red Star should have equalized in the 92nd minute when Ilic took a throw from the left side. Djordjevic flicked the ball past Joe Keenan for Vasiljevic, who found himself free in the six, but Roy Carrol got down to turn it aside. It was a fantastic save, but a dismal effort from the Serb, who really should have buried it. The Red Star keeper came forward for the final corner kick, but we were able to clear, and, despite the crowd's hope for an eighty-yard goal into an empty net, we saw time expire with a 1-0 win.

Sheffield United 1, Red Star Belgrade 0

Sinama-Pongolle 22; ----

MoM: Forte

Our tenth consecutive match without defeat was good news on the pitch, of course, as was the selection of lifelong Blade Jonathan Forte as Man of the Match. Even better news was to follow in the changing room.

Chairman Dooley, unsurprisingly, was there to offer his congratulations to my lads for their victory, but it was the report from Martin Baverstock that pleased me most - Mathieu Berson had merely bruised his shin, and might miss five days or so.

[Amaroq]

Friday, 26th November, 2010.

In the other Group B match, our next opponents, VfB Stuttgart, had handed AEK Athens their third straight defeat, 1-0 in Athens. That was the best of news, as it meant we needed only a single point from one of our final two games to ensure that we were placed in the top three and advanced to the next round.

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

1 VfB Stuttgart 6 2 0 0 6 1 + 5 ( 2)

2 Sheffield United 6 2 0 0 5 2 + 3 ( 2)

3 Red Star Belgrade 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 ( 3)

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

4 Levski (Sofia) 3 1 0 1 3 5 - 2 ( 2)

5 AEK Athens 0 0 0 3 3 9 - 6 ( 3)</pre>

Other good news followed - Sean Dillon returned to full training the next day, after missing two months with a neck injury. He was severely lacking match fitness, of course, and wouldn't be able to address our short-term need at left back, but it was good to see him back on the pitch regardless.

Young defensive midfielder Steven White, too, had returned to the pitch after surgery to help repair his pulled hamstring had kept him our for nearly four months. With 19-year-old Martin Ellis on his way to Bristol City on loan, where I hoped he'd get some first-team Championship experience, that helped the defensive midfield situation as well.

[Wegason]

Originally posted by Amaroq:

Thanks, Wardy! What are you all going to do when we reach the end?

I have bad news and good news .. the bad news is I'm actually going on holiday again starting tomorrow ..

.. but the good news is I'm taking Blade and a laptop with me, and I'm expecting to continue to provide your daily fix.

Seeing as you're on holiday, perhaps we can get a double fix each day

[Amaroq]

Hahahaha... okay, tell ya what .. IF I've got time I won't be averse to posting one in the morning and one in the evening .. but just for this holiday and no guarantee!

In fact, after this next update you're going to have to wait 36 to 48 hours as I'll be traveling.

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 28th November, 2010. Premier League - Game 15, at Southampton.

For all that it had felt like a packed month, especially for the lads who had been traveling for international matches, this was only our third League match of November. It came against 18th-placed Southampton, who looked in danger of relegation for the first time since the 1977/78 season. The last two years, they'd placed 13th, but the magical touch of Sam Allardyce seemed to have deserted him, and they hadn't won a game since September 11th. Worse, they were mired in a goalscoring slump so bad, they'd scored in only one game since the first of October. We'd beaten them 2-0 here last season, so I was quite confident as we set out to St. Mary's.

Still, I was playing with fire with my defensive choices. Stephen Cummins got a developmental start in goal. Kevin Price made his Premier League debut at left back, while Hayden Foxe and Ben Hammond paired centrally. Keith McCormack returned on the right side, with Freddy Guarín hopefully providing a steadying influence at the defensive midfield. The wingers, Joe Hamill on the left and Graham Allen on the right, had been in great form recently. They would work behind Robert Cousins and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, now returned to match fitness. Peter Weatherson got a very rare League start, only his third of the season, up front in the 4-5-1.

A steady rain was falling, but 31,726 had attended anyways, drawn, perhaps, by the idea of seeing our stars. Still, it was Southampton who had the early chances, and had Stephen Cummins not tipped a corner-kick header over the bar, they might have taken the lead as early as the 2nd minute. To my amazement, they had the better of play over the first quarter-hour, and in the 16th minute, Leon Best beat 17-year-old Kevin Price up the Southampton right wing. He whipped a chest-high cross through the area, and Eric Djemba Djemba headed it past Cummins for his first goal of the season. It was perhaps fitting that a man who had scorned joining us as too great a step down while he was at Manchester United should provide the 0-1 lead.

Six minutes later, Freddy Guarín came inches away from an equaliser on a 25-yard free kick. It deflected off the wall, and had goalkeeper Francisco Guillermo Ochoa beaten only to carry just wide of the far post. Still, the crowd were enthusiastic and energized after the early goal, and Southampton were playing with an unexpected confidence. Sebastian Wallis-Taylor nearly made it 2-0 in the 25th minute, but his fierce shot from just beyond the arc hit the crossbar and came straight back out. It was struck with such force that the rebound actually carried past him, and was picked up by Peter Weatherson just a few yards shy of the center circle.

In the 39th minute, Djemba Djemba returned Best's favor, sending an outstanding ball ahead of the 24-year-old Irishman. The ineffective Price was nowhere near his man. Hayden Foxe had a shot, but Best made the Australian look bad when he lunged in for the tackle. A burst of pace from Best saw Foxe miss both the ball and the man to let the Saints winger get away scot free. He had only Cummins to beat, and rounded the young keeper as he rushed out, putting it easily into the net to give Southampton an 0-2 advantage.

Things were looking dismal, but just before the half, we got the break we so badly needed. Wallis-Taylor, already carrying a yellow card, went in two-footed on Keith McCormack near the halfway line. Though he and his mates argued that it had looked worse than it was, due to the wet surface, the enthusiastic midfielder was given his second booking, and in due course, the red card.

I took advantage of that over the break, making all three of my substitutions to bring us into a much more attacking 3-5-2, with Imre Szabics joining Weatherson up front, and Joe Newell replacing Bridge-Wilkinson in the attacking midfield. Right wing Graham Allen had been limping, so he came off, and I pushed Keith McCormack up as the right wing. In the backfield, I had the more experienced Joe Keenan replace the ineffective young Price at left back.

Thus equipped, we started the second half with great promise, pushing the shorthanded side back into their own half and working a perimeter game. Robert Cousins was oh-so-unlucky that Ochoa was able to get to his 54th minute shot after it deflected off of Thomas Gaardsøe.

Unfortunately, from that point on our hosts clamped down in midfield, and it seemed we were never able to get it up to Weatherson and Szabics. If they dropped back to pick it up, there were no runs for them; if they stayed forward, the ball never reached them. Too many times, despite my pleas to keep it on the ground and play patiently, I saw the lads hit hopeful long balls forward. Each of these was won in the air by the stalwart Southampton defense, allowing them to waste another precious minute or two.

In the 89th minute, after a futile and frustrating second half had nearly come to a close, Ben Hammond upended Peter Crouch, conceding a yellow card and a free kick from long shooting range. Though his height made him a national celebrity for a short while, Crouch has languished in obscurity at Southampton, never once receiving a call-up to the England side, and his appearance against us was just his fourth competitive match of the season. Cameroon captain Geremi took the free kick from fully thirty yards away, but he curled it beautifully around the wall, and into the far corner of the net to complete a humiliating 0-3 rout.

Southampton 3, Sheffield United 0

Djemba Djemba 16, Best 39, Geremi 90; ----

MoM: Geremi (Southampton AMC)

There was little the lads could say or do as they trudged towards the changing room to the taunts of "Champions? You're having a laugh..." from the crowd, delighted with the end to their streak of ten games without a win.

I knew it had been my cavalier lineup which cost the day, however, and I was so disgusted with his poor play that I was considering giving up entirely on Peter Weatherson, once the side's leading scorer.

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 30th November, 2010.

I scarcely had time to digest the loss to Southampton, as it was time to prepare for our big UEFA Cup trip to Stuttgart.

In deference to Chairman Dooley's health, the monthly review was held Tuesday afternoon, just an hour before I was to board.

"Hopefully that will teach you not to take anyone lightly," was all Chairman Dooley would say about the Southampton game.

"Its a brutal stretch of games coming up," I told him. "Eleven matches in 34 days - I'll rest my people any chance I can get!"

All in all, he remains delighted with the work that I've done: we're still third in the Premiership, though Manchester United and Arsenal are looming large in the mirrors.

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

1 Chelsea 38 12 2 2 37 11 +26 (16)

2 Liverpool 38 12 2 2 28 10 +18 (16)

3 Sheffield United 31 9 4 2 28 18 +10 (15)

4 Manchester United 29 8 5 2 32 14 +18 (15)

5 Arsenal 29 9 2 5 41 28 +13 (16)

6 Fulham 27 7 6 3 28 20 + 8 (16)

7 Manchester City 25 7 4 5 29 17 +12 (16)

8 Blackburn 25 7 4 5 24 21 + 3 (16)

9 Middlesbrough 22 6 4 6 17 19 - 2 (16)

10 West Ham United 22 6 4 6 28 31 - 3 (16)

11 Newcastle 19 6 1 9 31 33 - 2 (16)

12 Tottenham 19 4 7 5 20 23 - 3 (16)

13 Aston Villa 17 4 5 6 10 15 - 5 (15)

14 Bolton 17 5 2 9 18 35 -17 (16)

15 Charlton Athletic 16 4 4 8 25 33 - 8 (16)

16 Everton 15 3 6 7 14 26 -12 (16)

17 Southampton 14 3 5 8 17 28 -11 (16)

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

18 West Brom Albion 12 2 6 8 17 26 - 9 (16)

19 Ipswich Town 10 2 4 9 13 25 -12 (15)

20 Derby County 8 1 5 10 8 32 -24 (16)</pre>

When had I become a City fan? I supported United as a youth! Its all Micky's fault, I was glad to see him doing well in seventh, mainly due to the stellar scoring record of Dimitris Papadopolous, tied for second in the Premiership with Henry and Anelka.

Mateja Kezman remained in the lead in the hunt for the goal-scoring title, and Florent Sinama-Pongolle wasn't even the second-best Frenchman in the tally when the list came out.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1 Mateja Kezman 13 Chelsea Serbia & Montenegro

2 = Thierry Henry 9 Arsenal France

2 = Nicolas Anelka 9 Charlton Atheltic France

2 = Dimitris Papadopolous 9 Manchester City Greece

5 = Jonathan Stead 8 Fulham England

5 = Robbie Keane 8 Tottenham Ireland

7 = Florent Sinama-Pongolle 7 Sheffield United France

7 = Claudio Pizarro 7 Arsenal Peru

7 = Fabrizio Miccoli 7 Liverpool Italy

7 = Fernando Cavenaghi 7 Newcastle Argentina</pre>

For the second month in a row, Theo Walcott had won the Premiership Young Player of the Month award, with Keith McCormack second in the voting.

On the financial side, we'd staunched a bit of the bleeding thanks to the busy Cup schedule, losing only £0.3M, dropping our net for the season to a £4.6M loss, and our available balance to £21.4M.

Nonetheless, with the January transfer window approaching, I had nearly £8.0M to play with, and I had a few irons in the fire with regards to people to bring in. Among other things, I wanted a more reliable reserve goalkeeper in case Roy Carroll should be injured or suspended for any length of time.

On the injury side, Celestine Babayaro returned to the training ground, but Graham Allen was out for about five days with a bruised thigh. Worse, yesterday Hayden Foxe strained his neck. It won't keep him out long - just enough that he won't be making the trip to Stuttgart this afternoon.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 1st December, 2010. UEFA Cup Group B - Game 3, at VfB Stuttgart.

It was the first time since the summer of '98 that I'd been to Stuttgart - and that was an unpleasant experience, better left untold. All I'll say about it is, don't walk into a tunnel which you can't see the exit of after midnight while wearily searching for a hostel. It had left me with a vow never to visit Stuttgart again, but if I was forced to by UEFA's draw, I chanelled that animus into desire for a victory.

A steadily improving side, Stuttgart had cracked the top four of the Bundesliga for only the second time since 1992 in the 2007/08 season, and they'd consolidated that position the following year, reaching the Champions League group stages but placing fourth. Last year, they'd gone one better, finishing third in both league and Champions League group, but were dropped from the UEFA Cup by Shakhtar. This year, they'd stumbled in Champions League qualifying, knocked out by Young Boys 1-0 0-3, but hadn't lost a match in the UEFA Cup, beating Vaduz 1-0 2-1, then triumphing over Levski (Sofia) and AEK Athens en route to a first-placed tie with us. They were also in second in the Bundesliga, giving Bayern München a real run for the title.

I named a veteran lineup, at least as much as I could do. Roy Carroll started in goal, while Joe Keenan, David Rozehnal, Ben Hammond, and Danny Payne formed the back four. Of those, only Hammond is inexperienced. Mathieu Berson continued the trend of age over talent in defensive midfield, while Jonathan Forte and Jermaine Pennant roamed the wings. Bruno Cheyrou and Iain Hume were my attacking partnership, while Imre Szabics got the nod over Sinama-Pongolle at striker: I wanted the Frenchman well-rested for the trip to London at the weekend.

I started with a tight, defensive formation, but it all appeared for naught in the 2nd minute, when Kevin Kuranyi headed home a cross from inside the six. The crowd of 42,253 were already celebrating the goal, but the referee brought it back - Kuranyi was ruled offsides by the narrowest of margins. Two minutes later, Roy Carroll had to make a fantastic double-save as the Germans continued to mount incredible pressure. We finally got to counter in the seventh minute, and I thought surely Bruno Cheyrou's long ball had put Iain Hume in position to score, but he dickered too long, allowing fullback Stefan Richter to get back and put it out for a corner.

In the 9th minute, the Germans had another golden opportunity, as Daniel Jensen raced untouched through the center of our defense, playing it ahead for Kuranyi at the last instant. This time the black man was onside, but again Roy Carroll came up with the save. Less than sixty seconds later, our hosts earned a throw-in deep along the left side. Richter took it, Marcel Möller played it back to him, and he launched a short ball into the six. Jensen beat young Ben Hammond to the near post and half-volleyed past Carroll, finally giving the Germans the lead they so richly deserved at 0-1.

The crowd got to celebrate for all of eight minutes, but it seemed that the Stuttgart players got a bit cocky with the lead, as they let up the pressure and sat back, giving our magicians time to get to work. Iain Hume showed his phenomenal ball control, lofting it over Richter, then knocking the ball, still bouncing at waist height, past Mark Alexander in the box. With a deft touch, he settled it at his feet just beyond the six, and put it to the far corner with his instep. It was an absolutely wizardly goal to equalize at one apiece.

Our hosts were rocked back on their heels, and we had several chances over the next ten minutes to take the lead. Richter blocked Cheyrou's shot on a corner kick, and Hume had a wicked long-range effort denied by goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand. On the 36th minute, Jonathan Forte sprung Cheyrou on a breakaway up the left wing, and the veteran really should have done better with it - he put it well high and wide despite never seeing a challenge from a German defender. Still, it remained 1-1 at the break and it felt like it was our game for the taking.

Just 12 seconds after the restart, it was Stuttgart's for the taking. Joe Keenan committed a foul about thirty yards from the end line, elbowing Eric Wienke as they battled for an aerial ball on the left side. Wienke took the kick, and played it to Jensen, who controlled it with his back to goal about eight yards out. Shielding Keenan off the ball, the Dane managed a quick turn and fired to the near post, which Roy Carroll had left unguarded. Just that quickly, Jensen had his second of the match, and we were back in a hole, 1-2.

Immediately after the goal, I brought Joe Newell on for Hume, who was labouring. Five minutes later, Jermaine Pennant went down injured, and I made my final two changes, replacing Pennant on the right wing with Darren White and sending Florent Sinama-Pongolle on for the ineffective Imre Szabics. In the 69th minute, Stuttgart fans thought they had a claim for a penalty, as Payne tripped Weinke just on the eighteen. Replays showed the referee had gotten it right - the foul was just outside the box, and the free kick deflected harmlessly off the wall.

In the 75th minute, just as I was starting to get antsy, my substitutions paid off. Forte knocked a fine ball ahead of Sinama-Pongolle, who darted past Alexander with a breathtaking burst of speed. He raced into the area, set up to shoot - and then cut it sharply back for Cheyrou, trailing the play. The midfielder had a perfect angle around the keeper, who had covered the near post, and he laid an easy shot back to the far side for the dramatic equalizer, setting it 2-2 with fifteen minutes to play!

We had barely three minutes to enjoy it, however, as the Germans earned a corner kick in the 78th minute. Again it was Joe Keenan who was at fault, as Jensen floated a perfect curler into the six yard box. Carroll stayed on his line as Keenan tried to head clear, but Angelos Charisteas, silent all day, rose above him. The Greek forward drilled a powerful header back to the near post, and the crowd erupted in noise as he gave the Germans their third goal and a 2-3 lead.

The lads battled on with visible urgency, but though Newell grazed the top of the bar from twenty yards, and Cheyrou forced Stuttgart captain Andreas Hinkel to block two shots out for corner kicks, each narrowly going wide of the post after the deflection, it was always going to be the German's night, and the best we'd done was give them a real scare.

VfB Stuttgart 3, Sheffield United 2

Jensen 10, 46, Charisteas 78; Hume 18, Cheyrou 75

MoM: Jensen

With the win, Stuttgart had qualified for the next stage, and we had to endure their celebrations, and that of their supporters, as we trudged back to the locker room. We could only hope AEK Athens had pulled off an upset against Levski (Sofia).

No such luck.

Despite having Atanas Georgiev sent off in the sixtieth minute, and Todor Vasilev missing a penalty in the 72nd, the Bulgarian side had scored a late goal, with Metodiev picking out a great run from 22-year-old attacking midfielder Hristolov, who tracked it down through falling snow, and fired home from 16 yards to give the hosts a 1-0 win.

That left the Group table tightly congested. We would need a win or a draw at home against Levski (Sofia), or help from Stuttgart against Red Star Belgrade, to be guaranteed of advancing. Though a defeat by one goal might see us through on goal difference, I hardly wanted to count on that.

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

Q 1 VfB Stuttgart 9 3 0 0 9 3 + 6 ( 3)

2 Sheffield United 6 2 0 1 7 5 + 2 ( 3)

3 Levski (Sofia) 6 2 0 1 4 5 - 1 ( 3)

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

4 Red Star Belgrade 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 ( 3)

- 5 AEK Athens 0 0 0 4 3 10 - 7 ( 4)</pre>

[Amaroq]

Friday, 3rd December, 2010.

There was bad news when we got home: Jermaine Pennant had fractured his cheekbone in a collision in Stuttgart, and would miss at least three weeks. That was somewhat dire, as I had not named Graham Allen to the 25-man UEFA Cup squad, so it would be tough to replace Pennant for the crucial finale against Levski (Sofia).

We weren't the only team unlucky, however. Fernando Cavenaghi had suffered a hip pointer in training, and the Newcastle United leading scorer would be out for at least two months.

Meanwhile, I'd lent young right back Benjamin Herzog out to Sunderland, 10th in the Championship and hoping to claw their way into a playoff spot. The 18-year-old German was pleased to make the move - and it bit me immediately, as I signed the paperwork Thursday evening, and saw Keith McCormack twist his knee in training the very next morning; I'd have used Herzog as cover if he had still been available.

Given the painful nature of the December schedule, I'd already penned in my starting lineup for every game through January 3rd, carefully balancing fitness against the need to secure points from matches. I'd come up with two ten-man squads, who would essentially play alternating games. Now, I had two key right-sided players out, and had to re-work that entire side.

To distract the media from my predicament, as much as anything, I told them that "We are relishing another crack at Chelsea in the League Cup, and I'm confident we have finally put together a squad which can beat the Blues at Stamford Bridge."

[madog308]

i would say your losing your touch but that would just be mean!!

[Amaroq]

Its been a bit of a dry spell, yes ..

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 4th December, 2010. League Cup - Quarter Final, at Chelsea.

For the fifth time in the calendar year of 2010, we would face off against mighty Chelsea, champions of England these four straight seasons and five of the last six.

Despite my painstaking care assembling lineups, it felt like a patchwork quilt I was sending out to face the mighty Blues. Roy Carroll of course has been a stalwart in goal, but left back Celestine Babayaro was not yet match fit and returning from injury. Hayden Foxe was exhausted, and though he insisted his strained neck was healed, I wasn't sure he would last ninety minutes. His partner was David Rozehnal, of course, who had just played ninety against Stuttgart, and Danny Payne was similarly pressed into service on short rest. Freddy Guarín was at least rested as the defensive midfielder - the only one of my back five who was in good shape. On the wings, Joe Hamill was rested, but Graham Allen wasn't really ready to start after his bruised thigh November 28th. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Robert Cousins were paired as the attacking midfielders, and Florent Sinama-Pongolle was the lone striker.

Chelsea, by contrast, looked rested and fit, having had a full week between matches, and, like Stuttgart, they scored in the second minute. Kapo broke free up the right wing, and floated a pretty cross into the six for Pablo Aimar to head home, and unlike in Germany the goal was not called back. We'd gone behind 0-1 in less than a hundred and ten seconds, and the Stamford Bridge crowd, 37,591 staunch souls who had doughtily braved a cold and steady rain, were loving it.

Chelsea stayed true to their game plan, however, as they continued to press for any advantage, leaving us to try and hit them on the counter if we had the chance. It didn't seem to be working, as the Chelsea midfield throttled the life out of us, and Michael Ballack nearly scored the second on the half-hour mark, with only Roy Carroll's fantastic fingertip save to deflect it over the crossbar. In the 36th minute, Aimar broke through the challenge of Hayden Foxe and was off to the races. His first shot was only partially saved by Carroll, who'd come about twelve yards off his line. It might have rolled in without any further assistance, but Aimar was taking no chances, beating David Rozehnal to it to hammer it into the netting from about three yards out. It was 0-2, and my thoughts leapt to the five-goal defeat we suffered here two seasons earlier: we seemed to have no more chance today than we had then.

As I'd guessed, Graham Allen and Hayden Foxe weren't going to make it ninety minutes: by halftime, each was showing serious signs of fatigue. I made two of my substitutions just to bring them off, with Scott Allen replacing Graham on the right side, and young Ben Hammond stepping into central defense. With nothing to lose, I also ordered the lads to start venturing forward in search of the goal we needed to get back into the game, and Scott Allen nearly provided, playing a wonderful ball through the Chelsea defense in the 47th minute, which Robert Cousins golfed into the stands to squander a great opportunity.

Nothing further developed over the next fifteen minutes, as Ballack continued to stamp his authority on the match with a series of fine plays in midfield. He's always so hard-working in defense, and his ball control in these later stages of his career rivals Zidane at his best. With nothing doing from my current lineup, I brought Marc Bridge-Wilkinson off for Gareth Davies, hoping his young legs could invigorate the squad. He couldn't effect any more than our playmaker had, and by the eightieth minute it was clear that we weren't going to be finding a single goal, let alone the two needed to equalize.

To add insult to injury, Chelsea were still attacking, frequently sending six men forward and leaving only their back four to protect against our threat. It seemed to be working, sadly, and in the 84th minute it gave them a 6-on-4 rush. Gasbarroni played the ball to space in front of Mateja Kezman, and, unmarked, the Premier League's leading scorer made no mistake, burying it to the top right corner to complete an embarrassing 0-3 rout.

Chelsea 3, Sheffield United 0

Aimar 2, 36, Kezman 84; ----

MoM: Aimar (Chelsea AMC)

The dreary rain matched our spirits as we trudged back towards the changing room. It had all gone south so quickly: going into the Southampton match, we'd gone nearly two months, ten straight games, without a defeat, and now we'd suffered three in a row, one in each of our competitions, and made worse by elimination at the hands of a club quickly becoming our most hated rivals.

[Amaroq]

Monday, 6th December, 2010.

"No, no comment."

Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis had had enough of David Platt, who had guided them to 8th last season, but was down in 13th now. The memories of 3rd place in 2007/08 were too fresh to call that any sort of a success, and I was, as I've been so often, one of the leading candidates to replace him. I wasn't interested, but I still had to call a press conference to say "No comment."

"What about Manchester City manager Micky Adams' comments?"

"I hadn't heard them - what did he say?"

"That you're a good manager, and deserve every success with the Blades."

"That's very kind of him. I think if you look at what his done with City, taking them up from 12th last season to 7th and battling for a spot in Europe, you'd have to say he's one of the better managers in the game today. And he's a nice guy, into the bargain."

That drew a bit of a laugh.

"Do you care to comment on the F.A. Cup draw?"

We'd drawn Q.P.R., at home, just that morning. "A Championship side should be a good challenge for the lads: they're certainly capable of surprising anyone who takes them lightly. I'm a little disappointed not to have drawn one of our more natural rivals, as I think the fans would quite enjoy a derby atmosphere. Tell Wednesday to make it to the third round, next year, so we can set that up."

Again, it was all smiles and laughs - for the most part, the press remained on my side, it seemed. Then some fellow in the back took his question.

"Do you care to comment on Rupert Wormwood's article?"

"I hadn't read it, honestly. Bad, I would expect?"

"He says the team is in utter collapse, that you've lost the confidence of the players, and that the pair of losses to Southampton and Chelsea seemed eerily similar to the twin 5-0 defeats two seasons ago, as though you'd learned nothing along the way."

"Ah, classic Wormwood, then. There's only one part of that I'll deign to respond to. The players haven't lost confidence in me, or themselves. I think we all recognize that it was a tough stretch of matches. We didn't play a full-strength side against Southampton, and they punished us, but away matches to the second-place teams in the Bundesliga and Premiership just four days apart was always going to be a tough time.

"Fortunately, I think we're all professional enough to put that behind us, and hopefully tomorrow's game against City will turn that page for us."

"Do you have any comment to the bookies, who have Manchester City listed as the favorites tomorrow?"

"You know I can't comment on gambling."

Elsewhere, on another pitch, our Under-18s played a match by all accounts hideously refereed, a scrappy battle with several injuries, far too many cards, including a straight red to Notts County U-18s fullback Mark Anderson. Man of the Match Martin Gray looked to have won it for our youth side, but Tom Perry netted a late equalizer for the home side, and a 1-1 draw was the result of a game soonest forgotten.

Yesterday, defender Abubakar Shittu returned to the training ground after several weeks of rehabilitation for the strained groin he had suffered while training for his country.

[Nadessico]

Woomwood is to Sheffield as Andy Gray is to Everton

keep up the good work Amaroq, it keeps giving me renewed enthusiasm to work on my story

[canvey!!]

Well, Amaroq, I've finally read all 71 pages and have contributed numerous times to the 43,545 view total. Those are amazing numbers, KUTGW!

To be honest, when I started to read "Blade", I thought that the first-person perspective wouldn't work well. Up to that point, the only other FMS I'd read was flipsix's "Leaving the Past Behind", which of course is written in the third person. I thought that a first person narrative would be rather corny. Needless to say, I was wrong ( ), and you've told the tale first-person very well.

You're writing is truly amazing. I like the little personal twists that you throw in, in the way you have advised in the Story Ideas and Discussion Thread. One notable example is the tunnel story; mentioned once you then added more detail to it many weeks later.

I have to say, you've set out what you've accomplished - when I read your match reports I feel like I am actually there, and when you trail, I beg, beg, beg for an equaliser. I know the feeling - the epitomy of attack, a desperation to equalise, however knowing that there is no stance more attacking than All Out Attack. And when you lose, I vow to never read the story again as it's upsetting ( ), so I browse for a bit on the PC/Mac GD forum. I would have my FM save open at this point, but when I am on a bit of a losing streak with Mangotsfield, I do not hesitate to open up your story and let the matches play themselves while I read. When you lose also, I enter a Football Manager Apathy, scrolling through all but the match reports, and letting my open save game rot on the taskbar. But when you start winning again, I'm happy again.

Perhaps the finest example of your literary genius is Rupert Wormwood. I hate the guy. To be frank, the sooner he dies, the better. His retirement from journalism, or even his conversion to a Blades fan, would not be enough. He has done irreversible wrongs in my mind, and that is a sign of your true creative talent. Your writing has invoked emotions as strong as these.

I find it difficult to get into an FMS, just like I find it difficult to get into a save game. The first few pages are always difficult to read. I've tried a couple, and not succeeded with "The Bet" or "The Brain". Flipsix's was the first I could get into, and have now read all 40 pages of that, and now all 71 pages of yours. I have to say, it must have been this line on page 4 of Book 1 that hooked me:

I walked back to the gate, back up the hill to the railway station.

When I looked back from the top, the sun had just broken under the omnipresent clouds, and bathed the Giant Axe in red-hued rays.

All I can say now is good luck with your novel, although you won't need it (except to crack into the published market), and make sure it is published in the UK because I want to buy a copy! (I'm pretty sure you're American, even if you're not Ian Richards) Thank you for entertaining me for so long and pulling me out of a state of Football Manager apathy.

P.S. I decided not to write this in italics as there's so much of it that it would make it difficult to read

[canvey!!]

Forgot to add:

After I vow to never read the story again, it's mere minutes before I go back to it.

Plus, paragraph 4 - that should say you've accomplished what you set out to do

"Blade" is now on my favourites - it's a great read!

[Amaroq]

Nadessico - thank you. Being the inspiration for another writer's efforts is, I think, the greatest of pleasures on the forum.

Canvey!! - thanks so much for the detailed feedback! It was both flattering and very educational: you've been very specific about some things that are working, and that's helpful to me both for future installments of Blade and well-timed as I've been working several on the plot arc for the novel. Brilliant timing, and very much a reminder to play to my strengths for both! Incidentally, I'm going to have some revisions to make (in as-yet-unposted stuff) based on a couple of things you've said. So, you've had a hand in shaping Blade ... though I won't say where!

Yes, you're spot on about the American background ..

.. and Rupert Wormwood is just too fun to write, he pretty much writes himself.

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 7th December, 2010. Premier League - Game 16, vs Manchester City.

We would have our chance to end the bleeding at home, as we played host to seventh-placed Manchester City. If they could keep that pace through the end of the season, it would equal their best finish since 1991/92. We'd beaten them 2-0 and 4-1 last season, so I had high hopes for the match, though the Southampton example remained fresh in my mind. Under Micky Adams' leadership, City have featured one of the top five defenses in the Premiership this season, so it wouldn't be easy sailing.

It was wholesale changes in our lineup. With most of the players who had faced Chelsea exhausted on two days' rest, it was the squad from Stuttgart that I selected for the home match - the same players who were being readied for the crucial match against Levski (Sofia) eight days later. Roy Carroll was in goal. Sean Dillon returned at left back, making his first start since the third of October. David Rozehnal partnered with Ben Hammond, as Foxe got a bit of rest. 17-year-old Kevin Price got a second chance at right back, more by necessity than virtue, though I hoped he wouldn't be needed in the UEFA Cup tie. Defensive midfielder Freddy Guarín started on short rest, the only player other than Carroll and Rozehnal who would face both Chelsea and City; I couldn't take a chance on not having him against Levski. Jonathan Forte took the left wing, while on the right Arsenal loanee Darren White made his first start of the season. Bruno Cheyrou and Iain Hume were partnered in attack, with Imre Szabics the lone striker - Sinama-Pongolle was too tired to name even to the bench.

Both sides had chances in the opening three minutes, with Sean Dillon heading a cross over for an early City corner, and Imre Szabics narrowly missing the net in the third minute. Kevin Price again looked outmatched, and gave me a real scare in the 7th minute when he gave Nigerian striker Issah Eliakwu space to pick out Shaun Wright-Phillips in the area. Luckily, Czech stalwart David Rozehnal made the saving tackle.

Two minutes later, Bruno Cheyrou forced a turnover on the left sideline, took possession, and found Iain Hume in the center. Szabics drifted into the space between the two central defenders, and Hume played it perfectly ahead. He took it in stride and shot from the eighteen, glancing it in off the post to delight the crowd of 32,972 with a 1-0 lead!

Szabics nearly added a second a minute later, as he nodded Roy Carroll's long clearance past the last City defender, and raced on to it himself. Unfortunately, he dawdled instead of shooting, allowing a desperate Murray to scramble back and clear. That was followed shortly by Cheyrou's long ball, which rolled out towards the right edge of the City area. Szabics had at least five yards on Murray this time, leaving Kasper Schmeichel no choice but to rush out. That choice merely stranded him as the loose ball rolled out of his area. Unable to use his hands, and awkward at feet, he barely impeded Szabics as the Hungarian arrived, nicked it away, and fired home, a long shot from a tight angle to make it 2-0 before a quarter hour had completed!

The Hungarian nearly completed his hat trick just after the half hour when Freddy Guarín's long throw reached the six, but his header was directly to Schmeichel. City had chances of their own, and in the 42nd minute, Eliakwu broke past Ben Hammond, but Roy Carrol denied him with a fine save. A series of four corners followed, presenting City with their best chance, but finally Hammond cleared it into touch, blasting it twenty rows deep and almost out to the midfield line, so we escaped to intermission with our lead intact.

Dangerous left wing James Simmonds slipped behind young Price in the 53rd minute, and Wright-Phillips hit him with a fantastic long cross, but Carroll tipped Simmonds's shot over. We were weathering a ton of pressure, and Carroll had to make another fine save ten minutes later when Murray was left unmarked on the eighteen during a corner. He blasted a half-volley at the top corner, which Carroll just managed to tip over.

Schmeichel made a brilliant save of his own on the 67th minute to stop Cheyrou's wicked shot from beyond the area. It was Cheyrou's last touch, as I brought him off for Joe Newell with the older attacking midfielder earning a standing ovation from the delighted crowd. Ten more minutes elapsed, and I brought on Danny Payne and Peter Weatherson, replacing Price and Hume respectively, to protect the lead. I'd been concerned Sean Dillon wouldn't be able to go the distance, but he showed he still had legs left in the eightieth minute when Adrian Mutu struck the crossbar, reacting a half-step quicker than James Beattie to clear the rebound into touch.

It seemed we were clear of any danger, and in the 88th minute Szabics earned a corner kick. Payne took it, drifting it into the six, where it was partially cleared. Weatherson nodded it down for Newell at the arc, and he laid it left for Payne. The fullback had charged in from the outside, and no defender had picked him up, leaving him free to curl a wonderful shot back to the far corner. It was his first goal of the season, and only the second of his career, closing the scoring at a convincing 3-0.

Micky Adams swallowed his disappointment to give me a genuine smile and a firm handshake after the match, a class move that just increased my respect for him.

Sheffield United 3, Manchester City 0

Szabics 9, 15, Payne 88; ----

MoM: Cheyrou

Though a 30,000 voice rendition of "The Greasy Chip Butty Song" had accompanied us off the pitch, in the changing room it was "The Boys Are Back In Town" that was playing. It seemed apropos, but I was happiest to note who had started the music: Florent Sinama-Pongolle, who seemed to take as much joy in this victory as one in which he'd scored the two goals himself.

That, plus seeing Imre Szabics shake off his goal-scoring drought, had me in a much better mood by sundown. Midfield playmaker Bruno Cheyrou was the Man of the Match.

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 8th December, 2010.

I tried to watch some Champions League action on Tuesday, though honestly most of the groups were fairly well taken care of by the final matches.

Tuesday night, Arsenal and Juventus played a meaningless match at the Delle Alpi, both starting youth lineups. Nineteen-year-old Nathan Mullen scored the goal of his life to give the Gunners a surprising lead, and though Juventus equalized before halftime, and dominated the second half, they were unable to find a way through Shay Given. The Irish keeper made 20 saves to hold the 1-1 result and earn Man of the Match honours. In the other match, Sevilla claimed the UEFA Cup parachute place with a 2-0 win over Lokomotiv (Plovdiv).

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

Q 1 Arsenal 11 3 2 1 7 4 + 3

Q 2 Juventus 11 3 2 1 7 3 + 4

U 3 Sevilla 8 2 2 2 6 5 + 1

- 4 Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) 2 0 2 4 2 10 - 8</pre>

Group B, likewise, had been decided, so it was a bit of a surprise that Roque Santa Cruz started for Bayern München, as both sides played primarily their second lineups. Santa Cruz scored a goal and an assist as Bayern defeated Fenerbahçe 2-0. The other match was a winner-take-all scrap for the UEFA Cup place, but Benfica hammered in three goals early, then coasted to a 3-0 win over Dinamo Bucharest.

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

Q 1 Bayern München 16 5 1 0 12 1 +11

Q 2 Fenerbahçe 8 2 2 2 5 4 + 1

U 3 Benfica 6 1 3 2 4 6 - 2

4 Dinamo Bucharest 3 1 0 5 3 13 -10</pre>

Group C saw a pair of dull scoreless draws. Chelsea could have been forgiven for taking the opportunity to rest their starters, who didn't even need to make the trip to Kiev to face Dinamo Kiev on a snowy December night, but Michael Ballack and Franck Lampard both started, with Pablo Aimar up front, so it was perhaps a surprise that they didn't score, and more so that their hosts outshot and seemed to outplay them. With that result, PSV needed only a draw against Paris Saint-Germain, which they got in an utterly tepid style.

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

Q 1 Chelsea 13 4 1 1 11 4 + 7

Q 2 Paris S-G. 9 2 3 1 6 5 + 1

U 3 P.S.V. 5 1 2 3 4 7 - 3

- 4 Dinamo Kiev 4 0 4 2 1 6 - 5</pre>

In Group D, Basel needed a three-goal swing, plus help from Internazionale, who had already clinched their berth, to surpass Feyenoord. Inter Milan did their part, sending Feyenoord to a 2-0 defeat despite playing a very weakened lineup. However, Basel struggled in Copenhagen, as FC København's Dutch striker Mark Van Haaren equalized early in the second half, and it looked as though the hosts might hold on for their first point of the tournament. It was for exactly this situation that Basel pays the wages of Argentina striker César Carignano, and he broke the deadlock with a well-struck goal in the 77th minute to give the little Swiss side a place in the final sixteen.

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

Q 1 Inter Milan 18 6 0 0 19 4 +15

Q 2 Basel 9 3 0 3 8 8 0

U 3 Feyenoord 9 3 0 3 11 12 - 1

- 4 FC København 0 0 0 6 5 19 -14</pre>

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 8th December, 2010.

Wednesday, our youth side had their Under-18s Cup tie at Coventry, and absolutely manhandled the Coventry U-18s. Both strikers, James Bradley and Neil Clarke, could have finished the match with hat tricks; instead, though sharing time at the same position, they both concluded with a brace. Craig Hunt added a goal on a deflected free kick, and Martin Gray earned Man of the Match honours with three assists en route to a 5-0 thumping.

The Wednesday night matches included a few more meaningful matches, and I, like most other Britons, tuned in to watch Newcastle United, who traveled to Turkey to face Trabzonspor in front of a hostile crowd of 11,547. They needed only a draw to advance, and when Francesc Fabregas opened the scoring in the 6th minute, the Magpies turned to stout defending. They weathered everything the Turks could throw at them, and in fact throttled the midfield so effectively that Thomas Sørensen needed only a single save to earn a 1-0 shutout. Barcelona completed an all-but-perfect group stage with a 1-0 victory over Werder Bremen at the Nou Camp.

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

Q 1 Barcelona 18 6 0 0 20 1 +19

Q 2 Newcastle United 9 3 0 3 7 9 - 2

U 3 Trabzonspor 6 2 0 4 2 10 - 8

- 4 Werder Bremen 3 1 0 5 2 11 - 9</pre>

Manchester United was already easily through, and gave a number of their little-used players action. Ruud van Nistelrooy, now well and truly relegated to the Red Devils' bench, scored his first Continental goal of the season, while Darren Fletcher had his first of the season full stop. The Old Trafford crowd, though perhaps a bit jaded, were appreciative of the 2-0 win over FC do Porto. Valencia needed to get a result in Denmark, and did so thanks to goals by Adriano and Michael Owen. Owen had plied his trade in Spain for seven seasons now, excelling at Real Madrid before a £20M move to the Nou Camp. Never able to break into the Barcelona starting lineup, he'd moved to Valencia on a free, and looked happy to see out the remainder of his career in Spain. His goal finished a 2-0 win over Brøndby, which sent Valencia into the final sixteen.

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

Q 1 Manchester United 14 4 2 0 10 0 +10

Q 2 Valencia 10 3 1 2 7 5 + 2

U 3 Brøndby 6 2 0 4 5 10 - 5

- 4 FC do Porto 4 1 1 4 4 11 - 7</pre>

In Group G, Panathinaikos stunned Maccabi Haifa 2-1 to earn their first win of the group stage. Tomer Moshe had done the hard work to equalize at 1-1 in the 87th minute, but Andreas Ioannou gave the visitors the win with a fabulous injury-time strike. It could have spelled ruin for the Israeli's campaign, but A.S. Roma bailed them out with a solid 2-0 victory over Lyon.

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

Q 1 Roma 15 5 0 1 11 3 + 8

Q 2 Maccabi Haifa 8 2 2 2 5 7 - 2

U 3 Lyon 5 1 2 3 4 6 - 2

- 4 Panathinaikos 5 1 2 3 4 8 - 4</pre>

Ajax had left it very late, indeed, but they got their first win of the group stage, 3-1 over Young Boys, and it was just enough to propel them into the UEFA Cup parachute round. Wesley Sonck scored twice in the first half, and Johan Vonlanthen added an insurance score in injury time to knock the Swiss club out of Europe entirely. In the other game, top-of-the-table AC Milan took care of Steaua Bucharest 1-0 thanks to Kaká's goal in the first minute.

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

Q 1 A.C. Milan 16 5 1 0 9 0 + 9

Q 2 Steaua Bucharest 8 2 2 2 6 4 + 2

U 3 Ajax 5 1 2 3 6 11 - 5

- 4 Young Boys 4 1 1 4 5 11 - 6</pre>

In a side note, with our best players either earmarked for upcoming senior matches, or participating the Under-18s Cup, it was a pathetic little Reserve side that was sent to Derby, where they were dutifully sent packing by Lee Bowyer and the Derby County Reserves. The 2-0 final was, in fact, a bit kind to a side that was utterly outplayed.

[Amaroq]

Thursday, 9th December, 2010.

"Listen, Peter, we've had a good run, you and I."

I'd invited Peter Weatherson into my office for what I expected would be a difficult conversation.

"I know you weren't too happy with your playing time last year, and you have to be pretty frustrated this season as well."

"Well, yes."

"I think its becoming clear we won't be able to re-sign you at the end of the season: your salary is more than we can afford for somebody outside of the starting lineup, and we need to give some of the youngsters an opportunity to show what they can do."

"I know."

"I was wondering if you'd consider a transfer at the January window."

"After all I've done for this club? We brought this club up from League One together!"

"That's not the worst of it - I've been putting some feelers out, and I don't think I'm going to be able to find a buyer in the Premiership. I'm sorry, Peter, there's just no market for 30-year-olds - everybody wants to find the star of the future."

"I can't believe it." Indeed, he looked stunned, as though he couldn't believe how quickly it had gone south.

"I'm going to put you on the transfer list. You might want to talk to your agent."

[Amaroq]

Friday, 10th December, 2010.

"A transfer budget of £21.5 million won't help if I have to reduce the wage bill!"

Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis was on the phone, and had told me that I was the ideal person to take over the 13th-placed side. He was offering £21.5M in transfer budget, but wanted me to reduce the wage bill by a large amount.

"Its a generous offer, and I appreciate being considered, but I don't feel I've done everything I want to, here," I told him.

Why does it feel almost like breaking up with a girl, this?

You don't want to hurt her feelings, because you certainly don't want her bad-mouthing you behind your back, but you've got to be firm and make a clean break as well or she'll keep calling you.

Heck, even the "Its not you, its me," line seems to apply.

"Yes, perhaps some other time. You know, I played my youth soccer in the states for a club called Villa? Yes, the same colors and everything, so I'm very flattered, its just not the right time for me to consider leaving Bramall Lane."

There was lucky news on the international wire Friday morning, as Levski (Sofia) lost the services of one of their most expensive players, Brazilian midfielder Adriano. The 21-year-old, Adriano Ribeiro, not the more famous player who goes by the same name, had fractured his hip in training, and would miss the remainder of the season. It was a cruel blow, but a lucky one for us, with our match against them a mere five days away.

Another Under-18 match was held Friday evening, and if I could have, I'd have sent an all-amateur U-16 side, even if it was against our rivals Sheffield Wednesday. The depleted lineup I did name made even Wednesday's Reserve lineup look strong, and they played a shambles of a game. Luckily, so did the opposition, so the final was United U-18s nil, Wednesday U-18s nil.

If I thought they'd listen, I'd have a word with the F.A. about piling so many lower-division support matches in such a close period. The holiday season is already congested enough!

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 11th December, 2010. Premier League - Game 17, at Everton.

Having kept my job, the next task on my plate was getting three points in Liverpool. Luckily, the job was against the 16th-place Everton outfit rather than against the Reds, but Everton had played us tough three times last season. Each match resulted in a draw. They were hammered with injury at the moment, with starting goalkeeper Marco Pantanella, defenseman Liam Lake, and midfielders Mark Wilson and Danny Hollands all out. Add to that a suspension for Jamie Carragher, and fully half their starting XI were unavailable.

Of course, it wasn't exactly my first choice lineup that I named, either. Roy Carrol in goal would be protected by Celestine Babayaro, Hayden Foxe, Ben Hammond, and Danny Payne. Veteran Mathieu Berson was the defensive midfielder, and Joe Hamill and Graham Allen roamed the wings. Up front, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson seemed quite distraught about the Chelsea result, but I hoped that, with Robert Cousins and Florent Sinama-Pongolle, he would have enough supporting cast to break out of his morose mood.

I expected Everton to sit back and defend, so I asked the lads to venture forward in our patient style. That seemed to work for the opening two minutes, as we brought immediate pressure around the Everton area, but in the third minute, Darren Bent snuck in behind Danny Payne on the left wing. He floated a perfect cross through the steadily falling rain to the head of Paul Ifill. The veteran from Barbados rose above our defenders and headed home from six yards out, giving the home side a shock 0-1 lead. The 40,243 faithful at Goodison Park were delighted, and gave enthusiastic voice to their pleasure.

Pacey midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson nearly made it two in the 20th minute, slipping beyond Celestine Babayaro on a fast break. The speedy Swede had everyone beaten, but flubbed the ending, putting it straight off Roy Carroll and out for a corner. The resulting corner was no sooner cleared than Florent Sinama-Pongolle showed Wilhelmsson how to do it, taking a long kick from Carroll, racing past defender Christophe Berra, and burying his shot beyond backup goalkeeper Richard Wright. The French superstar had enough time to wait until Wright committed to a direction, then knocked it around him to fire home from the other side. Midway through the first half, and the scores were level at 1-1.

Sinama-Pongolle's pace was giving Berra nightmares, and the Scot had to take a yellow card around the half-hour mark. That was perhaps weighing on his mind in the 36th, when he let the fast striker run free after a long ball from Mathieu Berson. Berra had no chance of catching the lightning quick striker from behind, and this time Sinama-Pongolle shot early. He poked it to the right of the hapless goalkeeper to give us a 2-1 lead.

At halftime, I had Joe Newell replace Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, who had seemed ineffectual at best and was labouring with obvious fatigue. Everton of course came out with a much more attacking flair, and only a brilliantly timed challenge by Ben Hammond denied Bent in a packed area. The Goodison Park crowd demanded a penalty, but Graham Poll waved play on.

Just before the hour mark, Sinama-Pongolle should have had his hat trick when a wonderful flick-on header by Newell sent him through the offsides trap again. Though he golfed the finish into the stands, Everton manager Steve Coppell had seen enough, and used his final two substitutions to bring off Berra and equally outclassed Anthony Gardner, replacing them with two other defenders! I know he wanted to make attacking changes, but Sinama-Pongolle had just looked too dangerous. I dropped us back towards a counter-attacking mode: clearly the quick counter was our best bet, and I wanted to ensure we had men back for defense. On 67 minutes, I brought Joe Keenan and Scott Allen on to replace the wingers, Joe Hamill and Graham Allen, who had both run their hearts out.

Newell nearly got the insurance goal we wanted on 75 minutes, breaking into space to the right of the box. It looked a golden opportunity, but instead he tried to get Sinama-Pongolle the hat trick, forgoing the shot to set the Frenchman up on the 18. The pass had given the striker a killer angle around the keeper, and he fired towards the far post.. but Wright recovered in time to make a diving stop, trapping the ball directly on top of the line with one outstretched hand.

With Everton pushing forward in a 4-2-4 for the final fifteen minutes, we had plenty of chances on the counter, and Keenan, Newell, and Sinama-Pongolle each saw breakaway opportunities saved at the last by Wright. It was heart-pounding stuff, as their commitment to attack gave us a few scares as well. Fine defending by Roy Carroll, Mathieu Berson, and our captain, Hayden Foxe, saw us hold onto the advantage. After three interminable minutes of extra time, Graham Poll blew for full time and we'd escaped with a 2-1 victory.

Everton 1, Sheffield United 2

Ifill 3; Sinama-Pongolle 21, 36

MoM: Berson

With the game-winning brace, I might have expected Sinama-Pongolle to be Man of the Match, or either goalkeeper for their succession of saves, but instead it was Mathieu Berson who earned that honour.

[Amaroq]

Monday, 13th December, 2010.

"Ian, did you see this?"

Ray Houghton burst into my office with the latest copy of The Star.

"Four of our guys made the Team of the Week!"

There they were, Roy Carroll, Bruno Cheyrou, Imre Szabics, and Mathieu Berson, giving us the most representation on the star-studded squad.

There was other good news in the form of Victor Sikora's return to training. He was extremely unfit, and would need plenty of work before he could contribute, but I hoped to have him in shape to play against Derby after Christmas.

Christmas! Oh, awful. I'd completely forgotten that was coming, and won't have a moment's chance to go shopping. Between two matches a week all through December, and preparation for the January transfer window, I was absolutely swamped.

Never mind, it was time to ready the squad for our key UEFA Cup group finale, at home against Bulgarian champions Levski (Sofia).

[canvey!!]

Steve Coppell's a Liverpool fan, what's he doing managing Everton?

[Amaroq]

Sabotage, judging from their league position?

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 15th December, 2010. UEFA Cup Group B - Fourth Game, vs Levski (Sofia), Bulgaria

Co-equal second place with us, on six points, Levski (Sofia)[ were the final hurdle between us and the final 32 of the UEFA Cup. The good news was, they were missing Adriano after his hip injury, and even better, a scoreless draw would see both sides through to the next round, so a defensive struggle might not surprise anyone. The Bulgarian champions had earned the double last season, hoisting their League trophy for the 26th time last season and also winning the Bulgarian Cup. They'd shut out both Red Star Belgrade and AEK Athens, though they'd conceded five goals in Stuttgart in a 1-5 embarrassment.

In the starting lineup, I had Roy Carroll between the sticks, guarded by Sean Dillon, David Rozehnal, Hayden Foxe, and Danny Payne. A well rested Freddy Guarín manned the defensive midield, and Jonathan Forte, in his eighth season with the club, was on the left wing. On the right side, most of my natural wingers were unavailable, as Pennant was injured, Graham Allen ineligible, and I wasn't allowed to use loanees to bridge the gap. Instead, Canadian Iain Hume lined up as a winger for the first time all season, a position which he says he started his career at. Taking his place to partner Bruno Cheyrou was 21-year-old Joe Newell, and Imre Szabics was the lone striker.

Goalkeeper Dimitar Ivankov is Levski's highest-paid player, and the team captain, and he showed why in the opening two minutes, making four quick saves as we opened with an attacking bent that seemed to catch the blue-clad visitors by surprise. Danny Payne unleashed a wicked shot from twenty-five yards in the third minute, but Ivankov proved up to the challenge, then showed his versatility by denying Imre Szabics at close range in the 19th minute. We were dominating proceedings - Roy Carroll would have needed binoculars to see the action - but I was mindful of the danger of a quick counter-strike which could undo us if we pursued the goal too aggressively.

In the 21st minute, Imre Szabics found a way to beat the impenetrable wall Ivankov was presenting. Iain Hume and Joe Newell had worked a nice combination play up the right wing, and when Newell played it forward, Szabics found himself in the area, to the right of goal, with Ivankov coming off his line. He lifted a delightful chip over the veteran keeper, bringing the home crowd to their feet in a roar. Though the crowd was shy of a sell-out, at 28,080, to my surprise, they made up for their missing mates with a deafening din to celebrate the 1-0 lead!

Levski had to chase the game, and usually that works well to our advantage, as we can use our pace on the counterattack. Sure enough, they mounted a serious challenge over the next fifteen minutes, and Carroll had to exchange his binoculars for his goalkeeping gloves. However, it was not the counterattack that provided the decisive blow. When we scored again, the visitors were well set up, with seven men back in and around the area. Newell tried to find Szabics in the box with a low pass, but Simeonov slid in to knock it away. Szabics kept his feet, as the ball chipped right back to Newell in the air. He headed it over the prone Simeonov, and Szabics unleashed a left-footed blast to the top corner to double his tally!

It stayed that way through half-time, only nine minutes later. I used the intermission merely to remind the lads not to shirk their defensive duties or pick up any silly cards - Newell already had a yellow for arguing, and Szabics had picked up one of his own for a shirt tug. Just moments after the break, however, Bruno Cheyrou drilled a piledriver from 25 yards out, beating Ivankov with a wicked curve, and the game was quickly out of sight at 3-0.

We weren't done yet, however, and just before the hour mark, Cheyrou set Szabics free on a breakaway with an incisive pass. Two steps ahead of the defense, the Hungarian striker took it into the area before smashing it home from sixteen yards. With his hat-trick complete, I didn't want to risk injury or a second yellow, so I brought him off for Peter Weatherson. The crowd, still standing from the goal, gave Imre a rousing ovation. I also sent Marc Bridge-Wilkinson on for Newell, reserving one substitution in case of injury, though I doubted there would be much in Levski's tackles with a 4-0 lead in our hands.

Unfortunately, I'd read that wrong, and just after I brought Joe Keenan on for Cheyrou, both Sean Dillon and Danny Payne picked up knocks born of frustration tackles from the visitors. The game threatened to descend into retribution, but captain Hayden Foxe kept a firm reign on things, and didn't let us stoop to their level. Ninety minutes came, and with the final whistle we and the Bramall Lane faithful celebrated our first-ever trip to the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup!

Sheffield United 4, Levski (Sofia) 0

Szabics 21, 37, 58, Cheyrou 48; ----

MoM: Szabics

The celebration continued into the changing room, where Derek Dooley awaited with a great grin upon his round face. "Wonderful, lads, wonderful!" he told them, and no accolades could be strong enough.

Imre Szabics had finally come alive, knocking in five goals on his last two starts, and the timing couldn't have been better. The hat-trick hero was, needless to say, Man of the Match.

If the late injuries they'd dealt us had stemmed from apprehension that we'd knocked them out, our guests needn't have worried. VfB Stuttgart had dispatched Red Star Belgrade 2-0, so even with the defeat Levski (Sofia) were through to the next round:

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

Q 1 VfB Stuttgart 12 4 0 0 11 3 + 8

Q 2 Sheffield United 9 3 0 1 11 5 + 6

Q 3 Levski (Sofia) 6 2 0 2 4 9 - 5

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

- 4 Red Star Belgrade 3 1 0 3 4 6 - 2

- 5 AEK Athens 0 0 0 4 3 10 - 7</pre>

[madog308]

yay it seems your dry spell didnt last for long and you qualified as well.

[Amaroq]

[Amaroq]

Friday, 17th December, 2010.

Today was the draw for both the 1st Knockout and 2nd Knockout rounds of the UEFA Cup. In the First Round we drew French side Olympique Lyonnais. Should we advance beyond that challenge, we'd meet the winners of a Parma-Feyenoord match. It wasn't the easiest of paths, but at least we'd avoided Real Madrid, Liverpool, Bayern Leverkusen, Udinese, and Lazio, all of whom would have provided significant challenges for our hot-and-cold club.

The news from the physios about the senior side wasn't so good. Sean Dillon had suffered a strained calf, and would need to miss two to four weeks undergoing physiotherapy to prevent a recurrence. At least on the left side we have Celestine Babayaro and Joe Keenan, so there's adequate cover. On the right side, Danny Payne would be out until Christmas, and that left just Keith McCormack in the mix, with the fixture congestion of the holidays threatening to wear him out utterly.

Elsewhere, Plymouth knocked York City out of the F.A. Cup, 3-0. I was disappointed, even though there were few players left on the York squad from my days with the Minstermen.

Craig Hunt didn't start our Reserve match against Blackburn Reserves, but he came on in the fifth minute when Martin Gray was forced off injured. It turned out a stroke of luck, as Hunt scored both goals in a 2-0 victory and Gray's injury wasn't severe, a bruised shoulder that might see him out for a week at most. Victor Sikora lasted about seventy minutes of work on the right wing, which I took as a good sign.

Young starlet goalkeeper Chris Brown, now just nine days shy of his seventeenth birthday, earned Man of the Match honours for preserving the shutout. I wanted to lock him into a long-term contract, and had a five-year deal ready and waiting for him, already in the hands of his agent. It included a high per-appearance fee, though it looked for all the world as though by his 20th birthday he would be the starting keeper for both club and country. It included, of course, a large bonus if he signed by 1:00am on his birthday.

He wasn't the only one with a contract offer out. I was starting to look through the contracts which were expiring at the end of the season, to see who I wanted to re-sign. I wanted to have deals in place by the start of the January transfer window so that I could move anybody we were losing before they could depart on a free transfer.

21-year-old Ben Hammond was a no-brainer to keep. Just coming into his prime, he had started 13 games in defense this season, but was unhappy with the competition for a first-team place. Thus far, he had refused my offers, despite a sizable increase in base salary. His agent was holding out for either a promise of first-team action, or a minimum-fee release clause. I hoped that if I sweetened the pot, he might accept a rotational role for another season or two, taking over the starting role when Hayden Foxe retires.

Beyond those two, however, the pickings were slim. Keeping big man Peter Weatherson was out of the question - he was vastly overpaid for his current contribution to the team - but several of the others were playing frequent roles.

With three goals and eight assists, Bruno Cheyrou had been a key member of the squad, and I'd rather keep him than Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, but at 32 years of age, he's getting older, and doesn't look like the world-beater that I need from a playmaker if we're going to take on the Chelseas and Valencias of the world. I decided to extend his contract for a year at most.

Hard-working 30-year-old Mathieu Berson was another borderline case - seeing frequent action, and performing well, but Ray thinks he's easily replaceable and his contract demands have been exorbitant. Despite Freddy Guarín playing the majority of the games, the French midfielder wants more than £1M per annum. That's more than four times his current salary, and more than I thought we could afford for a bit player.

28-year-old Joe Keenan was seeing infrequent action, but seemed to be providing a valuable resource in terms of flexibility off the bench; he'd come on ten times as a substitute already this season. Though our relationship had been strained, of late, I'd changed my mind. If he was willing to stay on, I was willing to have him.

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 19th December, 2010. Premier League - Game 18, vs Fulham.

We reached the halfway point of the season with a home game against Fulham. The Cottagers, at 6th place, were having the best position of their history. They appeared to have made dramatic strides over the 14th-place finish last season, and were just seven points away from equaling last year's total. Jonathan Stead, now 27, was the dominant striker they'd hoped he would be when they paid almost £10M to prise him away from Blackburn during the January window of the 2007/08 season. He'd scored 14 goals last season, and had already equaled that total this year, with 8 assists, while his strike partner Mido had provided 10 assists and added 8 goals of his own.

To face the resurgent Cottagers I had a strong lineup. Roy Carroll had played three fine games in a row, putting behind him the disastrous game against Chelsea. Celestine Babayaro, David Rozehnal, Hayden Foxe, and Keith McCormack gave him the strongest defense I could field, and Freddy Guarín told me he was fit and ready to play, so he got the start at defensive midfield. On the wings, Joe Hamill and Graham Allen were both having fine seasons. In attack, aging Marc Bridge-Wilkinson was partnered with young Robert Cousins, while first-choice striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle led the team with 18 goals on 15 starts thus far.

Fulham, as expected, came out defensive, determined to hold us to a draw, but they got two early scares from Florent Sinama-Pongolle. Mark González and Gian Diego Tipaldi made goal-saving tackles in the box to deny him both times. González in particular was playing a fabulous game, lining up as a fullback but frequently breaking forward into attck, overlapping with the winger and in fact looking the more dangerous of Fulham's left-sided players.

Just before the half hour mark, our diminutive French striker drew the defense to him once more, but this time he set up Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, knocking a diagonal ball into space in the box. Just ten yards from goal, the veteran had the goal at his mercy .. but skied the shot over the bar, to the great disappointment of the 29,602 in the crowd.

It was still scoreless at the break, and in fact Fulham had taken just a single shot, that on a free kick just before the break, so I told the lads to start venturing forward in our patient buildup, bringing the fullbacks into play. Fulham responded by falling back into a 5-3-2, clearly playing for the scoreless draw. It was working, keeping us at bay, and leaving González with the freedom to range up the left side with four men back; he was really overmatching Graham Allen on our right wing.

On the hour I switched over to a 3-5-2, with striker Peter Weatherson replacing defender David Rozehnal. Scott Allen, a better defender, replaced the tiring Graham Allen on the right wing, and I cautioned him to keep a tight mark on González just before he went on. A few minutes later, Fulham's leading scorer Jonathan Stead limped off. The crowd burst into song trying to inspire victory:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> We are Bladesmen,

We are Bladesmen,

Super Bladesmen from the Lane ..

We are Bladesmen,

Super Bladesmen,

We are Bladesmen from the Lane ..</pre>

The breakthrough nearly came in the 66th minute, with Freddy Guarín's long throw into the box flicked on by Sinama-Pongolle. It fell to the foot of Weatherson, on the right side of defenseman Zatyiah Knight in the six yard box. It was a golden chance, but Chris Kirkland came up with a brilliant save from point-blank range. Poor Weatherson had done little to endear himself either to me or to any scout who might be watching.

In the waning minutes, Robert Cousins and Joe Hamill both put 20-yard shots off target, the first high and the second wide, and even the late addition of young Gareth Davies couldn't inspire much from the lads: the determined Fulham defense was simply not leaving space for anything. Despite a generous four minutes of injury time, the surprisingly small crowd trudged away empty-handed.

Sheffield 0, Fulham 0

----; ----

MoM: Hamill

Joe Hamill was Man of the Match, though privately I thought Fulham's Mark González deserved the honour.

Failure to garner the full points had dropped us down to fourth, as Manchester United had beaten Ipswich Town 2-0 on Saturday.

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 21st December, 2010.

I got unfortunate news the following morning - Man of the Match Joe Hamill, who had played so well along the left side, had twisted his knee during the match, and the physio doubted would not be quite right until New Year's.

On the contract front, I had finally managed to convince Joe Keenan that I did respect his contribution to the team, and we'd signed a deal which would see the left back stay at Bramall Lane for two more seasons, through June of 2013. It included a hefty raise, and I'm still not sold on him ever breaking into the starting lineup again, but it protects us from having to search for a similarly versatile player - Keenan can cover the left back, center back, defensive midfield, and left wing, and I've used him at all four positions over the past two seasons.

We'd also arranged the transfer of a 17-year-old attacking midfielder, Dave Moss, of Fulham, coincidentally. My scouts expect he has as much chance as anyone currently on the squad of developing into a Premier League quality attacker.

I'd had no luck selling Peter Weatherson. I'd started out asking for £1.2M, but was down to half a million, and still not getting any nibbles.

The matches continued to come one hard after another, and I was working almost every waking hour, between match days on weekends, training sessions mid-week, studying game film, contract negotiations, and working on the January transfers.

[Damien77]

Congratulations on making first round of the euro cup.

[Amaroq]

Thank you!

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 22nd December, 2010. Premier League - Game 19, vs Tottenham Hotspur.

The mid-week matchup saw us start the second half of our season as hosts to Tottenham Hotspur, who were celebrating their return to the top flight with a fine season, 9th after 19 games. Though relegated twice in the past five years, they'd won the Championship both times, including last season. With Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe in fine form, they had a dangerous offense, even with winger Simon Davies suspended for his fifth yellow card. It had taken an injury-time strike from Peter Weatherson for us to scrape a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane in the season opener, so I wasn't counting on any better at home.

I named a solid squad, from Roy Carroll making his 25th start in goal to Joe Keenan on the left flank, celebrating his new contract with his 6th start of the season. Hayden Foxe and Ben Hammond were the pairing in central defense, while Keith McCormack started on short rest at right back. Mathieu Berson was the holding midfielder, with Jonathan Forte on the left and Arsenal 21-year-old Darren White on the right wing. Bruno Cheyrou was the playmaker, and Iain Hume returned to the attacking midfield role which is more comfortable for him. With five goals in his last two games, Imre Szabics was in superb form as the lone striker.

After Fulham's negative approach, I tried starting with the patient, attacking tactic against Spurs. It paid off within 60 seconds, as Darren White intercepted a pass deep in our territory on Tottenham's first possession. He linked up with Iain Hume through the midfield, drew three defenders towards him on the right wing, and cut a low pass back across the middle for Hume. The Canadian took it 30 yards from net, and curled it around Imre Szabics, catching goalkeeper André Zick unsighted by the Hungarian. It found the top corner, giving us a quick 1-0 lead.

Unseasonably warm weather had given us an increased crowd, and the 31,633 kept to their feet as we kept up the pressure. Hume nearly played provider in the 15th minute, with a flawlessly weighted ball ahead of Szabics on the left side. The Hungarian should well have continued his scoring run, but Zick made a fabulous save to tip his 12-yard effort over, and they linked up again shortly thereafter with Hume's header just carrying over the bar. Nonetheless, it was still 1-0 at the intermission, and we seemed in complete control.

On the hour mark, the speedy White nearly had a goal of his own, with Hume launching a gorgeous long ball ahead of him. He outraced Reto Ziegler to the ball, but with the goal at his feet the loanee fired wide. Even as it was, Bruno Cheyrou nearly got on the end of it as it crossed through the six, but the ball squeezed maddeningly between he and the far post, out for a simple goal kick.

In the 67th minute, a Tottenham long ball forced White to put it out for a corner, their first of the game. Jay McEveley took it, whipping it into the six, where Neil French rose above Ben Hammond to head home the equalizer. The crowd were stunned into silence, and Hammond held his head in shame, as he should never have let the 20-year-old midfielder get the better of him like that. It was 1-1, and our hopes of taking all three points would reside on getting a late goal to win it.

That meant we were back in attack, as I returned to the patient buildup. Hume, who had been playing so well, was starting to tire, and I sent Joe Newell on to take his place. White, too, had run himself into the ground, and Victor Sikora made his return from hamstring surgery for the final twenty minutes. When those changes failed to spark even a good chance, I sent Peter Weatherson on for Keith McCormack to see if he could work his late magic a second time, shifting to a 3-5-2 with seven minutes left to play.

In the 87th minute, Jonathan Forte, silent up until that point, launched a long ball ahead of Mathieu Berson, whose surprising run found him unmarked. The flag stayed down, and the French defensive midfielder was clean through on goal, but he hurried the shot, putting it over to groans from the Bramall Lane faithful.

Tottenham bunkered down in defense, weathering injury time with only a single man pretending to keep our defense honest, and 1-1 was the final.

Sheffield United 1, Tottenham 1

Hume 1; French 67

MoM: Zick (Tottenham GK)

Victory had seemed well within our grasp, and it was frustrating to see another two points slip away. Bramall Lane might be providing an impenetrable castle where we hadn't lost a game, but I was frustrated with two consecutive draws. Still, when you included the Cup matches as well as Premiership games, our record was 12-4-0 at home.

[Amaroq]

Friday, 24th December, 2010.

Merry Christmas!

I've given the lads today and tomorrow off - would that I could take the same. Instead, here I am at the office at 10:00pm the night before Christmas, where, working on a deal which might send youngster James Bradley, the pacey but inaccurate striker, off. I don't want to lose his potential, but the return, if my target agrees, would give us the playmaker I've been searching for, a worthy heir to the line of midfielders who have led my attack: Tappa Whitmore, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, and Bruno Cheyrou.

Chris Brown turned seventeen today, but though I wished him a happy seventeenth birthday, he didn't sign the contract by 1:00am as I'd hoped he would. A second contract is sitting on his agent's desk, but at this hour on Christmas Eve, it doesn't look like I'm going to get a response.

Stacy and I have been invited down to Manchester to join the Adams family for the holiday, so I won't be writing tomorrow.

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 26th December, 2010. Premier League - Game 20, at Blackburn.

We had a bitter history with Blackburn Rovers: in 2009, they'd beaten us 0-5 in an F.A. Cup match, a favour we'd returned with a 6-0 victory the following September. This year's first game had gone our way, 1-0, thanks to Robert Cousins's goal, but with them in 7th place, and playing at home, it promised to be a very tough match. They'd placed sixth two seasons ago, and though a fall to 11th last year cost Mark Hughes his job, new manager Doug Livermore had done a good job with them so far. £6M summer signing Petri Pasanen anchored a solid defense, while Scottish striker Paul Gallagher was on a pace to set a personal best in goals scored, outscoring high profile strike partner Collins John.

With games two days apart, I had split the squad, with today's lineup arguably slightly stronger than Tuesday's for Derby. Roy Carroll continued in goal, with Celestine Babayaro, David Rozehnal, Ben Hammond, and Danny Payne across the back four. In his 100th career league appearance, Freddy Guarín would be the midfield engine. Victor Sikora made his first start since October on the left wing and Graham Allen the choice on the right. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Robert Cousins were the attacking midfield, and superstar Florent Sinama-Pongolle was still in search of his early-season form up front.

There were few chances in the opening exchanges, as the sides fenced tentatively. In the 20th minute Blackburn left back Nils-Eric Johansson found Spanish winger Jon Andoni Arambillet several steps behind Danny Payne, but held onside by the rest of our line. Jonan, as he likes to be known, raced towards the corner then sent a low cross for Paul Gallagher. It was just an inch beyond the outstretched leg of David Rozehnal, but that was all the Scot needed. With one deft touch, he put the ball to the far post to give the home side the 0-1 advantage.

Rozehnal, normally so solid in the back, was caught badly out of position in the 43rd minute. He'd come well forward trying to win a ball along the right sideline near the midfield circle, and when Johansson slid in, the Czech centre back fell to the ground, clutching his ankle and screaming for a foul. The referee ignored his pleas as Jonan again raced up the left side. As Payne closed him down, the Spaniard played a diagonal ball ahead of Gallagher, into the space Rozehnal had vacated. Young Ben Hammond had failed to cover, but it looked for a moment as though we would escape unscathed as the ball hurried towards the end line. The Blackburn captain slid just in time to keep it in, incredibly cutting it back for Akin Serhat. The Turk had an open net, and, despite three defenders swarming in close proximity, he pounded it home, the ball literally passing between the legs of Celestine Babayaro on its way in. It felt like utterly inept defending, but the result was incontrovertible: an 0-2 deficit for the halftime whistle.

I took advantage of the intermission to change things around, bringing speedster James Bradley on up front, replacing Payne, through whose side both goals had come. The switch to a 3-5-2 left tons of space at the back, and Gallagher nearly exploited it. Collins John had cost Blackburn a team-record £16M to prise away from Fulham the previous January, and it was he whose wonderful through ball broke the offsides trap in the 53rd minute. The Scottish striker had Roy Carroll beat yet again, but this time put it inches wide of the post. At the other end, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson did some fantastic work in the box, making a quick turn despite close coverage to fire from ten yards, but Tim Wiese made an improbable save to protect his clean sheet.

Around the hour mark, I sent Darren White on for Victor Sikora, who wasn't yet ready to last ninety minutes on the wing. Blackburn made their final changes as well, with John and Serhat coming off for more defensive players. That left them out of luck when Graham Allen hacked Jonan down in the 65th minute. It cost Allen a yellow card, but Jonan was carted off injured, which left us with a man advantage for the final 25 minutes.

Despite the numerical odds, we just couldn't seem to buy any luck - Florent Sinama-Pongolle's wicked shot from the corner of the 18 tipped up and off the crossbar, and when Robert Cousins was left unmarked on a corner kick, he blasted a furious shot over from 12 yards. It looked almost like the lads were trying too hard. Watching Bradley shoot from 25 yards and Rozehnal pick up a yellow after getting well out of position again only confirmed that: we were playing with urgency, not patience.

In the 82nd minute, Blackburn made us pay. A sloppy loss of posession had given them the ball, and Petri Pasanen had pressed forward uncharacteristically. Though he seemed well marked by Graham Allen, he was still able to curl a 25-yarder to the top right corner, beating Carroll for his first-ever goal for Blackburn.

That made it 0-3, delighting the 27,852 who had come to Ewood Park to cheer their heroes, and we could only bear their taunts stoically as Blackburn methodically ran out the remaining time.

Blackburn 3, Sheffield United 0

Gallagher 21, Serhat 43, Pasanen 82; ----

MoM: Wiese (Blackburn GK)

It was a dismal changing room after, as the lads hung their heads. We'd fallen from 1st at the start of October to 6th now, and Florent Sinama-Pongolle's continued goal-scoring drought was starting to really concern me: he'd only scored in one game over the previous month, the brace he'd netted against Everton.

[Amaroq]

Monday, 27th December, 2010.

I found a late Christmas present on my desk when I got back to the office Monday morning: Chris Brown had signed his contract, locking the stellar youngster in as a Blade for the next five seasons. Between he, Richard Thomas, and Stephen Cummins, it looked as though we might be solidly secure for goalkeeping in the long-term: at least one of the three should turn into a genuine starting-quality shot-stopper, and it was just challenging to decipher which one. I was betting on Brown, personally, which is why I was so happy to have signed him.

It was also gratifying to see that Iain Hume had been named to the Premier League Team of the Week, presumably for his goal against Tottenham as there had been nothing praiseworthy about anybody in the team on Boxing Day.

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 28th December, 2010. Premier League - Game 21, vs Derby County.

A home tie against last-placed Derby County, who hadn't beaten us since 2007, seemed just what the doctor ordered to cure the malaise that had been afflicting us. Just two years removed from finishing 21st in the Championship and narrowly avoiding relegation from League One, it had been quite premature for Derby to advance through the playoffs last year. They'd earned the spot with a 6th place finish, and wins over Leeds United and Stoke City saw them into the Premiership. In theory, the television revenues and parachute payments should help their financial situation dramatically, but a season with only 1 win to date can't be doing much for the players' morale, and it had been 15 long games since that victory.

It was playing with fire a little bit, but I took advantage of their dishevelled shape to give 17-year-old phenom Chris Brown the first start of his Premier League career. Joe Keenan, Hayden Foxe, little-used Abubakar Shittu, and Keith McCormack would form his defensive shield. Veteran Mathieu Berson would add some leadership, with Jonathan Forte on the left wing and Darren White on the right. Up front, it was our ace crew, with Bruno Cheyrou, Iain Hume, and Imre Szabics forming a great partnership over the past month that I was loathe to break up.

The patient-buildup tactic resulted in constant pressure right from the opening kickoff, as we kept hapless Derby on their back foot. They rarely got it out of their own half, and then only with desperate long clearances which our back line tracked down easily. Still, their packed defense was proving a tough nut to crack, and by the half-hour mark, I was getting flashbacks to the Fulham game.

Then, Darren White opened things up: he was trapped against the right sideline by two defenders, and made a great choice to switch it across for Jonathan Forte. The dean of our squad juked past fullback John Halls, and had only the goalie to beat as he streaked into the area. Just as he looked set to shoot, when goalkeeper Jacquier Alexandre had fully committed to him, he cut it back for Iain Hume. Unmarked at the penalty spot, the Canadian had an easy finish to give us a 1-0 lead which lasted through half-time.

The same exact move almost resulted in an Imre Szabics goal just after the restart, but Alexandre had learned his lesson, and stayed back on his line, leaving him able to save the Hungarian's effort. Derby still weren't showing anything offensively, and Chris Brown's only touches were coming on the occasional goal kick or backpass. In the 57th minute, Bruno Cheyrou took a free kick from the top of the arc which could have been dangerous, but he put it just over the bar.

A minute later, he got a second chance, as Derby midfielder Charley Hearn brought down Mathieu Berson inside thirty yards from goal. When Martin Yerby produced a yellow card, Hearn began to argue, talking his way into a red card, and then forcing Yerby to penalize him ten yards for continued dissent as well, before his teammates finally dragged Hearn away. That gave Cheyrou a free kick from inside the arc, perhaps 19 yards from goal. This time he made no mistake, curling it into the top left corner to put another nail in Derby's coffin. Replays showed it had deflected off the wall, but regardless, it was a 2-0 lead which looked all but insurmountable.

I let the lads sit back and defend for the final half hour, which they did well - they were hardly breaking a sweat, and short-handed Derby looked unable to trouble anyone. With fifteen minutes to go, I put Peter Weatherson, Joe Newell, and Scott Allen on for Szabics, Cheyrou, and Forte, respectively, just to get them some work and ensure that our star players had no trouble in the waning minutes. They didn't, and young goalkeeper Chris Brown earned his first Premier League clean sheet without making a single save.

Sheffield United 2, Derby County 0

Hume 36, Cheyrou 59; ----

MoM: Alexandre (Derby GK)

Even better news awaited us in the changing room after: both Manchester United and Fulham had lost, so with the three points, we climbed back up to fourth.

[Amaroq]

Thursday, 30th December, 2010.

"You're the favorite to replace Graeme Souness at Middlesbrough. Do you have any comment?"

"I've always had the utmost respect for Mister Souness, so I have to wonder at that move. However, in answer to your question, nobody from the club has contacted me about it. I'm not interested at the moment: I love working for Mister Dooley, and I think the Blades still have something to prove."

"What about Peter Weatherson? Is it true that he's on the transfer list?"

"Yes, it is. We've taken the decision not to renew his contract at the end of the season - it'll be better for him to go somewhere where he's seeing more regular action, and we've decided to try and get some of the younger strikers more involved in the first team."

"He says you don't appreciate his contribution to the team. Do you have a response?"

"Only to say that I, and every Blades fan, must recognize his contributions these past four years - he helped bring the team up from League One to the Premiership, helped us into Europe, and helped us win the F.A. Cup: of course I appreciate that.

"Unfortunately, this is a business as well as a sport, and every team has to make hard decisions sometimes."

I stepped off the podium even though reporters were still shouting questions: I didn't want to talk about it.

In Wednesday's Reserve match, James Bradley showcased his talents for a scout from Middlesbrough, though I had to wonder if the deal we'd been discussing had any chance now that Souness was ousted. In fact, I'm not sure if Bradley did himself harm or good: he scored the game's only goal, but with Jermaine Pennant working the wing in a fitness-building start, Bradley had several more chances, each of which he scuffed or otherwise flubbed. It was still a 1-0 victory over Bolton Reserves.

The U-18's played at the same time, and waited eighty minutes before scoring against Nottingham Forest U-18's. When they did, they scored twice, Man of the Match Martin Gray opening the scoring, and Michael Cross adding another four minutes later. It turned out to be good he'd gotten the insurance, as the lads conceded in the 90th minute, making the final score 2-1.

Not only was Pennant back in action, but Sean Dillon had resumed full training as well. Unfortunately, Pennant suffered a minor setback on Friday, when he twisted his knee, setting him back another week, and Dillon was having trouble gelling with the squad after his extended absence.