Sharpening a Rusty Blade - Book III

[Amaroq]

Friday, 4th March, 2011.

In the other match, Aliadière's goal had indeed stood up; Chelsea beat Bristol City by the single goal. That set up our sixth match against them in ten months, scheduled for the 23rd of March. We'd lost to them in the Leage Cup Quarter Finals - perhaps we could do better at home in the F.A. Cup at the same round.

In the day's Reserve match against Everton Reserves, Michael Cross had continued his desperation campaign for a contract extension with his third goal in as many games. Everton equalized, but were reduced to ten men on an injury after their subs were made. Fullback John Berry, pushed forward as a left wing, scored a late game-winner for us after a goal-mouth flurry, powering a 2-1 victory. 17-year-old goalkeeper Simon Parker, who resides fairly deep on our goaltending depth chart, was Man of the Match.

At Friday's pre-match press conference, I was asked the obvious question, about drawing the Blues yet again.

"We're getting very familiar with Chelsea, of course - and that's the foundation of a great rivalry. I hope we prove up to the task."

"Ian, what about David O'Leary's comments to the London press? He said that you were a good manager, and that you deserved every success in Sheffield - but that he hoped the better side wins tomorrow."

The former Villain had been with the Gunners for four years, guiding them to second, second, and third in the past two seasons.

"I hope the better side wins tomorrow, too - I just hope its us!" I answered, drawing a real laugh from the assembled journalists.

"David O'Leary's already shown that he can face adversity and still come out fighting. I expect Arsenal to achieve great things with him at the helm - the club should stick by him through thick and thin."

"What about David Hay's decision to leave Fulham? Doesn't Ipswich Town seem like a strange choice?"

"It does at first blush, certainly - the Cottagers are sixth, and Ipswich looks certain to be relegated. I'm sure we don't know the full story yet, but perhaps he just relishes the challenge of bringing Town back to the Premiership and turning them into a force, as I've done here. Either way, that should breathe life into tomorrow's match!"

Fulham were facing Ipswich, and Hay had only a single day to prepare for his former side.

In minor squad news, Scottish 17-year-old defender John Reid left today to join Notts County, 13th in League One, on a three-month loan.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 5th March, 2011. Premier League - Game 30, vs Arsenal.

We only had two Premier League fixtures on the calendar for March, our schedule was so packed with Cup matches. The first was against Thierry Henry and Arsenal, third placed in the league behind Chelsea and Liverpool. They would be missing Claudio Pizarro and Ashley Cole with injury, but still retained most of their powerful squad. Still, we'd beaten them 3-1 in London earlier this season, so I knew that we could eke out a victory at home.

That match, however, had been with a stronger side. Today, I was resting my first choice for the UEFA Cup match on Thursday. Roy Carroll, of course, was no concern in goal after two great matches. Sean Dillon and Danny Payne would man the fullback positions, with regulars David Rozehnal and Hayden Foxe central. Mathieu Berson made his return at defensive midfield after almost two months out of action, and it was doubtful he'd be able to last ninety minutes. At right wing, Graham Allen had had a month since his last competitive match. Jonathan Forte, on the left, was one yellow card away from a ban. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson was partnered with Robert Cousins, who was making his twentieth start of the season, as the attacking midfielders. Hungarian striker Imre Szabics was the lone forward.

The better chances of the opening twelve minutes were all Arsenal, and captain José Antionio Reyes nearly scored twice. The first came when he slipped past Danny Payne on Nicolae Mitea's long ball, but Roy Carroll made the one-on-one save at the corner of the six. The second time, Reyes again broke the offsides trap, and knocked the ball past Carroll as well, but the wily goalkeeper had delayed him just enough for David Rozehnal to put it out of danger. Reyes screamed for a penalty, but Carroll’s interference had been just mild enough that he didn’t get the call.

Though the Gunners were getting the better chances, we were dominating possession, and by the twentieth minute we started turning that into chances of our own. Two corner kicks brought the crowd to their feet, but were headed clear – we really miss out, not having a big target to send crashing into the six. The third corner, on the half-hour, fell to Marc Bridge-Wilkinson at the far post. He struck the crossbar from fifteen yards, to his evident dismay, a great chance squandered.

Perhaps buoyed by the hint of success, we got sucked too far forward in the 42nd minute. Arsenal struck back on the counter. At the centre circle, Rozehnal challenged Mitea, who knocked it into space for Thierry Henry. The legendary striker was always going to win a footrace with aging Hayden Foxe. As he had done to so many keepers before, the Frenchman rounded Roy Carroll to leave himself with nothing but open net. Arsenal had an 0-1 lead with the intermission just around the corner.

I loathe going to the changing room with a recently acquired deficit, and apparently, so do my players: in the 44th minute, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson played a perfect ball through the narrowest of gaps in the Arsenal defense. Imre Szabics, on a diagonal run from the arc into the box, raced onto it. He turned and, first-time from sixteen yards, made stellar Arsenal goalkeeper Tim Wiese miss for the first time in three games. Just that quickly, it was 1-1, and the 32,985 Bramall Lane faithful celebrated in style. It was a sensational goal, as he'd not had much space to work in, but that left things level at the break.

By the time I made my first change, sending Scott Allen on for Graham Allen on the right wing in the 63rd minute, Arsenal had made all three of theirs. Fatigue was clearly a problem for David O’Leary’s men, who had played nearly as many matches as we had since Christmas. As the match ground on, they retreated further and further into their half, with only Reyes and Henry left up front to keep our defense honest.

That gave me hope for a late winner, but Paul Stott and Joe Newell, introduced for Szabics and Cousins, respectively, were unable to create anything. The best play of the second half may actually have been Sean Dillon's tackle in the box after it had appeared Reyes had broken free again, but neither keeper was called on to make much in the way of a save before the final whistle.

Sheffield United 1, Arsenal 1

Szabics 44; Henry 42

MoM: Henry (Arsenal SC)

The first-half goals were the highlight of the match, and Thierry Henry’s, on the road, won him Man of the Match.

On-loan winger Scott Allen had suffered a cut on his cheek which required stitches, but aside from that we'd escaped the match unscathed, and could concentrate on our next opponent: Parma.

[madog308]

4 days!! i'm starting to get cold turky!!

[Amaroq]

My apologies! I hadn't meant to let it get that long - been traveling and haven't always had internet access .. and I didn't want to leave you guys mid-two-legged-UEFA-Cup-tie.

I'm back home now, so updates should be pretty regular once more ..

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 9th March, 2011.

Manchester United had won their match, so we'd dropped two points back of them with eight matches to play. I told myself I would worry about that in April: I had a UEFA Cup match to plot.

I would be doing it without Darren White. The Arsenal winger had suffered a broken collarbone, and would be sitting on the bench for the remainder of the season. Fortunately, the Gunners were paying the 21-year-old's full wages, so I didn't have to terminate the loan contract immediately.

The Champions League round of 16 concluded on Wednesday. Many of the matches seemed to have been decided in the first leg. Though Basel beat Arsenal 1-0, the London club were through thanks to a 4-2 aggregate. Chelsea hardly needed their four-goal performance, as beating Fenerbahçe 4-1 merely made their aggregate 7-2. Manchester United's 0-0 draw made a 4-0 aggregate over Maccabi Haifa, and Bayern Munich didn't need Miroslav Klose's injury time goal, which beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0, as they'd already won 5-1 on aggregate.

Three games were important. Barcelona, at home to Steaua Bucharest, had only a 1-0 lead, but Argentina's Javier Saviola built that into a three goal advantage by the twentieth minute. Steaua got one back in the second half, but Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o put it out of reach in the dying minutes to give the Nou Camp crowd a 4-1 victory and a 5-1 aggregate.

At the San Siro, Freddy Adu put Inter Milan ahead of Juventus 1-0 at halftime, but Juventus took the lead on away goals when Davide Chuiumiento equalised in the 81st. Fullback Andrea Lazzari earned Man of the Match honors for Inter with his fabulous pass that set Marek Jankulovski free in injury time for the game winner. To the delight of the crowd, Inter had taken it 2-1 on the last touch of the match!

Roma scored three goals to take the lead against Valencia, after losing the opener 4-2. Valencia clawed back to a 5-5 aggregate on Néstor Cannobbio's penalty in the 85th minute, but Roma held on to the end of the match, winning a thriller on away goals.

Since I had left him ineligible for the UEFA Cup, Paul Stott started against Stoke Reserves on Wednesday night, and showed that he is definitely beyond the Reserve level. He utterly dominated the match, with a hat trick and Man of the Match. Had I not brought him off early he might well have added a fourth or fifth goal the way he was going. Mathieu Berson and Victor Sikora both lasted ninety minutes in fitness starts.

The match was Rob Sayer's last, for a time, as he joined Darlington, 9th in League One, for a three-month loan spell. The Quakers could use the help to push for a playoff berth, and I was happy to see the speedy 17-year-old get some first-team seasoning, even if he would miss the Under-18s Cup Final.

Speaking of players on loan, fullback John Reid earned nomination to the League One Team of the Week after scoring a goal on his debut for Notts County.

[Amaroq]

Thursday, 10th March, 2011. UEFA Cup - Second Knockout Round, First Leg, at Parma.

For the past seven years, Italian stalwarts Parma had placed between 5th and 7th in the Serie A, claiming a berth in the UEFA Cup each time. The previous two seasons, they had reached the Final, trying to repeat their triumphs of 1995 and 1999, but they fell short at the last hurdle, defeated on penalties by Sevilla last season and Manchester United the year before. They were surely none to worried about lowly Sheffield United, in our first European campaign.

Privately, I had hopes: my first-choice XI were well rested and ready for this match, and we'd been truly battle-tested the past six weeks. Roy Carroll was in goal, with Celestine Babayaro, captain Hayden Foxe, David Rozehnal, and Keith McCormack across the back. Freddy Guarín had taken his first match off in two months, and was raring to go at defensive midfielder. Joe Hamill was the left wing, with Jermaine Pennant on the right. Bruno Cheyrou was the playmaker, with Iain Hume as his gunner. Florent Sinama-Pongolle, with 25 goals so far this season, was the lone striker.

The Italian crowd of 24,910 were in full voice for hours before the match started, with air horns blaring, flares burning in the corners and upper deck, and heaps of abuse for our players throughout warm-ups. I worried it would last throughout the match, but we silenced them in the seventh minute. Florent Sinama-Pongolle made the goal, racing to the left corner, letting the white-and-blue-clad defenders converge into the six, then picking out Iain Hume unmarked in the back of the area. He chested it down for himself, volleying with the laces of his right boot before the ball had even struck the ground. It was an amazingly powerful shot which nearly ripped the roof of the net: we had a 1-0 lead and a vital away goal!!

Remembering the Lyon disaster, our lads kept the pedal down, and very nearly scored a second over the next ten minutes. Sinama-Pongolle missed wide after a fine breakaway, and both Iain Hume and Bruno Cheyrou saw long-range efforts saved by Sébastien Frey. The successor to Fabien Barthez in France's goal would not be troubled by the routine, it seemed. On the 20th minute, a dangerous corner skittered through the six with three different players just unable to get the killer touch on.

The hosts made us pay for our lack of finishing in the 28th minute, when Alberto Gilardino headed the ball down for Manuel Di Tolve at the eighteen. Di Tolve rounded both Freddy Guarín and Hayden Foxe to loft the ball into the box, where Gilardino had caught us ball-watching. The 28-year-old's diving header redirected it to the far post, and Roy Carroll had no chance to keep it out. The crowd were right back in it: at 1-1, it was all to play for again.

The level state of affairs lasted just nine minutes. We had a free kick from our own half, which Freddy Guarín took. On his own initiative, Keith McCormack slipped forward, and when the fullback made an unexpected run at the offsides trap, there was a moments hesitation between Daniele Bonera and Raffaele De Martino. One of them needed to pick him up, but they both seemed to be expecting the run from Sinama-Pongolle, Cheyrou, or Hume. McCormack was left free breaking into the area, and Guarín's long ball caught him in stride. Bonera hustled back to challenge, but the strong Irish fullback lowered his left shoulder, shielding the defenseman off the ball. He laced it back to the far post with his right foot...

GOAL!! His first goal of the season couldn't have come at a better time, giving us a 2-1 lead, and it was almost comical watching the Italians debate who should have been marking him as our lads celebrated the goal!

Parma came forward with urgency, and continued to threaten through halftime, looking especially dangerous on corner kicks. I took advantage of the break to caution the lads to play tight defense, reverting from the attacking formation with which we'd taken the lead to our usual counter-attack.

Roy Carroll was getting a workout, and that continued in the early stages of the second half. Unfortunately, in the 49th minute, Di Tolve launched a wild effort from the arc. It would have gone well to the right of the goal, but it deflected off of Keith McCormack and back to the left-side post. Carroll, scrambling, couldn't touch it, and it was into the back of the net: 2-2! It was a disastrous affair which had to be scored as an own goal.

We were short-handed, in the 55th minute, with Hayden Foxe off the pitch seeking treatment, when Freddy Guarín took a throw-in deep down the left sideline. Sinama-Pongolle was hovering around the six, and with Guarín launched a long throw into the box. Alberto Gilardino headed it away, but the referee blew the whistle, and to my delight I saw him pointing at the spot: Gilardino had come over the top of the diminuitive Sinama-Pongolle, and we had a penalty!!

The place dropped to a hush as Guarín stood over it, and started his run-up ..

Goal!! The Colombian found the side netting, an impossible shot for Frey to reach even though he'd guessed the right way, and we'd retaken the lead at 3-2!!

Foxe tried to run off his knock, but within minutes it was clear he was not able to. I made my first substitution to send Joe Keenan on in his place, with instructions to hold back in the counter-attack again. A few minutes later, Keith McCormack was laid out, and had to be stretchered off. Without a second defenseman to send on, I had to drop Jermaine Pennant back to right back, with Victor Sikora taking over the right wing.

We were mostly limiting Parma to long-range efforts by Mark Bresciano, but in the 79th minute Carroll had an incredible save to make, tipping Azar Karadas's close range header over the bar. My last change brought Imre Szabics on for Sinama-Pongolle just after that, and he had several chances in the waning minutes, including once where Frey inexplicably came forward on a corner, with another ninety minutes yet to play after this match concludes.

The referee left four minutes of stoppage time, and even those had elapsed when Guarín's shot was blocked. The force of the shot started Parma's last desperate counter. With the referee checking his watch, I expected the whistle any moment, but no! Bresciano's fine through ball to Karadas set him a step ahead of the exhausted David Rozehnal. The whistle was raised to the referee's lips when Karadas launched it from the edge of the 18 .. GOAL! Past Carroll! A dramatic last-touch equalizer!!

The Italian crowd went absolutely crazy: with air horns, firecrackers, flares, and a mini pitch invasion, you might have thought the Azzuri had just won the Mundial!

Parma 3, Sheffield United 3

Gilardino 28, McCormack o.g. 49, Karadas 90; Hume 7, McCormack 37, Guarín pen 55

MoM: Guarín

With a goal and an assist, Freddy Guarín was a consensus Man of the Match, though his venture forward in injury time might have been said to have cost us a vital goal.

The bad news came when I asked for Martin Baverstock. The physio was no longer at the stadium, having accompanied Keith McCormack to the hospital.

[madog308]

Originally posted by Amaroq:

My apologies! I hadn't meant to let it get that long - been traveling and haven't always had internet access .. and I didn't want to leave you guys mid-two-legged-UEFA-Cup-tie.

I'm back home now, so updates should be pretty regular once more ..

well at least u had a good reason

on the match note well done on the three away goals pity u didn't win though

[Amaroq]

Thank you! Let's see if we can make that hold up...

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 15th March, 2011.

"Don't you dare keep me out!"

Hayden Foxe was in my office, desperate to dispute Martin Baverstock's opinion.

"You can't give this one to Ben Hammond - he hasn't played since January!"

Baverstock had told me he was worried about the Australian's ankle, which had been strained a bit in the Lyon match, and the captain looked like the only way I would keep him on the bench was if I chained him to it.

Faced with the determination and work ethic that I so loved in him to begin with, there was no way I could deny the 33-year-old, and I told him I'd had no intention of keeping him out.

Not after the injury to Keith McCormack.

X-rays in Italy had shown that he'd broken his ankle, and even sending him to a specialist surgeon in London wasn't going to get him back on the pitch anytime soon. His season was certainly over, and he might not even be ready in time for the opener next year.

That was a terrible setback for our defense. The Irishman has been a stalwart at right back, making the starting position his for both club and country, and excelling in the biggest matches.

Fellow fullback Kevin Price had also suffered a major setback. In August, the 17-year-old Welshman had undergone surgery for a torn groin, which the surgeon had promised would cure him. He strained the surgically repaired groin in training, which might cost him at least a month, and could cause him to undergo another surgery. Despite his undeniable enthusiasm and potential, I found myself questioning whether he could ever be a Premiership player, or whether he was too fragile.

In the other Champions League match, Newcastle United made it four English teams in the final eight, despite losing 3-1 to A.C. Milan. Their 3-0 lead from the first match had been completely eliminated, but Manuele Blasi's own goal in the 70th minute knocked Milan out, making the final 3-1, for a 4-3 aggregate to Newcastle.

[Amaroq]

Thursday, 10th March, 2011. UEFA Cup - Second Knockout Round, Second Leg, vs Parma.

With three away goals in the first leg 3-3 draw, we needed only a 2-2 or better - either lower scoring, or a win - to advance over Parma. Three away goals provided a powerful barrier, and if we could simply hold them scoreless, we'd be through. That's easier said than done against a 4-5-1 modeled after Chelsea's success, with three attacking midfielders all allowed the freedom to make as many forward runs as they'd care to.

There was only one change in my lineup from the away leg. Roy Carroll remained in goal, with Celestine Babayaro and David Rozehnal anchoring the defensive line. Hayden Foxe looked healthy enough to me in the warmups, and was cleared to play by the physio. Danny Payne came on for the injured McCormack at right back. The holding midfielder was of course Freddy Guarín, with Joe Hamill on the left wing and Jermaine Pennant on the right. Bruno Cheyrou and Iain Hume provided the attacking flair, with the deadly Florent Sinama-Pongolle the only striker.

To my dismay, Helmut Fleischer, the referee whose decisions had given Lyon almost three goals in our earlier match, was the referee. He was greeted with a chorus of boos from the sold out crowd, announced at 32,949. It seemed he was in better command today, and early yellow cards to Daniele Bonera and Zlatko Dedic of Parma won the crowd's approval. In the 16th minute, he awarded us a free kick just twenty yards from goal. Freddy Guarín's free kick curled perfectly around the wall, and against a lesser keeper might well have given us the lead, but Sébastien Frey made a brilliant diving save.

Parma were content to sit back, and much to my surprise I found us dictating the pace of the game. We had players sneaking forward, and were running up the time of possession. At least for now, Parma were content to play for a low-scoring game, hoping to hit us for a single goal rather than trying to overcome our away goals and risk conceding. Unfortunately, we were taking too many long-range efforts, either saved by Frey, or going over the bar.

At half-time I tried to curb that tendency, encouraging the lads to work possession more, and reminding them not to chase forward too much. Iain Hume had picked up a bit of a limp, and though he insisted he was okay to continue, I'd seen one too many shots golfed into the stands, and set Joe Newell on in his place.

That turned out to be the best decision I would make all afternoon. Parma started the second half a little more adventurously, especially pressuring Freddy Guarín, who was carrying a yellow card. They were finding the middle fairly well clogged, however, and in the 57th Danny Payne won a fifty-fifty ball, heading it forward to Jermaine Pennant. His short pass had Newell double-covered, but the 21-year-old slipped the pass between his two markers, giving Florent Sinama-Pongolle plenty of space in the arc. The French striker unleashed a fantastic 19-yard curler to make it 1-0!! The crowd were delighted, immortalizing his name in song.

With our aggregate lead, the Italians would need two goals. I shouted orders to defend, and sure enough Parma came forward aggressively. Time and again, they failed to penetrate inside our defense, limited again to long-range shots which always seemed off-target. With seventeen minutes remaining, I brought a tiring Pennant off for Victor Sikora. The Dutchman's fresh legs nearly paid a dividend on the 80-minute mark, as he raced unmarked to the back post. Joe Hamill's cross found his head, and only another stellar save from Frey denied Sikora his first goal of the season.

In the 82nd minute, Newell was again the creative force, working up the right side with Sikora despite tight attention from three defenders. When most players might have taken it to the corner to waste time, Newell instead chipped a short pass into the box. Sinama-Pongolle pounced. He drilled it first time, putting the ball out of reach to Frey's right, and putting the game out of reach as well!!

Hayden Foxe was struggling with his right ankle again. With a 2-0 lead, and Parma needing a three-goal salvo in the final ten minutes, I brought him off for Joe Keenan. Though the visitors began bombing everyone forward in desperation, they were unable to scratch the surface of the packed Sheffield area.

When Fleischer blew the final whistle, the crowd erupted in pandemonium: we were through to the Quarter-Final!!

Sheffield United 2, Parma 0

Sinama-Pongolle 57, 82; ----

MoM: Hamill

Sheffield United 5, Parma 3 (aggregate)

When I'd first signed Joe Newell, one of my biggest worries was that he would never be a creative force, that he would only be a shooter. His wonderful pair of assists, bringing his season total to eight, had assuaged that worry. In my opinion, he should have been Man of the Match, but that honour was instead awarded to Joe Hamill.

[Kairyu]

Grats!!! you certainly are getting up there with european power houses

[Amaroq]

Thanks!

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 19th March, 2011.

We'd reached the Quarter-Final of our third tournament of the season, and this time, there was no Chelsea we could draw. It was, instead, Romanian side Rapid Bucharest who were the reward for our success. A side full of Romania's international stars, they had beaten Parma in the group stages.

I was nervous that loans and injuries had depleted our U-18 side to such an extent that they would struggle against AFC Bournemouth U-18s in the Under-18s Cup Final, last night. My worries were assuaged when eventual Man of the Match Dave Moss was set free on a breakaway long ball from Danny Ryder on the half-hour mark for a 1-0 lead.

Our lads dominated possession through the rest of the match, and there seemed little chance that Bournemouth would claw the goal back. Any attack they did manage, Chris Brown dealt with well to keep the clean sheet. At the hour mark, right wing Ron Francis added a second goal, making the final score 2-0. It was the first time the lads had hoisted that trophy, and I was quite pleased for them. With many of our best youth out on loan, lifting the Cup signaled great strength from our youth programme.

They had another game the following day, a rough schedule in my eyes, against Tranmere U-18s. I expected fatigue to be a significant factor, but Dave Moss scored in the fifteenth minute to give our lads the lead. A red card to Alan Daly, who had been playing very poorly all match, complicated matters, but an own goal just before half-time made it 2-0. 16-year-old striker Neil Clarke netted two short-handed goals in the second half to earn Man of the Match honours, and make the final score a surprising 4-0.

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 20th March, 2011. Premier League - Game 31, at Bolton Wanderers.

While we'd been busy with Europe, we'd gotten help from Fulham, who had held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford thanks to Mido's second half goal. That left us only three points adrift going into Sunday's game against 17th-placed Bolton. We'd beaten Bolton twice already, 2-0 at Bramall Lane and 4-2 in the F.A. Cup. They'd lost four in a row, and six of their last seven, with only a draw to break the run. If we could add to their misery, we'd be back in the hunt for a Champions League berth.

I made wholesale changes, starting an entirely different eleven from the UEFA Cup side, as I wanted my best players rested for Chelsea on Wednesday. Chris Brown, still excited from his Under-18s Cup victory on Friday, started in goal. Sean Dillon was the most experienced defender, with Ben Hammond, Abubakar Shittu, and Benjamin Herzog comprising a youth team's worth across the rest of the back four. Mathieu Berson was the defensive midfielder, with Jonathan Forte on the left wing and Graham Allen on the right. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson made his 20th start of the year as the playmaker, partnered with Robert Cousins. Imre Szabics was the lone striker.

I'd expected a demoralized opposition, and sure enough, we seemed in complete control from the opening kickoff. Unfortunately, our killer instinct seemed to be lacking: though we were generating chances, they were primarily from long range, with Robert Cousins, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, and Mathieu Berson each blazing 20-yarders over the bar. Still, we were dominating the midfield, and Berson in particular seemed to stamp out any Bolton foray into our half. He was all over the pitch, playing as well as he ever had for us, and still seemed full of energy at halftime.

We drew ever closer to finding the breakthrough, with Bridge-Wilkinson striking the crossbar in the 50th minute. Bolton were back on their heels, but even that didn't stop Imre Szabics from a breakaway goal. Benjamin Herzog won a header in our zone, Graham Allen played it up for Cousins. The young midfielder launched a long ball. Szabics was one against three Bolton defenders, but only Júlio César got close to him, and the Hungarian made the veteran Brazilian miss his tackle in the box. From fifteen yards out, he launched a vicious shot past Craig Gordon to the far post for a 1-0 advantage!

If we'd expected Bolton to collapse, their confidence shattered, we were sadly mistaken, and Michael Carrick rallied his troops to bring the fight to us. There was little doing, as Berson, Herzog, and Sean Dillon played fine games in defense, keeping most of the white-shirted hosts away from Chris Brown in goal. Just before the 70th minute, I sent Joe Newell and Victor Sikora on for Brigde-Wilkinson and Allen, respectively. Though Newell breathed some life into the attack, Bolton hung tenaciously to life.

It was still 1-0 at the 85th minute, when we earned a throw-in deep on the left side. With Freddy Guarín unavailable, defenseman Ben Hammond scared me by coming far forward to take the throw, leaving only Abubakar Shittu in defense. However, Hammond made a great throw into the area, which Paul Stott, who had replaced Szabics, flicked on into the six. Robert Cousins pounced on the loose ball, and buried it beyond Gordon to give us a 2-0 lead.

Bolton looked shattered, with their supporters streaming for the exits we tightened our control. Just four minutes after Cousins scored, it was Jonathan Forte's turn, and again the creative Stott earned the assist. Herzog had again started the move with a header, which Sikora controlled. The Dutchman's fine pass put Stott into the area on the right side, and instead of shooting from a tough angle, he laid a long low ball through the area. Five Bolton defenders had clustered around the players threatening the near post, and Forte, coming in from way wide on the left, was unsighted and unmarked. He took one touch to settle, and still had time to hammer a hard low shot from ten yards. Gordon got a hand to it, but though he redirected it somewhat, it still found the back of the net, making the final score 3-0. It was Forte's first goal of the season.

Bolton 0, Sheffield United 3

----; Szabics 52, Cousins 85, Forte 89

MoM: Berson

It had been a surprisingly dominant victory from our number-two side, proving it the perfect time to start our fringe players. Mathieu Berson won Man of the Match for his tireless work in midfield, while Paul Stott had caught my eye with a pair of gorgeous assists in the waning minutes.

[Amaroq]

Monday, 21st March, 2011.

For his hard work, Mathieu Berson earned both Man of the Match honours and selection to the Premier League Team of the Week. It was enough to have me reconsider letting the 31-year-old go at the end of the season, especially as I hadn't found a suitable replacement. A quick call to his agent revealed that his salary demand was down significantly - he only wanted a doubling of his current salary, rather than the ridiculous four times increase he'd been requesting in January. It still struck me as insanely over-valued for a man who had started only fourteen games this season.

We gained a slight windfall - £130k - unexpectedly today, when Martin Edwards was transferred from Liverpool to League One side Brighton. A 20% sell-on clause in the defender's 2007 sale to Liverpool netted us a share of the £650k transfer fee.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 23rd March, 2011. F.A. Cup - Sixth Round, vs Chelsea.

For the sixth time in ten months, we would face Chelsea, the bane of our existence. Four straight titles, and five of the last six, had delighted their supporters, while Roman Abramovich's money and the ubiquitous Johnny-come-latelies who jumped on their bandwagon made them despised by "true" football fans - those of the other nineteen Premiership sides. Those who hated the Blues could take solace in the fact that, despite their League success, the side had seemed unable to overcome the final hurdle in Cup competitions, taking only one F.A. Cup and one League Cup. In the past two F.A. Cups, they had lost the Final, including a 2-0 defeat to us last May. They'd adequately avenged that since, beating us 2-1 in the Community Shield, 3-0 in the League Cup quarter-finals, and 2-1 in Premier League action. Our only face-saving encounter had been a 1-1 draw in their previous trip to Bramall Lane. Fortunately, injuries continued to weak havoc at Stamford Bridge, with Michael Ballack, Xabi Alonso, and Kapo sidelined for sure, and Tomas Rosicky, Aliaksandr Hleb, and Andrea Gasbarroni all doubtful.

Our first-string Cup lineup returned on six days' rest. Roy Carroll was back between the sticks, with Celestine Babayaro, David Rozehnal, captain Hayden Foxe, and 23-year-old Danny Payne filling out the back four. Freddy Guarín, as the holding midfielder, had been the lynchpin of the side this season. Joe Hamill on the left wing was having a phenomenal season, though Jermaine Pennant on the right had been a bit of a disappointment. Bruno Cheyrou was the aging playmaker, while Iain Hume provided a threat from long range. Florent Sinama-Pongolle, with 27 goals on 26 starts this season, was the lone striker.

Chelsea came out strong from the opening kickoff, their aggressive 4-5-1 controlling the midfield and generating the first chances. Roy Carroll saved the first shot, from Mateja Kezman, and we weathered ten minutes of pressure before creating a chance of our own. When we did, it was a doozy, a wicked 25-yard shot from Florent Sinama-Pongolle that would have reduced a lesser goalkeeper to tears, but Peter Cech coolly diverted it wide of the post with his fingertips.

In the 20th minute, we broke past the Chelsea midfield with a man advantage in the rush. John Terry almost stopped Iain Hume's pass, but it bounced crazily off his knee and into space, where Sinama-Pongolle pounced on it. He took it into the Blues' area, and tried to round Cech, but the wily Czech goalkeeper was not fooled, and again denied our leading scorer.

Two minutes later, Pablo Aimar had a chance at the other end, from out wide, but Roy Carroll tipped it over the bar. Another fine save from Cech stopped Sinama-Pongolle in the 25th minute, but even the best keeper in the world can't deny the Frenchman indefinitely, and we seemed to have solved the Chelsea midfield. In the 27th minute, Jermaine Pennant picked out Hume in space, some thirty yards from goal, and a wonderfully weighted pass from the Canadian split the Chelsea central defenders for Sinama-Pongolle. This time, he rounded Cech successfully, burying his shot into the back of the net from just twelve yards away, and 32,919 supporters erupted in joy at our 1-0 lead!

Chelsea cranked up the pressure, and Mateja Kezman was unlucky to catch side netting from 25 yards. Iain Hume came just as close at the other end, heading powerfully on goal from Joe Hamill's perfect cross, but Cech was a cinch for Man of the Match with his fifth world-class save of the afternoon. He held it to 1-0 through halftime, and Aimar nearly scored the equalizer in the opening seconds of the second half: his shot had Carroll beaten and was trickling across the line, but David Rozehnal hacked it off the goalmouth to save the lead.

In the 50th minute, Landon Donovan beat Danny Payne up the Chelsea left wing, to curl a cross through the box. Aliaksandr Hleb, playing injured, was there at the far corner of the six to volley home. I've always been a Donovan fan, from following the U.S. team and the San Jose Earthquakes, so it was doubly frustrating to see a man whom I'd tried to tempt to Sheffield create the equalizer against us. Still, it was 1-1, and we'd have to do it all over again.

After that, to my frustration, José Mourinho was willing to play for the draw and replay. Chelsea sat back, willing to soak up every ounce of pressure I could throw at them, and I couldn't risk too much with their attacking firepower. In the 70th minute, I put Victor Sikora on for a tiring Hamill, and in the 85th minute I let Joe Newell and Paul Stott replace Cheyrou and Hume, shifting to a 4-4-2.

Nothing seemed to help, and we finished with the same 1-1 draw that had obtained through most of the second half.

Sheffield United 1, Chelsea 1

Sinama-Pongolle 27; Hleb 51

MoM: Hume

Iain Hume's Man of the Match award was little consolation for our failure to take advantage of our home pitch. I'd desperately wanted to avoid a replay, considering our already packed fixture list.

If there was one bright side, it was that we had survived a Rob Styles match with only a pair of yellow cards.

[madog308]

the good times are rolling in!!

maby u could win a cup this year( i know its an ask but i think u might be able to do it with luck)

[Amaroq]

Friday, 25th March, 2011.

Chris Brown had, for once, not been on the bench for the Chelsea match. Instead, he was at Saltergate, where he was named Man of the Match in an evenly matched scoreless draw between Sheffield Reserves and Manchester United Reserves.

On Friday, qualifying for the European U-21 Championship resumed, with the first matches since October. England's Young Lions beat Cyprus, 4-0, keeping solid control of Group 5. Of the other home countries, only Ireland and Northern Ireland were active, and they both lost. Ireland U-21s were downed, 2-1, in Croatia, and Northern Ireland U-21s were beaten, 1-0, in Belgium.

The only player we had involved on the day was Benjamin Herzog, who played 80 futile minutes of Germany U-21s' 3-0 defeat in Bulgaria. Uwe Schneider was sent off in the tenth minute, leaving them shorthanded throughout the match, and they simply could not stop the home side a man down.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 26th March, 2011. F.A. Cup - Sixth Round Replay, at Chelsea.

Would the seventh time be a charm? Perhaps playing Chelsea on an international weekend would help us find our way past them, as most of their starting lineup was away with their international sides. Peter Cech, Glen Johnson, John Terry, Anthony Réveillère and Ricardo Carvalho were missing from their defense, as was backup goalkeeper Ben French. In attack, Mateja Kezman, Frank Lampard, Niko Kranjcar, and Jérémie Aliadière were away. With Kapo, Xabi Alonso, and now Gaël Clichy injured, their lineup looked dubious at best.

Our lineup was similarly decimated, however. 17-year-old Chris Brown would be starting in goal. Sean Dillon and Hayden Foxe anchored the defense, with Ben Hammond and Danny Payne filling out the back line. Ironman Freddy Guarín was the holding midfielder, and I thanked my lucky stars that Colombia hadn't had a match. Joe Hamill was the left wing, while Graham Allen replaced Pennant on the right. Bruno Cheyrou and Robert Cousins were partnered as the attacking midfielders, while 21-year-old Paul Stott got the start of his life as the lone striker.

Despite starting half of their youth side, including 16-year-old winger Mark Jackson, Chelsea took an early lead in the second minute. Landon Donovan was again the thorn in my side, curling a fabulous 25-yard strike which Chris Brown was unable to handle. The Stamford Bridge crowd of 40,970 were as awed as the 17-year-old goalkeeper. He could only pluck it out of the back of his net, shaking his head in amazement, as we contemplated an 0-1 deficit.

We had to push forward, to chase the game, and that opened up space in our decimated back row for Mista. His first two shots, though powerful, were off target, but I got the sense that he would break through if given a few more quality opportunities. In the 20th minute, Lúcio brought Paul Stott down, with his back to goal, just on the eighteen. It could have been a penalty, but instead was just a dangerous free kick and a yellow card for the Brazilian defender. Freddy Guarín, already carrying a yellow of his own, failed to take advantage of the opportunity, banging his shot off the wall.

Three minutes later, however, Stott took advantage of the inexperience in the Chelsea back line, receiving a wonderful ball from Robert Cousins in stride, making Andy Moore miss, and slotting it home past young goalkeeper David Burrows for his first-ever Sheffield United goal. He'd leveled it at 1-1!

Chelsea gave us some heart-stopping moments through the remainder of the first half, but Chris Brown made a one-on-one top against Landon Donovan, Sean Dillon blocked Jim Skelton's best effort, and a long-range volley by Skelton curled high and wide into the stands.

Just when it looked like we were going to escape to the intermission all level, Andrea Gasbarroni unleashed a firecracker from the eighteen. He struck it with the outside of his right foot, and curled it past Brown into the far corner of the net to give the home side a 1-2 halftime advantage.

Despite our best efforts, we were unable to find a reply in the first twenty minutes of the second half, and in fact 16-year-old Jackson came closest, squandering two golden opportunities by firing wildly. He'd looked fantastic getting into position, however, and I made a note to have Spencer look him over.

At the 64th minute, I shifted to a 3-5-2, with Iain Hume on as a striker in place of Dillon, and Victor Sikora replacing Graham Allen on the right wing. It was a calculated risk, and though I was terrified of Chelsea scoring while we were thus exposed, it paid off in the 76th minute. Sikora's long pass down the right wing stayed in bounds for Hume, who reached the end line, then cut it back for Paul Stott at the eighteen. It looked like a perfect shooting opportunity, and Burrows cheated forward a few steps to cut down Stott's angle. Instead, he passed back to Hume, who was held onside by Wayne Bridge, caught ball-watching. From the corner of the six, the Canadian's first touch was with the top of his boot, just redirecting the pass enough to curl it inside the near post. There wasn't much power on it, but Burrows was way out of position, and Hume's effort found the back of the net to level things at 2-2!

The final change I was allowed put Joe Keenan on for Bruno Cheyrou, dropping Hume back into midfield as I returned to the 4-5-1. Both sides had fine chances in the final ten minutes, as tired legs in defense left openings. Landon Donovan was still going strong, and Danny Payne couldn't keep up with him. Luckily, Hayden Foxe, Ben Hammond and Joe Hamill each got back to make saving tackles in the final minutes of regulations. At the other end, Stott had a breakaway robbed in the box by Dean Booth. Extra-time loomed, and after three frightening minutes of stoppage time, an extra thirty minutes was tacked on.

The frenetic pace calmed down as the two exhausted sides staggered towards penalties. Neither had a good chance for the first eight minutes of extra time, but in the 99th minute, Joe Hamill brought it up the left wing. The Chelsea midfield was too tired to track back, and Paul Stott's dummy run dragged Lucio out of the center. Hamill played it to Robert Cousins, moving into the vacated space, and he had acres of room to launch a 25-yard blast to the near post, putting us ahead for the first time all afternoon, 3-2!!

I would have been content with that, but in the 105th minute, Hamill struck again with a princely low pass to Paul Stott. His first touch, from just outside the arc, played it past Dean Booth, who had to pull out of the challenge or risk conceding a penalty. Suddenly, Stott was in the area, and he fired to the far post, netting his second of the game and giving us a 4-2 advantage!

I dropped the lads back to defend for the final fifteen minutes, with only Stott forward to keep Chelsea honest. The hosts were too tired to bring the game to us in the final minutes, and only a few veterans were putting in full effort as the game wound to a close.

Chelsea 2, Sheffield United 4

Donovan 2, Gasbarroni 45; Stott 23, 105, Hume 77, Cousins 99

MoM: Cousins

Though I knew I would have been protesting furiously if I were José Mourinho, stripped entirely of my star players by the international matches the lads celebrated the victory as heartily as they had our first win over Chelsea.

I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth - it still hadn't been easy. Regardless of any protests, we were through to the Semi-Final for the second year in a row!

Fantastic young midfielder Robert Cousins was Man of the Match, for the extra-time winner, though Paul Stott's performance had surely earned him honorable mention.

[Kairyu]

Very nice and lucky result at the same time ther have to lobbied to FA to have it rescheduled at international match time??

[Amaroq]

I think Mister Dooley has some connections..

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 27th March, 2011.

The European Championship Qualifying proper had been scheduled opposite our Replay, and a number of Sheffield United players were involved.

England travelled to Nicosia to take on Cyprus in Group 5. A pedestrian 4-4-2 was employed, and 25-year-old Aston Villa star Luke Moore scored the only goal, his fourth in just six international caps. Ashley Cole was Man of the Match, anchoring an England defense that limited Cyprus to just two shots.

Greece, idle, surrendered the lead, falling to second place.

In the other match, Georgia handed Kazakhstan a 3-2 defeat in Tbilisi, settling the question of who would bring up the tail of the group, at least for now.

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

1 England 9 3 0 0 7 2 + 5

2 Greece 7 2 1 0 5 3 + 2

3 Cyprus 4 1 1 1 5 4 + 1

4 Georgia 3 1 0 3 4 9 - 5

5 Kazakhstan 0 0 0 3 5 8 - 3</pre>

Group 6 leaders Scotland were idle, which caused them to surrender the lead when Croatia beat Ireland, 2-0. Ivica Olic and Igor Budan scored the goals in Zagreb, and Irish defender Anthony Gerrard was foolishly sent off in frustration during stoppage time.

Portugal recovered some of their damaged pride with a 2-0 win over the Faroe Islands in Lisbon. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring, and Hélder Postiga scored the second, leaving Portugal poised on the verge of renaissance in the group.

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

1 Croatia 7 2 1 0 5 1 + 4

2 Scotland 6 2 0 1 6 3 + 3

3 Portugal 5 1 2 0 4 2 + 2

4 Ireland 4 1 1 2 5 5 0

5 Faroe Islands 3 0 0 3 0 9 - 9</pre>

Wales, too, were idle, in Group 8. Italy pounded Malta, 3-0, with Parma striker Alberto Gilardino netting a brace, and Roma's Antonia Cassano scoring the other.

Belgium, meanwhile, defeated Northern Ireland, 1-0. Roy Carroll earned his 62nd cap in goal, but couldn't prevent Jonathan Blondel's goal in the sixth minute.

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

1 Italy 7 2 1 0 6 1 + 5

2 Belgium 7 2 1 0 5 3 + 2

3 Wales 4 1 1 1 5 4 + 1

4 Northern Ireland 4 1 1 2 4 5 - 1

5 Malta 0 0 0 3 1 8 - 7</pre>

In Group 1, France pounded Armenia, 7-0. Florent Sinama-Pongolle started, scored his third international goal, and added two assists, but it was Djibril Cissé who starred with four goals to earn Man of the Match. Nicolas Anelka and Patrick Vieira rounded out the scoring.

Serbia's 1-1 draw with Andorra kept them in second place, but Israel closed the gap with a 2-0 victory over Bosnia.

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

1 France 10 3 1 0 20 2 +18

2 Serbia & Montengro 8 2 2 0 5 3 + 2

3 Israel 7 2 1 1 7 4 + 3

4 Bosnia 3 1 0 3 3 7 - 4

5 Andorra 3 0 3 1 4 13 - 9

6 Armenia 1 0 1 3 4 14 -10</pre>

Holland vaulted into the lead of Group 2 with a 2-0 victory in Albania. Ruud van Nistelrooy keyed the victory with his 39th international goal, and Collins John scored the second late in the seond half.

Denmark, with a 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein, moved into second place with a game in hand over the Dutch.

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

1 Holland 7 2 1 1 9 1 + 8

2 Denmark 7 2 1 0 5 1 + 4

3 Ukraine 6 2 0 1 4 3 + 1

4 Albania 3 1 0 2 3 4 - 1

5 Liechtenstein 0 0 0 3 0 12 -12</pre>

David Marek Rozehnal captained the Czech Republic in their Group 3 heavyweight match in Chorzow. Milan Baros gave the Czechs an early lead, but when Tomas Ujfalusi was sent off, they had to last the entire second half with ten men. Poland winger Eusebiusz Smolarek clawed one back, but the brave Czech defense, anchored by Rozehnal and Peter Cech, held off for a 1-1 draw.

The other match also saw a red card, but Estonia had built a 3-1 lead before being reduced to ten men, and easily held FYR Macedonia off despite the disadvantage.

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

1 Czech Republic 7 2 1 0 4 1 + 3

2 Estonia 6 2 0 1 6 4 + 2

3 Poland 4 1 1 2 6 5 + 1

4 FYR Macedonia 3 1 0 2 3 5 - 2

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

Belarus surprised Switzerland, 3-1, in Group 4, to take an unexpected lead, while San Marino absolutely shocked Finland with a 2-1 win in Serraville. The result was their first competitive victory since 2008, when they'd achieved two in a row. Turkey, idle, fell to fourth, though a single result could catapult them into the group lead.

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

1 Belarus 6 2 0 1 6 4 + 2

2 Switzerland 6 2 0 2 5 6 - 1

3 Finland 4 1 1 1 5 5 0

4 Turkey 4 1 1 1 3 3 0

5 San Marino 3 1 0 2 3 4 - 1</pre>

Group 7 saw nothing but draws, with group leaders Sweden idle. Second placed Romania failed to beat Luxembourg, escaping with a 1-1 draw, while Slovakia and Lithuania drew 2-2.

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

1 Romania 7 2 1 0 6 2 + 4

2 Sweden 7 2 1 0 5 1 + 4

3 Slovakia 5 1 2 1 6 8 - 2

4 Lithuania 1 0 1 2 3 6 - 3

5 Luxembourg 1 0 1 2 3 6 - 3</pre>

Germany used goals by Torsten Frings and Miroslav Klose to beat Bulgaria, 2-1, though a second-half penalty by Chavdar Yankov saw the Bulgarians close the gap.

Austria kept pace with a 2-1 victory over Iceland, overcoming a first-half penalty with two second-half goals in Reykjavik.

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

1 Germany 9 3 0 0 10 1 + 9

2 Austria 6 2 0 1 4 5 - 1

3 Iceland 6 2 0 2 5 9 - 4

4 Moldova 3 1 0 2 4 5 - 1

5 Bulgaria 0 0 0 3 3 6 - 3</pre>

In Riga, Imre Szabics was the hero for Hungary, scoring in the 85th minute to erase Latvia's 1-0 lead, salvaging a 1-1 draw for the visitors. It was an incredible shot from fully 33 yards out, and was the 25th goal of the thirty-year-old's international career.

Azerbaijan got a miracle of their own, with a first-half goal over Russia. Despite being reduced to ten men in the second half, they held on for a 1-0 win over the heavily favored Russians.

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

1 Spain 7 2 1 0 5 3 + 2

2 Russia 6 2 0 2 6 3 + 3

3 Latvia 4 1 1 1 3 4 - 1

4 Azerbaijan 3 1 0 2 2 4 - 2

5 Hungary 2 0 2 1 2 4 - 2</pre>

In a match of much less import, our Under-18s beat Stockport U-18s in an ugly, injury-filled encounter at Saltergate. Dave Moss scored the only goal, just after the hour mark, in a 1-0 victory, but the match cost us fellow midfielder Martin Gray, whose sprained ankle would keep him off the pitch for over a month.

[Amaroq]

Monday, 28th March, 2011.

Disaster Strikes for Blades!

The headline just about told the story: Danny Payne fractured his wrist in training yesterday. It would rule him out through all of April, at a guess. With Keith McCormack also out for the season, and Kevin Price nursing a strained groin, that left only 18-year-old Benjamin Herzog and youth players James Hunter and Simon Gray at right back. I thought about recalling John Reid from Notts County, but decided not to - he wasn't eligible for the UEFA Cup games, anyways, and Price should be returning to action in a week or two.

On his 19th birthday, the 26th of March, the contract of striker Michael Cross had expired, and on Sunday he packed his locker and left the club. He'd never made an appearance for the senior side, but had nine goals and four asists in 34 games of Reserve and U-18 action, with an average rating of 7.03. Still, he never looked like threatening for a place beyond the youth level, as he lacks the natural pace to impress on that account, and his technical and mental game was very poorly developed.

Today, England Under-19s faced Sweden's U-19 side in London, with Gary Thomas and James Bradley in the starting lineup. Bradley excelled, playing all ninety minutes and terrorizing the Swedish defense with his pacey runs. It paid off with a key second-half goal in England's 2-1 victory.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 30th March, 2011.

On Tuesday, Chris Brown played a fine match in his ninth appearance for Wales Under-21s. The 17-year-old made two great saves against the Faroe Islands U-21 side in a 2-0 victory at The Racecourse Ground in Wrexham. David Richards and Gareth Jenkins, both 18-year-olds, scored the goals.

Wednesday was an international friendly date, and England played host to Sweden at Wembley. The same 4-4-2 was used, but appeared in much better form against Sweden than it had against Cyprus. The English midfield dominated, and Sweden managed only a single shot. Jermaine Jenas opened the scoring from the right wing in the fifteenth minute, a goal that held through most of the match. Substitute left wing John Kennedy, just 22 years of age, added insurance in the 73rd minute. He'd scored his first international goal in only his third cap, and England won 2-0.

Scotland played host to Imre Szabics and the Hungary side. The Glasgow crowd got a taste of Szabics's talents in the 12th minute, as despite close attendance from a Scottish defender he was able to take Sándor Torghelle's pass from the left and bury it. Torghelle, a former United player, was sent off for a second yellow card in the 65th minute - he continued to not impress me - and that allowed Scotland to get back into the game through Darren Fletcher. Though they tried for the winner through the final fifteen minutes, Hungary held on to earn a 1-1 draw.

Wales did not use any Sheffield United players - Jason Brown made his second start in goal, the most he'd had since 2007/08 - against Faroe Islands in Cardiff. Robert Earnshaw, Craig Bellamy, and Man of the Match John Oster scored first-half goals as the Dragons romped to an easy 3-0 victory.

Ireland had to travel to Chorzow to face Poland, and a John O'Shea own goal in the first half gave them an early deficit. The lyrically named Diarmuid O'Carroll, on as a substitute in only his second full international, scored the equalizer in the 66th minute, and the Irish held on for a wet 1-1 draw.

Northern Ireland had invited Luxembourg to Belfast, and an entertaining game ensued. Dean Sheils earned Man of the Match with two goals, but Roy Carroll failed to stop the only shot Luxembourg managed to put on target, and the outcome was in doubt until David Armstrong scored on his debut in the 69th minute. With the Peterborough striker an instant sensation, the Green and White had a 3-1 win.

Florent Sinama-Pongolle got some experience with the Amsterdam ArenA as France travelled to Ajax's home stadium to take on Holland. Sinama-Pongolle played the first half, but did not figure in Samir Nasri or Djibril Cissé's goals. Sébastien Frey was the Man of the Match as the Dutch tried desperately to get back into it in the second half, and France held on for a 2-0 victory.

Hayden Foxe and company played host to tiny Macau, an odd adjunct of the People's Republic of China, a 'Special Administrative Region' of similar status to Hong Kong. Foxe played 65 minutes of a 5-1 cakewalk, with Vincenzo Grella, another Parma player, scoring two goals, and Harry Kewell earning Man of the Match for Australia.

In Finland, Abubakar Shittu played the best international game of his career to date, going all ninety minutes of Nigeria's 2-0 shutout win over their hosts, and dominating on the ground. He was a bit weak in the air, perhaps, but his fellow defenders, including Celestine Babayaro, who also played 90, made up for it. Obefami Martins scored a first-half goal, and his second-half replacement Issah Eliakwu added the second.

From the West, Freddy Guarín scored his fourth international goal in as many games this season, finding the equaliser just after halftime to help Colombia to a 1-1 home draw against Germany. He was the best player on the Colombian side, going ninety minutes and erasing Kevin Kuranyi's first-half goal.

Finally, Iain Hume was the Man of the Match for Canada for their 1-0 victory in Bermuda. After Rob Friend's goal put the Canadians ahead in the third minute, Hume played solid defense and looked like the most dangerous player in attack, lasting ninety minutes and creating numerous opportunities which his teammates squandered.

In other scores, Spain beat the U.S.A. 2-0, and Italy walked over Japan 3-0.

With five games left to play in the Reserve season, Sheffield Reserves entered Wednesday's game neck and neck with Manchester United Reserves. Despite a goal by Craig Hunt, they conceded two, and went to halftime with a 1-2 deficit. Even the introduction of Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Robert Cousins in the second half couldn't inject life into the offense, and the lads lost by the same score. Luckily, Manchester lost 3-1 to Derby County Reserves, leaving the two sides level at 49 points with four games remaining.

[Amaroq]

Friday, 1st April, 2011.

With unexpected victories over Parma and Chelsea, there was a feeling of invincibility at Bramall Lane which infected even the normally dour board.

Due to the shortness of the month, with only two games played, the F.A. decided against awarding the usual 'Player of the Month' and 'Manager of the Month' awards.

With every club having played 31 games, there were seven remaining. We would face Middlesbrough, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Southampton, Manchester City, Everton, and Fulham, all teams whom I thought we could take three points from on a good day. Unfortunately, Manchester United's remaining schedule was even softer, including all three clubs from the relegation zone - Derby, Ipswich, and West Brom - with Charlton and West Ham at home. Our only real chance of gaining points against them would come early in the month of April, as their next two games were Tottenham and Blackburn.

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

1 Chelsea 76 24 4 3 67 18 +49

2 Liverpool 65 20 5 6 53 22 +31

3 Arsenal 62 19 5 7 72 39 +33

4 Manchester United 58 16 10 5 57 31 +26

5 Sheffield United 58 16 10 5 49 33 +16

6 Newcastle United 52 16 4 11 66 53 +13

7 Fulham 49 12 13 6 44 36 + 8

8 Blackburn 48 13 9 9 51 42 + 9

9 Manchester City 46 13 7 11 49 40 + 9

10 Tottenham 40 10 10 11 42 42 0

11 Aston Villa 40 10 10 11 40 42 - 2

12 Middlesbrough 40 11 7 13 34 38 - 4

13 Southampton 38 10 8 13 42 48 - 6

14 West Ham United 33 9 6 16 46 70 -24

15 Charlton Athletic 32 8 8 15 50 63 -13

16 Everton 29 5 14 12 30 45 -15

17 Bolton 25 7 4 20 31 68 -37

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

18 West Brom Albion 22 4 10 17 28 52 -24

19 Ipswich Town 19 3 10 18 23 50 -27

20 Derby County 17 3 8 20 13 55 -42</pre>

On the leading scorers table, Mateja Kezman and Thierry Henry were starting to run away with it. Focused on our Cup and Continental schedule, Florent Sinama-Pongolle was falling further adrift, and now looked in danger of missing out on the top ten entirely.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1 Mateja Kezman 19 Chelsea Serbia & Montenegro

2 Thierry Henry 17 Arsenal France

3 = James McFadden 15 Newcastle United Scotland

3 = Paul Gallagher 15 Blackburn Scotland

5 Claudio Pizarro 14 Arsenal Peru

6 = Nicolas Anelka 13 Charlton Athletic France

6 = Dimitris Papadopolous 13 Manchester City Greece

8 = Florent Sinama-Pongolle 12 Sheffield United France

8 = Robbie Keane 12 Tottenham Ireland

8 = Jonathan Stead 12 Fulham England</pre>

Financially, March had been a complete delight. Buoyed by prize monies from the F.A. Cup, UEFA Cup, and U-18 Cup, plus the television revenues and gate receipts from our deep UEFA Cup run, we'd had our best month of the season, turning a profit of £1.2M. The reduced our net operating loss for the season to date down to £9.3M thus far this season, and built the bank budget up to £16.7M. With the Premiership television revenues yet uncharged against the books, we were looking likely to turn a solid profit for the year as a whole.

I gave some of that money away, as Coach Phil Hogg accepted a new contract offer, which should see him remain at the club through 2016. It took a large raise, making him one of our highest-paid coaches, but he's one of the best on the staff, so I felt it thoroughly worthwhile.

We continued to have a difficult schedule, however. The F.A. Cup Semi-Final had been announced for April 20th, which gave us the following schedule:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 2- 4 Premiership H Middlesbrough

7- 4 UEFA Cup H Rapid Bucharest

10- 4 Premiership A Aston Villa

14- 4 UEFA Cup A Rapid Bucharest

17- 4 Premiership A Newcastle

20- 4 F.A. Cup N Manchester City

23- 4 Premiership H Southampton</pre>

It was all our own doing, of course - if we'd simply given up on either the UEFA Cup or the F.A. Cup earlier, we wouldn't have this difficulty while trying to reach the Champions League places, but we were victims of our own success. Getting up to fourth would give us a chance to qualify for the Champions League, and finishing fifth, or winning the F.A. Cup, would see us qualify for the UEFA Cup again next season.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 2nd April, 2011. Premier League - Game 32, vs Middlesbrough.

Twelfth in the Premiership, with more defeats than victories and a negative goal differential was not where Middlesbrough fans expected to be after placing 3rd in the Premiership and winning the League Cup two seasons ago. Those achievements had been under the reign of Graeme Souness, but when he placed ninth last year, and started out this season tenth by then end of December, the board fired him. New manager David Platt hadn't been able to turn things around. A goal-scoring drought for leading scorer Dean Ashton hadn't helped, and 'Boro came to Bramall Lane on a three-game losing streak.

To face them, I had Roy Carroll returning in goal after his disappointing international sojourn. Sean Dillon, David Rozehnal, and Hayden Foxe provided experience across the defensive line. Benjamin Herzog slotted into the right back role, the 18-year-old making only his fifth start of the season. Mathieu Berson made his 15th as the defensive midfielder, coming off that strong performance against Bolton, and Jonathan Forte and Graham Allen were the wingers. Bruno Cheyrou was the playmaker, with Joe Newell getting a rare start as his partner due to all the international action. Florent Sinama-Pongolle was the lone striker, looking to build on his team-leading goal tally.

The game appeared very evenly matched through the opening going, but in the 12th minute a crunching tackle from American defender Carlos Bocanegra left Florent Sinama-Pongolle writhing on the ground, clutching his arm. He was stretchered off, and I had to insert Imre Szabics.

With Rob Styles the referee, for our third straight match, I was shocked that Bocanegra didn't get a card or a sending off for the violent tackle. A serious injury is always unsettling, and it seemed to throw the lads off their game for almost a quarter hour. Anthony Vanden Borre's header just over the bar was a wake-up call, and by the half-hour mark we seemed to have recovered.

In the 35th minute, Sean Dillon's cross from the left side was only partially cleared, falling to Bruno Cheyrou just outside the box. The veteran Frenchman unleashed a powerful volley just wide of Paul Gallacher's net. That should have served notice to the Middlesbrough defense, but three minutes later Jonathan Forte was allowed space to whip a cross in from the left. Szabics met it at the six with an oustanding diving header that left Gallacher no chance, and the Bramall Lane crowd celebrated a 1-0 lead.

Graham Allen nearly made it two, blazing over the bar from sixteen yards, but we had to be satisfied with a one goal advantage at the break. I left the lads in an attacking frame of mind, and it nearly paid off in the early stages of the second half, with Cheyrou denied only by Bocanegra's last-ditch tackle, and Forte blazing a volley wide of the far post from twenty-odd yards.

By the hour mark, it seemed clear that Middlesbrough would have to chase the game, and I instructed the lads to play our conservative counter game. The visitors didn't seem to have the creativity to crack our five-man midfield, however, and were unable to threaten.

In the 66th minute, Sean Dillon unleashed a gorgeous sixty-yard pass which curled beyond everybody. Bruno Cheyrou, showing pretty good speed for a 32-year-old, outraced Vanden Borre to reach it, and with one cool touch flicked it past Gallacher to make it 2-0.

When Joe Newell picked up a yellow card for a tackle which left Jerko Leko unable to continue, I decided to bring him off, putting Marc Bridge-Wilkinson on in his place. Victor Sikora replaced Graham Allen on the right wing as well, and we settled back to defend out the final twenty minutes.

In the 90th minute, Middlesbrough winger Franck Queudrue was sent off for hacking down Bridge-Wilkinson on the right sideline, his second yellow of the game, but Middlesbrough hadn't appeared threatening even with eleven men, and with them down to ten the game was clearly decided.

Sheffield United 2, Middlesbrough 0

Szabics 38, Cheyrou 66; ----

MoM: Forte

The lads showed a quiet satisfaction with the match, after, and I was disappointed to notice that Chairman Dooley hadn't come down to visit with them - he must not be feeling well.

I wasn't either - though Jonathan Forte had been Man of the Match, I'd seen our key striker carted off with what looked like a broken wrist.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 6th April, 2011.

There was good news and bad news after the match. I took the good news first - and it turned out to be the more important. Though we'd worried about another broken bone, x-rays showed that Florent Sinama-Pongolle's injury was merely a sprained wrist. He'd be ruled out of the home leg of our tie with Rapid Bucharest - which meant the only striker on the 25-man roster was Imre Szabics - but he should be available for the second leg.

The bad news was that Manchester United had won their tie, 2-0, at Tottenham. That might have been the toughest game remaining on their schedule. I could easily imagine them winning their last six, which would condemn us to fifth place at best.

Young striker David Fleming returned to training Monday, after missing five months with a fractured skull. I'd intended to give him the Under-18s starting striker role this year as a chance to prove himself and develop, but now he was set back a full year, and I worried that he might never reach a level to compete for a spot on the team, despite his great finishing ability.

The first leg of the Champions League Quarter-Finals took place on Wednesday. There were four English teams remaining, and they had drawn each other as quarter-final opponents.

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea played host to Arsenal in a London derby. After a scoreless first half, the Premier League leaders exploded in the second with goals from Pablo Aimar, Andrea Gasbarroni, and Mateja Kezman giving them a credible 3-0 lead before the return match.

Newcastle United hosted Manchester United at Saint James's Park, and between Francesc Fabregas in the first and Craig Bellamy in the second, they took a two-goal lead. In the 70th minute, Alan Smith scored a vital away goal for the Red Devils, closing the gap to 2-1, and that was how it stood for the Old Trafford leg.

Inter Milan had drawn tournament favorites Bayern Munchen. The Italians survived Arjen Robben's sending off at the San Siro when Diomansy Kamara pounced on Martin Schulz's mis-play, scoring a short-handed goal to give Inter a 1-0 victory.

Barcelona and Roma played a wild and wooly one at the Nou Camp. Juan Riquelme had given the hosts the lead just before halftime, but midfielder Andrés Iniesta was sent off early in the second half. Alberto Aquilani equalised for Roma in the 82nd minute, but then Samuel Eto'o exploded for three short-handed goals in a five minute span to send the 90,000-strong Nou Camp crowd into ecstasy. Their joy could not even be diluted when Daniele Corvia clawed one back in the 88th minute for a 4-2 final.

[Amaroq]

Thursday, 7th April, 2011. UEFA Cup - Quarter Final, First Leg, vs Rapid Bucharest.

Romania's 2003 Champions had been perennial bridesmades to their local rivals, Dinamo Bucharest, over the past seasons, with four straight second-place finishes. Their steadily improving team had done better in the UEFA Cup each time, getting knocked out by Lazio in the First Round in 2006, losing to Maribor in the Qualifying Rounds in 2007, and losing to Croatian side NK Dinamo in the First Round in 2008. Last year they had beaten AEK Athens to qualify for the Group stages, advanced through a challenging group with wins over Dortmund and Club Brugge, knocking out Celtic in the knockout stages before losing to Trabzonspor in the 2nd Knockout Round. This year, their path had been easier, with wins over Dinamo Tbilisi and Stabæk IF placing them in the group stages. They swept their group in perfect fashion, conceding not a single goal in four victories, over Odense Boldklub, Amica Wronki, our old friends Parma, and Slavia Prague. They'd beaten Spanish side Athletic Club in both legs of their First Knockout Round victory, before Austrian side FC Pasching had given them their biggest challenge - Rapid had won 2-0 at home, but took advantage of the away-goal rule with a 1-3 defeat in Austria doing just enough to see them through to the Quarter Final.

I tried to end their streak of success with a lineup that, as usual, started with Roy Carroll in goal. Celestine Babayaro, David Rozehnal, Hayden Foxe, and Benjamin Herzog formed the defense, the wall at the back of my usual 4-5-1. A well-rested midfield consisted of Freddy Guarín in the holding role, Joe Hamill and Jermaine Pennant on the wings, Bruno Cheyrou as the playmaker, and on-fire Iain Hume as the long-range shooter. Imre Szabics replaced the injured Sinama-Pongolle as the lone striker.

Tactically, it was a classic case of attacking versus the counter-attack, but our role was reversed from the norm. It was we who were attacking, and Rapid trying to counter with a 4-4-2, pushing the wingers into the attack as quickly as they could. It nearly paid off with a spot kick early on; captain Hayden Foxe was lucky in the 6th minute not to draw a penalty. His yellow-card foul was spotted just outside of the box, and Freddy Guarín dealt with both the resulting free kick and the subsequent corner. It did signal the start of a worrying spate of bookings, however, and by the time striker Alexandru Anghel drew one for Rapid in the 20th minute, four of our players had yellow cards.

Romanian goalkeeper Dorel Ene was playing very well. He saved Jermaine Pennant's breakaway, letting the winger close to within eight yards before rushing out, and then denied Bruno Cheyrou from fourteen yards a minute later. In the 28th minute, Rapid left back Ovidiu Niculae launched a long ball for Anghel. In the arc, Anghel knocked it ahead of himself with his right hand. He rushed after the ball into the area, looking for the breakthrough goal, only to hear the whistle blown. He might not have been booked had he just turned away from it, but since he deliberately used the hand-ball to his advantage, referee Urs Meier brought out the second yellow and sent him off!

The Bramall Lane crowd, numbering 28,324, were overjoyed: we had sixty minutes to try and build an insurmountable advantage before the second leg. Imre Szabics nearly started us off in the 33rd minute, towering over the defense to head Guarín's long throw goalward. Ene, at full stretch, tipped it around the post, and the Hungarian couldn't quite believe it. The visitors were falling back into something nominally a 5-3-1, but all ten men retreated to at least the penalty arc whenever we had the ball, so I could tell there was no point keeping four defenders on the pitch.

I took advantage of the halftime pitch to protect Hayden Foxe, putting Joe Newell on the pitch in his stead, and giving the captain's armband to David Rozehnal. Newell took an attacking midfield role, with Iain Hume pushed up alongside Szabics as a striker in the 3-5-2. This immediately got Guarín more involved in the attack - with one more player forward, there was just that bit more space, and the second half was just five minutes old when he unleashed a terrific 20-yard curler. Ene again tipped it around the post, but it looked simply a matter of time.

That time was ticking away, however, and it was past the hour mark before our next chance. Joe Hamill knocked a nice ball down the line for Szabics, who centered for Hume. Ene fisted the ball away, but only as far as Joe Newell, spinning to unleash a powerful volley as the ball reached waist height. Unluckily for the young midfielder, the shot cannoned off of defender Tudorel Grigore, spinning crazily away, and nothing came of what had been our best chance so far.

In the 74th minute, a long Freddy Guarín throw found the head of Imre Szabics. Ene proved up to the task again, clutching it to his chest. His long clearance carried over everyone, and might have given substitute forward Dumitru Rus a breakaway chance, had David Rozehnal not handballed. Already carrying a yellow for an earlier trip, he was very lucky not to be sent off, and the Romanians argued the point for almost a minute, backing down only when Meier brought out the yellow for them, instead, and was clearly threatening to send off another player.

I took advantage of the break in the action to introduce fresh legs, namely Victor Sikora and Scott Allen for Hamill and Pennant on the wings. It seemed to make no difference - Rapid had completely abandoned the pretense of a striker and were looking to escape with a draw. Their packed defense was difficult to penetrate, but in the 84th minute Szabics played a brilliant ball through the legs of his defender. It put Bruno Cheyrou in the box with a perfect opportunity, and the Frenchman took his best shot. A top-flight save from Dorel Ene maintained the shutout, and Grigore removed the rebound, putting it well into the crowd.

Injury time came, lingered, and went, and the game finished still scoreless.

Sheffield United 0, Rapid Bucharest 0

----; ----

MoM: Ene (Rapid Bucharest GK)

I was disappointed that we'd let our guests kill off their away leg while playing an hour with ten men, but there was little to be done about it save to be better prepared for our trip to Romania.

[Kairyu]

Hope you put up some stories soon Amaroq

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 9th April, 2011.

We would be making that trip without David Rozehnal or Freddy Guarín. Both key players, they had each collected their third yellow card in the UEFA Cup, and an automatic one-match ban.

Today's Premier League matches didn't go our way - Manchester United defeated 7th-placed Blackburn 2-0 at Old Trafford, with Morten Gamst Pedersen and Wayne Rooney scoring the goals.

Kevin Price, a 17-year-old Welshman who can play right back, returned to training today. He'd been out for a month with the strained groin, which had been particularly worrying as he'd had surgery to repair a torn groin earlier in the season, but at the moment he was my only cover for Benjamin Herzog. We would try to work him up to match fitness in time to give the German a rest, if we could.

[Amaroq]

Is that soon enough for you?

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 10th April, 2011. Premier League - Game 33, at Aston Villa.

A run of four consecutive victories had seen Villa climb up to 10th in the Premier League, the highest they'd been since early in the season, and that seemed to validate the selection of Alan Curbishley to manage back in January. They'd been 3rd in the Premiership three seasons ago, but it had taken the next two seasons combined to equal that season's 23-win total, and placings of 15th and 8th had cost two managers their jobs. We'd beaten them 4-0 in our last visit to Birmingham, but a scoreless draw was the result of this year's game at Bramall Lane.

Roy Carroll started in goal. Sean Dillon made his 15th start at left back, with David Rozehnal and Hayden Foxe anchoring the central defense. Benjamin Herzog remained the only option at right back. Since Freddy Guarín was ineligible for the UEFA Cup match, I figured he could play on three days' rest for this one. Jonathan Forte and Graham Allen were the wingers, while up front I omitted Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, instead pairing youngsters Robert Cousins and Joe Newell behind Paul Stott, leaving us an attack without any veteran leadership at all.

Just 52 seconds into the match, I was regretting that decision. An early whistle gave us a free kick from 45 yards out, and Freddy Guarín's ball was headed clear. Villa captain Daniel Bierofka collected the loose ball just a step before Benjamin Herzog could reach it, and he played the ball forward into the space the German fullback had vacated. Darius Vassell, still a speedster at 30 years of age, raced into the acres of space. Before David Rozehnal could close the gap, he was into the area, and from wide left, near the side of the box, he fired a left-footed shot back to the far post. It was a narrow angle, and the effort left Vassell falling away, but the ball somehow curled in around Roy Carroll, shocking us and giving the crowd of 42,566 an early goal to cheer.

Bierofka was absolutely dominating Herzog and Graham Allen along our right side, and with the crowd in full voice encouraging him, he tore shreds through us time and again. Twice he set Vassell into space, only to see desperation tackles from Rozehnal, and Bierofka had two chances to score himself. Once, his cross looked to be drifting in, but Sean Dillon hacked it off the line, and the other time Bierofka got around Herzog to dribble into the area, only to drive his shot over the bar. Finally, I shouted orders to focus our passing down the left side, at least forcing Villa to cross the pitch if they wanted to get it to their dangerous winger.

That seemed to slow them down, and in fact it generated a great chance in the 32nd minute. Joe Newell's pass played Paul Stott into space on the left. Morgan De Sanctis came off his line to cut down the 20-year-old's angle, and made the save. Six minutes later, Stott had an even better chance, again set up by Newell. The midfielder took a long range shot, which De Sanctis could only push away. The rebound fell to the young striker, but the Italian made a fabulous double-save to deny Stott the pleasure of scoring against his former side.

At halftime, though Newell had looked dangerous, I felt I needed to add a veteran, and I brought him off for Imre Szabics, switching to a 4-4-2. Twelve minutes into the half, Graham Allen's fine ball over the top forced Jean-Alain Boumsong to bring Stott down. The Frenchman took an automatic yellow for the cynical foul, and Freddy Guarín lined up the free kick thirty-four yards from goal. Szabics distracted De Sanctis with a well-timed dummy towards the left side, and when Guarín shot, he curled it into the top right corner. It was an incredible shot, but had De Sanctis not started towards Szabics, he might well have prevented the 1-1 equaliser.

I brought us back to a 4-5-1, pulling Stott off for veteran midfielder Marc Bridge-Wilkinson. He had only been on for two minutes when his creativity was evident, as he received Jonathan Forte's pass in the center of the pitch, and knocked an excellent through ball for Szabics. De Sanctis made a fantastic save from nine yards to keep the scores level. Bridge-Wilkinson would not be denied, however, and three minutes later he again put a fine ball to Szabics's feet, this time in the center of the park just beyond the tip of the arc. One touch brought it into the arc, and the Hungarian struck high and hard towards goal. De Sanctis failed to lay a hand on it, and we took a 2-1 lead!

Villa had to chance chasing the game, and I pulled back to our countering style. Attack after attack poured up the left side through Daniel Bierofka, who looked like a world-beater. In desperation, I finally pulled Allen off for Victor Sikora, hoping the veteran would be better able to control the German.

He wasn't - but it wasn't Bierofka who provided the telling blow. Villa were bombing everyone forward, and in the 83rd minute Steed Malbranque danced past Jonathan Forte on their right wing. He sent a long ball forward for Nyron Nosworthy. Normally a fullback, the 6-year Villain had been thrown up as a forward in desperation, and had gotten a half step on David Rozehnal in central defense. He had only the narrowest of spaces between Rozehnal and Foxe, and used it to sidestep the onrushing Carroll and put it away. He cavorted in delight: his first goal for Villa, and the first Premiership goal of his career, had given his team a late equaliser at 2-2.

I tried to send players forward, but wound up simply leaving space for Darius Vassell - we were lucky his shooting hadn't improved with age, and he blazed over from twenty yards in the 89th minute.

Seconds later, Boumsong's long ball put substitute Dong Fanghzuo through our offsides trap. The Chinese striker had a step on Rozehnal, and had Roy Carroll not come well off his line to take it off his feet, we would have lost the match. The rebound fell to Bierofka, who tried to play Malbranque into perfect position rather than shooting himself, and Sean Dillon was able to save the game with a sliding tackle at the six, clearing the danger and preserving the draw.

Aston Villa 2, Sheffield United 2

Vassell 1, Nosworthy 83; Guarín 57, Szabics 63

MoM: Bierofka (Villa ML)

It was a very frustrated attitude in the changing room afterwards: the lads were keenly aware that we can't afford to concede points in the waning minutes at this stage of the season. I was worried at how poor we'd looked on the right side - Herzog had seemed out of his depth against Daniel Bierofka, and with Keith McCormack and Danny Payne both injured, there was no better choice to man the right back position.

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 13th April, 2011.

David Fleming made his first start since fracturing his skull in the Sheffield United U-18's wet match at Wrexham. The sides exchanged free kicks in the opening half hour, with eventual Man of the Match Craig Hunt drilling one for United, and then Fleming scored his first goal of the season in the final moments of the half to give our lads a 2-1 halftime lead. Frustrated after the side had conceded an equaliser, unimpressive defensive midfielder Alan Daly argued his way into two yellow cards in the space of ten seconds. When Wrexham U-18's took advantage of the extra man to score a winner, making it 2-3, I was thoroughly unimpressed.

The next day, I summoned the youngster to my office, and fined Daly a week's wages. He felt it was unfair, but I won't tolerate arguing your way into a red card. He had just turned 17, and I had always been debating whether to offer him a full contract - this, I told him, hadn't helped his case. Though I wouldn't tell him as much, honestly he simply hasn't impressed, given ample time to do so, and I agree with Roy Houghton's assessment that he won't ever amount to a sufficient player for us. He looks like he should find a home somewhere in the lower leagues, and I suspect I'll be releasing him on a free transfer.

On Monday, I turned my attention to a different matter: scout Dave Colley's contract was expiring at the end of next season, and I didn't want to take any chances on losing him. He'd been a key man for us, thus far, and I offered a solid signing bonus if he would renew his contract through June of 2016. He agreed, and with both he and Spencer Field committed to the long-term, I knew my scouting team was in good hands as I packed the team off for Romania.

We traveled on Tuesday, flying non-stop on a charter, a flight of over three hours. Derek Dooley traveled with the team, telling me he wouldn't miss it for the world. In fact, he made me talk strategy with him all afternoon - he wasn't too happy that I told him I'd be content with a 1-1 draw, as that would see us through on away goals. He was pleased with my theory that we could win in the air; for the first time I found myself missing Noel Hunt's dominant aerial presence.

Wednesday evening, I relaxed in my hotel room, watching the Champions League matches. Here, of course, the all-England games weren't as interesting as they are at home, and I found myself treated to Bayern Munich hosting Inter Milan.

The Italians had a 1-0 advantage from the first leg, and they held doggedly to it through the first half. By the hour mark, they seemed content to defend entirely, and Bayern was dominating posession. The equaliser came on Bastien Schweinsteiger's majestic 30-yard effort in the 66th minute. Inter still seemed content to play for a draw, and it was dawdling on the ball in their own half that did them in. Bosnian fullback Hasan Salihamidzic forced a turnover from Obefami Martins deep on the Inter right, and played a fine ball into the box for Roque Santa Cruz. My favorite forward buried the shot past Maarten Stekelenberg, and Bayern led 2-1 on aggregate. Inter was forced to attack, and in the 80th minute Marco Laurenza's tackle just outside his own 18 turned into an instant counter-attack when it fell straight to Schweinsteiger. He launched a long ball for Torsten Frings, and it was a 3-on-2 breakaway for the Germans. Santa Cruz was the unmarked man, and Frings weighted a perfect pass to hit him in stride. The talented Paraguay forward finished off his brace, putting the final nail in the coffin for a comprehensive 3-0 Bayern victory, knocking Inter out on a 3-1 aggregate.

Chelsea started the second leg of the London derby with a 3-0 lead, and added an away goal by Tomas Rosicky in the first minute to put Arsenal in deep trouble. Ivica Olic clawed one back for the home side, but a brace by Pablo Aimar made it 6-1 by the 21st minute, and the tie was all but over. Olic added one more before halftime, but Chelsea killed off the second half to win both the match 3-2 and the tie on a 6-2 aggregate.

Manchester United trailed Newcastle United 1-2 after the first leg, but exploded for four goals in the first half to reverse the aggregate. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring, and then Alan Smith scored a hat-trick, capping it off with his 75th goal for the Red Devils, to blow the game wide open. Purhcasing him from Leeds for £7M in 2004 was looking like pure genius at this point. Fernando Cavenaghi's injury-time goal for the Magpies was meaningless, allowing them to assuage their pride, but a 4-1 final had made for a 5-3 aggregate win which delighted the Old Trafford crowd.

Barcelona's match in Rome turned ugly, and by the end four players had been stretchered off. Antonio Cassano started things with a goal for Roma, which made the aggregate 4-3 in Barcelona's favor, but when he picked up an injury in the 11th minute, the crowd and the home players saw it as retribution. Javier Saviola's brace put the result almost out of doubt, 6-3 after thirty minutes, and Roma began what can only be called a campaign of horror tackles. The referee had completely lost control of the match by the time Sidney Govou and Juan Riquelme were injured without a card awarded, and even a penalty award (Samuel Eto'o converted to make it 7-3) couldn't stem the tide. Francesco Totti's goal in the 75th minute will always be forgotten - it came at the expense of goalkeeper Victor Valdés, whose collision with José De la Cuesta had ruptured his achilles tendon. The debate would rage for weeks whether it had been intentional, but the result ended Valdés's season, and seemed destined to send Barcelona into a tailward spiral despite their 3-2 win and 7-4 aggregate.

I had trouble falling asleep, with the deciding leg of our UEFA Cup Quarter Final looming on the morrow.

[Amaroq]

Thursday, 14th April, 2011. UEFA Cup - Quarter Final, Second Leg, vs Rapid Bucharest.

Bucharest, situated on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River, is a beautiful city, and though we were loving the visit to the south of Romania, we would need a triumph on the pitch to truly enjoy it. An away goal and a draw would suffice to see us through against the Romanian side, but we would have to do it without star midfielder Freddy Guarín or key defenseman David Marek Rozenhal, both suspended for their yellow cards in the first leg.

Roy Carroll remained in goal despite a poor performance against Villa. Starting youngsters Ben Hammond and Benjamin Herzog together worried me, but Celestine Babayaro and Hayden Foxe would provide some experience in the back, and veteran Mathieu Berson added his own. Joe Hamill and Jermaine Pennant were the wingers. Bruno Cheyrou was the playmaker, partnered with Iain Hume, and Florent Sinama-Pongolle returned from injury as the lone striker.

9,590 Romanian fans were singing their hearts out on a delightful spring afternoon. To my great joy, we had Pierluigi Collini as our referee. Unfortunately, Rapid goalkeeper Dorel Ene was up to his standard from the previous game. Florent Sinama-Pongolle found out just how good he is in the 8th minute, when his fine shot was kept out by the brilliant goalkeeper. At the other end, Roy Carroll got to show off his wares as well, acrobatically tipping Adrian Panã's header over the bar.

Aside from those two moments, however, the game was fairly tentative in the first twenty minutes, each side feeling the other out, and determined not to concede the first goal. I had left the lads with the freedom to attack, however, and in the 23rd minute Iain Hume launched a long ball over the Romanian's defense. The speedy Sinama-Pongolle flashed beyond them as Dorel Ene came out beyond his eighteen. For a moment he hesitated, as though hoping to let it roll to where he could pick it up, but then he decided the French striker was too close. He tried to clear, but should have put it out of play rather than straight up the pitch. The Frenchman leaped in the way, and the ball clattered off his shins, rolling free in the area. His momentum carried him past Ene in the air, and he landed in a full run. He collected it at the corner of the six, and tapped home into the empty net, giving us that vital away goal and the 1-0 lead!

I gave the orders to fall back and defend, letting only our three attacking players have the freedom to range forward. We dodged a bullet on the half hour, when fullback Ovidiu Niculae's thirty-yard free kick skimmed over the bar. Hayden Foxe and Celestine Babayaro showed the value in experienced defenders, as they both headed clearances out of our danger zone, and in general were playing very well. Shortly before the half, we caught Rapid too far forward after a corner, and it was a 3-on-2 breakaway the other direction. Sinama-Pongolle drew one defender to him, then passed for Iain Hume. The other defender had to close with the Canadian, who laid it left for Bruno Cheyrou at the eighteen. It was a golden opportunity, but the French veteran blasted it over the bar, and it remained 1-0 at the half.

By the 60th minute, Rapid, needing to score twice, had pushed extremely far forward. It was creating plenty of chances on the counter, while our defense looked as solid as ever. On 70 minutes, I brought Sinama-Pongolle and Hume off for Imre Szabics and Joe Newell, respectively. Fearing extra-time, I held one substitution in reserve. Newell almost scored immediately, lightly stepping past Daniel Munteanu into the area and firing, but Ene blocked it out, barely turning it into the side netting.

In the 75th minute, a gorgeous give-go through the middle of the pitch saw Szabics use Cheyrou as a wall, the Frenchman's return putting the Hungarian through on goal. Ene charged off his line, sliding into Szabics's legs to knock the ball away at the penalty spot. The rebound skittered right to Jermaine Pennant, on the eighteen. He should have shot on the open goal, but instead he tried to cross to Joe Hamill, who was charging towards the far post. Those split seconds were enough for the Romanian defense to cover for their stranded keeper, and though Hamill's header was on target, Munteanu was at the post to head it off the line.

Ene's heroics weren't done yet, and in the 81st minute, Newell took advantage of the overextended Rapid defense with a long run down the right. He centered low for Szabics, who turned and shot first-time from the eighteen. Ene made a great save, diving to his right to push it away, but the rebound carried to Cheyrou, who fired back to his left. Ene got to that, too, a diving double-save right at the post - he had certainly earned a place on my shortlist with this performance.

Rapid weren't particularly threatening, and never looked likely to beat Roy Carroll. He made two easy saves in the final minutes, both on long-range efforts that hardly troubled him, and finished the day with four saves and a clean sheet. We were through to the Semi-Final!

Rapid Bucharest 0, Sheffield United 1

----; Sinama-Pongolle 23

MoM: Hamill

Rapid Bucharest 0, Sheffield United 1 (aggregate)

Derek Dooley looked like he was going to dance straight out of his wheelchair, and the lads looked fit to tear the place apart in celebration. Champagne flew, and that was just for a quarter-final victory!

Nobody had expected us to get this far, or to be doing so well in the League as well at this stage of the season, and it was fun to watch a bunch of grown men celebrate victory with boyish delight.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 16th April, 2011.

The bad news which accompanied our victory was the added fixture congestion, and our next opponent. The Semi-Final draw had seen us opposite the winner of the Liverpool - Bayern Leverkusn match, and despite a 1-1 draw in the home leg, Liverpool had exploded with a 4-1 victory in Germany, spurred by goals from Man of the Match Robin van Persie, captain Steven Gerrard, and a brace from lethal striker Milan Baros.

Between that and our F.A. Cup Semi-Final, we would finish the season with two games per week every week, dating back to our encounter with Middlesbrough, and alternating a Cup tie with the Premiership ties. I'd gotten our star players on the mid-week track - they were lined up for every Cup encounter, and that threatened our League position. We were already two back of Manchester United, with just five games remaining, and I was close to conceding that we couldn't catch them for that final Champions League berth. On the bright side, we were ten points clear of Newcastle, and it would take an epic collapse for us to drop out of fifth place.

While we'd been gone, our Reserves were beaten at Saltergate, 0-1, by Derby Reserves. Kevin Price made his first start since straining his groin, lasting seventy minutes, but that was one of only two bright spots for the side. The other was on-loan right wing Scott Allen, who was Man of the Match. The bad news was 18-year-old attacking midfielder Dave Moss had suffered a strained wrist, which would set him back a week.

Worse news followed on Saturday. Freddy Guarín went down hard in training, and twisted his knee - it looked quite serious on the training pitch. Luckily, he's a resilient fellow, and once the swelling went down, the physios guessed he would be out for merely a week. Unfortunately, that meant he would miss both our Sunday match at Newcastle, and the F.A. Cup Semi-Final against Manchester City.

I'd had him penciled in to start both.

[Amaroq]

Sunday, 17th April, 2011. Premier League - Game 34, at Newcastle United.

Our third straight away game took us north to St. James's Park, in Newcastle, just opposite the tiny town of Blyth where I had started my career with that first friendly. Today's match had more significance: if we could win today, we would guarantee a fifth-place finish in the Premiership and a European spot again next season. To do it, we'd have to beat a club that had won by two goals on our last two trips to Newcastle - but we had beaten them 4-2 earlier this season at Bramall Lane. Such a key match couldn't have come at a better time in Newcastle's schedule: they'd just been knocked out of both the F.A. Cup and the Champions League by Manchester United, and had in fact lost four of their last five games.

Roy Carroll was starting his 46th game of the season in goal for us. Sean Dillon was the left back, with David Rozehnal and Hayden Foxe central, and Benjamin Herzog on the right. With the injury to Guarín, 19-year-old Steven White made his first start of the season as the defensive midfielder. Jonathan Forte and Graham Allen were out wide, and I again paired Robert Cousins with Joe Newell as the attacking midfielders. This time, Imre Szabics was their striker, providing a bit of experience to the attack.

Hoping to catch a demoralized opponent with a goal in the opening minutes, I let the lads attack from the opening kickoff, but Newcastle made us pay for my arrogance in the 5th minute. Damien Duff, the team leader with 22 assists, knocked a lovely ball down our right side, where deadly striker James McFadden had gotten in behind Benjamin Herzog. Both David Rozehnal and Hayden Foxe rushed over to help the youngster out, leaving Celestine Babayaro to try and mark three men in the area. It was an impossible task, of course, and when McFadden got past Foxe at the side of the area, he had Anthony Le Tallec free at the far post. A pinpoint pass, a simple tap-in, and Newcastle took a 0-1 lead.

They weren't done yet, and over the next twenty minutes, Fernando Cavenaghi, Steven Taylor, and Le Tallec all put shots over the bar from the arc. McFadden got free in the area on a free kick, and his header rifled over Roy Carroll's net as well. We were being dominated, and it started with our youth - Herzog on the right, and Steven White in the key defensive midfield role. It was being made clear to me just how important that role was.

Half an hour of Toon pressure finally paid off in the 36th minute, when a dubious decision against Hayden Foxe gave McFadden a free kick from 20 yards. Looking for his 18th goal of the season, he curled the kick around the wall, and had Carroll beat, but it struck the post. The ball caromed back towards the center of the area, and Peter Luccin buried the rebound from the six to make it 0-2.

We desperately needed to make a change, any change, at halftime, and I brought experienced Joe Keenan on in place of White as the defensive midfielder. That seemed to staunch some of the bleeding, but it wasn't generating any more offense, and I don't think Tomas Sørensen had even had to get his gloves dirty by the hour mark. I brought striker Paul Stott on for Robert Cousins, switching to a 4-4-2, and on 65 minutes, I made my last change, with Victor Sikora replacing Graham Allen on the right.

That lineup finally started generating some chances, as in the 69th minute, Rozehnal knocked a long ball over the Newcastle defense for Szabics. Taylor got back to make a great tackle at the eighteen, and the resulting corner was cleared. Newcastle quickly built possession through the midfield, and Damien Duff got free on the left side of our box. He closed to within eight yards before shooting, but hit the side netting.

In the 75th minute, Sikora sent Stott down the right wing with a fine ball. The young striker's cross found Szabics with a diving header at full speed on the six. It might have been headed over, anyways, but Sørensen made sure with his right arm, and it was out for a corner.

Craig Bellamy should have scored a third for the hosts six minutes later, after getting loose in the box through Herzog's side, but Roy Carroll saved his shot.

In the dying minutes, Sean Dillon nearly scored from seventy yards! His long pass was way too far for Imre Szabics, but then it skipped past Sørensen, who was well off his line. It was curling towards the post, but rolled out just a foot wide for a goal kick. That, unfortunately, was our last significant chance, and we would have to wait for a different day to book our spot in next season's European campaign.

Newcastle 2, Sheffield United 0

Le Tallec 5, Luccin 36; ----

MoM: Duff (Newcastle ML)

It had been a long time since we'd been so thoroughly controlled in a match, and though we had had worse scorelines, with four 3-0 defeats on the season, I rated this our worst showing of the year. We had looked entirely tame for the first hour of the match, and the few chances at the end hadn't reduced my ire: I really let the lads have it in the changing room after!

[Damien77]

Great Season so far; hope that u make it into CL

[Nadessico]

i see those evil SI buggers have deleted the other books

[AnvarSilver]

Errm, no they haven't. I just searched for them, and they're still there, thankfully.

[Nadessico]

Errm, no they haven't. I just searched for them, and they're still there, thankfully.

ah probually because the urls at the start are different now

[Amaroq]

Okay, forum move complete, new network card installed on my machine (grumble), let's get back to our story..

[Amaroq]

Monday, 18th April, 2011.

Giving Up?

It seems clear that Ian Richards has given up on the Champions League this year. His choice of lineup against Newcastle was a far cry from his first choice, and clearly were unable to cope with the talent in the Magpies lineup.

That decision, and that defeat, will cost the club millions of pounds which could have been used to strengthen the side next year.

United's stellar run in the UEFA Cup has generated fixture congestion that reveals just how shallow the bench depth is: that money is desperately needed if the club are to establish themselves as a regular fixture in European competition.

Yet again, the American has revealed his naivete, seemingly concentrating on pleasing the supporters with success in Europe, but failing to grasp the bigger picture.

It was no less than I'd come to expect from my old friend Rupert Wormwood.

In other news, our Under-18s had moved within a game of their fourth consecutive Under-18 Group 4 championship, by virtue of a pounding 3-0 win over Notts County U-18s. Man of the Match David Fleming sparked the win with a brace, and Craig Hunt added another goal on a free kick. The only player not celebrating was eighteen-year-old left wing Paul Alexander, who suffered a serious injury. He'd broken his right leg, and would be out until at least 2012.

Sunday morning also saw two developments on the managerial front. Former Wolves and Ipswich Town manager Dave Jones had taken over the Fulham job. He had certainly landed on his feet after being fired: he'd moved from the 19th-place, relegation-bound Ipswich to the side 7th in the Premiership.

The board of our local rivals, Leeds United, gave Neil Warnock an ultimatum. On February 15th, he'd had the club second in the Championship, and poised for promotion to the Premiership. They hadn't won a match since, falling to tenth, and somebody had to take the blame for the collapse. The board promised to sack him if he couldn't beat 17th-placed Burnley at home in their next match.

[Amaroq]

Tuesday, 19th April, 2011.

"What do you think of the Leeds situation?"

Before a major match like the F.A. Cup Semi-Final, there is always a press conference, and with the run-up to our match against Manchester City in full bloom, I found myself dutifully answering questions.

After a 1-1 draw with Burnley this afternoon, Neil Warnock was packing his office by the time I faced their questions. The 62-year-old, a former manager of Sheffield United, had been sacked by the Leeds board, as promised.

"He has my sympathy - it just goes to show how tough this business we're in is, as he was being hailed as a genius in February."

"Longtime England assistant Steve McClaren is being touted as the favorite to replace him - do you care to comment?"

"You're the ones who have been asserting that he needs to prove himself in the club ranks, as if he hadn't done at Middlesbrough. I think the Leeds position is a good one for any manager: they're one of the few Championship clubs that should be able to retain a spot in the Premiership, if they can only earn promotion."

"Do you think he would have been a better choice as England manager than Gary Megson?"

"That's rather academic, isn't it? They've been working well together for three years now, and I won't anger either of them by answering that."

"What about this report that you've become one of City manager Micky Adams's favourite personnel?"

"Well, I read in this morning paper that his side is relishing the opportunity to test their skills against us at Wembley, and that he hopes it'll be a cracking game. That's good to hear - three years ago, I'd've been the one saying that! Even though I think of him as my friend, let him know we won't be cutting his side any favours tomorrow."

"Is it true that Florent Sinama-Pongolle is out for tomorrow's match?"

"Yes, we just got the x-rays back, and he suffered two broken ribs in this morning's training session. I'm afraid its unlikely that he'll play this month - either at Wembley, or in either of the Liverpool games. If we make it through to the Finals, then I should have back."

"Isn't he getting a bit injury-prone?"

"Its a long season, but no, we have no immediate concerns about his fitness or reliability. Its just been a run of bad luck, that's all."

"What about Marc Bridge-Wilkinson? Rumour has it that, after you dropped him from the side against Villa and Newcastle, you're shopping him to other clubs. Is that true?"

"Marc is under contract to the club through the end of next season, and he hasn't spoken to me about any dissatisfaction with his playing time."

"So, you wouldn't entertain offers?"

"No comment."

[Amaroq]

Wednesday, 20th April, 2011. F.A. Cup - Semi-Final, vs Manchester City at Wembley.

Even without Sinama-Pongolle, the betting odds were solidly in our favour going into our Semi-Final against the Citizens. We'd beaten them handily, 4-1 and 3-0, in our previous two encounters this season, and in fact they hadn't beaten us since September of 2008. Still, Micky Adams had them in 7th in the Premiership, well up from 12th last season, and they'd be motivated on this grand stage, so we'd do well not to take them lightly.

I had my veteran lineup as rested as I could get them: 33-year-old Roy Carroll in goal, with Celestine Babayaro, David Rozehnal, and captain Hayden Foxe averaging almost 32 years of age between them, a sharp contrast to 18-year-old right back Benjamin Herzog. Mathieu Berson, 31, was the midfield engine from the holding role, and Joe Hamill and Jermaine Pennant, at 27 and 28, seemed almost young by comparison. Playmaker Bruno Cheyrou is 32, and Iain Hume is 27, whilst the lone striker Imre Szabics turned 30 in March.

It was a cool night at Wembley, overcast and with a bit of a breeze. The crowd of 57,098 was well shy of capacity, but that didn't stop supporters from both sides engaging in a battle of song prior to the opening kickoff. Though we had the first corner kick, nothing much came of it, and it was City who had the first real chance of the game. They'd come out in a 4-3-3, with Dimitris Papadopoulos on the left, and the Greek striker got through Benjamin Herzog's side and into the box. A low ball found midfielder Scott Parker streaking towards the six, and Roy Carroll made a great save on his close-range effort. It didn't matter, however, as Parker had been a half-step offsides.

In the 20th minute, our second corner looked more dangerous, skipping through the box to Bruno Cheyrou at the far post, and he was unlucky to catch the side netting from the corner of the six. Joe Hamill looked particularly dangerous up our left side, frequently making City right back Sun Jihai look as bad as Herzog was at our end. Iain Hume nearly had a great volley from his cross 30 yards out, which skimmed over the bar to an appreciative 'ooh' from the crowd.

City had their chances, and on the half hour, James Simmonds beat Herzog to send the cross in. Parker met it with a powerful header, but Roy Carroll made a great save, pushing it aside, and Mathieu Berson cleared it out of the six. At the 36th minute, Issah Eliakwu fired a left-footed blast from the top of the arc, but struck the crossbar, and Carroll caught the rebound, preventing it from reaching greedy goal poachers Joey Barton and Papadopoulos, who were licking their chops at the prospect.

Though a well-played, entertaining first half, it had come through naughts, and the tie would be decided in the second half - or extra-time, if it remained knotted. I didn't have much to say at the break, but when we failed to make an impression in the first ten minutes of the second stanza, I made my first change.

Pulling Hume off for young Paul Stott and switching to our 4-4-2 was unexpected, but within two minutes, I looked like a genius. Bruno Cheyrou knocked a lovely ball forward for Stott. He entered the box on the right, and dribbled around central defender Mark Yates. With Sylvain Distin marking Imre Szabics, there was no help for Yates. Stott closed to within eight yards before beating Kasper Schmeichel to the near post for the most important goal of his career. We led, 1-0!!

If the 4-4-2 was a riskier move than Micky Adams had expected from me, he must have been shocked when I left both strikers out there after taking the one-nil lead. It again nearly paid off, with Stott getting loose on another breakaway, but he dawdled a moment too long trying to round Schmeichel, allowing Yates to tackle the ball away.

City weren't done, and when defender Michael Dawson powered a header inches over the bar from a corner kick, I'd had all the warning I needed. I brought Szabics off for Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, pulling back to a 4-5-1 with fifteen minutes to play. Mindful of the possibility of extra-time, I kept my final substitution in reserve.

City had gone to a 4-2-4, and it nearly paid off, with Parker grazing the bar from twenty yards. I screamed at the lads to hold on, but as City grew ever more desperate, eventually winding up in a 2-3-5, they couldn't resist going forward. Stott nearly put Bridge-Wilkinson through, but Schmeichel pushed it around the bar from fifteen yards out. The corner kick also fell to the veteran midfielder, but his second shot was charged down by Sun Jihai.

Injury time saw one last chance for us, and Stott let Bruno Cheyrou take the shot. From just beyond the eighteen, and left of goal, he whistled it inches wide of the far post, the last shot of a fine Semi-Final.

Manchester City 0, Sheffield United 1

----; Stott 58

MoM: Carroll

It was celebration time at Wembley: for the second year in a row, we were through to the Final - and with Manchester United our opponent, we were again guaranteed of an UEFA Cup berth thanks to our F.A. Cup performance.

The timely shift to a 4-4-2 had paid off, as apparently City had dedicated their week of preparation to thinking about what we do in our base 4-5-1, and young Paul Stott was definitely staking his claim for a starting position: he had three goals and six assists thus far this season.

He might have been my choice for Man of the Match, but the assembled media took Roy Carrol's six saves, instead.

[flipsix3]

As excellent as ever Amaroq, and you clearly have a way with the Press.

Good to see the Blades benefitting from your ability to make telling formation changes too

[aaberdeenn]

Well done on making the final.

[Damien77]

Great Work, another final for United.

[Amaroq]

Thanks, guys. Nice to see you're all caught up, flipsix3!

[Amaroq]

Thursday, 21st April, 2011.

While we'd been busy at Wembley, Manchester United had added three points to their league total with a 2-0 victory over last-placed Derby County. That left us now five points behind with four matches to play. Our Champions League chances, already slim, seemed now non-existant thanks to the loss at Newcastle.

Like us in the Premiership, our Reserves were seeing their hopes of defending their title slip steadily away. They dropped two points behind the Manchester United Reserves with a scoreless draw at Sunderland Reserves. Perhaps depleted by all the loans I'd made - plus the late-season call-ups due to injury - they had reached a stage where offense was simply not happening for them: central defender Abubakar Shittu was the Man of the Match, but he's not likely to score many goals for them.

That might be resolved, to some extent, as 18-year-old striker Michael Field has returned from his loan to Birmingham, but he'd been in a tremendous goal drought. He'd failed to score in 13 appearances, averaging just a 6.15. Defensive midfielder Martin Ellis also returned, but he hadn't had a much better time, starting 10 games for Stockport, with an assist and a 6.20 rating. Attacking midfielder Martin Gray, too, was back in action, having recovered from a month out with a sprained ankle.

[Amaroq]

Saturday, 23rd April, 2011. Premier League - Game 35, vs Southampton.

A home tie against 14th-placed Southampton sounded like an easier matchup to my mind - they hadn't won a game in over two months, which might explain why they were bound for their worst finish since 2004/05 on their current pace. Still, they'd beaten us 3-0 earlier in the season when I didn't take them seriously, and 5-0 back in 2008 in the same situation.

Nonetheless, some of my exhausted players needed a rest, none more so than Benjamin Herzog. Roy Carroll started yet another game in goal, but his defense consisted of Sean Dillon, Ben Hammond, and unimpressive 17-year-old Kevin Price, anchored only by David Rozehnal, wearing the captain's armband. Steven White got his second start as the defensive midfielder. Jonathan Forte was the left wing, while Victor Sikora would add some experience on the right. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson was the playmaker, with Robert Cousins, the number three scorer on the team, playing opposite him. Wednesday night's hero Paul Stott had definitely earned a start with his off-the-bench game-winner.

Like us, Southampton employ a 4-5-1, though their midfield is flat across, and that promised a very defensive game. Nonetheless, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson nearly opened the scoring with a header in the fourth minute. Jonathan Forte's cross found him at the back post, but he headed across the mouth of the goal. Southampton looked to be sitting back, and letting us build. I was happy I'd chosen the patient buildup again - truth be told, I'd been using it all month.

Forte had a heart-stopping chance of his own in the 25th minute, set nicely on a run by Bridge-Wilkinson, but after driving eight yards into the area, he passed central rather than shooting, and the Southampton defense dealt with it well. Steven White was having a much more solid game in his second start, and took his first shot a few minutes later, blazing over from the arc. Bridge-Wilkinson also tried a long-range effort, but Southampton goalkeeper Iain Turner caught it, cradling it to his chest.

By halftime, Bridge-Wilkinson was limping a bit. It was his first start since March, and he'd picked up some form of injury, so I brought him off for Joe Newell. By the 60th minute, it was clear that our yellow-clad guests were playing defensively, looking for the tie, and I switched to the 4-4-2, with Victor Sikora coming off. Newell moved out to the right wing, with Michael Field making his first appearance of the season, joining Paul Stott up front.

In the 72nd minute, Forte dribbled past defenseman Thomas Gaardsøe and into the box. The Dane threw a hook-slide, trapping the ball on his right leg, and Forte went sprawling. As Gaardsøe got back to his feet to clear, I was off the bench, joining the crowd of 31,137 in calling for a penalty. Referee Phil Marsh came rushing to Forte, and whipped out a yellow card to book the winger for diving.

A minute later, Sean Dillon earned a corner kick, and Southampton didn't account for young striker Michael Field. David Rozehnal picked him out, and he blasted a shot on goal from fourteen yards out. Turner made a fingertip save, pushing it wide of the post, and former York winger Richard Fox got his foot to the rebound a split-second before Stott could to clear. Two years as a Premier Leaegue starter showed that I may have undervalued him when I sold him for a mere £85k - he was estimated to be worth about £4.3M now.

With fifteen minutes to play, I made my last change, with Joe Keenan replacing Forte on the left wing. Southampton brought Peter Crouch in up front, but the tall man has rarely been more than a novelty for them, and was never dangerous. Joe Newell looked to have the game-winner in the 87th minute, unleashing a thundering shot from 19 yards out, but Turner parried it brilliantly, and the match ended still scoreless.

Sheffield United 0, Southampton 0

----; ----

MoM: Carroll

We'd had plenty of chances, but were unable to convert against tenacious Southampton goalkeeper Iain Turner, and I was surprised that Roy Carroll beat him out for Man of the Match honours.